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 182 THE houtman's abrolhos.

" The position of the islands against the most outlying reef of which the Zeewyk was wrecked, is shown by the accom- panying maps. They lie out of sight of the Southland, and are partly overgrown with some edible wild plants. On them were found not only some excavated wells, but also some signs of a Dutch ship, probably wrecked against the above-mentioned reef, which might have been the Fortuyn or Aagtekerke, whose crew may have died or perished at sea on their way hither. This also seems to have been the fate of the boat of the Zeewyh, which, under command of the uppersteersman Pieter Langeweg, with eleven common sailors and the papers of the Company, had set out for this port shortly after the wreck of the ship, in order to give information of the mishap and to ask for assistance. Up to this time nothing has been heard of it.

" We cannot without painful feelings think of the heavy misfortunes, from which the company has been a sufferer during the last nine or ten years, especially in the loss of many ships and treasures, which mishaps have to our great concern been considerably increased in number, not only by the disaster which befel the ship Luchtenherg, on the Wie- lingen, on the Zeeland Banks, shortly after leaving port, as communicated to us by the Directors of several Chambers, and particularly by the letter from Amsterdam of the 8th of January ; but also by the misfortunes which befell the other ships that had sailed for this country in company with that ship on the 2nd of November, 1727, and were obliged to put into several harbours in a disabled state. Again, by the stranding on the ord of July, in Table Bay, of the ships Middenrack, Stahroeck, and Haarlem, of which the Midden- rack was dashed to pieces and lost all hands, except the few "who were on shore at the time, while the two others were d liven so close on shore that all hope of safety was aban- doned, but succeeded so far as to run their prow aground, whereby the crew and money were saved, and the remainder