PELSART’s VOYAGE TO AUSTRALASIA.
435
murdered with his own hands, or had affifted in murdering, no lefs than twenty-fevenperfons. The fame evening Weybhays brought his prifoiier Cornelis on board, wherehe was put in irons, and ftri&ly guarded.
On the 18th of September, Captain Pelfart, with the mafter, went to take the reft°f the confpirators in Cornelis’s ifland. They went in two boats. The villains, as foonas they faw them land, loft all their courage and fled from them. They furrendered"without a blow, and were put in irons with the reft. The captain’s firft care was torecover the jewels which Cornelis had difperfed among his accomplices: they were,however, all of them foon found, except a gold chain and a diamond ring; the latter"Was alfo found at laft, but the former could not be recovered. They went next to ex-amine the wreck, which they found ftaved into an hundred pieces ; the keel lay on ahank of fand on one fide, the fore part of the veflel ftuck fall: on a rock, and the reft°f her lay here and there as the pieces had been driven by the waves, fo that CaptainPelfart had very little hopes of faving any of the merchandize. One of the peoplebelonging to Weybhays’s company told him, that one fair day, which was the only onethey had in a month, as he was fifhing near the wreck, he had ftruck the pole in hishand againft one of the chefts of filver, which revived the captain a little, as it gavehim reafon to expedt that fomething might ftill be faved. They fpent all the 19th inexamining the reft of the prifoners, and in confronting them with thofe who efcapedfrom the maffacre.
On the 20th they fent feveral kinds of refrelhments to Weybhays’s company, and car-ded a good quantity of water from the ifle. There was fomething very Angular infinding this water ; the people who were on fhore there had fubfifted near three weeks°n rain-water, and what lodged in the clefts of the rocks, without thinking that the' v ater of two wells which were on the ifland could be of any ufe, becaufe they fawthem conftantly rife and fall with the tide, from whence they fancied they had a com-munication with the fea, and confequently that the water rnuft be brackifh; but upontrial they found it to be very good; and fo did the fliip’s company, who filled theirCa fes with it.
On the 21ft the tide was fo low, and an eaft-fouth-eaft wind blew fo hard, thatduring the whole day the boat could not get out. On the 22d they attempted to fifhtjpon the wreck, but the weather was fo bad, that even thofe who could fwim very wellUr ft not approach it. On the 25th the mafter and the pilot, the weather being fair,' Ve nt off again to the wreck, and ■ thofe who were left on fhore, obferving that theyRanted hands to get any thing out of her, fent off fome to affift them. The captainent alfo himfelf to encourage the men, who foon weighed one cheft of filver, and, me time after another. As foon as thefe were fafe afhore they returned to their work,ut the weather grew fo bad that they were quickly obliged to defift, though fome ofb eir ^fr ers fr° m Guzarat affured them they had found fix more, which might eafilyWe %hed. On the 26th, in the afternoon, the weather being fair, and the tide low,j e 6 matter returned to the place where the chefts lay, and weighed three of them,^aving an anchor with a gun tied to it, and a buoy to mark the place where the fourth)Vwhich, notwithftanding their utmoft efforts, they were not able to recover.
27th the fouth wind blew very cold. On the 28th the fame w-ind blewon S er than the day before; and as there was no poflibility of fifhing in the wreck forPrif^ refent ’ Captain Pelfart held a council to confider what they mould do with thet 0 ° ners ; that is to fay, whether it would be belt to try them there upon the fpot, orcarry them to Batavia, in order to their being tried by the Company’s officers. After
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