ship managed to
land upon the rocks, and saved some food from the wreck, but they were
without water. Pelsart, in one of the ship's boats, spent a couple of
weeks exploring the inhospitable coast in the neighbourhood in the hope of
discovering water, but found so little that he ultimately determined to
attempt to make Batavia and from there bring [Sidenote: 1629]
succour to his ship's company. On July 3rd he fell in with a Dutch ship
off Java and was taken on to Batavia. From there he obtained help and
returned to the wreck, arriving at the Abrolhos in the middle of
September; but during the absence of the commander the castaways had gone
through a terrible experience, which is related in Therenot's _Recueil de
Voyages Curieux,_ and translated into English in Major's book, from which
the following is extracted:--

"Whilst Pelsart is soliciting assistance, I will return to those
of the crew who remained on the island; but I should first inform
you that the supercargo, named Jerome Cornelis, formerly an
apothecary at Haarlem, had conspired with the pilot and some
others, when off the coast of Africa, to obtain possession of the
ship and take her to Dunkirk, or to avail themselves of her for
the purpose of piracy. This supercargo remained upon the wreck ten
days after the vessel had struck, having discovered no means of
reaching the shore. He even passed two days upon the mainmast,
which floated, and having from thence got upon a yard, at length
gained the land. In the absence of Pelsart, he became commander,
and deemed this a suitable occasion for putting his original
design into execution, concluding that it would not be difficult
to become master of that which remained of the wreck, and to
surprise Pelsart when he should arrive with the assistance which
he had gone to Batavia to seek, and afterwards to cruise in these
seas with his vessel. To accomplish this it was necessary to get
rid of those of the crew who were not of his party; but before
imbruing his hands with blood he caused his accomplices to sign a
species of compact, by which they promised fidelity one to
another. The entire crew was divided [living upon] between three
islands; upon that of Cornelis, which they had named the graveyard
of Batavia, was the greatest number of men. One of them, by name
Weybehays, a lieutenant, had been despatched to anot