n
Dijk, in his Mededeelingen uit het Oost-Indisch archief. Amsterdam,
_Scheltema_, 1859 p. 2, note 2, has also printed the letter in question.
He puts the words: "'t Wapen van" in parentheses, in order to denote that
they are merely conjectural. Leupe may have inadvertently omitted these
parentheses. Perhaps the original text read: "ende Amsterdam". In this
case there would have been two times question of Dedel's voyages: once by
a reference to the ship Amsterdam; and afterwards by mentioning Dedel's
name itself. I must not however omit to make mention here of what the
Instructions for Tasman's second voyage, dated January 29, 1644, say
about an unsuccessful expedition undertaken by the ship 't Wapen van
Amsterdam to the south coast of New Guinea in 1619.]

* * * * *

{Page 14}

XI.

(1619). VOYAGE OF THE SHIPS DORDRECHT AND AMSTERDAM UNDER COMMANDER
FREDERIK DE HOUTMAN, SUPERCARGO JACOB DEDEL, AND SKIPPERS REYER JANSZOON
VAN BUIKSLOOT AND MAARTEN CORNELISZOON(?), FROM THE NETHERLANDS TO THE
EAST-INDIES.--FURTHER DISCOVERY OF THE WEST-COAST OF AUSTRALIA:
DEDELSLAND AND HOUTMAN'S ABROLHOS.

A.

_Letter of Commander_ FREDERIK DE HUTMAN _to Prince Alaurice, October 7,
1619._

Most Noble Highborn Prince,

Most Highborn Prince, my last letter to Your Princely Excellency was
dated May the 20th last from the Taefelbay near Cabo de bonne esperance
with the ship Anna from England...

Now as regards my subsequent progress I would inform Your Excellency that
on the 8th of June we set sail from the Tafelbay with a fair wind with
the ships Dordrecht and Amsterdam, add that on the 19th of July following
we suddenly came upon the Southland of Beach [*] in 32 degrees 20
minutes. We spent a few days there in order to get some knowledge of the
same, but the inconvenience of being unable to make a landing, together
with the heavy gales, prevented us from effecting our purpose, upon which
shaping our course for Java, we got sight of the same on the 19th of
August, and arrived safely before Jacatra on the 3rd of September...

[* Though De Houtman knew of the discovery of Eendrachtsland (see
_infra_), he still uses the name Beach; which clearly proves that in the
early part of the seventeenth century the Netherlanders identified the
discovered South-land with the mysterious land of Beach.]

From Jacatra, this seventh of October, A.D. 1619.

(Signed)

Your Excellency's most devoted Servant

FREDERICK HOUTMAN.

B.