a
good deal of smoke ascend from the land.

On April the 25th the wind was E., E.N.E., and N.N.E. in the morning and
forenoon, with a weak breeze and fine weather. They weighed anchor at
daybreak and set sail on a northern course close by the wind over depths
of 12, 14, 15 and 17 fathom sandy bottom. At noon their estimated
latitude was 12 deg. 42' South; the wind continued variable with occasional
calms; the land here showed level with a red and white beach; the
interior seemed to be covered with straight, tall trees as far as the eye
reached. At sunset they came to anchor and during the night had a
moderate top-gallant gale with good weather.

On the 26th of April the wind was E. and E. by S. in the morning and
forenoon, with a fresh breeze and fine weather. At daybreak they weighed
anchor and set sail, shaping their course between N.N.W. and N.N.E.; in
the forenoon they observed a pretty high hill N.E. by N. 1/4 point N. and a
red point N.N.E. 1/2 point E. of them. They also came upon a deep bay or
bight named Vliegenbaay, in which the trees on shore were hardly visible
from the top-mast. The N. corner of the said bay is here known by the
name of Aschens hoek. At noon their estimated latitude was 12 deg. 16' South.
They also saw columns of smoke rising up, and thought they could discern
men and cabins. At sunset they came to anchor in 121/2 fathom. During the
night the wind was variable.

On the 27 th of April the wind was E. by S.E. in the morning and forenoon
with a fresh topsail breeze, a covered sky and dry weather. At daybreak
they weighed anchor and set sail on a N.N.E. course over depths between
121/2 and 14 fathom good anchoring-ground. The land here begins to fall off
to eastward. They here saw a {Page 99} river with an island lying off its
mouth, the river being known as Batavia River, and the island as Buys
Eijland. At noon they took the approximate latitude of 11 deg. 38' South.
They repeatedly saw columns of smoke rising up from the land; in the
afternoon they came to anchor in 11 fathom coarse sand, about 4 miles Off
the shore.

On the 28th of April the wind was E. and E.S.E. in the morning and
forenoon; they weighed anchor and set sail on a N.E. course. At noon they
took the latitude of 11 deg. 29' South, being then 31/2 miles off shore, and
having passed depths of 11 and 10 fathom, coarse sand and good
anchoring-ground. In the afternoon the wind blew from the E.S.E., S.E.,
S., S.S.W., with a moder