Off the east point of the (inner) bay, they found thirteen to fourteen feet water; and that the tide flowed about three feet.  They there saw a number of men, of wild ducks, and geese; but inland none were seen, though their noise was heard.  Muscles were found sticking to bushes, in different places.  The country was covered with trees; but so thinly scattered, that one might see every where to a great distance amongst them, and distinguish men and animals.  Several of the trees were “much burnt about the foot; and the ground was here and there like little squares (vuysterchen), and become as hard as stone, by fire.”

A short time before the boats returned, a thick smoke had been observed upon the continent, to the west of where the ships lay at anchor; and from the people staying so much longer than they had been ordered, it was thought to have been made by them, as a signal.  But on inquiry, they answered in the negative; and said that they, also, had seen smoke in several places; and bushes—­(here seems to be a line omitted.) “So that without doubt, here must be exceedingly tall people.”

Dec. 3.  A boat was sent to the south-east part of the (outer) bay, and found fresh water; but it broke through the low shore to the sea, and was brackish; and the soil was too rocky to dig wells.  In the afternoon, commodore Tasman went, with several officers from both vessels in two boats, to the south-east extremity of the bay; taking with them the PRINCE’S flag, and a post upon which was cut a compass, to be erected on shore.  One of the boats was obliged to return, from the bad weather; but the shallop went to a little cove W. S. W. of the ships.  The surf being there too high to admit of landing, the first carpenter, Pieter Jacobsz, swam on shore with the post and Prince’s flag; and set it up near the last of four remarkable trees, which stood in the form of a crescent, in the middle of the cove.  “When the first carpenter had done this, in the sight of me ABEL J. TASMAN, of the master Gerrit Jansz, and under-merchant Abraham Coomans, we went with the shallop as near as possible to the shore, and the said carpenter swam back, through the surf.  We then returned on board; and left this as a memorial to the posterity of the inhabitants of this country.  They did not show themselves; but we suspected some to be not far from thence, watching carefully our doings.”

The wind was from the northward all this day; and at sunset, it blew a storm.  The variation at anchor was observed to be 3 deg. east; the latitude was 43 deg. south, and longitude 1671/2 deg. east from Teneriffe.

Dec. 4.  The wind was more moderate, and came from the westward, off the land.  The anchors were then weighed, but the flukes of one were broken.  On quitting Frederik Hendrik’s Bay, the ships steered northward as much as possible, to look for a watering place.  At noon, the course had been N. E. 32 miles; the latitude was 42 deg. 40’, and longitude 168 deg..  In the evening, they saw a round mountain, about eleven leagues to the N. N. W.; and during the whole day, several smokes were visible along the coast.  “Here,” says Tasman, “I should give a description of the extent of the coast, and the islands near it, but I hope to be excused, and refer, for brevity’s sake, to the chart made of it, and herewith joined.”