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V. THE "AERNEM"

CARELESS LANDING ON NEW GUINEA COAST. SKIPPER AND NINE MEN KILLED AND SOME WOUNDED BY NATIVES. "AERNEM'S" INFERIOR SAILING QUALITIES. HER DESERTION OF THE "PERA." CROSSES GULF OF CARPENTARIA. GROOTE ISLAND. ARNHEIM LAND.

No reader of Carstenszoon's narrative can fail to observe that although the "Aernem" was inferior in sailing qualities to her consort, the "Pera," she was expected to keep up with her, and that her failure to do so was the cause of much friction between the officers of the two ships.

Before the expedition left the shores of NEW GUINEA proper, and approximately in 4° 20' S. lat., the "Aernem" met with a DISASTER which is related by Carstenszoon under date 11th February, 1623:-

"The same day the skipper of the yacht "Aernem," DIRCK MELISZOON, without the knowledge of myself or of the supercargo or first mate of the said yacht, unadvisedly rowed to the open beach in the boat, with fifteen persons, officers and hands, with only four muskets, with the object of fishing. There was great disorder in landing, the men running off in different directions, and presently the BLACKS issued savagely from the bush and, to begin with, SEIZED an assistant named JAN WILLENS(ZOON) VAN DEN BRIEL, who was unarmed, and dragged him away from the others, and so forth, without our people having been able to resist or shoot. Next, with arrows, callaways and oars which they took out of the boat, they SLEW no less than NINE of our men and WOUNDED the remaining SEVEN (among them the SKIPPER, who was the first to run away), who by a miracle, and by means of the boat and a single oar, returned to the ship in a sorry plight, the skipper loudly lamenting his gross imprudence and begging forgiveness for the fault he had committed."

He DIED next day, and was succeeded by WILLEM JOOSTEN VAN COOLSTEERDT, second mate of the "Pera."

The return voyage had barely commenced when the "Aernem" once more lagged behind (27th April, 1623) before dark, and the "Pera" saw her no more. (SEE MAP H.) The latter was then at anchor off the coast of the Cape York Peninsula, in about 16° 25' S. lat. Carstenszoon, in his diary, accuses the "Aernem" of deliberate desertion because her men had no liking for the business, and he believed they desired to have "a good time" at Aru, where, apparently, the natives were kind. It is, indeed, more than likely

that the "Aernem's" complement were heartily tired of the voyage, which brought them daily recrimination on account of the shortcomings of their vessel, for which they were not to blame. They had hardships enough, saw no chance of profit for themselves and were condemned to play the unenviable part of second fiddle. On the other hand, it is probable that the "jury" rudder was lost, in which case (the wind being SE. by E.), the ship would have to stand out to sea, and in course of time some other substitute for a rudder would have to be rigged up. At any rate, ISACK DE BRUNE, Governor of BANDA, reported to the Governor-General, PIETER DE CARPENTIER, that on 14th May a ship was sighted, which proved to be the "Aernem," and that she had lost her rudder on the 13th.

No report of the "Aernem's" voyage is known to exist, and with her parting from the "Pera" she passes out of the region with which we are dealing. HEERES, who has thoroughly investigated the whole of the available documentary evidence, comes to the conclusion that the first land she saw was GROOTE EYLAND and that afterwards she skirted the north-western horn of the Gulf of Carpentaria, forming the northern portion (now known as ARNHEM LAND) of the "Northern Territory" of Australia.