Chapter XXV.What passed between the Captain and the late Chief Pilot, and certain persons who spoke for and against; and how freedom was given to two slaves.Presently the former Chief Pilot prayed the Captain, with exaggerated supplication, to pardon him. The Captain enquired of him for what he asked pardon: for if he referred to things that affected him, he might be certain that, without having to ask for pardon, he would be pardoned; but if the pardon was asked for things connected with the royal service, he must tell him what was well known, that his treatment was reasonable and just. The Chief Pilot replied to this by swearing, with great demonstrations of innocence, that he had neither offended the King nor the Captain in anything, nor had desired to give offence. According to him, I am the person who ought to ask for pardon.Then a certain monk took the Captain aside, and said that the Chief Pilot was very obliged and grateful, and that from this time forward he would work marvels in all things; and that he was already doing so, as the monk could witness. The Captain answered that he left that to God, who knew the most secret intentions and could not be deceived; and that for himself, he looked to have treated the Chief Pilot in quite a different manner, having entrusted to him business which included good things and likewise his honour; and that although it was very early, his recent acts having shown that neither his word nor hisoffers were to be trusted, the fact of his having done so much good to anyone made it unprofitable that he should remain under punishment.Other persons had given evidence to the Captain against the Chief Pilot, and to all he answered that before God he could justify his acts in giving information, pardoning, or giving hope. When such means were of no avail, he held the rod in his hands, giving such blows as the culprit deserved; and that he had kept the Chief Pilot a prisoner, considering that to be a punishment which would be sufficient.Freedom given to two slaves.The Captain asked an officer named Alonso Alvarez de Castro, and Juan Bernardo de Fuentidueña, Pilot of theAlmiranta, that they would give—as they did give with very good will, by reason of pious motives and of the honour of the festival of that day—freedom to a slave which each of them possessed, for which purpose they drew up letters. This being done, we went to dine under the shade of great tufted trees near a clear running stream, thecorps de gardebeing alert and the sentries posted.Chapter XXVI.The election of a municipality and of magistrates, names of the persons elected, and what else happened until the crews embarked.Having had his siesta, the Captain assembled the Master of the Camp, Admiral, Royal Ensign, Sergeant-Major, and Captains, and said to them that, possession having been taken of that land, and the city having received the name of the New Jerusalem, with their concurrence, he would elect a municipality and such officers as is usual in a citythat was the capital of a province. As they expressed their concurrence, it was agreed among all that the elections should be made in the manner following:—MagistratesDonDiego Barrantes y Maldonado.Luis de Belmonte Bermudez.The LicentiateAlonzo Sanchez de Aranda.The CaptainManuel Noble.Francisco de Medina.Francisco de Mendoza y Sarmiento.Francisco de Zandategui.Antonio Francisco Camiña.Juan Ortiz.Alonso Perez de Medina.Juan Gallardo de Los Reyes.Pedro Carrasco.Gil Gonzalez.Secretary to the MunicipalitySantiago de Iriarte.Justices of the PeaceDonAlonzo de Sotomayor.CaptainRodrigo Mejia de la Chica.Chief ConstableCaptainGaspar de Gaza.Royal Officers:AccountantDonJuan de Iturbe.TreasurerDonJuan de la Peña.FactorJuan Bernardo de Fuentidueña.Registrar of MinesDonAntonio de Chaves.Store-keeper GeneralDonDiego de Prado y Tovar.1OverseerDonJuan de Espinosa y Zayas.1As soon as the elections were completed, all the officials took the oath, placing the right hand on a breviary, which the Father Commissary held; swearing that they would be loyal to His Majesty, in whose name the different offices had been given to them; and with this the proceedings terminated.Afterwards, the municipal officers formed in order, and accompanied by the rest of the people, went to the church. Within was the Father Commissary, who, pointing to theupraised cross, said, “Here, gentlemen, you have the Holy Cross, the semblance of that which, by the mercy of God, secured all our remedy and all our good;” but such were the tears he shed that he could not proceed.The Captain embarked, taking with him the same cross, the standard and banners; and, on arriving on board, he ordered that block on the yard-arm to be taken down, where it had been placed to punish crimes. For the Captain could not believe that persons with such an honourable destiny would do things the punishment of which would be the rope. The Captain ordered the Master of the Camp to take an armed party, and penetrate further into the interior than he had done before. They saw more and better farms and villages than before, and at one village they found the natives much occupied with their dances. When they saw us they began a flight to the mountains, leaving strewn about as they fled, bows, arrows, and darts. Our people found two roast pigs, and all their other food, which they ate at their ease. They carried off twelve live pigs, eight hens and chickens, and they saw a tree which astonished them, for its trunk could not have been encircled by fifteen or twenty men; so they returned to the ships.1Not in Leza’s list.Chapter XXVII.Relates how they sowed some land; the entry into a valley; capture of three boys, and what happened with the natives.The Captain, on the last day of Easter, taking with him such an escort as seemed necessary, went to an adjacent farm of the natives and sowed a quantity of maize, cotton, onions, melons, pumpkins, beans, pulse, and other seeds of our country; and returned to the ships laden with many roots and fish caught on the beach.Next day the Captain sent the Master of the Camp, with thirty soldiers, to reconnoitre a certain height, where they found a large and pleasant valley, with villages. When the inhabitants saw us coming, many assembled together in arms. We caught there three boys, the oldest being about seven years of age, and twenty pigs. With these we began a retreat, and the natives, with vigour and bravery, attacked our vanguard, centre, and rearguard, shooting many arrows. The chiefs came out to the encounter, and by their charges forced us to lose the ground we were gaining. Arrived at a certain pass, our people found the rocks occupied by many natives, who were animated by the desire to do as much harm as possible. Here was the hardest fight, their arrows and stones hurled down from the heights, causing great danger to our men. When the Captain heard the noise of the muskets and the shouting, he ordered three guns to be fired off, to frighten the natives and encourage our people; and the better to effect this at the port, those in the ships and on the beach were sent to support the retreating party in great haste. The forces having united, they came to the ships, saving the spoils, and all well.There was a certain person, who said in a loud voice: “Thirty pigs would be better eating than three boys.” The Captain heard this, and said, with much feeling, that he would rather have one of those children than the whole world besides. He made a speech on the subject, concluding with the following words: “I give the blame to my sins, and to those alone. And how much better would it be for the person who spoke such nonsense if he had given praises to God, who, in a way so strange and unthought-of, saved these three souls—a thing which we must believe to have been predestined?” For this speech there was some ill-feeling on the part of the man who had spoken, and more from his friends.The natives, on the following day, having other ambuscades,came to attack our watering party, who armed themselves in great haste. The natives shot off their arrows, and our people fired their muskets. The natives then fled, shouting as they went, leaving marks of the harm done them by the balls.It seems that the natives, in their rage that they could not revenge themselves on us, came to destroy the church. The Captain hurriedly sent off an armed party in the two boats to prevent them. When the natives saw this, they slowly retreated. Their object appeared to have been to draw our men away, to lead them to where many other natives were concealed; for we afterwards saw them go away, crossing the river of Salvador.Chapter XXVIII.How the launch went to examine the mouth of the great river, and what else happened with reference to excursions inland.The Master of the Camp was sent to examine the mouth of the river, which is in the middle of the bay, with the launch, a boat, and a party of men. He tried the depth of the river mouth, and found that there was no bottom, with the length of an oar and his own arm. He went further up in the boat, and the view of the river gave much pleasure to those who were with him, as well for its size and the clearness of the water, as for its gentle current and the beauty of the trees on its banks.The launch passed further up, and our people landed on the bank and went inland. They found a small village of four streets, and an open space at the most elevated part. All round there were many farms, surrounded by palings. Two spies were posted, who warned the natives, and they all fled. Our people found in their houses several kinds offish, roasted and wrapped in plantain leaves, and a quantity of raw mussel-shells in baskets, as well as fruits and flowers hung on poles. Near there was a burial-place. They also found a flute, and certain small things worked out of pieces of marble and jasper. As they heard drums and shells, and a great murmuring noise, understanding that it came from a large number of people, they retreated, followed by the natives, who did not dare to attack them. Finally, they got to the launch in peace, and returned to the ships.On many other occasions our people went to fish and to seek for things very necessary for the requirements of the ships, returning well content with the excellence of the land. Encounters with the natives were not wanting, and I believe they killed some natives, although they denied it to me.Chapter XXIX.Describes the festival ofCorpus Christi, and the procession they made.All the carpentering work was finished by the 20th of May. On that day the Captain gave orders to the Master of the Camp to go on shore with a hundred soldiers, and to collect things to adorn our church of Loreto, and to make streets round it, so that on the next day, which was that ofCorpus Christi, we might there celebrate its festival with all the force we could muster. In the night, the eve of the festival was celebrated on board.Before daybreak our people went on shore, and formed an escort for our six monks, who got everything ready that was required. When all was ready, the Captain was informed, who presently got into the boat, leaving two menon board each ship, and taking all the rest with him. On reaching the shore, they all jumped out and went to the church. Its door was to the north, bravely decorated with things of the country, the roof and part of the body of the church being covered with green branches; and there was a very curious altar under a canopy, with a service of silver. For an altar-piece there was a painted Christ crucified, on a great cloth, with four candles at the sides, and incense-sticks burning.Having said his prayers, the Captain went out to see the place. At the commencement there were three high triumphal arches, enlaced with palms, shoots, and flowers, while the ground was also strewn with flowers. The streets were formed with many trees, those within forming a cloister; and here were planted divers branches and herbs to look like a garden. At two angles, under two other arches, were placed two altars with their canopies, and the images of St. Peter and St. Paul; while its author, the Brother of the Order of John of God, on his knees at one side, was saying his prayers.The day was clear and serene, and as the sun rose over the crowns of the trees, its rays entering through the branches, the difference in the fruits of each plant was shown in great profusion. Here, too, could be heard the persistence with which the birds sang and chaunted; the leaves and branches were seen to move gently, and the whole place was agreeable, fresh, shady, with a gentle air moving, and the sea smooth.Presently returning to the church, two Masses were said. A third was said by the Father Commissary, and the procession was then ordered in the following manner:—A soldier went first, carrying in his hands the heavy cross of orange wood. Next came a lay brother, with another gilt cross from the sacristy, with the bag raised on a lance, and on each side two acolytes, with candlesticks and redcassocks, and all those in surplices. Then followed the three companies in order, each one bearing its banner in the centre, with its drums sounding a march. There was a very picturesque sword-dance by eleven sailor lads, dressed in red and green silk, with bells on their feet. They danced with much dexterity and grace to the sound of a guitar, which was played by a respected old sailor. This was followed by another dance by eight boys, all dressed like Indians in shirts and breeches of silk, coloured brown, blue, and grey, with garlands on their heads, and white palms in their hands. Bands of bells were round their ankles, and they danced with very quiet countenances, at the same time singing their canticles to the sound of tambourines and flutes played by two musicians.Then followed the royal standard, accompanied by the Master of the Camp, the Sergeant-Major, and the Captains. Then six Magistrates, each with a lighted torch in his hand. Then came the Father Commissary, whose pall of yellow silk, six yards long, was borne by three royal officers and three Magistrates. He carried in his hand a coffer of crimson velvet, with gilded nails, which contained the most blessed sacrament. Another lay brother incensed it. All the four priests marched joyfully, singing the hymn “Pangelingua.” The Captain carried the royal standard as far as the door, where he delivered it to the Ensign, whose place was behind the pall, with the two Justices of the Peace and the Chief Constable.When the Lord now came forth from the door, all the bells rang, and the people, who were looking on attentively, fell on their knees; the Ensigns lowered the banners three times, the drummers beat the drums for battle; the soldiers, who had the cords ready, fired off the muskets and arquebuses; the constables fired off the guns which were on shore for defending the port; and in the ships the artillery-men fired off the bombards and pieces, and those placed inthe launch and boats for the occasion. Once more, and once again, they were discharged. When the smoke cleared away, there were seen amongst the green branches so many plumes of feathers and sashes, so many pikes, halberds, javelins, bright sword-blades, spears, lances, and on the breasts so many crosses, and so much gold, and so many colours and silken dresses, that many eyes could not contain what sprung from the heart, and they shed tears of joy. With this the procession returned, the church being guarded by fourcorps de garde. The dancers kept dancing to keep up the festival, and remained within; and the Captain at the door said to them: “All the dresses you wear you can keep as your own, for they are from the royal treasury. I would that they were of the best and richest brocade.”As a finish a fourth Mass was said, that it might be heard by the sentries who were posted to keep a look-out for any approach of the natives, though they were far off on the beach and on the hills.This done, the Captain ordered the bells to be rung in honour of those, in Lima, who had said that they would come to that land when they could have a passage.The native who was taken from Taumaco, and was afterwards named Pedro, went about dressed in silk with a cross on his breast, and bow and arrows, so astonished and pleased at all he saw, and at his cross, that he looked about and showed it, putting his hand on it, and named it many times. It is a thing worthy of note that the cross elevated the mind, even of a barbarian who did not know its significance.Having given the souls such sweet and delicious food, friends and comrades divided themselves off to the places dedicated to hearths and pots, where, with tables spread under the shade of tall and spreading trees, they gave themselves up to feeding their bodies.During the subsequent siesta there were dances, music, and pleasant conversation; and he who said this was fortunate that day, as well as those who saw it all, for it was the first festival celebrated in honour of the most high Lord in these strange and unknown lands. As our force was small, and the natives numerous, it was considered by some to be an act of great audacity. I say that it was a great hit, and that it was done in full faith.There was one who said that this octave of Don Alonso de Ercilla seemed to foretell it, which one sincerely devoted to the expedition, by slight alterations, adapted to the present occasion as follows:—Araucana.1Behold where are hidden the lands,Scarce discerned by mortal ken,Those are regions still unknown,Never pressed by Christian men.This will ever be their fate,Want of knowledge keeps them there,Wrapt within a fleecy cloud,Until God shall lay them bare.Version of the friend of Quiros.2Behold how we have found these lands,Now clearly seen by mortal ken,Those are regions now made known,Pressed by feet of Christian men.Unknown no longer is their fate,Now full knowledge points them there,No longer hid in fleecy clouds,God His secrets now lays bare.The Captain sent some of the people on board again, and marched inland with the rest to the sound of drums.He saw what he had sown already sprouting, the farms, houses, fruit orchards; and having walked for a league, he returned as it was getting late. When he came on board, he said that as these natives were at war with us, and there was not a chance on our side, we would leave the port next day to visit the lands to windward. The Admiral asked, in his name and those of the crew, that another day might be allowed for the people to catch fish. It happened that they fished in a certain place whence they brought to the ship a quantity ofpargos, which are considered poisonous, like those in Havana and other ports. As many as ate them were attacked by nausea, vomiting, and feverish symptoms.3This unexpected and sudden evil caused much grief to all, and there were not wanting opinions, nor the conclusion of one who said, that to get much it will cost something, and that the sweet is mixed with the bitter.1“Araucana,” por Don Alonso de Ercilla. CantoXXVII, octava 52.2The “friend” is, of course, Belmonte Bermudez, the Secretary of Quiros.3Captain Cook relates that his people caught two reddish fish with hook and line in Port Sandwich, Malicolo Island (one of the New Hebrides), on July 24th, 1774. The fish were about the size of a large bream. Most of the officers, and some of the petty officers, dined on them the next day. The following night, every one who had eaten of them was seized with violent pains in the head and bones, attended with a scorching heat all over the skin, and numbness in the joints. The pigs and dogs who had partaken of the fish were also taken ill, and two died. It was a week or ten days before all the officers recovered. In mentioning this, Cook refers to the similar experience of Quiros and his crew, as described by Dalrymple, vol. i, p. 140.—Cook’s Second Voyage, vol. ii, p. 39.Chapter XXX.Gives some account of this bay, and of all that is contained in it, and in its port.This bay, to which the Captain gave the name of St. Philip and St. James, because it was discovered on their day, is 1,700 leagues from Lima, from Acapulco 1,300,from Manilla in the Philippines 1,100 leagues. Its entrance is to the N.W. in 15° S., and the port is in 15° 10′ S. The bay has a circuit of 20 leagues, at the entrance 4 leagues across. The variation of the compass is 7° N.E.The land which forms the bay runs directly N. on the E. side, with sloping heights and peopled valleys well covered with trees. This side ends at the mouth of the bay with a height rising to a peak, and the coast runs E. and then S.E., but we could not see how it ends.The other land to the W. runs nearly N.W., and to the point is 11 leagues in length, consisting of a range of hills of moderate height, which the sun bathes when it rises, and where there are patches without trees, covered with dried-up grass. Here are ravines and streams, some falling from the heights to the skirts of the hills, where many palm groves and villages were seen. From the point on this side the coast turns to the W.The front of the bay, which is to the S., is 3 leagues long, and forms a beach. In the middle there is a river which was judged to be the size of the Guadalquivir at Seville. At its mouth the depth is 2 and more fathoms; so that boats and even frigates could enter. It received the name of the “Jordan.” On its right is seen the Southern Cross in the heavens, which makes the spot noteworthy.To the eastward, at the corner of this bay, there is another moderate-sized river called “Salvador,” into which the boats entered at their pleasure to get water. The waters of both rivers are sweet, pleasant, and fresh. The one is distant from the other a league and a half, consisting of a beach of black gravel, with small heavy stones, excellent for ballast for a ship.Between the said two rivers is the port. The bottom is clean, consisting of black sand, and here a great number of ships would have room up to 40½brazas. It is not knownwhether there are worms. As the beach is not bare nor driven up, and the herbs are green near the water, it was assumed that it was not beaten by the seas; and as the trees are straight and their branches unbroken, it was judged that there are no great storms. The port was named “Vera Cruz,” because we anchored there on that day.In the whole bay we did not see a bank, rock, or reef; but it is so deep that there is no anchorage except at the above port. It is better to approach near the river Salvador, and there is another moderate port which is distant 2 leagues from this on the N. to S. coast.All the said beach is bordered by a dense mass of great trees, with paths leading from them to the shore. It seemed to serve as a wall, the better to carry on defensive or offensive operations against other natives coming to make war. All the rest is a level plain, with hills on either side. These on the W. side run southward, becoming more elevated and more massive as their distance increases. As for the plain, we have not seen where it ends. The earth is black, rich, and in large particles. It is cleared of wild trees to make room for fruit trees, crops, and gardens surrounded by railings. There are many houses scattered about; and wherever a view could be obtained, many fires and columns of smoke were discerned, witnesses of a large population.The natives generally seen here are corpulent, not quite black nor mulatto. Their hair is frizzled. They have good eyes. They cover their parts with certain cloths they weave. They are clean, fond of festivities and dancing to the sound of flute and drums made of a hollow piece of wood. They use shells also for musical instruments, and in their dances make great shouting at the advances, balances, and retreats. They were not known to use the herb.1Their arms are heavy wooden clubs, and bows of the same, arrows of reed with wooden points, hardened in the fire, darts with pieces of bone enclosed.Their interments are covered. We saw some enclosed with their oratories and figures, to which they make offerings. It is, to all appearance, a people courageous and sociable, but without care for the ills of their neighbours; for they saw some fighting with us without coming to help them.The houses are of wood, covered with palm leaves, with two sloping sides to the roof, and with a certain kind of outhouse, where they keep their food. All their things are kept very clean. They also have flower-pots with small trees of an unknown kind. The leaves are very soft, and of a yellow-reddish colour.The bread they use is mainly of roots, whose young shoots climb on poles, which are put near them for that purpose. The rind is grey, the pulp murrey colour, yellow, or reddish; some much larger than others. There are some a yard and a-half in thickness, also two kinds: one almost round, and the size of two fists, more or less. Their taste resembles the potatoes of Peru. The inside of the other root is white, its form and size that of a cob of maize when stripped. All three kinds have a pulp without fibres, loose, soft, and pleasant to the taste. These roots are bread made without trouble, there being nothing to do but to take them out of the earth, and eat them, roast or boiled. They are very good cooked in pots. Our people ate a great deal; and, being of a pleasant taste and satisfying, they left off the ship’s biscuit for them. These roots last so long without getting bad, that on reaching Acapulco those that were left were quite good.Their meat consists of a great quantity of tame pigs, some reddish, others black, white, or speckled. We saw tusks 1¼palmosin length, and a porker was killed weighing200 lbs. The natives roast them on hearths, wrapped up in plantain leaves. It is a clean way, which gives the meat a good colour, and none of the substance is lost.There are many fowls like those of Europe. They use capons. There are many wild pigeons, doves, ducks, and birds like partridges, with very fine plumage. One was found in a lasso, with which the natives catch them. There are many swallows; we saw a macaw and flocks of paroquets; and we heard, when on board at early dawn, a sweet harmony from thousands of different birds, apparently buntings, blackbirds, nightingales, and others. The mornings and afternoons were enjoyable from the pleasant odours emitted from trees and many kinds of flowers, together with the sweet basil. A bee was also seen, and harvest flies were heard buzzing.The fish are skate, sole, pollack, red mullet, shad, eels,pargos, sardines, and others; for which natives fish with a three-pronged dart, with thread of a fibrous plant, with nets in a bow shape, and at night with a light. Our people fished with hooks and with nets, for the most part. In swampy parts of the beach shrimps and mussels were seen.Their fruits are large, and they have many cocoa-nuts, so that they were not understood to put much store by them. But from these palms they make wine, vinegar, honey, and whey to give to the sick. They eat the small palms raw and cooked. The cocoa-nuts, when green, serve ascardos2and for cream. Ripe, they are nourishment as food and drink by land and sea. When old, they yield oil for lighting, and a curative balsam. The shells are good for cups and bottles. The fibres furnish tow for caulking a ship; and to make cables, ropes, and ordinary string, the best for an arquebus. Of the leaves they makesails for their canoes, and fine mats, with which they cover their houses, built with trunks of the trees, which are straight and high. From the wood they get planks, also lances and other weapons, and many things for ordinary use, all very durable. From the grease they get thegalagala, used instead of tar. In fine, it is a tree without necessity for cultivation, and bearing all the year round.There are three kinds of plantains: one, the best I have seen, pleasant to smell, tender and sweet.There are many “obos,” which is a fruit nearly the size and taste of a peach, on whose leaves may be reared silk-worms, as is done in other parts.There is a great abundance of a fruit which grows on tall trees, with large serrated leaves. They are the size of ordinary melons, their shape nearly round, the skin delicate, the surface crossed into four parts, the pulp between yellow and white, with seven or eight pips. When ripe it is very sweet; when green, it is eaten boiled or roasted. It is much eaten, and is found wholesome. The natives use it as ordinary food.There are two kinds of almonds: one with as much kernel as four nuts lengthways, the other in the shape of a triangle. Its kernel is larger than three large ones of ours and of an excellent taste.There is a kind of nut, hard outside, and the inside in one piece without division, almost like a chestnut: the taste nearly the same as the nuts of Europe.Oranges grow without being planted. With some the rind is very thick, with others delicate. The natives do not eat them. Some of our people said there were lemons.There are many, and very large, sweet canes: red and green, very long, with jointed parts. Sugar might be made from them.Many and large trees, bearing a kind of nut, grew on the forest-covered slopes near the port. They brought thesenuts on board as green as they were on the branches. Their leaves are not all green on one side, and on the other they turn to yellowish grey. Their length is ajeme,3more or less, and in the widest part three fingers. The nut contains two skins, between which grows what they call mace like a small net. Its colour is orange. The nut is rather large, and there are those who say that this is the best kind. The natives make no use of it, and our people used to eat it green, and put it into the pots, and used the mace for saffron.On the beach a fruit was found like a pineapple. Pedro was asked if it was eaten, and he replied that only the bark was eaten of the tree which yielded that fruit.There were other fruits, like figs, filberts, andalbaricoques, which were eaten. Others were seen, but it was not known what fruits they were, nor what others grew in that land. To give a complete account of them and of other things, it is necessary to be a year in the country, and to travel over much ground.As regards vegetables, I only knew of amaranth, purslane, and calabashes.The natives make from a black clay some very well-worked pots, large and small, as well as pans and porringers in the shape of small boats. It was supposed that they made some beverage, because in the pots and in cavities were found certain sour fruits.It appeared to us that we saw there quarries of good marble;4I say good, because several things were seen that were made of it and of jasper. There were also seen ebony and large mother-o’-pearl shells; also some moderate-sized looms. In one house a heap of heavy black stones was seen, which afterwards proved to be metal from whencesilver could be extracted, as will be seen further on. Two of our people said they had seen the footprints of a large animal.The climate appeared to be very healthy, both from the vigour and size of the natives, as because none of our men became ill all the time we were there, nor felt any discomfort, nor tired from work. They had not to keep from drinking while fasting, nor at unusual times, nor when sweating, nor from being wet with salt water or fresh, nor from eating whatever grew in the country, nor from being out in the evening under the moon, nor the sun, which was not very burning at noon, and at midnight we were glad of a blanket. The land is shown to be healthy, from the natives living in houses on terraces, and having so much wood, and because so many old people were seen. We heard few claps of thunder, and had little rain. As the rivers flowed with clear water, it was understood that the rains were over.It is to be noted that we had not seen cactus nor sandy wastes, nor were the trees thorny, while many of the wild trees yielded good fruit. It is also to be noted that we did not see snow on the mountains, nor were there any mosquitos or ants in the land, which are very harmful, both in houses and fields. There were no poisonous lizards either in the woods or the cultivated ground, nor alligators in the rivers. Fish and flesh keep good for salting during two or more days. The land is so pleasant, so covered with trees; there are so many kinds of birds, that, owing to this and other good signs, the climate may be considered to be clement, and that it preserves its natural order. Of what happens in the mountains we cannot speak until we have been there.As no very large canoes were seen, with so large a population, and such fine trees, but only some small ones, and the mountain ranges being so high to W. and E., and tothe S., and the river Jordan being so large, with great trees torn up and brought down at its mouth, we came to the conclusion that the land must be extensive, and yielding abundantly; and that consequently the people were indolent, and have no need to seek other lands.I am able to say, with good reason, that a land more delightful, healthy and fertile; a site better supplied with quarries, timber, clay for tiles, bricks for founding a great city on the sea, with a port and a good river on a plain, with level lands near the hills, ridges, and ravines; nor better adapted to raise plants and all that Europe and the Indies produce, could not be found. No port could be found more agreeable, nor better supplied with all necessaries, without any drawbacks; nor with such advantages for dockyards in which to build ships, nor forests more abundant in suitable timber good for futtock timbers, houses, compass timbers, beams, planks, masts and yards. Nor is there any other land that could sustain so many strangers so pleasantly, if what has been written is well considered. Nor does any other land have what this land has close by, at hand, and in sight of its port; for quite near there are seven islands, with coasts extending for 200 leagues, apparently with the same advantages, and which have so many, and such good signs, that they may be sought for and found without shoals or other obstacles; while nearly half-way there are other known islands, with inhabitants and ports where anchorages may be found. I have never seen, anywhere where I have been, nor have heard of such advantages.I take the port of Acapulco as an example, being well known as such a principal city of Mexico. I say that if it is good as an anchorage, it is very bad owing to the frequency of fogs, and the want of a river and of ballast; also, from being unhealthy most of the year, and intolerable from the heat and the mosquitos, and other molestinginsects for the rest; also for its inconvenient site near stony and dry hills, and because provisions have to come from a distance, and soon turn bad; and finally, because it is dear, and ships have a bad time from the S.E.If we look from the Strait of Magellan along its two coasts, on one side to Cape Mendocino, on the other to Newfoundland, being 7,000 or 8,000 leagues of coast, it will be found that, out of the ports that I have visited, that of San Juan de Ulloa does not merit the name of a port, nor its town to be inhabited by people; that Panama and Puerto Bello have little and bad accommodation; and that Payta, Callao, Havanna, Carthagena (the two latter being famous), La Guayra and Santa Martha, and many others, including those of Chile and Brazil, according to what I have been told, are wanting in many necessary things. Not one will be found which has all the advantages possessed by the port and land of which I treat. Being in 15°, more good things may be expected than from places in 20°, 30°, and 40°, if things turn out as they promise. I also say that if there is nothing better than what I have seen, it is sufficient for a principal place that may be settled.If we look round the coast of Spain, so good a port will not be found; while its soil only produces thorns, ilexes, and broom, or at best arbutus and myrtles, and other poor fruits; and he who grows them for profit has nothing for his pains. April and May failing, the fruits fail.51He means betel. See p. 51.2Thistles; teazel.3The space between the end of the thumb and the end of the forefinger, both stretched out.4Coral cliffs.5Captain Cook visited the Island of Espiritu Santo in August, 1774, and on the 25th entered the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, discovered by Quiros. The wind being S., Cook was obliged to beat to windward. Next morning he was 7 or 8 miles from the head of the bay, which is terminated by a low beach, and behind that an extensive flat covered with trees, and bounded on each side by a ridge of mountains. The latitude was 15° 5′ S. Steering to within 2 miles of the head of the bay, he sent Mr. Cooper and Mr. Gilbert to sound and reconnoitre the coast. Mr. Cooper reported that he had landed on the beach near a fine river. They found 3 fathoms close to the beach, and 55 two cables’ lengths off. At the ship there was no bottom with 170 fathoms. When the boat returned, Captain Cook steered down the bay; andduring the night there were many fires on the W. side. In the morning of the 27th the ship was off the N.W. point of the bay, in latitude 14° 39′ 30″. The bay has 20 leagues of sea-coast—6 on the E. side, 2 at the head, and 12 on the W. side. The two points which form the entrance bear S. 53° E., and N. 53° W., from each other distant 10 leagues. An uncommonly luxuriant vegetation was everywhere to be seen. Captain Cook named the E. point of the bay “Cape Quiros,” which is in 14° 56′ S., and longitude 167° 13′ E. He named the N.W. point “Cape Cumberland.” It is in 14° 38′ 45″ S., and 166° 49′ 30″ E.—Cook’s Second Voyage, vol. ii, p. 89.The Editor has to thank Dr. Bolton G. Corney for the following very interesting account of his visit to the bay of San Felipe y Santiago in 1876:—“While on a voyage through the New Hebrides in the barqueProspector, of 260 tons, in August, 1876, I visited the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, now commonly known to shipmasters and otherhabituésof the Western Pacific as the ‘Big Bay.’“The island itself is, for short, spoken of as ‘Santo,’ not only by local white men, but also by many of the natives of it and the neighbouring ones, many of whom have been in Fiji or Queensland, and have picked up a little Fijian or English, as the case may be.“TheProspectorwas chartered by the Government of Fiji to return 476 of these people to their homes, in completion of contracts made with them a few years before, after performing a term of labour on the cotton and maize or cocoa-nut plantations of that group of islands, which, in 1874, became a British Crown colony. I was in charge of these returning emigrants, both medically and as representing the Government.“We passed from Malikolo to ‘Santo’, and worked up under the lee of its western side to Pusei and Tasimate, landing and recruiting emigrants as we went, and bartering for yams, and taro, and pigs by way of provisions. We rounded Cape Cumberland (the extreme N.W. point of the island), and worked into the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, making one long board to the E.N.E or N.E. by E. first, and then a long leg to the S.S.W., or thereabouts, which brought us close in with the land on the W. side of the bay. The land there was high and steep, and we had deep water until quite close into the beach. We then went about and made short tacks towards thefundusof the bay, where we had to lay the barque quite close in to the shore before getting anchorage. The water was blue and clear, and I do not recollect seeing any reefs or patches. The anchorage we made for was known to our recruiting agents, who called it the ‘river Jordan.’ I have a recollection of hearing that we got 9 fathoms with the lead just before letting go. The water was quite smooth, protected by the land at the head of the bay from the prevailing trade-wind; and the barque lay at a few boats’ lengths from the beach—about 300 yards W. from theembouchureof the river.“Our objects in calling there were (i) to land certain natives of the place whom we had on board, with their earnings; (ii) to recruit others if any suitable ones offered; and (iii) to obtain wood and fill water.“The beach, if my memory does not mislead me, was of black sand, which is not an uncommon thing in islands of volcanic origin, such as the New Hebrides: the distance from low water-mark to the edge of the timber and undergrowth which fringed it just above high-watermark, was only a few yards—perhaps 18 or 25—except near the mouth of the river, where it was more shelving, and extended out into a sandy foreshore or bank corresponding to the bar, the dry land being flat and of alluvial formation.“The river was about as large as the Thames at Isleworth, and flowed into the bay through a wide and far-reaching valley from S. to N. Its banks were low, and overgrown with reeds and scrub, and more than usually free from the customary mangrove trees and bushes. We did not explore it for far, because the friendly attitude of the natives could not be depended on to last, if they should get us into a ‘corner;’ but I pulled into the river in one of the recruiting boats for a short distance, and selected a place at which we filled our beakers and water-casks with water of good and fresh quality. This was perhaps less than half a mile from the mouth: the water was clear, and we could see the bottom in mid-stream; but the tide was at the last of the ebb, as we had chosen that time for the sake of getting the freshest water.“The natives brought us some dead logs to the beach, and others on bamboos to the vessel’s side, much of which the sailors and officers bartered for in the belief that it was sandal wood. It was in reality, I believe, the wood known in Fijian asSevnaorCevna, a kind ofPittosporum, which grows near the sea and has a strong sandal-wood odour. We also obtained the natives’ consent to our cutting some firewood, which was mostly wild dawa (Nephilium pinnatum), andmulomulo(Hiliuscus populnea), a littoral tree often used in Fiji to cut boats’ knees from.“We recruited four men to go with us to Fiji for three years. They were all adults of about 20 to 24 years, tall, black, and athletic young men, much above the average stature of New Hebrideans anywhere north of Eromango; and the other people of the locality appeared to me equally well-built, and some 5 ft. 10 in. or 5 ft. 11 in. in height. I cannot say whether they were the true inhabitants of the place, as we saw no village nor huts: they may have been mountaineers from the interior on an excursion to the coast, the mountaineers in these islands being as a rule blacker, and I think taller (with exceptions), than the coast people.“They had no canoes—at least I saw none—except two small catamarans; and the timber they took alongside the ship was floated off by means of bamboos.“It is doubtful whether mountaineers would have possession of catamarans on the coast, or trust themselves to bamboo rafts.“The west shore of this bay rises steeply from the water throughout most of its extent: but there are narrow strips of low-lying flat land between the beach and the mountain side at intervals, continuous with the small valleys, where creeks or torrents, of which there are several, have deposited silt and boulders, and rockydébrisfrom the higher slopes. But, in so far as I remember, they are all insignificant in extent, as the mountain ridge which forms this large promontory and ends abruptly in Cape Cumberland, rises, as already mentioned, steeply from the sea, which is deep all along and around it, with only here and there even a fringing shore reef. There is no barrier reef whatever, and consequently no lagoon.“As to size of the ‘Big Bay,’ I should say that the distance from Cape Cumberland to the ‘Jordan’ is something like 30 miles. The head of the bay runs from the river mouth in an easterly directionfor 3 or perhaps 4 miles, being mostly flat, low-lying alluvium, and then sweeps round towards the N.E. and N., being more elevated and undulating, and ends in Cape Quiros. This land, forming the eastern horn of the bay, does not project so far seaward as the western promontory, and is neither so high nor so steep, nor so heavily timbered as the latter, which is in fact a continuation of the backbone of the island, as far out as Cape Cumberland. The eastern horn extends northward perhaps 10 or 12 miles only.“The depth or extent of the bay itself, from its chord formed by an imaginary E. and W. line drawn through Cape Quiros, seemed to me about a dozen miles, and it is of similar width. It may, therefore, contain nearly 150 square miles in area.“The anchorage is well protected from the prevailing trade-wind, which blows from E.S.E., and is sheltered from that point round by S. to N.W. It is not exposed either from E.N.E. to E.S.E., but from N.W. to N. and N.E. it is unsafe.”
Chapter XXV.What passed between the Captain and the late Chief Pilot, and certain persons who spoke for and against; and how freedom was given to two slaves.Presently the former Chief Pilot prayed the Captain, with exaggerated supplication, to pardon him. The Captain enquired of him for what he asked pardon: for if he referred to things that affected him, he might be certain that, without having to ask for pardon, he would be pardoned; but if the pardon was asked for things connected with the royal service, he must tell him what was well known, that his treatment was reasonable and just. The Chief Pilot replied to this by swearing, with great demonstrations of innocence, that he had neither offended the King nor the Captain in anything, nor had desired to give offence. According to him, I am the person who ought to ask for pardon.Then a certain monk took the Captain aside, and said that the Chief Pilot was very obliged and grateful, and that from this time forward he would work marvels in all things; and that he was already doing so, as the monk could witness. The Captain answered that he left that to God, who knew the most secret intentions and could not be deceived; and that for himself, he looked to have treated the Chief Pilot in quite a different manner, having entrusted to him business which included good things and likewise his honour; and that although it was very early, his recent acts having shown that neither his word nor hisoffers were to be trusted, the fact of his having done so much good to anyone made it unprofitable that he should remain under punishment.Other persons had given evidence to the Captain against the Chief Pilot, and to all he answered that before God he could justify his acts in giving information, pardoning, or giving hope. When such means were of no avail, he held the rod in his hands, giving such blows as the culprit deserved; and that he had kept the Chief Pilot a prisoner, considering that to be a punishment which would be sufficient.Freedom given to two slaves.The Captain asked an officer named Alonso Alvarez de Castro, and Juan Bernardo de Fuentidueña, Pilot of theAlmiranta, that they would give—as they did give with very good will, by reason of pious motives and of the honour of the festival of that day—freedom to a slave which each of them possessed, for which purpose they drew up letters. This being done, we went to dine under the shade of great tufted trees near a clear running stream, thecorps de gardebeing alert and the sentries posted.Chapter XXVI.The election of a municipality and of magistrates, names of the persons elected, and what else happened until the crews embarked.Having had his siesta, the Captain assembled the Master of the Camp, Admiral, Royal Ensign, Sergeant-Major, and Captains, and said to them that, possession having been taken of that land, and the city having received the name of the New Jerusalem, with their concurrence, he would elect a municipality and such officers as is usual in a citythat was the capital of a province. As they expressed their concurrence, it was agreed among all that the elections should be made in the manner following:—MagistratesDonDiego Barrantes y Maldonado.Luis de Belmonte Bermudez.The LicentiateAlonzo Sanchez de Aranda.The CaptainManuel Noble.Francisco de Medina.Francisco de Mendoza y Sarmiento.Francisco de Zandategui.Antonio Francisco Camiña.Juan Ortiz.Alonso Perez de Medina.Juan Gallardo de Los Reyes.Pedro Carrasco.Gil Gonzalez.Secretary to the MunicipalitySantiago de Iriarte.Justices of the PeaceDonAlonzo de Sotomayor.CaptainRodrigo Mejia de la Chica.Chief ConstableCaptainGaspar de Gaza.Royal Officers:AccountantDonJuan de Iturbe.TreasurerDonJuan de la Peña.FactorJuan Bernardo de Fuentidueña.Registrar of MinesDonAntonio de Chaves.Store-keeper GeneralDonDiego de Prado y Tovar.1OverseerDonJuan de Espinosa y Zayas.1As soon as the elections were completed, all the officials took the oath, placing the right hand on a breviary, which the Father Commissary held; swearing that they would be loyal to His Majesty, in whose name the different offices had been given to them; and with this the proceedings terminated.Afterwards, the municipal officers formed in order, and accompanied by the rest of the people, went to the church. Within was the Father Commissary, who, pointing to theupraised cross, said, “Here, gentlemen, you have the Holy Cross, the semblance of that which, by the mercy of God, secured all our remedy and all our good;” but such were the tears he shed that he could not proceed.The Captain embarked, taking with him the same cross, the standard and banners; and, on arriving on board, he ordered that block on the yard-arm to be taken down, where it had been placed to punish crimes. For the Captain could not believe that persons with such an honourable destiny would do things the punishment of which would be the rope. The Captain ordered the Master of the Camp to take an armed party, and penetrate further into the interior than he had done before. They saw more and better farms and villages than before, and at one village they found the natives much occupied with their dances. When they saw us they began a flight to the mountains, leaving strewn about as they fled, bows, arrows, and darts. Our people found two roast pigs, and all their other food, which they ate at their ease. They carried off twelve live pigs, eight hens and chickens, and they saw a tree which astonished them, for its trunk could not have been encircled by fifteen or twenty men; so they returned to the ships.1Not in Leza’s list.Chapter XXVII.Relates how they sowed some land; the entry into a valley; capture of three boys, and what happened with the natives.The Captain, on the last day of Easter, taking with him such an escort as seemed necessary, went to an adjacent farm of the natives and sowed a quantity of maize, cotton, onions, melons, pumpkins, beans, pulse, and other seeds of our country; and returned to the ships laden with many roots and fish caught on the beach.Next day the Captain sent the Master of the Camp, with thirty soldiers, to reconnoitre a certain height, where they found a large and pleasant valley, with villages. When the inhabitants saw us coming, many assembled together in arms. We caught there three boys, the oldest being about seven years of age, and twenty pigs. With these we began a retreat, and the natives, with vigour and bravery, attacked our vanguard, centre, and rearguard, shooting many arrows. The chiefs came out to the encounter, and by their charges forced us to lose the ground we were gaining. Arrived at a certain pass, our people found the rocks occupied by many natives, who were animated by the desire to do as much harm as possible. Here was the hardest fight, their arrows and stones hurled down from the heights, causing great danger to our men. When the Captain heard the noise of the muskets and the shouting, he ordered three guns to be fired off, to frighten the natives and encourage our people; and the better to effect this at the port, those in the ships and on the beach were sent to support the retreating party in great haste. The forces having united, they came to the ships, saving the spoils, and all well.There was a certain person, who said in a loud voice: “Thirty pigs would be better eating than three boys.” The Captain heard this, and said, with much feeling, that he would rather have one of those children than the whole world besides. He made a speech on the subject, concluding with the following words: “I give the blame to my sins, and to those alone. And how much better would it be for the person who spoke such nonsense if he had given praises to God, who, in a way so strange and unthought-of, saved these three souls—a thing which we must believe to have been predestined?” For this speech there was some ill-feeling on the part of the man who had spoken, and more from his friends.The natives, on the following day, having other ambuscades,came to attack our watering party, who armed themselves in great haste. The natives shot off their arrows, and our people fired their muskets. The natives then fled, shouting as they went, leaving marks of the harm done them by the balls.It seems that the natives, in their rage that they could not revenge themselves on us, came to destroy the church. The Captain hurriedly sent off an armed party in the two boats to prevent them. When the natives saw this, they slowly retreated. Their object appeared to have been to draw our men away, to lead them to where many other natives were concealed; for we afterwards saw them go away, crossing the river of Salvador.Chapter XXVIII.How the launch went to examine the mouth of the great river, and what else happened with reference to excursions inland.The Master of the Camp was sent to examine the mouth of the river, which is in the middle of the bay, with the launch, a boat, and a party of men. He tried the depth of the river mouth, and found that there was no bottom, with the length of an oar and his own arm. He went further up in the boat, and the view of the river gave much pleasure to those who were with him, as well for its size and the clearness of the water, as for its gentle current and the beauty of the trees on its banks.The launch passed further up, and our people landed on the bank and went inland. They found a small village of four streets, and an open space at the most elevated part. All round there were many farms, surrounded by palings. Two spies were posted, who warned the natives, and they all fled. Our people found in their houses several kinds offish, roasted and wrapped in plantain leaves, and a quantity of raw mussel-shells in baskets, as well as fruits and flowers hung on poles. Near there was a burial-place. They also found a flute, and certain small things worked out of pieces of marble and jasper. As they heard drums and shells, and a great murmuring noise, understanding that it came from a large number of people, they retreated, followed by the natives, who did not dare to attack them. Finally, they got to the launch in peace, and returned to the ships.On many other occasions our people went to fish and to seek for things very necessary for the requirements of the ships, returning well content with the excellence of the land. Encounters with the natives were not wanting, and I believe they killed some natives, although they denied it to me.Chapter XXIX.Describes the festival ofCorpus Christi, and the procession they made.All the carpentering work was finished by the 20th of May. On that day the Captain gave orders to the Master of the Camp to go on shore with a hundred soldiers, and to collect things to adorn our church of Loreto, and to make streets round it, so that on the next day, which was that ofCorpus Christi, we might there celebrate its festival with all the force we could muster. In the night, the eve of the festival was celebrated on board.Before daybreak our people went on shore, and formed an escort for our six monks, who got everything ready that was required. When all was ready, the Captain was informed, who presently got into the boat, leaving two menon board each ship, and taking all the rest with him. On reaching the shore, they all jumped out and went to the church. Its door was to the north, bravely decorated with things of the country, the roof and part of the body of the church being covered with green branches; and there was a very curious altar under a canopy, with a service of silver. For an altar-piece there was a painted Christ crucified, on a great cloth, with four candles at the sides, and incense-sticks burning.Having said his prayers, the Captain went out to see the place. At the commencement there were three high triumphal arches, enlaced with palms, shoots, and flowers, while the ground was also strewn with flowers. The streets were formed with many trees, those within forming a cloister; and here were planted divers branches and herbs to look like a garden. At two angles, under two other arches, were placed two altars with their canopies, and the images of St. Peter and St. Paul; while its author, the Brother of the Order of John of God, on his knees at one side, was saying his prayers.The day was clear and serene, and as the sun rose over the crowns of the trees, its rays entering through the branches, the difference in the fruits of each plant was shown in great profusion. Here, too, could be heard the persistence with which the birds sang and chaunted; the leaves and branches were seen to move gently, and the whole place was agreeable, fresh, shady, with a gentle air moving, and the sea smooth.Presently returning to the church, two Masses were said. A third was said by the Father Commissary, and the procession was then ordered in the following manner:—A soldier went first, carrying in his hands the heavy cross of orange wood. Next came a lay brother, with another gilt cross from the sacristy, with the bag raised on a lance, and on each side two acolytes, with candlesticks and redcassocks, and all those in surplices. Then followed the three companies in order, each one bearing its banner in the centre, with its drums sounding a march. There was a very picturesque sword-dance by eleven sailor lads, dressed in red and green silk, with bells on their feet. They danced with much dexterity and grace to the sound of a guitar, which was played by a respected old sailor. This was followed by another dance by eight boys, all dressed like Indians in shirts and breeches of silk, coloured brown, blue, and grey, with garlands on their heads, and white palms in their hands. Bands of bells were round their ankles, and they danced with very quiet countenances, at the same time singing their canticles to the sound of tambourines and flutes played by two musicians.Then followed the royal standard, accompanied by the Master of the Camp, the Sergeant-Major, and the Captains. Then six Magistrates, each with a lighted torch in his hand. Then came the Father Commissary, whose pall of yellow silk, six yards long, was borne by three royal officers and three Magistrates. He carried in his hand a coffer of crimson velvet, with gilded nails, which contained the most blessed sacrament. Another lay brother incensed it. All the four priests marched joyfully, singing the hymn “Pangelingua.” The Captain carried the royal standard as far as the door, where he delivered it to the Ensign, whose place was behind the pall, with the two Justices of the Peace and the Chief Constable.When the Lord now came forth from the door, all the bells rang, and the people, who were looking on attentively, fell on their knees; the Ensigns lowered the banners three times, the drummers beat the drums for battle; the soldiers, who had the cords ready, fired off the muskets and arquebuses; the constables fired off the guns which were on shore for defending the port; and in the ships the artillery-men fired off the bombards and pieces, and those placed inthe launch and boats for the occasion. Once more, and once again, they were discharged. When the smoke cleared away, there were seen amongst the green branches so many plumes of feathers and sashes, so many pikes, halberds, javelins, bright sword-blades, spears, lances, and on the breasts so many crosses, and so much gold, and so many colours and silken dresses, that many eyes could not contain what sprung from the heart, and they shed tears of joy. With this the procession returned, the church being guarded by fourcorps de garde. The dancers kept dancing to keep up the festival, and remained within; and the Captain at the door said to them: “All the dresses you wear you can keep as your own, for they are from the royal treasury. I would that they were of the best and richest brocade.”As a finish a fourth Mass was said, that it might be heard by the sentries who were posted to keep a look-out for any approach of the natives, though they were far off on the beach and on the hills.This done, the Captain ordered the bells to be rung in honour of those, in Lima, who had said that they would come to that land when they could have a passage.The native who was taken from Taumaco, and was afterwards named Pedro, went about dressed in silk with a cross on his breast, and bow and arrows, so astonished and pleased at all he saw, and at his cross, that he looked about and showed it, putting his hand on it, and named it many times. It is a thing worthy of note that the cross elevated the mind, even of a barbarian who did not know its significance.Having given the souls such sweet and delicious food, friends and comrades divided themselves off to the places dedicated to hearths and pots, where, with tables spread under the shade of tall and spreading trees, they gave themselves up to feeding their bodies.During the subsequent siesta there were dances, music, and pleasant conversation; and he who said this was fortunate that day, as well as those who saw it all, for it was the first festival celebrated in honour of the most high Lord in these strange and unknown lands. As our force was small, and the natives numerous, it was considered by some to be an act of great audacity. I say that it was a great hit, and that it was done in full faith.There was one who said that this octave of Don Alonso de Ercilla seemed to foretell it, which one sincerely devoted to the expedition, by slight alterations, adapted to the present occasion as follows:—Araucana.1Behold where are hidden the lands,Scarce discerned by mortal ken,Those are regions still unknown,Never pressed by Christian men.This will ever be their fate,Want of knowledge keeps them there,Wrapt within a fleecy cloud,Until God shall lay them bare.Version of the friend of Quiros.2Behold how we have found these lands,Now clearly seen by mortal ken,Those are regions now made known,Pressed by feet of Christian men.Unknown no longer is their fate,Now full knowledge points them there,No longer hid in fleecy clouds,God His secrets now lays bare.The Captain sent some of the people on board again, and marched inland with the rest to the sound of drums.He saw what he had sown already sprouting, the farms, houses, fruit orchards; and having walked for a league, he returned as it was getting late. When he came on board, he said that as these natives were at war with us, and there was not a chance on our side, we would leave the port next day to visit the lands to windward. The Admiral asked, in his name and those of the crew, that another day might be allowed for the people to catch fish. It happened that they fished in a certain place whence they brought to the ship a quantity ofpargos, which are considered poisonous, like those in Havana and other ports. As many as ate them were attacked by nausea, vomiting, and feverish symptoms.3This unexpected and sudden evil caused much grief to all, and there were not wanting opinions, nor the conclusion of one who said, that to get much it will cost something, and that the sweet is mixed with the bitter.1“Araucana,” por Don Alonso de Ercilla. CantoXXVII, octava 52.2The “friend” is, of course, Belmonte Bermudez, the Secretary of Quiros.3Captain Cook relates that his people caught two reddish fish with hook and line in Port Sandwich, Malicolo Island (one of the New Hebrides), on July 24th, 1774. The fish were about the size of a large bream. Most of the officers, and some of the petty officers, dined on them the next day. The following night, every one who had eaten of them was seized with violent pains in the head and bones, attended with a scorching heat all over the skin, and numbness in the joints. The pigs and dogs who had partaken of the fish were also taken ill, and two died. It was a week or ten days before all the officers recovered. In mentioning this, Cook refers to the similar experience of Quiros and his crew, as described by Dalrymple, vol. i, p. 140.—Cook’s Second Voyage, vol. ii, p. 39.Chapter XXX.Gives some account of this bay, and of all that is contained in it, and in its port.This bay, to which the Captain gave the name of St. Philip and St. James, because it was discovered on their day, is 1,700 leagues from Lima, from Acapulco 1,300,from Manilla in the Philippines 1,100 leagues. Its entrance is to the N.W. in 15° S., and the port is in 15° 10′ S. The bay has a circuit of 20 leagues, at the entrance 4 leagues across. The variation of the compass is 7° N.E.The land which forms the bay runs directly N. on the E. side, with sloping heights and peopled valleys well covered with trees. This side ends at the mouth of the bay with a height rising to a peak, and the coast runs E. and then S.E., but we could not see how it ends.The other land to the W. runs nearly N.W., and to the point is 11 leagues in length, consisting of a range of hills of moderate height, which the sun bathes when it rises, and where there are patches without trees, covered with dried-up grass. Here are ravines and streams, some falling from the heights to the skirts of the hills, where many palm groves and villages were seen. From the point on this side the coast turns to the W.The front of the bay, which is to the S., is 3 leagues long, and forms a beach. In the middle there is a river which was judged to be the size of the Guadalquivir at Seville. At its mouth the depth is 2 and more fathoms; so that boats and even frigates could enter. It received the name of the “Jordan.” On its right is seen the Southern Cross in the heavens, which makes the spot noteworthy.To the eastward, at the corner of this bay, there is another moderate-sized river called “Salvador,” into which the boats entered at their pleasure to get water. The waters of both rivers are sweet, pleasant, and fresh. The one is distant from the other a league and a half, consisting of a beach of black gravel, with small heavy stones, excellent for ballast for a ship.Between the said two rivers is the port. The bottom is clean, consisting of black sand, and here a great number of ships would have room up to 40½brazas. It is not knownwhether there are worms. As the beach is not bare nor driven up, and the herbs are green near the water, it was assumed that it was not beaten by the seas; and as the trees are straight and their branches unbroken, it was judged that there are no great storms. The port was named “Vera Cruz,” because we anchored there on that day.In the whole bay we did not see a bank, rock, or reef; but it is so deep that there is no anchorage except at the above port. It is better to approach near the river Salvador, and there is another moderate port which is distant 2 leagues from this on the N. to S. coast.All the said beach is bordered by a dense mass of great trees, with paths leading from them to the shore. It seemed to serve as a wall, the better to carry on defensive or offensive operations against other natives coming to make war. All the rest is a level plain, with hills on either side. These on the W. side run southward, becoming more elevated and more massive as their distance increases. As for the plain, we have not seen where it ends. The earth is black, rich, and in large particles. It is cleared of wild trees to make room for fruit trees, crops, and gardens surrounded by railings. There are many houses scattered about; and wherever a view could be obtained, many fires and columns of smoke were discerned, witnesses of a large population.The natives generally seen here are corpulent, not quite black nor mulatto. Their hair is frizzled. They have good eyes. They cover their parts with certain cloths they weave. They are clean, fond of festivities and dancing to the sound of flute and drums made of a hollow piece of wood. They use shells also for musical instruments, and in their dances make great shouting at the advances, balances, and retreats. They were not known to use the herb.1Their arms are heavy wooden clubs, and bows of the same, arrows of reed with wooden points, hardened in the fire, darts with pieces of bone enclosed.Their interments are covered. We saw some enclosed with their oratories and figures, to which they make offerings. It is, to all appearance, a people courageous and sociable, but without care for the ills of their neighbours; for they saw some fighting with us without coming to help them.The houses are of wood, covered with palm leaves, with two sloping sides to the roof, and with a certain kind of outhouse, where they keep their food. All their things are kept very clean. They also have flower-pots with small trees of an unknown kind. The leaves are very soft, and of a yellow-reddish colour.The bread they use is mainly of roots, whose young shoots climb on poles, which are put near them for that purpose. The rind is grey, the pulp murrey colour, yellow, or reddish; some much larger than others. There are some a yard and a-half in thickness, also two kinds: one almost round, and the size of two fists, more or less. Their taste resembles the potatoes of Peru. The inside of the other root is white, its form and size that of a cob of maize when stripped. All three kinds have a pulp without fibres, loose, soft, and pleasant to the taste. These roots are bread made without trouble, there being nothing to do but to take them out of the earth, and eat them, roast or boiled. They are very good cooked in pots. Our people ate a great deal; and, being of a pleasant taste and satisfying, they left off the ship’s biscuit for them. These roots last so long without getting bad, that on reaching Acapulco those that were left were quite good.Their meat consists of a great quantity of tame pigs, some reddish, others black, white, or speckled. We saw tusks 1¼palmosin length, and a porker was killed weighing200 lbs. The natives roast them on hearths, wrapped up in plantain leaves. It is a clean way, which gives the meat a good colour, and none of the substance is lost.There are many fowls like those of Europe. They use capons. There are many wild pigeons, doves, ducks, and birds like partridges, with very fine plumage. One was found in a lasso, with which the natives catch them. There are many swallows; we saw a macaw and flocks of paroquets; and we heard, when on board at early dawn, a sweet harmony from thousands of different birds, apparently buntings, blackbirds, nightingales, and others. The mornings and afternoons were enjoyable from the pleasant odours emitted from trees and many kinds of flowers, together with the sweet basil. A bee was also seen, and harvest flies were heard buzzing.The fish are skate, sole, pollack, red mullet, shad, eels,pargos, sardines, and others; for which natives fish with a three-pronged dart, with thread of a fibrous plant, with nets in a bow shape, and at night with a light. Our people fished with hooks and with nets, for the most part. In swampy parts of the beach shrimps and mussels were seen.Their fruits are large, and they have many cocoa-nuts, so that they were not understood to put much store by them. But from these palms they make wine, vinegar, honey, and whey to give to the sick. They eat the small palms raw and cooked. The cocoa-nuts, when green, serve ascardos2and for cream. Ripe, they are nourishment as food and drink by land and sea. When old, they yield oil for lighting, and a curative balsam. The shells are good for cups and bottles. The fibres furnish tow for caulking a ship; and to make cables, ropes, and ordinary string, the best for an arquebus. Of the leaves they makesails for their canoes, and fine mats, with which they cover their houses, built with trunks of the trees, which are straight and high. From the wood they get planks, also lances and other weapons, and many things for ordinary use, all very durable. From the grease they get thegalagala, used instead of tar. In fine, it is a tree without necessity for cultivation, and bearing all the year round.There are three kinds of plantains: one, the best I have seen, pleasant to smell, tender and sweet.There are many “obos,” which is a fruit nearly the size and taste of a peach, on whose leaves may be reared silk-worms, as is done in other parts.There is a great abundance of a fruit which grows on tall trees, with large serrated leaves. They are the size of ordinary melons, their shape nearly round, the skin delicate, the surface crossed into four parts, the pulp between yellow and white, with seven or eight pips. When ripe it is very sweet; when green, it is eaten boiled or roasted. It is much eaten, and is found wholesome. The natives use it as ordinary food.There are two kinds of almonds: one with as much kernel as four nuts lengthways, the other in the shape of a triangle. Its kernel is larger than three large ones of ours and of an excellent taste.There is a kind of nut, hard outside, and the inside in one piece without division, almost like a chestnut: the taste nearly the same as the nuts of Europe.Oranges grow without being planted. With some the rind is very thick, with others delicate. The natives do not eat them. Some of our people said there were lemons.There are many, and very large, sweet canes: red and green, very long, with jointed parts. Sugar might be made from them.Many and large trees, bearing a kind of nut, grew on the forest-covered slopes near the port. They brought thesenuts on board as green as they were on the branches. Their leaves are not all green on one side, and on the other they turn to yellowish grey. Their length is ajeme,3more or less, and in the widest part three fingers. The nut contains two skins, between which grows what they call mace like a small net. Its colour is orange. The nut is rather large, and there are those who say that this is the best kind. The natives make no use of it, and our people used to eat it green, and put it into the pots, and used the mace for saffron.On the beach a fruit was found like a pineapple. Pedro was asked if it was eaten, and he replied that only the bark was eaten of the tree which yielded that fruit.There were other fruits, like figs, filberts, andalbaricoques, which were eaten. Others were seen, but it was not known what fruits they were, nor what others grew in that land. To give a complete account of them and of other things, it is necessary to be a year in the country, and to travel over much ground.As regards vegetables, I only knew of amaranth, purslane, and calabashes.The natives make from a black clay some very well-worked pots, large and small, as well as pans and porringers in the shape of small boats. It was supposed that they made some beverage, because in the pots and in cavities were found certain sour fruits.It appeared to us that we saw there quarries of good marble;4I say good, because several things were seen that were made of it and of jasper. There were also seen ebony and large mother-o’-pearl shells; also some moderate-sized looms. In one house a heap of heavy black stones was seen, which afterwards proved to be metal from whencesilver could be extracted, as will be seen further on. Two of our people said they had seen the footprints of a large animal.The climate appeared to be very healthy, both from the vigour and size of the natives, as because none of our men became ill all the time we were there, nor felt any discomfort, nor tired from work. They had not to keep from drinking while fasting, nor at unusual times, nor when sweating, nor from being wet with salt water or fresh, nor from eating whatever grew in the country, nor from being out in the evening under the moon, nor the sun, which was not very burning at noon, and at midnight we were glad of a blanket. The land is shown to be healthy, from the natives living in houses on terraces, and having so much wood, and because so many old people were seen. We heard few claps of thunder, and had little rain. As the rivers flowed with clear water, it was understood that the rains were over.It is to be noted that we had not seen cactus nor sandy wastes, nor were the trees thorny, while many of the wild trees yielded good fruit. It is also to be noted that we did not see snow on the mountains, nor were there any mosquitos or ants in the land, which are very harmful, both in houses and fields. There were no poisonous lizards either in the woods or the cultivated ground, nor alligators in the rivers. Fish and flesh keep good for salting during two or more days. The land is so pleasant, so covered with trees; there are so many kinds of birds, that, owing to this and other good signs, the climate may be considered to be clement, and that it preserves its natural order. Of what happens in the mountains we cannot speak until we have been there.As no very large canoes were seen, with so large a population, and such fine trees, but only some small ones, and the mountain ranges being so high to W. and E., and tothe S., and the river Jordan being so large, with great trees torn up and brought down at its mouth, we came to the conclusion that the land must be extensive, and yielding abundantly; and that consequently the people were indolent, and have no need to seek other lands.I am able to say, with good reason, that a land more delightful, healthy and fertile; a site better supplied with quarries, timber, clay for tiles, bricks for founding a great city on the sea, with a port and a good river on a plain, with level lands near the hills, ridges, and ravines; nor better adapted to raise plants and all that Europe and the Indies produce, could not be found. No port could be found more agreeable, nor better supplied with all necessaries, without any drawbacks; nor with such advantages for dockyards in which to build ships, nor forests more abundant in suitable timber good for futtock timbers, houses, compass timbers, beams, planks, masts and yards. Nor is there any other land that could sustain so many strangers so pleasantly, if what has been written is well considered. Nor does any other land have what this land has close by, at hand, and in sight of its port; for quite near there are seven islands, with coasts extending for 200 leagues, apparently with the same advantages, and which have so many, and such good signs, that they may be sought for and found without shoals or other obstacles; while nearly half-way there are other known islands, with inhabitants and ports where anchorages may be found. I have never seen, anywhere where I have been, nor have heard of such advantages.I take the port of Acapulco as an example, being well known as such a principal city of Mexico. I say that if it is good as an anchorage, it is very bad owing to the frequency of fogs, and the want of a river and of ballast; also, from being unhealthy most of the year, and intolerable from the heat and the mosquitos, and other molestinginsects for the rest; also for its inconvenient site near stony and dry hills, and because provisions have to come from a distance, and soon turn bad; and finally, because it is dear, and ships have a bad time from the S.E.If we look from the Strait of Magellan along its two coasts, on one side to Cape Mendocino, on the other to Newfoundland, being 7,000 or 8,000 leagues of coast, it will be found that, out of the ports that I have visited, that of San Juan de Ulloa does not merit the name of a port, nor its town to be inhabited by people; that Panama and Puerto Bello have little and bad accommodation; and that Payta, Callao, Havanna, Carthagena (the two latter being famous), La Guayra and Santa Martha, and many others, including those of Chile and Brazil, according to what I have been told, are wanting in many necessary things. Not one will be found which has all the advantages possessed by the port and land of which I treat. Being in 15°, more good things may be expected than from places in 20°, 30°, and 40°, if things turn out as they promise. I also say that if there is nothing better than what I have seen, it is sufficient for a principal place that may be settled.If we look round the coast of Spain, so good a port will not be found; while its soil only produces thorns, ilexes, and broom, or at best arbutus and myrtles, and other poor fruits; and he who grows them for profit has nothing for his pains. April and May failing, the fruits fail.51He means betel. See p. 51.2Thistles; teazel.3The space between the end of the thumb and the end of the forefinger, both stretched out.4Coral cliffs.5Captain Cook visited the Island of Espiritu Santo in August, 1774, and on the 25th entered the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, discovered by Quiros. The wind being S., Cook was obliged to beat to windward. Next morning he was 7 or 8 miles from the head of the bay, which is terminated by a low beach, and behind that an extensive flat covered with trees, and bounded on each side by a ridge of mountains. The latitude was 15° 5′ S. Steering to within 2 miles of the head of the bay, he sent Mr. Cooper and Mr. Gilbert to sound and reconnoitre the coast. Mr. Cooper reported that he had landed on the beach near a fine river. They found 3 fathoms close to the beach, and 55 two cables’ lengths off. At the ship there was no bottom with 170 fathoms. When the boat returned, Captain Cook steered down the bay; andduring the night there were many fires on the W. side. In the morning of the 27th the ship was off the N.W. point of the bay, in latitude 14° 39′ 30″. The bay has 20 leagues of sea-coast—6 on the E. side, 2 at the head, and 12 on the W. side. The two points which form the entrance bear S. 53° E., and N. 53° W., from each other distant 10 leagues. An uncommonly luxuriant vegetation was everywhere to be seen. Captain Cook named the E. point of the bay “Cape Quiros,” which is in 14° 56′ S., and longitude 167° 13′ E. He named the N.W. point “Cape Cumberland.” It is in 14° 38′ 45″ S., and 166° 49′ 30″ E.—Cook’s Second Voyage, vol. ii, p. 89.The Editor has to thank Dr. Bolton G. Corney for the following very interesting account of his visit to the bay of San Felipe y Santiago in 1876:—“While on a voyage through the New Hebrides in the barqueProspector, of 260 tons, in August, 1876, I visited the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, now commonly known to shipmasters and otherhabituésof the Western Pacific as the ‘Big Bay.’“The island itself is, for short, spoken of as ‘Santo,’ not only by local white men, but also by many of the natives of it and the neighbouring ones, many of whom have been in Fiji or Queensland, and have picked up a little Fijian or English, as the case may be.“TheProspectorwas chartered by the Government of Fiji to return 476 of these people to their homes, in completion of contracts made with them a few years before, after performing a term of labour on the cotton and maize or cocoa-nut plantations of that group of islands, which, in 1874, became a British Crown colony. I was in charge of these returning emigrants, both medically and as representing the Government.“We passed from Malikolo to ‘Santo’, and worked up under the lee of its western side to Pusei and Tasimate, landing and recruiting emigrants as we went, and bartering for yams, and taro, and pigs by way of provisions. We rounded Cape Cumberland (the extreme N.W. point of the island), and worked into the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, making one long board to the E.N.E or N.E. by E. first, and then a long leg to the S.S.W., or thereabouts, which brought us close in with the land on the W. side of the bay. The land there was high and steep, and we had deep water until quite close into the beach. We then went about and made short tacks towards thefundusof the bay, where we had to lay the barque quite close in to the shore before getting anchorage. The water was blue and clear, and I do not recollect seeing any reefs or patches. The anchorage we made for was known to our recruiting agents, who called it the ‘river Jordan.’ I have a recollection of hearing that we got 9 fathoms with the lead just before letting go. The water was quite smooth, protected by the land at the head of the bay from the prevailing trade-wind; and the barque lay at a few boats’ lengths from the beach—about 300 yards W. from theembouchureof the river.“Our objects in calling there were (i) to land certain natives of the place whom we had on board, with their earnings; (ii) to recruit others if any suitable ones offered; and (iii) to obtain wood and fill water.“The beach, if my memory does not mislead me, was of black sand, which is not an uncommon thing in islands of volcanic origin, such as the New Hebrides: the distance from low water-mark to the edge of the timber and undergrowth which fringed it just above high-watermark, was only a few yards—perhaps 18 or 25—except near the mouth of the river, where it was more shelving, and extended out into a sandy foreshore or bank corresponding to the bar, the dry land being flat and of alluvial formation.“The river was about as large as the Thames at Isleworth, and flowed into the bay through a wide and far-reaching valley from S. to N. Its banks were low, and overgrown with reeds and scrub, and more than usually free from the customary mangrove trees and bushes. We did not explore it for far, because the friendly attitude of the natives could not be depended on to last, if they should get us into a ‘corner;’ but I pulled into the river in one of the recruiting boats for a short distance, and selected a place at which we filled our beakers and water-casks with water of good and fresh quality. This was perhaps less than half a mile from the mouth: the water was clear, and we could see the bottom in mid-stream; but the tide was at the last of the ebb, as we had chosen that time for the sake of getting the freshest water.“The natives brought us some dead logs to the beach, and others on bamboos to the vessel’s side, much of which the sailors and officers bartered for in the belief that it was sandal wood. It was in reality, I believe, the wood known in Fijian asSevnaorCevna, a kind ofPittosporum, which grows near the sea and has a strong sandal-wood odour. We also obtained the natives’ consent to our cutting some firewood, which was mostly wild dawa (Nephilium pinnatum), andmulomulo(Hiliuscus populnea), a littoral tree often used in Fiji to cut boats’ knees from.“We recruited four men to go with us to Fiji for three years. They were all adults of about 20 to 24 years, tall, black, and athletic young men, much above the average stature of New Hebrideans anywhere north of Eromango; and the other people of the locality appeared to me equally well-built, and some 5 ft. 10 in. or 5 ft. 11 in. in height. I cannot say whether they were the true inhabitants of the place, as we saw no village nor huts: they may have been mountaineers from the interior on an excursion to the coast, the mountaineers in these islands being as a rule blacker, and I think taller (with exceptions), than the coast people.“They had no canoes—at least I saw none—except two small catamarans; and the timber they took alongside the ship was floated off by means of bamboos.“It is doubtful whether mountaineers would have possession of catamarans on the coast, or trust themselves to bamboo rafts.“The west shore of this bay rises steeply from the water throughout most of its extent: but there are narrow strips of low-lying flat land between the beach and the mountain side at intervals, continuous with the small valleys, where creeks or torrents, of which there are several, have deposited silt and boulders, and rockydébrisfrom the higher slopes. But, in so far as I remember, they are all insignificant in extent, as the mountain ridge which forms this large promontory and ends abruptly in Cape Cumberland, rises, as already mentioned, steeply from the sea, which is deep all along and around it, with only here and there even a fringing shore reef. There is no barrier reef whatever, and consequently no lagoon.“As to size of the ‘Big Bay,’ I should say that the distance from Cape Cumberland to the ‘Jordan’ is something like 30 miles. The head of the bay runs from the river mouth in an easterly directionfor 3 or perhaps 4 miles, being mostly flat, low-lying alluvium, and then sweeps round towards the N.E. and N., being more elevated and undulating, and ends in Cape Quiros. This land, forming the eastern horn of the bay, does not project so far seaward as the western promontory, and is neither so high nor so steep, nor so heavily timbered as the latter, which is in fact a continuation of the backbone of the island, as far out as Cape Cumberland. The eastern horn extends northward perhaps 10 or 12 miles only.“The depth or extent of the bay itself, from its chord formed by an imaginary E. and W. line drawn through Cape Quiros, seemed to me about a dozen miles, and it is of similar width. It may, therefore, contain nearly 150 square miles in area.“The anchorage is well protected from the prevailing trade-wind, which blows from E.S.E., and is sheltered from that point round by S. to N.W. It is not exposed either from E.N.E. to E.S.E., but from N.W. to N. and N.E. it is unsafe.”
Chapter XXV.What passed between the Captain and the late Chief Pilot, and certain persons who spoke for and against; and how freedom was given to two slaves.Presently the former Chief Pilot prayed the Captain, with exaggerated supplication, to pardon him. The Captain enquired of him for what he asked pardon: for if he referred to things that affected him, he might be certain that, without having to ask for pardon, he would be pardoned; but if the pardon was asked for things connected with the royal service, he must tell him what was well known, that his treatment was reasonable and just. The Chief Pilot replied to this by swearing, with great demonstrations of innocence, that he had neither offended the King nor the Captain in anything, nor had desired to give offence. According to him, I am the person who ought to ask for pardon.Then a certain monk took the Captain aside, and said that the Chief Pilot was very obliged and grateful, and that from this time forward he would work marvels in all things; and that he was already doing so, as the monk could witness. The Captain answered that he left that to God, who knew the most secret intentions and could not be deceived; and that for himself, he looked to have treated the Chief Pilot in quite a different manner, having entrusted to him business which included good things and likewise his honour; and that although it was very early, his recent acts having shown that neither his word nor hisoffers were to be trusted, the fact of his having done so much good to anyone made it unprofitable that he should remain under punishment.Other persons had given evidence to the Captain against the Chief Pilot, and to all he answered that before God he could justify his acts in giving information, pardoning, or giving hope. When such means were of no avail, he held the rod in his hands, giving such blows as the culprit deserved; and that he had kept the Chief Pilot a prisoner, considering that to be a punishment which would be sufficient.Freedom given to two slaves.The Captain asked an officer named Alonso Alvarez de Castro, and Juan Bernardo de Fuentidueña, Pilot of theAlmiranta, that they would give—as they did give with very good will, by reason of pious motives and of the honour of the festival of that day—freedom to a slave which each of them possessed, for which purpose they drew up letters. This being done, we went to dine under the shade of great tufted trees near a clear running stream, thecorps de gardebeing alert and the sentries posted.
Chapter XXV.What passed between the Captain and the late Chief Pilot, and certain persons who spoke for and against; and how freedom was given to two slaves.
What passed between the Captain and the late Chief Pilot, and certain persons who spoke for and against; and how freedom was given to two slaves.
What passed between the Captain and the late Chief Pilot, and certain persons who spoke for and against; and how freedom was given to two slaves.
Presently the former Chief Pilot prayed the Captain, with exaggerated supplication, to pardon him. The Captain enquired of him for what he asked pardon: for if he referred to things that affected him, he might be certain that, without having to ask for pardon, he would be pardoned; but if the pardon was asked for things connected with the royal service, he must tell him what was well known, that his treatment was reasonable and just. The Chief Pilot replied to this by swearing, with great demonstrations of innocence, that he had neither offended the King nor the Captain in anything, nor had desired to give offence. According to him, I am the person who ought to ask for pardon.Then a certain monk took the Captain aside, and said that the Chief Pilot was very obliged and grateful, and that from this time forward he would work marvels in all things; and that he was already doing so, as the monk could witness. The Captain answered that he left that to God, who knew the most secret intentions and could not be deceived; and that for himself, he looked to have treated the Chief Pilot in quite a different manner, having entrusted to him business which included good things and likewise his honour; and that although it was very early, his recent acts having shown that neither his word nor hisoffers were to be trusted, the fact of his having done so much good to anyone made it unprofitable that he should remain under punishment.Other persons had given evidence to the Captain against the Chief Pilot, and to all he answered that before God he could justify his acts in giving information, pardoning, or giving hope. When such means were of no avail, he held the rod in his hands, giving such blows as the culprit deserved; and that he had kept the Chief Pilot a prisoner, considering that to be a punishment which would be sufficient.Freedom given to two slaves.The Captain asked an officer named Alonso Alvarez de Castro, and Juan Bernardo de Fuentidueña, Pilot of theAlmiranta, that they would give—as they did give with very good will, by reason of pious motives and of the honour of the festival of that day—freedom to a slave which each of them possessed, for which purpose they drew up letters. This being done, we went to dine under the shade of great tufted trees near a clear running stream, thecorps de gardebeing alert and the sentries posted.
Presently the former Chief Pilot prayed the Captain, with exaggerated supplication, to pardon him. The Captain enquired of him for what he asked pardon: for if he referred to things that affected him, he might be certain that, without having to ask for pardon, he would be pardoned; but if the pardon was asked for things connected with the royal service, he must tell him what was well known, that his treatment was reasonable and just. The Chief Pilot replied to this by swearing, with great demonstrations of innocence, that he had neither offended the King nor the Captain in anything, nor had desired to give offence. According to him, I am the person who ought to ask for pardon.
Then a certain monk took the Captain aside, and said that the Chief Pilot was very obliged and grateful, and that from this time forward he would work marvels in all things; and that he was already doing so, as the monk could witness. The Captain answered that he left that to God, who knew the most secret intentions and could not be deceived; and that for himself, he looked to have treated the Chief Pilot in quite a different manner, having entrusted to him business which included good things and likewise his honour; and that although it was very early, his recent acts having shown that neither his word nor hisoffers were to be trusted, the fact of his having done so much good to anyone made it unprofitable that he should remain under punishment.
Other persons had given evidence to the Captain against the Chief Pilot, and to all he answered that before God he could justify his acts in giving information, pardoning, or giving hope. When such means were of no avail, he held the rod in his hands, giving such blows as the culprit deserved; and that he had kept the Chief Pilot a prisoner, considering that to be a punishment which would be sufficient.
Freedom given to two slaves.
The Captain asked an officer named Alonso Alvarez de Castro, and Juan Bernardo de Fuentidueña, Pilot of theAlmiranta, that they would give—as they did give with very good will, by reason of pious motives and of the honour of the festival of that day—freedom to a slave which each of them possessed, for which purpose they drew up letters. This being done, we went to dine under the shade of great tufted trees near a clear running stream, thecorps de gardebeing alert and the sentries posted.
Chapter XXVI.The election of a municipality and of magistrates, names of the persons elected, and what else happened until the crews embarked.Having had his siesta, the Captain assembled the Master of the Camp, Admiral, Royal Ensign, Sergeant-Major, and Captains, and said to them that, possession having been taken of that land, and the city having received the name of the New Jerusalem, with their concurrence, he would elect a municipality and such officers as is usual in a citythat was the capital of a province. As they expressed their concurrence, it was agreed among all that the elections should be made in the manner following:—MagistratesDonDiego Barrantes y Maldonado.Luis de Belmonte Bermudez.The LicentiateAlonzo Sanchez de Aranda.The CaptainManuel Noble.Francisco de Medina.Francisco de Mendoza y Sarmiento.Francisco de Zandategui.Antonio Francisco Camiña.Juan Ortiz.Alonso Perez de Medina.Juan Gallardo de Los Reyes.Pedro Carrasco.Gil Gonzalez.Secretary to the MunicipalitySantiago de Iriarte.Justices of the PeaceDonAlonzo de Sotomayor.CaptainRodrigo Mejia de la Chica.Chief ConstableCaptainGaspar de Gaza.Royal Officers:AccountantDonJuan de Iturbe.TreasurerDonJuan de la Peña.FactorJuan Bernardo de Fuentidueña.Registrar of MinesDonAntonio de Chaves.Store-keeper GeneralDonDiego de Prado y Tovar.1OverseerDonJuan de Espinosa y Zayas.1As soon as the elections were completed, all the officials took the oath, placing the right hand on a breviary, which the Father Commissary held; swearing that they would be loyal to His Majesty, in whose name the different offices had been given to them; and with this the proceedings terminated.Afterwards, the municipal officers formed in order, and accompanied by the rest of the people, went to the church. Within was the Father Commissary, who, pointing to theupraised cross, said, “Here, gentlemen, you have the Holy Cross, the semblance of that which, by the mercy of God, secured all our remedy and all our good;” but such were the tears he shed that he could not proceed.The Captain embarked, taking with him the same cross, the standard and banners; and, on arriving on board, he ordered that block on the yard-arm to be taken down, where it had been placed to punish crimes. For the Captain could not believe that persons with such an honourable destiny would do things the punishment of which would be the rope. The Captain ordered the Master of the Camp to take an armed party, and penetrate further into the interior than he had done before. They saw more and better farms and villages than before, and at one village they found the natives much occupied with their dances. When they saw us they began a flight to the mountains, leaving strewn about as they fled, bows, arrows, and darts. Our people found two roast pigs, and all their other food, which they ate at their ease. They carried off twelve live pigs, eight hens and chickens, and they saw a tree which astonished them, for its trunk could not have been encircled by fifteen or twenty men; so they returned to the ships.1Not in Leza’s list.
Chapter XXVI.The election of a municipality and of magistrates, names of the persons elected, and what else happened until the crews embarked.
The election of a municipality and of magistrates, names of the persons elected, and what else happened until the crews embarked.
The election of a municipality and of magistrates, names of the persons elected, and what else happened until the crews embarked.
Having had his siesta, the Captain assembled the Master of the Camp, Admiral, Royal Ensign, Sergeant-Major, and Captains, and said to them that, possession having been taken of that land, and the city having received the name of the New Jerusalem, with their concurrence, he would elect a municipality and such officers as is usual in a citythat was the capital of a province. As they expressed their concurrence, it was agreed among all that the elections should be made in the manner following:—MagistratesDonDiego Barrantes y Maldonado.Luis de Belmonte Bermudez.The LicentiateAlonzo Sanchez de Aranda.The CaptainManuel Noble.Francisco de Medina.Francisco de Mendoza y Sarmiento.Francisco de Zandategui.Antonio Francisco Camiña.Juan Ortiz.Alonso Perez de Medina.Juan Gallardo de Los Reyes.Pedro Carrasco.Gil Gonzalez.Secretary to the MunicipalitySantiago de Iriarte.Justices of the PeaceDonAlonzo de Sotomayor.CaptainRodrigo Mejia de la Chica.Chief ConstableCaptainGaspar de Gaza.Royal Officers:AccountantDonJuan de Iturbe.TreasurerDonJuan de la Peña.FactorJuan Bernardo de Fuentidueña.Registrar of MinesDonAntonio de Chaves.Store-keeper GeneralDonDiego de Prado y Tovar.1OverseerDonJuan de Espinosa y Zayas.1As soon as the elections were completed, all the officials took the oath, placing the right hand on a breviary, which the Father Commissary held; swearing that they would be loyal to His Majesty, in whose name the different offices had been given to them; and with this the proceedings terminated.Afterwards, the municipal officers formed in order, and accompanied by the rest of the people, went to the church. Within was the Father Commissary, who, pointing to theupraised cross, said, “Here, gentlemen, you have the Holy Cross, the semblance of that which, by the mercy of God, secured all our remedy and all our good;” but such were the tears he shed that he could not proceed.The Captain embarked, taking with him the same cross, the standard and banners; and, on arriving on board, he ordered that block on the yard-arm to be taken down, where it had been placed to punish crimes. For the Captain could not believe that persons with such an honourable destiny would do things the punishment of which would be the rope. The Captain ordered the Master of the Camp to take an armed party, and penetrate further into the interior than he had done before. They saw more and better farms and villages than before, and at one village they found the natives much occupied with their dances. When they saw us they began a flight to the mountains, leaving strewn about as they fled, bows, arrows, and darts. Our people found two roast pigs, and all their other food, which they ate at their ease. They carried off twelve live pigs, eight hens and chickens, and they saw a tree which astonished them, for its trunk could not have been encircled by fifteen or twenty men; so they returned to the ships.
Having had his siesta, the Captain assembled the Master of the Camp, Admiral, Royal Ensign, Sergeant-Major, and Captains, and said to them that, possession having been taken of that land, and the city having received the name of the New Jerusalem, with their concurrence, he would elect a municipality and such officers as is usual in a citythat was the capital of a province. As they expressed their concurrence, it was agreed among all that the elections should be made in the manner following:—
MagistratesDonDiego Barrantes y Maldonado.Luis de Belmonte Bermudez.The LicentiateAlonzo Sanchez de Aranda.The CaptainManuel Noble.Francisco de Medina.Francisco de Mendoza y Sarmiento.Francisco de Zandategui.Antonio Francisco Camiña.Juan Ortiz.Alonso Perez de Medina.Juan Gallardo de Los Reyes.Pedro Carrasco.Gil Gonzalez.Secretary to the MunicipalitySantiago de Iriarte.Justices of the PeaceDonAlonzo de Sotomayor.CaptainRodrigo Mejia de la Chica.Chief ConstableCaptainGaspar de Gaza.Royal Officers:AccountantDonJuan de Iturbe.TreasurerDonJuan de la Peña.FactorJuan Bernardo de Fuentidueña.Registrar of MinesDonAntonio de Chaves.Store-keeper GeneralDonDiego de Prado y Tovar.1OverseerDonJuan de Espinosa y Zayas.1
As soon as the elections were completed, all the officials took the oath, placing the right hand on a breviary, which the Father Commissary held; swearing that they would be loyal to His Majesty, in whose name the different offices had been given to them; and with this the proceedings terminated.
Afterwards, the municipal officers formed in order, and accompanied by the rest of the people, went to the church. Within was the Father Commissary, who, pointing to theupraised cross, said, “Here, gentlemen, you have the Holy Cross, the semblance of that which, by the mercy of God, secured all our remedy and all our good;” but such were the tears he shed that he could not proceed.
The Captain embarked, taking with him the same cross, the standard and banners; and, on arriving on board, he ordered that block on the yard-arm to be taken down, where it had been placed to punish crimes. For the Captain could not believe that persons with such an honourable destiny would do things the punishment of which would be the rope. The Captain ordered the Master of the Camp to take an armed party, and penetrate further into the interior than he had done before. They saw more and better farms and villages than before, and at one village they found the natives much occupied with their dances. When they saw us they began a flight to the mountains, leaving strewn about as they fled, bows, arrows, and darts. Our people found two roast pigs, and all their other food, which they ate at their ease. They carried off twelve live pigs, eight hens and chickens, and they saw a tree which astonished them, for its trunk could not have been encircled by fifteen or twenty men; so they returned to the ships.
1Not in Leza’s list.
1Not in Leza’s list.
Chapter XXVII.Relates how they sowed some land; the entry into a valley; capture of three boys, and what happened with the natives.The Captain, on the last day of Easter, taking with him such an escort as seemed necessary, went to an adjacent farm of the natives and sowed a quantity of maize, cotton, onions, melons, pumpkins, beans, pulse, and other seeds of our country; and returned to the ships laden with many roots and fish caught on the beach.Next day the Captain sent the Master of the Camp, with thirty soldiers, to reconnoitre a certain height, where they found a large and pleasant valley, with villages. When the inhabitants saw us coming, many assembled together in arms. We caught there three boys, the oldest being about seven years of age, and twenty pigs. With these we began a retreat, and the natives, with vigour and bravery, attacked our vanguard, centre, and rearguard, shooting many arrows. The chiefs came out to the encounter, and by their charges forced us to lose the ground we were gaining. Arrived at a certain pass, our people found the rocks occupied by many natives, who were animated by the desire to do as much harm as possible. Here was the hardest fight, their arrows and stones hurled down from the heights, causing great danger to our men. When the Captain heard the noise of the muskets and the shouting, he ordered three guns to be fired off, to frighten the natives and encourage our people; and the better to effect this at the port, those in the ships and on the beach were sent to support the retreating party in great haste. The forces having united, they came to the ships, saving the spoils, and all well.There was a certain person, who said in a loud voice: “Thirty pigs would be better eating than three boys.” The Captain heard this, and said, with much feeling, that he would rather have one of those children than the whole world besides. He made a speech on the subject, concluding with the following words: “I give the blame to my sins, and to those alone. And how much better would it be for the person who spoke such nonsense if he had given praises to God, who, in a way so strange and unthought-of, saved these three souls—a thing which we must believe to have been predestined?” For this speech there was some ill-feeling on the part of the man who had spoken, and more from his friends.The natives, on the following day, having other ambuscades,came to attack our watering party, who armed themselves in great haste. The natives shot off their arrows, and our people fired their muskets. The natives then fled, shouting as they went, leaving marks of the harm done them by the balls.It seems that the natives, in their rage that they could not revenge themselves on us, came to destroy the church. The Captain hurriedly sent off an armed party in the two boats to prevent them. When the natives saw this, they slowly retreated. Their object appeared to have been to draw our men away, to lead them to where many other natives were concealed; for we afterwards saw them go away, crossing the river of Salvador.
Chapter XXVII.Relates how they sowed some land; the entry into a valley; capture of three boys, and what happened with the natives.
Relates how they sowed some land; the entry into a valley; capture of three boys, and what happened with the natives.
Relates how they sowed some land; the entry into a valley; capture of three boys, and what happened with the natives.
The Captain, on the last day of Easter, taking with him such an escort as seemed necessary, went to an adjacent farm of the natives and sowed a quantity of maize, cotton, onions, melons, pumpkins, beans, pulse, and other seeds of our country; and returned to the ships laden with many roots and fish caught on the beach.Next day the Captain sent the Master of the Camp, with thirty soldiers, to reconnoitre a certain height, where they found a large and pleasant valley, with villages. When the inhabitants saw us coming, many assembled together in arms. We caught there three boys, the oldest being about seven years of age, and twenty pigs. With these we began a retreat, and the natives, with vigour and bravery, attacked our vanguard, centre, and rearguard, shooting many arrows. The chiefs came out to the encounter, and by their charges forced us to lose the ground we were gaining. Arrived at a certain pass, our people found the rocks occupied by many natives, who were animated by the desire to do as much harm as possible. Here was the hardest fight, their arrows and stones hurled down from the heights, causing great danger to our men. When the Captain heard the noise of the muskets and the shouting, he ordered three guns to be fired off, to frighten the natives and encourage our people; and the better to effect this at the port, those in the ships and on the beach were sent to support the retreating party in great haste. The forces having united, they came to the ships, saving the spoils, and all well.There was a certain person, who said in a loud voice: “Thirty pigs would be better eating than three boys.” The Captain heard this, and said, with much feeling, that he would rather have one of those children than the whole world besides. He made a speech on the subject, concluding with the following words: “I give the blame to my sins, and to those alone. And how much better would it be for the person who spoke such nonsense if he had given praises to God, who, in a way so strange and unthought-of, saved these three souls—a thing which we must believe to have been predestined?” For this speech there was some ill-feeling on the part of the man who had spoken, and more from his friends.The natives, on the following day, having other ambuscades,came to attack our watering party, who armed themselves in great haste. The natives shot off their arrows, and our people fired their muskets. The natives then fled, shouting as they went, leaving marks of the harm done them by the balls.It seems that the natives, in their rage that they could not revenge themselves on us, came to destroy the church. The Captain hurriedly sent off an armed party in the two boats to prevent them. When the natives saw this, they slowly retreated. Their object appeared to have been to draw our men away, to lead them to where many other natives were concealed; for we afterwards saw them go away, crossing the river of Salvador.
The Captain, on the last day of Easter, taking with him such an escort as seemed necessary, went to an adjacent farm of the natives and sowed a quantity of maize, cotton, onions, melons, pumpkins, beans, pulse, and other seeds of our country; and returned to the ships laden with many roots and fish caught on the beach.
Next day the Captain sent the Master of the Camp, with thirty soldiers, to reconnoitre a certain height, where they found a large and pleasant valley, with villages. When the inhabitants saw us coming, many assembled together in arms. We caught there three boys, the oldest being about seven years of age, and twenty pigs. With these we began a retreat, and the natives, with vigour and bravery, attacked our vanguard, centre, and rearguard, shooting many arrows. The chiefs came out to the encounter, and by their charges forced us to lose the ground we were gaining. Arrived at a certain pass, our people found the rocks occupied by many natives, who were animated by the desire to do as much harm as possible. Here was the hardest fight, their arrows and stones hurled down from the heights, causing great danger to our men. When the Captain heard the noise of the muskets and the shouting, he ordered three guns to be fired off, to frighten the natives and encourage our people; and the better to effect this at the port, those in the ships and on the beach were sent to support the retreating party in great haste. The forces having united, they came to the ships, saving the spoils, and all well.
There was a certain person, who said in a loud voice: “Thirty pigs would be better eating than three boys.” The Captain heard this, and said, with much feeling, that he would rather have one of those children than the whole world besides. He made a speech on the subject, concluding with the following words: “I give the blame to my sins, and to those alone. And how much better would it be for the person who spoke such nonsense if he had given praises to God, who, in a way so strange and unthought-of, saved these three souls—a thing which we must believe to have been predestined?” For this speech there was some ill-feeling on the part of the man who had spoken, and more from his friends.
The natives, on the following day, having other ambuscades,came to attack our watering party, who armed themselves in great haste. The natives shot off their arrows, and our people fired their muskets. The natives then fled, shouting as they went, leaving marks of the harm done them by the balls.
It seems that the natives, in their rage that they could not revenge themselves on us, came to destroy the church. The Captain hurriedly sent off an armed party in the two boats to prevent them. When the natives saw this, they slowly retreated. Their object appeared to have been to draw our men away, to lead them to where many other natives were concealed; for we afterwards saw them go away, crossing the river of Salvador.
Chapter XXVIII.How the launch went to examine the mouth of the great river, and what else happened with reference to excursions inland.The Master of the Camp was sent to examine the mouth of the river, which is in the middle of the bay, with the launch, a boat, and a party of men. He tried the depth of the river mouth, and found that there was no bottom, with the length of an oar and his own arm. He went further up in the boat, and the view of the river gave much pleasure to those who were with him, as well for its size and the clearness of the water, as for its gentle current and the beauty of the trees on its banks.The launch passed further up, and our people landed on the bank and went inland. They found a small village of four streets, and an open space at the most elevated part. All round there were many farms, surrounded by palings. Two spies were posted, who warned the natives, and they all fled. Our people found in their houses several kinds offish, roasted and wrapped in plantain leaves, and a quantity of raw mussel-shells in baskets, as well as fruits and flowers hung on poles. Near there was a burial-place. They also found a flute, and certain small things worked out of pieces of marble and jasper. As they heard drums and shells, and a great murmuring noise, understanding that it came from a large number of people, they retreated, followed by the natives, who did not dare to attack them. Finally, they got to the launch in peace, and returned to the ships.On many other occasions our people went to fish and to seek for things very necessary for the requirements of the ships, returning well content with the excellence of the land. Encounters with the natives were not wanting, and I believe they killed some natives, although they denied it to me.
Chapter XXVIII.How the launch went to examine the mouth of the great river, and what else happened with reference to excursions inland.
How the launch went to examine the mouth of the great river, and what else happened with reference to excursions inland.
How the launch went to examine the mouth of the great river, and what else happened with reference to excursions inland.
The Master of the Camp was sent to examine the mouth of the river, which is in the middle of the bay, with the launch, a boat, and a party of men. He tried the depth of the river mouth, and found that there was no bottom, with the length of an oar and his own arm. He went further up in the boat, and the view of the river gave much pleasure to those who were with him, as well for its size and the clearness of the water, as for its gentle current and the beauty of the trees on its banks.The launch passed further up, and our people landed on the bank and went inland. They found a small village of four streets, and an open space at the most elevated part. All round there were many farms, surrounded by palings. Two spies were posted, who warned the natives, and they all fled. Our people found in their houses several kinds offish, roasted and wrapped in plantain leaves, and a quantity of raw mussel-shells in baskets, as well as fruits and flowers hung on poles. Near there was a burial-place. They also found a flute, and certain small things worked out of pieces of marble and jasper. As they heard drums and shells, and a great murmuring noise, understanding that it came from a large number of people, they retreated, followed by the natives, who did not dare to attack them. Finally, they got to the launch in peace, and returned to the ships.On many other occasions our people went to fish and to seek for things very necessary for the requirements of the ships, returning well content with the excellence of the land. Encounters with the natives were not wanting, and I believe they killed some natives, although they denied it to me.
The Master of the Camp was sent to examine the mouth of the river, which is in the middle of the bay, with the launch, a boat, and a party of men. He tried the depth of the river mouth, and found that there was no bottom, with the length of an oar and his own arm. He went further up in the boat, and the view of the river gave much pleasure to those who were with him, as well for its size and the clearness of the water, as for its gentle current and the beauty of the trees on its banks.
The launch passed further up, and our people landed on the bank and went inland. They found a small village of four streets, and an open space at the most elevated part. All round there were many farms, surrounded by palings. Two spies were posted, who warned the natives, and they all fled. Our people found in their houses several kinds offish, roasted and wrapped in plantain leaves, and a quantity of raw mussel-shells in baskets, as well as fruits and flowers hung on poles. Near there was a burial-place. They also found a flute, and certain small things worked out of pieces of marble and jasper. As they heard drums and shells, and a great murmuring noise, understanding that it came from a large number of people, they retreated, followed by the natives, who did not dare to attack them. Finally, they got to the launch in peace, and returned to the ships.
On many other occasions our people went to fish and to seek for things very necessary for the requirements of the ships, returning well content with the excellence of the land. Encounters with the natives were not wanting, and I believe they killed some natives, although they denied it to me.
Chapter XXIX.Describes the festival ofCorpus Christi, and the procession they made.All the carpentering work was finished by the 20th of May. On that day the Captain gave orders to the Master of the Camp to go on shore with a hundred soldiers, and to collect things to adorn our church of Loreto, and to make streets round it, so that on the next day, which was that ofCorpus Christi, we might there celebrate its festival with all the force we could muster. In the night, the eve of the festival was celebrated on board.Before daybreak our people went on shore, and formed an escort for our six monks, who got everything ready that was required. When all was ready, the Captain was informed, who presently got into the boat, leaving two menon board each ship, and taking all the rest with him. On reaching the shore, they all jumped out and went to the church. Its door was to the north, bravely decorated with things of the country, the roof and part of the body of the church being covered with green branches; and there was a very curious altar under a canopy, with a service of silver. For an altar-piece there was a painted Christ crucified, on a great cloth, with four candles at the sides, and incense-sticks burning.Having said his prayers, the Captain went out to see the place. At the commencement there were three high triumphal arches, enlaced with palms, shoots, and flowers, while the ground was also strewn with flowers. The streets were formed with many trees, those within forming a cloister; and here were planted divers branches and herbs to look like a garden. At two angles, under two other arches, were placed two altars with their canopies, and the images of St. Peter and St. Paul; while its author, the Brother of the Order of John of God, on his knees at one side, was saying his prayers.The day was clear and serene, and as the sun rose over the crowns of the trees, its rays entering through the branches, the difference in the fruits of each plant was shown in great profusion. Here, too, could be heard the persistence with which the birds sang and chaunted; the leaves and branches were seen to move gently, and the whole place was agreeable, fresh, shady, with a gentle air moving, and the sea smooth.Presently returning to the church, two Masses were said. A third was said by the Father Commissary, and the procession was then ordered in the following manner:—A soldier went first, carrying in his hands the heavy cross of orange wood. Next came a lay brother, with another gilt cross from the sacristy, with the bag raised on a lance, and on each side two acolytes, with candlesticks and redcassocks, and all those in surplices. Then followed the three companies in order, each one bearing its banner in the centre, with its drums sounding a march. There was a very picturesque sword-dance by eleven sailor lads, dressed in red and green silk, with bells on their feet. They danced with much dexterity and grace to the sound of a guitar, which was played by a respected old sailor. This was followed by another dance by eight boys, all dressed like Indians in shirts and breeches of silk, coloured brown, blue, and grey, with garlands on their heads, and white palms in their hands. Bands of bells were round their ankles, and they danced with very quiet countenances, at the same time singing their canticles to the sound of tambourines and flutes played by two musicians.Then followed the royal standard, accompanied by the Master of the Camp, the Sergeant-Major, and the Captains. Then six Magistrates, each with a lighted torch in his hand. Then came the Father Commissary, whose pall of yellow silk, six yards long, was borne by three royal officers and three Magistrates. He carried in his hand a coffer of crimson velvet, with gilded nails, which contained the most blessed sacrament. Another lay brother incensed it. All the four priests marched joyfully, singing the hymn “Pangelingua.” The Captain carried the royal standard as far as the door, where he delivered it to the Ensign, whose place was behind the pall, with the two Justices of the Peace and the Chief Constable.When the Lord now came forth from the door, all the bells rang, and the people, who were looking on attentively, fell on their knees; the Ensigns lowered the banners three times, the drummers beat the drums for battle; the soldiers, who had the cords ready, fired off the muskets and arquebuses; the constables fired off the guns which were on shore for defending the port; and in the ships the artillery-men fired off the bombards and pieces, and those placed inthe launch and boats for the occasion. Once more, and once again, they were discharged. When the smoke cleared away, there were seen amongst the green branches so many plumes of feathers and sashes, so many pikes, halberds, javelins, bright sword-blades, spears, lances, and on the breasts so many crosses, and so much gold, and so many colours and silken dresses, that many eyes could not contain what sprung from the heart, and they shed tears of joy. With this the procession returned, the church being guarded by fourcorps de garde. The dancers kept dancing to keep up the festival, and remained within; and the Captain at the door said to them: “All the dresses you wear you can keep as your own, for they are from the royal treasury. I would that they were of the best and richest brocade.”As a finish a fourth Mass was said, that it might be heard by the sentries who were posted to keep a look-out for any approach of the natives, though they were far off on the beach and on the hills.This done, the Captain ordered the bells to be rung in honour of those, in Lima, who had said that they would come to that land when they could have a passage.The native who was taken from Taumaco, and was afterwards named Pedro, went about dressed in silk with a cross on his breast, and bow and arrows, so astonished and pleased at all he saw, and at his cross, that he looked about and showed it, putting his hand on it, and named it many times. It is a thing worthy of note that the cross elevated the mind, even of a barbarian who did not know its significance.Having given the souls such sweet and delicious food, friends and comrades divided themselves off to the places dedicated to hearths and pots, where, with tables spread under the shade of tall and spreading trees, they gave themselves up to feeding their bodies.During the subsequent siesta there were dances, music, and pleasant conversation; and he who said this was fortunate that day, as well as those who saw it all, for it was the first festival celebrated in honour of the most high Lord in these strange and unknown lands. As our force was small, and the natives numerous, it was considered by some to be an act of great audacity. I say that it was a great hit, and that it was done in full faith.There was one who said that this octave of Don Alonso de Ercilla seemed to foretell it, which one sincerely devoted to the expedition, by slight alterations, adapted to the present occasion as follows:—Araucana.1Behold where are hidden the lands,Scarce discerned by mortal ken,Those are regions still unknown,Never pressed by Christian men.This will ever be their fate,Want of knowledge keeps them there,Wrapt within a fleecy cloud,Until God shall lay them bare.Version of the friend of Quiros.2Behold how we have found these lands,Now clearly seen by mortal ken,Those are regions now made known,Pressed by feet of Christian men.Unknown no longer is their fate,Now full knowledge points them there,No longer hid in fleecy clouds,God His secrets now lays bare.The Captain sent some of the people on board again, and marched inland with the rest to the sound of drums.He saw what he had sown already sprouting, the farms, houses, fruit orchards; and having walked for a league, he returned as it was getting late. When he came on board, he said that as these natives were at war with us, and there was not a chance on our side, we would leave the port next day to visit the lands to windward. The Admiral asked, in his name and those of the crew, that another day might be allowed for the people to catch fish. It happened that they fished in a certain place whence they brought to the ship a quantity ofpargos, which are considered poisonous, like those in Havana and other ports. As many as ate them were attacked by nausea, vomiting, and feverish symptoms.3This unexpected and sudden evil caused much grief to all, and there were not wanting opinions, nor the conclusion of one who said, that to get much it will cost something, and that the sweet is mixed with the bitter.1“Araucana,” por Don Alonso de Ercilla. CantoXXVII, octava 52.2The “friend” is, of course, Belmonte Bermudez, the Secretary of Quiros.3Captain Cook relates that his people caught two reddish fish with hook and line in Port Sandwich, Malicolo Island (one of the New Hebrides), on July 24th, 1774. The fish were about the size of a large bream. Most of the officers, and some of the petty officers, dined on them the next day. The following night, every one who had eaten of them was seized with violent pains in the head and bones, attended with a scorching heat all over the skin, and numbness in the joints. The pigs and dogs who had partaken of the fish were also taken ill, and two died. It was a week or ten days before all the officers recovered. In mentioning this, Cook refers to the similar experience of Quiros and his crew, as described by Dalrymple, vol. i, p. 140.—Cook’s Second Voyage, vol. ii, p. 39.
Chapter XXIX.Describes the festival ofCorpus Christi, and the procession they made.
Describes the festival ofCorpus Christi, and the procession they made.
Describes the festival ofCorpus Christi, and the procession they made.
All the carpentering work was finished by the 20th of May. On that day the Captain gave orders to the Master of the Camp to go on shore with a hundred soldiers, and to collect things to adorn our church of Loreto, and to make streets round it, so that on the next day, which was that ofCorpus Christi, we might there celebrate its festival with all the force we could muster. In the night, the eve of the festival was celebrated on board.Before daybreak our people went on shore, and formed an escort for our six monks, who got everything ready that was required. When all was ready, the Captain was informed, who presently got into the boat, leaving two menon board each ship, and taking all the rest with him. On reaching the shore, they all jumped out and went to the church. Its door was to the north, bravely decorated with things of the country, the roof and part of the body of the church being covered with green branches; and there was a very curious altar under a canopy, with a service of silver. For an altar-piece there was a painted Christ crucified, on a great cloth, with four candles at the sides, and incense-sticks burning.Having said his prayers, the Captain went out to see the place. At the commencement there were three high triumphal arches, enlaced with palms, shoots, and flowers, while the ground was also strewn with flowers. The streets were formed with many trees, those within forming a cloister; and here were planted divers branches and herbs to look like a garden. At two angles, under two other arches, were placed two altars with their canopies, and the images of St. Peter and St. Paul; while its author, the Brother of the Order of John of God, on his knees at one side, was saying his prayers.The day was clear and serene, and as the sun rose over the crowns of the trees, its rays entering through the branches, the difference in the fruits of each plant was shown in great profusion. Here, too, could be heard the persistence with which the birds sang and chaunted; the leaves and branches were seen to move gently, and the whole place was agreeable, fresh, shady, with a gentle air moving, and the sea smooth.Presently returning to the church, two Masses were said. A third was said by the Father Commissary, and the procession was then ordered in the following manner:—A soldier went first, carrying in his hands the heavy cross of orange wood. Next came a lay brother, with another gilt cross from the sacristy, with the bag raised on a lance, and on each side two acolytes, with candlesticks and redcassocks, and all those in surplices. Then followed the three companies in order, each one bearing its banner in the centre, with its drums sounding a march. There was a very picturesque sword-dance by eleven sailor lads, dressed in red and green silk, with bells on their feet. They danced with much dexterity and grace to the sound of a guitar, which was played by a respected old sailor. This was followed by another dance by eight boys, all dressed like Indians in shirts and breeches of silk, coloured brown, blue, and grey, with garlands on their heads, and white palms in their hands. Bands of bells were round their ankles, and they danced with very quiet countenances, at the same time singing their canticles to the sound of tambourines and flutes played by two musicians.Then followed the royal standard, accompanied by the Master of the Camp, the Sergeant-Major, and the Captains. Then six Magistrates, each with a lighted torch in his hand. Then came the Father Commissary, whose pall of yellow silk, six yards long, was borne by three royal officers and three Magistrates. He carried in his hand a coffer of crimson velvet, with gilded nails, which contained the most blessed sacrament. Another lay brother incensed it. All the four priests marched joyfully, singing the hymn “Pangelingua.” The Captain carried the royal standard as far as the door, where he delivered it to the Ensign, whose place was behind the pall, with the two Justices of the Peace and the Chief Constable.When the Lord now came forth from the door, all the bells rang, and the people, who were looking on attentively, fell on their knees; the Ensigns lowered the banners three times, the drummers beat the drums for battle; the soldiers, who had the cords ready, fired off the muskets and arquebuses; the constables fired off the guns which were on shore for defending the port; and in the ships the artillery-men fired off the bombards and pieces, and those placed inthe launch and boats for the occasion. Once more, and once again, they were discharged. When the smoke cleared away, there were seen amongst the green branches so many plumes of feathers and sashes, so many pikes, halberds, javelins, bright sword-blades, spears, lances, and on the breasts so many crosses, and so much gold, and so many colours and silken dresses, that many eyes could not contain what sprung from the heart, and they shed tears of joy. With this the procession returned, the church being guarded by fourcorps de garde. The dancers kept dancing to keep up the festival, and remained within; and the Captain at the door said to them: “All the dresses you wear you can keep as your own, for they are from the royal treasury. I would that they were of the best and richest brocade.”As a finish a fourth Mass was said, that it might be heard by the sentries who were posted to keep a look-out for any approach of the natives, though they were far off on the beach and on the hills.This done, the Captain ordered the bells to be rung in honour of those, in Lima, who had said that they would come to that land when they could have a passage.The native who was taken from Taumaco, and was afterwards named Pedro, went about dressed in silk with a cross on his breast, and bow and arrows, so astonished and pleased at all he saw, and at his cross, that he looked about and showed it, putting his hand on it, and named it many times. It is a thing worthy of note that the cross elevated the mind, even of a barbarian who did not know its significance.Having given the souls such sweet and delicious food, friends and comrades divided themselves off to the places dedicated to hearths and pots, where, with tables spread under the shade of tall and spreading trees, they gave themselves up to feeding their bodies.During the subsequent siesta there were dances, music, and pleasant conversation; and he who said this was fortunate that day, as well as those who saw it all, for it was the first festival celebrated in honour of the most high Lord in these strange and unknown lands. As our force was small, and the natives numerous, it was considered by some to be an act of great audacity. I say that it was a great hit, and that it was done in full faith.There was one who said that this octave of Don Alonso de Ercilla seemed to foretell it, which one sincerely devoted to the expedition, by slight alterations, adapted to the present occasion as follows:—Araucana.1Behold where are hidden the lands,Scarce discerned by mortal ken,Those are regions still unknown,Never pressed by Christian men.This will ever be their fate,Want of knowledge keeps them there,Wrapt within a fleecy cloud,Until God shall lay them bare.Version of the friend of Quiros.2Behold how we have found these lands,Now clearly seen by mortal ken,Those are regions now made known,Pressed by feet of Christian men.Unknown no longer is their fate,Now full knowledge points them there,No longer hid in fleecy clouds,God His secrets now lays bare.The Captain sent some of the people on board again, and marched inland with the rest to the sound of drums.He saw what he had sown already sprouting, the farms, houses, fruit orchards; and having walked for a league, he returned as it was getting late. When he came on board, he said that as these natives were at war with us, and there was not a chance on our side, we would leave the port next day to visit the lands to windward. The Admiral asked, in his name and those of the crew, that another day might be allowed for the people to catch fish. It happened that they fished in a certain place whence they brought to the ship a quantity ofpargos, which are considered poisonous, like those in Havana and other ports. As many as ate them were attacked by nausea, vomiting, and feverish symptoms.3This unexpected and sudden evil caused much grief to all, and there were not wanting opinions, nor the conclusion of one who said, that to get much it will cost something, and that the sweet is mixed with the bitter.
All the carpentering work was finished by the 20th of May. On that day the Captain gave orders to the Master of the Camp to go on shore with a hundred soldiers, and to collect things to adorn our church of Loreto, and to make streets round it, so that on the next day, which was that ofCorpus Christi, we might there celebrate its festival with all the force we could muster. In the night, the eve of the festival was celebrated on board.
Before daybreak our people went on shore, and formed an escort for our six monks, who got everything ready that was required. When all was ready, the Captain was informed, who presently got into the boat, leaving two menon board each ship, and taking all the rest with him. On reaching the shore, they all jumped out and went to the church. Its door was to the north, bravely decorated with things of the country, the roof and part of the body of the church being covered with green branches; and there was a very curious altar under a canopy, with a service of silver. For an altar-piece there was a painted Christ crucified, on a great cloth, with four candles at the sides, and incense-sticks burning.
Having said his prayers, the Captain went out to see the place. At the commencement there were three high triumphal arches, enlaced with palms, shoots, and flowers, while the ground was also strewn with flowers. The streets were formed with many trees, those within forming a cloister; and here were planted divers branches and herbs to look like a garden. At two angles, under two other arches, were placed two altars with their canopies, and the images of St. Peter and St. Paul; while its author, the Brother of the Order of John of God, on his knees at one side, was saying his prayers.
The day was clear and serene, and as the sun rose over the crowns of the trees, its rays entering through the branches, the difference in the fruits of each plant was shown in great profusion. Here, too, could be heard the persistence with which the birds sang and chaunted; the leaves and branches were seen to move gently, and the whole place was agreeable, fresh, shady, with a gentle air moving, and the sea smooth.
Presently returning to the church, two Masses were said. A third was said by the Father Commissary, and the procession was then ordered in the following manner:—A soldier went first, carrying in his hands the heavy cross of orange wood. Next came a lay brother, with another gilt cross from the sacristy, with the bag raised on a lance, and on each side two acolytes, with candlesticks and redcassocks, and all those in surplices. Then followed the three companies in order, each one bearing its banner in the centre, with its drums sounding a march. There was a very picturesque sword-dance by eleven sailor lads, dressed in red and green silk, with bells on their feet. They danced with much dexterity and grace to the sound of a guitar, which was played by a respected old sailor. This was followed by another dance by eight boys, all dressed like Indians in shirts and breeches of silk, coloured brown, blue, and grey, with garlands on their heads, and white palms in their hands. Bands of bells were round their ankles, and they danced with very quiet countenances, at the same time singing their canticles to the sound of tambourines and flutes played by two musicians.
Then followed the royal standard, accompanied by the Master of the Camp, the Sergeant-Major, and the Captains. Then six Magistrates, each with a lighted torch in his hand. Then came the Father Commissary, whose pall of yellow silk, six yards long, was borne by three royal officers and three Magistrates. He carried in his hand a coffer of crimson velvet, with gilded nails, which contained the most blessed sacrament. Another lay brother incensed it. All the four priests marched joyfully, singing the hymn “Pangelingua.” The Captain carried the royal standard as far as the door, where he delivered it to the Ensign, whose place was behind the pall, with the two Justices of the Peace and the Chief Constable.
When the Lord now came forth from the door, all the bells rang, and the people, who were looking on attentively, fell on their knees; the Ensigns lowered the banners three times, the drummers beat the drums for battle; the soldiers, who had the cords ready, fired off the muskets and arquebuses; the constables fired off the guns which were on shore for defending the port; and in the ships the artillery-men fired off the bombards and pieces, and those placed inthe launch and boats for the occasion. Once more, and once again, they were discharged. When the smoke cleared away, there were seen amongst the green branches so many plumes of feathers and sashes, so many pikes, halberds, javelins, bright sword-blades, spears, lances, and on the breasts so many crosses, and so much gold, and so many colours and silken dresses, that many eyes could not contain what sprung from the heart, and they shed tears of joy. With this the procession returned, the church being guarded by fourcorps de garde. The dancers kept dancing to keep up the festival, and remained within; and the Captain at the door said to them: “All the dresses you wear you can keep as your own, for they are from the royal treasury. I would that they were of the best and richest brocade.”
As a finish a fourth Mass was said, that it might be heard by the sentries who were posted to keep a look-out for any approach of the natives, though they were far off on the beach and on the hills.
This done, the Captain ordered the bells to be rung in honour of those, in Lima, who had said that they would come to that land when they could have a passage.
The native who was taken from Taumaco, and was afterwards named Pedro, went about dressed in silk with a cross on his breast, and bow and arrows, so astonished and pleased at all he saw, and at his cross, that he looked about and showed it, putting his hand on it, and named it many times. It is a thing worthy of note that the cross elevated the mind, even of a barbarian who did not know its significance.
Having given the souls such sweet and delicious food, friends and comrades divided themselves off to the places dedicated to hearths and pots, where, with tables spread under the shade of tall and spreading trees, they gave themselves up to feeding their bodies.
During the subsequent siesta there were dances, music, and pleasant conversation; and he who said this was fortunate that day, as well as those who saw it all, for it was the first festival celebrated in honour of the most high Lord in these strange and unknown lands. As our force was small, and the natives numerous, it was considered by some to be an act of great audacity. I say that it was a great hit, and that it was done in full faith.
There was one who said that this octave of Don Alonso de Ercilla seemed to foretell it, which one sincerely devoted to the expedition, by slight alterations, adapted to the present occasion as follows:—
Araucana.1
Behold where are hidden the lands,Scarce discerned by mortal ken,Those are regions still unknown,Never pressed by Christian men.This will ever be their fate,Want of knowledge keeps them there,Wrapt within a fleecy cloud,Until God shall lay them bare.
Behold where are hidden the lands,
Scarce discerned by mortal ken,
Those are regions still unknown,
Never pressed by Christian men.
This will ever be their fate,
Want of knowledge keeps them there,
Wrapt within a fleecy cloud,
Until God shall lay them bare.
Version of the friend of Quiros.2
Behold how we have found these lands,Now clearly seen by mortal ken,Those are regions now made known,Pressed by feet of Christian men.Unknown no longer is their fate,Now full knowledge points them there,No longer hid in fleecy clouds,God His secrets now lays bare.
Behold how we have found these lands,
Now clearly seen by mortal ken,
Those are regions now made known,
Pressed by feet of Christian men.
Unknown no longer is their fate,
Now full knowledge points them there,
No longer hid in fleecy clouds,
God His secrets now lays bare.
The Captain sent some of the people on board again, and marched inland with the rest to the sound of drums.He saw what he had sown already sprouting, the farms, houses, fruit orchards; and having walked for a league, he returned as it was getting late. When he came on board, he said that as these natives were at war with us, and there was not a chance on our side, we would leave the port next day to visit the lands to windward. The Admiral asked, in his name and those of the crew, that another day might be allowed for the people to catch fish. It happened that they fished in a certain place whence they brought to the ship a quantity ofpargos, which are considered poisonous, like those in Havana and other ports. As many as ate them were attacked by nausea, vomiting, and feverish symptoms.3
This unexpected and sudden evil caused much grief to all, and there were not wanting opinions, nor the conclusion of one who said, that to get much it will cost something, and that the sweet is mixed with the bitter.
1“Araucana,” por Don Alonso de Ercilla. CantoXXVII, octava 52.2The “friend” is, of course, Belmonte Bermudez, the Secretary of Quiros.3Captain Cook relates that his people caught two reddish fish with hook and line in Port Sandwich, Malicolo Island (one of the New Hebrides), on July 24th, 1774. The fish were about the size of a large bream. Most of the officers, and some of the petty officers, dined on them the next day. The following night, every one who had eaten of them was seized with violent pains in the head and bones, attended with a scorching heat all over the skin, and numbness in the joints. The pigs and dogs who had partaken of the fish were also taken ill, and two died. It was a week or ten days before all the officers recovered. In mentioning this, Cook refers to the similar experience of Quiros and his crew, as described by Dalrymple, vol. i, p. 140.—Cook’s Second Voyage, vol. ii, p. 39.
1“Araucana,” por Don Alonso de Ercilla. CantoXXVII, octava 52.
2The “friend” is, of course, Belmonte Bermudez, the Secretary of Quiros.
3Captain Cook relates that his people caught two reddish fish with hook and line in Port Sandwich, Malicolo Island (one of the New Hebrides), on July 24th, 1774. The fish were about the size of a large bream. Most of the officers, and some of the petty officers, dined on them the next day. The following night, every one who had eaten of them was seized with violent pains in the head and bones, attended with a scorching heat all over the skin, and numbness in the joints. The pigs and dogs who had partaken of the fish were also taken ill, and two died. It was a week or ten days before all the officers recovered. In mentioning this, Cook refers to the similar experience of Quiros and his crew, as described by Dalrymple, vol. i, p. 140.—Cook’s Second Voyage, vol. ii, p. 39.
Chapter XXX.Gives some account of this bay, and of all that is contained in it, and in its port.This bay, to which the Captain gave the name of St. Philip and St. James, because it was discovered on their day, is 1,700 leagues from Lima, from Acapulco 1,300,from Manilla in the Philippines 1,100 leagues. Its entrance is to the N.W. in 15° S., and the port is in 15° 10′ S. The bay has a circuit of 20 leagues, at the entrance 4 leagues across. The variation of the compass is 7° N.E.The land which forms the bay runs directly N. on the E. side, with sloping heights and peopled valleys well covered with trees. This side ends at the mouth of the bay with a height rising to a peak, and the coast runs E. and then S.E., but we could not see how it ends.The other land to the W. runs nearly N.W., and to the point is 11 leagues in length, consisting of a range of hills of moderate height, which the sun bathes when it rises, and where there are patches without trees, covered with dried-up grass. Here are ravines and streams, some falling from the heights to the skirts of the hills, where many palm groves and villages were seen. From the point on this side the coast turns to the W.The front of the bay, which is to the S., is 3 leagues long, and forms a beach. In the middle there is a river which was judged to be the size of the Guadalquivir at Seville. At its mouth the depth is 2 and more fathoms; so that boats and even frigates could enter. It received the name of the “Jordan.” On its right is seen the Southern Cross in the heavens, which makes the spot noteworthy.To the eastward, at the corner of this bay, there is another moderate-sized river called “Salvador,” into which the boats entered at their pleasure to get water. The waters of both rivers are sweet, pleasant, and fresh. The one is distant from the other a league and a half, consisting of a beach of black gravel, with small heavy stones, excellent for ballast for a ship.Between the said two rivers is the port. The bottom is clean, consisting of black sand, and here a great number of ships would have room up to 40½brazas. It is not knownwhether there are worms. As the beach is not bare nor driven up, and the herbs are green near the water, it was assumed that it was not beaten by the seas; and as the trees are straight and their branches unbroken, it was judged that there are no great storms. The port was named “Vera Cruz,” because we anchored there on that day.In the whole bay we did not see a bank, rock, or reef; but it is so deep that there is no anchorage except at the above port. It is better to approach near the river Salvador, and there is another moderate port which is distant 2 leagues from this on the N. to S. coast.All the said beach is bordered by a dense mass of great trees, with paths leading from them to the shore. It seemed to serve as a wall, the better to carry on defensive or offensive operations against other natives coming to make war. All the rest is a level plain, with hills on either side. These on the W. side run southward, becoming more elevated and more massive as their distance increases. As for the plain, we have not seen where it ends. The earth is black, rich, and in large particles. It is cleared of wild trees to make room for fruit trees, crops, and gardens surrounded by railings. There are many houses scattered about; and wherever a view could be obtained, many fires and columns of smoke were discerned, witnesses of a large population.The natives generally seen here are corpulent, not quite black nor mulatto. Their hair is frizzled. They have good eyes. They cover their parts with certain cloths they weave. They are clean, fond of festivities and dancing to the sound of flute and drums made of a hollow piece of wood. They use shells also for musical instruments, and in their dances make great shouting at the advances, balances, and retreats. They were not known to use the herb.1Their arms are heavy wooden clubs, and bows of the same, arrows of reed with wooden points, hardened in the fire, darts with pieces of bone enclosed.Their interments are covered. We saw some enclosed with their oratories and figures, to which they make offerings. It is, to all appearance, a people courageous and sociable, but without care for the ills of their neighbours; for they saw some fighting with us without coming to help them.The houses are of wood, covered with palm leaves, with two sloping sides to the roof, and with a certain kind of outhouse, where they keep their food. All their things are kept very clean. They also have flower-pots with small trees of an unknown kind. The leaves are very soft, and of a yellow-reddish colour.The bread they use is mainly of roots, whose young shoots climb on poles, which are put near them for that purpose. The rind is grey, the pulp murrey colour, yellow, or reddish; some much larger than others. There are some a yard and a-half in thickness, also two kinds: one almost round, and the size of two fists, more or less. Their taste resembles the potatoes of Peru. The inside of the other root is white, its form and size that of a cob of maize when stripped. All three kinds have a pulp without fibres, loose, soft, and pleasant to the taste. These roots are bread made without trouble, there being nothing to do but to take them out of the earth, and eat them, roast or boiled. They are very good cooked in pots. Our people ate a great deal; and, being of a pleasant taste and satisfying, they left off the ship’s biscuit for them. These roots last so long without getting bad, that on reaching Acapulco those that were left were quite good.Their meat consists of a great quantity of tame pigs, some reddish, others black, white, or speckled. We saw tusks 1¼palmosin length, and a porker was killed weighing200 lbs. The natives roast them on hearths, wrapped up in plantain leaves. It is a clean way, which gives the meat a good colour, and none of the substance is lost.There are many fowls like those of Europe. They use capons. There are many wild pigeons, doves, ducks, and birds like partridges, with very fine plumage. One was found in a lasso, with which the natives catch them. There are many swallows; we saw a macaw and flocks of paroquets; and we heard, when on board at early dawn, a sweet harmony from thousands of different birds, apparently buntings, blackbirds, nightingales, and others. The mornings and afternoons were enjoyable from the pleasant odours emitted from trees and many kinds of flowers, together with the sweet basil. A bee was also seen, and harvest flies were heard buzzing.The fish are skate, sole, pollack, red mullet, shad, eels,pargos, sardines, and others; for which natives fish with a three-pronged dart, with thread of a fibrous plant, with nets in a bow shape, and at night with a light. Our people fished with hooks and with nets, for the most part. In swampy parts of the beach shrimps and mussels were seen.Their fruits are large, and they have many cocoa-nuts, so that they were not understood to put much store by them. But from these palms they make wine, vinegar, honey, and whey to give to the sick. They eat the small palms raw and cooked. The cocoa-nuts, when green, serve ascardos2and for cream. Ripe, they are nourishment as food and drink by land and sea. When old, they yield oil for lighting, and a curative balsam. The shells are good for cups and bottles. The fibres furnish tow for caulking a ship; and to make cables, ropes, and ordinary string, the best for an arquebus. Of the leaves they makesails for their canoes, and fine mats, with which they cover their houses, built with trunks of the trees, which are straight and high. From the wood they get planks, also lances and other weapons, and many things for ordinary use, all very durable. From the grease they get thegalagala, used instead of tar. In fine, it is a tree without necessity for cultivation, and bearing all the year round.There are three kinds of plantains: one, the best I have seen, pleasant to smell, tender and sweet.There are many “obos,” which is a fruit nearly the size and taste of a peach, on whose leaves may be reared silk-worms, as is done in other parts.There is a great abundance of a fruit which grows on tall trees, with large serrated leaves. They are the size of ordinary melons, their shape nearly round, the skin delicate, the surface crossed into four parts, the pulp between yellow and white, with seven or eight pips. When ripe it is very sweet; when green, it is eaten boiled or roasted. It is much eaten, and is found wholesome. The natives use it as ordinary food.There are two kinds of almonds: one with as much kernel as four nuts lengthways, the other in the shape of a triangle. Its kernel is larger than three large ones of ours and of an excellent taste.There is a kind of nut, hard outside, and the inside in one piece without division, almost like a chestnut: the taste nearly the same as the nuts of Europe.Oranges grow without being planted. With some the rind is very thick, with others delicate. The natives do not eat them. Some of our people said there were lemons.There are many, and very large, sweet canes: red and green, very long, with jointed parts. Sugar might be made from them.Many and large trees, bearing a kind of nut, grew on the forest-covered slopes near the port. They brought thesenuts on board as green as they were on the branches. Their leaves are not all green on one side, and on the other they turn to yellowish grey. Their length is ajeme,3more or less, and in the widest part three fingers. The nut contains two skins, between which grows what they call mace like a small net. Its colour is orange. The nut is rather large, and there are those who say that this is the best kind. The natives make no use of it, and our people used to eat it green, and put it into the pots, and used the mace for saffron.On the beach a fruit was found like a pineapple. Pedro was asked if it was eaten, and he replied that only the bark was eaten of the tree which yielded that fruit.There were other fruits, like figs, filberts, andalbaricoques, which were eaten. Others were seen, but it was not known what fruits they were, nor what others grew in that land. To give a complete account of them and of other things, it is necessary to be a year in the country, and to travel over much ground.As regards vegetables, I only knew of amaranth, purslane, and calabashes.The natives make from a black clay some very well-worked pots, large and small, as well as pans and porringers in the shape of small boats. It was supposed that they made some beverage, because in the pots and in cavities were found certain sour fruits.It appeared to us that we saw there quarries of good marble;4I say good, because several things were seen that were made of it and of jasper. There were also seen ebony and large mother-o’-pearl shells; also some moderate-sized looms. In one house a heap of heavy black stones was seen, which afterwards proved to be metal from whencesilver could be extracted, as will be seen further on. Two of our people said they had seen the footprints of a large animal.The climate appeared to be very healthy, both from the vigour and size of the natives, as because none of our men became ill all the time we were there, nor felt any discomfort, nor tired from work. They had not to keep from drinking while fasting, nor at unusual times, nor when sweating, nor from being wet with salt water or fresh, nor from eating whatever grew in the country, nor from being out in the evening under the moon, nor the sun, which was not very burning at noon, and at midnight we were glad of a blanket. The land is shown to be healthy, from the natives living in houses on terraces, and having so much wood, and because so many old people were seen. We heard few claps of thunder, and had little rain. As the rivers flowed with clear water, it was understood that the rains were over.It is to be noted that we had not seen cactus nor sandy wastes, nor were the trees thorny, while many of the wild trees yielded good fruit. It is also to be noted that we did not see snow on the mountains, nor were there any mosquitos or ants in the land, which are very harmful, both in houses and fields. There were no poisonous lizards either in the woods or the cultivated ground, nor alligators in the rivers. Fish and flesh keep good for salting during two or more days. The land is so pleasant, so covered with trees; there are so many kinds of birds, that, owing to this and other good signs, the climate may be considered to be clement, and that it preserves its natural order. Of what happens in the mountains we cannot speak until we have been there.As no very large canoes were seen, with so large a population, and such fine trees, but only some small ones, and the mountain ranges being so high to W. and E., and tothe S., and the river Jordan being so large, with great trees torn up and brought down at its mouth, we came to the conclusion that the land must be extensive, and yielding abundantly; and that consequently the people were indolent, and have no need to seek other lands.I am able to say, with good reason, that a land more delightful, healthy and fertile; a site better supplied with quarries, timber, clay for tiles, bricks for founding a great city on the sea, with a port and a good river on a plain, with level lands near the hills, ridges, and ravines; nor better adapted to raise plants and all that Europe and the Indies produce, could not be found. No port could be found more agreeable, nor better supplied with all necessaries, without any drawbacks; nor with such advantages for dockyards in which to build ships, nor forests more abundant in suitable timber good for futtock timbers, houses, compass timbers, beams, planks, masts and yards. Nor is there any other land that could sustain so many strangers so pleasantly, if what has been written is well considered. Nor does any other land have what this land has close by, at hand, and in sight of its port; for quite near there are seven islands, with coasts extending for 200 leagues, apparently with the same advantages, and which have so many, and such good signs, that they may be sought for and found without shoals or other obstacles; while nearly half-way there are other known islands, with inhabitants and ports where anchorages may be found. I have never seen, anywhere where I have been, nor have heard of such advantages.I take the port of Acapulco as an example, being well known as such a principal city of Mexico. I say that if it is good as an anchorage, it is very bad owing to the frequency of fogs, and the want of a river and of ballast; also, from being unhealthy most of the year, and intolerable from the heat and the mosquitos, and other molestinginsects for the rest; also for its inconvenient site near stony and dry hills, and because provisions have to come from a distance, and soon turn bad; and finally, because it is dear, and ships have a bad time from the S.E.If we look from the Strait of Magellan along its two coasts, on one side to Cape Mendocino, on the other to Newfoundland, being 7,000 or 8,000 leagues of coast, it will be found that, out of the ports that I have visited, that of San Juan de Ulloa does not merit the name of a port, nor its town to be inhabited by people; that Panama and Puerto Bello have little and bad accommodation; and that Payta, Callao, Havanna, Carthagena (the two latter being famous), La Guayra and Santa Martha, and many others, including those of Chile and Brazil, according to what I have been told, are wanting in many necessary things. Not one will be found which has all the advantages possessed by the port and land of which I treat. Being in 15°, more good things may be expected than from places in 20°, 30°, and 40°, if things turn out as they promise. I also say that if there is nothing better than what I have seen, it is sufficient for a principal place that may be settled.If we look round the coast of Spain, so good a port will not be found; while its soil only produces thorns, ilexes, and broom, or at best arbutus and myrtles, and other poor fruits; and he who grows them for profit has nothing for his pains. April and May failing, the fruits fail.51He means betel. See p. 51.2Thistles; teazel.3The space between the end of the thumb and the end of the forefinger, both stretched out.4Coral cliffs.5Captain Cook visited the Island of Espiritu Santo in August, 1774, and on the 25th entered the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, discovered by Quiros. The wind being S., Cook was obliged to beat to windward. Next morning he was 7 or 8 miles from the head of the bay, which is terminated by a low beach, and behind that an extensive flat covered with trees, and bounded on each side by a ridge of mountains. The latitude was 15° 5′ S. Steering to within 2 miles of the head of the bay, he sent Mr. Cooper and Mr. Gilbert to sound and reconnoitre the coast. Mr. Cooper reported that he had landed on the beach near a fine river. They found 3 fathoms close to the beach, and 55 two cables’ lengths off. At the ship there was no bottom with 170 fathoms. When the boat returned, Captain Cook steered down the bay; andduring the night there were many fires on the W. side. In the morning of the 27th the ship was off the N.W. point of the bay, in latitude 14° 39′ 30″. The bay has 20 leagues of sea-coast—6 on the E. side, 2 at the head, and 12 on the W. side. The two points which form the entrance bear S. 53° E., and N. 53° W., from each other distant 10 leagues. An uncommonly luxuriant vegetation was everywhere to be seen. Captain Cook named the E. point of the bay “Cape Quiros,” which is in 14° 56′ S., and longitude 167° 13′ E. He named the N.W. point “Cape Cumberland.” It is in 14° 38′ 45″ S., and 166° 49′ 30″ E.—Cook’s Second Voyage, vol. ii, p. 89.The Editor has to thank Dr. Bolton G. Corney for the following very interesting account of his visit to the bay of San Felipe y Santiago in 1876:—“While on a voyage through the New Hebrides in the barqueProspector, of 260 tons, in August, 1876, I visited the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, now commonly known to shipmasters and otherhabituésof the Western Pacific as the ‘Big Bay.’“The island itself is, for short, spoken of as ‘Santo,’ not only by local white men, but also by many of the natives of it and the neighbouring ones, many of whom have been in Fiji or Queensland, and have picked up a little Fijian or English, as the case may be.“TheProspectorwas chartered by the Government of Fiji to return 476 of these people to their homes, in completion of contracts made with them a few years before, after performing a term of labour on the cotton and maize or cocoa-nut plantations of that group of islands, which, in 1874, became a British Crown colony. I was in charge of these returning emigrants, both medically and as representing the Government.“We passed from Malikolo to ‘Santo’, and worked up under the lee of its western side to Pusei and Tasimate, landing and recruiting emigrants as we went, and bartering for yams, and taro, and pigs by way of provisions. We rounded Cape Cumberland (the extreme N.W. point of the island), and worked into the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, making one long board to the E.N.E or N.E. by E. first, and then a long leg to the S.S.W., or thereabouts, which brought us close in with the land on the W. side of the bay. The land there was high and steep, and we had deep water until quite close into the beach. We then went about and made short tacks towards thefundusof the bay, where we had to lay the barque quite close in to the shore before getting anchorage. The water was blue and clear, and I do not recollect seeing any reefs or patches. The anchorage we made for was known to our recruiting agents, who called it the ‘river Jordan.’ I have a recollection of hearing that we got 9 fathoms with the lead just before letting go. The water was quite smooth, protected by the land at the head of the bay from the prevailing trade-wind; and the barque lay at a few boats’ lengths from the beach—about 300 yards W. from theembouchureof the river.“Our objects in calling there were (i) to land certain natives of the place whom we had on board, with their earnings; (ii) to recruit others if any suitable ones offered; and (iii) to obtain wood and fill water.“The beach, if my memory does not mislead me, was of black sand, which is not an uncommon thing in islands of volcanic origin, such as the New Hebrides: the distance from low water-mark to the edge of the timber and undergrowth which fringed it just above high-watermark, was only a few yards—perhaps 18 or 25—except near the mouth of the river, where it was more shelving, and extended out into a sandy foreshore or bank corresponding to the bar, the dry land being flat and of alluvial formation.“The river was about as large as the Thames at Isleworth, and flowed into the bay through a wide and far-reaching valley from S. to N. Its banks were low, and overgrown with reeds and scrub, and more than usually free from the customary mangrove trees and bushes. We did not explore it for far, because the friendly attitude of the natives could not be depended on to last, if they should get us into a ‘corner;’ but I pulled into the river in one of the recruiting boats for a short distance, and selected a place at which we filled our beakers and water-casks with water of good and fresh quality. This was perhaps less than half a mile from the mouth: the water was clear, and we could see the bottom in mid-stream; but the tide was at the last of the ebb, as we had chosen that time for the sake of getting the freshest water.“The natives brought us some dead logs to the beach, and others on bamboos to the vessel’s side, much of which the sailors and officers bartered for in the belief that it was sandal wood. It was in reality, I believe, the wood known in Fijian asSevnaorCevna, a kind ofPittosporum, which grows near the sea and has a strong sandal-wood odour. We also obtained the natives’ consent to our cutting some firewood, which was mostly wild dawa (Nephilium pinnatum), andmulomulo(Hiliuscus populnea), a littoral tree often used in Fiji to cut boats’ knees from.“We recruited four men to go with us to Fiji for three years. They were all adults of about 20 to 24 years, tall, black, and athletic young men, much above the average stature of New Hebrideans anywhere north of Eromango; and the other people of the locality appeared to me equally well-built, and some 5 ft. 10 in. or 5 ft. 11 in. in height. I cannot say whether they were the true inhabitants of the place, as we saw no village nor huts: they may have been mountaineers from the interior on an excursion to the coast, the mountaineers in these islands being as a rule blacker, and I think taller (with exceptions), than the coast people.“They had no canoes—at least I saw none—except two small catamarans; and the timber they took alongside the ship was floated off by means of bamboos.“It is doubtful whether mountaineers would have possession of catamarans on the coast, or trust themselves to bamboo rafts.“The west shore of this bay rises steeply from the water throughout most of its extent: but there are narrow strips of low-lying flat land between the beach and the mountain side at intervals, continuous with the small valleys, where creeks or torrents, of which there are several, have deposited silt and boulders, and rockydébrisfrom the higher slopes. But, in so far as I remember, they are all insignificant in extent, as the mountain ridge which forms this large promontory and ends abruptly in Cape Cumberland, rises, as already mentioned, steeply from the sea, which is deep all along and around it, with only here and there even a fringing shore reef. There is no barrier reef whatever, and consequently no lagoon.“As to size of the ‘Big Bay,’ I should say that the distance from Cape Cumberland to the ‘Jordan’ is something like 30 miles. The head of the bay runs from the river mouth in an easterly directionfor 3 or perhaps 4 miles, being mostly flat, low-lying alluvium, and then sweeps round towards the N.E. and N., being more elevated and undulating, and ends in Cape Quiros. This land, forming the eastern horn of the bay, does not project so far seaward as the western promontory, and is neither so high nor so steep, nor so heavily timbered as the latter, which is in fact a continuation of the backbone of the island, as far out as Cape Cumberland. The eastern horn extends northward perhaps 10 or 12 miles only.“The depth or extent of the bay itself, from its chord formed by an imaginary E. and W. line drawn through Cape Quiros, seemed to me about a dozen miles, and it is of similar width. It may, therefore, contain nearly 150 square miles in area.“The anchorage is well protected from the prevailing trade-wind, which blows from E.S.E., and is sheltered from that point round by S. to N.W. It is not exposed either from E.N.E. to E.S.E., but from N.W. to N. and N.E. it is unsafe.”
Chapter XXX.Gives some account of this bay, and of all that is contained in it, and in its port.
Gives some account of this bay, and of all that is contained in it, and in its port.
Gives some account of this bay, and of all that is contained in it, and in its port.
This bay, to which the Captain gave the name of St. Philip and St. James, because it was discovered on their day, is 1,700 leagues from Lima, from Acapulco 1,300,from Manilla in the Philippines 1,100 leagues. Its entrance is to the N.W. in 15° S., and the port is in 15° 10′ S. The bay has a circuit of 20 leagues, at the entrance 4 leagues across. The variation of the compass is 7° N.E.The land which forms the bay runs directly N. on the E. side, with sloping heights and peopled valleys well covered with trees. This side ends at the mouth of the bay with a height rising to a peak, and the coast runs E. and then S.E., but we could not see how it ends.The other land to the W. runs nearly N.W., and to the point is 11 leagues in length, consisting of a range of hills of moderate height, which the sun bathes when it rises, and where there are patches without trees, covered with dried-up grass. Here are ravines and streams, some falling from the heights to the skirts of the hills, where many palm groves and villages were seen. From the point on this side the coast turns to the W.The front of the bay, which is to the S., is 3 leagues long, and forms a beach. In the middle there is a river which was judged to be the size of the Guadalquivir at Seville. At its mouth the depth is 2 and more fathoms; so that boats and even frigates could enter. It received the name of the “Jordan.” On its right is seen the Southern Cross in the heavens, which makes the spot noteworthy.To the eastward, at the corner of this bay, there is another moderate-sized river called “Salvador,” into which the boats entered at their pleasure to get water. The waters of both rivers are sweet, pleasant, and fresh. The one is distant from the other a league and a half, consisting of a beach of black gravel, with small heavy stones, excellent for ballast for a ship.Between the said two rivers is the port. The bottom is clean, consisting of black sand, and here a great number of ships would have room up to 40½brazas. It is not knownwhether there are worms. As the beach is not bare nor driven up, and the herbs are green near the water, it was assumed that it was not beaten by the seas; and as the trees are straight and their branches unbroken, it was judged that there are no great storms. The port was named “Vera Cruz,” because we anchored there on that day.In the whole bay we did not see a bank, rock, or reef; but it is so deep that there is no anchorage except at the above port. It is better to approach near the river Salvador, and there is another moderate port which is distant 2 leagues from this on the N. to S. coast.All the said beach is bordered by a dense mass of great trees, with paths leading from them to the shore. It seemed to serve as a wall, the better to carry on defensive or offensive operations against other natives coming to make war. All the rest is a level plain, with hills on either side. These on the W. side run southward, becoming more elevated and more massive as their distance increases. As for the plain, we have not seen where it ends. The earth is black, rich, and in large particles. It is cleared of wild trees to make room for fruit trees, crops, and gardens surrounded by railings. There are many houses scattered about; and wherever a view could be obtained, many fires and columns of smoke were discerned, witnesses of a large population.The natives generally seen here are corpulent, not quite black nor mulatto. Their hair is frizzled. They have good eyes. They cover their parts with certain cloths they weave. They are clean, fond of festivities and dancing to the sound of flute and drums made of a hollow piece of wood. They use shells also for musical instruments, and in their dances make great shouting at the advances, balances, and retreats. They were not known to use the herb.1Their arms are heavy wooden clubs, and bows of the same, arrows of reed with wooden points, hardened in the fire, darts with pieces of bone enclosed.Their interments are covered. We saw some enclosed with their oratories and figures, to which they make offerings. It is, to all appearance, a people courageous and sociable, but without care for the ills of their neighbours; for they saw some fighting with us without coming to help them.The houses are of wood, covered with palm leaves, with two sloping sides to the roof, and with a certain kind of outhouse, where they keep their food. All their things are kept very clean. They also have flower-pots with small trees of an unknown kind. The leaves are very soft, and of a yellow-reddish colour.The bread they use is mainly of roots, whose young shoots climb on poles, which are put near them for that purpose. The rind is grey, the pulp murrey colour, yellow, or reddish; some much larger than others. There are some a yard and a-half in thickness, also two kinds: one almost round, and the size of two fists, more or less. Their taste resembles the potatoes of Peru. The inside of the other root is white, its form and size that of a cob of maize when stripped. All three kinds have a pulp without fibres, loose, soft, and pleasant to the taste. These roots are bread made without trouble, there being nothing to do but to take them out of the earth, and eat them, roast or boiled. They are very good cooked in pots. Our people ate a great deal; and, being of a pleasant taste and satisfying, they left off the ship’s biscuit for them. These roots last so long without getting bad, that on reaching Acapulco those that were left were quite good.Their meat consists of a great quantity of tame pigs, some reddish, others black, white, or speckled. We saw tusks 1¼palmosin length, and a porker was killed weighing200 lbs. The natives roast them on hearths, wrapped up in plantain leaves. It is a clean way, which gives the meat a good colour, and none of the substance is lost.There are many fowls like those of Europe. They use capons. There are many wild pigeons, doves, ducks, and birds like partridges, with very fine plumage. One was found in a lasso, with which the natives catch them. There are many swallows; we saw a macaw and flocks of paroquets; and we heard, when on board at early dawn, a sweet harmony from thousands of different birds, apparently buntings, blackbirds, nightingales, and others. The mornings and afternoons were enjoyable from the pleasant odours emitted from trees and many kinds of flowers, together with the sweet basil. A bee was also seen, and harvest flies were heard buzzing.The fish are skate, sole, pollack, red mullet, shad, eels,pargos, sardines, and others; for which natives fish with a three-pronged dart, with thread of a fibrous plant, with nets in a bow shape, and at night with a light. Our people fished with hooks and with nets, for the most part. In swampy parts of the beach shrimps and mussels were seen.Their fruits are large, and they have many cocoa-nuts, so that they were not understood to put much store by them. But from these palms they make wine, vinegar, honey, and whey to give to the sick. They eat the small palms raw and cooked. The cocoa-nuts, when green, serve ascardos2and for cream. Ripe, they are nourishment as food and drink by land and sea. When old, they yield oil for lighting, and a curative balsam. The shells are good for cups and bottles. The fibres furnish tow for caulking a ship; and to make cables, ropes, and ordinary string, the best for an arquebus. Of the leaves they makesails for their canoes, and fine mats, with which they cover their houses, built with trunks of the trees, which are straight and high. From the wood they get planks, also lances and other weapons, and many things for ordinary use, all very durable. From the grease they get thegalagala, used instead of tar. In fine, it is a tree without necessity for cultivation, and bearing all the year round.There are three kinds of plantains: one, the best I have seen, pleasant to smell, tender and sweet.There are many “obos,” which is a fruit nearly the size and taste of a peach, on whose leaves may be reared silk-worms, as is done in other parts.There is a great abundance of a fruit which grows on tall trees, with large serrated leaves. They are the size of ordinary melons, their shape nearly round, the skin delicate, the surface crossed into four parts, the pulp between yellow and white, with seven or eight pips. When ripe it is very sweet; when green, it is eaten boiled or roasted. It is much eaten, and is found wholesome. The natives use it as ordinary food.There are two kinds of almonds: one with as much kernel as four nuts lengthways, the other in the shape of a triangle. Its kernel is larger than three large ones of ours and of an excellent taste.There is a kind of nut, hard outside, and the inside in one piece without division, almost like a chestnut: the taste nearly the same as the nuts of Europe.Oranges grow without being planted. With some the rind is very thick, with others delicate. The natives do not eat them. Some of our people said there were lemons.There are many, and very large, sweet canes: red and green, very long, with jointed parts. Sugar might be made from them.Many and large trees, bearing a kind of nut, grew on the forest-covered slopes near the port. They brought thesenuts on board as green as they were on the branches. Their leaves are not all green on one side, and on the other they turn to yellowish grey. Their length is ajeme,3more or less, and in the widest part three fingers. The nut contains two skins, between which grows what they call mace like a small net. Its colour is orange. The nut is rather large, and there are those who say that this is the best kind. The natives make no use of it, and our people used to eat it green, and put it into the pots, and used the mace for saffron.On the beach a fruit was found like a pineapple. Pedro was asked if it was eaten, and he replied that only the bark was eaten of the tree which yielded that fruit.There were other fruits, like figs, filberts, andalbaricoques, which were eaten. Others were seen, but it was not known what fruits they were, nor what others grew in that land. To give a complete account of them and of other things, it is necessary to be a year in the country, and to travel over much ground.As regards vegetables, I only knew of amaranth, purslane, and calabashes.The natives make from a black clay some very well-worked pots, large and small, as well as pans and porringers in the shape of small boats. It was supposed that they made some beverage, because in the pots and in cavities were found certain sour fruits.It appeared to us that we saw there quarries of good marble;4I say good, because several things were seen that were made of it and of jasper. There were also seen ebony and large mother-o’-pearl shells; also some moderate-sized looms. In one house a heap of heavy black stones was seen, which afterwards proved to be metal from whencesilver could be extracted, as will be seen further on. Two of our people said they had seen the footprints of a large animal.The climate appeared to be very healthy, both from the vigour and size of the natives, as because none of our men became ill all the time we were there, nor felt any discomfort, nor tired from work. They had not to keep from drinking while fasting, nor at unusual times, nor when sweating, nor from being wet with salt water or fresh, nor from eating whatever grew in the country, nor from being out in the evening under the moon, nor the sun, which was not very burning at noon, and at midnight we were glad of a blanket. The land is shown to be healthy, from the natives living in houses on terraces, and having so much wood, and because so many old people were seen. We heard few claps of thunder, and had little rain. As the rivers flowed with clear water, it was understood that the rains were over.It is to be noted that we had not seen cactus nor sandy wastes, nor were the trees thorny, while many of the wild trees yielded good fruit. It is also to be noted that we did not see snow on the mountains, nor were there any mosquitos or ants in the land, which are very harmful, both in houses and fields. There were no poisonous lizards either in the woods or the cultivated ground, nor alligators in the rivers. Fish and flesh keep good for salting during two or more days. The land is so pleasant, so covered with trees; there are so many kinds of birds, that, owing to this and other good signs, the climate may be considered to be clement, and that it preserves its natural order. Of what happens in the mountains we cannot speak until we have been there.As no very large canoes were seen, with so large a population, and such fine trees, but only some small ones, and the mountain ranges being so high to W. and E., and tothe S., and the river Jordan being so large, with great trees torn up and brought down at its mouth, we came to the conclusion that the land must be extensive, and yielding abundantly; and that consequently the people were indolent, and have no need to seek other lands.I am able to say, with good reason, that a land more delightful, healthy and fertile; a site better supplied with quarries, timber, clay for tiles, bricks for founding a great city on the sea, with a port and a good river on a plain, with level lands near the hills, ridges, and ravines; nor better adapted to raise plants and all that Europe and the Indies produce, could not be found. No port could be found more agreeable, nor better supplied with all necessaries, without any drawbacks; nor with such advantages for dockyards in which to build ships, nor forests more abundant in suitable timber good for futtock timbers, houses, compass timbers, beams, planks, masts and yards. Nor is there any other land that could sustain so many strangers so pleasantly, if what has been written is well considered. Nor does any other land have what this land has close by, at hand, and in sight of its port; for quite near there are seven islands, with coasts extending for 200 leagues, apparently with the same advantages, and which have so many, and such good signs, that they may be sought for and found without shoals or other obstacles; while nearly half-way there are other known islands, with inhabitants and ports where anchorages may be found. I have never seen, anywhere where I have been, nor have heard of such advantages.I take the port of Acapulco as an example, being well known as such a principal city of Mexico. I say that if it is good as an anchorage, it is very bad owing to the frequency of fogs, and the want of a river and of ballast; also, from being unhealthy most of the year, and intolerable from the heat and the mosquitos, and other molestinginsects for the rest; also for its inconvenient site near stony and dry hills, and because provisions have to come from a distance, and soon turn bad; and finally, because it is dear, and ships have a bad time from the S.E.If we look from the Strait of Magellan along its two coasts, on one side to Cape Mendocino, on the other to Newfoundland, being 7,000 or 8,000 leagues of coast, it will be found that, out of the ports that I have visited, that of San Juan de Ulloa does not merit the name of a port, nor its town to be inhabited by people; that Panama and Puerto Bello have little and bad accommodation; and that Payta, Callao, Havanna, Carthagena (the two latter being famous), La Guayra and Santa Martha, and many others, including those of Chile and Brazil, according to what I have been told, are wanting in many necessary things. Not one will be found which has all the advantages possessed by the port and land of which I treat. Being in 15°, more good things may be expected than from places in 20°, 30°, and 40°, if things turn out as they promise. I also say that if there is nothing better than what I have seen, it is sufficient for a principal place that may be settled.If we look round the coast of Spain, so good a port will not be found; while its soil only produces thorns, ilexes, and broom, or at best arbutus and myrtles, and other poor fruits; and he who grows them for profit has nothing for his pains. April and May failing, the fruits fail.5
This bay, to which the Captain gave the name of St. Philip and St. James, because it was discovered on their day, is 1,700 leagues from Lima, from Acapulco 1,300,from Manilla in the Philippines 1,100 leagues. Its entrance is to the N.W. in 15° S., and the port is in 15° 10′ S. The bay has a circuit of 20 leagues, at the entrance 4 leagues across. The variation of the compass is 7° N.E.
The land which forms the bay runs directly N. on the E. side, with sloping heights and peopled valleys well covered with trees. This side ends at the mouth of the bay with a height rising to a peak, and the coast runs E. and then S.E., but we could not see how it ends.
The other land to the W. runs nearly N.W., and to the point is 11 leagues in length, consisting of a range of hills of moderate height, which the sun bathes when it rises, and where there are patches without trees, covered with dried-up grass. Here are ravines and streams, some falling from the heights to the skirts of the hills, where many palm groves and villages were seen. From the point on this side the coast turns to the W.
The front of the bay, which is to the S., is 3 leagues long, and forms a beach. In the middle there is a river which was judged to be the size of the Guadalquivir at Seville. At its mouth the depth is 2 and more fathoms; so that boats and even frigates could enter. It received the name of the “Jordan.” On its right is seen the Southern Cross in the heavens, which makes the spot noteworthy.
To the eastward, at the corner of this bay, there is another moderate-sized river called “Salvador,” into which the boats entered at their pleasure to get water. The waters of both rivers are sweet, pleasant, and fresh. The one is distant from the other a league and a half, consisting of a beach of black gravel, with small heavy stones, excellent for ballast for a ship.
Between the said two rivers is the port. The bottom is clean, consisting of black sand, and here a great number of ships would have room up to 40½brazas. It is not knownwhether there are worms. As the beach is not bare nor driven up, and the herbs are green near the water, it was assumed that it was not beaten by the seas; and as the trees are straight and their branches unbroken, it was judged that there are no great storms. The port was named “Vera Cruz,” because we anchored there on that day.
In the whole bay we did not see a bank, rock, or reef; but it is so deep that there is no anchorage except at the above port. It is better to approach near the river Salvador, and there is another moderate port which is distant 2 leagues from this on the N. to S. coast.
All the said beach is bordered by a dense mass of great trees, with paths leading from them to the shore. It seemed to serve as a wall, the better to carry on defensive or offensive operations against other natives coming to make war. All the rest is a level plain, with hills on either side. These on the W. side run southward, becoming more elevated and more massive as their distance increases. As for the plain, we have not seen where it ends. The earth is black, rich, and in large particles. It is cleared of wild trees to make room for fruit trees, crops, and gardens surrounded by railings. There are many houses scattered about; and wherever a view could be obtained, many fires and columns of smoke were discerned, witnesses of a large population.
The natives generally seen here are corpulent, not quite black nor mulatto. Their hair is frizzled. They have good eyes. They cover their parts with certain cloths they weave. They are clean, fond of festivities and dancing to the sound of flute and drums made of a hollow piece of wood. They use shells also for musical instruments, and in their dances make great shouting at the advances, balances, and retreats. They were not known to use the herb.1
Their arms are heavy wooden clubs, and bows of the same, arrows of reed with wooden points, hardened in the fire, darts with pieces of bone enclosed.
Their interments are covered. We saw some enclosed with their oratories and figures, to which they make offerings. It is, to all appearance, a people courageous and sociable, but without care for the ills of their neighbours; for they saw some fighting with us without coming to help them.
The houses are of wood, covered with palm leaves, with two sloping sides to the roof, and with a certain kind of outhouse, where they keep their food. All their things are kept very clean. They also have flower-pots with small trees of an unknown kind. The leaves are very soft, and of a yellow-reddish colour.
The bread they use is mainly of roots, whose young shoots climb on poles, which are put near them for that purpose. The rind is grey, the pulp murrey colour, yellow, or reddish; some much larger than others. There are some a yard and a-half in thickness, also two kinds: one almost round, and the size of two fists, more or less. Their taste resembles the potatoes of Peru. The inside of the other root is white, its form and size that of a cob of maize when stripped. All three kinds have a pulp without fibres, loose, soft, and pleasant to the taste. These roots are bread made without trouble, there being nothing to do but to take them out of the earth, and eat them, roast or boiled. They are very good cooked in pots. Our people ate a great deal; and, being of a pleasant taste and satisfying, they left off the ship’s biscuit for them. These roots last so long without getting bad, that on reaching Acapulco those that were left were quite good.
Their meat consists of a great quantity of tame pigs, some reddish, others black, white, or speckled. We saw tusks 1¼palmosin length, and a porker was killed weighing200 lbs. The natives roast them on hearths, wrapped up in plantain leaves. It is a clean way, which gives the meat a good colour, and none of the substance is lost.
There are many fowls like those of Europe. They use capons. There are many wild pigeons, doves, ducks, and birds like partridges, with very fine plumage. One was found in a lasso, with which the natives catch them. There are many swallows; we saw a macaw and flocks of paroquets; and we heard, when on board at early dawn, a sweet harmony from thousands of different birds, apparently buntings, blackbirds, nightingales, and others. The mornings and afternoons were enjoyable from the pleasant odours emitted from trees and many kinds of flowers, together with the sweet basil. A bee was also seen, and harvest flies were heard buzzing.
The fish are skate, sole, pollack, red mullet, shad, eels,pargos, sardines, and others; for which natives fish with a three-pronged dart, with thread of a fibrous plant, with nets in a bow shape, and at night with a light. Our people fished with hooks and with nets, for the most part. In swampy parts of the beach shrimps and mussels were seen.
Their fruits are large, and they have many cocoa-nuts, so that they were not understood to put much store by them. But from these palms they make wine, vinegar, honey, and whey to give to the sick. They eat the small palms raw and cooked. The cocoa-nuts, when green, serve ascardos2and for cream. Ripe, they are nourishment as food and drink by land and sea. When old, they yield oil for lighting, and a curative balsam. The shells are good for cups and bottles. The fibres furnish tow for caulking a ship; and to make cables, ropes, and ordinary string, the best for an arquebus. Of the leaves they makesails for their canoes, and fine mats, with which they cover their houses, built with trunks of the trees, which are straight and high. From the wood they get planks, also lances and other weapons, and many things for ordinary use, all very durable. From the grease they get thegalagala, used instead of tar. In fine, it is a tree without necessity for cultivation, and bearing all the year round.
There are three kinds of plantains: one, the best I have seen, pleasant to smell, tender and sweet.
There are many “obos,” which is a fruit nearly the size and taste of a peach, on whose leaves may be reared silk-worms, as is done in other parts.
There is a great abundance of a fruit which grows on tall trees, with large serrated leaves. They are the size of ordinary melons, their shape nearly round, the skin delicate, the surface crossed into four parts, the pulp between yellow and white, with seven or eight pips. When ripe it is very sweet; when green, it is eaten boiled or roasted. It is much eaten, and is found wholesome. The natives use it as ordinary food.
There are two kinds of almonds: one with as much kernel as four nuts lengthways, the other in the shape of a triangle. Its kernel is larger than three large ones of ours and of an excellent taste.
There is a kind of nut, hard outside, and the inside in one piece without division, almost like a chestnut: the taste nearly the same as the nuts of Europe.
Oranges grow without being planted. With some the rind is very thick, with others delicate. The natives do not eat them. Some of our people said there were lemons.
There are many, and very large, sweet canes: red and green, very long, with jointed parts. Sugar might be made from them.
Many and large trees, bearing a kind of nut, grew on the forest-covered slopes near the port. They brought thesenuts on board as green as they were on the branches. Their leaves are not all green on one side, and on the other they turn to yellowish grey. Their length is ajeme,3more or less, and in the widest part three fingers. The nut contains two skins, between which grows what they call mace like a small net. Its colour is orange. The nut is rather large, and there are those who say that this is the best kind. The natives make no use of it, and our people used to eat it green, and put it into the pots, and used the mace for saffron.
On the beach a fruit was found like a pineapple. Pedro was asked if it was eaten, and he replied that only the bark was eaten of the tree which yielded that fruit.
There were other fruits, like figs, filberts, andalbaricoques, which were eaten. Others were seen, but it was not known what fruits they were, nor what others grew in that land. To give a complete account of them and of other things, it is necessary to be a year in the country, and to travel over much ground.
As regards vegetables, I only knew of amaranth, purslane, and calabashes.
The natives make from a black clay some very well-worked pots, large and small, as well as pans and porringers in the shape of small boats. It was supposed that they made some beverage, because in the pots and in cavities were found certain sour fruits.
It appeared to us that we saw there quarries of good marble;4I say good, because several things were seen that were made of it and of jasper. There were also seen ebony and large mother-o’-pearl shells; also some moderate-sized looms. In one house a heap of heavy black stones was seen, which afterwards proved to be metal from whencesilver could be extracted, as will be seen further on. Two of our people said they had seen the footprints of a large animal.
The climate appeared to be very healthy, both from the vigour and size of the natives, as because none of our men became ill all the time we were there, nor felt any discomfort, nor tired from work. They had not to keep from drinking while fasting, nor at unusual times, nor when sweating, nor from being wet with salt water or fresh, nor from eating whatever grew in the country, nor from being out in the evening under the moon, nor the sun, which was not very burning at noon, and at midnight we were glad of a blanket. The land is shown to be healthy, from the natives living in houses on terraces, and having so much wood, and because so many old people were seen. We heard few claps of thunder, and had little rain. As the rivers flowed with clear water, it was understood that the rains were over.
It is to be noted that we had not seen cactus nor sandy wastes, nor were the trees thorny, while many of the wild trees yielded good fruit. It is also to be noted that we did not see snow on the mountains, nor were there any mosquitos or ants in the land, which are very harmful, both in houses and fields. There were no poisonous lizards either in the woods or the cultivated ground, nor alligators in the rivers. Fish and flesh keep good for salting during two or more days. The land is so pleasant, so covered with trees; there are so many kinds of birds, that, owing to this and other good signs, the climate may be considered to be clement, and that it preserves its natural order. Of what happens in the mountains we cannot speak until we have been there.
As no very large canoes were seen, with so large a population, and such fine trees, but only some small ones, and the mountain ranges being so high to W. and E., and tothe S., and the river Jordan being so large, with great trees torn up and brought down at its mouth, we came to the conclusion that the land must be extensive, and yielding abundantly; and that consequently the people were indolent, and have no need to seek other lands.
I am able to say, with good reason, that a land more delightful, healthy and fertile; a site better supplied with quarries, timber, clay for tiles, bricks for founding a great city on the sea, with a port and a good river on a plain, with level lands near the hills, ridges, and ravines; nor better adapted to raise plants and all that Europe and the Indies produce, could not be found. No port could be found more agreeable, nor better supplied with all necessaries, without any drawbacks; nor with such advantages for dockyards in which to build ships, nor forests more abundant in suitable timber good for futtock timbers, houses, compass timbers, beams, planks, masts and yards. Nor is there any other land that could sustain so many strangers so pleasantly, if what has been written is well considered. Nor does any other land have what this land has close by, at hand, and in sight of its port; for quite near there are seven islands, with coasts extending for 200 leagues, apparently with the same advantages, and which have so many, and such good signs, that they may be sought for and found without shoals or other obstacles; while nearly half-way there are other known islands, with inhabitants and ports where anchorages may be found. I have never seen, anywhere where I have been, nor have heard of such advantages.
I take the port of Acapulco as an example, being well known as such a principal city of Mexico. I say that if it is good as an anchorage, it is very bad owing to the frequency of fogs, and the want of a river and of ballast; also, from being unhealthy most of the year, and intolerable from the heat and the mosquitos, and other molestinginsects for the rest; also for its inconvenient site near stony and dry hills, and because provisions have to come from a distance, and soon turn bad; and finally, because it is dear, and ships have a bad time from the S.E.
If we look from the Strait of Magellan along its two coasts, on one side to Cape Mendocino, on the other to Newfoundland, being 7,000 or 8,000 leagues of coast, it will be found that, out of the ports that I have visited, that of San Juan de Ulloa does not merit the name of a port, nor its town to be inhabited by people; that Panama and Puerto Bello have little and bad accommodation; and that Payta, Callao, Havanna, Carthagena (the two latter being famous), La Guayra and Santa Martha, and many others, including those of Chile and Brazil, according to what I have been told, are wanting in many necessary things. Not one will be found which has all the advantages possessed by the port and land of which I treat. Being in 15°, more good things may be expected than from places in 20°, 30°, and 40°, if things turn out as they promise. I also say that if there is nothing better than what I have seen, it is sufficient for a principal place that may be settled.
If we look round the coast of Spain, so good a port will not be found; while its soil only produces thorns, ilexes, and broom, or at best arbutus and myrtles, and other poor fruits; and he who grows them for profit has nothing for his pains. April and May failing, the fruits fail.5
1He means betel. See p. 51.2Thistles; teazel.3The space between the end of the thumb and the end of the forefinger, both stretched out.4Coral cliffs.5Captain Cook visited the Island of Espiritu Santo in August, 1774, and on the 25th entered the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, discovered by Quiros. The wind being S., Cook was obliged to beat to windward. Next morning he was 7 or 8 miles from the head of the bay, which is terminated by a low beach, and behind that an extensive flat covered with trees, and bounded on each side by a ridge of mountains. The latitude was 15° 5′ S. Steering to within 2 miles of the head of the bay, he sent Mr. Cooper and Mr. Gilbert to sound and reconnoitre the coast. Mr. Cooper reported that he had landed on the beach near a fine river. They found 3 fathoms close to the beach, and 55 two cables’ lengths off. At the ship there was no bottom with 170 fathoms. When the boat returned, Captain Cook steered down the bay; andduring the night there were many fires on the W. side. In the morning of the 27th the ship was off the N.W. point of the bay, in latitude 14° 39′ 30″. The bay has 20 leagues of sea-coast—6 on the E. side, 2 at the head, and 12 on the W. side. The two points which form the entrance bear S. 53° E., and N. 53° W., from each other distant 10 leagues. An uncommonly luxuriant vegetation was everywhere to be seen. Captain Cook named the E. point of the bay “Cape Quiros,” which is in 14° 56′ S., and longitude 167° 13′ E. He named the N.W. point “Cape Cumberland.” It is in 14° 38′ 45″ S., and 166° 49′ 30″ E.—Cook’s Second Voyage, vol. ii, p. 89.The Editor has to thank Dr. Bolton G. Corney for the following very interesting account of his visit to the bay of San Felipe y Santiago in 1876:—“While on a voyage through the New Hebrides in the barqueProspector, of 260 tons, in August, 1876, I visited the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, now commonly known to shipmasters and otherhabituésof the Western Pacific as the ‘Big Bay.’“The island itself is, for short, spoken of as ‘Santo,’ not only by local white men, but also by many of the natives of it and the neighbouring ones, many of whom have been in Fiji or Queensland, and have picked up a little Fijian or English, as the case may be.“TheProspectorwas chartered by the Government of Fiji to return 476 of these people to their homes, in completion of contracts made with them a few years before, after performing a term of labour on the cotton and maize or cocoa-nut plantations of that group of islands, which, in 1874, became a British Crown colony. I was in charge of these returning emigrants, both medically and as representing the Government.“We passed from Malikolo to ‘Santo’, and worked up under the lee of its western side to Pusei and Tasimate, landing and recruiting emigrants as we went, and bartering for yams, and taro, and pigs by way of provisions. We rounded Cape Cumberland (the extreme N.W. point of the island), and worked into the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, making one long board to the E.N.E or N.E. by E. first, and then a long leg to the S.S.W., or thereabouts, which brought us close in with the land on the W. side of the bay. The land there was high and steep, and we had deep water until quite close into the beach. We then went about and made short tacks towards thefundusof the bay, where we had to lay the barque quite close in to the shore before getting anchorage. The water was blue and clear, and I do not recollect seeing any reefs or patches. The anchorage we made for was known to our recruiting agents, who called it the ‘river Jordan.’ I have a recollection of hearing that we got 9 fathoms with the lead just before letting go. The water was quite smooth, protected by the land at the head of the bay from the prevailing trade-wind; and the barque lay at a few boats’ lengths from the beach—about 300 yards W. from theembouchureof the river.“Our objects in calling there were (i) to land certain natives of the place whom we had on board, with their earnings; (ii) to recruit others if any suitable ones offered; and (iii) to obtain wood and fill water.“The beach, if my memory does not mislead me, was of black sand, which is not an uncommon thing in islands of volcanic origin, such as the New Hebrides: the distance from low water-mark to the edge of the timber and undergrowth which fringed it just above high-watermark, was only a few yards—perhaps 18 or 25—except near the mouth of the river, where it was more shelving, and extended out into a sandy foreshore or bank corresponding to the bar, the dry land being flat and of alluvial formation.“The river was about as large as the Thames at Isleworth, and flowed into the bay through a wide and far-reaching valley from S. to N. Its banks were low, and overgrown with reeds and scrub, and more than usually free from the customary mangrove trees and bushes. We did not explore it for far, because the friendly attitude of the natives could not be depended on to last, if they should get us into a ‘corner;’ but I pulled into the river in one of the recruiting boats for a short distance, and selected a place at which we filled our beakers and water-casks with water of good and fresh quality. This was perhaps less than half a mile from the mouth: the water was clear, and we could see the bottom in mid-stream; but the tide was at the last of the ebb, as we had chosen that time for the sake of getting the freshest water.“The natives brought us some dead logs to the beach, and others on bamboos to the vessel’s side, much of which the sailors and officers bartered for in the belief that it was sandal wood. It was in reality, I believe, the wood known in Fijian asSevnaorCevna, a kind ofPittosporum, which grows near the sea and has a strong sandal-wood odour. We also obtained the natives’ consent to our cutting some firewood, which was mostly wild dawa (Nephilium pinnatum), andmulomulo(Hiliuscus populnea), a littoral tree often used in Fiji to cut boats’ knees from.“We recruited four men to go with us to Fiji for three years. They were all adults of about 20 to 24 years, tall, black, and athletic young men, much above the average stature of New Hebrideans anywhere north of Eromango; and the other people of the locality appeared to me equally well-built, and some 5 ft. 10 in. or 5 ft. 11 in. in height. I cannot say whether they were the true inhabitants of the place, as we saw no village nor huts: they may have been mountaineers from the interior on an excursion to the coast, the mountaineers in these islands being as a rule blacker, and I think taller (with exceptions), than the coast people.“They had no canoes—at least I saw none—except two small catamarans; and the timber they took alongside the ship was floated off by means of bamboos.“It is doubtful whether mountaineers would have possession of catamarans on the coast, or trust themselves to bamboo rafts.“The west shore of this bay rises steeply from the water throughout most of its extent: but there are narrow strips of low-lying flat land between the beach and the mountain side at intervals, continuous with the small valleys, where creeks or torrents, of which there are several, have deposited silt and boulders, and rockydébrisfrom the higher slopes. But, in so far as I remember, they are all insignificant in extent, as the mountain ridge which forms this large promontory and ends abruptly in Cape Cumberland, rises, as already mentioned, steeply from the sea, which is deep all along and around it, with only here and there even a fringing shore reef. There is no barrier reef whatever, and consequently no lagoon.“As to size of the ‘Big Bay,’ I should say that the distance from Cape Cumberland to the ‘Jordan’ is something like 30 miles. The head of the bay runs from the river mouth in an easterly directionfor 3 or perhaps 4 miles, being mostly flat, low-lying alluvium, and then sweeps round towards the N.E. and N., being more elevated and undulating, and ends in Cape Quiros. This land, forming the eastern horn of the bay, does not project so far seaward as the western promontory, and is neither so high nor so steep, nor so heavily timbered as the latter, which is in fact a continuation of the backbone of the island, as far out as Cape Cumberland. The eastern horn extends northward perhaps 10 or 12 miles only.“The depth or extent of the bay itself, from its chord formed by an imaginary E. and W. line drawn through Cape Quiros, seemed to me about a dozen miles, and it is of similar width. It may, therefore, contain nearly 150 square miles in area.“The anchorage is well protected from the prevailing trade-wind, which blows from E.S.E., and is sheltered from that point round by S. to N.W. It is not exposed either from E.N.E. to E.S.E., but from N.W. to N. and N.E. it is unsafe.”
1He means betel. See p. 51.
2Thistles; teazel.
3The space between the end of the thumb and the end of the forefinger, both stretched out.
4Coral cliffs.
5Captain Cook visited the Island of Espiritu Santo in August, 1774, and on the 25th entered the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, discovered by Quiros. The wind being S., Cook was obliged to beat to windward. Next morning he was 7 or 8 miles from the head of the bay, which is terminated by a low beach, and behind that an extensive flat covered with trees, and bounded on each side by a ridge of mountains. The latitude was 15° 5′ S. Steering to within 2 miles of the head of the bay, he sent Mr. Cooper and Mr. Gilbert to sound and reconnoitre the coast. Mr. Cooper reported that he had landed on the beach near a fine river. They found 3 fathoms close to the beach, and 55 two cables’ lengths off. At the ship there was no bottom with 170 fathoms. When the boat returned, Captain Cook steered down the bay; andduring the night there were many fires on the W. side. In the morning of the 27th the ship was off the N.W. point of the bay, in latitude 14° 39′ 30″. The bay has 20 leagues of sea-coast—6 on the E. side, 2 at the head, and 12 on the W. side. The two points which form the entrance bear S. 53° E., and N. 53° W., from each other distant 10 leagues. An uncommonly luxuriant vegetation was everywhere to be seen. Captain Cook named the E. point of the bay “Cape Quiros,” which is in 14° 56′ S., and longitude 167° 13′ E. He named the N.W. point “Cape Cumberland.” It is in 14° 38′ 45″ S., and 166° 49′ 30″ E.—Cook’s Second Voyage, vol. ii, p. 89.
The Editor has to thank Dr. Bolton G. Corney for the following very interesting account of his visit to the bay of San Felipe y Santiago in 1876:—
“While on a voyage through the New Hebrides in the barqueProspector, of 260 tons, in August, 1876, I visited the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, now commonly known to shipmasters and otherhabituésof the Western Pacific as the ‘Big Bay.’
“The island itself is, for short, spoken of as ‘Santo,’ not only by local white men, but also by many of the natives of it and the neighbouring ones, many of whom have been in Fiji or Queensland, and have picked up a little Fijian or English, as the case may be.
“TheProspectorwas chartered by the Government of Fiji to return 476 of these people to their homes, in completion of contracts made with them a few years before, after performing a term of labour on the cotton and maize or cocoa-nut plantations of that group of islands, which, in 1874, became a British Crown colony. I was in charge of these returning emigrants, both medically and as representing the Government.
“We passed from Malikolo to ‘Santo’, and worked up under the lee of its western side to Pusei and Tasimate, landing and recruiting emigrants as we went, and bartering for yams, and taro, and pigs by way of provisions. We rounded Cape Cumberland (the extreme N.W. point of the island), and worked into the bay of San Felipe y Santiago, making one long board to the E.N.E or N.E. by E. first, and then a long leg to the S.S.W., or thereabouts, which brought us close in with the land on the W. side of the bay. The land there was high and steep, and we had deep water until quite close into the beach. We then went about and made short tacks towards thefundusof the bay, where we had to lay the barque quite close in to the shore before getting anchorage. The water was blue and clear, and I do not recollect seeing any reefs or patches. The anchorage we made for was known to our recruiting agents, who called it the ‘river Jordan.’ I have a recollection of hearing that we got 9 fathoms with the lead just before letting go. The water was quite smooth, protected by the land at the head of the bay from the prevailing trade-wind; and the barque lay at a few boats’ lengths from the beach—about 300 yards W. from theembouchureof the river.
“Our objects in calling there were (i) to land certain natives of the place whom we had on board, with their earnings; (ii) to recruit others if any suitable ones offered; and (iii) to obtain wood and fill water.
“The beach, if my memory does not mislead me, was of black sand, which is not an uncommon thing in islands of volcanic origin, such as the New Hebrides: the distance from low water-mark to the edge of the timber and undergrowth which fringed it just above high-watermark, was only a few yards—perhaps 18 or 25—except near the mouth of the river, where it was more shelving, and extended out into a sandy foreshore or bank corresponding to the bar, the dry land being flat and of alluvial formation.
“The river was about as large as the Thames at Isleworth, and flowed into the bay through a wide and far-reaching valley from S. to N. Its banks were low, and overgrown with reeds and scrub, and more than usually free from the customary mangrove trees and bushes. We did not explore it for far, because the friendly attitude of the natives could not be depended on to last, if they should get us into a ‘corner;’ but I pulled into the river in one of the recruiting boats for a short distance, and selected a place at which we filled our beakers and water-casks with water of good and fresh quality. This was perhaps less than half a mile from the mouth: the water was clear, and we could see the bottom in mid-stream; but the tide was at the last of the ebb, as we had chosen that time for the sake of getting the freshest water.
“The natives brought us some dead logs to the beach, and others on bamboos to the vessel’s side, much of which the sailors and officers bartered for in the belief that it was sandal wood. It was in reality, I believe, the wood known in Fijian asSevnaorCevna, a kind ofPittosporum, which grows near the sea and has a strong sandal-wood odour. We also obtained the natives’ consent to our cutting some firewood, which was mostly wild dawa (Nephilium pinnatum), andmulomulo(Hiliuscus populnea), a littoral tree often used in Fiji to cut boats’ knees from.
“We recruited four men to go with us to Fiji for three years. They were all adults of about 20 to 24 years, tall, black, and athletic young men, much above the average stature of New Hebrideans anywhere north of Eromango; and the other people of the locality appeared to me equally well-built, and some 5 ft. 10 in. or 5 ft. 11 in. in height. I cannot say whether they were the true inhabitants of the place, as we saw no village nor huts: they may have been mountaineers from the interior on an excursion to the coast, the mountaineers in these islands being as a rule blacker, and I think taller (with exceptions), than the coast people.
“They had no canoes—at least I saw none—except two small catamarans; and the timber they took alongside the ship was floated off by means of bamboos.
“It is doubtful whether mountaineers would have possession of catamarans on the coast, or trust themselves to bamboo rafts.
“The west shore of this bay rises steeply from the water throughout most of its extent: but there are narrow strips of low-lying flat land between the beach and the mountain side at intervals, continuous with the small valleys, where creeks or torrents, of which there are several, have deposited silt and boulders, and rockydébrisfrom the higher slopes. But, in so far as I remember, they are all insignificant in extent, as the mountain ridge which forms this large promontory and ends abruptly in Cape Cumberland, rises, as already mentioned, steeply from the sea, which is deep all along and around it, with only here and there even a fringing shore reef. There is no barrier reef whatever, and consequently no lagoon.
“As to size of the ‘Big Bay,’ I should say that the distance from Cape Cumberland to the ‘Jordan’ is something like 30 miles. The head of the bay runs from the river mouth in an easterly directionfor 3 or perhaps 4 miles, being mostly flat, low-lying alluvium, and then sweeps round towards the N.E. and N., being more elevated and undulating, and ends in Cape Quiros. This land, forming the eastern horn of the bay, does not project so far seaward as the western promontory, and is neither so high nor so steep, nor so heavily timbered as the latter, which is in fact a continuation of the backbone of the island, as far out as Cape Cumberland. The eastern horn extends northward perhaps 10 or 12 miles only.
“The depth or extent of the bay itself, from its chord formed by an imaginary E. and W. line drawn through Cape Quiros, seemed to me about a dozen miles, and it is of similar width. It may, therefore, contain nearly 150 square miles in area.
“The anchorage is well protected from the prevailing trade-wind, which blows from E.S.E., and is sheltered from that point round by S. to N.W. It is not exposed either from E.N.E. to E.S.E., but from N.W. to N. and N.E. it is unsafe.”