He was anxious to find if Rocky Pass would afford a passage for his ship, and spent the remainder of the day in examining it; but a rocky ledge, which ran across, barred it to the ship, and made it dangerous even for boats at the strength of the tide.
Moresby's experiences help to show the difficulties that the Spaniards had to deal with, and also that Torres must have been compelled to leave his two ships at anchor somewhere to the south of the Baya de San Milian; San Francisco Bay, for instance; and use the only rowing boat he had for his excursions.
In this he explored the bay formed by the horse-shoe-shape of Basilisk Island, named it the Baya de San Milian (modern Jenkins Bay), and penetrated to the largest bay to be found among all the islands he had discovered in this region--that is Milne Bay. He says: "We went a long way out from Cabo Fresco [modern Challis Head of Moresby's chart], which is as far as we could go towards the east in a boat."
Other nautical remarks which I translate from the old Spanish text of the chart are: "Towards the E. [N.E.] we did not see the end of the land, but we could judge from the various small islands that the channels were wide; towards the west there are no channels, only land and continuous lofty ridges, 'Tierra alta y cerrada' (evidently the Mount Owen Stanly ranges in the distance). We steered in that direction, but had to give up further progress after a while owing to the inadequacy of our boat."
These and other notes on the Spanish chart correspond exactly with what Moresby says of Milne Bay; and the dimensions given to that bay by de Prado, the cartographer of the expedition (40 leagues in circumference), may be considered as a fairly correct estimate.
On the 18th of July, Torres and his party having concluded their running survey of Basilisk Island, landed and took possession in the name of the king of Spain, naming as I have said, the whole territory the TIERRA DE SAN BUENAVENTURA.
A careful examination which I have made of a much distorted copy of a general map of New Guinea, made by Torres' cartographer, shows that Torres' Tierra de san Buenaventura (Basilisk Island), is one of several islands off the south-eastern extremity of New Guinea; and, by coupling this fact with what Torres says of his inability to navigate the bay (Milne Bay), and proceed east of Cabo Fresco (Challis Head), although he noticed wide channels in that direction, we may infer that the reefs and coral patches (not contrary winds as generally believed) compelled him to seek the southwest passage to Manila.*
[* Torres evidently did not discover the passage, discovered by Moresby and named by him China Strait, otherwise he might have been able to take the northern course.]
This becomes still more evident when we consider that Moresby also was unable to take his ship through to the northern shores.
From these regions Torres sailed to Orangerie Bay of modern charts, which he discovered on the 10th of August, 1606, and named in consequence, THE GREAT BAY OF ST. LAWRENCE.*