The Captain then lowered the two boats, and sent an officer with the boat’s crews to search for water, for the scarcity of it forced them to be on an allowance of a cuartillo a day. They went on shore, searched for water, but could find none, and returned on board.
This island of San Bernardo is uninhabited, divided into four or five hummocks, and all the rest submerged. Its circumference appeared to be 10 leagues. It is in latitude 10° 40′. The anchorage is on the north side, and only available for small vessels. Its distance from the city of the Kings was calculated to be 1,400 leagues. An old canoe, lying on her side, was found on the island.
There was a great number of fish inshore, and, owing to the water being very shallow, they were killed with swords and poles. There were great numbers of lobster and craw-fish, and other kinds of marine animals. They found a great quantity of cocoa-nuts in a heap at the foot of the palm trees, many large, and of different sizes. There were a great quantity of sea birds of several kinds, and so importunate that they seemed to want to attack the men. We took plenty of all these things.
It seemed to the Captain that on an island where there are so many trees there could not fail to be water. He wished to wait during that night, so that on the following day they might return and make a more thorough search for water, and at least they could get more fish. The Chief Pilot said that the people were tired, and made other excuses and said things, making them all legitimate daughters of our necessities.
The Captain, finding himself very ill and overwhelmed by cares of many kinds, and that there were some who, like moths, were eating against the enterprise, and causing much discontent, and that they kept in memory the great abundance of the court, the cold snows, the fresh fruit, and other memories which cooled their wills and changed them in other ways, and that up to the present time we had not found an island with a port, nor water, and that it was not right to risk the little we had in a business that was so important, the weather being doubtful and the point in the direction of which we should find land uncertain: for these and other reasons, which I leave out, it was decided that the best course would be to seek the island of Santa Cruz, which was known to possess a port and water, and other things necessary for the provisioning of a ship, intending to begin to make discoveries from there, as if we were starting from Lima. In prosecution of this decision we steered west.
That night there was a great disturbance on board the Capitana. At the noise the Captain came out, and found some tackling each other, others going to arm themselves, and the Chief Pilot with a drawn sword, with which he had wounded a man. It was taken out of his hands, without understanding who was the culprit or who was the author of the disturbance. That which the Captain felt he kept to himself, confessing that he was so weak that he was unable to say in a loud voice a third word.
Chapter XII.
How they sighted the second inhabited island, and what happened there.
With the wind in the east, they continued on a western course until the 1st of March. That night, the launch being ahead, she fired off a small piece, and a man shouted, “Land ahead!” Presently we saw it, and a fire burning, at the sight of which there was great content. When it became broad daylight we saw an island, and steered towards it. When we came near, two canoes came out to reconnoitre, but the people in them, though we called, would not wait. The launch anchored very near the land, and presently a fleet of ten small canoes, rowing fast and as if racing, came out towards the Capitana. Having arrived, we saw on board them some tall men, well made and handsome, and of a good colour. They all came singing to the sound of their paddles, one of them leading, to whom the rest replied; and by signs they told us to call to the Almiranta, that by rounding a certain point he would follow the way outside; showing that it gave them sorrow to see that, and that they remained joyful now that they saw her return. They also gave us to understand, pointing with their fingers, that we should go to their port. What their object was they knew. Many stood upright, and with arms and hands, legs and feet, and with their paddles, they made sounds with great dexterity, dances, and gestures. Their chief theme was music, and to show themselves joyful and merry before our ships. But in spite of our importunities, they never would come on board, nor eat of anything we gave them, which they received on the points of their lances and showed to all the others; and what fell into the sea they dexterously recovered, by diving for it.