Acapulco in 17. degrees of latitude. We imbarked our selues in the hauven of Acapulco on the 8. of Iuly in the yeere of our Lord 1539, calling vpon almighty God to guide vs with his holy hand vnto such places where he might be serued, and
his holy faith aduanced. And we sailed from the said port by the coast of Sacatula and Motin, which is sweete and pleasant through the abundance of trees that grow thereon, and riuers which passe through those countries, for the which wee often thanked God the creatour of them. So sailing along we came to the hauen of S. Iago in the province of Colima: but before we arriued there, the maine mast of our ship called Santa Agueda was broken by a storme of winde that tooke vs, so as the ship was forced to saile without her mast vntil we arriued in the said hauen. From the port of Acapulco to this hauen of Colima wee were sayling the space of 20. dayes. Here we stayed to mende our mast and to take in certaine victuals, water, and wood, the space of 27. dayes. And wee departed from the saide hauen the 23. of August, and sayling by the Isles of Xalisco the 27. or 28. of the saide moneth wee were taken with an extreame tempest wherein wee thought we should have perished, and being tossed and weather-beaten, wee ranne as farre as the riuer of Guajalua in the Prouince of Culiacan. Santa Cruz in the point of California. In this storme wee lost the pinnessee called Sant Thomas, and because wee had lost her wee crossed ouer to the port of Santa Cruz in California: for while wee were so beaten in the former tempest, the pilot of the Barke signified vnto vs, that he perceiued she beganne to leake, and that already she had received in much water, insomuch that she beganne to founder: whereupon, to helpe her neede, and that we might meete together in a knowen hauen, if by chance the tempest should separate vs, as it did indeed, we willed him to repaire to the hauen of Santa Cruz, where we meant to repaire his harmes and our owne. Wherefore being all arriued in this place of Santa Cruz, wee stayed there fiue dayes and tooke in water, wherein we heard no newes of our Barke which we had lost: Whereupon the Captaine resolued to follow on our voyage; wherefore we set saile the 12. of September, and as we sailed wee saw along the coast of the said hauen 3. Islands, whereof the Captaine made no great accompt, thinking there coulde be no great good found in any of them. These Islands seemed not to be great; wherefore he commanded the Masters and pilotes to proceed on their voyage, and not to leese time without any profit. Rio de san Pedro y san Pablo. So sailing ouer the gulfe of California, in two dayes and an halfe we came to the riuer of S. Peter and S. Paul, finding before we entered into the same a small Island in
the mouth of the Riuer, being 4. or 5. miles distant from the maine. On both sides of the Riuer wee beheld goodly and pleasant great plaines full of many green and beautiful trees, and farther within the land we beheld certaine exceeding high mountaines full of woods very pleasant to beholde. From this riuer wee sailed still along the coast the space of 15 leagues, in which course wee found two other Riuers in our iudgement as great or greater then Guadalquiuir the Riuer of Siuilia in Spaine. Al the coast by these Riuers is plaine as the other which we had passed, with many woods: likewise within the lande appeared great mountaines couered with woods very beautifull to beholde, and beneath in the plaine appeared certaine lakes of water. From these Riuers we sailed 18 leagues, and found very pleasant plaines, and certaine great lakes whose mouthes opened into the Sea: here our Capitane thought good throughly to discouer what those lakes were, and to search whether there were any good hauen for his ships to ride in, or to harbour themselues, if any tempest should arise; and so he commaunded a boat to be hoised out into the Sea, with a Master and fiue or sixe men to view them, and to sound the depth, and bottom of them: who went thither, and found the coast very sholde, and the mouthes of the lakes; whereupon they made no accompt of them, onely because the shore was so shallow, for otherwise the land was very pleasant. Here at euening we saw on the shore 10. or 12. Indians and fires. The aforesaide two Riuers are two leagues distant the one from the other little more or lesse, and are great, as I haue saide, and being in the last of them we went vp to the ship-top, and saw many lakes, and one among the rest exceeding great, and wee supposed that they had their springs out of this great lake, as other Riuers also haue from other lakes, for wee sawe the course of them seuerally each by themselues, hauing goodly woods growing all along their bankes. The currents of these Riuers might be discerned three leagues within the Sea: and at the mouthes of them were many small stakes set vp for markes: the shore here is plaine and sandie, and the countrey very pleasant.
Chap. 2.
Sailing along the coast from the two aforesaid great Riuers, they discouer three mouthes of lakes and a goodly Countrey, they come vnto Cabo Roxo, and take possession of those countreys for the Emperours Maiesty. A discourse of the faire hauens that are on those coastes, and of very many Islands which they saw, before they came to the Cape called Capo de las Plaias.
This day wee sailed along the coast the space of 16. leagues, and in the midst of this voyage, there is a Bay very faire of 4. or 5. leagues, hauing certaine bankes or fences in it, in beholding whereof we tooke great pleasure. The night following we road in 20. fadome water. The coast runneth Northward. The next day we followed our voyage toward the North, and hauing sailed 3. or 4. leagues we saw 3. mouthes of lakes which entred into the land, where they became like standing pooles. Wee road a league distance from these mouthes in 6. fadome water, to see what they were, and sent our boat with certaine men, to see if there were any entry for our ships: for halfe a league from shore we had not past one or two fadome water. Here our men saw 7. or 8. Indians, and found sundry sorts of greene herbes somewhat differing from those of Nueua Espanna. The Countrey is plaine, but farre within the land they saw great and small hils extending themselues a great way, and being very faire and pleasant to behold. The day following we proceeded on our voyage sayling alwayes in sight of the plaine coast toward the Northwest, in 10. or 15. fadome water. And hauing sailed 6. good leagues we found a Bay on the coast within the land of about 5. leagues ouer, from whence the coast trendeth Northwest, and this day we sailed about 16 leagues. All this coast is plaine, and not so pleasant as that which we had passed: here are certaine small hilles, but not so high as those which we had found before. Thus we sailed all night Northwest, and vntil the next day at noone, at which time we fell with a headland of white sand, where by the height which we tooke that day we found our selues to be in the latitude of 27. degrees and 3⁄4. This cape we called Capo Roxo. All the coast is plaine and faire and cleane sand, and we saw within land some few trees not very great, with certaine mountaines and woods 3. or 4. leagues
distant from the said cape: and here likewise appeared a mouth of a riuer, which (as far as we could discerne) made certaine lakes vp within the land: from the mouth whereof for the space of a league into the sea it seemed to be very sholde, because the sea did breake very much. Here we saw within the land 3. or 4. riuers. The coast runneth Northward. In this sort we sailed on our voiage to the Northward, and because we had not good weather we road that night in a great hauen lying in our way, where on the shore wee saw certaine plaines, and vp within the land certaine hilles not very high: and continuing our course toward the North about 3. leagues from this hauen, we found an Iland of about one league in circuite lying before the mouth of the said hauen. And sailing forward we found an hauen which hath two mouthes into the Sea, into which we entered by the Northermost mouth, which hath 10. or 12. fadome water, and so decreaseth till it come to 5. fadome, where we anckered in a poole which the Sea maketh, which is a strange thing to beholde, for there are so many entrances and mouths of streames and hauens, that we were all astonied at the sight thereof: and these hauens are so excellently framed by nature, as the like are not to bee seene in the world, wherein we found great store of fish. Here we anckered, and the Captaine went on shore, and tooke possession, vsing all such ceremonies as thereunto belong. Fishing weares like those of Virginia. Here also wee found certaine weares to catch fish made by the Indians, and certaine small cottages, wherein were diuers pieces of earthen pots as finely made as those in Spaine. Here by commandement of the Captaine a Crosse was erected vpon an hil, and it was set vp by Francis Preciado. In this place we saw the Countrey full of fresh and greene grasse, howbeit differing from that of New Spaine, and vp within the Countrey we saw many great and very greene mountaines. This Countrey seemed very goodly and delightsome to all of vs, in regard to the greennesse and beautie thereof, and we iudged it to be very populous within the land. From this hauen we departed and kept our way toward the Northwest with good weather, and began to finde hard by the sea-shore exceeding high mountaines spotted with white, and in them we saw many foules which had their nestes in certaine holes of those rocks, and sailed 10. leagues vntil night, all which night we were becalmed. The next day we followed our course Northwest with good weather: and from that day forward we
began to see on the Westerne shore (whereon the foresaid hauen of S. Cruz standeth) certaine Islands or high lands, whereat we reioyced not a little. And so sayling forward we met with an Island about two leagues in bignesse, and on the East shore hauing still the maine land and Islands in sight, we sailed 15. leagues vntil the euening, alwayes finding hard by the sea-coast exceeding high mountaines bare of trees, the land appearing still more plainely vnto vs on the Westerne shore. Some take the land of California to be nothing but Islands. Whereupon wee began to be of diuers opinions, some thinking that this coast of Santa Cruz was a firme land, and that it ioyned with the continent of Nueua Espanna, others thought the contrary, and that they were nothing else but Islands, which were to the Westward. And in this sort we proceeded forward, hauing the land on both sides of vs, so farre, that we all began to wonder at it. This day we sailed some 15. leagues, and called this Cape Capo de las Plaias.
Chap. 3.
Of the Streight which they discouered on the coast of Capo de las Plaias, and of the pleasant Countrey which they found before they came to the rockes called Los diamantes. Of the wonderfull whitenesse of that Sea, and of the ebbing and flowing thereof: and of the multitude of Islands and lands, which extend themselues Northward from the hauen of Santa Cruz.