THE SECOND VOYAGE. 5 



This same Quiros was the first sent out, with the 

 sole view of discovering a Southern Continent ; and, 

 indeed, he seems to have been the first who had any 

 idea of the existence of one. 



He sailed from Callao the 21st of December, 1605, 



as pilot of the fleet, commanded by Luis Paz de 



Torres, consisting of two ships and a tender ; and 



steering to the W. S. W. on the 26th of January, 



1606, being then, by their reckoning, a thousand 



Spanish leagues from the coast of America, they 



discovered a small low island in latitude 25 South. 



Two days after, they discovered another that was 



high, with a plain on the top. This is, probably, 



the same that Captain Carteret calls Pitcairn's Island. 



After leaving these islands, Quiros seems to have 



directed his course to the W. N. W. and N. W. to 



10 or 11 South latitude, and then westward, till 



he arrived at the Bay of St. Philip and Jago, in the 



island of Tierra del Espiritu Santo. In this route he 



discovered several islands; probably, some of those 



that have been seen by later navigators. 



On leaving the Bay of St. Philip and St. Jago, the 

 two ships were separated. Quiros, with the Capitana, 

 stood to the north, and returned to New Spain, after 

 having suffered greatly for want of provisions and 

 water. Torres, with the Almiranta and the tender, 

 steered to the west, and seems to have been the first 

 who sailed between New Holland and New Guinea. 

 The next attempt to make discoveries in the South 

 Pacific Ocean was conducted by Le Maire and 

 Schouten. They sailed from the Texel on the 

 14th of June, 1615, with the ships Concord and 

 Horn. The latter was burnt by accident in Port 

 Desire. With the other, they discovered the Strait 

 that bears the name of Le Maire, and were the first 

 who ever entered the Pacific Ocean, by the way of 

 Cape Horn. 



They discovered the island of Dogs, in latitude 

 15 15' South, longitude 136 30' West ; Sondre 



b 3 



