WHOLE VOL. THE WEST INDIES— VAZQUEZ DE ESPINOSA 189 



Chapter III 



Continuing the Description of the Kingdom of New Galicia and 

 the Kingdom of CaHfornia. 



531. The district of this Kingdom of New GaHcia contains many 

 other provinces, of which I shall give no detailed description, not 

 desiring to make this account too long ; within their limits are ex- 

 tensive provinces of heathen to be converted to the Faith. To the 

 NW. along the coast come those of CaHfornia. Capt. Thomas de 

 Cardona, who is at present Master of His Majesty's Bedchamber, 

 with other officers and wealthy men whom he won over to partner- 

 ship with him, made an agreement with His Majesty for the explora- 

 tion of these provinces and the rich banks and beds of pearls and 

 coral to be found there. 



532. For this purpose Capt. Nicolas de Cardona his nephew left 

 for their exploration, at great expense incurred for the expedition, 

 and on March 21, 1614, he sailed from the port of Acapulco with 

 four ships, carrying soldiers as well as sailors, under orders from 

 His Majesty to explore this kingdom and these provinces of Cali- 

 fornia and the pearl beds. He reached the mouth or entrance to it, 

 which begins in 22° 2,0' N., at over 50 leagues on a NW. course; 

 both along that part of the continent of New Spain which lies in the 

 district of New Vizcaya or on its borders, and along the California 

 coast, the water is red, for which reason they call it the Red Sea 

 (Mar Bermejo). 



533. Along the California coast for a distance of over 100 leagues 

 he found fields and beds of the oysters which produce pearls, and 

 on the shore great heaps and mounds of their shells ; the Indians 

 gather them and live on them. Besides these, there are lagoons in 

 which salt is made and put up in cakes. The mountain ranges are 

 paved with rich veins and ore deposits of silver. He went as far 

 up as 33° N. along the arm of the sea which lies between California 

 and the mainland, running N. In those regions there are great dunes 

 or sand hills which the violent northers which dash through there at 

 times, move from one point to another. 



534. California is an island and not continental as it is represented 

 to be on the maps by the cosmographers, for they connect it with 

 the mainland at 28°3o'. That is not so, for this Capt. Nicholas de 

 Cardona sailed up to 33° and much sea still lay before him to navi- 

 gate ; he had to turn back for lack of supplies. And that it is an island 

 is confirmed by the fact that Capt. Jeronimo Marquez came down 

 from the villages and Provinces of Moqui, which are close to New 

 Mexico, with 25 companions in a brigantine and they went out on 



