AUSTRIALIA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO 185 



written protest against the Northward course taken by 



the troublesome Pilot at 26. Ultimately he had persuaded 



Quiros to hand this troublesome Pilot into his own custody, 



and he expresses his regret that Quiros had refused to 



" do anything further to him or others, though I strongly 



importuned him to punish or give me leave to punish 



them." Torres' opinion was that this adverse spirit still 



persisted on the Capitana. It had shown itself when 



they had turned Southward from Taumaco ; "a certain 



person from the Almirante shouted that they should go 



in search of Santa Cruz." It was held, says Torres, that 



"as it was winter, we could not exceed the Latitude 



of 14, though my opinion was always directly contrary." 



They had in fact sailed to the Harbour of St. Philip and 



St. James in 15. But the opinion of Torres was, that the 



malignant party had determined that in midwinter they 



should sail no further South. This seemed to him the Quiros had 



obvious explanation of the conduct of the Capitana, as C j^p e n e d 



seen from the Almirante on that dark stormy Sunday to sail home. 



night. " From within the Bay," he writes, " and from 



the most sheltered part of it, the Capitana departed at 



one hour past midnight." Things were again as they had 



been when the fatal change had been made at 26. Once 



more the sick and unhappy captain had been " made to 



turn out of his course," made to sail North when his duty 



was to sail South. Such was the opinion of Torres, written 



without opportunity of conversation with Quiros. 



One of those who sailed with Torres was a man named of Di 

 Diego de Prado y Tobar. On the 24th and 25th of December, Prado y 

 1613, he wrote letters to the King, enclosing very impor- 

 tant maps. These letters were written by one who had heard 

 the story told by some who had sailed on the Capitana. 

 The writer describes Quiros as an entirely incompetent 

 person of low-class Portuguese origin. The only dis- 

 coveries of " this impostor" were "some reefs and small 

 islands," from which he was driven by the mutiny of 

 his crew. " The wind coming rather fresh from the South, 

 at eight o'clock in the night the mutineers effected their 

 evil intention ; and it being dark, and far from us, they 



