JOURNAL OF GALLEGO. 199 



Although being so near to this island, we could not get bottom 

 with 200 fathoms." 



The decision of Gallego naturally caused much discontent 

 amongst the crews. " The soldiers murmured " — thus the Journal 

 continues — " because they were unwilling to leave this island, not- 

 withstanding that they would run the chance of losing their lives. 

 Being weary of the voyage, they took no pains to conceal their 

 displeasure. But I cheered them and consoled them with the 

 assurance that they would meet with no misfortune, and that with 

 the grace of God, I would give them more land than they would 

 be able to people ; for this island (as I pointed out to them) was 

 not more than live or six leagues in size. I sjave it the name of 

 the Isle of Jesus, because we arrived at it on the day after that 

 which we accounted the 15th of January." ^ 



As the Spanish voyagers were now approaching the scene of their 

 future discoveries, their course becomes of peculiar interest to the 

 historical geographer.^ Continuing their voyage on the 17th of 

 January, they had before them a long and tedious passage, having 

 to contend with contrary winds and being swept north and south 

 in turns by the currents. On the 23rd, they were in the latitude 

 of 6°, and on the 28th in 5|°. At length on Sunday the 1st of 

 February, when they were according to their reckoning 165 leagues 

 from the Isle of Jesus, they discovered two leagues away^ some 

 banks of reefs with some islets in the middle of them. " These 

 shoals " — as described by Gallego — " ran obliquely from north-east 

 to south-west. We were not able" — so he writes — "to o^et their 

 extremity within our range of sight ; but as far as we could see 

 them they extended more than fifteen leagues. We gave them the 

 name of 'Los Bajos de la Candelaria,' because we saw them on 

 Candlemas Eve : and I took the latitude near them, when we lay 

 east and west with their centre, and found it to be 6J°." On refer- 

 ring to the present Admiralty charts, it will be noticed that the 

 name " Candelaria Reef," is applied to an atoll lying about eighty 

 miles to the north of the large island of Isabel in the Solomon 

 Group and named " El Roncador" by Maurelle the Spanish navi- 



1 It is scarcely possible to identify this island with any of the islands marked in the 

 latest Admiralty charts. Fide Note III. of the Geographical Appendix. 



- I would direct the nautical reader to Note V. of the Geographical Appendix which 

 refers to Gallego 's observations of latitude in this group. He will thus be saved some con- 

 fusion in comparing the Spanish latitudes with those of the present charts. 



3 Thus the distance of these shoals from the Isle of Jesus would be probably about 167 

 leagues in all. Figueroa gives the distance as 160 leagues. 



