200 JOUENAL OF GALLEGO. 



gatoi' ill 1781. Now, seeing that this atoll is not more than six 

 miles across, it cannot possibly be identical with the extensive reefs 

 which are above described by Gallego under the name of the 

 Candelaria Shoals. As shown in the appendix,^ it is highly pro- 

 bable that these shoals are the same with those which lie about 

 35 miles to the north of the Roncador Reef, where they constitute 

 an atoll fift}'- miles in width which was discovered by the Dutch 

 navigators Le Maire and Schouten in 1616, and was named "Ontong 

 Java " by Tasman in 1643. 



Leaving these shoals, they steered south-west, expecting to 

 sight land, which could not have been, in the opinion of Gallego, 

 more than fifty leagues distant. During the night, however, they 

 had to heave-to on account of the heavy weather ; and on the 

 following day, which was the day of our Lady of Candlemas, they 

 experienced the same weather and were obliged to take in all sail 

 During the next day, which was the 4th of Februarj'-, the weather 

 improved ; and steering at first west-by-north they subsequently 

 stood to the south-west ; and as night approached they shortened 

 sail, in the event of there being other reefs and shoals such as those 

 they had already passed. The prevailing winds had been north- 

 west ; but on the following day the wind went round to the west 

 and fell very light. For four days they had been unable to take 

 observations on account of the thick weather. On the oth,^ their 

 latitude was found in 7° 8', from which Gallego inferred that in 

 those four days they had drifted fifteen leagues to the south-by-west. 

 They now made sail and headed north.^ (?) 



" This day," writes Gallego, '' was Saturday, the 7th of February, 

 and the 80th day since we set out from Callao, the port of the City 

 of the Kings. In the morning I ordered a seaman to go aloft to the 

 top and scan the south for land, because there seemed to me to be 

 in that quarter an elevated mass ; and the seaman reported land. 

 The land soon became visible to us ; and a signal of our discovery 

 was made to the ' Almiranta ' which was half a league from the 

 ' Capitana ' (Gallego 's vessel). Every one received the news with 

 feelings of great joy and gratitude for the favour which God had 

 granted them through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the 



1 Vide Note IV. of the Geographical Appendix. 



2 There is apparently an error in the journal with reference to this date, since the 6th is 

 omitted altogether. 



3 The subsequent remarks relative to the course show that there is here an error in the 

 M.S., or in the original journal. 



