JOURNAL OF GALLEGO. 201 



Glorious Mother of God, whom we all believed to be our mediator ; 

 and the ' Te Deum laudamus ' was suno-." 



O 



They were distant from the land, when they first saw it, about 

 15 leagues. It is described in the journal as "very high." Turning 

 the ships' heads ia that direction, after they had gone 3 or 4 leagues, 

 they discovered much more land belonging to the same island which 

 appeared to be a continent. They did not get up to it until the 

 evening of the next day, wdiich was Sunday the 8th of February. 



" Shortly after we arrived," continues Gallego in his nari-ative, 

 "many large and small canoes came ofi'to see us, displaying signs of 

 amity. But they did not dare to come alongside the vessels ; and 

 as we approached the land, they kept away. However the General 

 threw them some coloured caps, and being thus assured they came 

 alongside the ship. The boat was launched, and in it went Juan 

 P^nriquez witii eight musketeers and target-men (rodoleros) to see 

 if they could find a port to anchor in, and also to search for 

 the place whence the canoes had come. The rest of the natives 

 became more confident, and some of them came on board the ship. 

 As they behaved well, we gave them things to eat and drink ; and 

 they remained on board until it began to grow dark, when they 

 got into their canoes and went ashore. And those who had jrone 

 away in the boat, seeing that it was getting dusk, returned without 

 having found any port. As soon as it was dark we stood out to 

 sea, and the natives in the canoes returned to their homes. They 

 told us that for the sake of friendship we should have gone with 

 them, and that they would have entertained us and given us plenty 

 to eat. 



" We stood to windward that night with a light wind ; and the 

 currents carried us more than three leagues to the west-north-west, 

 bringing us over some reefs on which we might have been lost as 

 the sea was breaking around them. Finding ourselves in seven 

 fathoms of water, ^ve at once made course to stand clear of them. 

 We remained under easy canvas until it dawned, when we saw that 

 the currents had carried us right upon the shoals ; and as the sea 

 broke around us, we made more sail. J hailed the ' Almiranta ' to 

 make the best of her way out of her position among the shoals ; and 

 we accordingly stood away until we found a sufficient depth." 



Juan Enriquez was now dispatched in the boat to find a harbour 

 for the ships ; but he was deterred by the sight of all the reefs and 

 returned to the ship. He was ordered by the General to go back 



