236 JOURNAL OF GALLEGO. 



the ships began their return-voyage to Peru with scanty supplies of 



food and water We must, however, judge of the conduct of 



the first discoverers of the Solomon Islands in the spirit of the age 

 to which they belonged. The zeal, which led them to burn the 

 temples dedicated to the worship of snakes and toads in the interior 

 of Isabel, was appropriate to the spirit of an age in which expedi- 

 tions were fitted out for the double purpose of discovering new 

 territories and of reclaiming the infidel. Yet, if we lay aside the 

 religious element, I doubt very much whether the lapse of three 

 centuries has materially raised the standard by which our dealings 

 with savage races should be guided. The white man kidnaps ; the 

 savage revenges the outrage on the next comer ; the ship-of-war in 

 its reprisal is of necessity equally indiscriminate ; and thus feuds are 

 re-opened with no single effort at conciliation. 



We left the Spanish vessels when on the eve of their departure 

 from the Isles of Salomon. Little could Mendana or Galleoro have 

 then believed that two centuries would pass away before the white 

 man should again visit the scene of their discovery. The Chief- Pilot 

 kept in his journal an almost daily record of the course and usually 

 of the distance during the first portion of this return voyage ; but 

 as he was not so regular or so precise in noting the distance of each 

 day's run, the latitudes, which he frequentl37^ records, enable me to 

 follow this portion of the track with some degree of confidence.-^ It 

 was on the 18th of August that they bore away to the north-east- 

 ward (N.E. by E.) with a strong south-east wind. Experiencing rain- 

 squalls and calms, they kept a little to the north of this course, and 

 on the 23rd they were in latitude 7° (full largos), being, as they 

 computed, ^Q leagues W. by N. from the Isle of Jesus.^ It is ap- 

 parent from the Journal that Gallego expected to find more land in 

 this vicinity, and that he would willingly have gone in search of it. 

 But the expedition had lost heart in the enterprise, and all that they 

 desired was to return to Peru. A look-out was kept for several 

 days, but not a sign ot land was seen ; and thereupon Gallego, 

 stifling his own desire, thus records his lament in his journal : "As 

 in the case of the archipelago of the islands, they did not allow me 

 to explore farther where I wished. And I hold for certain that if 



1 I have only indicated the general course in the return voyage, as a full translation 

 •would be tedious to the reader and would occupy too much of my space. 



* The bearing was to tlie southward of west, as the Isle of Jesus, according to Gallego's 

 own observation, was in latitude 6|°. Three days after, when they were in latitude .5J° S., ' 

 Gallego gives their distance and bearing from the Isle of Jesus as 45 leagues AV. by N. 



