STORY OF A LOST ARCHIPELAGO. 249 



latitude or " to run down his latitude " as the sailor terms it ; but to 

 ascertain with any approach to accuracy his meridian of longitude 

 was scarcely witliin the power of the Spanish navigator. When 

 only about half-way across the Pacific and about the same distance 

 on their voyage to the Solomon Group, they discovered a group of 

 islands, which, from their latitude, they believed to be the object of 

 their quest. Furtlier exploration, however, convinced Mendana of 

 his mistake ; and he named his new discovery Las Marquesas de 

 Mendoza, a name which this group at present in part retains. On 

 continuing the voyage, the crews were assured that in three or four 

 days they would arrive at the " Isles of Salomon," which vrere in 

 point of fact more than three thousand miles away. The three or 

 four days wearily spun themselves out into thii-ty-three. General 

 discontent became rife ; and murmurs of dissatisfaction arose which 

 might have shortly ended in open revolt. At length, late one night 

 the}'" were overtaken by one of the rain-storms so common in those 

 regions ; and when the clouds lifted, they saw within a league of them 

 the shores of a lai-ge island. The discover}^ was signalled from the 

 flag-ship, the " Capitana," to the other three ships : but only two 

 replied. The missing vessel, the " Almiranta," had been last seen 

 between two and three hours before. No trace was ever found of 

 lier. Whither she went, or what fate befell her, are questions which 

 have remained amongst the many unsolved mysteries of the sea. 

 There is something tragical in this disappearance of a large ship 

 having probably over a hundred souls on board, men, women, and 

 children, when apparently the goal of the expedition had been 

 attained. 



The appearance of the natives of this large island at first in- 

 duced Mendana to believe that he had at last arrived at the lands 

 he had been so lonjj seekinsr. But his belief was short-lived. The 

 new island was named Santa Cruz ; and having abandoned the 

 original object of the expedition to establish a colony on the i^jland 

 of St. Christoval, the Spaniards commenced to plant their colony on 

 the shores of a harbour which they named Graciosa Bsiy. Disaster 

 upon disaster fell on the little colony. Disease struck down numbers 

 of the settlers, and the poisoned weapons of the natives ended the 

 lives of manj^ others. Mutiny broke out ; and the extreme punish- 

 ment of death was inflicted on the conspirators. The foul murder 

 of the chief who had steadfastly befriended them was punished, it 

 is true, by the execution of the murderers ; but the enmity of the 



