62 THE SERI INDIANS [eth.ann.I? 



The specific references to tlie Seri and their iusular liabitiit by Ixibas, 

 by Kino aud his chronicler, and by the various recorders of Escalante's 

 expeditions, establish the extent of the lore concerning people and 

 place, even before the end of the seventeenth century. This lore found 

 measurable expression in maps prepared in Europe, even by those car- 

 tographers who purposely or otherwise ignored the surveys of Ulloa 

 aud Alarcon. In his "newest and most accurate" map of America. 

 1602, Fredericus de Witt depicted the Gulf of California ("Mare Ver 

 mio olim Mare Evbrvm") as extending northward to connect with the 

 mythic Strait of Aniau ("Fretum Aniani"), yet he located KioColoriado 

 ("E. de Tecon") and Rio Gila ("R. de Coral") approximately, placing 

 the largest island in the gulf, named " I. Gigante", just off their (com- 

 mon) embouchure;' and an anonymous map of the Pacific ocean, appar- 

 ently by the same author and of closely corresponding date, is essen- 

 tially similar.- The map of the northern part of America by Peter 

 van der Aa, about 1690, is also similar, though on smaller scale; ^ and 

 the same may be said of that cartographer's new map of America, issued 

 about the same time, in which the island is designated "I. de Gigante".^ 

 A somewhat later map by Van der Aa (although supposed to have been 

 issued in 1690) is greatly improved; the " Mer de Californie " is brought 

 to rather indefinite end a little above the mouth of Rio Colorado ("R. 

 de bona guia"); the "Pimases" are placed in proper position with 

 respect to the Gila ("R. de Coral"), and the "Herises" are located a 

 third of the way and the "Ahomeses" half way down the gulf; while a 

 greatly elongated island stretches from the one to the other off the 

 province of "Sonora"."' The origin of the name "Gigante" is uncer- 

 tain; it may be borrowed from a land feature. As used in some cases 

 it apparently connotes the size of the island, while the use in other 

 cases evidently connotes gigantic inhabitants. 



Naturally, in view of the slow and imperfect diffusion of knowledge 

 characteristic of early times, cartographers were dilatory in introducing 

 the observations of Kino and Escalante. The map of America by 

 Herman Moll, about 1708,^ represents the "Gulf of California or Red 

 Sea", connecting the "South Sea" with the "Straits of Annian", and 

 depicts Rio Colorado ("Tison R.") and a composite river apparently 

 designed to represent Rio Gila (made up of "R. Sonaca", "R. Azul", 

 and "R. Colorado", with two other long tributaries from the south) 

 embouching separately a little below midlength of the gulf. Somewhat 

 above these are three islands, one of which is designated "Gigate 



^Novissima et Aocuratissima Septentrionalis ac Meridiooalis Ainericie, Amsterdam. (In American 

 Maps, 1579-1796, Library U. S. Geological Survey, 1:15.) 



'MardelZvr, Uispanis, Mare Pat^iflcum. (lliid., 129.) 



3 'T Noorder Ueel van Amerilia, Leydeii. (Ibid., 178.) 



*Nouvelle Carte de I'Anu'rique, Leyden. (Ibid., 156.) 



fiL'Anierique Septentrionale Suivant lea Nouvelles Observations, etc., Leyden. (Ibid., 181.) This 

 island is not named, bnt is undoubtedly tlie Santa Inez of .several other maps— the Angel de la Guarda 

 of the present. 



''Xorth America, according to ye Newest and most Exact Observations, etc., London, (Ibid., 93.) 



