236 G. Davidson — Northwestern Coast of America. 



I had sketched the landfall, the headlands and the notahle 

 features of the coast to be able to recall their peculiarities. 



Collation of the Old Narratives. 



In order to preserve some of the results of these investigationSj 

 incidental to ray official duties, I determined to collate the nar- 

 ratives of Ulloa, 1539 ; Cabrillo and Ferrelo, 1542-'43 ; Drake, 

 1579, and Vizcaino, 1602-'3, and later authorities ; and in the 

 extended record thereof I am satisfied that most, if not every 

 one, of the discrepancies of the old Spanish and English navi- 

 gators have been reconciled-. 



The inaccuracies of the earliest discoverers arose principal!}'- 

 from errors of their crude instruments, ignorance of the coast 

 currents, errors of judgment in estimating distances, unreliable 

 compasses, etc. Among the Spanish discoverers the meagerness 

 of detailed descriptions, a failure to seize the salient points for 

 determining their positions, the want of minute accurac}^ in 

 most of their plans, sometimes giving importance to general 

 features, and sometimes to details without distinction, and a 

 human weakness to exaggerate certain discoveries, and yet to 

 overlook completel}^ others as or more important, have much 

 involved the locating of many of their landfalls, headlands, bays 

 and anchorages. Even with the accuracy of Vizcaino, personal 

 acquaintance with parts of the coast is absolutely necessary to 

 establish identification. 



The earlier navigators had not the education to carry through 

 extensive and orderly narratives, and we can easily imagine that 

 the priest, who invariably accompanied these expeditions, was 

 the principal aiuthor of the reports. Moreover, the eff'ects of the 

 ever-present scurv}^ harassed the commander and lowered the 

 whole nervous tone of the strongest men and the wretched In- 

 dians. Vizcaino returned with half his crew, and but two or 

 three men able to do ordinary duty. The broken records of 

 Drake's two anchorages on our Pacific coast are very meager 

 and unsatisfactory until carefully weighed and elucidated b}^ 

 personal knowledge and the assembling of nearly contemporary 

 material. 



The minuteness of record in the full and faithful narratives of 

 Cook and Vancouver, of comparatively recent date, has enabled 

 me to follow their track day by day, and to correct their posi- 



