252 G. Davidson — Northiuestern Coast of Ainerica. 



visible at a distance of sixty miles from the coast. It is in lati- 

 tude 39° 41'/' (Davidson's Coast Pilot.) This would give a 

 correction of — 1° 19' to Cabrillo's position. 



The vessels were now well out at sea, and Ferrelo says : 

 " The Wednesday following, the 28th day of the said month, at 

 daybreak, the wind shifted directly to the southwest, and it did 

 not blow hard. This day they observed the latitude in 43°." 

 With the average instrumental correction from identified points 

 this would place the vessels in latitude 41 2°, and far out to sea. 

 Ferrelo continues : 



" Toward night the wind freshened and shifted to the south- 

 southwest. They ran this night to the west-nothwest with much 

 difficulty, and Thursday [March 1] at daybreak the wind shifted 

 to the southwest with great fury, and the seas came from many 

 quarters, which harassed them much, and broke over the ships, 

 which, not having the decks (as in a man-of-war), if God should 

 not succor them, thej^ could not escape, and not being able to 

 lay-to, of necessity they scudded northeast toward the land ; and 

 now, holding themselves for lost, they commended themselves 

 to Our Lady of Guadaloupe, and made their promises [or offer- 

 ings], and ran thus until three o'clock in the afternoon with 

 much fear and labor, for they saw they were going to be lost, 

 and already they perceived many signs of the land, which must 

 be near, as small birds and logs, very fresh, which had floated 

 from some rivers, although from the dark and cloudy weather 

 the land did not appear. At this hour the Mother of God suc- 

 cored them with the grace of her Son, and there came a very vio- 

 lent rainstorm from the north, which made them scud all that 

 night and the following day until sunset to the south, with the 

 foresails furled, and because there was a high sea from the south 

 it broke over them each time at the bow and swept over them 

 as if over a rock," 



On the first of March Cabrillo's narrator says : ': When the 

 weather cleared up they observed the sun in forty and four de- 

 grees, with so.much cold they were freezing." This observation, 

 corrected by the average instrumental variation, would place the 

 vessel in 42° 30' of latitude, more or less, and well out to sea, 

 because the landfalls in this region can be seen sixt}'- and more 

 miles from seaward. 



Another imijortant statement is made in relation to the indi- 

 cations of discolored fresh water from rivers. In latitude 42° 25' 



