74 DRAKE MADE KING OF NEW ALBION. [1579. 



tribe of naked or skin-clad savages, nevertheless " thought not 

 meet to reject the crown, because he knew not what honor or profit 

 it might bring to his own country ; whereupon, in the name, and 

 to the use, of her majesty, Queen Elizabeth, he took the crown, 

 , sceptre, and dignity, of the country into his own hands, wishing 

 that the riches and treasure thereof might be so conveniently 

 transported, for the enriching her kingdom at home." The coro- 

 nation accordingly took place, with most ludicrous solemnities, 

 and Drake bestowed on his dominions the name of New Albion. 



The vessel having been refitted, Drake erected on the shore a 

 pillar, bearing an inscription, commemorating the fact of this 

 cession of sovereignty ; and, on the 22d of July, he took leave of 

 his worthy subjects, to their great regret. Having, however, by 

 this time, abandoned all idea of seeking a northern passage to the 

 Atlantic, he sailed directly across the Pacific, and thence, through 

 the Indian Seas, and around the Cape of Good Hope, to England, 

 where he arrived on the 26th of September, 1580. 



With regard to the harbor on the North Pacific side of America, 

 in which Drake repaired his vessel, nothing can be learned from 

 the accounts of his expedition which have been published, except 

 that it was situated about the 38th degree of latitude, and that a 

 cluster of small islets lay in the ocean, at a short distance from 

 its mouth ; which description will apply equally to the Bay of 

 San Francisco, and to the Bay of Bodega, a few leagues farther 

 north. 



As to the extent of the portion of the north-west coast of 

 America seen by Drake, the accounts differ. Before examining 

 them, it should be first observed, that, from the great navigator him- 

 self, nothing whatsoever has descended to us, either as written by 

 him, or as reported by others on his authority, respecting his voyage 

 in the North Pacific ; on the circumstances of which, all the informa- 

 tion is derived from two narratives, — the one proceeding entirely 

 from a person who had accompanied Drake in his expedition, and 

 published in 1589, during the life of the hero, — the other compiled 

 from various accounts, and not given to the world until the middle 

 of the following century. 



In the first-mentioned of those narratives, called the Famous 

 Voyage from which the preceding quotations are made, the vessel 

 is represented as being in the forty-third degree of latitude on the 

 fifth of June, when it was determined to seek the land ; but on 

 what day, or in what latitude, the coast was discovered, is not stated. 



