KUNGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND 57. N:0 4. 107 



or, if this was missed, Cape San Lucas, the southern point of the Californian Peninsula. 

 For this part of the journey latitude and longitude observations were evidently regarded 

 as of little interest: our manuscript contains but scanty notices about them: and if the 

 original log-books had more copious information, they have been deliberately excluded. 



After crossing the mouth of the Gulf of California, they kept as close as possible to 

 the coast of the mainland — there is no single example from this period of any of the 

 Revilla-Gigedo Islands being observed — and when the port of Navidad was being passed, 

 a boat was sent ashore with letters to convey to the city of Mexico the glad tidings of the 

 impending arrival of the galleon at Acapulco. Finally, they cast anchor at that port, and 

 were there met by crowds of merchants, who had hurried there to take part in the rich 

 märket in which the cargo of the galleon was disposed of. 



The stay in Acapulco was not long. Even if the galleon arrived there so late as 

 January or February, its discharge, loading, and the repairs that were always necessary, 

 had to be carried out with sufficient speed to enable the return- journey to be begun before 

 the first of April; if the departure had to be delayed beyond that date, the voyage was 

 regarded as extremely hazardous, because they then had to apprehend serious diff iculties 

 in the struggle against the south-west monsoon, los vendavales, that prevailed near the 

 Phihppines. Apart from this, the return-journey offered nothing of interest from a 

 nautical point of view: our manuscript has not found it necessary to mention a single 

 longitude or latitude figure in comiection with it. After sailing about two and a half 

 months they reached the Mariannes, where they regularly called: on no single occasion 

 is it mentioned that any other island or group of islands was seen. Between the Mariannes 

 and the Philippines navigation was more troublesome; most difficult of all was it to enter 

 the Embocadero; not infrequently they were compelled to give it up and seek refuge for 

 a considerable time in other harbours before the final goal, Cavite, could be reached. 

 During this last part of the voyage partial or total losses of ships were by no means rare. 



Now that I pass to an account of the several voyages, I confine myself to mentioning 

 their principal data, information as to islands and land seen, and the occurrences to which 

 any importance can be assigned; everything that can be comprehended in the general 

 account given above is here omitted. 



1699. The galleon "San Francisco Xavier", General Miguel Martinez, sailed in 

 this year from Cavite; but the log-book kept by the Piloto Mayor Miguel de Lorreaga, 

 does not begin until 7 December, when the senas came in sight, in 35° 30' N. lat. and 88° 

 39' long. E. from Cape Espiritu Santo. 1 On the 23d of the same month Cape San Lucas 

 was sighted; and on 15 January 1700 they arrived at Acapulco. Nineteen persons died 

 on board between 17 July and 8 January. As regards the return-journey begun in 1700 

 we have no record. 



1 In all the log-books from this period, except one, and also on the Spanish charts, the longitudes 

 are reckoned from Cape Espiritu Santo, 125° 15' E. from Greenwich. As the positions are only approximative, 

 I have not found it worth while to reduce them to Greenwich longitude. by which they would get a misleading 

 appearance of exactitude. 



