170 



DAHLGREN, THE DISCOVERY OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 



graphy. The result of this improvement appears in a perfected form in the map of the 

 world published by Guillaume Delisle in 1700 (Fig. 16). If we look at the way in 

 which the Pacific Ocean is delineated in this map, we find its boundaries towards the east 

 and to wards the west almost entirely correct: California has recovered its peninsularform; 

 and in the north the fantast ic shapes of Gompagnies Land and Terre de Jesso, which had 

 so long disfigured the maps, are banished. The material that Delisle had at his disposition, 

 however, was extremely incomplete, and he was of conrse not able entirely to liberate 

 himself from the mistakes of his predecessors. Where the older maps seemed to him donbt- 

 ful, he indicated the f act by dotted outlines, while he drew in continuous lines the boimdary 

 between land and water when he believed that he had certain facts to build upon. 



16. Part of a World Map by Guillaume Delisle. 

 Mappe-tnonde dressée sur les Observations de M rs de 1'Académio Royale des Sciences, Paris 1700. 



Among the lands whose existence Delisle regarded as uncertain occur several of the 

 islands of the Pacific. Tims he drew withont definite lines Isla de Paxaros (withont name), 

 and the Los Monges gronp, which he calls /. de les Monges; the Spanish word Vecina he clearly 

 did not understand, but ga ve to that island the curious name /. de las Vaginas, and the 

 name of La Desgraciada was omitted, probably from lack of space. To all these islands was 

 given the position, in relation to California, which was indicated by the older maps; and 

 thereby the islands came to lie quite near some of the tracks of earlier voyages that Delisle 

 marked on his map. Our attention is specially caught by a line that goes right between 

 Isla de Paxaros and Los Monges, and which is accompanied by the inscription "Route 



1 Full reproduction in Christian Sandler, Dic Reformation der Kartographie um 1700. Munchen 

 1905. Tab. V. 



