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SEARCH FOR ST. VINCENT ISLANDS. 



[1825. 



got under way, and sailed for the Gallapagos Islands, on our way to 

 which we had another wild-goose chase for land that does not exist. 1 

 allude to two islands, which were said to have been seen by Captain 

 Antonio Martinus, of the ship St. Vincent, while sailing from Panama 

 to Macao. These islands were said to be in lat. 7° 21' north, and 

 long. 127° 4' west, lying north and south, with a boat-channel between 

 them ; moderately elevated, well wooded, abounding with cocoanuts, and 

 covered with fur-seals. They were also said to be about twenty miles 

 in circumference, with several small islands lying off their west ends, 

 forming good harbours between them and the main islands. They 

 were reported to have been discovered on the 17th of April, 1789, and 

 that the fur-seal, with which they were literally filled, were so tame 

 that they would not move out of the way of the crew who had landed 

 to procure cocoanuts and bread-fruit. 



This information I obtained from the priest of the mission of Rosa- 

 rio, while I was lying in the bay of St. Francis, in Old California, in 

 the month of April preceding. This reverend padre was chaplain on 

 board of the ship St. Vincent at the time of the discovery, and he told 

 me that he was on shore every day that the ship lay at the islands. 

 The holy father permitted me to copy these particulars from his own pri- 

 vate journal, which states that they arrived at the Sandwich Islands on 

 the 12th of May, 1789. This allowed them a passage of thirteen 

 days from the new discovered islands, which might easily be the case. 

 The manuscript from which I copied these alleged facts had the ap- 

 pearance of having been written forty or fifty years ; and Father St. 

 Clara assured me that I was the first man he had fallen in with in search 

 of fur-seals ; and that he was very happy to have it in his power to 

 give me this information, which he was positive would be the means 

 of making me a profitable voyage. 



I was further informed, that at the time the ship St. Vincent left 

 these new-discovered islands, which was twelve days after her arrival 

 there, a tremendous volcano was blazing in the centre of each of the 

 large islands ; and that three of the small ones, which lay near them 

 on the west, were also vomiting smoke from their centres. They took 

 away with them five thousand cocoanuts, two hundred and fifty bread- 

 fruits, four hundred land terrapins, and twenty-five green turtle. 



Relying on the correctness of the foregoing information I resolved 

 to take an early opportunity of seeking for these islands ; and such an 

 opportunity occurred during our passage from Clipperton's Rock to 

 the Gallapagos Islands. We accordingly steered for the parallel of lat- 

 itude stated in the padre's journal, two degrees east of the meridian 

 there mentioned. We continued this course, with a fine breeze from 

 north-north-east to north-east-by-east, with pleasant weather, for one 

 week. 



Aug. 28th. — On Sunday we found ourselves in the latitude and 

 longitude assigned to the St. Vincent Islands, without perceiving any 

 indications of land, other than discoloured water. We tried for sound- 

 ings with one hundred and twenty fathom of line, but found no bottom. 

 We then stood five degrees to the west, on the same parallel, with no 

 better success. After that we beat up to windward between the lati- 

 tude of 7° 10' and 7° 30', until we were in the longitude of 122° 19' 



