I 
L 
G E 
ORGE 
H ELVOCK E. 
the moft ufeful Things to them, and of which they flood 
moft in need. In Return, fome of them gave us Bows 
and Arrows, Deer-skin Bags, live Foxes and Squirrels, 
&c. That we might appear as awful to them as' poffible, 
I ordered .five Guns to be fired on the looking our Top- 
fails ; the Noife of which mightily frightened them; and, 
upon feeing our Bails loofed, there was an univerfal Damp 
upon their Spirits, which might be cafily perceived by the 
lively Sorrow that was painted in all their Countenances ; 
Their Women were all in Tears* when my People had 
executed their Orders, and were coming off' to the Ship ; 
and a great many of the Men ftaid in the Ship all the 
while we were purchafing our Anchor, and did not offer 
to ftir till we were under Sail ; and then, with the 
moft deeded Afpeds, leaped overboard. That Evening 
we took our Departure from Cape St. Lucas , in our Way 
to China. . 
2.8. After making fome Stay in California , and 
having fo thorough an Acquaintance with its Inhabitants, 
it is but natural for me to attempt, as others have done, to 
give fome Account of it, the rather, becaufe great Things 
have, been expeded from a perfed Knowledge of its Ex- 
tent and Boundaries ; though, for my Part, I mult con- 
fels, I believe filch a Dncovery would produce few real 
Advantages, how much Satisfadioii loever it might give 
to the Curious. The Spaniards , whofe Intereft and Op- 
portunities are greater than ours, or, indeed, than any 
other Nation in Europe , have, of late efpecially, been 
extremely negligent in this refped. Their annual Aca- 
pulco Ships are often obliged to run into high Latitudes for 
the Benefit of Wefterly Winds ; and, in doing this, have 
fometimes had Soundings in their Paffage, which cer- 
tainly afforded a great Probability of finding Land, tho* 
X never heard, that they pufhed any fuch Difcovery. How- 
ever, for this, and many other Reafons, I am inclined to 
think, that America and Afia are joined by fome Track of 
Tand to the Northward. Leaving, however, thefe Con- 
jedures to be fupported or confuted by future Difcoveri'es, 
I fhall confine myfelf to Fads, and report only what I 
have keen or known, for the Information of the prefent 
Age, arid of Poftenty. The Eaftern Coaft of that Part 
o { California, which I had a Sight of, appears to be 
mountainous, barren* and Tandy, and very like fome Parts 
of Peru ; but, neverthelefs, the Soil about Puerto , Se- 
SPro, and (very likely in moft of the Valleys) is a rich 
black Mould, which, as you turn it freffi up to the Sun, 
appears as if intermingled with Gold-duff ; fome of which 
we endeavoured to wafh and purify from the Dirt ; but 
; though we were a little prejudiced againft the Thoughts 
that it could be poffible, that this Metal ffiould be fo pro- 
mifcuoufly and umverlally mingled with common Earth, 
yet we endeavoured to cleanfe and waffi the Earth from 
! |? me 1C » *and the more we did, the more it appeared 
i like Gold. In order to be further fatisfied, I brouo-ht 
1 f ome . c * ^ w Eich we loft in our Confufions at China. 
But, be that as it will, it is very probable, that this 
Country abounds, in Metals of all Sorts, though the Inha- 
bitants had no Utenfils or Ornaments of any Metal what- 
Toever ; which is no wonder, fince they are fo perfedly 
ignorant in all Arts. 
• This Soil produces Plenty of Wood ; but the Trees are 
veiy ftnall, hardly deferving a better Name than that of 
[• umes : But Woods, which are an Ornament to moft other 
Countries, ferve only to make this appear the more de- 
iolate ; for the Locufts fwarm there in fuch abundance^ 
that they don t leave a green Leaf on the Trees. In the 
f^y7" time v thefe deftrudive Infeds are perpetually on the 
j, in Clouds, and are extremely troublefome 
by Hying in one’s Face : They are in Shape and Bignefs 
exceedingly like our green Grafshoppers, but differ from 
tnem in their Colour, which is yellow. No fooner had we 
? Al ' cl ' or . than they came off in fuch abundance, 
■ at the Sea about us was ftrewed with their dead Bodies. 
fimfiwc ft, Ravages of thofe Locufts, the 
tro|ea°. the Country thereabouts is ftripped naked, 
.otwithftanuing ; the natural Warmth of the Climate, and 
he Goodnefs of the Soil. I don’t know, that any of our 
hL m piara aVISat j rS , haV f obferved ‘his in their Accounts of 
theiefore am perfuaded, that they are 
aMJME. 10, J 
troubled with this Plague only at this Seafon of the Year » 
and, in Confidence of this, I gave them a large 
Quantity of Calavances, and ftiewed them how to iow 
them. But, if I ffiould be miftaken in my Conjedure, 
and thefe V ermin infeff the Country the whole Y ear round, 
the fowing thefe, or indeed any other kind of Vegetable, 
will be of very little Ufe. The Harbour of Puerto Segura 
was fo called by. Sir Thomas Candijh : It lies about two 
Leagues to the North-eaft of Cape St. Lucas ; and is* 
when you are in if, a very fafe and good Port, and 
extremely convenient for Privateers that are cruifing for 
the Manilla Ship. The Watering-place is on the North 
Side, in a ftnall River, which there empties itfelf into the 
Sea, and may be known by the Appearance of a great 
many green Canes, which grow in it, and which always 
preferve their Verdure, bccaufe the Locufts will not touch 
them, which is owing to fomething in thofe Canes noxiouS 
to that Inked. 
It is now requifite, that I jfhould enter on a particular 
Defcription of the People of this Country, for various 
Reafons, but particularly thefe : That hitherto they have 
been little known, have been fometimes mifreprefented, 
and have been particularly confidered by me, in Lights^ 
which, very probably, no other Man will enjoy, as it is 
certain no Englijhman ever had them before me. The 
Men are all tall, ftrait, and well-fet, have very large 
Limbs, with coarfe, black, fhag Hair, which does not 
reach, down to their Thighs, as a late Navigator reparts 
in his Voyage, nay, defeends hardly down to their 
Shoulders. 1 he Women are of a much fmaller Size* 
their Hair much longer than the Mens, with which fome 
of them almoft cover their Faces. Some of both Sexes 
have good Countenances, but of a much darker Com- 
plexion than any Indians I faw in thefe Seas, being of a 
deep copper Colour. Such is their Simplicity, that the 
Men go quite naked, without the leaft thing to cover 
them, and wear nothing but a few Trifles, which they look 
upon as Ornaments ; fuch as a Band or Wreath of red and 
whiteSilk-grafs, which fome wear round theirHeads, adorned 
on each Side with a Tuft of Hawks Feathers ; others have 
Pieces of Mother-of-Pearl, and ftnall Shells, tied in their 
Hair, and hanging about their Necks ; fome have a large 
Necklace, of fix or feven Strings, compofed of ftnall red 
and black Berries ; fome are fcarified all over their Bodies ; 
others ufe a kind of Paint, fome befmearing all over their 
Faces and Breafts with black, and others are regularly 
painted all over, from the Face to the Navel, with black, 
and from thence, down to their Feet, with red. The 
Women, on the contrary, wear a thick Fringe of Silk- 
grafs, reaching from their Middle down to their Heels, 
and have a Deer-skin carelefly Wrapped over their 
Shoulders ; fome of the better Sort have the Skin of a 
large Bird wrapped about them in the fame manner. From 
what I have been relating, the Reader may reafonably con- 
clude, that nothing can be more favage : But there is a 
wide Difference between what one would upon the firft 
Sight exped to find from them, and what they really are 5 
for all that I could difeern in their Behaviour towards one 
another, and their Deportment towards us, they are endued 
with all the Humanity imaginable ; for, all the time we 
were there, and conftantly among fo many Hundreds of 
them, there was nothing to be perceived but the moft 
agreeable Harmony, and moft affedionate Efteem for one 
another, infomuch that when any of us gave any thing 
that was eatable to any one of them in particular, he always 
divided it into fo many Shares as there were Perfens about 
him, and commonly referved the leaft for himfelf : They 
felc m walk Tingle, but go moft by Pairs, Hand-in-Hand : 
They appear to be perfedly meek ; and there is no Indi- 
cation of Cruelty in either their Afpeds or Adions ; 
They, indeed, feem to be pretty haughty towards their 
Women; which, perhaps, may proceed from too great 
an Opinion of the Superiority of their own Sex. They 
lead a carelefs Life, and have every thing in common, 
fearching for nothing beyond the neceffary Supports of 
Life ; by which means they are free from the anxious 
1 roubles to which thofe are fubjed, amongft whom Lu- 
xury and Pride have got any Footing. They never offered 
to pilfer or fteai any of our Tools, or other Utenfils, 
3 ® which 
