202 
SCENES IN THE PACIFIC. 
tains to the mission of Santa Rosalia, and extends his jurisdic¬ 
tion over forty settlements, situated within a circuit of ninety 
miles around him. 
Many years ago the Philippine Islands were discovered and 
settled by Spain. Soon a considerable trace sprung up be¬ 
tween them and the Spanish possessions in Mexico. Indeed 
the products of the Philippine Islands destined for old Spain, 
are landed at Accapulco, carried across the country on mules, 
and reshipped for Old Spain at the port of Vera Cruz. The 
passage from these islands to the Mexican coast is made, for 
the greater part, through the Chinese seas, to latitude 30° N. 
Here voyagers fall in with the variable winds, which take them 
to the American coast, between latitudes 30° and 40° N. At 
this point, during the spring, summer and autumn, they meet 
the northwesterly winds, which drive them down the coast 
to Accapulco. In these early times navigation is imperfectly 
understood. That ocean too is chiefly unknown. Naviga¬ 
tors are not familiar with its currents, and consequently every 
voyage across its trackless waters is hazardous and prolonged. 
And when they reach the American coast, the crews are sick 
with the scurvy; and they should land for a supply of fresh pro¬ 
visions. But while no harbor is known, from Cape San Lucas 
to the remote north, at which wood, water and other necessary 
relief can be had, the ships are obliged to keep down the coast 
to Mazatlan, Accapulco, or some other port, before they make 
their first landing, after leaving the East Indies ; a distance of 
more than eleven thousand miles. And when they arrive at 
these ports, it frequently happens that nearly all the crew are 
irrecoverably diseased, or dead. In order to avoid this dread¬ 
ful evil, the Spanish crown has often ordered the missionaries 
to explore the coasts for a bay surrounded by a country suita¬ 
ble for the settlement of a colony. This they have often at¬ 
tempted, but the w T ant of proper animals in their progresses, 
and the miserable character of the craft used in their voyages, 
have thus far prevented the attainment of their wishes. But 
Padre Ugarte now determines to survey both the Pacific and 
