Relates how we came in sight of the Island of San Bernardo,
and what happened there.
We continued to navigate on the same course until the 19th of
February. On that day we altered course to west, and on the 21st the
Pilot of the Almiranta, Juan Bernardo de Fuentidueña, said that on
that very day we should see--as we did see--the island we sought. We
lay to under little sail for the night. Next day we proceeded towards
the island, the launch next ahead, and anchored close to the land,
and thence the crew shouted to the other ships, which were coming up
to anchor, that there was no port for them.
The Captain then lowered the two boats, and sent an officer with
the boat's crews to search for water, for the scarcity of it forced
them to be on an allowance of a cuartillo a day. They went on shore,
searched for water, but could find none, and returned on board.
This island of San Bernardo is uninhabited, divided into four or five
hummocks, and all the rest submerged. Its circumference appeared to be
10 leagues. It is in latitude 10° 40'. The anchorage is on the north
side, and only available for small vessels. Its distance from the
city of the Kings was calculated to be 1,400 leagues. An old canoe,
lying on her side, was found on the island.
There was a great number of fish inshore, and, owing to the water
being very shallow, they were killed with swords and poles. There were
great numbers of lobster and craw-fish, and other kinds of marine
animals. They found a great quantity of cocoa-nuts in a heap at the
foot of the palm trees, many large, and of different sizes. There were
a great quantity of sea birds of several kinds, and so importunate
that they seemed to want to attack the men. We took plenty of all
these things.
It seemed to the Captain that on an island where there are so many
trees there could not fail to be water. He wished to wait during that
night, so that on the following day they might return and make a more
thorough search for water, and at least they could get more fish. The
Chief Pilot said that the people were tired, and made other excuses and
said things, making them all legitimate daughters of our necessities.
The Captain, finding himself very ill and overwhelmed by cares of
many kinds, and that there were some who, like moths, were eating
against the enterprise, and causing much discontent, and that they
kept in memory the great abundance of the court, the cold snows, the
fresh fruit, and other memories which cooled their wills and changed
them in other ways, and that up to the present time we had not found
an island with a port, nor water, and that it was not right to risk
the little we had in a business that was so important, the weather
being doubtful and the point in the direction of which we should
find land uncertain: for these and other reasons, which I leave out,
it was decided that the best course would be to seek the island of
Santa Cruz, which was known to possess a port and water, and other
things necessary for the provisioning of a ship, intending to begin
to make discoveries from there, as if we were starting from Lima. In
prosecution of this decision we steered west.
That night there was a great disturbance on board the Capitana. At
the noise the Captain came out, and found some tackling each other,
others going to arm themselves, and the Chief Pilot with a drawn
sword, with which he had wounded a man. It was taken out of his hands,
without understanding who was the culprit or who was the author of
the disturbance. That which the Captain felt he kept to himself,
confessing that he was so weak that he was unable to say in a loud
voice a third word.