Next day the wind was from the north, and, although moderate, three cables parted, by which the ship was secured, leaving only one slight cable which appeared to be too weak to hold a ship. Yet it was so strong that it saved the ship from going on shore, which was very near.

Later, Luis Andrada was sent in charge of thirty men to seek for provisions for the voyage. He went to the small island which we called the garden, “Huerta,” and found five large canoes in a bay, laden with the biscuit of that country, which the natives had there concealed, and without any difficulty he collected them all and sent them to the ship. He said that he killed one hundred and twenty pigs, of which he brought some. He found the natives peaceful at first; but afterwards they were hostile, because the ill-disposed soldiers illtreated them. They made holes in the narrow paths, covered with branches and earth, and in them they planted upright stakes, on which a soldier hurt his foot. With what was obtained by this incursion, order was taken for the sick, and the ship was supplied with the whole.

The leader came back, and soon afterwards the Chief Pilot went, with twenty men, to the same island, following many canoes of the natives. Leaving six men in the boat, he jumped on shore with the rest, and the natives, threatening war, received them with arrows in their hands, making the perneta, shouting and dancing round. The Pilot held up a white flag as a sign of peace, but they danced and shouted all the more. It was a narrow path, with trees on each side, and they began to send arrows and stones from all directions. Two arquebus shots were fired, and the village was entered; but nothing more was found but biscuits in the houses, and roots tasting like oranges, and of the same colour. The natives were followed to a hill, and, reaching the top, we found ourselves on a fine plain, with great abundance of fruit cultivation. The soldiers cut many large bunches of plantains, got a quantity of cocoa nuts, and found a great supply of biscuit in a house. Laden with these provisions, and keeping close to each other, they all got into the boat without any further mishap; and though there was an encounter with the natives, none were either killed or wounded. For the Chief Pilot gave orders to the soldiers not to fire to hit but to frighten.

Having done this, he ordered the boat to follow along the shore to a place where he went to cut small palms. But when he arrived, the boat was not to be seen, however much they tried to find her. All agreed that the best plan would be to go back to the place where they first landed. They marched until sunset, when they came to a place where some rocks made a good shelter. For this reason, and having found a canoe there, the Chief Pilot decided on passing the night, and sending a man in the canoe to report their position to the ship, that those on board might send to look for them. The Chief Pilot said that he was anxious about the boat, and much more when he considered the insecure position in which the best sailors were placed, without whom the rest could not take the ship to any place where they would be saved; and thus there would be no notice of the discovery that had been made, nor of the rest that was surmised.

He asked what powder the soldiers had. They replied that they had ten rounds. He said that was little, and that it would be better to go on and look for some of the canoes. When taken, if the natives required them, after all the powder was expended, they would defend themselves with swords and shields. If anything had happened to the boat, the natives would have seen, and would have hidden their canoes so that we might not get away. This was agreed to. A soldier was given command of the vanguard, and he, with some others, marched along the beach where the trees grew very thick, no one having touched them since their creation, with some great rocks. It was almost impossible to make a way through this in the day-time; how much less on a dark night. Sometimes the water was up to their knees, and at others to their middles. They went climbing and descending from trunks and rocks, making their way either in the sea or through the woods. Altogether, there were ten of them, two being ill and asking the others to go and leave them, for that they could hold out no longer. The Chief Pilot, who heard this, said that they must not be left behind, but must be brought along, even if it became necessary to carry them. They pushed on a little further, but it was past midnight when they heard two arquebus shots, and presently two more. The companions in front pressed onwards to ascertain the cause, and found that the boat had just arrived. They had been detained by contrary winds, and had made the round of the island. The party got into the boat and returned to the ship, arriving at break of day, and finding all on board anxious, owing to their long absence.

On this day the Governess proposed to the Pilots that they should depart from that island in search of San Cristobal, to see if the Almiranta was there, and to do what would be best for the service of God and His Majesty; and that if she was not found, her determination was to go to the city of Manilla in the Philippines, to engage priests and people, and return to complete that discovery. On this subject she asked, persuaded, and ordered each person present to give his views in the form that appeared most convenient. The view and opinion of all was that a W.S.W. course should be shaped so long as was necessary to reach a latitude of 11°, and if neither the island nor the Almiranta were found, then to proceed to the Philippines. They all signed their names, and the Chief Pilot undertook to return in company with the Governess, if she returned as she proposed.

The Chief Pilot said to the Governess that the ship being so injured, both in hull and rigging, the sailors few, the men sick, and it being necessary to give thirty of the most healthy to navigate the frigate and the galeot, it would be best to abandon those two small vessels. For if this was done, the voyage of the Capitana would be much more secure; for the two small vessels were in bad order, their pilots were not satisfactory, and their rigging, sails and people would all be serviceable on board the Capitana. To this the Captain of the galeot said that it was because the ships had not cost him any money that he wanted to abandon them. The Chief Pilot replied that he had no other motive than consideration for the good of all; that in Manilla, whither they intended to go, they would find other and better vessels for less than 200 dols., and for such a small sum it was not worth while to risk so much. The Captain of the galeot had on his side certain ill-conditioned enemies of truth and reason, and these the Governess had for her council of state of war and marine. Each one said a little, and so things remained, nothing being done.

Presently they wanted to get rid of the trouble and charge of the sick. It was ordered that they should be sent to the frigate. The Chief Pilot protested, saying that it was unjust to send them where the conveniences were much less, or to deprive them of the comfort they had where they were in the ship, especially as all could be accommodated in the large ship, safe from the sun, night air, and damp. They replied that a sail could be set up to form a tent, underneath which they could lie at their pleasure. The Chief Pilot answered that the navigation would not always admit of tents being set up, and that the sick always needed care. It was publicly ordered that they should remain, but nevertheless a sergeant began to get them into the boat. One cried out, and the Chief Pilot came and delivered them from men with so little pity and so much folly. Finally, the Governess ordered that they should stay, and so they remained.

In the afternoon the Chief Pilot went to visit the frigate and the galeot, leaving with them the necessary supplies of flour and water. He gave them instructions respecting the navigation they would have to work, and a chart to the Pilot of the frigate, who neither had one nor knew how to use it. At night the Captain, Don Diego de Vera, with some persons of his company, went on shore to disinter the body of the Adelantado, to be taken on board the frigate to Manilla; for on board the Capitana they would not consent to receive it, owing to objections which are never wanting.