The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea Part 6

They thought that she might have pa.s.sed to the north, but the hopes of seeing her again were very faint.

Mendana continued near the north coast of Santa Cruz, searching for a port, and was rejoined there by the frigate, which returned without any tidings of Lope de Vega and his s.h.i.+p.

At last a port was discovered where the s.h.i.+ps anch.o.r.ed in smooth water, close to the sh.o.r.e.

On the 21st of September, they found a better port, which Mendana named _La Graciosa_, for it was very beautiful, larger and more commodious than the one where they were first anch.o.r.ed. A river of moderate size and a copious stream of very clear water gus.h.i.+ng from beneath some rocks was found in proximity to the anchorage. Here an attempt at colonisation was made, but what with the hostility of the natives, sickness, and a mutinous spirit, the young colony did not progress favorably. To make matters worse, Mendana himself fell ill and died, and the grand scheme which, under favourable circ.u.mstances, might have resulted in the foundation of a Spanish Australian Empire, was, perforce, abandoned for the while. The remnant of this disastrous expedition, having repaired to the Philippine Islands, returned to New Spain in the year 1596.

AN EARLY MAP OF THE SOLOMONS ISLANDS.

The discovery of true Solomon Islands was soon forgotten and Mendana's vague notions about them led historians and geographers astray as to their position and size.*

[* In a map of the South Sea, _Mar del Zur_, published towards the year 1650, the Solomon Islands are represented as extending in a sweeping curve, resembling their natural trend it is true, but the position is from the locality of New Caledonia and New Zealand, right across the Pacific Ocean to the south of Cape Horn. In that distance 40 islands are represented, of an average size equal to the two large islands of New Zealand, truly a magnificent mistake!]

In the few old maps that exist, it is difficult to determine precisely in what measure the members of the expedition are responsible for the charting; some of it is certainly the guesswork of geographers, based, it must be acknowledged, on the best information then available, for we must bear in mind that the accounts of Mendana's expedition were only known from a few extracts, the actual narratives being lost at the time these charts were draughted.

Now that some of those narratives have been found, it is easy to identify the present day Solomon Islands with the group discovered by the Spaniards; most of the lat.i.tudes in the old chart that I give here, agree with those given by Herrera, the Spanish historian, which shows that if they have been thrown out of position, as they are on some old charts, it is through the fault of the map-makers.

The map given here is by Mazza, an Italian geographer of distinction; it is the earliest one that I have been able to procure, the earliest known to exist, the date being between 1583 and 1589.

I have marked on it the probable track of the s.h.i.+ps; the first bay where they anch.o.r.ed, and which was called _Baya de la Estrella_, is marked by No. 1. The second anchorage, on the coast of Guadalca.n.a.l, marked No. 2, was named _Puerto de la Cruz_; and the locality where the third sojourn was made, and where the brigantine was abandoned, is marked by the No. 3.

The island thus marked, bears no name on the map; it is the southernmost large island, however, and corresponds therefore with _San Christobal_, where the third and last sojourn was made, and where, at a later period, a colony was to have been founded.

The island bearing the name _Nombre de Jesus_, is misnamed, evidently as the result of interference on the part of the cartographer, for, according to the narrative, it lies at many days' sail from the first land sighted in the Solomon Group, and has been identified, as I have said before, with Nukufetau in the Ellice Group.

Other mistakes of the map-maker are, _Amacifre_ instead of _Arecifes_ reefs; and _Maiulata_ for _Malaita_. Malaita, however, is a mistake of the Spaniards, for the natives call their island Mala and ita means "here"; as one might say, "here is Mala."

The curious mistake alluded to on page 63 is this:

In most of the old maps that were made prior to the identification of Sarmiento's and Mendana's discoveries, the Solomon Islands were placed much too close to New Guinea, occupying, in fact, the position of New Britain and New Ireland. This was owing to the belief on the part of the Spaniards, that they had reached the region where their predecessors, Saavedra, Retez and Gaspar Rico, had made their discoveries: so that, New Britain, New Ireland, and all the other islands, of the Bismark Archipelago were once believed to be the Solomon and Guadalca.n.a.l the extreme east end of New Guinea.

CHAPTER XI.

QUEIROZ'S VOYAGE.

We come now to the most important expedition that ever set out in search of Australia. We have reached the year 1605, in the month of December, of which Queiroz, this time the commander of another Spanish fleet, set sail from the coast of Peru with the object of renewing the attempt at settlement in the island of Santa Cruz, and from thence to search, for the "continent towards the south," which he believed to be "s.p.a.cious, populous and fertile."

The intentions of navigators and the instructions given to them are seldom thoroughly carried out. We shall see, in this case, that Queiroz failed to reach Santa Cruz in the same way as Mendana had failed to reach the Solomans; although they both sailed almost within sight of the islands they were looking for.

THE VOYAGE.

According to Gonzales de Leza, the pilot of the expedition, the name of the _Capitana_, or Queiroz's s.h.i.+p, was the _San Pedro y San Pablo_; the _Almiranta_, named the _San Pedro_ was commanded by Luis Vaes de Torres; the brigantine or Zabra, was named the _Tres Reyes_, and was commanded by Pedro Bernal Cermeno.

With variable winds, the three s.h.i.+ps that composed the fleet sailed towards the west till the 26th of January, 1606, when, in the afternoon, they sighted a small island. No anchorage could be found and it was thought that it could not be inhabited, so they pa.s.sed it. Continuing on a westerly course three days later, they came in sight of another island of larger dimensions; here, also, finding no convenient landing place, they pa.s.sed on.

The sky now became obscured, and, as they proceeded, rain set in, followed by thunder and lightning; then a fearful tempest threatened their destruction.

Presently, however, the storm abated, and through a rift in the clouds they perceived land and made for it.

They found it to be an island about thirty leagues in circ.u.mference, apparently an atoll, for it was described as having "a lagoon inside,"

and was surrounded by a coral reef. Here they wanted to get wood and water, but finding no entrance or bay they had to abandon their attempt.

They continued their course, and the next day, 5th of February, they came in sight of four other islands of the same description, and all equally inaccessible.

They pa.s.sed them, keeping on a westerly and north westerly course, pa.s.sing several other islands, all unfavourable to their purpose.

At last being in 18 40' south, they pa.s.sed the day with some rain, and the next day, 10th of February, from the topmast head a sailor cried out, "Land-a-head."

It is strange how all the early navigators, Magellan, Sarmiento, Mendana, Queiroz and many others, always managed to steer clear of the larger islands that spread like a net across the South Pacific Ocean, and either found an open sea, or hit upon some insignificant atoll.

From a careful study of the various narratives of this voyage it is evident that Queiroz had just sailed an the outskirts of the Tuamotu or Low Archipelago, and was now nearing Tahiti, which island however, he never set foot on.*

[* Many writers have erroneously identified Queiroz's "_Conversion de San Pablo_," Torqamada's "_Sagitaria_," with Tahiti. Sagitaria is Makatea or Aurocra Island of the modern chart, and Conversion de San Pablo is Anaa, or Chain Island, about 200 miles east of Tahiti, in the same lat.i.tude.]

At the announcement of "Land-a-head" their joy was great, for in several places they saw columns of smoke arising, which was a clear sign of inhabitants, whence they concluded that all their sufferings were at an end.

They bore down to the land on the northern side; but finding no harbour, the _Capitana_ endeavoured to beat up against the wind and pa.s.s along the island again, but in vain.

Queiroz then detached the smallest vessel, or brigantine, to look for a port, while the two other vessels lay alongside of each other in sight of the land.

The brigantine cast anchor near the coast, "in ten fathoms, stones and coral."

The commander then gave orders to man the armed boats, and then made to sh.o.r.e. As they approached the land the Spaniards saw about a hundred natives inviting them, by signs of friends.h.i.+p, to land and go to them, but it was not practicable to make good their landing, the waves broke with such fury upon the rocks, that all their efforts proved ineffectual.

The enterprise was abandoned with the more regret, as the fleet began to be in want of fresh water, and they had come to the sad conclusion that they had nothing to do but to return, when a young sailor, full of fire and courage, braving the danger, and generously devoting himself for the honor of the expedition, and the preservation of his companions, stripped off his clothes, threw himself into the sea, and swam to the rocks.

The natives, struck by this act of courage, went into the water to his a.s.sistance, took him in their arms, embraced him affectionately, and received him with all manners of caresses, which his grat.i.tude abundantly returned.

His example was soon imitated by several Spaniards, who pa.s.sed the breakers, and were received by the islanders with the same testimonies of sensibility and affection. These brave savages were all armed: some carried lances of twenty-five or thirty palms in length; some a sort of sabres, and others stone-headed clubs; all these weapons were of wood.

These islanders were tall, with dark brown skins and bodies well proportioned; their habitations were scattered irregularly on the sea-sh.o.r.e, among palms and other trees which abounded in the island. On the fruits of these, together with the produce of their fis.h.i.+ng, the inhabitants subsisted.

When night came on the Spaniards swam back to their boats; some natives followed them, and were treated with those marks of friends.h.i.+p which their generosity deserved: presents were also added; but they could not ever be prevailed upon to go on board the brigantine; instead of that they plunged into the water in order to return to sh.o.r.e.

During the night the vessels drifted considerably, and at eleven in the morning had lost eight leagues, but were still within sight of land; they were now in hopes of being able to get water there. They sent out the boats to seek for a river; and as the appearance of the sh.o.r.e gave no promise of anchorage, the vessels lay-to alongside of each other as before.

The waves broke upon the coast with such violence, that it was impossible to attempt making the rock without risking the loss of boats and men; the sailors, therefore, threw themselves into the water, and by dint of industry and efforts, were enabled to raise their boats, and fix them on some rocks which were dry at low tide.

Having thus secured their boats, the Spaniards visited two small plantations of palms, cocoanut and other useful trees which were near the place where they had landed; but all their endeavours to discover fresh water were fruitless.

They came at length to a small opening where the soil was moist; here they dug wells, but the water proved brackish. Their trouble was a little recompensed by the ease with which they procured an ample provision of cocoa and other nuts. With these they allayed their hunger and their thirst at pleasure; and every man loaded himself with as many as he could carry for his comrades who remained on board the s.h.i.+ps.

To regain the place where they had landed they walked about half a league, and in the pa.s.sage had the water up to their knees, because the sea, flowing full in, with great impetuosity, had risen above the rocks surrounding the island and overflowed the sh.o.r.e.

Fortunately, when they least expected it, they discovered a pa.s.sage between the rocks; there they got into the boats and brought them so near to land, that they could all embark with ease and return to their vessels.