produces great plenty of certain trees called Palma-Maria.  These are straight, tough, and of good length, and are consequently fit for masts, the grain of the wood having a gradual twist or spiral direction; but, notwithstanding the name, they have no resemblance to palms.  To the N.E. of Quibo are the small islands of Canales and Cantarras, in the channels between which there is good anchorage.  These islands have plenty of wood and water, and appear at a distance as if part of the continent; and as the island of Quibo is the most considerable, these isles are generally named collectively the Quibo islands.

Having failed in our designs at sea, it was agreed to try our fortune on land, and the city of Leon, near the coast of Nicaragua in Mexico, was pitched upon, as being nearest us.  Being in want of canoes for landing our men, we cut down trees to make as many as we had occasion for, and in the mean time 150 men were detached to take Puebla nova, a town on the continent, near the Quibo island,[176] in hopes of getting some provisions.  They easily took that town, but got nothing there except an empty bark, and returned to us on the 26th June.  Captain Knight came back to us on the 5th July, having been farther to the west, but meeting with no prize, he had gone south to the bay of Guayaquil, where he took two barco-longas, with wine, oil, brandy, sugar, soap, and other commodities.  Knight learnt from his prisoners that certain merchant ships, designed to have accompanied the Spanish fleet to Panama, remained behind at Payta, which he might easily have taken if he had been provided with a stronger force.

[Footnote 176:  The only place in modern geography resembling the name, and agreeing with the description in the text, is San Pablo on the S. coast of Veragua, in lat. 8 deg. 9’ N. and long. 83 deg.  W. from Greenwich.—­E.]

Our canoes being all ready, we sailed from Quibo on the 20th July towards Realejo, a port a small way to the N.W. of Leon, being now 640 men, with eight ships, three tenders, and a fire-ship.  Coasting along to the N.W. we passed the gulfs of Dulce and Nicoya, and the Isla del Cano, the land along the coast being low and covered with wood, but almost destitute of inhabitants.  August 8th, in lat. 11 deg. 20’ N. we got sight of Volcano viejo, or Old Volcano, the sea-mark for Realejo, bearing from us N.E. by N. when we made ready to land next day.  Accordingly, we sent 520 men on the 9th in thirty-one canoes to attack the harbour of Realejo.  The weather was fair and the wind favourable till two p.m. when a tempest arose, attended by thunder and lightning, which almost overwhelmed us in the sea.  It subsided, however, in half an hoar, as did the agitation of the waves; it being observable in these hot climates that the waves soon rise and soon fall.  It became calm about seven p.m. but as we could not get ready to land that night before day, being then five leagues from shore, we remained nearly in the same place till next evening, that we might not be discovered.