A fleet of canoes came out to attack the Spanish ships, which their fire arms quickly dispersed, and would totally have destroyed, had not these brave islanders, with all their courage, been sensible of their inferiority.  Thus the thunder of European artillery made good the right of the Spaniards; but force by no means gives a sanction to base treachery.

THE FLEET LEAVES TAUMACO.

Queiroz quitted this island of Taumaco on the 18th of April, and, giving up his project of settlement at Santa Cruz, sailed towards the south in search of the land of Mallicolo and other lands indicated by the chiefs of Taumaco.

On the 21st, in the evening, they discovered land in the S.E.  They manoeuvred cautiously all night.  They then sailed along the northern shores of what proved to be a small island.  The captain of the Almiranta, Luis Vaez de Torres, went in a canoe to examine it.

He could not find an anchorage for the fleet; but he went near enough to the land to converse with the natives, who offered him a present of nuts, and a piece of stuff made of palm leaves woven together.

He learned from them that their island was caged TUCOPIA*; and they made him understand by signs that, if he sailed southwards, he would meet with extensive countries, where the inhabitants were fairer than those he had yet seen.  As this island afforded no shelter from the wind, they did not remain there.  In coasting along it, they perceived that it produced many fruit trees, of which they saw several plantations.  They say that “It lies in latitude 12 deg.  S.”

[* The first island arrived at by the Spaniards bearing a native name preserved to this day, and that can, therefore, be positively identified, with reference to this voyage.]

QUEIROZ’S REGION OF ESPIRITU SANTO.

As we are coming now to islands which I have positively identified,* it will be well to follow the itinerary on the maps given here.

[* See Portuguese, Spanish, and Victorian Geographical Societies’ Journals. 1903-1904.]

The fleet proceeded southwards, with variable winds, till the 25th of April, when, at day-break, a very high land was seen in the latitude of 141/2 deg. (Bougainville’s “Pic de l’Etoile,” the “Star Island” or Merlav, of modern charts.) They named it San Marcos.

From San Marcos they went on a S.W. course, with men at the mast-head; and at 10 in the forenoon, at a distance of 12 leagues to the S.E., a land of many mountains and plains was sighted, the end of which could not be seen throughout the day.  Queiroz gave it the name of Margaritana.  It is the island of the New Hebrides group which Bougainville named Aurora.

About 20 leagues to the west, an island was seen that looked so beautiful that they determined to go to it.  About a third of the way they saw another island, 3 leagues off.  It was flat, with a hill that looked like a rock in the distance.  Two canoes under sail came from it, from which they knew that it was inhabited.