the head of the ship being turned S.W., until we arrived at 55° of altitude, on which coast there were no inhabitants, nor any opening to indicate the vicinity of another strait through which the South Sea flowing into the North might insulate that part; and from hence we concluded, that all that coast belonged to America, and that continuing along it we might shortly arrive at Quivira and Cape Mendocino. We left this coast, (which, as was before said, we knew to continue along,) and standing towards the west, we sailed four days with the wind abeam, so strong that we made thirty leagues a day; and having voyaged one hundred and twenty leagues, according to this calculation and to the point marked in the map, we discovered a very high land, and continuing along the coast, from which we kept at a convenient distance, to fulfil our object, always in the open sea; sailing at one time to the N.E., at others towards N.N.E., and again to the N., from whence it appeared to us that (for the most part) the coast trended N.E. and S.W. We could not mark any particular points, on account, as I before said, of our voyaging in the open sea; and, therefore, can only affirm, that it is inhabited very nearly to the strait's entrance, as we saw smoke rising up in many places. This country, according to the charts, must belong to Tartary or Cataia; and at the distance of a few leagues from the coast must be situated the famed city of Cambalu, the metropolis of Tartary.

Finally, having followed the direction of the said coast, we found ourselves at the entrance of the same Strait of Anian, which, fifteen days before, we had passed through to the open sea, which we knew to be the South Sea, where Japan, China, the Moluccas, India, New Guinea, and the land discovered by Captain Quiros, are situated, with all the coast of New Spain and Peru. At the mouth of the strait, through which we passed to the South Sea, there is

an harbour situated on the coast of America, capable of. holding five hundred ships, though in some parts it is rough

and a bad roadsted, on account of the currents which, with the tide flowing from the north to the south, enter the harbour, and beat violently against one part of it not far from the mouth on going in on the right side. It must be understood that the mouth of the harbour is open to the north, and runs in an oblique direction. The shores of this harbour seemed never to have been touched by human footsteps. In a certain part there is a pool of stagnant water, on the borders of which we found an immense quantity of the egg shells of sea birds, which generally lay them on the shores of the sea; these appeared to have been brought there by the currents from the north, and were so many in number that they formed a wall a vara in height and eight palmos in breadth.

We found in this harbour a large river of fresh water, so deep that we were able to enter with our ship to procure water; and I think a ship of five hundred tons burden might enter it. The greater part of this harbour has a sandy bottom, particularly near the place where the river flows into it, and where the currents beat; more to the north there is a sheltered spot formed by a rocky hill, more than two picas in height in some parts, upon which is a plane surface having a narrow neck, which the sea surrounds, leaving a jutting of land on the eastern side; on which situation an extensive colony might be planted, and for the present a fortress might be raised, which would be of great service. The land which adjoins this harbour is very pleasant, containing extensive plains on the south-east side coming in a point to the harbour, and these are bounded by a low mountain, in some parts of which we found rosemary. These plains being cleared might serve for neat farms or gardens, and on account of the situation the greater part of them might be well watered. Although this land is situated in latitude 59°, it is of a very pleasant temperature; because the mountains, which are on the north side, shelter and defend all the land lying to the south. The climate is very good, for the cold of the

winter is not excessive, but on the contrary very moderate; because the country is always open to the rays of the sun, and is unaffected by the north winds, being only open to those which blow from the south, which are always temperate, and especially so there, because they come in a direct line from the sea. The proof of this was evident from the species of fruits which we found there. Although this land is in so high a parallel of latitude, it is not on that account less fit to be inhabited, since many other countries are so which run in the same parallel; namely, Edinburgh in Scotland, the principal cities of Sweden, Hapsalia and Ryga, cities in Livonia, Dublin in Ireland, Nidrosia, a city in Norway, many parts of Moscovia, and many other very pleasant countries which are inhabited, traded with, and well known; which, although they are free from the heat of this coast, are rather cold. The longest day of summer in this land is eighteen hours and a half, and the longest night in winter the same; therefore the summer nights are five hours and a half long, and the day in winter about as

many.

Upon the banks of the river which flows into the harbour, and on those of another which is lower down on the southeast side, grow many large trees, most of them fruit-bearing; some similar to those of Spain, such as apples, pears, and wild plums, and others quite unknown, of divers forms; therefore, that we might fall into no danger, (as might possibly have happened,) I ordered my people not to eat any fruit which had not been pecked at by the birds by this means we avoided eating any hurtful fruit. Most of these were the fruits of last year-remaining upon the trees, for in that season there was no ripe fruit, being the latter part of April, all May, and part of June; and as the fruit was preserved on the trees from one year to another, we knew that the winter could not have been very severe. We found in a valley surrounded by the river, which was low and apparently very temperate, wild grapes and lechias,

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which is a delicious fruit from India, always found in temperate climates. At the head of the harbour, looking between north and east, and along all that quarter of the compass, there are mountains not very high but easy of cultivation, and abounding in all kinds of game, where we found partridges, rabbits, (somewhat different from those in Spain,) deer marked with black and white spots upon a grey skin, and long branching horns, but some had not any horns.

We saw two species of swine, one kind similar to those of India which have the navel in the spine, but larger, and the others resembling the "javalies" of Spain. We found also buffaloes and many other animals, but no beasts of prey. The sea produces abundance of fish, and all kinds of shell-fish are very good and savoury, larger than any we know of here; for we caught crabs half a vara in width, those of our coasts not being larger than the palm of a hand. The coast on the side of Asia or Tartary have very high mountains, so high that in some parts of their greatest altitude they are covered with snow all the year, particularly those which look to the north; and these are so rugged and craggy, that they appear incapable of cultivation; the greater part of the trees growing on them are very lofty pines, which grow down to the shores of the sea. In the same part of Asia, opposite the entrance of the harbour, there is a pool of stagnant sea-water, in which was growing a large plantation of reeds, springing up out of this same water, which we found to be an admirable fishing place; here we caught many large fish, some of them such as we had known before, namely, conger-eels, soles, and others, much larger than those which are found here. We saw numbers of large fish swimming past us in their way from the South to the North Sea. Among them were whales, porpoises, and other great monsters.

The Strait of Anian is fifteen leagues in length, and can be freed easily with a tide lasting six hours, and those tides

are very rapid. There are six turnings in all this length, and two entrances, which lie from north to south. I mean, that the bearing of the two is north and south. The entrance on the north side (through which we passed) is less than half a quarter of a league in width, and on both sides there are two ridges of rocks; but the rock on the side of Asia is higher and more steep than the other, receding below in such a manner that nothing which falls from the upper part of the mountain can reach its base. The entrance into the South Sea near the harbour is more than a quarter of a league in width, and from thence the passage runs in a slanting direction, increasing the distance between the two coasts. In the middle of the strait, at the termination of the third winding, there is a great rock and an islet, formed by a rugged rock three "estadas" in height, more or less, and as its form is round, its diameter must be two hundred paces; its distance from the land of Asia is very little, but the sea on that side is full of shoals and reefs, and cannot be navigated but with boats. The distance between this islet and the continent of America is less than half a quarter of a league in width; and although its channel is so deep that two or even three ships might sail through together, it is near the shelving places of the banks upon which with little trouble there might be built two bastions, contracting the channel to musket-shot. Upon this island, or upon the shoals and the opposite coast, there might be raised, as was before said, two bastions, which, with the assistance of artillery, might guard and defend the strait in great safety; and if the currents were not so strong, there might be placed a chain which would be of great service; even now we might work with so much diligence as to overcome the currents. The situation of this strait is in such form, that with three watch-towers communicating with one another we might see out into the North Sea as far as thirty leagues, and by means of signals might give notice to the bastions and fortresses of the harbour