»798- o f the Francifcan order, at leaft o f that part o f their numerous commu-
■ j nity with whom we had become acquainted.
The morning, which was moil delightfully pleafant, was employed in
viewing the buildings o f the million, the arrangement o f the gardens,
and cultivated land in its immediate vicinage. Thefe all appeared to be
in a very fuperior llile to any of the new feulements I had y e t feen, and
would have tempted me to have made a more minute inquiry, had not
my anxious delire for proceeding onward prohibited the delay it would
neceffarily have occafioned.
The day paffed moft agreeably in the fociety of our ecclefiaftical
friends ; and the pleafure of it was greatly heightened by the arrival o f a
mail from Europe in its way to Monterrey. By this conveyance our
reverend friends had intelligence' from the old world, that could not fail of
being very interefting to perfons in our fituation. Thus we concluded a
very pleafant day, and in the evening returned to thê veffêls, which
had been prevented moving by the calmnefs of the weather.
On attempting to weigh with a gentle breeze of wind from the weft-
Thurfdaysi. ward on the fallowing morning, the tenacity o f the bottom proved too
ftrong for our cable, and it parted near the clench. This accident kept us
employed the whole o f the day; and after breaking all the beft hawfers'
we had then remaining, the anchor was at length recovered by fweeping
it with the ftream cable late in the evening. This unlooked for detention
was highly mortifying, as the wefterly breeze blew a cheerful gale'
from day-light until dark, for the firft time ftnce we had entered the canal
of S“ Barbara.
With light baffling winds from the north-eaft quarter, and fqme flight
Friday 22. fhowers of rain, we directed our courfe the next morning to the fouth-
eaftward, gratefully thankful for the hofpitable reception and benevolent
donations of our religious friends at Buena Ventura.
The anchorage we had juft quitted, was according to our obfervations
by two meridional altitudes of the fun, in latitude 34” 16'; and the longitude
by fix fets of altitudes, on two different days, was 2410 2'. In consequence
of the general ferenity of the weather almoft throughout the
ydar, according to the information I obtained, the roadftead may be
conftdered
confidered as a tolerably 50od one, and anchorage may be had nearer ' 793- . , . , J 9 _ 0 • ' November.
the jfhore in the vicinity o f the miflion; but neither ntuations are fo com- v— v— a
modious as at S'* Barbara, being much more expofed to the fouth-eaft
winds and oceanic fwell, which frequently render the communication
with the Ihore very unpleafant.
A t noon our obferved latitude was 340 10', longitude 2410 4'. In this
fituation the ifles o f Eneeapah bore by com pafs n. 4 e., to s. 20 w . ; the
ifland of S‘* Cruz, s. 36 w ., to s. 61 w . ; the wefternmoft part of the
main land in fight, w . N. tv., the neareft Ihore n..e. by N., four or five
miles diftant, point Converfion, n. 84 e., and the fouthernmoft land in
fight, s. 85 e .
Point Converfion was paffed in the afternoon, and found to be fituated
in latitude 34° g', longitude 241“ g'. The Ihores from BuenaVentura,
which as far as this point continued low and flat, produced fome fmall
trees and fhrubs; but from hence they again affumed a fteep and rugged
form.
From our anchorage this morning, as we advanced towards the Ihore
to the fouth-eaft of the miffion, our depth o f water regularly decreafed
to 8 fathoms, within 2 miles of the Ihore of the main land ; but by noon
it had increafed to 14, and by five in the afternoon to 46 fathoms. At
this time the wefternmoft part o f the main land in fight bore by com-
pafs n . 55 w .; point Converfion, n". 45 w . ; the eafternmoft part of
the main land in fight N. 65 E .; and the ifles of Enneeapah from s. 63 w .
to weft. On paffmg thefe ifles we were nearer to them than to any other
of the iflands in the canal of Sa Barbara ; the whole of which wore the
fame barren appearance, and were now feen as We paffed to be compofed
of rügged rocks, nearly deftitute of wood and verdure. The wefternmoft,
already ftated to be the largêft, is about a league in length from north to
fouth, and about two miles in breadth ; its center is fituated in latitude
340 l-J-', longitude 240° 565-'. The eafternmoft of thefe ifles, about two
mile's in circuit, lies from the above n . 80 e . , at the diftance o f about a
league, and the fouth-eaft point of the ifland of SK Cruz lies from the
fame ftation s. 80 w., diftant four miles and an half.
The