December ^*e refu^ ° f thofe obfervations, would agree with the longitude in which
'---v——1 we had now placed Monterrey.
With a frelh breeze from the N . E . ' attended with fair and pleafant
TudHay 2. weather, on tuefday the 2d of december we*quitted Monterrey, and bad
adieu to governor Alava, and the reft o f our Spanilh friends, from whofe
great kindnefs and hofpitality we had not'only derived much relaxation
and happinefs, but by their attention to our future wants, we had every
profpefl of a continuation of that health, which now feemed to be ella-
blilhed, by the refrelhments we had there procured.
From Monterrey bay our_couife^yas directed to the s.E., but in the
evening the gale died away, and after about twelve hours calm, it was
fucceeded by light variable adverfe winds, which continued until near
lliuriday 4. noon on thurfday, when it fixed in the weftern quarter,' blowing a plea-
fant gentle breeze. The obferved latitude was. 35° 25/, longitude 238“
16'. The coaft of New Albion was ftill in fight, bearing by compafs
from n . E . to N . .w. by N . This was the laft we faw of i t ; the wind between
w. n . w. and n . n . w,. gradually increafed to a pleafant gale, which
Monday .8. by the evening of the 8th brought us in fight of the ifland of Guadaloupe;
This we palled in the night, and from the obfervations made on the preceding
and following day, which exaflly agreed with the Ihips run by
the Jog-, I had the fatisfaflion of finding its fituation exaflly to correfpond
with that which we had before afligned to it ; hence it is fair to prefume,
that the whole of this coaft which has fallen, under our examination, has
been laid down relatively correflly, however our longitude may be found
to vary from other navigators or obfervers.
Having afcertained this fa él, and being unwilling to lofe any opportunity
by which the advancement of geography might in the flighted' degree
be furthered, I fleered over to the coaft of California, for the pur-
pofe of fixing in our way towards cape St. Lucas, the pofition of feme’of
the mol projefling points between that promontory, and the part where
we had quitted its fhores the foregoing autumn; but in fo doing I had no
intention of approaching fufficiently near to attempt a minute delineation
of the coaft.
At
At day-light in the morning of the gth we had fight of the ifland of
Cerros, bearing by compafs from E . n . e . to n . e . about to leagues dif-
tant. This ifland is reprehended in the Spanilh charts to be about to
leagues long, and to be lying before an extenfive bay, on the fhores of the
peninfula. The fouth-weftern point of this bay is a very projefling promontory
named Morro Hermofo : weft from thence is laid down a fmaller
.ifland called Natividad. To thefe as the day advanced we drew fomewhat
nearer, but the land was ftill too far off to admit of our forming any correct
judgment as to the productions of the country,-or the lhape of its
Ihorfes. Thofe o f the ifland of Cerros wore an uneven broken appearance;
though on a nearer view they feemed to be all connected. The
fouthern part, which is the higheft, is occupied by the bale of a very remarkable
and lofty peaked mountain, that defcends in a very peculiar
rugged manner, and by projefling into the fea, forms the fouth-weft end
of the ifland into a low craggy'rocky point; this as we palled at the dif-
tance of 5 or 6 leagues, feemed, like the other part of the ifland, to be
deftitute of trees, and nearly fo of all other vegetable productions. Natividad
appeared to be more moderately elevated, and at. noon bore by compafs
n . 70 e . ; the fouth-eaft point of the ifland of Cerros, n . 4 6 e . ; the
peaked, mountain, N .3 7 e . ; its fouth-weft point, n . 27 e . ; its north-
wefternmoft part in fight, N, 20 E.; and ille de St. Benito, which is a
fin all ifland, feemingly with fome rocks and iflets about it, n. 11 w., dif-
tant 8 or g leagues. In this fituation the obferved latitude was 27° 51',
longitude by Arnold’s No. 14 , 244° tjfcf*; by Kendall’s 244° 385 and by
Arnold’s* No. 17 6 , 244° 54'. The variation, by the furveying compafs,
was at this time 8“ eallwardly.
■ The weather continued to be fair and pleafant, and, with a gentle
breeze from the north-well, we proceeded along the fhore. In the afternoon
we had fight of what we fuppofed was Morro Hermofo, which
at that diftance appeared to be infular, and, like Natividad, feemed to
be moderately elevated. Although we were too far diftant to. attempt
an accurate delineation o f thefe fhores, yet we were enabled pretty
clearly to afcertain the pofition of their moll prominent points, and, from
the refult of our calculations, the ifland of Cerros ..appeared to form on
its
-1.794.
December.
l— — ^ --------1
Tuefady 9.