e Corzo, and Alenzo de Leyva.

As it was intended to settle a colony, many took their wives with them,
and amongst these were: Da. Isabel de Barreto, Mendana's wife, and Da.
Mariana de Castro, the wife of Lope de Vega.

They set sail from Callao on the 9th of April, 1595, and, after
discovering the Marquesas, and a few smaller islands, they sighted land
on September the 7th, which Mendana believed, at first, to be the
Solomons, of which he was in quest.

They soon found out their mistake, and named the island _Santa Cruz_. To
the northward of this island was seen a most remarkable volcano in full
eruption.* The frigate was ordered to sail round it to search for Lope de
Vega's ship, which had parted company some time previously.

[* Tinacula Volcano, in eruption at the present day.]

They thought that she might have passed to the north, but the hopes of
seeing her again were very faint.

Mendana continued near the north coast of Santa Cruz, searching for a
port, and was rejoined there by the frigate, which returned without any
tidings of Lope de Vega and his ship.

At last a port was discovered where the ships anchored in smooth water,
close to the shore.

On the 21st of September, they found a better port, which Mendana named
_La Graciosa_, for it was very beautiful, larger and more commodious than
the one where they were first anchored. A river of moderate size and a
copious stream of very clear water gushing from beneath some rocks was
found in proximity to the anchorage. Here an attempt at colonisation was
made, but what with the hostility of the natives, sickness, and a
mutinous spirit, the young colony did not progress favorably. To make
matters worse, Mendana himself fell ill and died, and the grand scheme
which, under favourable circumstances, might have resulted in the
foundation of a Spanish Australian Empire, was, perforce, abandoned for
the while. The remnant of this disastrous expedition, having repaired to
the Philippine Islands, returned to New Spain in the year 1596.

AN EARLY MAP OF THE SOLOMONS ISLANDS.

The discovery of true Solomon Islands was soon forgotten and Mendana's
vague notions about them led historians and geographers astray as to
their position and size.*

[* In a map of the South Sea, _Mar del Zur_, published towards the year
1650, the Solomon Islands are represented as extending in a sweeping
curve, resembling their natural trend it is true, but the position is
from the locali