forced to allow half of them to go on with fifty-four loaded
horses. They had not gone a mile from Pecaque when they were attacked by
the Spaniards from an ambush, and were all slain on the spot. Captain
Swan marched to their relief, but came too late, finding the whole party
slain and stripped naked; yet the Spaniards never once attempted to
engage him, having certainly paid dear for their victory.

Returning on board with the rest of his men, and what provisions had
been carried off, Captain Swan resolved to sail for Cape Lucas in
California, in hopes of trafficking with the Indians there and in the
_lake_ or gulf of California. We accordingly sailed on the 21st with the
wind at N.W. and W.N.W. and anchored at the islands of _Santa Maria_, in
eight fathoms on clean sand. There are three islands, usually called the
_Three Marias_,[190] stretching fourteen leagues from S.E. to N.W. of
moderate height, stony, barren, and uninhabited, in lat 21 deg. 30' N.
[long. 106 deg. 15' W.] from which Cape St Lucas in California is forty
leagues W.N.W. and Cape Corientes twenty leagues E.S.E. We anchored off
the east end of the middle island, which we called Prince George's
island. These islands produce some cedars, and we found near the sea a
green prickly plant, with leaves like those of the _penguin_ plant, and
roots like those of the _sempervivum_, but much longer, the Indians of
California subsisting mostly on these roots. We baked and eat some of
these roots, which tasted like boiled burdock roots. I had been long
afflicted with dropsy, and was here buried in the sand for half an hour,
covered up to the neck, which brought on a profuse sweat, and I believe
with good effect, for I began to recover soon after. We careened here;
but as there is no fresh water to be had at this place in the dry
season, we had to return to the valley of Valderas, but finding the
river brackish we sailed three leagues nearer Cape Corientes, and
anchored beside a small round isle four leagues north of that cape, and
half a mile from the shore, opposite to a rivulet on the continent,
where we filled our water casks.

[Footnote 190: In reality _four_, the fourth or most northwesterly,
being named St Juanica.--E.]

Being now sufficiently convinced of our mistaken notion of the riches of
this coast, founded on an erroneous idea that the commerce of this
country was carried on by sea, whereas it is entirely conducted by land
on mules, we now resolved t