ntry to capture, and California, he thought,
would be the very place. He wrote home to Spain promising to bring
back gold from the island, and also silks, spices, and diamonds from
Asia. For he was sure that the two countries were near together, and
that both might be found in the Pacific Ocean, or South Sea, as he
called it, by sailing northwest.

So for years Cortes built ships in New Spain (or Mexico), and sent out
men to hunt for this golden island. They found the Gulf of California,
and at last Cortes himself sailed up and down its waters. He explored
the land on both sides, and saw only poor, naked Indians who had a few
pearls but no gold. Cortes never found the golden island. We should
remember, however, that his ships first sailed on the North Pacific
and explored Lower California, and that he first used the name
California for the peninsula.

It was left for a Portuguese ship-captain called Cabrillo to find the
port of San Diego in 1542. He was the first white man to land upon
the shores of California, as we know it. Afterwards he sailed north to
Monterey. Many Indians living along the coast came out to his ship
in canoes with fish and game for the white men. Then Cabrillo sailed
north past Monterey Bay, and almost in sight of the Golden Gate. But
the weather was rough and stormy, and without knowing of the fine
harbor so near him, he turned his ship round and sailed south again.
He reached the Santa Barbara Islands, intending to spend the winter
there, but he died soon after his arrival. The people of San Diego
now honor Cabrillo with a festival every year. He was the sea-king who
found their bay and first set foot on California ground.

About this time Magellan had discovered the Philippine Islands, and
Spain began to send ships from Mexico to those islands to buy silks,
spices, and other rich treasures. The Spanish galleons, or vessels,
loaded with their costly freight, used to come home by crossing
the Pacific to Cape Mendocino, and then sailing down the coast of
California to Mexico. Before long the English, who hated Spain and
were at war with her, sent out brave sea-captains to capture the
Spanish galleons and their cargoes. Sir Francis Drake, one of the
boldest Englishmen, knew this South Sea very well, and on a ship
called the _Golden Hind_ (which meant the Golden Deer), he came to the
New World and captured every Spanish vessel he sighted. He loaded
his ship with their treasures, gold and silver ba