rs, chests of
silver money, velvets and silks, and wished to take his cargo back to
England. He tried to find a northern, or shorter way home, and at last
got so far north that his sailors suffered from cold, and his ship was
nearly lost. Obliged to sail south, he found a sheltered harbor near
Point Reyes, and landed there in 1579. Drake claimed the new country
for the English Queen, Elizabeth, and named it New Albion. A great
many friendly Indians in the neighborhood brought presents of feather
and bead work to the commander and his men. These Indians killed
small game and deer with bows and arrows, and had coats or mantles
of squirrel skins.

[Illustration: FATHER JUNIPERO SERRA.]

Drake and his sailors repaired and refitted their vessel during the
month they stayed at Drake's Bay. They made several trips inland also
and saw the pine and redwood forests with many deer feeding on the
hills; but they did not discover San Francisco Bay. On leaving New
Albion, Drake sailed the _Golden Hind_ across the Pacific to the East
Indies and the Indian Ocean, and round the Cape of Good Hope home to
England, with all the treasure he had taken. The queen received him
with great honors and his ship was kept a hundred years in memory of
the brave admiral, who had commanded it on this voyage.

During the next century several English commanders of vessels sailed
the South Sea while hunting Spanish galleons to capture, and these
ships often touched at Lower California for fresh water. Some of
the captains explored the coast and traded with the Indians, but no
settlements were made.

Then the Spanish tried to find and settle the country they had heard
so many reports of, thinking to provide stations where their trading
ships might anchor for supplies and protection. Viscaino, on his
second voyage for this purpose, landed at San Diego in 1602. Sailing
on to the island he named Santa Catalina, Viscaino found there a tribe
of fine-looking Indians who had large houses and canoes. They were
good hunters and fishermen and clothed themselves in sealskins.
Viscaino went on to Monterey and finally as far north as Oregon, but
owing to severe storms, and to sickness among his sailors, he was
obliged to return to Mexico.

For a long time after this failure to settle upon the coast, the
Spanish came to Lower California for the pearl-fisheries. Along the
Gulf of California were many oyster-beds where the Indians secured
the shells by diving for t