[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

TWO YEARS WITH THE NATIVES
IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

-_.__.g._.__

INTRODUCTION

LATE in the sixteenth century the Spaniards made
several voyages in search of a continent in the
southern part of the great Pacific Ocean. Alvara
Mendana de N eyra, starting in 1568 from the west
coast of South America and following about the sixth
degree southern latitude, found the Solomon Islands,
which he took for parts of the desired continent. In
1595 he undertook another voyage, keeping a more
southerly course, and discovered the Queen Charlotte
Islands; the largest of these, N itendi, he called Santa
Cruz, and gave the fitting name of Graciosa Bay to
' the lovely cove in which he anchored. He» tried to
found a colony here, but failed. Mendana died in
santa Cruz, and his lieutenant, Pedro Vernandez de
Quiros, led the expedition home. In Europe, Quiros
succeeded in interesting the Spanish king, Philip 111.,
in the idea of another voyage, so that in 1603 he was
able to set sail from Spain with three ships. Again
he reached the Santa Cruz Islands, and sailing south—

ward from there he landed in 1606 on a larger island,
I