the activity of Brue, who, during that period, had a large share in the administration of the affairs of the French African companies. In one of his numerous journeys he ascended the Senegal as far as Gallam; and established a fort or factory at Dramanet, a populous and commercial town. The inhabitants carried on a trade as far as Timbuctoo, which they described as situated 500 leagues in the interior. They imported from it gold and ivory, and slaves from Bambarra, which was represented by them as an extensive region between Timbuctoo and Cassan, barren but very populous. The kingdom of Cassan was said to be formed into a sort of island, or rather peninsula, by the branches of the Senegal; gold was so abundant there, that the metal often appeared on the surface of the ground. From these circumstances, it may be concluded that Cassan was in some degree confounded with Bambouk, which borders it on the south. It had long been the ambition of the French to find access to this golden country; but the jealousy of the native merchants presented an obstacle that could not be easily surmounted. At length, encouraged by Brue, a young man named Compagnon ventured to brave the dangers of the journey; he passed the dreaded boundary, and entered Bambouk under the protection of a native prince, whose favour he had procured. His appearance in that country caused, nevertheless, a mingled sensation of terror and amazement. His pru

dent and conciliatory demeanour at length won the favour and confidence of the native chiefs; and Compagnon was enabled in the course of a year and a half to travel to the most important districts of Bambouk. He still found it difficult, nevertheless, to procure specimens of the ghingan or golden earth, which he wanted only, he affirmed, to make a few tobacco pipes. The representations of Compagnon inflamed the desire of the French company to establish their power in the country of Bambouk. But such a measure required more force than they could bring into operation; and Fort St.

Joseph continued to be the farthest limit of the French establishments on the Senegal.

On the south-eastern coast of Africa the Portuguese very soon established their power; but as they made no efforts, or very feeble ones, to reach the interior, geography has derived but little benefit from the extension of their colonies: they overlooked the advantageous position of the Cape of Good Hope; and allowed the Dutch, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, to make that settlement, which, in the hands of the English, promises to become a source of civilisation to the savage inhabitants of southern Africa.

In this, and the two preceding chapters, it has been seen by what steps European nations came to fix themselves permanently on those portions of the globe with which but a few years before they had little or no acquaintance. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries produced a number of eminent travellers, whose writings may be still consulted with pleasure and utility. But to attempt to analyse or review the narratives of even those who are considered by the strictest criticism to hold the first rank in merit, would lead us far beyond the limits prescribed to this work. Besides, to trace the progress of geographical knowledge in minute detail, to point out what is due to various travellers, and to reconcile their differences, would be a labour equally difficult and tedious. It is sufficient for our purpose to attend only to those individual exertions and historical events which have tended unremittingly to advance and to consolidate our knowledge of the globe.

CHAP. XVI.

VOYAGES TO THE SOUTH SEA.

VOYAGE OF ALCAZAVA.-HE SENDS TO EXPLORE THE INTERIOR OF PATAGONIA.— MUTINY OF THE CREW.-FAILURE OF THE EXPEDITION. VOYAGE OF CAMARGO. — PERSEVERANCE OF LADRILLERO.- DISCOVERIES OF VILLALOBOS. HE ATTEMPTS TO FIX A COLONY AT THE PHILIPPINES. NEW GUINEA.LEGASPI DESPATCHED TO THE PHILIPPINES. VOYAGE OF URDANETA. DISCOVERIES OF JUAN FERNANDEZ.- NEW ZEALAND. FIRST VOYAGE OF MENDANA. HE DISCOVERS THE SALOMON ISLANDS. SECOND VOYAGE. THE MARQUE

SAS AND QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S ISLES DISCOVERED. SIR

FRANCIS DRAKE. HE BEHOLDS THE SOUTH SEA FROM THE ISTHMUS OF DARIEN. BOLD ATTEMPT OF JOHN OXNAM.- HIS UNFORTUNATE END. - DRAKE'S EXPEDITION. — THE PATAGONIANS. EXECUTION OF DOUGHTIE. VOYAGE THROUGH THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN.-DRAKE DRIVEN FAR TO THE SOUTH. - HIS SUCCESSES ON THE COAST OF PERU. TAKES A SHIP LADEN WITH TREASURE.-SEEKS A PASSAGE BY THE NORTH. -- REACHES A HIGH LATITUDE. NEW ALBION. THE COUNTRY CEDED TO DRAKE.HE SAILS TO THE MOLUCCAS. -IS WELL RECEIVED BY THE KING OF TERNATE. — CRAB ISLAND. NARROW ESCAPE. SAFE RETURN OF DRAKE. — HOW RECEIVED AT HOME.-ADVENTURES OF WILLIAM CARVER.

THE ardour of discovery which had prompted the court of Spain to despatch the well-prepared armaments of Magellan and Loyasa, was much abated by the indifferent success of these expeditions. The embarrassments of European politics, and the exhaustion of his treasury, prevented the emperor from taking energetic measures to extend or develope his distant possessions; and notwithstanding the difficulty with which the Spanish settlements in South America communicated overland, the attempts made by the government to open the navigation and establish an intercourse by the Straits of Magellan were few and ineffectual.

In 1534, Alcazava with two ships attempted to reach Peru by this course. On arriving at the western entrance of the strait, he saw a cross, supposed to have

been erected there by Magellan; and the remains of a wreck, probably of a ship of Loyasa's fleet. The severity of the weather, and the want of water, caused much discontent among the crews; and Alcazava, with a facility which eventually proved fatal to him, yielded to the importunities of his officers, and returned to the port De Leones y Lobos (of (sea) Lions and Wolves, i.e. seals), on the coast of Patagonia. To employ the men, he planned an expedition up the country; but as the weak state of his health did not permit him to conduct it himself, he placed it under the command of Roderigo de la Isla. After a march of twenty-five leagues, the exploring party crossed a fine river, to which they gave the name of the Guadalquivir. When they had penetrated about a hundred leagues into the interior, and had been absent from the ships above three weeks, they found their slender stock of provisions totally consumed. Their Indian guides still tempted them on, assuring them that at no great distance was a populous country, the inhabitants of which wore on their arms large ornaments of gold; but necessity compelled the Spaniards to return. The most shocking extremities of famine were now added to the toils of a wearisome journey. Many perished on the route; and when the famished remnant reached the shore, what was their grief and horror, to find that they were no longer looked upon as friends by those who had remained in the ships, and who, having mutinied and put their commander to death, were preparing to depart, as soon as the weather would permit, to commence a life of piracy. For three weeks Roderigo de la Isla and his unhappy comrades had to endure the miseries of hunger and destitution on shore, at a short distance from the ships. But some of the mutineers at length relented at the sight of so much suffering; they opened their eyes to the heinousness of their guilt and the danger of their situation; and a re-action of feeling taking place among the crews, the ringleaders were given up to De la Isla, who put them to death, took the command of the ships, and returned to Spain. This unfortunate and

disgraceful expedition was succeeded, in 1539, by that of Camargo, who, proceeding from the river La Plata with three ships, attempted to pass through the strait into the Pacific Ocean. He succeeded with his own vessel in reaching Peru: one of his ships was lost in the strait; and the third, after discovering a number of islands, inlets, and harbours, which delayed her course, was obliged to return to the La Plata. This was the last attempt made by the Spaniards for many years to examine and improve the navigation between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In 1557, indeed, Ladrillero sailed from Chili with two ships to survey the strait from the east a mutiny broke out in his crews, which he with difficulty quelled; one of his ships parted company in a storm, and returned to Chili. He, however, resolutely continued his voyage, and diligently examined all the windings of the strait, and returned with only one Spanish seaman and a negro to manœuvre his vessel; the rest of his crew having perished from want, fatigue, and the severity of the climate.

The claim of the Spaniards to the Moluccas was definitively renounced by the emperor in 1529, for a sum of money; but he did not give up his pretensions to the numerous islands which Spanish navigators had discovered to the east of the line of demarcation now confirmed to the Portuguese. In consequence, Rui Lopez de Villalobos was despatched in 1542, with six ships, to make a settlement in some of the islands discovered by Magellan. This voyage was productive of a considerable increase in the geographical knowledge of the Pacific Ocean; but it is difficult at the present day to trace with certainty and precision the course held by the Spanish navigator. Villalobos discovered a cluster of islands, which he named Del Coral (Coral Islands), and which are supposed to be a part of the New Philippines. Farther to the west he found Los Jardines or the Garden Islands; and then the Matalotes and the Arrecifes or Reefs, which are probably the Pelew Islands of modern maps. Arrived at Mindanao, he took pos