The Discovery of the Solomon Islands by Alvaro de Menda Na in 1568 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 edition. Excerpt: ... the case of Tahiti, where Cook mistook the article "O" for a part of the name, and called it Otaheite, the Spaniards set down Mala eta (" There is Mala ") as Malaita; and their mistake has been perpetuated by modern cartographers. Mr. Woodford has been at pains to identify the islands in the Gela (Florida) group visited by the brigantine; and, with the advantage of having the journals of Catoira and Gallego on the spot, he has come to a different conclusion from that of Dr. Guppy1 (see p. 30, note). But even his identification leaves the island of Tanakula unaccounted for. It is clear, however, that after a sanguinary encounter with the natives of Olevunga on Easter Day, the Spaniards left the group by the Sandfly passage, and stood across for Guadalcanal',2 passing the volcanic island of Savo a few miles on their starboard hand. The volcano was then in eruption, as it has been more than once during the present century; and, reminded by its outline of an island that lay opposite his Galician home, a little westward of la Coruna, Gallego named it Sesarga. It happened that Lord Amherst had Catoira's narrative on board his yacht when he was cruising along the Galician coast in 1879, and he bore up to Sesarga, when one of his daughters made a hasty sketch of the island. This was immediately recognised by the coastguard at la Coruna. The white line, "which appears to be a road descending from the top to the sea,"3 was conspicuous, and the general similarity of appearance may be judged by comparing the sketch of Sesarga with that of Savo drawn by Mr. C. M. Woodford, and shown in the illustration facing p. 30. This island, the only volcano in the group, was an important clue to the identification of the discoveries of the Spaniards by Fleurieu...