The Indians, as
usual, told him of large cities in the interior, which they invited him
to visit, but Vizcaino could not tarry. His provisions were almost gone,
his men were sick with scurvy, of which many had died, and putting the
most helpless on board the Santo Tomas, he sent her to Acapulco for aid,
and sailed, January 3, 1603, with the flagship and fragata, for the
north. A storm soon separated the vessels and they did not see each
other again until they met in the harbor of Acapulco. Vizcaino was told
by the pilot, Bolanos, that Cermenon had left in Drake's Bay a large
quantity of wax and several chests of silk, and he entered the bay on
January 8th to see if any vestiges remained of ship or cargo. He did not
land, but awaited the arrival of the fragata. As she did not appear, he
became uneasy, and sailed the next morning in search of her. On the
13th, a violent gale from the southeast drove him northward. This was
followed by a dense fog, and when it lifted, he found himself in
latitude forty-two - the limit of his instructions - with Cape Blanco in
sight, "and the trend of the coast line onward," he writes, "towards
Japan and Great China, which are but a short run away.
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