Where were they? Plainly
lost, lost somewhere along what are now known as Mendocino, and Blanco,
and Flattery. In a word, perhaps up as far as Oregon, and Washington.
One record says they went to latitude 43. Another record, purporting
to be more correct, says 48. The Spaniards had been north as far as
California, but beyond this, however far he may have gone, Drake was a
discoverer in the true sense of the word. Mountains covered with snow
they saw, and white cliffs, and low shelving shores, which is more
descriptive of Oregon and Washington than California; but only the
sudden transition from tropic heat to chilling northern fogs can
explain the crew's exaggerated idea of cold along the Pacific coast.
Land was sighted at 42, north of Mendocino, and an effort made to
anchor farther north; but contrary winds and a rock bottom gave
insecure mooring. {161} This was not surprising, as it was on this
coast that Cook and Vancouver failed to find good harborage. The coast
still seemed to trend westward, dispelling hopes of a Northeast
Passage, and if the world could have accepted Drake's conclusions on
the matter, a deal of expenditure in human life and effort might have
been saved.
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