mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i4-043

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are extremely elastic and are able to shoot arrows, some of
which have points of flint and others simply of wood, 50 or
more paces. In addition, they use clubs and spears. All
these arms and clothes we traded them for various trifles and
rum. Returning to the tents after sunset, the captain ordered
us to place sentries with loaded rifles near the longboat and
the tents, and to load the falconets despite the fact that the
Spaniards had described the Indians as cowards. But the night
passed quietly, and we, taking angles, left to explore the river.

We left our camping place at six o'clock in the morning
with beautiful weather, and not having a breeze, started to
row to the northeastern end of the bay where we saw the mouth
of the river, attempting to reach it before noon, and intend-
ing to take there the midday height of the sun, to fix, with its help, the latitude of the river mouth. Of the three
large bays connected by narrow channels and comprising the port
of San Francisco, this last bay is surrounded by tall mountains
on the east and the west. The northern shore looks like a
boundless plain extending from the southern shore of the river
to the chain of mountains, running from our last night's
camping place eastward a distance of seven or more miles.

The difference in the taste of the water, changing grad-
ually from bitter salt to sweet, reealed the vicinity of the
mouth of an important river. We entered it around the 11th,
making our way through the clearly defined channel from one
to six sazhens deep between sandy banks. Near the southern