The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1893-06-28
A NEW OCEAN.
HE Pacific Regarded as a Spanish LaGa
Until About a Century Ago.

Until About a Century Ago.
1t seems rather curious to recall the
fact h a very little more thar one
hundred years ago the Pacific wa re-
garded as a Spanish lake, SAYS the
Washington Star. That nation claimed
it on the strength of Balboa's discov-
cry in 1913, and insisted hat it should
be regarded as a mare clausum. When
Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the
globe his sailing across these waters
was seriously resented by Spain, which
demanded restitution to her of the
plumber he took, but Queen Elizabeth
made a naughty reply. Not long before
the close Of the last century the Span
ISL crown again began TO make a fuss
because it's monopoly of the Pacific
was infringed on. It ordered the COM
mandante of San Francisco to seize the
Columbia, the first vessel that carried
the American flag around Cape Horn.
In 1889 two Spanish m~en-of-war seized
several English fur traders on the
northwest coast and war was very
nearly h result. It is odd that the
Spaniards, though discoveries of new
lands n waters, were among the
poorest navigators of their time. After
coming upon the Solomon islands they
could not find them again, and they
were lost for one hundred and fifty
years. The water supply of their gal
Icons was not kept in casks, but in big
earthen jars. AS it was impossible to
provide a sufficient supply for a six
months voyage on board of a ship car
rying four hundred or five hundred
people they always took to sea great
numbers of mats. Whenever it rained
the mats were spread to catch the
drops, which were drained off into jars
through split bamboos. The mortal
ity from scurvy on long trips was
frightful.
Cortes, after the conquest of Mexico,
fitted out three small ships to sail to
the Moluccas and reinforce the Span
iards there. They were scattered by a
tempest and two of them were lost.
One of these is imagined to nave been
the strange vessel which was wrecked
on the rocks Of Hawaii about the same
time as nearly as can be reckOned.
According to tradition only the captain
and his sister were saved. The natives
received them kindly and gave them
food. They ~intermarried with the
Hawaiians and became the ~progenitors
of certain we'll known families of
chiefs. In early times the control of
land on the Hawaiian islands was held
by the ruling chiefs, who reserved what
portion they pleased for their own use
and divided the rest among the leading
men subject to them. The position of
! the latter was analogous to that of the
barons of European feudalism. They
furnished supplies to their sovereign
and in case of war were expected to
take the field with what fighting men
their estates could furnish. These
barons held almost despotie sway over
their domains, apportioning the terri
tory which they controlled among the
followers according to the whim of the
moment or the demand of policy. Every
time a new chief came into power there
was a fresh distribution of ands.
Thus the country was always full Of
people who were dispossessed and
homeless. Kamehameha III. over
turned this system by granting to his
people a bill of rights which made their
tenure of the soil permanent.