Its southern point was on a line with a point of
mainland far to the west, and its northern, from
their vantage looking to be but a continuation of
the curve of the mainland, finished an arc of almost
perfect proportions, whose deep curve was a tumbled
mass of hills and one great mountain. "That is
Nuestra Senora de los Angeles, and it opens a triple
jaw, Luis has told me, at Point Tiburon--you will
soon see the straits between. The big rock over
there is Alcatraz, and farther away still is Yerba
Buena--that looks like a camel on its knees."

But Rezanov was examining the scene before
him. The lines of this bay within a bay were
superb, and in its wide embrace, slanting from Point
Tiburon toward an inner point two miles opposite
was another island, as steep as Alcatraz, but long
and waving of outline, with a glimpse of trees on
its crest. Rezanov, while he lost nothing of the pic-
turesque beauty surrounding him, was more deeply
interested in noting the many foundations, sheltered
and solid, for fortifications that would hold these
rich lands against the fleets of the world. Never
had he seen so many strategic advantages on one
sheet of water. The islands farther south he had
examined through his glass from the deck of the
Juno until he knew every convolution they turned
to the west.

Concha was directing his attention to the tremen-