[25] From this point the journey takes Abella and his party into the actual delta. Thereafter progress is almost impossible to follow, except in broad outline. The party wandered almost at random through the tules, finally touching at spots which can be identified. This is evident from the account of Abella, who substantially admits that he was lost for days at a time. Another difficulty lies in the changes which have taken place during the past century. River channels have been leveed, new canals or channels have been excavated, great areas have been drained entirely, with complete change of vegetation. Therefore an attempt to trace Abella's course in detail through the delta as it exists today is doomed to failure in advance. As a matter of fact the route outlined by Bancroft 80 years ago (1884-1890, II: 321-323) is likely to be reasonably close to the truth. Even though the precise pathway cannot be reconstructed the diary is of interest both in giving a vivid impression of the great tule swamps in their pristine condition and in presenting information regarding the natives of those regions. [26] As suggested in n. 22 above, Abella's distances in leagues are completely unreliable and should be entirely disregarded. [27] Fourteen leagues, or a minimum of 35 mi. from near Martinez to near Antioch, a truly preposterous figure. [28] The passage is obscure. It is probable that the island, and the branching of the rivers, refers to the western end of Sherman I. where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers merge. The Ompines were a tribe living on the north shore of Suisun Bay but it is quite likely that they had a fishing station on Sherman I. or some other island close to the south shore. [29] "Boca." The word denotes the mouth or entrance of a stream or river. Here, quite evidently it is used with reference to the many openings among the islands and swamps where sloughs intersect each other or meet the rivers. From a small boat on the water only the break in the tules can be seen. Rarely is there any indication of how far, or where, the lateral channel runs. These mouths, or openings, usually resemble each other in appearance so closely that a stranger like Abella can never be sure of differentiating between them or of recognizing one the second time he passes it, unless there is some very distinctive landmark. [30] "Río del Norte," the Sacramento. The party appears now to have been somewhere in the Big Break region off the northwest shore of Jersey I. The channel to the left cannot be identified on modern maps. [31] From the context it is clear that at this point the party entered False River, as they could not fail to do if they went upstream past Antioch, took the channel on their right, and held close to the south shore.