Produced by David A. Schwan
THE MARCH OF PORTOLA AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO
By Zoeth S. Eldredge
Log of the San Carlos and Original Documents Translated and Annotated
By E. J. Molera
Published by the Reception Committee of The California Promotion
Committee
This Book is published with the approval and endorsement of the
Executive Committee of the Portola Festival.
The March of Portola
and
The Log of the San Carlos
San Francisco
"Serene, indifferent of fate,
Thou sittest at the Western Gate;
Upon thy heights so lately won,
Still slant the banners of the sun;
Thou seest the white seas strike their tents,
O warder of two continents,
And scornful of the peace that flies,
Thy angry winds and sullen skies,
Thou drawest all things, small or great,
To thee beside the Western Gate."
Table of Contents
Introduction
The March of Portola and Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco
Data regarding Portola after he left California
Letter of the Viceroy of New Spain to Don Julian de Arriaga
Causes that led to the Expedition of the San Carlos
Log of the San Carlos
Report of the Commander of the San Carlos
Description of the Bay of San Francisco
Report of the Pilot of the San Carlos
Illustrations
The March to Monterey (Frontispiece)
Carrying the Sick
Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco
Departure of the San Carlos from La Paz
Facsimile of signature of Governor Portola
First Survey and Map of the Bay of San Francisco
Introduction
In the annals of adventure, there are no more thrilling narratives
of heroic perseverance in the performance of duty than the record
of Spanish exploration in America. To those of us who have come into
possession of the fair land opened up by them, the story of their
travels and adventures have the most profound interest. The account
of the expedition of Portola has never been properly presented. Many
writers have touched on it, and H. H. Bancroft, in his History of
California, gives a brief digest of Crespi's diary. Most writers on
California history have drawn on Palou's Vida del V. P. F. Junipero
Serra and Noticias de la Nueva California, and without looking further,
have accepted the ecclesiastical narrative. We have endeavored in
this sketch to give, in a clear and concise form, the conditions which
preceded and led up to the occupation of California.
The importance of California in relation to the control of the Pacific
was early recognized by the great European powers, some of whom had but
small respect for the Bull of Pope Alexander VI dividing the New World
between Spain and Portugal. England, France, and Russia sent repeated
expeditions into the Pacific. In 1646 the British Admiralty sent two
ships to look in Hudson's Bay for a northwest passage to the South Sea,
one of which bore the significant name of California. The voyage of
Francis Drake, 1577-1580, was a private venture, but at Drake's Bay
he proclaimed the sovereignty of Elizabeth, and named the country New
Albion. Two hundred years later (1792-1793) Captain George Vancouver
explored the coast of California down to thirty degrees of north
latitude (Ensenada de Todos Santos), which, he says, "is the
southernmost limit of New Albion, as discovered by Sir Francis Drake,
or New California, as the Spaniards frequently call it." Even after
the occupation and settlement by the Spaniards, so feeble were their
establishments that, as Vancouver reports to the Admiralty, it
would take but a small force to wrest from Spain this most valuable
possession. But though the growing feebleness of Spain presaged the time
when her hold upon America would be loosened, the standard of individual
heroism was not lowered, and the achievements of Portola and of Anza
rank with those of De Soto and Coronado. The California explorer did
not, it is true, have to fight his way through hordes of fierce natives.
The California Indians, as a rule, received the white adventurers
gladly, and entertained them with such hospitality as they had to offer,
but the Indians north of the Santa Barbara Channel were but a poor lot.
In a country abounding in game of all kinds, a sea swarming with fish,
a soil capable of growing every character of foodstuff, these miserable
natives lived in a chronic state of starvation.
As in heroic qualities, so also in skill and judgment, Portola upholds
the best traditions of Spain. The success of an expedition depends upon
the character of the leader. Panfilo de Narvaez landed on the coast of
Florida in April, 1528, with a well-equipped army of three hundred men
and forty horses, just half the force he sailed with from Spain the
previous June, and of the three hundred men whom he led into Florida,
only four lived to reach civilization--the rest perished. That is
but one example of incompetent leadership. When Portola organized his
expedition for the march from San Diego Bay to Monterey, many of his
soldiers were ill from scurvy, and at one time on the march the sick
list numbered nineteen men, including the governor and Rivera, his chief
officer. Sixteen men had to be carried, and to three, in extremis, the
viaticum was administered; but he brought them all through, and returned
to San Diego without the loss of a man.
There are two full diaries of this expedition, one by Father Crespi and
the other by Alferez Costanso. There is, besides, a diary of Junipero
Serra of the march from Velicata to San Diego Bay, a translation of
which is printed in Out West magazine (Los Angeles), March-July, 1902.
It is of small value to the student of history. There is a diary by
Portola, quoted by Bancroft, and a Fragmento by Ortega, also used by
Bancroft. These we have not seen. There are letters from Francisco
Palou, Juan Crespi and Miguel Costanso, printed in Out West for January
1902. The diary of Father Crespi is printed in Palou's Noticias de la
Nueva California. Documentos para la Historia de Mexico, re-printed San
Francisco, 1874. The diary of Miguel Costanso is in the Sutro library.
It has never been printed. It is prefaced by an historical narrative, a
poor translation of which was published by Dalrymple, London, 1790,
and a better one by Chas. F. Lummis in Out West, June-July, 1901. In
Publications of the Historical Society of Southern California, Vol. II,
Part 1, Los Angeles, 1891, a number of documents of the Sutro collection
are printed, with translations by George Butler Griffin. These relate to
the explorations of the California coast by ships from the Philippines,
the two voyages of Vizcaino, with some letters of Junipero Serra, and
diaries of the voyage of the Santiago to the northern coast in 1774.
The sketch here submitted is the result of much study of original
documents, and the route of the expedition is laid down after careful
survey of the physical geography where possible, and in other cases, by
the contoured maps of the Geological Survey, following the directions
and language as given by the diarists. Among the printed books consulted
are Palou's Vida del Padre Junipero Serra and his Noticias de la Nueva
California, above noted. The Conquest of the Great Northwest, Agnes C.
Laut, New York, 1908; History of California by H. H. Bancroft; Treaties
of Navigation, Cabrera Bueno, Translation, Dalrymple, London, 1790; The
Discovery of San Francisco Bay, George Davidson, and Francis Drake on
the Northwest Coast of America in 1579, the same author; Proceedings of
the Geographical Society of the Pacific.
In view of the forthcoming Portola Festival, The California Promotion
Committee, through its Reception Committee, appointed three of its
members to compile a history of the first expedition for the settlement
of California. In the endeavor to obtain further knowledge of the life
and character of Portola, the committee has been enabled, through the
efforts of one of its members, to have careful search made among the
archives of Madrid, of the India Office at Saville, of the City of
Mexico, and of Puebla, and while we have little to show, as yet,
concerning Portola, we have received other documents of the utmost
importance to the history of San Francisco: a chronicle of the events
following the discovery of the Bay.
By royal edict, a maritime expedition for the exploration of the
northwestern coasts of America sailed from San Blas early in the
year 1775. This consisted of the frigate Santiago, under the
commander-in-chief, Don Bruno de Heceta; the packet boat San Carlos,
under Lieutenant Ayala, and schooner Sonora, under Lieutenant Bodega.
To Lieutenant Ayala was assigned the exploration of the Bay of San
Francisco, while the Santiago and the Sonora sailed for the north.
Bodega discovered the Bay which bears his name, and Heceta (to spell his
name as it is usually written) discovered the Columbia River. Bancroft
(History of California), in giving Palou's Vida as authority for his
short and incorrect account of Ayala's survey, says: "It is unfortunate
that neither map nor diary of this earliest survey is extant." It is
with pleasure we are permitted to present to the public these important
documents, now printed for the first time, and only regret that the
shortness of time allowed for their study may perhaps necessitate later
some minor corrections.
We have also received from the Minister of Marine of Spain, Don Jose
Ferrano, under date of July 14, 1909, a drawing of the paquebot, San
Carlos, together with the record of her gallant commander, Don Juan
Manuel de Ayala.
Ayala was born in Osuna, Andalucia, on the 28th of December, 1745. He
entered the Marine Corps on the 19th of September, 1760, and was made
Alferez de Fragata, October 10, 1767; Alferez de Navio, June 15, 1769;
Teniente de Fragata, April 28, 1774; Teniente de Navio, February, 1776;
and Capitan de Fragata, December 21, 1782.
When the order for the exploration of the northern coast was made, Ayala
was one of the officers assigned to the work. He arrived in Vera Cruz
in August, 1774, proceeded to the City of Mexico, and was ordered by
Viceroy Bucareli to San Blas, where he was given command of the schooner
Sonora. The squadron under Heceta had hardly got under way, when the
commander of the San Carlos, Don Miguel Manrique, suddenly went mad.
Ayala was ordered to the command of the packet-boat, and returned to
San Blas with the unfortunate officer, to follow the squadron a few days
later.
In December, 1775, Ayala conducted a reconnaissance on the coast of New
Spain, and at its conclusion was placed in command of the Santiago, and
until October, 1778, served the new establishments of California. In
August, 1779, he was sent to the Philippine Islands in command of the
San Carlos, returning to San Blas in 1781. In July, 1784, he returned to
Spain, and on March 14, 1785, was retired, at his own request, the royal
order granting him full pay as captain of frigate in consideration of
his services to California. He died December 30, 1797.
Zoeth S. Eldredge,
E. J. Molera,
Charles H. Crocker,
San Francisco, August, 1909.--Committee.
THE MARCH OF PORTOLA AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO
By Zoeth S. Eldredge
The popular mind accepts the oft-repeated statement that the settlement
of California was due to the pious zeal of a devoted priest, eager to
save the souls of the heathen, supplemented by the paternal care of
a monarch solicitous for the welfare of his subjects. The political
exigencies of the day are forgotten; military commanders and civil
governors sink into insignificance and become mere executives of the
priestly will, while the heroic efforts of Junipero Serra to convert the
natives, his courage in the face of danger, his sublime zeal, and his
unwearied devotion, make him the impelling factor in the colonization of
California.
Nor is the popular conception that the church led the way into
California strange, when we understand that it is to the writings of
Fray Francisco Palou, friend, disciple, and successor of Junipero,
that all historians turn for the account of the occupation. Fray
Palou details the glorious life of the leader with whom he toiled; he
eulogizes the worthy priest, the ardent missionary, as he passed up and
down the length of the land, founding missions, planting the vine, the
olive, and the fruit tree in a land whose inhabitants had often
suffered from hunger; giving aid and comfort to the sick and weary
and consolation to the dying. Indeed, the pictures of the padres are
fascinating. The infant establishments planted by the church grew rich
and powerful, but so wise and gentle was the administration of the
priests and so generous their hospitality, that life in California in
the first quarter of the nineteenth century was an almost dolce far
niente existence.
Radiant as is the priestly figure of Junipero drawn by Palou, the
careful investigator will find that the impelling factor in the
occupation of California was stern military necessity, not missionary
zeal. From the time of Cabrillo, Spain had claimed the coasts of the
Pacific up to forty-two degrees north latitude by right of discovery,
but more than two hundred years had passed and she had done nothing
towards making good this right by settlement. The country was open to
colonization by any nation strong enough to maintain and protect its
colonies.
Before relating the story of Portola's march, let us consider for a
moment the situation of California in its relation to Spain and other
European nations, and we will then understand why Spain found it
necessary to occupy the country.
When Legaspi completed the conquest of the Philippines in 1565, he sent
his flagship, the San Pedro, back to New Spain under command of his
grandson, Felipe Salcedo, with orders to survey and chart a practicable
route for ships returning from the Islands. The San Pedro sailed from
Cebu, June 1, 1565, and took her course east-northeast to the Ladrones,
thence northward to latitude thirty-eight, thence sailing eastward,
following the Kuroshiwo, the Black Current of Japan, they made
a landfall on the coast of California about the latitude of Cape
Mendocino. A sail of two thousand five hundred miles down the coasts of
California and New Spain brought the voyagers to the port of Acapulco.
This route was charted by the priests on board the San Pedro, and for
nearly three centuries was the one followed by the galleons of Spain
sailing from Manila to Acapulco. The voyage across the Pacific was a
long one and ships in distress were obliged to put about and make for
Japan. A harbor on the coast of California in which ships could find
shelter and repair damages was greatly desired. A survey of the unknown
coasts of the South Sea, as it was called, was ordered, and it was also
suggested that the explorations be extended beyond the forty-second
degree of north latitude, it being held that the coast was a part of
the same continent as that of China, or only separated therefrom by
the narrow strait of Anian, which was believed to open in latitude
forty-two.
Up to this time the only exploration of the northern coast of California
was that of Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo, and continued after his death by
his chief pilot, Bartolome Ferrelo, in 1542-1543. Cabrillo sailed as
far north as Fort Ross, anchored in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the
entrance to the Golden Gate, and then sought refuge from the terrible
storms in San Miguel Island, Santa Barbara Channel, where he died.
Ferrelo took command and sailed up to Cape Mendocino, which he named in
honor of Don Antonio de Mendoza, first viceroy of New Spain.
On the 17th of June, 1579, Francis Drake, in command of the Golden
Hinde, took refuge in the bay under Point Reyes, now known as Drake's
Bay. He took possession of the country in the name of Queen Elizabeth,
and named it New Albion, because of the white cliffs which, Chaplain
Fletcher writes, "lie towards the sea," and also "that it might have
some affinity with our own country." It was in this place and at this
time that the first English service was held in America, by Master
Francis Fletcher, chaplain to Francis Drake. The "Prayer Book Cross" in
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, commemorates the event.
Drake remained in this bay thirty-seven days, refitted his ship,
supplied himself with wood and water, and sailed on July 23d to the
Southeast Farallones, where he laid in a store of seal meat, and on the
25th sailed across the Pacific for England by way of the Cape of Good
Hope.
In 1585, Captain Francisco de Gali, sailing for the Philippines, was
directed to sail, on the return voyage, as far north as the weather
would permit, and on reaching the coast of California, examine the land
and the harbors on his way homeward, make maps of all, and report all
that he accomplished. It does not appear from Gali's report that he
accomplished anything in particular. He reached the coast in latitude
37 deg. 30' (Pillar Point), and noted that the land was high and fair; that
the mountains[1] were without snow, and that there were many indications
of rivers, bays, and havens along the coast.
In 1594, Captain Sebastian Cermenon, a Portuguese sailor in the service
of Spain, sailed for the Philippines with orders similar to those of
Gali. In an attempt to survey the coast, he lost his ship, the San
Agustin. It is supposed she struck on one of the Farallones and was
beached in Drake's Bay. From the trunk of a tree they constructed a
boat, called a viroco, and in this the ship's company of more than
seventy persons continued the homeward voyage. The little vessel reached
Puerto de Navidad in safety, and here the commander and part of the
company left it in charge of the pilot, Juan de Morgana, with a crew of
ten men, who brought it into Acapulco on the 31st of January, 1596;
a most remarkable voyage of nearly twenty-five hundred miles by
shipwrecked, sick, and hungry men, crowded into an open boat. With the
loss of the San Agustin, explorations of the California coast by laden
ships from the Philippines came to an end.
Sometime prior to the summer of 1595, the viceroy of New Spain, Don Luis
de Velasco, entered into an agreement with certain persons looking to
the exploration of the coasts of the Californias and the settlement of
the land. The consideration for this undertaking, which was to be at
the expense of the adventurers, was the privilege of pearl fishing and
trade, together with all the honors, favors, and exemptions usually
given to the pacifiers and settlers of new provinces. Preparations for
the expedition were under way, when a dispute arose between the leader
and his partners in the enterprise, and the matter was carried into the
courts. Before a decision was reached, the leader died, and the judge
ordered the other partners, among whom was one Sebastian Vizcaino, to
begin the voyage to the Californias within three months. Under this
order, Vizcaino applied to Viceroy Velasco, and received his permission
to make the journey. This was the condition of affairs when, on October
5, 1596, Velasco was relieved and a new viceroy, Don Gaspar de Zuniga y
Azevedo, Count of Monterey, took command. At Velasco's request, Zuniga
made a careful examination of all matters pertaining to the expedition
to the Californias, and the result was not favorable to Vizcaino. The
new viceroy did not think that an enterprise which might involve results
of such vast importance should be entrusted to the leadership of a
person of such obscure position and limited capital. He also doubted
if Vizcaino had the resolution and capacity necessary for so great an
undertaking, and it appeared to him that if disorders should arise among
his men through lack of discipline, or if the natives of the country to
which he was going should repel him, the repute and royal authority of
the king would be in danger. On the other hand, there was the decision
of the court, the concession of the viceroy, and the fact that Vizcaino
had already been at expense in the matter. Zuniga communicated his
doubts to the former viceroy, who, in his perplexity, submitted the
question to a theologian and a jurist, selected as the viceroy writes,
from the number of those whose opinions were entitled to the greatest
consideration. Their decision was that the concession of the viceroy had
the force of an agreement and contract; that what was at first a
favor had become a right, and that, as the captain had manifested no
incapacity and had been guilty of no offense, the compact could not be
varied. The audiencia[2], before whom Zuniga also laid the matter, was
of like opinion. In view, therefore, of the length to which the affair
had gone, the viceroy resolved not to annul the contract but to do all
in his power to insure the success of the expedition. That Vizcaino's
soldiers might respect and esteem him, the viceroy clothed him with
authority and showed him the greatest honor. He required Vizcaino to
furnish him with complete memorandums and inventories of the ships and
lanchas he intended to take with him, with their sails and tackle, the
number of people, and the provisions for them, arms, ammunition, and all
other property, and he instructed the royal officers at Acapulco that
the expedition must not be permitted to sail until it was fully provided
with everything necessary for the voyage and the safety of the people.
The Council of the Indies, on receiving Zuniga's report, ordered him
to cancel Vizcaino's commission and select another leader for the
expedition, but before this order could reach the viceroy, Vizcaino
had sailed. The expedition consisted of the flagship San Francisco, six
hundred tons; the San Jose, a smaller ship, under command of Captain
Rodrigo de Figueroa, and a lancha. Vizcaino sailed from Acapulco in
March, 1596. His first stop was at the port of Calagua on the coast
of Colima, where he took on some of his people and stores, and to this
point the watchful viceroy sent a personal representative to see that
Vizcaino complied with all of his requirements, and to report on the
conduct of his soldiers. From here Vizcaino sailed northwest to Cape
Corrientes, thence northerly to the Islands of San Juan de Mazatlan.
From Mazatlan he bore west-northwest across the Gulf of California and
landed in a large bay which he named San Felipe, afterwards known as
the Bay of Cerralbo. From here he went to La Paz bay, which he so named
because of the peaceful character of the Indians, who received him
hospitably with presents of fish, game, and fruits. This was, it is
supposed, the place where Jimenez, the discoverer of California, lost
his life in 1533, and where Cortez planted his ill-fated colony two
years later. In entering the bay, the flagship ran on a shoal, and
they were obliged to cut away her masts and lighten her of her cargo of
provisions, a great part of which was wet and lost. Here Vizcaino landed
and built a stockade fort, and leaving the dismantled flagship and the
married men of his company under command of his lieutenant, Figueroa, he
sailed on October 3rd, with the San Jose and the lancha and eighty men
to explore the gulf. He encountered severe storms which separated his
vessels, and not having proper discipline among his men, had trouble
with the Indians of the coast, during which nineteen men were lost by
the overturning of the ship's long boat. He turned back to La Paz, where
his men, disheartened by the storms and the loss of their comrades,
demanded to be returned to New Spain. His stock of provisions was
running low, and putting the disaffected on the flagship and the
lancha, he sent them back, and with the San Jose and forty of the
more adventurous of the men, again sailed, on October 28th, for the
headwaters of the gulf. For sixty-six days he battled against strong
north winds, and only succeeded in reaching latitude twenty-nine; then
yielding to the demands of his men, he sailed for the port of the Isles
of Mazatlan.
The results of the expedition did not add to Vizcaino's reputation,
but he made a most glowing report of his discoveries. He told of a land
double the extent of New Spain and in situation much preferable; its
seas abounding in pearls of excellent quality and in fish of all kinds,
in quantity greater than was contained in any other discovered sea;
while in the interior of the land, some twenty days' journey to the
northwest, were people who lived in towns, wore clothes, had gold and
silver ornaments, cloaks of cotton, maize and provisions, fowls of the
country (turkeys), and of Castile (chickens); thus the Indians told
him--not only in one place but in many. He desired permission to
make another voyage, and as the late expedition had exhausted his own
resources, asked that he be granted thirty-five thousand dollars from
the royal treasury and outfitting for his ships. These advances he
agreed to repay from the first gain received by him during the voyage.
He also asked, on behalf of those who accompanied him, that the
countries brought by him into subjection to the crown be given to them
encomienda for five lives[3]; that they be made gentlemen and granted
all the favors, exemptions, and liberties that other gentlemen enjoy,
not only in the provinces of the Indies but also in Spain. For these
and for other favors asked, Vizcaino agreed to sail with five ships,
equipped with proper artillery, one hundred and fifty men, arms and
ammunition, provisions, etc.--all things necessary for the voyage.
He would pay the king one-fifth part of all gold, precious stones and
valuable mineral substances obtained, one-tenth part of the fish taken,
and one-twentieth part of the salt obtained. He also agreed to make
discovery of the whole ensenada and gulf of the Californias, take
possession of the land in the name of his majesty, make settlements,
build forts, and explore the country inland for a distance of one
hundred leagues.
Vizcaino's rose-colored report did not deceive the authorities, but as
he had the necessary outfit and had had some experience, the Council
decided that he was the best man to head the expedition, though Zuniga
favored Don Gabriel Maldonado, of Saville, for commander. The Council
ordered that Vizcaino be supplied from the royal treasury with all
necessary funds; it granted the boon of encomienda for three lives,
and that the discoverers should have all the privileges of gentlemen
throughout the Indies. It also granted other minor privileges and boons
asked for. Vizcaino was made captain-general of the expedition, and
sailed from Acapulco May 5, 1602, with orders to explore the coasts of
the Californias from Cape San Lucas to Cape Mendocino, or as far north
as latitude forty-two. His ships were the San Diego, flagship, the Santo
Tomas, under Toribio Gomez de Corvan, the Tres Reyes, a small fragata
or tender, under Alferez Martin Aguilar, and a barcolongo for exploring
rivers and bays[4]. The chief pilot of the expedition was Francisco
Bolanos who had been one of the pilots with Cermenon on the lost San
Agustin. Three barefooted Carmelites looked after the spiritual needs
of the adventurers. The story of this second voyage of Vizcaino is well
known. On the 10th of November, they were in the Bay of San Diego, which
Vizcaino named for San Diego de Alcala, whose day, November 14th, they
spent in the bay, ignoring the name, San Miguel, given it by Cabrillo
sixty years before. Later in the month he entered and named San Pedro
bay, for Saint Peter, bishop of Alexandria, whose day, November 26th,
it was. He also named the islands still known as Santa Catalina and San
Clemente. He next sailed through and named the Canal de Santa Barbara,
which saint's day, December 4th, was observed while in the channel, and
also named Isla de Santa Barbara and Isla de San Nicolas. Passing Punta
de la Concepcion, which he named[5], Vizcaino sailed up the coast in a
thick fog, which lifting on December 14th, revealed to the voyagers
the lofty coast range usually sighted by the ships coming from the
Philippines. Four leagues beyond they saw a river flowing from high
hills through a beautiful valley to the sea. To the mountains he gave
the name of Sierra de la Santa Lucia, in honor of the Saint whose day
(December 13th) they had just celebrated, and the stream he named Rio
del Carmelo, in honor of the Carmelite friars. Rounding a high wooded
point, which he named Punta de los Pinos, he dropped anchor in Monterey
bay, December 16th, 1602. Here Vizcaino found the much desired harbor of
refuge, and he named it for his patron, the Conde de Monterey. Vizcaino
made the most of his discovery, and in a letter to the king, written in
Monterey Bay, December 28, 1602[6], he gives a most glowing description
of the bay, which is, at best, but an open roadstead. The Indians, as
usual, told him of large cities in the interior, which they invited him
to visit, but Vizcaino could not tarry. His provisions were almost gone,
his men were sick with scurvy, of which many had died, and putting the
most helpless on board the Santo Tomas, he sent her to Acapulco for
aid, and sailed, January 3, 1603, with the flagship and fragata, for
the north. A storm soon separated the vessels and they did not see each
other again until they met in the harbor of Acapulco. Vizcaino was told
by the pilot, Bolanos, that Cermenon had left in Drake's Bay a large
quantity of wax and several chests of silk, and he entered the bay on
January 8th to see if any vestiges remained of ship or cargo. He did not
land, but awaited the arrival of the fragata. As she did not appear,
he became uneasy, and sailed the next morning in search of her. On the
13th, a violent gale from the southeast drove him northward. This
was followed by a dense fog, and when it lifted, he found himself in
latitude forty-two--the limit of his instructions--with Cape Blanco in
sight, "and the trend of the coast line onward," he writes, "towards
Japan and Great China, which are but a short run away." Only six of his
men were now able to keep the deck, and he bore away for Acapulco,
where he arrived March 21, 1603. Of the company that sailed with him,
forty-two had died.
In 1606, Philip III, King of Spain, ordered that Monterey be occupied
and provision made there to succor and refit the Philippine ships. He
directed that to Vizcaino should be given the command of the expedition.
His orders were not carried out and Vizcaino sailed instead for Japan,
whence he returned in 1613, and died three years later.
For over one hundred and sixty years, no steps were taken for the
pacification and settlement of Alta California. The galleons continued
to make their yearly voyages to the Philippines, and returning, sail
down the coast within sight of the fair land; but no harbor of refuge
was established and no attempt was made to colonize the country.
At last the Spanish king began to realize that if he would retain his
possessions in America, some action was necessary for their protection.
Spanish sovereignty in the Pacific was threatened. The Russians had
crossed Bering Sea, had established themselves on the coast of Alaska,
and their hunters were extending their pursuit of the sea otter into
more southern waters. England had wrested Canada from France and was
ready to turn her attention to the American possessions of Spain. The
Family Compact of the Bourbon princes of France, Spain, and Italy had
aroused the ire of Pitt, then at the zenith of his fame, and he resolved
to demand an explanation from Spain, and, failing to receive it, attack
her at home and abroad before she was prepared, declaring that it was
time for humbling the whole house of Bourbon. A check in the cabinet
caused Pitt's resignation, but in 1766 he was again restored to power
with vigor and arrogance unabated.
On February 27, 1767, Don Carlos III of Spain issued his famous decree
expelling the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions. This society had
established a number of missions in Lower California, and Don Gaspar de
Portola, a captain of dragoons of the Regiment of Spain, was appointed
governor of the Californias and sailed from Tepic with twenty-five
dragoons, twenty-five infantry, and fourteen Franciscan friars to
dispossess the Jesuits and turn the California missions over to the
Franciscans.
The king having been warned of the advance of the Russians upon the
northern coasts of California, ordered the viceroy of New Spain to take
effective measures to guard that part of his dominions from danger
of invasion and insult. While the viceroy was casting about to find a
person of sufficient importance and ability to organize and carry out
so great an undertaking, Don Jose de Galvez, visitador-general of the
kingdom and member of the Council of the Indies, offered his services
and volunteered to go to Lower California and effect the organization
and equipment of the expedition. His services were eagerly accepted, and
Galvez set out from the City of Mexico, April 9, 1768, for San Blas, on
the coast of New Galicia. Before arriving at that port, he was overtaken
by a courier from the viceroy bringing orders just received from the
court directing that a maritime expedition should be at once dispatched
to Monterey and that port fortified. Convening the Junta at San Blas
on the 16th of May, 1768, the senor visitador laid before them the
situation and the wishes of the king. He stated that on the exterior or
occidental coasts of the Californias, Spain claimed from Cape San Lucas
on the south to the Rio de los Reyes[7] in 43 degrees, though the only
portion occupied was from Cape San Lucas up to 30 deg. 30'.[8] The civilized
or Christian portion of the community (gente de razon--people of reason)
did not, he said, number more than four hundred souls, including the
families of the soldiers of the garrison of Loreto and those of the
miners in the south; that if foreigners of any nation were to establish
themselves in the celebrated ports of San Diego and Monterey, they might
fortify themselves there before the government could receive notice
of it. In all the Sea of the South that washes the shores of New Spain
there were no other vessels than the two packet-boats recently built in
San Blas, the San Carlos and the San Antonio, and two others of small
tonnage which served the Jesuit missionaries in their communications
between California and the coast of Sonora. In these few ships consisted
all the maritime forces which could have been opposed to foreign
invasion. All this Galvez laid before the Junta, there being present
the commandant of the department and the army officers and pilots who
chanced to be there. It was resolved to send an expedition by sea in the
San Carlos and San Antonio, and orders were made to prepare the ships,
while Galvez proceeded to the peninsula to attend to the gathering of
supplies and provisions. All the missions of Lower California were laid
under contribution of vestments and sacred vessels for the new missions
to be established, also dried fruits, wine, oil, riding horses and mule
herd; for Galvez had decided to supplement the maritime expedition
by one by land, lest the infinite risks and dangers attending a long
sea-voyage should render the attempt abortive. The governor, Don
Gaspar de Portola, volunteered to lead the expedition, and he was named
commander-in-chief. Don Fernando de Rivera y Moncado, captain of the
presidio of Loreto, was appointed second in command. The troops were
composed of forty cavalrymen from the presidio of Loreto in Lower
California, under Rivera, and twenty-five infantrymen of the compania
franca of Catalonia, under Lieutenant Don Pedro Fages. To the presidial
troops were joined thirty Christian Indians from the missions, armed
with bows and arrows. These were intended for the land expedition. The
mission of Santa Maria, the northernmost mission on the peninsula, was
the rendezvous of the land forces, and from Loreto four lighters loaded
with provisions for the land expedition were sent up the gulf to the bay
of San Luis Gonzaga, the nearest point to the mission of Santa Maria,
whither also went by land the troops, muleteers, and vaqueros, with the
herd of every sort. Finding insufficient pasturage for the cattle at
Santa Maria, they advanced to Velicata, some thirty miles distant, and
here was assembled the land expedition. In addition to the officers
named, Don Miguel Costanso, ensign of royal engineers, was ordered to
join the expedition as cosmographer and diarist, and Don Pedro Prat was
appointed physician. To minister to the soldiers and take charge of the
missions to be established in the new land, the following missionary
priests, all of the college of San Fernando in Mexico, were named to
accompany the expedition. Fray Junipero Serra, appointed president of
the missions of Alta California, Fray Juan Crespi, Fray Fernando Parron,
Fray Juan Vizcaino, and Fray Francisco Gomez.
On the 6th of January, 1769, at the port of La Paz, the San Carlos was
loaded and ready for sea. The venerable Father Junipero Serra sang mass
aboard her, and with other devotional exercises blessed the ship and
the standards. The visitador named the Senor San Jose patron of the
expedition, and in a fervent exhortation, kindled the spirits of those
about to sail. These were Don Pedro Fages, with his twenty-five Catalans
of the 1st batallion 2d regiment, Voluntarios de Cataluna, Alferez
Miguel Costanso, Surgeon Don Pedro Prat, and Padre Fernando Parron. The
ship was commanded by Don Vicente Vila, lieutenant of the royal navy;
the mate was Don Jorge Estorace, and twenty-three sailors, two
boys, four cooks, and two blacksmiths made up the rest of the ship's
company--sixty-two in all. They embarked on the night of January 9th and
sailed on the 10th. Galvez appointed Fages gefe de las armas--chief of
the military expedition at sea, and instructed him to retain command of
the soldiers on land until the arrival of the governor at Monterey[9].
On the 15th of February, Father Junipero performed like offices for
the San Antonio, and she sailed the same day under command of Don Juan
Perez, "of the navigation of the Philippines," carrying Frays Vizcaino
and Gomez, some carpenters, blacksmiths, and cooks, that, with the
sailors, made some ninety persons, all told, on both ships. The
rendezvous was San Diego bay, where all were to meet.
The land expedition was divided into two parts. The first division,
under Rivera, started from Velicata March 24th, and the second, under
command of the governor, started May 15th. With Rivera were Padre
Crespi, Pilotin (Mate) Jose Canizares. Twenty-five soldados de
cuera[10], three muleteers, and eleven Christian Indians--forty-two men.
With the governor marched Junipero Serra, fifteen soldados de cuera,
under Sergeant Jose Francisco de Ortega, two servants, muleteers and
Indians--forty-four in all. The previous day, May 14, 1769, being Easter
Sunday, Junipero established the Mission of San Fernando with Fray
Miguel de la Campa as Minister. For the succor and relief of the forces,
both sea and land, Galvez built, at San Blas, a ship which he named in
honor of the protector of the expedition, the San Jose, and loading
her with supplies and provisions, sent her with orders to meet the
expedition at Monterey. She was lost at sea.
There is very little of interest in this march of some two hundred miles
through a barren country to the bay of San Diego. Junipero's diary lies
before me[11]; it is a dreary recital of small incidents of the march,
the Indians they met, the barrancas they crossed, with pious comments,
etc.; no course, no distances traveled, or other like information
necessary to an understanding of the route and country. As a diarist, he
is not to be compared with Crespi. On June 20th they came first in sight
of the sea at the Ensenada de Todos Santos; thence their journey was
by the sea until they came to the rendezvous. As they drew near to San
Diego, their Indian allies began to desert, evidently in fear of the
Dieguenos, whom they began to meet in numbers and who proved a rascally
lot. They thronged the camp and became a perfect nuisance with their
begging and stealing. They begged from Junipero his robe and from the
governor his cuera, waistcoat, breeches, and all he had on. One of them
succeeding in inducing Junipero to take off his spectacles to show
them to him and as soon as he got them in his hands made off with them,
causing the priest a thousand difficulties to recover them. On the 27th
of June Sergeant Ortega, with his scouts, pushed on to San Diego and
announced to the anxious camp the proximity of the governor. Rivera sent
ten of his soldiers with fresh horses back with Ortega, and Portola,
in advance of his command, reached the camp June 29th, and the entire
division arrived, June 30th, in good order and condition, forty-six days
from Velicata.
Let us anticipate their arrival and ascertain the fate of the other
divisions of the expedition. For more than a century and a half the
placid waters of San Diego bay had lain undisturbed by any craft more
formidable than the tule rafts (balsas de enea) of the natives, when
on the 11th of April, 1769, a silent ship slowly entered the bay and
dropped her anchor not far from the point where now the ferry boat for
Coronado leaves the slip. It was the San Antonio, the first arrival at
the rendezvous. No attempt was made to land, for they were alone and
dread scurvy had them in its grip. Two had died, and most of the ship's
company were sick. On the 29th, the San Carlos arrived, 110 days from La
Paz, with her company in even worse condition. All were sick, some had
died, and only four sailors remained on their feet, aided in working the
ship by such of the soldiers as were able to help. She had been driven
far out of her course; had found herself short of water, and had to
put into the island of Cedros to supply herself, and it was with the
greatest difficulty she reached the bay of San Diego. The first thing
to be done was to find good water and to minister to the sick. For this
purpose there landed, on May 1st, Don Pedro Fages, Don Miguel Costanso,
and Don Jorge Estorace, with twenty-five men-soldiers, sailors, etc.,
all who were able to do duty, and, proceeding up the shore, found, by
direction of some Indians, a river of good mountain water at a distance
of three leagues to the northeast. Moving their ships as near as they
could, they prepared on the beach a camp, which they surrounded with a
parapet of earth and fascines, and mounted two cannon. Within they made
two large hospital tents from the sails and awnings of the ships, and
set up the tents of the officers and priests. Then they transferred the
sick. The labor was immense, for all were sick, and the list of those
able to perform duty daily grew smaller. The difficulties of their
situation were very great. Nearly all the medicines and food had been
consumed during the long voyage, and Don Pedro Prat, the surgeon,
himself sick with scurvy, sought in the fields with a thousand anxieties
some healing herbs, of which he himself was in as sore need as the
others. The cold made itself felt with vigor at night and the sun burned
them by day--alternations which made the sick suffer cruelly, two or
three of them dying every day, until the whole sea expedition which had
been composed of more than ninety men, found itself reduced to eight
soldiers and as many sailors in a state to attend to the safeguarding of
the ships, the working of the launches, the custody of the camp, and the
care of the sick.
There was no news whatever of the land divisions. The neighborhood of
the fort was diligently searched for tracks of a horse herd, but none
were discovered. They did not know what to think of this delay. At
length, on the 14th of May, the Indians gave notice to some soldiers on
the beach that from the direction of the south men mounted on horses and
armed as they, were coming. It was the first land division under Rivera,
fifty days from Velicata, without the loss of a man or having a sick
one; but they were on half rations; they had only three sacks of flour
left and were issuing two tortillas[12] per day to each man. Great
was the rejoicing in the camp of the sick over the arrival of Rivera's
force. It was now resolved to remove the camp near to the river. This
was done, and a new camp established on a hill in what is now known
as "Old Town," where a stockade was made and the cannon mounted.
The surgeon, Pedro Prat, devoted himself to the sick, but the deaths
continued, until of the ninety and more who had sailed from La Paz,
two-thirds were laid under the sand of Punta de los Muertos[13]. It was
now thought best to send one of the packets to San Blas to inform the
viceroy and the visitador of the state of the expedition, and it was
feared that if this were longer delayed, the ship would be unable to
put to sea for lack of mariners. The San Antonio was selected for this
purpose, and was prepared for sea, but as she was about to sail, the
camp was thrown into an ecstasy of joy by the arrival of Portola and
the second division, sound in body, and with 163 mules laden with
provisions. The governor promptly informed himself of the condition of
affairs, and desirous that the senor visitador's orders concerning the
sea expedition should be carried out, offered to Captain Vila of the San
Carlos sixteen men of his command to work the ship, that he might
pursue the voyage to Monterey. As Vila had lost all his ship's officers,
boatswain, storekeeper, coxswain of the launch, and there was not a
sailor among the men offered by Portola, he declined to go to sea under
such conditions. All the available sailors were therefore placed on
board the San Antonio, and she sailed for San Blas, June 8th, with eight
men only for a crew.
The governor now proceeded to organize his force for the march to
Monterey. He determined to move at once, lest the advancing season
should expose them to the danger of having the passes of the sierra
closed by snow, as even at San Diego those who came by sea reported the
sierras covered with snow on their arrival in April.
On the 14th of July, Portola began his march to Monterey, distant one
hundred and fifty-nine leagues. His force consisted of Sergeant Ortega,
with twenty-seven soldados de cuera under Rivera, Fages with six Catalan
volunteers--all that could travel, Ensign Costanso, the priests, Crespi
and Gomez, seven muleteers, fifteen Christian Indians from the missions
of Lower California, and two servants--sixty-four in all. Both Fages and
Costanso were sick with scurvy, but joined the command notwithstanding.
The personnel of this expedition contains some of the best known names
in California. Portola, the first governor; Rivera, comandante of
California from 1773 to 1777, killed in the Yuma revolt on the Colorado
in 1781; Fages, first comandante of California, 1769-1773, governor,
1782-1790; Ortega, pathfinder, explorer, discoverer of the Golden Gate
and of Carquines Strait[14]; lieutenant and brevet captain, comandante
of the presidio of San Diego, of Santa Barbara, and of Monterey;
founder of the presidio of Santa Barbara and of the missions of San Juan
Capistrano and San Buenaventura. Among the rank and file were men whose
names are not less known: Pedro Amador, who gave his name to Amador
county; Juan Bautista Alvarado, grandfather of Governor Alvarado; Jose
Raimundo Carrillo, later alferez, lieutenant, and captain, comandante
of the presidio of Monterey, of Santa Barbara, and of San Diego, and
founder of the great Carrillo family; Jose Antonio Yorba, sergeant of
Catalonia volunteers, founder of the family of that name and grantee of
the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana; Pablo de Cota, Jose Ignacio Oliveras,
Jose Maria Soberanes, and others.