YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Bought with the income of the WILLIAM C. EGLESTON FUND This book was digitized by Microsoft Corporation in cooperation with Yale University Library, 2008. You may not reproduce this digitized copy ofthe book for any purpose other than for scholarship, research, educational, or, in limited quantity, personal use. You may not distribute or provide access to this digitized copy (or modified or partial versions of it) for commercial purposes. A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA THE SPANISH PERIOD By CHARLES E. CHAPMAN Catalogue of Materials in the Aechivo General de Indias for the History op the Pacific Coast and the American Southwest History of Spain The Founding of Spanish California / / /' / A- A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA THE SPANISH PERIOD By CHARLES E. CHAPMAN, Ph.D. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1921 All rights reserved PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Copyright 1921 By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Set up and electrotyped. Published November 1921 FERRIS PRINTING COMPANY NEW YORK CITY PREFACE This is the third volume of the writer which is the direct result of his enjoyment during two years of a Native Sons of the Golden West Traveling Fellowship, which enabled him to make researches in Spain. The writer's first thought, therefore, in publishing this volume is to express his grati tude to the patriotic Californian order which has made it possible. The other two works by the writer on the history of Cal ifornia were directed primarily to the history profession; one {The Founding of Spanish California) was an inten sively documented monograph, and the other {Catalogue of Materials in the Archivo General de Indias) a technical manuscript guide. These two he is endeavoring in the pres ent work to bring to their logical conclusion — the ultimate aim, indeed, of all historical scholarship — by publishing what he hopes may be accepted as an authoritative popular history. Since it is intended for the general public, this volume omits much of the professional paraphernalia, and does not hesitate to give space to interesting incident. As to its authoritativeness it is at any rate the product of thir teen years' investigation of Spanish Californian history, involving the use of thousands of hitherto unknown manu scripts, as well as important printed materials not previ ously digested or assimilated. Two outstanding reasons exist for the publication of this volume. In the first place, it presents a vast amount Of new material, some portions of which have never before appeared in print, while others were not known, or not utilized, by the general historians of the state. Secondly, an attempt is made to place the history of California in its proper perspective in relation to that of North America as VI PREFACE a whole. Previous works have given a purely local narrative. This volume aims to show that California history is impor tant as well as interesting, — that the great Anza expedition of 1775-1776 and the Yuma massacre of 1781 demand in clusion in any comprehensive history of the United States, — that California, while it has indeed a romantic history to tell, has also a great deal more than that to contribute to the cherished traditions of the American people. The writer first planned this volume seven years ago, in conjunction with Doctor Robert G. Cleland, whose point of view with respect to the American period of California history is precisely analagous to that expressed above about the era of Spanish rule. Since 1914 Doctor Cleland and the writer have been in constant communication, but other wise working independently, with a view to producing, be tween them, an authoritative popular history of California. Where the two works overlap, in the first half of the nine teenth century, certain portions have been left for detailed treatment by Doctor Cleland, while others are taken up here. This it is possible to do, without a rough break in the narrative, since the aim here for that period is merely to finish the local annals of Spanish California, carried through to the end of Mexican rule. Doctor Cleland, on the other hand, tells the story of those events which pushed irresistibly toward the ultimate acquisition of California by the United States. Doctor Cleland' s volume is about to go to press, as this work comes from the publisher. Bancroft's works and the writer's own monograph, The Founding of Spanish California, have been drawn upon freely, and in less degree so also the great general histories of Hittell and Eldredge. Since these, or some of them, have been used in most of the chapters, it has seemed unnecessary to cite them. Other strikingly important items are men tioned at the end of each chapter. The following chapters have previously been published in substantially the same form: I, V, VI, VII, IX, in the Grizzly bear magazine; IV; VIII, in Sunset; X, XI, and the Appendix, in the Southwestern historical quarterly; and XIV PREFACE vii XXIX, in the Catholic historical review. Due thanks are here given for permission to use them in the present work. Some explanation may be made of methods adopted in the mechanical construction of the volume. Frequent excerpts are inserted from the narratives of eye-witnesses, as well as occasional well formulated statements from later writings. Two maps have been prepared to cover place names in the text. Spanish family names are employed according to the name of the father, and spelled, when possible, as the individuals themselves spelled them. In this connection it may be pointed out that in Spanish nomenclature the mother's family name is often retained, and written after the father's. Thus, in the case of '"Rodriguez Cabrillo," "'Rodriguez" is the father's family name and "Cabrillo" the mother's. Furthermore, there are more than a score of names ("Rodri guez," "Garcia," "L6pez," etc.), which are oft.about as frequent usage in Spanish as "Smith" is in English. On this account many Spaniards use their two family names or oc casionally that of the mother alone (if it is of the uncommon variety) to distinguish themselves from the many others of their kind. "Bucareli" has been adopted in spelling the name of the great viceroy who figures so prominently in this volume. To be sure, as he wrote it, it was "Bucarely," wherefore that form was employed by the writer in a previous work. It is true, however, that "i" and "y" were almost interchange able in eighteenth century Spanish and that the name was invariably spelled "Bucareli" in contemporary printed docu ments, including those emanating from the viceroy himself. Since also the word has been given that form in various Mexican monuments, it has seemed best to interpret the final letter as an "i". This indeed accords with present Spanish usage in writing this name. Accents are used in proper names according to modern Spanish practice, except in the case of certain place names that appear very frequently in English. Thus, "Santa Bar bara," Sonora, with the accent, and "Santa Barbara," Cali- V1H PREFACE fornia, without. There are possibly some inconsistencies in applying this rule. Thus, "Santa Ines" and "Purisima Con- cepci6n" retain their accents, while they are dropped in all other California place names; and "Panama" and "Peru" are accented, while "Mexico" is not. "New Spain" appears in translation, but other regions be low the Rio Grande retain their Spanish form. A notable instance of this is "Baja California," frequently called "Lower California" in the United States, The correct Spanish name is employed, the better to distinguish it from "Alta California," the region now embraced by the state of California. To many persons, other than those already referred to, the writer is deeply indebted, notably to his "fellow-haunters" of the Bancroft Library, Professor Herbert E. Bolton and Professor Herbert I. Priestley, each of whom, indeed, has provided much of the new material set forth in this book, and to Doctor Robert G. Cleland, author of the companion history. Not least deserving of thanks are the writer's pupils of the past seven years. All unconsciously, perhaps, they have stimulated him by their interest, or lack of it, to trans form lectures into what he now ventures to set forth in a printed volume. CHARLES E. CHAPMAN. Berkeley, California, November 4, 1921. CONTENTS chapter page Preface v I. The Effects of Geography upon California History . 1 II. The Indians ... 9 III. The Chinese along the Pacific Coast in Ancient Times 21 IV. The Japanese Opportunity in the Pacific in the Early Modern Period ... 31 V. Cortes and California ... ... 43 VI. Origin and Application of the Name California . . 55 VII. The [Northern Mystery^and the Discovery of Alta California 70 VIII. The Manila Galleon 84 IX. Drake and New Albion 97 X. Gali and RodrIguez Cermenho 112 XI. Sebastian VizcaIno 124 XII. The Overland .Advance to the California Border, 1521- 1687 ... .... . 143 XIII. Sea Approaches from New Spain to California, 1615- 1697 . . .... . 158 XIV. The Jesuits in Baja California, 1697-1768 . . 172 XV. Progress of the Idea of Overland Advance to the Cali- fornias, 1687-1765 186 XVI. Jose de Galvez 207 XVII. The Spanish Occupation of Alta California . . 216 XVIII. The Pacification of Sonora ... . 232 XIX. Precarious Footing of the Early Settlements in Alta California • 243 XX. Russian and English Aggressions in the Pacific North west 254 XXI. Antonio Bucareli 269 ix x CONTENTS chapter page XXII. Bucareli's Attention to the Local Problems of the Californias 282 XXIII. Juan Bautista de Anza 294 XXIV. The Founding of San Francisco 302 XXV. The Commandancy General of the Frontier Provinces 316 XXVI. The Yuma Massacre 330 XXVII. The Aftermath .... 343 XXVIII. JmsrfpERo Serra . 352 XXIX. Ferm^n Francisco de Lasuen 364 XXX. Spanish Californian Institutions 383 XXXI. The Romantic Period, 1782-1810 397 XXXII. Inland Explorations and Indian Wars, 1804-1823 . . 418 XXXIII. Era of the Wars of Independence, 1810-1822 . . .438 XXXIV. Under Mexican Governors, 1822-1835 . . . .455 XXXV. Waiting for Old Glory, 1835-1847 473 Appendix. The Literature of California History .... 487 Index 511 MAPS PAGE General Reference Map Frontispiece The Sea Route from China to North America 22 California Place Names 418 ILLUSTRATIONS Jose de Galvez 208 Antonio Bucareli 270 Juan Bautista de Anza 294 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA THE SPANISH PERIOD A HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA CHAPTER I THE EFFECTS OF GEOGRAPHY UPON CALIFORNIA HISTORY The land California was not always as it is today. Nu merous evidences, such as sea-shells found on mountains, make it clear that, many thousand years ago, it was under water. Later it seems to have been a tropical land; remains of gigantic pre-historic animals which could have lived only in such a clime have recently been found in the celebrated lake of tar at the Hancock, or La Brea, Ranch near Los Angeles. Doubtless, too, the land had a very different shape from what it now has, and, indeed, many writers have held that San Francisco Bay is of comparatively recent formation. Their argument is based on the fact that no white man seems to have seen the bay prior to its discovery by the Portola expedition of 1769, although the rest of the coast had been fairly well known for over two hundred years; in particu lar, the English navigator, Francis Drake, had made a stop of about a month a few miles north of where the bay now is, most assuredly, located, and appears not to have learned of its existence, even though he made a journey inland. Since nobody saw the bay, and since it was such a remarkable bay that it was at least an odd chance that it alone should have remained undiscovered, and since, above all, Califor nia is known to have suffered earthquakes in the past, why therefore, say these writers, the bay did not exist, but was produced by an earthquake at some time between 1579 and 1769. It may be remarked that this theory has been ad vanced most prominently since the California earthquake 2 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA of 1906. Furthermore, it is easy to account for the failure of navigators to see the bay. The winding character of that body of water and the position of Angel Island in the direct line of the Golden Gate, or entrance to the bay, make it diffi cult of recognition from the sea, to say nothing of the fogs which so frequently hide that coast from view. Finally, there is no necessary reason why Drake's journey inland (the length of which is not indicated in his account) should have taken him to a place where he could have seen the bay if it existed. Present-day automobilists will not fail to remember that there are some not inconsiderable hills between Drake's landing-place and San Francisco and, be sides, vast areas of forest. But if the great western port owes its existence to an earthquake, what an extraordinary cataclysm it must have been! How tiny a tremble in com parison was that other event of 1906! And what a benefi cent stroke of nature for California and the Pacific coast!1 All of these matters are of little if any concern, however, as affecting the history of California, and so too the possi bility, sometimes referred to, that a new continent may be expected to rise up in the Pacific, making the Golden State an inland country, many thousands of years hence. For the purposes of history the geography of California may be considered in the light of what it now is. Numerous moun tain chains course through the state, running generally north and south, and separated from one another by narrow val leys, except for the one long and broad valley which is the most striking characteristic of central California. The coasts are rough and high, offering few good ports, and in deed only one first-rank natural port. Communications by land with the outside world were difficult, for, where unusu- 1 Whether or not the Bay of San ' 'was in ancient times, according to Francisco was produced by an earth- the tradition of the old men, an oak quake, there was at least a tradition forest, with no other water than that among the Indians to the effect that of a river which was passed on foot. the bay did not formerly exist. In In proof of this tradition they say describing a trip he made north of that there are still found trunks and the bay in 1819 (ref erred to in chapter roots of oaks in the port and in the XXXII) "Father-President Mariano strait." Payeras said that that body of water THE EFFECTS OF GEOGRAPHY UPON CALIFORNIA 3 ally high mountain ranges did not intervene, there occurred the vast desert spaces in the south. Thus California, with its best port hidden, remained for centuries in a state of isolation from the rest of the world. Even after the white man came, there was little in Cali fornia in its natural state upon which he could live. The fruits for which the state is now so famous did not exist formerly, and there were no fields of grain or herds of do mestic animals. The land was inhabited by Indians, but of so wretched a type that they were unable to produce any thing suited to the needs of white men or even to serve acceptably as laborers. Manufactured articles of the kind that white men used were, of course, entirely lacking. Little wonder, then, that Gaspar de Portola (commander of the Spanish expedition of 1769) should say that if the Russians wanted California, he would let them have it; in his mind such a gift seemed a meet punishment for the sins of their aggressive imperialism ! Economically backward as California undoubtedly was, it is hardly necessary to say that she had abundant natural resources, such as a fertile soil, rich grass lands and belts of timber, plentiful water from the mountain snows, a variety of metals, including (most important of all from the stand point of history) an extraordinary wealth in gold. And not least of all, California had an exceptionally agreeable climate. If the white man could contrive to get there, found permanent settlements, and establish communications with the outside world, the future would take care of itself. Granted California's economic potentialities, the most important geographical fact bearing upon her history was the location of the land with respect to the rest of the world. If California could have been placed in western or central Europe, it would undoubtedly have been one of the most populous lands of the earth. But California was in fact very far from the centres of white civilization, — indeed, almost the farthest distant point of the earth, when we consider the routes which necessarily had to be followed before men could reach the Pacific shores of North America. Further- 4 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA more, there were difficulties in getting there and staying, beside which the much better known hardships of the Pil grims of Plymouth Rock pale into insignificance. To reach California from Europe a sea voyage was neces sary, although it might be broken by a journey on land. The shortest route by sea, whether along the coast of Asia or of North America, was by way of the North Pole, but this way was impracticable in fact. A long voyage around South America or a much longer voyage around Africa and beyond Asia might take one directly by sea from Europe to California. Land routes necessitated the journey across North America or Asia. The difficulties of the sea routes to California, even for such comparatively short stretches as the voyage from western New Spain (or Mexico), were due primarily to the length of the voyage. Down to the close of the eighteenth century, ships were small and frail. Boats of five hundred tons were considered large, while trans oceanic voyages were not infrequently made by ships of fifty. Compared with such monsters as the 27,000-ton steamers, on which travelers of recent years have crossed the Pacific, it will be seen at once that the vessels of the past had their limitations, accentuated, too, by a lack of the advanced notions about ship-building which obtain in the world to day. ¦ Nautical science had not yet gone far along other lines, either. Men did not know how to calculate longitude, ex cept by a system called "dead reckoning," which reduced itself to guessing, and instruments were so imperfect that the latitudes found were rarely correct; the calculations for the California coast were usually over a hundred miles too high. Furthermore, the Pacific Ocean was not well known. Few charts existed, and none were accurate. Rocks, shoals, currents, coasts, and winds too frequently appeared where least expected, with the result that shipwreck was one of the ordinary perils of a voyage; only a sailor can appreciate the terror of uncharted seas! To this was added the terrific storms of the ill-named "Pacific." Pacific indeed it often is in the far south where Magellan entered it, but assuredly he would have given another name, perhaps the exact oppo- THE EFFECTS OF GEOGRAPHY UPON CALIFORNIA 5 site, could he have experienced the gales of the north. In the words of the Italian traveler Gemelli Careri, who made the voyage from Manila to Acapulco in 1697-1698 : "The Spaniards and other geographers, have given this the name of the Pacific Sea. . . but it does not suit with its tem pestuous and dreadful motion, for which it ought rather to be call'd the Restless." Particularly was it difficult for vessels beating up the coast, since they had to buffet against the ocean current as well as encounter the winds; those who at the present time have made the voyage between San Francisco and Los Angeles appreciate the difference between going down and coming up! Other and yet more terrible factors combined to make the voyage to such a distant land as California little better than a sentence to death. Possibly worst of all was the dread disease of the scurvy. This disease, resulting from a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, baffled medical science, down to the close of the eighteenth century. Other ills there were in greater proportion than now, but the deaths from scurvy alone in a voyage from Europe into the Pacific might range from 40 to 75 per cent. Casualties were not infrequently quite as great for the short voyage from New Spain to Cali fornia. It is no wonder that men were some times driven on board ship at the point of the bayonet, and compelled to go there ! To be sure, there were usually many others who were willing to go, because of the enormous wealth which in some mysterious way they hoped to acquire. Once arrived in California the troubles of the would-be settler were only just begun. There was nothing in the land that could provide a regular food supply, wherefore he must bring with him all that he was going to consume. If the voyage had been long, the chances were that there would be little more than enough remaining for the return. It was impossible to stay, unless there might be a sure resort for more, and this inevitably necessitated a base of supplies reasonably near at hand. Moreover, there was nothing easily obtainable in California that could serve as an article of ex- 6 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA change. Cortes and Pizarro had found vast quantities of ready-made wealth in Mexico and Peru, but there was nothing of the sort in California. Thus colonies could be maintained only at great expense, and governments were poor and disinclined to spend money, except for a definitely recognizable return; not until the late eighteenth century did European countries display a willingness to finance ex plorations and colonization for scientific objects, and even then there was usually the ulterior motive of imperialistic design. Yet, for strategic reasons, Spain endeavored, during more than two centuries, to occupy the Californias from Cape San Lucas to the north, and after her extraordinary efforts had at length achieved success she at her own expense supported the colonies of the northern coast, which other wise must have failed. Those who would make the journey to California by land encountered difficulties which until the close of the eighteenth century were perhaps greater than those of the voyage by sea. There were the same problems of the immense distance to be traversed, including lack of information," scurvy, insufficient supplies, and lack of an article of ex change, just as in the case of the routes by sea. In addition there were hostile intervening peoples to be considered. A small party might conceivably have carried supplies enough to cross what is now the United States, but it would almost certainly have succumbed to the Indians. A large party might defeat the Indians, but could not carry suf ficient food. Thus faced by the dilemma of a violent death or starvation, it is no wonder that the Atlantic coast pioneers did not reach the Pacific until the frontier of settlement had been pushed many hundreds of miles to the west. Further more, there were the actual geographical difficulties of great mountain chains, wide deserts, and undeveloped lands, making the discovery of a practicable route a problem in itself of no mean proportions. A study of the factors just referred to makes it clear that under normal conditions California could be occupied and held only through the development of an advancing base of THE EFFECTS OF GEOGRAPHY UPON CALIFORNIA 7 supplies — that is, through the settlement of intervening lands, until a point were reached near enough to assure the settlers of readily accessible relief for their necessities. Such a development was bound to be slow, requiring centuries for its completion, unless peculiar or extraordinary circum stances should arise to make nations or individuals desirous of overcoming the great obstacles in the way. Strategic rea sons impelled Spain to hasten her northward colonization to include California. An even more rapid settlement would surely have occurred if California's vast wealth in precious metals had become known, for that would have given an exceptionally alluring economic reason for individual effort. The history of California down to 1848, therefore, reduces itself to this: those nations which approached by land would in normal course have the best opportunity of getting a foothold, because of the advantage of an advancing base of supplies; the first-comer would not necessarily retain the land, for if it proved desirable it might eventually be taken over by a stronger power; California was eminently desir able, for it contained wealth in gold and a good port on the Pacific as original inducements, with eventual possibilities of a greater and varied character; the United States had the best opportunity under normal conditions, for she was geographically better located than her rivals for a solid | advance, from base to base, by land, — even better tham\ Spain and her successor, Mexico, who held the province by \ a thin and precarious line of communications, besides which Mexico was so weak that she could not have retained the land in any event. The history of California proved to be, therefore, an interesting race between the development of the United States and the discovery of California's gold. Had the discovery come many years earber than it did, some other great power might have acquired California and the entire Pacific coast, or it might have become a Hispanic American republic, thus delaying or perhaps altogether pre venting the opportunity of the United States to obtain frontage on the western ocean. 8 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Most of the great peoples of the earth advanced by sea or land toward the Californias. Chronologically considered they were the Indians (who were on the ground at the dawn of California history), the Chinese, Spaniards, English, Jap anese, Dutch, Russians, Portuguese, French, and Amer icans. The prize fell eventually to the powers which came by land. Thus the peoples of Spain, England, France, and Russia began approaches which in the hands of their suc cessors Mexico, the United States, England (in Canada), and the United States again (in Alaska) resulted in the acquisition of all of the old "Californias," stretching from Cape San Lucas indefinitely northward to the end of North America. The achievements of each one of these peoples will be taken up, or at least alluded to, but the major share of attention belongs properly to the Spaniards, who dis covered and settled California, and to the Americans, who developed it into the great state of the American Union which it undoubtedly is today. CHAPTER II THE INDIANS First of all the historic peoples to acquire California were the Indians. It is therefore pertinent to ask why it is that California is no longer an Indian country in any sense of the term. The answer will be made in course of many of the succeeding chapters, but it will become clear from this that the Indian could not hope to compete with civilized races, though he might have rendered their occu pation of California more difficult than in fact he did. Anthropologists frequently attempt to classify primitive peoples according to different standards which they apply. To the lay mind these classifications are helpful, even though they are almost invariably denounced by anthropologists themselves — other than the authors of the particular classi fications. Perhaps the most generally accepted mode of describing primitive man of prehistoric times is according to the implements he used. Thus there lived the palaeolithic (old stone) man, who used rough stone implements, followed by the neolithic (new stone) man, who improved his imple ments by polishing them. Then came ages of bronze and iron, until historic times were reached, when man first began to write down records. Various palethnologists have dared to estimate the length of time man existed in each of the ages. Thus one of them (Mortillet) gives 222,000 years of life to palaeolithic man, and 10,000 for the neolithic, bronze, and iron ages together. The date for the beginning of re corded history is quite definite. That occurred less than 7,000 years ago. That date is also taken to mark the beginning of a grade of culture which we call "civilization." 9 10 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA The above suffices, however, if at all, only for man in his most advanced stage at any time. Many people lagged far behind the foremost. It therefore has seemed necessary to apply some test whereby backward races may be recognized and differentiated from one another and from civilized peo ples. One of the most useful of the classifications employed, if also one of the most impossible of application in a given case and therefore one of the most criticized by expert au thority, is that which distinguishes between three grades of savagery and three of barbarism through which primitive peoples are said to pass before they arrive at a state of civili zation. According to this characterization savage man is a wanderer. In the lower or arboreal stage he lives in trees, and eats fruits and nuts. This is the time when he first differ entiates himself from other animals through his acquisition of articulate speech. The vanguard of mankind may have reached this stage anywhere from about 160,000 to 60,000 B. C. Learning how to fish and to control fire, man passes into the middle, or fishing, stage. This may have occurred between 60,000 and 20,000 B. C. for the leaders of human kind. Then man discovered how to make and use the bow and arrow, and passed into higher savagery, or the hunting stage. This may have lasted from about 20,000 B. C. to about 10,000 B. C. for those who reached it first. With the invention of pottery and therefore the very great multipli cation and improvement of his utensils, man passes into a state of barbarism, and tends to give up his wanderings and to lead a settled life. In the lower age of barbarism comes the domestication of animals, followed by the beginnings of agriculture, at which point the middle grade of barbarism is reached. Both of these states first appeared in the neolithic age. With the use of metals, originally in the bronze and iron ages, particularly with the smelting of iron ore, and with the development of manufactures of a rude character, man advances into upper barbarism, from which he emerges into civilization when he begins to write down records. As already observed, no hard and fast line between groups, according to the above classification, can be drawn in fact. THE INDIANS 11 A given people will often exhibit the traits of various groups. Furthermore, inferior peoples imitate the external forms of civilization in a very short space of time, when they come in contact with civilized man, but they can hardly be said to have advanced at one jump out of savagery and barbarism. After all, however, all that it is necessary for the layman to know is that the primitive man, however learned he may be in his own lore, when measured by the standards of civi lization seems to have the mind of a child. Primitive Californians ranged from a state of upper sav agery to that of lower barbarism in the case of the Indians of the Santa Barbara Channel, who were by far the most ad vanced. The average in the region taken over eventually by the Spaniards was about that of upper savagery, or some 15,000 years behind the white man in general culture. There are many controversies about their origin and racial affini ties which need not be entered into at great length here. It is generally agreed that they and the other Indians of this hemisphere came either from Asia or the Pacific islands, whether by way of Alaska, the long sea route (very likely against their will, driven by storms), or even across some prehistoric Pacific continent has not been definitely deter mined. The number of tribes in California without close racial affinity seems to have been very great. According to Kroeber, the leading authority on the subject, there were as many as twenty-one linguistic families, not to mention the much greater number of dialects. One of the most inter esting contentions is that California Indians show evidences of relationship with the Aztecs. Can the great Aztec migra tion into Mexico have passed by way of California? If so, it would seem that some of the least desirable elements were left behind. As the Spaniards found them the California Indians were not nomadic. Often they were somewhat un settled in habitation, but always within very fimited terri tories. The groups in which they lived were hardly tribal; indeed, they depended on language and topography more than upon any political or social organization. . The small village was the most common unit. 12 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Of first-rate importance historically is the number of Indians who dwelt in California. Not many years ago it was taught in the schools of this country that there were only some 250,000 Indians in all of what is now the United States at the time of the discovery of America. With the more intensive study of far western history there has come about a considerable multiplication of this figure. There is one estimate for California alone which reaches as high as 700,000. This number seems far too great. Kroeber's esti mate of 133,000 quite likely approximates the fact. Figures for the region occupied by Spain after 1769 are very con fusing, since only the records of the missions (which were far from containing all of the Indians in the conquered country) even approach completeness. It would seem not unrea sonable to say that there may have been some 70,000 Indians between San Francisco and San Diego or adjacent thereto. These figures become significant in the light of the scant number of Spaniards in California. In the entire Spanish period the population of California was never much higher than three thousand, and for more than two decades it was less than a thousand. Indeed, in the crucial years of the early settlement Spain held some four hundred miles of territory, in the face of a patent if not very strenuously manifested Indian hostility (notably in the south), with from less than a hundred to about two hundred men, more than a thousand miles from effective reinforcement. It was this fact that made the whole history of California tremble in the balance. Success crowned Spain's efforts, wherefore unthinking posterity has assumed that the task was easy. It will be one of the purposes of this volume to show forth the Spanish achievement in truer perspective and to indicate its overwhelming importance as affecting the later acquisition of the province by the United States. Against a determined and competent Indian people Spain would have found it impossible to prevail. Fortunately, the Californians showed neither the one attribute nor the other. This will appear from a general survey of their manner of life. Though there were many differences from group to group, THE INDIANS 13 ithere was a general underlying uniformity which applied to most of them. It will therefore suffice here to describe them as a whole, making such differentiation in specific customs as may seem necessary. Judged by standards prevailing among civilized peoples, the habits of the Californians were, to say the least, gross and somewhat in need of expurga tion in the telling. Kroeber sums them up as follows: "Ethnologically California may be said to be characterized by the absence of agriculture and of pottery, by the total absence of totemism or gentile organization, by an unusually simple and loose social organization in which wealth plays, for a somewhat primitive and an American group, a rather important part; by the very rude development of all arts except basketry; by the lack in art of realism; by a slight development of fetishism and by the conspicuous lack of the symbolism and ritualism so highly developed by most of the American Indians; by the marked prev alence of religious restrictions connected with birth, death, sexual matters, and similar phases of life; by the predominance among ceremonials of mourning and initiation rites; and by a consider able development of true conceptions of creation in mythology. These characteristics hold true in some degree almost throughout the entire state, but in nearly every case they are most marked in the large central region, the inhabitants of which may be justly regarded as the most typical of Californians. Hand in hand with these ethnological characteristics go the temperamental ones of an unwarlike nature and of a lack of the intensity and pride which are such strongly marked qualities of the American Indians as a whole." This may be illustrated by a discussion of some of their more obvious customs. Dress had little to do with style or morality, as those words are now understood, but depended more especially on climate. In summer the men wore a loin-cloth or nothing; there was no such thing as a sense of shame. The women wore an apron, or skirt, reaching from the waist to the knees,' made usually of tule-grass. Skins of animals gave additional warmth in winter. Style entered in to some extent. Orna ments of bone, shell, or wood were worn in the ears or hair or around the neck or wrists. Women "beautified" themselves by tattooing their faces, necks, and breasts, and the men were not free from this bit of vanity. The latter often 14 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA painted their bodies grotesquely, hardly from a sense of humor, but rather to frighten evil spirits and enemies away, or perhaps also from motives of "style." Homes were simple in the extreme. The typical wigwam, made in conical shape of poles and banked with earth, with an opening in the top for smoke to go out and air to come in, and with a slit in the side for an entrance, was most com monly used. In summer the Indians of central and southern California, who were somewhat more backward than' those of the north, often found sufficient shelter under a bush or a tree. • This does not- apply to the Indians of the Santa Barbara Channel, however. They had well fashioned huts of thatch. Those who hold that food is the mainspring of human activities will not be loth to admit that the diet of the Cali fornians left much to be desired. They ate very little meat, because they lacked domestic animals and were so bestially lazy, especially in central and southern California, that they were poor hunters. Nevertheless, they were far from being vegetarians. On the contrary they ate nearly everything that teeth could bite which came their way. Coyotes, crows, lizards, rats, mice, frogs (and not merely the hind legs), skunks, and snakes were eaten by many groups, and when a dead whale drifted ashore it provided occasion for rejoicing, because of the meat it supplied. Grasshoppers were something of a delicacy. They were eaten in various forms, dried, mashed, or roasted. Many of the Indians caught fish, but many others, even of those who dwelt along the coast, confined themselves to taking salmon and lam prey eels in the rivers. Bear meat and the flesh of other large game were rarely eaten, not that the Indians objected to the taste, but because they believed that such dangerous crea tures must be possessed of a demon, and to eat the meat would mean swallowing the demon. The "rough delicacies" thus far named were not, however, the principal food supply of the Californians; otherwise, there would have been no Californians left to greet the white man. The Indians lived chiefly on foods that grew wild. Of these, acorns were easily THE INDIANS 15 the most important item. They were ground to a flour and cooked to make bread. Many wars were fought in primitive California over the possession of acorn groves. Next after acorns came seeds, especially of grasses and herbs. Roots and berries were also used. The soil was left unfilled, for to the natives the land seemed bountiful enough as it was. In a word, then, the Californians ate little more than that which came easily to hand without effort. It is hardly necessary to observe, that a country with no better food supply than that just described would be little better than a barren desert to the white man coming from afar to make settlements. Occupations were simple in kind. In time of peace the man "busied himself" in doing nothing, chiefly. Occasion ally, he would hunt or fish, but much more often not. The women did all of the real work. They gathered the acorns, seeds, and other food, did all of the drudgery about the domestic hearth, and made clothing and such other simple articles of manufacture as the Indians required. Worthy of special notice were the waterproof baskets, stone cooking- vessels, and awls of bone that they fashioned. The northern and southern Californians had canoes and rafts, but those of the central regions, despite their aquatic opportunities, seemed to be little, if at all, acquainted with this valuable adjunct of primitive life. Nothing but tule rafts graced the waters of San Francis"co Bay. It was in war that the men found their true occupation. Their military customs are particularly deserving of notice because of their bearing eventually upon the Indians' pros pects of retaining the country against the white man. At tention has already been directed to the considerable num ber of the Californian Indians. Furthermore, they seem to have been far from cowardly; if not exactly brave, they at least showed courage in meeting death. Nevertheless, the Californians must be rated very poor warriors. They had no j idea of organization or discipline, and their weapons were / nothing more elaborate than bows and arrows and clubs. // Worst of all was their apathy in the presence of foreign in- : vasion. They rarely resisted, and never effectually. Battles 16 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA among themselves were not productive 'of much bloodshed; as soon as somebody was killed or badly wounded the fight was wont to stop. Yet, weak as they were, the Californians needed only to persevere, just as the much less numerous Yumas did in 1781, to have wiped out the settlements Spain ! founded after 1769. Some of their other practices in war fare may also be noted. It was customary to cut off the head, hands, and feet of a dead enemy to save as trophies. Scalping was rare, except among the southern Indians. The gustatory habits of the Californians did not ordinarily extend to cannibalism, but a bit of a very brave enemy who had died in battle might be eaten — not because of the meat he provided, but, rather, in order to get his courage. Prisoners of war were almost always put to death, and not enslaved. There was little or no warfare of the migratory conquering type, for the Californians had found their several abiding- places and were satisfied with them. There were some eco nomic wars, such as those arising from disputes over acorn groves, or from the erection of a weir by a down-river tribe to prevent salmon from going up stream, and occasionally there were deliberate campaigns for plunder. Religion was also a cause for war. The medicine-men, or priests, of one tribe would sometimes proclaim that those of another were practicing sorcery and magic, to the detriment of the former. War was the natural consequence. A curious ceremonial often attended the Californian wars. Not infrequently' the time and place of battle would be arranged beforehand by heralds. The personal habits of the Californians were, to say the least, filthy. Their houses and they themselves were cov ered with vermin — which on occasion they would catch and eat! Food for the winter was often gathered in milder sea sons and kept around the inner walls of their simple houses. As dried fish was sometimes an important article of the winter food supply it may well be imagined that the odors of the home were none too inviting. Over some of their other private customs it is perhaps best to draw a veil ! THE INDIANS 17 It is not surprising that many diseases followed in the wake of the filthy habits of the Californians. To these were added a number of ailments, caused, they believed, by evil spirits, — imaginary ills, many would characterize them, though often the sickness must have been real, if indeed of supernatural attribution. To effect a cure, a "barking doc tor" would first be called in, to diagnose the disease. He would "bark" until the spirits revealed the locality of the sickness, and then perhaps would suck the affected part, pretending to cure it, or he might call in an herb doctor to administer treatment. Sometimes an air-proof underground room called the "temescal" (an institution of many uses) was resorted to by the sick man for a cure. The idea was that in the hot (and be it said murky) air of .the temescal (often called "sweat-house") /in which a fire was built, he could get up a free perspiration, after which he was sup posed to rush outside and jump into cold water! In parts of central and southern California the dead were cremated. Their ashes were mixed with grease to form a paste, which was painted upon the face in sign of mourning. This was retained in honor of the dead until the wind and weather wore it away. Then mourning ceased. Relations of Indians with one another, even within the same tribe, were marked by little that approximated the present-day meaning of economic and political institutions. Yet, property and a kind of money existed. White shells were most used as money, but obsidian and the skins of animals were also employed as a circulating medium. The tribal chiefs were usually hereditary, but in northern California the richest wielded the sceptre, such as it was. Other than that they were leaders in war the chiefs had no real power beyond that of their personal influence. Government was mainly a matter for the individual family, and there the man was indeed the lord and master. Nevertheless, there were tribal laws, which were rigidly enforced. These dealt principally with murder and adultery. Usually, murder might be compounded for by a money payment, and in the case of the man this was true also for the crime of adultery, 18 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA but for the woman there might be a horrible death. The rigors of the law concerning adultery were due rather to a sense of economic injury, since the wife was the most prized possession of the husband, rather than to any feeling of moral repulsion over the act itself. Sexual incontinence among the unmarried was hardly an offence at all. The southern Californians alone were not polygamous. The marriage ceremony was simple or lacking altogether. There were no intermediaries except relatives and no prom-i ises made. In the north it was purely an economic trans action, just as the purchase of a valuable skin would have been. Everywhere it was the usual practice for men to buy their wives. In the north the social standing of the woman depended on the amount she cost; if she were bought on the partial payment plan she was not considered fully married until all of the debt was paid. Naturally, the girl had no lawful right to refuse the man to whom her parents sold her. Naturally, too, divorce at the will of the man existed, — if he were willing to separate himself fromjso valuable and expen sive a piece of property. It is at least interesting as an evi dence of the primitive mentality of the Californian Indians that men were wont to affect the pains of child-bearing, in the belief that by this procedure they lightened the labors of the woman. Slavery was not unknown, but was rare and never hered itary. With plenty of women to do such little work as they required there was hardly a need for slaves. The institution served rather as a punishment for debt and as a penalty for illegitimate birth. The keynote to a broad understanding of the Indian mind lies surely in a study of his rebgion. It is impossible to give a detailed statement here, but it may suffice to say that there were gods, demons, and spirits, and omens and portents, everywhere and at all times. The rustling of leaves in the forest had something in it of the supernatural to the Indian, and so too the shooting stars of the heavens, and thousands of other little happenings as well. Naturally the profession of the sorcerer, soothsayer, and astrologer fared well among THE INDIANS 19 the Indians. Particularly was this so, because religion was quite apart from ideals of righteousness and good conduct. Rather, it would seem, it was a necessary evil, something to be guarded against rather than to embrace, for the gods were vengeful when they were not downright wicked. He was perhaps the greater hero who could successfully deceive the gods than he who blindly served them. Yet certain of the Californians had a hazy notion of a Supreme Being and of a future life in which those who had performed the appro priate religious services would get every material want satisfied. Once death came, however, it was necessary for the departed soul to race with the demons in order to get to heaven, and unless his relatives performed certain cere monies to frighten the demons away or give the soul a good start it would assuredly lose. In times of peace, too, a regard for individual and tribal safety necessitated the keeping of lodge-fires. The temescal, to which none but the men were admitted, was often used for this and other rites, but the fire was retained there only in the cold months. The natives rarely traveled, due in large measure, no doubt, to the chains of religion which bound up their lives with a particu lar locality. Amusements, too, such as they were, grew out of religion. The temescal was something of a club-room for the men, as well as a religious temple. Dancing and feasting at different seasons were also in the nature of a religious ceremonial. The dancing was accompanied by chants, and the men alone took part. Formal amusements, as such, did not exist, unless gambling is to be so considered. The Cali fornians were indeed inveterate gamblers. It can be seen that no civilized state might be expected to develop among the barbarous Californians. The only question was : How long could they postpone the inevitable conquest of the land by a capable people? They had the advantage of distance from civilized lands, intervening geo graphical difficulties, and considerable numbers among themselves. Yet they did not delay white settlement and conquest for a single day, once the white man had over come the obstacles of nature. This is indeed an evidence of 20 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA their insufficiency, but it was also far more than civilization had a right to expect. That the Spaniards were so success ful in coping with them is more a tribute to the Spaniards than conclusive proof of utter Indian incapacity.1 'The subject of the Californian In dians has recently been treated ex haustively and authoritatively by Alfred L. Kroeber, whose manuscript is in the hands of the Smithsonian Institution, awaiting publication, as this volume goes to press. Among the numerous writings of Professor Kroeber already in print, the two following are of special interest to the general reader: 2. Indians of California. Smith sonian institution, Bureau of American ethnology, Bulletin 30, part 1, A-M, Handbook of American Indians north of Mexico (Washington. 1907), 190. Types of Indian culture in Cali fornia. University of Califor nia, Publications [in] Ameri can archaeology and ethnology (Berkeley. 1904), v. II, no. 3. CHAPTER III THE CHINESE ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST IN ANCIENT TIMES In the past, present, and future the peoples of the Far East have been, are, and will continue to be a factor of great importance in the life of the American Pacific coast. Few persons today are aware of this relationship in the distant past. Yet it seems clear that the Chinese had some sort of opportunity to acquire a footing on this coast at least a thousand years before the discovery of America by Colum bus. And in the early modern period Japan was once very near to endangering Spain's hold on her Pacific colonies. If it had happened that the Chinese had followed up their opening and populated the land, in all probability the Paci fic coast, perhaps all of the Americas, never would have been white. European races might indeed have made conquests, but the examples of India, Egypt, and China herself today are eloquent evidence to the effect that a people whose num bers run into the millions are fairly secure in their hold upon a land, however dominated they may be politically and economically. For instance, India, which began to be con quered by European peoples some four hundred years ago, is reputed to have only about 100,000 whites in a population of 315,000,000, or 1 in over 3,000. To return to the rela tions of California and the Far East, the oriental question has since 1849 been, mainly, one of immigration, while trade with China and Japan has for some time been an important element in the economic growth of the Pacific states. What ever attitude one takes with regard to those countries, few or none will deny their importance as affecting California and the other states along the Pacific in the future. China is said to contain one-fourth of the world's entire popula- 21 22 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA "j tion (413,000,000), and Japan is a country of over fifty millions. Moreover, both peoples have undoubted physical strength and virility, such that they are able to endure hard labor and privation in almost any clime, and both have an intellectual capacity which already enables them to cope with the white, man. The Japanese have shown ability in warfare, and there is no reason to expect that the Chinese cannot also become effective. From these facts some have argued the imminence of a "Yellow Peril," striking at us, perhaps, through the weakly guarded back door of Hispanic America, if not directly at our gates. However that may be, few will deny that our relations with such great, numerous, and powerful peoples are bound to be very important in the future, — almost certainly more so than they have been in the past. A history of California that did not give some attention, therefore, to our neighbors across the sea would most assuredly be lacking in perspective. There are numerous evidences that Chinese or other orientals visited this coast many centuries before Europeans came. No such difficulties in getting here were encountered by them as the white man had to face ; indeed, the difficulty was often one of keeping from coming, in view of the storms and currents that drove them on. If one looks at a map showing the Pacific as it really is, and not as the false Mer- cator projection maps (which have for so long dominated and deceived us) would make it appear, he will see that it is possible to go in an almost direct line from China to Cali fornia, without ever being far from land. As the accom panying cut shows, the route hes by way of Japan and the Kurile Islands to Kamchatka, and thence by way of the Komondorski and Aleutian Islands to Alaska and Califor nia. Between the farthest east of the Komondorski Islands and the farthest west of the Aleutian group there is a stretch of about two hundred miles of sea. At no other place along the route are lands so much as a hundred miles apart. Fur thermore, there is a powerful and warm ocean current, called the Black Stream, or Japan Current, which takes this very course, breaking to the west again after it has left Cal- THE CHINESE ALONG THE COAST IN ANCIENT TIMES 23 ifornia to return to Asia by way of the Hawaiian Islands. As it leaves Japan and passes the Kurile Islands this cur rent has a velocity of from seventy-five to a hundred miles a day. There is said to be an authentic record of some sixty oriental craft which were driven across the Pacific in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Furthermore, Indian traditions are full of stories about the coming of ships out of the west. In 1774 when the great Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza was at Carmelo he saw a strange wreck, of a type of construction which none of the Spaniards there had ever seen — no doubt, an oriental boat. In 1815 Captain Alexander Adams of the brig Forrester came upon a Japan ese junk off Santa Barbara. It was drifting before the waves, rudderless and without a mast. Captain Adams went on board, and found fourteen dead in the hold and three survivors. The boat had started on a voyage from Osaka to Yeddo (Tokio), both in Japan, and had been out seven teen months. Once arrived on this coast it was of course possible for the oriental boats to return along the southern courses of the current, but the few who were still alive, ignor ant of the route of the stream, may well have preferred not to venture again on such a terrible voyage. There is much general evidence that Chinese must have reached the western shores of the Americas and produced an effect on the life of the inhabitants. It is said that there j are among the Indians many traditions of recognizably Chinese origin and also linguistic affinities, notably so in the Puget Sound country. Many of the customs of the most advanced Indian peoples of the American continents, the Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas, show a marked similarity to those of the Chinese. Some of the Indian hieroglyphics were like those the Chinese employ. There were noteworthy resem blances in religious practices. Such institutions and beliefs as the transmigration of souls, the highly developed monas tic system (in Mexico), religious festivals, household gods, the use of incense and chantings, of charms and amulets, cremation, the preservation of ashes in urns, and the idea that an eclipse was produced by a celestial dragon devour- 24 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ing the sun were common to both China and the Americas. There were many similarities in architecture. A notable instance was that of the rope-like bridges in Peru, made of twisted willow branches, almost exactly like the twisted bamboo bridges of certain parts of China. Many other cus toms of the two lands were peculiarly alike, — political, marital, and industrial. In China the emperor used to plough a furrow annually with a yellow plough. This ceremony is said to be nearly four thousand years old. In Peru the same ceremony was performed by the Inca monarch, but there the plough was of gold. Numerous as'are these evidences, they cannot be accorded too much weight, for it is customary for those peoples who have not achieved the fullness of civilization to develop quite independently from one another on markedly similar lines. Even the ceremony of the plough has been found in other lands. There are actual remains, however, to prove a likeli hood, and almost a certainty, of Chinese appearances on our Pacific coast in the very distant past. In the course of excavations ancient Chinese implements and coins have been found. Notable instances of this have occurred in the Pacific northwest. A Chinese bronze fan, with ancient Chinese characters, was found at Victoria, British Columbia, and at a place called Cassiar in the same province some brass coins were unearthed said to be over three thousand years old. The one thing lacking to prove Chinese visits to this coast has been that of incontrovertible literary evidence. Accord ing to the New York Tribune of September 10, 1890, the Reverend Doctor Shaw (a missionary in China) claimed to have discovered a manuscript at Si-Ngan-Foo, China, prov ing that a regular trade existed between China and Califor nia in the first century of the Christian era. This assertion seems never to have been verified. Definite literary evidence does exist, however, showing that as early as the fifth cen tury the Chinese knew of a land called Fusang, which many writers have identified with the Pacific coast of North America. The story is found in volume 231 of the great THE CHINESE ALONG THE COAST IN ANCIENT TIMES 25 Chinese encyclopedia, and not only there but in many other Chinese works of recognized authority and has long been known to Chinese scholars. In other words, the account itself is authentic, whatever the truth may be concerning the facts it relates. The facts stated in the Chinese encyclo pedia are substantially as follows : In 499 A. D. a Buddhist priest, named Hwui Shan, came to China from the kingdom of Fusang. He told of the route he had taken from China to that country, giving directions followed and distances traveled, and told about the peoples encountered on the way. Fusang he described in detail. He wound up his account by saying that in 458 five mendi cant Buddhist priests from Cabul (Afghanistan) went there, introduced Buddhism and the monastic system, and re formed the manners and customs of the country. The remarkable feature about this story is that it corre sponds so nearly with the facts about the Pacific coast as we now know them. There were some inconsistencies, however. Some of the translations make Hwui Shan say that the na tives had horses, carts, and grapes, — things which are usu ally regarded as not having existed in the Americas. Very few travelers who have seen a land for the first time, how ever, without the advantage of other travelers' accounts to correct their own faults in perspective, have been accurate in all the details of their story. Herodotus told of a land in which the air was filled with feathers, and he had heard of another (but doubted the truth of the story) where men slept for six months at a time. Naturally, to peoples who rarely or never saw a snowstorm and who had never heard of an Arctic winter Herodotus long seemed to be the "father of liars." Today nobody doubts any longer that Herodotus was truthful and essentially accurate about the peoples he described. Similarly, it is perfectly clear that Marco Polo was in China in the thirteenth century and that his tale of travels was founded on fact. The value of his account is but little lessened when he tells of a bird (the roc of the Arabian nights) so large and strong that it could seize an elephant and lift it in the air, of oxen as large as elephants, of men 26 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA with tails, and of dogs the size of asses. And so on ad infini tum, — indeed what more remarkable yarns were spun than those of the Spanish conquerors of the New World (of which, later) in their expeditions along our own Pacific coast? Furthermore, Hwui Shan was not a Chinese, and had to talk through an interpreter. What more natural than that these things with which the Chinese were not. f amiliar should be interpreted in terms of things they knew? It may be added, too, that Hwui Shan's account in its present form is the result of many ages of successive copyings. Not only have words had more than fourteen centuries in which some what to change their meaning, but also the "crimes" of copy ists are too frequent in all ages to permit of any doubt in the minds of those who have used documentary materials as to the likelihood of error. Indeed, some have preferred to be lieve that the word translated as "grapes" was intended for "tomatoes." When all is said and done, however, every other bit of evidence is in favor of the authenticity of the voyage to Fusang. The only remaining doubt is the loca tion of Fusang. Hwui Shan's description of the route traveled and the distances would make Fusang lie about in California or Mexico. The only other possibility that has ever been dis cussed is whether it might have been Japan. This, however, was impossible. There are authentic records of Chinese knowledge of Japan at least as early as 57 A. D., and hardly any of Hwui Shan's description of Fusang could have applied to Japan. The distance from China was many thousand miles too short; Fusang was said to be about five thousand miles east, or southeast, of Great Han, which he described as about three thousand miles northeast of Japan. This in itself is almost clear proof that he could not have referred to Japan. Furthermore, there is no tree in Japan at all resembling the wonderful "Fusang tree" of Hwui Shan's account. Finally, Buddhism was not introduced into Japan until 552 A. D. It is clear, then, either that Fusang was in America, pre sumably in Mexico, or else that the story was a he. The THE CHINESE ALONG THE COAST IN ANCIENT TIMES 27 evidence that it was true is almost overwhelming. In the first place, Hwui Shan succeeded in inspiring all whom he met with confidence in his story. The story itself bears in ternal evidences of truthfulness, including its freedom from the marvelous or unnatural. Hwui Shan had with him a large quantity of so-called silk and a strange mirror, the de scription of which corresponds respectively to the vegetable fiber of the century-plant and the obsidian mirrors of the Az tecs and their predecessors. Most important of all, he gave an accurate description of the peoples of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska and especially of life and conditions in what could only have been Mexico. In his recital about Fusang, Hwui Shan said: "That region has many Fusang trees, and it is from these trees that the country derives its name. The leaves of the Fusang re semble the Tung tree, and the first sprouts are like those of the bamboo. The people of the country eat them and the fruit, which is like a pear in form, but of reddish color. The bark is spun into thread, from which they make cloth for wearing apparel. They also manufacture a finer fabric from it. . . and make paper from the bark of the Fusang tree." "Mexico" means the land of the century-plant, just as "Fusang" was named for the "Fusang tree." In no other country in the world is there a plant put to such uses as those described by Hwui Shan but the maguey, or century- plant, of Mexico. The sprouts of the century-plant do re semble those of the bamboo, and the people do eat them. The plant does furnish a rough sort of thread, from which a kind of hempen cloth is made and also a fine variety resem bling linen. Furthermore, paper is made from the century- plant, but from the fiber and not the bark. The prickly pear of Mexico is usually reddish and edible, though indeed it does not grow on the century-plant. Hwui Shan might have added yet other attributes of the century-plant, notably its provision of intoxicating liquor, but it seems quite improb able that he should have hit upon such a clearly recognizable description of a wonderful plant which was utterly unknown in Asia unless he had in fact seen it. 28 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA "The country contains no iron," said Hwui Shan, "but it pro duces copper. Gold and silver are not valued, and traders con ducted without duties and levies and without fixed prices." Iron ore existed in Mexico, but was unknown to the na tives, while copper was indeed abundant. Trade was carried on by means of barter, without a circulating medium, while gold and silver were used principally for ornaments. "They have no citadels or walled cities ... no soldiers or military appliances, and they do not wage war in that kingdom." This accords with the view of writers about the pre- Aztec peoples of Mexico, for the warlike Nahua tribes (among whom the Aztecs were numbered) did not arrive until the thirteenth century. "They have a species of writing," said Hwui Shan. It is generally recognized that the Mexicans had a highly developed pictographic writing which contained the germ of a phonetic writing. A long description was given by Hwui Shan of the methods of punishment for crime, including such features as covering an offender with ashes and leaving him to die. This and the other practices referred to survived in Mexico down to the time of the Spanish conquest. Simi larly, the marriage customs were in part described, with a mention of unique features and a statement that the mar riage ceremony resembled that of China, and here too the estimate was remarkably true to the facts with regard to Mexico. Finally, the story of Hwui Shan agrees strangely with the Mexican legend of the pious Quetzalcoatl, who came from across the seas and introduced many religious practices into the country. The likenesses of the old Mexi can religion to early Buddhism are many and striking. There is record of a high priest of Mixteca who was called "Taysacaa," or "the man of Sacaa." It is at least a curious parallel that Buddha himself was called "Sakya-muni," or "the man (hermit) of Sakya." The root "Zaca" (Sakya), it may be noticed, occurs frequently in Mexican place names, e. g. Zacatula, Zacatecas. THE CHINESE ALONG THE COAST IN ANCIENT TIMES 29 Much more evidence might be given, but it is perhaps already sufficiently clear that Hwui Shan had indeed visited Mexico. Furthermore, the five Buddhist missionaries must surely have passed along the coast of California on their way to Mexico. They or others like them did indeed introduce a new religion, including the institution of a monastic system, and they reformed the manners and customs of Mexico — perhaps also Peru. But the people of the New World re mained of the same race, and in much the same state of back wardness as before, for only stray individuals came from the Far East, and not any more or less civilized mass. The question arises, why such an enlightened and numer ous people as the Chinese did not take over this Pacific coast land of which they had heard, when because of its relatively slight population and lack of advancement it might have seemed easy to do so. The history of China would undoubtedly provide a satisfactory answer. Atten tion may be called to two interesting facts of that history which might have acted as a deterrent. One of them was the long survival of feudalism in Chinese life, involving the separate rule and separate ambitions of different princes. China was unable therefore to develop as a strong unitary government, and such loosely-formed empires as China was do not ordinarily engage in over-seas undertakings; there is too much trouble at home. The second factor was the binding conservatism of Chinese tradition, which goes thousands of years farther back than that of any other great living peo ple. In the time of Confucius (551-479 B. C.) the Chinese were unquestionably many centuries ahead of their contem poraries in western Europe, but by the fifth century A. D. the day had already come when they were too contented with the greatness of their past, and stratification had set in. Confucius himself formulated the moral ideas of the Chinese in a way that satisfied them, and they proceeded more and more, thenceforth, to turn inward upon them selves. Instead of pursuing natural science and observa tion, they devoted themselves to memorizing ancient books, for in them, they thought, the problems of life had been SO A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA solved. Such a state of mind was not calculated to produce a trans-Pacific conquest. It is well to remember, however, that for all their advantages, the acquisition of a foot-hold on the North American Pacific coast would have been a slow and difficult process, involving the necessity for advancing bases of supply. China was far away, and the route to Cali fornia was over the water. But, as already pointed out, the sea route they would have used was an extraordinarily fav orable one, and China had almost unlimited time. The Rus sians went all the way from European Russia to California in less than three hundred years. From a point much nearer at hand and with as good an opportunity to go by land, China had a thousand year chance. But the "peril" never passed the bounds of potentiality . 1 1 The principal basis for this chap- 'party of Bvzidhist monks from ter is: Afghanistan discovered Ameriac Vining, Edward Payson. An in the fifth century A. D. New inglorious Columbus; or evi- York. 1885. j dence that Hwui Shan and a CHAPTER IV THE JAPANESE OPPORTUNITY IN THE PACIFIC IN THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD If the Chinese had something of an opportunity in an cient times to acquire a foothold in California and along the Pacific coast, the Japanese had a still better opening, all things considered, in the early seventeenth century. Japan was at that time relatively as powerful with respect to the rest of the world as she is today, and would have had very little opposition in compassing any designs for an extension of her commercial and political influence. Spain alone stood in the way from the side of the Americas, and Spain was already a declining power, with more enemies in Europe than she was able to cope with. Furthermore, under the great shogun Iyeyasu, Japan looked clearly toward the east, and made persistent, though fruitless, endeavors to follow a policy of peaceful penetration in Mexico through the medium of trade. Those who today believe they descry a "Yellow Peril" might indeed have had occasion for alarm had they lived three centuries ago. Fortunately for the future of the United States, however, a strange chance intervened to turn Japan aside from her projects and to close the door of opportunity for more than two hundred years. By that time the United States had come into the most important part of her heritage along the Pacific, and the danger was reduced to less discernible proportions. From the standpoint of chronology the Spaniards come next after the Chinese, but it has seemed best to deal here, once for all, with the Japanese opportunity. The early history of Japan is a maze of mythical obscur ity, and it was not until the fifth century that the records 31 32 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA which nave come down to us can be termed authentic. The middle of the sixth century, however, is a better point of departure in the history of Japan, for it was then, in 552, that Buddhism was introduced, and with it an advance in culture which brought Japan for the first time to the plane of what we call civilization. Little need be said here of the next thousand years of Japanese history. It was at the close of the twelfth century that the shogunate was established, to endure for nearly seven centuries. This institution was of the same character as that of the "mayors of the palace" in early French history, whereby the monarchs were reduced to the position of mere "rois faineants" (do-nothing kings), with only nominal sovereignty. The Japanese shoguns had the function of providing for the defence and tranquility of the empire, and were given the entire military resources of the state in order to achieve these ends. Thus the emperors tended more and more to withdraw from active political life and to be looked upon as gods. Meanwhile, feudalism in all its evils, with military lords more or less dominant on their own estates, was the keynote of national life. Civil war was almost incessant. It is particularly to be noted that the period from 1333 to 1603 was one of constant strife. During this medieval era of Japan, too, the Buddhist priesthood became enormously wealthy and powerful, and got wholly out of sympathy with the mass of the people. Japan was still in a chaotic state when trade relations with a European people were established for the first time. This was with the Portuguese, who visited Japan in 1542, after which date their ships regularly appeared at Japanese ports, introducing firearms, among other things, and a knowledge of how to use them. In 1549 the great Jesuit missionary Saint Francis Xavier came in a Portuguese ship to plant the first seeds of the Christian faith in that country. He could not have ar rived at a more propitious time, for the people were in a spirit of revolt against Buddhism. Other Jesuits followed, and in a few years the number of their converts reached hundreds of thousands. THE JAPANESE OPPORTUNITY IN THE PACIFIC 33 Attention may here be called to other events tending to produce an awakening of Japan to the greatness of her op portunity in the Pacific. In 1565 the Spaniards had made a beginning of the conquest of the Philippines, and a few years later established themselves at Manila, whence a ship sailed each year past Japan and on to Acapulco in Mexico. In 1580 Philip II of Spain became king of Portugal. Though he agreed to keep the dominions of the two crowns separate, this brought the Portuguese East Indies andPortuguese activities in Japan under a measure of Spanish control. Meanwhile, the Dutch had broken away from the government of Philip II, and chose to direct their attacks primarily against his Portuguese dominions. In 1600 a Dutch ship appeared in Japan. On this boat as pilot was a certain Will Adams, probably the first Englishman to set foot in Japan. Many tales are told about this man. He became a favorite of the shogun, and was heaped with wealth, honors, and wives, though by his own account he was a virtual prisoner in the island kingdom and longed to return to his family in Europe. This romance loses some of its flavor when we learn that Will Adams was on one occasion sent to the Phil ippines, — and returned to his Japanese wives. Neverthe less, he was an important figure. To the Japanese he was able to teach something of the arts of navigation and ship building. To his Dutch friends he was a useful helper, being in part responsible for the grant to them of trading privi leges, as a result of which Dutch ships came regularly to Japan from 1609 onward. It may be mentioned, too, that English ships engaged in commerce with Japan from 1613 to 1623. At the opening of the seventeenth century the Japanese were indeed a people to reckon with in the affairs of the Paci fic. In social organization and material achievement they were not far behind the Europe of their day. For example they had schools with courses in ethics, law, history, and mathe matics, and were in the habit of accumulating libraries. Feudalism still existed, but it had only recently been stamped . out in Europe. They knew how to use ordinary firearms and 34 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA \ cannon, and were capable of warfare on a large scale. In deed, the Japanese were distinctly a military people. Under the great shogun Hideyoshi (1582-1598), later called "the Napoleon of Japan," an army of nearly 200,000 made an invasion of Korea, while many thousand more were held in the islands in reserve. Many other large armies were utilized in this period for campaigns in Japan. The ability to handle these large forces must needs have been great. Furthermore, the Japanese were a race of sailors. Fishing has always been one of the leading industries of the Japanese people. They were also engaging in trade with lands as far away as India, and had estabhshed colonies in Luz6n, Cochin China, Cam bodia, and Siam. Against this powerful people Spain could oppose little more than a corporal's guard of fighting men. The total Spanish population oi the Philippines was only a few hundred, and the soldiers of the entire empire of Spain in America did not number far-into the thousands, not more than enough to combat the hostile Indians along the bor ders. Following the route of the current across the north Pacific, it should not have been difficult for the Japan ese to establish advancing bases along the islands and main land coasts until they reached California. Incidentally, all Australasia and Oceania presented to them a wide open opportunity. It becomes pertinent, then, to trace the work ings of two opposite factors: that which urged the Japanese on in their attitude favoring trans-Pacific relations; and that which induced them to give up this idea and to shut them selves in, in their island empire, away from communication . with the outside world. Hideyoshi was an imperialist, and though he turned his attention more particularly toward Korea did not neglect to consider the possibilities of Japanese expansion to European possessions in the Pacific. In 1592 he sent an embassy to the Philippines to demand the subjection of those islands to his rule. Nothing came of this, and it was not until after Hide- yoshi's death, in 1598, that further steps were taken. Hide yoshi was succeeded by Iyeyasu (though he did not take the title of shogun until 1603), who was for several years engaged THE JAPANESE OPPORTUNITY IN THE PACIFIC 35 in consolidating his power in Japan. Nevertheless, in the year 1598, when he came into actual authority, he intimated very strongly to a Spanish friar that he would be glad to have the ships from the Philippines stop in Japan on then- way to Mexico and engage in trade with the Japanese. In 1599 he sent an envoy to Manila to press this request. When the Spanish governor of the Philippines did not embrace the offer, due as Iyeyasu thought to the depredations of Japanese pirates, the shogun seized and executed two hundred of the buccaneers, and then sent a second envoy to Manila. This man arrived in 1602, bearing the shogun's message. "Nothing would satisfy my desires," wrote Iyeyasu, "so much as to see merchant vessels establishing frequent communication between my country and New Spain (Mexico)." He referred also to the advantages Spanish vessels would have in being able to take shelter in Japanese ports and to his wish to see "Japanese vessels making voyages between the Kwanto and New Spain." In the same year, a Franciscan friar came from Japan to urge acquiescence in Iyeyasu's pro posals, on the ground that it would make the Japanese gov ernment more willing than they had recently shown them selves to be to accept Christian teaching in Japan. This factor, coupled with several others, induced the governoFto petition the royal authorities in Spain for permission to establish the trade. Several voyages between the Philippines and Japan were made in the next few years, but nothing was done about opening trade relations between Japan and New Spain, though Iyeyasu continued to desire it. Will Adams was sent to Manila in 1608, and made arrangements whereby the annual ship from Manila should touch at a Japanese port, but it was not to take Japanese goods to New Spain. In 1609, however, Governor Vivero, who was proceeding to Mexico after having completed his term of office in the Philippines, was wrecked off the coast of Japan, and obliged to remain in that country until the following year. He was well treated by Iyeyasu, who again spoke of his desire for 36 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA the trade with New Spain. When the Franciscans joined their voices to that of Iyeyasu, for they were alarmed lest the favor that was being shown to the Protestant Dutch might operate to check Catholic missionary endeavor, Vi- vero was convinced. So in 1610, when he set sail from Japan, he was accompanied by twenty-three Japanese merchants and an envoy from Iyeyasu to the king of Spain. When Vivero reached Mexico he found that an expedition was just about to sail toward Japan in search of two mys terious islands said to be "rich in gold and silver," where fore they came to be known by the names Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata.1 These islands were sought more as a way- station at which the ships from the Philippines might stop than for the wealth they might contain; the Spanish author ities believed this course would be safer than to utilize a Jap anese port. The commander of the expedition of 161 1 in search of Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata was a man who has become widely known in the annals of California, for it was none other than Sebastian Vizcaino, who had made a famous voy age to Monterey in the years 1602-1603. 2 It was now decided that Vizcafno should first visit Japan, in order to thank Iye yasu for the kindness he had shown Vivero and to take back the Japanese merchants. He was also to seek permission to make a survey of Japanese ports, on the ground that the Spaniards wished to know the best ports in which to take shelter in case of a storm. However good a navigator Viz caino may have been, the event proved that he was hardly qualified for an ambassadorial task. He embittered the Japanese merchants on board his ship by threatening to 1 It is usually stated that they had of the mysteries of the Pacific. What been first visited by a "Portuguese more natural than that they should navigator," but a remark in Gemelli have travelled, like so many other Careri's account of his travels around things the Spaniards expected to the world identifies them with the find, "farther north." Gemelli calls Solomon Islands. These Jslands were the commander Alvaro de Mendoza, discovered in 1567 by Alvaro Men- and gives 1596 as the date, but ac- dafia de Neira, who headed another tually goes on to describe the voyage expedition in 1595 with a view to of Mendafia in 1595. taking possession of the group. This 2 The relation of Vizcafno to the time the islands were not found, and Californias is discussed in Chapter for two centuries they remained one XI. THE JAPANESE OPPORTUNITY IN THE PACIFIC 37 hang some of them unless they refrained from quarreling with his sailors. The message that these merchants gave to Iyeyasu about their mission to Mexico was also not calcu lated to please that ruler. They reported that the Spaniards had thanked them, but had gone on to say : "Our countries are far apart, and navigation is difficult. Pray do not come again!" Nevertheless, Vizcaino was received at the courts of both the shogun and the emperor, but gave offence by refusing to conform to Japanese court etiquette and by making it plain that he considered his king, or even the viceroy of New Spain (whom he in fact represented), as superior to the high est authorities in Japan. He was given permission, how ever, to make a survey of Japanese ports, which he accord ingly did. Soon afterward, in 1612, he left Japan in order to search for Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata, .Arrived at the place where they were indicated on the map, he searched three weeks without finding them, which is not to be won dered at, since they were not there. Forced back by storms, Vizcaino returned to Japan, but this time did not get the cordial reception which had previously been granted him. Many things conduced to this end. Vizcaino had concealed the primary object of his voyage, which was the discovery of the two rich islands. This became known to the Japanese authorities through Will Adams and the Dutch, who also informed them that it was unwise to have allowed the Span iards to survey the Japanese ports, as undoubtedly this was done by them with ulterior motives in view. It was the Spanish way, they said, to send missionaries to stir up rebel lion and then troops to effect a conquest. Iyeyasu was dis pleased, but seems not to have been alarmed. Vizcaino, too, had been guilty of inconsistencies in discuss ing the objects of his mission. On one occasion he maligned the Dutch, and said that the "principal business" about which he had come to Japan was to find out whether the Japanese intended to be friends of the Dutch, for if that people were allowed to enter Japan the king of Spain would not consent 38 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA to have his own subjects'trade there. It was well known, too, that he represented only the viceroy of New Spain instead of the king, as he had made pretence of doing. Nevertheless, Iyeyasu continued to request the Spaniards to consent to the trade with Mexico, though the petitions were pre sented by other hands than Vizcaino's. The latter, mean while, had procured another ship, since his own had become unseaworthy, and departed on this in 1613. He records that he was virtually no more than a passenger" on this vessel, which belonged to a powerful Japanese lord, and he seems to have left it at the first port in New Spain, though the ship went on [to Acapulco, arriving there early in 1614. The Spanish government had for a time been disposed to permit of the trade between Japan and Mexico, and in 1612 the Council of the Indies formally gave advice to that effect to the king. Immediately there was a chorus of objections. The Portuguese of Macao feared that it would ruin their trade; the Jesuits felt that it might result in giving over Japan to the Franciscans from Manila; and the Manila merchants, who were profiting by the trade between the Philippines and Japan, were inclined to believe that they would be injured by the competition of Mexico. These ele ments were able to carry the day. The Japanese trade with Manila was saved, but that with Mexico never got fairly under way. More might have been accomplished, but for the death of Iyeyasu in 1616. His successors found reason to distrust the Spaniards, with the result that in 1624 all com munications with them were discontinued. The prime cause for this cessation of commercial relations was the same as that which a few years later caused Japan to close her doors to Europeans and shut herself in. This was the aversion of the Japanese government for Christianity. The early successes of the Portuguese Jesuits in Japan have already been alluded to. Much of their good fortune was due to the support of the warrior Nobunaga (1573- 1582), who made use of Christianity to overthrow the then much more powerful and more feared Buddhist priesthood. THE JAPANESE OPPORTUNITY IN THE PACIFIC 39 Hideyoshi (1582-1598) seemed at first to favor the new relig ion, but in 1587 he executed a sudden about-face, and or dered the expulsion of the Jesuits from Japan, alleging that they had preached things contrary to the law and had "even had the audacity to destroy temples" devoted to other relig ions. Back of this there seems to have been a suspicion that the Jesuits aimed at an ultimate foreign conquest. It was noticed that they were very successful in their attempts to convert certain of the powerful nobles, and some thought that this was done with a view to promoting civil war, into which a foreign government could wedge itself for the sake of achieving its own ends. The Jesuits succeeded in evading this decree, and nothing serious occurred for another ten years. Meanwhile, several Spanish Franciscans from the Philippines came to Japan in 1593 as an embassy to the sho gun, but really with the intention of preaching their relig ion, despite the fact that a papal bull of 1585 had granted the Japanese field to the Jesuits. The Franciscans established themselves in Kyoto, and very soon there were evidences of dissension between them and the Jesuits. Affairs came to a head in 1596. A richly-laden Manila galleon, the San Felipe under Captain Landecho, was lured into a Japanese port in that year by a Japanese noble, forced upon the beach, and was then claimed by the wily Japanese on the ground that all stranded vessels and their cargoes were the property of the authorities on whose shores they had been driven. Lan decho endeavored to recover his ship and its precious freight, but was unable to do so, since Hideyoshi himself was sharing in the loot. Unable to accomplish anything by soft words, Landecho at length tried threats, dwelling upon the power of the mighty Spanish king, in proof of which he produced a map of the world to show his vast domains. Asked how it was that so many countries had come to acknowledge the sway of one man, Landecho replied : "Our kings begin by sending missionaries into the countries they wish to conquer. These induce the people to embrace our religion, and when they have made considerable progress troops are sent to combine with the new Christians. Then our kings have not much trouble in accomplishing the rest." 40 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA This speech made a very different impression from the one the imprudent captain expected. Hideyoshi decided that the time had come to strike at this faith, which at the least seemed likely to produce civil war, from which Japan was on the point of emerging after two centuries of conflict. The result was the first edict of persecution, in 1597, directed against the Spanish Franciscans and their Japanese con verts. Twenty-six of them were mutilated and crucified. The Jesuits had not been excluded from the terms of the decree, but were protected by their powerful friends, al though the order of 1587 was renewed for their expulsion from the country. The death of Hideyoshi in 1598 halted the persecutions. As already mentioned Iyeyasu was eager for Spanish trade, and was therefore ready to tolerate Christian teaching, though without approval. Thus the Jesuits and Franciscans renewed their labors, the latter having in 1600 secured a veto of the exclusive Jesuit right to the field. Later, Augus- tinian and Dominican Fathers also came. Many incidents occurred which tended to revive the former Japanese sus picions. Vizcaino, for example, was unwise enough to re mark that his master, the king of Spain, had no desire for trade with Japan; what he really wanted was the extension of the Catholic faith. Iyeyasu's views were just the opposite. He wrote to the viceroy of New Spain in 1612, urging an interchange of merchandise, but of Christianity he said: "I am persuaded it would not suit us," adding that it would be best "to put an end to the preaching of your doctrine on our soil." The persistent quarrels of the Franciscans and Jesuits, the unfortunate manner in which Vizcaino con ducted his mission and the interpretation -placed upon his acts by Will Adams and the Dutch, the reports Iyeyasu got about Christianity from emissaries he sent to Europe, and the discovery of treason in the ranks of Christian Japanese nobles in his own personal following at length caused Iye yasu to uproot the foreign religion. There were persecutions and deportations in 1612, 1613, and especially in 1614, though none of the missionaries were put to death. Yet the THE JAPANESE OPPORTUNITY IN THE PACIFIC 41 missionaries evaded deportations, or else made their way back after they had been sent out of the country. Hidetada (1616-1632), the successor of Iyeyasu, carried the persecu tion to greater extremes, and the missionaries now began to be tortured and executed, as also were Japanese converts, while the Spanish trade was sacrificed as a necessary measure to ensure riddance of Christianity. The death of Hidetada brought no pause in the persecutions, for his son and suc cessor, Iyemitsu, was of the same mind. It is said that from the time of the first persecutions down to 1635 no fewer than 280,000 Japanese were punished for accepting Chris tianity. In 1636 the Japanese went a step further, and took the fatal action which ended their opportunity for expansion in the Pacific. By the edict of 1636 Japanese Christians were ordered to apostatize, and Japanese subjects were forbidden to visit Christian lands. To make this latter provision effective it was ordered that henceforth no large ships were to be built in Japan, thus rendering it difficult for the Japanese to leave the country. Furthermore, the death penalty was imposed on any Japanese subject who should do so; in case he ever returned, no excuse was taken, and it is said that even those who had been driven from the islands by storm were exe cuted. The Portuguese and Dutch were allowed under great restrictions to continue their trade, but otherwise a policy of non-intercourse with the outside world was to be followed. This measure produced the great Christian revolt of Shima- bara of 1637-1638, but the government put it down and massacred the survivors. As the Portuguese were suspected of complicity in the revolt, they were forbidden to -set foot in Japan again. When the Portuguese of Macao sent an em bassy in 1640 to ask for a renewal of their trading privileges, the Japanese governor burned their ship, put the four am bassadors and fifty-seven of their attendants to death, and gave the following message to the few who were permitted to live and return to Macao: "Inform the inhabitants of Macao that the Japanese wish to receive from them neither gold, nor silver, nor any kind of presents 42 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA or merchandise, — in a word, absolutely nothing that comes from them. You are witnesses that I have caused even the clothing of those who were executed yesterday to be burned. Let them do the same with respect to us, if they find occasion to do so; we con sent to it without difficulty. Let them think of us no more, just as if we were no longer in the world. While the sun warms the earth let no Christian be so bold as to come to Japan, and let them all know that if King Philip of Spain himself, or the very God of the Christians, or even the great Buddha, shall contravene this pro hibition, he will pay for it with his head." Thus did the wide-awake Japan of Hideyoshi and Iyeyasu pass into a profound sleep under their successors, a sleep which endured until Commodore Perry entered the Bay of Tokio in 1853, and induced the Japanese, much against their will, to reopen the country. Thus did Christianity in a left- handed manner render a service to those white races which now hold lands around the Pacific. Because of their disap proval of Christianity the Japanese deprived themselves of an opportunity to be the dominant power in the Pacific, — perhaps, also, in its train, a world power beyond anything that a Japanese of the present day would even dream about. Possibly they would not have availed themselves of their chance, but who can deny that most certainly they had it. And one of the readiest lands to hand was the old Califor nias, reaching from Cape San Lucas to Alaska, unoccupied in most of its extent until the close of the eighteenth cen tury, inviting in its potentialities, and lying along the island- studded route of the Japan Current.3 3 The following works were used in the preparation of this chapter: 1. Kennan, George. How Japan lost her chance in the Pacific, in The Outlook (for June 27, 1914), 489-493. 2. Murakami, Naojiro. Japan's early attempts to establish com mercial relations with Mexico, in The Pacific ocean in history (New York. 1917), 467-480. Murdoch, James, w. collab. of Isoh Yamagata. A history of Japan during the century of early foreign intercourse (164%- 1651). Kobe, Japan. 1903. Nuttall, Zelia. The earliest his torical relations between Mexico and Japan, in University of California, Publications [in] American archaeology and eth nology (Berkeley. 1904), v. IV, no. 1, 1-47. CHAPTER V CORTES AND CALIFORNIA By far the most important of the peoples other than the Americans who intervened in California history were the Spaniards. They first found the land for the white man, and endeavored through centuries to occupy it, succeeding at length in doing so. Once arrived, they stamped California forever with romantic interest, and played a vital part as affecting the ultimate destiny of the province. First in the list of names of those Spaniards whose achievements directly influenced the course of California history was the great conquistador, or conqueror, Hernando Cortes. Following the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, the Spaniards had made settlements in the West Indies and, a little later, in Panama. Some of their navigators had sailed along the Atlantic coast of the land we now call Mexico, and one of them had applied to it the name "Nue.va Espana," or New Spain. In 1519 Cortes landed at Vera Cruz with a tiny Spanish army, and after two years effected what we usually term the "conquest of Mexico." This amounted to little more than the reduction of Mexico City and the route there to from Vera Cruz. It was in 1521, with the definitive occu pation of Mexico City, that the real conquest of New Spain, or Mexico, began. Mexico City became the principal base from which expeditions were sent out in all directions. The narrow belt ranging south to Panama was soon subjected. There remained the ever-widening spaces to the north. Along one of the lines of the northern advance was Cali fornia, or "the Californias" as the Spaniards often called it. This included far more than the Alta California of later days, which corresponded to the present American state of 43 44 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA California. As already pointed out, the Californias began at Cape San Lucas, at the tip of the Baja California penin sula, and ran indefinitely northward. It was toward this elongated California, or "Californias," that the Spaniards for many years directed their attention. After native resistance had been overcome at Mexico City in 1521, the Spaniards pushed westward, and by 1522 had already reached the Pacific coast in the province of Micho- acan, where Cortes formed a settlement at Zacatula. In three years he fought his way across a continent, a conti nent which it took the Anglo-Saxon successors of John Cabot three centuries to traverse. To be sure, the cases were by no means parallel in their difficulties, but it helps one to understand the tremendous energy and force which the Spaniards brought to their conquests, when these are compared to the much slower advance of their English rivals. Cortes at this time enjoyed a power which many a so-called absolute monarch might have envied. He was governor, captain-general, and chief justice of New Spain, and, be sides, had full authority to make conquests as he pleased. He was indeed subject to the king of Spain, but this control was somewhat shadowy, since he did not need to get pre liminary royal assent to any measures he might take. Ene mies he had, and these were for several years the principal check on his effective action. Arrived at Zacatula, Cortes prepared to make explorations of the unknown coasts to the north. To appreciate the objects he had in mind it will first be necessary to consider contemporary ideas of the New World. In the time of Columbus and for years afterward many people believed that the voyagers of 1492 had discovered merely a new route to the already known lands of eastern Asia. What we now call the West Indies were dimly identi fied with the islands of Japan, and the near-by main land was held to be Asia. Two centuries before, an Italian named Marco Polo had crossed Asia to China, where he lived for a number of years, and was highly regarded,— so CORTES AND CALIFORNIA 45 much so that the Chinese eventually made him a God.1 At length he returned to Europe, and wrote an account of the far eastern world. Among other matters he told of the re putedly wealthy island of "Cipango" (Japan) and of a strait to the south of China whence men could proceed to India and in that way back to Europe. Marco Polo's account was con firmed in its essentials by other travelers, — for example, by the Englishman Mandeville, who crossed Asia early in the fourteenth century. It was logical to suppose that Columbus had come upon these distant lands which Europeans had long known, and indeed one has only to look at the map to see that the eastern coasts of Asia and North America roughly correspond. Nat urally, there began at once a search for the strait which should lead to the riches of India. Men looked for it at Pan ama, where indeed the land narrows, and the ocean was soon found on the other side, but the strait eluded them. When they sought it in the south they found that South America was of continental proportions. It was generally known that there were large islands south of the straits between China and India, but the existence of a continent was un suspected. South America was therefore styled the "New World," while North America did not share in this appella tion until much later. The discovery of the Strait of Ma gellan in 1520 did not satisfy the demand for the traditionally known waterway. According to the information supplied by Marco Polo, that was much farther north. Central America was soon traversed, but no strait was found. Men then be gan to believe that North America might be a southeast ward projection from Asia, of which there was also early evidence, based on the actual fact of the peninsula of Kam chatka. To be sure, nobody had had any idea of the vastness of its size, but North America was for a long time not re garded as unusually large. Opinion was general among the Spaniards that it would prove to be little wider than it was 1 His statue was the only bearded Hundred Gods, at Canton, China. deity in the Temple of Tso Sing, pop- This temple recently burned down. ularly known as that of the Five 46 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA at the place where they had crossed it in New Spain and that a comparatively short voyage to the north would take them to Asia. It will be recalled, too, that this idea persisted among the English colonists of the seventeenth century, as witness their (under the circumstances) string-like grants "from sea to sea." After Magellan's long voyage across the Pacific had demonstrated that Asia was far away, men gradually began to realize that North America was a hitherto unknown con tinent. Yet, — such is the strength of an idea, once people become possessed of it, — a belief in some of the geographical notions which depended on their earlier conception of North America as Asia was still maintained, although there was no longer any necessary reason for doing so. Most persistent of all these ideas was the belief in the existence of a strait. Since it was certainly not in the south, then, obviously, people thought, it must be in the north, — always just a little farther than the last explorer had gone. People were tremendously interested in finding the short est route to the rich lands of Asia and the Indies, but there were many remarkable things besides that which they hoped and even expected to come upon. Life in Europe in the Mid dle Ages had been comparatively stagnant and circum scribed, when there began to occur a series of remarkable happenings which broadened men's horizons and fired their imaginations. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries men left their homes in western Europe to take part in the Cru sades. Trade, wealth, and city life developed; inventions like printing, gunpowder, and the compass offered incal culably great opportunities for diversification of existing condicions; and the Renaissance brought with it not only a revival of ancient learning but also a receptivity of mind such as the world had not known since the Periclean Age. Then came the discovery of America, which (even while it was still considered to be Asia) afforded an extraordinary stimulus to European imaginations, and this was accentuated after Cortes and Pizarro revealed by their spectacular con quests that the New World was well stocked with riches. Men talked of the wonderful things about which the an- CORTES AND CALIFORNIA 47 cients had written and of those which Marco Polo and other travelers had seen. Meanwhile the fifteenth and sixteenth century novel of chivalry had caught and fixed this expec tant credulity in the popular mind. Men began to believe that the fantastic adventures of the wandering knights, who single-handed performed the most extraordinary feats of valor and met with such marvelous experiences, might almost be duplicated in real life. Europe was far from hav ing cast off its medieval cloak, however, in the pursuit of things that were new. It was still in the grip of tradition and the sanction of old belief. What they sought in the New World was not so much that which was new, but rather those old but none the less wonderful things about which their an cient and medieval masters had taught them. It was no wonder that the Spaniards expected to find rich cities to plunder, especially after their conquests in Mexico and Peru had given them concrete proofs of their existence. These lands, however, were as nothing in their wealth to the others they hoped to find. Men had known of "The Seven Cities" before they had ever heard of America, and now these mysterious municipalities located themselves at large in the New World, until at length they were pinned down to the wretched Moqui pueblos of New Mexico. There also developed the story of Quivira, that great and strange kingdom which so many had heard of or even claimed to have seen, but which nobody in fact ever found. If Ponce de Le6n sought a fountain of youth, it was not that he was a simpleton, but because men had believed in such a thing for centuries, and now that so many of the ancient marvels had been revealed, why not also a fountain of youth? Great masses — or even mountains — of gold, islands of pearls, and rivers of pitch were quite in the normal course of expecta tion, — and Potosi and other rich mines eventually provided them with the first-named. From time immemorial, too, there had been stories of Amazon islands, — where nobody dwelt but women, — and not less sanctioned by authority was the story of the gilded man, whose kingdom was so rich that his people painted him with gold in the morning and 48 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA washed him off at night. Then there was the Terrestrial Paradise, which had found a place on ancient maps, and was looked for in America by the Spaniards of the early sixteenth century. In fine, those things which people now would con sider supernatural marvels were quite the expected thing among the half-medieval, half-modern conquerors who set foot in the two Americas, some four centuries ago. Cortfe, like other men of his day, had all of these ideas in mind. He was eager to ascertain the truth with regard to the geography of North America, not from any desire for the advancement of science and knowledge, but because he wished to improve his material fortunes. In particular, he desired to find the mysterious and elusive strait, in the hope that it might prove to be the shortest route from Europe to the wealth of the Far East. His letters also tell of Amazon islands, mountains of gold, and populous cities — just a few days' journey farther on. Finally, he hoped to acquire new kingdoms for his sovereign and fresh honors as well as wealth for himself. Yet it was ten years before Cortes was able to send out his first expedition to the north. Many things detained him. He had to set up a new government, reward his companions with grants of land and Indian serfs, build a superb capital at Mexico City, suppress native revolts and extend his con quests to meet those of the Spaniards pressing north from Panama, and, not least of all, he had to encounter the de termined hostility of his many and powerful personal ene mies. He was accused of aiming at independence, and a royal audiencia (or body of men whose principal function was to act as a high court of justice, but vested also with other functions of the civil power) was established as a check on his authority. Cortes himself went to Spain in 1528 to plead his case in person, returning triumphant in 1530. Meanwhile, Cortes had not been idle along the Pacific coast. With the founding of a Spanish port at Zacatula in 1522, he had started to build four ships. Work was una voidably very slow, however. Aside from the difficulty of maintaining the settlement itself, it was necessary to bring CORTES AND CALIFORNIA 49 everything but timber to the place. There was not so much as a nail in all New Spain, and there were no skilled work men and no well developed methods of transportation to take the many essential things to Zacatula where they were wanted. When matters were progressing somewhat, there was a fire which burned the warehouse, and a fresh start had to be made. Nevertheless, after four years' time, his ships were ready in 1526 for the long-planned voyage, when or ders came to send them across the Pacific to the Moluccas where a Spanish fleet was reported to be in need of relief. Accordingly, in 1527, Cortes' fleet was despatched to the far southwest, and the northwest voyage was postponed. CorteV facilities had now so greatly improved that he had five more ships well on the way to completion in 1528 at the time he left for Spain. Thereupon the hostile audiencia caused the work to be stopped, and the hulks were left to decay. Noth ing daunted, Cortes started to build four more in 1532. His enemies trumped up charges against him, with a view to checking his project, but a new audiencia temporarily sided with him, and the boats were soon gotten ready. CorteV first expedition was composed of two ships and their crews, under the command of Diego Hurtado de Men doza. This was regarded as a preliminary to a later and greater expedition. Hurtado was merely to seek information and not to make any conquests. He was to sail along the coast, except when passing Nueva Galicia, which was ruled by CorteV great enemy Guzman, who had only recently conquered it. In 1532 Hurtado started up the coast. Meet ing with difficulties he put in to shore within Guzman's realm, but that individual forbade him to take on water and supplies or even to make repairs. Going to sea again Hurtado found himself confronted by a mutiny of his sailors, some of whom transferred to the other ship with a view to returning. That ship was wrecked in the Bay of Banderas (in Tepic), and all but two or three of the men were killed by the Indians, while Guzman seized the wreck. Meanwhile, Hurtado sailed on, — and some say that neither he nor his ship was ever heard of again. According to others 50 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA he and all his men were killed by the Indians of the River Fuerte in Sinaloa; this story was reported by the Indians. Decidedly, the voyage had been a failure. Not only were no marvelous things discovered, but also the expedition had been a total loss. Cortes was not discouraged, how ever, "and blamedhis misfortune to Guzman's treatment of Hurtado. At least, he had acquired more accurate knowl edge of the difficulties to be encountered and information about the coasts. Furthermore, the expedition had discov ered the Tres Marias Islands, not far beyond which was the beginning of the Californias. In 1533-1534 came the second sea expedition under the auspices of Cortes in his endeavors to pierce the mysteries of the north. Diego Becerra was in command, while Hernan do de Grijalva had charge of the second of the two ships. The latter almost at once parted company with Becerra's ship, presumably under the stress of bad weather, and never again rejoined it. It is possible that he wished to gain riches and glory on his own account, through the discovery of the marvelous things Cortes had in mind, rather than receive his relatively slight portion as a result of Becerra's achieve ments; the example of Cortes, who had invaded New Spain against the orders of the governor of Cuba, his superior officer, was frequently followed by the adventurous leaders of the sixteenth century. The discovery of the (since called) Revilla Gigedo Islands, some three hundred miles due south from Baja California, was the principal result of his voyage. Meanwhile, Becerra, who is described as an arbitrary and disagreeable man, was put to death by bis crew, and the first pilot, Fortun Jimenez, who had been privy to the mur der, now took command. Jimenez proceeded with the voyage and came at length to a bay in what he believed to be an island. Here, he and his men landed, but presently were set upon by the Indians, who killed Jimenez and twenty others. The few who escaped made their way back to Nueva Gali- cia. There Guzman again showed his hand, seizing the boat with a view to making explorations himself. Jimenez had in fact entered the Bay of La Paz in Baja California, being CORTES AND CALIFORNIA 51 the first white man, so far as is known, ever to. have set foot in the Californias. The records are so obscure, however, that it is not certain whether he was there late in 1533 or early in 1534. Though this expedition had ended in almost as great a disaster as that of 1532, it did contribute something toward Spanish projects of northwestward advance. Jimenez's men brought back reports about the existence of at least one marvel in the newly-discovered land. They told of the wealth of the region in pearls, — perhaps even brought some with them, since the story accorded with the facts. Here then was one of the "islands of pearls" which the Spaniards had expected to find, and here was a definite and clearly recognizable incentive for a fresh voyage. Cortes was now more eager than ever for the project. He sought to restrain Guzman from making a voyage, and pro cured a decree of the audiencia requiring Guzman to return the stolen ship, but that body also forbade Cortes to make an expedition. Cortfe protested that this decision was against his right to make conquests as he chose. When the audiencia did not yield he resolved to go anyway and to lead the expedition himself. The moment that this announce ment got abroad, volunteers began to pour in, — such was CorteV reputation as a conqueror and finder of loot. Soon, Cortfe had more men than he could use, and in the spring of 1535 set sail with three vessels. On May 3 he entered the Bay of La Paz, and named that and the island, as he believed the land to be, "Santa Cruz," the day on the religious calen dar that he had made his appearance there. Cortes at once began to establish a settlement, but he was already face to face with the difficulties white men always have in main taining themselves in an undeveloped land. Supplies were short; so two of the ships were twice sent back for more and for the rest of CorteV volunteers, many of whom he had been obliged to leave behind. On the second of these voy ages one of the vessels was wrecked, and the crew and the colonists returned to Mexico. Cortes and Grijalva now took the remaining two vessels, and went to get more supplies. On the return to Baja California they encountered "yet an- 52 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA other of the problems which was for centuries to be an im portant factor in the history of the Californias. The severe storms which are so frequent in the Gulf of California were such at this time that Grijalva was unable to get back at all, while Cortfe (whose pilot was killed as the result of a fall) was obliged to take the wheel himself in order to make his way across the gulf. Upon his arrival at La Paz he found that twenty-three men had died of starvation. The colony could not be maintained with the one vessel Cort£s now had, and the land itself was unable to provide for the needs of white men; so Cortes returned to New Spain, to see whether he might procure relief. Eventually, he seems to have given up the idea, and perhaps toward the end of 1536 sent ships to take away the surviving colonists. Clearly the result had been disappointing, though in the light of conditions as they were, failure was almost inevitable. Cortes might possibly have given up his efforts at this point, but for the happening, in 1536, of a spectacular event. His enemy, Guzman, had been deprived of his post, but CorteV powers were also now greatly restricted as a result of the appointment of a viceroy of New Spain. Mendoza, the first viceroy, had reached Mexico City in 1535, and hence forth was CorteV principal rival in northward conquests. The spectacular event referred to was the arrival at Culia- can, Sinaloa (then the farthest north of the Spanish settle ments along the Pacific coast), of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. Nunez, or Cabeza de Vaca as he is more often called, had been a member of the ill-fated Narvaez expedition, which had landed in Florida in 1528 and had gone utterly to pieces. Nunez made his way westward, and became a slave of the Indians on an island off the coast of Texas. Eventually he escaped, and wandered across the continent until at length he reached Culiacan. His story would in any event have created great interest, but it became especially signi ficant when he told of the great kingdom of Quivira and the Seven Cities of Cibola not far beyond where he had passed; he himself had not seen them, but he had heard many tales about them. This story gave an extraordinary stimulus to CORTES AND CALIFORNIA 53 Spanish exploration, especially since it corresponded so exactly with what the Spaniards had long expected to find in the north. As soon as the viceroy was able to get a respite from other pressing affairs he prepared to take advantage of this information. In 1539 he sent Marcos de Niza, a Fran ciscan friar, to investigate the truth of Nunez's tale. Friar Marcos, accompanied by the negro Estevanico (who had made the journey with Nunez) and by some Indians, crossed Sonora and Arizona to the vicinity of the Moqui pueblos of New Mexico. There indeed he saw Cibola, but from a distance, for the Indians had been hostile and had killed Estevanico. But Cibola to Friar Marcos' eyes seemed something very different from what it actually was. To him it looked larger than Mexico City, though reputed to be the smallest city of the famous seven. The actual poverty of this Moqui town caused men of a later day to regard Friar Marcos as a bar or at least as a victim of a wild imagina tion. Something of the latter may be true, but, surely, his report was what many another might have made in that credulous age. At any rate, his story caused a tremendous stir in all New Spain. The viceroy at once got ready the famous expeditions (of which, later) that penetrated to New Mexico and Kansas, one branch of which was the sea-expedition of Hernando de Alarc6n, in 1540, up the Gulf of California. It is now time to return to Cortes. Cortes' hopes were revived, if indeed he had ever given them up, by the stories of Nunez, and when he learned that the viceroy was sending out Friar Marcos to get informa tion he protested vigorously, asserting his own rights to make the conquests in the north. Characteristically, how ever, he did not wait for a decision upon his claims, but resolved to be beforehand in the discoveries. So in July 1539 he sent out three vessels, of respectively 120, 35, and 20 tons, under the command of Francisco de Ulloa. The smallest ship was soon wrecked, but the others went up the coast to the head of the gulf, and were the first to discover that "Santa Cruz," or Baja California, was not an island but a peninsula. Returning down the gulf, Ulloa rounded the pen- 54 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA insula, and started up the western coast.* He seems to have entered Magdalena Bay, and to have gone on to Cerros Is land in 28° latitude, at or near which he made a stay of three months. Several attempts were made to go farther north, but the best Ulloa could do was to reach a point in about 29° which became known to contemporary map-makers as the Cabo del Engano (Cape Disappointment). In April 1540 one of the ships was sent back to report, and made the return in safety. Ulloa himself in the 35 ton vessel remained to carry on the expedition, — and what became of him is not known. No doubt he and his ship, with all on board, were one of the many sacrifices, by wreck or other disaster, in the attempts of the Spaniards to reach the land of gold — "far ther north." Cortfe had now contributed greatly to the movements which were to bring about the eventual occupation of the Californias, though his efforts had been a losing venture for himself. Furthermore, he had been stripped of much of the authority he had originally possessed, wherefore he sailed to Spain in 1540 to seek redress. This ended CorteV activities not only in the Californias but also in New Spain, for he never returned. In 1547 he died. Thus passed the first of the great Spanish explorers who endeavored to make their way to the Californias and to penetrate the mysteries of the north. CHAPTER VI ORIGIN AND APPLICATION OF THE NAME CALIFORNIA One of the most prized possessions of present-day Cali fornians is the beautiful and beloved name of the state, a name which has a lure that has carried its fame perhaps farther than that of any other state in the Union.1 Yet the origin and application of the name were for a long time some thing of a mystery, and neither one nor the other is fully clear yet. California was not named for a member of the royal family in the homeland of the conquerors, as hap pened in the case of Virginia (for Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen), Carolina (for King Charles II), Maryland, Geor gia, and Louisiana Unlike Massachusetts, Connecticut, Texas, and others, too, it was not an Indian word or named for an Indian tribe. This being recognized, people for many years, centuries after the name was first applied, indulged in guesses as to both the origin and application, for which the evidence seemed to have disappeared. Those conjec tures are now mere historical curiosities, illustrations in the extreme of the propensity of men to imagine the missing link in a chain of evidence, but as one hears these theories ad vanced by some even to the present day, it may be worth while to notice them. Most frequent among them has been the suggestion of a derivation from two Latin words "Cal- ida fornax" (hot furnace). Baja California might well have .seemed to Cortes and his men as hot as a furnace, it is said, or the name might also have occurred to them in con nection with the Indian temescal, or sweat-house, under ground. Similarly, the Catalan word "Californo" (hot oven) 1 During two years' travel in Europe the other American states could be the writer found that California was called by name. generally known, but that few of 55 56 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA has been brought forward. "Cal y forno" (lime and furnace, or lime-kiln) provides another guess, though "cal" is Spanish and "forno" Catalan, but it is doubtful whether the Indians of Baja California had houses made of mortar in early times, thus making use of lime-kilns, though later they came to have them. Another view was that it sprang from "Colo- f6n" (resin), on the ground that the Spaniards might have called out that word when they saw the resinous pine trees and decided to apply it as a name, perhaps as "Colofonia," gradually corrupting it to "California." Another writer suggested "Cala fornix," based on the Spanish word for "cove" and the Latin for "vault," in that there is an arch under a rock in the bay, or cove, at one place where Cortes and his men landed in Baja California. These are a few theories out of many, all of which were barren guesses, un- sustained by a shred of evidence. It may be said that it was not the habit of Spanish explorers to assign Latin names, or to mix Spanish with Latin or with Catalan in such a _ matter. A more likely suggestion was that the Spaniards might have misunderstood some Indian word and applied it as a name, but this was a mere guess. To Edward Everett Hale, distinguished divine and man of letters, is due the clearing away of the greater part of the cobwebs surrounding the origin of the name. In 1862 he chanced upon an old Spanish novel entitled Las sergas de Esplandidn (The deeds of Esplandian) , and found that it referred to a strange and romantic island "California." He at once jumped to the conclusion that this must have been the source whence the discoverers procured the name. Other men before his time knew of the "California" of the Sergas, — for example, the celebrated historian of Spanish literature George Ticknor, who refers to the word in a volume that he published in 1849, — but neither he nor anybody else seems to have thought of its connection with the Amer ican state of the same name, or, if they did so, they do not seem to have recorded their impressions. The Sergas de Esplandidn was, one of those fantastic novels of chivalry which so accurately represented, and in turn in- ORIGIN AND APPLICATION OF THE NAME CALIFORNIA 57 fluenced, the minds of Europeans in the period of transition from medieval to modern times. It was a sequel to one of the earliest and undoubtedly the greatest of these books, the Amadis de Gaula (Amadis of Gaul) of the Portuguese Vasco de Lobeira. The Amadis was written at about the opening of the fifteenth century or late in the fourteenth; Lobeira, the author, died in 1403. The book had a most extraordinary vogue, being indeed one of the most popular works of all time. It was translated into every important European tongue, and the mighty and heroic Amadis of the novel be came almost a household god ; it is said that it was unsafe to refer slightingly to Amadis, for some excited admirer might take it upon himself to avenge this hero of romance. The novel became even more popular, perhaps, after the inven tion of printing, since its distribution was of course very greatly facilitated. Between 1492 and 1504 Garcf Ord6fiez de Montalvo completed a translation of the work into Span ish in four volumes, and attached to it a fifth, written by himself, the Sergas de Esplandidn. The original date of publication is not clear, but a copy of the year 1508 exists in the British Museum, and there is a reference to an edition of 1498. There were a number of re-issues, — for example, in 1519, 1521, 1525, and 1526, years contemporaneous with Cortes' early activities in New Spain. In accord with the literary practices of his day Ord6nez de Montalvo pretended that he was merely translating from the Greek a manuscript of the "Gran Maestro Elisabat, who saw and took part in what he relates." The story hinges on a supposed siege of Constantinople, when all the forces of paganism launched an attack against the emperor and his Christian allies in the city. In the midst of the siege the pagans received unexpected succor from Queen Calaffa of the island California. Here is the story as it appears in the Sergas : "I wish that you should now know of a matter so very strange that neither in writings nor from the memory of people is it possible to discover how on the following day the city was on the point of being lost and how in that moment of peril it was saved. Know 58 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island named California, very close to that part of the Terrestrial Paradise, which was inhabited by black women, without a single man among them, and that they lived in the manner of Amazons. They were robust of body, with strong and passionate hearts and great virtues. The island itself is one of the wildest in the world on ac count of the bold and craggy rocks. Their weapons were all made of gold . . . The island everywhere abounds with gold and precious stones, and upon it no other metal was found. They lived in caves well excavated. They had many ships with which they sailed to other coasts to make forays, and the men whom they took as pris oners they killed ... In this island, named California, there are many griffins . . . In no other part of the world can they be found. . . . [And] there ruled over that island of California a queen of majestic proportions, more beautiful than all others, and in the very vigor of her womanhood. She was desirous of accomplishing great deeds, she was valiant and courageous and ardent with a brave heart, and had ambitions to execute nobler actions than had been performed by any other ruler." The upshot was that Calaffa, the queen of the island, re solved to lead her women to the war against the Christians. She is excused for this decision on the ground that she "did not understand what Christians were." Therefore she and her best warriors set out in their ships, taking with them five hundred griffins, which were in the habit of being "fed upon the men captured in battle." Arrived at Constanti nople, she found that the pagan cause was going badly; so she sought permission to make the attack alone with her forces on the following day, adding that the pagans would then "see a battle, the strangest ever seen and never before dreamed of." The next day the dusky Californians advanced to the fray, and at the proper moment let loose the griffins. Thereupon there was great carnage among the Christians, many of whom were seized and eaten by these birds, while others were carried into the air and allowed to fall, being dashed to pieces. The arrows of the Christians and blows of swords and lances were not sufficient to wound these thick-feathered tough-bodied creatures of the air. Then Calaffa called on the exulting pagans to charge and complete the victory. But here disaster befell, for the griffins, ORIGIN AND APPLICATION OF THE NAME CALIFORNIA _ 59 "not knowing friend from foe, seized the Turks in the same man ner that they had seized the Christians, and soaring high in the air with them let them drop to earth, and thus killed every one of them." This turned victory into defeat, and "When this was seen by Queen Calaffa she was sad in a grand manner." The grif fins were caUed off, and Calafia and her Amazons made a vigorous attack. Though the queen performed prodigies of valor, she was unable to take the city. Thereupon Calaffa joined with Radiaro, the sultan of Liquia, in a challenge to the old hero Amadis de Gaula and to his son Esplandian, great emulator of his father's deeds. A "handsome black maiden" was sent to the Christian camp, and was cour teously received. Amadis accepted the challenge, and agreed that Calafia and the sultan might name the weapons. But the envoy had something more than this message to bring back. She declared that all the Christian leaders were very beautiful to look upon, but that none of them compared in this respect with the noble Esplandian. Calaffa now displayed some very human traits. She yearned to see and talk with Esplandian, and therefore de cided to pay a visit herself to the Christian headquarters. All night she puzzled over the momentous question whether she should go in military attire or simply as a woman. The woman in her won, and she prepared to array herself in a way to make an impression. Not only did she dress her self in rich robes covered with gold and precious stones, but she also rode a steed which was truly "more marvelous than had ever been seen" and calculated to attract notice any where. Arrived at her destination she too fell a victim to the charms of the beauteous Esplandian, but maintained suf ficient recollection of her purported errand to arrange the terms of the combat. Esplandian did not return her admir ation, for he already had a sweetheart in the person of the emperor's daughter (Leonorina), and was well. content. In due time the double duel took place. Esplandian, be twixt looks at his beloved fiancee (who viewed the affair from a convenient tower) and attention to the fight, over- 60 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA came Radiaro. Meanwhile, Calafia was raining blows on Amadis, but he caught them on his shield or avoided them altogether. Amadis was too much of a gentleman to draw his sword against a lady, but did not disdain to take a broken piece of her own lance and deal her such blows that he knocked her senseless. Presently the queen got up and pro tested against his trying to conquer her "with a club." The battle was resumed, and once more did Amadis do telling execution with his lance and once more Calafia was stunned. By this time the Christian hero had contrived to strip the queen of her shield and helmet, and she had also dropped her sword. So Calafia was constrained to yield. There is more to the story, but the rest is of less interest. Calafia became a prisoner of the Christians, and was given to Leonorina. Thus, she saw much of that lady's fiance, and fell desperately in love with him. Not, however, until he had already married Leonorina did she make him aware of the fact, and then she declared herself to him. Esplandian was now generous in the extreme. He could not marry her him self; so he gave her his cousin Talanque, while another cousin married Calafia's sister. The marriages took place in Christian form, Calafia and all her Amazons became Christians, the pagans were defeated, and the now pious Calafia gave her island California, with all its gold and pre cious stones, to the Christians. And thus did California cease to be a land of Amazons only. Several matters in this account are worthy of comment. Much of the story represents the oft-reiterated recording of ancient traditions. The Amazons, griffins, and the Terres trial Paradise are of most ancient lineage. The last-named was the Garden of Eden of the Old Testament, which medi eval and early modern Europeans believed to be definitely and recognizably located on the map. Many such things were sought by the early Spanish explorers in the Americas, and it seems probable that the accounts of Columbus are what occasioned the insertion of the tale about Calafia and the Californias in the Sergas. In a report of 1493 about his first voyage Columbus told of an island on the way to the ORIGIN AND APPLICATION OF THE NAME CALIFORNIA 61 Indies where women alone lived, being visited occasionally by men from other parts. These women were war-like, mak ing use of the bow and arrow. It is hardly necessary to add that Columbus did not see these women; he had merely heard of them. Again, in 1498 when Columbus was sailing along the coast of Venezuela, still laboring under the de lusion that he was in Asiatic waters, he believed that he was very near the Terrestrial Paradise, and so reported. Other men of the same time told similar stories. The fact that the Calafia tale is not an intrinsic part of the Sergas, but merely thrust in as an extra, renders it all the more likely that the author was influenced by the accounts of Columbus' voyage, which had fired men's imaginations with what seemed to be a rediscovery of islands and peoples that Europeans had long known traditionally. Incidentally, it may be remarked that even the griffins were located eventually in America. In 1647 one Bisselius published a work in which a descrip tion of the western coast of North America was given. In that somewhat terrifying region there were many wild ani mals, including griffins, "and this is not a fable but the truth." Thus did the griffins return to their homeland of the Sergas, in California. One thing more : It can at least hardly fail to attract attention that the beautiful Calaffa and her charming maidens were of suspiciously African descent. It would seem that the color line was not very rigidly drawn, some four centuries ago, for the author everywhere refers to the lovely Californians in terms of the highest ap proval, and does not disdain to marry them in the end to white princes of the blood royal. The sequel provided by Ord6fiez de Montalvo was by no means the only one to the adventures of Amadis. In all there were fourteen volumes in the series. Calafia and the Californians reappear in book seven, entitled: Lisuarte de Grecia y Peridn de Gaula. In that volume the siege of Con stantinople still rages, but this time Calafia fights on the side of the Christians. There were a number of editions of this book, at least one of which appeared as early as 1514. 62 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA There is hardly room for a doubt that Cortes and his men were familiar with the story of the island California. All Europe had nearly gone mad over the romances of chivalry, and the Spaniards in particular were looking for the same wonderful experiences in the Americas as the wandering knights were wont to have in the realm of fancy. There are references in the work by Bernal Diaz, one of the historians of the conquest of New Spain, to incidents of the Amadis de Gaula. For example, in telling of the towns that he and the other soldiers of Cortes saw he said: "We were amazed, and said it was like the enchantments they tell of in the legend of iVmadfs." Also, one of the soldiers was nicknamed Agrayes, because he was supposed to resemble a character of that name in Amadis de Gaula. Since the Sergas de Esplandian was attached to the Amadis it could hardly have escaped notice, besides which it was popular on its own account, though much inferior to Lobeira's work. It is inter esting to note Cervantes' opinion of it in the Don Quixote. When the curate and the barber were overhauling the library of Don Quixote in order to destroy the books which had so shaken their friend's mind, they came across the Amadis and the Esplandian. The former was saved as the best of its kind, but the latter was the first to go to the bonfire. "Verily," said the curate, "the goodness of the father shall not avail the son." Granted that the name was suggested to the discoverers of the Californias from the romance of the Sergas de Esplan dian the question arises : Where did Ord6fiez de Montalvo get it? There have been many guesses on this point similar to those formerly made about the origin of the word in the minds of the conquerors. One of these is that the author derived it from the Greek xaXXocr, or y. £ 0rigin(d Jarratives 0f following: early American history series. CHAPTER VIII THE MANILA GALLEON In the same year that Juan Rodriguez was ordered to the north on the voyage that resulted in the discovery of Alta California, the viceroy Mendoza sent Villalobos with a fleet across the Pacific to the "San Lazaro Islands," where Magellan and other Spanish navigators had touched be fore. Arrived at these islands in 1542 Villalobos rechristened them "Filipinas," in honor of the Prince of Asturias, the later Philip II of Spain. Thus did the Philippines, as we call them, acquire their name. These islands, many thousand miles across the seas, were destined to be, during some two centuries, more closely attached to the history of Alta Cali fornia than almost any other land on earth. This was due to the sailings of the "Manila galleon," which for 250 years went annually down the coast on its long voyage from Manila in the Philippines to Acapulco in New Spain. The history of this service dates from the year 1565. Ma gellan, Loaysa, Saavedra, Grijalva, and Villalobos had pre viously headed expeditions which crossed the Pacific from east to west, but no ship had yet succeeded in the attempt. to make a return voyage. In 1559 Philip II gave orders that a fleet should be sent to effect a conquest of the Philippines and to find a sailing route across the Pacific from Asia to the Americas. He also commanded a certain Father Andres de Urdaneta to accompany the expeditions, ostensibly as chap lain, but really in order to have full charge of the sailing. Strange as it may seem that he gave such a post to a man of the religious profession, the science of navigation was per haps much more within Urdaneta's ken than the tenets of his faith. Born in 1498 he had for many years been a sailor 84 THE MANILA GALLEON 85 of experience, had voyaged around the world, and was better acquainted with Pacific waters than any of the king's sub jects. Late in life he had taken rebgious vows, but he was too valuable a sailor to be spared. Four ships, ranging in size from five hundred to forty tons, and about four hundred men were gathered together for the voyage, and instructions were given. "Go to the Philippines and the adjacent islands, discover the return route to New Spain with all possible speed, and bring back spices and other valuable commodities." Thus ran the instructions. Furthermore, a portion of this meagre force, under Miguel G6mez de Legazpi, was ordered to effect the conquest of a group of islands containing mil lions of natives. The start was made from Navidad in New Spain, on No vember 21, 1564. Urdaneta ran south to about 10° north of the equator, and then sailed due west to Guam, over which today the American flag is raised. On February 13, 1565, the expedition reached the Philippines, after a voyage of less than three months, — in quicker time than Juan Rodriguez had taken to go from the same port of Navidad to San Diego in Alta California! Indeed, the route westward across the Pacific offered comparatively few problems to the navigator. An estabbshment was made on the island of Cebu, whence the Spaniards proceeded to the conquest of the group. It was from Cebu that Urdaneta started back, and, indeed, it was not until 1571 that the Philippine gal leon sailed from Manila, for it was in that year that the conquest reached the site which thenceforth served as the capital and metropolis of Spain's trans-Pacific possessions. The currents and seasonal storms would not permit of a return along the route whence they had come. So Urda neta, who left Cebii on June 1, 1565, on his five hundred ton ship, went north to about 39° 30', and then crossed over, reaching the Baja California coast in 27° 12'. On October 8 he arrived at Acapulco after a voyage of 129 days, in the course of which sixteen men had died. He was somewhat chagrined, no doubt, to find that another ship of his original 86 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA fleet had preceded him across the Pacific. This was the forty ton tender, commanded by one Arellano. Nine days out from Navidad on the westward voyage, Arellano had deserted, eager to find "rich islands" for his own advantage. On one occasion in the Philippines, where he too went, he was nearly discovered by Urdaneta's fleet. Only the small size of his ship saved him, for from the top of his mast he was able to see the ships of Urdaneta just above the horizon. Arellano had started the return voyage on April 22. He ran most of the time between 40° and 43°, and is said to have reached the American shore about at Cape Mendocino, being possibly the discoverer of that point. On August 9 he came to anchor at Navidad, having thus completed the eastward voyage two months earlier and in twenty days less time than Urdaneta. Nevertheless, Urdaneta got the credit. As commander of the expedition and sponsor for the ideas which the deserter Arellano followed, Urdaneta was clearly entitled to the honor. In 1566 the first trading voyage of the galleon was made, but the account reads more like a romance of Treasure island than it does of a commercial venture. One Morguera preached mutiny among the men, and got a majority of them to turn pirate. The plan was to get rich quickly in Chinese waters and then return to Europe for a life of ease and plenty. The men rose, and murdered their officers, but Morguera himself was soon put to death, and another suc ceeded to the command. At one of the Caroline Islands the majority disembarked to make it a suitable piratical base, leaving only a few men on board. Two of them, however, were the chaplain and the master's mate, who had not sym pathized with the plot. They persuaded the others to help them get up the anchor and sail away, — and twenty-eight would-be pirates were left marooned on the island. In the early years of the trans-Pacific trade two or three ships crossed the ocean annually, but they were very small; down to 1571 they ranged from forty to eighty tons. Later, only one ship of five hundred tons or more made the yearly voyage, though the law restricted their size to three hun- THE MANILA GALLEON 87 dred tons for a number of years, afterward raising the limit to five hundred. The galleon seems to have been a pictur esque craft. According to one writer the galleons were: "huge round-stemmed, clumsy vessels, with bulwarks three or four feet thick, and built up at stem and stern like a castle."1 It was both merchant ship and war vessel, though the arma ment would not now seem very terrifying; ordinarily there were three small cannon, four catapults to hurl stones with, and some fifty muskets. Down to 1593 there was little interference with the trade of the galleon, whose goods were sold at a remarkable profit in both New Spain and Peru. Gradually the merchants of Seville, who enjoyed a favored position in the trade with Spain's colonies, gained an impression that the commerce of the Manila ship was cutting into their profits, and in 1593 succeeded in introducing a policy of restriction of the trade. According to them the sale of Chinese silks had ruined the silk industry in Spain, and pre-nineteenth century economic views never for a moment considered the welfare of colonies if it clashed with the interests of the homeland. In addition to fixing the tonnage of the ships and the limitation of the number to one a year, many other obstructive meas ures were taken. Only citizens of Manila could own or ship goods; the value at Manila was limited to $250,000, with a right of sale at Acapulco for $500,000; the trade was re stricted to New Spain, and the merchants of Peril were excluded; the Phibppines were forbidden to trade with China, where the silks were made ; at times, even, the carry ing of silk on the galleon was forbidden; and (because it was regarded as bad economics to. let specie get out of the country) the amount of silver that could be taken on the westward voyage was reduced to small proportions. In prac tice, every one of these restrictions was evaded, but there were periods of spasmodic enforcement of the law, and the evasion was only such as could be effected through the me- 1 Drake's vice-admiral defined them in the hold two-fifths of the width; as ships with a keel three times its in other words, in a ratio of 15, 5, width in the middle, and with a depth and 2. 88 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA dium of the single ship. Thus the Philippines were held so much in check that they never became as truly Spanish as the other dominions of the empire. Probably, too, the lim itation of the trade (thus reducing the demand for a port of refuge on the north Pacific coast) prevented an earlier occu pation of Alta California, — a matter of great consequence in the light of the sequel! After 1734 some of the restrictions were removed, but the galleon remained an annual ship. The westward cargo of the galleon was light and of slight consequence, consisting mainly of small quantities of silver and articles of luxury. The eastward cargo, on the contrary, was remarkable alike in variety and in value; the boat was a veritable treasure-house as it left Manila for the voyage to Acapulco.2 By far the most important source of this cargo was China, which also furnished the most prized item, — silk. Lands as far away as India and Persia contributed some thing to the store of the galleon. Chinese junks brought over the goods, and their cargoes were bought wholesale for the merchants of Manila; usually a year's credit was granted, and the Philippine government gave its bond as security. The goods were distributed to residents of the Philippines according as they held boletas, or tickets, for space on the galleon. Many of the boleta-holders were in fact operating on behalf of merchants in New Spain, despite the provisions of the law to the contrary. The cargoes went as a whole, all profits and losses being shared according to the number of boletas. Though papal bulls had been secured forbidding religious associations to engage in trade, this order was evaded in the Philippines as elsewhere, and the trustees of the Pious Fund made themselves a veritable banking society. The operations of this institution help to give some idea of the enormous profits of the trade. For example, a man with $10,000 could procure a loan of $40,000, thus get- 2 The following is a list of the num- the Moluccas 4, including the much ber of products from different lands valued spices; Persia 4; Ceylon 3; of the Far East: China 135; the Sulu Archipelago 2; and Cambodia 1 Philippines 39; India 17; Siam 7; (gum). From America and Europe Japan 7; Borneo 6; Macao 6; Goa 5; came a total of 44 different things. Java 4, including edible birds' nests; THE MANILA GALLEON 89 ting $50,000 worth of space on the galleon. A successful voyage would, however, bring him in from $100,000 to $200,000, giving a fine return on his investment after paying his debt. Meanwhile he would be paying interest at the rate of perhaps 50 per cent. If the ship was lost, he could borrow another $50,000, without additional security, and if the second voyage were a success he would still be able to repay his loans, and have a profit of at least 100 per cent. It is no wonder that zeal for trade not infrequently out ran due precaution. The galleon was often short of arma ment, in order to make room for a few more bales of silk, and it was nearly always overladen. Consequently, there were many wrecks; at best, the voyage was extremely dan gerous. Not only did the merchants of Manila, or their principals in New Spain, engage in trade, but also every man aboard ship had a financial stake in the voyage. Thus, salaries ranged from $4,125 for the commander, or "general," as he was called, down to $25 for a deck hand, but the commander might make as much as $40,000 from a single trip, and the other officers would profit to the extent of $20,000 or $30,000, while the lowliest sailor would mul tiply his wage-earnings many times over. Though every voyage meant imminent risk of death, men faced wreck or scurvy, exposure or capture, and paid a good figure for the privilege of a position on the galleon. Arrived at Acapulco the cargo was inspected and officially valued at its $500,000 limit (though it might reach many thousands be yond that), the duties were collected, and a great fair was held. This was exceeded in size by the fairs of Vera Cruz and Jalapa, but the profits at Acapulco were richer. The law allowed a profit of 100 per cent, but usually the actual gains may have reached from 150 to 200 per cent; the profit on silk was as high as 400 per cent. An interesting phase of the history of the galleon was the passenger service. Missionaries were sent over from New Spain, and returned to that kingdom when relieved from duty. Their life aboard ship was not always happy, for the officers of the galleon reflected a feeling which many in the Philip- 90' A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA pines had that soldiers and merchants were more needed there than missionaries. Then, too, on the return voyage they occupied valuable space which otherwise might serve for cargo! Troops to guard the ship and to supply the needs of the Philippine garrison were also carried. The service in the Philippines was so distasteful, however, that ingenious methods were often resorted to to get volunteers. Making capital out of the universal vice of gambling in New Spain, recruiting officers would go about playing five dollars against a man's enbstment, and sooner or later tbey would get their man. Phibppine government officials traveled on the galleon, and stowaways were often found on the voyage from the Philippines, but rarely if ever to there. Passengers proper consisted mainly of Mexican and at times Peruvian merchants. A paternalistic law required them to take their wives, lest they commit bigamy, or else to promise to return home within a stipulated time. Since bachelors could only take $150 in private property with them, while married men might take $300 worth, there was a certain financial advan tage in being accompanied by one's helpmeet, — though it is doubtful if the limitation was very strictly enforced. The fare seems often to have been a private venture of the offi cers, who took the passage-money for themselves and pro vided for the maintenance of the passenger out of their own stock of supplies. There was a great difference in the nature of the voyage itself by the westward and the eastward routes. The west ward voyage was comparatively easy, requiring from two to three months, according to the amount of delay necessi tated in threading the difficult Philippines group itself. Having found a satisfactory route, the Spaniards followed it steadily for 250 years. Passing through a veritable ocean of islands, the Hawaiian among others, they did not sight land until they reached the Carolines or the Ladrones, and never discovered the other groups along the way. The eastward voyage was one of the most perilous that the world knew. In the voyage of 1697-1698 Gemelli Careri, an Itaban traveler, was a passenger from Manila to Acapulco, THE MANILA GALLEON 91 and, fortunately for posterity, wrote a full account of his journey across the Pacific. According to the translation in Churchill's Collection of voyages and travels, this is what that experienced globe-trotter had to say : "The voyge from the Philippine islands to America may be call'd the longest, and most dreadful of any in the world ; as well because of the vast ocean to be cross'd, being almost the one half of the terraqueous globe, with the wind always a-head; as for the terrible tempests that happen there, one upon the back of an other, and for the desperate diseases that seize people, in seven or eight months lying at sea, sometimes near the line, sometimes cold, sometimes temperate, and sometimes hot, which is enough to destroy a man of steel, much more flesh and blood, which at sea had but indifferent food." In the first place, a departure from Manila had to be made before the end of June, for a later sailing meant that they would be caught in the terrific typhoons which occurred shortly afterward. Getting out of the Philippine Islands was one of the most dangerous tasks, and it often took as much as six weeks to do that alone. Between the Ladrones and northern Japan incessant storms were encountered, and not a few vessels were wrecked. If they went ashore in Japan they were in danger of being plundered. It was largely on this account that the Spaniards were for a while so eager to find two imaginary islands which they called "Rica de Oro" and "Rica de Plata," as a way-station in which to refit without being under the necessity of touching in Japan. Turning eastward they ran with the Japan Current along the fortieth parallel (though at times they got as far north as 47°), until they saw signs indicating that they were approaching the North American coast. Then they turned gradually toward the south. Sometimes they sighted the coast as far north as Cape Mendocino, while at others Baja California was the first land they saw. Usually, however, they first approached the shore in the vicinity of Monterey. As they neared the coast there was a time of great hazards on account of the bad weather, cold, fog, and the variety of currents. 92 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA The voyage of Gemelli Careri took 204 days and 5 hours, or almost seven months, — about the usual time. For over five months of this time the galleon was on the high seas, without making a single stop or coming to anchor. Natur ally, there were many unpleasant incidents, aside from the dangers of the storms, in such a long voyage. It may be presumed that sea sickness gave some the same sort of a disagreeable sensation that it does to many today. Further more, there was no opportunity to promenade, as on a present-day ocean liner. Space was far too valuable to be wasted on any such luxury. Indeed, there was often not room enough below decks to sleep. Cramped quarters rarely improve dispositions, and the Manila galleon wit nessed its share of quarreling. On one occasion, said Gemelli, "the pilot's mate had some words with a passenger he carry'd over on his own account, who complaining that his table was too poor, -the other struck him on the face, and then run after him with a knife." For punishment both men were obliged to "stand some hours in tbe bilboes," but there is no record of any further protest by this particular passenger. Gemelli confided to his journal, however, his own distaste for the food and for the hardships of the voyage in general: "The poor people stow'd in the cabbins of the galeon bound towards the Land of Promise of New Spain, endure no less hardships than the children of Israel did, when they went from Egypt towards Palestine. There is hunger, thirst, sickness, cold, continual watch ing [wakefulness], and other sufferings; besides the terrible shocks frqm side to side, caus'd by the furious beating of the waves. I may further say they endure all the plagues God sent upon Pharaoh to soften his hard heart; for if he was infected with leprosy, the galeon is never clear of an universal raging itch, as an addition to all other miseries. If the air then was fill'd with gnats; the ship swarms with little vermine, the Spaniards call Gorgojos, bred in the bisket; so swift that they in a short time not only run over cabins, beds, and the very dishes the men eat on, but insensibly fasten upon the body. Instead of the locusts, there are several other sorts of vermin of sundry colours, that suck the blood. Abundance of flies fall into the dishes of broth, in which there also THE MANILA GALLEON 93 swim worms of several sorts. In short, if Moses miraculously con verted his rod into a se[r]pent; aboard the galeon a piece of flesh, without any miracle, is converted into wood, and in the shape of a serpent. _ I had a good share in these misfortunes; for the boat swain, with whom I had agreed for my diet, as he had fowls at his table the first days, so when we were out at sea he made me fast after the Armenian manner, having banish'd from his table all wine, oil and vinegar; dressing his fish with fair water and salt. Upon flesh days he gave me Tassajos Fritos, that is, steaks of beef or buffalo, dry'd in the sun or wind, which are so hard that it is impossible to eat them, without they are first well beaten like stock fish; nor is there any digesting them without the help of a purge. At dinner another piece of that same sticky flesh was boil'd, with out any other sauce but its own hardness, and fair water. At last he depriv'd me of the satisfaction of gnawing a good bisket, be cause he would spend no more of his own, but laid the king's allow ance on the table; in every mouthful whereof there went down abundance of maggots and Gorgojos chew'd and bruis'd. On fish days the common diet was old rank fish boil'd in fair water and salt; at noon we had Mongos, something like kidney beans, in which there were so many maggots, that they swam at top of the broth, and the quantity was so great, that besides the loathing they caus'd, I doubted whether the dinner was fish or flesh. This bitter fare was sweeten' d after dinner with a little water and sugar; yet the allowance was but a small cocoa shell full, which rather in- creas'd than quench'd drought. Providence reliev'd us for a month with sharks and cachorretas the seamen caught, which, either boil'd or broil'd, were some comfort. Yet he is to be pity'd who has an other at his table; for the tediousness of the voyage is the cause of all these hardships. 'Tis certain, they that take this upon them, lay out thousands of pieces of eight, in making the necessary pro vision of flesh, fowl, fish, bisket, rice, sweetmeats, chocolate, and other things; and the quantity is so great, that during the whole voyage, they never fail of sweetmeats at table, and chocolate twice a day, of which last the sailors and grummets make as great a con sumption, as the richest. Yet at last the tediousness of the voyage makes an end of all; and the more, because in a short time all the provisions grew naught, except the sweetmeats and chocolate, which are the only comfort of passengers." This statement was not overdrawn. The food was bad primarily because of the "tediousness," or length, of the voyage, but there was also scant variety, and vegetables and fruits were little or not at all in evidence. The water, too, was not always good. Sometimes, it ran low, for only 94 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA enough was carried to last until the next expected rain, so as to yield more space for cargo. For the same reason, the water-barrels were often hung in the rigging, at the mercy of wind and storm, wherefore it was likely to get salt. Under all these circumstances the galleon soon became a floating hospital, with the men in various stages of sick ness from the scurvy and kindred ills. The death rate was incredibly high. As the galleon neared the California coast one after another would give in to the disease and be cast overboard when he died. There were some amenities, however. Now and then, they danced, — for Spanish dances can be danced in one place, without the need of a smooth floor; hence this interfered in no way with the cargo. Frequently there were impromptu plays and charades, and always they gambled. Cock-fights furnished a great medium for gambling in the early stages of the voyage, — and at such times there were chicken din ners. The men caught sharks and cachorretas while the ves sel was in full flight by hanging out a rag flying-fish for them to jump at. "When they had their fill of eating these mon sters of the sea, they would have cruel sport with them. Thus says Gemelli: "One great one was thrown into the sea again with a board tied to his tail, . . . and it was pleasant to see him swim about with out being able to dive down. Two others were ty'd together by the tails, one of them being first blinded, and then being cast into the sea, the blind one oppos'd the other that would have drawn him down, thinking himself taken." As soon as the "senates," or signs of land, were noticed, as they approached the California coast, the sailors held a mock trial in which they brought humorous charges against the officers and passengers. All were sentenced to death, but were permitted to buy themselves off with money, sweet meats, wine, or the like. According to Gemelli: "he who did not pay immediately, or give good security, was laid on with a rope's end at the least sign given by the president-tar paulin. I was told a passenger was once kill'd aboard a galeon, by keel-haling him." THE MANILA GALLEON 95 At length the galleon pulled into Acapulco, where it anchored under the fort and (at least in the case of the voy age which has been so often referred to in the present ac count) made fast to the shore by means of a rope which was tied around a tree! After 1734, with the gradual removal of restrictions on commerce, the importance of the galleon diminished. For eign ships began to trade at Manila, though until 1789 this was against the law. In 1763 direct trade between Spain and the Philippines around the Cape of Good Hope was in stituted. In 1785 the Philippine Company was established, and was granted the privilege of trading with Manila from Spain and of carrying goods directly between the Phi'ip- pines and South America. The islands gained as a result, but not so the galleon. Finally, the merchants of Manila themselves asked for the abolition of the galleon service and for permission in its place for private-owned ships, as well as those of the Company, to trade with Spain or the colonies. The request was granted, and in 1815, after quarter of a thousand years, the sailings of the galleon were aban doned. The relation of California to the galleon is almost as long a story as is that of the galleon itself. Many allusions will hereafter be made, but the gist of the tale may be given here. Except for a few outstanding voyages, the only ships which visited Alta California prior to 1769 were those from Manila, and they came every year. Yet, precise information of their voyages is lacking; indeed, after Urdaneta only Gab in 1584, Rodriguez Cermenho in 1595, and Gemelfi Careri in 16973 have left any known record of visits to Alta Cali fornia shores, though a work of navigation by Gonzalez Cabrera Bueno, pubbshed in 1734, gives a fairly accurate description of the coast, except for the omission of San Francisco Bay, and tells how the galleon usually sighted the region of Monterey. The Vizcafno expedition of 1602-1603 (of which, later) had as one of its principal causes the dis- 3 The Gali and Rodriguez Cer- Chapter X. Gemelli first came to land menho voyages will be taken up in at Catalina Island. 96 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA covery of a, port which could serve as a suitable way-station for the galleon, and this matter was agitated for the next hundred and fifty years, being one of the important motives for an advance of the Spanish conquest to Monterey. In 1734 the galleon stopped in Baja California, and thereafter did so occasionally at other times. In 1775 orders were given that the galleon must stop at Monterey, under penalty of a fine on the commander, but it would seem that it rarely did so. In any event it was forbidden to trade in Alta California. However little documentary evidence of actual voyages down the coast may ever be found, the importance of the galleon in promoting Spanish conquests toward Alta Cali fornia demands emphasis. A way-station was desired, not merely to allow men to recover their health and repair the ship, but also to send word of their coming and to receive it in turn of the presence of pirates or foreign enemies in those seas, if any there were, — for at least in the seventeenth century this was one of the grave but altogether too cus tomary perils of the last stages of the voyage.4 4 The principal materials used in John Churchill, v. IV (Lon- the preparation of this chapter were don. 1752), 453-473. the following: 2. Schurz, William Lytle. A study 1. Careri, Giovanni Francesco Ge- in the beginnings of trans- melli. A voyage round the Pacific trade. Berkeley, CaH- world by Dr. John Francis fornia. 1912. Ms. (Ph.D. Gemelli Careri, tr. fr. orig. It. thesis) in the Library of the in A coUection of voyages and University of California. travels, ed. by Awnsham and CHAPTER IX DRAKE AND NEW ALBION Californians have long known of and been interested in the visit to their shores in 1579 of the world-famous navi gator Drake, afterwards Sir Francis Drake. Neither they nor others, however, have been wont to realize the full signi ficance of this event from the English standpoint on the one hand or the Spanish on the other. In truth, here was the first "New England" in North America, not alone in the name "Nova (New) Albion" which Drake appbed, but also in the deliberate intent then and thereafter to create a great English empire in the Americas around the nucleus of Drake's California discoveries. The plan failed to mature, but the achievements of Drake and, later, of his fellow- countryman Thomas Cavendish stimulated tbe Spaniards to great efforts which materially furthered their program of an advance up the Pacific coast and into the Californias. The story finds a logical place in the great world events of the sixteenth century which can only be alluded to briefly here. Spain and England, even when not at war, were bit terly hostile to each other during most of that century and especially so in the reign of Queen Elizabeth of England (1558-1603). Spain was the great power of Europe and the world, the uncompromising champion of Catholicism in an age of violent religious differences, and the sole occupant of the treasure-house of the Americas. England, though rising to a position of greatness, was scarcely to be considered as equal in strength to Spain, was Protestant and anti-Cathobc, and was particularly displeased with Spain's pretensions not only to the sovereignty but also to tbe exclusive trade of the New World. Thus English mariners, with the secret or even 97 98 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA the open backing of the royal authorities, made voyages to the Americas to smuggle goods into Spanish colonies or cap ture Spanish ships and plunder their towns. There was what amounted to a perpetual warfare, though in Europe the two peoples were for the first thirty years of Elizabeth's reign outwardly at peace. Greatest of the earber sailors of this period was John Hawkins, under whom Drake received his training. In 1568 tbe fleet of John Hawkins came to grief in tbe port of Vera Cruz when it was attacked by tbe Spaniards in contra vention of what the survivors claimed was their plighted word. On this occasion Drake indeed escaped capture, but lost some seven thousand ducats, all that he possessed, which he had embarked in Hawkins' venture. Filled with hate for the enemy whom he regarded as having treacher ously deprived him of bis fortune, Drake swore an oath to be revenged. Never was an oath more faithfully and completely kept. During the remainder of his bfe he collected the debt many times over, and was a veritable scourge of Spain. In 1573 he made an inland journey nearly across the Isthmus of Panama, with a view to capturing the Spanish treasure coming that way from Peru. Reaching the continental divide he climbed a tree and saw before him, for the first time, the waters of the Pacific. As he told his old comrade, John Oxenham, he "besought Almighty God of His goodness to give him life and leave to sail once in an English ship in that sea." This wish developed to the proportions of a vow, for from that time forward Drake was resolved to find a way to accomplish bis desire. Five years later the chance came. Meanwhile, in 1575, Oxenham had crossed Panama and built a pinnace which sailed in the Pacific, thus depriving Drake of the glory of being the first Engbshman to navigate those seas, but Oxenham's party was captured by the Spaniards. It was in the years 1577 to 1580 that Drake made his famous voyage around the world, stopping in California in 1579 on the way. One of the moot points about this voyage has been the question whether Drake had the formal authori zation of his sovereign for the undertaking or whether he DRAKE AND NEW ALBION 99 was to be considered a pirate. No instructions of the royal government are extant, but there is such an overwhelming array of circumstantial evidence that there can no longer be a reasonable doubt but that he went forth in the royal service. Though Spain and England were not formally at war, the English queen had many scores against Spain which she was only too ready to pay off, if opportunity should offer. To mention but a single thing, there were constant plots against her life, and the queen well knew that Phibp II of Spain was cognizant of them, if not indeed the directing hand. She therefore resolved to pay Spain back in her own coin by dealing a series of underhanded blows whereby she could get satisfaction and at the same time profit for the crown. The Earl of Essex recommended Drake to her as a man well fitted to serve her against Spain, and Drake was granted an interview with the queen. Elizabeth seemed de sirous of some sort of descent upon the Spanish peninsula itself, but Drake "told her Maiestie of the smale good that was to be done in Spayne, but thonly waye was to anoy hym by his Indyes." It would seem that Drake then proposed that he should make a voyage into the Pacific to plunder and destroy Span ish ships and cities there (thus to "anoy" the king of Spain) and to take possession for his queen of all lands not occupied already by a Christian prince. Then, if possible, he was to return to England by way of the strait through North Amer ica, if he could find it, or otherwise by sailing around the world. The evidence for this is not direct, but Drake often stated that he sailed by the queen's commission. Accord ing to the testimony of a Portuguese pilot whom he took prisoner and later released : "He told all those whom he captured . . . that he came in the service of his sovereign the queen, whose instructions he carried and obeyed, and that he had come more for another purpose than that of taking ships." 100 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Furthermore, his ship was fitted out in a way to make an impression, beyond anything that was required of an ordinary buccaneering adventure, for "neither did he omit to make provision also for ornament or de light, carrying to this purpose with him expert musitians, rich fur niture (all the vessels for his table, yea, many belonging even to the Cooke-room being of pure silver) and divers shewes of all sorts of curious workmanship, whereby the civilitie and magnificense of his native countrie might, amongst the nations whithersoever he should come, be the more admired." Elizabeth herself seems to have given him some of the "dainties and perfumed waters" with which he was supplied, In keeping with all this magnificence, Drake had gorgeous uniforms, observed almost royal state on his ship, and was attended by a number of gentlemen of the best families in England. These matters have a bearing on the plans that occasioned, and also grew out of, Drake's visit to Cali fornia. In November 1577 Drake left England at the head of a fleet of five ships. The largest was the Pelican, a vessel of only a hundred tons, subsequently renamed tbe Golden Hind when Drake reached the Pacific. In all five ships there was a total of 164 men. Of the early hardships he encountered and of his experiences in South and Central America there is little need here to tell. He entered the Pacific in Septem ber 1578. Sailing northward, with only his flagship left to him, he attacked Spanish towns and ships, until he had a treasure that filled the vessel to its capacity. Proceeding to New Spain he stopped at Guatulco in Oaxaca. Here he put ashore the last of the prisoners he had taken, except for three negroes, and procured supplies. He had sufficiently worried King Philip, but the principal business of the voyage remained to perform. He wished now to find suitable lands for British colonies and the way of escape from the Spaniards through the strait, and the fewer witnesses he had with him, the better. Leaving Guatulco on April 16, 1579, Drake went well out to sea, and headed toward the unknown waters of the north. DRAKE AND NEW ALBION 101 There is a dispute as to the farthest north Drake reached, a dispute which was of international significance down to the Oregon Treaty of 1846 between Great Britain and the Unites States. The British claim was based largely on their contention that Drake had discovered the coast above 42° (the present northern boundary of California) to 48°. The international dispute having long since been settled, it has been possible to investigate the matter objectively, and the consensus of opinion has been in favor of 42°. George Davidson, who knew the Pacific coast as web1 as any man that ever lived, held that Drake stopped between 42° and 43° at Chetko Cove in 42°, 3', just over the California line in present-day Oregon. He was therefore the probable dis coverer of that state, for it is unlikely that Ferrelo saw the coast so far north. It is true that the claim for the higher latitude was based on accounts of those who made the voyage, together with their comments on the extraordinary cold they experienced and the snow they saw on the moun tains. But these very accounts are inconsistent in them selves, and the remarks about the cold were applied equally to what all recognize as the California coast and to the supposedly more northern cbmes. Thus, John Drake (a cousin of the commander), who was on the Golden Hind, had this to say in 1584, when questioned by Spanish officials of the Rio de la Plata: "they sailed out at sea . . . until they reached 48 degrees north . . . Captain Francis gave the land that is situated in 48 degrees the name of New England. They were there a month and a half, taking in water and wood and repairing their ship." In 1587 the same John Drake made the following declara tion before the Inquisition of Lima : "Then they, left [Guatulco] and sailed . . . until they reached forty-four degrees, when the wind changed and he [Drake, the commander] went to the Californias, where he discovered land in forty-eight degrees. There he landed and built huts and remained for a month and a half." 102 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Another account, presumably by a sailor on the voyage, made 48° the farthest north, and spoke of landing in 44°. The chaplain of the Golden Hind, Francis Fletcher, whose narrative is the principal account of the voyage that has survived, said that they were in 42° on June 3. Two days later the contrary winds forced them to shore, where they "cast anchor in a bad bay," which Davidson identifies as Chetko Cove. This was their farthest north, and according to Fletcher they were in 48°. Thus in two days, against contrary winds and the Japan Current, they must have sailed over four hundred miles! If that rate had been maintained since leaving Guatulco they would have gone 10,000 miles! It would seem, therefore, that the latitudes given were all too high. Richard Hakluyt, the immortal collector of narratives on voyages and a contemporary of Drake, gave 42° as the northerly limit, changing at a later time to 43°. Davidson's views, already referred to, may be accepted for the present as most likely to have represented the truth.1 Incidentally, it was to Drake's interest to state the latitude as high as he could, not only for the glory that would accrue to him as the discoverer, but also and perhaps more especially to excuse his failure to continue the search for the strait. According to the testimony of the Portuguese pilot whom he put ashore at Guatulco, Drake had told him that he was under orders to go as far north as 66° before abandoning the attempt to discover the strait. Chaplain Fletcher, whom Drake once described as "Ye falsest knave that liveth," seems to have justified his com mander's reflections on his veracity in his comments about the cold off the California coast. According to Fletcher "the very roapes of our ship were stiffe, and the raine which fell was an vnnatural congealed and frozen substance . . . though sea-men lack not good stomaches, yet it seemed a question to many 1 The most extravagant view is ever, the credit, accorded to him by that taken recently by Mrs. Nuttall. contemporary poets [notably by the According to her, "Drake ventured Spaniard Lope de Vega], of having so far north that even he dared go sighted the North as well as the South no further, and was forced to turn Pole." In the absence of Mrs. Nut- back on account of the intense cold tali's proofs, it is impossible as yet to and ice he encountered, earning, how- accept her conclusions. DRAKE AND NEW ALBION 103 amongst vs, whether their hands should feed their mouthes, or rather keepe themselues within their couerts from the pinching cold which did benumme them . . . our meate, as soone as it was remooued from the fire, would presently in a manner be frozen vp , . . euery hill (whereof we saw many, but none verie high), though it were in June, and the sunne in his neerest approch vnto them, being couered with snow." Referring to their disagreeable position in the "bad bay" (Chetko Cove), Fletcher says: "wee were not without some danger by reason of the many ex treme gusts and flawes that beate vpon vs, which if they ceased and were still at any time, immediately upon their intermission there followed most uile, thicke, and stinking fogges." One might indeed have wondered if they had not touched the Arctic Zone, were it not that the chaplain used the same extreme language in describing the cold at Drake's landing- place in 38°, clearly within Alta California. Suffice to say that the natives, the birds, and the very land itself shivered with the cold, and there is more about "thicke mists and most stinking fogges," and the "nipping cold" of a California June and July! It is, of course, clear to Californians how these statements came to be made. The fogs of the summer along the northern coast do indeed seem cold to one who is not acclimated; many a man from the east of the United States will shiver through his first summer, but rarely afterward. It may well have seemed worse to Drake and his men who had for a long time been in the tropics. John Drake says nothing of the cold, and gives no hint that they had reached a far northern clime. At any rate, Drake turned south soon after he first sighted land, being forced back by the contrary winds, according to Fletcher. Perhaps the principal reason for his return, or at least for his failure to resume the northward voyage, was that the coast ran so continuously to the northwest that he and his men began to believe that North America was "ioyned" to Asia or "very neere" it, and therefore there was scant probability of a strait. So the ship went south along the California coast, and, as Fletcher puts it, 104 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA "In 38 deg. 31 min. we fell with a conuenient and fit harborough, and June 17 came to anchor therein, where we continued till the 23 day of July following." It is now generally agreed that this was Drake's Bay, but for a long time many held that the stop was made in San Francisco Bay, a little farther south, while others contended in favor of Bodega Bay, a few miles to the north. The Spaniards always said that Drake stopped in the "Bay of San Francisco," but this was the only possible argument for that port, as the description of Drake's stopping-place in no way tallied with that of San Francisco Bay. When it developed that the "Bay of San Francisco" was for nearly two centuries the Spanish name for Drake's Bay, while the bay now so called was unknown to them, the argument for San Francisco Bay was dropped. Bodega Bay is not a "conuenient and fit harborough," for it is open to the westerly winds, and no ship like Drake's could have stayed there thirty-six days. Drake's Bay is small, but it might well have been deemed a good port, and, besides, it has "the white bancks and cliff es, which he toward the sea," referred to in the description given by Fletcher. On the day following their arrival they were harangued three times by an Indian in a canoe, who made a great show of reverence and submission. The Indians in general seemed to be in a state of wonderment about the ship, which was the first, so far as is known, that had ever stopped there, though Ferrelo's expedition and, no doubt, a number of the galleons had in previous years passed within sight of tbe shore. Three days later Drake moved his ship farther in, that he might repair a leak, and landed his men, but took the precaution of making a rough fort for their protection, and set up tents to sleep in. The Indians, however, were very submissive, and showed plainly that they looked upon Drake and his men as gods, despite the attempts of the latter to persuade them that they were not. The Englishmen on their part were interested in the customs of the Indians, their wigwam homes, their dress (or lack of it), and the rude presents that they brought. During two days the Indians stayed away, DRAKE AND NEW ALBION 105 but then they came with a great concourse from neighboring towns and with gifts, or, as they seemed to Drake's men, "sacrifices, vpon this perswasion that we were gods." "When they came to the top of the hill, at the bottom whereof wee had built our fort, they made a stand; where one (appointed as their chief e speaker) wearied both vs his hearers, and himself e too, with a long and tedious oration; deliuered with strange and violent gestures, his voice being extended to the vttermost strength of nature, and his wordes falling so thicke one in the necke of an other, that he could hardly fetch his breath againe: as soone as he had concluded, all the rest, with a reuerend bowing of their bodies (in a dreaming manner, and long producing of the same) cryed Oh: thereby giuing their consents that all was very true which he had spoken, and that they had vttered their minde by his mouth vnto vs; which done, the men laying downe their bowes vpon the hill, and leauing their women and children behinde them, came downe with their presents; in such sort as if they had appeared before a God indeed, thinking themselues happy that they might haue accesse vnto our Generall, but much more happy when they sawe that he would receiue at their hands those things which they so willingly had presented: and no doubt they thought them selues neerest vnto God when they sate or stood next to him. In the meane time the women, as if they had beene desperate, vsed vnnatural violence against themselues, crying and shrieking piteously, tearing their flesh with their nailes from their cheekes in a monstrous manner, the blood streaming downe along their brests, besides despoiling the vpper parts of their bodies of those single couerings they formerly had, and holding their hands aboue their heads that they might not rescue their brests from harme, they would with furie cast themselues vpon the ground, neuer respecting whether it were cleane or soft, but dashed themselues in this manner on hard stones, knobby hillocks, stocks of wood, and pricking bushes, or whateuer else lay in their way, itterating the same course againe and againe; yea women great with child, some nine or ten times each, and others holding out till 15 or 16 times (till their strengths failed them) exercised this cruelty against themselues: a thing more grieuous for vs to see or suffer, could we haue holpe it, then trouble to them (as it seemed) to do it. This bloudie sacrifice (against our wils) beeing thus performed, our Generall, with his companie, in the presence of those strangers, fell to prayers; and by signes in lifting vp our eyes and hands to heauen, signified vnto them that that God whom we did serue, and whom they ought to worship, was aboue; beseeching God, if it were his good pleasure, to open by some meanes their blinded eyes, 106 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA that they might in due time be called to the knowledge of him, the true and euerliuing God, and of Jesus Christ whom he hath sent, the saluation of the Gentiles. In the time of which prayers, sing ing of Psalmes, and reading of certaine Chapters in the Bible, they sate very attentiuely: and obseruing the end at euery pause, with one voice still cried, Oh, greatly reioycing in our exercises. Yea they tooke such pleasure in our singing of Psalmes, that whensoeuer they resorted to vs, their first request was commonly this, Gnaah, by which they intreated that we would sing. Ou"r Generall hauing now bestowed vpon them diuers things, at their departure they restored them all againe, none carrying with him anything of whatsoeuer hee had receiued, thinking themselues sufficiently enriched and happie that they had found so free ac- cesse to see vs." Three days later the "Hi6b," or, as Drake's men under stood it, the king of all that country, came to visit them. On this occasion there were a number of long, unintelligible speeches and religious songs and dances by the Indians, after which, as Fletcher asserts, they offered Drake the sceptre and the crown, even the Hi6h joining'in, "making signes that they would resigne vnto him their right and title in the whole land, and become his vassals in themselues and their posterities . . . Wherefore, in the name and to the vse of her most excellent maiesty, he tooke the scepter, crowne, and dig nity of the sayd countrie into his hand." The ceremony was described at great length, and was re lied upon by the English government nearly three centuries later in part substantiation of its claim to the northwest coast. It is now generally held that the Indians, who had not the faintest conception of the meaning of sovereignty, were going through the ceremony of the peace-pipe, admitting Drake to membership in the tribe. After this was over, "the common sort, both of men and women, leauing the king and his guard about him, with our Generall, dispersed themselues among our people, taking a diligent view or suruey of euery man; and finding such as pleased their fancies (which commonly were the youngest of vs) , they presently enclosing them about offred their sacrifices vnto them, crying out with lamentable shreekes and moanes, weeping and scratching and tearing their very flesh off DRAKE AND NEW ALBION 107 their faces with their nailes; neither were it the women alone which did this, but euen old men, roaring and crying out, were as violent as the women were." In the course of the long stay at this port Drake and some of his company made an inland journey, but whether for several days or only for a few hours the record does not say. They found it to be "farre different from the shoare, a goodly country, and fruitfull soyle, stored with many blessings fit for the vse of man." Among other things tbey saw "very large and fat Deere ... by thousands" and "a multitude of a strange kinde of Conies." They seem not to have set eyes upon- San Francisco Bay, for there is no reference to such a body of water in the records of their sojourn. Drake called the country "Nova Albion," induced to this course by the "white bancks and cliff es, which lie toward the sea," but more particularly, it may be imagined, "that it might haue some affinity, euen in name also, with our own country [England], which was sometime so called." Drake also took good care to set up a monument claiming title to that kingdom for Queen Elizabeth and her successors. At length, the time for departure was at hand, and when the Indians perceived that the Englishmen were going they were filled with grief, and renewed their sacrifices. They made signs indicating that they hoped to be remembered and wished that the Englishmen would return some" day. As the Golden Hind went out of the port, July 23, 1579, they lighted beacon fires on the hills. The next day, Drake was at the Farallone Islands, un aware how near he was to tbe great port of the west. Here is the narrative of that day: "Not farre without this harborough [Drake's Bay] did lye cer- taine Ilands (we called them the Hands of Saint James), hauing on them plentifull and great store of Seales and birds, with one of which wee fell July 24, whereon we found such prouision as might competently serue our turne for a while. We departed againe the day next following, viz., July 25." 108 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Drake's further adventures may be rapidly passed over. He steered across the Pacific, and for sixty-eight days was out of sight of land. At length he reached the Philippines and the Moluccas, and then sailed on around the Cape of Good Hope to England. On one occasion an event happened which is at once illustrative of Drake's luck and of the perils of the sea. While under full sail in an open sea at night, the Golden Hind ran aground and stuck fast. Yet, all around, when soundings were taken, they could not find bottom. When day came it proved that the ship had run upon a shelving bit of rock, possibly the peak of a prehistoric mountain. They bad come upon it at high tide, and now that the tide had fallen their chance of getting off seemed worse than ever. The ship fell over on its side and then— when death was all but upon them — the keel was loosed and the vessel rolled off into deep water! On September 26, 1580, with one ship out of five that he had started with, and about fifty men out of an original 164, Drake sailed into Plymouth, England. He had taken two years and nearly ten months for the voyage, in the course of which he had circumnavigated the globe. The Golden Hind was the second ship which had achieved this distinction, and Drake was the first individual who had made the entire voyage as commander of his ship. These then are the facts concerning Drake's visit to Cali fornia, but the story does not end here. As has already been intimated, Drake and the queen seem definitely to have planned the establishment of a colonial empire in the Americas in rivalry to that of Spain. Drake believed that in "New Albion" he had found a satisfactory nucleus for the attempt, thinking (though, of course, mistakenly) that "The Spaniards neuer had any dealing, or so much as set a foote in this country, the vtmost of their discoueries reaching onely to many degrees Southward of this place." His treatment of the Indians, too, seems to have been founded on a deliberate intention of attracting them to English rule and the Protestant faith, in contrast to the DRAKE AND NEW ALBION 109 virtual enslavement to which the Spaniards and Portuguese had subjected the natives. Drake dreamed of an English New Spain or Peru in California— and surely the equivalent was there! — holding that "there is no part of the earth here to bee taken up, wherein there is not some special likelihood of gold or silver." Queen Elizabeth herself joined him in this speculation, and a project was drawn up in exact imitation of the practices of Spain. This document, which was headed "A proiect of a corporation of soche as shall venteur vnto soche domynions and contreys sytuate bayonde the equynoctyall line," merits insertion here. It reads as follows: "Imprimis y* yt may please herr MatIe to graunt lyke pvyleges as have bene graunted by herr Hs and her progenytors vnto her subiectes tradyng into the domynions of the Emperor of Russia. Item that in consyderatyon of the late notable dyscoverye made by Francys Drake of sooche dominions as are scytuated beyonde the said Equynoctyall lyne yl yt may please her Ma* that he may during his natural! lyfe supplye the place of Governor of the seyd compagnye: and in consyderatyon of his great travayll and hazarde of his person in the seyd dyscoverye to have during his seyd lyfe a tenthe parte of the promts of sooche commodytes as shall be brought into this realme from the partes above remem- bred. Item that there shall be reserved vnto her Matye a Vth parte of the proffyt of sooche mynes of goold and sylver as shall be found in these contreys y* are hereafter to be discovered and are not lawfully possessed by any other Christyan Prince. Item y* yt may please her Matye to erect an howsse of contratays w* sooche orders as were graunted by the K. of Spayne." Thus, Drake was to be the governor of the new company, or at least to appoint that officer, and was to receive a large share of the profits, while Ebzabeth was to get the royal fifth and to establish an English Casa de Contratacion (House of Trade). The seat of the company's activities was referred to only as "bayonde the equynoctyall lyne," but there can be doubt from other evidence that California was to be the head and centre of the plan. 110 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA This becomes the more clear in the light of a sixteenth century French map of Drake's voyage, inscribed as seen and corrected by Drake himself. In this map the crown and arms of the queen of England were placed on the islands south of the Strait of Magellan and on California. The name "Nova Albio" [sic] appears, but it runs nearly half way across the continent. Most significant of all is a boundary line, beginning at the head of the Gulf of Cali fornia and running east through what is now the United States to a point in the Gulf of Mexico where the peninsula of Florida breaks off to the south. Below this bne is the caption "Nova Hispanie" (New Spain). A small section on the south Atlantic coast, beginning in northeastern Florida, is marked off as "Nova France" (New France), in deference to the French Huguenot colonies of the middle and later sixteenth century. All the rest, including the narrow wedge of the Florida peninsula between New France and New Spain, was apparently to be a part of Drake's "New Eng land," or "Albion," proceeding, not out of Plymouth Rock or Boston harbor, but from the faraway western port at Drake's Bay. The project was something more than a wild dream. According to the testimony of one of Drake's prisoners, captured by him while off the northwestern coast of South America and released the next day, tbe English navigator had said "that if God spared his life he would return here from his coun try within two years with six or seven galleons." Steps were taken, immediately after Drake's return to Eng land, to make good this assertion. In January 1581, the Spanish ambassador to England wrote that Queen Elizabeth had agreed that Drake was to start with ten ships "for the Moluccas," he understood, and that six more were to go to Brazil and join Drake later in the Pacific. Political com plications in Europe, however, especially the danger of a conflict with Spain, caused the plan to be abandoned. Another expedition was organized, presumably to go to the DRAKE AND NEW ALBION 111 Moluccas, but it was fitted out with the elements necessary to the founding of a colony and was ordered to find a northern route to New Albion. The sequel, as told by Mrs. Nuttall, was as follows: "By some intrigue the command was finally given to Edward Fenton, whom Drake and his men suspected of having dealings with the Spanish Ambassador. It certainly came to pass that orders were disregarded, the fleet was taken to the coast of Brazil, where it was met and attacked by Spanish ships. Suspecting treachery John Drake and a small party separated themselves from the ex pedition, which was then abandoned. Thus the attempt to col onise New Albion and establish trade relations with the East Indies was frustrated." Drake's first visit to California was therefore his last, and it was two centuries more before his countrymen again appeared off that coast. His achievement, however, was not without result, though Spain originally and the United States ultimately were to profit by it instead of England. As will be pointed out in the next chapter, he stimulated the Spaniards to efforts which were later to bear fruit in the occupation of the Californias precisely against such a peril as Drake's plan represented. It is therefore fitting, not only in honor of the English navigator's great feat in itself, but also in testimony of the importance of his work as affecting the future of California, that a stone cross should have been raised to his memory on one of the hills of San Francisco overlooking the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay.2 2 The literature on Drake's voyage in the Pacific is of vast proportions, but, though much contemporary material has been discovered, many of the facts concerning this celebrated expedition are still veiled in mystery. This is due mainly to the disappear ance of Drake's own journal and the necessity for reliance upon incon clusive evidences. Particularly note worthy among the works employed in preparing this chapter are the follow ing: 1. Drake, Sir Francis. The world encompassed by Sir Francis Drake . . . Collated with an unpublished manuscript of Francis Fletcher, chaplain of the expedition (London. 1854. Or. ed. London. 1628), in Hakluyt society, Works, 1 ser., v. XVI. The author was a nephew of the admiral. The remarks cited to Fletcher in this chapter are from this volume. 2. New light on Drake; a collection of documents relating to his voyage of circumnavigation, 1677-1680. Tr. ed. by Mrs. Zelia Nuttall (London. 1914), .in Hakluyt society, Works, 2 ser., v. XXXIV. CHAPTER X GALI AND RODRIGUEZ CERMENHO Drake's voyage to the Pacific awakened Spain to a realization of the danger she ran of losing large portions of her empire. Never before had she encountered competition along the western shores. of the Americas, and her only thought there had been to extend her domain in the direction of lands that promised quick returns in wealth. To be sure, Rodriguez Cabrillo and other leaders had sought the mys terious northern strait in order to forestall foreign occupa tion, but the principal ideal during most of the first century after "the discovery of America had been that of remunera tive conquest, rather than defence. The expedition of Drake may fairly be said to have caused a change 'in Spanish colonial policy and the introduction of a new spirit which was to be the dominant note for another two hundred years. ¦ Henceforth Spain indeed sought rich lands, though more and more inclined to insist on proof before undergoing the expense of conquest, but fear of foreign danger began to take the principal place in her calculations for an extension of the sphere under her control. Expansion in order to ensure the safety of her already occupied dominions, the policy of what may be termed the "aggressive defensive," became the key note in Spam's activities along her colonial borders. No region that she then possessed was so valuable to her as the kingdom of New Spain, and none of the mainland colonies was so exposed to European attack. Spain learned, thus early in her career, that the Californias, extending down through the eight hundred mile peninsula to Cape San ¦Lucas, constituted a grave danger if they should fall into the hands of an enemy, for they lay conveniently near a great 112 GALI AND RODRIGUEZ CERMENHO 113 part of the west coast of New Spain. It was natural, there fore, that she should wish to occupy the Californias, even though the effort should occasion considerable expense and though the expected riches should not develop.1 Allusion has already been made to the reports of the Spanish ambassador in England about Drake's project for a second voyage to the Pacific. What action the Spanish government took has not yet been revealed, but it is clear that the viceroys of this period displayed an unusually great interest in the Californias, with a view to making Spanish estabbshments there. This interest was heightened by rumors that Drake had discovered the strait and sailed through it; indeed, the story of the pilot Morena, already referred to,2 was current in New Spain for many years, being advanced at least as late as 1626. On top of all this came a report from Francisco de Gab, commander of the Manila galleon of 1584, that he had encountered evidences of the strait in his voyage of that year. According to the account of this voyage by Fernandez de Navarrete,3 Gab sailed three hundred leagues east and northeast of Japan " and found open sea, with currents from the north and northwest which were not diverted by the wind, whatever its violence or direction, until, having sailed seven hundred leagues, he reached the coast of New Spain, where he no longer observed the currents or the depth of sea previously met with. This gave Gali the idea that the strait between Tartary, or northern Asia, and New Spain was in the region of the currents. He also encountered on all his seven hundred league voyage a great number of whales, tunny-fish, albicore, and bonitos, which are fish usually found in channels where there are currents. These circumstances confirmed him the more in his belief that the much talked of strait was in that vicinity." 1 It is to be regretted that no very element (the religious), but their set- thorough survey of the period em- ting in the larger sphere of Spanish braced by this chapter and the three imperial design has still to be treated which follow it has yet been made authoritatively by the historian. from the standpoint of governmental 2 See chapter VII. materials, wherefore clear proofs of 3 In 1802, in his introduction to the official intention are not always at narrative of the voyage of the Sutil hand. The events themselves are fairly and Mexicana, which went north in well known, though even they come 1792 to prove, once for all, the truth or mainly through the reports of one falsity of the reports about the strait. 114 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA On this occasion, too, Gab passed along the Alta California coast. The narrative of the voyage, as translated in Ban croft, after telling what had happened in the earber stages of its sailing, went on to say that "being by the same course upon the coast of New Spain under 37° 30', we passed by a very high and fair land with many trees, wholly without snow, and four leagues from the land you find thereabout many drifts of roots, leaves of trees, reeds, and other leaves like fig-leaves, the like whereof we found in great abundance in the country of Japan, which they eat; and some of those that we found, I caused to be sodden with flesh, and being sodden, they eat like coleworts; there likewise we found great store of seals; whereby it is to be presumed and certainly to be believed, that there are many rivers, bays, and havens along by those coasts to the haven of Acapulco. From thence we ran south-east, south east and by south, and south-east and by east, as we found the wind, to the point called Cabo de San Lucas, which is the beginning of the land of California, on the north-west side, lying under 22°, being five hundred leagues distant from Cape Mendocino." This account is an interesting indication that other Spanish ships had passed along the Alta California coast as far north as Cape Mendocino between the time of Ferrelo in 1543 and Gab in 1584, though no record has come down to us. Ferrelo did not apply the name in 1543, and yet it is mentioned casually in 1584 by Gab, who did not see it on his voyage and who refers to it as one would to a place long since known and named. Of more immediate consequence, however, is the interest that the viceroy of New Spain dis played in Gali's story. Gab himself was a man of more than ordinary attainments, and therefore his views were regarded as worthy of credence. The archbishop-viceroy, Pedro de Moya, said of him " that he was the best trained and most distinguished man in Mexico, and that in regard to cosmography and the art of navi gation he could compete with the most select minds of Spain." Gab was asked about the advisabibty of establishing a settle ment in some California port, which -might serve both as a way-station for the galleon and as a base for obtaining further information of northern lands. There can be little GALI AND RODRIGUEZ CERMENHO 115 doubt, too, that the element of foreign danger, of which Drake's voyage had been a forcible reminder, was influential in tbe viceroy's plans. Moya wrote to the king, strongly urging the need of discovering and occupying a port on the Alta California coast, and intimated that he was about to send Gab again to the Philippines, with orders to explore and make maps of the coasts of Japan, the islands of the Armenian (as the islands later styled Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata were sometimes called), and the Californias. It seems probable that the voyage was not made, as no evidence of it has come to light. At any rate, Moya's successor, the Marquis deVillamanrique, was clearly out of sympathy with the project. In May 1585, five months before he reached New Spain to take over the government of the viceroyalty, Villamanrique expressed his opinion that though no settle ments had been made in the Californias the ships from the Philippines had not suffered any inconvenience for the lack of them. He seems not to have considered the matter from the standpoint of foreign danger. Upon his arrival in New Spain it is likely that the plan was dropped. If the new viceroy felt that there was no reason for anxiety over foreign incursions into the Pacific he was soon rudely disillusioned. In 1586 Thomas Cavendish had set sail from England with three ships of respectively 120, 60, and 40 tons, and with 123 men. Entering the Pacific in 1587, he sailed north, ravaging the coasts of Peru and New Spain and capturing many ships. Learning that the galleon was soon expected — the richest prize of all! — he betook himself with his two remaining ships to the Bay of San Bernabe" at Cape San Lucas in the Californias. On November 4, 1587, the galleon of that year, the Santa Ana, a 700-ton ship, laden with rich silks and other cargo, besides 122,000 pesos in gold, hove into sight. Cavendish gave battle, and after a desperate fight took the prize. He thereupon transferred to his own ships what he wanted of her cargo, burned the galleon, and set sail for England. With one of his ships, he got across the Pacific, and eventually around the world to England. The survivors of the Santa Ana found that enough 116 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA remained of the hulk for them to make their way in it to Acapulco. Now, more than ever, it seemed clear that something must be done about occupying the Californias, for it was there that the foreign ships had the best opportunity to lie in wait for the galleon, which was such an important element in the economic life of New Spain. More than likely, the achievements of Drake and Cavendish would serve as an alluring inducement to others. The worst of it was, that a mere handful of men seemed capable of upsetting Spain's security in the Pacific. Steps were taken, therefore, to dis cover a northern port along the California coast where the galleon might receive notice whether the seas were clear and perhaps the escort of a well armed vessel. In 1591 Luis de Velasco, who had succeeded Villamanrique as viceroy in 1590, wrote to the king that it was necessary to discover and survey the ports of the Californias, if the Philippine ships were to be adequately protected. Orders were therefore sent from Spain, in 1593, for such a survey to be made in course of a voyage of the galleon. The diffi culty was to find the money, since a careful exploration would entail considerable additional expense. It was ar ranged, however, with the consent of the government in Spain, that a private individual should supply the funds, in return for which he was to receive concessions enabling him to make a profit on his venture. Accordingly, in 1594, Sebastian Rodriguez Cermenho,4 a Portuguese, was selected to command the Manila ship. According to Velasco he was "a man of experience in his calling, one who can be depended upon and who has means of his own." Apparently he was well acquainted with tbe galleon route, for he seems to have been pilot of the ill-fated Santa Ana when Cavendish took it. Rodriguez was given permission 4 The mother's name, Cermenho (by mefio. Cermefion and Sermefio are which he is more often called), is usu- also of occasional use. ally written in Spanish form as Cer- GALI AND RODRIGUEZ CERMENHO 117 to ship a number of tons of cloth at Manila on the galleon, thus receiving the benefit of the space and freight-money. The wisdom of the decision to know and perhaps occupy the Californias seemed clear when news came to New Spain, late in 1594, that Richard Hawkins in an English ship had broken into the Pacific some time before and ravaged the South American coast, though he was captured by the Spaniards in the month of June, not far from Panama. On July 5, 1595, Rodriguez Cermenho left Manila in the San Agustin for the voyage to the Californias and Acapulco, and on November 4 first sighted the coast in about 42°, ac cording to his own account, but in fact farther south, prob ably a little north of Eureka, above 41°. He now proceeded along the coast, taking soundings and looking for a suitable port, except at night, when he deemed it wise to run to sea. On the 5th he passed Cape Mendocino. That day and night he experienced a terrific storm, which left the San Agustin in such bad shape that several of the officers petitioned him to veer away from the coast and head at once for Acapulco, giving up the plan for the discoveries. Rodriguez would not hear of it, however, and turned the vessel toward the shore. About noon of the same day the sailors at the mast-head caught sight of Drake's Bay be hind Point Reyes, whereupon the ship was steered in that direction and came to anchor in the bay. Rodriguez named this port the "Bay of San Francisco," although he and his men also called it "Bahia Grande" (Great Bay). The narrative of Rodriguez's sojourn at Drake's Bay, from November 6 to December 8, compares in interest with that of Drake, and indeed much more precise information was given about the country for some three or four leagues into the interior from the place where the Spaniards landed. The Indians were almost equally as friendly as in the time of Drake, and the country impressed the various witnesses who expressed themselves about it as very much like Castile. The Spanish accounts also tell of the great number of deer (which seemed to them of unusually large size) and partridges (probably the "conies" of Drake's narrative) 118 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA that they saw. Rodriguez's long stay was occasioned by his plan to explore the shore in a smaller vessel which he built there, leaving the galleon to keep farther off the coast in the safer waters of the deep sea. In the light of what happened it was fortunate that he had decided upon this course, for on November 30 the San Agustin was driven on shore and wrecked. Only two men seem to have met death, but most of the cargo and all of the provisions were lost. It would be interesting to have more details of this disaster, but the narratives of the voyage which have thus far been found are singularly reticent on this score. The launch, or open sail boat, which they were building was nearly completed; so they were saved a delay in their departure which otherwise would have cost them their lives. It was pressingly urgent, however, that they should procure supplies, for there were seventy mouths to feed. Rodriguez therefore made two expeditions inland, and obtained provisions from the Indians, mostly acorns, which (though bitter to the taste) kept them from starving. On one occasion Rodriguez went to a village to recover some timbers which the natives had procured from the wreck of the ship. The Indians showed fight, sending a shower of arrows against the Spaniards which wounded one man. Then they fled, and Rodriguez and his men plundered the village, getting a great booty in acorns. Later, the Indians repented, and made a gift of further supplies. On December 8, 1595, Rodriguez left Drake's Bay on the San Buenaventura, the launch he had constructed. Seventy men and a store of clothes and stuffs saved from the gal leon (to use in barter with the Indians) were crowded into the tiny ship. He headed south for some small barren islands (the Farallones) that he had seen before, and "passed near the said barren islands on the land side about a league or more from shore."5 Yet he saw nothing of San Francisco Bay. On the 10th he passed Monterey Bay, which he called the "Bay of San 5 In his report of April 24, 1596, the land about a league away, more or Rodriguez puts it this way: "I passed less." near the said barren islands and near GALI AND RODRIGUEZ CERMENHO 119 Pedro." In the afternoon of the 12th the San Buenaventura came upon a village along the Santa Barbara Channel. The men called to the natives on shore that they were "cristianos" (Christians), whereupon one native caught up the cry, shouting in a loud voice "Cristianos\Cristianos\", and straightway came out to them on a raft. Rodri guez gave him a woolen blanket and some taffeta. Soon a number of other Indians came. The Spaniards made signs that they were hungry, wherefore the Indians returned to shore and brought back some bitter acorns and a kind of acorn mush. This they offered in exchange for some of the goods in the San Buenaventura's store. Indeed, said Rodriguez, " this people seems to be somewhat avaricious, for after we had given them pieces of taffeta and satin and woolen blankets they asked for more." Thus early were the Santa Barbara Indians displaying those qualities which in later years caused the Spaniards to call them "the Chinamen of California," because of their fond ness for driving a good bargain. In course of the conversa tion with them, such as it was (for neither party understood the language of the other), some of the Indians said "Mexico ! Mexico!" It would be interesting to know whether their knowledge of that land bad come down to them from the Rodriguez CabriUo-Ferrelo voyage of more than fifty years before, or from some overland communication, or indeed from some other crew of seamen whose visit to California is as yet unknown. Meanwhile Rodriguez had been making careful surveys of the coast, in accordance with his instructions. The sailors and passengers were now sick and weak from lack of food, for they had been subsisting on acorns only. So on tbe 13th they joined in asking Rodriguez to desist from making further discoveries and to sail with all possible speed for a land where they might procure food. But Rodriguez put them off with fair words, and continued to run the coast in search of information. If the account is true, he must indeed 120 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA have been a brave man of commanding personality to hold out against starving men in an age of violence; at any rate, he proceeded in ensuing days to make his observations as before. To satisfy their hunger the Spaniards killed a dog they had with them, cooked him, and ate him, even to the very skin. This was on the 13th. On the 14th they passed near Catalma Island, where two Indians came aboard and gave them ten or twelve fish and a seal. Rodriguez made them a present of some silk and woolen blankets, intimating to them, as best he could, that they should bring more food in exchange for these goods. The Indians went away and returned again, but brought nothing to eat. Nevertheless, the Spaniards were able this day to catch about thirty fish, aU of which they ate. From there they sailed to San Clemente Island, which they reached that night. Going toward the mainland again, on the 15th, they came to Point Loma and San Diego Bay, which had been named, apparently on some prevous voyage, the "Bay of Pesca dores" (Fishermen). They did not stop, however, making a two day run down the coast. On the 17th they came to a large island, probably the one known today as San Martin Island in 30° 29' near tbe Baja California coast.6 The island seemed to have been known to Rodriguez before, and is referred to by him as "San Agustin." The Spaniards now had neither food nor drink; so a party was landed to see what they could find. They brought back some bread which the Indians of that place had cooked, made out of a root resembbng the sweet potato, but this made the Spaniards sick when they ate it. Driven from the southern part of the island by a strong wind, they went to the northern end for shelter. Here they made a dis covery which very probably saved their fives. As Rodriguez puts it, "We went on shore and found many wild onions and prickly- pear trees, and likewise God willed that we should find a dead fish among the rocks, with two mortal wounds, and it was so large 6 Rodriguez described this island wide, and in 31° 15' at its northwest- as running from northwest to south- ern point. east, eight or nine leagues long by four GALI AND RODRIGUEZ CERMENHO 121 that the seventy of us sustained ourselves on it for more than a week, and if it had not been so large we would have perished there of hunger." There was still no water, but here too the miracle occurred. "God was pleased" to send a wind that night which caused them to leave their anchorage and run down the island more than four leagues, where they entered a small but safe bay. There they found a stream of good water, which descended from the mountains of the island. It was two days more before the wind died down sufficiently for them to return to the northern end. There they picked up some thirty com panions who had been left there to roast the big fish and guard it. On December 22, having taken on board plenty of watei- and the remainder of the big fish, Rodriguez set sail in search of Cerros Island. The sailors and passengers with him were now so sick and weak, some of them at the point of death, that Rodriguez acceded to their requests that he should no longer stop to make observations of the coast, which from this point on was quite well known to Spanish navigators anyway. So he hastened on as fast as possible, and on January 7, 1596, came to anchor in the port of Navidad, New Spain. Here most of the men, Rodriguez among them, disembarked in order to restore their shattered health. The launch was despatched under Juan de Morgana (one of Rodriguez's officers), with a crew of ten men, to Acapulco, where it arrived on January 31. Rodriguez made bis way to Mexico City, at which place, on April 24, 1596, he penned his official report. Unfortunately for the reputation of this mariner there was an aftermath to the voyage. To the merchants of New Spain and, to a certain extent, to the authorities the out standing fact was the loss of the San Agustin and its cargo, and proceedings were instituted to determine who was at fault. The officers endeavored to inculpate one another, and, furthermore, when Rodriguez and two others were questioned by the viceroy about the discoveries along the Alta California coast they did not agree in all particulars. 122 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA In a letter to the king, dated April 19, 1596, the viceroy (the Conde de Monterey, who had succeeded Velasco in 1595) expressed himself as follows : "To me there seems to be convincing proof, resting on clear inference, that some of the principal bays, where with greater reason it might be expected harbors would be found, they crossed from point to point and by night, while others they entered but a little way. For all this a strong incentive must have existed, be cause of the hunger and illness they say they experienced, which would cause them to hasten on then voyage. Thus, I take it, as to this exploration the intention of Your Majesty has not been car ried into effect. It is the general opinion that this enterprise should not be attempted on the return voyage from the islands and with a laden ship, but from this coast and by constantly fol lowing along it." Thus did Rodriguez Cermenho fail of the glory to which he was entitled, and he was saved from oblivion only through the notoriety of having lost his ship. Yet; those who have read his report will recognize that he gave a very good description of the Alta California coast; it is almost always possible to tell just where he was from the account he gave— and this is something that cannot be said for some other more famous navigators. His voyage did have a real importance, however. As indicated in the Conde de Monterey's letter, cited above, the opinion became general that it would be better to explore the Californias by a voyage direct from New Spain, in boats of light draught, instead of relying upon the galleon for this purpose. The new idea was very soon to be acted upon.7 7 For the Rodriguez Cermenho voy age transcripts (in the Bancroft Li brary) from the following documents of the Archivo General de Indias of Seville, Spain, were used: 1. 1595. Nov. 30-Dec. 9. Drake's Bay. Pedro de Lugo. Informaci6n sobre la calidad de la tierra que se vido en el Puer to que se tom6. Copy. Transcript 15 pp. long hand. Legajo 58-3-12. Testimony taken by the notary Lugo of Rodriguez and others about the land at Drake's Bay and for three or four leagues inland. Dated (in Mexico) 1596. [1596. Jan. Navidad]. Pedro de Lugo. [Sworn testimony of Rodriguez before the notary Lugo ofhis discoveries in the Californias from the first day that he sighted the coast until his arrival at Cerros Island]. Original. Transcript 16 pp. typed. Legajo 58-3-12. GALI AND RODRIGUEZ CERMENHO 123 3. 1596. Apr. 24. Mexico. Sebas tian Rodriguez Cermenho. Derrotero y relaci6n del descub- rimiento que hizo el Capitan y Piloto mayoi Sebastian Rz. Cermenho, por orden de su magestad, hasta la Isla de Cedros. Original. Transcript 21 pp. long hand. Legajo 58-3-16. These three documents tell much the same story, but they are not iden tical. Taken with other materials in the Bancroft Library they should one day be the basis for a substantial thesis. Except for a brief and some what mistaken note in Richman, they have never been utilized before. In addition, the Documents and Docu ments, cited as items 1 and 2 in the bibliographical note to the next chap ter, were used. CHAPTER XI SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO Even before Rodriguez Cermenho had reached the end of his fateful voyage, there had appeared at Mexico City a rival for the glory and profit of making discoveries in the Californias, a man well acquainted with the galleon route and indeed a shipmate of Rodriguez on the Santa Ana. This was a certain Sebastian Vizcaino, who from being a moderately successful merchant desired to convert himself into a con queror and a "general," or commander, of a fleet, the same Vizcaino who in later years headed the embassy to Japan which has already been discussed. By his own account1 he "lost a great deale of treasure and commodities" when Cavendish took the Santa Ana, but he made the round trip to Manila again, reaching New Spain in 1590 with a profit of 2,500 ducats on an investment of 200. In company with several others Vizcaino worked out a plan which he hoped might prove an even richer windfall than that of the trade on the galleon. He and his associates approached the viceroy for a license to engage in pearl- fishing in the Californias, in return for which they agreed to furnish the government with information about that country. In- 1594 the viceroy, Luis de Velasco, made a contract with them, but execution was delayed as a result of a quarrel between members of the company. The matter was brought before the courts, which ordered Vizcaino and his com panions to begin the voyage within three months' time. Matters were at this point when the Conde de Monterey 1 In a letter to his father, dated June tion, ed. by Richard Hayluyt. Every- 20, 1590, translated and published in man edition, VII (London and New The principal navigations voyages traf- York. 1907), 133-135. fiques & discoveries of the English na- 124 SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO 125 reached Mexico. Believing that a policy of leniency would best serve the royal interests, he amended the decree of the court, and granted the company a concession to enter the Californias and reduce them by peaceful means to sub jection to the crown, for which the conquerors were to have the usual vast privileges and exemptions granted to the pacifiers and settlers of new provinces. Accordingly, Vizcafno, who had succeeded to headship in the enterprise, began to raise recruits for the expedition, when it was brought to the Conde de Monterey's attention that the original contract, under which Vizcaino was acting, had reference only to the pearl-fishery and not at all to the entry and pacification of the land. This gave Monterey an opportunity to consider whether it was desirable to grant the concession he had promised. On this point he wrote to the king, on February 29, 1596, as follows: "I . . . found . . . that a reconsideration was necessary; for, it seemed to me, with regard to the person [Vizcaino], his quality and capital are not sufficient in connection with an enterprise which may come to be of such vast importance, and one requiring greater backing and a method of proceeding other than what is now thought and deemed sufficient; for, even looking at the mat ter from the utilitarian point of view, although he make the jour ney at his own cost and without any expense to Your Majesty, it seems to be of little moment whether he goes for gain and in order not to lose the chance of good fortune, but of great importance the hazarding of not only the repute which would be lost among these nations of Indians if the natives of that country should repel this man and his people, but — this is the principal thing involved — that of the conscience and authority of the royal per son of Your Majesty. It appeared to me to be risking much if an expedition which cannot lawfully be one of direct conquest, but one of preaching the gospel and pacification, and of bringing the people into subjection to the crown, were entrusted to a man as leader and chief whose position is obscure and who has not even in less degree, the resolution and capacity necessary for so great an enterprise."Despite his somewhat unfavorable opinion of Vizcafno, the viceroy decided, however, after taking counsel with the high est authorities in Mexico, that it would be contrary to 126 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA justice not to let the expedition take place. As he put it, in the letter above referred to : "And, because I have deemed it meet for the service of Our Lord and that of Your Majesty, inasmuch as it was necessary to go on with the affair since it had been begun and as this man [Vizcaino] does not possess notorious defects which can rightfully excuse Your Majesty from aiding and fomenting his undertaking, in order that the persons he has enlisted and intends to put on board ship, and who in number and condition make a reasonably good showing, may esteem and respect him, I have done all that lay in my power to show him honor while here and to clothe him with authority in view of the greater danger I foresee and fear on his account, though I would not say it to him — which is some lack of respect and an overbold bearing on the part of the soldiers whom he takes with him, so that in this way they may come to disobey his orders, all this giving rise to great disorder." Vizcafno at least displayed energy, and in March 1596 his expedition got under way for the Californias. Three ships, with a large number of men, made up his force. As an indi cation of bis intention to make a settlement it is to be noted that he carried four Franciscans (to convert the natives and reduce them to missions), some of the soldiers' wives, and a number of horses. In his voyage up the coast from Acapulco he lost fifty men by desertion, and one of the friars (because of illness) left the expedition. Crossing to the lower end of Baja California, he came at length, apparently about the middle of August, to the site which Jimenez and-Cortfe had visited before him, and because the Indians received him so peacefully he gave it the name which ever since it has re tained, "La Paz" (Peace). The winter storms of the Gulf of Cabfornia, which had already begun, were such that he could proceed no farther with his flagship; so it was decided to establish a colony there while Vizcafno himself should push on in the two smaller vessels to explore the northern shores of the gulf. Accordingly Vizcaino started north on October 3. He encountered terrific storms, but weathered them, and at length came to a place where the Indians invited the Spaniards to come ashore. So Vizcaino landed forty-five men. All went well, until a Spanish soldier SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO 127 "inconsiderately struck one of the Indians in the breast with the butt of his arquebus." In consequence there was a fight, in which some of the Indians were killed, but as a boatload of Spaniards were returning to their ship the Indians shot arrows at them from the shore. One man was hit in the nose, and this resulted in a commotion which led to upsetting the boat. Dressed as they were in heavy leathern armor, nineteen were drowned, and only five escaped by swimming. In course of time this event became magnified in the telbng until it reached the proportions of a very pretty legend. The story was told that a certain Don Lope, a page of the viceroy, besought the hand of a Dona Elvira. The latter at length promised to marry him, provided he could replace a certain magnificent pearl she had lost. Con sequently Don Lope joined Vizcaino's expedition. Going on the voyage up the gulf he was one of the men who landed at the place where the battle with the Indians was fought, and was indeed the one who caused it. He saw the identical pearl which would suit Dona Elvira, and seized it from the very lips of a chieftain's daughter. This not only brought on the battle but also the enforced abandonment of the province. But Don Lope was well content, for he won his bride, — and then she confessed that she had not lost any pearl at all. Vizcaino put back to La Paz, where he found that the colony was not maintaining itself too successfully. Accord ing to Franciscan writings the Indians liked the friars, but objected to the soldiers, who paid scant attention to native customs and too much to native women! Further more, all were discouraged by the storms, which prevented their fishing for pearls, numerous indications of which had been found, and the food supply was running short. As the country was unsuited to provide for their wants, Vizcaino gave orders for the return to New Spain. On October 28 the colony was abandoned, after an existence of about two months, and two of the ships sailed for New Spain. Vizcaino in the third ship, with forty of his best men, made another 128 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA effort, however, to explore the northern shores of the gulf. Again he encountered heavy storms, and this time they were so severe that the rudder-irons broke. Therefore he and his men made the best of their way back to New Spain, "God in pity conducting us," as he himself put it. Arrived in Mexico he was eager to make a fresh expedition. They had failed, he said, merely because the voyage had been made at the wrong season. At a different time of the year they might have avoided the storms, but this they could not have known before. He was full of praise for the Californias, though his own experience of them gave little warrant for his encomiums. There were innumerable Indians . eager to receive the gospel; the land was twice as large as New Spain and in a better situation, as concerned distance from the equator; pearls were "abundant and of excellent qual ity"; the waters were richer in fish than any other known sea; there were great resources in salt deposits; and twenty days to the northwest there were " towns of people wearing clothes and who have golden ornaments in the ears and nose, and they have silver, many cloaks of cotton, maize, and provisions, and fowls of the country and of Castile." In case he should be allowed to make another expedition he wished that lands with the Indians upon them be granted to him and his men, 2 and that they all be made nobles in one of the lower grades of nobility {caballeros hijosdalgo), besides receiving a grant of other assistance and favors. The Council of the Indies had already ordered, in May 1596, that somebody other than Vizcaino be chosen to effect the conquest, intending this measure to apply to the expedi tion on which in fact he had already departed. But the Conde de Monterey was now more favorably disposed toward Vizcaino. He wrote of him that "in addition to possessing a practical knowledge of the South Sea [Pacific Ocean] and being a man of even disposition upright and of good intentions, he is of medium yet sufficient ability (al- 2 That is, in encomienda as it was called, a familiar institution of Spanish colonial machinery. SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO 129 though I had feared it was otherwise) for governing his people, and this coupled with energy enough to make himself respected by them." As for the voyage "the unfortunate ending . . . was not due to incapacity on the part of Vizcaino, who on the contrary gave evidence of some ability and greater spirit than could have been expected from a mere trader engaged in an enterprise of this kind." The viceroy was not deceived by Vizcaino's glowing descrip tions, but was inclined to believe (as indeed the circum stances warranted) that the pearl fisheries might prove rich. He therefore recommended that Vizcaino be assisted, out of royal funds, to make another expedition, but "for the purpose merely of ascertaining definitely what there is there, in order that complete assurance be had concerning the value of the pearl-fishery, and that greater light may be thrown on what relates to the defence and security of these realms and the ships which make the China voyage." Alluding to the voyage of Rodriguez Cermenho and the wreck of the San Agustin, he said that people were now convinced that the proper way to explore the northern coasts of the Californias was not by a voyage from Manila in the heavily laden galleons, but by going direct from New Spain in boats of bght draught. This exploration, he thought, should be conducted on one and the same enter prise with discoveries in the Gulf of California. The Council of the Indies, under date of September 27, 1599, endorsed the viceroy's plan in the main, requesting that action be taken "with all possible speed." They put great emphasis on the character of the men to be enbsted for the expedition, wishing to take precautions against arousing the hostility of the Indians, but ordered the explorations in the gulf and those along the Alta Cabfornia coasts to be undertaken separately. Yet the expedition was held back until 1602. One of the prime causes for the delay was a fresh entry of foreign ships 130 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA into the Pacific, wherefore it became necessary to seek them out with all the forces Spain could command. This time it was the Dutch who caused the trouble. In 1598 two Dutch fleets left Europe and sailed through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific, respectively in 1599 and 1600. One of these fleets, originally under Jacob Mahu and later under Simon de Cordes, did not in fact go very far north before making its way across the Pacific, but the other under Obvier Van Noort made several captures off the west coast of South America, and reached the region of the equator before turn ing west. Notice of these voyages early reached New Spain, and rumors of foreign ships came in from all directions, Passengers on the San Geronimo, the Manila galleon which reached Acapulco early in 1599, declared they had seen four ships near Cerros Island, off the western coast of Baja California, but the Conde de Monterey reported, no doubt with correctness, that more likely they mistook the clouds for ships. With the actual captures made by Van Noort in 1600, Spanish fears were redoubled. One man, who had been a prisoner on Van Noort's ship, declared that the Dutch had accounts of the voyage of Cavendish in their possession and that they planned like him to catch the Manila galleon off Cape San Lucas. A Spanish fleet was therefore sent north from Peru under Juan de Velasco to look for Van Noort, and in September 1600 it spent some days scouring the Baja Californian coast from La Paz to beyond Cape San Lucas. Finding no enemies the Spaniards began to doubt their existence in those seas. As one of the captains (Hernando de Lugones) said: "There is news of the enemy everywhere, but they are like phantoms which appear in many places, whereas we find them in none." The immediate danger having in fact disappeared, prepara tions for the Vizcaino expedition could now be resumed. On March 18, 1602, formal instructions for the voyage were issued. These were set forth in great detail, but amounted substantially to what had been decided upon in SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO 131 1597 and 1599 by the viceroy and the Council of the Indies. Vizcaino was ordered to make a thorough exploration of the coast from Cape San Lucas to Cape Mendocino, employing two ships of moderate size and a launch, which could get near the coast for close-up observations. On no account was he to go inside the gulf, unless perhaps in passing, on the return journey; indeed, in an earber communication, dated March 2, 1602, the viceroy informed him that he would incur the penalty of death if he disobeyed in this particular. If weather permitted he might continue his explorations beyond Cape Mendocino to Cape Blanco,3 but if the coast had a westward trend from Cape Mendocino he was to go a hundred leagues only and not more. Emphasiz ing the fact that this was a voyage for exploration of the coast only, tbe viceroy said that Vizcaino was not to stop fo - a thorough examination of any great bay he might find, beyond observing the entrance thereto and discovering shelter for shipping; in view of the interest in the Strait of Anian this indeed manifested a desire to discover only so much as might surely be possible, rather than the pursuit of wild schemes. Furthermore, he was to make no settlements and was to take great pains to avoid conflicts with the Indians. No expense had been spared in providing for this expedi tion. The crews, about two hundred men in aU, were care fully selected, most of them being enbsted in Mexico City as both sailors and soldiers. There were three ships, of better than usual quality: the San Diego, the flagship, on which Vizcafno sailed as "general" of the expedition; the Santo Tomds, under the "admiral" Toribio G6mez de Corban, a sailor of long experience in European service; and the launch, or "frigate," Tres Reyes, under Sebastian Melendez, succeeded later by Martin de Aguilar. In addition there was a long-boat, but that was left behind at the lower end of Baja Cabfornia, though picked up again on the return 3 It is interesting to note that the — doubtless through voyages of the Spaniards already had some idea of Manila galleon, the coast as far north as Cape Blanco, 132 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA journey. An expert map maker was taken along in the person of Ger6nimo Martinez4 de Palacios, who in fact per formed his tasks most meritoriously.5 Several other officers and special counselors of the general went along, besides three Carmehte friars. One of the last named was a certain Father Antonio de la Ascensi6n, a former pilot, and also something of a cosmographer. His account of the voyage was for many years the best known of the original sources, though his diary is not now extant. Incidentally, the general was accompanied by bis. son. Provisions for eleven months were carried. On May 5, 1602, the expedition left Acapulco. Making his way up the coast, Vizcaino crossed over to Cape San Lucas, requiring several days for the voyage, on account of the winds encountered. Tbe voyage from the Bay of San Bernabe (near the cape), in which he had cast anchor on June 11, to San Diego may be passed quickly in review. It proved to be one of extreme difficulty, for headwinds were met with ab the way. For example, the general was three times blown back to the port of San Bernabe before he could round the peninsula to northwestward, and one ship was obbged to return a fourth time. Some days not a league was made, and tacking back and forth was always necessary. Frequently the ships were separated, but managed to find one another again. One of the worst difficulties was in keeping up the water supply off tbe sterile west coast of the peninsula. "It was not very fresh and was green," said Vizcaino of one standing pool of water, "but the bottles we carried were fiUed with it." Always, however, a supply would be found, though absolute want often threatened. Nevertheless, careful explorations of the coast were made, and names were applied without much regard to those given by earlier voyagers. After a voyage of over four months from San BernaM, from which be had succeeded in departing on July 5, 4 The name of Martfnez appears'in colors, are to be found at the Archivo some documents as Martin. General de Indias in legajo 604-37. 6 A series of maps, presumably Exact reproductions now exist in the by Martinez and beautifully done in Bancroft Library. SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO 133 Vizcaino passed the bne of what was later to become Alta California. "Sunday, the 10th of the month," he said, "we arrived at a port which must be the best to be found in all the South Sea [Pacific Ocean], . . . protected on all sides and having good anchorage."Two days later, on November 12, the day of Saint James (San Diego), a mass was celebrated, and the name "San Diego," which it still bears, was given to the port, thus doing honor not only to the saint but also to the general's flagship. Here a stay of ten days was made to repair the ships and give the crews a chance to recover from sickness. Leaving San Diego on November 20, Vizcaino sighted Catalina Island on the 24th, the day of Saint Catherine (Santa Catabna), wherefore he gave it the name it has since retained, though he did not come to anchor there until the 27th. While there, an incident occurred that is worth mentioning. After relating a visit Vizcaino made to the in terior of the island, where he saw an Indian idol and "placed the name of Jesus on the head of the demon, telling the Indians that that was good, and from heaven, but that the idol was the devil." the diary of the voyage goes on to say : "The general returned to the pueblo, and an Indian woman brought him two pieces of figured China silk, in fragments, telling him that they had got them from people like ourselves, who had negroes; that they had come on the ship which was driven by a strong wind to the coast and wrecked, and that it was farther on. The general endeavored to take two or three Indians with him, that they might tell him where the ship had been lost, promising to give them clothes. The Indians consented and went with him to the captain's ship, but, as we were weighing anchor preparatory to leaving, the Indians said they wished to go ahead in their canoe, and that they did not wish to go aboard the ship, fearing that we would abduct them, and the general, in order not to excite them, said: 'Very well.' " Apparently Vizcaino thought that some near-by wreck of an unknown ship was referred to, but the reader of the Rodri guez Cermenho account will at 'once recognize that the ref- 134 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA erence was to his visit there seven years before and that the San Agustin, far to the north in Drake's Bay, was the wrecked ship indicated. Going up the Santa Barbara Channel, so named by them, Vizcaino and his men were harangued by an intelligent old chief, who "made himself so well understood by signs that he lacked nothing but ability to speak our language." He had come out in a boat to persuade them to stop at this village, and "such were the efforts of this Indian to get us to go to it that as a greater inducement he said he would give to each one of us ten women." But as the wind was then behind them for the first time since leaving Acapulco and as winter was coming on, the Span iards decided to continue on their course. Rounding Point Conception, which they so named, they sighted Santa Lucia Mountain, to which also they gave the name that still remains. Coming to "a large bay," Vizcaino sent tbe launch ahead to explore it for a port, "for this country was the most important of the exploration for the purposes of His Majesty," because it was at this point that the Manila gaUeon would be most desirous of finding suitable anchorage. This was on December 15. The report of the commander of the launch was favorable, and on the next day the fleet en tered the bay to procure water and restore the sick, of whom there were many. They were now in Monterey Bay, which they so named in honor of the viceroy. Near by, too, they discovered the Carmelo River, and named it. The so-called discovery of the Bay of Monterey — so- called, because Rodriguez Cermenho "had seen this bay al most seven years to a day before Vizcaino did — was the capital event of the expedition. According to Vizcaino: "We found ourselves to be in the best port that could be desired, for besides being sheltered from all the winds, it has many pines for masts and yards, and live oaks and white oaks, and water in great quantity, all near the shore." SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO 135 In his letters, too, he praised the port: "in addition to being so well situated in point of latitude for that which His Majesty intends to do for the protection and security of ships coming from the Philippines . . . the harbor is very secure against all winds. The land is thickly peopled by Indians and is very fertile, in its climate and the quality of the soil resembling Castile."6 And again: "it is all that can be desired for commodiousness and as a sta tion for ships making the voyage to the Philippines, sailing whence they make a landfall on this coast. This port is sheltered from all winds . . . [and] if, after putting to sea, a storm be encountered, they [the Philippine ships] need not, as formerly, run for Japan, where so many have been cast away and so much property lost." In these statements Vizcaino was borne out by Ascensi6n, who called it "a fine port" and went on to say: "This is where the ships coming from the Philippines to New Spain come to reconnoitre. It is a good harbor, well sheltered, and supplied with water, wood, and good timber." The curious feature about these reports (and much more might be added to them, including references to the vast wealth in gold and silver that the Indians said was to be found in the interior) is that nearly aU they had to say was true, save for the yarn about the excellence of Monterey as a sheltered port, but it was precisely this departure from strict accuracy that had the most effect; the legend of the port of Monterey became one of the moving factors for a century and a half in Spanish expansion to the northwest. At Monterey the crews were landed and a council was held to determine what the expedition should do. Owing to the unexpectedly long time required for the voyage thus far (more than seven months), the suppbes were becoming exhausted. Some forty-five or more of the men were sick with the scurvy and several had died — sixteen according to one account. It was decided that Admiral G6mez in the Santo Tomds should return at once to New Spain, taking with him those who were sickest and also the reports of the 8 Vizcaino to the king (?). Monterey. Dec. 28, 1602. 136 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA voyage. On December 29, therefore, G6mez started back, and eventually made port, — with a loss of twenty-five of the thirty-four men he had on board! The other two ships left for the north on January 3, 1603. On the 5th they parted company in a storm, and did not again see each other during the rest of the voyage. That same day Vizcaino came to anchor outside the harbor at Drake's Bay, but was driven away the next morning by an offshore wind. Several of Vizcaino's men had been at Drake's Bay before, on the San Agustin, notably Francisco de Bolanos, chief pilot of the San Diego, who recognized the bay as the place where Rodriguez had stopped. On the 12th Vizcaino at last reached Cape Mendocino, whence, in accord with his instructions, he was at liberty to turn back, but the storms drove him somewhat farther to the north, until January 21, when he was able to start the return journey. Meanwhile the intense cold and the sickness of tbe men, of whom at one time "there were only two sailors who could climb to the maintopsail," had combined with the storms to produce great hardship. "The pitching was so violent that it threw both sick and well from their beds and the general from his. He struck upon some boxes and broke his ribs with the heavy blow." The return voyage, however, was comparatively simple from the standpoint of the winds, for now they helped the ship along its course, whereas, before, they had been a con stant hindrance. But the men were so sick with the scurvy, and the provisions bterally so "rotten," that it was a race with death. Yet some explorations of the coast were made, to supplement what they had done on the northward voyage, but they did not dare to stop, lest they should be unable to get the anchor up again. Giving up the originally projected exploration of the Gulf of California, the general decided, "as the sick were dying of hunger because they could not eat what was on board the ship on account of their sore mouths," .j j SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO 137 to run for the nearest point of the mainland. Coming to Mazatlan on February 18, Vizcafno and five men, who alone on the ship were able to walk, went ashore to look for help. "Without knowing the way, he traveled thirteen leagues inland through mountains and rugged places, for the pueblo of Ma zatlan," but lost his way. Fortunately he chanced upon a pack- train, and was thus enabled to get help to his comrades. With rest and proper food the men soon got well, and took up the voyage to Acapulco, which they reached on March 21. Meanwhile the Tres Reyes had been driven north to Cape Blanco. By that time Martin de Aguilar, the commander, and Antonio Flores, the pilot, had died, whereupon the boat swain, Esteban L6pez, turned the boat around and sailed for New Spain, reaching Navidad on February 26, 1603. Two men besides the two officers had died. The narrative of this voyage, as told by the presumably ignorant boatswain, gave rise to one of the most fruitful of the Strait of Anian stories. Six leagues above Point Reyes, he said, they came upon "a very, very great river" from the southeast, — evidently Tomales Bay. Farther north "in 41°, near Cape Mendocino, they found a very great bay, into which there entered a mighty river from the northern shore. It runs with such a strong current that although they were a day struggling against it with the wind behind them they could not enter it more than two leagues." Through what seems to have been a mistake of the Fran ciscan historian Torquemada, this was stated as in 43°, the limit of the voyage, but the boatswain said it was "near Cape Mendocino," and at another place in his account intimated that it was below it. This agreed with the charts of the voyage, which entered "Aguilar's River" in 41° and Cape Mendocino in 41° 30'. In course of time this river be came an almost transcontinental stream, or at the least a great western sea, in the imaginations of the mapmakers. 138 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA There seems to be nothing in the place indicated to cor respond even remotely to the description. It is a tempta tion, however, to believe that the boatswain, relying upon memory, was confused and that Humboldt Bay, which is "near" Cape Mendocino, though north of it, was the famous great bay discovered by Aguilar. At all events, both the San Diego and the Tres Reyes missed the real great bay with the powerful river, for they did not get sight of the Bay of San Francisco, either going or coming. The voyage of Vizcaino had been a distinct success. Despite the great difficulties he had encountered, including the loss of from forty-two to forty-eight men (according to different estimates made), he had carried out, to the full and thoroughly, the orders of the viceroy, though it had not been possible, owing to the storms and the sickness of the men, to explore the coasts above Monterey so carefully as he had up to that point. Fortunately for his fame as a dis coverer, two things occurred: the reports of his voyage became widely known, and soon were embodied in printed works; and, since the voyage was not followed up, the legend of Monterey, to say nothing of Aguilar's River, was allowed to stand. The Conde de Monterey now had nothing but words of praise for the erstwhile "mere trader," and ap pointed him to the lucrative post of commander of the next galleon bound for Manila. Suitable rewards were also given to others who had taken part in the expedition. It now becomes pertinent to enquire why the plan for the occupa tion of Monterey, or at least for its utilization as a port of refuge for the gaUeon, was given up. In 1603, shortly after Vizcaino's return, the Conde de Monterey was succeeded as viceroy by the Marques de Montesclaros, who not only threw cold water on the plans of his predecessor but also acted in a manner displaying either spite or else a desire for graft. In a letter to the king7 he objected to the former viceroy's having appointed Vizcaino as commander of the galleon sailing from Acapulco in 1604, six months after Montesclaros himself should be in office. He had counter- 7 Oct. 28, 1605. SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO 139 manded the order, and made Vizcafno alcalde mayor (chief justice and mayor) of Tehuantepec, which he stated was fully as much as he deserved. Later he claimed that Vizcafno had tried to bribe him to make him commander of the galleon, wherefore he dismissed him from the service. The fate of Martinez, the expert cartographer, was even worse. The Conde de Monterey had given him a rich appointment on the galleon. Not only did Montesclaros deprive him of this, but also caused charges to be brought against him for forgery, and Martinez was condemned and hanged. These measures produced a distinctly unfavorable impression at court, and there were several royal decrees of 1606 whose combined purport was the following: Vizcaino was to be made general of the galleon leaving Acapulco in 1607, and was to make a thorough survey of Monterey on the return voyage, with a view to founding a settlement there; upon his arrival in New Spain he was to be given a number of colonists of the best type, to take to Monterey; these men were to be offered such inducements as might seem to be necessary (presumably lands, with the Indians in bondage) ; and a considerable sum of money out of tbe royal treasury was to be provided for the enterprise. Montesclaros now found a new way to evade the issue. The galleon for 1607 had sailed before the king's orders came, he wrote,8 and Vizcafno himself had gone to Spain. It was true that there ought to be a port of refuge for the galleon, but it should be nearer Japan, for it was from the. Philippines to just beyond Japan that the worst storms were encountered; when the galleon reached the Californias, the voyage was nearly over, for it required only twenty-five to thirty days to run down the coast to Acapulco, with a favoring wind, too, to help the ship on its way. The best thing to do would be to find the two islands called Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata in 34° to 35°, somewhere far to the west of Monterey. This revived an old story of uncertain origin. At some time in 1584-1585, when Pedro de Moya was viceroy, a 8 May 23, 1607. 140 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA letter was addressed to him by a certain Father Andres de Aguirre. Aguirre said that he was with Urdaneta in 1565 when that sailor-friar established the Manila galleon service and that Urdaneta showed him a copy of a document about certain rich islands in the Pacific. Strange as was the account of Father Aguirre, it is worth inserting, for it was this tale, as used by Montesclaros, that changed the course of California history. As Aguirre remembered it, the gist of the story was as follows: "A Portuguese ship sailed from Malacca for the islands of Japan and at the city of Canton took on board Chinese goods. Arriving within sight of Japan she encountered a storm coming from the west, so severe that it was impossible to fetch those islands and she ran before it under very bttle sail for eight days, the weather being very thick and no land having been seen. On the ninth day the storm was spent and the weather cleared, and they made two large islands. They reached one of these at a good port well peo pled, there being a great city surrounded by a good stone wall. There were many large and medium sized vessels in port. Imme diately on their entering the harbor there flocked to the ship a great number of persons well-dressed and cared for and manifest ing much affection for the people of the ship. The lord of that island and city, learning that they were merchants, sent to the captain of the ship to say that he and those of his people he might select should come ashore without anyfear that they would dothem harm. On the contrary, he assured them, they should be received well, and he requested that they should bring with them the mani fest of the goods the ship brought, for they would take them and trade for them to their content. The captain communicated this to his people, and it was resolved that the notary of the ship should be sent ashore with the manifest and two merchants, one a Portu guese and the other an Armenian, residents of Malacca. The lord of the land received them in his house, which was large and well built, and treated them with affection, making them presents, they understanding one another by signs. The land was very rich in silver and other things, silk and clothing. The notary and the Portuguese merchant returned to the ship in order to land mer chandise and store it in a building which was assigned to them for that purpose, while the Armenian remained with the lord of the land and was treated very hospitably. The merchandise having been taken ashore, and a vast number of persons coming to pur chase it, bringing a great quantity of silver, it came to pass that in some thirty days they sold all the goods, making great gains, SEBASTIAN VfZCAlNO 141 so that all became very rich, and they loaded the ship with silver. During the time that they were on the island they learned that the lord was suzerain of the other island also, which was within sight, four leagues away, and of others which were near to these, all being rich in silver and very populous. This people is white and well-formed, well cared for and clothed in silk and fine clothing of cotton; an affectionate and very affable people. The language dif fers from that of the Chinese as well as that of the Japanese, and is readily learned, for, in less than forty days that the Portuguese passed on the island, they were able to converse with the natives. These islands abound in the means of maintaining life well — rice, which is the bread they use; fowls like ours in great number; tame ducks and many hogs; goats; buffaloes and deer and wild boars in great abundance; various birds and game and fishes many and good, and a great plenty of many kinds of fruit. The climate of the land is very good and healthy. These islands are in from thirty five to forty degrees. The difference in longitude between them and Japan cannot be arrived at, because they had run before the gale and the weather was very thick and obscure. They ran from Japan to the eastward; and, having disposed of their merchandise, they returned to Malacca. They named these islands, out of re gard for the Armenian merchant, who was greatly respected by the people of the ship, 'Isles of the Armenian.' " These were the islands which, as "Rica de Oro" and "Rica de Plata," Montesclaros now proposed to find. Shortly afterward9 he brought his guns to bear on the project for a settlement at Monterey. This time he used the plea which rarely failed, whatever the angle from which it was introduced, — that of foreign danger. The greatest strength of the royal dominions in the Pacific, he said, was that of tbe difficulty the king's enemies had in getting there or in remaining, after tbey had arrived. It was on that account that they had been so desirous of finding a strait above Cape Mendocino. To settle Monterey, therefore, would endanger the Spanish empire, for it might serve as a port where enemies as well as Spaniards could refit and procure supplies. And he had already pointed out that Monterey was not necessary for the galleon, while in addition it was too far away from New Spain to be armed against impending dangers. 9 Aug. 4, 1607. 142 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA The ideas of Montesclaros bore fruit. The uncil of the Indies gave up the plan for a colony at Monterey, and diverted the funds to a wild-goose chase for the two mys terious islands. The story of Vizcaino's voyage of 1611-1613 to Japan and of bis fruitless search for the two islands has already been told. Meanwhile Alta California was saved for over a hundred and fifty years in the blissful obscurity it needed if the English colonists who were just making their first successful settlements along the Atlantic coast were ever to have their opportunity to acquire the golden area on. the Pacific. Out of it all, Vizcafno retained bis fame as the discoverer of the wonderful port of Monterey, — though neither was he the discoverer nor was the port wonderful, — but he lost his chance to become the Cabfornia Portola, as Ascensi6n, perhaps, its Serra. Yet, despite his over- enthusiastic exaggeration, he had played the part of a thor ough-going man.10 10 Such a vast body of materials on Vizcafno has been uncoyered in re cent years that the career of this im portant figure in California history ought to be made the subject of a doc toral thesis. Several transcripts (in the Bancroft Library) from documents in the Archivo General de Indias of Se ville, Spain, have been used in the preparation of this chapter, though the following items were more particularly relied upon: 1. Documents from the Sutro collec tion, orig. Sp. and tr. ed. by George Butler Griffin, in His torical society of southern California, Publications, v, II, pt. I. Los Angeles. 1891. Fif teen of the nineteen docu ments range in date from 1584 to 1603. Five of them were made use of in the preceding chapter, and the other ten here. 2. Documentos referentes al recon- ocimiento de las costas de las Californias desde el Cabo de San Lucas al de Mendocino, ed. by Francisco Carrasco y Guisa- sola. Madrid. 1882. This con tains forty-four documents ranging in date from 1584 to 1609. Many of the more im portant appear in item 1 above. Some of the others were also used. Spanish exploration in the south west, 1542-1706. tr. ed. by Herbert Eugene Bolton (New York. 1916), in Original narra tives of early American history series. This contains a trans lation into English of a diary (attributed to Vizcaino) of the 1602-1603 voyage and of the relation written in 1620 by Father Ascensi6n, a member of the same expedition. Torquemada, Juan de. Primera [segunda, tercerd1 parte de Ios veinte i vn libros ritudles i mon orchia indiana, v. I. Madrid. 1793. This account is the one that has heretofore been almost the only source for material about Vizcaino. It has some facts not appearing elsewhere. CHAPTER XII THE OVERLAND ADVANCE TO THE CALIFORNIA BORDER, 1521-1687 The general factors governing early California history in so far as they bear upon European approaches by sea have now been set forth in such detail that it is possible to con dense the material of this kind for the period elapsing between the end of Vizcaino's efforts and the Portola ex pedition of 1769. The difficulties of getting a foothold through expeditions by sea have been illustrated by the ex periences of Cortes, Rodriguez Cabrillo, Drake, Rodriguez Cermenho, Vizcaino, and others. It is time, therefore, that more attention be paid to the problems of overland conquest toward the Californias, as they involved the principal ele ment of success in the project of occupying the Californias, that of an advancing base of supplies. As has already been pointed out, the definitive occupation of Mexico City by Cortes in 1521 marked the establishment of a base of operations, whence the Spaniards were to pro ceed to the effective conquest of New Spain. The region between Mexico City and Panama was soon taken over, for both points served as bases, the Indians were comparatively unwariike, distances were not great, and the continent was narrow and therefore easily overrun, though here as else where the infiltration of Spanish civilization, as distinguished from mere dominance of the military and the religious, was a long and time-requiring process. To the north the pro blems were infinitely greater. The land widened, and geographical barriers became more serious, the area was greater than the resources of Spain could hope to reduce, the Indians were less nearly civilized and more difficult to 143 144 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA overcome, and the competition of the Engbsh, French, and Russians made itself more manifest. For a number of years after 1521 Spain showed small concern over the greatness of her task. She made conquests in the New World for the ready-made wealth she found there, and no distance was too great for her intrepid adventurers to go, if only there were a prospect of riches. This was the age, therefore, of the "aggressive aggressive," — of conquests for the sake of what they would yield. From the time of Drake in 1579, however, Spain began to show the caution and conservatism of the property-owner. The adventurers had in the main settled down. They now had vast estates, with Indians in servi tude upon them (that is, encomiendas) , and they procured financial returns by the slower means of mining, stock- raising, agriculture, and commerce, rather than by plunder. These men wanted security, and the government, which profited in the same ratio that they did, wanted it also. Off on the frontiers were men of the old stamp of the con- quistadores, or conquerors, but they were held in leash lest they endanger the settled wealth of the already subjected territories. Now and then, they were allowed to go ahead in pursuit of some definite and reasonably safe advantage or to ward off a threatened peril. The long period of the "aggressive defensive" had begun, — of occasional con quests, that is, the better to ensure what Spain already possessed. Northward expansion from Mexico City may be said to have followed three principal lines : northwestward to Sonora and the Californias; up the central plateau through Nueva Vizcaya (about co-extensive with the present-day states of Durango and Chihuahua) to New Mexico; similarly, but branching off to run through Coahuila into Texas. A fourth line, basing in early days on Tampico, and, later, on Mexico City and Quer6taro, ran to Nuevo Le6n and Nuevo Santander (Tamaulipas), and slightly into Texas. This was hardly so important as the others. It was the first of these routes that concerned itself more particularly with the his tory of California, but, yet, all four were closely related — OVERLAND ADVANCE TO THE CALIFORNIA BORDER 145 so much so that events along the eastern lines of advance had a vital connection with that which led to the Californias. All went ahead at relatively the same rate of progress, except the much shorter fourth movement. Military and explor ing expeditions made side trips that crossed different fines of advance. All were related by the problem of Indian warfare, especially against the Apaches, who were wont to appear in all sections, often going from one to another according as resistance to their raids was strong or weak. All were threat ened by foreign aggressions from the northeast, for the Colorado River of the west was believed to be a route making the western provinces almost as accessible to the French or English as those in the east. Some or all of the regions along the four fines of advance were at different times under the same political rule, or served as a field for the same body of religious, or were part of the same diocese. Finally, all of these regions had much the same internal problems, poli tical, economic, and social, and all were under the viceroy, or, in the latest period, under the commandant-general of the frontier provinces. Before proceeding to a consideration of northwestward advance, it is worth while to give an idea, of the sweep of the other lines of conquest. Naturally, the line of advance through Nueva Vizcaya to New Mexico was most closely related, because nearest, to the movement through Sonora. The same Indian wars often affected both. The Jesuits were in western Nueva Vizcaya as well as in Sinaloa and Sonora until 1767. Sinaloa and Sonora were included in the government of Nueva Vizcaya until 1734, and formed part of the same diocese under the bishop of Durango until 1779, when a bishopric was created for Sinaloa, Sonora, and the Californias. The first great name in the history of Nueva Vizcaya is that of Francisco de Ibarra, who set up a government there in the middle of the sixteenth century. By the end of that century the line of settlement had reached southern Chihuahua. Next there was a gap, beyond which lay New Mexico, settled by the Onate expedition of 1598. By the close of the seventeenth century the line of settlement had approached 146 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA or reached the Rio Grande; for example, the presidios of Pasage, Gallo, Conchos, Janos, and Casas Grandes were already in existence. In the eighteenth century there were many changes in presidial sites, the general movement being to suppress the more southerly presidios and establish new ones toward the Rfo Grande. Similarly the missions ad vanced, and the region behind them was gradually yielded over to the secular clergy. In 1767, according to statistics compiled by Bishop Tamar6n, Nueva Vizcaya had a Christian population of 120,000, divided evenly between Chihuahua and Durango, its northern and southern divisions; but while Durango bad 46,000 civilized people, there were but 23,000 in Chihuahua.1 Meanwhile, New Mexico had enjoyed great prosperity until 1680, when all was destroyed by an Indian revolt, and the land was not reconquered until over a decade later. By the end of the eighteenth century there may have been 20,000 civilized people in the province, and 10,000 Christian Indians. Along the Coahuila line Parras and Saltillo in southern Coahuila were occupied by the end of the sixteenth century, although these two settlements were under the government of Nueva Vizcaya until 1785. Coahuila never enjoyed striking prosperity. By the close of the seventeenth century Monclova was the most northerly presidio, while the mis sions had passed on to the Rio Grande. Early in the eighteenth century the presidios reached that river. The total Christian population of Coahuila in 1780 was about 8,000, of whom 2,000 were Indians. The addition of Saltillo and Parras in 1785 doubled the population. The most interesting portion of this line was the Texas ex tremity. In the sixteenth century there were voyages along the coast and overland incursions from New Mexico and even from Florida, but no settlements. Between 1685 and 1688 La Salle made a disastrous attempt to found a French colony on Matagorda Bay. This incident, joined to tales of 'The term "civilized people" is mixed blood or even negroes. In fine, used for what Spaniards called gente all but Indians were included. de razon, including those of white or OVERLAND ADVANCE TO THE CALIFORNIA BORDER 147 fabulous wealth in the land of the Tejas in eastern Texas, induced the Spaniards to send an expedition in 1689 under Governor Le6n of Coahuila, which in the next few years led to the establishing of missions east of the Trinity. These failed, but on the renewal of French activities, this time from the Mobile district, several missions and a presidio were founded in eastern Texas in 1716. In 1718 estabbsbments were made at San Antonio, and the Texas boundary was moved westward from the Trinity River to the San Antonio, on the borders of Coahuila. In 1721 a presidio was placed near the coast at Espiritu Santo, and the eastern settlements (which had been destroyed by the French) were reestabbshed and strengthened. Between 1745 and 1763 several new posts were founded, notably in northern Texas, but the northern most of these, on the San Gabriel and San Saba rivers, were soon abandoned. By the cession of Louisiana to Spain in 1762 the French peril, the dominating note in Texas history up to that time, was removed, and the eastern settlements were given up. In a few years, however, many of the Spanish settlers returned to eastern Texas. In 1782 there were only 2,600 civilized people in Texas, and 460 Christian Indians. The beginnings of Nuevo Le6n date from its colonization by Carabajal, late in the sixteenth century. Nothing else occurred that need be noted here until 1748 when Escand6n, coming from Queretaro, achieved an almost bloodless con quest of Nuevo Santander. His work was remarkable for the number of settlements formed by him, rendering the conquest as thorough as it had been quick and peaceful. Unruly Indians were soon conquered or went elsewhere, and this part of the frontier enjoyed unusual prosperity. The first great conqueror after Cort6s along tbe fine lead ing northwestward to Pimeria Alta (as the region beyond the Altar River was called) and the Californias was Nuno de Guzman. In 1529 he set out from Mexico City with an army of five hundred Spaniards and perhaps ten thousand native allies, and by 1531 had passed through Jalisco to Sinaloa, reducing the country along his bne of march. At one stroke 148 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA over half the territory between Mexico City and Alta California had been traversed and made known to the Spaniards, and much of it remained definitively conquered. In 1540 came the great expedition of Vazquez de Coronado in search of the Seven Cities and the kingdom of Quivira, induced by the already-mentioned wanderings of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and the journey of exploration by Marcos de Niza. Vazquez led an army through Sonora to New Mexico, and from there to Kansas, returning to New Spain in 1542. It was as a part of this expedition that Mel- chor Diaz marched through Sonora to the Colorado River. Indeed, he crossed that river, and thereby entered the Cabfornias, though several miles below the Alta California line, it would seem. Failing to find the party of Alarc6n, which had come to about the same point by sea, the Diaz expedition returned. Great overland expeditions to the northwest, aside from the journeys of individuals, now ceased for over two cen turies, though they continued periodically along the north ward fines of advance to the east. One of these expeditions, that of Onate, who conquered New Mexico in 1598„ had ramifications which took it to the Colorado River. This occurred in 1604-1605, when Onate marched westward along Bill Williams Fork to the Colorado, and descended the latter to its mouth, after which he returned to New Mexico. With the expedition of Onate to the mouth of the Colorado the age of the conquistadores along the northwestward Une of advance may be said to have closed. Cortes, Guzmaii, Vazquez, and Onate had led expeditions which made a per manent conquest of large areas and developed a preliminary knowledge of nearly the whole field subsequently occupied, though Onate's principal achievements were more directly in line with the advance through Nueva Vizcaya to New Mexico. These men were followed, perhaps in the wake of other expeditions of lesser note (or sometimes preceding them), by soldiers, missionaries, and civilians, all of Spanish blood, in part at least. The majority of the civilians were OVERLAND ADVANCE TO THE CALIFORNIA BORDER 149 miners, though a number were also engaged in stock-raising and other pursuits characteristic of frontier bfe. This was a second phase of the conquest. Eventually, in a portion of the field there came a third phase, when settled orderly government appeared, the military and the rebgious moved on, the secular clergy replaced the regular, and civilians entered in greater numbers and engaged in a greater variety of occupations than before. This was tbe final stage, when the particular region ceased to partake of the attributes of a frontier province.. In all three stages the Spanish elements were a very small minority, but provided the rubng class. The mass of the people was, from first to last, Indian. Some of the Indians resisted the Spaniards, and were driven away or killed, but usually they submitted to their con querors, and, though strictly ruled and virtually enslaved, were permitted to remain. It is pertinent at this point to enquire into the precise services rendered by the three great Spanish elements in the conquest: the military, the religious, and the civilians. Of the three, perhaps the most vitally essential element was the military, for without its aid neither of tbe other elements could proceed very far, even though the two latter contri buted most to the eventual pacification and settled develop ment of a region. The number of soldiers was always small, but their presence in the first and second stages of conquest was a sine qua non of the Spanish occupation. Their ex peditions into unoccupied territory, whether for punitive objects or for purposes of exploration, were the most im portant preliminaries of the conquest ; even in the frequent * journeys of missionaries into the interior, soldiers were usually taken along as a more or less indispensable escort. Once occupation of a region had taken place, a presidial force of forty or fifty men was a sufficient garrison for a wide area, so superior were they in fighting equipment and mih- tary methods to the natives, however brave the Indians might be. A mission guard of from one to five or six soldiers also served to keep hundreds of mission Indians, or even a thousand, in check, while without this military support the 150 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA missions could not be sustained. To a certain extent, too, the military contributed to economic development through the great presidial stock farms, but these were in no small degree more a hindrance than a help; Indian trouble too often became an asset of the presidial capitabst, who might thereby rid himself of the competition of civilian rivals, while utibzing the troops to protect his own stock. Second only to the military as an agency in the subjection of the Indians, and much more prominent as a constructive social and economic factor, were the rebgious of the mis sionary orders. The Franciscans, Dominicans, and Jesuits were the orders which had a share in northwestward ad vance and the conversion of the Californias, but for nearly two centuries the Jesuits were by far the most important. Neither the missionary orders nor the secular arm of the church acted on their own initiative, for the church in the Americas was almost as completely subordinate to the king of Spain as the mihtary were. By the institution known as the Patronato Real (Royal Patronage) the king had received from the papacy the entire secular administration of the church in the American colonies. It was the king or his sub-delegates who appointed church dignitaries and lesser functionaries, from archbishop down to priest or friar, made provision for their salaries, built their churches, approved or ordered their policies, and paid the score. The missionary was a direct royal agent; not a mission could be founded or a missionary go to the frontier without the assent of the royal authorities, and indeed the religious were sometimes thrust into an enterprise (as for example the occupation of Alta California — of which, later) against their pronounced ob jections. Usually, however, missionary zeal outran the royal will for their employment, for missionaries and mis sions involved expenditures, and the government was none too lavish with its funds unless it could see a bkelihood of advantageous returns. Naturally, the Patronato Real did not include a right to intervene in the realm of the spiritual, but there was little else which the popes reserved. OVERLAND ADVANCE TO THE CALIFORNIA BORDER 151 The missionaries accompanied the troops in the first two stages of the conquest. They went with them on their mili tary expeditions or even preceded them into new territory on journeys of exploration, though, as already stated, they were usually attended by a small escort of soldiers. The principal function of the rebgious, however, came in the second stage of the conquest, through the institution of the mission. The mission system employed by the Spaniards was much the same in all of their dominions, in Alta Cabfornia (at a later time) as elsewhere, being subject to the same laws and the same body of officials. The principal objects, as stated by the laws, were to convert the natives and lift them out of their savagery and barbarism to a state of civilization. These were indeed the primary objects of the missionaries themselves, but they were secondary to other factors in the attention of the royal government. The mission was an effective support of the troops in keeping the Indians of a particular region in subjection, and in this way contributed, through the security it gave, to the protection of the royal domain from other Indians and from foreigners beyond the frontier. Thus it assisted in actual conquests — and much more cheaply than the soldiers necessary to take their place would have cost. Ultimately, too, the Indians would be come a source of profit to the crown, for those who had sub mitted to Spanish authority were required by law to pay an annual tribute, though this was remitted for the Indians still in missions. A mission was founded through a process of voluntary con version, by gathering the Indians of a community or limited region into a "reduction" {reduccidn), or mission village. No Spaniards other than the missionaries, the mission guard, and an occasional civiban official could stop at the mission or reside there. Persuasion, usually to the accom paniment of gifts of food, clothing, and tobacco, or trinkets which appealed to the child-like fancy of the natives, was generally employed to induce acceptance by the Indians of the mission idea. Once they entered the mission, however, there was no legal escape for them until such time as the 152 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA royal government should give them their release, and emancipation meant taxation in the shape of the annual tribute. The salaries of missionaries and a certain initial sum were provided at state expense, besides military pro tection, but the mission was supposed to procure all else that it needed, by means of its own industry or through the gifts of pious individuals. Usually there were two religious at a mission and a corporal at the head of four or five soldiers, but at times a single missionary and fewer troops were em ployed. Beyond the bmits of the mission proper, but with in a day or two's journey at the farthest, there were pueblos de visita (villages of visit), or visitas, where the missionaries went occasionally to perform religious services. In the visitas there was a representative of the missionary in the person of the Indian "master of doctrine," but in other respects the visita Indians retained their liberty. On the other hand they did not share in economic benefits, such as the receipt of tobacco, food, and clothing, to the same extent as the Indians of the mission. Except for a certain amount of independence on the part of the military escort, which, however, was in most respects under the orders of the religious, the missionaries were like absolute monarchs in their narrow realm. Subject only to their superiors in the religious and pobtical hierarchy, they were the spiritual, and political, and even economic masters of the mission. In theory the mission belonged to the Indians, who owned it in common, but it was administered under the direction of the missionaries, whose word was law. The Indians indeed elected their own petty pobtical officers, but the missionaries in fact decided for whom they should vote. There can be no question but that the missionaries were devoted to the welfare of the Indian, but it seemed to them necessary, if his soul were to be saved and his intelbgence quickened, that his body should first be enslaved. The spiritual training of the Indian resolved itself into learning the catechism and the vocabulary, or outward forms and ceremonies, of religious services; it was hardly possible for his undeveloped mind to grasp the philosophical tenets of OVERLAND ADVANCE TO THE CALIFORNIA BORDER 153 the Christian faith. Services were frequently held, — per haps two masses a day on week-days and more on Sundays, at all of which attendance was compulsory. The Indian was also required to work. The men tended flocks, or engaged in agriculture, while the women and children were taught weav ing and spinning. Indeed, there was an extraordinary variety of tasks performed, for the missions were intended to be economically self-sustaining; not infrequently they produced a surplus which might be applied to assist more backward missions. Discipline was strict and severe. Native officials inflicted whippings or other penalties upon the recalcitrant, by order of the missionaries, but the more serious off ences were turned over for punishment to the corporal of the guard. Unaccustomed either to working or to submission to discipline the Indians often endeavored to run away, but were pursued and brought back. To lessen the opportunity of escape, walls were constructed around the mission, and the Indians were locked up at night. All in all, the institution of the Spanish mission was one of the most interesting examples of "benevolent despotism" that human history records. By law a mission was supposed to endure for a period of not longer than ten years, but in practice the term was much longer — even a century or more. In fact the end of mission rule depended more upon civilian colonization of a region than upon the instruction afforded in the mission; when a region had filled up with whites sufficiently to be safe for the crown, the mission might be dispensed with. The objects of the missionaries, benevolent though they were, were foredoomed, to failure, for the Indians were rarely capable of absorbing civilization in any real sense of the term. Indeed, the close of mission rule usually saw the Indian revert to his former state, if he were not killed off by the white man ; the mission at least prolonged the fives of many of the Indians. Its real importance, however, was as an agency of Spanish conquest. In this respect its effects were permanent. 2 2 The best presentation of the mis- mission as a frontier institution in the sion system in brief scope ever writ- Spanish-American colonies, in Amer- ten is that of Herbert E. Bolton, The ican historical review, XXIII, 42-61. 154 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA The civilian whites3 began to make themselves felt in the second stage of the conquest, and no conquest was complete until they had taken it over in the third stage as the controll ing element. The history of their activities while a given region was still in a frontier state has never been adequately presented or even much studied. Most that we know of them has been derived from the works of the religious, who were primarily concerned with their own achievements and not interested in the civiban element, except as they found occasion to pronounce against them4- Unquestionably the most important of the civilians along the northwestward line of conquest were the miners. Indeed, the route of the conquerors followed that of mineral wealth in precious metals. These men generally did their work by means of Indian labor in a state of virtual slavery. Traders, stock- raisers, and farmers came in to some extent, but the two latter were at a disadvantage, for they had to meet the com petition of presidial and mission ranches. As already stated, the civibans took entire possession when it became time for the mibtary and the religious to move on. With the civilian element should be included the secular church, with its hierarchy of officialdom ranging from archbishop or bishop down to the curate, or priest. The secular church entered a region only in the third stage of conquest, and sometimes rather late in that. When this arm of the church arrived, it was time for the soldier, missionary, and civilian pioneer to depart; indeed, the friars were often obliged to serve as curates, after the mission had disappeared, before the secular church came on the scene. The crucial stage of the conquest, then, was the second, and this was the period when the greatest variety of widely differing elements came into play. These elements, to be sure, were controlled by the same fountain-head, the 5 Including as "white" all ele- dous quantity in the archives of ments of the gente de razdn. See note Spain and Spanish America. The on page 146, supra. best materials, however, such as the 4 Much information should result letters and business records of private from a perusal of official correspond- individuals, have probably, nearly all ence, which is available in stupen- of them, disappeared. OVERLAND ADVANCE TO THE CALIFORNIA BORDER 155 king (acting through his Council of the Indies and the viceroy), but they were rarely able to work together in en tire harmony. In particular, the military and the civilians were constantly disputing with the rebgious. Questions of jurisdiction and relative authority were always to the fore as between the mibtary and the religious; political rule was invariably given in charge of the former, but in some respects the missionaries were not subject to them. The civilians were opposed to the religious on economic grounds. The missionaries had been first on the scene, and had there fore had first pick of the lands. The civilians wanted the mission lands and the Indian labor upon them. Arguments frequently turned on other matters than those which were in fact uppermost in the minds of the parties to the conflict. The civilians, for example, accused the rebgious of ill-treating the Indians and of retaining the missions much longer than was necessary. As for the Indians, who after all were the per sons most vitally concerned, the restraints and punishment of the mission were indeed irksome to them, wherefore many, with their minds on the objectionable thing nearest at hand, supplied evidence for the civilians. Perhaps the majority reafized, however, that their lot under civilian control would be far worse, and it is no doubt true that a great many were devoted to the missionaries and content with mission life, to which in course of time they became accustomed. It is to be borne in mind that the general conditions of what has been termed here the second stage of tbe Spanish conquests applied in the case of Alta California under Spain and Mexico, just as it did to Nueva Galicia (the name of Guz man's conquests), Sinaloa, and Sonora in the period under review. Coming now to the details, the age of the conquistadores along the northwestward line was quickly over, and the work of conquest in its second and third phases came steadily to the fore. Guzman founded a settlement as far north as Culiacan, Sinaloa, in 1531. By 1550 an audiencia for the government of Nueva Galicia was established; this was located for a time at Compostela, but soon afterward moved 156 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA to Guadalajara. L6pez de Velasco, writing between 1571 and 1574, said there were as many as 1500 Spaniards in Nueva Galicia, which at the time included most of New Spain north of Mexico City. There were thirty-one or thirty-two settlements, of which fifteen or sixteen were mining camps. Guadalajara was the largest town, with a Spanish population of 150. The only settlement in what later became Sinaloa was Culiacan with about thirty Spaniards. There were no Spaniards in Sonora. An in crease in the population of Sinaloa came in 1596, when the presidio of San Felipe de Sinaloa, the first in that province, was estabbshed, with a garrison of twenty-five men. Mean while, the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Jesuits had been making converts, so that the region south of Sinaloa had be come Christian, nominally at least, by the end of the six teenth century, and after some futile revolts it was defin itely reduced to the Spanish crown. The erection of a bishopric in Michoacan in 1537 may be regarded as a first step in the third phase of the conquest. So, despite the scant white population of Nueva Galicia, that part of it lying south of Sinaloa was fast losing the characteristics of a frontier province. Up to 1591 not many conversions had been made in Sinaloa, but in that year the Jesuits reached there, and the real work began. Father Zapata's report of 1678 shows that by that time Sinaloa had been thoroughly reduced. The province had been Christianized, and had a white popula tion of six hundred. In addition, there were many more of part Spanish blood; at San Felipe de Sinaloa alone there were 1200 of Spanish or mixed blood. The missionaries and civilians were supported by two presidios, Fuerte de Montesclaros having been added in 1610. Tbe occupation of Sonora did not begin until early in the seventeenth cen tury, the successful mibtary campaigns of Diego Martinez de Hurdaide paving the way. The Jesuits took charge of the mission work and made rapid progress. By 1678 there were twenty-eight missions in Sonora, serving seventy-two vil lages with a combined population of about 40,000. There OVERLAND ADVANCE TO THE CALIFORNIA BORDER 157 were perhaps five hundred people of Spanish or part Spanish blood, a large proportion of them engaged in mining. Thus, by the end of the seventeenth century Sinaloa had attained to the comparative freedom from frontier characteristics that the region to the south of it had reached a hundred years before. The latter was now definitely off the frontier. Sonora, however, was in the midst of the second stage of con quest, and had such problems in the shape of hostile Indians that its early emergence into a settled state could not be expected; indeed, events were to prove that it was much more than a century behind Sinaloa in this respect. By the close of the seventeenth century the conquest had been carried almost to the limits of modern Sonora by way of the Sonora valley. This route led the Spaniards some what inland, leaving a large stretch of coast to the south and west as yet unoccupied. In this district were the Seri Indians, destined to cause trouble during the greater part of the eighteenth century. Northeast of the Sonora valley was a little-known region whence was to come an even more terrible enemy, — the savage Apaches. Due to the hostihty of these two peoples, Sonora was fated to remain a frontier province. Until near the close of the seventeenth century another district of Sonora, offering less difficulties than the other two, though by no means an easy field for conquest, lay open. This was the region between the Altar and Gila rivers, known as Pimeria Alta, beyond which to the north west was Alta California. In 1687 Father Eusebio Kino of the Jesuit order crossed the Altar River and founded the mission of Dolores. This marked the first step in the last stage of the conquest toward the Californias, but the diffi culties in the way of this further advance were perhaps greater than any which had yet been facedt CHAPTER XIII SEA APPROACHES FROM NEW SPAIN TO CALIFORNIA, 1615-1697 While the Spaniards were slowly but surely advancing toward Alta California by the overland route, which led through Sonora, they did not give up their efforts to reach that much-desired land by sea. The recommendations of Montesclaros against a settlement there were not perma nently influential, especially after Vizcaino's failure to find Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata as a substitute. Neverthe less, his stand in the matter had come at a crucial stage in imperial history, since Spain was not so well able for a hundred and fifty years to carry out the plans of Vizcaino and the Conde de Monterey as she had been at the time when Montesclaros nipped their projects in the bud. Spain in the seventeenth century was a declining power, without resources for extensive colonization unless she would have been willing to sacrifice other aims which seemed to her much more important. She therefore endeavored to achieve her objects along the lines of the sea approach to the Cali fornias through reliance upon private initiative. The failure of this policy to bring about any great result has led his torians generally to say that Spain lost interest in the Californias in the seventeenth century and that the proposed occupation of Monterey was not revived for a century and a half. This attitude fails to take into account the almost overwhelming difficulties of the approach by sea and is in direct contradiction of a more than voluminous array of evidence, very bttle of which has ever been utilized. Some of these materials will be used here for the first time, to show that the desire for an occupation of the Californias was 158 SEA APPROACHES FROM NEW SPAIN TO CALIFORNIA 159 continuous. Not only were there memorials of friars, navigators, and traders (especially the pearl-seekers), and plans of government officials, but there was also an unending flow of royal decrees on this matter. Furthermore, there were many voyages to Baja California and attempts to form settlements there, about which very little is known, though ample materials are available for study. 1 With his return from Japan in 1613-1614, Vizcaino dis appears from, view, though there is an unauthenticated ref erence to him as commander of Spanish troops which were stationed at Zalagua in 1615 to resist an expected landing of Dutch enemies. The ideas of Vizcaino hved on, however, and especially bis original idea about the occupation of Baja California. He was succeeded as the principal figure in relation to the Californias by a certain pearl-fishing com pany, at the head of which stood Tomas and later Nicolas Cardona, uncle and nephew.2 In 1611 Tomas de Cardona procured from the royal government a monopoly of the pearl-fishing rights in the New World, in return for which he bound himself to make explorations of little known lands and to let his ships serve for naval purposes when needed. In addition, the king was to get the usual royal fifth on all pearls secured. A certain Basibo was placed in command of the Cardona fleet, and in 1613-1614 he cruised among the islands of the West Indies. In search of new fields he and bis men gave up their ships, and crossed New Spain to the Pacific, where they arrived in 1614. There Basibo died. Juan de Iturbe succeeded to his position, and in 1615 had three ships ready at Acapulco for a voyage in Pacific waters. Ever since Jimenez reached Baja California in 1533-1534 the Californias had been famed for their pearls. It will be remembered, too, that the original object of the Vizcaino 1 See note at the end of this chap- ever crossed the Atlantic, and certain- ter. ly neither one went on the voyages to 2 Misled by the "I" or "we" in the Californias. They used the first the Cardona documents, historians person as one might for a great corn- have heretofore believed that the pany of which he was the head. All Cardonas themselves commanded on documents by them thus far discov- some of the expeditions of their ships. ered emanate from Spain. In fact, it is doubtful if either of them 160 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA company had been to fish for them. To the Cardona com pany under Iturbe, however, was reserved the first recorded opportunity to make an organized search for the pearls of the Gulf of California. On March 21, 1615, Iturbe's fleet set sail from Acapulco, carrying many negro divers and a number of soldiers. Crossing to the lower end of Baja California, Iturbe went up the coast of the gulf, landing frequently. At the place where Vizcaino was attacked in 1596, Iturbe's men were also' set upon by the Indians, but the Spaniards introduced something new in Cabfornia war fare to win tbe day. Two mastiffs were loosed upon the Indians, and the latter, who were unacquainted with this strange beast, took to flight. Crossing to "Florida" (as they termed the mainland to the east) in what they reported as 30° (more likely 28°), they sailed to the head of the gulf, which they reached, as they said, in 34°, though the gulf ends a bttle short of 32°3. Crossing back to Baja California they encountered severe storms. They were now running short of food, wherefore they decided to put for a port in New Spain. Two of the boats got to Mazatldn, but the third was captured by the Dutch navigator Spilberg. In 1616 Iturbe made a voyage to the guff with two ships, getting to 30°, he reported, but being obliged to return as a result of the northwest winds and lack of food. One of his ships was captured by a foreign vessel, but the flagship got back to New Spain. It was at once ordered to sea again to warn the Manila galleon of the presence of enemies. This it did, returning safely again to port. Three important facts came out of the Iturbe voyages. First of these was the finding of wealth in pearls. The re ports of the company tended to minimize that in dealing with the first voyage, with an eye, no doubt, to the size of the 3 Lack of precision in a memorial costa de afuera" (by the outside of 1617 by Nicolas de Cardona coast) of the Californias to 34°, the would make it appear (if there were latitude of Santa Monica, near Los not other documents from which to Angeles. What he meant was that check up with the actual facts) that his ships went up the "outside Iturbe visited Alta California. Car- coast" of the gulf. dona said that his fleet went "por la SEA APPROACHES FROM NEW SPAIN TO CALIFORNIA 161 royal fifth and to magnifying their achievements as the basis for further favors, but Spilberg got a number of pearls from the boat he captured, and it is almost certain that the flagship carried a much greater quantity. At any rate, it was admitted by the company that the second voyage had prospered well. A rich cargo of pearls was obtained ; one of them was worth 4500 pesos. The wealth of the Californias in this respect was no longer a part of the "Northern Mystery." The second noteworthy factor was that of the presence of foreign enemies. These deep-voiced foreigners, when not called pirates by the Spaniards, were referred to as "Pichi- lingues." 4 For something bke half a century after Spil- berg's arrival in 1615 they were a veritable pest to tbe Spaniards. Little is known of the Pichibngues in the Pacific, aside from the meagre accounts which have thus far ema nated from Spanish sources. There seems to be no definite record, for example, of the pirate who took one of Iturbe's ships in -1616. Most, if not all, of these enemy sailors were probably Dutch. One inevitable result of their activities was that the Spanish government should "wish to bring about an occupation of the Californias, if only for the greater security of the galleon. A third result of these voyages, of great importance as affecting projects concerning the Californias during more than a century, was a resumption of the belief that the Californias were an island and not a peninsula. When Iturbe got to the head of the gulf in 1615, he at first thought indeed that this was a gulf, but on crossing to Baja California he bebeved he saw a strait, and so reported. One wonders if the floods of the Colorado had anything to do with his opinion. Accounts of this voyage were brought to the at- 4 Doubtless from pecho meaning cially the Dutch, might well seem to chest and lengua meaning language,or be speaking from out of their chests; tongue. To a Spaniard, whose words at least this might have seemed a are formed more by the tongue and fitting way to express a certain dis- front of the mouth than by the throat, approval of the speech of their ene- the guttural- voiced northerners, espe- mies. 162 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA tention of the authorities in Spain and Mexico, and the idea was accepted. A contributing influence, no doubt, were the century-old rumors of a great and mysterious island. Despite the discoveries of Ulloa and Alarc6n in the gulf, such reports had persistently appeared.5 In consequence it was more logical for the government to give its attention to sea-approaches to the Cabfornias, rather than seek to get to Monterey by land. Not until 1746 was the island idea definitely dispelled. The subsequent operations of the Cardona company are not yet clearly known, though the memorials of Nicol&s de Cardona and his protests against infringements on the monopoly of pearl-fishing that he claimed reach as late as 1643. In certain of his memorials of 1634 he referred to the services rendered by his company during twenty years, and sought not only a renewal of the pearl-fishing monopoly but also a right to make settlements in the Californias. A royal decree of the same year ordered that all possible attention be given to the propagation of the faith in the Californias, especially where it did not involve the government in any expense, through the willingness of private individuals to take it upon themselves. Early in the next year another royal decree forwarded some of the Cardona memorials to 6 Until recently it was believed on which Zarate drew; the stories that the revival of the island theory Escobar heard did indeed relate to an was an offshoot of Ofiate's expedi- island — possibly Catalina Island?— tion of 1604-1605 from New Mexico five days' journey to the west, but to the mouth of the Colorado. In a there was no intimation that the Cal- memorial of 1620 Father Ascensi6n ifornias were meant. Furthermore, said, with reference to the Gulf of Ofiate's party descended the Colorado California: "Up to the present time to the gulf , and there is no inkling in people have understood that it was the record that they believed it to be an inlet or great bay of the sea there, anything other than the gulf. For a and not running continuous sea as in translation of Escobar's report see fact it is." This was supplemented in Father Escobar's relation of the Onak 1626 by a statement of Zarate Sal- expedition to California, tr. ed. by mer6n, the historian of New Mexico, Herbert E. Bolton, in Catholic Ms- who in dealing with Ofiate's expedi- toricalreview, v.V (Washington. April, tion had this to say: [The Indians 1919), No. 1, 19-41. There can be no stated] "that the Gulf of California doubt that Ascensi6n was referring is not closed, but is an arm of the to the recent Iturbe voyages, and not sea." It now appears that there was to Onate. Historians have been con- no such statement in the manuscript fused because they knew little or of Father Francisco de Escobar, up- nothing about Iturbe. SEA APPROACHES FROM NEW SPAIN TO CALIFORNIA 163 Mexico, and urged the viceroy to seek for more information about the Californias. Precisely what happened, however, either before this date or after it, has yet to be made known, although there are abundant materials awaiting the investi gator; indeed, the period from 1616 to 1627 is at present almost . a blank as concerns activities in the Californias, though there are occasional indications that voyages were made — possibly in secret, so as to avoid payment of the royal duties on pearl's or else (in the case of unauthorized voyages) to keep the matter from coming to the attention of the pearl-fisheries monopobsts. In 1627 Martin de Lezama, a son-in-law of Vizcafno, pro cured a license for a voyage to the Californias, with pearl- fishing rights attached. Lezama went to San Bias to build a ship, but it would appear that the mosquitoes of that un- healthful port were too much for him, and he gave up the enterprise. Meanwhile a certain Captain Antonio Bastan had gone from Mexico to Spain to apply for a license to make conquests in the Californias at his own cost. This occasioned a royal decree of 1628, directed to the viceroy, asking reports about the best way of making further discov eries in the Californias and if it were advisable to make them. In the course of the years 1629-1632 fifteen memorials were accumulated, including three from Ascensi6n, and one each from Juan de Iturbe, Martin de Lezama, Esteban Carbonel de Valenzuela, and others who are at present less well known. With one exception all were in favor of an expedition. The only exception was the cosmographer Enrique Martinez, who said that the Californias were of no value, except for pearls, and he doubted their wealth in that particular. The government favored the prevaibng view, for a license was granted to Francisco de Ortega. He obtained the typical seventeenth century contract, authoriz ing him to make the voyage and giving him permission to seek for pearls, in return for which he was to bear all the ex pense, and was to procure information about the Californias, besides paying the customary duties on the pearls he should find. 164 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA On March 20, 1632, 6 Ortega set sail for the Californias, with the pilot Esteban Carbonel as his second in command. The lower end of the peninsula was reached on May 4, and the expedition proceeded up the gulf on the western side to 27°. In July the return voyage was made. Many pearls had been found. Carbonel was sent to sea again forthwith, for the Pichilingues were along the coast and it was necessary to warn the galleon. The galleon was warned, and Carbonel returned. In 1633-1634 a more ambitious expedition was made, and the founding of a colony was attempted. Sailing from New Spain on September 8, 1633, Ortega reached La Paz on October 7. A colony was founded there, which was temporarily successful. The Indians proved docile, and many conversions were made, largely as a result of gifts of food, — always one of the most persuasive "spiritual arguments" with the natives. In course of time it appears that suppbes got low, and it was necessary to abandon the colony. Meanwhile many pearls had been found and some information acquired about the country. In 1636 Ortega made his third voyage to the Californias, leaving a port in Sinaloa on January 11. He and his men were wrecked near the southern end of the peninsula, but escaped on a fragment of the vessel. Theymade a boat and got to LaPaz, where they were well received by the Indians, who wanted them to stay. The little party of Spaniards went on to the mainland, how ever, coming to port on May 15. Despite their misfortunes, they wereable to report that they had found many pearl-beds. In the years 1636-1637 Ortega's pilot, Carbonel, became the central figure in a sensational case that aroused interest in both Mexico and Spain. An individual named Vergara had procured a license for a voyage, but transferred his rights to Carbonel. Carbonel had been in New Spain for many years, and had long been prominent in connection with activities in the Pacific.7 It developed, however, that he 6 Several months earlier than some bonel 500 pesos if he would go to of the memorials growing out of the Tehuantepec and refit a ship which royal decrees of 1628. the former proposed to use for dis- 7 In a document dated July 9, 1620, coveries in the Californias. Nicolas de Cardona promised Car- SEA APPROACHES FROM NEW SPAIN TO CALIFORNIA 165 was a Frenchman and that he had secretly built a ship on the River Santiago (near San Bias). Some of his crew were said to be French Canadians, who had reported that a trans continental strait surely existed. It was believed that Carbonel planned to seek the strait and sail through it to France, opening a way for the French to threaten the Spanish possessions in the Pacific. Hundreds of memorials or depositions were gathered in the trial of this case, but it is not yet possible to tell how it came out. Very likely Car bonel had nothing more in mind, when he built his ship, than the making of an unlicensed pearl voyage. The profound interest, not to say excitement, which the case caused is one of the almost innumerable evidences that Spain could always be stirred up by threatened foreign incursions in the Cab- fornias, which were recognized as an entering wedge into her rich dominions of New Spain. The fact that no great expedi tion followed the Carbonel case may for the present be re garded as some evidence that the French pilot was ac quitted of the principal charge against him.8 Meanwhile, another individual had gradually been coming to the fore. In 1635 Pedro Porter Casanate, in association with one Botello, asked for a license to make a voyage to the Californias at his own expense, offering also to provide accurate charts of that land. The hcense was given in 1636, whereupon Ortega complained that it infringed rights pre viously granted to him. As a result both bcenses were revoked. Porter had already spent a vast sum of money on the enterprise, and betook himself to Spain for redress. His case received favorable attention, and at length, in 1640, he 8 The above information is based grace. His partner, Vergara, also got on the charges against Carbonel — one a hcense, and transferred it to a document out of the hundreds in the French company. That is all. The file. Yet, as an example of the present information provided in the charges inadequacy of our information about against Carbonel was supplied by the this period, it is worth pointing out writer to Mr. Rudolph J. Taussig, how this clears up and supplants the who used it in his The American in- statement made in Bancroft. Ac- ter-oceanic canal: an historical sketch cording to Bancroft, Carbonel got a of the canal idea, in The Pacific ocean license in an underhanded way (un- inhistory (New York. 1917), 114-136, specified), and made a voyage in at 123. 1636, returning to Mexico in dis- 166 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA procured the desired royal license, which also gave him a monopoly of the right to sail the Gulf of California. He was detained in Spain on other service, however, and it was not until 1643 that he started upon his return. With him went a number of families of prospective settlers, while others were picked up in Vera Cruz. A boat on the Pacific was chartered, and Porter commenced building two others. Just then came the familiar news about the Pichibngues; at any rate they had made their appearance in Chile, and it was expected that they would sail north, with a view to the capture of the galleon. Porter's vessel was the only one at hand; so it was sent out to give the usual warning. In January 1644, this ship, under Alonso Gonzalez Barriga, put to sea. Eighteen days were required before Gonzalez could cover the narrow but difficult stretch between the mainland and the peninsula. Meanwhile, he had missed the galleon (which, however, got safely to Acapulco), but he went on for five days up the west coast of Baja California. The storms soon proved to be too much for his vessel, and he turned back for New Spain, making port in a four-day run. He had seen a number of Indians, who had received him with demonstrations of friendship, and he had also not neglected the opportunity to procure some pearls. Shortly afterward, in April 1644, Porter received a set back from which he never recovered. A fire broke out, and bis ships and warehouses were burned. He had by this time wasted a fortune in the enterprise, but the royal government came to his assistance. He was placed in command of a post in Sinaloa, just across from the Californias, and the viceroy was ordered to help him. The order had to be re peated, however, before the viceroy would take action, and it was not until 1648 that Porter was ready for another voyage. In that year two ships were sent out to explore sites for a colony, but they returned without having found any that were suitable. They went to sea again to warn the galleon, for the Pichibngues were reported in the vicinity. In 1650 Porter disappears from the record. A royal order of that year required the viceroy to assist him unless there were . SEA APPROACHES FROM NEW SPAIN TO CALIFORNIA 167 serious objections, but the authorities wanted an explana tion of Porter's delays, making the observation that his license was not unlimited in time. It seems bkely that the viceroy recommended against any further dealings with Porter. One wonders whether the latter had sincerely en deavored to fulfil his contract. For fifteen years he had devoted himself to this project, and, so far as the evidence goes, had made but two rather unsatisfactory voyages. It is at least probable that his ships crossed the gulf on other occasions without reporting the fact, thus avoiding the obligations imposed in the contract. Graft was a prevalent vice in New Spain, and it would have been easier and cheaper to bribe royal officers than to live up to the terms of the license and pay the royal fees. After Porter's voyage of 1648, there is (at present) a hiatus in the records, until Bernardo Bernal de Pynadero steps forward in 1664 as the principal figure in California exploration. Pynadero had procured the usual type of con tract, with emphasis on the importance of making a settle ment in California. In 1664 he sent out two ships. Com pletely disregarding his contract obligations, Pynadero con fined his efforts to a search for pearls, and procured a rich cargo. Precise information of this voyage got out, for the Spaniards quarreled over the division of the spoil. Further more, Pynadero had treated the natives cruelly, compelling them to serve as divers, whereby many of them were ' 'drowned for lack of breath," and of course he had made no settlement. The viceroy authorized him to make another voyage, but the Audiencia of Guadalajara temporarily prevented him from doing so. Pynadero was therefore delayed until 1667, when he seems to have sent out two ships. Nothing definite is yet known of this voyage, and it may have been the same as a reputed two ship voyage of 1668 under the command of one Lucenilla. Lucenilla stated that the Californias were barren, and returned without making a settlement. It was asserted that his real object was to find pearls. Pynadero continued to have rights of discovery, or to seek them, until 1678. In 1672 the Council of the Indies 168 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ordered the viceroy to investigate and report fully on one of his petitions, insisting that the project of settbng the Californias should be carried out; if Pynadero was not the proper person, then another was to be found, or if necessary it was to be undertaken at royal expense. This shows that the government was beginning to reabze that conquest and settlement by private initiative could no longer be counted upon. The day of the conquistador, or adelantado, was gone, and henceforth it was the state which would have to pay the bills. A considerable file of papers accumulated growing out of the order of 1672. The authorities in New Spain decided against Pynadero on various grounds, including that of his past irregularities, but the Council of the Indies, in 1674, sustained him. The decree added that the viceroy should regard discoveries in the Californias as important, even if they offered no advantages other than as a field for spiritual conquest, — doubtless with the strategic importance of the peninsula in mind. Whether Pynaderojnade another voyage, however, is at present unknown. Discoveries and settlements in the Californias on private initiative had failed. The contracts had been mere shields', behind which individuals engaged, whether openly or secretly, in the pearl-fisheries, without making serious efforts to achieve what was uppermost in the royal mind. Con vinced of this fact, the government (which all along had desired the occupation as a defensive measure) resolved to provide the funds itself. A new type of contract was drawn up, therefore, in 1678, and approved in 1679, whereby Isidro Atondo y Antill6n was to found a colony and the government was to bear most of the expense. It was not until 1683 that everything was ready. The expedition was to consist of three ships and about a hundred men, including three Jesuits. One of the Jesuits was Eusebio Francisco Kino, whose life long interest in the Californias was aroused as a result of this expedition. Starting in January 1683 Atondo spent two months without being able to cross the gulf to the peninsula. Making a fresh attempt he got over in four days, and reached La Paz on the 1st of April. The natives were SEA APPROACHES FROM NEW SPAIN TO CALIFORNIA 169 not as well-disposed as in other years; the selfishness and cruelty of the pearl-fishers had alienated them. At length some of them were won over through liberal gifts of food, though certain tribes, notably the Guaicuri, remained hostile, and it proved necessary to kill a number of them in battle. But the experience of Cortes, Vizcafno, and Ortega was soon repeated. Supplies got scarce, and on July 14 La Paz was abandoned. The expedition returned to Sinaloa. Atondo was soon back in the peninsula, however. In October 1683 he founded another colony at a site which he named San Bruno, about fifty miles north of La Paz, on the Bay of San Juan. The attempt was indeed an earnest one. No such careful preparations to ensure permanence had ever been made, at least not since the time of Cortes, and the greatest success thus far experienced was attained. Not only were there settlers and a stock of provisions, but also certain other elements without which a colony that would endure was impossible. Atondo had brought over some domestic animals (goats, horses, and mules), and a beginning was made in tbe cultivation of the soil. The natives were friendly, and the religious proceeded to ply them with Christian doctrine to the accompaniment of pozole (por ridge). A mission was established, to which the Indians submitted. Occasionally they would desert, following punishments inflicted upon some of their number, but, as Bancroft puts it, they always returned to "prayers and pozole." Typical of frontier settlements, too, were the quarrels of the Jesuits and Atondo over their relative authority. For two years the little colony held up its head. During this time Atondo made explorations into the interior, and found the land rough and sterile. He reported that there were no mines, the water was poor, the climate unhealthful, and the natives wretched though peaceful. Once he sent a ship north to look for a better site, while he himself took another vessel and went to look for pearls, but neither voyage was a success. The matter was now put before the ! viceroy whether the colony should not be abandoned. He 170 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA replied that the San Bruno settlement should be retained, if possible, until a better site was found. Provisions failed, however, and late in 1685 the whole force crossed over to Sinaloa. A familiar turn was given to this unfortunate end ing of the expedition when news came that the Pichibngues were once more threatening. Atondo went to sea and warned the galleon, returning to Acapulco in December 1685. The government had expended 225,400 pesos on the Atondo expedition, which was looked upon in that day as an enormous sum, especially in view of the depleted state of the royal treasury. It was resolved to go ahead with the project, however. At about this time9 Lucenilla asked for a right to renew the attempt which he had made nearly twenty years before, but the government supported Atondo, who wished to try it again. An order for the payment of 30,000 pesos to Atondo was given, but an Indian revolt in Nueva Vizcaya caused a diversion of the funds, and Atondo did not get another opportunity. The closing years of the century were not a propitious time for further governmental expenditures. Spain in Europe was then engaged in a life and death struggle with the powerful Louis XIV of France, and could not afford such an expensive luxury as an attempt to settle the Californias. It was perhaps on this account that she consented to one more experiment of the now discredited private initiative method of occupation. In 1694 a certain Francisco de Itamarra, a former companion of Atondo, made a voyage at his own expense, and paid a visit to San Bruno. The natives "had not forgotten the taste of pozole, and were clamorous for conversion." It can hardly have occasioned surprise that Itamarra accomplished nothing, for it was now recognized that the founding of settlements would require such a heavy and financially unprofitable outlay that it would inevitably be a state undertaking, unless some hitherto untried method should be employed. "Meanwhile, it is probable that, as indeed throughout the sev enteenth century, the unrecorded (or at least as yet un known) voyages of unlicensed pearl-fishers went on. Private 8 In 1685 or 1686, probably the latter. SEA APPROACHES FROM NEW SPAIN TO CALIFORNIA 171 gain and an effective conquest of the Californias were, in the face of the extraordinary difficulties, altogether incompat ible.10 10 The activities of Spain with re spect to the Californias in the sev enteenth century ought to be made the subject of a number of doctoral theses, for unpublished materials in great quantity are available and the theme is worthy of treatment. Among the more obvious topics are the Iturbe, Ortega, Porter, and Pyna dero voyages, the Carbonel case, and the Atondo expedition, to say noth ing of Pichilingues, unlicensed pearl- fishers, and institutional subjects. The writer's Catalogue, though it does not pretend to be exhaustive for the seventeenth century, contains indi cations, nevertheless, of an enormous quantity of hitherto unused materials. Particularly is this true of the great bound files of papers known as testi- monios, which are so closely written that each of their pages is at least the equivalent of an average-sized page'of print. The file of papers men tioned in this chapter, headed by the decree of 1628 and containing fifteen memorials, is one such testimonio. This, however, though it is 157 pages long, is one of the smaller testimonios. Among the others are the following: 1617, about the operations of the Cardona company, 61 pages; 1633 and 1636, concerning Ortega's dis coveries, 271 and 310 pages respect ively; 1636 and 1637, three testi monios about the Carbonel case of 400, 754, and 735 pages; 1665, 1666, and 1674-1676, with reference to Pynadero, of 13, 20, and 79 pages. In other legajos of the Archivo Gen eral de Indias there are vast quanti ties of materials on Atondo, though not indicated in the Catalogue. In addition there are a number of sepa rate memorials and royal decrees manifesting the Spanish interest in the Californias in the seventeenth century, many of which are listed in the Catalogue. CHAPTER XIV THE JESUITS IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, 1697-1768. The occupation of either of the Californias by the sea route, rather than by following the line of overland progress to the junction of the Gila and Colorado rivers (thence branching out southward to the peninsula and north-west ward to Monterey), represented a departure from the normal course, necessitating extraordinary efforts for a successful achievement. Yet both regions were settled and main tained as an overseas venture, and one of them, Baja Cali fornia, served in some degree as a preliminary base for the acquisition of the other. Credit for the occupation of Baja California belongs jointly to the Jesuits and the Spanish government, which cooperated to bring lit about and espe cially to maintain tbe initial gains made at their own expense by the Jesuits. The Jesuits, however, are entitled to princi pal recognition as the active agents of the crown who succeeded in an enterprise which for nearly two centuries had had an almost unbroken record of failure. The disappointment of the government over the outcome of the Atondo colony in 1685 disposed it for the moment against incurring further expense in the Californias, but it was almost immediately reminded of the desirabibty of Spanish occupation by the appearance of Pichibngues. In this case the " deep-voiced" foreigners were English free booters under Swan and Townley, who came up the coast in 1685-1686 in search of the Manila galleon. Swan tried to reach Cape San Lucas, but failed on account of tbe age-long difficulty of tbe contrary winds. He therefore turned about, and made for the East Indies. The galleon was not taken, but the government was again roused to action. It was believed, 172 THE JESUITS IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, 1697-1768 173 however, that a new method of conquest should be tried, and therefore in 1686 an offer of 40,000 pesos a year was made to the Jesuits to undertake it; since the conversion of the Indians, rather than wealth in pearls or the development of rich lands, was their primary aim, it was hoped that they might succeed where others had not been able to do so. The royal government might indeed have commanded the Jesuits to do this work, but in the nature of things it was essen tial to have their free consent. Thus, when the Jesuits declined, on grounds of the wretchedness of the land and the small number of Indians, the government did not press the matter. The suggestion was soon to bear fruit, however. It was after the Jesuit refusal that the government made the already mentioned plan to finance Atondo again, a project which came to naught. The revival of the idea of a Jesuit conquest was due to two religious of that order, Fathers Eusebio Francisco Kino and Juan Maria Salvatierra. As a member of the Atondo expedi tion Father Kino had developed an enthusiasm for Jesuit penetration into the Californias which became one of the abiding aims of his life. Upon his return from the San Bruno colony he had been sent to Sonora, where in 1687 be had crossed the Altar River to found a mission at Dolores in Pimeria Alta. It was there that he met Salvatierra, who had been sent out by tbe Jesuit order as visitador, or inspector, of the missions in that region. Kino imbued Salvatierra with his own enthusiasm, and the latter put himself at the head of a movement for a Jesuit occupationof Baj a California. The time was unusually unpropitious, for Spain was then pros trate before France in a great war which was not yet finished but was virtually decided. Not only the government but also the higher Jesuit officials opposed the plan, but in 1696 help came from the fountain-head of Jesuit power. In that year Father Santaella, general of the order, was in Mexico City. He favored the project. It was therefore not hard to procure a license from the government, which had so long desired the achievement of this very aim, but the proviso was at tached to its consent that the Jesuits must find the funds. 174 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Early in 1697 Salvatierra was empowered to raise them, if he could, by private subscription. Salvatierra was assisted in his project by Father Juan de Ugarte, a member of the Jesuit college of Mexico City, and it was this individual who now began his important services on behalf of the Californias by suggesting the establishment of the Pious Fund of the Californias. This institution (described hereafter in this chapter) provided for the collection of funds from pious individuals and for their employment in the founding and maintenance of missions. The royal license to the Jesuits, dated February 5, 1697, called for the occupation of the Californias by the Jesuits at their own expense (assisted by the Pious Fund). The most striking feature of the contract was the provision that the entire enterprise was to be under Jesuit control; not only were they to have charge of spiritual interests, but they were also to hire and command the sol diers and such other officials or helpers as they might need. This was something new in California history, though it had been tried elsewhere in Spanish dominions, notably in Para guay, with success. The one check on Jesuit authority was the requirement that the conquest should be made in the name of the king and subject to the orders of the viceroy or other higher representatives of the crown. Salvatierra met with many discouragements in getting his expedition under way. He found that insufficient pro visions had been supplied. Then Fathers Kino and Piccolo, whom he had intended to take with him, did not appear at the rendezvous ; Kino was detained permanently in Pimeria Alta, but Piccolo eventually joined Salvatierra, though not until after the latter had reached Baja California. Though affairs were not in such a state as he could have wished, Salvatierra resolved to go anyway; so he gathered together hisAarmy" of six men and started. The voyage was made in two small craft, which endeavored to cross from the Sinaloa coast to the peninsula. Salvatierra's boat got across the gulf in a single day, sailing on October 10, 1697, and arriving on the 11th. The other boat was caught in a storm, THE JESUITS IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, 1697-1768 175 and did not reach its destination until November 15, over a month later. On October 18, after a week's search, Salvatierra picked out a site about a third of the way up the peninsula which Captain Romero said he had visited two years before — on a voyage of which otherwise there is no record, unless Romero was in fact referring to the Itamarra voyage of 1694. At this place, to which the name Loreto was given, was now estabbsbed the first permanent European settle ment of the Californias. A fort was constructed, with the provisions as bulwarks, and a tiny swivel-gun was mounted. There were many natives in the vicinity, and they helped in the work of preparing the camp, receiving gifts of porridge and maize. Salvatierra was a very busy man in the early days of the colony. He was priest, officer, sentry, governor of the province, and cook for the army rolled into one. Yet he found time to study the native tongue and to conduct religious services from the first. The Indians were invited to attend, and were given an extra allotment of porridge when they did. Trouble soon developed, however, on the part of the unconverted. Tbey wanted as much porridge as the con verts received, and furthermore began to steal things about the camp. Their dissatisfaction at length reached such pro portions that on the 1st of November they issued demands for porridge. For several days the Spaniards thought it best to accede to them, as the second ship had not arrived, and their forces were hopelessly insufficient. Meanwhile they became exhausted with watching, for it was evident that the Indians, emboldened by their success, planned to rush the camp. At last, on November .12, the attack came. The Spaniards felt that it was time to use the swivel-gun. They did so, and one famous shot was fired, — but the result was very different from what they could have hoped. The gun burst and killed two Spaniards, while the Indians received no harm. Seeing what had taken place the Indians charged. All seemed over now, but the Spaniards prepared to sell their lives dearly. They fired their muskets point-blank at the Indians, several of whom were killed. Thereupon, a new light 176 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA dawned upon the Indians, and they came to a sudden, unanimous, and simultaneous decision to run the other way. The battle was over. The next day the Indians sued for peace. Two days later, on the 15th, the second boat (the one which had left Sinaloa at the same time as Salvatierra's) reached Loreto, and on the 23d the first boat (which had been sent back to New Spain) came in, bringing Father Piccolo. Success now seemed bkely. All the Indians ap peared to want conversion, and manifestly desired porridge, but Salvatierra insisted upon more instruction and greater proofs of their sincerity. The conquerors were now eighteen in number, — two religious, seven soldiers, five sailors, and four Christian Indians from the mainland, — a force that was large enough to cope with tbe Indians of the neighborhood, numerous as they were. Salvatierra's rectorship, or presidency, of the Baja Cali fornia missions (carrying with it the government of the province) lasted until his death, in 1717. The events of these twenty years are typical of frontier life and are representa tive also of the course of affairs in the later period of Jesuit rule. The first five years were a particularly crucial period, for the entire weight of responsibibty fell upon Salvatierra and his co-workers, without more aid from the king than the royal good will. The Pious Fund did especially effective service in these years, with the result that the number of soldiers was increased, supplies made adequate and regular in shipment, and more buildings erected. In 1699 the mission of San Javier was founded, south of Loreto at a fertile site, and Father Piccolo went there as missionary. In the early years the Indians were occasionally hostile, being stirred to resistance by their native priests, or medicine-men, whose profession was of course frowned upon by the Jesuits. But the fiery Captain Tortolero proved himself to be a Califor nian Miles Standish, and was able to keep the Indians in hand. They displayed no enthusiasm for conversion, how ever; on Palm Sunday of 1698 Salvatierra planned to repre sent a dinner of the twelve apostles, with Indians filling the r6le of the apostles, but only two Indians put in an appear- THE JESUITS IN BAJA CALIFORNIA. 1697-1768 177 ance. There were also the inevitable quarrels of religious and military, especially between Salvatierra and Tortolero's successor, Mendoza, though in this case the Jesuits clearly had authority. Mendoza wanted to employ more summary methods against the Indians and also to use the soldiers in fishing for pearls. Despite the risk involved, Salvatierra did not hesitate to settle the matter by discharging eighteen of his thirty soldiers. The most serious difficulty arose over the inadequacy of the Pious Fund for the needs of the colony, and further more the amount of gifts to the fund fell away, due to the inimical reports of the disappointed soldiery and the pearl- fishers. It is to be noticed that obscure seekers of pearls were a constant factor in the history of the province. The Jesuits complained against them, because they forced the Indians to dive for pearls, and consequently the religious would not sell them provisions. The government, however, encouraged the pearl-fishers, and by a decree of 1703 waived the old idea of the monopoly; the effective occupation of the Californias, by whatever means it might be brought about, was what the government wanted. When it became evident that the Jesuits could not sustain themselves without royal aid, the king and his councillors came to the rescue. Philip V himself attended a session of the Council of the Indies in 1702 at which it was decided to grant a subsidy of 6000 pesos a year and two addi tional missionaries (naturally, at royal expense). Shortly afterward an additional 7000 pesos, thirty soldiers, and re ligious paraphernalia were added by the king, and in later years the annual royal subsidy reached as high as 30,000 pesos, thus providing for the soldiers, sailors, and mission aries. With this aid the Pious Fund was able to furnish the rest. It is to be noted that there was almost no financial return on the royal investment and that expensive wars in Europe were all along taxing the treasury to its uttermost. Yet the Spanish government, though occasionally behind hand in its payments, made what was, for the times, a gen erous allowance to maintain and extend tbe conquests in tbe 178 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Californias, primarily because of their strategic importance with reference to the rich kingdom of New Spain. Another important factor of a permanent variety was the difficulty of communications with tbe mainland. Many in stances of delays and wreck occasioned by the storms of the Gulf of California have abeady been noted. In Salvatierra's time about one ship a year was lost by wreck. Salvatierra became convinced that it would be much better to develop a supply-route by way of Sonora, and in 1701 visited Kino in Pimeria Alta to discuss the matter. As a result, plans were made for joint expeditions from Sonora and Baja Cali fornia to see whether there were a practicable trail. It was impossible to do this by boat, as the number of wrecks left the Jesuits with an insufficient fleet of vessels and the con trary winds were too difficult a factor to overcome readily. Explorations were made by land, to tbe end of Jesuit rule, but never quite reached the Colorado from the side of Baja California or the settled part of the peninsula from the side of Sonora. It is important, however, that the need for such a route was recognized; Baja California was in fact at the extremity of an overland advance, occupied as result of special circumstances before the intervening spaces. The greatest of the Baja California Jesuits, undoubtedly, was Father Salvatierra, but second only to him stood Father Juan de Ugarte. It was Ugarte who organized the work of the Pious Fund, but he was not content with the task of ad ministering that institution; he wanted to be an active toiler in the field. So in 1701 he came to Loreto. Father Piccolo had just been driven away from San Javier by the Indians, but Ugarte went there to restore the mission. Moreover, re lying upon his great strength, for he was a giant in stature, he sent back the soldiers who had gone there with him. He reestablished the mission, and as the site was fertile put the Indians to work at agriculture. The experiment, which had not prev'ously been tried, was a success, and in course of time San Javier was able to produce a surplus for use at the other missions. Ugarte was a man who radiated enthusiasm, and he was able to succeed where others would have failed. THE JESUITS IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, 1697-1768 179 Patient as a rule, he could also exhibit a picturesque wrath. On one occasion he took an Indian by the hair and swung him around his head, and on another seized by the hair two Indians who were fighting and dashed them to the ground. His bountiful courage was particularly useful in 1701, the year of his arrival. Provisions got so low that even Salva tierra was ready to abandon the province. Ugarte opposed, and said that he would stay, whatever the others might do. All stayed therefore. Very soon they were reduced to eating roots, but a ship came in time to save them. Naturally, upon the death of Salvatierra, Ugarte was ap pointed to succeed him, and he ruled until 1730, when he died at the age of seventy years. His term of office was one of great munificence to the Pious Fund, with the result that more missions were founded and the establishments generally placed on a secure basis. Ugarte resolved to solve the riddle of the gulf, if gulf it were. First it was necessary to build a ship, for those which plied between the mainland and Loreto had proved unequal to the northward voyage. Scouring the land he found a grove of timber in an almost inaccessible ravine. The builder said that it was not suitable for a ship, but Ugarte cut it anyway, and hauled it for a hundred miles over mountain ranges to a mission on the coast. The ship was built, and named appropriately the Triunfo de la Cruz (Triumph of the Cross). In this boat the venerable rector, then sixty-one years of age, made a voyage up the gulf, in 1721, taking an Englishman, a certain William Strafford (called Guillermo Estrafort in the Spanish), as pilot. Ugarte proved that the sheet of water upon which he sailed was a gulf. Yet, so persistent were the old ideas, that -the voyage had to be repeated by Father Consag in 1746. Then, at length, the legend of California's insularity was overthrown forever. A serious Indian revolt broke out in 1734. The Indians of the Cape San Lucas region had always been unruly, and particularly objected to the Jesuit efforts to deprive them of their institution of polygamy. There were only three Jesuits and six soldiers in the south when the rebellion began, 180 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA and two of the former and four of the latter, together with many Indian converts, were killed. In 1735, when a boat from the Manila galleon put in at Cape San Lucas, thirteen Spaniards were massacred. The news of these events spread through the peninsula, and the Indians of the north seemed on the point of rising, wherefore all the missions, save that of Loreto, were temporarily abandoned in 1735. Sixty hard- fighting Yaqui Indians were brought over from Sonora, and they saved the situation for a time. Later in the year Gov ernor Huydobro of Sonora came to the peninsula, and decisively defeated the Indians of the south. As a result the revolt in the north died before it had fairly broken out, and that of the south lost force, though the Indians of that quarter continued to drive off cattle and to commit other depredations for some ten years more. Abandonment of the province had been averted, however. In 1768 the Jesuits were deprived of their position in the peninsula. Before relating how this came about, it is well at this point to summarize their achievements in Baja Cali fornia. As a recent work, puts it : "During their seventy years' sojourn in Lower [or Baja] Cali fornia, the Jesuits had charted the east coast and explored the east and west coasts of the Peninsula and the islands adjacent thereto; they had explored the interior to the thirty-first parallel of north latitude1 in a manner that has never been excelled; they had brought about the institution of the Pious Fund; they had founded twenty-three — including the chapel of Jesus del Monte — mission establishments, of which fourteen had proven successful;2 they had erected structures of stone and beautified them; they had formulated a system of mission life never thereafter surpassed; they had not only instructed the Indians in religious matters, but had taught them many of the useful arts; they had made a network of open trails, connecting the missions with each other and with Loreto; they had taken scientific and geographical notes concerning the country and prepared ethnological reports on the native races; they had cultivated and planted the arable lands and inaugurated a system of irrigation . . . Considering the abundance of level land, the water and tens of thousands of 1 About a hundred miles south of 2 Two of the fourteen were aban- the present international boundary. doned by the successors of the Jesuits. THE JESUITS IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, 1697-1768 181 Indians about them, the establishment by the Franciscans [at a later time] of twenty-one missions in Upper [or Alta] California during the fifty-four years preceding the passage of the Seculari zation Act, is no circumstance to the peninsular work of the Jesuits. Finally, the Jesuits of California were men of high educa tion, many of them of gentle birth; of their labors in the Penin sula, it has been said with truth that 'remote as was the land and small the nation, there are few chapters in the history of the world on which the mind can turn with so sincere an admiration.' " 3 Aside from the mission-presidio at Loreto and the other missions there were few settlements in Baja California where Spaniards lived. The Jesuits always resisted the entry of any whites other than themselves and their mission guards; they even opposed, with success, several royal projects for the founding of presidios on the west coast. Their idea, bere as in Paraguay, was that the conversion and civilization of the native was the prime reason for their presence and that these aims would best be attained if the selfish interests of white settlers were not allowed to complicate the situation. There was a sprinkling of miners, however, in the south, and, as already noted, the pearl-fishers continued to visit the coasts. It remains to deal in somewhat more detail with the Pious Fund. The Pious Fund of the Californias, founded by Salvatierra and Ugarte in 1697, came to be, eventually, one of the prin cipal supports of the missions of both Baja and Alta Cal ifornia. The royal treasury never provided enough for the needs of the missions, which could not have been sustained without a much larger governmental grant if it had not been for the assistance of the Pious Fund; for the first few years, indeed, the Pious Fund was the sole reliance of the Jesuits. At the outset the method of handling was for the donors to pay over the interest merely, on sums that they had given but retained in their possession. Thus, a grant of 10,000 pesos, which was usually regarded as the capital required for the support of one mission, entailed payment of 500 pesos a year as interest to the Jesuit administrator in Mexico City. 'North, Arthur Walbridge, The mother of California (San Francisco and New York. [1908]), 44-45. 182 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA One donor went bankrupt, however, and from the year 1716 the funds were paid over in entirety and reinvested, usually in ranches. The greatest benefactor was the Marque's de Villapuente. In addition to providing sums for the founding of a number of missions, he gave several hundred thousand acres of land in Tamaulipas, with all the flocks and buildings upon them. A certain Josefa Paula de Argiielles gave nearly 200,000 pesos, and a member of the great Borja (or Borgia) family, Maria de Borja, Duquesa de Gandia, gave 62,000. The fund reached a total of from 500,000 to 1,000,000 pesos, and produced at a rate of about 5 per cent. A Jesuit pro curator managed the estates, and bought and shipped goods to the missionaries in the peninsula. After the expulsion of the Jesuits had been decided upon in 1767, the Pious Fund was taken over by the government, but was managed as a separate financial institution, with a view to carrying out the objects of the original donors. It was henceforth applied to both Californias. Occasionally, too, funds were devoted to other than purely religious ob jects, as in the case of the expeditions of 1769 and 1775-1776 to Alta California, both of which were provided for, in part, out of the Pious Fund. In 1836 the Mexican government, which had succeeded Spain in exercise of sovereignty over the Californias, passed a law that the fund should be applied toward the expenses of a bishopric of the Californias, which, with papal assent, it was proposed to establish. Thus the religious were deprived of any further utilization of the fund. In 1842 the Mexican government reassumed control, but announced that it would employ the proceeds to promote the civilization and conversion of the savages. Later in the same year the separate estates of the Pious Fund were sold, and the moneys obtained were incorporated in the Mexican treasury, but the government made formal acknowledgment of an indebtedness for religious objects in the Californias to the extent of 6 per cent a year on the amount it had re ceived. When the United States took over Alta California in 1848, Mexico ceased to make further payments on behalf of THE JESUITS IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, 1697-1768 183 that territory, and for many years they lapsed. In 1868 a commission met to adjust claims between the United States and Mexico, and while it was still in session the Catholic authorities of California put in a claim, in 1870, for a portion of the income of the Pious Fund, — so much as would nor mally have been Alta California's share. The United States entered the claim, but as no agreement with Mexico could be reached the matter was submitted to an umpire in the person of Sir Edward Thornton. This gentleman rendered a decision in 1875 calling for payment by Mexico of 6 per cent annually on one-half the value of the fund, on the theory that Alta and Baja Cabfornia were equaUy entitled. His decision covered the twenty-one year period from 1848 to 1869, and required payment by Mexico of $904,070.99, or $43,050.99 a year. Mexico paid, but announced that any future claim for arrears would be inadmissible, a contention with which the United States did not agree. In 1891 the United States put in a claim for the arrears since 1869, but Mexico declined to honor the claim. In 1902, however, the two countries consented to a submission of the case to the arbitral tribunal at the Hague, — the 'first case ever acted upon by that body. The court gave a unanimous decision that Mexico should pay the accrued interest, which by that time amounted to $1,420,682.67, and also that Mexico should forever pay over the sum of $43,050.99 each year on the 2d of February. The money is payable to the United States, which of course recognizes its obligation to give the full amount to the Cathobc Church in Cabfornia. Mexico has again fallen in arrears, and the matter of the Pious Fund has taken its place as one of the perennial unpaid claims of this country against Mexico. As for the share due Baja California, Mexico has long since ceased to make payments. Thus strangely does the course of history take its way. Who could have foreseen such a varied career for that heritage from the missionary zeal of Salvatierra and Ugarte, tbe Pious Fund of the Californias! In 1767 the Spanish government issued a decree expelling the Jesuits from all of their dominions. The causes for this 184 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA action had scarcely anything to do with Jesuit activities in Baja Cabfornia, though there as elsewhere charges were filed against them. It was merely part of a world-wide move ment in Cathobc countries against the Jesuits, growing largely out of a fear that the Jesuits were planning a great revolution against the absolute monarchs of Europe. Portu gal and France had already expeUed the Jesuits, and Naples foUowed the lead of these countries and Spain in 1767; in deed the pope was induced to suppress the Jesuit order in 1773, though it was later restored. It is therefore futile to go into the question of the justice of this decision as affecting the Jesuits of Baja California, as the complaints of their detractors, which were in great part false or very greatly exaggerated, had no real bearing on the case. In Baja Cabfornia, as in all other Spanish domains, great secrecy was observed in carrying out the decree, and no hint of what was coming was given. In September- 1767 Captain Gaspar de Portola (a native of Catalonia) arrived in the province with a commission as governor. He called the Jesuits together, and on February 3, 1768, they were sent out of the peninsula. The Indians, it seems, made great manifestations of grief, — and weU they might, for their future in other hands was to be less happy than it had been under Salvatierra and bis successors. The Franciscans of the College of San Fernando,4 Mexico City, had been offered the California field in June 1767, and had accepted, but it was not until April 1768 that their first missionaries actually arrived in the peninsula. Mean while, the missions had been turned over to mibtary com missioners, who gave very little thought to the Indians and very much to a search for the vast treasure that the Jesuits were reputed to have accumulated. As a result the missions 4 The College of San Fernando was home for missionaries without em- nota "college" as that word is ordin- ployment or for those who had re- arily understood in this country. It tired from actual service. The Col- was one of several Franciscan insti- lege of San Fernando, which was tutions, such as the colleges of Quere- destined to supply all the missiona- taro, Jalisco, and Zacatecas, which ries of Alta Cabfornia in the Spanish served primarily as an administrative era and most of those in the Mexican, centre for missionary work and as a was founded in 1734. THE JESUITS IN BAJA CALIFORNIA, 1697-1768 185 were nearly ruined, and the Indians were left in sad straits, while bttle or no treasure was found. At the head of the Franciscans who arrived in the spring of 1768 was Junipero Serra, the appointee of the college as president of the mis sions, then in his fifty-fifth year. The conditions under which he took up his presidency were very different from those of the Jesuit era. Not only was the government of the province forever removed from mission control, but also the tem poralities of the missions, — that is, the flocks, crops, and economic resources in general, — were left in the hands of the military commissioners. Only the church properties and spiritual authority were to be in charge of the Franciscans. The military men had proved to be self-seeking or else in competent, so that the missions seemed doomed to fail. Not having food or clothing to give the Indians, the missionaries could not attract the unconverted or even hold the former proteges of the Jesuits. Later in 1768 Jose de Galvez, visitador (or royal inspector) of all New Spain, arrived in the peninsula, and one of his first reforms was to give back tbe temporalities to missionary control. With this, the new regime in the Californias, that of the typical frontier prov ince, may fairly be said to have been installed. CHAPTER XV PROGRESS OF THE IDEA OF OVERLAND ADVANCE TO THE CALIFORNIAS, 1687-1765 The establishment of the lesuit missions in Baja Califor nia was in conformity with government projects, but was far from being as thorough-going and extensive a settlement as the authorities could have wished. The basis of their desires, the strategic importance of the Californias with reference to New Spain, has already been alluded to several times, but, in the face of the difficulties in the way of occupy ing the land, the impelling causes and the motive agencies of conquest had to be very strong in order to achieve the wished-for result. It is well at this point to get these factors clearly in mind before proceeding with the detail as to gov ernmental plans and activities. The mere lust, or vain-glory, of conquest in itself, without the inducement of profits, had never appealed to the Span iards in the Americas. Conquests involved expenditures, and the government had no funds for expeditions that promised no clearly recognizable advantage. The '"Northern Mystery" still fived in the eighteenth century in the minds of many individuals, — at least in its milder forms of wealth in precious metals, kingdoms of Quivira, and straits of Anian, though fountains of youth and Amazon islands were no longer urged seriously, — but the government was utterly unmoved by these tales, or at any rate declined to open the royal purse in order to investigate them. A definite discovery of wealth in precious metals might indeed cause it to assume the expense of a conquest, but the evidences of discovery had to be convincing before it would start. Mere wealth in natural resources, of the kind that would require time and 186 PROGRESS OF OVERLAND ADVANCE 187 capital to develop, did not interest the state; precious metal would yield immediate returns, through the exaction of the royal fifth or through the sale of quicksilver (which was a royal monopoly) for extracting the gold or silver from the ores, but Spain had other uses for her long-term capital than its employment in a distant frontier province of the empire. There was one perennial cause for conquest: the fear lest some other European power might occupy lands that would threaten those already possessed by Spain, — the element of foreign danger, which had made its appear ance as a factor in Spanish imperial councils when Drake's visit to the Pacific coast had inaugurated the era of the "aggressive defensive" in California affairs. In this matter Spain was unceasingly distrustful, and her fear was constant. Indeed, scepticism was thrown to the winds where foreign aggressions were concerned, and mere unauthenticated re ports were sufficient to produce expensive efforts from which no financial profit was expected to be derived. Hardly a year passed without some governmental project on this ac count, but the advances between 1687 and 1769 (except for Jesuit activities in Baja California) were more in the way of improving the eventual line of communications than in taking over new territories. All of this was essential work; if the details are not dwelt upon here, it is not because the founding of a presidio or the suppression of an Indian war in Sonora was a matter of no importance. What might have happened if incontrovertible evidences of foreign aggression in the Californias had been received is a question, but no such proofs were obtained in this period. Suspicion there was, always. Down to 1761 it was directed primarily against the French, but the English were at all times suspected, and the fear of Russian encroachments began to be a factor from about the middle of the eighteenth century. In any event the government had to have fit instruments to carry out its policies of defensive conquest. The relative importance of the military, the religious, and the civilian settler as agencies of conquest has already been discussed, but it should be emphasized that the conversion of Indians 188 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA to Christianity is to be regarded distinctly as an agency, rather than as a cause, of conquest. On this point Father Engelhardt says : "The kings, indeed, desired the conversion of the Indians to Christianity, and frequently declared this to be the chief aim of the conquest; nevertheless, the object for which alone expenses were incurred was political." and again " The men who presumed to guide the destinies of Spain . . , cared naught for the success of Religion or the welfare of its min isters, except in so far as both could be used to promote pohtical schemes." Anybody who has made an extensive study of the docu ments of the period will recognize that these statements are essentially true. Unquestionably, the conversion of the Indians was the principal object of tbe missionaries, but with the government it was merely a means to an end; if funds were provided for missions, it was because some po litical advantage was expected or in order that some danger to the state might be averted. As an agency of conquest, however, the work of the religious, as already indicated, was very important. One other important agency of conquest had to combine with these elements which were permanently in the field if a striking advance were to be made toward and into the Californias, especially in the absence of definite information of a foreign invasion to act as an exceptional spur to con quest. The difficulties to be overcome — geographical bar riers, the insufficient funds which the government was willing to apply, the hindrances of graft and administrative cum- bersomeness, the numerous Indians to be encountered, and the competition of Europeans — were so great that only a leader of extraordinary energy and ability could push ahead of the normal march of conquest. Salvatierra and Ugarte demonstrated the necessary qualities in Baja California, but no other great leader appeared until the arrival .of Jose* de Galvez in 1765. There were many, however, who paved PROGRESS OF OVERLAND ADVANCE 189 the way for later conquests by their explorations of little known lands or by their propaganda in favor of an advance. Three factors should be considered, then, in dealing with the Spanish approach to Alta California: projects for an ad vance, including the activities of individuals and the plans of the government; the obstacles in the way of an advance; and the normal march of conquest by the land route through Sonora. The initial impulse for the Spanish advance over the last stretch of land that separated New Spain from the Califor nias was given by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino of the Jesuit order. In 1687, when he established the mission Dolores on one of the upper branches of the Sonora River, he took the first step toward bringing Pimeria Alta within the frontier and extending the Spanish occupation to its Pacific coast objectives of Baja California and Monterey. His major interest, aside from the immediate problems connected with his missionary labors in Pimeria Alta, was the discovery and development of a supply-route to Baja California. As a mem ber of the Atondo colony of 1683-1685, as already stated, he had acquired an interest in the peninsula which thereafter he never ceased to have. He it was who inspired Salvatierra to make the attempt which had resulted in the Jesuit occu pation of Baja California in 1697. After exploring the Gila and Colorado valleys Kino became interested in the northern lands as well, hoping to reach Monterey. He trusted that the Manila galleon might be ordered to stop there and send goods overland to Sonora ; and he grew to believe that a set tlement should be founded on the Colorado River to serve as a base for operations against the Apaches and Moquis to the east and northeast and for the conquest of the Californias on the one hand and the lands intervening between Sonora and New Mexico on the other. These ideas constituted in effect the program of Spanish northwestward conquest for the next hundred years. The partial fulfilment of his plan by the Anza expeditions pf 1775-1776 from Sonora to Monte rey was to have tremendous consequences to the eventual ad vantage of California and the United States, just as the 190 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA failure of the Colorado-Gila settlements in 1781 was to have equally important and, as it turned out, equally fortunate results. Kino is therefore one of the headlights in the list of those men who contributed to the founding of Spanish California. Not only did he possess these ideas himself, but he also disseminated them in his voluminous writings, in cluding correspondence, memorials, and a volume recounting his experiences. In the quarter of a century following his appearance in Pimeria Alta, Kino and his companions pushed the frontier of mission work and exploration to the Gila and the lower Colorado. By 1695 Kino had established a chain of missions up and down the valley of the Altar. His repeated journeys of exploration took him, among other places, to the borders of the Californias, and enabled him to help clear up the geo graphical puzzles about those lands. Kino had come to America in the belief that California was a peninsula, but, under the influence of current teachings, had accepted the idea that it was an island. During his last journey to the Gila, however, he had been given some blue shells such as he had seen on the western coast of Baja California and no where else. He now reasoned that Cabfornia must after all be a peninsula, and that it might be possible to find a land route over which to send supplies to Salvatierra's struggling missions. To test this view was the principal object of his later explorations. In 1700 he for the first time descended the Gila to its junction with the Colorado. In the following year, accompanied by Salvatierra, he tried to reach the head of the gulf by going up the coast from Sonoita. Failing in this, he went to the Gila junction, descended the Colorado nearly to its mouth, and crossed over on a raft. In 1702 he again descended the Colorado, this time reaching the gulf. He had now proved, to his own satisfaction at least, that California was a peninsula. Meanwhile, Kino and his brother-friars had pushed the missionary frontier to the Gila. In 1700 he founded the mission of San Javier del Bac, and within the next two years those of Tumacacori and Gue- vavi, all in the Santa Cruz valley and within modern Ari- PROGRESS OF OVERLAND ADVANCE 191 zona. Kino's exploring tours were also itinerant missions, and in the course of them he baptized and taught in numer ous villages up and down the Gila and Colorado and through out Pimeria Alta. Kino had blazed the trail. The record of the next half century after the completion of his own labors in 1711 amounts to a cumulation of achievements along fines that he had already laid down. Fathers Agustin Campos, Juan de Ugarte, Ignacio Keller, Jacobo Sedelmayr, and Fernando Consag of the Jesuit order carried on explorations in the Colorado-Gila country and in the Gulf of California. The most important result of their work was the definite proof, obtained by Ugarte and Consag that there was no strait separating the Cabfornias from the mainland; development of overland routes for further settlements and the carrying of supplies was therefore possible. Noteworthy, too, were the problems in imaginary geography arising from Sedel- mayr's journey of 1744, when he ascended the Colorado to Bill Williams Fork. Fears arose lest the French (and after 1763 the English) might be near the sources of the Colorado. Sedelmayr had also heard that there was a certain Rio Amarillo "a little farther on," beyond where he had gone, and that it flowed westward out of the Colorado. People wondered whether this might be the Carmelo which emptied near Monterey, a tiny stream which Vizcaino had exagge rated to the proportions of a mighty river. The proximity of the French or of the English and the water-courses by which they might advance against New Spain were^used henceforth as leading arguments for an occupation of the Colorado-Gila country and Monterey. The names of those who fell heir to Kino's ideas are legion. The Jesuits Jose de Ortega (1754), Andres Burriel (1757), and Francisco Javier Alegre (1767) published books in which were set forth similar arguments to those that Kino had made. The same things came out in the memorials of Campos, Sedelmayr, Escobar (head of the Jesuits in New Spain), Pedro Altamirano (head of the order in Spain), and Juan Antonio Balthasar, also of the Jesuit order, and of 192 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA other individuals such as Captain Juan Bautista de Anza (father of the Anza who headed the expeditions of 1774 and 1775-1776 to Alta California), Bishop Benito Crespo of Puebla, a certain Jose de Messa, Captain Fernando Sanchez, and another mibtary officer named Pedro de Labaquera. Royal officials in Mexico City and Spain were distinctly interested. Nearly every viceroy and tbe fiscales1 of the Audiencia of Mexico and of the Council of the Indies gave these projects their serious consideration, and so also did Spanish ministers of state such as Cardinal Alberoni, Fer nando Trivino, the Marques de Ensenada, and Julian de Arriaga. King Philip V was so much interested that he attended meetings of the Council of the Indies in which these matters were discussed. Among the outstanding memoriabsts of the other government officials were Jose* Gallardo, visitador in Sonora in 1748-1749, and the Marques de Altamira, an official of the Audiencia of Mexico. It should be stated that very few of these individuals recognized that they were following in Kino's footsteps, but the fact that so many of them reached virtuaUy the same conclusions, though independently, proves how important the matter of an advance to the Californias by way of the Gila arid Colo rado was regarded. It will not be possible to give in detail the views of these men, but a reference to some of their recommendations may well be made. The entire period under consideration was filled with royal decrees evincing interest in the extension of conquests in the Californias and in the occupation of the Colorado and Gila basins. Especially notable was one of January 29, 1716, for which Alberoni, then dominant in Spanish politics, is said to have been responsible, although it is likely that he was influenced by the memorials of Kino, whose ideas appear in 1 The fiscales were individuals at- most important individuals in the tached to Audiencias and Councils Spanish administrative system whe- to whom matters were referred for an ther in Spain or in the colonies. As a opinion. They were lawyers, but their general rule the opinions of thefiscates advice was not confined to legal af- were followed verbatim. Particularly fairs. In practice, during the eigh- was this true of the fiscales of the teenth century, they were among the Council of the Indies. PROGRESS OF OVERLAND ADVANCE 193 the decree. The decree itself was like many another, asking information as to the progress of conversions in the Cali fornias, referring to the great importance of promoting spiritual conquest there, and ordering the viceroy to fulfil a decree of July 26, 1708, requiring him to take steps in the matter. At the same time orders were given to promote the advancement of the Sonora missions; and verbal instructions were issued to the viceroy to explore the Pacific coasts and to found colonies and presidios there. In addition to these colonies Alberoni planned "in like manner to advance the Spanish domain with new set tlements in the vast unknown territories to the north of Sonora from the Gila and Colorado rivers onward." The last-named settlements might send their products to the new colonies on the coast, and receive in exchange what they needed, he argued. These regions were not to rely on New Spain and Europe for trade, but were to develop com merce with the Philippines. Alberoni was not left in peace to work out his ideas, and a few years later, after a stormy career in power, he found himself an exile from Spain. The viceroy called a junta,2 however, to act upon the decree of 1716, and all but one member approved a plan to found at least one colony on the west coast of the Californias. The member in opposition was a Jesuit, and his views, supported by others of his order, were allowed to prevail; the Jesuits feared that the new colonies would prove a detriment to the work of conversion then being carried on by them in Baja California. 2 The Junta de Guerra y Real Ha- varied, but was usually about ten or cienda of the viceroyalty was one of twelve. Most of them held adminis- the most important institutions in trative posts connected with financial Spanish colonial administration. Its affairs and were in this capacity the consent was necessary for the expen- subordinates of the viceroy. Ordin- diture of royal funds, and it was often arily the viceroy welcomed the coun- called upon to deliberate whether a sels of the junta and followed them, given project should be ordered or just as on other matters he accepted not. It was, however, very human in the suggestions of the fiscal. Special its workings, in that a viceroy could juntas of experts in a given matter override the law and dominate or were also called, from time to time, even dispense with the junta, if he so but these bodies were purely consul- desired. The number of members tative. 194 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA The next capital moment along the line of the overland advance came as the result of a most extraordinary incident. In 1736 a remarkable silver mine was discovered at or near a place called Arizonac, or Arizona, just south of the border of the present-day state of Arizona. The more usual name for the mine at that time was Bolas de Plata (Balls of Silver), or Planchas de Plata (Nuggets of Silver), because the pre cious metal was found in balls, or nuggets, of almost pure silver. These were on or near the surface, and were of im mense size, some of them weighing a ton or more. Accounts differed, but there were several stating that the largest nugget weighed 3500 pounds; one of the reputed finders, Fermfn, spoke of a 4000-pound nugget, and said that there were many of about 500 pounds. There was an immediate rush of miners to the spot. Captain Anza of Fronteras interfered with them, claiming that the bolas belonged prop erly to the king. According tp law, one-fifth of the silver accrued to the king if the discovery were a mine, but if it were a hidden treasure the king was entitled to all. Anza claimed that if it were not a hidden treasure, it was at least a "criadero," or growing-place, of silver, and therefore be longed to the national treasury. The viceroy reversed Anza's decision, but the royal decree of 1741 sustained the Fronteras captain. It is doubtful whether Anza could have held back the miners if the mines had proved to be extensive, and it is said that his interference was not very effective anyway, the greater part of the wealth going to the discoverers. Anza himself stated that he had difficulty in saving any for the king. Although the region was rich in mineral wealth of the ordinary type, the bolas seem to have been but a superficial deposit, and nothing is heard of them after 1741. Neverthe less the bolas incident did lead to an official consideration of northwestward conquest by way of the Colorado and Gila rivers. The bolas de plata were a definitely proved item of wealth, which was infinitely more important than, for exam ple, a fabled mountain of gold. Where so much silver had been found, there was good reason to expect that more existed. PROGRESS OF OVERLAND ADVANCE 195 It was this incident that gave rise to the memorials of Anza, Bishop Crespo, and Messa recommending an exten sion of the Spanish conquest. Writing to the viceroy on January 14, 1737, about the discovery of the bolas, Anza said: "The discovery of these balls of silver, most excellent sir, — an unprecedented wealth under the circumstances and right at the limits of the Christian conquest, — has come so like a bolt from the blue, that many learned, zealous, and prudent men deem it a sign from the ever-merciful God, author of all things, that we should push farther into the interior. Though indeed the quantity of Wealth discovered is not overhwelming in amount, it is [in such a form that it is] strong evidence that greater riches may be found by which the reduction of souls may be brought about, just as has hap pened [elsewhere] in both Americas ... I am aware of the fact that many projects which were proposed in entire earnestness in former years have not been successful on account of the difficulties experienced in practice, in various provinces and in different cases, and much money has been expended. But in order that there shall be a beginning (and here my project begins) of a discovery up to the Colorado River and some leagues beyond, it need not cost much. The funds can be procured, perhaps, from pious indi viduals, and I shall contribute horses, cattle, mules, and small articles as gifts for the Indians . . . This project is in my opinion the best way to bring about what shall in the future seem desir able, and as the inhabitants [of the Colorado-Gila country] are industrious it is to be presumed that it will not be difficult to re duce them; it would be otherwise if they lived by hunting with the bow and arrow and upon wild fruits and roots, for it would then be almost impossible to conquer them, as I know from experience."Anza also quoted a number of reports of early explorers, and reviewed the evidence for belief in the wealth of the north. The vast ruin on the Gila known as the Casa Grande and an even greater one in Chihuahua, built, he thought, by Aztec kings in the course of their migration southward, were men tioned by him in support of this belief. Indians of the Gila had told Jesuit visitors of the existence of quicksilver in the north. Anza had something to say, too, of the island Cali fornia, of the strait through the continent, and of the Seven Cities, GranTeguayo, and Quivira, and, as usual (as already 196 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA indicated), the vast number of Indians awaiting conversion was adduced as an argument for an expedition. Favorable action was taken on Anza's proposal in 1737- 1738, both in Mexico City and in Spain, but before matters bad reached the stage of an expedition the Fronteras captain lost his life, in 1739, in a battle with the Apaches. It was in any event too early for the execution of this plan, with the limited resources Spam would have been willing to apply; the situation in Sonora was not yet favorable for an advance unless the government were ready to make an extraordinary effort or unless a man of exceptional ability should appear on the scene to make slender means serve great ends. Im portant action was taken, however, though not precisely what Anza had proposed. The government's hand in Sonora was strengthened through the founding of two presidios, and the day of land communication with Alta Cabfornia was advanced in just the ratio that that contributed to the peace of regions along the line of march thereto from New Spain. Meanwhile the government never lost sight of the project of occupying the Californias through the means of Spanish settlements as well as by strengthening the Jesuit missions. George Anson, commander of an English naval vessel, had contributed to this attitude on the part of Spain, for he had appeared off the west coast of New Spam in 1742, and had subsequently captured the galleon in the Philippines. This period was also one of great activity upon the part of the French; at least the Spanish government was much worried lest they should push their conquests to the headwaters of the Colorado and down that river to the Gulf of California. The discussions eventually came to revolve about five memorials drawn up in 1751 by Fernando Sanchez, a captain of cuirassiers in Sinaloa and Sonora, four of them combined in one document and addressed to the king, and the fifth directed to a junta which had been called in Mexico City. The first three aimed at the internal development of Sinaloa and Sonora as the necessary prerequisite to an advance of the frontiers. Sanchez recommended the seculariza- PROGRESS OF OVERLAND ADVANCE 197 tion3 of the missions of Sinaloa and southern Sonora, the removal of unruly elements (undesirable whites and some of the malcontent tribes, such as the Seris, Pimas, and Apaches, especially the last-named) from the province, and a better provision for agricultural and mineral development. The fourth memorial, looking toward conquests in the region of the Colorado and Gila, contained the matter of chief interest to Sanchez, who devoted the letter with which he remitted the four representations to a summary, mainly, of the fourth. In this letter he said : " Sir, France is secretly taking great strides to extend her set tlements to the frontiers of ours, encircling us from our borders on the east until now she finds herself along that of the north in the vicinity of New Mexico, and she has only to turn slightly to the west to come upon the South Sea [Pacific Ocean] where the Car- melo River empties ... It is very important to your crown to resolve upon the founding of strong settlements in the regions of the Colorado and Gila. When this is done it will serve three ends : one, to prevent the French conquests from ever penetrating to the South Sea; second, the great advantage it will be [as a base of op erations] for our conquests among those nations of Indians [in the regions of the Colorado and Gila]; and third, so that we the vassals of Your Majesty shall occupy [Alta California] the richest and most abundant land that this vast kingdom contains. In this way it will follow that within a few years it will be necessary to place a viceroy in San Juan, Sonora, or the royal mining camp and city of Chihuahua whose jurisdiction shall comprise the gov ernments of Sonora, New Mexico, Nueva Vizcaya, and the con quests of the Colorado River. According to this arrangement the troops in those parts will be governed by quick and more effica cious measures to the advantage of your royal service, and in course of time many other favorable considerations will accrue."4 In the memorial proper Sanchez referred to a westward branch of the Colorado which might prove to be the Car- 3 The secularization of the mis- plete; in fact, it meant that the re- sions meant their removal from mis- gion in question had ceased to have sionary rule and the succession of the the characteristics of a frontier prov- secular clergy to spiritual authority. ince. The Indians were emancipated from 4 The matter in brackets was sup- economic control and given the lands plied from the original of the me- of the missions. In theory it indicated morial, which combines the four rep- that the conversion and civilization resentations to the king in a docu- of the native were reasonably com- ment of 114 pages. 198 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA melo, thus furnishing the French with an easy route to Monterey. In the document that he directed to the junta Sanchez urged an expedition to explore a route to the sea at the point where the Carmelo emptied, though the Colo rado River settlements should first be made secure, and he added that an establishment on the Carmelo would be use ful both for the Manila galleon and as a check against for eign enemies, particularly the French. The French were very near the "'mother range" of the American moun tains, and if they ascended that, they would find the Pacific before them. The Spanish government now displayed more interest than ever before. Jose de Goyeneche, fiscal of the Council of the Indies, said of the Sanchez proposals that they seemed to him to be "so important, especially that of the prompt conquest and set tlement of the Colorado River, because of the grave damage that may be occasioned to the kingdom of New Spain and its provinces by any post of vantage that may advance the French nation, that it will be fitting to charge the viceroy to devote his primary atten tion to the conquest and settlement which Don Fernando San chez proposes, inasmuch as by the conquest and dislodgment of the Seri, Tibur6n, Carrizo, and Salinero Indians the way to the Colo rado and Gila rivers has become free." The Indians referred to were all resident in Sonora, and it had recently been reported that Governor Ortiz6 had over whelmed them in 1750. In fact Ortiz's '"conquest" (?) had far from removed the fangs of these enemies. The Council of the Indies adopted the views of Goyeneche, and proceeded to discuss the advantages of occupying Monterey, if only to forestall the French. Meanwhile the same interest was being shown in Mexico City. One new note appears in a voluminous memorial of 1751 by the Marques de Altamira. He pointed out, cor rectly, that the problems of occupying the Colorado-Gila country could not be separated from those of the frontier as a whole, from the Californias to Texas, the conditions of which he reviewed. This, to be sure, was not the first time 6 That is, Diego Ortiz Parrilla, often referred to as Parrilla. PROGRESS OF OVERLAND ADVANCE 199 that the Spaniards had grasped the unity of the frontier as a result of the wide-spreading Indian wars. It was this idea that had caused the government to send out Pedro de Rivera in the years 1724 to 1728 to inspect the presidios of the whole northern frontier. Altamira's service lay in pointing out that this problem affected projects of conquest to the northwest as well as that of directly defending what Spain already possessed. The bulk of his memorial, however, was devoted to the proposed conquest by way of the Colorado and Gila. He favored the founding of settlements there as a nucleus for an advance to the Californias and, in time, to New Mexico. Matters seemed ripe for the extraordinary effort which could have overcome the hindrances to conquest, when a re volt of the Pimas of Pimeria Alta in 1751 cooled Spanish ardor. On bearing of this the fiscal of the Council recom mended, in 1752, that action on Sanchez's proposals should be postponed until Sonora were restored to peace, and such was the decision of the Council. Several additional pre sidios were established in Sonora, however. Furthermore, Sanchez had formulated a plan, which (with the addition of the suggestion contained in Altamira's memorial) became the program of the government during the next thirty years, though Sanchez's ideas and the credit therefor were taken over by Jose de Galvez. But Sanchez, in turn, had merely fitted Kino's program to the new circumstances of his own times. After 1752 the authorities gave their principal attention, during the next twenty years, to the question of establishing good order in Sonora, but the plans for northwestward ad vance were at no time given up. Between 1753 and 1761 the spur of the French conquests toward New Mexico and the Pacific coast was more active than ever. In 1757 Father Andres Burriel pubbshed anonymously the three-volume Noticia de la California which has usually been ascribed to Father Miguel Venegas. In addition to the old ideas of the Jesuits as to the necessity of developing the land route to Baja California around the head of the gulf, Burriel stated more clearly than any other writer ever has why Baja Cab- 200 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA fornia, the '"most disagreeable, barren, and wretched coun try in the world," should have been a matter of so much concern to the Spanish crown and the Jesuits. It was be cause of its location, said Burriel, that the conquest of Baja California had long been preferred to that of any other Amer ican country; if the peninsula were unoccupied the whole western coast of New Spain, "from Acapulco to the Colorado River," would be unsafe, espe cially "if some European power should erect colonies, forts, and presidios on the coast of the Californias." This consideration led him to desire that the Spanish mis sions of Sonora and the Californias should be connected with those of New Mexico and extended beyond the Gila and Colorado to San Diego, Monterey, and even the reputed Aguilar's River in Alta California. Almost as important in its effects as Burriel's suggestions in themselves was the notice which the work attracted in European countries. It was almost at once translated into the leading tongues of western Europe, and the English translator showed a smug appreciation of the great strategic advantages England would enjoy if his countrymen might discover the North west Passage and establish themselves in Alta California, a land of "a pleasant climate" and "fruitful soil, . . . from whence they [the English] may, with certainty, command the most valu able branches of commerce that have been hitherto discovered." With the signing of the two treaties of 1761-1762 known jointly as the Family Compact the peril from the French disappeared, as France and Spain then leagued themselves together in opposition to England. Danger from the English almost immediately succeeded to the same or even a greater place in Spanish councils, for in 1763 England added the vast American possessions of France to her already large colonial domain. England also was a far more threatening enemy by sea than France had been. Nevertheless, it was natural to expect that less attention would be paid to an advance of the Spanish conquest toward Alta California than in former years. PROGRESS OF OVERLAND ADVANCE 201 Spain's crushing defeat in the war of 1762-1763 against England and her preparations for a renewal of tbe contest took about all in the way of funds that Spain could get to gether. Furthermore, it had by this time been proved that Sonora was not in a sufficiently settled state to permit of a normal and reasonably easy advance. So once again Spain confined her efforts for a while to strengthening her garrisons in that rich but restless province along the northwestern border of the kingdom of New Spain. It remains to give brief consideration to those factors on which the permanence of the settlements eventually founded in Alta California was in fact to depend: the obstacles, or more particularly the hostile Indians, that stood in the way of an establishment of communications between Sonora and Alta Cabfornia; and the internal development of Sinaloa and Sonora, which were in time to provide the more north westerly province with the sinews of continuous existence. Indian wars were a continual factor tending to retard the development of the frontier provinces and thereby to check the Spanish northwestward advance. The Apaches began their raids into Sonora before the close of the seventeenth century, though northern Nueva Vizcaya (modern Chihua hua) to tbe east was their principal object of attack. In 1695 there was a serious revolt of the Pimas of Pimeria Alta, and in 1699 the wars with the Seris in the region between the Yaqui and Sonora rivers commenced. It would be profitless to recite the many wars of the next half century or more; hardly a year passed without at least one mibtary campaign, and frequently there were serious outbreaks. At every crucial moment in plans for northwestward advance the Indians by their revolts were sure to provide the authorities with unanswerable arguments as to the untimeliness of the projects. In 1737, when Anza of Fronteras made his sug gestion of an expedition to the Gila and Colorado, the Pimas of the coast revolted and took refuge in the Cerro Prieto, an almost impregnable mountain stronghold in the vicinity of Guaymas. Anza subdued them, but soon had to turn about to meet the Apaches, losing his life in battle against them in 202 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA 1739. In 1740-1741 the Mayos and Yaquis in the south rose against the mission system to which they had for many years been reduced. Indian wars in Sonora were even more prominent in the period of the Sanchez representations. Governor Ortiz had to undertake a campaign against the Seris in 1750. Alluding to this in a letter of 1751 the viceroy referred to the Seris and their neighbors as the disturbing factor which for over a century bad proved a hindrance to further exploration of the Gila and Colorado rivers and to the estabbshment of communications between the Cabfornias and tbe mainland. Another letter of the same year made mention of north eastern Sonora as one of the regions where the Apaches were wont to commit their depredations. Then came the Pima revolt of 1751 which caused the shelving of Sanchez's projects. All of the missions, villages, mining camps, and ranches in the northwest were destroyed, and two mis sionaries and perhaps a hundred other whites lost their lives. Troops were rushed to the scene, and the rebellion was crushed in 1752, but it was twenty years before prosperity returned to Pimeria Alta. The Seris had risen again in 1751, and from that time until 1771 they were almost con stantly at war with the Spaniards, taking refuge, when hard pressed, in the Cerro Prieto. Apache warfare was equally continuous and annoying ; indeed, for the frontier provinces as a whole it was far worse, as it ranged from Sonora to Texas. One of the best descriptions of Apache warfare was provided by Pedro de Labaquera, who, probably in 1760 or 1761, petitioned the king for a right to make explorations in the vicinity of Arizonac and for the command of a presidio in that region. This petition he accompanied by three me morials which make it manifest that he was the direct heir of Sanchez's ideas, but as no action seems to have been taken upon them they need not be discussed, except as they bear upon the Apaches. The memorial about the Apaches, which shows a keen knowledge of frontier conditions in accounting for the failure to conquer these Indians, has been summarized in a recent work as follows: PROGRESS OF OVERLAND ADVANCE 203 "The Apaches, when attacked, habitually retired to the moun tains which were inaccessible to the presidial troops. This was due not merely to the fact that the latter were cavalrymen, but to the nature of the soldiers themselves. Most of them were mulat- toes of very low character, without ambition, and unconquerably unwilling to travel on foot, as was necessary in a mountain attack. Moreover, their weapons carried so short a distance that the Apaches were wont to get just out of range and to make open jest of the Spaniards. Furthermore, some presidial captains were more interested in making a personal profit out of their troops, arising from the fact that part of the latter's wages was paid in effects, than they were in subjecting the enemy, nor did the various cap tains work in harmony when on campaigns. Continuance of the Apaches in Apacheria was in the highest degree prejudicial. Not only were they a hindrance to conquests toward the Colorado, and in the direct route between Sonora and New Mexico, but also they endangered regions already held by Spain, leading subjected Indians, either from fear or from natural inclination, to abandon missions and villages, and, whether in alliance with the Apaches or by themselves, to commit the same kind of atrocities as the Apa ches did. Labaquera recommended that two hundred mountain fusileers of Spanish blood be recruited in Spain, equipped among other things with guns of long range, and despatched to New Spain for service against the Apaches. These men, under a disinterested leader, would quickly subject the Apaches, and might then be given lands in that region. Being of a higher stamp than the pre sidial soldiers they would be eager to develop their lands, and would be a permanent source of strength to that country." In fine, expeditions against the Apaches accompbsbed bttle, as the Indians could never be brought to a general engage ment. Often the Apaches took advantage of expeditions against them to raid the country about the presidios, thus deprived of its usual guard. "It is impossible to estimate the damages suffered in Sonora," writes Burriel, "especially since the death of the brave Captain Anza, in villages, settlements, farms, roads, pastures, woods, and mines, many of which have been abandoned on that account, although very rich." Even the mission Indians could no longer be controlled, and the Jesuits feared to discipline them, lest it should pro voke a revolt. 204 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA The Jesuits had very greatly lost influence since the Pima revolt of 1751, though this was in large measure a reflection of the world campaign being waged against them, and their conflicts with the mibtary and the settlers had now reached the proportions of a serious problem in itself, affecting the good order of Sonora. The missions themselves showed the effects, for few converts were obtained after 1751. The old and the infirm and the women and children resided at the missions, but the able-bodied men rarely came in, unless impelled by hunger or by fear of the Apaches. They re mained in the mountains, or aided the Seris in stirring up trouble. Meanwhile, demands of the white settlers for secularization of the missions became more insistent, and by 1755 twenty-two missions of Sinaloa had been taken away from the Jesuits and placed under the authority of the bishop of Durango. A review of the internal conditions of Sinaloa and Sonora shows that at no time were affairs in such a state as to war rant an extension of the frontiers, unless a more than ordinary effort were to be made. Nevertheless, there was much progress. By 1763 Sinaloa had undergone adjustment to white rule, and could no longer be considered a frontier province. Much the same thing could be said for southern Sonora and part of the Sonora River valley. The advance to the northwest did not need to be stayed on account of these regions. Northeastern Sonora and Pimeria Alta, though rich in mineral wealth, were far from being adjusted to an orderly state; either governmental effort or else an un usual impulse to settlement, such as rich discoveries in precious metals, was needed there. The same thing was true of the coast regions where the Seris and other malcon tents lived, but there the problem was in a measure more serious, as wealth in gold and silver did not exist, wherefore there was no great lure to attract white colonists; indeed, as already stated, the line of conquest in the northwest had always followed that of mineral wealth. It would seem, therefore, that the situation in Sonora was not hopelessly bad, if only the government would exert itself to conquer the PROGRESS OF OVERLAND ADVANCE 205 Seris and repulse the Apaches, but this it did not do, at the time. Consequently the authorities were frequently memorialized as to the best methods of saving the province, and many of the writers showed a great deal of pessimism and despondency.6 Nevertheless, incontrovertible evidence is at hand that if conditions in Sonora were lacking in stability it was because the government would not go to the expense, or rather reduce its profits, in order to apply a remedy. The principal finan- 6 Internal conditions of Sinaloa and Sonora are well illustrated by the statistics of population obtained by Bishop Tamaron while on a dioce san tour from 1759 to 1763. At that time there were in the two prov inces 32,000 of Spanish or mixed blood, and 31,000 Indians professing Christianity, of whom 25,000 lived in missions. There were fifty missions, most of them in Sonora. The number of unconverted Indians was very large, but no estimate of them was made. The greater part of the white popu lation lived in Sinaloa. White settle ments were the rule there, the excep tions being a few Indian villages along the coast, where there was not the inducement of mineral wealth to draw the Spanish settler. There were some considerable towns in Sinaloa. San Felipe de Sinaloa had a white population of 3500; Fuerte, other wise San Juan de Montesclaros, 1886; Rosario 2459; San Sebastian 2500; Culiacan 2216; and Mazatlan 966. These places had nearly hah the total white population of the two provinces. Secularization of mis sions had taken place in most of Sina loa, although the Jesuits were more numerous than the secular clergy, but they usually served as parish priests, the mission system prevailing but little. Much of this change came as a result of the Sanchez memorials, hay ing occurred prior to Tamar6n's visit. There were probably not many un converted Indians in Sinaloa, or if there were they caused no trouble. In Ostimuri, as that part of Sono ra below the Yaqui was then called, conditions, were almost as good as in Sinaloa. Alamos had a population of 3400 of white or mixed race; Bayorca 1004; Rio Chico 1400; Trinidad de Plata 715; and Soyopa, or San An tonio de la Huerta, 300. All of these were mining towns. Farther north, in the mountain districts near the Sonora valley, there were a number of mining towns at considerable dis tances from a presidio, such as Ari- vechi, Sahuaripa, Nacori, and Arispe. In northeastern Sonora, where the Apaches were wont to make raids, most of the white population was grouped around presidios there and near by in Nueva Vizcaya, there being 484 at Fronteras. Near the coast, where the Seris and their allies were numerous, and precious metals not plentiful, there were no whites. The case with Pimeria Alta was a little better, due to the existence of gold and silver. There were eight mis sions: Suamca, Guevavi, Bac, Saric, Tubutama, Ati, Caborca, and San Ignacio, and three presidios, Terre- nate, Tubae, and Altar. Subsidiary to these were a number of lesser set tlements. In the mission districts there were 4223 Indians and 348 whites, the latter being at the mining camps of Guevavi, Santa Barbara, Buenavista, Arizonac, and Santa Ana. At the presidios there were no Indians, but there were 1117 whites, including garrisons of fifty men at each presidio. All the white settle ments of Pimeria Alta were within easy reach of the presidios, without which they could not have existed. 206 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA cial institution of the government in its dealings with the frontier provinces was the Real Caja (Royal Treasury) of Guadalajara. A study of its operations over the period from 1743 to 1781 shows that it sent 86 per cent of its receipts to the parent caja real in Mexico, or occasionaUy small sums to others. Of this amount from half to a third was subse quently returned to provide for the expense of the frontier provinces. The rest, from 40 to 60 per cent of the total, was either sent to Spain or at any rate used elsewhere than in the provinces of origin. Sonora, to be sure, was not responsible for any great share of this profit, but if a larger portion of the total might have been applied in that province it would not have been very difficult to overcome the obstacles that were withholding the northwestward advance. The reason for Spain's pobcy is not hard to find. During these years she was straining every nerve to cope with European problems, and especially to defend herself from the imperialism of England. Thus, many other objects which were desirable in themselves had to be sacrificed, and the extension of her frontier beyond the Gila and Colorado to Alta Cabfornia was one of them. Spain's choice, then, was only one more of the myriad of factors tending to hold back the occupation of the rich northern province and to delay its populous development. And all this played into the hands of the as yet unborn United States. CHAPTER XVI JOSE DE GALVEZ The coming of Jose de Galvez as visitador-general 1 of New Spain marks a turning-point in the history of northwestward advance. In him had appeared the long-needed, forceful, energetic man who was able to overcome obstacles in tbe way of conquest and extend the frontiers to the north. To be sure, the primary aims of his visita were financial, with a view to increasing the revenues of the crown, and this caused him to give the larger share of his attention to the already well-settled parts of the viceroyalty, but at no time during the six years of his stay, 1765 to 1771, did he fail to show a most extraordinary interest in the problems having to do with the advance to the Cabfornias, and some two years of his time, 1768 to 1770, were devoted mainly to those questions. True, even in these matters be was probably interested chiefly in their possibilities from the standpoint of revenues, believing that the wealth of the frontier provinces and the Californias could be developed, to the advantage of the royal income, if peace might be established and an extension of the 1 The visitador, or visitor, was one of called a visitador, or if engaged in a the most typical of Spanish admin- visita of major importance a visitador- istrative agencies. The visita, or visit, general. The visita was frequently is defined by Joaquin Eseriche, a employed in the Spanish colonies in leading authority on Spanish law, as military, civil, and religious affairs follows: and for purposes both great and "The act of jurisdiction through small. No two visitas were exactly which some superior informs himself ahke, for every one depended on the of the proceedings of ministers of particular circumstances which the lower rank or of subjects or of the visita was designed to meet. Never- state of affairs in the districts of his theless all proceeded on much the jurisdiction, going in person to in- same lines, and the visitador ordinar- vestigate or sending some other to ily superseded all other powers in do it in his name." authority within the jurisdiction of The official making the visita was his visita. 207 208 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA frontiers obtained. Perhaps there was just a shade of some thing Quixotic in his occupation of Alta California in 1769. But, if so, his "tilting at windmills" justified itself in the light of history, for the name of Jose" de Galvez would almost have passed out of memory in the Americas, had it not been for the expeditions he sent out to take possession of San Diego and Monterey. Who was this man who now appeared as an outstanding figure in the affairs of the Californias? Jose de Galvez was an Andalusian Spaniard, possessing many of the fively traits of his native province, together with an energy and ability which had enabled him to rise from obscurity to a position of power and influence. He was born on January 2, 1720, at the village of Macharaviaya near Velez-Malaga on the southern coast of Spain. His family was noble and of ancient lineage, being of the rank of hijosdalgo, or hidalgo, but that meant little in a land where the nobility of this grade was numbered by tbe hundreds of thousands. If there were others of lower degree and poor to the verge of poverty, the Galvez family was at least not well endowed with worldly goods, and Jose and his brothers were simple country boys, without opportunities for education and advancement, eking out a living through tending the paternal flocks. When Jose was only eleven or twelve years old he had the good fortune to attract the attention of the bishop of Malaga, who took him to Malaga to educate him for the priesthood. It was this that gave Galvez his start in life. With the aid of bis clerical sponsors he at length became en robed as a student in the University of Salamanca, where he began tbe study of law, eschewing the holy calling for which his first patron had wished to educate- him. From tbe uni versity he went to Madrid to practice law. For many years he was inconspicuous, but eventually opportunity again knocked at his door, apparently as a result of his finding a new and powerful patron. His second wife was a French woman, and through her Galvez became acquainted with the most eminent Frenchmen in Madrid. His own knowledge of the French tongue and his grace and faculty of expression Jose de Galvez JOSfi DE GALVEZ 209 helped him to retain the friendships he had made, and it was thus that he became the legal councillor of a secretary in the French embassy. Utilizing his opportunities in this capacity, he attracted the notice of the Spanish Minister of State, the Marques de Grimaldi, who employed him as one of his secretaries. It was in 1765, when Galvez was in, his forty-fifth year, that the great chance of his life came to him. A visitation of New Spain for the. purpose of increasing the revenues from that kingdom had been determined upon, but there was some difficulty in finding a suitable individual to do the work. Several appointments were considered, or even made, but with the death of the most recent appointee in 1764 the post was still unfilled. It was then that the name of Galvez was brought forward, and on February 20, 1765, he was named visitador-general of New Spain. In the month of July of the same year, he reached Vera Cruz, and soon afterward took up the work of his visitation. With his manifold activities in the general affairs of the viceroyalty — such as his visitations at Vera Cruz and Acapulco, his institution of the tobacco monopoly, his ex pedition to Guanajuato, and the expulsion of the Jesuits — this volume has no concern. At the outset he was handi capped by the opposition of Viceroy Cruillas, but the latter was superseded in 1766 by the French-descended Marque's (Francisco) de Croix, with whom Galvez was able to work in entire harmony ; indeed, they were the best of friends, and it was Galvez rather than Croix who must be considered the virtual ruler of New Spain during Croix's incumbency, 1766 to 1771. Of special concern, then, is the character of this very human individual to whom Californians owe so much. Enough has already been said about his ability. This had to combine, however, with certain other traits, ordinarily regarded as weaknesses, in order to produce the expeditions to Alta California, just as in later years the same traits served to diminish the value of his work from the stand point of his own times. Galvez had risen from nothing, partly through currying favor, and had developed an in- 210 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA satiable personal ambition and a kind of egotism, which if it did not express itself in his ordinary daily speech was al ways at hand for the purpose of "feathering his own nest." He was also capable of malignant vindictiveness against those who opposed him or belittled his achievements. On the other hand he was amiable in personality and in some respects generous to a fault; his concern for the advancement of his own relatives, townsmen, and personal friends, if indeed it evidenced a certain kindliness and gratitude, was nevertheless of the worst sort of nepotism and not altogether dissociated from what would at tbe present time be termed graft. It seems likely that Galvez's desire to win personal dis tinction entered into his plans for conquests in the Cali fornias. He knew from Burriel's Noticia of the importance of such conquests, and he also knew that no other region offered him a better opportunity. Therefore he bent his energies to tbe accompbsbment of this task, using methods that savored distinctly of indirection (some instances of which wib1 be given in the course of this and the next chapter) as well as those which were less open to objection. His enter prise was blessed with success, and but for the serious illness of the visitador it would have been an even more striking achievement than it turned out to be. The expeditions of 1769 made use of the sea route from the mainland to Baja Cabfornia and from there in two divisions, by sea again and up the peninsula, to Alta Cali fornia. Nobody, more than Galvez, knew that this was a departure from the normal line of advance by the overland route through Sonora, but the visitador felt sure that his own measures in Sonora would soon link up the Alta Cabfornia extremity with that province. Almost from the moment of his arrival in New Spain, Galvez began to give attention to the problems of the far northwest. Largely through his instrumentality plans were made in the fall of 1765 for an expedition to Sonora to suppress the Indian insurrectionaries there. At his own request Galvez was entrusted with the task of obtaining money to finance the expedition, for there was nothing in the royal treasury that the government was JOSE DE GALVEZ 211 willing to devote to this purpose. The funds were to be raised by voluntary subscriptions, troops were to be en listed, and ships were to be built on the Pacific coast to carry the Spanish forces to Sonora. Once the Indians were de feated the ground was to be held by the founding of a number of settlements, the human material for which was to be drawn from the hopelessly poor or undesirable elements of the cities. Gaivez's quarrel with Cruillas delayed fulfilment of these plans, but after Croix's arrival in 1766 they were again taken up. The king, meanwhile, had given a reluctant consent, for he did not share in Gaivez's belief in the efficacy of a formal expedition or of the particular kind of colonists it was proposed to send. Nevertheless a force of three hundred and fifty men was recruited and placed under the command of Colonel Domingo Elizondo, who might also count on enough more Spanish soldiers and Indian auxiliaries in Sonora to swell his numbers to more than a thousand. In April 1767 Elizondo and his men left Mexico City for Tepic, where they were to be quartered until the boats could be getten ready to take them to Sonora. Not until March 1768 did they at length disembark at Guaymas ready to begin the campaign. That the expedition was undertaken at all had been due to Galvez, for there were few who shared his enthusiasm. The visitador, however, had left no stone unturned to gain his ends. A letter by him to Governor Juan Pineda of Sonora in the fall of 1766 shows the trickery he was willing to em ploy, even to deceive his good friend Croix. After giving some inexpensive flattery to Pineda, Galvez went on to tell of the opposition of his enemies to the project of the Sonora expedition and of the need for some counterbalancing argu ments to influence the new viceroy's decision. Continuing, Galvez said: " From this information, which I give you informally and con fidentially, you will infer how necessary it is . . . that you im press upon His Excellency at once the indispensable need of the expedition . . . and inform him that it is not impossible [to con quer the Indians once and for all by force], if the plan is adopted 212 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA of sending thither veteran troops. You may add anything else which will remove the fear or hesitation which perverse envious persons desire to instil into His Excellency's mind through sheer malignity . . . " The Marques de Croix, I repeat to you, esteems my discourse above that of all others, but as he observes that I am of another profession [not military], and as he knows that I have not been in that country, he may lack confidence in the success of the expedi tion, to which he sees me with the greatest ardor committed. Hence it is fitting that you, in your report to him, express yourself as forcefully as you did for the purpose of arousing enthusiasm in me — a golilla [mere lawyer] ; in this case this will be the easier to do, as his instincts are all military." No doubt Pineda complied with this virtual order; Gaivez's character was such that it might have gone hard with him if he had not, for the visitador did not easily forgive those who opposed him. At any rate, Croix supported the expedition more readily than Galvez had anticipated, and the project was given full and fair trial.2 But the suppression of Indian warfare in Sonora was only an incident in the vast program of the visitador, who in tended to go to Sonora himself to put his ideas into execution as soon as Elizondo should have triumphed in the military campaign. The keynote of his plans was his proposed! es tablishment of a new government, independent of the vice- royalty of New Spain, to embrace the frontier provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Sonora, Sinaloa, and the Californias. Similar plans had frequently been suggested in earber years, on the ground that tbe viceroy in Mexico City was too far away to give these distant regions their proper share of atten tion. The direct ancestors of Gaivez's plan were the Sanchez recommendations of 1751 and a proposal of 1760 for a viceroyalty made up of the provinces within the jurisdiction of the Audiencia of Guadalajara. The Galvez projects were 2 During his expedition of 1767 to pray long hours and would ask the Guanajuato, Galvez punished the Virgin what to do with the rebels. At inhabitants of that region with a length he would lift his hand for a ruthless hand for the rebellion they pen to write down the judgment of had engaged in, but even in this case the Virgin, — and the sentence was one he did not neglect to employ his usual of death. History records few more ex- methods of indirection and self- treme instances of shifting the burden exculpation. It is said that he would from one's own shoulders than this! JOSE DE GALVEZ 213 embodied in four important documents of the year 1768. The visitador maneuvered so as to make it appear that he was agreeing to suggestions made by others, or at least merely sharing in the origination of ideas of which it happened that he heartily approved. In fact he was the prime mover in all of these matters, as is clearly set forth in the correspondence of the viceroy. In the case of the junta of February 25, which granted wide powers to Galvez, the visitador made a showing of modesty by refraining from casting a vote, but his secre tary tells us that he had in fact dominated the junta and had dictated its decision three days before it met. The first of the four great documents was the recommenda tion of the visitador, on January 15, for the establishment of a system of intendancies in New Spain, designed to increase the profits of the crown. This aimed at the collection of internal revenues by officials caUed intendants, of whom there were to be eleven. Three of these were to be in the new frontier government in Durango, Sonora, and the Cali fornias. The inclusion of the Californias is the noteworthy feature of the plan, for that territory had figured heretofore only as a drain on the royal estate. Galvez intended that it should be more thoroughly occupied and developed. On January 21 a junta was called to decide who should head the expedition to the frontier provinces, and it is not surprising that Galvez was selected,- — since he had so determined. He was to wait until the troops had restored peace, and was then to reorganize the government and estabhsh colonies. Two days later the Galvez plan (signed also by Croix) for a new government of the frontier provinces was ready. As already stated, the Galvez plan provided for a govern ment of the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Sinaloa, Sonora, and the Cabfornias apart from the viceroyalty. It was to be called a commandancy-general, ruled by a commandant- general, who was to be a viceroy in all but the social dis tinction which went with the latter title. It was expected that the plan would restore peace to the frontier and that then in a few years those vast provinces (which were described as undoubtedly richer in mineral products than any 214 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA that had been discovered in North America) might equal or even surpass those of New Spain. Great emphasis was placed upon the preventive importance of the plan as against the dangers of foreign attack. Attention was called to the opportunity and the keen desire of European powers to es tablish themselves at Monterey or elsewhere along the coast of the Cabfornias, and the government was reminded of the efforts the French and Engbsh had made during two centuries to find a passage to the Pacific from their colonies on the Atlantic. Now that England had taken the colonies of France, said Galvez, she would not rest until she had pushed forward her discoveries to the Lake of the Woods, whence a great river flowed westward. If this river should prove to be the Colorado or should reach the Pacific, then the Engbsh were already near New Mexico and not far from the Pacific. Reports had also been pubbshed in recent years, continued Galvez, showing that the Russians were encroach ing upon the Cabfornia coasts, and since Anson's voyage the Engbsh and the Dutch had been acquiring information about Spain's ports in the Pacific, especially those of the Cali fornias. Any one of these three peoples might easily plant a colony in Monterey, a port with excellent facilities for a settlement. Thus Spain's possessions in the Pacific might be invaded and exploited as those of the Atlantic (from Virginia to Georgia) had been. Monterey ought to be occupied by Spain at once, through the despatch of a sea expedition. Later, the commandancy-general should ex tend its frontiers in that direction and set up colonies in other ports. The capital of the commandancy-general should not be in Durango, as the plan of 1760 had proposed, because that was too far from Sonora and farther still from the Cabfornias. The capital ought to be on tbe Sonora frontier at or near the Gila; while it was being established the government should be set up at Caborca (the nearest settlement to the Californias) or at the junction of the Gila and Colorado rivers. The emphasis on conquering the Californias, it is to be noted, was one of the principal factors in the Galvez plan. JOSE DE GALVEZ 215 Clearly, too, the visitador intended to make Sonora the prov ince upon which the new conquests should depend, though as a temporary expedient a sea expedition was to occupy Monterey. On February 25 a junta was again called, to authorize the plans Galvez had made for his visit to the -frontier. Among the provisions of the decision of the junta (which confirmed verbatim aU that Galvez had asked) were the following: Galvez was to act not only in his capacity of visitador but also with the authority of the viceroy; he was to found a number of frontier settlements with armed colonists; among these was to be the future capital of the commandancy-general on the Sonora frontier, midway between the Californias and Nueva Vizcaya; and free com merce between Sonora and the Californias was to be per mitted. Every one of these important documents received the sanction of the king. The commandancy-general was not actually estabbshed until 1776, and the system of inten dancies was postponed until 1786, but they formed the basis of Spanish action from the time of their enactment onward. The commandancy-general would very likely have been put into effect in 1769 or 1770 if affairs in Sonora bad gone to the visitador' s liking and if he had retained his health dur ing his visit there. In the meantime, however, be bad planned to wait before going to Sonora until Ebzondo's expedition should have triumphed over the Indians. Not understanding the difficulties of frontier warfare he expected victory would be quickly obtained, and he left Mexico City on April 9, 1768, intending to make his way to the frontier and taking with him a number of persons who were to settle there. Before going to Sonora he proposed to found a depart ment at the port of San Bias and pay a visit to Baja Cab fornia. These activities proved in fact to be preliminary to the great expeditions to Alta California of 1769, which merit separate treatment.3 "The principal authority for the Spain (1765-1771) (Berkeley, material in this chapter is: California. 1916), in University Priestley, Herbert Ingram. Josi de of California, Publications in his- Gdlvez, visitor-general of New tory, v. V. CHAPTER XVII THE SPANISH OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA When Galvez set out from Mexico City on April 9, 1768, his immediate object was that of founding the Department of San Bias. On January 11, 1768, Viceroy Croix (at Gaivez's suggestion) had issued an instruction for the estab lishment of a settlement at San Bias, stating that it was deemed indispensable, after Sonora and the rest of the fron tier should have been pacified, to found a port for the ad vantage of boats employed on similar expeditions or in com merce with Sonora and also Lfor the preservation- and advancement of the Californias. In other words, San Bias was to be the base of supplies in New Spain for the region of the proposed commandancy-general. It seems highly probable that Galvez himself was already planning, as one phase of this project, an immediate occupation of Monterey in Alta California, based on tbe port of San Bias. Since this bears directly on the causes of the expeditions of 1769, the evidence is worth reviewing. The devious routes by which the visitador was accustomed to proceed to his real aims should be borne in mind in considering this matter. It is usually stated that the Spanish court at Madrid received reports about Russian aggressions in the Pacific northwest, and sent orders to meet them by the occupation of Alta California, wherefore the expeditions of 1769 were made. This view contains only a smattering of the truth. It is evident from Gaivez's correspondence of 1768 that he and Croix had discussed the advisability of an immediate expedition to Monterey, long before any word came from Spain about the Russian activities. In December 1767 Galvez is reported by one of his secretaries to have been 216 SPANISH OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 217 ardently at work on plans for a department at San Bias and already to have charged a certain Manuel Rivero with the duty of establishing a port there, — all this a month before Croix's instruction. The prominent place of Alta California in the plan for the new commandancy-general has already been alluded to, and one of the projects of that plan called for an immediate despatch of vessels to occupy and colonize Monterey. This is only one of many evidences of the di rection of Gaivez's interest toward the northern port; he had come to New Spain at a time when a number of works calling attention to the desires of other powers to gain a footing in the Californias were being published in Europe, and the visitador seems to have been acquainted with this Hterature. On April 22, 1768, Galvez reached Guadalajara, remaining in that city until May 4. In referring to his stay in Guadalajara, the Audiencia said that he had spoken of his plans for exploring the Californias. It was not until May 5, after he had left that city, that Galvez received the mail from Croix telling of Russian explorations in the Americas.1 The Spanish minister to Russia had written to the royal government in Madrid, late in 1767, that the Russian em press was preparing expeditions for fresh attempts to estab lish communications between eastern Siberia and the Pacific coasts of the Americas. On January 23, 1768, the Marques 1 Gaivez's relations with the Au- Galvez himself had been chosen to diencia of Guadalajara furnish an- execute them. The Audiencia did as other interesting instance of the requested, but one of the members methods of this strange man. There- of that body, Ramon Gonzales Ve- port of the Audiencia to the king, cerra, had been opposed to this ac- dated May 18, 1768, was most lauda- tion. He accordingly wrote to the tory of the visitador and his projects king, reporting what had happened of government and conquest in the and stating that he had signed his northwest. Looking underneath the own name to the document of May 18 surface one finds the following illu- under protest. There is no direct evi- minating facts bearing upon the prep- dence that Galvez had suggested the aration of this report. Immediately action of his secretary — the visitador after Gaivez's own departure from was too crafty for that! — but it is of Guadalajara, one of his secretaries record that Gonzales was made to appeared before the Audiencia and feel Gaivez's disapproval. He was asked that body to write to the king soon suspended from his position on approving all of Gaivez's measures the charge that he had needlessly and especially congratulating the absented himself from meetings of royal government on the fact that the Audiencia. 218 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA de Grimaldi, the Spanish Minister of State, wrote to the viceroy about tbe rumors of Russian activities, saying that news" had been received that the Russians had actually made a landing in North jAmerica, though at what degree of latitude it was not known, and had had a battle with the Indians in which they bad suffered a loss of three hundred Russian dead. After remarking that the Russians might be endeavoring to extend their commerce to those coasts, Grimaldi went on as follows: "The king has ordered me to inform Your Excellency of all that has just been set forth, so that you may make it known to the man appointed governor of California, giving him instructions about the vigilance and care that he ought to exercise in order to observe such attempts as the Russians may make there, frustrating them if possible, and giving notice of everything promptly to Your Ex cellency, so that you may report it to His Majesty." This letter, it will be observed, did not order an expedition to Monterey, but it was sufficient to give an active man all the authority that he needed, especially if it is true that he had already determined to make such an expedition. Croix's letter of April 20 to Galvez is not at hand, but at a later date (in his instruction of 1771 to his successor) he had the follow ing to say of this letter: " I thought that an invasion would be made [by the Russians] by way of the famous port of Monterey . . . and transmitted the order of the court to the visitador, bidding him to make an expedi tion by sea toward the threatened port. The visitador, bethinking himself of the difficulties of a maritime expedition and being de sirous of exploring the province, sent two expeditions, one by sea and the other by land." From this it appears that Croix was far from ordering the occupation of Alta Cabfornia which Galvez in fact carried out. Perhaps because he himself intended to do very much more than the instructions called for, Galvez reserved his answer to Croix for more than two weeks. In the meantime he reached San Bias on May 13, and on the 16th called a junta to discuss the expeditions to Monterey. Not until May 20 did he write to Croix of his plans. The letter follows: SPANISH OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 219 "In fulfilment of His Majesty's order, communicated to you on January 23 by the Marques de Grimaldi, concerning repeated attempts which the Russians have made to*open communication with North America, and in consequence also of what you com mand in your letter of April 30 enclosing a copy of the above- mentioned order, and recalling to mind the many conversations and reflections which we have previously had concerning the supreme importance and utility of taking possession of the port of Monterey and establishing a presidio there, I am obeying your order to take such measures as I deem fitting for reaching that place by land or sea. As you leave to me discretion for the fulfil ment of this order, it has seemed to me both fitting and necessary that I should inform you from here of the resolution which it was thought proper to take in this weighty matter." Thus cleverly did Galvez associate Croix with the enter prise. Before Croix could have had time to reply to him the visitador embarked, on May 24, for Baja Cabfornia. In any event the viceroy was heartily in favor of the project, and so too was the government in Madrid as soon as it was ap prised of the matter. It remains to say that the Department of San Bias, from its very inception, served primarily as a supply depot for the Cabfornias, and its relations to Sonora were by comparison rather slight ; doubtless Galvez had in tended from the first that it should turn out that way. The Russian emergency was merely an incident in the long chain of foreign aggressions, real or imaginary, which had for nearly two centuries been the principal and the continuing cause of Spanish frontier advance, and the reported en croachments on this occasion were not more dangerous than those of other times. The true cause for the occupation of Alta Cabfornia (which soon followed, in 1769) was the per manent (not the immediate) foreign danger, together with the appearance of a man who, for all his faults, was endowed with the energy and administrative capacity that the enter prise required. The story of Gaivez's activities in Baja California may be quickly reviewed or passed over in silence. Leaving San Bias on May 24, 1768, he was driven back and forth by storms, and it was not until July 5, forty days later, that he 220 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA was able to set foot in the peninsula; thus again were the difficulties of the short voyage across the gulf demonstrated. For nearly ten months thereafter, he remained in Baja California, reorganizing the government and the missions and preparing the expeditions to San Diego and Monterey. He had expected to find vast stores of wealth in the peninsula, for he shared the general belief of the times that the Jesuits had tried to conceal its resources in gold, silver, and pearls. No doubt he soon disabused himself of this belief, for (now that the pearl-fields had failed to yield so richly as in the past) there was very little ready-made or easily acquired wealth to be had in Baja California. Indeed, the settlements were in a wretched state. The military commissaries who succeeded the Jesuits had mismanaged the mission estates, epidemics had swept away hundreds of Indians, there was a revolt of the Indians in the south, and, all in all, there was a situation of dire economic distress. It is said that the total population of the peninsula had sunk to fewer than 8000 souls. Nevertheless Galvez was not discouraged. If he said little, henceforth, about the wealth of Baja California, he many times emphasized the strategic importance of both that territory and Alta California. His experience must have confirmed him all the more in his original bebef, however, that Sonora was the true centre from which all the fines of advance to the northwest should radiate. The peninsula was not, and could not be made to become, a suitable store house for the advantage of Alta California. Indeed, Galvez had only visited Baja California, so he said at a later time, in order to occupy himself pending the advancement or the conclusion of the campaign in Sonora. As for the expeditions to Alta California, he threw himself into them with all possible vigor, drawing also upon the leading officials in Baja California to take part in them. Gaspar de Portola, governor of the province, was slated for the command, and Father Junfpero Serra, who had only recently arrived to take over the former Jesuit missions, was appointed president of the new missions to be founded in Alta California. Indeed, Father Serra was named without SPANISH OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 221 any prior enquiry as to whether the post would be acceptable and without any chance to refuse. The whole plan met with his enthusiastic approval, however, though his superiors of the College of San Fernando vigorously opposed it, yielding only because they could not do otherwise. But, though Portola and Serra ably seconded tbe visitador in his efforts, it is to Galvez, who had conceived the idea of the expeditions in the first place, that the chief credit is due for organizing them and starting them on their way. Arrangements were made for two expeditions by land and two by sea. Boats for the latter were procured by taking over the San Carlos and the San Antonio (otherwise Principe), which had been built to facilitate transport for the Sonora war. Live-stock, provisions, and needed utensils were levied upon the missions of the peninsula ; indeed, all that they could spare, and in some cases more than that, was taken. To increase the military forces orders were sent to Colonel Elizondo in Sonora bidding him detach a company of twenty- five Catalan soldiers for service in Alta Cabfornia. In No vember 1768 these men reached the peninsula, under the command of Lieutenant Pedro Fages, later to become one of the greatest of the Spanish governors of Alta California. The San Carlos reached La Paz in December, but it had been so badly beaten by storms that it was already in a leaky condition. It was necessary to unload and careen the boat and then to load it again. Galvez superintended these tasks in person, and often gave a hand in the actual labor of lading, thus greatly inspiriting the men. On January 9, 1769, the tiny bttle craft, for it was a ship of but two hundred tons burthen, at last set sail. In all there were sixty-two men aboard, including Vicente Vila (the commander), Fages and his Catalans, and the engineer and diarist Miguel Costans6. Among the others were two blacksmiths and a baker for the proposed settlements. Also a quantity of church ornaments, agricultural tools, provisions, and seeds were carried. Galvez on the Concepcion accompanied the San Carlos as far as Cape San Lucas. There he saw the San Carlos double the cape and strike for the north, 222 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Galvez now gave his attention to the San Antonio. Upon its arrival at Cape San Lucas, on January 25, it was thought best to unload and careen it, just as had been done in the case of the San Carlos. Not until February 15 did the San Antonio get under way. In addition to crew and cargo, some blacksmiths and carpenters were taken along. Juan Perez, a native of Majorca and a former master of the Manila galleon, was in command ; he was now to be, for several years, the "principal maritime figure in the annals of Alta Cabfornia. The total number of those on board has not been re corded. Turning to the land expeditions, Galvez sent out a first detachment under Captain Fernando de Rivera y Moncada, who had been in Baja California for more than a decade and was later to become a governor of the northern province. With him went twenty-five soldiers, three muleteers, and forty-two Christian Indians, who it was beheved might prove useful both as interpreters and as assistants in con verting the natives of the north, besides performing the drudgery of the expedition. Father Juan Crespf (a native of Majorca, intimate friend of Serra, and one of the more notable of the Franciscans in Alta Cabfornia in ensuing years) was also with Rivera. Gathering nearly four hundred domestic animals from the missions as he went along, besides implements and provisions, Rivera made his way to Santa Maria de Ios Angeles, then the most northerly mission. Finding insufficient pasture for his animals he moved on to Velicata, situated in 30°, about 150 miles due south of San Diego. From this point he started for Alta Cabfornia on March 24. Meanwhile the second land expedition, under Governor Portola, had departed from Loreto on March 9. As eventually made up, his party included Father Serra, Sergeant Jose Francisco de Ortega, nine or ten soldiers, two servants (of Portola and Serra), and forty-four Baja Cali fornia natives. Serra made the journey under difficulties, being troubled with an ulcer in his foot and leg, but he de clined to be left behind. On May 14 they founded the mis sion of San Fernando de Veficatd, having reached that place SPANISH OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 223 the same day. On the 15th Portola set out over Rivera's route to San Diego. One further expedition was sent, beyond the four origi nally planned. This went out on the San Jose, which had been built especially for voyages to the northwest coast. Nevertheless, like its predecessors, it had to be overhauled and repaired when it reached the peninsula in February. In May the San Jose carried the visitador across to Sonora, whence it returned to Loreto and sailed for San Diego on June 16. According to one account the ship was never heard of again. According to another it was so badly damaged by storms that it returned to San Bias for repairs. At length it departed for the north from Cape San Lucas in May 1770. In either case the boat was lost with all on board ; how many there were remains unknown. A volume of fascinating narrative might well be written of the experiences of the Argonauts of 1769. Here, un fortunately, it is impossible to give way to this very natural desire. The San Antonio, though it had started more than a month later than the San Carlos, was the first to reach San Diego, dropping anchor at that port on April 11, after a voyage of fifty-five days. AU on board except the two friars were sick or disabled, but no fives had been lost. Eighteen days later the San Carlos arrived, on April 29. For a voyage which a modern steamer would make in several days, the San Carlos had taken no fewer than 110 days. Everybody on board was sick, and twenty-four of the crew (all but two of them) had died of the scurvy. On May 14, Rivera's party got in. He had required fifty- one days and a march of some four hundred miles to come from Velicata. Some of the Indians had died, and a num ber of others had deserted. Occasionally the natives along the route had shown a disposition to resist or annoy the party, but the noise of gunpowder provided a quick remedy for this source of trouble. The lack of water and of feed for the animals was a much more serious difficulty. Portola s march almost duplicated Rivera's, but on the whole was easier, since he was not burdened with the care of so many 224 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA domestic animals. On the 1st of July his party reached San Diego, having been on the road forty-eight days from Velicata. Portola says some of the Indians had died, but no other lives were lost. Only twelve of his forty-four Indians reached San Diego, however. The rest had died or deserted. Thus were the expeditions reunited at San Diego, but many of the individuals who had started from Baja Cali fornia were no longer included. Counting the men on the ill-fated San Jose, perhaps something fewer than three hundred men had made up the original expeditions, about half of whom reached Alta Cabfornia. A fourth of all who started had lost their bves. Such was the toll to the perils of land and sea. The situation at San Diego was one which might have dis couraged a less stout-hearted soldier than Governor Portola. Many were sick; indeed, of those who had come by sea hardly any were well. This might have been faced with more equanimity were it not that provisions were running low. Nevertheless, as one historian has put it : "The governor at once applied himself to preparations for con tinuing the journey to Monterey; for discouraging as the situa tion was at the San Diego rendezvous, he did not by any means justify the abandonment of the enterprise at that point. Portola was a true soldier in spirit, as well as in training. In his view noth ing excused him from the performance of duty, so long as there was possibility of discharging it." It was therefore decided that the San Antonio should return for supplies and to report the success thus far attained. Only eight sailors of the twenty-eight who had made the north ward voyage on that ship were able to go to sea. With this scant crew Perez left for tbe south on July 9. It was also arranged that tbe San Carlos should sail for Monterey as soon as there should be enough sailors in health to man it. Portola himself was to go overland through an utterly un known country to Monterey. On July 14 he started, accom panied by Costans6, Fages and six of bis Catalan soldiers (who alone of the twenty-five were able to march), Captain SPANISH OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 225 Rivera and Sergeant Ortega with twenty-six soldiers, Fathers Crespi and G6mez, seven muleteers, fifteen Baja California Indians, and two servants (of Portola and Rivera), or a com pany of sixty-three in all. The account of their long and terrible march (and indeed of all the experiences of the expeditions) is well set forth in a brief narrative by Portola. This was written several years later, in September 1773, by the hand of Juan Manuel de Viniegra, a former secretary of Galvez, who set it down as a .statement of Portola in a conversation with an unnamed friend, presumably Viniegra: "While I was passing, my friend, through the missions estab lished by the Jesuits to that one on the frontier named Santa Maria, we experienced no hardships worth mentioning, neither I nor my companions; for, in addition to the fact that we took from the presidio vegetables and delicacies, in exchange for the lamentations of the settlers, we were fortunate enough to be able to sleep under roofs, and make the march with some comfort. "In consideration of the great deserts into which I was going, and of the Russian hunger with which I foresaw we were going to contend, I was obliged to seize everything I saw as I passed through those poor missions, leaving them, to my keen regret, as scantily provided for as I knew the three southern ones had been left in consequence of the orders given by the visitador for despatching the packet boats San Carlos and San Antonio to the port of Monterey. "Thus equipped-, I began my march to the bay named San Diego, in company with thirty soldiers of the presidio and many Indian auxiliaries; but, friend, in a few days we saw with extreme regret that our food was gone, with no source of supplies unless we should turn back. As a result, some of the Indians died, and the rest of them deserted from natural necessity. "So I was left alone with the cuirassiers; without stopping the march, we went on, lamenting, now to the mountains to kill geese and rabbits, now to the beach for clams and small fish, and then in search of water, which we did not find for three or four days, the animals going twice that long without drinking, as we our selves did sometimes. "Overcoming these and other innumerable hardships, natural results of such unhappy fortune, we arrived at the port of San Diego, the spot at which the expeditionaries by land and sea were to meet in accordance with the instructions of the visitador-general to recount to one another the great events which had happened to 226 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA us and the discoveries incident to our journeys. The members of the sea expedition limited their account to the statement that the San Carlos had been 110 days and her consort 59 days, in sail ing 150 leagues, because the headwinds from the north and north west are lords of those coasts throughout the year. Being attacked by scurvy, thirty-four persons died on the two vessels, and they saw nothing on their voyage save some islands so bare and terrible that they could not look at them without horror. "In the face of these unfavorable reports, and of the similar one which we gave to them, I called a council of the officers, and it was resolved by them that the packet boat San Antonio should return to the port of San Bias for provisions and men. Then, leaving the San Carlos in San Diego with two men and the mis sionary, the sick being placed under a hut of poles which I had had erected, I gathered the small portion of food which had not been spoiled in the ships, and went on by land to Monterey with that small company of persons, or rather say skeletons, who had been spared by scurvy, hunger, and thirst. "We reached Monterey after struggling thirty-eight days against the greatest hardships and difficulties; for, aside from the fact that there was in all that ungracious country (through which we passed after leaving the frontier) no object to greet either the hand or the eye save rocks, brushwood, and rugged mountains covered with snow, we were also without food and did not know where we were. For, although the signs whereby we were to recog nize the port were the same as those set down by General Sebas tian Vizcaino in his log, the fact is that, without being able to guess the reason, we were all under hallucination, and no one dared assert openly that the port was indeed Monterey. "In this confusion and distress, friend, not under compulsion from the Russians, but from keen hunger, which was wearing us out, we decided to return to San Diego, for the purpose of recuper ating our strength by means of the provisions which we judged would soon arrive there on the San Antonio. In order that we might not die meanwhile, I ordered that at the end of each day's march, one of the weak old mules which carried our baggage and ourselves, should be killed. The flesh we roasted or half fried in a fire made in a hole in the ground. "The mule being thus prepared, without a grain of salt or other seasoning — for we had none — we shut our eyes and fell to on that scaly mule (what misery!) like hungry lions. We ate twelve in as many days, obtaining from them perforce all our sustenance, all our appetite, all our delectation. "At last we entered San Diego, smelling frightfully of mules. The reverend father president said to me, as he welcomed me. SPANISH OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 227 'You come from Rome without having seen the pope,' alluding to the fact that we had not found the port of Monterey. We re mained at San Diego nine months waiting for the San Antonio, subsisting for that long period on geese and the fish and other food which the Indians brought us in exchange for clothing. Some of the soldiers were left with barely enough clothing to cover their backs, having given up the rest to avoid perishing from want. We planted a small quantity of corn in the best soil, but, although it grew well, the birds ate the best of it while it was yet soft, leav ing us disappointed and bereft of the hope we had cherished of eating the grain which our hands had sown. "After nine months our troubles were somewhat lessened by the arrival of the packet boat San Antonio; for, although nearly the entire crew had died of scurvy, we got very particular consolation out of the corn, flour, and rice which it brought. The captain of the vessel represented to me the impossibility of continuing his voy age, on account of the loss of men and the bad condition of his vessel, but he nevertheless set sail with provisions for Monterey, leaving at San Diego what was necessary for the missionary and the eight soldiers who remained as an escort. "With the sixteen remaining fusiliers and presidial soldiers, I began the second journey to the sought-for Monterey. On this occasion, determining without mistake that we had found the port which Sebastian Vizcaino drew in detail in his log, we set up our camp, the San Antonio dropping anchor eight days later. I was not ignorant of the fact that the king of Spain had for centuries been owner and legitimate lord of those lands, but, friend, as arti cle eight of the instructions of the visitador-general gave me to understand to the contrary, I repeated the formalities of taking legal possession which were therein ordered. In fulfilment of other orders, I proceeded to erect a fort to occupy and defend the port from the atrocities of the Russians, who were about to invade us, as was to be inferred from the terms of the instructions. "Indeed, owing to the indefatigable zeal of the engineer, Don Miguel Costanso, we completed within thirty days the royal for tress, which was built of poles and earth. It was equipped with some small cannon, and manned with twenty men, including the missionary, for whom we built a house as well, out of the same material as the fort. The mission received the glorious name of our august sovereign, and the two other missions situated at moderate distances were called San Fernando and San Buenaventura. "Being desirous of complying with all the orders of the visitador- general, I went also to reconnoiter the port of San Francisco, sixty leagues distant. I did not linger there, nor did I see anything worthy of description there, save only a labyrinth of bays and 228 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA channels which inundate the territory. Having returned to Mon terey, I soon embarked for San Bias, on the coast of New Spain, where, happily, I shortly arrived, for on the return voyage one travels as fast as Sancho Panza would have liked. "You must be weary, friend, of listening to all the plagues which I encountered on my journey, but believe me also when I say that the unhappy Spaniards whom I left in those new settle ments are at present enduring the same discomforts. "I reported them all to the viceroy and the visitador-general in official and confidential letters; without reserve I explained to them that it was impossible to send aid to Monterey by sea, and still more so by land, unless it was proposed to sacrifice thousands of men and huge sums of money. Proofs of this fact are in the story of the packet boat San Jose, which, having left San Bias three years ago to carry us provisions, has not yet appeared, nor has any news been had of her, doubtless because all of her crew were attacked with scurvy, and no one was left to steer the ship away from disaster. "I make end to my conversation, finally, by replying to the questions which you asked at the beginning. The natives of Cali fornia are so gentle that we never had to defend ourselves. The mines of gold and silver and other rich products foretold to us in advance advices we never saw nor found, as our first care was to hunt for meat to keep from starving. Even if Monterey is at last fairly well fortified and California should through any extravagant desire be coveted by the Russians, there are still many other ports which, being undefended by troops or fortifications, could not oppose them, and where they may freely establish themselves if they desire. Farewell, friend. "Your affectionate "Portola." It only remains to comment upon and elaborate certain portions of this story, passing over some of the minor details in which it varied a bttle from the facts. Portola and his men reached the mouth of the Salinas River on the Bay of Monterey on September 30, 1769. Tbey were in some doubt as to whether they might already have passed the wonderful port described by Vizcaino, and, besides, provisions were scarce and seventeen men were unfit for active duty. Never theless, said Costans6, SPANISH OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 229 "all the officers voted unanimously that the journey be con tinued, as this was the only course that remained, for we hoped to find— through the grace of God — the much desired port of Mon terey, and in it the packet San Josi, which might relieve our needs; and, if God willed that in the search for Monterey we should all perish, we would have performed our duty towards God and man, cooperating to the death for the success of the undertaking upon which we had been sent." Here surely was no weakness. It was at this time, therefore, and not later (as one might have inferred from Portola's narrative) that the journey up the San Francisco peninsula was made. On October 31 they saw the Gulf of Farallones to the northwest, and noting some white cliffs and an opening between them (into what is in fact Bolinas Bay) bebeved that they were looking upon Drake's Bay, called by them the "Bay of San Francisco." The next day Sergeant Ortega, who aU along had commanded the scouts in the vanguard, was sent out with orders to reach Drake's Bay if possible. Almost certainly Ortega and his men on this day, November 1, 1769, reached the Golden Gate and saw part of the great Bay of San Francisco, as it was eventually called, within. Later, Ortega was sent up the eastern shore of the bay, and may have reached Alameda Creek. In the bght of past dreams of Anian it is at first thought surprising that the discovery was received with so bttle enthusiasm; indeed, it occasioned bitter disappointment. Two things must be remembered, however. The men were sick and starving, and they had been sent out, not to find a Strait of Anian, but the port of Monterey. This clearly was not Monterey; indeed, it might be Drake's Bay, in which case, as all now agreed, they had passed the port discovered by Vizcafno. They were dispirited, too, because the hope on which they had sustained themselves — that they would find the San Jose — was now gone, for there were no signs of that vessel. Portola was particularly unimpressed. After Ortega and his men had made known the vast reaches of the great bay, Portola was able to write in his diary that "they had found 230 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA nothing." And to the soldierly Portola this was the literal truth, for they had seen -'nothing" of the thing which he had been ordered to find, the port of Monterey. On November 11, therefore, the return march was begun. More than ten weeks later, on January 24, 1770, they approached San Diego, wondering if they would find any thing left of the settlement there. That day they staggered into camp, rejoiced that their comrades were still alive. Some had died of the scurvy, however, and not one of them had escaped having the disease. Furthermore, the Indians had been troublesome, and on August 15 had rushed the camp. It had been necessary to kill several of them. Worst of all the San Jose had not put in an appearance at all, and the San Antonio had not yet returned. The situation as regards supplies therefore was serious. Many a man in Portola's place would have felt justified in abandoning Alta Cabfornia at this point. But this gallant officer thought only of his orders; he had been re quired to occupy the northern territory, and meant to hold it until the last moment compatible with the safety of his forces. It was resolved to send Rivera back to the peninsula for supplies "in order to make it possible to hold this port longer," according to Portola. This he did, said Costans6, writing at a later time, '"lest he should incur such discredit" as would result from his abandonment of San Diego. The situation was bttle less than desperate, however, and the fortunate appearance of the San Antonio on March 23 may very well have averted an early abandonment.2 2 A legend has sprung up, having One further fact should be noted. its origin in Palou's Vida (published Rivera was sent to Baja California in 1787) that Portola would have for supplies so that Portola and his abandoned Alta Calif ornia but for the men might continue to "hold this pleadings of Serra. Eventually, it is port [San Diego] longer." Rivera de- said, Portola set a date, beyond parted on February 10. It had taken which he would not remain. The day Portola forty-eight days merely to before this ultimate date the San An- come with a light party from Veli- tonio was sighted, though it did not cat& to San Diego. How was Rivera get into port until four days later, to go far to the south of Velicata, This story is unsupported by a shred gather supplies, and return to San of contemporary evidence The facts Diego with a heavy mule-train in are reviewed in Chapman, The found- thirty-eight days! It seems likely ing of Spanish California, 98-101. that Palou's story was an unmerited SPANISH OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 231 The arrival of the San Antonio changed thAface of matters. Portola now decided to go north again in search of Monterey. The San Antonio was despatched to the north on April 16, and Portola started by land the next day. The governor was the first to arrive. On May 24 he came to the rendezvous agreed upon in Monterey Bay, satisfied now that this, after all, was the so-called good port discovered by Vizcaino. PeYez came in, a week later, with the San Antonio. On June 3, 1770, the presidio and missi on of Monterey were formaUy inaugurated. Portola's task was now done. He had been ordered to return to New Spain as soon as a beginning of the settlements had been made, turning over the command to Fages. Accordingly, on July 9 Portola, accompanied by Costans6, sailed with Pei*ez on the San Antonio, landing at San Bias on the 1st of August. Shortly afterward he was promoted to a lieutenant-colonelcy, and in 1776 was made colonel and governor of Puebla, New Spain. Taking pos session of bis government in 1777, he remained at that post until 1784, when he was succeeded by Jacobo de Ugarte and ordered to return to Spain. Then in his sixty-first year, Portola passes off the scene, so far as present records go. Perez and Costans6 had hastened to Mexico City from San Bias with Portola's despatches. jArriving there on August 10, 1770, they brought news of the success of Gaivez's enterprise. For a year and a half, little if anything had been heard from it, and the reports which now came in must have been particularly agreeable, in the light of Gaivez's unsatis factory record (as matters had turned out) in Sonora. Bells were rung, flags displayed, and a special high mass was celebrated. Alta California had been occupied — and the fame of Galvez was secure ! 3 slander on Portola, told with a view thorities and the already cited works to the exaltation of Serra. As for of Priestley and Chapman, the trans- Rivera, he got back to San Diego in lations of original narratives and July with eighty mule-loads of pro- diaries in the first two volumes of the visions and a small herd of cattle. Publications of the Academy of Paci- Under the circumstances this was fie Coast History are worthy of spe- making good time — all that could cial mention among the materials have been expected. for this chapter. 3 In addition to the standard au- CHAPTER XVIII THE PACIFICATION OF SONORA The strategic centre in Gaivez's plans, even for the settle ments in Alta California, was the province of Sonora, near the frontiers of which the future capital of the com mandancy-general was designed to be placed. That province had been reduced to sad straits as a result of nearly twenty years of continuous war. The population had seriously declined. For example, Pimeria Alta, which had had 1315 civilized inhabitants in 1763, fell away to 178 in 1769. Even southern Sonora had been affected. Prior to the Pima revolt of 1751 there had been fifty-seven settled ranches in the Ostimuri district; two decades later there were only four. In the rest of Sonora over forty mining settlements had been deserted, and but two out of a prior number of 125 ranches still bad white inhabitants. The presence of the Jesuits in the province had not served to check disorder, after the sup pression of the Pima revolt. Indeed, the constant bickerings between them and the other white elements only increased the evil of the times, especially since the missionaries had now lost all control over the Indians. It was therefore an advantage to the province when they were supplanted by the Franciscans of the colleges of Queretaro and Jalisco. The expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767 took place without warning in Sonora as elsewhere, with the result that it was not until 1768 that their successors arrived. The Quer6taran friars took over Pimeria, and the Jabscans received the rest of Sonora, while Sinaloa was put in charge of the secular clergy. Henceforth the religious were to exercise only spiritual jurisdiction. The friars were not satisfied with this arrangement, but at any rate, whether due to the change or 232 THE PACIFICATION OF SONORA 233 not, there was a cessation, for a while, of revolts by Chris tianized Indians. It remained to deal with the hostile tribes of the unconverted and to introduce the settlers who should maintain permanent peace. Galvez had entertained the highest hopes of the outcome of Elizondo's campaign. That officer and his army of more than a thousand men were expected in a short time to pacify Sonora and then to pass on to Nueva Vizcaya to deal with the Apaches. In other words a successful military campaign was to be the indispensable prebminary to the inauguration of Gaivez's project of the commandancy-general. Julian de Arriaga, the enlightened Secretary of the Indies in Spain,1 and the king were among those who were not sanguine of the success of Gaivez's plan, and the event proved that they were right. Ebzondo reached Guaymas on March 10, 1768, and soon afterward made an attack on the Indian enemies (Seris and Pimas) in that vicinity. The latter fled to the mountain fastnesses of the Cerro Prieto, where it was im possible to pursue them, though a ten days' search was made. In June the Spaniards attacked the Cerro Prieto from three sides, but the Indians eluded them. The same thing hap pened when another attempt was made in October, and then again in November. Royal orders of November and Decem ber called for a cessation of these expensive campaigns and for the use of conciliatory methods, but Croix and Galvez were too deeply committed to draw back, and found an excuse to allow the war to go on. The Spaniards were nothing if not persistent, for they assaulted the Cerro Prieto for the fifth time, in February, but without result. After a year's campaign virtually nothing had been accomplished. As late as February 1769, while he was still in Baja Cali fornia, Galvez was giving orders for a war of extermination against the rebellious Indians, but by the time of his arrival in Sonora, in May, he had learned of the royal orders and 1 Julian de Arriaga, Secretary of due his achievements. Spain's great the Indies from 1750 or 1751 to 1776, eighteenth century spurt in north- is one of the figures in the back- westward conquest came during hb ground of California history who has rule, and the decline followed imm > yet to receive the attention that is diately upon his death in 1776. 234 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA decided to try tbe effects of an offer of amnesty. A period of forty days from May 8 was given in which the Indians might surrender, and it was intimated that they would suffer dire consequences after that date if they neglected the opportunity. The forty days passed, but few Indians ac cepted the edict. Then ten days more were added, and later another twenty-five, but the Indians remained hostile. Galvez had meanwhile been attending, with more or less success, to some of the minor projects ihpreparation for the commandancy-general. What he might have done if he had retained his health can only be conjectured; it is more than likely that he would have found a way to overcome obstacles, just as he had in sending out the Alta Cabfornia expeditions, and would have brought about an advance to the Gila and Colorado rivers and the establishment of com munications with Monterey. If that is so, it is well for the ultimate possessor of Cabfornia (the United States) that Galvez fell desperately ill. Early in June he began to develop fever and chills, and he was not wholly well again until after he had left the frontier. Before he was at his worst, however, he directed several other attacks against the Indians, one of them, in October, being another fruitless assault on the Cerro Prieto. This was Gaivez's last effort as a general in the field, for he now became incapacitated through ill health. Gaivez's first serious illness occurred in August. Believing that he was about to die he wrote to Croix on the 22d, reiterating his feelings of personal friendship for the viceroy and commending his subordinate officers to the latter's attention. Yet, the greater part of his letter concerned the expeditions to Alta California; it is at least interesting that what Galvez expected to be his dying request was a plea to Croix to protect the new establishments of San Diego and Monterey. He soon recovered, but periodically broke down, and at last in the middle of October bis mind gave way alto gether. From that time until the end of the following March he was rarely in sound mental condition. His faithful secretaries (Argiiello, Armona, Azanza, Belena, and Viniegra) tried to conceal tbe nature of bis disease, but it THE PACIFICATION OF SONORA 235 was noised abroad in spite of them. Temporarily, too, the affairs of Sonora received a set-back, for nobody but Galvez had authority to execute certain decisions, and he was no longer able to do so. In this emergency three of the secre taries (ArgiieUo, Azanza, and Viniegra) felt it incumbent on them to inform the viceroy that Galvez bad met with "civil death." There can be no doubt that they were acting for the best interests of the service in doing this and that they were personally devoted to the visitador. Thus, in con temporary letters to one another there are the most sincere expressions of sorrow over the condition of their "dearly beloved father and illustrious chief" who seemed to have lost "that which in other times had caused wonder in all who had consulted him" or, in the somewhat plainer words of Armona, his "beautiful reason." Nevertheless, when the visitador was restored to health he turned vindictively upon his former devoted friends and companions (to whose care he undoubtedly owed bis life) because they bad reported bis illness to the viceroy, who had in turn mentioned it in bis correspondence with the court. The three secretaries were deprived of their employment and thrown into prison, where they were visited by another of tbe visitador's secretaries, who demanded that they retract their statements about Gaivez's loss of reason. For several years tbey were made thus unjustly to suffer. It is perhaps poetic justice that Gaivez's ungenerous act should have rebounded upon him self, for in their endeavors to clear themselves tbe secretaries furnished indisputable proofs of Gaivez's malady. One of the secretaries, Azanza, made bis formal entry as viceroy, thirty years later, in tbe very town where Galvez had im prisoned him. While the visitador was bereft of reason he exhibited a most extraordinary megalomania. This appears from the account of Viniegra, who supphed it in response to commands of the higher authorities, "saying nothing," as he put it, "about those incidents that may offend the ears and that are not needed to prove the nature of his misfortune." 236 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Referring to Gaivez's first burst of insanity, in October 1769, Viniegra says : "On this day with all clearness he displayed the solemn up setting of his understanding, calling to Sergeant-Major Don Ma- tias de Armona at two o'clock in the morning to tell him that Don Francisco de Asis [Saint Francis] had just brought him some papers by which he had learned of the ignorance of the officers in the war that was being waged against Indian enemies. As for the Indians he was going to destroy them in three days, for merely by bringing six hundred apes from Guatemala, dressing them as soldiers, and making them run around the Cerro Prieto he would easily cause the enemies within a distance of many leagues to flee. After this ridiculous sally he came out of his room and went to the barracks where there were nearly a thousand men. He shook hands with them and asked them to be his comrades and friends, inviting them to share in the treasure of the expedi tion, and in fact he gave a verbal order at the treasury to give every soldier as much money as he should ask for. And this was done in some cases, when it was found necessary to suspend this measure immediately, for the house of the treasurer had trans formed itself into that of a grand jubilee (jubileo plenisimo). We went to dinner, and in the space of two hours he said two thousand mad things in the presence of many officers of rank and their dependents. Among other things he said that if anyone should make comment upon his measures, he would put his head at his feet and burn it on a pyre, without excepting Colonel Don Do mingo Elizondo, who was present, from this preposterous design. He asserted that our lord the king had already ordered the removal from the Guid de forasteros (Guide for strangers) [the entry about] the Supreme Council of the Camara (Chamber) of the Indies, put ting this clause in the place of all that respectable body : 'Council and Camara of the Indies — the visitador-general of New Spain.' " On another occasion, says Viniegra: "He called himself and held himself to be the king of Prussia, Charles XII of Sweden, the Protector of the House of Bourbon, a councillor of state, deputy of the Admiral of Spain, an immortal, and, [though it seem] impossible, Saint Joseph, the Venerable Palafox, and, what is more than all, the Eternal Father, and an infinity of other persons, with whose character at every moment he invested himself, wishing to perform the functions correspond ing to them, even to celebrating the Final Judgment by means of the Divine Word." THE PACIFICATION OF SONORA 237 Among other things that Viniegra details, we find Galvez making a caste {mestizo) governor of Sonora and investing him with the staff of office; he made Teodoro de Croix (nephew of the Marques de Croix) viceroy of New Spain, and Armona commandant-general of the new commandancy ; he wrote reams of orders and decrees, according to the solicitations of anybody who asked for them; he ordered heads cut off, including that of tbe viceroy; he planned a canal from Mexico City to Guaymas (!) for ships of deep draught; he gave decorations, titles of nobihty, bishoprics, and even empires, with a lavish hand; he set fire to his room and burned bis clothing, and then appeared naked in the window to preach to the Indians, assuring them that be was the Emperor Montezuma and that the Christian faith con tained only two articles, — bebef in Our Lady of Guadalupe and in Montezuma; and be wrote numerous papers, one of which he signed in his own band "Jose de Galvez, insane for this unhappy world; pray God for him that he may be happy in the next." It is small wonder that the projects of tbe visitador were not greatly furthered by bis own presence in Sonora. Indeed, many things were delayed or left undone, for, sane or crazy, Galvez was still visitador and deputy of the viceroy, and his signed documents were a difficult factor for his subordinates to get around. Toward the end of March, Galvez was able to leave Sonora for Mexico. He went by way of Chihuahua, which he reached on March 30, 1770, and got to Mexico City late in May or early in June. Meanwhile, events were occurring on the frontier which in fact tended toward doing away with the obstacles to an advance to tbe Gila and Colorado and beyond them to Monterey. One of these was the inspection of the frontier presidios by the Marques de Rubi. Tbe Spanish authorities had frequently in the past shown that tbey understood the necessity of deabng with the frontier as a whole (as witness the already-cited memorial of the Marques de Altamira in 1751), for warfare m one province inevitably involved the 238 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA others. The Secretary of the Indies, Julian de Arriaga, seems to have reached this conclusion when he sent Rubi to the frontier to inspect the entire system of the presidios. Rubi was commissioned in 1765, and took up his work in January 1766. In the next two years he traversed the frontier from Texas to Sonora, even visiting the New Mexico salient. In his report of April 10, 1768, he recommended the forming of a bne of seventeen presidios from Sonora to Texas. At the same time seven other presidios and two provincial companies then in existence were to be dropped. This became a governmental program during the next eight years, arousing great hopes for a forthcoming pacification of the frontier. Though these hopes were destined to be vain, they encouraged the authorities to take action looking toward the long-delayed northwestward conquests. Fur thermore, much real work was accomplished after 1771 to estabbsh the system recommended by Rubf. The number of presidios on the line was cut down to fifteen, but certain others off the bne (including two in southern Sonora, although it was intended to dispense with them as soon as possible) were to be retained, at least temporarily. By an appointment of December 4, 1772, Hugo Oconor became commandant-inspector of the frontier provinces to establish the line. Subject only to the viceroy he ruled there during the next four years, and did creditable work in reducing the ills from which those provinces suffered. Following Gaivez's incapacity from illness in October 1769, Elizondo again took charge of the campaign in Sonora. He at once instituted methods that were to serve the purpose to much better effect than the general attacks had done. Dividing his troops into small detachments he caused them to wage an incessant guerrilla warfare against the Indians, so that they had no time to search for food or gain sufficient rest. By gifts and cajolery, too, other groups were per suaded to lay down their arms. All had submitted by May 1771. At last the war, for the time being, was over. The original plan for a descent upon Nueva Vizcaya was aban doned, and in the fall of 1771 Elizondo and most of his men THE PACIFICATION OF SONORA 239 returned to Mexico. One obstacle to the advance to the Gila and Colorado now seemed to have been diminished if not removed. Coincident with the termination of the military campaign an event occurred which served better than bullets to make for peace. While pursuing a band of Indians in 1771 a de tachment of Elizondo 's army discovered the rich gold placers of Cieneguilla, near Altar. Vast quantities of gold were found near the surface. There was an immediate rush to the scene, and within a few months of the discovery over two thousand men had reached there. Unlike the Arizonac mine of other days Cieneguilla continued to yield richly for a decade, and other mines in the neighborhood were worked to the end of the century and later. At about the same time mines were discovered in other parts of Sonora. Huerta on the Yaqui River was particularly rich; between 1772 and 1776 it was the most flourishing place in the province. In deed, the revenues of Cieneguilla and Huerta at this time were sufficient between them to support the entire province. Even the Indian-infested Pimeria district had been able to yield a profit of 77,277 pesos2 in 1770, before the discovery of the Cieneguilla mines. The troubles of Sonora as regards Indian wars, especially on the part of the Apaches, were not at an end, but from this time forth there was a sufficiently great civilized population to ward off actual dangers, if not the fear of them. Meanwhile, important action had been taken directly affecting the discovery of a route from Sonora to Monterey. The Franciscans were eager to make a good showing in Pimeria Alta, to which they had succeeded in 1768 following the expulsion of the Jesuits. Therefore, there was a renewal of northward explorations and of projects for converting the Indians of the Gila and even those as far away as Moqui. Preeminent among the Quer^taran friars of Pimeria Alta was a man whose achievements should be written large in the his- 2 The value of the peso in cash was much (as measured by present-day 50 cents. The purchasing power, standards) at the very least. however, was surely double that 240 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA tory of exploration, Father Francisco Garces. Although the principal object in his journeys of exploration was the saving of souls, for in him apostobc zeal burned with an ardor com parable with that of bis great predecessors in the Franciscan order, his results were of vast importance from the stand point of plans for frontier advance. Garc6s took up his ministry at San Javier del Bac in June 1768. In August, he Started on the first of his tours of exploration, going through Papagueria (in the extreme northwest of Sonora) to the Gila. In 1769 he seems to have made an unimportant tour as chaplain. In 1770 he went forth again, between October 19 and November 2, from Bac to and along the Gila. On this- journey he traveled among the Pimas of the Gila and the Opas, both of whom gave him a friendly reception. He re ported that the Pimas were particularly worthy and were clamorous for the missionaries that he had promised when he visited them in 1768. They were far from being a savage people, had good fields of wheat and maize, and knew of God. The Opas were a much ruder, if equally kindly people. This exploration added fresh evidence of the accessi- bihty of Alta California from Sonora, for the Pimas were much excited over accounts of people seen in the west, the previous year; these they described in such a way that Garc6*s realized they were referring to the soldiers of the 1769 expeditions to Alta Cabfornia. A much more important journey was made by Garc6s from August to October 1771, and the information that he gained had a great influence on the opinion of the junta which eventually recommended Anza's first expedition. This journey, too, more than any other, helped to determine the route of the subsequent expedition. The details of the diary as to GarceV route might well have been very confusing to the junta, due to the fact that Garc6s mistook the Colorado for the Gila. In reabty he went through Papagueria to the Gila, reaching it just above its junction with the Colorado, whither he was desirous of going; he went on past the junc tion of the rivers, without reabzing he had done so, and then traveled west and south along the Colorado, thinking that THE PACIFICATION OF SONORA 241 he was on the Gila and would in that way reach the junction; he crossed the Colorado, believing that he was crossing the Gila, and came upon a vast lagoon, which he took to be the Colorado ; he returned to the Colorado and ascended almost to the junction again, without realizing how near he was to the place that he sought; thence he returned through Papagueria. During his wanderings he visited and named many of the villages west of the Colorado, and reached the very canyon by which Anza's expedition was to make its way through the mountains. He had also journeyed west of the Gila Mountains in Papagueria, being the first known ex plorer to take that route, along which he later guided Anza. Of the obstacles impeding an advance in 1752 all but the Apaches and the disorders of the eastern provinces seemed now to have been cleared away. The Apaches, indeed, threatened the best of the routes to the northwest, — from Tubac to the Gila and down that river to the Colorado, — but it was hoped that the new line of presidios would soon take care of them. There were minor uprisings in Sonora, too, after the end of Elizondo's campaign, but though at times in the next decade the situation seemed very bad, it never again got out of hand. If a desire for northwestward conquest still remained and if capable leaders could be found, this seemed to be the moment when the much-planned forward movement should take place. The desire for an ad vance had long existed, and now that Alta California had been occupied in a precarious and unsubstantial way, it was imperative that an overland route should be found. Fortunately, too, the right sort of leaders were at hand. One of them was the already-mentioned pioneer explorer, Father Garces. Another was the captain of the presidio of Tubac, Juan Bautista de Anza, under whose command the route to Monterey was to be discovered and utilized. In the background there was a third figure, greater than either, greater even than the visitador — and certainly a more noble character, This was the man who in 1771 succeeded Croix as 242 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA viceroy, Antonio Maria Bucareli y Ursua. In Bucareli the struggling province in the far northwest was to find the greatest hero who has ever appeared in the field of Califor nia history.3 3 This chapter is based principally on the already cited works of Priestley and Chapman. CHAPTER XIX PRECARIOUS FOOTING OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS IN ALTA CALIFORNIA The most vital period in the history of Alta California was that which embraced the years 1773 to 1776, when Bucareli, the great viceroy, was taking those measures which put the struggling colonies of the north permanently on their feet. Next in importance after these came the periods from 1769 to 1773 and 1776 to 1781. It is the purpose of this chapter to deal with the earliest of these three periods, or more partic ularly with events of the years 1770 to 1773, not so much in order to chronicle local happenings as to provide a setting for the activities of the viceroy, who between 1773 and 1776 was to take the steps which saved the enterprise begun by Gaivez. As already stated, Pedro Fages succeeded to the authority of Portola in Alta California, following the latter's de parture in July 1770. Strictly speaking, neither one had had a right to be called governor while the expeditions were in Alta California, for Don Gaspar had been succeeded in 1769 by Matias de Armona, so that he could give his undivided attention to the conquest in the north. On Armona' s de parture from Baja California in 1770, Felipe Barry (arriving in 1771) became governor, and he was succeeded in 1774 by Felipe de Neve, who took possession in 1775. These men had little more influence in the north, however, than for example the governors of Sonora. It would be absurd to include Armona, Barry, and Neve (prior to his actual rule in the new establishments) in the list of Alta California governors and to omit Portola (1769-1770), Fages (1770- 1774), and Rivera (1774-1777). To all intents and purposes 243 244 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA the three last-named were governors, reporting directly to the viceroy and depending on their theoretical superior at Loreto in only the most shadowy way. They are therefore referred to as governors in the present work. In 1777 the titular ruler of the two Cabfornias took up his residence in Monterey. Some difficulties arose in Alta California at the outset, due to the fact that Fages' powers were not precisely defined. Father Serra, president of the missions, insisted that Fages had nothing to do with the activities of the friars, save for a restricted authority over the five or six soldiers constituting the guard of each mission; in other words, he contended that Fages was in the position of a presidial commander and nothing more. Fages, on the other hand, held that he had succeeded to the powers which had actually been exercised by Portola and in particular that he should have something to say about the time and place for founding new missions; he was responsible for the defence and the provisioning of the missions, and as his means were limited felt that any step which affected his duties in these respects must have his sanction. As neither Fages nor Serra was of a yielding dis position, there soon developed a lack of harmony between them which by 1772 assumed the proportions of a break. A further difficulty arose, though less serious than tbe other, as a result of Rivera's jealousy of Fages. When Rivera re turned from the peninsula in July 1770, he was not pleased to hear that Portola had turned over his authority to Fages instead of to him. Though he had been ordered to march to Monterey, he remained at San Diego. Early in 1772 he re turned to New Spain. Thus the struggling province had to suffer from a want of whole-hearted cooperation. The diffi culty was felt less in Alta California, where both Fages and Serra were sincerely doing the best they could, than in Mexico City, where decisions had to be made on the basis of conflicting reports. Meanwhile, Fages had his way in Alta California. A much more vital problem was that of the defence of the province, which was inextricably involved with its spiritual PRECARIOUS FOOTING OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS 245 conquest. Throughout a territory some four hundred miles or more in extent, from San Diego to Monterey, there were in 1770 only forty-three soldiers. Three years later this num ber had increased to sixty-one. Over against this insignifi cant force there was an incalculable number of Indians, reaching far into the thousands. Moreover they were not at all kindly-disposed to the Spanish occupation; indeed, thousands of them were distinctly opposed to it, and only submitted because of their wholesome respect for Spanish weapons. There were several conflicts in these early years. Some took place between Vehcata and San Diego, on the route up the peninsula, and in 1770 there had been an affair at San Diego. Another fight occurred at San Gabriel in 1771, shortly after the founding of a mission there. The im mediate cause of the last-named outbreak illustrates tbe difficulties arising from the presence of the soldiery, even though nothing could have been accomplished without them. The soldiers, who were rough, illiterate half-breeds, none of whom had brought a wife to Alta California, aimed too frequently at an undue familiarity with Indian women. Occasionally they would pretend to go hunting, but it was not the beasts of the field but rather the native women they sought. These sometimes they would lasso as the prelimin ary step in a not too gentle wooing. Some such thing took place at San Gabriel, where the wife of the chieftain suffered. The angry husband shot an arrow at the guilty soldier, who stopped it with his shield. In the fracas which followed, the Indian chief was killed. His head was cut off by tbe Spaniards and set up on a pole as a warning to the Indians of the neighborhood. Despite the failure of justice repre sented by this event, it is said that the chief's own son was the first to present himself for baptism at the mission. In few of the missionary conquests attempted by the Spaniards in the New World were they for so long a time un successful in winning converts as in Alta California. Tbe first year passed at San Diego without a single baptism; indeed, there is no clear record of any before 1771. The mis sion of San Carlos Borromeo at Monterey, which was dedi- 246 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA cated on June 3, 1770, witnessed its first baptism on Decem ber 26. A year later the mission was moved a few miles south to Carmelo, but not for several years did it meet with much success. San Antonio and San Gabriel, founded in 1771, and San Luis Obispo, dating from 1772, encountered almost identical experiences. The Indians in the vicinity of the northern missions were less hostile than those of the south, — indeed, they were at times friendly, — but the Spaniards had very little in the way of material gifts in these early years with which to attract them. As for spiritual arguments these made no impression whatsoever. The Father Superior of the College of San Fernando in Mexico, Rafael Verger, correctly represented the situation in various of his memorials of 1771. Tbe missions of Alta California hardly merited the name of mission, he held. He had objected to their being founded by tbe missionaries of his college, but had been compelled to assent because Galvez desired it. He freely predicted that the missions would fail. Galvez would get the credit for having founded them, but the blame for their failure would be cast upon the Fernandine friars. Verger was somewhat nettled at the enthusiasm of Father Serra, expressing himself to the effect that it was "necessary to moderate somewhat his ardent zeal." Late in the year 1771 Verger began at length to be lieve that success in Alta California was possible, but pointed out that it was not safe to count too strongly on the docility of the Indians, for a sudden revolt could bring everything down in ruin. At the end of 1773, in the fifth year of the occupation, the state of the missions was still unsatisfactory, as will appear from the accompanying table. These slender results in such a populous field seem even more insignificant when analyzed. Mission Baptisms Living Marriages San Diego .... 83 76 12 San Gabriel . . . 73 71 0 San Luis Obispo 12 11 0 San Antonio . . . 158 150 18 165 154 32 Totals 491 462 62 PRECARIOUS FOOTING OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS 247 Most of the converts thus far were children; so it was not possible to count on the Indian men to protect and further the work of the missionaries. The sixty-two marriages probably represented the total number of adult converts, which meant that an average of five or six a year at a mission had been obtained, though the three southern missions in fact had few or no adult neophytes. The situation was well illustrated by the case of the mission of San Luis Obispo. The Indians there were very numerous and were friendly to the Spaniards, but not a single adult convert had been obtained. The friars ascribed this to the abundance of food which the natives were able to procure, wherefore the Spaniards found it difficult to attract them to the mission. The principal causes of the backwardness of the missions were the same as those which affected the whole province, — lack of sufficient provisions, goods and effects, domestic animals, soldiers, and, above all, lack of an adequate supply route from New Spain. The Spaniards in Alta Cabfornia occupied a position resembbng that of the Robinson Crusoe of bterature. They were set down in a land that was rich in potentialities, but lacking in the immediate requirements of civilized life. The problem of success, however, was distinctly an immediate matter, for the least upset in supplying the province might result in undoing all that had been accomplished, despite the| brilliant prospects of a somewhat distant future. Naturally the matter of food-supply was vital to success. The dire straits of the expeditionaries at San Diego in 1769-1 770 have already been chronicled. A similar situation developed in 1772. The supply-ships were late in coming, and when they did reach San Diego it was found impossible to get them to Monterey, — no doubt because there were not enough sailors left alive or free of the scurvy to man them. Mean while, the missionaries, in their desire to attract the Indians, had been more bberal with gifts of food than the stock of supphes warranted. As a result, famine appeared for the second time in the history of the province. Serious di saster was averted by Governor Fages, who engaged in the 248 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA most celebrated bear hunt in the history of Alta California. For several days he hunted in the neighborhood of what is now San Luis Obispo, and supplied the northern settlements with the meat which kept them alive until a pack-train could be sent up from San Diego. This incident was influential in the selection of San Luis Obispo as a site for the mission which was estabbshed there shortly afterward in that same year; San Luis Obispo had proved its ability to provide food in an emergency, and the Indians were grateful for the kill ing of the bears. The question arises: Why didn't the Spaniards raise crops and thus avert the danger of starvation? The answer is that they did the best they could. Such seed as they could get, they planted, but it was a rare chance when they got back anything more than their seed. They were not ac quainted with farming, and knew nothing of the actual possibibties or needs of the soil in this new land. At the end of 1773 San Gabriel was the only place in the province which even so much as gave promise of an eventual agricultural wealth. The growth of rich crops was one of those factors which inevitably belonged to the future. In the matter of manufactured articles Alta California was of course altogether dependent on outside help for every thing from a plough or a smithy's forge down to a piece of ribbon or a nail. Indeed, for many things that were all but vital to its existence the province had to look beyond Mexico to Spain. For example, Serra reported in 1773 that the only forge and only smith in Alta California were at Monterey, and in any event there was very bttle iron to work with. He also asked for two carpenters, one for tbe north and the other for the south. The need for domestic animals was twofold: to serve as food and as beasts of burden. About five hundred had been taken from Baja California at the outset. A number had died on the march north from the peninsula, but enough remained to furnish Alta California with an element which it needed in order to survive and also to give some hope for an eventual increase. The situation in these early years was PRECARIOUS FOOTING OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS 249 at all times critical, however. This was due not only to the insufficient numbers of the animals, but also to the lack of animals for breeding purposes. Except for the milk that they gave, the animals were little used for food, as they were too precious to be killed, but the colonists were often almost wholly dependent upon milk to keep themselves alive. Nevertheless, the need for pack-animals received great em phasis. To mention only one important use of this character, a great many animals were required to carry a year's sup plies from San Diego or Monterey to the three inland mis sions. Minor difficulties encountered were the theft of horses and cattle by Spanish deserters and the fondness of the unconverted Indians for meat, an appetite which they were wont to indulge at the expense of the Spanish flocks. By the close of tbe year 1773 (what with cows, sheep, goats, pigs, asses, mares, colts, horses, and mules) there were only 616 animals at the five missions, and probably not very many besides in the keeping of the presidial garrisons of San Diego and Monterey. The situation was one which demanded remedy. The soldiers, on account of their bad conduct with the native women, were in a measure a handicap to mission work, but none more insistently than the friars themselves recog nized the necessity for their presence. A still more important element for the future of the province was, if it could be obtained, that of permanent settlers. The total Spanish population in 1773 was made up of sixty-one soldiers, eleven friars, and an occasional mechanic temporarily in the province in the service of the government. There were no white laborers, no doctors, and, most important of all, no women. Six soldiers had married native women, but the rest were without wives or else had left them in New Spain. Furthermore, the soldiers longed to escape this irksome service in a land which was so totally lacking in the things they enjoyed, and they frequently deserted. Invariably, how ever, they returned to camp, for death awaited them away from the supplies which came each year to San Diego and Monterey. The founding of missions was delayed because 250 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA there were not soldiers enough to guard them. Thus, San Buenaventura (at present-day Ventura), which the Span iards had hoped to estabbsh among the first, was postponed until 1782. Similarly, San Francisco and Santa Clara were delayed until 1776 and 1777. The founding of the two last-named missions was most insistently desired by the friars, the governor, and the viceroy during these years, but Fages deemed it unwise to attempt it with the scant forces under his command. In November 1770, on his own initiative, he had tried to reach the old "Port of San Francisco" (Drake's Bay) behind Point Reyes by going around the great estuary, as he termed it, of what is today the Bay of San Francisco. He may have reached a point in the Berkeley hills just north of the present university campus. Since his scouts reported that the estuary seemed to extend for an indefinite distance, Fages turned back because of his "anxiety ... for the camp, the cultivation of the land, and the raising of stock." In March 1772 he made a more ambitious attempt, accom panied by Father Crespf, twelve soldiers, a muleteer, and an Indian. He had orders to explore the "Port of San Fran cisco" and estabbsh a mission there, so as to secure that port from foreign occupation. Going up the eastern shore of the bay region Fages and his men came at length to the San Joaquin River, and also saw the Sacramento from a point of vantage. Having reached the vicinity of Antioch, they felt obliged to give up their appointed task, for they lacked boats with which to cross the rivers and did not have enough sup plies for such a long journey as now appeared necessary. So they cut through the mountains by way of the San Ramon, Amador, and Sunol valleys, and found their way back to Monterey. No further attempt was made for some time to reach the port which Drake and Rodriguez Cermenho had visited, but attention gradually directed itself toward the infinitely superior "estuary" of San Francisco, which soon was to appropriate an exclusive right to the name PRECARIOUS FOOTING OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS 251 formerly enjoyed by the more northerly "port." In any event the mission had to wait. The backward state of the Alta California settlements would not have been so serious if there had been an adequate supply route to the province. The direct sea route from San Bias continued to be as difficult as before. Thus the San Antonio in 1771 required sixty-eight days for the voyage to San Diego, and there were few aboard ship who escaped the scurvy. The problems in connection with the supply-ships will be taken up more fully in a later chapter. For the present it may suffice to say that the ships were too small and frail and the perils of the sea too great for famihes of colon ists or herds of domestic animals to be sent out in them. Indeed, such a plan seems never so much as to have been con sidered. The short voyage across the stormy gulf to Baja California was only slightly less difficult. Writing in August 1771 Father Verger said that five boats had already been lost that year in attempting to reach the peninsula. A sixth left San Bias on February 2, and did not reach Loreto until August 23, having meanwhile been blown nearly to Panama. Baja California was, if anything, less able than ever to supply the provisions needed in Alta California. The peninsula had not recovered from the material setback it suffered at the time the Jesuits were expelled, and, besides, it had already been stripped of more than it could well afford, to make a beginning of the settlements in Alta Cabfornia. Moreover, aside from the problem of the voyage across the gulf, Baja California was not even suitable as a route to San Diego and Monterey. This was most clearly set forth by Father Serra in 1773. On being informed that a suggestion had been made to do away with the supply-ships and make use of mule-trains to carry provisions and effects up the peninsula to Alta California, he pointed out that it would take 1500 mules and a hundred muleteers, and it would be impossible for such a number of animals to find food and drink on the desolate route to San Diego. There were not enough mules in both Californias for this project, even if it 252 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA had been possible ; for three years attempts had been made to supply the grave deficiency in this type of animal by shipping a number from the mainland provinces of New Spain, but these endeavors had met with no success. The situation in Alta California, therefore, was bad, with hardly a single rebeving feature. As late as February 1773 Bucareli wrote to Arriaga that he might expect an early abandonment of the province. This eventuabty most cer tainly would have developed if it had not been for the activities of the viceroy himself; indeed, it was just at the moment when his pessimism was at its greatest that his measures for the northern province began to have effect. Obviously the only escape for Alta Cabfornia lay in the dis covery of a better route, over which the elements of perman ence (famihes of settlers and domestic animals) might come. Those acquainted with the problems of Alta California began more and more to point this out. Father Verger said that the only alternative to sending agricultural and pastoral laborers to Alta California would be to transport provisions from Sonora, and he recommended that steps be taken to increase the number of pack-animals in the new establish ments so that they might be utilized for that purpose. Fur thermore, he consented very easily to a surrender of the Baja California mission field to the Dominicans, provided the Franciscans of San Fernando should be accorded the right to develop a route from Sonora. Serra, Palou, and others held virtually the same views, though some, Serra included, for a time favored the idea of a route from New Mexico. The engineer Costans6, who had been in Alta Cabfornia with Portola, explained more clearly than anybody else the various factors in Alta California's problem of a supply route, alluding to the insufficiency of the direct sea route and the route up the peninsula, and pointing out that the settlers and supplies which Alta California needed might well be sent from Sonora. Much the same views were ex pressed by Jose" de Areche, fiscal of the Audiencia of Mexico. The project of a supply route from Sonora appealed to him, also, because it might lessen the burden of expense PRECARIOUS FOOTING OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS 253 which the government was undergoing on behalf of Alta California. The matter of expense was indeed one which attracted the attention of the royal government. From January 1768 to the end of 1773 over 570,000 pesos had been expended on behalf of the Californias and San Bias, of which Alta Cali fornia had accounted for more than 250,000. The salt mines of San Bias earned 25,000 pesos a year, which was the sole return on the government's investment ; thus there had been a net expenditure of 75,000 pesos a year. But this was not all. In addition there was the cost of the goods sent from Mexico City, the contributions of the Pious Fund, and the appbcation of the resources confiscated from the Jesuit missions of the peninsula, the figures for which are not at hand. This manifests the strategic importance attached by Spain to her possession of the Californias, for that country was not accustomed to spend money on unprofitable pro jects. On this very account, however, the government would have welcomed a means of escape from at least a part of its heavy expenditures. Therefore the higher officials of the viceroyalty turned hopefully to the idea of a new route to save Alta California from foreign occupation. CHAPTER XX RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH AGGRESSIONS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST The danger of encroachments by foreign powers has been given prominent notice in preceding chapters as a principal cause of the Spanish northwestward advance since the adoption, late in the sixteenth century, of the pobcy of the "aggressive defensive." In the period from 1769 to 1781, when the future of the Californias was in fact being decided, and especially in the vital years 1773-1776, this factor, under the guiding hand of the great viceroy Bucareli, was the real mainspring of Spanish action, though from the standpoint of the permanent foreign danger, rather than from that of a particular emergency. It is especially interesting to approach the subject of foreign conquests from different points of view, so as to bring out the importance of this factor the more clearly by pro viding a better perspective. The whole situation is graph ically represented in the chart on the following page. As has already been pointed out, the Russians and the Engbsh were by no means the only foreign peoples who threatened Spain's domination of the Pacific coast. The Indians and the Chinese had their opportunity before Spain appeared upon the scene. The Japanese were at one time a potential peril, and the Portuguese and Dutch voyagers occasionally gave Spain concern. The French for many years were the most dangerous enemy of all, but with their disappearance from North America in 1763, as a result of their defeat in the Seven Years' War, they were no longer a menace. The people of the United States were eventually 254 RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH AGGRESSIONS 255 to become the most powerful outstanding element, but then- chance did not appear until the nineteenth century. In the time of Bucareli there were only two peoples whom Spain had seriously to consider. These were the Russians and the English. In a review of Spanish foreign policy as a whole during"the reign of Charles III (1759-1788), and particularly in those Russians 1. Spanish view of foreign aggressions in the Pa cific northwest when considered in relation to the general for eign policy of Spain . 2. Spanish view of such aggressions when looking directly at them, without rela tion to their place in Spain's general for eign policy .... English V//////V/////A Actual danger to Spain of foreign aggres sions in the Pacific northwest .... years which were of most interest from the point of view of California history, it will be found that Spain was primarily concerned over the possibilities of a war with England. Russia, though a dangerous opponent in the Pacific, gave Spain hardly any cause for worry in Europe. There were troubles with Portugal and Morocco, but their importance lay in the relation which England bore to the situation, especially in the case of Portugal, whose aggressive activi- 256 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ties in South America received English backing until 1776, when the American Revolution produced a diversion in favor of Spain. To oppose England, the so-called Family Compact between the Bourbon crowns of France and Spain was brought into being. In 1762, therefore, Spain entered the war which for several years France had been waging against England. Having gone down in defeat in 1763, the J Bourbon powers thereafter endeavored to strengthen them selves for a renewal of the combat, which, it was generally agreed, would inevitably eventuate. In 1770-1771 and I several times between 1773 and the close of 1776 Spain was ready to fight, but France each time drew back. Late in 1775, however, a change in Spain's attitude began to be perceptible which became marked after 1776. This was due primarily, it would seem, to the American Revolution, which engendered a bebef that Spain's participation in the war against England would be fatal, whatever the out come. Victory, which would also mean independence for England's colonies, would result in the appearance of a dan gerous neighbor in America and in the eventual loss, perhaps, of Spain's colonial empire. Defeat would subject Spain to a like fate at tbe hands of England. Spain therefore hesitated to enter the war, though in 1779 she did so. These were the principal ideas in the diplomatic history of the period. As affecting the Americas the danger point in a war with England was the West Indies and the neighboring coasts of the mainland. Whatever anxiety there was for Pacific ports concerned South America, and after 1773 even that region does not seem to have been important enough to have found a prominent place in diplomatic correspondence. As for foreign aggressions in the Pacific northwest they were then regarded as of such comparatively slight importance that they have not attracted the attention of even the most voluminous writers on tbe history of Spain for that period. Indeed, the danger of a war with England inevitably lessened Spain's fears concerning the Cabfornias, for England's forces could be counted upon to concentrate in the Atlantic for any serious attack. Thus it may be said that RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH AGGRESSIONS 257 Russian aggressions in the Pacific northwest occupied a place of no importance in the general scheme of Spanish foreign policy, — hence the blank in the chart, — and Engbsh aggressions were more important, if at all, only because England was regarded as a consistent opponent in all quarters of the globe. In other words, Spanish activities in the Californias were on virtually an independent footing; they depended on Spain's surmises concerning foreign en croachments in the north Pacific itself, without reference (or at most only very sbghtly related) to the state of affairs in Europe. Before dealing (in succeeding chapters) with Bucareli's measures against the possibility of foreign conquests in the Californias, it seems worth while to trace tbe actual progress of the Russians and Engbsh in their endeavors to reach the Pacific coast, in order to estimate what the danger really was. The Russian approach was largely in the hands of Cossacks, the underlying causes being their yearning for new homes where they might enjoy personal freedom and the commercial stimulus of the fur trade. The first step was taken in the reign of Ivan IV (1533-1584), when the outlaw Yermak led a band of Cossacks across the Ural Mountains in 1578, and conquered a Tartar kingdom on the Ob River. Thenceforth, the Cossacks made rapid strides across the con tinent. Ten men could conquer a kingdom, — whether due to the superiority of their weapons or to other causes does not matter here. Tobolsk, Tomsk, Yenesseisk, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, and finally Okhotsk on the Pacific successively became cen tres of their activities and supply-stations for the next point to the east. In fifty years they had advanced to Yakutsk, over half way, and eleven more years sufficed to reach Okhotsk, where an establishment was made in 1639. From Yakutsk they went southward up the Lena River to Lake Baikal, where silver mines were found, but here their rush was checked, the Manchu Tartars being too powerful for them. In 1646 they entered the land of the Chukchis in the extreme northeastern part of Asia, and were rewarded by rich 258 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA finds of mammoth ivory. The Chukchis, however, were not pleasant neighbors, and were able to maintain their inde pendence of Russia to the close of the eighteenth century. By 1706 Kamchatka, the last Siberian land to be taken, had been overrun. Arrived at the Pacific the conquerors wondered what lay beyond. There were evidences of a great land not far to the east: strange trees drifted ashore; the sweU of the ocean was not great; and the Chukchis told stories of a rich eastern continent, — and well may it have seemed rich to them, when the comparatively agreeable west coast of Alaska is con trasted with the bleak and stormy Siberian shore. The Russian government became interested in the "American Siberia" as early as 1710, and attempts were made to reach it by way of the Arctic Ocean along the north coast of Siberia, and surveys were made of the Kurile Islands. This, it may be noted, was during the reign of Peter the Great (1682- 1725). Peter also planned expeditions which were to pro ceed from Kamchatka to see whether America and Asia joined and to make discoveries along Pacific shores from Japan to the American continent. It fell to the lot of Vitus Bering, a Dane, to execute the major part of his commands and to the reigns of his successors to see them carried out. The Bering party had first to make the overland journey across Siberia, which it started to do in 1725. Arrived at the Pacific, Bering left Okhotsk in 1727, and in the following year sailed through Bering Strait. He then returned to Saint Petersburg (Petrograd), where he recommended further voyages to discover trade routes to America and Japan and to explore the northern coast of Siberia. Plans were made on a large scale, and the expeditions were authorized in 1734, but it was six years before they got under way. Bering com manded one ship, and Alexei Chirikof the other, but the two at length became separated. On July 15, 1741, Chirikof dis covered the American coast just above 55°. He then sailed northwest and west, passed the Aleutian Islands, and after much suffering reached Kamchatka in October 1741. Chirikof made another voyage in 1742, but did not reach RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH AGGRESSIONS 259 America. Bering, meanwhile, had sighted the American mainland above 58° on July 16, 1741. The return voyage was one of terrible hardship. The voyagers were obliged to winter on Bering Island, where their commander died, and the survivors did not get back to Kamchatka until August 1742. Incidentally, they brought back some furs of the sea- otter, and this it was which proved the impulse for a fresh series of Russian voyages. Between 1743 and 1767 a number of voyages by private individuals were made as far as the Aleutian Islands in search of furs. The year 1764 marked the beginning of a new period of imperial interest, when plans were made which resulted in the Krenitzin and Levashef expedition. Secret instructions were given, but the object seems to have been to verify the reports already received from the fur- traders and to obtain as much further information as pos sible. Tbe Krenitzin-Levashef voyage took place during the years 1766-1769. The expeditionaries encountered great hardships, and got no farther than the .Meutian Islands, not reaching the mainland. Levashef at length got back to Saint Petersburg in 1771. Special notice should be taken of this voyage as the principal one under imperial direction in the period of most interest here. This expedition may have been tbe foundation for the exaggerated reports from Saint Petersburg which were transmitted to Bucareb and influ enced his course of action. At about the same time a number of books were published concerning Russian activities in the Pacific. Private expeditions continued, however, and it is impossible to say how much they entered into the rumors heard by the Spanish ambassadors. These voyages seem to have reached no farther than the Aleutian Islands. Not until 1783 did the Russians make a direct attempt to extend their fur-trading operations to the Alaska mainland, for the sea-otter was disappearing from the Aleutian Islands. An expedition was made under Potap Zaikof , but it was a failure. In the same year Grigor Shebkof organized a company to make a fur-trading settlement, and this was estabbshed in 1784 on the Island of Kadiak, the first Russian settlement in 260 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA North America. Fifteen years later, in 1799, Sitka was founded on the Alaska mainland, and by 1812 Russian settlement was carried as far south as the Farallone Islands, just out from the Golden Gate. Clearly Spain had cause to fear the Russian approach English approaches to the Pacific coast were along a number of bnes, but may be reduced roughly to two: from the Atlantic coast westward, in most part overland, but in some degree by sea, as represented by the attempts to find the Northwest Passage; the direct approach by sea, in the Pacific itself around South America, or eastward from south ern Asia, and even across the Isthmus of Panama. The former was the earber and more formidable movement, but the latter was first to arrive and the one which in fact gave more trouble to Spain down to the close of the eighteenth century. English entry of the Pacific by way of the Isthmus of Panama passed through two principal phases. The first came in the latter half of the sixteenth century during the reign of Elizabeth, when English sailors plundered Spanish towns and ships, although their countries were nominally at peace.l Drake and Hawkins are the typical names. The second phase came in the seventeenth century, when the men engaged in it tended to evolve from a shadowy British allegiance into unqualified pirates. Sir Henry Morgan is the outstanding figure of this period. Just at the close of the century, also, came the unsuccessful attempt to found a Scotch colony at Darien. This marks the end of English activity along this line of approach to the Pacific. Another bne of advance to which little space need be given, because it did not in fact get near the Americas, is the British advance around Africa to southern Asia. This may be said to have begun with the chartering of the British East Indian Company in 1600, the English government granting to that company rights of trade from the Cape of Good Hope to the Strait of Magellan. A voyage to the East Indies was made in the very next year, and in little more than a decade the company had already established a post in RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH AGGRESSIONS 261 India. As early as 1637 English ships had appeared on the coast of China, and for the next century and a half they car ried on an intermittent trade there. Spain had little to fear from England in this period from the direction of the East Indies, because of the Engbsh conflicts in India with the Portuguese, Dutch, and French, especially with the last- named. Once the Engbsh overcame this opposition, how ever, they loomed up as a danger to the Spanish colonies. The capture of Manila in 1762 by an Engbsh expedition from India was a significant indication of the reabty of this danger. The Croix-Galvez plan of January 1768 referred to the possi bility of Engbsh and Dutch voyages from the East Indies to the Cabfornias. Not until the last fifteen years of the eighteenth century was this fear realized, but then numerous Engbsh ships made the voyage from China to Nootka and the coasts of tbe far northwest. The pioneer of English voyagers around South America to the Pacific coast was Francis Drake, who made a brief stay in Alta Cabfornia in 1579. His voyage showed how weak was Spain's control of the Pacific, and it was never forgotten by the Spaniards, who bkewise realized how much they had to fear from the presence of an enemy's ship. A fresh lesson was not long in coming. In 1587-1588 Thomas Cavendish repeated Drake's voyage, capturing a rich Manila galleon near Cape San Lucas in 1588. Tbe seventeenth century was the age of buccaneers, whether virtual or real, and some of them seem to have rounded South America. One expedition, with a semblance of governmental authority, left Virginia in 1683, turned South America,, and joining with buccaneers who had crossed the Isthmus of Panama engaged in opera tions against the Spaniards in the years 1684-1686. Cook, Eaton, Davis, Harris, Swan, Wafer, Cowley, Townley, Dampier, and the Frenchman Grogniet were among the leaders of this enterprise. Swan and Townley got as far north as Mazatlan. The first four decades of the eighteenth century were marked by English voyages in which commercial objects were most largely to the fore, the promoters getting clear- 262 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ance papers from the government. Once in the Pacific, these voyagers acted much as had their predecessors the buccaneers, plundering the Spaniards. The voyages were different in that the government required records to be kept, many of which were published, and in the general endeavor to advance knowledge about Pacific coasts, men of science often accompanying the expeditions.. The first of this series of voyages was headed by Dampier, who left England in 1699 with a fleet of five ships. The expedition sub sequently split up into four separate voyages, owing to the inabibty of different officers and men to agree with Dampier. Dampier got as far north as the coast of New Spain in 1704- 1705 before pursuing his voyage around the world. Clip- perton and Funnel got back to England by a similar voyage. The expedition had been a financial failure, but some Bristol merchants were persuaded to make another venture. The new expedition set sail in 1708 under the command of Woodes Rogers. Three years later it got back to England with an immense profit, largely the result of having cap tured the Manila galleon off Cape San Lucas in 1709. After this encounter Woodes Rogers took tbe usual route around the world. Many companies now sprang up, but they were unable to equal the success of Woodes Rogers. The Shel- vocke-Clipperton voyages along the coast of New Spain in 1721 were the most noteworthy. The English voyages, even when unprofitable to their backers, cost the Spaniards enormous losses, both in property taken or destroyed and in precautionary measures. They also increased English knowledge of the Pacific and its shores. Spain's sense of danger may well have been enhanced by the vast literature about these voyages and the popular interest in them in England. A new era began with the outbreak of war between Eng land and Spain in 1739. The departure was marked by the fitting out of an expedition at government expense, a formal naval enterprise, under the command of George Anson. Anson took the customary route around the world, in the years 1740-1744, in the course of which he cruised the west« j : i i RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH AGGRESSIONS 263 em shores of New Spain. Failing to encounter the Manila galleon he crossed to the Philippine Islands and took one there. Although he did not make a profit and lost most of his men, he had caused an immense expense and a great loss to Spain. Furthermore, among the papers taken in the cap tured galleon were those which revealed the Spanish secrets of the Pacific. There were sailing directions for the South American coast and the trans-Pacific routes, with charts showing islands, shoals, landmarks, harbors, and the like. The Pacific was no longer a closed sea. After the Seven Years' War a new type of voyage began. The semi-piratical voyages of the past were no longer in accord with public morals, nor was there the excuse of war. Voyages for scientific objects and discovery began therefore to be sent out, with instructions not to interfere with the ships or territory of European peoples with whom England was at peace. The impetus came from France, who having lost her colonies by the peace of 1763 was eager to replace them by new discoveries. The English quickly followed the French lead by the voyage of Biron, 1764-1766, and Wallis and Carteret, 1766-1769. These voyagers went around the world by way of South America and the south Pacific. Then came the most important voyage of all, and espe cially interesting here, as they fall within the period of principal interest in this work, the three voyages of Captain James Cook. The first voyage occupied the years 1768-1771. One object was to observe the transit of Venus, the Island of Tahiti being selected as the place at which to do it. Cook followed the path of Biron, Wallis, and Carteret. After the observation had been taken at Tahiti, he proceeded west ward and made extensive explorations in New Zealand and Australia. Upon his return to England he was commis sioned to go again to the south Pacific to determine whether a great southern continent existed there, about which spec ulation had been rife for two centuries. The expedition took place in 1772-1775, and the myth of the southern continent was exploded. Perhaps a more important fact bere is that in all his voyage he lost but four men, and only one by 264 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA sickness. This was the result of special preparations by Cook. Before his time it was usually the case that from forty to seventy-five per cent of the crew were lost. Cook's methods were published, and were followed by later voy agers. It meant that the terror of the seas had been banished, and in a very great degree made Spain's retention of power in the Pacific so much the less secure. Cook's third voyage left England in the year 1776, and (as wiU be pointed out in a later chapter) caused the Span ish government no little anxiety. One of its objects was to attack another long-standing myth, that of a practical water passage through or around North America. Cook was commissioned to approach this problem from the Pacific side. He was also to get information of the coast, and was secretly instructed to take possession for England of all lands not hitherto discovered or visited by Europeans. En route he discovered the Hawaiian Islands in 1778, a group destined to occupy an important place in later voyages of the eight eenth century. He reached the North American coast in about 44°, and proceeded northward. Some furs were picked up from the natives for mere trifles, and were later disposed of in China at such good prices as to open the eyes of merchants to the possibilities of the fur trade. The result was a swarm of European vessels, particularly English ships, on the northwest coasts in the last fifteen years of the century. To return to Cook, he continued northward, and passed through Bering Strait, but was obbged by the ice to turn back. While wintering in the Hawanan Islands in 1779 he was killed in an affray with the natives. The expedition proceeded under the command of Captain Clerke. Clerke also passed through Bering Strait, but he too was forced back by the ice, and soon afterward made his way around the world to England. To sum up, it is clear that Engbsh exploration in the Pacific was gathering momentum. Each new discovery and each advance in the science of navigation or other form of knowledge brought the Spanish empire of the Pacific just so much nearer a fall. To this must be added not only the RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH AGGRESSIONS 26F„ activities of the Russians, but also the voyages of the French, Dutch, and Portuguese. Furthermore, there were foes attacking from the Atlantic side, stripping Spain bit by bit of her colonies, and expanding into the unoccupied lands that brought them nearer to the Pacific coast. A little reflection will enable one to appreciate the vastness of the problem which Spain had to face. One other factor remains to be considered, that of the English advance across the North American continent. The westward progress of what was to become the United States had reached the Mississippi by 1776, but the American movement did not represent a threatening element as re gards Spain's possessions in the Pacific until after the pur chase of Louisiana in 1803. Until then the political and geographical barriers were too great for the United States to be a danger. The Spanish government did contemplate the possibility of Americans crossing the Mississippi and encroach ing on New Spain, but not on the Pacific northwest. Events in Canada, however, and particularly the activities of the Hudson's Bay Company, did indeed threaten the far-flung coast of the Californias, and the peril was recognized by Spain. One must think back to the voyages of the Cabots, followed by a procession of Engbsh mariners seeking the Northwest Passage, — Frobisher, Davis, Hudson, Baffin, James, and others, — if he is to get this subject in proper focus. France, however, was first to get a foothold in Can ada, and soon afterward her colonists began to realize profits in the fur trade. Two Frenchmen, Groseilliers and Radisson, paved the way for England's sharing in this trade. Dissatisfied with the rewards accorded them by the French, they temporarily entered the service of some Englishmen who were interested in exploiting the fur trade of Hudson Bay, and in 1668 started English fur-trading operations in that region. The venture was a success, and led to the char tering of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670. The company was granted a monopoly and the proprietorship, with civil and criminal jurisdiction, of all Hudson Bay lands not actu ally possessed by a Christian prince. Down to the Treaty 266 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA of Utrecht the company was in almost continual war with the French, who did not recognize its rights to the territory. The treaty of 1713, however, gave to England all lands em braced by the waters emptying into Hudson Bay and Strait. The region acquired was not definitely known, but at all events the attacks of the French now ceased. The trade in furs was very profitable. Perhaps for this reason the company decided to let well enough alone, and adopted a policy of secrecy and restriction. All but the servants of the company were kept away from the territory, and the founding of settlements and even the making of discoveries were discouraged. The discovery of a strait communicating with the Pacific had been one of the charter objects of the company; yet it was charged with opposing a search until forced to make the attempt. Likewise, agri culture and mining were not encouraged. As a result, after a century of existence the company had in 1770 but seven posts, all close to Hudson Bay, with a total population of about two hundred men, all company servants. This ex clusive pobcy bad not passed without criticism. The most notable critic was a certain Arthur Dobbs, who devoted a large part of his life to attacking the company because of its failure to find the Northwest Passage. Several expe ditions were made under the auspices respectively of the company (in self defence against Dobbs' charges), the gov ernment, and a private concern, the last-named being financed by popular subscription. This activity took place for the most part between 1737 and 1747. Parbament mani fested interest by offering £20,000 as a reward to the discoverer of the passage, but it was not found. It is noteworthy that in the last of these expeditions one of the boats was named California, and the forming of a settle ment in the Californias was contemplated, if the strait should be found, to serve as the base for a vast Pacific trade. Failing to find a passage, Dobbs now sought a charter for a new corporation, charging the Hudson's Bay Company with failure to extend its settlements to the interior. The case came up in 1749, and Dobbs' petition was denied. The RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH AGGRESSIONS 267 matter is of no small importance. A new company would undoubtedly have stimulated exploration, and might have resulted in much earlier penetration by a British enterprise to the Pacific coast, — with consequences that stir the imagination! From another standpoint the Dobbs contro versy is important. It attained to a considerable pubbcity, and a number of books were written. These came to the notice of Spain, and were a cause of forebodings on her part. Twenty years later the company at last awakened to the desirabibty of interior exploration. The great name is that of Samuel Hearne. Hearne's first journey came in the year 1769. He was sent out by the company to obtain informa tion of the interior; in particular he was to reach a certain river said to abound in copper ore and fur-bearing animals. This journey was a failure, and in another of 1770 he again failed to reach tbe river of copper. In December of the same year he started a third time, and on this occasion was successful, reaching the river since called the Coppermine in July 1771, and descending it to its mouth in the Arctic Ocean. Not until June 1772 did he get back to the com pany's post on Hudson Bay. The Hearne explorations were followed by a new policy on the part of the company, which began thenceforth to push its trading operations inland. Not much progress had been made, however, by the close of the year 1776, which marks the end of the period of princi pal interest dealt with here. That the Spanish government might well have been alarmed is proved by the remarkable westward progress of the company and its rivals in tbe last quarter of tbe eighteenth century. An important competitor had sprung up in the Scottish merchants of Montreal, themselves the successors of the French since the Seven Years' War. Before that war had ended they were already pushing into the region of the Great Lakes, and not long afterward penetrated as far as the Saskatchewan River.. Gradually they drew together, and in the winter of 1783-1784 the North West Company was formed, an organization which was to accomplish vast re- 268 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA suits in the way of exploration. These companies were yet another powerful force in motion against the tottering Spanish Empire. In 1793 Alexander Mackenzie, a member of the North West Company, reached the Pacific in what is now British Columbia. Later, the Hudson's Bay Company acquired the rights of the North West Company, and by 1828 was already operating in Alta California, while in 1841 an agency was established at San Francisco. Truly this line of approach represented a veritable danger to Spain in the northwest — far greater than that of the Russians, because of its greater resources in the way of an advancing base of supply. Tbe gravest danger of all was that Engbsh advance which by the Declaration of Independence became Amer ican in 1776. It may be assumed that the outstanding de tails are known, and it need not be dwelt upon further than to say that it was slow-moving and late to arrive, but had behind it the greatest force and momentum of all, in addi tion to a shorter and better route than those of the Russians and English. All things being equal, the people from the Atlantic seaboard of the United States would be the first •to reach the Pacific in sufficient strength to possess the Californias. As matters turned out, the equality of oppor tunity was not sufficiently disturbed to deprive the United States of the Pacific coast, but the drama of California his tory lies in the almost countless eventualities which tended to keep affairs in normal course, to the advantage of the United States. When all these elements of foreign danger are rolled into one it appears that Spain's fears, considerable as they were, were not only not groundless but indeed far under the mark. A Spanish statesman who would have said, in 1776, "Let us devote ten times as much to the Californias as we have ever done before, or let us abandon them" would have been regarded, at the very least, as extravagant in his views. But he would have been not far from right. CHAPTER XXI ANTONIO BUCARELI On September 23, 1771, the viceregal term of the Mar ques de Croix came to an end, and Bucareb succeeded to his post. One needs only to glance at the full name and titles of the new viceroy to realize that he was a man of more than ordinary distinction; the following is the signature that appears in some of his most formal documents: "The Knight Commander of the Order of Malta, Brother Don Antonio Maria Bucareli y Ursiia, Enestrosa, Laso de la Vega, Villacis y C6rdova, Knight, Grand Cross, and Commander of the Vault of Toro in the Order of Saint John, Gentleman of the Cham ber of His Majesty, with right of entrance, Lieutenant-General of the Royal Armies, Viceroy, Governor, and Captain-General of the Kingdom of New Spain, President of its Royal Audiencia, Superintendent-General of the Royal Estate and the Branch of Tobacco, Judge-Conservator of the latter, President of its Junta, and Subdelegate-General of the Rent of the Mails in the same Kingdom." Ordinarily, however, the viceroy signed with only a por tion of his family name, and frequently was satisfied with no more than plain "Bucareli." According to Bancroft he "was a native of Seville, and related to the most noble families of Spain and Italy, being on his paternal side a descendant from a very distinguished family of Florence, which boasted among its connections three popes, six cardinals, and other high officers of the state and church; and on the maternal, the Ursuas were related to several ducal families. The knight entered the military service of his country as a cadet, and rose by gallantry and honor able service to be lieutenant-general. He had distinguished him self in several campaigns in Italy and Spain, in engineering work, and as the inspector-general of cavalry. Lastlv. he was called to 269 270 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA be governor and captain-general of Cuba, where he again ren" dered valuable services to the crown, which were rewarded with the promotion to the viceroyalty of New Spain. Nor was this the only reward. He was not only permitted to grant offices to twelve of his friends and attache's, a privilege that had been withheld for some years from his predecessors, but was given by royal order of January 22, 1777, an increase of $20,000 a year above what had been the viceroy's salary, making it $80,000, as a mark of special favor." Numerous instances, besides those just mentioned, prove the esteem in which he was held, both for his abilities and for his characteristics as an honorable man. On one occasion the merchants loaned him $2,500,000 with no security except his word; at his death the king ordered that there should be no residencia, or examination into his conduct while in office, "a course," says Bancroft, "unprecedented in the history of royal representation " Mexican historians do not ordinarily speak well of their Spanish governors. Nevertheless, Man uel Rivera has this to say : "The period during which Sefior Bucareli ruled was an unin terrupted sequence of peace for New Spain; it seemed as if Prov idence wished to reward the virtues of the viceroy by scattering upon his subjects everything that contributed to their well-being; he was one of those men whose memory will never be erased from the heart of Mexicans. His administration is a clear example of what this land was able to be, when a man of integrity and intelli gence resolutely undertook the difficult task of developing its elements of. wealth." In fine, for ability and high character Bucareli stands out as one of the greatest men in the history of New Spain. Far from being a narrow bureaucrat, he was capable of a broad point of view which grasped both the patent and the under lying problems of the entire viceroyalty. A well-developed sense of perspective was one of his most marked traits, en- abbng him to see matters as they were, but not checking him from taking measures to circumvent possible ills which to him did not appear greatly threatening. His letters show him to have been simple, straightforward, unselfish, clear- thinking, and sincerely religious, without a shadow of con ceit or pretence, and even without great personal ambition, Antonio Bucareli ANTONIO BUCARELI 271 except to perform bis duty to the full. Finally, he was keenly interested in the problems that he encountered, and was an indefatigable worker, and these characteristics, joined to the rest, make it clear why he achieved such success in the face of difficulties that would have proved insuperable to a less capable ruler. The extraordinary activities of Bucareli are all the more surprising when it is realized that he had not desired his promotion to the viceroyalty, but would have preferred to return to Spain. Even after he entered upon his new duties he never ceased to hope that he might be succeeded, espe cially if the new appointee might be his intimate personal friend General Alejandro O'Reilly, who wanted the post. Fate decreed that neither of the two men should have his wish, and Bucareli died in harness in 1779. No doubt Bucareli's desire to have affairs in the best possible shape for his friend O'Reilly entered into his zeal for the achievement of his ends, but the viceroy seems anyway to have been one of those rare individuals who can throw themselves whole heartedly into an enterprise, merely out of a sense of duty, without a thought of self. With Bucareli's conduct of the affairs of the viceroyalty other than as tbey related to the Cabfornias this volume has no concern. It is true, however, that nothing interested him more than the precariously held province in the far north west. It was not until 1773 that this interest began to show forth most keenly. Indeed, unable to get accurate accounts of conditions in Alta California and aware of the stupendous difficulties in the way of its retention, he re ported in February 1773, as already stated, that an early abandonment of the province might be expected. But it was just about at that time that his measures began to take effect, and in the next three years, 1773 to 1776, while the Californias remained under his direct rule, he engaged in a series of activities which were remarkable abke for then- range and for their success. The underlying basis of Bucareli's measures with respect to the Cabfornias was his desire to check even the possi- 272 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA bility of foreign encroachments on the domains of New Spain. The first intimation of European aggressions came early in 1773, when it was rumored that an Englishman named Bings was undertaking a voyage to the North Pole, with a view to reaching the Californias if possible. About the middle of the same year reports of Russian activities in the Pacific northwest reached Bucareli. These had ema nated, late in 1772, from the Spanish ambassador to Russia, and were of an alarmist variety, but it was characteristic of the viceroy that he did not become excited, though he acted much more expeditiously and effectively than the most terrified believer in these views might have done. Referring to these reports in a letter of July 27, 1773, to Arriaga, he expressed some doubt whether the Russians had actually reached North America, and aUuded to the diffi culties they would have in estabbshing themselves, but gave bis opinion that precautionary measures ought to be taken. "I deem it well that any establishment of the Russians in this continent or of any other foreign power ought to be guarded against," he said, "not that the king needs any extension of terri tory, when there is much more in his own dominions than can be settled in centuries, but rather to avoid the consequences which would follow from having other neighbors than the Indians." Thus did Bucareli, like scores of men before his time as well as after, foreshadow the Monroe Doctrine, pronounced in 1823 by one of the peoples whom the original enunciators had intended to check. Continuing, Bucareb said: "As for the Russians it may be possible, though it will be difficult, for them to establish themselves, but there is no doubt that it will be prejudicial to the dominions of the king if they succeed. Reason persuades us that it will be less difficult for the king to prevent it than for the Russians to undertake it, though at much cost to the treasury." This seems also to have represented the views of the Min ister-General in Spain, as appears from Arriaga's letter of January 24, 1774, to Bucareli. "As for the Russian discoveries," he said, "to me they are still a very remote object of attention, and the present time seems much too early for them to be a cause for alarm. But as the ANTONIO BUCARELI 273 preparations against them serve many other purposes, especially in that they conduce to missionary work and the extension of the gospel, — the more land we gain by discoveries, — I am very well satisfied with all that has been done, for in this manner, by sea and land, we may proceed with our conquests to one place after another."Here was imperialism under a religious cloak, but nothing like fear. As for the English, Bucareli expressed the pre vailing opinion in a letter of September 28, 1774, to Arriaga. Referring to tbe possibility of the English having extended their conquests westward to the Pacific' from Hudson Bay, he said: "This seems to me a very distant prospect which does not at the present time impose new cares upon us; indeed it has the same appearances of invention as the pretended passage from that bay to our South Sea [Pacific Ocean], of which public accounts have spoken so much." Clearly, therefore, the Spaniards did not look upon this period as one of a particular emergency any more than they had in 1768-1769, but on the long-standing ground of for eign danger, in fulfilment of the "Spanish Monroe Doc trine," a remarkable series of activities were set in motion by tbe viceroy, with results which were the dominating element in the future of Alta California and much else of the Pacific coast. Chronologically considered, the outstanding events in the achievement of his policies were the following: he procured the formation of a reglamento (instrument of gov ernment) for the Californias and San Bias in July 1773, supplementing it by his instruction of the fobowing month to Rivera; in September he authorized Captain Anza to open a land route to Alta California, as a result of which a success ful expedition was made in 1774; in November 1773 he or dered Colonel Agustin Crame to explore the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in search of a route for the transportation of artillery from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and in the next two months this exploration was undertaken with success; in December 1773 the despatch of Juan P6rez on a voyage of exploration to the far northwest was formally decided 274 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA upon, and during most of the next year Perez engaged upon the voyage; early in 1774 Rivera was sent to Alta California by way of the peninsula with a small party of colonists; on Perez's return in November 1774, after a voyage of only moderate success, Bucareli at once determined upon a fresh series of voyages; as a result, Heceta and Bodega were despatched to the northwest coast in 1775, and Ayala passed through the Golden Gate and thoroughly explored San Francisco Bay; meanwhile, in November 1774, Bucareli had authorized Anza to take a great body of colonists and herds of domestic animals to Alta California along the route that Anza had recently discovered; this expedition, second only to the discovery of gold in 1848 in its positive conse quences upon Cabfornia history, took place in 1775-1776, and, as one of its important incidents, brought about the founding of San Francisco in 1776; and through all these years the viceroy was most energetic in providing for the supply and development of the Cabfornias and of the De partment of San Bias on which they so greatly depended. His plans and tbe preliminary steps for their accomplish ment reached much further. He wished to bring about the discovery of new routes connecting New Mexico with Alta California and Sonora. This was in part achieved by Father Garc6s in 1776 before Bucareb had given the formal order for an exploration. He was also about to estabbsh settle ments on the Gila and Colorado rivers, more particularly at the junction of the two, in order to secure the land route to Alta Cabfornia, when a change of government occurred, late in 1776, which took the frontier provinces out of his jurisdiction. The total result of his work was to place Alta California on a permanent basis and ensure it from foreign seizure until such time as an overland advance from the Atlantic coast of upper North America should reach the Pacific. Given three years more time he would almost certainly have brought about a populous development of Alta California by use of the Sonora route. The inevitable result would have been the discovery of gold and a rush of colonists to the ANTONIO BUCARELI 275 province. The chances are, however, that the influx would have resembled that at Cieneguilla in 1771, rather than the predominantly Anglo-American colonization of 1848-1849. In that case Cabfornia would today have been, most likely, a Spanish American repubbc, though the probabibty of its passing under tbe Engbsh flag was not small and there was a remote chance that it might have become a Russian province. In fine, then, Bucareb saved Alta California temporarily for Spain and ultimately for tbe United States, and was only prevented from making an eventual gift of tbe province to Spanish jAmerica or perhaps England, by an occurrence — fortunately for the present possessors! — over which he had no control. The events which brought about these great consequences are too important to be passed over summarily. Having already outbned them, however, it will be possible in the next several chapters to abandon chronology and treat the subject according to the different bnes of endeavor by which Bucareb aspired to reach a single end, — the defence of the Californias against the possibibty of foreign encroachment, which, it must be borne in mind, was at all times tbe main spring of the viceroy's action, though other reasons were prominently set forth by others and even by himself. Thus, such a harmless document as the instruction to Rivera in 1773 (hereinafter considered) was produced by tbe reports of Engbsh and Russian aggressions, and the Anza expeditions were ordered for the same purpose, though hardly a word to that effect appears in the discussions of juntas called to con sider them. The official communications directed by Bucareli to Arriaga and his private correspondence with O'ReiUy repeatedly affirmed this idea, however. Further more, nothing in the affairs of the viceroyalty interested him so much or got so large a share of bis attention as tbe problems of the Cabfornias and the route thereto from Sonora. As he put it on one occasion, "It seems as if this has been my only attention in this com mand." 276 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA It is appropriate to treat first of his activities directly against the possibility of foreign danger, leaving for later discussion those measures which contributed indirectly to the same end by strengthening Alta California against the likelihood of abandonment. If an attack by foreign powers had to be met, the new settlements would require cannon with which to defend themselves. Tbe problem of transportation across New Spain was so difficult that it had been the practice to rely upon shipments from Manila for use along tbe Pacific coast of North America. Wishing to avoid the delays incident to the long voyage across the Pacific, Bucareli sent Colonel Crame to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to see if a good route existed. A tradition had long been current to the effect that Cortes had used that route for the transportation of artillery, and there were also some cannon at Vera Cruz, on the Atlantic, which had been cast in Manila. Late in Decem ber 1773 and early in January 1774 Crame made his explora tion, and reported that he had found an excellent route; indeed, by making use of the rivers, he said it would even be feasible to build a canal from sea to sea. Pleased with this initial success, Bucareli wrote to Arriaga that it might be well to employ this route for the supply of the Cabfornias. No such use seems to have been made of Crame's discovery, but it is interesting to note that in recent times the Isthmus of Tehuantepec has been one of the principal trade routes connecting Cabfornia with the Atlantic ports of the United States. Of much more actual importance was the Perez voyage of 1774. Since the founding of Alta Cabfornia, Juan Perez had been by far the most notable maritime figure in the life of the province, and when he now signified his desire to make a voyage to the far northwest, Bucareli eagerly availed him self of his services. The essential features of bis instructions, which were dated December 24, 1773, were the following: he was to put to sea in the Santiago and endeavor to reach 60° north latitude; turning southward he was then to make a thorough exploration of the coast, landing as often as possible ANTONIO BUCARELI 277 and taking possession; and he was to avoid communication with foreign ships or foreign settlements, but was in other ways to procure such information of them as be could. On January 24, 1774, Perez left San Bias, and, after stops at San Diego and Monterey, departed from the latter on June 11. He got to about 55°, thus forging the first link in the later claim of the United States (in succession to Spain) of "fifty-four forty or fight." But on account of bad weather he was unable to land or even to make good observations of the coast. Furthermore, he found no Russian settlements and no clear proof, either, that they did not exist. On July 22 he turned south, and on November 3 (after a long stop at Monterey) reached the port of San Bias. He had indeed procured some information, and Bucareli was satisfied that he had achieved as much as could have been expected, but preparations were at once begun for a fresh voyage of dis covery. The voyage now projected was to be one of the most thorough-going of any the Spaniards ever sent out. Bruno de Heceta on the Santiago was to be in command, while Perez was to be his pilot and second in authority. The thirty-six foot craft Sonora, under Juan Manuel de Ayala, was to serve as consort of the Santiago. These two vessels carried much the same instructions as those given to Perez a year before, but 65° was now set as the northerly point which they should endeavor to reach before turning south. At the Same time the San Carlos, under Miguel Manrique, was to make a thorough survey of San Francisco Bay — the former so-called "Estuary," which had now become definitely recognized by the name previously applied to the smaller port to the north. "I regard the occupation of this port as indispensable," wrote Bucareli, in discussing his plans for Manrique's voyage. Yet another ship, the San Antonio, under Fernando Quir6s, was to go to Alta California with the other three, but was to proceed only as far as San Diego, with suppbes for the southern missions. The San Antonio in fact did not leave port until five days after tbe rest of the fleet, but the other three set Sail from San Bias on 278 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA March 16, 1775. The voyage had not proceeded far when the commander of the San Carlos became insane, and it was necessary to send him ashore. This occasioned a shifting of commanders. Ayala was placed on board the San Carlos, while Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Cuadra took charge of the Sonora. Tbe Santiago and Sonora went on to the far northwest without stopping in Alta California. On July 30 they be came separated, and did not come together again until they met at Monterey in the fall. Heceta got to about 49°, usually sailing near the shore and anchoring often. In the course of his exploration he discovered the mouth of the Columbia River, thus ante-dating the American sailor Robert Gray, long reputed the discoverer, by seventeen years. Sickness of bis crew at length forced Heceta to turn back, and by August 29 he was already at Monterey. Bodega, who was destined to attain to the greatest reputation of the Spanish navigators along the northwest coast, accomplished even more. He went nearly to 58° with the tiny Sonora, made a thorough survey from the limit formerly reached by Perez, and landed twice to take possession. Scurvy and the low state of his provisions, finally caused him to make for Monterey, but he continued to explore the coast as best he could, until on October 7 he rejoined his chief at the Alta Cabfornia capital. On November 1st the two ships departed in company for San Bias, arriving there on November 20. On the second day out from Monterey, Juan Perez died; no man of his time knew the coast of the Californias so well as he, and none had worked more faithfully and unassumingly for the good of the new establishments. The voyages of Heceta and Bodega had been an unqualified success. In addition to their exploration and acts of possession, they had found no foreign ships or settlements, and could feel rea sonably certain that those coasts were safe from aggression so far as they had seen them. More important, perhaps, in its ultimate results was the voyage of Ayala to San Francisco Bay. At the same moment that he was making his way up the coast from San Bias to ANTONIO BUCARELI 279 Monterey the Lexington farmers in far-off Massachusetts were firing the "shot that was heard around the world." Ayala may well have failed to hear that shot, but be was made painfully aware of another; the insane Manrique had left loaded pistols about his cabin, and one of these was accidentally exploded, wounding Ayala. On this account Ayala was obliged to conduct much of his subsequent ex plorations of San Francisco Bay through his subordinates, Josl Canizares and Juan Bautista Aguirre, but Ayala him self remained with the ship to the end of the voyage. Stop ping long enough at Monterey to build a launch by hollowing out the trunk of a redwood tree, Ayala set sail again on July 27. Eight days later, on August 4, he arrived off the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Early next day he sent Canizares inside with the launch to look for an anchorage, but when Canizares did not return during all that day, for the currents and tides of the Golden Gate had proved too strong, Ayala resolved to attempt an entrance himself. During the evening of the 5th of August, therefore, the little San Carlos successfully passed through the strait into the famous port of the west, and anchored near the present North Beach. Canizares and Ayala between them had thus attained to the honor of making the first recorded en trance into San Francisco Bay by way of the Golden Gate. For the next forty-four days Ayala and his men remained in the bay, making a thorough exploration of every part of it,, even as far as the mouth of the San Joaquin River, taking soundings and naming geographical points. Two of their names have survived, though in slightly different form. The great island just inside the strait, in a sheltered nook of which the San Carlos itself remained during most of then stay (while the launch was used for explorations), was called "Our Lady of the Angels" {Nuestra Senora de Ios Angeles), and the name remains in the present "Angel Island." Another island was called by them the "Island of the Pelicans" {Isla de Ios Alcatraces), and the name appears today in "Alcatraz Island." Curiously enough, however, this name has jumped over several miles of water, for it was 280 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA applied by the Spaniards to Yerba Buena (vulgarly called Goat Island) instead of to the islet which now bears the nanie. Rivera had been ordered to cooperate with Ayala in erecting buildings for tbe settlers who were about to be sent from Sonora, but the indolent, procrastinating governor never left Monterey, and this part of the viceroy's plan was not now accompbshed. But a vast deal of information had been acquired. On September 18 Ayala left the bay, — having failed to get out in a previous attempt on September 7, — and the following day he anchored at Monterey, whence not long afterward he departed for San Bias. Ayala reported to Bucareli that the Bay of San Francisco was "the best he had seen in those seas from Cape Horn north," and added that it was "not one port, but many, with a single en trance." Giving a summary view of his impressions, he described the bay as follows: "The said bay is a good port, not only because of the fine propor tions which it offers to the sight, but also because there is no scar city of good water, wood, and stone for ballast. Its climate, though cold, is entirely healthful, and is free from the annoying daily fogs experienced at Monterey. To all these advantages must be added the best of all, which is that the heathen Indians of the port are so faithful in their freindship and so docile in their dis position that I was greatly pleased to receive them on board." San Franciscans today would, no doubt, like to believe that what Ayala said about tbe fogs was true for all seasons and all years. The great voyages of 1775 closed, for a time, the activities directly against foreign encroachments. On the Perez, Heceta, and Bodega voyages alone Spain had spent more than 50,000 pesos, then considered an enormous sum, es pecially by a government which was not hi the habit of applying its resources to Quixotic schemes. It seemed at the time that Spain had assured herself that the danger was not very pressing, — just at the moment when James Cook was about to sail from England on a voyage that was to ANTONIO BUCARELI 281 bring home the reality of Spain's traditional fears ! Bucareli, however, was by no means inclined to give up bis measures, for on the ground of the long-standing and eventual peril he understood that it would be best to carry on the "aggressive defensive" in order to place Spain in a strong position against the time when the storm should break. Meanwhile, he had all along, at least since early in 1773, been devoting his at tention to matters indirectly conducive to the same end. It is now time to review some of these activities. CHAPTER XXII BUCARELI'S ATTENTION TO THE LOCAL PROBLEMS OF THE CALIFORNIAS Nothing is more characteristic of Bucareli's services to Alta California than his attention to the purely local problems of the province, though in these as in other matters he was influenced primarily by bis desire to ward off an eventual foreign danger. His activities centred around two principal ideas : that of averting an abandonment of Alta Cabfornia, through watchful care over the remission of sup- pbes by sea and over the affairs of the Department of San Bias; and constructive measures for the government and development of the northern province. As already pointed out, tbe climate and natural resources of Alta California were not sufficient in themselves to keep civilized men alive, however well the Indians were able to subsist. Everything had to come from Mexico or from Spain; even food had to be sent, for tbe colonists could not depend upon acorns and chance suppbes of bear-meat, and agricultural products and domestic animals were not yet raised in sufficient quantities to provide for tbe needs of the new estabbshments. In practice, aU of these things (provi sions, goods, and effects) were shipped to San Diego and Monterey from the port of San Bias off the west coast of New Spain. Founded by Galvez in 1768, San Bias was to be the principal medium between Alta California and the outside world during most of the Spanish period. The development of an overland route to Alta California was necessary, for the elements of permanence (settlers and domestic animals) could not be forwarded in the storm-tossed, scurvy-stricken, 282 BUCARELI'S ATTENTION TO LOCAL PROBLEMS 283 cockle-shell boats which Spain employed along the Pacific coast, but the sending of supply-ships was an equally vital necessity, without which the province would soon have been abandoned. Alta California had been saved by a narrow margin in 1770, when the dutiful Portola held out against starvation until rebef came. In 1772 Fages had averted failure by his successful bear hunt. The greatest peril of all, perhaps, came in 1774, when Alta California was in the midst of the worst famine it ever experienced. This time the hero of the occasion was none other than the viceroy, Bucareli, who saved the situation by his good judgment and his attention to the supply-ships : by bis good judgment, for in spite of re ports from the pilots of the supply-ships, the commissary of San Bias, governors Barry and Fages, and Father Verger (who as Father Superior of the College of San Fernando was in receipt of communications from the missionaries) to the effect that Alta Cabfornia was well supplied with provisions, he resolved to "play the game safely" and sent off an extra ship; ."and by his attention to the supply-ships, in that at this time and thereafter he saw to it that the provisions were good and that boats got off on time, despite the difficulties (presently to be mentioned) in maintaining the Department of San Bias. Meanwhile there had been an all-round scarcity in Alta California, lasting from the summer of 1773 to the spring of 1774, during which time the Spaniards of the presidios and missions lived principally on milk, and none too much of that, for there were few animals to supply it. Herbs were sought to eke out the colonists' scanty fare. The lack was equally great in the manufactured articles of civilized life, though it was perhaps less pressing than the need for food. Writing in June 1774 Rivera reported a lack of essential articles at the presidios. Some of the soldiers had a gun but no sword, some a sword but no gun, and some had neither one nor the other. Munitions were also scarce. Further more, there was a need for soap and — this surely was im portant — for tobacco ! 284 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Utter famine was averted and relief in other respects ex tended when Perez put in at San Diego on March 13, 1774, in the Santiago. Perez, however, was in the midst of his voyage of exploration to the northwest coast, and needed great stores of supplies for himself. It had not been intended that he should leave anything for the southern colonies, though he had planned to provide for Monterey and the north; the south was to receive suppbes which had for this one time been landed in Baja California, but the old prob lems of the peninsula route, notably the lack of pack-animals, had prevented Governor Barry from forwarding them. Because of his anxiety over the Perez voyage Bucareb had decided to send out a second ship. Wholly on his own initiative he arranged for a voyage of the San Antonio, and it was the arrival of this vessel, not long after Perez in the Santiago, that put the province out of danger. San Diego was relieved in March 1774. The other southern missions had to wait a while until the provisions could be taken to them by mule-train, and those of the north held out yet longer until the relief ships got to Monterey. Having had one narrow escape from failure Bucareb never again aUowed Alta California to incur such risk. It is now time to point out that the affairs of the Department of San Bias, on which both Cabfornias depended, were no slight problem in themselves. But, just as he had meanwhile attacked questions of the internal conditions of Sonora and Baja California (because of their bearing upon the settle ments in Alta California) , so too Bucareli turned intently and efficiently to the situation at San Bias. The port itself at San Bias was inadequate, and shortly after its founding it began to show signs of filbng in. Several times, ships ran aground within the port. Soundings were taken of near-by ports, and numerous suggestions were made to locate the Department at Acapulco or elsewhere, but the change was never made. Furthermore, the site was more than usually unhealthful. Not only did this affect the men, but also food supplies could not be stored at San Bias, for tbey would spoil. It was necessary therefore to make care- BUCARELI'S ATTENTION TO LOCAL PROBLEMS 285 ful calculations so that provisions would arrive only shortly before a ship was about to depart for the north. A more serious difficulty arose from the lack of sufficient shipping to carry on the duties of the Department, such as the sending of suppbes to Alta and Baja California and engaging in explorations of the northwest coast. Naturally, this problem tended to become harder to solve as Alta Cali fornia developed, for more and more provisions, goods, and effects were needed than formerly. This difficulty may be illustrated by the state of affairs in 1776 (after Anza's colonists had reached Alta Cabfornia and therefore greatly increased its population). Writing to Arriaga in August, Bucareb explained that there were then five boats employed by the Department, of which four were absent on provision voyages, two having gone to the northern province and two to the peninsula. Meanwhile, orders had come from Spain to use one ship to carry Jose de Areche (at that time fiscal of the Audiencia of Mexico) to Peru, where he was to serve as visitador, and also to employ two ships for a fresh series of explorations in the northwest, to begin in December 1777. Yet tbe two ships bound for Alta Cabfornia had not been able to carry all that was needed ; it was almost essential that the only remaining ship at San Bias should also go north, — but the orders were imperative to send Areche to Peru at once. On this occasion Bucareli was aided by good luck. A stray merchant ship happened to put in at Acapulco, — an unusual occurrence in those days of trade prohibition. It was at once pressed into service for Areche's use, and the Santiago at San Bias was freed for the supply voyage. There still remained the question of northwestward ex ploration, which was impossible of execution without more ships. Bucareli solved this on his own initiative without waiting for authority from Spain. He ordered the post ponement of the exploring voyages for a year, on the ground that it was much more important to ensure supplying the Californias, lest Spain lose what she already had. He sent Bodega to Peru with Areche to procure a ship there, and he himself took steps to have another built at San Bias. Thus 286 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA was the emergency taken care of, but it should be noted that this is presented only as an illustration of the kinds of problems that confronted the viceroy almost every year. One may wonder why it was that boats in sufficient num bers and of adequate size were not built at San Bias. The answer to such a query goes to the root of Bucareb's principal difficulties in the maintenance of the Department. In the first place he at all times had to manage with scant funds; so much has already been said on this phase of Spanish colonial pobcy that there is no need to dilate upon it here. But, even aside from this factor, the viceroy was at his wit's end to procure both the manufactured articles and the men required for shipbuilding and the other tasks of the Depart ment. This may be illustrated by the events of 1775- 1777. Late in the year 1775 there arose a need at San Bias for certain tools, iron, canvas, tackle, and artillery. The back ward state of New Spain can be understood when it is said that these things had to be procured elsewhere. It was necessary to send to Spain for the tools and iron, but it was hoped that the other effects might be picked up in Havana. Orders were given immediately for both requests to be sup plied. Tbe affair was handled with all possible speed in Spain, with the result that the tools and iron reached San Bias about a year after the request. At best, therefore, the viceroy had to know tbe needs of the Department for a year ahead. This was only "at best," as becomes clear by a re view of the attempts to procure the materials sought for in Havana. Bucareb's original request was made on August 27, 1775, and this he fobowed up repeatedly with other petitions. The canvas, tackle, and artillery got clogged up in Spanish administration, in spite of aU that Bucareb could do. It proved impossible to get them at Havana, and the authorities in Spain hesitated before the great expense of shipping them from Europe. FinaUy, in April 1777, after nearly two years of fruitless endeavor, Bucareb wrote to the viceroy of Peril, to see if they could be supplied from there. BUCARELI'S ATTENTION TO LOCAL PROBLEMS 287 Presumably he got them, though the evidence has not yet come to light, but if he did, it was only after many more months. At least equally difficult was the problem of getting tbe men that the Department required. Soldiers were needed, not on account of Indians, but to suppress disorderly sailors. Sailors in port after a long voyage are traditionally inclined to be refractory, but this was not the sole or perhaps the principal reason why soldiers had to be on hand. The sailors objected chiefly to being sailors at all, especially for the death-dealing Alta Cabfornia voyages. They knew well that their prospects of escaping the scurvy were slight, and the chances of death, if they contracted the dread disease, were very great. It was therefore necessary almost to drive them aboard ship. Thus it was that soldiers had to be obtained, and governmental authorization was necessary, as they involved expenditures. Similarly, the men needed for other purposes had to be authorized by the Spanish government. Thus, in 1775 when there was no surgeon or chaplain at San Bias, Bucareli had to get a permit in order to supply them. Early in 1776 Bucareb asked for a number of pilots, carpenters, and caulkers for tbe Department. The men were sent from time to time, but through death or other causes the posts were rarely filled. In November 1776 Bucareli asked for a ship-builder, who of course had to be procured in Spain. One man was appointed, but managed to avoid tbe dis agreeable duty. Finally another was selected in November 1777, and over his objection (on the ground that he was leaving his family destitute) was forced on board ship and obliged to go. Presumably he arrived at San Bias at some time in the spring or summer of 1778, and a ship was built there in that year which took part in the voyages of ex ploration of 1779. It will be seen, therefore, that the difficulties of supplying the Californias were very great. Yet the viceroy was able to manage it, despite the long and (so far as he was con cerned) unavoidable delays in connection with the Depart- 288 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ment of San Bias and despite the inadequacy of funds and equipment. Yet, at the same time that he was attending to such other maritime affairs as the voyages of exploration along the northwest coast, he was also able both to sustain and to some extent to develop the Californias, especially the new estabbshments in the north. From the time of bis arrival in the viceroyalty Bucareli gave a great share of his attention to the local affairs of the Cabfornias, first with the idea of retaining what Spain already possessed, and later with a view to their development. The earbest problem was that of an adjustment of internal affairs. The first great step was taken in 1772 when the two Californias were divided, for missionary purposes, between the Franciscans of San Fernando and the Dominicans. Ever since 1768 the latter had sought to gain entry to the peninsula, but had been prevented from so doing by the opposition of Galvez. By 1772, however, the Franciscans themselves made no objection; so the division was made, the boundary being placed a few miles farther south than the present international bne. It is worthy of note that the Franciscans consented because they had learned to appre ciate the scant utility of Baja California whether as a mis sion field or as an aid to the much more valuable country farther north; as regards the matter of a route they hoped to profit by an establishment of communications with Sonora, which they realized would be of far more use to them than the connection with the peninsula. The division of the Cabfornias was only one of a number of preliminary measures looking toward tbe forming of a reglamento, or instrument of government, for the Californias and San Bias. A great step ahead was taken with the arrival of Father Serra in Mexico in February 1773. This was the occasion when he came from Alta California with the object of procuring the removal of Governor Fages and the adoption of regulations which he bebeved essential to the continuance of missionary work in the northern province. Though the substitution of Rivera for Fages, due to Serra's request, was an unwise step, there can be no doubt that the Father- BUCARELI'S ATTENTION TO LOCAL PROBLEMS 289 President rendered a great service to Alta Cabfornia during the several months that he remained in the capital. He came to Mexico at a time when Bucareli was aU at sea over the affairs of the Californias. Serra was just the man he needed for the information that he required, and it is to the credit both of Father Junipero and of the viceroy that they used their opportunities for conferring, to tbe full. One result was that Bucareb was able to proceed with more con fidence to the forming of a reglamento. The first California code was the Reglamento Provisional of 1773. This was drawn up by Juan Jose de Echeveste (whose name is often applied to it), who had gained much of the knowledge upon which he based his reglamento through having been for several years the purchasing agent in Mexico City for the two Californias. The reglamento in it3 final form had bttle of what would ordinarily be expected in an instrument of government. It was composed of three documents: the recommendations of Echeveste, dated May 19, 1773; the supplementary opinion of a junta of July 8, making some modifications; and Bucareli's decree of July 23, adopting the suggestions of Echeveste, with the changes proposed by tbe junta. The body of the whole instrument was the Echeveste document, the terminology of which suggested and argued in favor of certain courses of action but did not order them; these of course became commands by virtue of Bucareli's decree. Naturally there were many paragraphs of a temporary nature, and on the other hand much that actually applied to the government of the Cali fornias was"either taken for granted (on the basis of Spain's general colonial policy) or else depended upon earlier isolated orders to the governors and the Father-President. The Echeveste reglamento opened with an estimate of the annual expenditure required for the maintenance of the two Cabfornias and the Department of San Bias, ab three of which regions were to be in a measure subject to the same jurisdiction. The plans for Alta California called for an establishment of eighty-two soldiers, four carpenters, four blacksmiths, four muleteers, and two warehouse keepers, 290 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA without counting the missionaries (who were provided for out of the Pious Fund). This would necessitate a govern mental expenditure of about 39,000 pesos a year, but it would amount really to about 16,000, at it was proposed to charge goods to the soldiers at an advance of 150 per cent over the price in Mexico City, the extra amount being con sidered a proper allowance for freight. Goods for Baja California were to be charged at 100 per cent increase, but nothing extra was to be collected in the case of San Bias. The total annual expenditure chargeable to the royal treasury for all three regions was estimated at nearly 93,000 pesos. The salt-mines of San Bias were expected to yield 25,000 pesos a year, and it was proposed to take 10,000 from the Pious Fund, but the remainder, nearly 58,000 pesos, was to be paid by the government. Thus clearly did Spain demonstrate her belief in the importance of the non-revenue- producing Californias. Following the preliminary estimate came the Echeveste reglamento proper, in seventeen numbered paragraphs. The most notable provision was that which aimed to encourage emigration to Alta California. Anybody who wished to go there was to be taken from San Bias free of charge, have free rations for five years, and be paid tbe wages of a sailor for two years. Once arrived in Alta California his services were to be utilized for raising crops. It can well be imagined what a stampede there would be to come to California if such terms were offered today. But it helps to give per spective on the actual situation when it is realized that this generous measure, aside from its indication of the govern ment's desires, was without effect. The colonization of Alta California was to require a distinct effort upon tbe part of the viceroy, — but be was to provide it! One further para graph may be noticed. Strict provision was made for keep ing accounts and giving information to the viceroy; Bucareli did not intend to be at a loss again on that score. Most note worthy of the amendments by the junta was one that the Pious Fund should be asked to contribute 10,000 pesos for the year 1774 alone; it was brought out that that institution BUCARELI'S ATTENTION TO LOCAL PROBLEMS 291 was already expending nearly 15,000 pesos for the regularly estabbshed needs of tbe missionaries, besides extra sums for irregularly recurring eventuabties. Tbe reglamento of 1773 should be taken in connection with the viceroy's instructions to Rivera, the newly-appointed governor of Alta California. These instructions, dated August 17, 1773, were largely an expansion of the terms of the reglamento, a copy of which (including the amendments of the junta) was attached. In addition, Bucareli showed that he understood the scant prospects of volunteer coloniza tion when he called upon Rivera to recruit some soldier- settlers with their families to take to Alta California. Several paragraphs, also, were devoted to the precautions to be employed against the entry of foreign ships. Great emphasis was placed upon maintenance of harmony with the religious and upon the care to be used in the selection of mission sites; Rivera was reminded that they might one day become great cities, — a noteworthy statement not only be cause of its prophetic vision but also because of the fact that Bucareli actually contemplated such a development. Rivera was particularly charged to take steps to found a mission at San Francisco, which henceforth became one of the principal objectives of Bucareb's policies, because of the well recog nized importance of the port. The relations of Rivera with the governor of the Californias, then resident in the peninsula, were clearly defined. Rivera was to report to his superior at Loreto, but the latter was to have no power to change his measures; thus was the virtual separation of the two Cabfornias declared. Bucareli reaped the inevitable reward of his appointment of Rivera to succeed Fages, and he freely admitted his mis take when it became apparent. Rivera neglected to fulfil the viceroy's instructions about the planting of crops and the all-round development of Alta Cabfornia. It was there fore with great satisfaction that Bucareli received the news, in 1776, that henceforth the governor of the Californias was to reside in Monterey and the lieutenant-governor in Loreto. This meant an exchange of Rivera for the able and 292 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA energetic Felipe de Neve, from whom Bucareli, with good reason, expected better things. On Christmas Day 1776 Bucareb issued his formal instructions to Neve. These in structions, in twenty-seven paragraphs, were the last in the series of great documents by which Bucareli provided for tbe internal management of the Cabfornias, and together with the reglamento of 1773, the instructions to Rivera, and a later reglamento drawn up by Neve himself were the foundation upon which Alta California was governed to the end of the Spanish period. From time to time there were other orders inconsistent with those just named, but none had an equal influence. Among the more important of the orders given to Neve were those requiring him to take steps with a view to the founding of settlements in Alta Cabfornia. He was called upon to estabbsh two missions along the Santa Barbara Channel, two between San Diego and San Gabriel, a second mission at San Francisco (tbe eventual Santa Clara), and another between that and Monterey. Great attention was paid to the economic development of the province. Neve was specifically charged to heed the instructions of that character which Rivera had failed to put into effect. Spanish settlers were to be given grants of land and en couraged to take up agriculture, for which purpose Bucareli had shipped a quantity of plough-shares and other utensils of husbandry. Various paragraphs displayed the viceroy's sobcitude for the settlement at San Francisco, of which to him more than to anybody else tbe beginnings were due. Among other things it may be noted that he was sending a surgeon, a carpenter, and a smith to that port from Mexico City and a mason from San Bias. The instructions to Neve were the basis for the only development occurring in Alta California for many years after 1776, for Neve's great work was in fulfilment of these commands rather than in obedience to any new orders from Teodoro de Croix. This document also marked about the last act of the viceroy of direct aid to Alta Cabfornia, for the management of that province passed out of his hands with BUCARELI'S ATTENTION TO LOCAL PROBLEMS 293 the establishment of the commandancy-general. Fortu nately, however, the supply-ships were still left to Bucareli to handle, and this task he performed ably — as also that of another set of voyages to the northwest coast — to the day of his death in 1779. CHAPTER XXIII JUAN BAUTISTA DE ANZA As already pointed out,1 matters were ripe by the end of the year 1771 for considering the project of opening a land route from Sonora to Alta Cabfornia. In March 1772 when Bucareb learned of the discoveries made by Garces during his journey of exploration of the previous year he asked Governor Mateo Sastre of Sonora whether he thought it might be possible to reach Monterey by land. Before-he bad time to carry his enquiries further he received a petition from the captain of Tubac, Juan Bautista de Jmza, asking for the viceroy's consent to make such an expedition himself. The author of this petition was one of tbe most remarkable men who ever appeared on the field of California history, and it is therefore worth while to pause and take account of his early career and his personality. Juan Bautista de Anza, like his father and grandfather before him, was a member of the presidial aristocracy of the frontier provinces of New Spain. His grandfather had served thirty years at Janos as lieutenant and captain, and his father twenty years with the same rank at Fronteras, acting also as temporary governor of Sonora at one time. In the latter capacity he had merited and won general approval, especially by breaking up an Indian conspiracy in 1737. In that year an Indian named Arisivi claimed to be a herald of Montezuma, saying that the former Aztec monarch had come back to life to restore the Mexican Empire. Anza's father hanged Arisivi and several of his followers, which ended the revolt. His connection with the bolas de plata incident and his death at the hands of the Apaches have already been referred to. The Anza who 1 At the close of Chapter XVIII. 294 Juan Bautista he Anza JUAN BAUTISTA DE ANZA 295 now makes his bow was born at Fronteras in 1735, and en tered the service in 1753, taking part thenceforth (as he put it in 1770) in continuous warfare against the Apaches, Seris, Pimas, and Sibubapas. For the first two years he was a volunteer at' Fronteras, serving at his own expense. On July 1, 1755, he became a lieutenant. He is mentioned as taking part in a campaign under Captain Gabriel de Vild6sola against tbe Apaches in 1758. On February 19, 1760, he was promoted to the captaincy of the presidio of Tubac, but, owing to the death of Viceroy Amarillas, tbe appointment was not confirmed. There are references to a campaign by him in 1760 against the Seris and to another of 1766 against the Apaches. One of his principal achieve ments was the subjecting of the Papagos, a tribe of over three thousand Indians, on which occasion he kiUed their chief with his own hand. He bad made many campaigns in southern Sonora against the Seris and others of the Cerro Prieto, and according to Rubf he was the one who contri buted most to reducing the Suaquis. In the mibtary opera tions of Ebzondo, Anza was a conspicuous figure. In 1770 he petitioned that the full rank of presidial captain be accorded him, mentioning some of the safient features of his record and stating that he had twice been wounded in the service and had participated in fourteen general engage ments, besides a"number of lesser ones. Though his petition was endorsed by Juan de Pineda and Domingo Elizondo (his immediate chiefs) and by Viceroy Croix it was not at that time granted. There is an overwhelming array of evidence to the effect that this young man, who had already proved himself a great Indian-fighter, was also an officer of unblemished character and unusual abilities. Simple and self-contained in manner and speech, generous of spirit, dignified in bearing, he exemplified on his intimately personal side the delightful quabties of the Spanish cavalier. As an officer he was kind and just to his men and prompt and energetic in action. Strong-bodied and courageous, he was also cool-headed, re sourceful, self-rebant, and tactful, but above all was a man 296 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA of initiative and enterprise. Among those who voiced their approval of Captain Anza was the Marques de Rubi, who recorded his opinions at some length in 1767. After re counting Anza's services Rubi says that "by reason of his activity, valor, zeal, intelligence, and notable unselfishness he is an all-round good officer, worthy of being dis tinguished by His Majesty in remuneration for his services and as a stimulus to others." More directly to the point were Rubf's remarks in praise of Anza as a result of tbe former's inspection of Tubac. Not only Anza's accounts but also the declarations of his soldiers showed that he had never done anything prejudicial to his troops, but, on the contrary, had always treated them liber- aUy; he had actually reduced prices for them, displaying a generosity which, according to Rubi, was very rare in the frontier provinces. Because of Anza's just administration many people had come to live at Tubac, to the great ad vantage of all that section, said Rubi, a fact which might in the future permit of transferring the presidio to a more ad vanced point, affording greater opportunity for discoveries and for reducing the Apaches.2 The discovery of a practicable route to Alta Cabfornia seems from early boyhood to have been a bfe ambition with Anza. Spurred on by the tradition of his father's proposals, he and another officer planned an expedition to the Colorado in 1756 (when Anza was twenty-one). The governor of Sonora at first looked with favor on the project, but sub sequently changed his mind. When Galvez came to the province in 1769 Anza asked permission to make an expedi tion, at his own expense, to cooperate with Portola, whom the visitador had just despatched to the north from Baja California. Galvez was impressed by Anza's idea, and meant to have it carried into effect, but was obliged to with hold his consent for the time being, due mainly to the superior pressure of the Seri wars. Before he could take 'At some time before 1763, Anza No further record of his family life married the sister of Jose" Manuel has yet been discovered. Diaz del Carpio, chaplain of Tubac. JUAN BAUTISTA DE ANZA 297 action his health failed. Even after his return to Mexico City he and Croix seem to have considered the plan, but both of them left the country too early to put it into execution. As soon as it became clear that the visitador had departed from New Spain without authorizing an expedition, Anza addressed himself to Bucareli, who had only recently become viceroy. His letter, dated May 2, 1772, concerned itself mainly with the numerous evidences for belief in the exist ence of a feasible route from Sonora to Monterey, referring among other things to the reports about Portola and his men which had come to Garces and himself from the Indians of the Gila and Colorado. He asked permission to make his long projected expedition of discovery, taking Garces and twenty or twenty-five of his own presidial soldiers with him. Knowing fuU well that he could expect suitable reward if successful, he offered to pay the entire costs of the expedi tion, save only the wages of his men and the salary of GarceA Bucareli sought the opinions of various men, including the engineer Costans6 and the fiscal Areche. These two men, whose recommendations concerning the development of a supply route from Sonora have already been quoted, were strongly in favor of Anza's project. Nevertheless, a junta (which met on October 17, 1772) was not ready to authorize an expedition; in particular it desired such further informa tion as Garces and Governor Sastre could give. Bucareli acquiesced, and again the matter was postponed. In due time the desired reports were obtained. Garces enthusias tically backed up Anza's project. Sastre,-who had written independently (before he heard of Anza's proposal) in favor of a somewhat similar plan, was incbned to throw cold water on the idea as now set forth by the captain of Tubac ; doubt less no bttle jealousy was at the basis of his reply. Meanwhile, as already recorded, Father Serra had reached Mexico City in February 1773, and it was only natural that Bucareli should turn to him for advice. Serra's repbes, though the viceroy did not see fit to present them to the junta, are worthy of record, for they must have reinforced Bucareli's own decision. His reports were mainly valuable 298 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA in pointing out the need for a route to Alta Cabfornia by land, and especiaUy in that he clearly demonstrated the inadequacy of the Baja California route. As for tbe Anza proposal itself, he had bttle to say, but bebeved it would be well worth undertaking. There was yet another factor of undoubted weight with the viceroy, — perhaps the greatest of all, — and it too was not presented for consideration of the junta. This was the influence of the long-standing fear of foreign danger. At length a junta was again called, and on September 9, 1773, debvered itself of a resolution favoring an expedition on much the same terms as Anza had proposed. Anza was to be empowered to select twenty volunteer soldiers for the journey and to take Father Garces and another rebgious with him, meeting all the expenses of the march himself. He was to exercise the greatest care to make friends with the Indians he should meet, for it was appreciated that their co operation would be necessary if the fuUest results from the discovery of a route were to be attained. He was not to establish any settlement, but was to go direct to Monterey and back. Four days later, on the 13th, Bucareb issued a decree putting the resolution of the junta into effect. Theoretically the assent of the king was still necessary, and it was obtained under date of March 9, 1774. On that day Anza was already web on the march to Alta Cabfornia, and by the time the royal pronouncement was received in Mexico he must have been nearing Sonora on his return. Anza wasted no time in making ready for tbe expedition, though he met with many discouraging setbacks, such as Apache raids in the vicinity of Tubac and, not least of all, the jealous opposition of some of his fellow-officers of the frontier. Meanwhile bis hopes for success were rendered almost certain when he learned that an Indian had just made his way from San Gabriel in Alta California to Altar, Sonora. This Indian, Sebastian Tarabal by name, had gone to the northern province originally from Baja California, and had been placed at San Gabriel. At length, he ran away, hoping to reach the Colorado River and thence go to his old home JUAN BAUTISTA DE ANZA 299 in the peninsula. His wife and brother, who accompanied him, died of thirst in the Colorado Desert, but Tarabal managed to get through, coming to Altar in December 1773. Clearly, therefore, some sort of route existed. Tarabal was added to Anza's party in the belief that his services as guide might be of value. He attached himself to Father Garces, and accompanied that intrepid explorer in all his wanderings during the next seven years. On January 8, 1774, Anza set out from Tubac. With him were Father Garces and Father Juan Diaz, twenty volun teers from his presidio, an Alta California soldier named Juan Valdez, Tarabal, a Pima interpreter, and eight other Indians (five muleteers, two servants of Anza, and a car penter), — thirty-four in all. Thirty-five pack loads of provi sions, sixty-five head of cattle driven along for food, and a hundred and forty horses made up the material equipment of the expedition. The story of the march is told by Bolton in the following terms : "Turning southwest, Anza crossed the divide and descended the Altar River, through the Pima missions to Altar. Obtaining horseshoe iron, a few fresh horses, some ill-fed mules, — 'stacks of bones,' he called them, — and provisions, on January twenty- second he made his final start from Caborca, the last Spanish settlement between Sonora and Mission San Gabriel (at Los An geles). "To the Gila-Colorado junction, home of the Yumas, the trail, though difficult, had been made familiar by Kino and Garces. On his approach to the junction Anza heard the discouraging news that a part of the Yumas were hostile and were planning to mas sacre his party; but the rumor proved unfounded, for the Span iards were warmly welcomed by Chief Pahna and a throng of nearly naked Indians. Crossing the Colorado and descending its right bank a few leagues, at Santa Olaya Lake the expedition neared the edge of the great waste of sand dunes called the Colo rado Desert. "Here began the real test of Anza's mettle. As they neared enemy territory the Cojat guides misled the Spaniards and then deserted. On the fifteenth of February, with the Indian Tarabal now guiding, Anza reached the terrible dunes, where the_ shifting sands had completely obliterated the trails. Before night the pack mules were so used up that Anza decided that their burdens 300 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA must be lightened, and he proposed to send half the packs back to Palma's village with part of the soldiers and one friar. Garces objected and Anza yielded. Encountering now a great mountain of sand which the tired mules could not even attempt, Anza turned south toward a hill near which Garces thought was the large village of San Jacome, which he had visited three years before. "But no village could be found. Both Garces and Tarabal were now completely lost in the sea of sand dunes; the animals were played out; part of the horses had been made ill by eating a noxious herb; there was no near prospect for either water or pasturage; in short, there was nothing for Anza to do but to retreat to Santa Olaya. Even this was most difficult, and before it was accomplished several horses and mules had died. But after seventy-five miles of wandering, at the cost of six days, Santa Olaya was again reached. Anza now changed his plans. Instead of attempting to cross the dunes, he would turn southwest and go around them. Since it had proved impossible to continue with all his train, he left part of his men and baggage with Palma. Even this step was haz ardous, for Palma's friendship had not yet been fully tested, With the rest of the men, the strongest horses, the ten best mules, and provisions for a month, on March 2 Anza again set forth. Six days of hard riding took him to good springs and pasturage near the foot of the Sierra Nevadas. Garces and Tarabal both recog nized the locality. The success of the enterprise was now assured and the event was celebrated. "Four more days northward and two northwestward took them to a pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains called San Carlos. Here the sight was cheered by a view which repaid all the hardships of the journey. There were green plains, snow-capped peaks, live- oaks, and rivulets which ran west to find their outlet in 'the Phil ippine Ocean,' as Anza called it. In spite of frequent rain and snow the descent was relatively easy, and at sundown, March 22, they reached Mission San Gabriel, after a march of seven hundred miles from Tubac. Their arrival was hailed by the four surprised missionaries and the small guard with the ringing of the church bells. Anza had found a way from Sonora to the sea. Continuing to Monterey, and returning over his former route, he reached Tubac on May 26." It is but natural, perhaps, that, as the discoverer, Anza should describe the route with undue enthusiasm. It was a good route, he said, entirely practicable for the sending of suppbes. The Indians were weak in a military way, and the Yumas alone were numerous. Father Diaz's report supplied JUAN BAUTISTA DE ANZA 3011 a needed corrective in pointing out that the friendship of the Yumas could not be rebed upon unless settlements were estabfished among them at an early date, and without their aid, he said, the route could not be utilized at all, except by large forces. The Franciscans in Alta Cabfornia were de lighted over the discovery. As Father Palou put it, various kinds of domestic animals could now be sent from Sonora, and if that were done the permanence of the new province would be assured. Bucareb also was greatly pleased. He felt that the Anza route was better than the one up the peninsula, though the use of supply-ships would still be necessary. He was especiaby gratified by tbe cordiabty of the Yumas, for he understood the importance of their co operation, and he was pleased too with the way Anza had conducted himself with them and indeed during the whole period of the expedition. At his recommendation Anza was promoted to a beutenant-colonelcy, and each of his men was granted extra pay for life. And in very truth, if achieve ments are to be measured by their results, they were richly deserving of reward, for out of their discovery flowed con sequences which decided the course of Alta California history. CHAPTER XXIV THE FOUNDING OF SAN FRANCISCO Anza's successful march of 1774 was the signal for action on Bucareli's part to utilize the newly discovered route to the full. Before he had an opportunity to do "so, however, he set on foot numerous other measures, to strengthen Alta California within itself and also as against the possibility of foreign attack. These plans culminated in his projected occupation of the port of San Francisco and the two rivers (now cabed Sacramento and San Joaquin) which for many years the Spaniards termed by the single name of the River of San Francisco. Not only did Bucareb wish to keep these important strategic points from falling into enemy hands, but he thought of using them also as a base for further north ward conquests. The local situation in Alta California between Anza's de parture from that province in the spring of 1774 and his re turn at the close of 1775 presented the same features as those already described for the period immediately preceding. Conversions of Indians and increase in domestic animals and crops proceeded at the normal rate, but were by no means great enough to rebeve tbe needs of the province. A start toward white settlement was indeed made, but it was on too smab1 a scale to change the state of affairs materiahy. In other words, the province lacked precisely those things which it was designed to furnish by use of the Anza route. The beginnings in real colonization just alluded to were provided in connection with the despatch of Rivera to Monterey to succeed Fages as governor. Rivera got to gether fifty-one persons in Sinaloa, of all ages and both sexes, — possibly half a dozen or more families, besides a few unmarried men. Crossing, to Baja California, he found difficulty in supplying his small expedition, and therefore 302 THE FOUNDING OF SAN FRANCISCO 303 went on ahead himself to Alta California in order to send back provisions — an interesting proof of the inadequacy of the peninsula as a source of supply for tbe northern province. Rivera had been ordered to cooperate with Anza, but when he got to Monterey, in May 1774, tbe Sonora captain was already nearing his presidio on the return journey. On September 26, 1774, the famihes that Rivera had left be hind in Baja California reached San Diego. Thus did the first real settlers come to Alta California, since for the first time white women set foot in the province. Though their whiteness of skin was undoubtedly tinged with Indian red, they were suitable wives for a bmited number of soldiery and by their children were able to contribute yet more to the permanence of the colony. As already mentioned, Bucareb repeatedly gave orders for tbe exploration and occupation of San Francisco, but it was not until November 1774, when some of the newly- arrived colonists got to Monterey, that Rivera felt strong enough hi forces to obey the viceroy's commands. Between November 23 and December 13 he made a somewhat per functory expedition to the Golden Gate, returning with the perfectly good excuse that tbe season was too far advanced to do anything toward an eventual settlement, owing to the winter rains. In the summer of 1775 Ayala made his thor ough exploration of San Francisco Bay. Heceta had also been instructed to enter the port on his voyage down from the north, but missed it in the fog. In September 1775 he led a smab party overland from Monterey. Having com- plied with the letter of his instructions, he at once returned. Nothing had been done, therefore, to pick out a site for ( settlement, erect buildings, or found the two proposed mis- , sions, but, thanks to Ayala, there was no longer any doubt '. about the value of the port itself. Meanwhile, preparations ; were being made under tbe guidance of a man who could get .' things done, the intrepid commander of Tubac. I Several months after returning to Tubac from bis first ex- , pedition, Anza made his way to Mexico City to report to the viceroy in person. During November and December 1774 he 304 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA consulted with Bucareli, and plans were drawn up and adopted for a second expedition on a large scale, designed to meet the needs of Alta Cabfornia, especially to put the province on a sound and permanent basis and to safeguard it from the danger of foreign attack. Anza was to take with him thirty married soldiers and their families, besides ten more soldiers as his personal escort to Alta California and back. Domestic animals of the kind most needed in the province— notably those for breeding purposes and beasts of burden- were to be driven along. The crowning event of the expedi tion was to be the founding of two missions at San Francisco, for which the married soldiers were to serve as a guard. It was almost a year before Anza's preparations were complete. Meanwhile Bucareb was busy with a number of related pro jects, such as the voyages of 1775 to the northwest coast and the internal problems of the frontier provinces and the two Cabfornias. There is no question, however, but that he regarded Anza's expedition as the most important measure of all, as indeed it was. Anza recruited most of his colonists from families "sub merged in poverty" in Sinaloa. Gathering his company at Horcasitas, he proceeded to Tubac, where on October 23, 1775, the whole force got under way. The roster of the the expedition as it left Tubac is worth quoting: Lieutenant-Colonel Anza 1 Fathers Font, Garces, and Eixarch 3 The purveyor, Mariano Vidal 1 Lieutenant Jose- Joaquin Moraga 1 Sergeant Juan Pablo Grijalva 1 Veteran soldiers from the presidios of Sonora ... 8 Recruits 20 Veterans from Tubac, Anza's escort 10 Wives of the soldiers 29 Persons of both sexes belonging to families of the said thirty soldiers and four other families of colonists 136 Muleteers 20 Herders of beef -cattle 3 Servants of the Fathers 4 Indian interpreters 3 Total 240 THE FOUNDING OF SAN FRANCISCO 305 Of the thirty soldiers who intended to remain in Alta Cali fornia, Lieutenant Moraga was the only one unaccompanied by his wife. Anza's care of this mixed assemblage made his expedition one of the most remarkable in the annals of ex ploration. Starting with a party of 240, he faced the hard ships and dangers of the march with such wisdom and courage that he arrived in Alta California with 244 11 No fewer than eight children were born in course of the expedi tion, three of them prior to the arrival at Tubac. The day of the departure from Tubac one mother died in childbirth — the only loss of the whole journey, for even the babes in arms survived both the desert and the mountain snows. When one thinks of the scores that lost their lives in the days of '49 over these same trails, Anza's skill as a frontiers man stands revealed. Furthermore, over a thousand animals were included in the expedition. The loss among these was considerable, but enough of them lived to supply Alta Cali fornia's long-pressing want. A very heavy equipment was taken along, all of it, even the ribbons in the women's hah, being provided at govern ment expense. Anza had warned the viceroy that it would be necessary not only to do this but also to pay the men in clothing and outfit instead of cash, since they were habitual gamblers. Of such seemingly unpromising materials were the men who, certainly without then knowledge, were about to play a part in one of the most important acts on the stage of American history. The prices of their outfit are enough to make one sigh for "the good old days." Petticoats, relatively, were expensive; they cost about $1.50 (12 reales) 2 each. Women's shoes were $.75 (6 reales), and so too women's hats! Each woman got six yards of ribbon, at $.12 a yard. Boys' hats were only $.50 (4 reales) apiece, but girls' hats were the cheapest of all; the girls were supposed to require nothing more than 'Nine persons remained at the 6M cents. Since, however, it has Colorado-Gila junction, after cross- seemed best in this volume to caleu- ing to the Alta California side. late the peso as equivalent to a dollar, 'The reaZ, of which there were eight the real should be counted as 12*^ to a peso, is ordinarily reckoned at cents. 306 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA the hair of then heads. And so it went; for men, women, and children clothing of every sort and kind, arms, riding horses, and rations were provided, and all at what now seems to have been an astonishingly low cost. One undemocratic note is to be observed. The fare of the thirty families was of the plainest, and its estimated cost for the entire expedition amounted only to $1957. On the other hand Anza and Father Font were to have such edibles as beans, sausage, biscuit, fine chocolate, a barrel of wine, cheese, pepper, saffron, cloves, cinnamon, oil, and vinegar at a cost of $2232.50 — more than the expense for the thirty famihes. Anza protested against this allotment when it was proposed, but it may be imagined that his objections were somewhat • perfunctory, for the arrangement was entirely in accord with tbe ideas of the day.3 ; Descending the Santa Cruz River to the Gila, Anza went down that stream to its junction with the Colorado. This route was much better than the one he had taken through Papagueria in 1774, but, though there was plenty of water, fodder was scarce. After a march of thirty-seven days he reached the junction, having been delayed en route by sick ness of the expeditionaries, especially on occasions when childred were born, for, as he put it, it was not possible for the mother to ride on horseback "for four or five days" thereafter! A serious problem presented itself on bis arrival at the junction toward the end of November 1775. Anza found that the Colorado bad deepened at the place where he crossed in 1774, so that now it was impossible to get over, even though it was the season when the river was low. It was also impracticable to use rafts, for the Yumas would have to swim with them in order to guide them, and the water was then too cold; at any rate not more than one raft a day could be handled, and there was danger that that might be upset. And the Yumas knew of no other ford. There promised to be a long delay, but Anza himself made a morning's search, 3 A translation of the document tion is given in Chapman, The found- listing the equipment of the expedi- ing of Spanish California, 461-466. THE FOUNDING OF SAN FRANCISCO 307 and found a place where the river divided into three shallow branches. It was necessary to clear a way through the thickets, however, for it was impossible to get by them on horseback. This done, Anza got his entire expedition across, after a wait of but a single day. The stay among the Yumas, who were as demonstratively friendly as they had been the year before, was signalized by a famous gift to Chief Palma which Bucareb had sent to him in the name of tbe king. This Indian's devotion to the Spaniards was suitably rewarded, at least in the eyes of his tribesmen, when he received a sleeveless cloak of blue cloth, lined with gold, a jacket and trousers of chamois-skin, two shirts, and a cap with a coat of arms like that of the Spanish dragoons. Palma was greatly pleased, and reiterated the requests that he had made in 1774 for the sending of Spanish missionaries. Garces and Eixarch remained among the Yumas, but their object was an extended exploration of that vicinity rather than the immediate conversion of the Indians. The three interpreters and four servants of the original roster stayed with them. After a stop of a few days, Anza again went forward, leaving the near-by camp at Santa Olaya on December 9. Profiting by his former experience, he crossed the Colorado Desert with comparative ease. He spbt his forces into three divisions, with orders to march on different days, so that the water-holes might have time to refill. The third division, under Moraga, alone met with hardships out of the ordinary. They encountered intense cold; Moraga himself suffered severe pains in the head and ears from which he later became totally deaf. Ahead of them lay the mountains "full of snow to such a degree," said Anza, " that we would not have believed so much could be gathered together." To the people of the warm southland it was indeed a terrify ing prospect. On December 19 the dread ascent began. For the next eight days, until they had passed the summit and started down the other side, the march was most difficult and de- 308 , . A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA pressing. It rained or snowed almost continually, and the weather was extremely cold. One of the women chose this period to be delivered of a child, but after only one day of rest the expedition pushed on, though slowly. On the 26th they felt an earthquake shock which lasted four minutes. It was on the next day, however, that they went over the summit of the pass, and hope revived as the climate and country grew more and more delightful. Without special incident they now hurried on to San Gabriel, which they reached on January 4, 1776. Without knowing it, Anza and his party had very nearly encountered a danger at least as great as any they actually experienced, a danger which also threatened the very existence of the Spanish settlements in^Alta California. The Indians of the San Diego district had always shown a disposition to be unfriendly to the Spaniards, though they had early learned to have a wholesome respect for Spanish weapons. When at length the missionaries began to be Successful in then efforts, the unconverted Indians in the neighborhood (for there were eleven villages which had steadily resisted Christianity) took alarm. They felt that then native customs were doomed unless they could either annihilate or expel the dread invader. Then runners com municated these views to their many kinsmen across the southern end of the province, urging a concerted uprising. Messengers came even to the Yumas, for the San Diego Indians and the many tribes eastward to the Colorado were all members of the same great Yuman family. While some promised support and others were sympathetic, the Yumas would not rise against the Spaniards, due to the good treat ment they had received at the hands of Anza. The reputation Anza had acquired among the Yumas was probably all that saved him from being attacked on his march to San Gabriel; to the childlike savage the Spaniards of Anza's following were very different from those who had settled permanently in Alta California. As he neared San Gabriel, however, Anza had noticed some evidences of native unfriend liness. THE FOUNDING OF SAN FRANCISCO 309 Meanwhile the unconverted Indians of San Diego,* in collusion with mission converts, had gone ahead with their plans, and at last arranged for a simultaneous attack on the mission and presidio (which were several miles apart) for the night of November 4, 1775. What with missionaries and soldiery there were twenty-two Spaniards in all, eleven at each place, but four of those at the presidio were sick and two others were in the stocks. All were blissfully unaware of the danger, and it seems even that no guards were placed. Shortly after midnight the Spaniards at the mission were aroused by the yells of hundreds of Indians, who had already set the building on fire. As the bttle party tried to escape they were greeted by clouds of arrows. Father Luis Jayme was seized and dragged away, then beaten to death. Later his body was found horribly mutilated and pierced by eigh teen arrows. The other men took refuge in an adobe store house, defending themselves desperately. Not one of them escaped wounds, but they did such execution with their weapons, especially one among then number with a sus piciously Irish-sounding name, Corporal Rocha, that at day break the Indians withdrew. Father Jayme and one other had been killed, and a third man died of his wounds several days later. Fortunately the plan to attack the presidio had miscar ried, and the men there must have slept peacefully through the night, for they were unaware of the conflict which had raged so bitterly only a few miles away. The first they knew of it was when the wounded heroes of the mission fight came next morning to the presidio. The Indians hesitated to attack again, and thereby lost then chance of success. Soon Ortega came in with a few soldiers whom he had taken with him to found the new mission of San Juan Capistrano. The founding of that mission was postponed, and Ortega's men remained at San Diego. The situation would stib have been serious, but for the arrival of Anza from Sonora. Rivera had only seventy men of his own in the province, and these were scattered among five missions and two presidios over a range of more than four hundred miles. The governor 310 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA hurried south from Monterey, and had good reason to be glad upon his arrival at San Gabriel when he learned that Anza's expedition was approaching that mission. Anza's orders called for him to proceed to San Francisco without delay and found the settlements, but he recognized that the San Diego revolt was a superior emergency. Not only did he lend Rivera twenty of his veterans, but even went the length of waiving his^superior rank and consent ed to accompany Rivera to San Diego and assist him all he could. On January 7, 1776, therefore, the two com manders left San Gabriel with a bttle force of thirty-five men, not knowing what they might have to encounter. It seemed to them not unlikely that San Diego had been wiped out and the garrison massacred and that they them selves would have to confront thousands of hostile natives. Fortunately, Ortega had been able to tide over the crisis, and then arrival on January 11 definitely saved the situa tion. At about the same time two Spanish ships came in from San Bias, and not long afterward Bucareb sent twenty-five more soldiers to Alta California. By this time the Indians bebeved that the Spaniards were coming almost from the skies to punish them, and they became afraid. There was no longer any thought of revolt; indeed, the position of the Spaniards was strengthened by the failure of the San Diego outbreak, for the Indians felt from this time forth that it was impossible to throw out their conquerors. The authorities were generally agreed that Anza's arrival had turned the scale, — "providential," Bucareli called it, "just as if he had come from Heaven." Men of that day knew, too, how grave had been the danger. Latter-day historians have been altogether too prone to regard the hostility to the Spaniards on the part of the California Indians as a matter of small consequence, since no disaster in fact ever happened. Its real import appears, however, in the light of such events as the Yuma massacre of 1781 (to be taken up in a later chapter). As compared with the Yuma uprising that of the San Diego Indians had much fewer difficulties to encounter. The Yumas were a small THE FOUNDING OF SAN FRANCISCO 311 tribe of about two thousand and were close to the Spanish frontier, where it was possible to assemble hundreds of soldiers at short notice. On the other hand the San Diego plot involved untold thousands of Indians, being virtually a national uprising, and owing to the distance from New Spain and the extreme difficulty of maintaining communica tions a victory for the Indians would have ended Spanish settlement in Alta California, — and the eventual loser would have been the United States. It soon became apparent that there was no further imme diate danger at San Diego, wherefore Anza was eager to carry out the viceroy's orders, which had been given both to him and to Rivera, for the founding of settlements at San Francisco. The dilatory governor could not be moved; so, after a wait of a month, Anza resolved to proceed without him. Leaving twelve of his troopers with Rivera, he de parted for San Gabriel. There he was obliged to despatch Moraga with ten soldiers in pursuit of five deserting mule teers, who had run away with some of the best horses of the expedition. Anza then set out with a number of the famihes up the coast, and after a march of nearly three weeks through driving rains reached Monterey on March 10. Moraga, who had successfully apprehended the de serters, came up later with the remainder of the famihes and then equipment. While he was at Monterey, Anza became very sick, and nothing the doctor could do seemed able to relieve his pain. At length Anza determined to apply some remedy of his own, and this proved to be helpful, but he was far from well when he announced that he would wait no longer and^ would go at once to explore the site of San Francisco. Taking A only a few men with him, and leaving the families at Monte rey, he set out for San Francisco on March 23. Upon arrival he made a thorough-going survey, finding water, fire-wood, and timber, and marking out the places for the later estab lishments. For a presidio he picked a site which the Span iards called the Cantil Blanco (White Cliff), near where Fort Scott now stands. He selected a place for the mission 312 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA along a little rivulet, which he named Dolores (Throes of childbirth — of the Virgin Mary), — so-called because that was the name of the day he visited it in the religious calen dar, March 29 ; this was the origin of the name which event ually superseded the one the Spaniards first appbed to designate the mission. Though rarely given to enthusiastic comment, Anza had now seen enough of San Francisco to speak of it and the famous port in terms of warmest praise. Father Font was even more expressive of his delight. "The port of San Francisco is a marvel of nature," he said, "and may be called the port of ports." Anza had also been instructed to explore the River of San Francisco beyond tbe point reached by Fages in 1772. Accordingly he marched around the lower end of the bay, and proceeded up the eastern shore to the junction of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and southward up the latter to a considerable distance beyond the place Fages had visited. From a hill he clearly discerned that the two rivers had widely separate courses, but was unable to determine the secrets of the great valley which they traversed; indeed, Font later recorded his belief that for the most part the valley was a great lake, studded with islands. Instead of fobowing the route by which he had come, Anza plunged boldly into the hills, and emerged near the present Gilroy Hot Springs, whence he made an easy march to Monterey, arriving there on April 8. The time had now come for Anza's departure. He had fulfilled the orders of the viceroy insofar as he could without the cooperation of Rivera, though for the lack of it he had not been able to estabbsh the settlements at San Francisco. Indeed, prior to Anza's exploration of that port Rivera had sent orders for the colonists to erect houses for themselves at Monterey and to abandon the projected foundations at San Francisco for that season. Anza was disappointed, but felt that he could not undertake the work by himself, since Rivera, after all, was governor of the province. So he decided to take his leave. On April 14 he departed from Monterey to the accompaniment of the tears and lamenta- THE FOUNDING OF SAN FRANCISCO 313 tions of the settlers, who had learned to revere and love him in the course of then long march from Sonora. The next day Anza received a letter from Rivera, whose party was then approaching Anza's on the way up from San Diego. In this missive Rivera answered a much earlier letter from Anza, and announced abruptly that he would not join him in making the establishments at San Francisco. The messenger told Anza that Rivera was in an evil temper and would not even look at a letter which Anza had just sent to him. A little later the two parties met. Both leaders saluted, and then, without a word, Rivera put spurs to his horse and rode on. Not long afterward Rivera sent word to Anza that he was returning, and asked him to wait for him at San Luis Obispo, so that they might have a confer ence over the various matters which had been entrusted to them. Anza consented and waited. Two days later he re ceived word from Rivera postponing the interview until they should reach San Gabriel. Even the patience of a saint might well have been exhausted by this time. Yet Anza agreed to communicate with Rivera, but insisted that it should be in writing. Accordingly, during two days at San Gabriel they wrote letters back and forth. Afterward Anza and his escort started back over the trail to Sonora. Cross ing the Colorado the great explorer looked upon Alta Cali fornia for the last time. Though he did not even suspect it himself, his work, under the guidance of the great viceroy, was to have an enduring importance beyond anything that had ever happened in the history of the Californias. Something yet remained to be accompbshed, however, and it fell to the lot of Anza's capable lieutenant, Jose" Joaquin Moraga, to do it. With the departure of Anza, Rivera suddenly changed his mind about setting up the establishments at San Francisco, spurred on, no doubt, by the further peremptory orders of the viceroy, received at about that time. He therefore sent word from San Diego, whither he had gone, for Moraga to proceed to San Francis co and erect a fort. Moraga got together his families of soldier-settlers, and, accompanied by Fathers Palou and 314 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Camb6n, marched to San Francisco, arriving on June 27. Only a few days later there occurred, on the opposite coast of North America, tbe first "Fourth of July" in United States history, when national independence was proclaimed. At the same time, Moraga and his men, quietly preparing their habitations, were taking an all-important step in the eventual acquisition of the Pacific coast by the descendants of the embattled farmers of the thirteen Atlantic colonies. On September 17 the presidio was formally dedicated, and on October 9 there was another solemn function, signal izing the founding of the mission San Francisco de Ask In January 1777 the second mission was established, this time at Santa Clara, near the present city of San Jose. Thus had the great port been occupied, and the vitally needed settlers, with their equally needed herds of domestic animals, were now in Alta California to stay. For the first time it was possible to say that the province had been placed upon a permanent basis. There was no longer any likelihood that it would be abandoned and left open for another power. Two men had contributed more than any others to bring this about. One of them was the gallant ex-captain of Tubac. "As the successful leader of the first party of settlers to the coast," says a recent historian, "Anza's position is unique. Only a man of splendid ability and courage, and sublime self-confidence, could have sustained the fainting hearts of the timid women and children, encouraged them to endure the privations of the desert, or to face the terrors they thought they saw in the snow-covered summits of the San Jacinto Mountains, and the still greater ter rors their fancies pictured in the far northern country to which they were going. .We may find here and there a figure among the half-forgotten heroes who led their straggling immigrants across the plains and through the mountains after 1842, that deserves to rank with him, but we shall look in vain for any in the Spanish history of the coast, unless we turn back to that of Juan Rodri guez Cabrillo with his broken arm, holding his scurvy-stricken sailors to the work of examining the wintry coast southward from Cape Mendocino to his grave in the Santa Barbara Islands, and with his latest breath admonishing his successor not to give up the work." THE FOUNDING OF SAN FRANCISCO 315 Yet, back of Anza was that other great figure, Antonio Bucareli. The Anza expeditions had formed only the most important links in tbe chain of the viceroy's plans. He con templated yet other action which would have developed Alta California still further and might have saved it for Hispanic America, though not for Spain, as surely as his achievements down to 1776 had prevented its eventual con quest by England. Fortunately for the United States, his hand was removed from the control of frontier affairs late in 1776, just when he was ready to go ahead. Thus the year 1776 marked the culminating point in the Spanish conquest of Alta California. It remains to explain just why the oppor tunity created by Bucareli was lost. CHAPTER XXV THE COMMANDANCY GENERAL OF THE FRONTIER PROVINCES By 1776 the northwest coasts had been explored, Alta California placed on a permanent (though not very strong) basis by the success of Anza's second expedition and the founding of San Francisco, the Colorado-Gila region had become well known, Sinaloa had achieved a well-settled state, and Sonora seemed likely soon to do so. In that year, too, expeditions of Father Garces and of Fathers Domfnguez and V61ez de Escalante had contributed, negatively at least, to the solution of Spain's problems in northwestward con quest. Garces had accompanied Anza to the junction of the Colorado and Gila, where he was to prepare the Yumas and other Indians in neighboring districts for the coming of missionaries and subjection to the Spanish crown. The first project of this indefatigable explorer was to visit the Indian tribes of the lower Colorado. This he did, descending the river to its mouth. Returning to the junction, he soon started north, up the Colorado, accompanied as usual by the Indian Tarabal. It then occurred to him that he might possibly find a better route to Monterey than the one across the Colorado Desert, but, being unable to procure guides, he struck off instead toward San Gabriel. Going along the Mojave River and through Cajon Pass, he was the first white man to traverse the route now followed by the Santa Fe Railroad. He remained at San Gabriel from March 24 to April 9, 1776, when he made a fresh attempt to reach Monterey by an interior route. Proceeding through Tejon Pass to the vicinity of Bakersfield, he went on nearly to Tulare Lake. Here he turned back, and made for the Colo- 316 COMMANDANCY GENERAL OF FRONTIER PROVINCES 317 rado at the point where he had left it, going probably through Tehachapi Pass. Once again he was blazing the trail for the Santa Fe, but he did not stop at the Colorado. Instead, he resolved to attempt another of his favorite pro jects, — to reach Moqui from the west. By July 2 the tireless explorer had accompbshed his object. As others had reached Moqui from the New Mexico side, this proved the existence of a route from Santa Fe to Monterey. Clearly, however, the route was too long and difficult to compete in usefulness with the one Anza had discovered. Retracing his steps, Garces reached his mission of Bac on September 17. At about the same time, Francisco Dominguez and Sil- vestre Velez de Escalante, two Franciscans of New Mexico, headed a party which went -northwest from Santa Fe in the hope of finding the much desired better route to Monterey. Leaving on July 29, 1776, they at length reached northern Utah, whence they turned northwest. Finding no indica tions of a route or no tradition of one among the natives, they returned to Santa Fe, arriving on January 2, 1777. Unquestionably, therefore, the Spanish line of effort lay along the Anza route, and centred strategically at the junc tion of the two great rivers, though some hopes were stib entertained that a good route might be found from Santa Fe. The route from Sonora to the Alta California coast had its share of geographical difficulties, including the Colorado Desert, but Anza had amply proved that they were not insurmountable. By far the most serious obstacle was the Colorado River, the passage of which was inextricably inter woven with what was, after all, the principal consideration in Spanish journeyings between Sonora and Alta California, — the relations of the Spaniards with the Yumas. Anza's search for a ford in 1775 has already been related. Tbe problem of the Colorado was even better illustrated by the incidents occurring at the time of his return in 1776. This time he got to the river in June, when the Colorado is high and swift. Though he now had but ten soldiers with him, with few effects, it took him two full days and parts of two others to get across, despite the fact that he had rafts at his 318 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA disposal and the assistance of several hundred expert Yuma swimmers. Commenting upon this, Anza wrote in his official diary : "On another occasion I have said that if the peoples who dwell along this great river are attached to us we shall effect its passage without excessive labor, and that if they are not, it will be almost impossible to do so." Thus Anza, if indeed he continued to overestimate the con stancy of Yuma friendship, made it perfectly clear that a good disposition of the Yumas toward the Spaniards was a prerequisite to any effective use of the route. Bucareli grasped this fact, and probably understood the Indian situa tion better than Anza himself. There was need for haste before the ardor of the Yumas should cool. In season and out, Father Garces had been recommending the establishment of presidios and missions not only at the junction of the Colorado and Gila, but also at various other sites along the Gila. In March 1775, in conjunction with Father Diaz, he prepared a long memorial in favor of his plan, pointing out that it could be put into effect at slight cost through a judicious shifting of presidial forces. Among the advantages, in addition to the temporal and spiritual conquest of the Gila country, were the prospects afforded of providing an effective defence on the Sonora frontier against the Apaches, protecting the Anza route to Monterey, and developing a base for the discovery of new routes to both Alta California and New Mexico. Hugo Oconor, commandant-inspector and virtual ruler, under Bucareli, of the entire frontier, favored the project, and recom mended the adoption of Garces' suggestion to suppress the presidios of Horcasitas and Buenavista in southern Sonora, where at the time there was little to do, and transfer them to the Gila and Colorado. Other leading officials gave similar opinions, and Bucareli himseff was impressed by the plan. He therefore procured authority from Spain to go ahead with it at the proper season, but meanwhile awaited the outcome of the second Anza^expedition. [COMMANDANCY GENERAL OF FRONTIER PROVINCES 319 Upon his return from Alta California in 1776, Anza pro ceeded to Mexico City, taking with him Salvador Palma and several other Yuma chieftains. During their stay atjvthe capital, many attentions and honors were heaped upon these savages from the north, and they in turn begged earnestly for the establishment of missions among them. This was the time, if any, to strike! The imperative necessity was well expressed by Father Garces. "I am of the opinion," he said, "that if^the "matter of missions on the Gila and Colorado is allowed to cool . . . there is danger that all will be lost and that the Yumas may be the first to enter a league." Bucareli was prepared to act at once, for he held the same views, and expressed himself to that effect on various oc casions. Just at tbe vital moment, bis hand was withstaid, for late in 1776 the new government of the frontier provinces was created apart from the viceroyalty and independent of his control. In January 1776 Juban de Arriaga died, and his place as Minister General of the Indies was shortly afterward granted to Jose" de Galvez, now become Marques de Sonora. Galvez set about at once to erect the commandancy-general of the frontier provinces which be himself had planned in 1768. The entire frontier, including the salients of the Californias, New Mexico, and Texas, was comprised in the new govern ment, which was to be independent of the viceroy. As might have been expected of Galvez, the whole document estab lishing this change displayed marked interest in the Cali fornias, of the strategical importance of which the Minister General was fully aware; indeed, a continuance of the north westward advance was almost the basic idea of the docu ment. The capital was to be at Arispe, Sonora, because that post lay midway between Nueva Vizcaya and the Califor nias, though far to the west of the geographical centre of the new commandancy. The preservation, development, and advancement of Alta California were specifically alluded to as important "in the service of God and of the king," wherefore the commandant-general was ordered to visit 320 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA that province as soon as possible and to secure its bne of communications with Sonora. Orders were also given to send more settlers and cattle there and anything else that might be needed to aid in its development and protection. It is worthy of comment that the Pacific province alone received extended notice in the royal decree. Whole paragraphs dealt with Alta California, while not a bne referred exclu sively to Nueva Vizcaya and the provinces of the east. Furthermore, in later decrees, Galvez repeatedly ordered the commandant-general to give his attention to the Californias. Of such a tenor was his letter of March 6, 1779, in which he said: "His Majesty . . . orders me to reiterate to Your Excellency the charge that you view those establishments [the Californias, but more particularly Alta California] with the preference and attention which their importance merits." Since San Bias lay well within the viceroyalty, Galvez called upon Bucareli to continue bis handbng of the supply-ships, for the Minister General realized that then services to the Californias could not yet be dispensed with. The decree just described was dated August 22, 1776, but it was not until the following January that it was possible to put it into effect. The plan itself was commendable and in bne with the needs of the situation, but it necessarily meant the postponement of action which Bucareb was about to take, since he no longer had jurisdiction. All would have been well if Galvez had made a wise selection for the post of commandant-general. He chose to appoint one of his own satelbtes, who neither at the time nor thereafter grasped the importance of the movement which Galvez himself had started and Bucareb carried on. The full effect of then- efforts was to be lost through the mistakes of Gaivez's appointee. Teodoro de Croix, the first commandant-general, was a nephew of the Marques de Croix, the former viceroy. He had been employed by Galvez during tbe latter's residence in New Spain, and seems to have displayed some ability COMMANDANCY GENERAL OF FRONTIER PROVINCES 321 in his capacity as a subordinate carrying out specific orders. His competence was to show forth in somewhat similar fashion in his management of the frontier. The affairs of Texas, which province he visited in person at the outset of his administration, he took care of with considerable skill. In later life, too, he seems to have been a moderately suc cessful viceroy of Peru — at a time when there were few grave problems to solve. Nevertheless, there seems to be little if any reason to modify the following characterization made of him in a recent work. "Serious-minded and industrious} he certainly was, as is attested by the many voluminous, well-ordered reports that he made on the state of the frontier provinces, and also by the very tone of his letters. As a first assistant to somebody else, or even as ruler in a realm where there were no serious difficulties to encounter, he would have been a marked success, but as a leader in the frontier provinces of New Spain he lacked the broad vision to compass the whole range of his duties. While working hard to settle some one problem, he was apt to let the others take care of themselves, or try to have somebody else handle them, certainly as regards matters affecting northwestward advance. In fine, Croix was a hard-working, painstaking, well-meaning, but rather stupid man." Far from observing Gaivez's commands to visit Sonora and Alta California as soon as he could, Croix devoted him self to other things. Reaching Mexico City in January 1777, he remained there until August, getting information about his new government and forming his plans. As might have been expected from a man of his calibre he felt it in cumbent upon him to devise something which would differ entiate his policies from those of Hugo Oconor and tbe viceroy. The former prepared a long report for Croix, in 245 paragraphs, giving an account of his own work as com mandant-inspector since bis appointment in 1771, and making a number of general recommendations. In particular he urged that the presidios of Horcasitas and Buenavista be transferred to the Colorado and Gila rivers, as Bucareb had ordered, and that the route to Alta California be kept open. He also made suggestions about fighting the Apaches 322 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA which showed his own understanding of the unity of the frontier. Croix paid small heed to this advice. With the removal of a strong guiding hand from frontier affairs, Indian uprisings began to occur in Sonora, during Croix's long residence in Mexico City, though they were by no means of more serious character than Oconor and Bucareli had been wont to cope with successfully. Croix at once cast into the discard the plans looking toward securing the northwestward conquest. The removal of the two presidios to the Gila and Colorado rivers was abandoned, entaibng also a postponement in establishing the missions for which the Yumas were clamor ing. Anza, who had been appointed governor of New Mexico with a view to the exploration of new routes to Monterey, was detained by Croix and sent to Sonora to suppress the Seris. Furthermore, Croix made impossible demands on Bucareli ifor two thousand troops, and, failing that, for the means with which to raise a thousand. His own tendency to dodge responsibibty appears in one of his letters to Galvez in which he said that he certainly was not going to Sonora until he could have soldiers enough to overcome the evils from which that province was suffering. Yet, he said, he regarded the affairs of Sonora as his most important con sideration, but precisely on that account he was going to Coahuila and Texas first! His explanation that this would permit of his remaining in Sonora, once he arrived there, sounds rather lame in the light of his harrowing description of the existing situation. Not only did Bucareb have no authority to grant Croix such reinforcements as he asked for, but it was incompre hensible that the commandant-general should have expected them. The total number of troops then in the frontier provinces was only about two thousand, and the addition of even a few hundreds would have been matter for debate by the authorities in Spain, owing to the increase in expense it would involve. Bucareli did give Croix two companies of cavalry, but declined to grant him any more. Croix there upon complained to Galvez, but tbe Minister General in- COMMANDANCY GENERAL OF FRONTIER PROVINCES 323 evitably sustained the viceroy. When Croix should obtain personal knowledge of the state of the frontier provinces, Galvez wrote to him, the king would determine how many soldiers were necessary. The implied rebuke struck home, and the question of reinforcements was dropped. In August 1777 Croix at length left Mexico City. Going by way of Quer6taro and Durango, he proceeded to Coahuila and Texas. By March 1778 he had recrossed the Rio Grande and reached Chihuahua in Nueva Vizcaya. There or in that vicinity he remained for more than a year and a half. Not until November 1779 did he reach Sonora, and he never visited the Californias or even the region of the Gila and Colorado. Not only had he failed to carry out Gaivez's orders, but he had also become absorbed in the affairs of the northeastern frontier, which alone he knew, giving at tention to the west so far as it bore upon the problem of Apache wars, but not much otherwise. Meanwhile, what of Sonora, the Californias, and the security of the Anza route? Sonora itself had suffered little if at all from Croix's neglect. Anza reached Horcasitas in May 1777, and handled the situation with his customary energy and ability. He found the Seris in rebellion and several other tribes on the verge of revolt. He put down the Seris, and then the others decided to keep the peace. Apache incursions still took place, but be had not been expected to overcome that perennial evil. It is worthy of note — in the light of Croix's later bad treatment of Anza — that the commandant-general referred to Anza's work in terms of the highest praise. In March 1778 the internal difficulties of Sonora were suffici ently well in hand so that Anza was able to join Croix at Chihuahua, whence he proceeded to his government in New Mexico. Arrived in New Mexico he inflicted a decisive defeat on the Comanches, the most troublesome Indians of that province. In this battle, which occurred in 1779, the Co manche chieftain was killed. He was given no opportunity, however, to carry on the discoveries toward Alta California which Bucareli had intended he should make. 324 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA The Californias suffered irreparable harm through Croix's failure to make use of the Anza route, but in other respects the local situation was well handled, in spite of Croix's neglect. As already mentioned, Bucareli had given orders, late in 1776, providing for the needs of Alta California. Fortunately, too, there was a man on the ground who was able to carry out the viceroy's plans and to act on his own initiative when occasion called. This was Felipe de Neve, greatest of the Spanish governors of Alta California. As he came to the province from Baja California be was able to inspect most of the territory under his command on his way to Monterey, which he reached in February 1777. He soon made a trip to San Francisco, and thus at the outset acquired personal information of the whole range of his government. Having satisfied himself as to the needs of the province, he lost no time in communicating his views to Bucareli, for he had not yet heard of the establishment of the commandancy-general. Prior to Neve's arrival the mission of San Juan Capistrano had been founded, in November 1776, and that of Santa Clara in January 1777. Neve proposed the addition of three more missions along the Santa Barbara Channel, together with a presidio. He also wished to form civilian settlements {pueblos) on the Santa Ana, San Gabriel, and Guadalupe rivers and to increase the forces at San Diego, Monterey, and San Francisco. For these purposes he wanted fifty-seven fully equipped soldiers, who should be recruited in Sinaloa and should bring their families with them, and sixty famihes of laborers, including artisans of various kinds. He also went into detail as to the equipment these recruits should have and the number and kinds of domestic animals (to be procured in Sonora) that it would be desirable to send with them. Upon receipt of Neve's suggestions, together with letters from Rivera and Serra, Bucareli sent the correspondence to Croix. Croix was at that time preparing to leave Mexico City for the north, and so returned the file to Bucareli with a request that he attend to the matter. This called forth a COMMANDANCY GENERAL OF FRONTIER PROVINCES 325 noteworthy reply from the viceroy, dated August 27, 1777. It was not in the power of^either Croix^r himself, he re minded the former, to change royal orders at will. Hence, since the Californias were in Croix's jurisdiction, he was sending back the papers. He went on, however, to give Croix information about the Californias and to tell him what he himself would do, if still in charge. Neve's suggestions should be adopted, even though they involved additional troops and more expense, for these matters, in Bucareli's opinion, should take precedence of others in Croix's juris-r diction. There should be additional missions, too, in both Californias and along the Colorado and Gila rivers, so that there might be no gaps in the chain of communication with Sonora. Thus did Bucareb reiterate the opinions he had long held about the importance of the Californias and the Anza route. Had the matter lain within his jurisdiction he would, almost certainly, already have taken the action which he now recommended to Croix, but under the circumstances he was powerless to do anything. His zeal for tbe royal service and his magnanimity were also most creditably displayed in the advice that he gave and in the courteous manner that he offered it. Unwilling to take immediate action on Bucareli's sug gestions, Croix referred the matter to three Sonora officers, and then hied himself off to Texas. Not until September 1778 did he get around to consider Neve's proposals again. In a letter to Galvez about the matter he was petulant and lacking in sympathy with the subject. He complained of Bucareli's refusal to handle the Californias for him, but did not account for his own failure to adopt the suggestions of the viceroy. Anyway, he said, the more he read about the Californias, the greater was his own confusion of mind with respect to then affairs. Nevertheless, he had decided to approve Neve's projects, but would wait until he got to Sonora before attending to them. So here was another matter that Croix had put off. But Felipe de Neve was not a man to do nothing while awaiting 326 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA official authorization. So far as his resources would permit, he proceeded to put into effect the measures he deemed important. Croix's one merit in the management of the Cabfornias lay in the fact that he approved anything that the governor actually got done. In November 1777 Neve founded a settlement on the Guadalupe. Acting on his own initiative, without any mandate from Croix, he took fifteen families from Monterey and San Francisco, and made a beginning of the pueblo which has since developed into the city of San Jose. He also started in to prepare a new regU- mento for the Californias, basing his action on an order issued to Bucareli several years before by Julian de Arriaga. In a long report to Croix, Neve pointed out that Alta California soldiers were in fact receiving only forty per cent of the salary theoretically allotted them. Furthermore, tbey were being paid wholly in clothing, effects, and provisions at an advance, to abow for costs of carriage, of 150 per cent be yond the prices charged in Mexico City. Thus they were getting some sixteen per cent of what their full salary would have purchased in tbe capital of the viceroyalty. The situa tion was rendered yet worse because the execution of the existing reglamento was even more defective than the law itself. Naturally, service in the province was not popular; indeed, it was asking a great deal of these men merely to live in this far distant locabty, away from the activities to which they had been accustomed in the regions from which they had come. Neve urged that his troops be given the same pay as the soldiers of other frontier provinces and that some of it be in cash. Under those circumstances, he be lieved, the men would be contented, and others could be induced to come. Neve's memorial making these and indeed many other suggestions crossed a letter from Croix asking him to draw up a reglamento. The governor therefore prepared the famous document which is usually called by his name, completing it on June 1, 1779. In this he embodied tbe provisions of his earlier memorial to Croix, and in his remitting letter an nounced, characteristically, that he was putting his regh- COMMANDANCY GENERAL OF FRONTIER PROVINCES 327 mento immediately into effect, subject to such later changes as Croix might make. The Neve instrument was eventuaby approved, and was henceforth employed, together with the earber documents already mentioned, as the administrative basis for the government of the province during the re mainder of the Spanish era. Meanwhile, Bucareb's influence had not been entirely removed from the Californias and San Bias. In 1776, prior to the estabbshment of the commandancy-general and before Bucareb seems to have known that it was contemplated, news came from Spain of Engbsh preparations to send out Captain James Cook on the third of his now well-known voyages to the Pacific. According to Spanish information he was planning to visit the Californias with a view to opening up trade relations, and was intent also on tbe dis covery of a sea route between tbe Atlantic and tbe Pacific by what the English cabed the "Northwest Passage," making an attempt for the first time, so far as the Engbsh were concerned, to accomplish this aim by sabing from west to east. Tbe viceroy was ordered to take such precautions as might cause Cook to fail. Bucareb's reply, dated June 26, 1776, is one of tbe most important documents in the history of Spain's efforts along the northwest coast. It is also almost identical in spirit with his already mentioned letter of July 1773, 1 notably in its lack of alarm, if also in its readiness, nevertheless, to take appropriate action. The remarkable activities of the viceroy against possible foreign danger since 1773 have already been indicated. In ab probabibty he would have displayed a like energy and re sourcefulness to forestall this new peril; almost surely he would have strengthened the Californias by developing the land route thereto, but under the circumstances he had no authority to do so. By special enactment of the decree providing for the commandancy-general, the management of the supply-ships had been left within the jurisdiction of the viceroy. This difficult problem Bucareb continued to handle with success 'Seep. 272. 328 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA during the remainder of his term. He was also ordered to take charge of a fresh series of voyages to the northwest coast. Overcoming such handicaps as those already men tioned in dealing with the affairs of San Bias, he equipped two ships, which set sail from San Bias in February 1779. Ignacio Arteaga and Juan de la Bodega, in command of these vessels, made a careful exploration of the Alaska coast, and found neither Russians nor Englishmen, though there was in fact a Russian settlement on Kadiak Island which they barely missed. Upon their return a royal order was issued, in 1780, calling for a discontinuance of such voyages. Meanwhile, the great viceroy, Antonio Bucareli, had answered the last call. On April 9, 1779, after fourteen years of service in the colonies, he died, still in harness and far away from his beloved Spain, to which for many years he had wished in vain to return. To the end, his career had been one of solid achievement with respect to those matters that had been left in his charge. For the Californias he had been unable to do much after 1776, but be had already ac complished enough to entitle himself to lasting remembrance on the part of Californians. He had saved Alta California from abandonment, and in so doing, quite unknown to him self to be sure, had preserved that province and the Pacific coast for the ultimate occupation of the United States. The inevitable further result of his policies, if he had been empowered to carry them out to the full, would have been to keep Alta California at least for the peoples of Hispanic race. Thus it is, that if he helped the United States at (very likely) the expense of England, he was in no wise at fault before his own people for the failure to add yet another great area to the future domination j)f repubbcan Hispanic America. Mexicans remember Bucareli, not indeed for his exploits in connection with Alta California, but for his high character and his achievements affecting regions now within the area of the southern republic. An important thoroughfare in the Mexican capital bears bis name. Of far greater consequence is the fact that he was buried in the sacred church of Gua- COMMANDANCY GENERAL OF FRONTIER PROVINCES 329 dalupe, where he has a tablet commemorating his work. This place is to Mexicans all that Mecca is to Mohammedans, or Jerusalem to Christians in general. As many as 100,000 pilgrims have been known to visit it on a single day. In this great shrine, which associates itself with Mexican nationalism, — with the Indians who resisted Cortes and the patriots who at length won independence, — the grave of Bucareb is the sole reminder of Spanish domination. Truly the memory of Bucareli "will never be erased from the heart of Mexicans." Thus has one of the greatest and best of tbe viceroys found a worthy resting-place. And to Californians the church of Guadalupe should have a new significance. CHAPTER XXVI THE YUMA MASSACRE Teodoro de Croix's neglect to go ahead with the project for establishing settlements on the Gila and Colorado which Bucareli had planned is not to be ascribed to indo lence; most of all it was due to an imperfect understanding of the situation, wherefore he was more impressed by another plan of his own devising. He felt that it would be quite a feather in his cap if he could bring an end to the Indian wars and in particular reduce the Apaches. Therefore he proposed to inaugurate a general campaign, making use of friendly Indians, as well as all available Spanish soldiery, in the achievement of his ends. In the light of this grandiose scheme the smaller undertakings which Bucareli had favored were either lost sight of by the commandant- general or else reduced to insignificant proportions. Croix's policy was to be yet another instance of the old, old story of the man who is dazzled by the brilliancy of his own con ceptions, but who misses essential details, and leaves behind him a record of failure. As early as July 1777, Croix dropped the plan for settle ments along the two rivers, and decided instead merely to send Garces and another religious to the Yumas. That, he believed, would be enough for the time being, since Chief Palma and the Yuma fighting men would have to join in Croix's general campaign against the Apaches. Furthermore, he felt that it would be a waste of money to found missions along the Gila, since the warriors would be absent and the old men, women, and children (who would alone remain during the course of the war) would be little inchned to conversion. No precise date was set when Garc6s should 330 THE YUMA MASSACRE 331 found the proposed mission among the Yumas; indeed, it was several years before Croix got around to give the matter a modicum of his attention. When at length he did interest himseff, be seemed to be more concerned with making a record for economy than with the security of the settlements themselves. Meanwhile, Croix failed to grasp the significance of a principle which he himself had subscribed to, when it was expressed to him by Father Juan Morfi, one of his principal advisers. In making an argument against such undertakings as the Domfnguez-Velez de Escalante expedition Morfi had pointed out that missionaries were accustomed to teU the Indians of the wealth of the king and to make offers of Spanish friendship; the Indians could not comprehend the descriptions of Spanish cities, since they had never seen any, and when nothing came of the promised gifts and friendship, they were apt to bethink themselves of tbe ragged, half-starved missionaries who had told them these tales, and serious consequences were likely to occur. Neither Croix nor Morfi seems to have appbed this generalization of the latter to the case of the Yumas, though it exactly fitted the facts. The Yumas could not understand the long delay in sending them missionaries. To then simple, childlike minds, the introduction of Christianity meant gifts of trinkets and tobacco, such as they had received from Anza, and they were at first disappointed and later resentful when the ex pected boon did not come. Chief Palma, the Spaniards' friend, began to lose influence among them, and repeatedly requested the authorities in Sonora to hasten the plans for the missions; in 1778 he himself went twice to the presidio of Altar to urge tbe matter. It was as a result of Palma's sobcitations that Croix, who had not yet reached Sonora, decided at length, in 1779, to act. In February he issued orders for Garces and another missionary to go to the junction and estabbsh a mission among tbe Yumas. Garces requested a military escort of at least twelve soldiers, who should be married men and should 332 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA take along then wives, thus reducing the likelihood of trouble with the Yumas through the rough attentions which other wise the soldiers would pay the Indian women. Garcfe also emphasized the importance of providing a liberal quantity of gifts for the Yumas, of non-interference with their lands and crops, and of sending a number of well supplied and well equipped permanent settlers. The governor of Sonora acceded in principle to most of Garces' requests, but would not permit the soldiers' wives to go (lest the Indian men covet them), and left it to Croix to decide about the set tlers. Moreover, he in any event had scant funds at his disposal, even for the small party which was to accompany Garces at the outset. Croix presently changed his mind, and sent orders to hold back the expedition.. Before they were received in Sonora, however, Garces had already de parted. In May the sum of 2000 pesos had been advanced to Father Juan Diaz, who had been selected to accompany Garces. With the purchase of presents for the Indians, mules, and certain necessary equipment this fund was soon exhausted. In August the two friars and their little army of twelve men started, intending to go by way of Papagueria to the junction. The rainfall that year had been so slight that the route proved unusually difficult. Garc6s decided, therefore, to take two soldiers and push on, leaving the rest of his force at Sonoita. In due time he reached the junction, but arrived with his provisions very nearly exhausted and without the supply of gifts for the chiefs which was almost a prerequisite to the estabbshment of friendly relations. As it was the season for planting, the Yumas were much scattered, so that in any event he could not proceed with the establishment of the mission. In letters of September 2 to Governor Corbalan and to Croix he pointed out his wretched plight, and asked for a grant of 300 pesos, to be devoted prin cipally to gifts for the Indians, such as beads, shoes, and cloth. This was essential to success. Funds were also abso lutely required for the building of houses and payment of interpreters. THE YUMA MASSACRE 333 A month later, on October 2, Diaz came up with the rest of the soldiers. By this time Garces had gained a clear under standing of the difficulties of his situation. The Yumas did indeed want to be converted, but it was only because they befieved it meant all manner of presents for them from the Spaniards. Other tribes in the vicinity were equally clamor ous for that type of material Christianity, and were not a little jealous of the preference shown to the Yumas. To bring the Yumas in truth under the dominion of the church was going to be a much harder task than it had seemed in the days of the Anza expedition. Garc6s now realized, too, that Chief Palma had no real authority over the Yumas. He was only one of the many chiefs, and neither he nor any of the others had any power except in so far as the Indians wished to obey them. To add to Garces' difficulties he found that the Yumas were eager to go to war with their neigh bors. It required all the arts of persuasion in the gift of Chief Palma to keep them from doing so; the conflict was avoided, but the desire for it remained. Garces now felt that it would be impossible to maintain the Spanish settle ment as it then was. Writing to Croix in November he urged that a second mission be founded and more settlers sent. He also pointed out the need for establishments among other tribes, so that the Spaniards at the junction might have recourse to them in case of danger. In particular he favored the founding of missions along the Gila, supported by a strong military escort to ward off the Apaches, since the Gila route was much better than the one through Papa gueria. With the addition of more troops, carefully se lected from the standpoint of good character, and the grant of some further financial aid, all would turn out well, as tbe land itself was suitable for grazing and agri culture. GarceY situation at the junction grew steadily worse. Corbalan refused him the 300 pesos he had asked for, without which Garces was unable to make a decent pretence of effective missionary work. Garces and Diaz agreed therefore that the latter should go to Sonora to explain in person to 334 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA the commandant-general the critical condition of the settle ment. Yet the spirit of Garces was as strong as ever. In a letter of December 27 to Croix he rejoiced that the decision to suspend the Colorado-Gila establishment had not reached Sonora in time. The greater part of the next year was to pass, before the aid which Garces had requested was to reach the junction. How the intrepid friar and his small body of soldiery held on is a mystery, but hold on they did. Garces certainly was not going to risk the failure of a project to which he had devoted the best years of his life. Father Diaz reached Arispe in February 1780, and pre sented his petitions to Croix, who had by this time estab lished his residence there. In the course of a month they reached an agreement as to what should be done; indeed, Croix accepted the plan which Diaz proposed in substantially the form that the latter presented it. Oconor and Bucareli had wished to transfer the presidios of Horcasitas and Buenavista to the Gila and Colorado, but Croix felt that they could not be dispensed with at then existing locations. Instead of building two new presidios, he adopted Diaz's suggestion for a much cheaper type of establishment, and boasted to Galvez of the greater economy of his plan as compared with that of Bucareli. Two settlements were to be founded at the junction, each of which was to combine the features of mission, presidio, and civilian town in one. One settlement was to have eleven soldiers, and the other ten, while four religious and thirty-two civilians (including artisans and interpreters) were to be evenly divided between the two. Married soldiers were to be selected, and it was agreed that then wives should accompany them. Croix had intended that the tem- porabties, or material wealth, of the missions should be administered by the commandant, but Diaz objected, hold ing that they provided a fund which was essential to the success of missionary work. Diaz urged, however, that a special grant of 200 pesos a year should be made to the friars, asserting that that would be even better than their THE YUMA MASSACRE 335 retention of the temporalities. Croix readily consented, and the provision for the 200 peso grant formed part of the decree of March 7, 1780, which ordered the Diaz plan, just described, to be put into effect. Furthermore, Croix wrote to Galvez that he intended also to secure the Gila route by founding a presidio at the junction of the Gila and San Pedro. The resounding failure which was to be the fate of the settlements at the junction has been ascribed to Croix because of tbe so-called "mongrel" type of establishment that he founded — something that was not mission, presidio, or pueblo, but a conglomerate of all — and because he took away from the friars the management of the temporalities. It is fitting to observe that there is an element of unfair ness in these charges. It would seem that Croix's action, as of the time that he took it, was altogether appropriate. He did little more than approve the recommendations of Father Diaz, who had long been an adherent of GarceV views and was thoroughly competent to represent him. Indeed, it could not have been foreseen at the time that the settlements would fail. Contrary to what has so often been written, it was not the first time that similar estabbshments had been made in the Spanish colonies, and the expedient had been reasonably successful. If the wrong basis for imputing the Yuma disaster to Croix has been taken, he nevertheless deserves overwhelmingly to be held to account. The real criticisms that should be applied to him are that his delay in facing the problem had resulted in the loss of the moment when the Yumas were most kindly disposed and that by his failure to understand the situation when once he had undertaken the establishments, as witness his often expressed pride in the economies of his plan, he not only did not ward off impending evil but rather promoted it. Nowhere is Croix's failure to grasp the idea of the north westward advance more clearly shown forth than in three monumental memorials which he prepared, dated as of the years 1780, 1781, and 1782, though the last was in fact ready before news came to the commandant-general of the 336 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Yuma massacre in 1781. x In all, the keynote was the war against the Apaches. Sonora received considerable space, but more especially with reference to the Apaches in the northeast, and to a lesser extent on account of the Seris. Each of these documents was intensely local in its point of view. There was not a word in them about the larger pro jects which had engaged the attention of Galvez and Bucareli, — not a word about foreign aggressions along the Pacific coast, at a time too when they had become a fact. The Cali fornias were not even discussed in two of them, and received a meagre and purely local attention in the other. On the very eve of the Yuma massacre, Croix was still priding him self on the savings he was effecting by not placing a presidio at the junction of the rivers. In fine, if these documents (which are extraordinarily valuable to the historian for the affairs of the frontier provinces) are a tribute to Croix's painstaking thoroughness on the one hand, they are indis putable proofs of his exceeding narrowness of vision on the other. Meanwhile the two colonies on the Colorado had been founded in the fall of 1780 on the Alta California side of the river. One of them, Purisima Concepci6n, was set up near the junction, while the other, San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuner, was a little farther down. Trouble with the Yumas began almost at once. The enthusiasm which the natives had felt for the transient, gift-bearing Spaniards of Anza's day had long since left them. In addition, the Spaniards who now came among them to live were not slow in proving that they were not entitled to any halo. For example, they paid small heed to the rights of the Yumas in alloting lands, and then cattle ruined the native crops. When the provi sions of the settlers became exhausted, the Yumas demanded exorbitant prices to supply them with more, which in turn enraged the Spaniards. The Yuma chiefs now began to plot in secret against the colonists. Even Chief Palma, who had for so long been a staunch friend of the Spaniards and 1 These memorials, as seen by the writer, contained respectively 248, 856, and 1000 pages. THE YUMA MASSACRE 337 owed much of his exalted prestige to then support, at last cast in his lot against them. In June 1781 the long-sought recruits for Alta California arrived from Sonora. There were forty families of them, in charge of Captain Rivera with an escort of some eleven or twelve soldiers. Here was to be enacted the last act in the life of the ex-governor of Alta California. True to type he appears to have been more or less incompetent to the end. He had not been at all liberal with gifts, — though it is not clear whether the fault was Rivera's in not presenting them, if he had them, or Croix's in not supplying them in the first place, — and his cattle destroyed the mesquite plants of the Yumas, thus fanning the flame of then discontent. The Yumas contained themselves until the forty families had departed, bound for the Alta California coast. Then the chiefs decided to act. Rivera and his escort had meanwhile recrossed the Colorado and encamped there, in order to strengthen their animals before proceeding on then way. They were still there when at last the long pent up wrath of the Yumas broke in full force against the Spaniards. On July 17, at about the same hour, the two settlements on the west bank were attacked in overwhelming force and destroyed. The two friars at Bicufier, one of whom was Father Diaz, and most of the men were put to death. The same thing occurred at Purisima Concepci6n, though Fathers Garces and Ba- rreneche were temporarily spared, only to meet the same fate as the others on the second day thereafter. The women and children at both places were held as captives. Rivera and his men, meanwhile, were just across the river, unaware, it would seem, of the dramatic happenings which were tak ing place almost before then* very eyes. On the day after the destruction of the settlements on the west bank, the Yumas fell upon the forces of Rivera, and killed them to the last man. One cannot help wondering whether t Rivera had taken proper precautions. At one stroke, more than thirty Spanish soldiers and four friars had been massacred, — a disaster of almost unprecedented propor- 338 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA tions in the history of Spain's conquest of the northern frontier. In the light of the tremendous consequences of the Yuma massacre that event itself and the immediate aftermath pale into insignificance. Punitive campaigns were planned, and several expeditions were made during 1781 and 1782. The survivors were ransomed, but not much else was accom plished. The saddest part of the whole affair was the blight which was put upon the career of that great explorer Juan Bautista de Anza, whom Croix made the scapegoat, though he himself was alone to blame. Ever since Croix'sjarrivaljn New Spain he had not tired of singing the praises of Anza. Anza in Sonora, Anza in Croix's councils at Chihuahua, Anza as governor of New Mexico, — always and under all circumstances he had received, as indeed he^had merited, the commandant-general's praise. His great victory over Cuerno Verde, the Comanche chief, has already been men tioned. He bad not, however, made the projected explora tion toward Monterey; indeed, Croix was not greatly in sympathy with the idea. He had nevertheless kept his^hand in as an explorer by an attempt, in 1780, to find adirect route between New Mexico and Sonora, though he had emerged opposite Janos in Nueva Vizcaya instead of at the the place he had intended. Now Croix suddenly discovered (?) that Anza was not the man he had claimed him to be. Indeed, he insisted that Garces and Anza had grossly exaggerated the facts in prais ing the Yumas and then lands. Since Garcfe bad met death in the massacre, Croix presently ceased to attack him, and confined his maledictions to Anza. The injustice of Croix's charges is apparent. Anza had stated that the route dis covered by him would be impracticable if the Yumas were hostile or even unfriendly, owing to the difficulty of crossing the Colorado in times of flood. Garces had repeatedly urged the founding of a presidio at the junction of the rivers, and so had Anza; one of Croix's long memorials quotes Anza to that effect. Bucareli, Oconor, and Galvez himself bad ad vised Croix to take immediate action toward securing the. THE YUMA MASSACRE 339 Alta California route. Croix alone was blameworthy because he had delayed too long, but he was not man enough to admit it. In January 1783 Croix called a junta of the leading officers then in Sonora to decide what action should be taken con cerning the settlements at the junction. At this meeting appeared Felipe de Neve, who had just come from Alta California by way of the Anza route. Like Anza, he too was in fact nearing the end of his career, but though he was to die at the height of his reputation he tarnished his fame before the bar of history by joining in the campaign against Anza. He condemned the Colorado country, saying it was a region of salt marshes and sand, with slight rainfall and scant pasture, — and this of a territory which now includes the Imperial Valley, one of the richest agricultural sections in the world! Neve, though fairly correct from a superficial standpoint, certainly erred in vision. The prevaibng opin ion of tbe junta was that the settlements at the junction served no useful purpose, since it would always be possible to use the route to Alta California if some thirty soldiers were sent along. As it would cause a heavy expenditure to restore tbe settlements, it was held best to abandon the idea. With this decision, made by Croix and his advisers on Jan uary 3, 1783, the Yuma disaster, which might otherwise have been a local event of small consequence, took its place in history as a factor of far-reaching importance, for the land route to Alta Claifornia had been, and was to remain, closed. Before discussing it further, it is well to turn again to Anza, whose career henceforth was an unbroken record of undeserved misfortunes. Hugo Oconor, who had quarreled with Croix from the moment of the latter's arrival as commandant-general, had prophecied the Yuma disaster at about the time when in fact it had already happened. When he heard of this, Croix made haste once more to exculpate himself. If Anza had not mis represented the country, he said, he himself would never have given orders for its occupatioin, and the massacre would therefore not have occurred. Even if true, which it 340 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA wasn't, this statement is in itself a condemnation of Croix in his failure to understand the problems of the Anza route. Croix was not long to remain on the scene, however. Late in 1783 he was promoted to be viceroy of Peru! Febpe de Neve now became commandant-general, and from the first displayed a venomous temper against Anza that is hard to account for, unless as the peevishness of an old campaigner, broken in health. It was the custom for Spanish officers to draw up an annual service sheet which at the same time gave an indication of then entire career. NeVe ordered Anza to omit stybng himself the discoverer of the route to Alta California, on tbe ground that that honor belonged to the Indian Tarabal! He also commanded him not to lay claim to the victory over Cuerno Verde, asserting that the credit really belonged to Azuela, Anza's subordinate in that fight! Furthermore, he quarreled with Anza over his handling of New Mexican affairs, and asked Galvez for his removal, stating that he was incompetent. Very bkely Croix was largely responsible for Neve's attitude. It is not probable that Neve ever read Anza's reports and diaries, which in fact represented the Colorado country with sub stantial correctness; rather, he listened to the. embittered Croix, eager to clear himself from blame and crying to the four winds of Heaven that Anza had misrepresented the situation to him. If Anza and Neve had been personally acquainted, the latter might better have judged his man, but the evidence of then annual service reports would tend to show that they had never met. Through all this misfortune Anza's conduct was ex emplary. As a subordinate he was not in a position to re sent Neve's insults. He met them, though, with a becoming dignity and clearness of explanation that would have con vinced anyone who was not predisposed to an opposite view. Felipe de Neve, who deserves to be remembered as Alta California's greatest Spanish governor and not as a crabbed commandant-general, soon passed away. At length one of Anza's old companions, Jacobo de Ugarte, became com mandant-general, and dared to come to Anza's defence. THE YUMA MASSACRE 341 He wrote to Galvez in 1786 that Neve's opinion of Anza's government of New Mexico had been founded on the incorrect reports of the latter's opponents and that Anza had in fact merited praise rather than removal. This was a courageous letter under the circumstances. Croix's failure had been a defeat for the former visitador, whose vindictive spleen has already been set forth; indeed, he had long since appointed a new governor of New Mexico, without in any way providing for Anza, who still re mained in New Mexico, awaiting the arrival of his suc cessor. Anza meanwhile petitioned for the governorship of a province in the viceroyalty, where he might pass the remainder of his days in freedom from hardships. Ugarte warmly espoused this petition, and Jose" Antonio Rengel, who had once been temporary commandant-general and then occupied one of the highest positions in the northern provinces, wrote across the document itself that he too en dorsed it. Yet again, in 1787, Ugarte wrote to Galvez on behalf of Anza, this time urging that he be made governor of Texas. The evidence is not yet complete as to the result of Ugarte's efforts, but it is probable that nothing came of them ; certainly Anza did not become governor of Texas, and no record has come to light showing him in possession of any other post. He seems to have remained in New Mexico until 1788, when at length his successor arrived. Thereupon Anza disappears from view. Thus did one of Alta California's most intrepid heroes pass into undeserved obscurity. The Yuma massacre did not undo the work of Bucareli, though it prevented it from coming to its fullest fruition. The great viceroy had saved the Spanish establishments in the north from failure, thus keeping that territory tem porarily in the hands of Spain and checking the designs of the English and Russians, more particularly the former, for getting a foothold on the Pacific coast. Croix's negligence in handling the situation, which was primarily responsible for the Colorado disaster, brought the great forward movement in the growth of Alta California to a standstill, thus making it inevitable that neither Spain nor Spanish America should 342 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA retain the province in the north and that it should one day pass into the keeping of the United States. The American people, if most surely they will admire the character and deeds of the great man who would have prevented their ultimate expansion to tbe Pacific coast, may well feel glad that the favoritism of Galvez brought forward Teodoro de Croix. Judged by results alone, Croix should be regarded as an American hero (!) of the first water. CHAPTER XXVII THE AFTERMATH It turned out that the events of July 17 and 18, 1781, settled the question of the development of Alta California under Spain, leaving the province to its own feeble efforts. The story may first be told how Spain came to accept this verdict; thereafter it will be possible to go back to the narra tive of local events. The principal impulse for the Spanish advance had sprung from a fear of foreign encroachments; indeed, tbe prospect of danger in the far northwest had been greater than the fact, but that had been enough to stir Galvez and Bucareli to action. Henceforth, the actual peril was to be greater than ever before; yet, Spain's efforts were in the inverse ratio, growing correspondingly less. It has already been pointed out that a fresh voyage to the north was made by Arteaga and Bodega in 1779, after which orders were received to discontinue these voyages in the future. Events soon caused the Spaniards once more to take cognizance of the northwest coast. When Captain James Cook picked up a cargo of furs there in 1778 a new force came to the fore to affect the situation; henceforth there was an economic reason for foreign visits. An Engbsh captain named Hanna was the first to follow up this phase of Cook's discoveries. Coming from China, he reached North America in 1785, and recrossed the Pacific with a shipload of furs. In the next three years a host of Engbshmen followed Hanna's lead. Meares, Tipping, Lowrie, Guise, Strange, Portlock, Dixon, Barclay, Duncan, Colnett, and Douglas were the leaders in these voyages; some of them came more than once. It was in 1788, too, that John Kendrick and Robert Gray, two 343 344 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA American commanders, came to tbe Pacific northwest, after a voyage of nearly a year from Boston by way of Cape Horn. Theirs was the first of a long series of voyages which were to make the "Boston ships," as the American vessels were called, [famous in the annals of Alta California and the Pacific coast. In 1786 a famous French voyage of explora tion, under the command of the Comte de Laperouse, passed down the coast to Alta California. Laperouse informed the Spanish authorities that the Russians had several estabfish- ments in the far northwest. It was this report that stirred the Spaniards to renewed activity. With advantages superior to those of any other power, especially because of her near-by base of supplies, Spain al most alone of the European and American peoples with in terests in the Pacific did not participate in tbe fur trade. TheUntendant of the Philippines, Ciriaco Gonzalez Carvajal, having heard of Hanna's voyage, recommended that the Spaniards should engage in the traffic, but the powerful Philippine Company threw cold water on Gonzalez's scheme and killed it. The reports of LaperoUse were too definite to be disregarded, however. So in 1788 the Princesa and San Carlos under Esteban Jose- Martinez and Gonzalo L6pez de Haro were sent to the north. This time the Russians were found ; Martinez and L6pez de Haro reported that they seemed bent on pushing as far south as Nootka Sound, off the west coast of what is now called Vancouver Island. Information was also received that the English had pretensions to that port. Consequently, Martinez was sent out again in 1789. He found some English vessels at Nootka, and seized them and then officers and crews. When the news reached England, public opinion was so inflamed that the British government threatened war. Spain at first stood her ground, and appealed to France under the terms of the Family Compact. The great Revolution was already in full swing in France, and the government was in the hands of the National Assembly. This body acknowledged its obligations under the Family Compact, but imposed condi tions to joining with Spain against England that the Span- THE AFTERMATH 345 ish authorities felt themselves unable to accept. As Spain could not hope to defeat England without French help, there was nothing to do but yield, as she had done twenty years before, to the English demands A treaty was signed in 1790 by which Spain agreed to the right of the English to trade and even make settlements north of the Spanish establishments in Alta California. English ships were also given permission to enter Spanish ports along that coast, though not to engage in commerce. This treaty was supple mented by later conventions of the next few years, the virtual effect of which was to leave the region north of San Francisco Bay open to whichever country should settle it first. The year 1790, when Spain suffered defeat in the Nootka Sound controversy, may be taken as one of the great dates in the history of Spanish colonization. It marks the begin ning of what may be termed the "defensive defensive," a defensive of a self-conscious, waiting kind, the inevitable outcome of which was defeat and disintegration. The new state of mind was well represented in a famous memorial of the Conde de Revilla Gigedo, viceroy of New Spain from 1789 to 1794 and son of the former viceroy of the same name. Revilla Gigedo prepared a voluminous report on the his tory of the Department of San Bias and the Californias (including the far northwest) since 1769. The keynote of the document was the vast expense involved in the northern conquests. He praised Bucareli for what he had accom plished, noting especially that he had been able to achieve a great deal despite a lack of sufficient funds. Nevertheless, Revilla Gigedo believed that henceforth all costly enter prises of conquest should be looked upon at least with scepticism and probably with disapproval. "From now on there ought ... to be [an end] of such projects as compel us to incur heavy expenses, even if they may be recom mended with the most positive assurances of advantageous results, for it is always understood that these results are to be in the future, whereas the expenditures have to come out in cash from a treasury that is full of urgent matters requiring attention and that is con stantly covering itself with considerable debts. Once its funds and those of the money-lenders are exhausted, the projects can- 346 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA not be sustained, their advantages will disappear, the return of the sums expended will be difficult, and perhaps it may be neces sary to add still greater outlays, with the almost self-evident risk of their being yet more fruitless. In the course of twenty-five years many millions of dollars have been consumed tin founding and maintaining the new establishments of Alta California, in repeated explorations of its northern coasts, in [works at] the Department of San Bias, and in the occupation of the port of Nootka. But if we engage in other yet more distant and ven turesome enterprises, there will be no funds left with which to sustain those that we have already taken upon ourselves." Thus did the viceroy announce himself as in favor of retain ing what Spain already had, but as opposed to following the policy in the future which had in former years brought about the occupation of Alta California. With a complacency that would have been strange indeed, twenty years before, he remarked that the Russians had settlements reaching south ward almost to Nootka, but Spain had too few troops and ships of war and too scant funds to dislodge them. He did show some anxiety over the English, being especially afraid lest they try to gain a foothold near the Spanish colonies, with the object of engaging in ilbcit trade. It might be well, he thought, to occupy Bodega Bay (a little north of San Francisco) and possibly the mouth of the Columbia. He was opposed, however, to extending the Spanish dominion to the northern coasts, and favored ceding Nootka to the English; the Spanish occupation of such distant localities could only lead to foreign complications, and would most certainly cause heavy expense. Clearly, the Spanish Empire was on the defensive. In deed, it did not even go so far as Revilla Gigedo had recom mended. A weak attempt was made to occupy Bodega Bay. It failed, and the project was permanently postponed. Nothing else of any consequence as against the Engbsh and Russian peril seems even to have been tried. J • The spirit of the Spanish Empire had changed, but there were a number of contributing factors as affecting the development of Alta California besides that of the dominant importance given to the need for economy, though they THE AFTERMATH 347 were of about the same order (when not even less powerful) as in the days of the Spanish advance. The Indians of Sonora continued to be troublesome, especially the Seris. The Apaches, however, soon ceased to be the perennial thorn in the flesh they had always been. Between 1786 and 1797 peace was made with different groups of Apaches. The Spanish government promised to give them various articles they could not make themselves, — even powder and guns, though of inferior quality. Secretly, also, the authorities planned to ply them with liquor, so as to demoralize them, and to encourage them to make war on one another, hoping that in this way they might become exterminated. At an annual cost of from 18,000 to 30,000 pesos the peace was maintained nearly to the end of Spanish rule. Another factor tending to check the use of the land route from Sonora, on which any appreciable growth of Alta Cali fornia necessarily depended, was that of the rapid changes in jurisdiction of the various governments of the frontier. The commandancy-general did not remain as a single unit for the entire frontier. At times there were two com- mandancies, and once there were three. Occasionally, too, the viceroy's power was restored. After 1793 the Californias remained under the viceroy and Sonora under some one or other of the commandancies until the downfall of the Spanish government in America. This may help to account for the opposition of later commandant-generals to the reopening of the Anza route. It meant the making of an effort for the sake of regions beyond their frontiers and a divided authority over any route that might be opened. It must also have tended to make local concerns seem of more account to them than the possibility of foreign danger. Thus was Alta California compelled to depend upon the inadequate services of the Department of San Bias, supple mented by illicit trade with foreigners. In one respect the Anza route had already done its work; the prov nee had reached a substantial footing as regards the number and kinds of domestic animals it had. Agriculture, too, though of bttle variety, developed sufficiently to supply the scant 348 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA needs of the settlers. The principal lacks were in manu factured articles, which had to be procured elsewhere, and, most of all, in population. A few straggling colonists crossed over to Baja California from Sinaloa in later years, and came north to Alta California, but the great majority of the in habitants were descendants of those who had come between 1769 and 1781. Prolific as they were in raising famihes, the Spanish Californians could not by this means build up a population large enough to expand into the interior where the gold awaited them. Indeed, with the exception of Branciforte (Santa Cruz), not a single civil or mibtary estab lishment was founded after Felipe de Neve left the province. The total number of whites, mestizos, and mulattoes in 1790 was about 970, and in 1800 about 1200. Since most of the men were soldiers, the population was economically unpro ductive; the government quota for the army called for 205 men. Indian labor, mostly at the missions, furnished the larger part of what the province supplied. In 1793 the Christian population of the two Californias was estimated at 12,666. If the development of Alta Cabfornia had been greatly desired, Sonora was more and more capable of supplying the sinews of advancement. Despite its frequently recurring internal difficulties and the expense of the presidial posts, the province was able to yield a profit to the government, even at a time when the salary of the commandant-general was charged against Sonora alone, instead of being ap portioned over the entire frontier. Furthermore, it grew steadily in number of inhabitants. In 1781 Sinaloa and Sonora combined had a Christian population of 87,644; in 1793, of 93,396; and in 1803, of 121,400. The greater num ber was to be found in Sonora; for example, in 1781, Sonora had 52,228, or about 60 per cent. Several proposals were made to reopen the Anza route. For a time they were frowned upon, and in 1786 the viceroy went so far as to prohibit such a measure. Possibly because of the improvement in relations with the Apaches, there was a revival of interest soon afterward. In 1787 Pedro Fages, THE AFTERMATH 349 who had again become governor of Alta California in 1782 (after Neve's departure), suggested a comprehensive plan for the betterment of conditions in Alta Cabfornia. His proposals were three in number: that four new missions should be erected; that carpenters, smiths, masons, and other artisans be sent to Alta California to instruct the Indians; and that a presidio be established at Santa Olaya (on the west bank of the Colorado, below the Gila junction), with connecting posts at Sonoita (in northwestern Sonora) and in the valley of the San Felipe (in Baja California, but along the Anza route) . The first two proposals were viewed favor ably, and in course of a few years were acted upon. The third met with varying response, but tbe consensus of opinion was against it, a view in which Revilla Gigedo con curred when at length the matter came before him for decision. The question of the land route was raised again in 1792, and in 1796 Diego Borica and Jose Joaquin de Arrillaga, respectively governors of Alta and Baja California, made suggestions independently of one another with that object in view. It is not necessary to follow the correspondence in detail, but it may be well to cite a memorial of the year 1801, in which Pedro de Nava, then commandant-general, set forth his opinions. The advantages of reopening the Colorado route, according to him, were two: the possibility of giving aid to the Californias in case of a foreign invasion; and the benefits of reciprocal trade between the Californias and New Mexico. As for the first, the route was known to exist, and could at any time be utilized, if a considerable force were sent along, but there was no need to keep it open unless a foreign attack should actually occur. As for the second, neither of the two provinces was far enough advanced to re quire any new outlets for trade. The opinions of Nava prevailed. When the question came up in 1804 the matter of the route was decided in the negative. It is to be noted that the plans for developing Alta California by means of the route had received scant attention, — virtually none from Nava. Then why use the 350 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA route any longer? As Nava had said, it was there in case of need. Other proposals were made during the remainder of Spanish rule and, indeed, in the Mexican period, but nothing came of them. Fear of foreign aggressions in the Californias certainly continued, with ever-increasing justification, but the day of action had passed. The closing decades of Spanish rule in Alta California and the quarter century of Mexican rule form one of those periods which is the delight of the poet and romancer. Life was less stirring than in other days, but on the whole was more agree able. For twelve years of teeming activity, from 1769 to 1781, the province had played a great part in history. For the next sixty-five years the Alta Californians were to wit ness but one positive factor of supreme historical importance, —the coming of the people who were to supplant them, the influx of the Americans, who were to find the gold and make California what it is today. Much went on in preliminary fashion, with a bearing on the ultimate American conquest, before the province was finally taken over, but that story belongs rather to the history of American California than to an account of the dying days of Spain and the troubled era of Mexican control. All else that remains, of Alta Cali fornia history in this period is the local narrative, much of it picturesque, indeed, but a great deal of it only petty. And yet, though they could not have dreamed it, the Alta Californians were filling the role which Bucareli had cast for them, — a role of deep significance and fraught with moment. Few as they were, imperfect as were then standards of civilized life, they were on the ground, and that in itself was enough to keep Alta California safe from foreign occupation, with its mineral wealth undiscovered. They compelled the Englishman and the Russian to make the centre of their settle ments farther north, within the immediate range of the profitable fur trade, instead of locating in Alta Cabfornia as each of them wished to do. In this way the Alta Californians virtually saved the intervening coast of Oregon and Wash ington. They were the sine qua non of the American occupa tion. Americans may rejoice that they were there, and THE AFTERMATH 351 people of other nationabties feel glad or sorry, according as their sympathies direct them, but, in the light of events as they occurred, who can say that the Alta Californians did not play an important part in tbe history of North America? In justice, not anybody. CHAPTER XXVIII JUNIPERO SERRA Best known of the names in Alta California history, even at the present time, is that of Junipero Serra, first Father- President of the Franciscan missions. Only a few years ago scarcely one in a hundred had heard of Bucareli, and not many more could have identified Galvez. Portola had some slight vogue, but the much more important Anza, Garces, and Neve were obscurely recalled' or completely forgotten. Though Serra was but one among a number who deserved well of posterity, it was largely due to his fame that not only his own achievements but those of his companions as well have at length been made known to the Californians of today. Junipero Serra stands out as one of the greatest figures of his time in Alta California. He came to the province with the first expedition of occupation, and shared therefore with Portola in the glamor of a conquest. He devoted himself unselfishly to the regeneration of a savage people, a task which makes a human appeal, and as a result men of all faiths have been able to unite in glorifying him as a success ful missionary. But these facts would not have distinguished him from Portola on the one hand or Father Lasu6n on the other. Much more important as affecting his fame was the publication of a biography prepared by his life-long friend, ardent admirer, and co-worker, Francisco Palou. '••' Palou's volume was written to prove the great work of Father Serra. It seems probable, as has been asserted, that the author hoped it might help to procure the beatification of his revered brother-Franciscan. In accord with the ex travagant style of the period, the book displayed a tendency 352 JUNfPERO SERRA 353 to colorful writing and was replete with miraculous happen ings. Yet it was also a history of Alta California, grouped around the life of Serra. Published shortly after Serra's death, it remained for nearly a century almost the only his tory of the early days that had ever appeared. Naturally, therefore, Father Serra has walked through many thousand pages of print, with the advantage, too, of having his tale presented under the most favorable cir cumstances. Is it any wonder, then, that there sprang up a veritable "Serra legend?" There was the Serra of the miracles recited by Palou, the reputed saving of the colony in 1770, and even a hazy notion that he had planned and led the expeditions of that time, after which (as many believed) he became ruler of the province. He was clothed with all the blandly benign attributes which people believe ordinarily that a saint should have, a garment which ill-fitted the strenuous and hard-fighting friar. When all is said and done, however, the venerable Junipero comes out far better in the light of the facts than have the heroes of other historic "legends." He himself loses nothing when the test is applied. His glory is dimmed, if at all, only in that it is necessary to give a meed of praise to others. His legendary fame at tracted Californians to the story of their past. Thus there developed that remarkable interest in local history which has long been a characteristic of the citizens of the Golden State and which led inevitably to an investigation of the record. Bucareli, Galvez, Anza, Garces, Neve, Lasuen, and even Portola may well render thanks to Serra, as should he in turn to Palou. Thus, too, is it poetically correct that Serra should be the hero of fiction and of the mission play, for he stands as the symbol, in the minds of Californians, of the days when then state belonged to Spain. The real Serra was indeed a remarkable man. Already at an advanced age when he came to Alta California, he never theless possessed the traits which were most needed in the pioneer. He was an enthusiastic, battling, almost quarrel some, fearless, keen-witted, fervidly devout, unselfish, single-minded missionary. He subordinated everything, and 354 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA himself most of all, to the demands of his evangebcal task as be understood it. Withal, his administration as Father- President was so sound and his grasp of the needs of the province so clear that he was able to exercise a greater authority than would ^ordinarily have , been permitted. Though he fought withjlocal governors,'1 he won the con fidence of Bucareli, who preferred his judgment to that of either Fages or Rivera. Thus he was able in a measure to attain his ends, in the face of gubernatorial opposition, and so too must he be given credit for much that was done be cause it was at bis advice that many projects were under taken. Father Serra was born on November 24, 1713,1 of humble parents, in the village of Petra, on the island of Majorca, one of tbe Balearic Isles to the east of Spain. Baptised Miguel Jos6, he took the name "Junipero" upon entering the Franciscan order. This he did at the early age of sixteen years. In due time he became a doctor of theology and an able preacher. In 1749, now nearly thirty-six, he turned up at Cadiz as one of a number of missionaries who were about to embark for New Spain. Just prior to his departure he wrote a letter to his brother-Franciscan and relative, Francisco Serra, giving ample testimony of his love of family and even more so of his religious fervor. A portion of the letter follows : A "Friend of my heart, I lack words to tell you how much sorrow I feel in leaving you, and please repeat the same thing to my family, who, I have no doubt, must also feel grief at seeing me leave. I would like to impress upon them the great joy I feel. I intend to pledge myself to go there and never return. The voca tion of the apostolic preacher, especially under the present circum stances, is the best which one could desire to go into. His life may be long or brief, but if he knows how to compare its length with eternity, he will see clearly that, in any event, it could not be more than an instant. Such is the will of God, and I shall render Him the little assistance I can; if He does not wish us to be to gether in this life, He will unite us in immortal glory. Tell them 1 Two hundred years later, in 1913, native town. The writer was present a monument was raised to Father as delegate of the State and Univer- Serra in the principal square of his sity of California. JUNlPERO SERRA 355 that I am very sorry not to be with them as I was before, to com fort them, but they ought to have in mind also that the principal thing must be held first, and that is the will of God. For nothing else but the love of God would I have left them." Thus did he renounce' home and country to consecrate him self irrevocably to bis task. The voyage to New Spain was described by Palou, who also made it, in a brief and somewhat colorless account. Serra himself wrote about it most vividly and at great length to Francisco Serra. Owing to shortage of fresh water, they were obliged to make port "at the city of Porto Rico" (San Juan) , where they remained fifteen days. Here the religious were most active in holding services for the inhabitants. With the humility customary in the language of friars of that time, Serra, who had just recounted the wonderful preaching of others, somewhat naively proclaimed his own failure as follows : "When I preached, not a sigh was heard, although I preached on fervent subjects and in a loud voice." But Palou insists, no doubt with correctness, that Serra's preaching was a distinct success. After going on the rocks in a first attempt to get clear from the island port, the vessel soon afterward made the open sea. Nearing Vera Cruz it ran into a violent storm which all but wrecked it. According to Serra it was probably due to Santa Barbara, whom the religious had selected as their patron saint to save them, that the danger was averted. On Decem ber 10, therefore, after more than three months out of Cadiz (since August 29), he landed at Vera Cruz. Looking back over the voyage he displayed that pride in his own sea-legs that many another in all ages has shown : "I have had nothing at all the matter with me. Indeed I am the only one of all the religious, both Franciscans and Domini cans,2 and the servants of both groups as well, who was not sea sick; while the rest were almost dead, I never so much as realized that I was at sea, and that is the real truth." 2 Twenty and seven respectively. 356 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA It is reassuring to know, too, that Serra was enough of a human being to evince an interest in matters of food and drink, as appears at several points in the letter just cited. Soon after their arrival in New Spain, Serra and Palou were sent to the Sierra Gorda missions (in modern Tamaubpas, in northeastern Mexico), where the former was Father-President from 1750 to 1759, residing with Palou at the mission of Santiago de Jalpan. In 1758 orders came for Serra to undertake the more dangerous mission among the Indians of northern Texas. The Spanish efforts to ob tain a foothold there centred about the region of San Saba, but the settlements had never been prosperous. Before Serra had a chance to enter this new field, there occurred the massacre of 1758 which wiped out that post. Not knowing that this would operate to prevent his going, Serra wrote a stirring account of the massacre to his nephew Miguel in Petra, telling especially of the miracles which had followed the martyrdom of Father Jose" Santistevan. Nowhere in the letter was there the slightest intimation of his being afraid to go there; rather it seems probable, as Palou states, that he earnestly desired this dangerous service. All that Serra himself said in the letter just cited was the following: "In place of my happy, beloved friend, the holy mandate is now sending there this miserable sinner, who is your uncle, to gether with Father Fray Francisco Palou. I recognize my use- lessness and incompetence for so great an undertaking. But God is able, even through the agency of nothing itself,3 to achieve works which redound to His glory." The death of the viceroy of New Spain caused a postponement of the project to re-establish the mission, and shortly after ward the plan was given up. But for this change, California would in all probability never have had Serra as Father- President of the missions, and Texas might today be pro claiming him as one of her early heroes. From 1759 to 1767 Serra spent much of the time at the Franciscan college of San Fernando in Mexico City. He also 3 The members of Serra's branch selves individually as "nothing it- of the Franciscan order frequently, — self." almost habitually, — styled them- JUNIPERO SERRA 357 traveled about as a commissioner of the Inquisition. In 1768 he became Father-President of the Fernandine missions of Baja California, whence he went to Alta California with the expeditions of 1769. From then until his death in 1784 he was Father-President of the missions in the northern province. Nine missions were founded during his presidency. Not only in religious matters, but also in every other phase of Alta California affairs, he played an important part. Possibly his greatest individual service was that which he performed in connection with his visit of 1773 to Mexico City. It was then that he gave Bucareb tbe information and advice which enabled the latter for the first time to get a clear understanding of the situation in Alta California. Just prior to his return, Serra wrote a letter to his nephew, telling what he had done during the past five years. In none of the letters of his private correspondence that have thus far come to light is the missionary ardor of Father Junipero more clearly and unaffectedly set forth. Already nearly sixty years old, he seemed impatient of anything that had no direct relation to his spiritual task. He had definitely left family and native land behind. He spoke of the possibibty of further letters from him in such a way as to imply that he might not write again, — and indeed no further Serra letters have been found in the files at Petra. Even his remem brances to Majorcan friends were coupled with a desire for their prayers that he might become a better missionary. Among other things he told bow bis journey to Mexico had broken his health, with the result that he had nearly died while at Guadalajara before reaching the capital. "After a few days they ordered the last sacraments to be ad ministered to me, and I was in great danger. When the continuous fever broke into tertian, I went on my way, and arrived at the city of Quer^taro once again so weak that they also ordered the last sacraments to be administered. Soon, however, I got better, and at last reached this holy college [of San Fernando] . . . For a long time I was very weak and without appetite. But now, blessed be God, I am completely restored to health." 358 AHISTORY OF CALIFORNIA! Not less interesting in this connection is a letter written in August 1773 by Father Pablo Font of the College of San Fernando to a brother-friar in Catalonia. "The Father-President Junipero Serra is a religious of the Observant order,4 a man of very venerable age, formerly professor at the University of Palma, who during twenty-four years, since he has been a missionary of this college, has never spared him self in toiling for the conversion of the faithful and the unfaith ful. Notwithstanding his many and laborious years, he has the qualities of a lion, which surrenders only to fever. Neither the habitual indispositions from which he suffers, especially in the chest and in difficulty of breathing, nor the wounds in his feet and legs have been able to detain him a moment from his apostolic tasks. Hs has astonished us during his recent sojourn, for, al though very sick, he never failed, day or night, to take part in the choir, much less when he had fever. We have seen him apparently dead, only to be almost immediately revived. If now and then he attended to the needs of bodily health at the infirmary, it was only because he was ordered to go there. Sometimes, in his journeys among the faithful and the unfaithful he has become so ill, on account of wounds and other infirmities, that it was neces sary to carry him on a stretcher, but he did not wish to stop to cure his half dead body; and soon he would be restored to health, through the influence of the Divine Providence alone. "In very truth, on account of these things, and because of the austerity of his life, his humility, charity, and other virtues, he is worthy to be counted among the imitators of the apostles. And now he is returning, as if it were nothing, to Monterey, a distance of a thousand leagues by sea and land, to visit those missions and rejoice them by his presence and by the measures which he has procured, and to preside over them and found other missions until he shall die. May God grant him many years of life. Much more could I say of this holy jnan. He has at various times been elected Father Superior, but was never confirmed, either on ac count of his absence or because the prelates thought it wiser not to withdraw such an extraordinary man from his apostohc tasks." It was in the spirit reflected in these letters that Father Serra performed his work as Father-President. Very much of a human being though he was, the man nevertheless was subordinate at all times to the religious. To tell what Serra did in Alta California would neces sitate touching upon every phase of affairs in the province 4 One of the. names of the Minorite branch of the Franciscan friars. JUNlPERO SERRA 359 during his bfe. It is more important, perhaps, to direct at tention to the nature of bis authority, so as to make clear what he himself could and could not do. The clue to an accurate estimate is in an understanding of the already dis cussed institution of the Real Patronato.5 From this it will appear that the Father-Presidents in Alta California were as much subject to the king and viceroy as the veriest presi dial captain, save only in the spiritual attributes of their profession. In earber times mission presidents were occa sionally granted a much wider authority. That was true of the Jesuits in Baja California prior to their expulsion; there the Jesuit rectors were indeed responsible, under the viceroy, for all that was done, for they headed the mibtary and poli tical establishment as well as the religious. In Alta Cali fornia, Father Serra and his successors had religious authority only, while the military and pobtical resided in the governor. The Father-President and the governor were to^a certain extent independent of each other, but both were subject to the viceroy of New Spain, — or to the commandant-general of the frontier provinces during part of the time after 1776. Save for the higher authority of the pobtical rulers of New Spain and the Father Superior of San Fernando (who was himself a subordinate, in a measure, of the viceroy), the Father-President held absolute power over the missionaries of his flock, and they in turn exercised an almost absolute control over then individual missions, as already pointed out. The semi-independence of the mission guard, almost the only authority outstanding from the friars, was a fruitful source of quarrels with the governors; the latter tended to emphasize its freedom from mission jurisdiction, while the missionaries held that it should be altogether subordinate to their wishes. The Father-President was not empowered to take action on his own responsibibty, but was permitted to make recommendations directly to the viceroy, instead of through tbe office of the governor. f%s See chapter XII, in which the whole question of the mission is taken up. 360 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA In fine, therefore, a dual power was established in Alta California. When the two elements clashed, the governor usually had the advantage, for he commanded the troops of the province and as a military man might expect to get a more sympathetic hearing from the viceroy or commandant- general, who in most cases was a soldier, too. But the friars, as a result of then intellectual attainments and the unselfish ness of then pretensions, were often able to gain their objects. Furthermore, they were the only element in the province with economic resources at then command, for the missions produced almost all that was raised in Alta California dur ing the Spanish period. The Father-Presidents are therefore entitled to be considered, with the governors, as one of the two ruling elements in the province. From this it is clear that Serra had no such opportunity as that vouchsafed Salvatierra in Baja California. The latter must be considered as the conqueror and governor of Baja California, while Serra never was the dominant figure in Alta California; indeed, the absolutist kings of Spain had just previously banished the Jesuits because they were frightened by the power to which that order had attained, and any attempted restoration of the Jesuit system was dis tinctly frowned upon. Serra, no doubt, would have preferred a position such as the Jesuits had enjoyed, because then he could have pursued his work of Christianization un- trammeled. Both Galvez and Bucareli had insisted, too, that the propagation of the faith was the primary task of the Spaniards in Alta California, and if they thought of this more from the standpoint of its utility to the empire Serra under stood it literally as affecting the kingdom of God. It was on this account that he quarreled almost incessantly with the governors, claiming that they were not advancing the interests of the mission establishments and that they were endeavoring unduly to exercise authority over the friars. On the other hand, the governors felt that theirs would be an empty government if it did not include a perfectly definite authority over the missions, for whose defence they were responsible and to which they furnished soldiers. Clashes JUNfPERO SERRA 361 were therefore inevitable, and it was only a question of temperaments how far they should be carried. Beyond a doubt, Serra had far more friction with the governors than did his successor Father Lasuen, but this was not wholly due to then difference in disposition. The prob- blems were newer in Serra's day, the state of the province less secure, and the men with whom he had to deal, especially Felipe de Neve, were perhaps somewhat less amenable to argument than were the governors of a later day. At any rate, Serra was able usually to gain his point, and knew how to seize on some of the petty annoyances put upon him by the governors to help his case in more important affairs. He was able to procure the dismissal of Fages and the appoint ment of Rivera in his place. But the new man proved more of a thorn in his flesh than the old. Largely with a view to sustaining Serra's position in bis quarrels with Rivera, Bucareli caused the latter to be transferred, and put Felipe de Neve in command. Febpe de Neve was an able governor, but one cannot help feebng that judgment should be given in favor of Serra in most of the disputes that they had. Indeed, the governor not infrequently displayed that vindictive spirit which at a later time (already discussed) characterized his relations with Anza. A first issue arose between them over the question whether double rations for five years should be granted to the friars at three new missions, as had been the custom formerly, in accord with provision made in the Echeveste reglamento. Neve held that the law applied only to the first five missions of Alta California. In this instance the governor scored, and was eventually sustained. A little while later, Neve questioned Serra's authority to admin ister the rite of confirmation to Christian converts; this power had been granted to Serra, but Neve pointed out that it had never been sanctioned by the commandant-general Teodoro de Croix. It was found eventually that Serra's right had been formally approved before the separate juris diction of the frontier provinces was established. Thus 362 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Serra won, but not until be had suffered an annoying delay of nearly two years. The most serious conflict arose over Neve's provision for the missions in the reglamento of which he was the author. He contemplated the founding of a chain of missions some fifteen or twenty leagues inland, but these were to be a new type of establishment. A church and a residence for the friar in charge were to be built, but no animals or implements of husbandry provided. Indeed, the governmental and economic phases of mission life were to be abandoned, and the task of the friar was to be limited to rebgious instruction. One friar at a mission, instead of the customary two, was deemed to be enough, and furthermore it was intended that the number at the older missions should eventually be re duced to one. These provisions became law when the Neve reglamento was approved by the highest authority, but the Franciscans, both in Alta California and at the college in Mexico, unceasingly opposed putting the law into effect. Serra refused to found new missions on that basis, and the Father Superior of the college decbned to send additional friars to Alta California. Of course, tbey could have been compelled to take action, but they were not. Perhaps it was fortunate for them that Neve did not long remain in Alta California after this reglamento went into effect. At any rate, the matter never came to a head, though it remained a dread possibility even into the presidency of Father Lasu6n. And so at length, after a career which had touched the affairs of the province at every point, the venerable Father- President was attacked Iby what proved to be his last illness. Already past (seventy and enfeebled by hardship and the self-imposed rigors of an austere Christian life, he knew that his time to die had come. He sent for Father Palou to be present, and with the utmost resignation prepared himself for the event. He insisted upon going about his religious tasks as usual, and the very day before his death walked a distance of about a hundred yards in order to receive the Holy Communion in church. On the 28th of August 1784 he passed away, and next day was buried in the church at JUNIPERO SERRA 363 the Carmel mission near the remains of his former com panion in religion, Father Juan Crespi. tt- The news of his death was received with great sorrow by his brethren in Mexico. Immediately thereafter, the Father Superior of San Fernando penned the following letter to the "Observant" order in Majorca: "The news of the death of our beloved fellow-countryman, Father Junipero Serra, occurring at the mission of San Carlos, has just reached us from our missions of Monterey,6 of which he was president. Like just and pious men before his time, he died under such circumstances that all those around him not only shed tears but were also of the opinion that his happy soul went straight to Heaven to enjoy the reward of his thirty-four years of great and ceaseless labors, performed for our beloved Jesus, whom he ever kept in mind as undergoing untold suffering for our redemption. "Such was the kindness which he always showed these poor Indians that he amazed not only people in general but also persons of high standing, all saying that he was a saint and that his ways were those of an apostle. This pious view of him was held from the time he arrived in the kingdom, and has continued to be held, without any interruption whatsoever." Thus died Junipero Serra, most famous of the missionaries of Alta California.7 ri ' This is an instance of the use of and published under the title New "Monterey" for all Alta California. light on Father Serra, in Grizzly bear 7 This chapter is based principally magazine (Los Angeles. Mar.-May, on documents translated and edited 1917), v. XX, no. 5, 5; no. 6, 1; v. by Charles S. Mitrani and the writer, XXI, no. 1, 6. CHAPTER XXIX FERMIN FRANCISCO DE LASTJEN Undying fame is not wholly the result of merit. Rarely have the strange pranks of history been better illustrated than in the extraordinary reputation enjoyed by Junipero Serra and the almost complete oblivion into which has passed the name of Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, a worthy rival of his illustrious predecessor in sobd achievement. Both men were able, and deserving of the recognition of posterity, but Serra had two advantages which gained for him the lasting glory which it now seems impossible Lasuen will ever have. Serra was the first Father-President, and shares, therefore, in the glamor of the conquest. Of far greater import, how ever, he was so fortunate as to have a biographer, Father Palou. Theodore Roosevelt once said: "We could better afford to lose every Greek inscription that has ever been found than the chapter in which Thucydides tells of the Athenian failure before Syracuse." In a similar vein the historian Bury wrote : "The early portion of Greek history, which corresponds to the seventh and sixth centuries B. C, is inevitably distorted and placed in a false perspective through the strange limitations of our knowledge . . . The wrong, unfortunately, cannot be righted by a recognition of it . . . Les absents ont toujours tort." So too Serra will remain famous (justly so) because of Palou, while Lasuen cannot hope for the renown to which he is en titled, even though some later-day historian may yet piece together documentary evidence enough for a biography of this great Franciscan. Something should be done, however, to rescue Lasuen from obscurity, and it is hoped that this chapter may serve in a measure toward that end. 364 FERMfN FRANCISCO DE LASUEN 365 For lack of a Palou we know little of the early life of Lasuen. He was a native of Vitoria in the Basque province of Alava, a worthy representative of the race to which the upbuilding of the Spanish colonies was so greatly due. The year of his birth is unknown, but it was probably about 1520 A Eventually, he was admitted to the Franciscan order, and turned up in Mexico as a member of the famous College of San Fernando. He saw service as a missionary in the Sierra Gorda, in the region between the present-day states of Tamaubpas and Queretaro, but left there in 1767 to join the Fernandinos under Father Serra when the latter took over the missions of the Californias in succession to the Jesuits. By far the most important of the missions in the penin sula at the time and, with the exception of the presently to be founded Velicata, the most northerly among them was that of San Francisco de Borja. It is a tribute to Father Lasuen that he was directed to take charge of this mission. The task which confronted him was very difficult. On the departure of the Jesuits, military commissaries had been placed in charge of the missions, and they had spent more time searching for the supposed hidden wealth of the Jesuits than in promoting the welfare of the missions. As a result the missions had fallen away, and they were still further impoverished by being drawn upon for supplies for the expeditions of 1769 to Alta California. Naturally, the distant post of Borja was among the last to receive aid for its rehabilitation. The condition of affairs there and the good sense of Father Lasuen are both illustrated by certain correspondence between him and Galvez, at the time the latter was in the peninsula, the letters bearing date between September 1768 and February 1769. Galvez had published an edict against gambling, and di rected Lasuen to see that it was observed at the mission. Galvez also suggested tbe advisability of giving tobacco to the Indians to gain then good will. Lasuen replied that he would comply with Gaivez's directions, but as a matter of fact the vice of gambbng did not exist at Borja, and the Indians used tobacco only as snuff, and for that but spar- 366 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ingly. The real need at Borja was not reform or tobacco, but food and clothing, for "my children are most numerous, and hungry, and naked." In the five months (from May to October 1768) that he had been in charge of the mission he had not received a grain of aid from anywhere. The letter impressed Galvez, but in a most extraordinary way. He wrote to Lasuen that he proposed to relieve his necessities by deporting many of his neophytes to the better supplied missions of the south. It is somewhat strange that the ex perienced Father Serra should have endorsed this plan, which failed to take into account the extreme conservatism of the Indian in clinging to his native surroundings, however mean they may be. Galvez went on to say that two boats were to be despatched north at once to get the Indian families designated by Lasuen for the southern missions. Lasuen was wholly opposed to this arrangement, but his answer to Gaivez's letter was a model for tact. Instead of making a stormy protest, he pointed out that the plan, though ii i jf- A fe P * £*• "very just and necessary," was "at this time exposed to many difficulties and more or less impossible of execution." The Indians of his mission were "still untamed and new in Christianity," wherefore it would be "very difficult to make them comprehend the great utility which would come to them from the change and the favorable advantages which you offer them." When one of tbe boats arrived to take away some of the Indians, Lasuen informed the captain that he would await further orders from Galvez before embarking them. The correspondence closed with a letter from Galvez recognizing the correctness of Father Lasuen' s stand, and approving his suspension of the sending of the Indians from Borja. No connected account can yet be given of Lasuen's five year term as the missionary of San Francisco de Borja, al though some more or less fragmentary records are at hand. Lasuen' s/problem, as indeed was' that of the other Baja California missionaries, was not so much to build up his mission as to keep it from going to pieces. This he did, in the -face of discouraging circumstances. In 1771 he was able to FERMlN FRANCISCO DE LASUEN 367 report that, so far as was known, there was not a single pagan left in the whole district. Notwithstanding a scarcity of water and cultivable land, Father Lasuen had planted vine yards, fig and pomegranate trees, and some cotton. The cotton was used at the mission in the manufacture of shawls for the Indians, and blankets were made of wool. In May 1773, when the Dominicans succeeded to the Franciscan missions of the peninsula, statistics showed that there were at Borja 1000 persons, 648 cattle, 387 horses and mules, 2343 sheep, and 1003 goats. The importance of the mission stands forth the more clearly when it appears that there were but 4268 persons and 14,716 domestic animals in all four teen missions of Baja California. Thus, San Francisco de Borja, though by no means a favored spot, had under its control nearly a fourth of the Indians in the missions and more than a fourth of the domestic animals. A still more eloquent commentary on the services of Father Lasueii at San Francisco de Borja might be made if it were possible to go into the intimate details of his private life. During five years be was the sole missionary at that mission. Commenting on Lasuen's expressed wish for a second mis sionary there, Bancroft says : "We can in some degree imagine the desolate loneliness of a padre's life at a frontier mission; but the reality must have been far worse than anything our fancy can picture. These friars were mostly educated, in many cases learned, men; not used to nor needing the bustle of city life, but wanting, as they did their daily food, intelligent companionship. They were not alone in the strict est sense of the word, for there were enough people around them. But what were these people? — ignorant, lazy, dirty, sulky, treacherous, half-tamed savages, with whom no decent man could have anything in common. Even the almost hopeless task of saving their miserable souls must have required a martyr for its performance." But there were material discomforts as well. Writing from Alta California in April 1774, nearly a year after his departure from the peninsula, Lasuen begged to be rebeved from the great hardship he was undergoing for lack of wear ing apparel, which had already reached the point of inde- 368 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA cency. His clothes, he said, had been in continuous use for more than five years. He had mended them until they no longer admitted ^of it, and, moreover, had exhausted his materials for sewing. Referring somewhat humorously in another letter to his need for clothing, Lasuen said that it was perhaps on that account that the Indians cared for him so much, on the principle that like attracts like, for he resem bled them much in scantiness of wardrobe. When the Baja California missions were turned over to the Dominicans, eight of the Fernandinos, presumably the most capable among them, were directed to proceed to Alta Cabfornia. Lasuen was one of the friars ordered to the northern province. The missionaries left the peninsula in charge of Father Palou, who for several years had served as president of the Baja California missions, escorted by a military force under Sergeant Jos6 de Ortega. The party reached San Francisco de Borja on June 22, 1773, and left there next day, thus bringing LasueVs long ministry at that mission to an end. En route north they made the first attempt that ever was made to run the boundary between the two Californias. The line of division had been agreed upon in Mexico in May 1772. In accord with that decision Palou and his party raised a cross, on August 19, 1773, to mark the boundary between the Dominicans and Fernandi nos. The line was some five leagues north of the arroyo of San Juan Bautista and fifteen south of San Diego, a number of miles below the present boundary. Eleven days later, the party reached San Diego in Alta California. It is not surprising that Lasuen was assigned to the mis sion at San Gabriel. This had been founded in 1771, and gave promise of being the best site of all the missions from the standpoint of pastoral and agricultural possibibties. Hopes had not yet been realized, however, due in a measure to trouble with the Indians, caused by the improper conduct of Spanish soldiers. Lasuen was the right man to bring prosperity to San Gabriel. He set out for his mission at once, and took up his duties there in September 1773. The time was the least propitious possible, for the great eight FERMfN FRANCISCO DE LASUEN 369 months' famine which all but caused tbe abandonment of Alta California was at its height. Supplies from New Spain reached San Diego on March 13, 1774, but it was not until some time later that San Gabriel was rebeved. Meanwhile, the first Anza expedition reached San Gabriel, on March 22. This made matters worse for a while, since Anza, too, lacked supplies, but it meant an increased importance for San Gabriel, which henceforth was the first settlement in the province reached by those taking the overland route from Sonora. ; Father Lasuen, already past middle life, had wished to retire to the College of San Fernando instead of coming to Alta California, but, on being informed that he could not be spared, resigned himself to remaining in the province. He was destined never to leave, serving continuously in Alta Cabfornia for thirty years. Little more need be said of his stay at San Gabriel. By tbe close of 1774 it was already the most prosperous of the missions. Furthermore, the troubles with the Indians had been overcome. A more serious task was now at hand. The march between San Diego and San Gabriel had always been difficult, owing to the treacherous character of the Indians. Fathers Lasuen and Gregorio Amurrio were designated, in August 1775, to found a mission between these two, to be called San Juan Capistrano. Lasuen, who was in Monterey at the time, made the long journey to San Diego, and then turned back with Ortega, now a lieutenant, to make explorations for a site. In Octo ber, Lasuen formally inaugurated the misson. Father Amurrio soon arrived, and prospects seemed excellent, for the natives were well disposed, but after only a few days there came news of the great Indian uprising of 1775 at San Diego. Ortega was therefore obbged to leave for San Diego, and advised the two friars to give up the mission. This seemed tbe part of good sense; so the mission bells were buried, and the place was abandoned. Not long afterward, however, it was reoccupied. UAs already recounted the San Diego revolt of 1775 was the most serious attempt the Indians of Alta California ever 370 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA! made to throw the Spaniards out of the province. It failed, but because of the underlying seriousness of the situation, and especially because the Indians of San Diego had always been troublesome, the presence at the mission of the most able friars in the province was imperative, to supplement the work of the soldiers of the presidial establishment near by. Father Lasuen was therefore cabed upon to remain at San Diego. For a year after Lasuen's arrival at San Diego there were troubles in connection with the late revolt, — troubles be tween the friars and Governor Rivera, rather than with the Indians. The former wished to fobow a pobcy of concilia tion, as opposed to the more stringent, long-continued measures of repression undertaken by the governor. These incidents may be passed over with the remark that the friars were eventually sustained by the viceroy of New Spain. Father Lasuen remained at San Diego during the rest of Serra's presidency and the brief rule of Father Palou. Meanwhile, affairs at San Diego progressed smoothly; the earber hostile attitude of the Indians did not again manifest itself. '"'• Palou's succession to the presidency of the missions was understood to be temporary, for he had already asked per mission to retire to the College of San Fernando. Permission was granted, and probably in September 1785 Palou de parted for Mexico, where in the following year he became Father Superior of the college. The appointment of Lasuen as president of the missions was dated February 6, 1785, but it was not received in Alta Cabfornia until September, when his long period of service at San Diego came officiaby to an end. A detailed account of the achievements of Lasuen as Father-President would involve giving a history of the province during the eighteen years of his term. For the pur poses of this chapter it seems better to select some phases of his work and character for treatment. One of the principal objects of the Fernandinos, and of Fathers Serra and Lasuen in particular, was the founding of FERMfN "FRANCISCO DE LASUEN 371 missions, whereby more souls might be saved and Alta California placed on a sounder material basis. Of the twenty-one Fernandino missions nine each were founded during the presidencies of Serra and Lasuen. Serra had long wished to establish a number of missions in the populous region bordering the Santa Barbara Channel, and authority for so doing was early received from New Spain. It was not until 1782, however, that the first of the missions, that of San Buenaventura, was| founded, the last of Serra's nine. One of the earbest acts of Lasuen's regime was to add two more. The Father-President himself, now in his sixty-sixth year, went to the presidio of Santa Barbara,1 and superin tended the founding of a mission near by. On December 4, 1786, this mission, Santa Barbara, at the present day the most famous of aU the twenty-one, was formally dedicated. A year later, on December 8, 1787, Lasuen in person in augurated the mission of Purfsima Concepci6n, at a point previously selected by Governor Fages, thus completing tbe Channel missions, although actual work at the new establish ment did not begin until 1788. Next, steps were taken to found two missions between San Carlos of Monterey and Santa Clara, but clear authorization therefor was not re ceived until July 1791. Lasuen acted with customary promptness. Both sites had already been explored, but Lasuen decided to see them himself. He found that of Santa Cruz all that had been claimed for it, and dedicated the mission there on August 28, 1791. The sites chosen for the other mission, Soledad, were not approved by Lasuen, who himself selected tbe spot for the founding. On October 9 Lasuen was on hand to raise the cross at Soledad. The governors and the friars had long wished for additional missions somewhat farther inland, though west of the Coast Range, with the idea of reducing all the Indians of the coast districts between San Diego and San Francisco. Besides giving more converts to tbe faith this would remove the last vestige of Indian peril in the region under Spanish control. Governor Borica (1794-1800) was particularly active in co- 1 Founded in 1782.! 372 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA operating with Father Lasuen to achieve this end. The year 1795 was largely taken up with careful explorations for mission sites, and in tbe following year the viceroy authorized the founding of the five missions asked for. By May 1797 everything was ready. Then followed the most remarkable era of mission-founding in the history of the province. Serra in 1771 and Lasuen in 1791 had estabbshed two mis sions in a single year. Now, Lasuen from June to Septem ber established no fewer than four, followed in June 1798 by the erection of a fifth. At the inauguration of all these missions Father Lasuen presided in person, dedicating San Jose2 on June 11, 1797, San Juan Bautista on June 24, San Miguel on July 25, San Fernando Rey on September 8, and San Luis Rey on June 13 of the following year. In so doing Father Lasuen had to traverse tbe whole occupied sphere of the province, some five hundred miles or more in length, enduring hardships which can scarcely be appreciated in this day and age of luxurious travel. Verily, for a man in his seventy-seventh or seventy-eighth year Father Lasuen might have been pardoned for feebng a high degree of self- satisfaction over his achievement, though there is no evidence to the effect that he did. Yet, Father Lasuen rendered perhaps even more dis tinguished service as an administrator than as a founder of missions. Not only must the new missions be placed upon a durable footing, but the old ones had also to be maintained. A right to administer the sacrament of confirmation had been granted to -Serra for ten years. This ceased with his death, in 1784, at which time he had confirmed 5309 persons. Lasuen was the only other Father-President to receive this right. It was granted for ten years in 1785, but was not for warded until 1790. In the five year period remaining to him he confirmed about 9000 persons. He also exercised other powers which ordinarily would have been in the hands of the secular clergy. Since there were no other priests in Alta California the missionaries had administered the sacraments 2 A number of miles north of the pueblo which gave the name to the present-day city of San Jose. FERMlN FRANCISCO DE LASUEN 373 and performed various religious sei-vices for the Spanish population, though this was not a part of then regular duties. In 1796 the bishop of Sonora, unasked, conferred on Lasuen the titles of Vicario Fordneo and Vicario Castrense, whereby be was authorized to administer the customary sacraments other than that of confirmation to the civilian and mibtary elements respectively. At the same time he was made Juez Eclesidstico, or ecclesiastical judge, for such cases as might ordinarily be tried in a church court. All of these powers he was allowed to delegate to bis subordinates, which Lasuen accordingly proceeded to do. In 1795, too, Lasuen was appointed commissary of the Inquisition of Mexico. As such he had occasion to publish a few edicts forwarded to him from Mexico, and once "confiscated and forwarded to the capital four copies of a forbidden game called El Eusebio." These new duties added considerably to Lasuen's responsibilities, for by bis own account the Spanish settlers were careless about observance of certain precepts of the church, such as those of annual confession and receiving communion at Easter. v Yet, the old Father-President was far from being over whelmed by his labors. In 1797, after he had just completed the founding of the four missions estabbsbed in that year, Governor Borica, who regarded the achievement as extra ordinary, compbmented him, and observed that he must have renewed his youthful vigor by bathing in the holy waters of another Jordan. There is another side to Father Lasuen's administration deserving of comment in this con nection. Whenever there was anything important to be done, be went himself to attend to it. His official head quarters were at San Carlos of Monterey, but his tours were so frequent that he wag rarely there for any length of time. "'It was during Lasuen's rule, too, that a forward step was taken in the economic growth of the missions. In addition to the normal development in agriculture and stock-raising as well as in the number of Indians living at the missions, tbe neophytes received instruction in the trades of the artisan beyond anything they had had before. Tbe friars bad al- 374 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ready taught their wards all they knew, but desired to perfect them in then employments and make the missions inde pendent of the supply-ships from New Spain as much as possible. Acting probably at Lasuen's suggestion Governor Fages wrote to the viceroy in 1787, asking that carpenters, smiths, masons, and other artisans be sent to Alta California to instruct the Indians. About twenty were sent, at royal expense, mostly between 1792 and 1795, on four or five year contracts. A few remained permanently in the province, but most returned later to New Spain. Much of the economic advance of the missions may be attributed to their coming. One wonders, too, how much of the improvement in mission architecture was due to the building or reconstruction effected by them. Certainly the missions of the earbest days were rude edifices, while those of the period of Father Lasuen have been almost solely responsible for the "mission style" which is such a characteristic note in the present-day architecture of California. It is necessary to deal with one other phase of Lasuen's rule, that of his relations with the governors and presidial commanders of the province. Disputes between tbe religious and the military were a chronic feature of Spanish colonial administration everywhere. Neither element can justly be charged with fault for this situation; it was inherent in the dual system of government employed, where powers were either too loosely defined, or else too specifically stated in some instances which did not fit actual circumstances. Un less both elements were disposed to get along, quarrels were sure to result, and even when they wished to avoid trouble, differences very often occurred. Lasuen was fortunate in that the governors with whom he had to deal (Fages, Romeu, Arrillaga, Borica, and Alberni) were reasonable men, eager to have affairs run smoothly when possible. Fages was hot-tempered, but warm-hearted and incapable of harboring a grievance against anybody. He had had many quarrels with Serra, but his long experience as governor and Lasuen's tactfulness enabled the two men to get over some rough spots in then relations. Borica and FERMfN FRANCISCO DE LASUEN 375 Lasuen were devoted friends, but even they could not avoid disputes. One great source of trouble was the provision recommended by Governor Neve in 1779 that in the new missions about to be erected along the Santa Barbara Channel and in others projected for farther inland the friars should exercise merely spiritual jurisdiction, allowing the natives to live in then own towns and make their living in their own way, and at the same time reducing the number of missionaries at a mission from two to one. Lasuen himself wrote to the Father Superior of San Fernando protesting against the change. With reference to a plan to form the missions into custodias under secular control (subject to the newly-appointed bishop of Sonora), Lasuen expressed him self in conformity, since it had the sanction of the church. It might also serve as "a means for me to depart from this government and this work."3 As for the Neve plan, wrote Lasu6n, if that was to be put into effect without recourse to the Council of the Indies, " I would, without delay and with a clear conscience, do all I could to seize any opportunity which might present itself to retire to the college . . . This measure, in my private opinion, without setting myself up against the views of others, though they may ap plaud it, has little of the religious in it, and is reprehensibly full of zeal to save money for the royal treasury ... In fine," he said, after stating the difficult task of the missionaries, "this [new] system would consign a religious to a life that was more than tire some, to sickness without assistance, and death without sacra ments . . . |I cannot believe that His Catholic Majesty likes it, wishes, or will permit that a poor friar suffer such pitiful and grievous desolation, or that he will agree to this unbearable lack of a priest in one's greatest distress, when the friars, in order to serve the king, have deprived themselves of the very delightful company of so many people, or do I think that he will see them left without the help of anyone, when they themselves are being sacrificed for the sake of all. For me the solitude of this occupa tion is a cruel and terrible enemy which has struck me heavily, like a blow. I escaped from it, thank God, after evident risk of dying on account of it, and now that I see its shadow again, even from afar, I am full of trembling at the mere prospect of having to 8 As a man Lasuen never desired Ugious he accepted with resignation to stay in the Californias. As a re- the duty imposed on him. 376 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA return to the struggle ... for it is possible that this misfortune, which I fear worse than death, may fall to my lot. Therefore, if this measure is not revoked, I again declare my positive and su preme repugnance to this religious task and ask insistently that I be relieved, relying on [the rights granted by] . . . our Fran ciscan law ... I would beg, and I do beg, leave to go to my province in the order, or to attach myself to any other whatsoever in the world, for all the evils of any character, save that of sin, seem less to me than that of being alone in this ministry." It will be noticed that Lasuen's protest was very far from being an act of rebellion. The law of his order gave him rights in the matter, and he implied that he would obey if the Council of the Indies or the king, should sustain the measure. The horror with which he recalled his service as the sole missionary at Borja and a lurking fear of insanity if be should be required to perform a similar task again seemed to underly his resistance to the plan. And what wonder that he should have felt that way! As for the change itself, it was not actually put into effect, but the question was raised at the outset of Lasuen's presi dency with respect to the two missions proposed to be founded along the Santa Barbara Channel. The Neve reglamento had never been revoked, except that the plan for but a single missionary had probably been overruled. Even this variation from the original law was not certainly known in Alta California. It was now directed that the new mis sions should conform to the Neve arrangement. On the other hand Lasuen received orders from the Father Superior of San Fernando not to found them except upon"; the old basis. Here then was a situation that had been created neither by Fages nor by Lasuen. Yet, between them they handled it so that it has left but a scant trace on the local records of Alta California. Lasuen had his way without quarreling, and it was tacitly agreed that the missions should be founded in the way that he wished. Meanwhile a controversy * had |been- started, prior to LasueVs installation^ office, between" Fages and Palou. This was brought to a head by charges against the Fernandi- nos*m&de by Fages in September 1785. It is not necessary FERMfN FRANCISCO DE LASUEN 377 here to go into the charges, which were somewhat trivial, but it may be said that Lasuen, upon whom it devolved to draw up the answer, refuted them in a dignified and con vincing manner, which virtually settled the dispute. In his report, which he was directing to the commandant-general of the frontier provinces, he reverted to the single missionary plan: "I shall not hesitate to give information conducive to that end, if they order me to do so or ask my advice, to the effect that I am utterly opposed, particularly on my own account, as much as it is possible to be opposed, to the project of being alone in a mission. I shall offer myself for any kind of 'suffering and to die in these parts, as soon as God may order it, but I am certain that there will never be a man who can convince me that I must subject myself to that solitude in this ministry. It seems that this plan has either been abolished or silently passed over, on which account I_say no more, but I shall do so whenever occasion demands it." r The dispute between Lasu6n and Fages came for solution before the highest authorities of the Spanish government, occupying a measure of their attention for a number of years. At length, it was decided, in 1793, to drop the matter. Through Lasuen's skilful management it had died a natural death in Alta California. Thus we find Fages, in his general report of 1787 about the missions, speaking in the highest terms of the missionaries, and nowhere saying anything derogatory of them. One paragraph of this document, though it does not refer directly to Father Lasu6n, is worth quoting: "If we are to be just to all [the Fernandinos], as we ought to be, we must v confess that the rapid, gratifying, and interesting progress, both spiritual and temporal, which we fortunately are able to see and enjoy in this vast new country, is the glorious effect of the apostolic zeal, activity, and indefatigable ardor of their religious." It would have been difficult for the average individual to speak in this generous manner, unless he were on good terms with those to whom he was referring. ' LasueiAmust have persuaded Fages to bury the hatchet.^, ^A number of differences arose even in the time of^Gov- ernor Borica. When the Spanish pueblo of Branciforte 378 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA (modern Santa Cruz) was founded in 1797 near the mission of Santa Cruz, Lasuen and the other Fernandinos protested. The viceroy sustained Borica, however, and Lasuen had the good sense not to insist upon his point of view. Questions arose also over the instruction of mission Indians by the artisans sent from Mexico, the use of these Indians in pursuit of others who had run away, and the election of Indian alcaldes at the missions. These matters were arranged without undue friction, so that the letter of the law was compbed with, but the missionaries were allowed to carry on then affairs much as they had before. Such points of contention as these came to the fore now and then to the end of Lasuen's rule, and indeed, thereafter, for they were inseparable from the system of government employed. One of Lasuen's last acts was to assist in defeating an attempt to revive Neve's mission plan. In 1802 he prepared a report opposing the project. The viceroy accepted his conclu sions, and the change in the mission system did not take place. It may fairly be said, however, that Lasuen was able both to maintain harmony with the mibtary and to have his own way in the management of the missions. All his con temporaries spoke highly, even enthusiastically, of him. There can be no doubt that his lovable traits as a man con tributed appreciably to his success as an administrator. The sweetness1^ and ' nobibty of his character are attested by foreigners and Spaniards alike, whose comments are all the more worthy of credence in that they wrote under circum stances which did not require them to set down other than what they really felt. The ^great French navigator, Laperouse, visited Monterey hA September 1786. In his description of tbe province he incbned to disapprove of the mission system, but spoke warmly of the wise and pious con duct of the missionaries. Of the Father-President he says: "Father Fermin de Lasuen, president of the missions of New California, is one of the most worthy of esteem and respect of all the men I have ever met. His sweetness of temper, his benev olence, and his love for the Indians are beyond expression." FERMlN FRANCISCO DE LASUEN 379 This tribute is tbe more striking in that Laperouse was in Alta California at the time when the quarrel between Fages and Lasuen which began the latter's presidency was at its height. Laperouse mentions this as follows: "The missionaries, who are so pious, so worthy of respect, are already in open quarrel with the governor, who for his part seemed to me to be a loyal soldier." Thus, Laperouse, who here and elsewhere evinced his liking for Fages, was not bbnded to the merits of the friars, and was able to give the enthusiastic praise of Lasuen quoted above. Perhaps even more remarkable is the tribute given by the Engbsh navigator, George Vancouver. Referring to his first meeting with Lasuen, on the occasion of a visit to the mission of San Carlos in December 1792, Vancouver says : "Our reception at the mission could not fail to convince us of the joy and satisfaction we communicated to the worthy and reverend fathers, who in return made the most hospitable offers of every refreshment their homely abode afforded. On our arrival at the entrance of the Mission the bells were rung, and the Rev. Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, father president of the missionaries of the order of St. Francisco in New Albion, together with the fathers of this mission, came out to meet us, and conduct us to the principal residence of the father president. This personage was about seventy-two years of age, whose gentle manners, united to a most venerable and placid countenance, indicated that tran- quilized state of mind that fitted him in an eminent degree for presiding over so benevolent an institution." So impressed was he by the Father-President that in Novem ber 1793 he gave his name, not once but twice, to the points at the extremities of the Bay of San Pedro, near Los'Angeles. These names, "Point Fermin" and "Point Lasuen," are still retained on modern maps. The following month, while at San Diego, Vancouver met Lasuen, who had just reached that port during one of his journeys to visit the missions in his charge. Vancouver had been prevented from sailing by unfavorable winds, but, be said, "I did not regret the detention, as it afforded us the pleasure of a visit from our very highly esteemed and venerable friend the Father president of the missionaries." 380 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA) Lasuen wished to send to San Juan Capistrano for supplies to "add abundantly to our stock of refreshments," and Van couver, who expressed himself as "not less thankful for these offices of kindness as convinced of the sincerity with which they were made," stated that he "had great difficulty to prevail on the father president to desist from sending to St. Juan's for the suppbes he had proposed." Finally, Van couver writes : "The enjoyment of the society of this worthy character was of short duration; it however afforded me the satisfaction of personally acknowledging the obligations we were under for the friendly services that had been conferred upon us, by the mission aries under his immediate direction and government; being per fectly assured, that however well disposed the several individuals might have been to have shewn us the kind attention we had received, the cordial interest with which the father president had, on all occasions, so warmly espoused our interests, must have been of no small importance to our comfort. This consideration, in addi tion to the esteem I had conceived for his character, induced me to solicit his acceptance of a handsome barrelled organ, which, notwithstanding the vicissitudes of climate, was still in complete order and repair. This was received with great pleasure, and abundant thanks, and was to be appropriated to the use and ornament of the new church at the presidency of the missions at St. Carlos." These statements from an Engbshman, who was quite as "British" in his conservatism as the average of his race, in an age when Englishmen felt an antipathy toward Spain and Spaniards on both national and religious grounds, are the strongest possible evidence of the charm of Lasuen's manner and the beauty of his character . Alejandro Malaspina, commander of a Spanish voyage of discovery by the ships Descubierta and Atrevida, was at Monterey in September 1791. He refers to Lasuen in con nection with various interpretations about the reported loss of two boats by the Laperouse expedition: it "Among those who could with the most judgment and knowl edge make some interpretations, Fray Matfas [sic] de Lasuen, of the order of St. Francis, president of the missions of New Cali fornia, without doubt deserved the first place. He was a man who FERMfN FRANCISCO DE LASUEN 381 in Christian lore, mien, and conduct was truly apostolic, and his good manners and learning were unusual. This religious had with good reason merited the esteem and friendship of both French commanders and the majority of their subordinates." If further proof were needed of the zeal as a missionary of this great Franciscan it may be said that he served all the years of his presidency without pay. Salaries were granted only to the two missionaries stationed regularly at each mission. The supernumerary missionaries were without stipend, and, strange to say, the Father-Presidents were reckoned in this category. As Lasuen put it, he lived upon the alms of his Franciscan brethren. This self-sacrifice is not so surprising in itself, for many others were equally without financial reward, but it was particularly hard for Father Lasuen, who had a poor sister, named Clara, about whose welfare he was anxious, for he feared that he must die without having been able to provide for her. P And so at length this man, who had done a life work after most others would have chosen to retire, was himself ready to pass off the scene. Old man that he was, about eighty- three, he had retained his faculties and rendered effective service to the very end. After an illness that confined him to his bed for twelve days he died at Mission San Carlos on June 26, 1803, and was buried there the next day. ft In estimating the greatness of Lasuen's work one is nat urally inclined to compare him with his renowned prede cessor, Junipero Serra. Bancroft rates Lasuen ahead of Serra. It is perhaps unnecessary to choose between them, but, surely, Lasuen worthily filled the post of the great Junipero. As a mission-founder he achieved as much; indeed, it might be argued that he did more, for he is credited with having inaugurated one of those established during Serra's presidency, while he personally dedicated all of the nine erected in his own term. He traveled fully as much as Father Serra from mission to mission and perhaps more. He baptized a far greater number of Indians. He built up tbe missions economically and architecturally. He was far more successful than Serra in maintaining har- 382 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA monious relations with the mibtary. In zeal as a Christian and missionary he equaled, though he could not surpass, Father Junipero. And yet it is perhaps true that the task of Father Serra in a virgin field was the more difficult and therefore entitled to the greater praise for its successful fulfilment. OneVonders, however, if Lasuen might not have done equally well, if the chance had fallen to him. And, furthermore, if Lasuen had had a Palou to write his bio graphy, might he not have fared nearly as well with posterity? Be that as it may, one may well sympathize with the splendid tribute (omitting all in it that compares Lasuen to Serra) paid to him by Bancroft : ' "In him were united the qualities that make up the model or ideal padre ... In person he was small and compact, in expres sion vivacious, in manners always agreeable, though dignified. He was a frank, kind-hearted old man, who made friends of all he met. Distinguished visitors of French and English as well as of Spanish blood were impressed in like manner with his sweetness of disposi tion and quiet force of character. His relations with the college, with the government, and with his band of missionary workers were always harmonious, often in somewhat trying circumstances, though no one of the Franciscans had more clearly defined opinions than he. None of them had a firmer will, or were readier on occa sion to express their views. His management of the mission in terests for eighteen years affords abundant evidence of his untiring zeal and of his ability as a man of business. His writings . . . pre possess the reader in favor of the author by their comparative conciseness of style. Of his fervent piety there are abundant proofs; and his piety and humility were of an agreeable type, unobtrusive, and blended with common-sense . . . Padre Fermin — as he was everywhere known — to a remarkable degree for his time and environment based his hopes of future reward on purity of life, kindness, and courtesy to all, and a zealous performance of duty as a man, a Christian, and a Franciscan." This from a writer not always in sympathy with the friars should be a measure of the regard in which posterity should hold the memory of the great and lovable California mis sionary, Fermin Francisco de Lasuen.4 4This chapter is based principally printed works and original manu- on contemporary evidences, both scripts, in the Bancroft Library. . CHAPTER XXX SPANISH CALIFORNIAN INSTITUTIONS I By far the most numerous element in Spanish California were the Indians. Within the settled area their numbers were never very great, though outstripping that of then Spanish masters. In 1806 there were 20,355 Indians at the missions, the highest figure ever attained in the Spanish era. Under Mexico there were 21,066 in 1.824, which was the record year for the whole period of the Franciscan missions. Outside the missions there were always very many more. As already set forth, there may have been about 133,000 in what is now the state as a whole, and 70,000 in or near the conquered area. The missions included only the Indians of given localities, though it is true that they were situated on the best lands and in the most populous centres. Even in the vicinity of the missions, there were some unconverted groups, however. Over the hills of the Coast Range, in the valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, north of San Francisco Bay, and in the Sierra Nevadas of the south there were untold thousands whom the mission system never reached. From the runaway mission Indians who each year crossed the range the nearer of them kept informed of the alien rule, and in the last two decades of the Spanish regime they had the usually unpleasant experience of visits by military expeditions. Otherwise, except that they repre sented a potential danger, — which, however, was not taken very seriously, — they were as ff in a world apart from the narrow strip of coast which was all there was of the Spanish California. Yet, because no appalling disaster ever happened, one must not forget that the possibibty was always present. 383 384 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Two or three thousand Yumas had shown, in 1781, what the Indians could do, if only they would make the effort, and the San Diego conspiracy of a few years before had narrowly missed success. The Indians of the mission area alone could at any time have overwhelmed the paltry two to four hun dred soldiers of the Spanish garrison if they had been willing to follow the example of their brethren of the Colorado. The presence of the Indians was as necessary, however, as it was dangerous, for they were the chief economic sustain of the province. Not only at the missions, but also in the settle ments of the whites, the Indians performed most of the labor. The soldiers, indeed, were required to do some work, but the usual methods were to contract for a number of mis sion Indians or else to pick them up from the unconverted tribes through bargaining with the chiefs. The "people of reason" {gente de razon), or civilized ele ment, who for convenience may be called "whites," were in fact of varying shades of color. The officers and mission aries were for the most part of pure white blood, but the great majority of the rest were mestizos — part white and part Indian. In the Los Angeles district there were some mulat- toes. The amount of what is commonly called "blue blood" was also distinctly bmited. Not a few of the Spanish Cali fornians were ex-convicts ; indeed, some of them were at the time under sentence, being required to live in Alta Califorriia as a penalty for their crimes! Some others were foundlings from the streets of Mexico. Unpromising material as so many of them were, they yet fulfilled a great purpose in his tory, and the descendants from even the meanest of them have good cause to feel pride in then ancestry. ! The principal white element were the military, composed at first of almost the entire adult population, except for the missionaries. In course of time there came to be a group of retired veterans at the presidios and ranches and a body of civilians in the pueblos who were indeed subject to call for military service, but were not enrolled in the permanent garrison. A few small traders and vagabond sailors drifted in, especially in the second decade of the nineteenth century. SPANISH CALIFORNIAN INSTITUTIONS 385 when foreigners began to come. The following estimates have been made of the total white population in the Spanish era: 1780 600 1810 2130 1790 970 1820 3270 1800 1200 These figures, when analyzed, show an even smaller advance in human resources than at first sight they seem to represent. The numbers for 1780 were made up mainly of men; the women and children of the Rivera (1774) and Anza (1776) expeditions and such children as had since been born in the province were the only others. The figures for 1790 include the settlers who escaped the Yuma massacre of 1781. Upon these three expeditions the human foundations of Alta Cali fornia were laid. All accounts agree as to the extraordinary fecundity of the Spanish Californians, though the death rate must also have been shockingly great. At all events, it would seem that the population of 1820 could hardly have represented more than five hundred men, — or about the same number that there were some forty years before. There were four types of settlement in which men of Spanish blood were to be found: missions; presidios; civilian towns {pueblos); and ranches. Today one hears most of missions, in part because of the writings of the friars (es pecially Palou), who left behind them ample records of then toil, but more particularly due to the fact that the mission ruins are the most obvious, most noteworthy, and most famous tangible remains of the Spanish era. Because the missions were also the principal constructive factor in the reduction of the Indians to Spanish rule, — granted that the military were in a negative way still more essential for the retention of the province, — they merit first place in any discussion of Spanish Californian institutions. Both in theory and in practice the missions of Alta Cabfor nia resembled, almost exactly, those established elsewhere in*the Americas by the Spaniards. The general description already given is therefore applicable to them.1 It may be 1 See chapters XII and XXVIII. 386 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA noted that the Indians of Alta California were so backward that the absolute sway of the missionaries over them was if anything more pronounced than in many other mission fields. As elsewhere the Indians were not compelled to accept Christianity, but once in the mission system they could not leave it. They were required to give up then savage type of life, and made to work at agriculture, stock-raising, and menial tasks. During LasueVs presidency they began to be taught certain forms of rough manufacturing and carpentery. In everything, then time was planned for, and not by, them. Acts of disobedience were punished by whipping or imprison ment. In the period of Serra and Lasuen, when both mis sionary zeal and .the peril of Indian uprisings were greater, the evidence would seem to indicate that the treatment was more kindly than afterward. For example, it was in later years that the practice became general for the missionaries to furnish Indian labor for work outside the missions. Even as early as 1786 Lap6rouse, the French navigator, compared the missions to the negro slave plantations of his own coun trymen in Santo Domingo. He did indeed in all sincerity praise the missionaries, but said that they were enslaving the Indians in this life, to save them in the next. He himself saw men and women in stocks or in irons, and also spoke of whippings. The missions of Alta California were the richest institu tions in the province. They and then visitas2 possessed the best lands, and were almost alone in cultivating the soil. Their flocks were easily the largest, wherefore tbey were in the best position to carry on the hide and tallow trade which was the principal economic support of the province after 1810. Following the impulse given during the rule of Father Lasuen, the missions attained to considerable importance in rude manufactures, being without other competitors in the field. The Indians worked up the blankets and coarse fabrics of which they themselves made use. They tanned hides, and made shoes and certain parts of saddles. The year 1798 was 1 Best known of the visitas is Pala, often regarded, mistakenly, as having been one of the missions. SPANISH CALIFORNIAN INSTITUTIONS 387 marked by the first appearance of home-made soap, a mis sion product, like the rest. Coarse pottery was made at the missions, and flour mills were operated. When foreign traders came, seeking hides and tallow or perhaps a store of grain, they got the largest quantities and best quality at the missions, and paid for them with cloths of superior texture, fine wines and liquors, and other " civilized articles" such as could not be made in Alta California. This trade was against the law of both government and church, but the statutes were almost, if not quite, a dead letter. Indeed, the trade was necessary to the existence of the province, for some of the foreign goods were essential to a decent standard of living, — and besides, the silks, satins and laces, to say nothing of the cognac and champagne, made life infinitely more delightful. In this connection it may be mentioned that the Alta Cali fornia friars did not bold to the provision of the law for bidding them to permit white men, other than friars and the military guard, to stop at the mission over night. Guests were in fact received, and often most lavishly entertained. *1>i It is obvious from the foregoing that the missionaries of Alta California were something more than teachers of re ligion. The wide powers of then administration made them virtuaAowners and managers of7a vast "economic plant. They were farmers, cattlemen, manufacturers, traders, and, in a sense, bankers and inn-keepers, as well as preachers. In various of these capacities they were also great employers of labor.3 Passing over the matter of the relations of the missionaries with the other Spanish elements in the province,4 one may 'The question as to what become hospitality to guests, but few would of the funds which the missionaries object to their enjoyment of these received is too much matter of con- somewhat mild compensations for troversy to permit of a categorical an otherwise unpleasant lot. Asser- statement. It can hardly be doubted, tions have been made that they sent however, that they were devoted to their surplus funds to the general what, in the opinion of the mission- treasury of their order, thus diverting aries, was most conducive to the ac- them from the Indians. These as- complishment of the primary objects sertions have however been vigor- of the mission. The friars are reputed ously denied. to have lived rather well themselves 4 Already discussed in chapters and to have displayed a generous XII and XXVIII. 388 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ask the question whether the missions were successful. Considered narrowly, from the standpoint of their primary objects, they were not; indeed, they were foredoomed to failure. It is true that they did make Christians of many Indians, but the feeble intellects of the natives were utterly unable to penetrate the deeper meanings of the new religion. Theirs was always a rote Christianity, and could not by any possibility have become more. The friars also taught the Indians a civilized mode of life, but this too, like the Catholic faith, did not and could not sink in. In later years, when the guiding hand of the missionary was withdrawn, most of the Indians either reverted to savagery or else resorted to a drunken and bestial type of "civilization." It is perhaps true that the mission system did prolong the life of the In dian tribes of the coast, but, even so, the efforts in this direction were without permanent result. It has been esti mated that in all California to-day there are not more than some 15,000 Indians, and this includes the descendants of the far more numerous tribesmen who lived beyond the pale of the missions. The work of the Franciscans in Alta Cali fornia was humanitarian in laudable degree, but its ultimate effect upon the Indians was nil. And yet, if one may judge institutions by their contri butions to history, quite apart from the intentions which were the basis for their direction in then own day, it is im possible to regard the mission as anything but a great suc cess. Possibly its greatest historical service in Alta Califor nia was the help it rendered in holding the province for the civilized world, and more particularly for Spain and (as it proved) the United States. Even the kindliness which lay at the root of the institution was not wasted. It is the foun dation upon which men of a later day have reared the struc ture of California history. It is the cornerstone of California art, literature, and sentiment. Less romantic than the missions in contemplation, the presidios were, notwithstanding, — at least, negatively, — the backbone of the province and the scene of happier asso ciations than fell to the lot of the institutions over which SPANISH CALIFORNIAN INSTITUTIONS 389 the friars presided. If the missionaries were an important agency in the scheme of Spanish conquest, the military were a sine qua non of the system. Without them, any extension of the Spanish realms was impossible. In Alta California they were few in number and inadequately equipped, but were able to check the thousands of Indians in the province. They were also the principal element in the prevention of a foreign occupation which would have been disastrous, to the aspirations of the ultimate possessors of Alta California. Some idea has already been given of the difficulties a foreign invader would have had in conquering this distant part of the world, unless he should have come in force. The mere presence of a garrison was, however, enough to prevent such an invasion, not through fear of failure in the attack, but through dislike of stirring up complications with Spain, which would have been the inevitable result. Thus the Russians, who might have conquered the province, held back from so doing because of the friendly relations existing be tween then government and the court of Madrid. Even the Engbsh, who were desirous of gaining a foothold in Alta California, were not willing to provoke a war to secure then ends, and on the several occasions when war occurred affairs in the north Pacific were of minor import, since England found herself confronted at her very doors not only by Spain but also by France and other enemies. Reverting again to the services of the military within the province, they were an essential part of the missions themselves. Not a mission was founded without soldiers, and none existed without them. Usually a corporal and five or six soldiers were assigned to each mission to protect the friars from then charges and to render other services. The presidios were the social and political centres of Alta California. In addition to the soldiers of the garrision, then famihes were also present. Later, others came, and veritable towns sprang up. Recognizing this, the Spanish authorities established a formal pueblo, or town, government for the presidial estabbsbments by a law of the year 1791. This went into effect in 1794. Monterey, as the capital and resi- 390 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA dence of the governor, was the most important presidial town. It was the principal resort of provincial society, the place to which the rancher made his way, and to which foreign navigators and traders paid then visits, — though the latter, indeed, were well acquainted with the whole coast, especially with San Francisco. Life at the presidios was characterized first of all by at tention to military affairs. But there was a much more agreeable side: "Life was one continuous round of hospitality and social amen ities, tempered with vigorous outdoor sport. There were no hotels in California. Every door was open, and food, lodging, a fresh horse, and money, even, were free to the guest, whether friend or stranger. No white man had to concern himself greatly with work, and even school books were a thing apart. Music, games, dancing, and sprightly conversation — these were the occupations ofthe time — these constituted education. Also, men and women were much in the open; all were expert horsemen, could throw a lasso, and shoot unerringly, even the women, accomplishments which fitted their type of life, and made hunting a general pastime. When for eign ships came, there were balls and the gayest of festivals, nor were these visits the only occasion for that type of entertainment." This paragraph, though written with respect to the province in general, is particularly applicable to tbe presidial towns. There were, however, prominent vices. Tbe Californians shared in the almost universal Hispanic American proclivity for gambling. They drank heavily of very nearly raw liquor, as well as of fine wines when they could get them. And they did not resist the temptations afforded by the proximity of tbe women of a subject race. On the other hand, there was a plenitude of romantic love-making among themselves — in all earnest, this, — followed usually by an early marriage and the rearing of a large family. Economically the presidios depended for many years on the San Bias ships. The need for supplies of food through this medium grew less and less until it disappeared, but goods and effects were always required. With the outbreak of the Spanish American Wars of Independence in 1810, the supply-ships ceased to come for a number of years, and never SPANISH CALIFORNIAN INSTITUTIONS 391 again resumed a regular traffic. Then it was that the missions enabled the presidios to get the things which formerly had been provided by the government. Foreign vessels supplied the goods, which were paid for with mission products. The presidial commanders gave drafts on the Spanish treasury to the missionaries, — and the drafts were never honored. Indian slavery, stock-raising, agriculture, and illicit trade existed at the presidios, but much less in proportion than in the other types of settlement, though commerce with foreign ships was to a great extent carried on at certain presidial posts under the eyes of the soldiery. In fine, the presidios were the principal centres in a world apart, — a happy Utopia from about 1782 to 1810. Even in those years many things were always lacking; the garrison at San Francisco once had to borrow powder from a Russian ship in order that it might fire a salute. After 1810, however, the misery of the soldiers and their families must have out weighed tbe advantages of their comparative freedom from care. For ten years they received no pay, and then lot was wretched indeed. Throughout the Spanish period there was some communication with New Spain by way of the penin sula of Baja California, but this route was suitable only for carrying mail and for the infrequent comings of individual settlers. The San Bias ships and foreign vessels remained the principal connecting links with the outside world. Far less important than either mission or presidio were the pueblos, or civilian towns. There were three of them: San Jose and Los Angeles, founded by"Governor Neve, respectively in 1777 and 1781, andtBranciforte, founded by Governor Borica in 1797. The last-named was of such scant importance that its identity was eventually lost in that of the mission, Santa Cruz, the name of which has been taken for the city now covering the sites of the former mission and pueblo. The inhabitants were of "poorer quality than those of the presidial towns, and were of mongrel racial types. The original settlers of Los Angeles, for example, had far more Indian and negro blood than white, though all were part Spanish. Not one of them could read or write. By all 392 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA accounts they were a dissolute, immoral, lazy, gambbng lot. Between 1792 and 1795 the pueblos received an increase in population through the sending of a number of artisans from Mexico; these artisans were also criminals. Present-day Californians need not feel in the least surprised or shocked by these details. No pioneer country in real life is ever very lovely, especially if the inhabitants are unwilling settlers. Nor should the modest character of certain of the Spanish Californians lessen one's pride in tbe greatness of their ser vices. The case of Australia is in many respects a parallel. Some of the most capable men in Australia today are said to be descendants of criminals who were members of the penal colony at Botany Bay about a century ago. Many of the English settlers of the West Indies and what are now the southern states of this country were quite as poor timber as the Spanish Californians. In the early years following their estabbshment, the pueblos were maintained at state expense, and the settlers even received the pay and rations of soldiers. Later, they were required to subsist by their own efforts, through the products of their stock-raising and agriculture. In times of need they were to serve as militia. As usually happens in the healthful atmosphere of the frontier, there gradually evolved a decent element ; it was perhaps the first time that they or then families had had an opportunity. They were always looked down upon, however, by the upper-class society of Monterey and the other presidial towns. It was not until 1817 that the first beam of educational light pene trated the murky depths of pueblo ignorance. In that year a school was opened in Los Angeles. ' In the following year San Jose's first school was established. Life in general resembled that of the presidial towns, butfwas on a much lower social plane. Least important of the types of settlement in Spanish days were the private ranches, but they should not be left out in any account of the pre- American beginnings of the Golden State. Of the some six hundred so-called "Spanish land grants," the overwhelming majority dated from the Mexican SPANISH CALIFORNIAN INSTITUTIONS 393 era. The Spanish government was unfavorable to the in stitution, preferring that the settlers should live in commu nities, the better to ensure defence and the preservation of order. Some twenty such grants were made in the Spanish period, however, usually to retired presidial officers. The law provided that grants were to be not more than three square leagues (about twelve square miles), and they were not to infringe upon the lands of missions, pueblos, or Indian towns. One of the most famous of these grants was that given to Luis Peralta in 1820. Little did the Spanish soldier who received it realize how his estates would appear at the end of a century. Today there are hundreds of thousands of people upon them, for the thriving cities of Alameda, Oak land, and Berkeley have been carved out of the old Peralta holdings. On them too are the grounds of one of the largest educational plants in the United States, the University of California. The laws were not always carried out to the letter in awarding grants, especially those affecting boundaries. Vast as were then estates, the ranchers wanted more. In the Mexi can period they were indeed given larger areas, receiving as much as eleven square leagues (about thirty-eight square miles). What they wanted most of all was the particularly good land in the control of the missionaries. Naturally, the missionaries resented the ranchers' encroachments, and there was a never-ending quarrel between them. On his ranch the owner was like a bttle king, with many Indian dependents. The sole economic basis of the ranch was stock; of agriculture there was none. After 1828, when the Mexican government granted freedom of trade, the ranchers became wealthy from then sales of hides and tallow to the foreign ships. On the rare occasions when visitors or wayfarers stopped at a ranch, the owner entertained bountifully. His home and everything in it were at the disposal of his guests. It was even the custom to leave money in the guest-chamber, which the visitor was expected to take if he needed it, thus delicately obviating the necessity of a verbal request for help. When the guest left, he could count 394 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA on receiving a horse to carry him along his way. Except for occasional trips to Monterey or some other town, this was all that there was of social amenities in the life of the rancher, The political system of Alta California was that of an absolutism. The fundamental documents were the already discussed Echeveste reglamento (1773), the instructions to Rivera (1773) and Neve (1776), and especially the Neve reglamento (1779), which ruled in the province for more than forty years. The governor was the military and political head, uniting all the functions of government in his own person — executive, legislative, and judicial. According to the changes of jurisdiction he was subject either to the vice roy or the commandant-general in mibtary and pobtical affairs, but to the Audiencia of Guadalajara in judicial matters. Owing to the greatness in distance and time sepa rating him from the viceroyalty he was in fact a veritable dictator. A strong viceroy, like Bucareli, could impose his will upon him, but otherwise there was very slight control by the authorities in New Spain, though then right to it was absolute. Subject to the governor, the captains of presidios exercised in then own district the same type of authority that the governor did in the province, with the reservation of a right of appeal to the governor in certain cases. With a like appeal to the governor the corporals at the missions had authority over their men and criminal jurisdiction over the Indians. They frequently clashed with the missionaries as to the dividing bne where the power of the corporals ceased and that of the missionaries began. The pueblos, in theory, had a measure of independence which they did not possess in fact. Just as the medieval Spanish kings established then authority in towns through their agents, the corregidores, so did the governors set up theirs in Alta California by placing comisionados (commis sioners) of their own appointment in the pueblos. They were supposed to represent the governor and to administer justice. In practice their word was law, save only in the case of an appeal to the governor. With the consent of the comisionado, or at least in such matters as he did not oppose, certain local SPANISH CALIFORNIAN INSTITUTIONS 395 officials might act. These were the alcalde, a kind of mayor and petty justice combined (though in Spanish California the comisionado more often exercised the judicial power), and the regidores, or members of the town council. The missionaries had the power of the father of a family over the Indians at the mission, amounting to economic ownership of the Indians and extensive civil authority, exercised with the aid of Indian alcaldes, whom they virtually selected, though in theory the Indians themselves elected them. The governor had superior rights in criminal jurisdic tion, mibtary affairs, and matters of general pobcy, but otherwise was not supposed to intervene. Within the sphere of his powers the' Father-President was absolute, subject however to the College of San Fernando in Mexico. The individual missionaries had a similar power, subject to the Father-President, at then missions. So much has already been said of the social and economic factors in the life of Alta Cabfornia, that a bare summary will suffice bere. With respect to the former it should be pointed out that there never was anything approaching a democratic, dead level in the society of the province such as was the case in the western territories of the United States. There were very marked social differences, based on rank (usually mibtary) and blood, and very distinctly there was a Spanish Cabfornian aristocracy, most, or all, of whose members lived in the presidial towns or on the ranches. As affecting the blood of the inhabitants it is to be noted that Alta California became a veritable haven for foreign white sailors, who came for short intervals or (toward the end of the Spanish period, but more particularly in later years) to reside permanently in the province. In part due to their advent the Indian and negro blood of the mestizos tended gradually to disappear. The economic basis of Alta Cabfornia was for many years that of government aid. A little help from Baja California was received at the outset; afterwards, there was nothing from that quarter. The short period in which the Anza route was used enabled the province to procure indispensable 396 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA assistance. And down to 1810 the San Bias ships came regu larly. Stock-raising and agriculture at the missions early began to help in the problem of subsistence. Later, the same occupations developed at the pueblos, though in less degree than at the missions, and a stock-raising industry came into being at the ranches. The sale of hides and tallow and food suppbes to foreign ships was the foundation for a beginning of commerce, which made up for the eventual failure of the San Bias boats. Through these foreign vessels Alta California first came in contact with luxuries as well as with other more essential articles of manufacture. The intellectual attainments of the Spanish Californians do not call for protracted description. Education, when it existed at all, was made up of bttle more than instruction in the catechism and reading and writing. A large proportion of the Spanish-blooded population was wholly unlettered. There were no regular schools. By fits and starts the various settlements would hue, or dispense with, a teacher, who assuredly could not have pretended to be a master at his trade. The Californians had bttle idea of events or condi tions in the world outside. The United States was habitually referred to as "Boston," since the American vessels were almost invariably "Boston ships." In the arts of conversa tion, dancing, and the playing of simple musical instruments, especially the guitar, they were indeed accompbshed. These things they drank in with then mother's milk as part of their heritage from Spain. This then was that out-of-the-world Alta Cabfornia, un conscious of its destiny and of the really important part it was playing. These were the principal institutions in what Morse Stephens has called "that Spanish background against which is now reared one of the proudest and most self-conscious States of the United States of America." CHAPTER XXXI THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, 1782-1810 If there is any period of California history with respect to which one has a right to relegate matters of great import to a secondary place and to deal primarily with affairs of the moment, that embraced by the years 1782 to 1810 may very well be selected. Before that time the problems of mak ing and conserving the Spanish establishments and of bare existence were too absorbing to permit of anything else out stripping them in the eyes of the inhabitants themselves or in the writings of posterity. After 1810 internal difficulties multiplied, and notable events took place which demand attention because of their effect on the ultimate destiny of the province, wherefore pleasant gossip takes its usual place in the background. Even in the years of the "romantic period" there were happenings of note. This was the time of the Nootka affair, when the long Spanish advance was stopped; this was the era of the awakening of foreign interest, when the Engbsh, Russians, and Americans had then earliest contacts with Alta California; and these were years when within the province the questions of subsistence and of set tled life were resolved. Yet all of these matters were either the "tag-ends" of what had gone before or else the mere beginnings of greater affairs to come, and they may be treated more appropriately at the same time with events of earber or later periods. By 1782 the last group of settlers who had come by the Anza route had estabbshed themselves in their new homes. In that year, too, the fiery but lovable Catalan, Pedro Fages, arrived, to begin his second term of office as governor of the province. In 1810 came the outbreak 397 398 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA of the Spanish American Wars of Independence, which brought about a cessation of the voyages of the San Bias boats. It is the function of this chapter to record some of the occurrences in the intervening years which seemed inter esting at the time to the Spanish Californians themselves. Governor Fages, some years before, had married Eulalia de Callis, a Catalan lady of quality who was even more of a firebrand than was the good Don Pedro himself. When Fages went to Alta California for the second time, Dona Eulaba and her son Pedro remained behind. Fages very much wanted them to be with him, and wrote a number of letters which have a pecubarly modern sound in their demon stration of the meagre reach of his marital authority. For example, he wrote to Captain Jose Antonio de Rom6u in Sonora to "use his influence" to induce Dona Eulalia to come; evidently he despaired of his own powers of persua sion. Dona Eulaba at first refused, but both Neve and Romeu joined forces to assure her that Alta California was not wholly barbarous, wherefore she consented to join her husband there. As far as Loreto she was escorted by Captain Joaquin Cafiete. There, in May 1782, she was met by Fages. Between July 1782 and January 1783, Dona Eulalia made the long journey to Monterey. The whole trip was something in the nature of a royal progress, for there was a succession of receptions in her honor given by the mission aries, soldiers, settlers, and even the Indians. Indeed, her coming was a great event. Not only was she the wife of the governor, but she was also the first lady of rank and social standing who had ever visited the province. However Dona Eulalia may have enjoyed the attentions showered upon her, she was shocked by conditions as she found them. In particular she was distressed by the number of naked Indians that she saw. Thereupon she began im pulsively to give away both her own clothes and those of Don Pedro, until the latter pointed out to her that she could not replenish then wardrobe; there were no shops in Alta California. That checked Dona Eulaba's reckless generosity, THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, 1782-1810 399 though it is true that she continued to deserve a reputation for charity. She managed to "endure " Alta California until after the birth of her daughter (August 3, 1784). Then she announced thaVshe had had enough. And straightway there was trouble. Unable to persuade Don Pedro to allow her to pack herself and her children off to New Spain, Dona Eulaba resorted to coercive measures against her legal lord and master. She exiled him from her apartments, and during three months made him keep his distance, hardly so much as communi cating with him. Finding that Fages did not respond to absent treatment, Dona Eulalia became suspicious, and at length convinced, though without justifiable grounds, that Fages was paying altogether too much attention to a servant girl whom he had picked up among the Indians of the Colorado. Thereupon she broke silence with Fages, and accused him of infidelity in a torrent of words. More over, she rushed into the street and "told everybody," vowing that she would get a divorce. The friars tried to reconcile her, and said that they found no grounds for a divorce. She responded that she would go to the infierno (Hell) before she would go again to Fages. The friars or dered her to stay at home in seclusion for a while and to do no more talking. The above incident took place in February 1785. It came at a time when Fages Was obliged by gubernatorial duty to make a trip to the south. He therefore asked Father Noriega to take care of Dona Eulaba at Mission San Carlos dur ing his absence. Father Noriega consented, and sent for Dona Eulalia, but she refused to go, locking herself and her babies in her room. Then the much-tried Don Pedro showed his temper. He broke down the door, and when his gentle helpmeet still refused to go to the mission threatened to tie her up and take her. So Dona Eulaba went. She made the friars pay for her humiliation. During her stay at the mis sion they could not manage her at all. She put on display some of her outbreaks in the church itself, to the great 400 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA scandal of all who witnessed them. Indeed, the friars be came so much out of patience with her that at one time they threatened to flog her and put her in chains. They did not yield to the impulse, however. At length, after a quarrel of about a year, Fages and his wife were reconciled, in September 1785. The governor had desired it, all along, for he was in fact devoted to Dona Eulalia. The latter became satisfied that her charges against Fages were unfounded, and consented to return to him. From this time forth, there is no further evidence of unto ward incidents between them, — but it is likely under the circumstances that they occurred, for Dona Eulaba did not give up her attempts to get away from Alta California. In the very next month after then reconcibation she wrote a petition to the Audiencia of Guadalajara asking for Fages' removal on the alleged ground of his ill-health. Fages did not know of the petition until after it had been sent. He then made every effort to head it off, and was successful, The documents do not say what happened in tbe meantime at the gubernatorial residence. Dona. Eulalia seems . finally to have won the fight. Early in 1790 Fages himself asked to be rebeved. His petition was granted, and Jose" Antonio de Romeu was appointed in his place. In the fall of 1790, as soon as the news reached Mon terey, Eulaba and her children took the San Bias boat, and left the province. Fages had been told that he need not await the coming of his successor, but he stayed on for another year, until October or November 1791. He probably joined his family in Mexico City, and is supposed to have died in 1796. Pedro Fages was a man of no inconsiderable abibty and even intellectual capacity. His reports merit more study than they have yet received. Not only are they full of in formation about the province, but they are also well organ ized and weU written. He had many amiable and appealing qualities. He was brave, energetic, and dashing, and was also conscientious. He was exceedingly fond of children; they ¦¦ THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, 1782-1810 401 could count on him for sweets, which he carried about with him in his pockets for then delectation. He was indeed hot- tempered, — Who can blame him! — but his exhibitions of temper served only to bring out by contrast the essential generosity and kindliness of his nature. Furthermore, he was devoted to Alta California, and not eager to get away, as his predecessors had been. This love for the province had one of its manifestations in the interest he took in his estate at Monterey. He had an orchard of some six hundred fruit-trees, besides shrubs and grape-vines, and was proud of it. Altogether, Californians should remember Pedro Fages as one of the best governors of the Spanish era. Much has already been said about Alta California's problems concerning food-supply and domestic animals. Prices current in Fages' time help to show that these diffi culties had been pretty well solved. Counting the peso as equivalent to the dollar, but remembering the very great difference between the value of money then and now, some figures may be given, for purposes of illustration. Horses cost from $3 to $9, but saddles were more expensive, — $12 to $16. Sheep brought from $.75 to $2. Mules were worth from $14 to $20; they served as beasts of burden, which were always less numerous and more in demand than other ani mals, and therefore more costly. The price of meat may well make any modern house-keeper sigh. One could get a dozen quail for $.25. Jerked beef was worth $.03 a pound and fresh beef only $.01! Eggs, however, were high, — at $.24 a dozen. f: One of the most interesting as well as most important features of the closing years of the eighteenth century was the coming of foreign ships to Alta California. Down to 1786 none but Spanish vessels had visited the province, but in that year a famous French voyager, the already-men tioned Comte de Laperouse, put in at Monterey, and ma,de a beginning of Spanish California's communication with the outside world. Laperouse had been sent out by the French government on a voyage of exploration and scientific iiscovery around the world, but was also to be on tbe look- 402 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA out for lands which might eventually become French col onies. He was instructed to find out the condition, force, and aim of the Spanish settlements in the Californias, note at what degree of latitude the fur trade began, and report on the facibties there might be for French establishments north of Monterey. Leaving France in August 1785 Laperouse followed Cook's route around South America to the Hawaiian Islands and the northwest coast, which he touched on July 4, 1786, in 58°37'. Proceeding down the coast he reached Monterey on September 14, 1786, staying only until the 24th. He met with a most generous reception on the part of Governor Fages, Father-President Lasuen, and others. The Spanish settlers at first refused to take pay for the suppbes he pro cured from them. At length they consented, but would not take much. There were entertainments to the limit of the province's capacity. One can well imagine that Dona Eulalia must have been at her best on these occasions. Laperouse and his companions made good use of their ten-day stay by getting an adequate idea of conditions in the province. Indeed, their description has been charac terized as one of the most remarkable ever made for its "ac curacy, comprehensiveness, and kindly fairness." There was much in it of scientific character about geography, cbmate, resources, and Indians. The military and political functions and the mission system were also covered. They looked forward to a great future for Alta California, but felt that progress would be slow under Spanish rule. The fur trade was the only immediate economic prospect, they said, and gave then further opinion that it would be a century, or perhaps two centuries, before Alta California would attract the attention of maritime powers. They could not foresee the discovery of gold, which was to hasten the development of the Pacific coast. Leaving Alta Cabfor nia, Laperouse crossed over to China. In 1788 he was in New Zealand. This was the last that was ever heard of him. Undoubtedly his ship and ab on board were lost in one of the many unrecorded disasters of maritime history. THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, 1782-1810 403 Fortunately for posterity he had just previously forwarded his journal to France. In 1788 the first American ships appeared on the coast of of the Californias, though far north of the settled part in Alta California. These were the Columbia and Lady Wash ington, commanded respectively by Captains James Kendrick and Robert Gray, the first American navigators to sail in the waters of the Pacific. Their principal interest in the present account is the attitude of the Spanish authorities toward them. In May 1789, acting on advices from New Spain, Governor Fages wrote to Jose Dario Arguello, com mander of the presidio of San Francisco, warning him that a boat called the Columbia, "which is said to belong to General Washington," had entered the Pacific with a companion ship in order to make discoveries and inspect the existing Russian settlements. Arguello was ordered to capture these vessels if they should come to San Francisco. This document is the earliest reference to the United States that has thus far been found in the annals of Alta California. From this time forward, mention of the United States was more frequent. As already stated, the term "Boston" usually served for the entire country on the opposite coast of the continent. For example, an Indian from Nootka who was baptized at Soledad in May 1793 was described as the son of an Indian killed by Captain Gray of the ship Lady Washington "be longing to the Congress of Boston." As for Kendrick and Gray, they avoided the dire (?) fate that may have been in store for them by failing to make port in Alta California. Gray is believed to have first reached coast off the northern part of what is now the state of California. This he did on August 2, 1788. Thence he proceeded northward to Nootka, where presently he was joined by Kendrick in the Columbia. In the next year Gray transferred to the Columbia, took her to China (where he picked up a cargo of tea), and went on around the world, arriving in Boston in .1790, this being the first time that a ship flying the American flag had ever encircled the globe. 404 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA It was not long afterward that an American did come to Alta California. He was a member of the famous Spanish voyage of discovery of the Descubierta and Atrevida, under the command of Alejandro Malaspina. Malaspina had left Spain in 1789 with the object of making scientific explora tions in various lands of the Pacific. After a considerable stay in South America, he struck for the northwest coast of the northern continent, which he reached above 60°. Here his principal object was to decide, once for all, whether the much talked of Strait of Anian in fact existed. He therefore made careful surveys of the coast ali the way down to Mon terey, which he reached on September 13, 1791. In his ship's company was a certain "John Groem" (Graham? Groom?), who was described as having come originally from "Boston;" he had shipped at Cadiz as a gunner. This man, the first American to reach Alta California, came there to stay. He was landed at Monterey and buried on the day of Malaspina's arrival. As for Malaspina he departed from the Alta Cali fornia capital on the 25th of September. It was only a few weeks after this event that Romeu took over from Fages the government of the province. Nothing of special interest occurred during Romeu's brief rule. The new governor was in poor health. In 1792 he died, and Jose" Joaquin de Arrillaga, at the time governor of Baja Califor nia, became acting-governor of the northern province, a post which he held for two years. Arrillaga, who was again to be governor (in full proprietorship, at the later time) from 1802 to 1814, deserves at least passing notice as a respectable figure in California history. He was a native of the Basque province of Guipuzcoa in Spain, but had served for many years in the New World. He was honest, of ex cellent character in private life, and a devout Christian. In that he knew how to obey orders to the letter and execute them he was efficient, but there was nothing of initiative or originality about him. He was severely criticized by the English navigator George Vancouver, but rarely by others, All in all, he was not a great governor, but was a worthy One. THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, 1782-1810 405 It was during the earlier administration of Arrillaga that the three visits of Vancouver to Alta California were made. The Nootka controversy of 1789-1794 brought many ves sels, mostly Spanish, to Alta California1. On November 14, 1792, Vancouver, who had come down the coast from Nootka, entered San Francisco Bay on his ship the Discovery, the first vessel other than those of the Spaniards which had ever put in at that port. A few days later, a second English ship, the Chatham, under William Broughton, entered the bay. Hermenegildo Sal was for the moment in command at San Francisco. He gave the visiting sailors a most cordial reception, and furnished them with supplies for which he would take no pay, though he did accept on behalf of the presidio and mission certain implements and ornaments and a hogshead each of wine and rum. During Vancouver's stay of twelve days there were many entertainments. On one occasion, too, the English commander was permitted to go down the peninsula to the mission of Santa Clara. Leaving San Francisco on November 26, Vancouver en tered the Bay of Monterey on the 27th. Here he found another of his own fleet, the Daedalus, and various Spanish ships under Bodega. Jose" Dario Arguello was temporarily in charge, in the absence of Governor Arrillaga, and he pro vided entertainment for his visitors on the greatest scale that Alta California had yet known. During the some fifty days of Vancouver's stay, there was a never-ending show of hospitality, both at the presidio and at the mission. As the English vessels prepared to depart they were again furnished with supplies free of charge. Among other things, the Daedalus received a cargo of cattle which it took to Austra lia; these were to be the first animals of that type in the great island continent. On January 15, 1793, both the English ships and the Spanish sailed away. Arrillaga had been in Baja California during the period of Vancouver's visit. When he heard of the cordial reception 1 During these five years the Span- the Spanish settlements in the old ish government maintained a post "Californias" ever reached. at Nootka, the farthest north that 406 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA which had been extended to the Engbsh navigator and his companions he was greatly displeased, especially because of the trip to Santa Clara which Sal had permitted Vancouver to make. The laws stipulated certain precautions against the entry of foreign ships and against then discovering the real weakness of the Spanish estabbshments. As a temporary governor, Arrillaga wished to take as little positive action as possible and merely hold the province, as it was, for the official who would soon succeed him. The courtesies to Van couver, he feared, might call down a reprimand upon him self. He therefore issued orders that they were not to be repeated in future. Foreign vessels could be furnished with supplies, but that was all. In the spring of 1793 Vancouver returned from the Ha waiian Islands, and spent several months exploring the coasts of "New Albion," as with Brittanic persistence he insisted upon caUing the Californias, with a view to perpetuating the name applied by Drake. At length, he turned south and on October 19 entered San Francisco Bay, eagerly looking for ward to more pleasures like those he had experienced the year before. His expectations were doomed to meet with a rude shock. He himself was treated courteously, but his men were not allowed to land, and he was asked about the object and length of his stay. Incensed at this treatment, Vancouver requested an explanation, and was informed that it was done at Governor Arrillaga's orders. After a stay of five days Vancouver left San Francisco. On November 1st he was at Monterey. This time his stay did not drag on into weeks and months. It lasted just four days. The San Francisco reception was repeated, possibly with a little more strictness, since Arrillaga himself was then at Monte rey. In his anger at the Spanish governor, Vancouver has represented the situation as worse than it was. In fact he was allowed to buy supplies on credit, land his men for exercise daytimes (though at a stipulated place), procure wood and water, and take astronomical observations. On November 10 Vancouver reached Santa Barbara, where Felipe de Goicoechea was in command. The same sorts THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, 1782-1810 407 of restrictions were met with, but the Spanish official chose to interpret them more liberally. Indeed, Vancouver was received so much more cordially than he had expected that he remained there eight days, and spoke of his stay at Santa Barbara in glowing terms. Going south he stopped a day at Ventura, and then sailed on to San Diego, which he reached on November 27. Here again Arrillaga's regulations were applied in a generous spirit. After a visit of twelve days, Vancouver set sail on December 9 for the Hawaiian Islands. In 1794, coming from Nootka, Vancouver paid his third and last visit to Alta California. This time he did not have to encounter the literal-minded Arrillaga. Reaching Monte rey on November 6 he found his old friend Jos6 Dario Arguello in command. On the 9th or the 11th Diego Borica, the new governor, arrived. Many courtesies were extended by these officers, and things were made so pleasant for Van couver that he remained for nearly a month, until December 2. Then, having taken on board a stock of provisions, he set sail for England by way of Cape Horn, exploring the coasts of South America as he went. In other days these activities as well as his earlier presence along the upper Californias coast would have been the signal for a series of Spanish voyages and conquests in avoidance of the Engbsh peril. That time had passed, however, and Vancouver's visits take their place merely in the group of interesting but unimportant incidents in the history of the province. Vancouver, like Laperouse, was much impressed by the natural advantages of Alta California, but criticized the Spaniards for their failure to make due use of their sur roundings, marvelling at the weakness of their establish ments. Alta California's greatest need, he said, was the stimulus of commerce, so as to create new wants and new industries and give a new value to lands and produce. With the exception of the Santa Barbara Indians he characterized the natives as the most miserable race he had ever seen. For the friars, who had always received him well, he had nothing but words of enthusiastic praise. Other Spaniards, 408 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA too, impressed him favorably as individuals, save only Arrillaga, upon whom he fairly emptied tbe vials of his wrath. Diego Borica, who had taken over the government at the time of Vancouver's last visit, was one of the most attractive figures of Spanish days, and should rank next after Neve and Fages among the best governors of that period. Like his immediate predecessor he was a Basque, but from the province of Alava. After a long military career in New Spain he had risen to the rank of lieutenant-colonel at the time of his appointment to Alta California. Later, he received a colonelcy. Borica was a most jovial character. His letters, even in his official correspondence, are teeming with wit and good humor. He seems also to have been a convivial diner. Vancouver, Puget,2 Alava,3 and Fidalgo3 were all good fellows, he once declared, but no better than he "before a dozen of Rhine wine port, or Madeira." With charac teristic optimism, too, he took delight in his surroundings, which many of his predecessors had been far from appre ciating. "To live much, and without care," he once wrote, "come to Monterey." Within a few weeks of his arrival he penned the following glowing description: "This is a great country; climate healthful, between cold and temperate; good bread, excellent meat, tolerable fish; and ion humeur which is worth all the rest. Plenty to eat, but the most astounding is the general fecundity, both of rationals and irra tionals. The climate is so good that all are getting to look like Englishmen.4 This is the most peaceful and quiet country in the world; one lives better here than in the most cultured court of Europe."5Unfortunately no very thorough-going study has yet been made of Borica's career. The student who approaches it will most certainly find it replete with human interest. During Borica's term, which lasted from 1794 to 1800, a number of foreign ships visited the province. After Van- 2 One of Vancouver's officers. B From the translation in Bancroft. 8 Spanish naval officers. This is in fact made up of excerpts 4 That is, fairer in features than from several letters. was usual in Spanish America. THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, 1782-1810 409 couver there came the English ship Phoenix in 1795, corn- commanded by Thomas Moore. The Phoenix stopped at Santa Barbara only. In 1796 William Broughton, coming from Nootka in the Discovery, touched at Monterey. In that same year the first United States vessel ever to anchor in Alta California ports put in an appearance. This was the naval vessel Otter, of six guns and twenty-six men, com manded by Ebenezer Dorr. The Otter was at Monterey from October 29 to November 6, where it took on a supply of wood and water. Dorr asked permission to put ashore some English sailors, a request that Borica was of course obliged to refuse. Dorr left them, anyway, ten men and a woman, who were in fact convicts from Botany Bay. In the light of the courtesies which he had extended, Borica quite naturally regarded this act as dishonorable. He put the men to work, and later sent the whole group to New Spain. In 1799 Captain James Rowan in the Eliza stopped at San Francisco, and in 1800 Captain Charles Winship of the Betsy put in at San Diego. Both ships were American. A number of other foreign vessels passed up and down the coast, but did not make port. Meanwhile, the Spanish ves sels from San Bias and Manila came in or went by, as usual. Borica's administration was one of general progress, rather than of outstanding events. All ranks of society received aid and encouragement. This was the era of Lasuen's great est activity as Father-President, rendered possible by the harmonious and friendly relations between him and the governor. In this period the social life of Monterey was in one of its most interesting stages. Not only did the governor contribute to make it so, but so also did his wife (a wealthy woman) and daughter, both of whom were popular. When his term expired, he sailed from San Diego for New Spain iii January 1800. Going to Durango he died there on July 19 of the same year. Pedro de Alberni, commander of the Catalan company, succeeded to the governorship on the departure of Borica. Nothing of note happened during his brief rule. Alberni himself seems to have been a popular governor. He died at Monterey in 1802. 410 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Arrillaga now came into power for the second time, and remained in command until his death at Soledad mission in 1814. Almost at the outset, on June 26, 1803, the old Father- President, Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, passed away. In the next year came the final separation of Alta and Baja Cabfornia. Other events of Arrillaga's term may in the main be treated elsewhere, with a mere mention here of then- general character. From this time forward great numbers of foreign vessels visited the province, — fur-traders, whalers, seekers of hides and tallow, Practically all of them engaged to a greater or less extent in contraband trade. Eventu- aby, most of these ships came to be American, owing to the diversion effected by the Napoleonic wars in Europe, which, fortunately for the Americas, called forth the entire efforts and resources of the great over-seas colonizing powers. Spanish explorations beyond tbe Coast Range became more or less frequent, to tbe accompaniment, now and then, of battles with the Indians. The Russians appeared along the Alta California coast, and in 1812 founded settlements north of San Francisco Bay. Considerably farther north tbe Eng lish were making slow progress across the continent in an advance which was not long afterward to bring the Hud son's Bay Company within the boundaries of Alta Cabfor nia itself. And in 1810 came the beginning of the already- mentioned Spanish American Wars of Independence. The activities of the Russians in Alta California are much more important as affecting the eventual American occu pation than as concerns the purely local narrative of Spanish and Mexican days, wherefore it may more properly be left for treatment to the historian of American California. There is one incident, however, which belongs to Spain and contemporary romance. That is the story of the courtship of Rezanof the Russian and Concepci6n Arguello. Something has already been said about the advance of the Russians across Siberia and of then voyages to Alaskan waters, culminating in the founding of Sitka in 1799. In Alaska they experienced in even greater degree than had the Spaniards in Alta Cabfornia the difficulties attending settle- THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, 1782-1810 411 ment in a new and distant land. They found furs in abun dance, but lacked food supplies, and could not themselves produce them in the quality and amount required. This explains the Russian voyages to Alta California. That province was the nearest point from which they could ob tain the food on which then very lives depended. Early in the century the Russians in the "frozen north" began to hear tales of "sunny California" from English and American traders. In 1805 Nikolai Petrovitch Rezanof, imperial inspector and plenipotentiary of the Russian American Company, reached Sitka, charged with the duty of investi gating and improving the Russian colonies. He came to Sitka at a time of great distress and famine at that settle ment, — reminding one of early days in Alta California. One of the two Russian supply-ships had been wrecked, and the other for that year did not come. There was very little food on hand, and no way to get more. People began to eat eagles, crows, devil-fish, and almost anything that teeth could bite, and, as a result, scurvy and death made then- appearance. To add to then misery the colonists were in the midst of a season of cold rains. Luckily for them, the American ship Juno (Captain Wolfe) put in at Sitka. Re zanof bought both the ship and the entire cargo. The relief was substantial, but was only temporary. Rezanof therefore decided to take the Juno and go to Alta Cabfornia in search of suppbes. Accompanied by the surgeon and naturalist Dr. Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff, Rezanof left Sitka on March 8, 1806. Nearly all of the crew had scurvy, and the voyage was a race with death. On April 5, tbe Juno approached the en trance to San Francisco Bay. This was an anxious moment. Would the Spaniards try to stop them? But Rezanof was desperate, and resolved to pass the fort at any risk. The story goes that the Spanish guard called out: "What ship is that?" "Russian," answered Rezanof. "Let go your anchor," came the orders from the shore. "Yes, sir! Yes, sir!" Rezanof replied, — but kept the ship 412 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA going until it was well inside the harbor and out of range. There he was safe, for there was not so much as a row-boat within the bay. The entry into the Bay of San Francisco was against Spanish law, as Rezanof well knew. Naturally, therefore, he felt considerable apprehension over the success of his mis sion. He had to get suppbes! But in the light of his disregard of the challenge from the fort, would the Spaniards furnish them? It would not do, either, to make known how weak were the Russian settlements ; Spain and Russia were not at that time so friendly as they became after Napoleon's in vasion of the Spanish peninsula in 1808, and the existence of Russian Alaska might be endangered if the Spaniards knew what an easy prey it would be. Finding that no boats came out to the Juno, Rezanof at length sent Langsdorff and Lieutenant Davidoff ashore. They were met by Luis Arguello, in temporary command at San Francisco, in the absence of Jose Dario, his father. With Arguello was Father Francisco Uria of the mission. It is said that Langsdorff and Uria carried on the conversation in Latin, since none of the four knew both Spanish and Russian.6 At any rate, the Russians were web received. It happened that orders had arrived telling of a Russian voyage of discovery around the world and calling upon the authorities in Alta California to treat the foreign navi gators with courtesy if they should come to the province. Arguello had at first believed that the Juno might be one of the ships in question. So he entertained Rezanof and his officers at the Arguello home. There Rezanof explained that the ships of which Arguello had been informed had returned to Russia. Wishing to make an impression he announced that he himself was the ruler of the Russian possessions in North America, and said that he had come to Alta Califor nia to consult the governor about mutual interests. He was silent concerning his real object, — to procure supplies to keep tbe Russians in the north from starving, — lest he 6 This would seem to cast some manner of passing the fort when he doubt on the tale about Rez&nof's entered the bay. THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, 1782-1810 413 might compromise his chances of getting a cargo. He did not mention his urgent need, and did not ask to buy provisions. But he did make gifts to all who might help his cause, not merely to win then favor, but also to advertise the goods aboard the Juno. This policy met with initial success. The friars of various missions offered to barter food for some of the effects he had, if Governor Arrillaga's consent could be obtained. The news of Rezanof's arrival having reached Monterey, the governor himself came up to San Francisco. Both Re zanof and Arrillaga could talk French; so negotiations now proceeded more easily. There followed a battle of wits be tween the two men in which the Spaniard must be admitted to have carried off the honors. He succeeded in drawing out of Rezanof that he wanted food supplies, but the Rus sian claimed that he desired them only as samples to see if they were adapted to Alaska, and also argued the advantages of a mutual trade. Stickler for the letter of the law that he was, Arrillaga was about to refuse his consent to the pro posed exchange, saying that he could not take a violation of the statutes on his conscience. It was at this moment that there intervened a powerful factor to save the day for Rezanof. This new element was none other than a comely young woman, daughter of the commander at San Francisco — Concepci6n Arguello. The story is told by Rezanof's companion, Langsdorff. He draws a contrast between Alaska, with its starvation and other hardships and its hideous squaws, and Alta Cali fornia, where life ran the gamut of contentment in the abun dance of things that were pleasurable and the happy indolence of the inhabitants. Here there was plenty to eat and drink, tobacco to smoke, much riding by day, and un limited sleep at all hours. Here were fair women, the joy of the dance, and the much-indulged-in gentle art of making love. Naturally, the mind of Rezanof was disposed to be , impressed, and all the more so when he beheld Concepci6n Arguello, the acknowledged beauty among the young women of the province. 414 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA > Rezanof was indeed captivated by the lovely Concepci6n./ But there is a blot on the escutcheon of this famous romance. It was inextricably interwoven with Rezanof's game of diplomacy to get food. According to the English version of Langsdorff' s account: "The bright eyes of Donna Conception had made a deep im pression upon his heart; and he conceived that a nuptial union with the daughter of the Commandant at St. Francisco would be a vast step gained towards promoting the political objects he had so much at heart. He had therefore nearly come to a resolution to sacrifice himself by this marriage to the welfare, as he hoped, of the two countries of Spain and Russia." If Rezanof's love was somewhat self-contained, it would seem from this that it was, nevertheless, sincere. If he meant to use it to obtain his diplomatic ends, he also intended to carry on the courtship to its culmination in marriage. As for Concepci6n, there was no doubt at ab about her attitude. She was only sixteen! And she was not satisfied with the narrow bounds of her life in far away Alta California. Rezanof made famous and rapid progress, both in love, and, it would seem, in Spanish, spurred on by tbe delightful incentive of a bewitching young woman to talk to. Wily suitor that he was, he recounted the glories of the court at Saint Petersburg, stories that lost nothing in the telling. It was not long before be realized that he had this particular phase of his campaign well under control. As he tells it: "I imperceptibly created in her an impatience to hear something serious from me on the subject." At the psychological moment he became duly "serious," and was quickly accepted. Thereupon he faced the next hurdle, that of the family and the friars, who interposed ob jections on the ground the Rezanof was of a different reli gious faith and that in any event he would carry Concepci6n away from them to Russia. Eventually the consent of parents and religious was accorded, provided that permis sion for the marriage might be obtained from the pope. So much for the courtship in itself. Meanwhile, it had all along been serving Rezanof's more mundane purposes. Con- THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, 1782-1810 415 cepci6n was in a position to know what her father and the governor were saying about his trading projects, and she passed the information along to Rezanof. Once betrothed, Rezanof became virtual master in the Arguello home. "From this time," he said, "I managed this port ... as my in terests required." Now, Rezanof had valuable aid in his efforts to win the con sent of jArribaga to the exchange of goods. Not only did he and the friars redouble then urgings, but also Concepci6n and Jose" Dario Arguello (her father), Arrillaga's best friend, pleaded with the governor. Before such an attack Arrillaga's "conscience" yielded. He gave his permission for this once, but would not agree to any trading in future, un less with the authorization of his superiors. The Juno was quickly laden, and with but little further delay Rezanof set sail, on May 21, for Alaska. The whole affair of the courtship of Rezanof and Con- cepci6n Arguello occupied little more than six weeks, but the real beauty of the tale is in the aftermath, as is so aburingly set forth in the famous poem of Bret Harte. Rezanof took his cargo to Alaska, and afforded great relief to the hard- pressed colony. Some time afterward he crossed over to Kamchatka. In September 1806 he left Okhotsk on the long journey across Siberia to European Russia. At Yakutsk he was taken sick, but resumed travel before he had fuby re covered. On March 1, 1807, at Krasnoyarsk, he died. Rezanof's constancy, therefore, was never tested. There is no evidence as to how he felt toward Concepci6n after he left Alta California. But as for the little Spanish Californian lady, she was faithfulness itself. For years she waited for her lover's return, or at least for some word from him, but none ever came. Suitors she might have had in plenty, but she wanted but the one. At length she took the robes of a nun, and devoted herself to a life of charity. When her father became governor of Baja California, she went there too for several years, probably from 1815 to 1819. ) For -a while she was back in Alta California, and went then to 416 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Guadalajara. In 1829, now thirty-eight years of age, she returned to Alta California, and thereafter remained, living for the most part with the De la Guerra family of Santa Barbara. Not until 1842, thirty-six years after Rezanof's departure, did she at last get word of the way in which he died. Sir George Simpson of the Hudson's Bay Com pany is said to have informed her. Bret Harte tells the story in the following lines : "Forty years on wall and bastion swept the hollow idle breeze, Since the Russian eagle fluttered from the California seas; Forty years on walLand bastion wrought its slow but sure decay, And St. George's cross was lifted in the port of Monterey; And the citadel was lighted, and the hall was gayly drest, All to honor. Sir George Simpson, famous traveler and guest. Far and near the people gathered to the costly banquet set, And exchanged congratulations with the English baronet; Till, the formal speeches ended, and amidst the laugh and wine, Some one spoke of Concha's lover, — heedless of the warning sign. ' Quickly then cried Sir George Simpson: 'Speak no ill of him, I pray! He is dead. He died, poor fellow, forty years ago this day — Died while speeding home to Russia, falling from a fractious horse. Left a sweetheart, too, they tell me. Married, I suppose, of course! Lives she yet?' A deathlike silence fell on banquet, guests, and hall, And a trembling figure rising fixed the awestruck gaze of all. Two black eyes in darkened orbits gleamed beneath the nun's white hood; Black serge hid the wasted figure, bowed and stricken where { it stood. THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, 1782-1810 417 'Lives she yet?' Sir George repeated. All were hushed as Concha drew Closer yet her nun's attire. 'Sefior, pardon, she died, too!'" In 1857, at the Convent of Saint Catherine, Benicia, Concepci6n Arguello died. Her life had been famous not only for its romance but also for its kindliness and charities, so that she was venerated by all. Thus passed away the most cherished figure in the romance of Alta California his tory. CHAPTER XXXII INLAND EXPLORATIONS AND INDIAN WARS, 1804-1823 Why was it that the Spanish Californians did not discover gold? They had an opportunity of nearly eighty years' duration to find it and thus ward off acquisition of Alta California by the United States. The question is therefore not without importance, and it is also interesting in that it involves a story of their many expeditions into the interior where the gold lay. Thus it is possible to link up many towns of the state with the Spanish traditions which other wise they might not possess, except vicariously through the experiences of their neighbors of the coast. Closely con nected with the subject of inland exploration is that of Indian warfare, which had its centre at times in the mission area as well as in the non-Christian districts of the great in terior valley. The Spanish Californians had never gone in from the coast to make settlements. Soledad was farthest inland in the province, and that was only some thirty miles from the sea. Anza and Garces had crossed the desert in the south, and the latter had once gone north across tbe mountains almost to Lake Tulare. Fages and Anza had ascended the San Joaquin River for short distances, and in 1776 Jose Joaquin Moraga crossed it, and went a day's journey farther on. Prior to the close of the eighteenth century at least one Spanish ex pedition was made to Bodega Bay. There were also pursuits of runaway mission Indians just over the hills and into the valley, and certain vague explorations of the tulares. A re port of Lieutenant Hermenegildo Sal in 1796 mentions streams which have been identified as the west, middle, and east channels of the San Joaquin, and the Mokelumne, as 418 INLAND EXPLORATIONS AND INDIAN WARS 419 also the lakes of the Mokelumne-Cosumnes basin. It seems that an expedition had just previously been made, in the year 1795. Speaking generally, it may be said, however, that the interior was very little known, down to the close of the eighteenth century. Many had seen the great river valleys from the summits of the western hills, but few had traversed them, even for short distances. It was during the second administration of Governor Arrillaga that active exploration of the interior began. Father Juan Martin of San Miguel was one of the pioneers. He later asserted that he had often tried to persuade Arrillaga to establish a mission in the tulares, claiming that four thousand Indians might thereby be saved, but the governor was committed to foundations along the rivers, — meaning probably the San Joaquin and its affluents. In response to native requests Father Martin resolved to visit the swamp country himself. So in 1804, without hcense from anyone, he journeyed east into what is now Kern County, and reached a native village on Lake Tulare. He was desirous of taking some Indian children back with him, to instruct them at the mission, but was prevented when a native chieftain made a show of resistance. Without accomplishing anything of note, Father Martin returned to San Miguel. In January 1805 Father Pedro de la Cueva of Mission San Jose went with three soldiers and several mission Indians to visit some sick converts at a native village in the bills, ten or fifteen miles to the east. The little party was attacked by Indians. Four of the men, including one of the soldiers, met death, and all of the horses were kflled. Tbe rest escaped, but all were wounded. A Spanish force of thirty-five men, under Sergeant Luis Peralta, was at once despatched against the Indians, and succeeded in killing eleven of then [number and capturing thirty more, mostly women. In February, Peralta made another raid, but found that all de sire for fighting had died out among the Indians. Some of the chieftains from villages as far away as the San Joaquin came to the Spanish settlements in order to disclaim partici pation in tbe recent outbreak. 420 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA It may have been in connection with this affair that an other expedition was sent into the valley in 1805. Whatever it was and whoever commanded it, it seems to have explored a river to which the name "Rio de Ios Reyes" was applied. In translated form this has survived as "Kings River," whence also comes the name Kings County. It is probable that this expedition was commanded by Gabriel Moraga, who was to win laurels as the greatest pathfinder and Indian- fighter of his day. It is certain, at any rate, that at some time prior to the series of expeditions sent out in 1806 he had visited and named the San Joaquin. That river had indeed been known for many years, but as the "Rio de San Francisco." Governor Arrillaga turned his attention to the valley country in earnest in 1806. The Indian problem bad be come annoying if not serious. Runaways from the missions had sought both bberty and the profitable accompaniments of mission cattle and, especially, horses. They had also learned the use of firearms. Coming in contact with the Indians of the valley they communicated to them then- knowledge of Spanish ways and then appetite for horse flesh, thus enhancing the danger. Viewed from another angle the interior, with its many tribes, promised a rich field for missionary endeavor. Thus the search for mission sites, which might serve as a means of defence as well as for the purpose of conversions, became a principal objective in the governor's plans. In 1806 at least four expeditions were made. The first of these seems to have gone out from San Francisco in April, but no account of its discoveries has survived. The second was undertaken by a party of twenty-two soldiers, one friar, and three interpreters, under the command of Alferez (Color-Sergeant) Jos6 Joaquin Maitorena. No clear record of the expedition is extant. Maitorena left San Diego on June 20, and was out until July 14. He seems to have gone inland to the north from San Luis Rey. Beyond the fact that he captured two fugitive mission Indians, there is sbght indication of either his route or his achievements. INLAND EXPLORATIONS AND INDIAN WARS 421 Somewhat more information is at hand about an expedi tion which left Santa Barbara on July 19 for the tulares. Although not certain, it is probable that Lieutenant Fran cisco Ruiz was in command. Father Jose Maria Zalvidea went along as diarist. The route, in terms of modern place names1, seems to have been as follows. Going by way of Santa Ines, Jonata, Zaca, and the Sisquoc and Cuyama rivers, the party broke into Kern County and came to Buena Vista Lake, which seems to have been united then with Kern Lake. Proceeding possibly by way of Tecuya they passed Uvas Creek, and reached then farthest north about at the site of Bakersfield, making camp on the Kern River. Turning south they came on the fourth day to a place where, years before, the Indians had killed two soldiers, — an allusion to an otherwise unknown expedition. Going through Tejon Pass, they turned east from Castaic and went well into San Bernardino County, returning eventually by way of Antelope Valley, Cajon Pass, and Lytle Creek (near San Bernardino) to San Gabriel, which they reached on August 14. Everywhere the Indians had been friendly, but the lands were described generally as arid and alkabne. Characterizations such as this, which was repeated by most of the later expeditions entering that territory, were of no smaU importance in that they discouraged projected settlement of the valley. It is more than probable that they played then part in avoiding such an attempt at colonizaton as would have brought on the discovery of gold. The most important expedition of the year was headed by Alferez Gabriel Moraga. There were twenty-five men in this party, one of whom was Father Pedro Munoz, the chap lain and diarist. Starting from San Juan Bautista on September 21 the Moraga party entered the tule plain, probably by way of San Luis Creek in Merced County. Crossing the San Joaquin they came to a slough which they named "Mariposas" on account of the great number of but terflies {mariposas) that they saw. Short the final "s" this 1 Modern place names are used for all of the expeditions covered in this chapter. 422 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA name survives both for the slough and creek and for the county (east of Moraga's march) through which it flows. Going north and northwest they discovered and named the Merced River, and successively passed the Tuolumne, Stanislaus, Calaveras, and Mokelumne rivers. The Indian village of Tualamne, visited by them, is perhaps the origin of the modern name in Tuolumne River and County, al though it was located on the Stanislaus. Turning south and southeast the party eventuaby reached the San Joaquin where it flows southwest, forming the boundary between Madera and Fresno counties. Here they were told that soldiers from east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains had come there twenty years before, and had fought a battle with the Indians. Three days later, when Moraga reached Kings River, the same story was repeated by the Indians. Pos sibly, some not otherwise known and perhaps disastrous ex pedition had formerly been made by Spaniards from New Mexico. Ascending Kings River, Moraga and his men turned south into Tulare County, passing near or through modern Visalia, and went on to the Kern River. In this region they seem to have explored to the east as far as the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Going south again, they rode through Tejon Pass to San Fernando, where they arrived on November 3. Moraga confirmed previous re ports as to mission sites and Indians. Munoz's account mentioned the Merced River as the best location they had found, and spoke favorably of Kings River, though a presidio would be required. Aside from them there were few promising sites. Some of the Indians had been timid, run ning away from the Spaniards, but the rest had been friendly. Summing up the four expeditions in his bi-ennial report of March 1807, Father-President Estevan Tapis stated that they bad visited twenty-four native villages with a total population of fifty-three hundred Indians. Mission sites were few, and in any event a presidio would be necessary, he said, because of tbe remoteness of that section and tbe great number of Indians who dwelt beyond the regions lately explored. INLAND EXPLORATIONS AND INDIAN WARS 423 In the next few years there were probably a number of expeditions of which nothing definite is at present known. For example, there is an obscure reference to an expedition of Luis Arguello some seventy or eighty leagues up the Sacramento in the same year as that of the four expeditions just described. The next that is authentic, however, came in 1808, when Gabriel Moraga made his "third expedition to the rivers of the north." Whether his journey of 1806 was the first or second and whether his probable visit of 1805 to the tulares (in the south) should be counted as one of those "to the rivers of the north" cannot as yet be asserted. At any rate, whatever Moraga may have done before, his jour ney of 1808 was one of the most remarkable of those times. The object of the expedition was to explore the river country opposite the northern Spanish settlements for mis sion sites. Leaving Mission San Jose on September 25 with eleven men Moraga made his way to the valley, and forded the San Joaquin just south of the point where it is joined by the Calaveras, near Stockton. He then ascended the Calaveras in its entire length from the San Joaquin to its source in the Sierras, without finding a suitable mission site. Presently he crossed to the Mokelumne River to the north, and explored that too through ab its length, with like re sults. Going north he came to the Cosumnes, and went up that as he had done in the case of the Calaveras and the Mokelumne before it. Proceeding yet farther north he struck the American River, apparently just below Auburn, for in a distance of four leagues he reached the place where it emerged from the mountains. On October 9 the expedition camped on the lower Feather River, remarking its width and its overflow plain. To this they gave the name "Sacra mento," employing it also, henceforth, for the great river which it in fact joins farther down. In this connection it may be remarked that at the point where the Sacramento and Feather come together it is the latter which makes a straight course north and south with the lower Sacramento, whereas tbe upper Sacramento flows in at that point from the west. 424 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Moraga crossed the Feather River, presumably below Nicolaus, and went north-northwest seven leagues to*"a mountain range in the middle of the valley," — the Marys- ville Buttes. Turning west he came to the upper Sacra mento, which he called the "Jesus Maria," a name it long retained for that part of its course. He went north along the eastern bank about ten leagues. It would seem therefore that he got about to Butte City or perhaps opposite Glenn in Glenn County. To the west he descried the border of trees marking the presence of a river — no doubt, Stony Creek. Next day, the 12th, he turned east, and on the 13th crossed Feather River (yclept "Sacramento") in Butte County, certainly not far from Oroville. Going now through Yuba County he came at length to the American. In this part of his account there is a break which makes it impossible to say whether he traversed Nevada County, but it is quite probable that he did so. Considerably farther south, several days later, he made his customary up-river explorations of both the Tuolumne and Merced. Crossing the San Joaquin at the mouth of the Merced, he went north to Pescadero (on Union Island), and thence to Mission San Jose, which he reached on October 23. In addition to having passed through the already well known regions of Merced, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin counties, Moraga had visited and perhaps discovered Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Colusa, Glenn, Butte, Yuba, and Tuolumne counties, and may be also Nevada County. Great as was the achievement of this Columbus of the near Sierras, the expedition seemed to have been a failure in that it had discovered no suitable mission sites. Perhaps on that account Moraga's journey was soon forgotten, escaping even the attention of the all-gathering Hubert Howe Bancroft, but recent research has brought it to light. In October 1809 a party of fifteen soldiers from the Monterey district under Sergeant Miguel Espinosa is be lieved to have made an' expedition, but tbe record is lacking. The following year, 1810, was a busy one for tbe indefatigable INLAND EXPLORATIONS AND INDIAN WARS 425 Gabriel Moraga. He began with a military campaign in May. There was an unconverted tribe in the vicinity of Suisun, north of Suisun Bay, that had been committing depredations against the Christian settlements, killing mis sion Indians. So Moraga was sent with seventeen men to attack them. Crossing Carquines Strait, Moraga engaged one hundred and twenty natives. Eighteen were captured, . but were set at liberty since they were already in a dying condition from their wounds. The rest took refuge in three huts. All in two of the huts were killed, and those in the third burned to death rather than surrender when the hut was set on fire. For this action, which was regarded as a most brilliant affair at the time, Moraga was promoted to a brevet-lieutenancy. In November of that same year there was some Indian trouble in the vicinity of San Gabriel, and Moraga was ordered south. His reputation had preceded him, and the situation was soon web in hand. Meanwhile he had made several explorations of the in terior. The first was from August 15 to August 28. With a party of sixteen soldiers, Father Jose Viader, and four Christian Indians, Moraga set out from Santa Clara, and went by way of the "Arroyo de las Nueces" (a name which has survived as "Walnut Creek") into Contra Costa County. Passing Carquines Strait and the mouths of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, he presently marched south up the west shore of the latter. At some point in Merced County he turned west along San Luis Creek, and went through a pass in the mountains to San Juan Bautista. Word came that the Russians were at or near Bodega. So, in September, Moraga was sent in that direction to recon noitre. At the mouth of Tomales Bay he met three American deer hunters, and went with them to their barracks and fri gate at Bodega. Going northwest he came to Santa Rosa Creek and the Russian River. Thence he returned to San Francisco by way of Sonoma, where later the mission San Francisco Solano was established. In October, Moraga was sent to the valley again, to look for mission sites as usual and to capture runaway mission 426 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Indians. With twenty-three soldiers, fifty armed Indians, and Father Viader, he left Mission San Jose on October 19, and struck east to Pescadero. Next day he captured eighty- one natives, fifty-one of whom were women, whom presently he released. Crossing to the right bank of the San Joaquin he ranged the country watered by the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced, without any further success in capturing run aways. On October 27 he reached Santa Clara. Neither on this expedition nor in that of August had he found satisfac tory mission sites. Indeed the previously much praised Merced country was now characterized as unsuitable. Something new in exploration marked the year 1811. This was a visit to the river country by boat in October, the first attempt in this fashion since the days of Ayala, a genera tion before. Sergeant Jose Antonio Sanchez was in com mand. The party proceeded by way of Angel Island past the now well known Point San Pablo and Point San Pedro, noting Petaluma Creek in San Pablo Bay. Presently they went by an island later called "Yegua," a name which has survived as "Mare Island." Going through Suisun Bay, they ascended the west branch of the San Joaquin. Later they entered the main channel and (at the point where the Southern Pacific now has its crossing west of Stockton) the east channel. Returning to the mouth of the San Joaquin, they went a bttle way up the Sacramento, making the first recorded navigation of that stream. Going through Nurse Slough and Montezuma Creek, they came out about a league east of Suisun, and then ascended Suisun Creek as far as modern Ulatis. Thence they returned to San Fran cisco. One site on the lower Sacramento was named by them as a possibility for a mission foundation. By this time there had come a change in the direction of Alta California affairs that was to affect the whole Indian problem, including the matter of interior exploration. Priestley has described it as follows : "During this epoch the revolutionary movement in Mexico was having its far-away and indirect effect on the life of the California missions. The friars no longer were sent north to replace the aged INLAND EXPLORATIONS AND INDIAN WARS 427 or retired missionaries; money could not be sent, nor were reports returned to the College of San Fernando. Generally, California missions and political government alike suffered from neglect in Mexico, for neither the Spanish government nor the revolutionists had power enough to be efficient in the far distant north. Hence it is not strange that the numerous expeditions made in search of mission sites bore no fruit in foundations, especially as any such expansion would have required not only friars but presidial forces and expenditures as well. Meantime there had been a change for the worse in the attitude of Indians and whites toward each other; the points of contact had become more numerous, and friction con sequently greater. Because a constructive Indian policy dominated by strategic expansion of the presidio-mission system was imprac ticable, it was logical that the white man should attempt to hold the natives in check by the comparatively weak method of puni tive expeditions." Moraga's campaigns at Suisun and San Gabriel in 1810 were a part of the new pobcy. A conscious plan of mission expansion was now superseded by the hitherto incidental factors of pursuing runaways, recovering stolen animals, and punishing the Indians who had committed the robberies. In November 1811 there was trouble again at San Gabriel. At one time it was reported that eight hundred Yumas or Mojaves had approached that post with the intention of destroying it and the other neighboring missions. Rein forcements were sent, and no attack was made. The coming of the Russians to Alta California in 1812 directed attention to the north bay country. From 1812 to 1814 Gabriel Moraga made three trips to the Russian settle ments of Bodega and Fort Ross, thus becoming well ac quainted with the trails and vabeys of Marin and Sonoma counties. There seems to have been no important expedi tion to the great central vabey in 1812, but one of October 1813 is of some interest. This was commanded by Sergeant Francisco Soto, who thirty-seven years before had attained to distinction as the first child of the conquering race to be born at San Francisco. With a hundred Indians from Mis sion San Jose and twelve soldiers who came from San Francisco in a boat, Soto fought a battle on some unnamed river, presumably the San Joaquin. It is said that the 428 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Indian enemies numbered a thousand men, of whom many were killed, while the Spaniards won the victory with a loss of but one mission Indian. In October 1814 a fresh search for a mission site in the tulares was made. The commander of the expedition was a sergeant (Juan Ortega?) whose name does not appear. The account comes from Father Juan Cabot, who was a member of the party. They went from San Miguel to Lake Tulare, near which point they got into some difficulties when they attempted to serve as peacemakers between two warring tribes. In a "battle" with one of them the Spaniards lost two horses and the Indians one old woman. Peace was restored, and the party went on to the vicinity of Visalia. On then return they crossed Kings River, and made then way to San Miguel by a more northerly route than that by which they had come. The arrival of Governor Sola in 1815 was marked by the so-called "great expedition" of that year into the tulares to recapture runaways. It seems that simultaneous expeditions were made from different points. Authentic accounts of two of them have survived. Sergeant Juan Ortega, with Father Cabot and thirty soldiers, was in command of the party which went out from San Miguel. Leaving there on November 4 he proceeded to the valley, where he made a night march to avoid being seen by the Indians. On the next night, at Kings River, he tried to capture two fishermen, but they escaped and gave the alarm, wherefore no renegades were caught. Proceeding to the Kaweah River region in the vicinity of Visalia, he continued his unavailing search for runaways, finding that the natives were in great fear of his party as a result of stories told by escaped mission Indians from Soledad. On the fifteenth, Ortega joined Sergeant Pico's party. Sergeant Jose Dolores Pico, with Father Jaime Escudo and a body of soldiers, had left San Juan Bautista on Novem ber 3. On the eighth, at some point in the general vicinity of the junction of the San Joaquin and Kings rivers, he fell upon an Indian village, and captured sixty-six Indians, of whom INLAND EXPLORATIONS AND INDIAN WARS 429 fifty seem to have been Christians. After effecting a junc tion in the upper reaches of Kings River with Sergeant Ortega, Pico marched with his now enlarged party to the San Joaquin. On one occasion two hundred and fifty horses were seen, most of them recently killed. A large band of animals was recovered, however, and sent back to the mis sions. While at Mariposa Slough, the Spaniards were mis led by the Indians, who thus enabled a number of renegades to escape. On November 29 Pico reached San Juan Bau tista with ten sick soldiers and only nine prisoners. Gov ernor Sola boasted that the "great expedition" had been a pronounced success, but Father Tapis was probably correct in characterizing the results as unsatisfactory. In May 1816 an expedition for religious purposes was made by Father Luis Martinez, who was accompanied by a body of soldiers. Martinez left San Luis Obispo for the tulares, carrying on operations in the vicinity of Buena Vista Lake. He reported that the natives were so unrea sonable as to prefer then existing unhappy condition to the benefits they might derive away from then homes at the missions. He did succeed in buying one boy in exchange for beads, blankets, and meat. On one occasion when the inhabitants of a village had fled at the approach of his party, messengers were sent to bid them return, but the mes sengers were received with darts and cries of "Kill the coast people!" In revenge therefor the native village was burned. No suitable site for a mission was found. Yet the biennial report of Father-President Mariano Payeras (1815-1822) for 1815-1816 again urged the founding of missions and a presidio in the valley, naming the Visalia district as the best location. Two years later he repeated his recommendation. But the time had passed when any such project was likely to receive favorable action— fortunately, perhaps, for the Atlantic coast repubbc to the east. For a number of years, interest in the great river region had lagged. This now revived, and between May 13 and May 26, 1817, an expedition was made by boat from San Francisco. Luis Arguello, then a lieutenant, was in com- 430 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA mand. Fathers Narciso Duran and Ram6n Abella were members of the party. In their voyage up the Sacramento it is possible to identify various of the channels they followed and some of the places where they stopped. At one time they took refuge from a terrific wind behind Montezuma Hills, near Rio Vista. Below Clarksburg they got a view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Going on, it would seem that they passed what is now Sacramento, being very prob ably the discoverers of that site, and got nearly as far north as the mouth of the Feather River; .at any rate 'they got within sight of the Marysvibe Buttes, which were said to be ten leagues farther on. Coming down stream they turned off at Brannan Island and followed a branch to the southeast some eleven or twelve leagues. Returning to (the Sacra mento, they proceeded home, mentioning by name tbe dunes between Antioch and Black Diamond still called Los Medanos (the dunes) . At different times on this expedition the Indians told them of other white people beyond tbe Sierras. On December 14 of that year an estabbshment was made at San Rafael which blossomed forth to all intents and pur poses as a mission, although it was rated merely as a branch of San Francisco. The site was probably recommended by Gabriel Moraga, who had passed that way several times since 1810. Father Luis Gil was elected to take charge, and went there accompanied by several other friars, including Father Vicente Sarria, who conducted the dedication ceremonies. Perhaps the most interesting fact connected with the founding was the reason which lay behind it. Con temporary Spanish documents point out that the Indians of San Francisco were dying at an alarming rate, and it was believed that San Rafael would be a more healthful site. Viewed locally there can be bttle doubt that this was the principal factor. Among other causes assigned, one at least deserves comment: that it was in opposition to the Russians of Fort Ross. This has been asserted by Russian writers, and most certainly in earlier years (in the era of the "aggres sive defensive") it would have occurred to the higher Spanish INLAND EXPLORATIONS AND INDIAN WARS 431 authorities as a motive for settlement. To be sure, a mission could hardly serve as a military bulwark, but it could sub stantiate a claim to territory, or minimize the value of a foreign allegation of sovereignty. Some evidence to this effect appears in the account of Father Payeras of a visit by Luis Arguello, Father Gil, and himself to that section late in May 1819. Passing through San Rafael in an investigation for a mission site they went to a tract of land (back of Point San Pedro) which Payeras called Galbnas, a name which still appears on the maps. Climbing the highest hib to the east they looked out on Petaluma plain on the one hand and the great river and mountain range to the east on the other. Only a few white men had crossed the Sierras, Payeras said; there had been some wanderers who had gone from village to village, selling their clothing for food, and making then way to San Jose. One wonders who they were! Referring to tbe region set tled by the Russians, Payeras suggested that it might be brought into communication with the bay if a presidio were put at a known favorable location three leagues from Point Bodega and if missions were estabbsbed at Petaluma and Suisun. Evidently, as Priestley points out, his mind "was dwelling on the presence of the Russians, and this motive [for missionary activity in that section] must be added to that of the health of the neophytes of San Francisco." At about this same time an event took place at the San Buenaventura mission which was to bring on a new series of interior expeditions. Indians from the Colorado had de veloped a practice of coming to the southern missions in small parties to trade. One such party of twenty-two Mojaves reached San Buenaventura on May 29, 1819. They were not cordiaby received by the mission soldiers; indeed, they were required to remain in the guard-house, pending then: departure next day. On the 30th, while ab were at church, save a sentry and the Mojaves, a disturbance arose at the guard-house. A general fight ensued in which ten Mojaves, two Spanish soldiers, and one mission Indian were killed, and several Mojaves captured, though they sub- 432 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA sequently escaped. The alarm was spread throughout the province, as it was feared that the Colorado River tribes would seek revenge. Reinforcements were sent to San Gabriel, which was particularly exposed to attack, and sentries were posted in the mountains to the east. Mean while, runaway mission Indians and tribesmen of the great valley were causing the coast settlements more than usual annoyance, especially by thefts of horses, which by this time the Indians had learned to ride. Therefore Governor Sola resolved upon another campaign on a large scale, .to settle these various issues. Of the three expeditions organized, the first to get under way was that of Sergeant Sanchez. Early in October, with twenty-five men, Sanchez proceeded from San Francisco by way of San Jose to the lower San Joaquin vabey. At or near modern Stockton he had a great battle with the Mokelumnes in which the enemy lost twenty-seven killed, twenty wound ed, and sixteen prisoners, besides forty-nine horses which Sanchez recovered. One mission Indian was killed and five soldiers were wounded. For this achievement Sanchez was advanced to the rank of hrevet-alferez in the following year. Among the private soldiers in Sanchez's party was Jose" Maria Amador (son of Sergeant Pedro Amador, a grizzled old veteran who came to Alta California in 1769), whose name is preserved in modern Amador County. The second expedition to start was that of Lieutenant Jose" Maria Estudillo, with a force of about forty men. Leaving Monterey on October 17, Estudillo marched by way of Soledad and San Miguel into the tulares of Kern County. He found that everywhere the Indians seemed to be aware of the Spanish expeditions. News of his own foray had been - sent on from Soledad. He himself was able to get informa tion of the other expeditions. Estudillo's precise route is hard to follow, but he reached the foothibs of the Sierra Nevadas in Kern County, in the same region that Moraga had explored in 1806. Going north to the Visalia district of Tulare County, he turned west, crossed Kings River, went on down that river and the San Joaquin, and then turned INLAND EXPLORATIONS AND INDIAN WARS 433 west to San Juan Bautista, which he reached on November 13, arriving at Monterey three days later. The expedition had not been a great success from the standpoint of capturing runaways, recovering animals, or indeed from any stand point whatever. Estudillo recommended that further ex amination should be made of the Visalia, Kings River, and San Joaquin country before any conquest should be at tempted. In any event, he said, a presidio with a force of a hundred and fifteen men would be necessary; a mission alone would not suffice. The third and greatest expedition of the year was com manded, as might have been expected, by the veteran Gabriel Moraga, now a lieutenant. This was not only to capture fugitives but also to punish the Mojaves for the San Buenaventura affair. Tbe force included fifty-five soldiers, four of whom were artiUerymen with a small cannon, besides a great number of mission Indians and native allies. Father Joaquin Pascual served as chaplain and diarist. Moraga left San Gabriel on November 22, following the line of the present Santa Fe Railway through Cajon Pass into the Mojave Desert. The route through the desert cannot well be identified, but presumably a direct course for the Mojave villages was taken. The distance recorded as having been traveled should have brought the expeditionaries to the present eastern boundary of California, or just short of it. It would seem, therefore, either that they stopped when already not far from the Colorado River, or else (if their direction were slightly north of east) that they got at, near, or over the Nevada line; it is at least interesting to think of Gabriel Moraga as the possible discoverer of Nevada. One place near their farthest east was alluded to as having been visited by him three years earlier, — a reference to an ex pedition not otherwise known. With respect to the objects of the foray, however, the expedition was a failure, — the only known blemish on the record of Gabriel Moraga. Lack of grass and water weakened the horses and mules to such an extent that they could go no further. So Moraga turned back, and was at San Gabriel again on December 14. 434 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA This was the last known campaign of a man whose ex ploits are altogether too inadequately recorded in the history of California. Moraga Valley and Moraga Road in the east bay region do indeed recall the name, but not to the extent that this intrepid explorer deserves. It is fitting to take leave of him with some further account of his career. As a boy he came to Alta California with the second Anza expedi tion, and lived at San Francisco, where his father (Jose" Joaquin Moraga) was first commandant. He enbsted as a private in 1784, and rose successively to the ranks of cor poral (1788), sergeant (1800), alferez (1806), brevet-beu- tenant (1811), and beutenant (1818). From about 1818 he began to seek retirement on grounds of old age and chronic rheumatism, but his petitions seem not to have been granted. His service-sheet of 1820 records that he had taken part in forty-six expeditions against the Indians, — vastly more than the few of which the historians as yet have knowledge. Three years later, on June 15, 1823, he died at Santa Bar bara, and was buried in the graveyard at the mission. He was described by a contemporary as a tall, well-built man of dark complexion, brave, gentlemanly, and the best Cali fornian soldier of his time. Bancroft incorrectly refers to him as "illiterate" (for there are not a few Moraga docu ments, written as well as the average of bis day), but goes on to say that he was "honest, moral, kind-hearted, popular, and a very energetic and successful officer." Surely Gabriel Moraga, known discoverer of many interior regions, probable discoverer of yet more, worthy man, and meritorious soldier, deserves well to be remembered as one of the most exemplary figures in the history of Alta California. One last exploration for mission sites was made in 1821. By this time the issue of secularization of the missions bad become prominent in Alta California, being an outgrowth from legislation of the Spanish Cortes in 1813 that ab missions estabbshed jten years should be secularized and the mission aries should move on to new conversions. Animated possibly by this prospect, Father Payeras made a search for new sites. Accompanied by Father Jose Sanchez, who kept the diary, INLAND EXPLORATIONS AND INDIAN WARS 435 he left San Diego on September 10. Going northeast by way of El Cajon, he came to Santa Isabel in the centre of San Diego County. After making explorations for leagues around, the two friars went north by way of Pala, Temecula, and San Jacinto to San Bernardino. Turning west they made their way to San Gabriel, where they arrived toward the end of September. They had found three sites which they deemed suitable for a mission, Taqui (near Santa Isabel) and Pala in San Diego County, and a point on Lytle Creek north of San Bernardino. It is also interesting to note that at San Jacinto and San Bernardino there were ranches respectively of San Luis Rey and San Gabriel missions and that there were over four hundred Christian Indians in the valley between San Bernardino and San Gabriel. Something like old ideas were revived to bring about the last and possibly the greatest of the expeditions into the interior under Spanish rule. Rumors were current to the effect that a party of Englishmen or Americans had estab lished themselves within forty or fifty leagues to the north of San Francisco. Spurred on by the possibility of foreign danger Sola decided upon an expedition to get information and expel the intruders if necessary. Luis Arguello, famous not only as the brother of Dona Concepci6n and as a later governor of Alta Cabfornia but also as an explorer, with a record of achievement second only to that of Gabriel Moraga, was chosen to take command. Including officers, there were fifty-nine soldiers in his party, besides Father Bias Ordaz as chaplain and diarist, John Gilroy (of whom, later) as English interpreter, and a number of mission Indinas. Leaving San Francisco on October 18, Arguello and his men crossed Carquines Strait, and then started north. Crossing Solano and Yolo counties they came to the Sacra mento River at a point above Grimes in Colusa County. Here they were informed that men like themselves had been in that neighborhood. Proceeding, in the main, up the right bank of the Sacramento they crossed Glenn and Tehama counties possibly to Cottonwood Creek, which forms the boundary between Tehama and Shasta counties. It appears 436 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA that Gilroy had been in this vicinity before, for Father Ordaz records what he had formerly seen from the heightsfnear by. It would seem that they now crossed the lower end of Trinity County to the Eel River, though it cannot be stated whether they reached it in Humboldt, Trinity, or Mendocino County. At any rate they turned south, presumably up the valley of the Eel. At one place they learned that four horsemen of un known nationality had recently passed by, and one native had some blue cloth from Bodega. Riding through Men docino County from north to south they caught sight of the coast, and two days later were at the Russian River, perhaps a little above Cloverdale. Crossing a mountain they came to an Indian village near Santa Rosa. Going on through San Rafael they at length reached San Francisco on Novem ber 15. Thus ended "Arguello's expedition to the Colum bia," as it was long popularly called, possibly because the foreigners they sought were supposed to have come from the Columbia River region. No foreigners had been found, but there had been some minor skirmishes with Indians, though most of the natives had not been hostile. This was the last of the expeditions under Spanish rule, but allusion may be made here to one other of 1823 which led to the founding of San Francisco Solano mission at Sonoma. Like San Rafael the new mission, which proved to be the last, was an expansion of San Francisco, with some hint also of providing an outpost against the Russians. A Californian deputy, Francisco Castro, accompanied by Alferez Jose" Sanchez, with nineteen men, and Father Jose Altimira, made the preliminary exploration. They left San Francisco on June 25, went in a launch to San Rafael, and then ranged the plain from Petaluma to Sonoma, Napa, and Suisun. They were in doubt between Petaluma and Sonoma for a mission site, but at length decided for the latter, planning also to have cattle ranches at Petaluma and Napa. On July 4 a cross was set up at Sonoma, after which they began then return and two days later were in San Francisco. On August 25 Father Altimira was back at Sonoma, and its activity as a mission started. INLAND EXPLORATIONS AND INDIAN WARS 437 Expeditions into the interior did not end with the change of flag in 1822 from Spanish to Mexican, but they were of less importance than formerly, being largely for the purpose of recovering stolen animals and punishing the Indians for their depredations. The idea of an inland mission was never again entertained by the Franciscans, though there were a number of suggestions on the part of the secular authorities for such establishments, — at Santa Rosa, — along the Kern, San Joaquin, Kings, and Chowchilla rivers, — -and in a chain of missions from Santa Rosa to Humboldt Bay, largely as an anti-Russian enterprise. On the whole, however, political troubles within the settled area of the white population were much more engrossing than interior exploration. Thus the gold remained undiscovered. At length John A. Sutter founded his settlement at Sacramento. American colonists trickled through the passes in the mountains, and estab lished themselves in the great valley, — and then came the revelation which transformed a one-time Hispanic land into a great American state.' 2 This chapter is based almost script of Professor Herbert Ingram wholly on an as yet unpublished manu- Priestley. CHAPTER XXXIII ERA OF THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE, 1810-1822 Alta California was one of the few regions now part of the United States which had an active share in the Spanish American Wars of Independence. Alta Cabfornia's military participation was limited to one brief naval attack of some insurgent ships, but even this is not without historical interest. It will be a surprise to many to know that the flag of Argentina — or Buenos Abes as it was then more commonly called — was once raised at Monterey. For a moment it was at least possible that Alta Cabfornia might free itself from its pobtical connection with Spain and become one of tbe many independent repubbcs of Hispanic America. Fortu nately for the present occupants of the territory, Alta Cab fornia was loyal to tbe mother country. In the main, the people of the province were ignorant of the reach and im portance of the series of wars which were being fought throughout the Americas. They received but bttle news, and were constantly under the impression that the revolts were nearly over. They never doubted that the king would win. Down to 1818 they themselves were not called upon to take part in the struggle, but from the very first they suffered on account of it. After 1810 tbe supply-ships ceased coming for a number of years, and never again resumed their former annual schedule. The salaries of both missionaries and soldiery stopped with them. This occasioned a changed basis in the bfe of the settlements which was to foster the movement that eventuaby brought about the American occupation. Ilbcit trade took the place that the San Bias ships had previously filled as the corner-stone in the edifice of 438 ERA OF THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE. 1S10-1S22 439 provincial economy. Much of this, indeed, was with the ex pressed assent of superior authority, espeeiaby in case of tbe more or less frequent vessels from Peru, which brought various effects in exchange for tabow. But there was also a considerable trade with Russian and American boats and with the Russian colony at Fort Ross. Alta Cabfornia gave food suppbes in exchange for manufactured articles. For the purposes of this trade, the missions were best off. by far. as they had the largest crops and flocks. The pueblos and a few of the ranch-owners possessed something, but the presi dios had practicaUy nothing to sell, at the same time that the soldiers were without pay. In this emergency the wealth of the missions was utilized to save the province. Levies of tallow and food products were made on them in exchange for drafts on the Spanish treasury. This gave the mibtary something they might use in trade with the foreign ships. The missionaries, on the whole, gave freely. They indeed had a great stake in the success of the king, since victory for the Mexican revolutionaries meant an end to the missions. and tbey stood in absolute need of the soldiers. At times, however, they were grudging in their offerings, granting only so much as was barely necessary. Since they too were with out their usual stipend from the king*s coffers, it is not sur prising that they did not rebsh this additional dram on their resources. As for the drafts on the Spanish treasury, they were never honored. The soldiers at the presidios were very bitter against the missionaries, however. While their own famihes were in rags, they remarked the comparative plenty at the missions. In this period, therefore, there was a begin ning of that agitation which was to end a few years later in the secularization of the missions. In addition to the Russian and American contacts with the province and the activities of the Spaniards in Indian warfare and interior exploration there was bttle of note that occurred prior to the "year of the insurgents'" in ISIS. In 1S12 there was a terrific earthquake which destroyed San Juan Capistrano mission, to the accompaniment of a loss of some fortv fives. In IS 14 Governor Arrillaga died, and Jose 440 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Dario Arguello succeeded him temporarily. Arguello was a native of Queretaro, New Spain, who had worked his way up from the ranks in the army to the governorship of a province. He came to Alta Cabfornia with the Rivera expedition of 1781, being attached, luckily for himself, to that part of the command which went on ahead from the Yuma junction. He was much the same type of man and ruler as Arrillaga, but was, if anything, more pious and also very popular. His greatest distinction, perhaps, is that he was the father of Concepci6n Arguello, as also of Luis, famed explorer and first governor in the Mexican era. Jose Dario Arguello left the province in 1815 to become governor of Baja California, a post that he held, without pay, until 1822. He then went to Guadalajara, where he died in poverty. In 1815 came the last of the Spanish governors, Pablo Vicente de Sold. Sola was of a wealthy family and very much of an aristocrat. Like two of his predecessors, he was a Basque, coming from the province of Vizcaya, Spain, thus giving Alta California a representative from each of the three Basque provinces in the list of its early governors. His arrival was the occasion for the greatest series of festivi ties that had ever taken place in the province. There were processions galore, the firing of cannon, religious services, speeches, and a military review. A special feature was his reception by twenty of the most beautiful girls of Alta Cali fornia, all dressed in white. There was a great feast, at which delicacies from every part of the province were served, — game and other meats of various kinds, olives, oranges, pastries, and wine. During the day there were exhibitions of skilful horsemanship and a fight between a bull and a bear. At night, of course, there was a grand ball. Sola as a gov ernor did not measure up to the splendor of this event. He might have fared very well in an era of fewer problems, but he came to the province when it was in the midst of diffi culties with foreign elements and hard times in internal affairs. As matters were, he was a peevish, ill-tempered, despotic, complaining, self-praising, shabow sort of person and a poor governor. ERA OF THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE, 1810-1822 441 The year 1818 was the only time in Alta California history, prior to the coming of the Americans, that an external foe ever attacked the province, despite many years of appre hension, in earlier days, over a possible foreign danger. The campaign of that year is interesting not only in itself but also because it was connected with an important phase of the Spanish American Wars of Independence. The people of the United States were enthusiastically in favor of the struggling Spanish colonies. Despite the neutrality of the government, many Americans gave practical help to the insurgents in then battle for liberty. In particular they rendered great service as privateersmen, preying upon Span ish commerce and making the seas unsafe for Spanish opera tions, except under cover of a strong convoy. Many of these American ships were little better than out-and-out pirate craft, even when they in fact took out letters of marque from some patriot government, but it cannot in justice be denied that they were an important element in the eventual success of the Spanish Americans. Baltimore was the chief port in which these vessels were fitted out, — despite the sincere efforts of the United States government to break up the practice, — so that the term "Baltimore ship" became synonymous with "patriot craft" or "pirate," according to the point of view. These vessels would make their way south to Buenos Aires, perhaps carrying a cargo of muni tions, and once there would receive commissions as pri vateers. It was one such American vessel, though whether or not from Baltimore is not yet known, that took the lead in the attack of 1818. The commander of the expedition was a certain Hippolyte de Bouchard, a Frenchman, who had previously been serv ing in the Buenos Abes navy as sergeant-major. He was a man of strong and determined will and a fiery temper, and was a strict disciplinarian as an officer. In charge of a second ship with him at the time of his arrival in Alta California was an Englishman named Peter Corney, whose journal is thus far the principal source of information from the insurgent side for the events of the campaign. As he did not join the 442 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA expedition until it reached the Hawaiian Islands, the specific events prior to that point are somewhat obscure. It seems that in May 1818 a ship called the Santa Rosa, flying the patriot flag, touched at the Hawaiian Islands. The captain showed a suspicious readiness to sell the vessel to King Kamehameha, wherefore the island monarch ordered an investigation. The Santa Rosa had a valuable cargo of dry goods, of which it was quite evident that it was in un lawful possession. So Kamehameha seized the ship, and con fined the crew. It was ascertained upon examination that the Santa Rosa, alias Checka, alias Baca, alias Liberty, originally an American ship, had been fitted out in the Rio de la Plata as a privateer, whence it had sailed for the Pacific to cruise against Spanish commerce. It had captured a num ber of Spanish vessels, destroyed various towns, and in fact become "the terror of the coast." Meanwhile, a number of mutinies had taken place, with accompanying changes in captains. It is likely that the Santa Rosa was more pirate than patriot. At any rate, in September 1818 a much larger ship, the frigate Argentina, under Captain Bouchard, came to the Hawaiian Islands with orders to capture and reclaim the Santa Rosa "wherever she may be found." Con sequently, Bouchard demanded possession of the vessel and crew from Kamehameha, a demand that was immediately complied with. It was at this time that Bouchard met Corney, and induced him to join his expedition as com mander of the Santa Rosa. Late in October the two vessels left the Hawaiian Islands, bound for Alta California. The Santa Rosa had a motley crew of a hundred men. Thirty of them were Kanakas, and the rest were divided among Americans, Spaniards, Spanish Americans, Portuguese, negroes, Philippine Islanders, Malays, and a few Englishmen. The officers seem for the most part to have been Americans. On the Argentina there were two hundred and sixty-six men, of whom fifty were Kanakas, and the rest a mixed crew, like that of the Santa Rosa. The ships are said (though not by Corney) to have carried re spectively twenty-six and thirty-eight guns. ERA OF THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE, 1810-1822 443 Meanwhile, the Spanish Californians had been warned. In 1816 they learned that a fleet of patriot vessels had blockaded Callao, and were informed that they might soon come north. During the next two years the province was kept in a state of suspense. At one time in 1816 it was re ported that the Buenos Aires privateers, under William Brown, were threatening the entire coast as far north as the Californias. During that same year a strange craft was sighted, heading for Monterey. The alarm was given, but the vessel proved to be a small schooner. The captain dis claimed hostile intentions, declaring that he had sailed from China for the Hawaiian Islands with a cargo of merchandise. The next day, when it took its leave the ship was carefully watched until it disappeared from view. The Spanish Cali fornians were never certain of its identity, and later were convinced that it was a spy of the insurgents. In 1817 an English vessel which stopped at Monterey received the same suspicious scrutiny. The excited state of mind of the provincial authorities is reflected in the later, though ob viously inaccurate, account of this visit given by an Alta California chronicler. "In 1817," he says, "a large ship, really that of Bouchard, an chored at Monterey, claiming to be an English man-of-war en gaged in scientific exploration." According to this writer, Bouchard himself was in command. Gradually the fear of an insurgent attack subsided, and the inhabitants began to acquire a sense of security. This feeling was rudely disturbed early in October 1818. In that month the American ship Clarion, under Captain Henry Gyzelaar, put in at Santa Barbara. Gyzelaar told Jose De la Guerra, commander at that post, that two vessels were fitting out in the Hawaiian Islands for an attack on Alta California. Immediate preparations for defence were undertaken. Articles of value were boxed, and sent to tbe missions of the interior. Similarly, livestock was driven inland, and the women and children were ordered to be ready to leave at a 444 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA moment's notice. Stores and provisions were gathered at the presidios, and sentinels were posted along the coast. There followed a long, nerve-wracking wait of more than a month. At length, the enemy ships were sighted. According to some accounts they, were first seen near San Francisco, though they did not try to enter that port. Off Santa Cruz a landing was attempted, but was prevented by a violent storm, and the vessels proceeded south. It was on November 20 that a sentinel at Point Pinos, near Monterey, reported the approach of the two ships. The total force of the place, forty men in all, was assembled. The principal shore defences, of eight guns, were in command of Sergeant Manuel G6mez, who was said to be the uncle of an officer on one of Bouchard's ships, a certain Luciano G6mez. A new battery of three guns was improvised on the beach, and placed in charge of Corporal Jose Vallejo. That same night the Santa Rosa came in, and anchored in the port. As Corney puts it: "Being well acquainted with the bay, I ran in and came to at midnight under the fort. The Spaniards hailed me frequently to send a boat on shore, which I declined." , The next day there was a battle, the accounts"of which are in a state of confusion. It is said that the Santa Rosa opened fire, though it would seem that the insurgent leaders first parleyed with Sola. They asked him for supplies, which he declined to furnish. Bouchard sent off six boats from the Argentina, after the conflict had begun. While they were advancing Corporal Vallejo opened up with the guns of the improvised battery, which alone' of the Monterey defences was unknown to the enemy. Taken by surprise, Bouchard ordered the boats to return. The Spanish Californians say that Corney lowered the flag of the Santa Rosa in token of surrender, after first having sent off six boats with most of the crew to the other ship. Believing it to be a trick, Governor Sola directed Vallejo to continue firing, but G6mez ordered him to stop. It is said that Vallejo, who figures as the hero of this fight, declined to obey G6mez, believing him to be in ERA OF THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE, 1810-1822 445 league with the enemy. G6mez then commanded the soldiers of the fort to open fire upon the battery, but in great indigna tion they refused. Corney makes no mention of the reputed surrender. At any rate, the Santa Rosa was not in fact captured. Meanwhile, the second officer of that vessel, Joseph Chapman, an American, came ashore with two sailors. All three were taken prisoners by the Spaniards. The second phase of the battle opened with the advance of Bouchard and the Argentina. Bouchard sent a flag of truce ashore with a formal demand for the surrender of Alta California, to which Sola claims to have made the gran diloquent reply that he would not take any such course "while there was a man alive in the province." When nothing came of the parleying, Bouchard landed a consider able force — four hundred men according to the Spaniards, or more than the total on both ships! — near Point Pinos. Alferez Jose" Estrada with a small troop was sent to oppose them, but, seeing that he was greatly outnumbered, he ordered a retreat to Monterey. According to Corney "The Spaniards mounted then horses and fled," following a charge in which the Kanakas, armed with pikes, took the lead. There followed a brief encounter at Monterey, where by this time Sola had a force of eighty men. Sold deemed it prudent to retreat, and did so in safety, carrying with him some munitions and the archives of the province. He stopped at Rancho del Rey, an estate on the site of present- day Salinas. Here he was joined, a little later, by reinforce ments from San Francisco and San Jose. Thereupon, two hundred Spaniards and a large number of Indians set out for Monterey, but got there to find the town in flames and the ships disappearing below the horizon. Arrived at the presidio they picked up two prisoners who claimed they had deserted. Meanwhile Bouchard and his men had been in Monterey about a week.1 They had buried their dead, cared for the wounded, and made repairs on the ships, especially the much 'According to Bancroft he departed Corney says it was December 1st on the night of November 26-27. when they left. 446 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA damaged Santa Rosa. The town itself was sacked. Corney tells the story as follows: "It was well stocked with provisions and goods of every descrip tion, which we commenced sending on board the Argentina. The Sandwich Islanders, who were quite naked when they landed, were soon dressed in the Spanish fashion; and all the sailors were employed in searching houses for money and breaking and ruining everything." Few buildings in the town escaped burning, and even the orchards and gardens were destroyed. The Spanish Cali fornians were wont to ascribe this ruthless pillaging to Luciano G6mez, one of the two villains in this provincial drama. As for the other, his uncle, Manuel G6mez, it is said that Sola's officers wanted to have him tried for treason, but the governor retained confidence in him, and was able to point out that G6mez's house had been hit by a ball from the insurgents' guns. Bouchard next touched at Refugio, the home of the Ortegas, between Point Conception and Santa Barbara. Possibly he was lured by the reputed wealth of the Ortegas, who were said to have made a considerable fortune out of smuggling. That same day Sergeant Carlos Antonio Carrillo came up from Santa Barbara with thirty men. Lying in ambush he succeeded in lassoing three of Bouchard's following, one of whom was Lieutenant William Taylor of Boston. This so enraged Bouchard that he ordered the village to be set on fire. Meanwhile the ranch had been plundered and some of the cattle killed. Thereafter Bouchard embarked his men, and Carrillo retired to Santa Barbara. The ships continued south, made a landing at Santa Cruz Island for wood and water, and on December 6 cast anchor at Santa Barbara. Among the many romantic tales that grew out of the Bouchard invasion, there is one concerning a stratagem that Jose De la Guerra employed to deceive the enemy. Believing himself to be vastly outnumbered, it is said that he kept marching his tiny forces around a small hill so that Bouchard might count them several times over ERA OF THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE, 1810-1822 447 and believe them to be much greater than they were. Whether or not this in fact took place, the insurgents seem not in the least to have been frightened. Corney's account reads : "We fired a gun and hoisted the colors with a flag of truce, and sent a boat on shore^to say if they would give up our men, we would spare the town." After some parleying, an exchange of prisoners was agreed upon. At Monterey, Bouchard had captured a drunken and worthless character named Mobna. This man he gave up for the three whom Carrillo had taken. Sola afterward re primanded De la Guerra for having any dealings with "pirates," and even blamed him for not attacking Bouchard, — despite the fact that he himself, with much superior forces to those of De la Guerra, had seen fit to retire from Monterey to Rancho del Rey and remain there while the capital was being destroyed. As for Molina he must have regretted his exchange, for Sola sentenced him to a hundred lashes and six years on the chain-gang. Bouchard seems to have been at Santa Barbara several days before resuming the voyage south. There was a con siderable alarm at San Buenaventura lest he should land there. The mission was abandoned, and the people went into the interior for twenty-four days. Father Jose" Senan of San Buenaventura afterward described Bouchard's men as made up of "heretics, excommunicated persons, heathen, and a few Moors." This remark may be taken as symptomatic of the excitement of the times! Bouchard, however, did not stop at San Buenaventura, but went on to San Juan Capistrano. It was on December 14 that the insurgent vessels appeared before San Juan Capistrano. Corney tells the story as follows : "The Commodore sent his boat on shore to say, if they would give us an immediate supply of provisions, we would spare then- town; to which they replied that we might land if we pleased and they would give us an immediate supply of powder and shot. The Commodore was very much incensed at this answer, and assembled all the officers to know what was best to be done ... It was 448 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA therefore agreed to land and give it up to be pillaged and sacked ... We found the town well stocked with everything but money, and destroyed much wine and spirits and all the private property . . . Next morning we punished about twenty men for getting drunk."The Spanish officer who returned the brave but somewhat impolitic answer to Bouchard above referred to was Alferez Santiago Arguello. He had come up from San Diego with thirty men to aid the small force at the mission. They were unable to oppose any resistance to Bouchard, however. On the next day, the 15th, considerable rein forcements from Santa Barbara and Los Angeles arrived, under the command of Jose" De la Guerra. Smarting under Sola's reproof De la Guerra was very eager to fight. So he sent a challenge to Bouchard to land and have a battle, but the insurgent commander chose instead to sail away, leaving behind four of his men who had deserted, including two of the three who had previously been captured at Refugio. San Diego now prepared itself for the enemy. The women and children had previously been sent inland to Pala, and the soldiers were ready, — but Bouchard sailed by without stopping. Late in January 1819, his vessels were sighted near San Bias. There is a tale to the effect that he attacked a Spanish cruiser, mistaking it for a treasure ship which he allowed to pass the day before in a belief that it was the cruiser. He is said to have escaped, however, with the loss of a few men and some damage to his ship. Corney does not mention this fight, though he does speak of then cruising off San Bias at that time, in search of Manila ships. Continuing down the coast they reached Valparaiso, Chile, on July 9. There the record stops, for it was at that port that Corney parted company with the Bouchard ships. Presumably, they went on to the east coast; at any rate, when Corney applied for his pay and prize money Bouchard told him he would get nothing unless he continued his services until they reached Buenos Aires. When the Spanish Californians were convinced that Bou chard had gone, they began work to restore the buildings ERA OF THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE, 1810-1822 449 that he had destroyed. At Monterey, for example, the mis sions were called upon to furnish the necessary Indian labor, and were also required to make contributions of various stores to replace those which had been lost. Not until April 1819 were affairs in such a state as to permit of the return of the women and children from Soledad. At Santa Cruz and San Juan Capistrano there were sharp controversies springing out of the campaign. In course of the transfer of valuables from the former place to one of the inland missions some casks of wine and aguardiente were reported to have been "spilled." According to aU the evi dence it was at about the same time that the work of removal became ragged and various articles disappeared. The friars raised a hue and cry, and it proved that the settlers of Bran- ciforte and the Indians of the mission had stolen a number of small things, most of which were presently recovered. Prior to the San Juan Capistrano affair the friars and others of the mission had abandoned the place and gone into the in terior. Upon their return they accused Santiago Arguello of having neglected the mission, and in particular of having wasted then wine and brandy. As concrete evidence they were able to point to two of the mission Indians who had indeed partaken "not wisely but too well"; one of them had drunk himself to death, and the other had become in sane. With the aid of Jose De la Guerra, always a favorite of the friars, Arguello was able to clear himself. But the most interesting thing about the Bouchard expe dition is the motive that lay behind it. Despite the fact that there was always much evidence to the effect that it was a distinct effort on behalf of the Spanish American revolu tionary cause, there has heretofore been a tendency to em phasize the more or less piratical nature of the enterprise. Corney's journal makes it certain that the primary object of Bouchard was to attack the Spanish ports of that coast in order to strike a blow at tbe king of Spain. The undertak ing, therefore, was legitimate in every way. In the light of this fact, the testimony of prisoners and deserters taken by tbe Spanish Californians is interesting. They claimed 450 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA to have been on ships captured by the Santa Rosa or the Argentina and to have been pressed into service against their will. They were a unit, however, in declaring that the expe dition was a blow aimed by the insurgent leaders against the Spanish government. It is to be remembered that the revolutionary cause had only begun to recover from its lowest ebb at about the time Bouchard must have been sent forth on his voyage. Prior to San Martin's march across the Andes to Chile in 1817, the region of the Rio de la Plata alone remained unconquered by the Spaniards. By 1818 Chile had been retaken by the patriots, and the war in Venezuela and Colombia had been revived, but New Spain, Central America, the West Indies, and the entire middle reaches of the Pacific coast of South America (forming the viceroyalty of Peru) were in Spanish hands. This adds point to the remarks ascribed to one of the prisoners taken by the Spanish Californians at Mon terey. After referring to defeats of the revolutionary leaders, particularly in New Spain, he went on to say: "In order to stimulate the hearts of the patriots, they had thought it necessary to bring into the liberal cause the inhabitants of California, who, on account of their distance from the capital of the viceroy, offered a safe exile to the persecuted and could serve as a rallying point for expeditions destined to help the patriots." One wonders what might have happened if the Spanish Californians had made common cause with Bouchard in stead of resisting him. More than likely a Spanish-American republic would then and there have been formed. One may also ask why Bouchard did not persevere in his effort. The answer is simple. Without a base of supplies near at hand, he could not hope to conquer and hold the province with his small forces in the face of opposition. If the inhabitants had been eager to embrace the patriot cause he might have adopted a different course of action, but finding them loyal to the king his sole desire was to strike a blow on behalf of the patriots. It is to be noted that his only serious military effort was against Monterey, the capital. ERA OF THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE, 1810-1822 451 Among other events worthy of record in the revolutionary era is the arrival of the first permanent non-Spanish white settlers. In 1814 came John Gilroy, a youth of twenty. His real name was Cameron, but he had changed it in order to hide his identity when he decided to seek a career "on the ocean wave," and ran away to sea. Born in Scotland he had lived most of his life in England. He is described as a good-natured, grog-loving, improvident sailor. Acquiring a ranch on the site of the town which now bears his name, he lost that and the rest of his property at the time of the American conquest. In 1869 he died. ¦ Next after Gilroy, probably in 1814 or 1815, came an Irishman named John Milbgan, who for some unknown reason assumed the name "Mulligan." He is said to have taught weaving to the Indians at the missions. In 1834 he died, due in large measure, no doubt, to his over-indulgence in hard drink. In 1816 the first American to remain in the province ar rived, — not counting the defunct Groem. This was Thomas W. Doak, reputedly of Boston, a young man of twenty-nine, who came'on the ship Albatross. He passed most of his life in or near Monterey and Santa Cruz. After 1847 he disappears from the record. Another American, named Daniel Call, landed at Santa Barbara later in 1816 from the ship Atala. He was seventeen years old at the time. Beyond the fact that he was ajcarpenter, very little is known about him. The most famous foreign resident of the Spanish period, often mistakenly called the first American, was Joseph Chapman, about thirty years old at the time of his arrival. He was one of several of Bouchard's men who remained in Alta California thenceforth. Chapman was of New England extraction. His career immediately prior to his arrival is somewhat obscure. He claimed to have been pressed into the service of Bouchard in the Hawaiian Islands, but it is highly probable that he had previously shared in the more or less illicit prize-money picked up by the much-named Santa Rosa. In Alta California he became a famous character and a general favorite. He was a typical handy man and 452 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA jack of all trades. He built several grist mills; planted a vineyard of some four thousand vines at Los Angeles; built a schooner; served as a surgeon; and did odd jobs at the missions and elsewhere, for there seemed to be nothing that he could not make or repair. Furthermore, he married one of the numerous daughters of the wealthy and aristocratic Ortega family, and became the father of five children. He resided for the most part at Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, and died probably in 1848 or 1849. In addition to the five already mentioned, at least eight other foreigners are known to have come to Alta California before the close of the year 1818. After Bouchard's departure the province drifted rapidly toward the separation from Spain which it had so insistently opposed before. In the absence of the king, who was a pris oner in Napoleon's hands, the' Spanish Cortes of 1812 had overthrown the previously existing absolutist system, and had drawn up a constitution proclaiming a liberal monarchy in the name of Ferdinand VII. That monarch cast aside the Constitution of 1812 upon his restoration in 1814, but was forced to accept it again in 1820. The Constitution was pub lished in New Spain in May 1820, and in Alta California in October. The law required that all should take oath to the new government, and this was probably done, out of loyalty to the king, whose name was signed to the order. The friars did not like it, but, for that matter, neither did' Ferdinand. This was the first step in Alta California toward an independence which was not at all desired. During 1821 events moved rapidly in New Spain. Under the leadership of Agustin Iturbide, independence was pro claimed and won, and the name "New Spain" disappeared with the victory, to be supplanted by that of "Mexico." The news of Iturbide's victory did not reach Alta California until January 1822. At first, the Alta Californians were unable to believe that it was of more than passing moment, but late in March they were called upon to take action. At that time they got word that Iturbide meant to sum mon Ferdinand VII or some other Spanish Bourbon to ERA OF THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE, 1810-1822 453 be ruler of the Mexican Empire, but the latter was hence forth to be independent of Spain. The people of Alta Cali fornia were required to swear allegiance to the new govern ment, and were invited to send a deputy to the Mexican Congress. This looked serious. So the governor called together a special junta of nine officers and one friar. This body decided to recognize the regency of Iturbide, and de clared Alta California dependent on the Mexican Empire only. On April 11, 1822, Spanish rule in Alta California may be said to have come to an end. On that day the oath was taken at Monterey, and this was followed by religious services, cheering, the firing of guns, music, and illuminations. On later days the inhabitants of other settlements duly took the oath, and celebrated the independence which even yet they were not sure that they desired. There is no evidence, however, that there was so much as a single protest. No doubt the people were stunned by the, to them, inconceiv able happening of the overthrow of Spanish power. It remained to elect the deputy to the Mexican Congress. Elections were held during that same month of April for electors, of whom there was to be one for each of the four presidial districts and one for Los Angeles. The five electors met at Monterey in May, and named Sola as Alta Cali fornia's deputy. It may be wondered how such a vociferous royabst as Sold could be willing to take office in an unrecog nized government, since Spain had by no means consented to the new turn of affairs. But a great and most discernible change had come over the erstwhile arch-loyabst governor. In his latter days in the province he was wont to "rejoice" in independence as loudly as he had previously berated it. He remained in office as governor, however, until a successor could be chosen. In November 1822 was held the first gubernatorial election in the history of Alta California. It was expected that Jose" De la Guerra would win. He was senior captain and had the backing of Sold, most other officers, and the friars. But he was a native of Spain, where fore an agent of Mexico then in the province worked hard to compass his defeat. So when the vote was counted it proved 454 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA that Luis Arguello of San Francisco had won. That same month Sold left Alta California for Mexico. The new regime was now solidly installed. Spanish Cali fornia existed no more. The movement which had begun exactly three hundred years before, when Cortes planted his settlement at Zacatula, had passed irrevocably into other than Spanish hands.2 2 This chapter is based principally vasion. Berkeley, California. on: 1921. Ms.(M. A. thesis) in the Jones, Frances Carey. California Library of the University of in the Spanish American wars of California. independence: the Bouchard in- CHAPTER XXXIV UNDER MEXICAN GOVERNORS, 1822-1835 Strictly speaking, there was no Mexican period of Cali fornia history. During a quarter of a century the sov ereignty of the southern republic was more or less con tinuously acknowledged, but the actual intervention of Mexico in the affairs of its distant province consisted in little more than the sending of governors and a few score of degraded soldiery. These years were therefore more prom inently marked by other influences. By far the most im portant among them was the coming of the Americans. The tide had set in some time before, but now it reached the full, wherefore it is best that the detailed account of this epoch should be left to the historian of American California. The great era of Spanish achievement had passed. All that remains to do in this volume, therefore, is to bring the story to an end with a recital of the local events which occupied the attention of the descendants of the conquerors until the last blow was struck for the change to a new regime. The keynote of the era from a provincial standpoint was to be found in its turbulence. There was much revolutionary unrest, based largely on personal and sectional rivalries. Men fought or intrigued for office and the chance to ad minister the scant resources of the treasury. South fought north, challenging its traditional predominance. All, how ever, were united in a greater or lesser dissatisfaction over the neglect of their affairs by the Mexican government, a fac tor which manifested itself in more than one pobtical up heaval. In other words, Alta California was experiencing the same type of growing pains that other Spanish American lands from Texas to Cape Horn had to suffer in the years im- 455 456 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA mediately following independence from Spain. Left to itself the province would very probably have evolved into a re spectable independent republic, — or two repubbcs, — bke those in the temperate zone of South America. These years also saw the downfall of the missions, which for so long a time had been the most important institution in Alta California. Twelve men filled the gubernatorial chair in this period. They were Luis Arguello (1822-1825), Jose" Maria Echeandia (1825-1831), Manuel Victoria (1831-1832), Pio Pico (1832- twenty days), Echeandia again (1832-1833, in the south only), Agustin Zamorano (1832-1833, in the north only), Jose Figueroa (1833-1835), Jose Castro (1835-1836), Nicolds Guti6rrez (1836-four months), Mariano Chico (1836-three months), Gutierrez again (1836-three months), Juan Bau tista Alvarado (1836-1842), Manuel Micheltorena (1842- 1845), Pico again (1845-1846), Jose Maria Flores (1846- 1847). Pico, Castro, Alvarado from 1838, and Pico again were civil governors only. During their incumbency the mibtary power was held respectively by Echeandia (who was the de facto if not the de jure ruler), Guti6rrez (who soon became governor), Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (1838-1842), and Castro (the former civil governor), who served as comandantes. They were virtually co-governors. Outwardly the period of Luis Arguello's rule was less stir ring than many which had gone before or any of those to come. The change from the Mexican regency to the empire was formally accepted in 1823, followed a few months later by an oath of allegiance to the newly estabbshed repubbc. In 1825 the people of the province quite as easily swore to support the Mexican Constitution which had just been sub mitted to them. No doubt they would have subscribed with like facility to any other governmental change. This is indicative rather of the hazy character of the Mexican con nection than of fickle inconstancy on the part of the Cali fornians. In truth, it mattered little to them what Mexico was. Far more important was the opening of the province to foreign trade and the coming of men like William Hartnell UNDER MEXICAN GOVERNORS, 1822-1835 457 and Abel Stearns, who settled permanently in the province and became the founders of important Anglo-Cabfornian famihes which have been prominent in the life of the Golden State ever since. No doubt the greatest local excitement during Arguello's administration was produced by the Indian revolt of 1824. In February of that year there were almost simultaneous up risings at the Santa In6s, Purisima Concepci6n, and Santa Barbara missions. The precise causes are matter of con troversy, but it is probably true that hatred of the mission Indians for the soldiery was a prominent factor. The out break started at Santa In6s, when one of the soldiers flogged an Indian. Thereupon, the Indians sought revenge, and surprised the soldiery by appearing web armed. A brisk battle followed, in which it seems, however, that nobody was killed, although the mission buildings were set on fire. Next day a detachment of troops arrived from Santa Barbara, and the Indians yielded. On the same day as the Santa In6s disturbance there was also a revolt at Purisima Concepci6n and a somewhat more strenuous battle. The Indians attacked the soldiers, and next morning compelled them to surrender. Seven Indians and four white men (two of them guests at the mission) had been killed. The surviving soldiers were allowed to depart, and the Indians remained in control of the mission for nearly a month. When the news reached Santa Barbara, the Indians there became greatly excited, and proceeded to take over the mis sion for themselves, including the guns of the soldiery. Thereupon Captain De la Guerra assembled a force at the presidio, and marched to attack the mission. A battle of several hours' duration followed, during which two Indians were killed, and a number on both sides wounded. Presently, most of the Indians took to the hills, and the victorious sol diery sacked the Indian homes, killing a few more of their erstwhile opponents in the process. It was not long afterward that word reached Monterey. Governor Arguello at once despatched Lieutenant Jose 458 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Mariano Estrada with an enormous army — as things went in Alta California — of a hundred men. Estrada at length reached Purisima Concepci6n, where the victorious mission Indians of that place were still entrenched, armed with muskets and two small cannon. They did not know how to use their strength, however, and Estrada's four-pounder did such execution among them that they decided to flee. They were cut off and compelled to surrender. Sixteen In dians had been killed and many more wounded. Three of the attacking force were wounded, one of them mortally. Several more battles were fought in this campaign, but these took place across the mountains in the tulares, whither three successive expeditions followed the fugitives from Santa Barbara. Eventually peace was made, and most of the Indians returned to the mission. In November 1825 Lieutenant-Colonel Echeandia arrived from Mexico to become governor of the province. He has been described as "a tall, thin, juiceless man, possessing but little enterprise or force of character, and much concerned about the effect of Califor nia climate on his not too robust health." The new governor was to be largely responsible for many of the troubles which Alta California suffered in ensuing years. One of them he started right away when he fixed his residence at San Diego, instead of going to Monterey, thus making a beginning of the conflict between north and south which was to continue for the rest of the era. He had been appointed governor of Baja California as well, and asserted that he could take care of the two provinces much better from San Diego than from the capital in the north. It was generally recognized, however, that he feared the chmate of Monterey would prove too rigorous for him. Of Echeandia's ill-advised handling of the missions, more will be said presently. Meanwhile, he got into difficulties with the soldiers, who had for years been obliged to get on without pay and who became more and more disgruntled when Echeandia (who was indeed at his wit's end for funds) UNDER MEXICAN GOVERNORS, 1822-1835 459 did nothing to help them. The soldiers at Monterey revolted in 1828, but were persuaded to resume their duties. In No vember 1829, however, they decided to revolt in earnest. The principal officers at that post were seized, and a cer tain rancher named Joaquin Solis, ex-soldier and more re cently ex-convict, was installed in command. A proclama tion was drawn up reciting then grievances against Echean dia and announcing then intention of setting up a new gov ernor. Various foreigners in Monterey contributed funds for the enterprise, and the garrison of San Francisco declared for the revolt. After the first flush of excitement, the rebellion lost its grip. The criminal record of the leader was a grave handi cap. To save the situation Solis resolved upon a campaign in the south. At first all was bright. The mission Fathers, influenced no doubt by their dislike of Echeandia, received him graciously on the way. The garrison at Santa Barbara got one of his proclamations, and rose in his favor. And then again the tide turned. The soldiers of Santa Barbara were persuaded to resume then allegiance. Echeandia pres ently reached that post, and a little later Solis and his army appeared from the north. The battle of Santa Barbara'which followed was indeed of several days' duration, but, in the main, it was a war of words. Solis fired the last gun, in the shape of a proclamation announcing that he and his men were "ready to fight and never would surrender until they got then pay," shortly after which he beat a retreat. Echeandia's "batteries," in the shape of promises to forgive those who would come over to his side, had meanwhile wrought great execution in Solis' ranks through desertion. Echeandia advanced to Monterey, captured Solis and other ringlead ers, and shipped them to Mexico. Thus ended the first revolt of the Californians against constituted Mexican authority. The government — and the south as against the north — had proved victorious in a bloodless war. Echeandia found that the climate of Monterey was en durable, after all, and remained there a year. Indeed, when the newly-appointed governor, Lieutenant-Colonel Victoria, 460 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA asked him to come to San Diego to surrender his office, Echeandia nevertheless stayed on at Monterey, and would not even go to Santa Barbara where he was next requested to appear. So Victoria came north to Monterey, was installed in office in January 1831, and now that he was already in Monterey made that place his capital. Thus Monterey came into its own again, and indirectly through the agency of the man who had formerly deprived it of its proud position.1 Victoria was primarily a soldier, out of sympathy with repubbcan institutions and a firm bebever in military methods in civil administration. He began a campaign against evil-doers which was somewhat too rigorous. Sen tences of death and execution followed in rapid succession. This was well enough, but when the governor showed a dis position also to run roughshod over political opponents the spark of revolution was kindled. The missionaries, whose cause he had defended, were soon almost alone in supporting him. The revolt broke out in the south, late in 1831, being fostered by men like Jose" Antonio Carrillo, Juan Bandini, Pio Pico, and Abel Stearns (an American who had come to California in 1829), who were among the most prominent people in that section. Leadership in the enterprise was offered to Echeandia, who had returned to San Diego after the expiration of his term of office. He accepted, and opera tions began with the capture of San Diego and Los Angeles, which were taken by the rebels without a battle. Meanwhile Governor Victoria with some thirty "disciplined soldiers had hurried south. The insurgents under Captain Pablo Portilla of San Diego numbered perhaps as many as a hundred and fifty, but most of them were untrained. The two "armies" met just a few miles from Los Angeles near Ca- huenga Pass. The battle which followed did not result in 1 Echeandia all but robbed Cali- and an oak, in memory of the first fornia of its name in 1827. He per- peopling of the Americas, which suaded the Diputacidn to change it according to the most common opin io "Montezuma." A coat of arms ion was by the Strait of Anito." The was planned to consist of "an Indian, act required the approval of the with plume, bow, and quiver, in the Mexican government, which it never act of crossing a strait, all within an received, and so it came to naught. oval, having on the outside an olive UNDER MEXICAN GOVERNORS, 1822-1835 461 great loss of life, but was perhaps as spectacular as any that was ever fought in the province. It began when Victoria, despising his opponents, advanced alone and called on Por- tilla and his regulars to come over to his side. He then directed his own men to fire a volley, presumably in order to frighten the enemy's raw recruits without hurting them. The southern soldiery replied with a few shots, and then started to run away, whereupon Victoria and Captain Ro- mualdo Pacheco, followed by one or two others, rode for ward to pursue them. Up to this time nobody had been hit. But the governor had made a miscalculation which was to cost him dear. In the opposing army there were several individuals who must have been desirous of emulating the achievements of the knights of old, in the days when battles were entrusted to champions of the warring forces in single combat. Such a person, it seems, was Jose Maria Avila. Sword in hand, he made a thundering charge against Pa checo, who for his part rode to meet him with lance ready for action. Their horses passed, but Avila checked his steed, drew a pistol, and shot Pacheco, killing him instantly. Looking for more worlds to conquer he threw himself upon Victoria. Other horsemen on both sides joined in the con flict. In the ensuing mele"e Avila was unhorsed and killed, Victoria received several lance-wounds, and at least one other was wounded. Unauthenticated popular versions of the battle have it that Avila himself wounded Victoria, and that it was the governor who killed the fire-eating Avila. The battle was over, and Victoria remained in possession of the field. Virtually, however, the impetuous Avila had turned the scale in favor of the Californians. Victoria wounded saw matters in a different light than Victoria sound in body would have viewed them. Instead of capturing Los Angeles and quelling the revolt, he betook himself to bed at San Gabriel, and from there informed Echeandia that he was not only willing but even desirous that he be sent to Mexico promising to return no more. His offer was accepted, and several weeks later he took his departure. 462 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA With their experience of the militarist Victoria fresh in mind, the Californians resolved to separate the civil from the military functions of government. The Diputacidn, as the provincial legislature was called, elected Pio Pico civil governor {jefe politico) in January 1832. Less than three weeks later, however, he was obliged to resign, primarily on account of Echeandia's failure to support him. It now seemed that Echeandia had a clear field, but un expected opposition developed in the north. The foreigners of British and American extraction had been inclined to favor Victoria in the late controversy, because he at least stood for good order. Californian revolutions might not cause much loss of life, but they were bad for business, and that was what the foreign colony was interested in, most of all. To them it seemed that the disputes of Pico and Eche andia portended a continuance of disorder. They there fore joined readily in a movement to set up Agustin Za- morano, former gubernatorial secretary to Echeandia and Victoria. Under the leadership of William Hartnell a foreign company was formed to defend Monterey from attack. The Hispanic population of the north was equally well dis posed to Zamorano, influenced possibly by Echeandia's evident intention of remaining at San Diego instead of com ing to Monterey. Zamorano was therefore acknowledged as temporary governor until such time as the Mexican author ities should appoint a successor to the deposed Victoria. One of the earliest measures of Zamorano's government was to send an armed force south under Lieutenant Juan Maria Ibarra to defend Santa Barbara against attack by Echeandia. Ibarra pushed on until he reached Los Angeles. Then came rumors that Echeandia was about to attack him. As the story went, the mission Indians, who (as is presently to be explained) were devoted partisans of Echeandia, were flocking to his standard. Ibarra decided therefore to re treat. On his way he found a veritable enemy in his rear in the shape of a score of armed convicts. These were cap tured and sent to Monterey. The war now entered actively into the proclamation stage. The pen proved mightier than UNDER MEXICAN GOVERNORS, 1822-1835 463 the sword, and in May both sides agreed to call it a draw. An arrangement was made whereby Zamorano and Eche andia should each remain in power until a governor from Mexico arrived. It is interesting to note that Zamorano's sphere of control was to extend as far south as San Fer nando, while San Gabriel was the limit of Echeandia's sway. In January 1833 the new governor from Mexico arrived. He was Jos6 Figueroa, assuredly one of the greatest figures in the history of Alta California. A brevet-brigadier-general, he had also been governor of Sonora and Sinaloa for six years, and had interested himself in reopening the Anza route to the Pacific coast. Wars with the Yaquis and the Apaches had kept him from putting his plan into effect, but he had made himself fully aware of the importance of the northern province and the desirability of developing its resources. Ill-health led him to seek retirement almost from the moment of his arrival, and brought about his death some two years and a half later. Yet, he was to accomplish more than any governor the province ever had, with the possible exception of Neve. One of Figueroa's first acts had to do with the grant of an amnesty to all who had been concerned in the late revolt. This announcement he caused to be published in a circular dated January 16, 1833, — the first printing in the history of the province. He then applied himself with more than usual success to internal administration. If he had confined him self merely to that, he would undoubtedly have been re garded as one of the great governors, but he aspired to some thing more. He had been instructed to explore the regions north of the Bay of San Francisco and found settlements to defend that country against the Russians of Fort Ross and the English along the Colombia. Unlike some of his prede cessors who had received similar commands Figueroa at once took action, and chose Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo as his instrument. Vallejo was at the time an alferez at San Francisco. Son of Ignacio Vallejo, who came with Rivera in 1774, and broth- 464 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA er of Jose" Vallejo, who had distinguished himself in the Bouchard affair, he himself had won honors in several Indian campaigns and in provincial politics, though only twenty- five years old. Figueroa sent him north of the bay to explore for a presidial site. Vallejo made a trip to Bodega and Fort Ross in April 1833, and in the fall established a colony of ten settlers at Petaluma and a smaller colony at Santa Rosa. In May of the following year Figueroa learned that his petition to retire had been acted upon favorably and that his successor, Jose Maria Hijar, was coming to Alta Califor nia with a great body of colonists. In August, therefore, Figueroa himself inspected the north bay country, in order to make some preparation for the expected colonists. He went as far as Fort Ross. On his return, however, he re ceived a message which gave him pause in his plans. Ever since the change of flag from Spain to Mexico the Mexican government had encouraged colonization of Alta California. A law of 1824 made liberal provision for intend ing settlers. Not content with this, the authorities resorted to other means which occasioned no little resentment. They began to use Alta California as a penal colony. Seventeen convicts arrived in 1825, including tbe already mentioned Joaquin Solis. Within another year more than a hundred others had been sent, and in 1830 a shipload of eighty arrived. In 1833 a new project was set on foot in Mexico by Jose" Maria Padres. Padres had been in Alta California for a time, where he had conceived a plan for the spoliation of the missions under the guise of secular administration of the temporalities. He won support from many who hoped to share in the proceeds. Exiled by Victoria in 1831 he built up a project of colonization around this same idea of utilizing the mission wealth. In Jose" Maria Hijar he found the man he needed to back his projects, and the two together pro cured the support of the national government. Hijar was to be civil governor and director of colonization, and a subor dinate post was provided for Padres. The government of fered allowances in pay, implements, seed, and domestic animals to all who would go, wherefore Hijar and Padres got UNDER MEXICAN GOVERNORS, 1822-1835 465 together about a hundred and twenty colonists of better than usual quality, * and left San Bias in July 1834 in two ships. At about that same time there was a change in govern ment in Mexico. The new president was distrustful of the Hijar-Padr6s project. Too late to stop the expedition he resolved to send a messenger over the Anza route, directing Figueroa not to turn over the government to Hijar, whose commission he had revoked. The emissary, Rafael Amador by name, made a phenomenal overland journey from Mexico to Monterey in from forty to forty-eight days, traveling mostly alone, barely escaping death at the hands of the Indians of the Colorado, and nearly perishing from thirst in the desert. Naturally, Figueroa's attitude toward the coming settlers underwent a change. Hijar, with one of his ships, had already put in at San Diego on September 1st. From there he proceeded by land to Monterey, telling the mission Indians, as he went along, that he had come to free them. Padres, with the other vessel, reached Monterey on September 25. Several members of the Diputacion had formerly been prominent supporters of PadreV secularization plan, but they now turned against him upon learning that he had promised many of his colon ists the same profitable employment as mission administra tors which, several years before, he had promised them. They therefore voted that Figueroa should continue to be governor and should make such provision for the colonists as he might see fit. Hijar tried argument and bribery in order to induce Figueroa to give him the administration of the missions, but without avail. It was eventually decided to send the colon ists north of. the bay, and the missions were called upon to supply them with food until the settlers could raise crops of their own. They might have starved, however, if it had not been for Mariano Vallejo, who caused them to be trans- 2 One of them was Jos6 Maria Co- the first four legislatures of the varrubias, later a member of the con- state. stitutional convention of 1849 and 466 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ferred to the Sonoma valley and furnished with provisions during the winter. In the end the colonists dispersed, though most of them remained in the north bay district. Hijar and Padres were presently accused of having been implicated in a minor outbreak at Los Angeles in March 1835, and were sent back to Mexico. Relieved of then embarrassing presence Figueroa went actively ahead with measures for colonization, during the few remaining months of his life. He made a number of land grants to individual settlers, as inded he had done before. While in Los Angeles he met William Antonio Richardson, an Englishman born, who as a youth of twenty-two had reached Alta California in 1822 as mate of a British ship, which he deserted. Figueroa induced Richardson to accept an appointment as captain of the port of San Francisco. Richardson went there, and put up the first building in San Francisco other than those at the less conveniently located presidio and mission. Around this house as a nucleus a settlement called "Yerba Buena" sprang up, where the shipping and business interests of the bay region centred, eventually to become the principal district of the city of San Francisco. By Figueroa' s order, too, a town was founded at Sonoma (then so named) in 1835 by Vallejo, near the mission San Francisco Solano. Figueroa is most often remembered in connection with the secularization of the missions. It will be recalled that in theory the Spanish missions were limited to a period of ten years, after which they were to be converted into civilian towns and the missionaries were to move on to a new field. Nothing like that had ever been attempted in Alta Cabfor nia, and rarely, if ever, elsewhere. In 1813 the Spanish Cortes passed a law calling for the immediate secularization of all missions which had existed as such for ten years or more. This law was not published in Alta California until 1821, but nothing was done to carry it into effect. Indeed, there were no priests to replace the friars. The missions at that time were perhaps at or near then- greatest period of prosperity. The number of Indians under UNDER MEXICAN GOVERNORS, 1822-1835 467 mission control was still very large, and the mission proper ties were easily the greater part of the wealth of the province. For ten years they had been the principal support of the military establishment, but that expense could be written off as a dead loss without seriously impairing their financial position. Nevertheless, the missions were already doomed of then own weight, irrespective of any legislation that might be passed. For years, deaths at the missions had outrun births, and the growing deficiency could not be supplied by conversions of the non-Christian tribes, since these were either not present at all in the mission area or else in very scant number. Inevitably the same fate was in store for the Californian Indians that has been the lot of other backward peoples in the presence of white civilization. Under the most favorable circumstances the end might have been postponed longer than it was, but more could hardly have been expected. Pressure began to be put upon the missions from the outset of Mexican rule. Taxes were imposed. The friars protested, but paid. Nothing of importance happened, however, until after the arrival of Echeandia. This governor (if anybody other than the Mexican authorities), and not Figueroa, is the one who should be charged with precipitat ing the downfall of the missions, though it was in the ad ministration of the latter that the decisive step was taken. Cognizant of the fact that Mexican sentiment strongly favored secularization, Echeandia resolved upon a policy to bring his own government into accord with the prevailing view. In 1826, therefore, he issued an order that married Indians of the missions south of Monterey were to be allowed to leave the missions, provided they had been Christians for fifteen years or from infancy and were esteemed capable of supporting themselves. This preliminary measure had scant effect; indeed, there were few Indians who could have maintained themselves in a civilized manner. In 1827 a Mexican law called for the expulsion of all friars from the republic, but this too was virtuaby a dead letter in Alta California. Of far more importance was a provincial law of 468 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA 1830, prepared by Echeandia in response to urgings from Mexico, and promulgated with the approval of the national government. This provided for gradual secularization of the missions. The mere announcement of the law was enough to occasion a great change. There was a more or less general feeling of opposition to the friars. The rank and file of the soldiery, still unpaid, often in rags, and dependent upon the missions for the little they had, looked with envy or indigna tion at the comparative opulence of the friars and their native wards. Others were eager to enhance their private fortune by spoliation of the missions, or else felt aggrieved by the objections of the friars to grants of land they had received which the missionaries claimed infringed upon their holdings. Few were possessed of a rebgious ardor which might have ranged them on the side of the friars, for they had grown up without priests, except at such intervals as the Franciscans came in from the missions to act in the capacity of curates. Not a few pointed out that mission servitude dccorded ill with republican ideas. Of more account was the attitude of the mission Indians. They understood that Echeandia was about to give them freedom, but "freedom" to them meant cessation from work, the end of punishments, a right to do as they pleased, and a permanent food-supply from an unending mission store. They bstened readily to those who told them that the friars were robbing them of their lands, or treating them with undue cruelty, as well as to those who painted the prospective freedom in brightest colors. Personal attachment to the missionaries held many to then tasks, but it was increasingly difficult to get the others to do anything at all. Echeandia made matters worse by appointing agents, on his own initiative, to manage the mission estates on behalf of the emancipated Indians. At the time Figueroa came to Alta California the imme diate overthrow of the missions seems not to have been con templated. Indeed, he was accompanied by ten friars, sent out to supply rapidly growing vacancies. These friars were Franciscans, but not from the College of San Fernando, which was no longer able to provide missionaries. They and UNDER MEXICAN GOVERNORS, 1822-1835 469 their leader, Francisco Garcia Diego, were from the College of Zacatecas. Figueroa had been instructed to proceed with gradual secularization, but to restore the missions to the position they had held before Echeandia's unauthorized acts. A few months after his arrival Figueroa started south on a mission tour. He found that Echeandia had caused mischief beyond repair. Mission discipbne along former lines was utterly gone. On the other hand he saw enough to con vince himself that immediate secularization would be un wise, since tbe Indians were incapable of managing their own affairs. Indeed, the institution of private property (especially in land) had little meaning to them. Something had to be done, however. So he issued an order for the eman cipation of such Indians as were best fitted for liberty. Lands, implements, seed, and animals were to be allotted to them, though in other respects they were to remain for the time being subject to the civil and religious authorities. Yet, of the fifty-nine heads of families at San Diego deemed worthy of this prospect, only two cared to make the trial, while ten out of a hundred and eight accepted at San Luis Rey, — surely a most disappointing showing. Figueroa was now in substantial agreement with Garcia and Durdn, the two Father-Presidents, that secularization was inadvisable, unless upon a gradual basis, and wrote to Mexico in protest against any legislation to hasten the process. He also op posed granting any of the mission lands to intending colon- ists,holding that theyshould be reserved for thelndians alone. And yet Figueroa was called upon to execute the most drastic measure of secularization that had thus far been enacted. In August 1833 the Mexican government declared itself unequivocally for secularization. A supplemental act of November associated colonization (with the Padres- Hijar project in mind) with secularization, and proposed to make use of the Pious Fund to assist in the plan! Another law of April 1834 insisted that secularization should go into effect within four months. Figueroa had of necessity to execute these laws, but did what he could to save something out of the wreck. He even 470 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA stretched the law by providing for gradual secularization (though somewhat more hastened than formerly), instead of completing it in fopr months. The following were the prin cipal provisions of his decree, dated August 9, 1834: a be ginning was to be made with ten of the missions only; roughly speaking, half of the mission properties were to be distributed among the Indians; the rest were to be put in charge of secular administrators for the support of the religious establishment and other objects for the public good; the Indians were required to perform indispensable community work, and could not legally sell then lands or chattels; cattle were not to be killed in large numbers, except as should be necessary for purposes of maintenance;3 in the absence of curates the friars were to remain at the mis sions in charge of religious instruction. This legislation was not perfect, but was perhaps as good as could be expected under the circumstances. The proof that it accomplished something is that the missions remained in existence for more than a decade, and almost to the very end were still able to provide the greater part of the pro vincial revenues. Unfortunately, Figueroa did not live long enough to supervise the execution of his decree, and it was precisely the execution of the decree, and not the decree itself, which was responsible for such harm as resulted. As one writer says: "He was not the author of secularization; he did not even ap prove it. He foresaw the disaster that must follow if the law of August, 1833, were enforced as he was required to enforce it, and he did what he could and as much as any man could have done, to confine the mischief within the narrowest limits." Administrators were appointed for ten of the missions in 1834, for six more in 1835, and for the other five in 1836. After the death of Figueroa, Alta Cabfornia suffered for several years from internal convulsions. During all this time 3 For several years an indiscrim- been denied that the friars author- inate slaughter of mission cattle had ized the killings. On the contrary it been going on, thousands being killed is asserted that they tried, without for their hides only. These were success, to prevent them. added to the mission store, but it has UNDER MEXICAN GOVERNORS, 1822-1835 471 the administrators were left to then own devices. Many of them enriched both themselves and then friends; still others were merely incompetent; and a few, perhaps, were both honest and capable. The distributions of property to the Indians were made as each administrator saw fit. The worst feature of the system, however, was the behavior of the Indians. Relieved from mission discipline they refused to work. Despite the provisions of the law, they sold then properties (especially domestic animals) for anything they would bring. When their own stock of supplies was gone some hired themselves out in a state of virtual slavery to such families as could employ them, others joined the non- Christian tribesmen in horse-stealing and life in a state of barbarism, and still others sank to the uttermost depths of degradation. The missions and the mission system were dead. And yet the corpse lived on. Some Indians, indeed, re turned to the secularized missions. With the re-establish ment of peace, an earnest attempt was made to remedy affairs. Early in 1839 Governor Alvarado appointed William Hartnell (a man of high character and notable attainments) visitador of the missions, with authority to correct abuses that had sprung up. Hartnell made a tour of the missions, and found that they had greatly deteriorated. At his sug gestion he himself was made superintendent of the entire system, and the administrators became mere clerical subor dinates, held to strict accountability. When he endeavored . to put the new regulations into effect in 1840, however, he met with so much opposition on the part of certain adminis trators that he resigned. Thus ended the most promising effort of the times at restoration of the missions. It was in 1840, too, that the former Zacatecan Father- President, Garcia Diego, was invested with the authority of bishop of the two Californias. He was empowered to use the Pious Fund to estabbsh a cathedral and a college for the education of priests. It seemed now that the long-delayed delivery to the secular clergy of the religious side of mission work might be made, when — presto! — a new government 472 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA in Mexico refused to turn over the Pious Fund to Bishop Garcia, and diverted it into the Mexican treasury. In 1843 the missions seemed at length to be exhausted. In hopes of making them yield more profitably Governor Micheltorena restored them to the friars. But the corpse was now indeed "too dead" to be resuscitated. So in 1844 (in order to raise funds for general defence, in view of the possibility of war between the United States and Mexico) Micheltorena au thorized the sale or rental of the missions. In the next two years all but Santa Barbara passed into private hands, though the titles of purchasers were subsequently invali dated by the United States government. At the time of the transfer, but little was left. In Febru ary 1844 Father Durdn reported that San Miguel and San Luis Obispo were virtually abandoned, Purisima Concepci6n had about two hundred Indians (as against 1522 in 1804), Santa Barbara had 287 (compared with 1892 in 1803), and the other southern missions were in an utterly hopeless condition. On June 1, 1846, Narciso Durdn, who had re sided in Alta California forty years and had been Father- President most of the time since 1825 (1825-1827, 1831-1838, and 1844-1846), died in his seventieth year. He has been called "the last and perhaps the ablest of the Franciscan prelates," but as the outstanding figure in a decline he must of necessity yield place to the more fortunate Serra and Lasuen. However that may be, his death is taken as mark ing the end of the missions. No successor was appointed, for none was needed. CHAPTER XXXV WAITING FOR OLD GLORY, 1835-1847 After Figueroa's death Alta California entered upon a checkered career, of no definite tendency unless it were that the province was driving rapidly toward a fresh change of flag. Home rule, restoration of Mexican governors, and home rule, again, followed in rapid succession. Internal dissension marked the periods of home rule, while a united front was presented against the Mexican governors. Meanwhile, infiltration of American settlers was constantly going on. That was the decisive factor. No fewer than four men, one of them for two terms, held the office of governor in 1836. Jose" Castro had succeeded Figueroa in 1835, but some of the southern leaders objected to him. One of them, Jose Antonio Carrillo, as provincial deputy in the Mexican congress, had procured an act making Los Angeles the capital. The Diputacion declined to go to Los Angeles, and recognized Castro. He resigned on Jan uary 2, 1836, in favor of Lieutenant-Colonel Gutierrez, who had all along been accepted as the military commandant {jefe militar). In April, Colonel Mariano Chico arrived from Mexico as the new governor, and in May took over the office. Chico lasted three months, during which time he made himself the most hated ruler the province ever had. He began by announcing the new Mexican centralist con stitution, replacing the federalist document of 1824,— and this was accepted as easily as all previous governmental changes had been. This was about the only action he took that did not stir up oppostition. The cbmax came when he appeared in the place of honor at a pubbc function, accom panied by his mistress (whom he had endeavored to "pass 473 474 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA off" as his niece) and by a woman under arrest at the time for adultery. The uproar over this incident was so great that Chico took refuge on board ship, and on July 31 sailed from Monterey to Mexico. Gutierrez resumed power, but was unable to check the dissatisfaction of the Californians. As a centralist he was unpopular, not because of any real objection to that political ideal, but because Chico had espoused it. The Californians felt that it was time they should have a governor of their own choosing. A quarrel with Gutierrez gave Juan Bautista Alvarado an oppor tunity to put himself at the head of a revolution. Alvarado was only twenty-seven, but was already a leading figure in the province, endowed perhaps with greater political capacity than any man of those times. Much better informed than most Californians, as a result of his readings (when a mere stripling) in Sola's library, he became secretary of the Diputacion at seventeen years of age, and in 1836 was a full-fledged deputy in that body and a cus tom-house official. Following his dispute with Gutierrez (over questions of provincial revenue), Alvarado left Monte rey and went to Sonoma. There he tried to persuade his uncle, Mariano Vallejo, to join him in a revolt against Gutierrez and centralism, but Vallejo was lukewarm. Ar rived at San Jose on his return he found three of his febow- deputies, — Antonio Buelna, Jose Castro, and Jose Antonio De la Guerra (son of the already-mentioned Captain De la Guerra), — who enthusiastically subscribed to his plan. A party of thirteen men was formed to march on Monterey. On the way, other Californians joined them until they num bered about seventy-five, and presently they were rein forced by a terror-inspiring band of Mexicans, Indians, and Americans under Isaac Graham, a celebrated American trapper and marksman who had set up a distillery in the Pajaro Valley. The army now proceeded to Monterey. Late on November 3 Alvarado quietly took possession of various strategic points of Monterey and on the 4th the "battle" began. Alvarado made his forces seem larger than they were by marching them in the open from one place WAITING FOR OLD GLORY, 1835-1847 475 to another and causing them to return unseen, perhaps to repeat the open march again. Then he ordered his men to start firing. Only a single ball could be found that would fit any of the cannon, but with this they hit the governor's house. That ended the battle! Gutierrez surrendered, and was put aboard a ship bound for Mexico. Alvarado had won, but he now had the much more diffi cult task of consolidating the many divergent elements under his own authority. Virtually dominated by him the Diputacion declared the independence of the province (on November 7, 1836) under the name of "the free and sovereign state of Alta California," with a qualification to the effect that it was to endure until Mexico returned to the federalist constitution of 1824. Alvarado became gov ernor, and Monterey was recognized as the capital, while the Diputacion took to itself the new title of "Constituent Congress." It soon developed that Los Angeles was not in favor of independence. So in January 1837 Alvarado tried the per suasive argument of a quick march south. A much-threat ened resistance did not develop, and he entered Los Angeles on the 23d. The southern metropolis now discovered that it had no objection whatsoever to Alvarado; indeed, it an nounced itself as equally opposed to centralism and Mexi can governors, though doubtful of the wisdom of inde pendence. Alvarado agreed to hold elections for a new legislative body which should review the proceedings of the self-styled Constituent Congress. Thereupon, Los Angeles most gracefully submitted. The elections were held, and the new body confirmed the main features of the laws made by the old, except that it substituted a petition to Mexico to restore federalism and let Alta California govern itself for the previous declaration of independence. !¦ The lull following the agreement with Los Angeles was but temporary. With the coming of spring, "young men's fancies," both north and south, "turned lightly" to thoughts of revolution. The opposition in the south was tbe more formidable. Former Governor Zamorano headed a move- 476 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ment at San Diego ostensibly for restoration of Mexican rule. Los Angeles fell into line, and presently the now familiar scene of sectional differences reached the crucial stage. Northern troops were at Rincon Pass, near San Buenaventura, and southern at San Fernando. Battle was imminent, — when suddenly all was changed by a factor as strange, if not so spectacular, as the famous Avila charge against Governor Victoria. Captain Andres Castillero, who had left Alta California with Gutierrez, now returned with a new centralist constitution of 1836. Since it represented opposition to Alvarado the hitherto (supposedly) federalist south adopted it with enthusiasm. Early in July, Castillero passed over to Alvarado's lines, — and Alvarado also accepted it ! Nothing could show more clearly than this that political ideals in Alta California were little more than catch-phrases behind which individuals fought for power. The'Californians were merely in the stage of boss rule which characterized other Spanish American lands of that day. Alvarado's action was due, no doubt, to his own precarious hold on the governorship. Even in Monterey there had recently been a temporarily successful uprising against him. By swearing allegiance to the Mexican constitution he was enabled to retain power as acting governor, and got Castillero's promise to urge his formal appointment by the authorities in Mexico. The south was not satisfied, but now had no plausible issue; so the revolution died a-bornin'. The old regime was re stored, and with it the Diputacion returned as successor of the Constituent Congress. The south was not long in finding an issue with which to combat Alvarado and the north. Jos6 Antonio Carrillo came back from Mexico in October 1837 with the informa tion that his brother, Carlos Antonio, had been appointed governor. Nothing in Alvarado's career illustrates his politi cal cleverness better than his handling of this situation. He knew that Castillero could not have reached Mexico by the time of Carrillo's appointment, and had well-grounded beliefs that there was something questionable about the Carrillo case, anyway. So he played for time, depending WAITING FOR OLD GLORY, 1835-1847 477 upon Castillero to arrange matters eventually in Mexico, and feeling certain that the Mexican government, occupied as it was with more pressing affairs, would recognize the claimant in Alta California with the firmest grip. So while the Carrillos fulminated, issuing demands and threatening him with death, Alvarado proposed conferences or sought other means to postpone the issue. By March 1838 he had some intimations that his cause had triumphed, and re solved to further it by striking at the Carrillos. The southern troops were leisurely besieging Santa Bar bara, which had refused to submit to them. Alvarado sent Castro south to attack them. Joining the garrison of Santa Barbara, Castro got together a force of about a hundred men, and advanced against the enemy, reported to number a hundred and ten. The battle was fought at San Buenaven tura. Castro seized Rincon Pass, and bombarded the southern troops with cannon shot on March 27 and 28. During this time one of Castro's men was killed, — just how, it cannot be stated, — while there is no record that^any of the enemy were hit. The Carrillo army seems to have decided that the battle had gone far enough, and slipped away under cover of darkness. Castro pursued, and captured seventy of them. It was the 1st of April when the triumphant northern captain entered Los Angeles. But the Carrillos were not yet ready to admit defeat. A new army was raised at San Diego, wherefore Alvarado him self marched south. At a point south of San Juan Capis trano called Las Flores the two armies met, but hardly clashed. The battle, as Bancroft says, "was for the most part one of tongue and pen, though a cannon was fired once or twice . . . doing no harm." Alvarado was more than a match for Carlos Carrillo in diplomacy, persuading him to disband his troops as a preliminary to further discussion. This- virtually ended oppo sition to Alvarado. Los Angeles recognized him as governor, though San Diego for some time remained hostile. Not until August 1838 did Alvarado learn definitely that Cas- 478 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA tillero had been successful, and not until November did he receive formal notification of his appointment. Castillero was rewarded presently by an election to the Mexican congress. Alta California now settled down to a few years of much- needed freedom from internal disorder. Battles of the past few years had indeed caused little bloodshed, but the lack of security of life, limb, and property had been very real; one has only to read the original narratives of men like Alfred Robinson, an American merchant in California, to realize that there was no element of comic opera to them in the civil wars of the thirties. Alvarado turned his atten tion after 1838 to many problems of administration which had for several years been allowed to drag along as they would. Among other matters was that of dealing with the Indians. Along the entire frontier they had become more than usually bold. On one occasion they abducted a rancher's two daughters; on another they drove off twelve hundred animals from San Luis Obispo. Many battles were fought, especially by Vallejo, who was the most successful campaigner of the times. The administration of the mis sions, the reorganization of the government (which had recently been re-united to Baja California and made a full- fledged department of the Mexican Republic) , consideration of the laws of trade and customs regulations, and the repair of the military estabbshment were more or less actively taken up. In these matters Alvarado did not meet with such striking success as in the factional strife of the pre ceding years, though it is doubtful if anybody else could have done better. It is charged, indeed, that from about 1839 he concerned himself rather more with convivial pleasures than with affairs of state. Meanwhile, a formidable rival appeared upon the scene in the person of his uncle, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. Vallejo had been appointed military governor, or com mandant, at the same time that the civil authority was formally bestowed upon Alvarado by the Mexican govern ment. For years Vallejo had been not only an efficient WAITING FOR OLD GLORY, 1835-1847 479 soldier, but also a capable business man and virtual ruler of the north bay district, undoubtedly the best managed section of Alta California. Vallejo did not propose to play second fiddle to Alvarado in military affairs, and started in on his own initiative to exact the same discipline at other posts that he had long maintained in the north. He also ten dered gratuitous advice to Alvarado on such other matters as foreign trade, revenue, and administration of the mis sions, — and on this last-named subject he might indeed make valuable suggestions, since he had supervised the missions in his vicinity with greater success than had been met with anywhere else. It was not long before a pro nounced coolness developed beteen the two. Trouble also seemed likely to break out in the south under Jose Antonio Carrillo or Pio Pico, the latter of whom had deeply resented the refusal of Alvarado's government to set up Los Angeles as the capital. In addition, there were rumors of plotting on the part of the less desirable foreigners, who made a rendezvous of Graham's bar and boasted that England or the United States would soon get Alta California. These incidents decided the political-minded Alvarado to make a spectacular play. In April 1840 Alvarado caused Graham and a number of others of his following to be arrested, and four days later they were put aboard ship, thirty-nine in all, 'and sent to Mexico. Yet other precautions were taken against the al leged foreign peril, and glowing proclamations were pub lished telling how Alvarado had saved the country. Thus did the governor ward off threatened internal strife, — a strife which was more apt to have arisen among bis Spanish Californian opponents than from Graham and his men. As for Graham, he and about half of his companions were al lowed to return in the following year. Both that year and the next, foreigners arrived in ever increasing numbers, but Alvarado did not again take action. Friction between him self and Vallejo developed to such a point, however, that the Mexican government resolved to reunite the civil and military power in one person. To avoid offending either 480 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA Alvarado or Vallejo, it was necessary to relieve both of their authority and to send out a governor from Mexico, though the two Spanish Californians received a notable promotion in military rank. On December 31, 1842, then rule came to an end. Both continued to be prominent in California affairs, Vallejo especially, and both lived many years after the change of flag and indeed to a green old age. The new governor, General Manuel Micheltorena, was a genial gentleman who was in many ways deserving of belter fortune than fate accorded him as ruler of the Californias, though a man of no great strength. Remembering that Texas had been lost to the repubbc as a result of the coming of American settlers the Mexican authorities were particu larly desirous of checking this potential danger. They there fore made an unusual effort to provide Micheltorena with an army. But such an army! The majority were liberated convicts, and the regulars that were provided, officers and all, were the worst elements in the commands from which they were obtained. The term " cholos," which the Califor nians applied to them, is indicative] of the low character of these "defenders of the country." Alfred Robinson, who was at San Diego when Micheltorena and his cholos arrived on August 25, 1842, has this to say of the soldiery: "They presented a state of. wretchedness and misery unequalled. Not one individual among them possessed a jacket or pantaloons; but naked, and like the savage Indians, they concealed their nudity with dirty, miserable blankets. The females were not much better off; for the scantiness of their mean apparel was too apparent for modest observers. They appeared like convicts, and indeed the greater part of them had been charged with the crime either of murder or theft. And these were the soldiers sent to subdue this happy country." Micheltorena, who managed indeed to provide his men with uniforms, remained at San Diego for several weeks. By day he kept them busy drilling, but at night they roamed far and wide, stealing whatever they could lay hands upon, It was with pleasure that San Diego saw them depart. Los Angeles and Santa Barbara soon learned that a most aston- WAITING FOR OLD GLORY, 1835-1847 481 ishing thing had occurred. On October 19, 1842, Monterey had been required to surrender to an American fleet under Commodore Thomas Jones. In the double belief that war between the United States and Mexico had been declared and that England was desirous of picking up Alta California for herself, Jones had made a hurried voyage from Peru, and had indeed taken possession of Monterey. Micheltorena, then at San Fernando, issued a fiery proclamation an nouncing his impatience to fly at the dastardly invader, but decided that for the present he could "fly" better from a point farther south. So he returned to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, convinced of his mistake, Jones had hauled down the American flag on the 21st, and restored the status quo. Micheltorena remained at Los Angeles until July 1843, receiving formal delivery (by proxy) of Alvarado's govern ment while still at that place. The citizens of Los Angeles saw him go with mingled joy and regret, — joy over the de parture of the cholos, but regret because it meant loss of the prestige, which they so greatly desired, of being the seat of government. Monterey rejoiced, — but soon realized that their armed "protectors" were the worst pest they had ever been obliged to endure. Micheltorena could not check the depredations of his cholos, but frequently made good then thefts out of his own pocket. The crimes of his soldiers were but one of Micheltorena' s many difficulties. Alvarado had left the treasury with exactly twenty-five cents in it. Provincial revenues, always too scant to serve provincial needs, were now more heavily strained than ever, if only to sustain the cholo army. The governor did what he could to obtain sufficient funds, but without conspicuous success. With respect to the Ameri cans, now rapidly pouring through the mountain passes, he did nothing. Indeed, with the forces at his command, he could hardly have expelled those already in the province or prevented those who sought to come. So he took the oppo site course, and received them with kindness and, often, humane attentions. The Indians of the interior were not less active than before. And Pio Pico again raised tbe issue 482 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA of making Los Angeles the^eapital, and was incensed at the governor when he vetoed the plan. Talk of revolution once more became current, despite the personal popularity of Micheltorena himself. As. Summed up by one writer: "The Californians, or some of the most influential among them, began to regret the reunion of the civil with the military power, and to be dissatisfied with the rule of a foreigner. They did not dislike Micheltorena himself; pn the contrary he had won then- regard by his agreeable manners, his generosity in making them whole, and perhaps more than whole when his cholos despoiled them, and perhaps also by nil indolence which so closely resembled their own. He had quite won the favor of the friars by restoring the missions to their care, and by marrying the mistress he had brought with him from Mexico. He had established better schools in the pueblos and principal settlements than had ever been known before in California, and he had helped the bishop to establish an eccle siastical seminary at Santa In6s. In fact no foreign governor since Borica had done so much to win the favor of his people." The revolution at length broke out in November 1844. After several weeks of maneuvering between Salinas and Santa Clara, an agreement was reached in December, ac cording to which Micheltorena was to send his cholos back to Mexico within three months. It soon afterward became apparent that the governor had no intention of fulfilling the treaty, but on the contrary was getting ready to deliver his opponents a knock-out blow. Among others he enbsted a number of foreigners, mostly Americans, under John A. Sutter, whose establishment at New Helvetia (modern Sacramento) had, since its founding in 1839, become the principal rendezvous of the immigrants by the overland trails. Isaac Graham also joined Micheltorena with a con tingent of sharp-shooters. Alvarado and Castro, who were among the leaders of the opposition, hastened south, gath ering adherents as they went. Arrived before Los Angeles they attacked the garrison, and captured the city in a battle (January 20, 1845) in which several men were killed or wounded. They made much of the fact that Micheltorena's army consisted largely of foreigners, procuring enlistments to their own forces as a result of the patriotic ardor WAITING FOR OLD GLORY, 1835-1847 483 thus aroused. Meanwhile they too recruited a foreign company! On February 20 and 21, 1845, the battle of Cahuenga Pass was fought, — at Alamos, west of the pass, on the 20th, and at the Verdugo ranch, on the other side, on the 21st. The forces engaged were larger than usual; it is said that the Californians had no fewer than four hundred men. They also had two cannon as against Micheltorena' s* three. On both sides there were a number of foreigners, in great part Ameri cans, but some of the more prominent among them in each camp were at work pointing out how this was none of then quarrel. So the foreigners in each army did little, if any thing, but watch the fight. The engagement on the 20th was mainly an artillery duel, with nobody taking any chances of getting hit. It is said that one horse on the patriot side had his head shot off and perhaps another was killed, while Micheltorena's casualties were limited to the wounding of one mule. On the 2 1st neither man nor animal fell. And then Micheltorena capitulated! Indeed, his cause was hopeless, now that the foreign riflemen would not aid him. He agreed to leave Alta California, taking his cholos with him, and late in March he did so. With his departure the last real vestige of Mexican rule was gone, though a shadowy allegiance was retained some few months longer. A divided local authority was now restored, with Pio Pico as civil governor and Jose Castro military commandant. Immediately, the lack of harmony between north and south revived. Pico, earliest in a long line of Los Angeles "boost ers," removed the capital to the southern metropolis, while Castro and the provincial treasurer and custom-house officials remained at Monterey. Even in his own section Pico was beset with troubles, including a plotted uprising by that stormy petrel of Alta Californian politics, Jose Antonio Carribo. The plot was discovered, and Carrillo was forced to add yet another exile to several in his career which had gone before. Differences of opinion between Pico and Castro were early in evidence. Tbe most serious question was that of a division of the provincial revenues. Debts were 484 A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA pressing, and salaries were either unpaid or being scaled down, — a situation which had become chronic, — but needs were greater than ever. Pico was in a position to command legislation, favoring the civil branch as opposed to the mili tary, but Castro and his friends were in control of the funds. Affairs were shaping themselves for a fresh civil war, when there came a burst from the blue that gave a new turn to the situation. fTTThe news concerned a long-predicted uprising of foreign- rs, under the leadership, in the present instance, of John C. Fremont, an officer of the United States army. Events now moved rapidly. In the celebrated "Bear Flag revolt" of 1846 Fremont and his companions announced the estab lishment of an independent California Repubbc. Meanwhile war between the United States and Mexico had broken out in the spring of that same year, and the campaign for an American-controlled independent California was trans formed into a conquest by the United States. The story belongs to the historian of American California. Here it need only be said that the Spanish Californians struck a gallant blow before they succumbed to tbe inevitable. Ac knowledging the rule of Jose" Marfa Flores they prepared to resist the invasion of General Stephen W. Kearny, who, late in 1846, entered the province by way of the Anza route, turning ^off toward ^.San Diego. On December 6 came the decisive clash between the respective hens of Spanish and Anglo-Saxon civilization, at San Pascual, a few miles below Escondido. Kearny remained in possession of the field, but only after suffering a loss of twenty-one killed and sixteen wounded. The honors of the day may well be accorded to the Spanish Californians, who, skilfully commanded by Andres Pico, got off without loss of life, though a few of them were wounded. There were indeed several more skirmishes between the opposing forces, but the local authorities soon realized that resistance was hopeless. On January 13, 1847, a peace was agreed upon in Alta California, and with the signing of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between tbe United States WAITING FOR OLD GLORY, 1835-1847 485 and Mexico on February 2, 1848, the passing of the old Spanish province under the American flag was formally acknowledged. What seemed almost like destiny, with not a bttle assistance from the goddess of chance, had now been fulfilled. The work of Gdlvez and Bucareli, worthily carried on by the Spanish Californians, had reached its logical conclusion. APPENDIX THE LITERATURE OF CALIFORNIA HISTORY I. Pbinted Works A. Bibliographies. B. Source materials. a. Continuing sets. b. Original narratives edited by historical scholars and published separ ately or in other than California sets. C. Periodicals. D. Books. a. Important works on the background of California history. (a). Approaches of the Spaniards. (b). Approaches of the English and Russians. (c). The American) conquest of California, according to the narratives of eye-witnesses. b. Important general histories of California and notable monographs. c. Historical works, of a somewhat popular character, on special subjects. d. Popular general histories of California in one volume. e. Historical works on other subjects, but containing abundant material on California history. f. Works which are descriptive, rather than historical, but which are of value for the general public. II. Manuscripts A. Guides to manuscript materials. B. The Bancroft Library. C. Unpublished theses and prize essays. D. Private collections. E. Public archives in California. F. Archives beyond the state. The number of printed works which directly touch upon California in such a way as to make them worthy of consideration as materials for the his tory of the state is very great. Moreover, an incalculably vast number deal at least to some extent with California. Cowan and Bancroft (both referred to hereinafter) have respectively about a thousand and three thousand items in their bibliographies, although the latter includes manuscripts as well as printed works. These numbers, however, are far from representing all that had appeared up to their dates of publication. Nevertheless, the number of first-class historical works, as distinguished from those which are useful primarily as materials for California history, is distinctly limited. It is possible to include an indication of all of them here, and, besides, give some examples 487 488 APPENDIX of different categories of other works. No attempt is made here to attain to adequate proportions in the items treated when compared with one an other; the briefest comment commensurate with each given case has been adopted. Within groups a chronological arrangement is followed. I. Printed Works A. Bibliographies. Many of the historical works mentioned below in Section D contain biblio graphies. Those of Bancroft are more important than any other source. At tention is directed also to items referred to at II, A and C. One work deserves notice here. 1. Cowan, Robert Ernest. A bibliography of the history of California and the Pacific west 1510-1906. San Francisco. 1914. This is a critical bibliography of about a thousand printed works, or books, arranged alphabetically by authors' names, with a chronological index accord ing to dates of publication and a title and subject index. A limited edition of 250 copies was printed. It is unquestionably one of the most valuable tools in existence for students of California history. B. Source materials. Many of the works included in section D might have been placed here, since they are more properly materials for history, according to the point of view of the present-day student, than histories in themselves. It has seemed better, however, to narrow section B to include only such published docu mentary materials as did not originally contemplate being classed as "books." A list to suit the needs of specialists would reach enormous proportions, in cluding such items as law reports and state documents generally, while even the works of historical scholars are not few in number. The volumes men tioned below are merely representative. A number of others of excellent cali bre might easily be added. a. Continuing sets. The three items referred to here are still in existence; the inclusive dates indicate merely the latest issue of a volume. 1. Historical society of southern California, Publications. 10 v. Los An geles. 1884-1917. Separate parts, usually entitled Annual publica tion, are issued, and when these accumulate to provide sufficient bulk a volume is brought out. Ordinarily there are three parts to a volume, though some have more and others less. There have been minor variations in title. This valuable set is devoted primarily to the California pioneers, but also contains a wide variety of materials, most of them articles having a bearing on the local history of southern Calif ornia, ranging in kind from the somewhat unscientific product of the amateur to the best type of work by historical scholars. Most of the articles, however, belong in the category of popular historyi and reminiscence. Most notable of those who have contributed frequently to this set is the late James M. Guinn. Parti of volume II (issued as volume II, since the intended part II was not published) differs in character from the other volumes. Its sub-title reads: Documents from the^/Sutro collec tion, translated, annotated and edited by Geo. Butler Griffin. Nineteen docu ments are given in both the original Spanish and an English translation. Seven are letters, or portions of letters, alluding to California and ranging in date from 1584 to 1595; eight more deal with Vizcaino; two letters of Father Serra follow; and then two diaries of Perez's voyage of 1774, kept by Father Tomas de la Pefia and Juan Crespf and occupying nearly two-thirds of the volume, wind up the list. APPENDIX 489 2. Academy of Pacific coast history, Publications. 4 v. (issued in 1910, 1911, 1918, and 1919). Berkeley, California. 1909-1919. . This set represents the Bancroft Library, sometimes known as the Academy t A,acmo Coast History, — compare section II, B,— although since 1911 most of the more important works of single-volume character have been included in the Publications in history series, discussed in the next following item. The Publications of the Academy have been devoted primarily to the translation ?n™?dlJilnS of documents. Thus diaries of Portola (1769-1770), Vila (1769- Wonl' Costans6 (1769-1770), Fages (1770), Font (1775-1776), Fages (1781- rz . i-'t.a? Duran (1817) are given in both Spanish and English. Diaries in English by Patrick Breen of the Donner party and Nelson Kingsley, a pioneer of 49, also appear. There are two contemporary narratives of the Portola expedition, in Spanish and in English translation, and over a volume on the papers of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1851. Two of the items in volume I are the only ones in the set that are not in the category of source material. One of these is a brief article by Carl Copping Plehn, on The San Francisco clearing house certificates of 1907-1908, published in 1909, and the other is the doctoral dissertation (in 107 pages) of Rayner Wickersham Kel- sey entitled The United States consulate in California, published in 1910, deal ing with the activities of Thomas O. Larkin. An attempt has been made to attain to the best standards of scholarship in the presentation of the materials in this set. 3. University of California, Publications in history. 10 v. Berkeley, Califor nia. 1911-1920. While items have appeared in this set over the widest possible range as regards historical content, most of the works fall within the fields of Pacific coast, southwestern, and Hispanic American history, or in other words those which are primarily dependent on such materials as exist in the Bancroft Library. It is the aim to make them represent the highest type of historical scholarship, as exhibited, chiefly, through the medium of historical mono graphs, though such items as manuscript guides (compare number 2 in section II, A) may be expected to appear from time to time. Many of these works have a direct bearing on California history. The contents of the volumes thus far published are the following: v. I. Studies in American history. 1914. No. 1. McCormac, Eugene Irving. Colonial opposition to imperial authority during the French and Indian war. 1911. No. 2. Smith, Donald Eugene. The viceroy of New Spain. 1913. No. 3. Hughes, Anne Eugenia. The beginnings of Spanish settle ment in the El Paso district. 1914. v. II. Marshall, Thomas Maitland. A history of the western boundary of the Louisiana purchase, 1819-1841. 1914. v. III. Bolton, Herbert Eugene. Texas in the middle eighteenth century. 1915. v. IV. [Without title. Not yet bound]. No. 1. Myres, John Linton. The influence of anthropology on the course of political science. 1916. No. 2. Van Nostrand, John James. The reorganization of Spain by Augustus. 1916. No. 3. Teggart, Frederick John. The processes of history, '(,1918. 490 APPENDIX No. 4. Putnam, Ruth, with the collaboration of Herbert Ingram Priestley. California: the name. 1917. See No. 21 in sec tion I, D, b. v. V. Priestley, Herbert Ingram. Josi. de Galvez, visitor-general of New Spain (1766-1771). 1916. See No. 6 in section I, D, a, (a). v. VI. Gittinger, Roy. The formation of the state of Oklahoma (1808- 1906). 1917. v. VII. Davidson, Gordon Charles. The North West Company. 1918. See No. 9 in section I, D, a, (b). v. VIII. Chapman, Charles Edward. 'Catalogue of materials in the Ar- chivo General de Indias for the history of the Pacific coast and the American southwest. 1919. See No. 2 in section II, A. v. IX. Cunningham, Charles Henry. The audiencia in the Spanish colonies, as illustrated by the audiencia of Manila. 1919. v. X. Brown, Everett Somerville. The constitutional history of the Louisiana purchase, 1803-181$. 1920. A number of works which will be incorporated in this set are awaiting publication, and still others are nearing completion. b. Original narratives edited by historical scholars and published separately or in other than California sets. The following are representative of the class : 1. Garces, Francisco. On the trail of a Spanish pioneer; the diary and itinerary of Francisco Garces (missionary priest) in his travels through Sonora, Arizona, and California, 1775-1776, tr. from Sp. to Eng. ed. by Elliott Coues. 2 v. (American explorers series. III). New York. 1900. 2. Spanish explorations in the southwest, 1542-1706, tr. from Sp. to Eng. ed. by Herbert Eugene Bolton. (Original narratives of early American ^history series). New York. 1916. Contains translations of diaries and reports concerning expeditons of Rodriguez Cabrillo, Ferrelo, Vizcafno, Rodriguez (Agustin), Espejo, Onate, Bosque, Domfnguez de Mendoza, Leon, and Kino. C. Periodicals. As will appear from the single item given specific mention in section II, C, many periodicals have occasional articles of value for history. Two of them are so directly devoted to California history, however, that they deserve special mention. 1. Southwestern historical quarterly. 24 v. (July, 1897, — April, 1921). j Austin, Texas. 1898-1921. Title to April, 1912: Texas state histor ical association, Quarterly. Down to 1912 this excellent periodical belonged in the category of local, though scholarly, state historical quarterlies, and confined its attentions almost wholly to the state of Texas. With the change of title in 1912 the scope of the periodical was enlarged to include the entire southwest and the Pacific coast. Since that time it has attained to a national reputation as one of APPENDIX 491 the leading historical magazines in the country. California is well represented in the articles that have been published since 1912. Indeed, this periodical is the principal resort of students of California history seeking articles of the most scholarly type. 2. Grizzly bear magazine. 28 v. (May, 1907, — April, 1921). Los Angeles. 1907-1921. Title to March, 1913: Grizzly bear. Issued monthly. Vol umes complete in six numbers. This periodical, which is the official organ of the Native Sons (N. S. G. W.) and Native Daughters (N. D. G. W.) of the Golden West, has inevitably be come in great measure a magazine of California history, — inevitably, because the foundation stone of the two orders it represents is the glorious traditions of California, in which state one must have been born in order to be eligible for membership to these fraternal organizations. During its comparatively brief existence the Grizzly bear magazine has published some three hundred articles of history. While most of them are popular or reminiscent, a number were provided by the leading historians of the state, often representing for the first time the results of their investigations. D. Books. While the word "Books" would ordinarily include many of the works al ready cited, it is employed here in order to avoid such terms as "Historical works" (which many of the items that follow are not), since a broader basis of entry is desired, — one equivalent to the inclusion of all pertinent works except those taken up in other sections of this appendix. a. Important works on the background of California history. Of the peoples of the earth who had their opportunity to acquire Cali fornia, only the Spaniards, English and Russians, and Americans demand consideration here. Works on Indians, apart from their relations with other peoples, belong to the field of anthropology, and the Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, and French either did not get near enough to California to be dangerous or else are lacking in an adequate literature descriptive of their endeavors. In addition to the items cited below, the general histories in I, D, b contain pertinent material. (a). Approaches of the Spaniards. The Spanish approaches to California may be said to date from the year 1521, with the definitive occupation of Mexico City by Cortes. From that time forward the Spaniards worked their way toward California by easy stages, until settlements were founded there in 1769. The number of published vol umes, even with the omission of the many works about Cortes (which do not appear in the lists given below), is very great. Most of them, down to the close of the eighteenth century, were written by members of religious orders, while, for reasons of state, even the works of civilians were required to have a certain religious tinge about them.1 Present-day historians are endeavoring to check up and supplement the earlier writers by making use of official government correspondence. The following lists will give some idea of the writers who have dealt with Spanish activities in the fine of their advance toward California.' 1 Spain feared the entrance of 2 For full bibliographical entry, foreign ideas almost as much as she with one exception (Kino, which is did that of foreign armies. Tribunals included here), see Chapman, The were instituted, notably that of the founding of Spanish California (cited Inquisition, which exercised a rigorous at I,D,b,20) , 438-444. censorship over all volumes published in or entering Spain's dominions. 492 APPENDIX 1596 1870 Perez de Ribas . . 1645 1615 1723 Florencia. . . 1694 1653 1890-1891 Kino 1710 1919 1697 Ortega. . . . 1754 1737 Burriel. . . . 1757 1746 Alegre .... 1767 1842 1780 1873-1874 Baegert . . 1772 1792 Clavigero . . . . 1789 1833 1879 Cavo ... 1794 1870 Civilians larez de Peralta 1589 1878 errera . 1601-1615 1655 . N. . Where two dates are given they are for the year in which the author completed his volume and for that of its publication, — often centuries later; where only one date appears, it indicates that completion and publication were virtually together. Franciscans Jesuits Mendieta . Torquemada . TeUo. . Vetancurt. . . Arlegui . . . Espinosa . BeaumontArricivita . Frejes .... N. Gonzalez Cabrera Bueno 1734 MotaPadilla . . 1742 1871-1872 Galvez . . 1771 1867 Humboldt . . . 1809-1814 Priestley 1916 Six of the above works deserve special mention, because they are concerned almost wholly or in very great part with the Spanish approaches to California. 1. Kino, Eusebio. Father Kino's historical memoir of Pimeria Alta, tr. from Sp. to Eng. ed. by Herbert Eugene Bolton. 2 v. Cleveland. 1919. The original Spanish memoir is on the calendar for publication in the Publi cations in history series of the University of California. This deals with the important work of Father Kino in Pimeria Alta, much of which is now in southern Arizona, from 1687 to 1711. Kino stands out as one of the landmarks in the history of the Spanish approaches to California. The translation and editing by Professor Bolton leave nothing to be desired; indeed, few if any of the works of this scholar, who is without a rival in knowl edge of this general field, have received more exceptional and painstaking care in preparation than this volume. 2. Burriel, Andres Marcos. Noticia de la California y de su conquista tem poral y espiritual, hasta el tiempo presente. Sacadafde la historia manuz- scrita, formada en Mexico anode 1739. (!) por el padre Miguel Venegas; y de otras noticias, y relaciones antiguas, y modernas. 3 v. Madrid. 1757. A poor translation into English, with omissions of parts of the original, was published at London in 1759, followed in 1764 by a second edition. This history was published anonymously by the author, on which account it has until recent years been ascribed to Venegas, whose name appears on the title-page.3 It deals with the Spanish achievements in Baja California and ' For the reasons why Burriel with held his own name, see Fita y Colom6, Fidel, Noticia de la California, obra andnima del P. Andris Marcos Burriel, in Real academia de la his toria, Boletin, LII (Madrid. 1908), 396-438. APPENDIX 493 related problems in Sonora and Sinaloa, but advances strong arguments for the extension of Spanish conquests to Monterey. Next to the writings of i ather Palou it has been relied upon by historians of California more than any work ever published prior to the nineteenth century. 3. Baegert, Jakob. Nachrichten von der amerikanischen halbinsel Calif ornien. Mannheim. 1772. 4. Clavigero, Francisco Javier. Storia della California. 2 v. in 1. Venezia. 1789. Baegert and Clavigero, like Burriel, deal with the Spanish conquests in Baja California. Their works have been overshadowed by the fame of Burriel's Noticia, but they provide valuable supplementary material. 5. Gdlvez, Jose" de, marques de Sonora. Informs general que . . . entregd, al excmo sr. virrey . . . Antonio Bucarely y Ursua . . . 31 de diciembre de!771. Mexico. 1867. 6. Priestley, Herbert Ingram. Jos6 de Gdlvez, visitor-general of New Spain (1766-1771). (University of California, Publications in history, v. V). Berkeley. 1916. Both the Informe, or Report, of Gdlvez and the volume by Doctor Priestley deal principally with general financial reforms by Gdlvez in New Spain, but each has important chapters on the immediate background of the Spanish advance to San Diego and Monterey. The earlier work is now of little more than academic value, for Doctor Priestley was able to supplement the infor mation it afforded by the use of other printed volumes and a wide range of hitherto unpublished materials from the archives of Spain. Doctor Priestley's book was awarded the second prize in 1918 in the Loubat Prize Essay contest of Columbia University. (b). Approaches of the English and Russians. While the literature on this topic is abundant, it is not necessary in a history of California to cite more than a few general works. The works of Greenhow and Schafer would ordinarily be inserted here, but, except for item 5 in this . group, it seemed better, for the purposes of this appendix, to place them in section I, D, b, where they have been cited at numbers 4 and 11. 1. Coxe, William. Account of the Russian discoveries between Asia and America. London. 1780. Later editions appeared in the same year 1780, in 1787, and in 1803. The last is the best, because it not only corrects the earlier editions but also enlarges upon them. 2. Willson, Beckles, i. e. Henry Beckles. The great company: being a his tory of the honourable company of merchants-adventurers trading into Hudson's Bay. Toronto. 1899. 3. Bryce, George. The remarkable history of the Hudson's Bay Company. London. 1900. 4. Manning, William Ray. The Nootka Sound controversy (American his torical association, Annual report . . . for the year 1904, 279-478). Washington. 1905. Dr. Manning's volume, a winner of the Justin Winsor prize of the American Historical Association, is deserving of special comment. It is a work of first- rate scholarship, and, furthermore, deals with one of the most vital moments in the history of the entire Pacific coast, California included. The Nootka affair, while primarily concerned with a dispute between Spain and England in the closing years of the eighteenth century, had an important bearing also on the territorial pretensions and eventual boundaries of Russia in America and the United States. 494 APPENDIX 5. Schafer, Joseph. A history of the Pacific northwest. New York. 1905. Reprinted in 1906. Revised and enlarged edition in 1918. The last- named edition is the best. For the general public this is the most useful single-volume history in this group. It embraces a larger field than the others, is the work of an able scholar, and is written in a simple and readable style. The author acknowl edges indebtedness to Bancroft, but states that he made independent use of the sources, including many that were new. He does not include a biblio graphy or citations to authorities, however, since the volume was intended to be a popular general survey only. 6. Burpee, Lawrence Johnstone. The search for the western sea; the story of the exploration of north-western America. New York. 1908. 7. Laut, Agnes Christina. The conquest of the great north-west; being the story of the adventurers of England known as the Hudson's Bay Company. New York. 1911. 8. Golder, Frank Alfred. Russian expansion on the Pacific, 1641-1850. Cleveland. 1914. The date 1850 is a typographical error for 1750. Doctor Golder's work is the most scholarly volume in English on Russian activities in the Pacific. It is to be hoped that the author may continue his investigations, according to his original plan, and bring his account down to the disappearance of Russia from North America with the purchase of Alaska by the United States. No other man is so well equipped for the task as Doctor Golder. 9. Davidson, Gordon Charles. The North West Company. (University of California, Publications in history, v. VII) . Berkeley. 1918. This is the most important monograph that has yet appeared on the general subject of English approaches to the Pacific coast by way of Canada. It is a work of sound scholarship. (c). The American conquest of California, according to the narratives of eye-witnesses. If all of the books on the westward expansion of the United States toward and into California were taken into consideration, their numbers would reach perhaps into the thousands. Indeed, the books about California by men who actually visited or lived there in the middle years of the nineteenth century are quite numerous. It will be sufficient to mention some of the outstanding works (not all of^them) of the latter group which are representative of this class. 1. Forbes, Alexander. California: a history' of Upper and Lower California. London. 1839. Reprinted, with a new index. San Francisco. 1919. Though labelled a "history," this work is more particularly interesting for the information it gives of Forbes' own time. Forbes was an Englishman who was desirous of seeing his countrymen acquire the Californias. He had never visited the province, but had been in correspondence and intimate rela tions with those who had or who were actual residents there. Forbes himself was for many years a merchant of Tepic, Mexico, not far from the southern part of the land he described. He is often confused with his contemporary, James Alexander Forbes, the British vice-consul at Monterey. His work is interesting, also, as the first original volume in English concerning the Cali fornias. APPENDIX 495 2. Dana, Richard Henry. Two years before the mast. New York. 1840. Later American editions seem to have been published (occasionally more than one in a single year) in 1842, 1847, 1857, 1869, 1873, 1880, I88-(?), 1884, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1907, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1914, while there were London editions of 1841 and 1914, and a Dutch edition of 1842. The author, a youth of nineteen and member of a well-known New England family, shipped as a common sailor in 1834 on the merchant vessel Pilgrim, bound for California. This voyage, undertaken by him for the sake of his health, resulted in a visit of nearly a year and a half in Calif ornia during 1835 and 1836. The book describes the entire voyage, as well as the stay in Cali fornia. Unquestionably this has been the most popular work on California ever written. It depicted the life of the province with essential accuracy but also with such a romantic touch as to make the volume an English classic. It is especially valuable historically for its discussion of the hide trade. Dana revisited California in 1859, and some of the later editions include the narra tive of his stay at that time. In the course of his life the author of Two years before the mast became a distinguished publicist in other fines, of literary en deavor as well. 3. Robinson, Alfred. Life in California. New York. 1846. Robinson was a native of Massachusetts who came to" California in 1829 when he was twenty- three years old, remaining in the province, engaged in trade, until 1842. He had exceptional opportunities for a knowledge of the years of his stay, for he traveled from port to port in connection with his business and married into the De la Guerra y Noriega family, one of the lead ing famihes of California. Robinson intended originally to publish a transla tion of a manuscript about the Indians, with an introduction. As an after thought he expanded the proposed introduction to be the principal part of the book. It is one of the most valuable works in existence for the life and history of the period of Robinson's stay. One learns, for example, that the civil wars of the period were not like incidents of comic opera (as some later writers have treated them) to those who were in their midst. 4. Cutts, James Madison. The conquest of California and New Mexico . . . 1846 & 1847. Philadelphia. 1847. This is one out of a number of works dealing with military operations in California during the Mexican War. 5. Bryant, Edwin. What I saw in California. New York and Philadelphia. i848. There were five more American editions, one English, and two French in 1848 and 1849, two Dutch editions in 1849 and 1850, and one Tasmanian edition of 1850. Two later New York editions of 188-(?) and 1885 had the title Rocky Mountain adventures. Bryant, a native of Massachusetts, came to California with the United States military forces at the time of the Mexican War, and acted as alcalde of San Francisco during part of 1847. The immense popularity of his book was due to its description of the journey across the plains and also to the outburst of interest in California as a result of news of the discovery of gold there in 1848. 6. Colton, Walter. Three years in California. New York and Cincinnati. 1850. Later editions of 1851 and 1860, the latter with the title The land of gold. Colton came to California in 1846 as chaplain of the Congress, an American war-vessel. He was one of the founders of the first American newspaper in 496 APPENDIX California (the Californian, established at Monterey in 1846), and was alcalde of Monterey from 1846 to 1848. In 1848 Jie paid a visit to the gold fields, and in 1849 left for the east. His volume is' possibly the most important of the original narratives for the vital period of transition from Mexican to American rule. He vividly described the life of the Spanish Californians, as well as the phases (such as the early days of the gold discovery) more directly relating to the American conquest. 7. Davis, WiUiam Heath. Sixty years in California. San Francisco. 1889. Davis was the son of a Boston ship-master, but was born in Honolulu in 1822. In 1831 he was taken to California, and except for trading voyages to other parts remained there for the rest of his life, marrying an Estudillo, mem ber of an aristocratic Spanish Californian family. He was engaged in com merce, often as master of his own ship, with headquarters at San Francisco. Though his volume was written late in life, Davis is said to have had an excep tionally retentive memory and valuable records which he employed. It is to be noted that his book was published after the California histories in Ban croft's works, and it in fact does yield some important information which Bancroft lacked. Particularly is this true in matters having to do with ship ping. b. Important general histories of California and notable monographs. It is intended to bring together in this group all of those works which would be the first resort of the scholar seeking information about California history. Many of them are also among the best and most interesting volumes for the general reader. 1. Palou, Francisco. Noticias de la Nueva California. 4 v. San Francisco. 1874. Published originally in Documentos para la historia de Mejico, 4 ser., V-VII. Mexico. 1857. 2. Palou, Francisco. Relacidn histdrica de la vida y apostdlicas tareas del venerable padre fray Junipero Serra. Mexico. 1787. There is a trans lation into English by C. Scott Williams, with an introduction and notes by George Wharton James, published at Pasadena in 1913. Strictly speaking, the Noticias is not a history at all, but, rather, a source book. It contains many letters and diaries verbatim. These are joined together with comments of Palou to make a somewhat connected whole. The material was gathered by Palou with a view to providing the College of San Fernando with needful information. It served also as a source-book upon which he relied in his Vida, or Biography, of Serra. For the historian the Noticias is now much the more valuable, but in an account of the literature of California his tory the Vida must be accorded the major share of attention. It would not stand the test as a serious historical work today, but nevertheless it is con sidered, and must always remain, the most vitally important work on the early years of the Spanish occupation of California. It is virtually a history of the province from 1769 to 1784, told through the medium of the life of Father Serra, one of the most important actors in the events of those years. The author, like the hero of his book, was a native of Majorca. The two men became acquainted in boyhood days, and were ever afterwards the closest of friends and associates. Both were in the same branch of the Franciscan order, and Palou was for about a third of a century under the direct rule of Serra. It was inevitable, therefore, that his volume should depict the achieve ments of his intimate fife-long friend and superior in the most favorable fight, if only through the emphasis of proportions, and this tendency may very well have been heightened by the fact that the book was written immediately after the death of Serra. Fitch asserts (compare item 7 in I, D, c) that the APPENDIX 497 volume was written with a view to the elevation of Father Serra to sainthood. The result has been the creation of what may be termed "the Serra legend," which consists in the exaltation of Serra above and almost to the exclusion of others, whether religious or military, in early California history, not by misstatements about him, but by a failure to give due mention to other de serving figures. This, however, is not chargeable to Palou, who, after all, was mainly concerned with the life of Serra, but is rather the fault of writers of later days, who have taken his volume as if it were a well-rounded history of California, because little else that was easily available was known to them and no other account existed in so compact a form and with such a wealth of detail. Now that a period of intensive research into early California history has begun, the error in perspective will eventually be corrected, and Palou's work will remain for just what it is, — the most valuable account ever published on early California history, though covering only a portion of that field. Reviewed in this light it may be stated that his volume not only abounds in indispensable information, but also is notable as a work of biography. It is well written, and is based on documents as well as the personal observations of the author. It is the only historical work by a resident of California ema nating from the pre- American periods in the history of the state. 3. Revilla Gigedo, Juan Vicente Gii&nez Pacheco de Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, conde de. El virey . . . recopila en este difuso informe Ios sucesos ocurridos en la peninsula de Californias y departamento de S. Bias, desde el ano de 1768, proponiendo lo que considera conveniente, in Bustamante, Carlos Maria de, Suplemento a la historia de Ios tres siglos de Mexico durante el gobierno espanol . . . por el padre Andres Cavo (Mexico. 1836), III, 112-164. A translation into English under the title Early California appeared in Land of sunshine (Los Angeles. ), XI, 32-41, 105-112, 168-173, 225-233, 283-289. This was a long report by a great viceroy of New Spain, dated April 12, 1793, dealing with Spanish achievements in the Californias and the Depart ment of San Bias since 1768. It was based primarily on government documents, and laid special emphasis on the great expense that these conquests had oc casioned Spain. This work is not nearly as well known or so accessible as that of Palou, but it is second in importance only to that of Serra's biographer among the early published accounts about the history of California. 4. Greenhow, Robert. The history of Oregon and California, and the other territories of the northwest coast of North America. London. 1844. Lon don and Boston. 1845. New York. 1845. Boston. 1847. Except for the omission of a map, the last edition is superior to the others. Fur thermore, it was written after the dispute between England and the United States (which had given rise to the preparation of the earlier editions) had been settled. Greenhow, as translator and librarian of the State Department of the United States, had been called upon several years earlier to prepare a memoir in support of the American contention in the dispute with England over the Oregon boundary. This report was published in 1840. Greenhow's History is an expansion of the earlier memoir. Despite the fact that it was virtually a brief for the United States government, it was remarkably free from preju dice g0 much so that it still remains an authoritative history in the field it covers. Later histories have superseded it in many respects, but by no means in all It enjoyed considerable popularity, due primarily to public mterest in the subject-matter in the days when "fifty-four forty or fight" was a cam paign cry but also in part to its excellently written style. Greenhow s volume looked principally toward the Oregon question, wherefore it might have been 498 APPENDIX placed in I, D, a, (b), but it deals so fully with the Californias under Spain that it seemed better to enter it here. 5. Tuthill, Franklin. The history of California. San Francisco. 1866. This is the first general history of California, written as such without ul terior motive, that was ever published. The author was a newspaper man, and it was at the suggestion of Hubert Howe Bancroft (whose pubfishing house brought out the volume) that he wrote this book. It is in an annalistic but more or less readable style, covering the years 1500 to 1864. Tuthill made use of sources, but did not cite them. While his work is primarily interesting as a forerunner of the great Bancroft series, it contains occasional material not to be found elsewhere, though it displays the faults of a lack of critical analysis and lack of a sense of proportion. 6. Bancroft, Hubert Howe. Works. 39 v. San Francisco. 1882-1891. The separate volumes, with dates of publication (including dates of re printing in parenthesis), are the following: I-V, The native races (published originally as a separate work, at New York, 1874-1876), 1882 (1883); VI-VIII, History of Central America, 1882-1887 (1886, for VI and VII); IX-XIV, History of Mexico, 1883-1887 (1888, for XIV) ; XV-XVI, History of' the north Mexican states and Texas, 1884- 1889 (1886, for XV; the title of XV in the 1884 edition omits and Texas, although it is numbered v.I with respect to the volume for 1889, or v.II, which includes the and Texas; v.XV for 1886 has a chap ter on Texas which is lacking in the 1884 edition) ; XVII, History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1889; XVIII-XXTV, History of California, 1884-1890 (1886, for XIX and XX, brought out first in 1885); XXV, History of Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming, 1890; XXVI, History of Utah, 1889; XXVII-XXVIII, History of the northwest coast, 1884; XXIX-XXX, History of Oregon, 1886-1888; XXXI, History of Wash ington, Idaho, and Montana, 1890; XXXII, History of British Co lumbia, 1887; XXXIII, History of Alaska, 1886; XXXIV, California pastoral, 1888; XXXV, California inter pocula, 1888; XXXVI- XXXVII, Popular tribunals, 1887; XXXVIII, Essays and miscellany, 1890; XXXIX, Literary industries, 1890. It is to be noted that the year 1886 occurs as the date when many of the earlier volumes were reissued. These should (be considered as new editions, for enough changes were made to throw out the original pagination, — which accounts for the difficulty many have found in locating citations to Bancroft and also for the fact that the index does not always corre spond to the pages, since it was not remade. The matter of editions is further complicated by the fact that a separate set of thirty-four volumes was issued under the title History of the Pacific states of North America. In this set the five volumes of Native races were omitted. There were also separate volumes entitled North Mexican states and Texas, instead of the two volume work given above at numbers XV and XVI. The words History of do not appear in the titles of the Pacific states volumes, and the dates vary between those of the two sets of Works, except that the date of North Mexican states is 1883, earlier than either. Bancroft organized the task of writing this monumental work with a wise forethought and thoroughness that few if any historians have displayed, be fore or since. With the advantage of ample means, he was able to form "The History Company," employing a host of collectors, investigators, and writers. The question has often been raised as to the real authorship of the Bancroft APPENDIX 499 volumes.* In his Literary industries, published in 1890, Bancroft himself pointed out how the great project was undertaken and brought to comple tion, but without assigning specific credit to different writers. Nevertheless, the whole work bears the stamp of Bancroft. It is admitted that he wrote large portions, and, to some extent at least, revised the work of others. And back of it all, his was the idea in the first place and the directing hand throughout. Members of his staff were engaged, on the distinct understanding that they were assisting Bancroft, and not writing works of their own. In any event, owing to the peculiar character of the Bancroft volumes, the question of authorship is more or less academic. It is sufficient to know that Bancroft and the members of his staff (notably Henry Labbeus Oak, who wrote most of the California and North Mexican states volumes) fulfilled the requirements of scholarship. Whether or not Bancroft is entitled to the honors of authorship, —and the writer would be inclined to accord them to him, — his name is at least the most convenient to use in connection with the series. Bancroft made a collection of historical materials about the Pacific coast states that surpassed anything of the kind ever attempted even in the older communities of the Atlantic slope. Libraries, archives, and private homes were ransacked, and their materials copied, bought, or "borrowed." What ever Bancroft's methods of collection (and they have been adversely criti cized), the value for historical purposes of a single great set of printed and manuscript sources is unquestionable. His volumes are hardly to be consid ered as histories in the highest sense of the word. They are perhaps more a com pilation of materials, or a source-book. The materials are chopped up according to the region they represent, and put together chronologically. Thus, for a sin gle important voyage from Panamd to Alaska, one would have to look suc cessively through volumes on Central America, Mexico, the North Mexican states, California, the northwest coast (or Oregon after 1834, Washington after 1845, and British Columbia after 1792), and Alaska. Furthermore, errors in detail reach perhaps into the thousands, for it was impossible for one man or froup of .men to digest the unlimited quantity of facts which were assembled. 'or these reasons many have shown a disposition to attack the value of these volumes. Nevertheless, it is perhaps not too much to say that Bancroft's works constitute the greatest single achievement in the history of American historiography. Though Bancroft is far from being the greatest historian this country has produced, he has rendered a greater service than any of the men who deservedly rank ahead of him as historical writers. His volumes have proved to be an indispensable preliminary for scores of books published since, within the field he covered, and all historians, even those who criticise him most, have found that, wherever they go, Bancroft has been there (though perhaps inadequately) before them. On this account his works serve as an essential bibliography, not so much through the long and badly-constructed lists of authorities, but rather through the frequent and ample foot-notes, into which every conceivable authority, good, bad, or indifferent, is crowded. As concerns California history there can be no doubt that Bancroft has decided the form it has taken; nearly all of the histories of later date have been little more than summaries and selections from Bancroft, tinged and shaded by the writers' own predispositions with regard to the facts. The history of California is represented directly by the volumes numbered XVIII-XXIV and XXXIV-XXXVII in the above list, and figures prominently in I-V, XXXVIII, and XXXIX. Furthermore, no history of California can afford to neglect the material contained in many other volumes, notably XV-XVII and XXVII-XXVIII. Yet, as will be pointed out in section II, Bancroft did 1 Notably in Morris, William in Oregon historical society, Quar- Alfred, The origin and authorship of terly, v. IV, no. 4, 287-364. the Bancroft Pacific states publications, 500 APPENDIX not by any means obtain all the desirable material for a history of California, nor was that which he possessed "used . . . well-nigh to exhaustion," as a recent writer (who certainly did not test his assertion) has maintained. 7. Shinn, Charles Howard. Mining camps: a study of American frontier government. New York. 1885. From the standpoint of its special subject this deals primarily with Cali fornia, following the discovery of gold in 1848. The volume contains an ample bibliography and occasional citations to authorities in footnotes, and is written in a most entertaining style. The author tends to idealize the '49ers, with many of whom he was personally acquainted. His work is a real contribu tion to history, however, for he presented the valuable evidence of his own personal interviews with pioneers and private correspondence which would not otherwise have been utilized. It is a safer guide to the period than the volume (number 9 below) by Josiah Royce. 8. Hittell, Theodore Henry. History of California. San Francisco. 1885 [I and II]— 1897 [III and IV]. 2 ed. 4 v. in 8. San Francisco. 1898. This history is second in importance only to that of Bancroft, and is indeed much more adapted to the needs of the general reader than the Bancroft volumes because of its readable style. The work of Hittell is not only inter esting, but is also scholarly, depending upon original sources, which are cited in the footnotes. It was prepared independently of Bancroft's works and even of the Bancroft Collection. Inevitably, however, Hittell used much the same sources as Bancroft, though (since he relied upon his own efforts in the prepar ation of his History) he employed fewer of them. While Hittell's treatment is not unlike that of Bancroft in its main outlines, his volumes add considerable material not otherwise readily accessible to the student or general reader. He should not be confused with John Shertzer Hittell, author of a number of descriptive works about California and of A history of the city'lofSan Francisco, and incidentally of the state of California, published at San Francisco in 1878. 9. Royce, Josiah. Calif ornia, from the conquest in 1846 to the second Vigilance committee in San Francisco; a study of American character. (American commonwealths series). Boston and New York. 1886. This is clearly one of the leading volumes in the literature of California history, but it is not free from grave defects. The author, who later became recognized as one of the most distinguished philosophers and moralists this country has produced, was already in the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University. The principal fault of this volume comes from the fact that he wrote as a philosopher and moralist rather than as a historian. Events in California from 1846 to 1856 (the period covered by the book) are treated as illustrating salient traits of American character, as seen through somewhat puritanical glasses. The result is not flattering to Americans and particularly not to Californians. Royce goes to the opposite extreme from Shinn, and depicts the men of the Bear Flag revolt and the miners of '49 as of a rather undesirable type, neglecting to emphasize the extenuating circumstances which might have permitted of a more favorable interpretation. It would seem, too, that he selected materials from the standpoint of a previously determined thesis, and made sweeping generalizations from inadequate sources, instead of drawing conclusions from an extended survey of the available literature. Objection may also be made to the scope of the work. Given the series in which it appeared, the cover-title "California," and the large capitals in which that word alone appears on the title-page, one might have expected some thing more than a history of ten years. The almost inevitable impression follows that the main facts of California history are contained in the period actually treated. But, separating Royce's volume from its philosophy and APPENDIX 501 lack of historical method, an interesting piece of historical criticism remains. It is especially to be commended from the standpoint of synthesis, for it is a well organized and readable volume. 10. Blackmar, Frank Wilson. Spanish institutions of the southwest. (John Hopkins University, Studies in history and political science. Extra v.X). Baltimore. 1891. This is a volume by a competent scholar, who chose to present his subject mainly through California materials, though other regions from California to Texas do not lack consideration as well. While it is based on printed works which had already been used by Bancroft, it represents a contribution to the field of history, and is an especially useful hand-book for those who would get a well-rounded preliminary survey of the social, political, and economic institutions of a frontier province in Spain's American empire. The volume is equipped with all the apparatus of scholarship. Furthermore, it is inter esting. 11. Schafer, Joseph. The Pacific slope and Alaska. (History of North Amer ica series. v.X). Philadelphia. [1905]. The author of this work had already established a reputation as a sound historical scholar who had devoted his principal efforts to the field covered in this volume. Owing to the limitations imposed by the editor of the series it lacks a bibliography, citations, and an index, but is nevertheless an impor tant historical work because of the authority of the writer. While it deals prin cipally with lands to the north of California, and might appropriately be in cluded in I, D, a, (b), it has been placed here because more than a third of the book treats directly of California, and much of the rest has at least an indirect bearing on the history of the Golden State. In fine, it provides a good com pact general survey of the history of the Pacific states of the American Union. 12. Davidson, George. The discovery of San Francisco Bay; the redis covery of the port of Monterey; the establishment of the presidio, and the founding of the mission of San Francisco. (Geographical society of the Pacific, Transactions andjproceedings. v. IV, ser. II). San Francisco. 1907. An account of California historiography is not complete without a mention of George Davidson. For fifty years he was in the service of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and from 1850 until his retirement in 1895 was stationed on the Pacific coast. Famous primarily as a geographer, his ac quaintance with the coast enabled him to approach historical problems bearing upon the routes of voyagers and to solve many questions connected with them. Among his historical publications, other than the item cited above, were the following: Identification of Sir Francis Drake's anchorage on the coast of California in the year 1579 (1890) ; The discovery of Humboldt Bay (1891) ; The discovery of San Diego Bay (1892) ; The tracks and landfalls of Bering and Chirikof on the northwest coast of America (1901) ; Francis Drake on the northwest coast of America in the year 1579 (1908) ; The origin and the meaning of the name California (1910). Most of these were papers read before the Geographical Society of the Pacific, and only a few approach the usual length of a small book, but they are among the most valuable contributions that have been made to the history of California. 13. Engelhardt, Charles Anthony, in religion Zephyrin. The missions and missionaries of California. 4 v. San Francisco. 1908 [I, 1908; II, 1912; III, 1913; IV, 1915] — 1915. A separate, with the same title, issued at San Francisco in 1916, contains an index to volumes II-IV. This great work was foreshadowed by the author's publication in 1897 and 1899 (both at Harbor Springs, Michigan) of single volumes entitled The 502 APPENDIX Franciscans in California and The Franciscans in Arizona. The present work gives a detailed history of Spanish and Mexican California from the stand- Eoint of Catholic missionary endeavor. Very little that Father Engelhardt as been able to find on this subject, especially in the writings of the friars themselves, has been omitted from his account. Thus, the first volume, which deals with Baja California, has drained the pertinent facts in the Noticia of Burriel, and the immediately succeeding volumes have made equally liberal use of the Vida and Noticias of Palou. Nevertheless, other sources have been used, including rich stores of manuscript material, much of which, indeed, though far from all, had previously been utilized by Bancroft, — not, how ever, to the extent that Father Engelhardt has employed it. The author, who is a Franciscan friar of Santa Barbara, California, is somewhat prone to spread his own religious ardor over the pages of his work. It would seem, too, that his judgment of evidence is subject to this enthusiasm for his faith. His volumes are, nevertheless, a thoroughly honest and scholarly contribution to the literature of California history. Materials employed are represented accurately when not embodied in toto. Indeed, it is as a great chronological source-book of mission history; — as a kind of Franciscan Bancroft, — that Father Engelhardt's work is primarily important. 14. Richman, Irving Berdine. California under Spain and Mexico, 1585- 1847. Boston and New York. 1911. This volume occupies a unique place in the literature of California history- The author, who had published creditable works in totally different fields (such as a history of Rhode Island, a work on John Brown among the Quakers, and another concerning Switzerland), seems to have cast about for new 'worlds to conquer, and hit upon California. His book, in many respects one of the best single-volume histories of California, is open to severe criticism, how ever, because of the false impression it conveys. It is stated on the title- page that the volume is "based on original sources (chiefly manuscript) in the Spanish and Mexican archives and other repositories," and the further remarks in the preface, together with the elaborate citations in footnotes and fists of sources, would lead one to believe that this was the case. The student of California history cannot fail to conclude, however, that the footnotes are , largely supplements or afterthoughts. With few exceptions the body of the text represents little more than a summary of Bancroft. In view of the fact that the author was unfamiliar with the field of Spanish American and Cali fornia history and unable to read Spanish, it could hardly be otherwise in the short time he devoted to this volume. Such uses of manuscript material as Richman actually made (through the services of a translator) were often inadequate or mistaken, and his grasp of the subject as a whole was deficient. Nevertheless, the extensive bibliographical appendix of his book makes it deserving of inclusion in the present group. It may be added, though Rich- man nowhere states it, that Professor Bolton provided nearly all of the ma terials for this appendix. 15. Eldredge, Zoeth Skinner. The beginnings of San Francisco from the expe dition of Anza, 1774, to the city charter of April 15, 1850. 2 v. San Francisco. 1912. These volumes might more properly have been entitled A history of Spanish and Mexican California, with "opening and concluding chapters on the history of San Francisco, 1774-1860. Such a name would indeed be cumbersome, but would represent the actual content of these books. The first six chapters contain a detailed account of the Anza expeditions (which resulted in the founding of San Francisco), based on manuscript materials which previous writers had not used. As already indicated, the body of the work (seven chapters in 340 pages out of a total of 623 of text) is a history APPENDIX 503 of California, to which are appended four chapters (in 128 pages) on the local history of San Francisco. These portions of the work do not differ greatly from Bancroft, though the author seems to have reached what was virtually the same result by an independent use of materials, to which citations are made. Mr. Eldredge's contributions in this and the History of California (cited below as number 19) entitle him to rank next to Bancroft and Hittell in the list of the great historians of California. Coming to this field as a result of his enthusiastic interest in the subject, though without special training, he nevertheless proved himself to be a sound historian. His works are particu larly meritorious for their simple but entertaining style. 16. Goodwin, Cardinal Leonidas. The establishment of state government in California, 1846-1850. New York. 1914. The publication of this volume marks an epoch in the history of California historiography. It is the first work to deal with California by a member of the rising school of American historians of the Far West. This school aims to pre sent western history from a new standpoint, not only by the use of new ma terials, but also by removing it from its purely local perspective through re lating it to events with which in fact it had a connection that were happening in the world outside. Doctor Goodwin has covered the subject that he set for himself in a thorough-going and sound manner, with all the paraphernalia of scholarship (save for the omission of a formal bibliography) to enable later students to get the full advantage of his results. 17. Sanchez, Nellie van de Grift. Spanish and Indian place names of Cali fornia, their meaning and their romance. San Francisco. 1914. This is a study of a special field by a competent student of Indian and, espe cially, of Spanish American lore. The book is an eminently satisfactory and scholarly piece of work. 18. Cleland, Robert Glass. The early sentiment for the annexation of Cali fornia: an account of the growth of American interest in California from 1885 to 1846. (Southwestern historical quarterly, v. XVIII, nos. 1-3). Austin, Texas. 1915. Though never issued as a single volume, this has made its appearance in bound form on the shelves of a number of libraries, and is so important that it demands consideration. Doctor Cleland is the first writer to treat the period with which he dealt from the standpoint of its larger relations to the history of the United States. Not only is his work sound and scholarly, but it is also noteworthy evidence that it is possible to write a well-documented monograph in a way that is readable. 19. Eldredge, Zoeth Skinner, ed. History of California. 5 v. New York. 1915. This is the third of the great general histories of California, and is deserving of inclusion in the select group occupied previously by Bancroft and Hittell alone. These volumes are popularly believed to have been the work princi pally of Mr. Eldredge, but it is stated in the introduction that the first three and a half were written by Mr. Clinton A. Snowden, under the supervision of Mr. Eldredge. The fifth volume is made up of special articles, by different writers, on California as it is today. The work represents a full account of California history along traditional lines, told in an interesting way. Few citations to authorities are made, but the volumes bear evidence of the ripe acquaintance of the editor with the many works already in print. For the purposes of the general public this history of California is rivalled only by HittelTs. 504 APPENDIX 20. Chapman, Charles Edward. The founding of Spanish California, 1687- 1783. New York. 1916. This is a monograph, based on hundreds of hitherto unused documents from the Archivo General de Indias, of Seville, Spain. It provides a new interpretation of the Spanish period of California history, treating itjfrom the larger sphere of American history rather than as a local record, especially as concerns the struggle of Spain and the other nations for frontage on the Paci fic coast. 21. Putnam, Ruth, with the collaboration of Herbert Ingram Priestley. California: the name. (University of California, Publications in history, v.IV, No. 4). Berkeley, California. 1917. This is an erudite and interesting, though brief, account of the origin and application of the name "California." Miss Putnam's conclusions as to the application of the name are open to question, but otherwise this pleasant little work leaves nothing to be desired. c. Historical works, of a somewhat popular character, on special subjects. The works which follow are only a few of those which might, with perhaps equal right, be included in this group. 1. McGlashan, Charles Fayette. History of the Donner party. A tragedy of the Sierras. Truckee, California. 1879. Frequently reissued, reach ing its eleventh edition in 1918. The story of the Donner party, perhaps because it was symbolic of the trials endured by the pioneer who crossed the plains, has for many years aroused intense interest in California. It is California's Iliad and Odyssey all in one. The popularity of the story is in large measure due to the fascinating, if somewhat harrowing, account by Judge McGlashan, a resident of Truckee, near which place the disasters of the Donner party reached their climax. 2. North, Arthur Walbridge. The mother of California; being an historical sketch of the little known land of Baja California, from the days of Cortez to the present time. San Francisco and New York. [1908]. Californians should never forget that the present-day state is only a por tion of the old "Californias," which began at Cape San Lucas at the lower end of Baja California. This volume is a pertinent reminder of that fact. It con tains an index and a useful bibliography. About a third of the space is^devoted to contemporary aspects of conditions in the peninsula. 3. Houghton, Eliza P (Donner). The expedition of the Donner party and its tragic fate. Chicago. 1911. This is a carefully written volume; by a survivor of the expedition. It has not been able to compete in popularity, however, with its predecessor in this field (item 1, supra). 4. Kennedy, Elijah Robinson. The contest for California in 1861; how Colonel E. D. Baker saved the Pacific states to the Union. Boston and New York. 1912. This tells of the contest between Union and Confederate interests in Cali fornia at the outbreak of the Civil War. It is almost wholly concerned with the acts of Colonel Baker. _ The volume contains a bibliography, citations to authorities, and an ample index. APPENDIX 505 5. Davis, John Francis. California romantic and resourceful: a plea for the collection preservation and diffusion of information relating to Pacific coast history. San Francisco. 1914. The author of this little volume, a lawyer of San Francisco, is widely known as an enthusiast over California history who has many times written articles and delivered addresses on that subject which are both interesting and inform ing. The work mentioned above was designed primarily as a plea, as stated in the sub-title, but the text is almost wholly a survey of California history, with particular reference to the missions and the strange manner of California's entrance into the Union. Nowhere else has the latter incident been so well presented. 6. Dellenbaugh, Frederick Samuel. Fremont and '49: the story of a remark able career and its relation to the exploration and development of our western territory, especially of California. New York and London. 1914. This is a work by a competent writer on far western history who, however, has rarely touched directly on California. Fremont and '49 is primarily a biography of Fremont, and only in part concerns California. That part, how ever, is vital to the work, and bears upon the controversy over the Bear Flag uprising in its relation to the American acquisition of California. Dellenbaugh reverts, though in a self-contained manner, to the old idea as to its importance. He also holds that Fremont's activities as a whole made it certain that "no foreign nation," presumably England, "could have stepped in without direct antagonism to the United States;" in other words, Fremont is treated as hav ing had much to do with saving California and the Pacific coast for the United States. The volume is certainly both interesting and useful. 7. Fitch, Abigail Hetzel. Junipero Serra; the man and his work. Chicago. 1914. Though the amount of published material on Father Serra is almost incal culably great, this is the only work devoted exclusively to his life (other than the translation of Palou's Vida) that has appeared in English. "There can be little doubt," writes the author, "that the admiration and love Palou enter tained for Junipero induced him to chronicle his life with the sole view of pro curing for him recognition in the church as one of her saints." Yet the volume is frankly based on the Vida and Noticias, though several other works are also used. Compare items 1 and 2 in I,D,b. d. Popular general histories of California in one volume. These volumes make little or no pretence of investigation, and all are along traditional lines in the story they tell. Furthermore, they are full of errors in fact and in perspective. Nevertheless, they are the medium through which the average reader derives his knowledge of California history, and, consequently, have a very real importance. 1. McGroarty, John Steven. California: its history and romance. Los Angeles. 1911. This volume, the work of a well-known journalist, has a certain historic- graphical importance. It was the first volume of its kind, and was exceedingly interesting, wherefore it was widely read. It therefore tendedjio fix thejtradi- tional view' concerning California history. 2. Norton, Henry Kittredge. The story of California. Chicago. 1913. This volume is fully as entertaining as its predecessor, and is, on the whole, more accurate. It is possibly the best work in this group. 506 APPENDIX 3. Atherton, Gertrude Franklin. California: an intimate history. New York and London. 1914. It must be said for the distinguished novelist who wrote this volume that she does not pretend to be a historian. One may therefore plunge amiably into the book, which would seem to be "intimate" in that it represents the author's preferences. Thus the Indians and, indeed, the whole Spanish and Mexican periods are dismissed with a brief and unsympathetic treatment. The Amer ican period is taken up with enthusiasm, but it soon appears that the history of San Francisco, Mrs. Atherton's native city, contains about all that is worth while in the history of the state. The book is fascinating, and in some respects the most to be recommended in this group, precisely because nobody is likely to forget that Mrs. Atherton is a novelist, wherefore her volume may prove to be less dangerous than the others. Nevertheless, within the limits of her choice, the author has honestly depicted events as they are traditionally sup posed to have occurred. 4. Tinkham, George Henry. California: men and events. [Stockton. 1915]. The author of this volume had previously produced creditable works on the local history of Stockton and the San Joaquin valley. His general history is like the others in this group in being readable, but is otherwise somewhat different. It is well named, for it deals, without any apparent unity as a whole, with different men and events. These are introduced into the tale, not because of any essential importance they had, but because they are interesting in them selves. In a way, however, the book represents a contribution, for the author scoured the files of old newspapers. It does not seem that any critical use was made of them, wherefore his narrative tends to have a certain Sunday-supple ment character. At times, too, it is quite representative of the contemporary views of Mr. Tinkham on great public issues and matters in general. e. Historical works on other subjects, but containing abundant material on California history. Every general history of the United States and many on special fields only partly inclusive of California will have scattered materials, or perhaps whole chapters, dealing with California. Coman, Katharine, Economic] beginnings of the far west (2 v. New York. 1912) may be cited as one of the leading examples of this class. The general public will hardly care to seek these volumes to cull out the California history they contain, however, and the scholar will have no difficulty in finding them. f. Works which are descriptive, rather than historical, but which are of value for the general public. The last word in historical writing is the popular volume. The majority of those who attempt to write such works, including the majority of those who succeed, are lacking in the information which should entitle them to appear as spokesmen in the field. These writers are legion in California. There is at least one such writer, however, who has a sound understanding of California historical literature as a background for bis own lectures and multitudinous popular writings. This is George Wharton James. In and out of the old mis sions of California (Boston. 1916) is one of the best representatives of his his torical and descriptive works. II. Manuscripts Manuscript materials for the writing of California history have little more than begun to be collected. Those mentioned below are intended only as an indication of some of the widely known groups of documentary sources.^ APPENDIX 507 A. Guides to manuscript materials. 1. Bolton, Herbert Eugene. Guide to materials for the history of the United Slates in the principal archives of Mexico. (Carnegie Institution of Washington. Publication No. 163. Papers' of the Department of historical research). Washington. 1913. While this work is of interest to students of United States history as a whole, it contains references to such enormous stores of California materials that it cannot be omitted here. Professor Bolton searched the archives of Mexico City and other parts of the Mexican republic, and neglected no opportunity to include large collections about California in his report.^ In all, 284 bundles of manuscripts cited in the Guide deal wholly or largely with the Californias. The description is general, for large groups of materials, rather than detailed, item by item. 2. Chapman, Charles Edward. Catalogue of materials in the Archivo General de Indicts for the history of the Pacific coast and the American southwest. (University of California, Publications in history, v. VIII). Berkeley. 1919. This contains over 6000 items of manuscript material, representing about 25,000 separate documents, arranged chronologically, and described as to technical characteristics and content. About two-thirds of the materials bear upon the Californias. 3. Coy, Owen Cochran. Guide to the county archives of California. (Cali fornia historical survey commission. Publications, v. I) . Sacramento. 1919. This volume deals with each of the fifty-nine counties of California (includ ing Klamath County, which no longer exists). A brief historical and descrip tive account of each archive is given, followed by an itemized list, not of separate documents, but of great sub-groups within the larger groupings of the county records. Special features are the maps of counties (recording the al most innumerable changes in boundaries) and the valuable introductory mat ter about archive science in general and the duties, historically considered, of California record officers in particular. B: The Bancroft Library. The Bancroft Library, otherwise Academy of Pacific~Coast History, must be accorded principal notice in any discussion of the manuscript materials for the study of California history; all earnest investigators are sure to appear there at some stage in their researches. The manuscript wealth of this famed repository is built around the Bancroft Collection of Hubert Howe Bancroft, acquired in its entirety by the University of California in 1906. It must again be insisted upon, that neither the printed works nor the manuscript sources employed by Bancroft were nearly "used up" by him in the compilation of his thirty-nine volumes. Furthermore, a vast stock of materials has since been added. Particularly is this true of the transcripts made from foreign archives. The Bancroft Library has proved to be of unique importance in the develop ment of a new school of American history in which events in California play a more prominent part than in the interpretations of other historians. The credit belongs in origin to the late Professor H. Morse Stephens, former head of the Department of History at the University of California. Realizing the importance of the Bancroft Collection for the upbuilding of his own depart ment and establishment of a new basis for American history, he bent every effort to prevail upon the university authorities to make the purchase, with eventual success. Possessing, now, materials to work with, he was under the necessity of finding students and research professors to use them. The most 508 APPENDIX notable step toward the attainment of the former was the creation of the Native Sons of the Golden West Fellowships in History (discussed in F below), granted for the first time in 1910, at the suggestion of Professor Stephens. To cap the climax Professor Stephens was able in the following year to induce Professor Herbert E. Bolton to become a member of the University of Cali fornia Department of History. This scholar had already gained a national reputation for his work in the Western United States and Hispanic American fields, and was ideally equipped by training and temperament to take charge of graduate work in history. As a professor of history and curator of the Bancroft Library he has made the University of California widely known as one of the leading historical plants in the country. Closely associated with him or under his direction is a long list of students who have produced books or articles, relying upon the materials of the Bancroft Library. Many of them have dealt with matters within the field of California history. Among the names that come to mind are the following: Mr. Arthur S. Aiton; Mr. George L. Albright; Miss Doris W. Bepler; Dr. William C. Binkley; Mr. David K. Bjork; Dr. Charles E. Chapman; Dr. Robert G. Cleland; Dr. Charles F. Coan; Mrs. Beatrice Q. Cornish; Dr. Owen C. Coy; Dr. Charles H. Cunning ham; Dr. Gordon C. Davidson: Mr. Joseph Ellison; Dr. William H. Ellison; Dr. Cardinal L. Goodwin; Dr. Colin B. Goodykoontz; Dr. Charles W. Hackett; Mr. Joseph A. Hill; Mr. Joseph J. Hill; Mr. Lawrence F. Hill; Miss Anne E. Hughes; Mr. Ralph S. Kuykendall; Dr. Karl C. Leebrick; Dr. Thomas M. Marshall; Dr. Charles E. Martin; Dr. Thomas P. Martin; Mr. John L. Meeham; Dr. Andrew L. Neff; Mr. George E. Nunn; Dr. Herbert I. Priestley; Miss Ida C. Reid; Dr. James F. Rippy; Mr. Eugene K. Safford; Mrs. Nellie V. Sanchez; Dr. William L. Schurz; Mr. Rolland A. Vandegrift; Mr. John H. Vaughan; Mr. Arthut P. Watts. Fourteen of these students have held Native Sons' Fellowships. It will also be noticed that many of these names occur as authors elsewhere in this appendix, and several of the others have important works nearing completion. In addition, many scholars of great national reputation have in recent years made extensive use of the Bancroft Library. C. Unpublished theses and prize essays. Lack of funds for publication is always one of the greatest checks on his torical productivity of a scholarly character. At California and Stanford and, no doubt, at various of the other universities and colleges of the state, useful theses for the degree of Master of Arts have been written, and some even for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, without ever having been published. Fur thermore, many prize essays about California have been written, filed, and all but forgotten. To illustrate by the case of writings emanating from students in the Bancroft Library, there are twelve doctoral theses as yet unpublished, nearly a hundred masters' theses, and some fifteen prize-winning essays in the James G. Bryce Historical Essay contest. Of first-rate bibkograpnical im portance is the master's thesis of Miss Doris West Bepler : Descriptive catalogue of western historical materials in California periodicals, 1854-1890, with intro duction on the history and character of the magazines. For the purposes of this work Miss Bepler made an exhaustive investigation of "all the important periodicals of a monthly literary type issued before the nineties'in California," namely The Pioneer, Hutchings' California Magazine, The Hesperian (later Pacific Monthly), Overland Monthly (1st series), the Californian, Overland Monthly (2d series), and Golden Era. A chapter each is devoted to the his tory of these periodicals. Then follows the catalogue, or principal part, of Miss Bepler's work in which "the great majority of the items listed are Cali fornia historical materials." This contains 1029 items, arranged alphabeti cally by authors' names, with full technical description and a brief indication of the subject-matter of the article. Finally, there is an ample subject index APPENDIX 509 to the catalogue. For both students of history and the public at large there are few bibliographical aids about California that can compare with this work in usefulness. It is to be hoped that it may soon be published and that other like volumes covering the period since 1890 may eventually be prepared. D. Private collections. While there are no private collections of manuscript materials in the state nearly equal to that of the Bancroft Library, there are other institutions and some individuals that possess them. There is also much scattered material, most of which will never become available for research. It would be of ad vantage to the cause of history if smaller collections and scattered files might eventually find their way to the Bancroft Library. E. Public archives in California. The usual state, county, and municipal archives exist in California as else where. Steps have recently been taken to make their vast resources more readily available for students and the general public.! In 1915, following repre sentations made by prominent members of the Native Sons of the Golden West, the state legislature created the California Historical Survey Commis sion. The Honorable John F. Davis, Professor Herbert E. Bolton, and Mr. James M. Guinn were appointed as members of this commission, and Mr. Owen C. Coy, now Doctor Coy, was made secretary and active director of the work. On the death of Mr. Guinn, in 1918, the Honorable Edward A. Dick son was appointed to the Commission. The most important achievement of the Commission thus far is the preparation of the Guide referred to at II, A,3. In addition, it has organized a search for materials in private hands concerning the California pioneers, taken charge of the accumulation of data about Cali fornia's part in the Great War, made a thorough study of mission architecture, and performed sundry other tasks in line with the preservation of historical records.F. Archives beyond the state. It is becoming increasingly clear that California historians must seek ma terials beyond the boundaries of the state, if they are to place the history of California in its proper perspective in general American and world history. Indeed, much local California material will also be found in other than Cali fornia archives. Perhaps the greatest repositories outside the state, of interest to students of California history, are the national archives in the Library of Congress at Washington and various archives in Mexico and Spain. No very thorough survey has yet been made of the materials at Washington, but those in Mexico and Spain have been in great part revealed. The information about the archives of Mexico is provided by Bolton's Guide, cited above, at II, A, 1. As concerns the archives of Spain, especially the great Archivo Gen eral de Indias at Seville, the information has come principally through reports of the Native Sons' Fellows. Professor Stephens made a preliminary survey in 1910 which convinced him that more prolonged researches would yield splendid returns. This estimate has been justified by the quantities of hitherto unused material found by the Native Sons' Fellows. The information pro vided by the writer's Catalogue, mentioned above at II,A,2, is only a small part of the valuable data unearthed by the Fellows who have gone to Spain. In deed, it is not too much to say that the Native Sons' Fellowships have been the keystone about which the edifice of recent historical productivity in Cali fornia has been reared. For the good of California it is to.be hoped that the opportunities they have afforded may be yet further expanded in the future. INDEX Abella, Ram6n, 430. Academy of Pacific Coast History, 489. See Bancroft Library. Acapulco, 5, 33, 38, 75, 84, 85, 87-90, 95, 114, 116, 117, 121, 126, 130, 132, 134, 137-139, 159, 160, 166, 170, 200, 209, 284, 285. Adams, Alexander, 23. Adams, WiU, 33, 35, 37, 40. Afghanistan, 25. Africa, 4, 260. Agrayes, 62. Aguilar, Martin de, 131, 137, 138. Aguilar's River, 137, 138, 200. Aguirre, Andres de, 140. Aguirre, Juan Bautista, 279. Alameda, 393. Alameda Creek, 229. Alamos, Alta California, 483. Alamos, Sonora, 205. Alarcon, Hernando de, 53, 67, 68, 76, 148, 162. Alaska, 8, 11, 22, 27, 42, 258-260, 328, 410, 412, 413, 415, 494, 498, 499. Alava, Jose" Manuel de, 408. Alava, province of, 365, 408. Albatross, 451. Alberni, Pedro de, 374, 409. Alberoni, Giulio, 192, 193. Alcatraz Island, 279. Alegre, Francisco Javier, 191. Aleutian Islands, 22, 27, 258, 259. Altamira, Marques de, 192, 198, 199, 237. Altamirano, Pedro, 191. Altar, 205, 239, 298, 299, 331. Altar River, 147, 157, 173, 190, 299. Altimira, Jose, 436. Alvarado, Juan Bautista, 456, 471, 474-482. Amadfs de Gaula, 57, 59-61. Amadis de Gaula, 57, 62. Amador, Jose Maria, 432. Amador, Pedro, 432. Amador, Rafael, 465. Amador County, 424, 432. Amador Valley, 250. Amarillas, Marques de las, 295. Amarillo River, 191. Amazons, 47, 48, 58-61, 64, 74, 186. America. See Americas, Central America, Hispanic America, North America, South America, United States. American Revolution, 256, 314. American River, 423, 424. Americans. See United States. Americas, the, 21, 23, 24-26, 29, 31,34, 43-49, 58, 60-62, 72, 73, 84, 88, 91, 97-99, 108, 112, 144, 150, 159, 186, 195, 200, 208, 217, 245, 256, 258- 260, 385, 410, 438, 460, 501. Amundsen, Roald, 71. Amurrio, Gregorio, 369. Andalusians, 208. Andes Mountains, 450. Angel Island, 2, 279, 426. Ani&n, kingdom of, 73. Anian, Strait of, 45, 46, 48, 71-76, 82, 99, 100, 112, 113, 131, 137, 165, 186, 195, 229, 264, 273, 404, 460. See Northwest Passage. Anson, George, 196, 214, 262. Antelope Valley, 421. Antioch, 250, 430. Anza (Jr.), Juan Bautista de, 23, 189, 192, 240, 241, 273-275, 285, 294- 319, 322-325, 331, 333, 336, 338- 341, 347-349, 352, 353,1 361, 369, 385, 395, 397, 418, 434, 463, 465, 484, 502. Anza (Sr.), Juan Bautista de, 192, 194-196, 201, 203, 294. Apaches, 145, 157, 189, 196, 197, 201-205, 233, 239, 241, 294-296, 298, 318, 321, 323, 330, 333, 336, 347, 348, 463. Archivo General de Indias, 504,J507, 509. Arctic Ocean, 73, 258, 267. Areche, Jose de, 252, 285, 297.' AreUano, 86. Argentina, 438. See Buenos Aires. Argentina, 442, 444—446, 450. ArgiieUes, Josefa Paula de, 182. 511 512 INDEX ArgueUo, Concepci6n, 410, 413-417, 435, 440. ArgiieUo, Jose" Darfo, 403, 405, 407, 412, 415, 439, 440. Arguello, Juan Antonio de, 234, 235. Arguello, Luis, 412, 423, 429, 431, 435, 440, 454, 456, 457. Arguello, Santiago, 448, 449. Arisivi, 294. Arispe, 205, 319, 334. Arivechi, 205. Arizona, 53, 190, 191, 194, 205, 492, 498, 502. See Arizonac, Pimeria Alta. Arizonac, 194, 195, 202, 239. "Armenian," Isles of the. See Rica de Oro, Rica de Plata. Armona, Matias de, 234-237, 243. Arriaga, Julian de, 192, 233, 238, 252, 272, 273, 275, 276, 285, 319, 326. Arrillaga, Jose Joaquin de, 349, 374, 404-408, 410, 413, 415, 419, 420, 439, 440. Arteaga, Ignacio, 328, 343. Ascension, Antonio de la, 132, 135, 142, 162, 163. Asia, 4, 11, 23, 27, 44-46, 61, 72, 73, 82, 84, 103, 113, 257, 258, 260. Atala, 451. Atherton, Gertrude Franklin, 506. AM, 205. Atlantic Coast, 6, 43, 70-74, 214, 260, 265, 268, 274, 276, 314, 499. Atlantic Ocean, 256, 273, 327. i Atlantis, 72. Atondo y Antill6n, Isidro, 168-173, 189. Atrevida, 380, 404. Auburn, 423. Audiencias. See Guadalajara (Aud. of), Mexico (Aud. of). Augustinians, 40. Australasia, 34. Australia, 263, 392, 405. Avila, Jose" Maria, 461, 476. Ayala, Juan Manuel de, 274, 277-280, 303, 426. Azanza, Miguel Jos6, 234, 235. Aztatl&n, 64. Aztecs, 11, 23, 27, 28, 195, 294. Azuela, Manuel de la, 340. Bac, San Javier del, 190, 205, 240, 317. Baegert, Jakob, 493. Baffin, WiUiam, 71, 265. Bagdad, 64. Baikal, Lake, 257. Baja California, 44, 50, 51, 53-56 64-67, 82, 85, 91, 96, 120, 126, 130- 132, 159-190, 193, 199, 200, 210, 212-215, 219-225, 230, 233, 243, 248, 251-253, 284, 285, 288-291, 296, 298-303, 319, 324, 325, 348, 349, 357, 359, 360, 365-368, 391, 395, 404, 405, 410, 415, 440, 458, 471, 478, 492, 493, 502, 504. Bakersfield, 316, 421. Balthasar, Juan Antonio, 191. Baltimore ships, 441. Bancroft, Hubert Howe, 67, 71, 114, 165, 169, 269, 270, 367, 381, 382, 424, 434, 477, 487, 488, 494, 496- 503, 507. Bancroft Library, 489, 500, 507-509. Banderas, Bay of, 49. Bandini, Juan, 460. Barbara, Saint, 355. Barclay, Captain, 343. Barreneche, Juan Antonio, 337. Barry, Felipe, 243, 283, 284. Basilio, 159. Basques, 365, 404, 408, 440. Bastto, Antonio, 163. Bayorca, 205. Bear Flag revolt, 484, 500, 505. Becerra, Diego, 50, 65. Belefia, Eusebio Ventura, 234. Benicia, 417. Bepler, Doris West, 508. Bering, Vitus, 258, 259, 501. Bering Island, 259. Bering Strait, 73, 258, 264. Berkeley, 250, 393. Betsy, 409. Bicufier, San Pedro y San Pablo de, 336, 337. BiU WiUiams Fork, 148, 191. Bings, 272. Biron, John, 263. Bisselius, 61. Black Diamond, 430. Black Mountain, 79. Black Stream. See Japan Current. Blackmar, Frank Wilson, 501. Blanco, Cape, 131, 137. Bodega, Point, 431. Bodega Bay, 104, 346, 418, 425, 427, 436, 464. Bodega y Cuadra, Juan Francisco de la, 274, 278, 280, 285, 329, 343, 405. Bolafios, Francisco de, 136. Bolas de Plata. See Arizonac. Bolinas Bay, 229. INDEX 513 Bolton, Herbert Eugene, 299, 492, 502, 507-509. Borica, Diego, 349, 371, 373, 374, 377, 378, 391, 407-409, 482. Borja, Maria de, 182. Borja, San Francisco de, 365-368, 376. Borneo, 88. Bosque, Fernando del, 490. Boston, 75, 344, 396, 403, 404, 446, 451, 496. "Boston." See United States. Botany Bay, 392, 409. Botello, 165. Bouchard, Hippolyte de, 441-452, 464. Bourbons, 256, 452. Branciforte, 348, 377, 391, 449. Brazil, 110, 111. Breen, Patrick, 489. Bristol, 262. British Columbia, 24, 268, 498, 499. Broughton, William, 405, 409. Brown, William, 443. Bryant, Edwin, 495. Bucareli y Ursiia, Antonio Maria, 241-243, 252, 254, 255, 257, 259, 269-277, 280-294, 297, 301-305, 307, 310, 313, 315, 318-330, 334, 336, 338, 341, 343, 345, 350, 352- 354, 357, 360, 361, 370, 394, 485. Buddha, 28, 42. Buddhism, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, 38. Buelna, Antonio, 474. Buena Vista Lake, 421, 429. Buenavista, 205, 318, 321, 334. Buenos Aires, 438, 441, 443, 448. Burriel, Andrls, 191, 199, 200, 203, 210, 492, 502. Bury, John Bagnall, 364. Butte City, 424. Butte County, 424. Cabeza de Vaca. .See Nunez. Caborca, 205, 214, 299. Cabot, John, 44, 265. Cabot, Juan, 428. Cabot, Sebastian, 265. CabrUlo. See Rodriguez Cabrillo. Cabul, 25. Cadiz, 354, 355, 404. Cahuenga Pass, 460, 483. Cajon Pass, 316, 421, 433. Calaffa, 57-61. Calaveras County, 424. Calaveras River, 422-424. California, 266. CaUfornia, Gulf of, 52, 53, 75-77, 110, 126, 129, 136, 160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 174, 178, 179, 191, 199, 220, 251. California Historical Survey Com mission, 509. California, University of, 393, 489, 507, 508. Call, Daniel, 451. Callao, 443. Callis, Eulalia de. See Fages (Eulalia). Cambodia, 34, 88. Camb6n, Pedro Benito, 314. Cameron, John. See Gilroy (John). Campos, Agustin, 191. Canada, 8, 265, 494. Cafiete, Joaquin, 398. Canizares, Jos6, 279. Cantil Blanco, 311. Canton, 140. , Carabajal, Luis de, 147. Carbonel de Valenzuela, Esteban, 163-165, 171. Cardona, Nicolas de, 159, 160, 162, 164. Cardona, Tom&s de, 159. Cardona company, the, 159-163, 171. Careri, GemeUi, 5, 36, 90-95. Carmel mission. See San Carlos Borromeo. Carmelites, 132. Carmelo, 23, 246. See San Carlos Borromeo. Carmelo River, 134, 191, 197, 198. Caroline Islands, 86, 90. Carpinteria, 78. Carquines Strait, 425, 435. Carrillo, Carlos Antonio, 446, 447, 476, 477. Carrillo, Jose Antonio, 460, 473, 476, 477, 479, 483. Carrizos, 198. Carteret, Philip, 263. Carver, Jonathan, 74. Casa Grande, 195. Casas Grandes, 146. Cassiar, 24. Castaic, 421. Castile, 117, 135. CastiUero, Andrds, 476-478. Castro, Francisco, 436. Castro, Jose, 456, 473, 474, 477, 482-484. Catalans, 184, 221, 224, 358, 397, 398, 409. Catalina Island, 77, 78, 82, 95, 120, 133, 162. 514 INDEX Cavendish, Thomas, 97, 115, 116, 124, 130, 261. Cebii Island, 85. Ceguat&n, 64. Central America, 45, 72, 100, 450, 498, 499. Cermenho. See Rodriguez Cermenho. Cerro Prieto, 201, 202, 233, 234, 236, 295. Cerros Island, 54, 82, 121, 130. Cervantes, Miguel de, 62. Ceylon, 88. Chanson de Roland, 63. Chapman, Joseph, 445, 451, 452. Charles III, 233, 255. Chatham, 405. Chetko Cove, 101-103. Chickahominy River, 75. Chico, Mariano, 456, 473, 474. Chihuahua, city of, 197, 237, 323, 338. Chihuahua, state of, 144-146, 195, 201. Chile, 166, 448, 450. China and the Chinese, 8, 21-31, 44, 45, 86-88, 119, 140, 141, 254, 261, 264, 343, 402, 403, 443, 491. Chirikof, Alexei, 258, 501. ChowchiUa River, 437. Chukchis, 257, 258. Cibola, Seven Cities of, 52, 53. See Seven Cities. Civola, town of, 53. CieneguiUa, 239, 275. Clarion, 443. Clarksburg, 430. Clavigero, Francisco Javier, 493. Cleland, Robert Glass, 503. Clerke, Charles, 264. Cliff House Beach, 71. Clipperton, John, 262. Cloverdale, 436. Coahuila, 144, 146, 147, 322, 323. Coast Range, 371, 383, 410. Cochin China, 34. Cojats, 299. Colima, 71. Colnett, James, 343. Colombia, United States of, 450. Colorado, 498. Colorado Desert, 299, 307, 316, 317. Colorado River, 75-77, 145, 148, 161, 162, 172, 178, 189-203, 206, 214, 234, 237, 239-241, 274, 296-299, 305-308, 313, 316-319, 321-323, 325, 330-341, 349, 384, 399, 431- 433 465. Colton, Walter, 495, 496. Columbia, 403. Columbia River, 278, 346, 436, 463. Columbus, 21, 43-45, 60,161. Colusa County, 424, 435. Comanches, 323, 338. Comisionados, 394, 395. Compostela, 155. Concepcidn, 221. Conception, Point, 78, 80, 134, 446. Conchos, 146. Confucius, 29. Congress, 495. Consag, Fernando, 179, 191. Constantinople, 57, 58, 61. Constituent Congress, 475, 476. Constitution of 1812, 452. Contra Costa County, 425. Cook, James, 263, 264, 280, 327, 343, 402. Cook, John, 261. Coppermine River, 267. Corbalan, Pedro, 332, 333. Cordes, Simon de, 130. Corney, Peter, 441, 442, 444-449. Coronado. See Vazquez. Cortes, 434, 452, 466. Cortes, Hernando, 6, 43-57, 62, 64- 67, 126, 143, 147, 148, 169, 276, 329, 454, 491. Cosa, Juan de la, 72. Cossacks, 257. Costans6, Miguel, 221, 224, 227, 228, 230, 231, 252, 297, 489. Cosumnes River, 419, 423. Cottonwood Creek, 435. Council of the Indies, 38, 128, 129, 131, 142, 155, 167, 168, 177, 192, 198, 199, 236, 375, 376. Covarrubias, Jose" Maria, 465. Cowan, Robert Ernest, 487, 488. Cowley, Ambrose, 261. Coy, Owen Cochran, 507, 509. Crame, Agustfn, 273, 276. Crespi, Juan, 222, 225, 250, 363, 488. Crespo, Benito, 192, 195. Croix, Marques (Francisco) de, 209, 211-213, 216-219, 228, 233-235, 237, 241, 261, 269, 295, 297, 320. Croix, Teodoro de, 237, 292, 320-327, 330-342, 361. Cruillas, Marques de, 209, 211. Crusades, 46. Cuba, 50, 72, 269. Cuerno Verde, 338, 340. Cueva, Pedro de la, 419. Culiacan, 52, 155, 156, 205. Cutts, James Madison, 495. INDEX 515 Cuyama River, 421. Cuyler's Harbor, 78, 79. Daedulus, 405. Damascus, 64. Dampier, William, 261, 262. Dana, Richard Henry, 495. Danes, 258. Darien, 71, 260. Davidoff, Lieutenant, 412. Davidson, George, 77, 79, 101, 102, 501. Davidson, Gordon Charles, 494. Davis, John, 71, 265. Davis, John (another), 261. Davis, John Francis, 505, 509. Davis, WUliam Heath, 496. De la Guerra, Jose, 443, 446-449, 453, 457, 474. De la Guerra, Jose" Antonio, 474. De la Guerra family, 416, 495. De ITsle, Joseph, 73. DeUenbaugh, Frederick Samuel, 505. Descubierta, 380, 404. Diaz, Bernal, 62, 65. Diaz, Juan, 299, 300, 318, 332-335, 337. Diaz, Melchor, 76, 148. Diaz del Carpio, Jose Manuel, 296. Dickson, Edward A., 509. Diputacidn, 460, 462, 465, 473-476. Discovery, 405, 409. Dixon, George, 343. Doak, Thomas W., 451. Dobbs, Arthur, 266, 267. Dolores, Alta California. See San Francisco de Asis. Dolores, Pimeria Alta, 157, 173, 189. Dominguez, Francisco, 316, 317, 331. Dommguez de Mendoza, Baltasar, 490. Dominicans, 40, 150, 156, 252, 288, 355, 367, 368. Donner party, 489, 504. Dorr, Ebenezer, 409. Douglas, William, 343. Drake, Francis, 1, 2, 74, 87, 97-113, 115-117, 143, 144, 187, 250, 260, 261, 406, 501. Drake, John, 101, 103, 111. Drake's Bay, 79, 104, 107, 110, 117, 118, 134, 136, 227, 229, 250, 277. Duncan, Captain, 343. Duran, Narciso, 430, 469, 472, 489. Durango, bishop of, 145, 204. Durango, city of, 214, 323, 409. Durango, state of, 144, 146, 213. ; ' Dutch, 8, 33, 36, 37, 40, 41, 159-161i 214, 254, 261, 265, 491. East Indian Company, 260. East Indies, 33, 46, 76, 111, 172, 260, 261. Eaton, John, 261. Echeandia, Jose Maria, 456, 458-463, 467-469. Echeveste, Juan Jose de, 289, 290, 361, 394. Eel River, 436. Egypt, 21. Eixarch, Tomas, 304, 307. El Cajon, 435. El Dorado County, 424. Eldredge, Zoeth Skinner, 502, 503. Elisabat, 57. Eliza, 409. Elizabeth, Queen, 97-100, 107, 109, 110, 260. Elizondo, Domingo, 211, 212, 215, 221, 233, 236, 238, 239, 241, 295. Elvira, Dona, 127. Engafio, Cape, 54. Engelhardt, Charles Anthony, 188, 501, 502. England and the English, 8, 33, 44- 46, 74, 76, 97-111, 115, 117, 144, 145, 172, 179, 187, 191, 196, 200, 201, 206, 214, 254-257, 260-268, 272, 273, 275, 280, 315, 327, 328, 341, 343-346, 350, 379, 380, 382, 389, 392, 397, 404-411, 416, 417, 435, 441-443, 451, 462, 463, 466, 479, 481, 491, 493, 494, 497, 505. Ensanada, Marques de, i92. Escalante. See Velez. Escand6n, Jose de, 147. Escobar, Crist6bal de, 191. Escobar, Francisco de, 162. Escondido, 484. Escudo, Jaime, 428. Espejo, Antonio, 74, 75, 490. Espinosa, Miguel, 424. Espfritu Santo, 147. Esplandian, 56, 59, 60. Essex, Earl of, 99. Estevanico, 53. Estrada, Jose" Mariano, 445, 458. Estrafort. See Strafford. Estudillo, Jose Maria, 432. EstudiUo family, 496. Eureka, 117. Fages, Eulalia de Callis de, 398-400, 402. 516 INDEX Fages (Jr.), Pedro, 398. Fages (Sr.), Pedro, 221, 224, 231, 243, 244, 247, 248, 250, 283, 288, 291, 312, 348, 354, 361, 371, 374, 376, 377, 379, 397-404, 408, 418, 489. Family Compact, 200, 256, 344. Farallone Islands, 107, 118, 260. FaraUones, Guff of, 229. Feather River, 423, 424, 430. Fenton, Edward, 111. Ferdinand VII, 452. Fermin, 194. Fermin, Point, 379. Ferndndez de LadriUero, 74. Fern&ndez de Navarrete, Martin, 80, 113. Ferrelo, Bartolome, 70, 77, 81-83, 101, 104, 114, 119, 490. Fidalgo, Salvador, 408. Figueroa, Jose, 456, 463-470, 473. Fine, Orontius, 73. Fiscales, 192, 193, 198, 199, 252, 285 297 Fitch,' Abigail Hetzel, 496, 505. Fletcher, Francis, 102-104, 106. Florence, 269. Flores, Antonio, 137. Flores, Jose Maria, 456, 484. Florida, 52, 74, 110, 146. Font, Pablo, 358. Font, Pedro, 304, 306, 312, 489. Fonte, Bartholomew de, 75. Forbes, Alexander, 494. Forbes, James Alexander, 494. Forrester, 23. France and the French, 8, 63, 74, 76, 110, 144-147, 165, 170, 173, 184, 187, 191, 196-200, 208, 209, 214, 254, 256, 261, 263, 265-267, 344, 345, 378-382, 386, 389, 401-403, 441, 491. Franciscans, 35, 36, 38-40, 53, 126, 127, 137, 150, 156, 181, 184, 185, 222, 232, 239, 240, 252, 288, 301, 317, 352, 354-358, 362, 364, 365, 367, 376, 379-383, 388, 437, 468, 472, 492, 496, 502. See Jalisco (Col lege of), San Fernando (College of,) Zacatecas (CoUege of). Fremont, John C, 484, 505. French Revolution, 344. Fresno County, 422. Frobisher, Martin, 265. Fronteras, 194, 205, 294, 295. Fuca, Juan de, 75, 76. Fuerte de Montesclaros, 156, 197, 205. Fuerte River, 50. Funnel, William, 262. Fusang, 24-28. Gali, Francisco de, 95, 112-115. Gallardo, JosS, 192. Gallinas, 431. Gallo, 146. Galvez, Jose de, 185, 188, 199, 207- 223, 225, 227, 228, 231-238, 241, 243, 246, 261/283, 288, 296, 297, 319-323, 325/334-336, 338, 340- 343, 352, 353, 360, 365, 366, 485, 493. Garces, Francisco, 240, 241, 274, 294, 297-300, 304, 307, 316-319, 330- 335, 337, 338, 352, 353, 418. Garcia Diego, Francisco, 469, 471, 472. Gaviota, 78. Gente de razdn, 146. Geographical Society of the Pacific, 501. Georgia, 214. GU, Luis, 430, 431. GUa Mountains, 241. Gila River, 76, 157, 172, 189-195, 197-202, 206, 214, 234, 237, 239- 241, 274, 297, 299, 305, 306, 316- 319, 321-323, 325, 330-336, 338, 339, 349. Gilded man, the, 47. Gilroy, 451. Gilroy, John, 435, 436, 451. GUroy Hot Springs, 312. Gjoa, 71. Glenn, 424. Glenn County, 424, 435. Goa, 88. Goat Island. See Yerba Buena Island. Goicoechea, Felipe de, 406. Golden Gate, 2, 79, 111, 229, 260, 274 279 303 Golden Hind, 100, 102, 107, 108. Golder, Frank Alfred, 494. Goleta, Point, 78. G6mara, 65. Gomez, Francisco, 225. G6mez, Luciano, 444, 446. G6mez, Manuel, 444-446. G6mez de Corban, Toribio, 131, 135, 136. G6mez de Legazpi, Miguel, 85. Gonzales Vecerra, Ram6n, 217. Gonzalez Barriga, Alonso, 166. Gonzdlez Cabrera Bueno, 95. Gonzalez Carvajal, Ciriaco, 344. INDEX 517 Good Hope. Cape of, 95, 108, 260. Goodwin, Cardinal Leonidas, 503. Goyeneche, Jose de, 198. Graham, Isaac, 474, 479, 482. Gran Teguayo, 195. Gray, Robert, 278, 343, 403. Great Britain. See England. Great Han, 26. Great Lakes, 72, 267. Greenhow, Robert, 497. Griffin, George Butler, 488. Grijalva, Hernando de, 50-52, 84. Grijalva, Juan Pablo, 304. Grimaldi, Marques de, 209, 217-219. Grimes, 435. Grizzly Bear Magazine, 491. Groem, John, 404, 451. Grogniet, Francois, 261. GroseiUiers, Medard Chouart des, 265. Guadalajara, Audiencia of, 155, 156, 167, 212, 217, 394, 400. Guadalajara, city of, 217, 357, 416, 440. Guadalajara, Real Caja of, 206. Guadalupe, church of, 329. Guadalupe, Our Lady of, 81, 82, 237. Guadalupe Hidalgo, treaty of, 484, 485. Guadalupe River, 324, 326. Guaieuris, 169. Guam, 85. Guanajuato, 209, 212. Guatemala, 236. Guatulco, 100-102. Guaymas, 201, 211, 233, 237. Guevavi, 190, 205. Guinn, James M., 488, 509. Guipiizcoa, 404. Guise, Captain, 343. Gutierrez, Nicolas, 456, 473-476. Guzman, Nufio de, 49-52, 64, 147, 148, 155. Gyzelaar, Henry, 443. Hague, Tribunal of the, 183. Hakluyt, Richard, 65, 66, 102. Hale, Edward Everett, 56, 66. Hancock Ranch, 1. Hanna, James, 343, 344. Harris, Peter, 261. Harte, Bret, 415, 416. HartneU, Wiffiam, 456, 462, 471. Havana, 286. Hawaiian Islands, 23, 90, 264, 402, 406, 407, 442, 443, 451. Hawkins, John, 98, 260. Hawkins, Richard, 117, 260. Hearne, Samuel, 267. Heceta, Bruno de, 274, 277, 278, 280, 303. Herodotus, 25. Herrera, Antonio de, 65. Hidetada, 41. Hideyoshi, 34, 39, 40, 42. Hijar, Jose" Maria, 464-466, 469. Hispanic America, 7, 22, 275, 315, 328, 329, 341, 390, 437, 438, 450, 455, 489. Historical Society of Southern Cali fornia, 488. Hittell, Theodore Henry, 500, 503. Homem, 73. Honolulu, 496. Horcasitas, 304, 318, 321, 323, 334. Horn, Cape, 280, 344, 407, 455. Houghton, Eliza P., 504. Hudson, Henry, 71, 265. Hudson Bay, 71, 73, 265-267, 273. Hudson Strait, 266. Hudson's Bay Company, 265-268, 410, 416. Huerta, San Antonio de la, 205, 239. Huguenots, 110. Humboldt Bay, 138, 437, 501. Humboldt County, 436. Hurtado de Mendoza, Diego, 49, 50. Huydobro, Manuel Bernal, 180. Hwui Shan, 25-29. Ibarra, Francisco de, 145. Ibarra, Juan Maria, 462. Iceland, 73. Idaho, 498. Imperial VaUey, 339. Incas, 23, 24. Independence, Spanish American Wars of, 390, 397, 410, 438, 441, 449, 456. India, 21, 34, 45, 88, 261. Indians, 3, 6, 8-20, 23, 34, 48-50, 52, 53, 55, 56, 70, 75/77, 78, 82, 104- 109, 117-120, 125-129, 131, 133, 135, 139, 143-147, 149-157, 160, 162, 164, 166, 168-170, 173, 175- 181, 184, 185, 187-191, 195-199, 201-205, 210-212, 215, 218, 220, 222-225, 227, 228, 230, 232-234, 236-239, 245-249, 254, 272, 280, 282, 287, 294, 295, 297-300, 302- 304, 308-311, 316, 322, 323, 329- 331, 333, 347-349, 356, 358, 363, 365-374, 378, 381, 383-389, 391, 393-395, 398, 399, 402, 403, 407, 410, 418-422, 425-437, 439, 445, 518 INDEX 449, 451, 457, 458, 460, 462, 464- 472, 474, 478, 480, 481, 491, 495, 503, 506. See Apaches, Aztecs, Carrizos, Cojats, Comanches, Guai- curis, Incas, Mayas, Mayos, Mo javes, Mokelumnes, Moquis, Na- huas, Opas, Papagos, Pimas, Sali- neros, Seris, Sibubapas, Suaquis, Tejas, Tiburones, Yaquis, Yumas. Inquisition, the, 357, 373, 491. Irkutsk, 257. Italy and Italians, 44, 90, 269. Itamarra, Francisco de, 170, 175. Iturbe, Juan de, 159-163, 171. Iturbide, Agustin, 452, 453. Ivan IV, 257. Iyemitsu, 41. Iyeyasu, 31, 34-38, 40-42. Jalapa, 89. Jalisco, 147. Jalisco, College of, 232. James George Wharton, 496, 506. James, Thomas, 71, 265. Janos, 146, 294, 338. Janvier, 74. Japan and the Japanese, 8, 21-23, 26, 31-42, 44, 45, 73, 88, 91, 113-115, 124, 139-142, 159, 254, 258, 491. Japan Current, 22,.23,-_42, 91,H02. Java, 88. Jayme, Luis, 309. Jesuits, 32, 38-40, 145, 150,^156, 157, 168, 169, 172-187, : 189, 191, 193, 195, 196, 199, 200, 203-205, 209, 220, 225, 232, 239, 251, 253, 359, 360, 365, 492. See Mission system. Jesus del Monte, 180. "Jesus Maria" River. See Sacra- '' mento River. Jimenez, Fortun, 50, 51, 64-66, 126, 159. Jonata, 421. Jones, Thomas, 481. "Juan Rodriguez," Island of, 81, 82. See San Miguel Island. Juno, 411-413, 415. Juntas, 193, 196, 198, 213, 240, 269, 275, 289-291, 297, 298, 339, 453. Kadiak Island, 259, 329. Kamchatka, 22, 45, 258, 259, 415. Kamehameha, 442. Kanakas, 442, 445, 446. Kansas, 53; 70, 148. Kaweah River, 428. Kearny, Stephen W., 484. , KeUer, Ignacio, 191. Kendrick, John, 343, 403. Kennedy, Elijah Robinson, 504. Kern County, 419, 421, 432. Kern Lake, 421. Kern River, 421, 422, 437. Kings County, 420. Kings River, 420, 422, 428, 429, 432, 433, 437. Kingsley, Nelson, 489. Kino, Eusebio Francisco, 157, 168, 173, 174, 178, 189-192, 199, 299, 490, 492. Klamath County, 507. Komondorski Islands, 22. Korea, 34. Krasnoyarsk, 415. Krenitzin, Petr Kumich, 259. Kroeber, Alfred L., 11-13. Kurile Islands, 22, 23, 258 Kyoto, 39. La Brea, 1. La Paz, 52, 65, 66, 126, 127, 130, 164, 168, 169, 221. La Paz, Bay of, 50, 51, 66. La Salle, Robert de, 146. Labaquera, Pedro de, 192, 202, 203. Labrador, 75. Ladrones Islands, 90, 91. Lady Washington^ 403. Landecho, Captain, 39. Langsdorff, Georg Heinrich von, 411- 414. Laperouse, Comte de, 344, 378-380, 386, 401, 402, 407 Larkin, Thomas O., 489. Las Flores, 477. Lasuen, Clara, 381. Lasuen, Fermin Francisco de, 352, 353, 361, 362, 364-382, 386, 402, 409, 410, 472. Lasuen, Point, 379. Lena River, 257. Le6n, Alonso de, 147, 490. Leonorina, 59, 60. Levashef, Mikhail, 259. Lezama, Martfn de, 163. Liquia, 59. Lisuarte deGrecia, 61. Loaysa, 84. Lobeira, Vasco de, 57, 62. Lok, Michael, 73, 75. Loma, Point, 120. Lope, Don, i27. L6pez, Esteban, 137. "' L6pez de Haro, Gonzalo, 344. INDEX 519 L6pez de Velasco, Juan, 156. Lorenzana, Archbishop, 65. Loreto, 175, 176, 178-181, 222, 223, 244, 251, 291, 398. Los Angeles, 1, 5, 160, 299, 384, 391, 392, 448, 452, 453, 460-462, 466, 473, 475-477, 479^83. Los Medanos, 430. Louis XIV, 170. Louisiana, 147, 265. Lower California. See Baja Cah- fornia. Lowrie, Captain, 343. Lucenilla, 167, 170. Lugones, Hernando de, 130. Luz6n Island, 34. Lytle Creek, 421, 435. Macao, 38, 41, 88. Macharaviaya, 208. Mackenzie, Alexander,J268. Madera County, 422. Madrid, 208. Magdalena Bay, 54. MageUan, 4, 46, 73, 84. MageUan,. Strait of, 45, 73, 110, 130, 260. Mahu, Jacob, 130. Maitorena, Jose" Joaquin, 420. Majorca and Majorcans, 222, 354, 357, 363, 496. Malacca, 140, 141. Malacca, Strait of, 72. Malaga, 208. Malaspma, Alejandro, 380, 404. Malays, 442. Maldonado, Lorenzo, 75. Manchus, 257. Mandeville, John, 45. Manila, 5, 33, 35, 38, 84, 85, 87-91, 95, 117, 124, 129, 261, 276. Manila galleon, 39, 84-96, 113, 115- 118, 124, 129-131, 134, 138-141, 160, 161, 164, 166, 170, 172, 180, 189, 196, 198, 222, 261-263, 409, 448. Manning, WiUiam Ray, 493. Manrique, Miguel, 277-279. Marco Polo. See Polo. Mare Island, 426. Marin County, 427. Mariposa County, 422. Mariposa Creek, 421, 422. Mariposa Slough, 421, 422, 429. Marquette, Jacques, 75. Martin, Juan, 419. Martinez, Enrique, 163. Martinez, Esteban Jos<5, 344. Martinez, Luis, 429. Martinez de Hurdaide, Diego, 156. Martinez de Palacios, Geronimo, 132, 139. Marysville Buttes, 424, 430. Massachusetts, 75, 495. Matagorda Bay, 146. Mayas, 23. Mayos, 202. Mazatlan, 137, 160, 205, 261. McGlashan, Charles Fayette, 504. McGroarty, John Steven, 505. Meares, John, 343. Melendez, Sebastian, 131. Mendafia de Neira, Alvaro, 36. Mendocino, Cape, 73, 86, 91, 114, 117, 131, 136-138, 141, 314. Mendocino County, 436. Mendoza, Antonio, 177. Mendoza, Antonio de, 52, 53, 76,83, 84. Menendez de Aviles, Pedro, 74. Mercator, 22. Merced County, 421, 424,"425. Merced River, 422, 424, 426. Messa, Jose de, 192, 195. Mexicana, 113. Mexico, Audiencia of, 49, 51, 192, 252, 269, 285. Mexico, Gulf of, 77, 110. Mexico, Real Caja of,': 206. Mexico and Mexicans, 7, 11, 23, 26- 29, 31, 33, 35-38, 43, 47, 119, 182, 183, 270, 294, 329, 350, 383, 392, 393, 410, 426, 427, 437, 439, 452- 456, 458-465, 467-469, 472-485, 495, 496, 498, 499, 502, 507, 509. See New Spain. Mexico City, 43, 44, 48, 51-53, 114, 121, 124, 125, 131, 143, 144, 147, 148, 162-164, 173, 174, 181, 184, 211, 212, 215, 216, 231, 237, 239, 244, 253, 288-290, 292, 297, 298, 303, 319, 321-324, 326, 329, 357, 363, 365, 368, 370, 384, 392, 400, 491, 507. Micheltorena, Manuel, 456, 472, 480- 483. MichoacAn, 44, 156. MUitary, the, 149, 150, 155, 203, 244, 245, 249, 359-361, 388-391, 439. MiUigan, John, 451. Mission system, the, 150-153, 155, 187, 188, 244, 246, 247, 359-362, 385-389, 395, 439, 466-472. Mississippi River, 265. 520 INDEX Missouri River, 74, 75. Mixteca, 28. Mobile, 147. Mojave Desert, 433. Mojave River, 316. Mojaves, 427, 431, 433. Mokelumne River, 418, 419, 422, 423. Mokelumnes, 432. Molina, 447. Moluccas, the, 49, 88, 108, 110, 111. Monclova, 146. Monroe Doctrine, 272, 273. Montalvo. See 0rd6fiez. Montana, 498. Monterey, 36, 91, 95, 96, 135, 138, 139, 141, 142, 158, 172, 189, 191, 198, 200, 208, 214-220, 224-231,234, 237,' 239, 241, 244-251, 277-280, 282, 284, 291, 292, 294, 297,. 298, 300, 302, 303, 310-312, 316-318, 322, 324, 326, 338, 358, 363, 369, 378, 380, 389, 392, 394, 398, 400- 402, 404-409, 413, 424, 432, 433, 438, 443-447, 449-451, 453, 457- 460, 462, 465, 467, 474-476, 481, 483, 493, 494, 496, 501. See San Carlos Borromeo. Monterey, Bay of, 79, 118, 134, 135, 228, 231, 405, 444. Monterey, Conde de, 122, 124-126, 128-131, 134, 138, 139, 158. Montesclaros, Marques de, 138-142, 158. Montezuma, 237, 294. "Montezuma," 460. Montezuma Creek, 426. Montezuma HiUs, 430. Montreal, 267. Moore, Thomas, 409. Moqui and the Moquis, 47, 53, 75, 189 239 317. Moraga, Gabriel, 420-425, 427, 430, 432-435. Moraga, Jose Joaquin, 304/305, 307, 311, 313,' 314, 418, 434. Moraga Road, 434. Moraga Valley, 434. Morena, 74, 113. Morfi, Juan, 331. Morgan, Henry, 260. Morgana, Juan de, 121. Morguera, 86. Morocco, 255. MortiUet, 9. Moya, Pedro de, 114, 115, 139. Mufioz, Pedro, 421, 422. Munster,fSebastian, 73. Nacori, 205. Nahuas, 28. Napa, 436. Naples, 184. Napoleon I, 412, 452. Napoleonic wars, 410. Narvdez PAnfilo de, 52. Native Daughters of the Golden West, 491. Native Sons' FeUows, 508, 509. Native Sons of the Golden West, 491, 508, 509. Nava, Pedro de, 349, 350. Navarrete . See Fernandez Navarrete . Navidad, 77, 82, 85, 86, 121, 137. Nevada, 433, 498. Nevada County, 424. Neve, Felipe de, 243, 292, 324-327, 339-341, 348, 349, 352, 353, 361, 362, 375, 376, 378, 391, 394, 398, 408, 463. "New Albion," 97-111, 379, 406. New England, 451, 495. New France, 110. New Helvetia, 482. See Sacramento. New Mexico, 47, 53, 74, 75, 144-146, 148, 162, 189, 197, 199, 200, 203, 214, 238, 252, 274, 317-319, 322, 323, 338, 340, 341, 349, 422, 495, 498. New Spain, 4-6, 35-38, 40, 43, 44, 46, 49, 50, 52-54, 57, 62, 71, 77, 82, 84, 85, 87, 89, 90, 92, 100, 110, 112- 117, 121, 122, 124, 127-130, 135, 137, 139, 141, 143, 148, 156, 159, 160, 164-168, 176, 178, 185, 186, 189, 191, 193, 196, 198, 200, 207, 209, 212-214, 216, 244, 247, 249, 252, 262, 263, 265, 269, 270, 272, 276, 282, 286, 311, 345, 354, 359, 391, 394, 409, 450, 452, 493. See Mexico and Mexicans. New World. See Americas. New Zealand, 263, 402. Nicolaus, 424. Niza, Marcos, de, 53, 66, 148. Nobunaga, 38. Nootka, 261, 344, 346, 403, 405, 407, 409. Nootka Sound controversy, 344, 345, 397, 405, 493. Noriega, Matias Antonio, 399. North, Arthur Walbridge, 504. North America, 4, 8, 24, 30, 45, 46, 48, 61, 70-73, 91, 99, 103, 214, 218, 219, 254, 260, 264, 265, 272, 274, 276, 343, 351, 412. INDEX 521 North Beach, 279. North Pole, 4, 102, 272. North West Company, 267, 268, 494. Northwest Cape, 79. Northwest coast, 74, 216, 223, 255- 259, 261, 264, 265, 268, 272-274, 276, 278, 284, 285, 287, 288, 293, 304, 327, 328, 343-346, 402, 404, 494, 498, 499, 501. Northwest Passage, 71, 200, 214, 260, 265, 266, 327. See Anian. Norton, Henry Kittredge, 505. "Nova Albion." See New Albion. Nueva Galicia, 49, 50, 64, 155, 156. Nueva Vizcaya, 144-146, 148, 170, 197, 201, 205, 212, 213, 215, 233, 238, 319, 320, 323, 338. Nueve Le6n, 144, 147. Nuevo Santander, 144, 147. See TamauUpas. Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar, 52, 53, 148. Nurse Slough, 426. Nuttall, Zelia, 102, 111. Oak, Henry Labbeus, 499. Oakland, 393. Oaxaca, 100. Ob River, 257. Oceania, 34. Oconor, Hugo, ,238, 318, 321, 322, 334, 338, 339. Okhotsk, 257, 258, 415. Ofiate, Juan de, i45, 148, 162, 490. Opas, 240. Ordaz, Bias, 435, 436. Ord6fiez de Montalvo, Garci, 57, 61- 63, 66. Oregon, 81, 101, 350, 497-499. Oregon Treaty, 101. O'Reilly, Alejandro, 271, 275. OrovUte, 424. Ortega, Francisco de, 163-165, 169, 171. Ortega, Jose" de, 191. Ortega, Jose" Francisco de, 222, 225, 229, 309, 310, 368, 369. Ortega, Juan, 428, 429. Ortega family, 446, 452. OrteBus, Abraham, 73. Ortiz Parrilla, Diego, 198, 202. Osaka, 23. Ostimuri, 205, 232. Otter, 409. Oxenham, John, 98. Pacheco, Romualdo, 461. Pacific coast, 2, 3, 6, 7, 21, 24-26, 29- 31, 44, 48, 52, 70, 71, 75, 86, 88, 94, 97, 101, 187, 193, 199, 211, 217, 254, 256-258, 261, 262, 265, 267, 268, 273, 274, 276, 283, 314, 328, 336, 341, 342, 344, 402, 463, 489, 490, 493, 494, 498, 499, 501, 504, 505, 507. See Northwest coast. Pacific Ocean, 4-7, 11, 21-23, 30, 31, 33, 34, 42, 46, 49, 65, 74, 75, 77, 84- 86, 91-94, 98, 100, 108, 110-113, 115-117, 128, 130, 140, 141, 159, 161, 164-166, 197, 198, 214, 255, 257-266, 273, 276, 300, 327, 343, 344, 389, 403, 404, 442, 494. PadnSs, Jose" Maria, 464-466, 469. Pajaro Valley, 474. Pala, 386, 435, 448. Palencia, Pedro de, 65, 66. Palma, Salvador, 299, 300, 307, 319, 330, 331, 333;, 336. Palma, University of, 358. Palou, Francisco, 230, 252, 301, 313, 352, 355, 356, 362, 364, 365, 368, 370, 376, 382, 385, 496,497, 502, 505. Panama, 43, 45, 48, 70, 72, 98, 117, 143, 251, 260, 261, 499. Pdnuco, 71. Papagos, 295. Papagueria, 240, 241, 306, 332, 333. Paraguay, 174, 181. Parliament, 266. Parras, 146. Pasage, 146. Pascual, Joaquin, 433. Patronato Real, 150, 359. Payeras, Mariano, 2, 429, 431, 434. Pelican, 100. Pefia, Tomds de la, 488. Pefialosa, Diego de, 75. Peralta, Luis, 393, 419. Perez, Juan, 222, 224, 231, 273, 274, 276-278, 280, 284, 488. Perry, Matthew C, 42. Persia, 88. Peru, 6, 24, 29, 47, 87, 90, 98, 115, 130, 285, 286, 321, 340, 439, 450, 481. Pescadero, 424, 426. "Pescadores," Bay of. See San Diego Bay. Petaluma, 431, 436, 464. Petaluma Creek, 426. Peter the Great, 258. Petra, 354, 357. Petrograd. See Saint Petersburg. 522 INDEX Philip II, 33, 42, 84, 99, 100. Philip V, 177, 192. Philippine Company, 95, 344. Philippine Islands, 33-36, 38, 39, 84-96, 108, 115, 135, 139, 193, 196, 263, 344, 442. See Manila, Mamla galleon. Phoenix, 409. Piccolo, Francisco Maria, 174, 176, 178. Pichilingues, 161, 164, 166, 170-172. Pico, Andres, 484. Pico, Jose Dolores, 428, 429. Pico, Pio, 456, 460, 462, 479, 481, 483, 484. Pilgrim, 495. Pimas, 197, 199, 201, 202, 204, 232, 233 240 299 Pimeria Alta, 147, 157, 173, 174, 178, 189-191, 199, 201, 202, 204, 205, 232, 239, 492. Pineda, Juan de, 211, 212, 295. Pinos, Point, 79, 444, 445. Pious Fund of the Californias, 174, 176-183, 253, 290, 469, 471, 472. Pious Fund of the Philippines, 88. Pizarro, Francisco, 6, 46. Placer County, 424. Plymouth, 108. Pocahontas, 75. Polo, Marco, 25, 44, 45, 47. Ponce de Le6n, 47. Porter Casanate, Pedro, 165-167, 171. PortUla, Pablo, 460, 461. Portlock, Nathaniel, 343. Portola Gaspar de, 1, 3, 142, '143, 184, 220-231, 243, 244, 252, 283, 296, 297, 352, 489. Portugal and the Portuguese, 8, 32, 33, 36, 38, 41, 77, 99, 102, 109, 116, 140, 141, 184, 254, 255, 261, 265, 442, 491. Potosi, 47. Preciado, Francisco, 65, 66. Priestley, Herbert Ingram, 426, 431, 493, 504. Princesa, 344. Principe. See San Antonio. Ptolemy, L. Claudius, 73. Puebla, 192, 231. Pueblos, 391-396. See Branciforte, Los Angeles, Military (the)^San Jose. Puget, Peter, 408. Puget Sound, 23, 76. Purisima Concepci6n, mission, 371, 457, 458, 472. Purisima Concepci6n on the Colo rado, 336, 337. Putnam, Ruth, 67, 504. Pynadero, Bernardo Bernal de, 167, 168, 171. Queretaro, city of, 144, 147, 323, 357, 440. Quen-taro, College of, 232, 239. Quetzalcoatl, 28. Quir6s, Fernando, 277. Quivira, city of, 75. Quivira, kingdom of, 47, 52, 73, 82, 148, 186, 195. Radiaro, 59, 60. Radisson, Pierre, 265. Ramusio, Giovanni, 65, 73. Rancho del Rey, 445, 447. Refugio, 78, 446, 448. Reglamentos, 273, 288-292, 326, 327, 361, 362, 376, 394. Renaissance, 46. Rengel, Jose Antonio, 341. Residencias, 270. Revilla Gigedo, Conde de, 345, 346, 349, 497. RevUla Gigedo Islands, 50. Reyes, Point, 117, 137, 250. Rezanof, Nikolai Petrovich, 410-417. Rica de Oro, 36, 37, 91, 115, 139-142, 158. Rica de Plata, 36, 37, 91, 115, 139- 142, 158. Richardson, WiUiam Antonio, 466. Richman, Irving Berdine, 502. Rincon, 78. Rincon Pass, 476, 477. Rio Chico, 205. Rio de la Plata, 442, 450. Rio Grande, the, 146, 323. Rio Vista, 430. Rivera, Manuel, 270. Rivera, Pedro de, 199. Rivera y Moncada, Fernando de, 222, 223, 225, 230, 231, 243, 244, 273- 275, 280, 283, 288, 291, 292, 302, 303, 309-313, 324, 337, 354, 361, 370, 385, 394, 440, 463. Rivero, Manuel, 217. Robinson, Alfred, 478, 480, 495. Rocha, Juan Estevan, 309. Rodriguez, Agustin, 490. Rodriguez CabriUo, Juan, 66, 76-85, 112, 119, 143, 314, 490. Rodriguez Cermenho, Sebastian, 95, 116-124, 129,]133, 134, 136, 143,250. INDEX 523 Rogers, Woodes, 262. Rogue River, 81. Romero, Captain, 175. Romeu, Jose Antonio de, 374, 398, 400, 404. Roosevelt, Theodore, 364. Rosario, 205. Ross, Fort, 79, 427, 430, 439, 463, 464. Rowan, James, 409. Royce, Josiah, 500. Rubi, Marques de, 237, 238, 295, 296. Ruiz, Francisco, 421. Russia and the Russians, 3, 8, 30, 109, 144, 187, 214, 216-219, 225-228, 254, 255, 257-260, 265, 268, 272, 275, 277, 328, 341, 344, 346, 350, 389, 391, 397, 403, 410-416, 425, 427, 430, 431, 436, 437, 439, 463, 491, 493, 494. Russian American Company, 411. Russian River, 425, 436. Ruysch, Johann, 72. Saavedra, 84. Sacramento, 430, 437, 482. Sacramento River, 250, 302, 312, 383, 423, 425, 426, 430, 431, 435. "Sacramento" River. See Feather River. Sahuaripa, 205. Saint Catherine, convent, 417. Saint Francis Xavier, 32. ' 'Saint James Islands . ' ' See FaraUone Islands. Saint Lawrence, Gulf of, 73, 74. Saint Petersburg, 258, 259, 414. Sakya, 28. Sal, Hermenegilde, 405, 406, 418. Salamanca, University of, 208. Salinas, 445, 482. See Rancho del Rey. Salinas River, 228. Salineros, 198. Saltillo, 146. Salvatierra, Juan Maria, 173-179, 181, 183, 184, 188-190, 360. San Agustin, 117, 118, 121, 129, 133, 134, 136. "San Agustin Island." See San Mar tin Island. San Antonio, 221-227, 230, 231, 251, 277, 284. San Antonio, California, 246. San Antonio, Texas, 147. San Antonio River, 147. San Bernardino, 421, 435. San Bernardino County, 421. San Bernabi*, Bay of, 115, 132. San Bias, 163, 165, 215-219, 226, 228, 231, 251, 253, 273, 274, 277, 278, 280, 282-290, 292, 310, 320, 327, 328, 345-347, 390, 391, 396, 398, 400, 409, 438, 448/465, 497. San Bruno, 169, 170, 173. San Buenaventura, 227, 250, 371, 431, 433, 447, 476, 477. San Buenaventura, 118, 119. San Carlos, 221-226, 277-279, 344. San Carlos, Pass of, 300, 308. San Carlos Borromeo, 245, 246. 363, 371, 373, 379-381, 399. See Carm elo, Monterey. San Clement Island, 120. San Diego, 12, 77, 78, 82/85, 132, 133, 200, 208, 220, 222-227, 230, 231, 234, 244-249, 251, 277, 282, 284, 292, 303, 308-311, 313, 324, 368- 371, 379, 384, 407, 409, 420, 435, 448, 453, 458, 460, 462, 465, 469, 476, 477, 480, 484, 493. San Diego, 131, 133, 136, 138. San Diego Bay, 120, 133, 501. San Diego County, 435. San Felipe, 39. San Felipe de Sinaloa, 156, 205. San Felipe River, 349. San Fernando, College of, 184, 221, 246, 252, 283, 288, 356-359, 362, 363, 365, 368-371, 375-378, 382, 395, 427, 468, 496. San Fernando Rey, 227/372, 422, 463, 476, 481. San Francisco, 2, 5, 12, 71, 111, 229, 250, 268, 274, 280, 291, 292, 302- 304, 310-314, 316," 324, 326, 346, 371, 390, 391, 403, 405, 406, 409, 411-415, 420, 425^27, 429-432, 434-436, 444, 445, 453, 454, 459, 463, 466, 495, 496, 500-503, 505, 506. "San Francisco," Bay of. See Drake's Bay. "San Francisco," River of, 302, 312, 420. See Sacramento River, San Joaquin River. San Francisco Bay, 1-3, 7, 15, 79, 95, 104, 107, 111, 118, 138, 227, 229, 250, 274, 277-280, 291, 303, 312, 383, 405, 406, 410-412, 463, 501.] San Francisco de Asis, 312, 314. San Francisco Solano, 425, 436, 466. San Gabriel, 245, 246, 248, 292, 298- 300, 308, 310, 311, 313, 316, 368, 524 INDEX 369, 421, 425, 427, 432, 433, 435, 461, 463. San Gabriel River, Alta California, 324. San Gabriel River, Texas, 147. SanGeronimo, 130. San Ignacio, 205. San Jacinto, 435. San Jacinto Mountains, 314. San Jacome, 300. San Javier, 176, 178. San Joaquin County, 424. San Joaquin River, 250, 279, 302, 312, 383, 418-429, 432, 433, 437, 506. San Jose, 223, 224, 228-230. San Jose, mission, 372, 419, 423, 424, 426, 427. San Jose, pueblo, 314, 326, 372, 391, 392, 431, 432, 445, 474. San Juan. See Fuerte de Montes- clares. San Juan, Bay of, 169. San Juan, Porto Rico, 355. San Juan Bautista, 372, 421, 425/428, f 429, 433. San Juan Bautista, arroyo of, 368. San Juan Capistrano, 309, 324, 369, 380, 439, 447-449, 477. "San Lazaro Islands," 84. See Philip pines. San Lucas, Cape, 6, 8, 42, 44, 112, 114, 115, 130-132, 172, 179, 180, 221-223, 261, 262, 504. San Luis Creek, 421, 425. San Luis Obispo, 246-248, 313, 429, 472, 478. San Luis Rey, 372, 420, 435, 469. San Martin, Jose" de, 450. San Martin Island, 120, 121. San Miguel, 372, 419, 428, 432, 472. "San Miguel," 77. See San Diego. San Miguel Island, 78, 80-82. San Pablo, Point, 426. San Pablo Bay, 426. San Pascual, 484. San Pedro, 77, 78, 379. "San Pedro," Bay of. See Monterey (Bay of). San Pedro, Point, 426, 431. San Pedro River, 335. San Quentin, 77, 82. San Rafael, 430, 431, 436. San Ramon Valley, 250. San Saba, 356. San Saba River, 147. San Sebastian, 205. Sdnchez, Jos6, 434. S&nchez, Jose" Antonio, 426, 432, 436. Sanchez, NeUie van de Grift, 68, 503. Sanchez Salvador, Fernando, 192, 196-199, 202, 205, 212. Santa Ana, 205. Santa Ana, 115, 116, 124. Santa Ana River, 324. Santa Barbara, Alta California, 23, 371, 406, 407, 409, 416, 421, 434, 443, 446-448, 451-453, 457^60, 462, 472, 477, 480, 502. Santa B&rbara, Sonora, 205. Santa Barbara Channel, 11, 14, 78, 80, 119, 134, 292, 324, 371, 375, 376, 407. Santa Barbara Islands, 314. Santa Clara, 250, 292, 314, 324, 371, 405, 406, 425,, 426, 482. Santa Cruz, 371,378, 391, 444, 449, 451. "Santa Cruz," 51, 53, 65, 66. See La Paz (Bay of). Santa Cruz, city of. See Branciforte. Santa Cruz Islands, 82, 446. Santa Cruz Mountains, 79. Santa Cruz River, 190, 306. Santa Fe, 75, 317. Santa In6s, 421, 457, 482. Santa Isabel, 435. Santa Lucia Mountain, 134. Santa Maria de Ios Angeles, 222, 225. Santa Monica, 78, 160. Santa Olaya Lake, 299, 300, 307, 349. Santa Rosa, 436, 437, 464. Santa Rosa, 442, 444-446, 450, 451. Santa Rosa Creek, 425. Santaella, 173. Santiago, 276-278, 284, 285. Santiago de Jalpan, 356. Santiago River, 165. Santistevan, Jos6, 356. Santo Domingo, 386. Santo Tomds, 131, 135. Saric, 205. Sarria, Vicente, 430. Saskatchewan River, 267. Sastre, Mateo, 294, 297. Schafer, Joseph, 494, 501. Schoner, Johann, 72. Scotch, 260, 267, 451. Scott, Fort, 311. Sedelmayr, Jacobo, 191. SeMn, Job6, 447. Sergas de Esplandidn, Las, 56-62, 66, 67. Seris, 157, 197, 198, 201, 202, 204, 205, 233, 295, 296, 322, 323, 336, 347. INDEX 525 Serra, Francisco, 354, 355. Serra, Junipero, 142, 185, 220-222, 226, 227, 230, 231, 244, 246, 248, 251, 288, 289, 297, 324, 352-366, 370-372, 374, 381, 382, 386, 472, 488, 496, 497, 505. Seven Cities, The, 47, 148. See Cibola. Seven Years' War, 254, 263, 267. SeviUe, 87, 269, 504, 509. Shasta County, 435. Shaw, Rev. Dr., 24. Shelikof, Grigor, 25*h Shelvocke, George, 262. Shimabara revolt, 41. Shinn, Charles Howard, 500. Siam, 34, 88. Siberia, 217, 258, 410, 415. Sibubapas, 295. Sierra Gorda, 356, 365. Sierra Nevada Mountains, 300, 307, 308, 383, 422-424, 430-432, 437. Si-Ngan-Foo, 24. Simpson, George, 416, 417. Sinaloa, 50, 52, 145, 147, 155-157, 164, 166, 169, 170, 174, 176, 196, 197, 201, 204, 205, 212, 213, 232, 302, 304, 316, 324, 348, 463, 493. Sisquoc River, 421. Sitka, 260, 410, 411. Smith, John, 75. Snowden, Clinton A., 503. Sola, Pablo Vicente de, 428, 429, 432, 435, 440, 444-448, 453, 454, 474. Solano County, 435. Soledad, 371, 403, 410, 418, 428, 432, 449. Solis, Joaqufn, 459, 464. Solomon Islands, 36. Sonoita, 190, 332, 349. Sonoma, 425, 436, 466, 474. Sonoma County, 427. Sonora, 53, 144, 145, 148, 155-158, 173, 178, 180, 187, 189, 192, 193, 196-206, 210-216, 219-221, 223, 232-243, 252, 274, 275, 280, 284, 288, 294, 301, 303, 304, 309, 313, 316-325, 331-334, 336-339, 347- 349, 369, 398, 463, 493. Sonora, 277, 278. Sonora, bishop of, 373, 375. Sonora, Marques de, 319. See G&l- vez (Jose" de). Sonora River, 189, 201/204. Soto, Francisco, 427. South America, 4, 45, 72, 73, 95, 100, 110, 117, 130, 256, 260, 261, 263, 402, 404, 407, 450, 456. South Pole, 102. South Sea. See Pacific Ocean. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 490, 491. Spanish America. See Hispanic America, Independence (Spanish American Wars of). SpUberg, George, 160, 161. Stanford University, 508. Stanislaus County, 424. Stanislaus River, 422, 426. Stearns, Abel, 457, 460. Stephens, Henry Morse, 396, 507- 509. Stockton, 423, 426, 506. Stony Creek, 424. Strafford, William, 179. Strange, James, 343. Suamca, 205. Suaquis, 295. Suisun, 425-427, 431, 436. Suisun Bay, 425, 426. Suisun Creek, 426. Sulu Archipelago, 88. Sunol Canyon, 250. Sutil, 113. Sutter, John A., 437, 482. Sutter County, 424. Swan, Captain, 172, 261. Tahiti, Island of, 263. Talanque, 60. Tamar6n, Pedro, 146, 205. Tamaulipas, 144, 182. See Nuevo Santander. Tampico, 144. Tapis. Estevan, 422, 429. Taqui, 435. Tarabal, Sebastian, 298-300, 316, 340. Tartars, 257. Taylor, William, 446. Taysacaa, 28. Tecuya, 421. Tehachapi Pass, 317. Tehama County, 435. Tehuantepec, 139, 164, 273, 276 Tejas, 147. Tejon Pass, 316, 421, 422. Temecula, 435. Tepic, 49, 211, 494. Terrenate, 205. Terrestrial Paradise, 48, 58, 60, 61. Texas, 52, 144, 146, 147, 198, 202, 238, 319, 321-323, 325, 341, 356, 455, 480, 490, 498, 501. Thornton, Edward, 183. 526 INDEX Tiburones, 198. Ticknor, George, 56. Tinkham, George Henry, 506. Tipping, Captain, 343. Tobolsk, 257. Todos Santos, Bay of, 82. Tokio, 23. Tokio, Bay of, 42. Tomales Bay, 137, 425. Tomsk, 257. Torquemada, Juan de, 137. Tortolero, Luis, 176, 177. Townley, Captain, 172, 261. Tres Marias Islands, 50. Tres Reyes, 131, 137, 138. Trinidad de Plata, 205. Trinity County, 436. Trinity River, 147. Triunfo de la Cruz, 179. Trivino, Fernando, 192. Truckee, 504. Tualamne, 422. Tubac, 205, 241, 294-300, 303-305, 314. Tubutama, 205. Tulare, Lake, 316, 418, 428. Tulare County, 422, 432. Tumacdcori, 190. Tuolumne County, 422, 424. Tuolumne River, 422, 424, 426. Turks, 59. Tuthill, Franklin, 498. Ugarte, Jacobo de, 231, 340, 341. Ugarte, Juan de, 174, 178, 179, |181, 183, 188, 191. Ulatis, 426. Ulloa, Francisco de, 53, 54, 65, 66, 68, 74, 76, 162. Union Island, 424. United States, the, and Americans, 6-7, 12, 31, 43, 44, 74, 85, 101, 103, 110, 111, 182, 183, 189, 206, 234, 254, 256, 265, 268, 275-279, 305, 311, 314, 315, 328, 342, 344, 350, 388, 389, 392, 395-397, 403, 404, 409-411, 418, 425, 429, 435, 437- 439, 441-443, 445, 451, 455, 460, 462, 472-474, 478-485, 491, 493- 497, 500, 501, 503-509. See Ameri- " can Revolution. Ural Mountains, 257. Urdaneta, Andres de, 84-86, 95, 140. Uria, Francisco, 412. Utah, 317, 498. Utrecht, Treaty of, 266. Uvas Creek, 421. Valdez, Juan, 299. Vallejo, Ignacio, 463. Vallejo, Jose, 444, 463, 464. Vallejo, Mariano Guadalupe, 456, 463-466, 474, 478-480 Valparaiso, 448. Van Noort, Olivier, 130. Vancouver, George, 379, 380, 404-408. Vancouver Island, 344. Vdzquez de Coronado, Francisco, 70, 76, 77, 148. Velasco, Juan de, 130. Velasco, Luis de, 116, 122, 124. Velez de Escalante, SUvestre, 316, 317 331. Velica'ta, San Fernando de, 222-224, 230, 245, 365. Venegas, Miguel, 199, 492. Venezuela, 61, 450. Ventura, 77, 78, 82, 407. See San Buenaventura. Vera Cruz, 43, 89, 98, 166, 209, 276, 355. Verdugo ranch, 483. Vergara, Francisco de, 164, 165. Verger, Rafael, 246, 251, 252, 283. Viader, Jose, 425, 426. Victoria, 24. Victoria, Manuel, 456, 459-462, 464, 476. Vidal, Mariano, 304. Vigilance, San Francisco Committees of, 489, 500. Vila, Vicente, 221, 489. Vfid&ola, Gabriel de, 295. ViUalobos, Ruy de, 84. ViUamanrique, Marques de, 115, 116. ViUapuente, Marques de, 182. Viniegra, Juan Manuel de, 225, 234- 237. Virginia, 214, 261. Visalia, 422, 428, 429, 432, 433. Visitadores, 207, 285, 471. Visitas, 152, 386. Vitoria, 365. Vivero, 35, 36. Vizcaino, Sebastian, 36-38, 40, 95, 124-139, 142, 143, 158-160, 163, 169, 226-229, 231, 488, 490. Vizcaya, 440. Wafer, Lionel, 261. Wallis, Samuel, 263. Walnut Creek, 425. Washington, D. C, 509. Washington, George, 403. INDEX 527 Washington, state of, 350, 498, 499. West Indies, 43, 44, 72, 159, 256, 392, 450. Winship, Charles, 409. Wolfe, Captain, 411. Woods, Lake of the, 214. Wyoming, 498. Yakutsk, 257, 415. Yaqui River, 201, 205. Yaquis, 180, 202, 463. Yenesseisk, 257. Yerba Buena, 466. Yerba Buena Island, 280. Yermak, Timofeief, 257. Yolo County, 435. Yuba County, 424. Yumas, 16, 299-301, 306-308, 310, 316-319, 322, 330-339, 341, 384, 385, 427, 440, 465. Zaca, 421. Zacatecas, 28. Zacatecas, CoUege of, 469, 471. Zacatula, 28, 44, 48, 49, 454. Zaikof, Potap, 259. Zalagua, 159. Zalvidea, Joie" Maria, 421. Zamorano, Agustin, 456, 462, 463, 475. Zapata, Juan, 156. Zarate Salmerdn, Geronimo de, 162.