r

THE MARCH OF
PORTOLA
AND THE LOG OF
THE SAN CARLOS

for

"Igivetiife Books

Gift ot

191*5

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THE MARCH TO MONTEREY
"At the head of the column rode the Com andante with Fages, Costanso, and the two priests'

Qtyr Mnvtif of f attain

AND THE

Bteromrjj of tty lag of Bm $mm$txi

BY
ZOETH S. ELDREDGE

Wtyt Slog of X\\t §§m\ (Earlos
AND
ODrtgtnal Innrottttta SrattBlatrii an& Annotate
BY
E. J. MOLERA

Illustrations by
WALTER FRANCIS

THE CALIFORNIA PROMOTION COMMITTEE
SAN FRANCISCO 1909

Copyright 1909
By The California Promotion Committee
San Francisco

035.20

Published by the
Reception Committee
of
The California Promotion Committee

This Book is published with the approval and
endorsement of the Executive Committee of the
Portola Festival.

2ty* Muxt^ of Portola"

AND

®fy £og of % ^att Clarion

San Francisco

"Serene, indifferent of fate,
Thou sittest at the Western Gate;
Upon thy heights so lately won,
StiU slant the banners of the sun;
Thou seest the white seas strike their tents,
0 warder of two continents,
And scornful of the peace that flies,
Thy angry winds and suUen skies,
Thou drawest all things, small or great,
To thee beside the Western Gate."

Table of Contents

PAGE
Introduction  11
The March of Portola and Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco  15
Data regarding Portola after he left California  47
Letter of the Viceroy of New Spain to Don Julian de Arriaga  49
Causes that led to the Expedition of the San Carlos  51
Log of the San Carlos  52
Report of the Commander of the San Carlos  59
Description of the Bay of San Francisco  62
Report of the Pilot of the San Carlos  65

Illustrations

The March to Monterey (Frontispiece)
Carrying the Sick
Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco
Departure of the San Carlos from La Paz
Facsimile of signature of Governor Portola
First Survey and Map of the Bay of San Francisco

Introduction

IN THE annals of adventure, there are no more thrilling
narratives of heroic perseverance in the performance of
duty than the record of Spanish exploration in America.
 To those of us who have come into possession of the
fair land opened up by them, the story of their travels and
adventures have the most profound interest. The account of the
expedition of Portola has never been properly presented. Many
writers have touched on it, and H. H. Bancroft, in his History
of California, gives a brief digest of Crespi's diary. Most writers
on California history have drawn on Palou's Vida del V. P. F.
Junipero Serra and Noticias de la Nueva California, and without
looking further, have accepted the ecclesiastical narrative. We
have endeavored in this sketch to give, in a clear and concise form,
the conditions which preceded and led up to the occupation of
California. The importance of California in relation to the control of the
Pacific was early recognized by the great European powers, some
of whom had but smaU respect for the BuU of Pope Alexander VI
dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal. England,
France, and Russia sent repeated expeditions into the Pacific. In
1646 the British Admiralty sent two ships to look in Hudson's
Bay for a northwest passage to the South Sea, one of which bore
the significant name of California. The voyage of Francis
Drake, 1577-1580, was a private venture, but at Drake's Bay he
proclaimed the sovereignty of Elizabeth, and named the country
New Albion. Two hundred years later (1792-1793) Captain George
Vancouver explored the coast of California down to thirty degrees
of north latitude (Ensenada de Todos Santos), which, he says,
"is the southernmost limit of New Albion, as discovered by Sir
Francis Drake, or New California, as the Spaniards frequently
call it." Even after the occupation and settlement by the Span
iards, so feeble were their establishments that, as Vancouver
reports to the Admiralty, it would take but a small force to wrest
11

from Spain this most valuable possession. But though the grow
ing feebleness of Spain presaged the time when her hold upon
America would be loosened, the standard of individual heroism
was not lowered, and the achievements of Portola and of Anza
rank with those of De Soto and Coronado. The California explorer
did not, it is true, have to fight his way through hordes of fierce
natives. The California Indians, as a rule, received the white
adventurers gladly, and entertained them with such hospitality
as they had to offer, but the Indians north of the Santa Barbara
Channel were but a poor lot. In a country abounding in game of
all kinds, a sea swarming with fish, a soil capable of growing every
character of foodstuff, these miserable natives lived in a chronic
state ot starvation.
As in heroic qualities, so also in skill and judgment, Portola
upholds the best traditions of Spain. The success of an expedition
depends upon the character of the leader. Panfilo de Narvaez
landed on the coast of Florida in April, 1528, with a well-equipped
army of three hundred men and forty horses, just half the force
he sailed with from Spain the previous June, and of the three hun
dred men whom he led into Florida, only four lived to reach civi
lization — the rest perished. That is but one example of incom
petent leadership. When Portola organized his expedition for the
march from San Diego Bay to Monterey, many of his soldiers were
ill from scurvy, and at one time on the march the sick list num
bered nineteen men, including the governor and Rivera, his chief
officer. Sixteen men had to be carried, and to three, in extremis,
the viaticum was administered; but he brought them all through,
and returned to San Diego without the loss of a man.
There are two full diaries of this expedition, one by Father
Crespi and the other by Alferez Costansd. There is, besides, a
diary of Junipero Serra of the march from Velicata to San Diego
Bay, a translation of which is printed in Out West magazine
(Los Angeles), March- July, 1902. It is of small value to the stu
dent of history. There is a diary by Portola, quoted by Bancroft,
and a Fragmento by Ortega, also used by Bancroft. These we
have not seen. There are letters from Francisco Palou, Juan
Crespi and Miguel Costans6, printed in Out West for January
1902. The diary of Father Crespi is printed in Palou's Noticias
de la Nueva California. Documentos para la Historia de Mexico,
re-printed San Francisco, 1874. The diary of Miguel Costanso is
12

in the Sutro library. It has never been printed. It is prefaced
by an historical narrative, a poor translation of which was pub
lished by Dalrymple, London, 1790, and a better one by Chas. F.
Lummis in Out West, June-July, 1901. In Publications of
the Historical Society of Southern California, Vol. II, Part 1, Los
Angeles, 1891, a number of documents of the Sutro collection are
printed, with translations by George Butler Griffin. These relate to
the explorations of the California coast by ships from the Philippines,
the two voyages of Vizcaino, with some letters of Junipero Serra, and
diaries of the voyage of the Santiago to the northern coast in 1774.
The sketch here submitted is the result of much study of original
documents, and the route of the expedition is laid down after careful
survey of the physical geography where possible, and in other cases,
by the contoured maps of the Geological Survey, following the
directions and language as given by the diarists. Among the
printed books consulted are Palou's Vida del Padre funipero
Serra and his Noticias de la Nueva California, above noted. The
Conquest of the Great Northwest, Agnes C. Laut, New York, 1908 ;
History of California by H. H. Bancroft; Treaties of Navigation,
Cabrera Bueno, Translation, Dalrymple, London, 1790; The Dis
covery of San Francisco Bay, George Davidson, and Francis Drake
on the Northwest Coast of America in 1579, the same author;
Proceedings of the Geographical Society of the Pacific.
In view of the forthcoming Portola Festival, The California
Promotion Committee, through its Reception Committee, appointed
three of its members to compile a history of the first expedition
for the settlement of California. In the endeavor to obtain further
knowledge of the life and character of Portola, the committee has
been enabled, through the efforts of one of its members, to have
careful search made among the archives of Madrid, of the India
Office at Saville, of the City of Mexico, and of Puebla, and while we
have little to show, as yet, concerning Portola, we have received other
documents of the utmost importance to the history of San Francisco :
a chronicle of the events following the discovery of the Bay.
By royal edict, a maritime expedition for the exploration of the
northwestern coasts of America sailed from San Bias early in the
year 1775. This consisted of the frigate Santiago, under the
commander-in-chief, Don Bruno de Heceta; the packet boat
San Carlos, under Lieutenant Ayala, and schooner Sonora,
under Lieutenant Bodega. To Lieutenant Ayala was assigned the
13

exploration of the Bay of San Francisco, while the Santiago and
the Sonora sailed for the north. Bodega discovered the Bay
which bears his name, and Heceta (to spell his name as it is usually
written) discovered the Columbia River. Bancroft {History of
California), in giving Palou's Vida as authority for his short
and incorrect account of Ayala's survey, says: "It is unfortunate
that neither map nor diary of this earliest survey is extant." It
is with pleasure we are permitted to present to the public these
important documents, now printed for the first time, and only
regret that the shortness of time allowed for their study may per
haps necessitate later some minor corrections.
We have also received from the Minister of Marine of Spain,
Don Jose" Ferrano, under date of July 14, 1909, a drawing of the
paquebot, San Carlos, together with the record of her gallant
commander, Don Juan Manuel de Ayala.
Ayala was born in Osuna, Andalucia, on the 28th of December,
1745. He entered the Marine Corps on the 19th of September,
1760, and was made Alferez de Fragata, October 10, 1767; Alfe"rez
de Navio, June 15, 1769; Teniente de Fragata, April 28, 1774;
Teniente de Navio, February, 1776; and Capitan de Fragata,
December 21, 1782.
When the order for the exploration of the northern coast was
made, Ayala was one of the officers assigned to the work. He
arrived in Vera Cruz in August, 1774, proceeded to the City of
Mexico, and was ordered by Viceroy Bucareli to San Bias, where
he was given command of the schooner Sonora. The squadron
under Heceta had hardly got under way, when the commander of
the San Carlos, Don Miguel Manrique, suddenly went mad.
Ayala was ordered to the command of the packet-boat, and returned
to San Bias with the unfortunate officer, to follow the squadron
a few days later.
In December, 1775, Ayala conducted a reconnaisance on the
coast of New Spain, and at its conclusion was placed in command
of the Santiago, and until October, 1778, served the new estab
lishments of California. In August, 1779, he was sent to the Phil
ippine Islands in command of the San Carlos, returning to
San Bias in 1781. In July, 1784, he returned to Spain, and on
March 14, 1785, was retired, at his own request, the royal order
granting him full pay as captain of frigate in consideration of his
services to California. He died December 30, 1797.
ZOETH S. ELDREDGE,
E. J. MOLERA,
CHARLES H. CROCKER,
San Francisco, August, 1909. Committee.
14

The March of Portola
and the
Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco
by
ZOETH S. ELDREDGE.

HE popular mind accepts the oft-repeated statement
that the settlement of Caifornia was due to the pious
zeal of a devoted priest, eager to save the souls of
 the heathen, supplemented by the paternal care of
a monarch solicitous for the welfare of his subjects. The political
exigencies of the day are forgotten; military commanders and
civil governors sink into insignificance and become mere executives
of the priestly will, while the heroic efforts of Junipero Serra to
convert the natives, his courage in the face of danger, his sublime
zeal, and his unwearied devotion, make him the impelling factor
in the colonization of California.
Nor is the popular conception that the church led the way into
California strange, when we understand that it is to the writings
of Fray Francisco Palou, friend, disciple, and successor of Junipero,
that all historians turn for the account of the occupation. Fray
Palou details the glorious life of the leader with whom he toiled;
he eulogizes the worthy priest, the ardent missionary, as he
passed up and down the length of the land, founding missions,
planting the vine, the olive, and the fruit tree in a land whose
inhabitants had often suffered from hunger ; giving aid and comfort
to the sick and weary and consolation to the dying. Indeed, the
pictures of the padres are fascinating. The infant establishments
planted by the church grew rich and powerful, but so wise and
gentle was the administration of the priests and so generous their
hospitality, that life in California in the first quarter of the nine
teenth century was an almost dolce far niente existence.
15

Radient as is the priestly figure of Junipero drawn by Palou,
the careful investigator will find that the impelling factor in the
occupation of California was stern military necessity, not mis
sionary zeal. From the time of Cabrillo, Spain had claimed the
coasts of the Pacific up to forty-two degrees north latitude by
right of discovery, but more than two hundred years had passed
and she had done nothing towards making good this right by
settlement. The country was open to colonization by any nation
strong enough to maintain and protect its colonies.
Before relating the story of Portola's march, let us consider
for a moment the situation of California in its relation to Spain
and other European nations, and we will then understand why
Spain found it necessary to occupy the country.
When Legaspi completed the conquest of the Philippines in
1565, he sent his flagship, the San Pedro, back to New Spain
under command of his grandson, Felipe Salcedo, with orders to
survey and chart a practicable route for ships returning from the
Islands. The San Pedro sailed from Cebu, June 1, 1565, and
topk her course east-northeast to the Ladrones, thence northward
to latitude thirty-eight, thence sailing eastward, following the
Kuroshiwo, the Black Current of Japan, they made a landfall on
the coast of California about the latitude of Cape Mendocino. A
sail of two thousand five hundred miles down the coasts of Cali
fornia and New Spain brought the voyagers to the port of Acapulco.
This route was charted by the priests on board the San Pedro,
and for nearly three centuries was the one followed by the galleons
of Spain sailing from Manila to Acapulco. The voyage across
the Pacific was a long one and ships in distress were obliged to
put about and make for Japan. A harbor on the coast of Cali
fornia in which ships could find shelter and repair damages was
greatly desired. A survey of the unknown coasts of the South
Sea, as it was called, was ordered, and it was also suggested that
the explorations be extended beyond the forty-second degree of
north latitude, it being held that the coast was a part of the same
continent as that of China, or only separated therefrom by the
narrow strait of Anian, which was believed to open in latitude
forty-two. Up to this time the only exploration of the northern coast of
California was that of Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo, and continued
after his death by his chief pilot, Bartolome" Ferrelo, in 1542-1543.
16

Cabrillo sailed as far north as Fort Ross, anchored in the Gulf of
the Farallones, off the entrance to the Golden Gate, and then sought
refuge from the terrible storms in San Miguel Island, Santa Barbara
Channel, where he died. Ferrelo took command and sailed up to
Cape Mendocino, which he named in honor of Don Antonio de
Mendoza, first viceroy of New Spain.
On the 17th of June, 1579, Francis Drake, in command of
the Golden Hinde, took refuge in the bay under Point Reyes,
now known as Drake's Bay. He took possession of the country
in the name of Queen EUzabeth, and named it New Albion, because
of the white cliffs which, Chaplain Fletcher writes, "he towards
the sea," and also "that it might have some affinity with our own
country." It was in this place and at this time that the first
English service was held in America, by Master Francis Fletcher,
chaplain to Francis Drake. The "Prayer Book Cross" in Golden
Gate Park, San Francisco, commemorates the event.
Drake remained in this bay thirty-seven days, refitted his ship,
supplied himself with wood and water, and sailed on July 23d to
the Southeast Farallones, where he laid in a store of seal meat, and
on the 25th sailed across the Pacific for England by way of the
Cape of Good Hope.
In 1585, Captain Francisco de Gali, sailing for the Philippines,
was directed to sail, on the return voyage, as far north as the
weather would permit, and on reaching the coast of California,
examine the land and the harbors on his way homeward, make
maps of all, and report all that he accomplished. It does not appear
from Gali's report that he accomplished anything in particular.
He reached the coast in latitude 37.30' (Pillar Point), and noted
that the land was high and fair ; that the mountains* were without
snow, and that there were many indications of rivers, bays, and
havens along the coast.
In 1594, Captain Sebastian Cermenon, a Portuguese sailor in
the service of Spain, sailed for the Philippines with orders similar
to those of Gali. In an attempt to survey the coast, he lost his
ship, the San Agustin. It is supposed she struck on one of
the Farallones and was beached in Drake's Bay. From the trunk
of a tree they constructed a boat, called a viroco, and in this the
ship's company of more than seventy persons continued the home
ward voyage. The little vessel reached Puerto de Navidad in
* Sierra de Santa Lucia. 17

safety, and here the commander and part of the company left it
in charge of the pilot, Juan de Morgana, with a crew of ten men,
who brought it into Acapulco on the 31st of January, 1596; a
most remarkable voyage of nearly twenty-five hundred miles by
shipwrecked, sick, and hungry men, crowded into an open boat.
With the loss of the San Agustin, explorations of the California
coast by laden ships from the Philippines came to an end.
Sometime prior to the summer of 1595, the viceroy of New
Spain, Don Luis de Velasco, entered into an agreement with certain
persons looking to the exploration of the coasts of the Californias
and the settlement of the land. The consideration for this under
taking, which was to be at the expense of the adventurers, was
the privilege of pearl fishing and trade, together with all the honors,
favors, and exemptions usually given to the pacifiers and settlers
of new provinces. Preparations for the expedition were under
way, when a dispute arose between the leader and his partners
in the enterprise, and the matter was carried into the courts.
Before a decision was reached, the leader died, and the judge or
dered the other partners, among whom was one Sebastian Vizcaino,
to begin the voyage to the Californias within three months. Under
this order, Vizcaino applied to Viceroy Velasco, and received his
permission to make the journey. This was the condition of affairs
when, on October 5, 1596, Velasco was relieved and a new viceroy,
Don Gaspar de Zuniga y Azevedo, Count of Monterey, took com
mand. At Velasco's request, Zuniga made a careful examination
of all matters pertaining to the expedition to the Californias, and
the result was not favorable to Vizcaino. The new viceroy did
not think that an enterprise which might involve results of such
vast importance should be entrusted to the leadership of a person
of such obscure position and limited capital. He also doubted if
Vizcaino had the resolution and capacity necessary for so great an
undertaking, and it appeared to him that if disorders should arise
among his men through lack of discipline, or if the natives of the
country to which he was going should repel him, the repute and
royal authority of the king would be in danger. On the other
hand, there was the decision of the court, the concession of the
viceroy, and the fact that Vizcaino had already been at expense in
the matter. Zuniga communicated his doubts to the former
viceroy, who, in his perplexity, submitted the question to a theo
logian and a jurist, selected as the viceroy writes, from the number
18

of those whose opinions were'entitled to the greatest consideration.
Their decision was that the concession of the viceroy had the force
of an agreement and contract; that what was at first a favor had
become a right, and that, as the captain had manifested no inca
pacity and had been guilty of no offense, the compact could not be
varied. The audiencia*, before whom Zuniga also laid the matter,
was of like opinion. In view, therefore, of the length to which
the affair had gone, the viceroy resolved not to annul the contract
but to do all in his power to insure the success of the expedition.
That Vizcaino's soldiers might respect and esteem him, the viceroy
clothed him with authority and showed him the greatest honor.
He required Vizcaino to furnish him with complete memorandums
and inventories of the ships and lanchas he intended to take with
him, with their sails and tackle, the number of people, and the
provisions for them, arms, ammunition, and all other property,
and he instructed the royal officers at Acapulco that the expedition
must not be permitted to sail until it was fully provided with every
thing necessary for the voyage and the safety of the people. The
Council of the Indies, on receiving Zuniga's report, ordered him
to cancel Vizcaino's commission and select another leader for the
expedition, but before this order could reach the viceroy, Vizcaino
had sailed. The expedition consisted of the flagship San Fran
cisco, six hundred tons; the San Jose, a smaller ship, under
command of Captain Rodrigo de Figueroa, and a lancha. Vizcaino
sailed from Acapulco in March, 1596. His first stop was at the port
of Calagua on the coast of Colima, where he took on some of his
people and stores, and to this point the watchful viceroy sent a
personal representative to see that Vizcaino complied with all of
his requirements, and to report on the conduct of his soldiers.
From here Vizcaino sailed northwest to Cape Corrientes, thence
northerly to the Islands of San Juan de Mazatlan. From Mazatlan
he bore west-northwest across the Gulf of California and landed
in a large bay which he named San Felipe, afterwards known as
the Bay of Cerralbo. From here he went to La Paz bay, which
he so named because of the peaceful character of the Indians,
who received him hospitably with presents of fish, game, and fruits.
This was, it is supposed, the place where Jimenez, the discoverer
of California, lost his life in 1533, and where C6rtez planted his
ill-fated colony two years later. In entering the bay, the flagship
* Audiencia, the highest judicial body. 19

ran on a shoal, and they were obliged to cut away her masts and
lighten her of her cargo of provisions, a great part of which was
wet and lost. Here Vizcaino landed and built a stockade fort, and
leaving the dismantled flagship and the married men of his com
pany under command of his lieutenant, Figueroa, he sailed on
October 3rd, with the San Jose and the lancha and eighty men
to explore the gulf. He encountered severe storms which sepa
rated his vessels, and not having proper discipline among his men,
had trouble with the Indians of the coast, during which nineteen
men were lost by the overturning of the ship's long boat. He
turned back to La Paz, where his men, disheartened by the storms
and the loss of their comrades, demanded to be returned to New
Spain. His stock of provisions was running low, and putting the
disaffected on the flagship and the lancha, he sent them back,
and with the San Jose" and forty of the more adventurous of
the men, again sailed, on October 28th, for the headwaters of the
gulf. For sixty-six days he battled against strong north winds,
and only succeeded in reaching latitude twenty-nine; then yielding
to the demands of his men, he sailed for the port of the Isles of
Mazatlan. The results of the expedition did not add to Vizcaino's reputation,
but he made a most glowing report of his discoveries. He told of
a land double the extent of New Spain and in situation much prefer
able; its seas abounding in pearls of excellent quality and in fish
of all kinds, in quantity greater than was contained in any other
discovered sea ; while in the interior of the land, some twenty days'
journey to the northwest, were people who lived in towns, wore
clothes, had gold and silver ornaments, cloaks of cotton, maize
and provisions, fowls of the country (turkeys), and of Castile
(chickens); thus the Indians told him — not only in one place but
in many. He desired permission to make another voyage, and as
the late expedition had exhausted his own resources, asked that
he be granted thirty-five thousand dollars from the royal treasury
and outfitting for his ships. These advances he agreed to repay
from the first gain received by him during the voyage. He also
asked, on behalf of those who accompanied him, that the countries
brought by him into subjection to the crown be given to them
encomienda for five lives;* that they be made gentlemen and
* The system of encomienda conferred feudal rights upon the discoverers. The Indians
became vassals of Spanish lords. 20

granted all the favors, exemptions, and liberties that other gentle
men enjoy, not only in the provinces of the Indies but also in Spain.
For these and for other favors asked, Vizcaino agreed to sail with
five ships, equipped with proper artillery, one hundred and fifty
men, arms and ammunition, provisions, etc. — all things necessary
for the voyage. He would pay the king one-fifth part of all gold,
precious stones and valuable mineral substances obtained, one-
tenth part of the fish taken, and one-twentieth part of the salt
obtained. He also agreed to make discovery of the whole ensenada
and gulf of the Californias, take possession of the land in the name
of his majesty, make settlements, build forts, and explore the
country inland for a distance of one hundred leagues.
Vizcaino's rose-colored report did not deceive the authorities,
but as he had the necessary outfit and had had some experience,
the Council decided that he was the best man to head the expe
dition, though Zuniga favored Don Gabriel Maldonado, of Saville,
for commander. The Council ordered that Vizcaino be supplied
from the royal treasury with all necessary funds; it granted the
boon of encomienda for three Uves, and that the discoverers should
have all the privUeges of gentlemen throughout the Indies. It also
granted other minor privUeges and boons asked for. Vizcaino was
made captain-general of the expedition, and sailed from Acapulco
May 5, 1602, with orders to explore the coasts of the Californias
from Cape San Lucas to Cape Mendocino, or as far north as lati
tude forty-two. His ships were the San Diego, flagship, the
Santo Tomas, under Toribio Gomez de Corvan, the Tres Reyes,
a small fragata or tender, under Alferez Martin AguUar, and a
barcolongo for exploring rivers and bays.* The chief pUot of the
expedition was Francisco Bolanos who had been one of the pUots
with Cermenon on the lost San Agustin. Three barefooted
Carmelites looked after the spiritual needs of the adventurers.
The story of this second voyage of Vizcaino is weU known. On
the 10th of November, they were in the Bay of San Diego, which
Vizcaino named for San Diego de Alcala, whose day, November
14th, they spent in the bay, ignoring the name, San Miguel, given
it by CabriUo sixty years before. Later in the month he entered
and named San Pedro bay, for Saint Peter, bishop of Alexandria,
* Vizcaino says he set out on the discovery of the coast of the South Sea with two ships, a
lancha, and a barcoluengo. A lancha was a small vessel having no deck and but one mast,
and propelled by sweeps. Vanegas calls the vessel a fragata. A barcoluengo, or barcolongo,
was a long open boat. 21

whose day, November 26th, it was. He also named the islands
stUl known as Santa Catalina and San Clemente. He next sailed
through and named the Canal de Santa Barbara, which saint's
day, December 4th, was observed whUe in the channel, and also
named Isla de Santa Barbara and Isla de San Nfcolas. Passing
Punta de la Concepcion, which he named,* Vizcaino saUed up
the coast in a thick fog, which Ufting on December 14th, revealed
to the voyagers the lofty coast range usuaUy sighted by the ships
coming from the PhUippines. Four leagues beyond they saw a
river flowing from high hiUs through a beautiful valley to the sea.
To the mountains he gave the name of Sierra de la Santa Lucfa,
in honor of the Saint whose day (December 13th) they had just
celebrated, and the stream he named Rio del Carmelo, in honor
of the Carmelite friars. Rounding a high wooded point, which he
named Punta de los Pinos, he dropped anchor in Monterey bay,
December 16th, 1602. Here Vizcaino found the much desired
harbor of refuge, and he named it for his patron, the Conde de
Monterey. Vizcaino made the most of his discovery, and in a letter
to the king, written in Monterey Bay, December 28, 1602, f he
gives a most glowing description of the bay, which is, at best, but
an open roadstead. The Indians, as usual, told him of large cities
in the interior, which they invited him to visit, but Vizcaino could
not tarry. His provisions were almost gone, his men were sick
with scurvy, of which many had died, and putting the most helpless
on board the Santo Tomas, he sent her to Acapulco for aid, and
sailed, January 3, 1603, with the flagship and fragata, for the north.
A storm soon separated the vessels and they did not see each other
again until they met in the harbor of Acapulco. Vizcaino was told
by the pUot, Bolanos, that Cermefion had left in Drake's Bay a
large quantity of wax and several chests of sUk, and he entered the
bay on January 8th to see if any vestiges remained of ship or cargo.
He did not land, but awaited the arrival of the fragata. As she
did not appear, he became uneasy, and saUed the next morning
in search of her. On the 13th, a violent gale from the southeast
drove him northward. This was followed by a dense fog, and
when it lifted, he found himsetf in latitude forty-two — the limit of
his instructions — with Cape Blanco in sight, "and the trend of the
* The second voyage of Vizcaino is of particular interest to Californians for the reason that
the names given by him to the various geographical features of the coast still remain. The
Particulars of the first voyage are taken largely from the publications of the Southern California
historical Society of documents in the Sutro collection.
t Sutro Col. Pub. Southern California Hist. Socy.

coast line onward," he writes, "towards Japan and Great China,
which are but a short run away." Only six of his men were now
able to keep the deck, and he bore away for Acapulco, where he
arrived March 21, 1603. Of the company that saUed with him,
forty-two had died.
In 1606, PhiUp III, King of Spain, ordered that Monterey be
occupied and provision made there to succor and refit the Philippine
ships. He directed that to Vizcaino should be given the command
of the expedition. His orders were not carried out and Vizcaino
sailed instead for Japan, whence he returned in 1613, and died
three years later.
For over one hundred and sixty years, no steps were taken for
the pacification and settlement of Alta California. The galleons
continued to make then: yearly voyages to the Philippines, and
returning, sail down the coast within sight of the fair land; but no
harbor of refuge was established and no attempt was made to
colonize the country.
At last the Spanish king began to realize that if he would retain
his possessions in America, some action was necessary for their
protection. Spanish sovereignty in the Pacific was threatened.
The Russians had crossed Bering Sea, had estabUshed themselves
on the coast of Alaska, and their hunters were extending then-
pursuit of the sea otter into more southern waters. England had
wrested Canada from France and was ready to turn her attention
to the American possessions of Spain. The FamUy Compact of
the Bourbon princes of France, Spain, and Italy had aroused the
ire of Pitt, then at the zenith of his fame, and he resolved to demand
an explanation from Spam, and, failing to receive it, attack her at
home and abroad before she was prepared, declaring that it was
time for humbling the whole house of Bourbon. A check in the
cabinet caused Pitt's resignation, but in 1766 he was again restored
to power with vigor and arrogance unabated.
On February 27, 1767, Don Carlos III of Spam issued his famous
decree expelling the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions. This
society had established a number of missions in Lower California,
and Don Gaspar de Portola, a captain of dragoons of the Regiment
of Spain, was appointed governor of the Californias and sailed
from Tepic with twenty-five dragoons, twenty-five infantry, and
fourteen Franciscan friars to dispossess the Jesuits and turn the
California missions over to the Franciscans. 23

The king having been warned of the advance of the Russians
upon the northern coasts of California, ordered the viceroy of New
Spain to take effective measures to guard that part of his dominions
from danger of invasion and insult. WhUe the viceroy was casting
about to find a person of sufficient importance and ability to organize
and carry out so great an undertaking, Don Jose de Galvez, visitador-
general of the kingdom and member of the CouncU of the Indies,
offered his services and volunteered to go to Lower California and
effect the organization and equipment of the expedition. His
services were eagerly accepted, and Galvez set out from the City
of Mexico, AprU 9, 1768, for San Bias, on the coast of New Galicia.
Before arriving at that port, he was overtaken by a courier from
the viceroy bringing orders just received from the court directing
that a maritime expedition should be at once dispatched to Mon
terey and that port fortified. Convening the Junta at San Bias
on the 16th of May, 1768, the senor visitador laid before them the
situation and the wishes of the king. He stated that on the exterior
or occidental coasts of the Californias, Spain claimed from Cape
San Lucas on the south to the Rio de los Reyes* in 43 degrees,
though the only portion occupied was from Cape San Lucas up to
30° 30'. f The civUized or Christian portion of the community
(gente de razon — people of reason) did not, he said, number more
than four hundred souls, including the famUies of the soldiers of
the garrison of Loreto and those of the miners in the south; that
if foreigners of any nation were to establish themselves in the
celebrated ports of San Diego and Monterey, they might fortify
themselves there before the government could receive notice of it.
In all the Sea of the South that washes the shores of New Spam
there were no other vessels than the two packet-boats recently
buUt in San Bias, the San Carlos and the San Antonio, and
two others of smaU tonnage which served the Jesuit missionaries
in their communications between California and the coast of
Sonora. In these few ships consisted aU the maritime forces
which could have been opposed to foreign invasion. AU this
Galvez laid before the Junta, there being present the commandant
of the department and the army officers and pilots who chanced
to be there. It was resolved to send an expedition by sea in the
San Carlos and San Antonio, and orders were made to prepare
* Prof. George Davidson identifies the Rio de los Reyes as Rogue River in 42° 25'.
f About Cape San Quintin, the latitude of their northernmost mission.
24

the ships, whUe Galvez proceeded to the peninsula to attend to the
gathering of supplies and provisions. All the missions of Lower
California were laid under contribution of vestments and sacred
vessels for the new missions to be established, also dried fruits,
wine, oU, riding horses and mule herd; for Galvez had decided to
supplement the maritime expedition by one by land, lest the infinite
risks and dangers attending a long sea-voyage should render the
attempt abortive. The governor, Don Gaspar de Portola, volun
teered to lead the expedition, and he was named commander-in-
chief. Don Fernando de Rivera y Moncado, captain of the presidio
of Loreto, was appointed second in command. The troops were
composed of forty cavalrymen from the presidio of Loreto in Lower
California, under Rivera, and twenty-five infantrymen of the
compania franca of Catalonia, under Lieutenant Don Pedro Fages.
To the presidial troops were joined thirty Christian Indians from
the missions, armed with bows and arrows. These were intended
for the land expedition. The mission of Santa Maria, the northern
most mission on the peninsula, was the rendezvous of the land
forces, and from Loreto four lighters loaded with provisions for the
land expedition were sent up the gulf to the bay of San Luis Gon-
zaga, the nearest point to the mission of Santa Maria, whither also
went by land the troops, muleteers, and vaqueros, with the herd of
every sort. Finding insufficient pasturage for the cattle at Santa
Maria, they advanced to Velicata, some thirty miles distant, and
here was assembled the land expedition. In addition to the officers
named, Don Miguel Costans6, ensign of royal engineers, was
ordered to join the expedition as cosmographer and diarist, and
Don Pedro Prat was appointed physician. To minister to the sol
diers and take charge of the missions to be estabUshed in the new
land, the following missionary priests, all of the coUege of San
Fernando in Mexico, were named to accompany the expedition.
Fray Junipero Serra, appointed president of the missions of Alta
California, Fray Juan Crespi, Fray Fernando Parron, Fray Juan
Vizcaino, and Fray Francisco Gomez.
On the 6th of January, 1769, at the port of La Paz, the San
Carlos was loaded and ready for sea. The venerable Father
Junipero Serra sang mass aboard her, and with other devotional
exercises blessed the ship and the standards. The visitador named
the Senor San Jose" patron of the expedition, and in a fervent exhor
tation, kindled the spirits of those about to saU. These were Don
25

Pedro Fages, with his twenty-five Catalans of the 1st bataUion
2d regiment, Voluntarios de Calaluna, Alferez Miguel Costans6,
Surgeon Don Pedro Prat, and Padre Fernando Parron. The ship
was commanded by Don Vicente VUa, lieutenant of the royal navy;
the mate was Don Jorge Estorace, and twenty-three saUors, two
boys, four cooks, and two blacksmiths made up the rest of the
ship's company — sixty-two in all. They embarked on the night
of January 9th and sailed on the 10th. Galvez appointed Fages
gefe de las armas — chief of the mUitary expedition at sea, and
instructed him to retain command of the soldiers on land until
the arrival of the governor at Monterey.* On the 15th of February,
Father Junipero performed like offices for the San Antonio,
and she saUed the same day under command of Don Juan Perez,
"of the navigation of the PhUippines," carrying Frays Vizcaino
and Gomez, some carpenters, blacksmiths, and cooks, that, with the
saUors, made some ninety persons, aU told, on both ships. The
rendezvous was San Diego bay, where all were to meet.
The land expedition was divided into two parts. The first
division, under Rivera, started from Velicata March 24 th, and the
second, under command of the governor, started May 15th. With
Rivera were Padre Crespi, Pilotin (Mate) Jose Cafiizares. Twenty-
five soldados de cuera,\ three muleteers, and eleven Christian
Indians — forty-two men. With the governor marched Junipero
Serra, fifteen soldados de cuera, under Sergeant Jose Francisco de
Ortega, two servants, muleteers and Indians — forty-four in all.
The previous day, May 14, 1769, being Easter Sunday, Junipero
established the Mission of San Fernando with Fray Miguel de la
Campa as Minister. For the succor and relief of the forces, both
sea and land, Galvez built, at San Bias, a ship which he named in
honor of the protector of the expedition, the San Jose, and load
ing her with supplies and provisions, sent her with orders to meet
the expedition at Monterey. She was lost at sea.
There is very little of interest in this march of some two hundred
mUes through a barren country to the bay of San Diego. Junipero's
diary lies before me ;$ it is a dreary recital of small incidents of the
march, the Indians they met, the barrancas they crossed, with
pious comments, etc.; no course, no distances traveled, or other
* Instruction que ha de observar el Teniente de Inf anteria. Dn Pedro Fages, S enero de
1769. Provincial Slate Papers; i, 38.9, Ms. Spanish Archives of California.
t So-called from the cuera, a leathern jacket worn by them as a defensive armor.
t Oat West. March- July, 1902. 26

CARRYING THE SICK
•Transportar en Xamus al modo que Caminan las Mujeres en Andalucia

Uke information necessary to an understanding of the route and
country. As a diarist, he is not to be compared with Crespi. On
June 20th they came first in sight of the sea at the Ensenada de
Todos Santos ; thence their journey was by the sea until they came
to the rendezvous. As they drew near to San Diego, their Indian
aUies began to desert, evidently in fear of the Dieguefios, whom they
began to meet in numbers and who proved a rascaUy lot. They
thronged the camp and became a perfect nuisance with their begging
and stealing. They begged from Junipero his robe and from the
governor his cuera, waistcoat, breeches, and aU he had on. One
of them succeeding in inducing Junipero to take off his spectacles
to show them to hhn and as soon as he got them in his hands made
off with them, causing the priest a thousand difficulties to recover
them. On the 27th of June Sergeant Ortega, with his scouts, pushed
on to San Diego and announced to the anxious camp the proximity
of the governor. Rivera sent ten of his soldiers with fresh horses
back with Ortega, and Portola, in advance of his command, reached
the camp June 29th, and the entire division arrived, June 30th, in
good order and condition, forty-six days from Velicata.
Let us anticipate their arrival and ascertain the fate of the
other divisions of the expedition. For more than a century and a
half the placid waters of San Diego bay had lain undisturbed by
any craft more formidable than the tule rafts (balsas de enea) of
the natives, when on the 11th of AprU, 1769, a sUent ship slowly
entered the bay and dropped her anchor not far from the point
where now the ferry boat for Coronado leaves the sUp. It was the
San Antonio, the first arrival at the rendezvous. No attempt
was made to land, for they were alone and dread scurvy had them
in its grip. Two had died, and most of the ship's company were
sick. On the 29th, the San Carlos arrived, 110 days from
La Paz, with her company in even worse condition. All were sick,
some had died, and only four saUors remained on their feet, aided
in working the ship by such of the soldiers as were able to help.
She had been driven far out of her course ; had found herself short
of water, and had to put into the island of Cedros to supply herself,
and it was with the greatest difficulty she reached the bay of San
Diego. The first thing to be done was to find good water and to
minister to the sick. For this purpose there landed, on May 1st,
Don Pedro Fages, Don Miguel Costanso, and Don Jorge Estorace,
with twenty-five men — soldiers, saUors, etc., aU who were able to
27

do duty, and, proceeding up the shore, found, by direction of some
Indians, a river of good mountain water at a distance of three
leagues to the northeast. Moving their ships as near as they could,
they prepared on the beach a camp, which they surrounded with a
parapet of earth and fascines, and mounted two cannon. Within
they made two large hospital tents from the saUs and awnings of
the ships, and set up the tents of the officers and priests. Then
they transferred the sick. The labor was immense, for aU were
sick, and the list of those able to perform duty daily grew smaller.
The difficulties of their situation were very great. Nearly all the
medicines and food had been consumed during the long voyage,
and Don Pedro Prat, the surgeon, himself sick with scurvy, sought
in the fields with a thousand anxieties some healing herbs, of which
he himself was in as sore need as the others. The cold made itself
felt with vigor at night and the sun burned them by day — alter
nations which made the sick suffer cruelly, two or three of them
dying every day, untU the whole sea expedition which had been
composed of more than ninety men, found itself reduced to eight
soldiers and as many saUors hi a state to attend to the safeguarding
of the ships, the working of the launches, the custody of the camp,
and the care of the sick.
There was no news whatever of the land divisions. The neigh
borhood of the fort was dUigently searched for tracks of a horse
herd, but none were discovered. They did not know what to think
of this delay. At length, on the 14th of May, the Indians gave
notice to some soldiers on the beach that from the direction of the
south men mounted on horses and armed as they, were coming.
It was the first land division under Rivera, fifty days from Velicata,
without the loss of a man or having a sick one; but they were on
half rations ; they had only three sacks of flour left and were issuing
two tortillas* per day to each man. Great was the rejoicing in the
camp of the sick over the arrival of Rivera's force. It was now
resolved to remove the camp near to the river. This was done,
and a new camp established on a hill in what is now known as
"Old Town," where a stockade was made and the cannon mounted.
The surgeon, Pedro Prat, devoted himself to the sick, but the deaths
continued, until of the ninety and more who had saUed from
La Paz, two-thirds were laid under the sand of Punta de los Muertos.f
* Pancakes.
t Bead Men's Point. The name has disappeared from the modern maps, but is found on
all the old ones. It is the foot of H street where the cars for the Coronado ferry turn on to the
wharf. 28

It was now thought best to send one of the packets to San Bias to
inform the viceroy and the visitador of the state of the expedition,
and it was feared that if this were longer delayed, the ship would
be unable to put to sea for lack of mariners. The San Antonio
was selected for this purpose, and was prepared for sea, but as she
was about to saU, the camp was thrown into an ecstacy of joy by
the arrival of Portola and the second division, sound in body, and
with 163 mules laden with provisions. The governor promptly
informed himself of the condition of affairs, and desirous that the
senor visitador's orders concerning the sea expedition should be
carried out, offered to Captain VUa of the San Carlos sixteen
men of his command to work the ship, that he might pursue the
voyage to Monterey. As VUa had lost all his ship's officers, boat
swain, storekeeper, coxswain of the launch, and there was not a
sailor among the men offered by Portola, he declined to go to sea
under such conditions. AU the avaUable saUors were therefore
placed on board the San Antonio, and she sailed for San Bias,
June 8th, with eight men only for a crew.
The governor now proceeded to organize his force for the march
to Monterey. He determined to move at once, lest the advancing
season should expose them to the danger of having the passes of
the sierra closed by snow, as even at San Diego those who came
by sea reported the sierras covered with snow on their arrival in
AprU. On the 14th of July, Portola began his march to Monterey,
distant one hundred and fifty-nine leagues. His force consisted of
Sergeant Ortega, with twenty-seven soldados de cuera under
Rivera, Fages with six Catalan volunteers — aU that could travel,
Ensign Costans6, the priests, Crespi and Gomez, seven muleteers,
fifteen Christian Indians from the missions of Lower California,
and two servants — sixty-four in all. Both Fages and Costansd
were sick with scurvy, but joined the command notwithstanding.
The personnel of this expedition contains some of the best known
names in California. Portola, the first governor; Rivera, co-
mandante of California from 1773 to 1777, kUled in the Yuma revolt
on the Colorado in 1781; Fages, first comandante of California,
1769-1773, governor, 1782-1790; Ortega, pathfinder, explorer,
discoverer of the Golden Gate and of Carquines Strait;* Ueutenant
* I am well aware that this claim will be disputed by one whose study of original documents
and power of analysis make him perhaps the greatest authority on early California History;
but I am nevertheless prepared to maintain my position.
29

and brevet captain, comandante of the presidio of San Diego, of
Santa Barbara, and of Monterey; founder of the presidio of Santa
Barbara and of the missions of San Juan Capistrano and San
Buenaventura. Among the rank and file were men whose names
are not less known : Pedro Amador, who gave his name to Amador
county; Juan Bautista Alvarado, grandfather of Governor Alva
rado; Jose" Raimundo CarrUlo, later alferez, lieutenant, and cap
tain, comandante of the presidio of Monterey, of Santa Barbara,
and of San Diego, and founder of the great CarrUlo famUy; Jose"
Antonio Yorba, sergeant of Catalonia volunteers, founder of the
famUy of that name and grantee of the Rancho Santiago de Santa
Ana; Pablo de Cota, Jose" Ignacio Oliveras, Jose Maria Soberanes,
and others.
At San Diego, Portola left the sick under the care of the faithful
surgeon, Prat, and a guard of ten cuera soldiers; Captain VUa of
the San Carlos, with a few seamen; Frays Junipero Serra, Juan
Vizcaino, and Fernando Parron, a carpenter, a blacksmith, and a
few Lower California Indians, some forty persons in aU. The
governor also left with them a sufficient number of horses and
mules and about sixty loads* of provisions. On July 16th, two
days after the Portola expedition started, Junipero founded, with
appropriate ceremonies, the mission of San Diego de Alcala, the
first mission established in Alta California. The deaths continued,
and before Portola's return in January, eight soldiers, four saUors,
one servant, and eight Indians died, leaving but about twenty
persons at the camp.
We will now follow the governor. Relying somewhat on the
supply ship, San Jose, which was to meet him at Monterey, but
which, as we have seen, was lost at sea, and also on the supplies
to be brought [by the San Antonio, the governor, knowing the
uncertainties of a sea voyage, took with him one hundred mules
loaded with provisions, sufficient, he concluded, to last him for six
months. On the march the foUowing order was observed. Sergeant
Ortega, with six or eight soldiers, went in advance, laid out the
route, selected the camping place, and cleared the way of hostUe
Indians by whom he was frequently surrounded. At the head of
the column rode the comandante, with Fages, Costansd, the two

* Carga, 27S lbs. 30

priests, and an escort of six Catalonia volunteers; next came the
sappers and miners, composed of Indians, with spades, mattocks,
crowbars, axes, and other implements used by pioneers; these
were foUowed by the main body divided into four bands of pack-
animals, each with its muleteers and a guard of presidial soldiers.
The last was the rear guard, commanded by Captain Rivera, con
voying the spare horses and mules {caballada y mulada).
The presidial soldiers were provided with two kinds of arms,
offensive and defensive. The defensive consisted of the cuera
(leather jacket) and the adarga (shield).* The first, being made
in the form of a coat without sleeves, was composed of six or seven
thicknesses of dressed deer skins impervious to the Indian arrows,
except at very short range. The adarga was of two thicknesses of
raw bulls-hide, borne on the left arm, and so managed by the
trooper as to defend himself and his horse against the arrows and
spears of the Indians; in addition, they used a species of apron of
leather, fastened to the pommel of the saddle, with a fall to each
side of the horse down to the stirrup, wide enough to cover the
thigh and a leg of the horesman, and protect him when riding
through the brush. This apron was called the armas. Then-
offensive arms were the lance, which they managed with great
dexterity on horseback, the broadsword, and a short musket, car
ried in a case. Costansd, who was an officer of the regular army,
bears testimony to the unceasing labor of the presidial soldiers of
California on this march, and says they were men capable of endur
ing much fatigue, obedient, resolute, and active ; "and it is not too
much to say that they are the best horsemen in the world, and
among the best soldiers who gain their bread in the service of the
king."t It must be understood that the marches of these troops"' with
such a train through an unknown country and by unused paths,
could not be long ones. It was necessary to explore the land one
day for the march of the next, and the camp for the day was some
times regulated by the distance to be traveled to the next place
where water, fuel, and pastures could be had. The distance made
was from two to four leagues,J and the command rested every

* Hence the presidial soldiers were called Soldados de Cuera and so distinguished from
soldiers of the regular army.
t Diario Hietorico de los viages de Mar y de Herra hichos al norte de la California. Ms.
Original in Sutro Library.
t The league is the Spanish league of 5,000 varas. 2.63 miles.
31

four days, more or less, according to the fatigue caused by the
roughness of the road, the toU of the pioneers, the wandering off
of the beasts, or the necessities of the sick. Costanso says that
one of their greatest difficulties was in the control of their caballada
(horse-herd), without which the journey could not be made. In
a country they do not know, horses frighten themselves by night
in the most incredible manner. To stampede them, it is enough
for them to discover a coyote or fox. The flight of a bird, the dust
flung by the wind — any of these are capable of terrifying them and
causing them to run many leagues, precipitating themselves over
barrancas and precipices, without any human effort availing to
restrain them. Afterwards it costs immense toU to gather them
again, and those that are not kUled or crippled, remain of no service
for some time. In the form and manner stated, the Spaniards
made their marches, traversing immense lands, which grew more
fertile and pleasing as they progressed northward.
The expedition foUowed practicaUy the route which afterwards
became the Camino Real. Its fourth Jornada (day's journey)
brought it to the pretty vaUey where later was established the
mission of San Luis Rey. They caUed it San Juan Capistrano,
but that name was afterwards transferred to a mission forty mUes
north of this place. The command rested here, July 19th. Resum
ing the march on the 20th, the sierra (San Onofre), whose base
they were skirting, drew so near the sea that it seemed to threaten
their advance, but by keeping close to the shore, they held then-
way, and on the 24th they encamped on a fine stream of water
running through a mesa at the foot of a sierra, whence looking
across the sea, they could descry Santa Catalina Island. This was
San Juan Capistrano, and here they rested on the 25th. On the
28th they reached the Santa Ana river, near the present town of
that name; a violent shock of earthquake which they experienced
caused them to name the river Jesus de los Temblores.* July
30th and 31st they were in the San Gabriel valley, which they called
San Miguel, and on August 1st they rested near the site of the
present city of Los Angeles. The stop this day, in addition to the
needed rest and the necessity for exploration, was to give oppor
tunity for the soldiers and people of the expedition to gain the great

* They also gave it the name of Santa Ana, whose day, July 26th, they had just observed.
32

indulgence of Porchincula.* The priests said mass and the sacra
ment was administered. In the afternoon the soldiers went to
hunt and brought in an antelope (barrendo), with which the land
seemed to abound. The next day they crossed the Los Angeles
river by the site of the present city, and named it Rio de Nuestra
Sefiora de Los Angeles de Porchincula. •)• Passing up the river,
they went through the canon and came into the San Fernando
valley, which they called VaUe de Santa Catalina de los Encinos
— VaUey of St. Catherine of the Oaks. Five days they spent in the
vaUey, and crossing the Santa Susana mountains, perhaps by the
Tapo canon, they came to the Santa Clara river near the site of
Camulos, and there rested, August 9th. Portola named the river
Santa Clara, which name it still bears, in honor of the saint, whose
day, August 12th, was observed by them. Five days, by easy
jornadas, they traveled down the river, and arrived on the 14th
at the first rancheria% of the Channel Indians. It being the vespers
of the feast of La Asuncion de Nuestra Sefiora, Portola named the
vUlage La Asuncion. It contained about thirty large, well-con
structed houses of clay and rushes, and each house held three or
four famUies. These Indians were of good size, weU-formed,
active, industrious, and very skillful in constructing boats, wooden
bowls, and other articles. Portola thought this pueblo must be
the one named by Cabrillo, Pueblo de Canoas (Pueblo of the Boats).
This was the site selected for the mission of San Buenaventura,
founded March 31, 1782. The natives received them kindly, gave
them an abundance of food, and showed them their weU-made
boats, twenty-four feet long, made of pine boards tied together
with cords and covered with asphaltum, and capable of carrying
ten men each. The next four days they foUowed the beach and
camped, on August 18th, at a large laguna, called by them
La Laguna de la Concepcion. This was the site of the future
presidio and mission of Santa Barbara. Everywhere were large
populous rancherias of the Indians, and everywhere they were

* Sometimes called the Grand Pardon of Assisi — the great indulgence of the Franciscans.
Originally granted to St. Francis for the Church of Our Lady of the Angeles of Porchincula,
it was, by apostolic indult, expanded to accompany the child of St. Francis wherever he may
be. It is enough for him to erect an altar and that altar will be to him St. Mary of the Angels,
and he will there find the Porciiincula of the revelations. Whoso confesses and receives the
sacrament in the church of Porciiincula is granted plenary remission of his sins in this world
and the next. This indulgence is only for August 2d — that is, from the afternoon of August 1st
until sunset of August 2d.
t It is to this incident that the city of Los Angeles owes its name. The full baptismal name
of the city is Nuestra Senora La Reina de los Angeles— Our Lady the Queen of the Angels.
It was founded in 1781, by royal order, the second pueblo established in California.
X Rancheria is the name given to an Indian village or town.
33

received in the most hospitable manner and provided with more
food than they could eat. The next stop was three leagues beyond,
on the shore of a large lagoon and marsh, containing a good-sized
island on which was a large rancheria, whUe four others lined the
banks of the lagoon. Portola gave to this group the name In
Mediaciones de las Rancherias de Mescaltitan — The Contiguous
Rancherias of Mescaltitan. The name of Mescaltitan is stUl
attached to the island, though the marsh is mostly drained and
contains some of the finest walnut groves in California. On the
28th, they turned Point Concepcion and camped just north at a
place called by them Paraje de los Pedernales. Point Pedernales,
about five miles beyond, preserves the name. On the 30th they
crossed a large river, which they named the Santa Rosa, in honor
of that saint, whose day it was. This is now the Santa Inez, so
called from the mission of that name, established on its bank in
1804. Passing northward along the beach, a sharp spur of the
sierra jutting out at Point Sal turned them inland through the
little pass followed by the Southern Pacific Coast Line, and they
came, on September 10th, to a large lake in the northwest corner
of Santa Barbara county, to which was given the name of Laguna
Larga, now known as Guadalupe Lake. Three leagues beyond,
they camped at a lake named by Costanso, Laguna Redonda, but
which the soldiers caUed El Oso Flaco — The Thin Bear — and it is
stUl known by that name. Here Sergeant Ortega was taken ill,
and ten of the soldiers complained of sore feet. They rested on
the 3d, and on the 4th reached the mouth of the San Luis canon.
Here they were hospitably received by the chief of a large rancheria,
whose appearance caused the soldiers to apply to him the name
of "El Buchon," he having a large tumor hanging from his neck.
Father Crespi did not approve of the name which the soldiers
applied to the chief, his rancheria, and to the canon leading up to
San Luis Obispo, and he named the vUlage San Ladislao. As in
so many cases the good father was unable to make the name he
gave stick, the saint has been ignored, but Point Buchon, just
above Point Harford and Mount Buchon, otherwise known as
Bald Knob, bear witness to the staying qualities of the tumor on
the chief's neck. Passing up the narrow canon of San Luis creek,
. they camped at or near the site of the mission and city of San Luis
Obispo. From here, instead of proceeding over the Sierra de Santa
Lucia by the Cuesta pass into the upper Salinas vaUey, whence the
34

march to Monterey would have been easy, they turned to the west
and foUowed the Canada de los Osos to the sea at Monro Bay, which
they caUed El Estero de San Serafin. The Canada de los Osos,*
stUl so called, they named because of a fight with some very fierce
bears, one of which they succeeded in kiUing after it had received
nine balls. Another wounded the mules, and the hunters with
difficulty saved their lives.
The travelers now marched up the coast untU, on the 13th,
they came to a point where further progress was disputed by the
Sierra de Santa Lucia. This was where a spur from the sierra
terminating in Mount Mars, blocks the passage by the beach and
presents a bold front, rising three thousand feet from the water.
Camping at the foot of the sierra, Portola sent out the explorers
under Rivera to find a passage through the mountains. During
the 14th and 15th, the pioneers labored to open a way into the
sierra through San Carp6foro canon, and on the 16th the command
moved up the steep and narrow gulch, with inaccessible mountains
on either side. It is impossible to follow theh route through this
rugged mountain range with any degree of accuracy. Then-
progress was slow and painful. On the 20th, they toUed up an
exceedingly high ridge to the north, and from its summit the
Spaniards looked upon a boundless sea of mountains, "presenting,"
writes Crespi, "a. sad prospect to us poor travelers worn out with
the fatigue of the journey." The cold was beginning to be severe,
and many of the men were suffering from scurvy and unfit for
service, which increased the hardship for aU; yet they did not
falter but pressed bravely on, and on the 26th emerged from the
mountains by the Arroyo Seco, which they named the Canada del
Palo Caidof (Valley of the Fallen Tree), and camped on the Salinas
river, which they christened Rio de San Elizario. From now on
the march is an easy one down the Salinas valley to the sea.
On the last day of September, the command halted near the
mouth of the Salinas river, within sound of the ocean, though they
could not see it. They were persuaded that they were not far from
the desired port of Monterey and that the mountain range they
had crossed was unquestionably that of the Santa Lucia, described
by Torquemada in his history of the voyage of Vizcaino, and shown
on the chart of the pUot Cabrera Bueno. The governor ordered

* The Valley of the Bears.
t The diarists applied the word Canada to either a cafion or an open valley.
35

the explorers to go out and ascertain on what part of the coast
they were. On the morrow, Rivera, with eight soldiers, explored
the coast to the southward, marching along the shore of the very
port they were seeking, whUe Portola, with Costansd, Crespi, and
five soldiers, cUmbed a hill from whose top they saw a great ensenada,
the northern point of which extended a long way into the sea,
and bore northwest at a distance of eight maritime leagues, while
on the south a hill ran out into the sea in the form of a point, and
appeared to be wooded with pines. They recognized the one on
the north as the Punta de Ano Nuevo and that on the south as
Punta de Pinos, whUe between the two lay the great ensenada,*
with its dreary sand dunes. This was as laid down in the coast
pilot (derretero) of Cabrera Bueno, but where was the famous
port of Monterey?
They thought that perhaps they had passed Monterey in the
great circuit they had made through the mountain ranges. For
three days the search was continued. Rivera reported that south
of the Point of Pines and between it and another point to the south
(Point Carmelo) was a small ensenada, where a stream of water
came down from the mountains and emptied into an estero; that
beyond this the coast was so high and impenetrable they were
obliged to turn back, and he beheved that it was the same sierra
which compelled them to leave the coast on the 16th of September.
Much perplexed by these reports, the governor called a councU
of officers to deliberate as to the best course to pursue. On Wednes
day, October 4th, the councU met and after hearing mass, the com
mander laid the matter before them. He set forth the shortness
of their store of provisions, the seventeen men on the sick Ust,
unfit for duty, the excessive burden of labor imposed on the rest
in sentinel duty, care of the animals, and continual explorations,
and to the lateness of the season. In view of these circumstances,
and of the fact that the port of Monterey could not be found where
it was said to be, each person present was called upon to express
freely his opinion.
Costansd spoke first; Vizcaino had put Monterey in 37°; they
had only reached 36° 42'; they should not faU to explore up to
37° 30', so as either to find the port or decide it did not exist.
Fages was for going up to 37° or a little more. Rivera thought

* The word ensenada, much used by the Spanish explorers, means a bight or open roadstead,
not an enclosed and protected bay. 36

they should establish themselves somewhere. Then the resolute
commander determined to go forward and put his trust in God.
If they found the desired port of Monterey and therein the supply-
ship San Jose, aU would be weU. If Monterey did not appear,
they would find a place for a settlement; but if it should be the
wUl of God that all were to perish, they would have discharged
their duty to God and man in laboring until death in their endeavor
to accomplish the enterprise on which they had been sent. To
this decision aU agreed, and signed theh names to the compact.
Ortega and his scouts were now dispatched to lay out the route
and locate camping places for several days in advance, and on the
7th of October, the march was resumed. Sixteen sick men had
now lost use of theh limbs. Each night they were rubbed with oU,
and each morning they were put into hammocks swung between
two mules, tandem, and thus carried in the mode of travel used
by the women of Andalusia.* The march was slow and painful.
Some of the sick were believed to be in the last extremity, and on
October 8th, the holy viaticum was administered to three, who
were thought to be dying.
On this day they crossed the Rio del Pajaro, which they named
because of a great bird the Indians had kUled and stuffed with
straw, and which measured seven feet and four inches from the tip
of one wing to that of the other. It was thought to be a royal
eagle, and that the natives were preparing it for some ceremony
when they were frightened away by the approach of the Spaniards.
Crespi, who stiU had a supply of saints on hand, gave the river the
name La Sefiora Santa Ana, but again the saint was ignored, and
the river is known as the Pajaro (Bird). On the 17th they crossed
and named the Rio de San Lorenzo, at the site of the present city
of Santa Cruz. On the 20th they were at Punta de Ano Nuevo,
and camped at the entrance of the canon of WaddeU creek. They
recognized Point Ano Nuevo from the description given by Cabrera
Bueno, and Crespi estimated that it was one league distant from
the camp. With good water and fuel, the command rested here
the 21st and 22d. Both Portola and Rivera were now added to
the sick list. Meat and vegetables had given out and the rations
were reduced to five tortUlas of bran and flour per day. Crespi
named the camp San Luis Beltran, while the soldiers caUed it

» "Transportar en Xamus al Modo que cominan las mujeres en Andalucia," Crespi: Palou's
Noticias Je la Nueva California, ii. 181. 37

La Canada de Salud. On the 23d, they again moved forward,
passing Punta de Ano Nuevo and, traveling two leagues, camped
probably on Gazos creek, where was a large Indian rancheria,
whose inhabitants received them kindly. This camp, which was
about opposite Pigeon Point, they named Casa Grande, also San
Juan Nepomuceno.* The next Jornada was a long one of four
leagues, and theh camp was on San Gregoria creek. It began to
rain and the command was prostrated by an epidemic of diarrhoea
which spared no one. They now thought they saw theh end,
but the contrary appeared to be the case. The diarrhoea seemed
to reUeve the scurvy, and the swollen limbs of the sufferers began
to be less painful. They named the camp VaUe de los Soldados de
los Cursos, and Crespi appUed the name of Santo Domingo to it.
Unable to travel on the 25th and 26th, but resuming the march
October 27th, they pressed forward. The next stop was Purisima
creek, two short leagues distant, but the way was rough, and the
pioneers had to make roads across three arroyos where the descents
were steep and difficult for the transportation of the invalids. On
the bank of the stream was an Indian rancheria, apparently de
serted. The Spaniards took possession of the huts, but soon came
running forth with cries of "las pulgas! las pulgas!"t They
preferred to camp in the open. The soldiers called the camp
Rancheria de las Pulgas, while Crespi named it San Ibon. On
the 28th they camped on Pilarcitos creek, site of Spanish town
or Half Moon Bay. They named the camp El Llano de los
Ansares — The Plain of the WUd Geese— and Crespi called it San
Simon y San Judas. Every man in the command was Ul; the
medicines were nearly gone and the supply of food very short.
They contemplated killing some of the mules. That night it rained
heavUy and Portola, who was very Ul, decided to rest on the
29th. On Monday, October 30th, they moved forward. Hah Moon
Bay and PiUar Point were noted but no names given. Several
deep arroyos were crossed, some of which requhed the buUding
of bridges to get the animals over. They proceeded up the shore
until a barrier of rock confronted them and disputed the passage.
Here in a rincon (corner) formed by the sierra and sheltered from
the north wind they camped whUe Ortega and his men were sent
out to find a passage over the Montara mountains. A little stream
* The names given on this portion of the route have all disappeared, but are here given
as a suggestion to the Ocean Shore Railroad.
t The Fleas. 38

DISCOVERY OF THE BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO
' From the summit they beheld the immense Estero 6 Brazo del Mar '

furnished them with water and they named the camp El Rincon
de las Almejas, on account of the mussels and other sheU fish they
found on the rocks. Crespi calls it La Punta del Angel Custodia.
The site of the camp is about a mUe north of the Montara fog signal.
By noon of the next day, October 31st, the pioneers had prepared
a passage over the bold promontory of Point San Pedro, and at
ten o'clock in the morning the company set out on the traU of
the exploradores and made theh painful way to the summit. Here
a wondrous sight met theh eyes and quickened their flagging spirits.
Before them, bright and beautiful, was spread a great ensenada,
its waters dancing in the sunlight. Far to the northwest a point
reached out into the sea, rising abruptly before them, high above
the ocean. Further to the left, west-northwest, were seen six or
seven white Farallones and finally along the shore northward they
discerned the white cliffs and what appeared to be the mouth of
an inlet. There could be not mistake. The distant point was the
Punta de los Reyes and before them lay the Bahia 6 Puerto de San
Francisco. The saint had been good to them and with joy in theh
hearts they made the steep and difficult descent and camped in
the San Pedro vaUey* at the foot of the Montara mountains.
Some of the company thought they had left the Port of
Monterey behind but would not beUeve they had reached the Port
of San Francisco. To settle the matter, the governor ordered
Ortega and his men to examine the country as far as Point Reyes,
giving them three days in which to report, while the command
remained in camp in the VaUecito de la Punta de las Almejas del
Angel de la Guarda, as Crespi calls it, combining the two names
of the camp of Ocober 30th and transferring them to the camp in
San Pedro vaUey.
The next day, Thursday, November 2nd, being All Souls day,
after mass some of the soldiers asked permission to go and hunt
for deer. They climbed the mountains east of the camp and returning
after nightfall reported that they had seen from the top of the moun
tain an immense estero or arm of the sea, which thrust itself into
the land as far as the eye could reach, stretching to the southeast;
that they had seen some beautiful plains thickly covered with trees,
whUe the many columns of smoke rising over them showed that
they were weU stocked with Indian villages. This story confirmed
* It must be borne in mind that what they called the Bay or Port of San Francisco was that
stretch of water reaching from Point Reyes to Point San Pedro and later known as the Gulf of
the Farallones. 39

them in the belief that they were at the Port of San Francisco,
and that the estero described was that spoken of by Cabrera Bueno,
the mouth of which they imagined they had seen from the Montara
mountains.* They were now satisfied that Ortega would be unable
to reach Point Reyes, and that three days was not sufficient time
to go around the head of such an estero. The exploring party
returned in the night of November 3d, discharging theh fire-arms
as they approached. They reported that they found themselves
obstructed by immense estuaries which ran extraordinarily far
back into the land,t but what caused theh rejoicing was that they
understood from the signs of the Indians that at two days' journey
from where they were there was a port in which a ship was anchored.
On this announcement, some thought that they were at the port
of Monterey, and that the supply ship San Jose or the San
Carlos was waiting for them. Crespi says that if they were not
in Monterey, they were certainly in San Francisco.
On Saturday, November 4th, being the day of San Carlos Borro-
meo, in whose honor they had come to establish a royal presidio
and mission in the Port of Monterey, and also the day of the king,
Don Carlos III (que Dios guarde), the holy sacrifice of the mass
was celebrated "in this little valley, beach of the Port (without the
least doubt) of my father San Francisco." The men feasted liber-
aUy on the mussels which abounded on the nearby rocks, and
which were pronounced large and good, and, in better sphits than
they had been for some time, they took up theh march at one
o'clock in the afternoon. Proceeding a short distance up the
beach, they turned into the mountains on theh right, and from the
summit beheld the immense estero o brazo del mar. Then descend
ing into the Canada de San Andres, they turned to the south and
southeast, and traveling two leagues camped in the Canada at the
foot of a hiU, very green with low brush, and having a cluster of
oaks at its base. The next two days they traveled down the
cafiada, coasting the estero, which they could not see for the low
hUls (lomeria) on theh left, noting the pleasant land with its groves
of oak, redwood (palo Colorado), and madrono. They saw the
tracks of many deer and also of bears. The Indians met them
with friendly offers of black tamales and atole, which were gladly
* Professor George Davidson says that what was seen by Portola from the Montara mountains
was the break in the Ballenos cliffs, a deep narrow valley which runs straight from Ballenos bay
to Tomales bay, fourteen miles.
t The Golden Gate and Bay of San Francisco. 40

received by the half-starved Spaniards. They begged the strangers
to go to theh rancherias, but the governor excused himself, saying
that he must go forward, and dismissed them with presents of
beads and trinkets. On the 6th, they reached the end of the
Canada, which suddenly turned to the east, and saw that the estero*
was finished in a spacious valley. To the canada they gave the
name of San Francisco, -j- Traveling a short distance towards
the east, they camped on a deep arroyo, whose waters came down
from the sierra and flowed precipitately into the estero. They
were on the San Francisquito creek, near the site of Stanford
University.J Having faUed to get through to Point Reyes by the ocean beach
route, Portola now sent Ortega around by the contra costa giving
him four days in which to explore the country and find the port
containing the supply-ship.
Ortega with his exploradores, guided by some friendly Indians
from the neighboring rancherias, set out after noon on November
7th and returned in the night of the 10th. He reported that he
had seen no sign of port or ship, and was convinced he had not
understood the information the Indians had tried to convey to him,
and that the port of Monterey could not be in advance. They
also reported that the country they had seen towards the north and
northeast was impassable for the expedition, for the reason that the
Indians had burned the grass and, in addition, were hostile and
would dispute the passage. They said that they had encountered
another immense estero on the northeast (Carquinez Strait), which
also ran far inland and connected with the one on the southeast,
and that to double it would take many leagues of travel. §
During the absence of the explorers, the people of the expe
dition were compeUed for want of meat to eat oak acorns, which
caused them much suffering from indigestion and fever.
Portola cahed a councU of officers, on November 11th, to deter
mine the best course to pursue. The decision was unanimous to

* The Bay of San Francisco continued to be called the "Estero," until some time after
Colonel Anza established the presidio and mission of San Francisco in 1776.
f The present name, Canada de San Andres, was given by Rivera, Nov. 30, 1774.
I On November, 1774, Rivera came up the peninsula on an exploring expedition and on the
spot where he had camped with the first expedition in 1769, he planted a cross to mark the place
for a mission. In March, 1776, Col. Juan Bautista de Anza, coming to select sites for the Presidio
and Mission of San Francisco, notes this cross on the bank of the Arroyo de San Francisco (now
San Francisquito creek), about one hundred paces above the great redwood tree, and says the
plan for a mission there was abandoned because the creek was dry in summer. I note this
explanation because an excellent authority has located Portola's camp on Redwood creek.
§ I give to Ortega the credit of discovering the Golden Gate and the Straits of Carquinez .
The testimony seems sufficient to me. 41

return to the Point of Pines and renew the search for the elusive
Puerto de Monterey, which they believed they had left behind.
This was at once acted upon, and the command took up the march
in the afternoon of that day, returning by the route of its coming,
and on the 27th camped in sight of the Point of Pines at a little lake
of muddy water. They had partly subsisted on wUd geese which
they shot, and on mussels gathered from the rocks of the coast.
The foUowing day, November 28th, they moved across the Point of
Pines and camped in the Canada of the Carmelo, where was plenty
of wood and good water from the river. After giving his men a
rest, the governor sent ten soldiers, under command of Rivera,
with six of the Indian pioneers, who undertook to guide them by
the coast trails, with instructions to thoroughly explore the coast
to the south and see if the Port of Monterey was concealed in some
"rincon" of the Sierra de Santa Lucia.
The exploring party returned on Monday, December 4th, at
night. They were thed out with theh travels over the rough
mountain trails, and they reported that no port of Monterey existed
south of theh camp; that the mountains belonged to the Sierra de
Santa Lucia, and that there was no passage along the shore.
Vizcaino had said that Monterey was just north of the Sierra
de Santa Lucia. "It is all that can be desired for commodiousness
and as a station for ships making the voyage to the Philippines,
sailing whence they make a landfaU on this coast. This port is
sheltered from all winds * * * and is thickly settled with people,
whom I found to be of gentle disposition, peaceable, and docUe;
* * * they have flax like that of CastUe, and hemp, and cotton,"*
etc. The commander knew not what to think. What should be
a great port, protected from aU winds, was but an ensenada; what
should be the Rio Carmelo was but an arroyo; what should be
great lakes were but lagunUlas; "and where, too, were the people,
so inteUigent and docUe, who raised flax and hemp and cotton?"
Costansd says that in theh enthe journey, they found no country
so thinly populated, nor any people more wild and savage than the
few natives whom they met here. It is not strange that Portola
failed to recognize, in the broad ensenada, Vizcaino's Famoso
Puerte de Monterey.
* Vizcaino to the King, May 23, 1603. Pub. Hist. Socu. of Southern California, Vol. ii.
Parti. 42

The situation of the command was becoming very grave. The
food supply was almost gone. They had kUled a mule, but only
the Indians and the Catalonians would eat it. The commander
called a councU of officers, on December 6th, and told them the
condition of affairs. They had not found the port they had come
in search of, he said, and had no hope of finding it or the vessel
that should have succored them; they had but fourteen hah* sacks
of flour left; winter was upon them, the cold was becoming exces
sive, and snow was beginning to fall in the mountains. He invited
free discussion, but postponed the decision until the next day,
that aU might have time for reflection. On December 7th, after
hearing mass, the junta again met. Some were for remaining
where they were until the provisions were enthely consumed, and
then retreat, relying on the mules for food during the journey to
San Diego; others thought it better to divide the party, one-half
to remain and the other return to San Diego. Both projects were
carefully discussed, and both presented difficulties. The prevailing
sentiment seemed to favor a return, and the governor announced
his determination. They would return to San Diego at once, he
said, for U the snow should close the mountain passes, the whole
expedition would be lost.
A violent storm arose in the afternoon, which lasted until the
night of December 9th, delaying the march.
On Sunday, December 10th, they began the retreat from Mon
terey. Before leaving Carmelo Bay, they set up a large cross on
a little hUl on the shore of the ensenadita, and on it, cut into the
wood, the legend: "Dig; at the foot you wUl find a writing."
A message was put into a bottle and buried at the foot of the cross.
It gave the facts of the expedition, its commander, date of starting,
the dates of entering the channel of Santa Barbara, of passing
Point Concepcion, of the passage of the Santa Lucia mountains,
of the sight of Punta de Pinos, of Point Reyes, etc.
"The expedition deshed to reach Point Reyes, but some esteros
intervened which ran far inland, which requhed a long journey
to go around, and other difficulties (the chief of which was the
want of provisions), made it necessary for us to return, believing
that the Port of Monterey might perhaps be near the Sierra de
Santa Lucia, and thinking that we might have passed it without
observing it. We left the estero of San Francisco on our return
on the 11th of November. We passed the Punta de Ano Nuevo
43

on the 19th of said month, and reached the second time this Port
and Ensenada de Pinos on the 27th of the same."
It states that from that day to this they have made diligent
search for the port of Monterey, but in vain, and now, despairing
of finding it, theh provisions nearly gone, they return to San Diego.
Then foUows the latitude at various points as observed by Costansd.
It requests the commanders of the San Jose or San Antonio,
if they, or either of them, should be informed of the contents of
the letter and the condition of the expedition, to saU down the
coast as near the land as possible, that the expedition might
sight and obtain succor from them.
The march that day was across the Point of Pines, one league
and a half, and they camped on the shore of Monterey Bay, where
they erected another cross with an inscription announcing theh
departure. On the 11th, they ascended the Sahnas and began
to retrace the route of their coming. They kiUed many geese,
which relieved theh necessities somewhat, and on the 21st were
clear of the Santa Lucia mountains. The hungry soldiers stole
flour, and to prevent further theft, the comandante divided the
remainder among them. On the 28th the command was stuck
fast in a mud-hole near San Luis Obispo, and were unable to say
mass, though it was a feast day.* On January 3d, they passed
Point Concepcion. Here, among the Channel Indians, food was
abundant, theh severe trials were over, and the health of the com
mand improved daUy. Instead of foUowing up the Santa Clara
river, they crossed the Santa Susana mountains, into the San Fer
nando vaUey, and foUowed down the Los Angeles river, crossed
the Santa Ana, January 18th, and reached San Diego, January
24, 1770, with the command in good health and without the loss
of a man, "with the merit of having been compelled to eat the
flesh of male and female mules, and with not having found the
Port of Monterey, which we judged to have been filled up by the
great sand dunes which were in the place where we had expected
to find it."t
Portola found a joyful welcome at the little camp at San Diego.
Many had died, and Junipero and Father Parron were just recover
ing from scurvy. No tidings were yet received from the San
* On the day of the Holy Innocents it was not possible to say mass. We are sorry for it,
because it is the only feast day in all the journey up to the present that we have been without
mass. We are stuck in a mud hole and are unable to move from the place where we are all wet
through, and it is not possible to make a journada to a plain that is dry for this is bubbling up
water — Crespi, Diario.
t Crespi: Diario. 44

Antonio. The commander made a careful inventory of supphes,
and reserved enough to march to Velicata in case the San
Antonio did not appear when the remainder should be exhausted.
This, he calculated, would be a httle after the middle of March,
and the 20th of that month was fixed as the date of departure,
very much to the disappointment of the priests. On February 11th
Rivera was sent to Velicata with a guard of nineteen or twenty
soldiers, to bring up the cattle and supplies that had been left there.
After sundown of the day before that appointed for the departure,
a saU appeared in the distance. It was the San Antonio, just
in time to prevent the abandonment of San Diego. She brought
abundant supplies, and Portola prepared for a second expedition
in search of the Port of Monterey. Captain VUa of the San
Carlos declared, when the detaUs of the search were related to
him, that the place where they erected the second cross was the
long-lost Port of Monterey.
On AprU 16th the San Antonio saUed for Monterey, carrying
Junipero, Costansd, Prat, and a cargo of stores for the new mission.
On the 17th, Portola set out by land with Fages, twelve Catalan
volunteers, seven soldados de cuera, Crespi, two muleteers, and
five natives. At San Diego was left VUa with his mate and five
saUors on the San Carlos, Fathers Parron and Gomez, with
Sergeant Ortega and eight soldados de cuera as guard, and
Rivera arrived in July with over eighty mules laden with suppUes,
and one hundred and sixty head of cattle.
Portola foUowed the same route that he took on the retreat
from Monterey, and on May 24th arrived at the Ensenada Grande
under Punta de Pinos, near the cross they had erected, December
10th. Selecting a place for the camp, Portola took Fages, Crespi,
and a soldier for guard, and went to the cross to see if any vessel
had visited the spot. They found around the cross a ring of arrows
stuck in the ground, some of which were decked with feathers;
others had fish and meat attached to them, whUe at the foot of the
cross was a small pile of shell-fish. As Portola, Fages, and Crespi
walked along the beach and looked out over the bay and noted its
calm and placid waters, with its swimming seals and spouting
whales, they broke forth with one voice, "This is the Port of Mon
terey which we have sought. It is exactly as reported by Sebastian
Vizcaino and Cabrera Bueno."*

* Palou: Notictas Je la Nueoa California. 45

Remembering the good water at the camp on the Rio del Car
melo, Portola ordered the expedition to Carmelo Bay by direct
Une, while he, with Fages and Crespi, proceeded around the Point
of Pines. They found it weU covered with pine trees, many of
them large enough for masts of a ship. They also came upon a
grove of cypress at a point beyond (Cypress Point), and arrived at
camp after a walk of four good leagues. Here they awaited the
arrival of the San Antonio.
On May 31st the paquebot was sighted near Point Pinos. The
soldiers made signals, to which the ship replied with her guns,
and before night had dropped her anchor in Monterey Bay, which
was pronounced by the saUors to be a most famous port.
On the 3d of June, 1770, under a shelter of branches near the
oak where, in 1602, Vizcaino's Carmelite friars had celebrated
mass, Don Gaspar de Portola, with his officers, soldiers, and people
of the land expedition, Fray Junipero Serra and Fray Juan Crespi,
Don Juan Perez, captain of the San Antonio, Don Miguel del
Pino, his second in command, together with the crew, assembled
to establish a presidio and mission. The father president chanted
the mass and preached from the Gospel, whUe the musical deficiency
was made good by repeated discharges from the guns of the San
Antonio and voUeys from the muskets of the soldiers. At the
conclusion of the religious ceremonies, Don Gaspar de Portola,
governor of the Californias, took possession of the country in the
name of his majesty Don Carlos III, King of Spain, and the pre
sidio and mission of San Carlos de Borromeo de Monterey were
founded and established, the first presidio and second mission in
California. In accord with the orders of the visitador-general, Portola now
dehvered to Lieutenant Fages, as comandante of California, the
command of the new establishments, sailed on the San Antonio,
July 9th, for San Bias, and California knew him no more.

46

*5 •!

4

s: !v;.j^

4*
Data Regarding Don Gaspar de Portola
After He Left California

by
E. J. MOLERA

ORTOLA" and Costanzd saUed, on July 9, 1770, for Mexico,
Pto give to the viceroy an account of theh discoveries.
Costanzd remained in the capital and took part in several
 engineering works, among others, the map of the VaUey
of Mexico and its drainage. DUigent search instituted by the
writer in Mexico and Spain regarding Portola's further history,
has so far discovered httle beyond the fact that the commander's
return to the capital was foUowed by promotion from Captain to
Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Spanish Army, and his appoint
ment as Governor of Puebla, February 23, 1777.
In the municipal archives of the city of Puebla, on page 33
of the folio covering the years 1776-1783, is the following descrip
tion of Portola's taking possession of the office as Governor of that
city and state:
"Possession of Governor Portola.
"In the session (meeting of February 23d, 1777), the councU
saw a royal title of Political and MUitary Governor of this city
granted by his Majesty to Senor Don Gaspar de Portola, Lieutenant-
Colonel of the Royal Army, and also a superior order of his Excel
lency the Viceroy, Governor, and Captain General of this New
Spain, in which is stated that said title has been forwarded.
"The President of the CouncU, standing and uncovered, took
the title in his hand and kissed it and put it over his head, being
a letter from the King, our master, and said that he would obey
and he did obey its contents and in its provisions it was ordered
that Lieutenant-Colonel Don Gaspar de Portola be given posses
sion of said office, and for that purpose, said noble corporation
went out with the heralds to bring him to this haU of sessions,
and when he was in, a notary-public having certified to his iden-
47

tity, he swore to use faithfuUy and weU the office of Governor,
doing justice, punishing, and not burdening the poor with excessive
taxes; to keep and cause to be kept, the rights, privUeges, royal
decrees and ordinances, etc.
"Having signed the oath, the president gave him the cane of
Royal Justice, by which the act of possession was completed."
In the same volume many decrees and ordinances are signed
by Portola as Governor of Puebla.
That in the year 1779, Portola was stUl Governor of Puebla is
proved by two original manuscripts in possession of the writer.
One is a circular official notice to aU the head authorities of Mexico,
announcing the death of Viceroy Frey Don Antonio Bucareli y
Ursua, and shown herewith ; the other is a letter of Don Gaspar de
Portola, dated AprU 17th, 1779.

48

Letter from the Viceroy of New Spain to Don Julian de Arriaga,
Giving an Account of the Arrival at San Bias of the Packet
Boat San Carlos, Returning from the Survey of the Port
of San Francisco. Document Obtained from
the Archives of the Indies, Seville.

"My Dear Sh:
"By courier sent to me from San Bias, I have just learned that
the royal packet-boat San Carlos, under command of Lieutenant
of frigate Don Juan Manuel Ayala, which with provisions and
goods saUed for the harbor of Monterey, thence to the port of San
Francisco, anchored on the 6th inst. at San Bias.
"In the copies which I send herewith, of the extensive exami
nation made by this officer and by his phot, Don Jose" Cafiizares,
your ExceUency wUl see, in detaU, aU that was found advantageous,
and the news obtained gives knowledge of aU that that vast port
contains and the facilities that it has to invernate* vessels. The
docility and gentle manners of the heathen that live in its vicinity
inspire hopes in the utility of the plan, on which I had previously
determined, of colonizing this land.
"In order that a better understanding may be had, I also accom
pany the diary or log made by the commander, Don Juan Manuel
de Ayala, in the navigation to and fro from Monterey to San Fran
cisco, and the reconnoisance of this port, with the map of it made
under his dhection.
"The letter of this officer, a copy of which is also enclosed,
confirms everything, extolhng the grandeur of the view of the port,
the water, wood, and ballast with which it abounds, and although
the climate is rather cold, it is healthy and free from the fogs found
in Monterey. "He gives an account of what happened on his return, and
praises the merit of his pilot, Don Jose" de Cafiizares, in discharging
the commission entrusted to him, and he recommends him to my
attention, which I reserve to that of the King; at the same time
recommending to Your ExceUency that you remind His Majesty
that this pUot is one of the most useful that the Department of

* Invernate — to winter. 49

San Bias has, and that in the voyages he has made has always
shown the same honor, conduct, and inteUigence as on the one
just finished with such advantage to the service, because of the
information and knowledge he has shown in the discharge of his
duty. "For his reward, I consider him worthy of the royal bounty,
as weU as Lieutenant of frigate, Don Juan Manuel de Ayala, for
his part in such important work.
"That the Lord may keep you from harm for many years is
my wish.
"Exm°. Sr.
"Your most obedient servant who kisses Your ExceUency's
hands, "Bailio Frey D. Antonio Bucareli y Ursua.
"Mexico, November 26th, 1775.
"To His Excellency
Sr. Bailio Frey Don Julian de Arriaga."

50

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Causes that Decided the Government of Spain to Send an Expedition
by Sea to Ascertain if there were any Russian Settlements
on the Coast of California, and to Examine
the Port of San Francisco.

Father Junipero Serra had difficulty in obtaining from Com
mandant Fages the soldiers necessary to found the missions that
were projected and notwithstanding his old age, he decided to go
to the capital of Mexico to lay before the authorities his troubles.
He sailed from San Diego in the maU boat San Carlos October
19, 1772, but, stricken by fever in Guadalajara, did not reach Mexico
tiU February 16, 1773.
Viceroy Bucareli, then in command of the colony, made the
orders he considered necessary for California, but his orders would
have had but little effect or would have followed the slow process
of aU official business, had not an outside incident given them force.
Count de Lacy, then Minister Plenipotentiary of Spain to St.
Petersburg, communicated to the court in Madrid, that the Russians
were exploring the coast of America. He corroborated his state
ment with copies of the newspapers of the Russian capital.* This
news with the corroborating proofs was sent to Bucareli with the
Royal edicts of AprU 11th and September 23, 1773.
The result of this information was to give a better organization
to the maritime department of San Bias and better regulations for
California. It was also ordered that a settlement should be made
at San Francisco ; that better means of communication be estabUshed
between San Diego and Monterey, and that an expedition should
be sent to ascertain if the Russians had made settlements on the
coast of California.

* Manuel Orozco y Berra, Apuntes para la Historia de la Geografia en Mexico, Anales del
Ministerio de Formento de la Republica Meiicana Tomo VI, p. 269. Documents in the Archives
of the Indies, Seville.

51

The Log of the San Carlos
ALIAS TOISON DE ORO (GOLDEN FLEECE)
Under Command of
Lieutenant of Frigate of the Royal Navy
Don Juan Manuel de Ayala
FROM THE PORT OF SAN BLAS TO THE PORT OF SAN FRANCISCO

The First Ship to Enter the Port of San Francisco. Transcript of a
Certified Copy of the Original, now in the Archives
of the Indies, at Seville, Spain.*

N THE 19th of March, 1775, Lieutenant of Frigate, Don Juan
Manuel de Ayala had the schooner under his command
anchored near the white rock in the harbor of San Bias,
 I waiting the saUing of the frigate Santiago to the west
coast of California, when the commander of the expedition, Don
Bruno de Ezeta, ordered him to deliver to Lieutenant of Frigate,
Don Juan de la Bodega y Cuadra, the command of his schooner and
take command of the packet boat, San Carlos, as her captain,
Don Miguel Manrique, was sick and unable to make the voyage.
Ayala obeyed the order and waited until the morning of the 21st,
for the return of the launch which carried his predecessor to San
Bias. He made everything ready on board to foUow the frigate and
schooner and he asked the commander of the expedition, Don Bruno
de Ezeta, to take in his frigate some brown sugar and provisions
which he could not accommodate in his boat except on deck where
they were Uable to be damaged.
At 3 p. m. of the 21st he saUed from the anchorage of San Bias
with the wind east-northeast and on the foUowing day came in
sight of Isabela Island, lying about five mUes to the west. On the

* This is a summary of the document. A full translation would be too tedious for a work
of this kind. 52

23rd he came in sight of the Maria Islands and saw the frigate and
schooner going to the south-east of the islands, where he lost sight
of them. Contrary v,Inds and calm weather prevented the San
Carlos from making any considerable progress. On the 26th,
Ayala sent his phot to see U he could obtain some water to replace
that which had been consumed.* The pUot could not make a land
ing and consequently did not obtain any water. On AprU 2d,
he saw Mazatlan and the packet-boat Concepcion. The foUow
ing day he came near the Concepcion, and the captain informed
him that he had on board the governor of California, f From
the Concepcion Ayala obtained six kegs of water. On the 4th
of AprU a serious accident happened to the commander. When his
predecessor was taken sick, he had a number of loaded pistols.
Ayala ordered them placed where they could not injure anyone.
In doing this, one feU and was discharged, the bullet entering the
commander's foot between the second and thhd toes, coming out
under the big toe. This accident caused him to keep his bed.
On the 7th of AprU, Cape San Lucas was seen to the north,
distant about two leagues. On the 8th, Cape San Lucas was seen
to the west, about twelve leagues distant. On account of contrary
winds, the progress northward was very slow. On June 22d,
whUe they were warming some pitch to calk the launch, it took
fire, but was extinguished before great damage was done. On the
same day indications of land were noted and some whales were
seen, which the saUors say is the first sign of land. On the foUow
ing day they saw some seals, which, according to the saUors, was
the second sign of land. On the 24th, they saw some ducks,
which, they say, is proof positive of land being near. On the same
day land was sighted at 4 p. m. ; the North Farallones of San
Francisco were seen to the north and Point Ano Nuevo to the south
east. At 7 p. m., the South Farallones were seen at a distance of
about two leagues to the northeast. The variation of the needle
was observed and found to be 13° E.
Next day, at 9 a. m., the fog haying lifted, land was seen and
Point Ano Nuevo was recognized to the northwest about three
leagues distant. At noon the sun's altitude was taken, and the
latitude found to be 36° 58'. At 3 p. m. they took bearings to
make Point Pinos, but this point could not be seen on account

* On the Tres Marias Islands.
t Don Pedro Fages. Commandante of California, who had been recalled.
53

of the fog. At 4 p. m. the fog lifted, and at 5 p. m. they saw the
point which protects the harbor of Monterey. The variation of
the needle was observed and found to be 12° 58' E. They had
some difficulty in finding good anchorage, but finally did so on a
sandy bottom.
On the 26th of June, Commander Ayala sent his launch on
shore with maU and documents, and on its return the vessel was
made fast.
Ayala remained in the harbor of Monterey tUl July 26th, during
which time he unloaded his cargo, took ballast, water, and fuel,
mended saUs and repaired the ship, which needed it badly, the sixth
board under water at the poop having to be replaced for a length
of one and one-half yards.
He got ready to start for the newly-discovered Port of San
Francisco. 
Starting from the shelter of Monterey, situated at latitude
36° 33', longitude 16° 45' W. of San Bias to the newly-discovered
Port of San Francisco, July 26, 1775.
That day it was impossible to sail on account of the wind coming
from a contrary direction.
On July 27th, the launch towed the San Carlos until she
came to the range of a southwest wind and sailed in a northwest
direction.* At noon Point Pinos was seen bearing south 13° dis
tant five mUes ; at 3 p. m. it had disappeared from view. Very soon
after, Point Ano Nuevo came in sight and the land adjoining it,
about four or five miles distant. From July 28th to August 3d,
little progress was made on account of contrary winds from the
northwest. On August 3d, at 1 p. m., land was seen to the east
i northeast, distant about twelve leagues. It was found to be
Point Ano Nuevo. At 7 p. m. another point came into view bear
ing north % northeast, distant about twelve leagues, which was
considered to be Point Reyes. At 10 p. m., the wind being north
west, the San Carlos steered west-southwest and continued in
that course until 8 a. m. of the 4th, when the bearing was changed
to the north-northeast. At noon the sun's altitude was taken and
the latitude was found to be 37° 11', and longitude 17° 51' W. of
San Bias. At 6 p. m., August 4th, the southernmost Farallon of
the Port of San Francisco was seen to the northwest, distant about
* Bancroft, Hist, of Cal., says Ayala sailed from Monterey, July 24th. That was to make
the sailing fit the Bancroft theories. 54

eight leagues. The land to the north was Point Reyes, bearing
4° W., distant about fourteen leagues. At hah past eleven, con
sidering the coast was near, the course was changed to the south-
southwest, until 3 a. m. of August 5th, when it was changed again
to the north-northeast 5° north to bring the ship at sunrise to the
point it was at sunset of the day before. At 5 a. m. four of the
FaraUones of San Francisco were seen to the north-northwest,
distant four leagues., Point Ano Nuevo was southeast \ east
from twelve to fourteen leagues and Point Almejas northeast 4°
east, distant three leagues. At 8 a. m., being near land, com
mander Ayala lowered the launch, and in it PUot Cafiizares was
sent with ten men to search for an anchorage, whUe the San
Carlos continued along the coast. At 9 a. m. a strong current
was felt, which drove them to sea, but at eleven it was observed
that the vessel was nearing the coast, which convinced the com
mander that it was due to the tide, and this was confirmed by the
soundings; in entering the port, as on the first occasion, the tide
was going out, and on the second one the tide was coming in. The
altitude of the sun was taken at noon of that day, with the utmost
care, and the latitude was found to be 37° 42' and the longitude
17° 14' W. of San Bias. At this time Point Ano Nuevo was about
fourteen leagues distant to the southeast \ south; the FaraUones
to the northwest, distant four leagues, and Point Reyes north J
northeast, distant four leagues. The wind was from the west.
At 4 p. m. the vessel was steered to the north-northeast, and half
an hour later soundings were taken and bottom found at sixteen
brazas* of mud and sand mixed, and distant from the mouth about
two leagues. At 5 p. m. bottom was found at fifteen brazas, with
the same kind of bottom material. Sounding was continued and
the bottom was found to be as noted in the large map. The cur
rent was so great at the mouth of this port that at 8 :30 p. m., with
a strong wind from the west-southwest with fuU saUs, the current
aUowed them to go not more than a mile and a half per hour,
which shows that the current must go at least six miles at the
middle of the channel. The swiftness of the current, the fact that
the launch had not returned and that night was coming on, made
it necessary to seek for an anchorage; this was done with great
care and precaution; as the force of the wind made it necessary to
have fuU saU, it was feared that some of the rigging might give
* Braza — Fathom: Six feet. 55

way. For that reason, soundings were taken continually with a
20-lb. lead, and a line of sixty brazas could not reach bottom,
either in the channel or near the point. This seemed very strange
until it was realized that the current was carrying the lead and
it did not strike bottom. They continued thus untU they were one
league inside the mouth of the bay and a quarter of a mUe from
the shore, when the wind suddenly stopped. Finding that the cur
rent was carrying the ship towards the mouth, an anchor was thrown
overboard, after having made it fast to the big mast so that tf it
did not catch the bottom it would not be lost. It was found that the
anchor held. Two more anchors were made ready to drop in case the
big one should drag. When the wind stopped and the current ceased,
the vessel was found to be in twenty-two brazas, with sandy bottom.*
At 6 a. m. of August 6, the launch, which had not been seen
since sunset the day before, came to the vessel. The pilot was
asked why he had not come to meet the ship when he saw her sailing
shoreward looking for the entrance of the bay, answered that at
6 p. m. he had seen a suitable harbor for the packet-boat to the
east of the entrance, and when he attempted to go out the whirl
pools and eddies caused by the current were such that it was im
possible to make any progress, as the current carried him back
towards the shore, so that he determined to stay in the harbor he
had attempted to leave. This, and the fact that the men were
tired out, made him wait untU 4 a. m., when he again attempted
to go out, with the same result as before. During his efforts to
get out, he saw the packet-boat, and putting the bow towards
her he had no difficulty in reaching her.
At 7 a. m., the commander sent the pUot to examine a harbor
which was to the west-northwest. He found it useless, because,
though it had sufficient water, the bottom was sticky mud. As
Ayala was not in need of shelter then, he did not enter that harbor,
as he was afraid of losing his anchor in the mud, and also because
it was open from the south to the east, although the wind came
from the landward which was about two leagues from the harbor, f
He caUed this harbor "CarmeUta," because in it was a rock resem
bling a friar of that order. There was in its vicinity an Indian
vUlage, the inhabitants of which came out from theh huts and
cried out and made signs for the vessel to go near them. As the
saUors were taking soundings and came near the shore, the Indians
* Ayala anchored inside Fort Point — the Presidio anchorage.
f Richardson's Bay. 56

erected a pole, at the top of which was a large number of feathers.
The saUors having no orders to answer them, remained at a dis
tance from the shore. The Indians, thinking, no doubt, that the
saUors were afraid of them, endeavored to assure them by dropping
theh bows to the ground, and after describing a chcle in the ah
with the arrows stuck them in the sand. The launch came on
board again, and soon after, the Indians, from a point of land near
the vessel, talked to the sailors with loud cries, and although theh
voices were heard distinctly, they could not be understood for want
of an interpreter. At 9 the launch was sent again to another harbor
to the north, which seemed to be better sheltered and to have better
anchorage.* It was so, and when the launch returned at 10, the
pUot stated that he found bottom at eight to fourteen brazas, and
the bottom was sticky with mud. At 3 p. m. the vessel saUed
towards the place examined, but a strong current prevented her
reaching it. It was then decided to anchor in fifteen brazas, sandy
bottom, and they stayed there aU night, during which time the
vessel moved on account of the bad quality of the anchors.
On the 7th, at 9 a. m., the vessel was started towards a large
and fine-looking harbor which seemed commodious. Soundings
were taken, and the bottom was found at twelve to fourteen brazas.
It had been decided to go to the end of it, but the tide was contrary
and it was necessary to return to the vessel at 1 p. m. Indians from
the shore were caUing to the men with loud cries, and the com
mander decided to send the launch with the priest, the pUot, and
armed men, with orders that they must not molest the Indians
but treat them-weU and make them presents, for which purpose
the commander gave the men beads and other trinkets and ordered
them to observe good precaution, so that in case the Indians showed
fight they could easUy return to the launch, where four armed
men must always remain to protect the retreat. It is true that
from the day when intercourse was first had with the Indians, it
was seen how affable and hospitable they were, showing the greatest
deshe for the Spaniards to go to theh vUlage, where, they said,
they could eat and sleep. They had aheady prepared on shore a
meal of pinole, bread from theh corn, and tomales of the same.
During the time the Spaniards were with the Indians, they found
that the latter repeated the Spanish words with great facility, and
by signs the Spaniards asked the Indians to go on board the packet-
* Angel Island. 57

boat, but the Indians, also by signs, signified that until the Span
iards should visit theh village, they could not go on board. After
a little whUe the Spaniards returned to the boat and the Indians
disappeared. On the 8th, the pUot, with men, was sent in the launch to
explore the bay, and on the 9th returned and made his report.
On the 12th the launch was lowered to look for a better anchor
age near Angel Island, which is the largest in this bay, and many
good places were found. It was also thought a good idea to examine
another island, which was found to be very steep and barren and
would not afford shelter even for the launch. This island was
called "Alcatraz"* on account of the abundance of those bhds
that were on it.
On the 13th the vessel moved to another anchorage with nine
brazas of water at pistol shot of the land. On the 21st, the first
pUot, Don Jose" de Cafiizares, returned from an expedition on
which he had been sent a few days before and made his report.
On the same day, the second pUot, Don Juan B. Aguirre, went,
with fresh men, in the launch to try to find the party which the
commander of the presidio had promised to send to San Francisco
by land. The second pUot did not see the party, but explored an
estero which enters the land about twelve leagues.f
On the 23d fifteen Indians came on a raft and were taken on
board, where they were entertained and given something to eat.
They learned how to ask for bread in Spanish.
From this day to the 6th of September, the explorations of the
Bay of San Francisco continued, and fhst pUot Don Jose" de Cafii
zares was instructed to make his report and the map of the bay.
On September 7th an attempt was made to go to sea for the
return voyage, but the rudder was injured by a submerged rock
on which the current had carried the vessel.
From this day to September 18th, the time was passed in repair
ing the rudder and making preparations for the return voyage,
which took place on that day, going to Monterey, where they arrived
the following day.
In order to make the necessary repairs to the ship and pass
the equinox in good shelter, the San Carlos remained in the
harbor of Monterey tiU October 13, 1775, when she started for
San Bias, where she arrived on November 6th of the same year.
* Alcatraz — Pelican.
t The Southern portion of the bay. 58

Report of Don Juan Manuel de Ayala
Commander of the Packet Boat San Carlos
to
, Don Antonio Maria Bucareli
VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN
On the Examination of the Port of San Francisco

OUR Excellency: — I have finished the orders under which
^Lf I took command of the San Carlos, returning to this
port of San Bias today, November 6th, after having
 I visited the ports of Monterey and San Francisco.
Although Your ExceUency will see in the account of my exami
nation, together with the pilot, Don Jose" Cafiizares' report of his
examination and the map he made of this port, the nature of the
work done. I will, notwithstanding in this, give a brief account,
that shows the port of San Francisco to be one of the best that I
have seen on this coast from Cape Horn.
After one hundred and one days of navigation, I arrived at the
harbor of Monterey, where I had to remain tiU July 27th, discharging
the cargo and making some repairs necessary for the safety of my
vessel. On July 27th, I started in search of the Port of San Fran
cisco, where I arrived on the night of August 5th. I remained
there forty-four days, inspecting by myself, or by my pUot, with
aU possible accuracy, everything that pertains to this matter.
It is true that this port is good, not only for the beautiful har
mony that offers to the view, but because it does not lack very
good fresh water, wood, and baUast in abundance. Its climate
though cold, is healthful and free from those troublesome fogs
which we had daUy in Monterey, because the fogs here hardly
reach the entrance of the port, and once inside the harbor, the
weather is very clear. To these many advantages is to be added
59

the best: and this is that the heathen Indians around this port
are so constant in their good friendship and so gentle in theh man
ners, that I received them with pleasure on board several times,
and I had the sailors frequently visit with them on land; so that
from the first to the last day, they remained the same in theh
behaviour. This made me present them with trinkets, beads, and
biscuit; the last they learned to ask for clearly in our language.
There is no doubt that this good friendship was a great comfort
to us, enabling us to make with less fear the reconnaissance that
was ordered of me. Although in a letter written by Your Excel
lency to my predecessor, Don Miguel Manrique, dated January 2d,
I read that it was possible we might find in San Francisco the land
expedition undertaken by Captain Don Juan de Anza; I did not on
that account refuse the offer of another small land expedition which
the Captain of Monterey, Don Fernando de Rivera, made me. I
did not see either of them whUe I remained in that port, but I did
not, on that account, postpone the reconnaissance. I could not do
aU of this in person, because I was convalescing from a serious
wound in my right foot, received AprU 3d by the accidental discharge
of a double-barrel pistol, which Don Miguel Manrique had left
loaded in the cabin. Notwithstanding this, I am satisfied that
Don Jose" Cafiizares executed with his usual abUity everything I
entrusted to his care. I therefore state to Your ExceUency (in
order that the merit of his work may not be ignored), that as long
as he was with me, he acted not only with his usual honesty, but
showed such great talent in his profession that in the midst of my
troubles I found him one to entrust with the more deUcate points
of my duty.
On September 7th, I decided to leave the Port of San Francisco,
as I considered the reconnaissance completed, and in doing this,
having no wind, I was carried by the strong current against some
rocks, injuring the rudder and breaking two female and one male
bolts. This obliged me to enter a cove, wherejl repaired as well
as possible the accident, and again tried to sail forth, a Ught breeze
from the north (the only one I noticed in the forty-four days)
aiding the saUing. On the 18th, because the rudder was injured,
and those who had been on this coast before had warned me that
at this time of year the weather was very severe, I determined to
pass the Equinox at Monterey, and arrived there on the 19th. At
80

this port I found the frigate Santiago. The schooner came
October 7th, and I left for San Bias on the 13th, where I am sick
of my foot, but always deshous to obey Your ExceUency.
I pray the Lord to keep the life of Your ExceUency many years.
San Bias, November 9, 1775. Juan Manuel de Ayala.
To His ExceUency, BaUio Frey Don Antonio Maria BucareU.

61

Description of the Newly-discovered
Port of San Francisco
Situated in Latitude 37° 53' North, Longitude 17° 10' West
of San Bias
by
Lieutenant Don Juan Manuel Ayala

LACED about two leagues west-southwest of Point Alme
jas,* latitude 37° 42', the following is to be seen: Fhst
that itf is large, with two red barrancas,{ and second,
that to the north there are three white rocks at a stone's
throw. § From that point the coast runs north-northeast, form
ing a smaU harbor in which there are five submerged rocks close
to its shore; above it some white barrancas, |j ending in a sloping
hUl which top, to the north, is what is caUed Angel Point. ^
This has near it several rocks,e the furtherest one a gunshot
distant. From this point there is a harbor sufficient to accom
modate any vessel, 6 not only on account of its bottom, but
because it is sheltered from aU winds excepting those from the
west-southwest. The middle of this harbor is to the northwest,
where a copious creek empties ;x the point runs northeast \ east.
This harbor, with the one inside of it, which I caUed San Jose, o
has been found very good, with the prevailing winds from the
south to the northwest.
From Pt. Almejas to the northwest \ west, four FaraUones are
seen, distant about four leagues. The one southernmost looks
like a sugar-loaf. To the northwest \ north, at a distance of
* Pt. San Pedro.
t That is: Pt. Almejas or Pt. San Pedro.
t Barranca: The dictionary definition is a ravine or gulch, but it also means a high bluff
or cliff and in that sense is used by these explorers.
§ i. e.: from Pt. Almejas.
j Cliff House Rocks.
$ Punta del Angel de la Guarda — Point Lobos.
© Seal Rocks.
6 Bakers Beach.
X Lobos Creek.
O i. e. : inside of Point San Jose — Fort Point. 62

about twelve leagues, a mountain* is seen which ends in a low
point. According to the records of Sebastian Vizcaino and coast
pUot of Cabrera Bueno, this is the one caUed Point Reyes. From
this point the coast runs east-southeast in the shape of a half -moon,
open to aU winds of the third quarter and ending in two barrancas
at the foot of which a low point comes out with two submerged
rocks. This point was caUed Santiago, f and, with one called
Angel de la Guarda, forms the mouth of the channel of the entrance
of the port. J FoUowing this shore in a northeast direction, another
harbor is to be found within three small rocks near the shore which,
in case of necessity, may shelter any vessel. This harbor || ends
on the north with a large, steep, and broken point, at the foot of
which there is a white faraUon to which and to the point I gave the
name of San Carlos, § and with Point San Jose, which is distant
about half a league, forms the entrance of this famous port. It is
to be borne in mind that any vessel that enters or leaves this port
must take the precaution not to come near San Carlos Point, because
in this place exist violent whirlpools which make useless the rudder,
but must take the middle of the channel or saU near the shores of
San Jose" Point.
To the northeast £ north of the middle of the entrance, an
island^ is seen, distant about one and a half leagues. This island
divides the water of the flood in two channels in which a vessel
may anchor, especiaUy in the one that runs northeast \ north
near the island where water and wood are to be found in abun
dance. The vicinity of the island is such good anchorage that a
vessel can anchor within a pistol-shot of the shore.
To the east-northeast of Point San Jose" there is a sheltered
harbor, landlocked, with bottom which diminishes graduaUy to
the shore, where water and some wood are to be found.® In this
harbor there is no current, and for that reason, and because it is
so near the point I consider, it one of the best anchorages.
Once Points San Jose" and San Carlos have been passed, and
taking care to leave at one side the principal channel, an anchorage
can be made at any place, because it is sheltered from aH winds;

* Tamalpais.
t Point Bonita. The present name was given it in 1776.
t Golden Gate Strait.
Hi. e.: The outer harbor; outside of the Golden Gate.
§ Lime Point.
§ Angel Island.
© The Presidio anchorage. 63

the only thing to avoid is the current, which in the principal channel
is five mUes, and in its branches three miles.
This report was made to me by PUot Don Jose" Cafiizares, to
whom I entrusted the examination of the port, because I was
seriously sick.

64

FIRST SURVEY AND MAP OF THE BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO, BY LIEUTENANT AYALA.
From the original drawing attached to the Log of the San Carlos, in the India Office at Seville.
Photographed for E. J. Molera.

Reconnaissance of the Port of San
Francisco, with Map

Rjeport of the Pilot Don Jose de Canizares to
Commander Don Juan de Ayala

Translation of a Certified Copy of the Original in the Archives of the
Indies at Seville.

EAR CAPTAIN:— During the four times that I made
^\ reconnaissance of this Port, and made its map, I found
^J at the northeast and north-northeast what is shown
 | on the map and I here describe. — To the north-northeast
of Angel Island, distant about a mUe, there is a bay running in a
direction north-northwest to south-southwest. The distance be
tween the points forming said bay, is about two leagues, and the
shore line is about two and a half leagues. To the northwest of
the shore there are three smaU islands, forming between them
and the shore a narrow passage of shallow water closed to the
southwest. This bay is aU surrounded with hUls with few trees,
which are mostly laurel and oak, but at a distance to the west-
northwest, is visible a wood of what seems to be pines. In the
middle of this bay is standing a high faraUon with submerged
rocks around it. On the northeast of it there is sufficient water
for anchorage, as is shown on the map. There is no doubt of its
being good anchorage for vessels, provided they have good cables
and anchors, for they are subject to great stress because of the
current, which at this point, cannot be less than four mUes an hour.*
North-northeast of said bay there is a mouth about two miles
wide, where there are four small white rocks, the two north ones
* This is the body of water between Pt. San Pedro, Pt. San Pablo, Pt. Richmond and Tiburon
Peninsula. The high farallon is Red Rock. 65

with the two south ones* form a channel of nine brazas depth.
From this, one passes to another bay f more spacious, the diameter
of which is about eight leagues, its shape a perfect isosceles triangle ;
its mouth is divided into two channels, — one, on the side of the south
west coast, turns to the northwest at about the distance of a mUe
and ends in two large harbors which are situated in the same shore
at about four league's distance from the mouth that communicates
with the first bay; from the northwest point of the furthest harbor
to the north of it, distant about one and a half leagues, in turning
a point to the west-northwest, a large body of watert is seen, which
I did not examine because the channel which leads to it is extremely
limited, its depth not having three codos§ of water; from here to
the east-northeast foUows a low-lying island, just above the water
level, ending in a division made by the hills. |[ The other channel,
which is roomy and deep, runs directly in a northeast dhection till
it reaches the division of the hills through a canon that runs in the
same direction.
AU the bay, which is called the round bay (Bahia Redondo),
though it is not shaped that way, is surrounded with steep hills,
without trees, excepting two spots on the slopes fronting the two
harbors to the southwest. The rest of it is arid, rugged, and of a
melancholic aspect. Outside of the channels there is in this bay
about five codos of water, and at low tide two and a half, and in
some places it is dry. It is not difficult to enter this bay, but going
out wUl be difficult on account of the wind from the southwest.
After a careful examination of its shore, I did not find any fresh
water or any signs of it. Standing in the canon, which is to the
northeast, there is a channel^ a mUe and a hah wide, deep
and clear. East of its entrance there is a rancheria of about
four hundred souls. I had dealings with them, but did not
buy anything, though I presented them with beads, which you had
given me for that purpose, and some old clothing of mine.
Theh acquaintance was useful to my men and to me, as they pre
sented us with exquisite fishes (amongst them salmon), seeds, and
pinole. I had opportunity of visiting them four times and found
them always as friendly as the first time, noticing in them polite
* The rocks are The Sisters and The Brothers.
t San Pablo Bay.
I Napa Slough. The marsh was evidently under water, and island number one, with Mare
Island, made one long island.
§ Codo-1 1-2 feet.
j Mare Island. The division of the hills or cation is Carquines Strait.
f Carquines Straits. 66

manners, and what is better, modesty and retirement in the women.
They are not disposed to beg, but accept with good wUl what is
given them, without being impertinent, as are many others I have
seen during the conquest. This Indian vUlage has some scows or
canoes, made of tule, so weU constructed and woven that they
caused me great admhation. Four men get in them to go fishing,
pushing with two-ended oars with such speed that I found they
went faster than the launch. These were the only Indians with
whom I had communication in this northern part.
Following said channel a distance to the west from its mouth,
there is a harbor, so commodious, accessible, abundant in fresh
water and wood, and sheltered from all winds, that I considered
it one of the best inland ports that our Sovereign has for anchoring
a fleet of vessels. I called it Puerto de la Asumpta, having examined
it the day of the festivity of that saint.*
To the southeast of this portf the canon continues, untU it
joins the channel of the Indian vUlage. Following a distance of
three leagues in an east-northeast dhection, it enters another
bay J with a depth of thhteen brazas, diminishing to four where some
rivers§ empty and take the saltiness of the water which there
becomes sweet, the same as in a lake. The rivers come, one from
the east-northeast (this is the largest, about two hundred and fifty
yards wide), the other, which has many branches, comes from the
northeast through tulares and swamps in very low land, the chan
nels not over two brazas with sandy bars at theh mouths, where
I found in sounding the water not more than a hah braza. This
made me think they were not navigable, especiaUy as on the second
occasion I entered them, I touched bottom both in the channels
and on the bars. The bay where these rivers empty, is another
port larger than the Asumpta, where any vessel may enter, but it
would be difficult to obtain wood, which is far from the shore.
AU the eastern coast is covered with trees ; that to the west is arid,
dry, fuU of grasshoppers, and impossible of settlement. This is
aU I have reconnoitered to the north of^Angel Island. To the
southeast of said island foUowing the estero is as foUows:
To the east of this island, at a distance of about two leagues,
there is another, steep and barren, without any shelter, which
* The Assumption of the Virgin — August 15th. It is Southampton bay.
IThat is, from Puerto de la Asumpta.
Suisun Bay.
i The Sacramento and San Joaquin. Suisun Bay was long known as Puerto Duke — Fresh
water Port. 67

divides the mouth of the channel in two,* through which the sea
enters to a distance of about twelve leagues. The width of this
channel is in some parts, one, two, and three leagues; its depth
is not over four brazas, its width ample, but a pistol shot outside
of the channel; its depth is not over two brazas. The extreme end
of this sound, eastward, forms with a point, a pocket, which, at
low tide is nearly dry.f In every part there are seen poles driven in
(the mud), with black feathers, bunches of tule, and little sheUs,
which I believe are buoys for fishing, since they are in the water.
I think it will be impossible to anchor for three leagues inside of
this slough, because it is so exposed to the weather that strong
cables and good anchorage are needed to hold against the strong
current from the north.
The northeast part of this slough is surrounded by high hiUs,
and has in its mouth a thick wood of oaks, and at the other end
groves of thick redwood trees. At the southwest of the coast is a
small slough, navigable only by launches, J and on the coast two
harbors§ where vessels can anchor. On the more eastern one there
is an Indian viUage, rough, like the ones in Monterey. This part
seems to have better places for missions, though I did not examine
it except from a distance.
All the above stated in this report is what I observed, saw, sur
veyed, and sounded, during the days, in which by your orders, I
went to the reconnoitering of this Port of San Francisco in its
interior; and as proof of it, I sign it in this new Port of San Fran
cisco, at the shelter of Angel Island, on September 7th, 1775.
Jose de Cafiizares.
* Yerba Buena or Goat Island. Caflizaries marked it on the map (c) for isla de Alcatraces,
but that evidently was a mistake, as a comparison of the entry in the Log under date of August
12, with the map will show.
t Oakland and Berkeley tide flats.
i Islais creek.
i Yerba Buena cove and Mission bay.

68

Index of Places

Pages
Acapulco  16, 18 19, 21, 22, 23
Alcatraz Island  58, 68
Almejas, El Rincon de las  39
Almejas, Punta del  39, 65, 62
Angel Island  57, 58, 63, 68
Angel Point  62
Ano Nuevo, Punta de  36, 37,
38,43,52,53,54,65
Arroyo de San Francisco  41
Arroyo Seco  33
Baker's Beach  62
Barranca  62
Ballenas bay  40
Bonita, Point  63
Brazas  55
California, Baja  24, 25
California, Gulf of  '.'  19
Canada  35
Canada de los Osos. . .'  35
Canada de San Andres  40, 41
Carmelo, Pt  36
bay  43,46
Rio del  22,42,46
Carquines, strait  29, 41, 66
Cerralbo, Bay of  19
Codo  66
Columbia river  14
Concepcion, Laguna de la  33
Concepcion, Point  22, 34, 44
Dieguenos  27
Drake's bay  11, 17, 22
EI Buchon  34
El Oso Flaco  34
Ensenada  36
Farallones de San Francisco  52, 54, 62
Farallones, Gulf of  17, 39
Florida  12
Fort Point  62
Golden Gate  17, 29, 40, 41
Golden Gate, strait  63
Guadalupe, lake  34
Islais creek  68
Jesus de los Temblores, Rio de  32
La Paz, Bay of  19, 20
La Paz, port of  35
Lime Point  63
Lobos creek  62
Loreto, presidio of  25
Los Angeles, City of  32, 33
Los Angeles, river  33, 44
Napa slough  66

Pages
Mare Island  66
Mendocino, Cape  16, 17, 21
Mescaltitan  34
Mission bay  68
Montara mountains  38, 40
Monterey, Bay of  12, 22, 29, 44
Port of  36, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 68
presidio and mission of  46
Muertos, Punta de los  28
Navidad, Puerto de  17
Oakland Flats  68
Pajaro, Rio del  37
Pedernales, Point  34
Philippine Islands  14
Pilar Point  17, 38, 42
Pinos, Punta de  22, 36, 44, 46, 46
Porciiincula, Indulgence  33
Puerto Dulce  67
Punta del Angel de la Guarda  62, 63
Presidio anchorage  56, 63
Rancheria  33
Reyes, Punta de los  17, 39, 40, 41, 55, 63
Reyes, Rio de los  24
Richardson's bay  56
Red Rock  65
Ross, Fort  17
San Bias  13, 14, 21, 26, 29, 46, 49, 52, 68
San Buenaventura, mission of  30
San Carlos, Point  63
San Clemente, island  22
San Corp6foro, canon  33
San Diego  12, 29, 43, 44, 45
San Diego, bay  12, 21, 26, 27
Founding of mission  30
presidio of  30
San Elizario, Rio de  35
San Fernando, valley  33, 44
San Francisco, Bahia 6 Puerto de  39
Bay of.. . . 13, 14, 40, 41, 43, 58
Port of  39, 40, 62, 69, 68
creek  41
San Gabriel, valley  32
San Joaquin river  67
San Jose, Point  62,63
San Juan Capistrano, mission of  SO, 32
San Lorenzo, Rio de  37
San Luis Obispo  34, 44
San Luis Rey, mission of  32
San Miguel (island)  17
San Nicolas, Isla de  22
San Pablo bay  66

69

Pages
San Pedro bay  21
Point  39,65
valley  39
Santa Ana, Rio de.  32, 44
Santa Barbara Channel  12, 17, 22
Isla de  22
presidio of  30
Santa Catalina, island  22, 32
Santa Clara, river  33, 44
Santa Inez, river  34
Santa Lucia, Sierra de  17, 22, 34, 35, 42, 43
Santa Maria, mission of  25
Santa Rosa, river  34

Pages
Santa Susana, Sierra de  33, 44
Sacramento, river  67
Sal, Point  34
Salines, river  35
Santiago, Point  63
Seal Rocks. ,  62
Suisun bay  67
Tamalpais, mountain  63
The Brothers docks)  66
The Sisters (rocks)  66
Tomales bay  40
Velicata  12, 25, 26, 28, 45
Yerba Buena cove  68

70

Index of Persons

Pages
Aguilar, Martin  21
Aguirre, Juan B  58
Alvarado, Juan Bautista  30
Amador, Pedro  30
Anza, Juan Bautista de  12, 41
Arriaga, Julian de  49, 50
Ayala, Juan Manuel de  13, 14,
49, 50, 52, 63, 69, 62, 65
Bancroft, H. H  11, 12, 13, 14
Bodega y Quadra, Juan de la  13, 14, 52
Bolafios, Francisco  21, 22
Bucareli, Antonio Maria  14, 60, 51, 59
Bueno, Cabrera  13, 35, 36, 45
De Soto, Hernando  12
Cabrillo, Juan Rodrigues  16, 21, 33
Cafiizares, Jost  26, 49,
65, 58, 69, 64, 65, 68
Carrillo, Jose1 Raimundo  30
Cermefion, Sebastian  17, 21, 22
Coronado, Francisco Vasquez  12
Cortes, Hernando  19
Corvan, Toribio Gomez de  21
Costansd, Miguel .... 12, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31,
32, 34, 36, 43, 45, 47
Cota, Pablo de  30
Crespi, Juan  11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 29, 34,
35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 44, 45, 46
Davidson, George  13, 24, 40
De Gali, Francisco  17
Drake, Francis  11, 17
Estorace, Jorge  26, 27
Fages, Pedro . . 25,26,27,29,30, 36, 46, 46,49, 52
Ferrelo, Bartolome'  . 16
Figueroa, Rodriga de  19, 20
Fletcher, Francis  17
Galvez, Jose de  24, 25, 26

Pages
Gomez, Fray Francisco  25, 26, 29, 46
Griffin, George Butler  13
Heceta, Bruno de  13, 14, 52
Jiminez (Fortun)  19
Laut, Agnes C  13
Legaspi, Miguel Lopez de  16
Lummis, Chas. F  18
Maldonado, Gabriel  21
Manrique, Miguel  14, 52, 60
Mendoza, Antonio de  17
Monterey, Conde de  22
Morgana, Juan de.  18
Oliveros, Jos£ Ignacio  30
Ortega, Jose Francisco . . 12, 26, 27, 29, 30, 34,
37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 45
Palou, Fray Francisco  11, 12, 16, 13
Perez, Juan  26
Parron, Fray Fernando  25, 30, 44, 45
Pino, Miguel del  46
Portoli, Gaspar de. .12, 13, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30,
33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38,
40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48
Prat, Pedro  25, 26, 28, 30, 45
Rivera y Moncada, Fernando de. . 12, 25,26, 27.
28, 29, 31, 35, 36, 37, 41, 42, 45
Salcedo, Felipe  16
Serra, Fray Junipero;  12, 13, 15, 16, 25,
26, 27, 30, 44, 46, 46, 49
Soberanes, Jose Maria  30
Vancouver, Captain George  11
Velasco, Luis de  18
Vila, Vicente  26, 29, 30, 45
Vizcaino, Fray Juan  25, 26, 30
Vizcaino, Sebastian  13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22,
23, 35, 36, 42, 46
Yorba, Jose1 Antonio  30
Zuniga y Asevedo, Gaspar de  18, 19, 21

71