The March of Portola by Zoeth S. Eldredge

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The March of Portola and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco

by
Zoeth S. Eldredge

-

The Log of the San Carlos

and

Original Documents Translated and Annotated

by
E. J. Molera

Published by the Reception Committee of The California Promotion
Committee

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

The March of Portola

and

The Log of the San Carlos

San Francisco

-

"Serene, indifferent of fate,
Thou sittest at the Western Gate;

Upon thy heights so lately won,
Still slant the banners of the sun;

Thou seest the white seas strike their tents,
O warder of two continents,

And scornful of the peace that flies,
Thy angry winds and sullen skies,

Thou drawest all things, small or great,
To thee beside the Western Gate."

Table of Contents

-

Introduction
The March of Portola and Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco
Data regarding Portola after he left California
Letter of the Viceroy of New Spain to Don Julian de Arriaga
Causes that led to the Expedition of the San Carlos
Log of the San Carlos
Report of the Commander of the San Carlos
Description of the Bay of San Francisco
Report of the Pilot of the San Carlos

Illustrations

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

Introduction

In the annals of adventure, there are no more thrilling narratives of
heroic perseverance in the performance of duty than the record of
Spanish exploration in America. To those of us who have come into
possession of the fair land opened up by them, the story of their
travels and adventures have the most profound interest. The account of
the expedition of Portola has never been properly presented. Many
writers have touched on it, and H. H. Bancroft, in his History of
California, gives a brief digest of Crespi's diary. Most writers on
California history have drawn on Palou's Vida del V. P. F. Junipero
Serra and Noticias de la Nueva California, and without looking further,
have accepted the ecclesiastical narrative. We have endeavored in this
sketch to give, in a clear and concise form, the conditions which
preceded and led up to the occupation of California.

The importance of California in relation to the control of the Pacific
was early recognized by the great European powers, some of whom had but
small respect for the Bull of Pope Alexander VI dividing the New World
between Spain and Portugal. England, France, and Russia sent repeated
expeditions into the Pacific. In 1646 the British Admiralty sent two
ships to look in Hudson's Bay for a northwest passage to the South Sea,
one of which bore the significant name of California. The voyage of
Francis Drake, 1577-1580, was a private venture, but at Drake's Bay he
proclaimed the sovereignty of Elizabeth, and named the country New
Albion. Two hundred years later (1792-1793) Captain George Vancouver
explored the coast of California down to thirty degrees of north
latitude (Ensenada de Todos Santos), which, he says, "is the
southernmost limit of New Albion, as discovered by Sir Francis Drake, or
New California, as the Spaniards frequently call it." Even after the
occupation and settlement by the Spaniards, so feeble were their
establishments that, as Vancouver reports to the Admiralty, it would
take but a small force to wrest from Spain this most valuable
possession. But though the growing feebleness of Spain presaged the time
when her hold upon America would be loosened, the standard of individual
heroism was not lowered, and the achievements of Portola and of Anza
rank with those of De Soto and Coronado. The California explorer did
not, it is true, have to fight his way through hordes of fierce natives.
The California Indians, as a rule, received the white adventurers
gladly, and entertained them with such hospitality as they had to offer,
but the Indians north of the Santa Barbara Channel were but a poor lot.
In a country abounding in game of all kinds, a sea swarming with fish, a
soil capable of growing every character of foodstuff, these miserable
natives lived in a chronic state of starvation.

As in heroic qualities, so also in skill and judgment, Portola upholds
the best traditions of Spain. The success of an expedition depends upon
the character of the leader. Panfilo de Narvaez landed on the coast of
Florida in April, 1528, with a well-equipped army of three hundred men
and forty horses, just half the force he sailed with from Spain the
previous June, and of the three hundred men whom he led into Florida,
only four lived to reach civilization - the rest perished. That is but
one example of incompetent leadership. When Portola organized his
expedition for the march from San Diego Bay to Monterey, many of his
soldiers were ill from scurvy, and at one time on the march the sick
list numbered nineteen men, including the governor and Rivera, his chief
officer. Sixteen men had to be carried, and to three, in extremis, the
viaticum was administered; but he brought them all through, and returned
to San Diego without the loss of a man.

There are two full diaries of this expedition, one by Father Crespi and
the other by Alferez Costanso. There is, besides, a diary of Junipero
Serra of the march from Velicata to San Diego Bay, a translation of
which is printed in Out West magazine (Los Angeles), March-July, 1902.
It is of small value to the student of history. There is a diary by
Portola, quoted by Bancroft, and a Fragmento by Ortega, also used by
Bancroft. These we have not seen. There are letters from Francisco
Palou, Juan Crespi and Miguel Costanso, printed in Out West for January
1902. The diary of Father Crespi is printed in Palou's Noticias de la
Nueva California. Documentos para la Historia de Mexico, re-printed San
Francisco, 1874. The diary of Miguel Costanso is in the Sutro library.
It has never been printed. It is prefaced by an historical narrative, a
poor translation of which was published by Dalrymple, London, 1790, and
a better one by Chas. F. Lummis in Out West, June-July, 1901. In
Publications of the Historical Society of Southern California, Vol. II,
Part 1, Los Angeles, 1891, a number of documents of the Sutro collection
are printed, with translations by George Butler Griffin. These relate to
the explorations of the California coast by ships from the Philippines,
the two voyages of Vizcaino, with some letters of Junipero Serra, and
diaries of the voyage of the Santiago to the northern coast in 1774.

The sketch here submitted is the result of much study of original
documents, and the route of the expedition is laid down after careful
survey of the physical geography where possible, and in other cases, by
the contoured maps of the Geological Survey, following the directions
and language as given by the diarists. Among the printed books consulted
are Palou's Vida del Padre Junipero Serra and his Noticias de la Nueva
California, above noted. The Conquest of the Great Northwest, Agnes C.
Laut, New York, 1908; History of California by H. H. Bancroft; Treaties
of Navigation, Cabrera Bueno, Translation, Dalrymple, London, 1790; The
Discovery of San Francisco Bay, George Davidson, and Francis Drake on
the Northwest Coast of America in 1579, the same author; Proceedings of
the Geographical Society of the Pacific.

In view of the forthcoming Portola Festival, The California Promotion
Committee, through its Reception Committee, appointed three of its
members to compile a history of the first expedition for the settlement
of California. In the endeavor to obtain further knowledge of the life
and character of Portola, the committee has been enabled, through the
efforts of one of its members, to have careful search made among the
archives of Madrid, of the India Office at Saville, of the City of
Mexico, and of Puebla, and while we have little to show, as yet,
concerning Portola, we have received other documents of the utmost
importance to the history of San Francisco: a chronicle of the events
following the discovery of the Bay.

By royal edict, a maritime expedition for the exploration of the
northwestern coasts of America sailed from San Blas early in the year
1775. This consisted of the frigate Santiago, under the
commander-in-chief, Don Bruno de Heceta; the packet boat San Carlos,
under Lieutenant Ayala, and schooner Sonora, under Lieutenant Bodega. To
Lieutenant Ayala was assigned the exploration of the Bay of San
Francisco, while the Santiago and the Sonora sailed for the north.
Bodega discovered the Bay which bears his name, and Heceta (to spell his
name as it is usually written) discovered the Columbia River. Bancroft
(History of California), in giving Palou's Vida as authority for his
short and incorrect account of Ayala's survey, says: "It is unfortunate
that neither map nor diary of this earliest survey is extant." It is
with pleasure we are permitted to present to the public these important
documents, now printed for the first time, and only regret that the
shortness of time allowed for their study may perhaps necessitate later
some minor corrections.

We have also received from the Minister of Marine of Spain, Don Jose
Ferrano, under date of July 14, 1909, a drawing of the paquebot, San
Carlos, together with the record of her gallant commander, Don Juan
Manuel de Ayala.

Ayala was born in Osuna, Andalucia, on the 28th of December, 1745. He
entered the Marine Corps on the 19th of September, 1760, and was made
Alferez de Fragata, October 10, 1767; Alferez de Navio, June 15, 1769;
Teniente de Fragata, April 28, 1774; Teniente de Navio, February, 1776;
and Capitan de Fragata, December 21, 1782.

When the order for the exploration of the northern coast was made, Ayala
was one of the officers assigned to the work. He arrived in Vera Cruz in
August, 1774, proceeded to the City of Mexico, and was ordered by
Viceroy Bucareli to San Blas, where he was given command of the schooner
Sonora. The squadron under Heceta had hardly got under way, when the
commander of the San Carlos, Don Miguel Manrique, suddenly went mad.
Ayala was ordered to the command of the packet-boat, and returned to San
Blas with the unfortunate officer, to follow the squadron a few days
later.

In December, 1775, Ayala conducted a reconnaissance on the coast of New
Spain, and at its conclusion was placed in command of the Santiago, and
until October, 1778, served the new establishments of California. In
August, 1779, he was sent to the Philippine Islands in command of the
San Carlos, returning to San Blas in 1781. In July, 1784, he returned to
Spain, and on March 14, 1785, was retired, at his own request, the royal
order granting him full pay as captain of frigate in consideration of
his services to California. He died December 30, 1797.

Zoeth S. Eldredge,
E. J. Molera,
Charles H. Crocker,

San Francisco, August, 1909. - Committee.

The March of Portola and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco

by

Zoeth S. Eldredge.

The popular mind accepts the oft-repeated statement that the settlement
of California was due to the pious zeal of a devoted priest, eager to
save the souls of the heathen, supplemented by the paternal care of a
monarch solicitous for the welfare of his subjects. The political
exigencies of the day are forgotten; military commanders and civil
governors sink into insignificance and become mere executives of the
priestly will, while the heroic efforts of Junipero Serra to convert the
natives, his courage in the face of danger, his sublime zeal, and his
unwearied devotion, make him the impelling factor in the colonization of
California.

Nor is the popular conception that the church led the way into
California strange, when we understand that it is to the writings of
Fray Francisco Palou, friend, disciple, and successor of Junipero, that
all historians turn for the account of the occupation. Fray Palou
details the glorious life of the leader with whom he toiled; he
eulogizes the worthy priest, the ardent missionary, as he passed up and
down the length of the land, founding missions, planting the vine, the
olive, and the fruit tree in a land whose inhabitants had often suffered
from hunger; giving aid and comfort to the sick and weary and
consolation to the dying. Indeed, the pictures of the padres are
fascinating. The infant establishments planted by the church grew rich
and powerful, but so wise and gentle was the administration of the
priests and so generous their hospitality, that life in California in
the first quarter of the nineteenth century was an almost dolce far
niente existence.

Radiant as is the priestly figure of Junipero drawn by Palou, the
careful investigator will find that the impelling factor in the
occupation of California was stern military necessity, not missionary
zeal. From the time of Cabrillo, Spain had claimed the coasts of the
Pacific up to forty-two degrees north latitude by right of discovery,
but more than two hundred years had passed and she had done nothing
towards making good this right by settlement. The country was open to
colonization by any nation strong enough to maintain and protect its
colonies.

Before relating the story of Portola's march, let us consider for a
moment the situation of California in its relation to Spain and other
European nations, and we will then understand why Spain found it
necessary to occupy the country.

When Legaspi completed the conquest of the Philippines in 1565, he sent
his flagship, the San Pedro, back to New Spain under command of his
grandson, Felipe Salcedo, with orders to survey and chart a practicable
route for ships returning from the Islands. The San Pedro sailed from
Cebu, June 1, 1565, and took her course east-northeast to the Ladrones,
thence northward to latitude thirty-eight, thence sailing eastward,
following the Kuroshiwo, the Black Current of Japan, they made a
landfall on the coast of California about the latitude of Cape
Mendocino. A sail of two thousand five hundred miles down the coasts of
California and New Spain brought the voyagers to the port of Acapulco.
This route was charted by the priests on board the San Pedro, and for
nearly three centuries was the one followed by the galleons of Spain
sailing from Manila to Acapulco. The voyage across the Pacific was a
long one and ships in distress were obliged to put about and make for
Japan. A harbor on the coast of California in which ships could find
shelter and repair damages was greatly desired. A survey of the unknown
coasts of the South Sea, as it was called, was ordered, and it was also
suggested that the explorations be extended beyond the forty-second
degree of north latitude, it being held that the coast was a part of the
same continent as that of China, or only separated therefrom by the
narrow strait of Anian, which was believed to open in latitude
forty-two.

Up to this time the only exploration of the northern coast of California
was that of Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo, and continued after his death by
his chief pilot, Bartolome Ferrelo, in 1542-1543. Cabrillo sailed as far
north as Fort Ross, anchored in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the
entrance to the Golden Gate, and then sought refuge from the terrible
storms in San Miguel Island, Santa Barbara Channel, where he died.
Ferrelo took command and sailed up to Cape Mendocino, which he named in
honor of Don Antonio de Mendoza, first viceroy of New Spain.

On the 17th of June, 1579, Francis Drake, in command of the Golden
Hinde, took refuge in the bay under Point Reyes, now known as Drake's
Bay. He took possession of the country in the name of Queen Elizabeth,
and named it New Albion, because of the white cliffs which, Chaplain
Fletcher writes, "lie towards the sea," and also "that it might have
some affinity with our own country." It was in this place and at this
time that the first English service was held in America, by Master
Francis Fletcher, chaplain to Francis Drake. The "Prayer Book Cross" in
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, commemorates the event.

Drake remained in this bay thirty-seven days, refitted his ship,
supplied himself with wood and water, and sailed on July 23d to the
Southeast Farallones, where he laid in a store of seal meat, and on the
25th sailed across the Pacific for England by way of the Cape of Good
Hope.

In 1585, Captain Francisco de Gali, sailing for the Philippines, was
directed to sail, on the return voyage, as far north as the weather
would permit, and on reaching the coast of California, examine the land
and the harbors on his way homeward, make maps of all, and report all
that he accomplished. It does not appear from Gali's report that he
accomplished anything in particular. He reached the coast in latitude
37deg. 30' (Pillar Point), and noted that the land was high and fair; that
the mountains[1] were without snow, and that there were many indications
of rivers, bays, and havens along the coast.

In 1594, Captain Sebastian Cermenon, a Portuguese sailor in the service
of Spain, sailed for the Philippines with orders similar to those of
Gali. In an attempt to survey the coast, he lost his ship, the San
Agustin. It is supposed she struck on one of the Farallones and was
beached in Drake's Bay. From the trunk of a tree they constructed a
boat, called a viroco, and in this the ship's company of more than
seventy persons continued the homeward voyage. The little vessel reached
Puerto de Navidad in safety, and here the commander and part of the
company left it in charge of the pilot, Juan de Morgana, with a crew of
ten men, who brought it into Acapulco on the 31st of January, 1596; a
most remarkable voyage of nearly twenty-five hundred miles by
shipwrecked, sick, and hungry men, crowded into an open boat. With the
loss of the San Agustin, explorations of the California coast by laden
ships from the Philippines came to an end.

Sometime prior to the summer of 1595, the viceroy of New Spain, Don Luis
de Velasco, entered into an agreement with certain persons looking to
the exploration of the coasts of the Californias and the settlement of
the land. The consideration for this undertaking, which was to be at the
expense of the adventurers, was the privilege of pearl fishing and
trade, together with all the honors, favors, and exemptions usually
given to the pacifiers and settlers of new provinces. Preparations for
the expedition were under way, when a dispute arose between the leader
and his partners in the enterprise, and the matter was carried into the
courts. Before a decision was reached, the leader died, and the judge
ordered the other partners, among whom was one Sebastian Vizcaino, to
begin the voyage to the Californias within three months. Under this
order, Vizcaino applied to Viceroy Velasco, and received his permission
to make the journey. This was the condition of affairs when, on October
5, 1596, Velasco was relieved and a new viceroy, Don Gaspar de Zuniga y
Azevedo, Count of Monterey, took command. At Velasco's request, Zuniga
made a careful examination of all matters pertaining to the expedition
to the Californias, and the result was not favorable to Vizcaino. The
new viceroy did not think that an enterprise which might involve results
of such vast importance should be entrusted to the leadership of a
person of such obscure position and limited capital. He also doubted if
Vizcaino had the resolution and capacity necessary for so great an
undertaking, and it appeared to him that if disorders should arise among
his men through lack of discipline, or if the natives of the country to
which he was going should repel him, the repute and royal authority of
the king would be in danger. On the other hand, there was the decision
of the court, the concession of the viceroy, and the fact that Vizcaino
had already been at expense in the matter. Zuniga communicated his
doubts to the former viceroy, who, in his perplexity, submitted the
question to a theologian and a jurist, selected as the viceroy writes,
from the number of those whose opinions were entitled to the greatest
consideration. Their decision was that the concession of the viceroy had
the force of an agreement and contract; that what was at first a favor
had become a right, and that, as the captain had manifested no
incapacity and had been guilty of no offense, the compact could not be
varied. The audiencia[2], before whom Zuniga also laid the matter, was
of like opinion. In view, therefore, of the length to which the affair
had gone, the viceroy resolved not to annul the contract but to do all
in his power to insure the success of the expedition. That Vizcaino's
soldiers might respect and esteem him, the viceroy clothed him with
authority and showed him the greatest honor. He required Vizcaino to
furnish him with complete memorandums and inventories of the ships and
lanchas he intended to take with him, with their sails and tackle, the
number of people, and the provisions for them, arms, ammunition, and all
other property, and he instructed the royal officers at Acapulco that
the expedition must not be permitted to sail until it was fully provided
with everything necessary for the voyage and the safety of the people.
The Council of the Indies, on receiving Zuniga's report, ordered him to
cancel Vizcaino's commission and select another leader for the
expedition, but before this order could reach the viceroy, Vizcaino had
sailed. The expedition consisted of the flagship San Francisco, six
hundred tons; the San Jose, a smaller ship, under command of Captain
Rodrigo de Figueroa, and a lancha. Vizcaino sailed from Acapulco in
March, 1596. His first stop was at the port of Calagua on the coast of
Colima, where he took on some of his people and stores, and to this
point the watchful viceroy sent a personal representative to see that
Vizcaino complied with all of his requirements, and to report on the
conduct of his soldiers. From here Vizcaino sailed northwest to Cape
Corrientes, thence northerly to the Islands of San Juan de Mazatlan.
From Mazatlan he bore west-northwest across the Gulf of California and
landed in a large bay which he named San Felipe, afterwards known as the
Bay of Cerralbo. From here he went to La Paz bay, which he so named
because of the peaceful character of the Indians, who received him
hospitably with presents of fish, game, and fruits. This was, it is
supposed, the place where Jimenez, the discoverer of California, lost
his life in 1533, and where Cortez planted his ill-fated colony two
years later. In entering the bay, the flagship ran on a shoal, and they
were obliged to cut away her masts and lighten her of her cargo of
provisions, a great part of which was wet and lost. Here Vizcaino landed
and built a stockade fort, and leaving the dismantled flagship and the
married men of his company under command of his lieutenant, Figueroa, he
sailed on October 3rd, with the San Jose and the lancha and eighty men
to explore the gulf. He encountered severe storms which separated his
vessels, and not having proper discipline among his men, had trouble
with the Indians of the coast, during which nineteen men were lost by
the overturning of the ship's long boat. He turned back to La Paz, where
his men, disheartened by the storms and the loss of their comrades,
demanded to be returned to New Spain. His stock of provisions was
running low, and putting the disaffected on the flagship and the lancha,
he sent them back, and with the San Jose and forty of the more
adventurous of the men, again sailed, on October 28th, for the
headwaters of the gulf. For sixty-six days he battled against strong
north winds, and only succeeded in reaching latitude twenty-nine; then
yielding to the demands of his men, he sailed for the port of the Isles
of Mazatlan.

The results of the expedition did not add to Vizcaino's reputation, but
he made a most glowing report of his discoveries. He told of a land
double the extent of New Spain and in situation much preferable; its
seas abounding in pearls of excellent quality and in fish of all kinds,
in quantity greater than was contained in any other discovered sea;
while in the interior of the land, some twenty days' journey to the
northwest, were people who lived in towns, wore clothes, had gold and
silver ornaments, cloaks of cotton, maize and provisions, fowls of the
country (turkeys), and of Castile (chickens); thus the Indians told him
- not only in one place but in many. He desired permission to make
another voyage, and as the late expedition had exhausted his own
resources, asked that he be granted thirty-five thousand dollars from
the royal treasury and outfitting for his ships. These advances he
agreed to repay from the first gain received by him during the voyage.
He also asked, on behalf of those who accompanied him, that the
countries brought by him into subjection to the crown be given to them
encomienda for five lives[3]; that they be made gentlemen and granted
all the favors, exemptions, and liberties that other gentlemen enjoy,
not only in the provinces of the Indies but also in Spain. For these and
for other favors asked, Vizcaino agreed to sail with five ships,
equipped with proper artillery, one hundred and fifty men, arms and
ammunition, provisions, etc. - all things necessary for the voyage. He
would pay the king one-fifth part of all gold, precious stones and
valuable mineral substances obtained, one-tenth part of the fish taken,
and one-twentieth part of the salt obtained. He also agreed to make
discovery of the whole ensenada and gulf of the Californias, take
possession of the land in the name of his majesty, make settlements,
build forts, and explore the country inland for a distance of one
hundred leagues.

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