Part 2

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

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

Vizcaino's rose-colored report did not deceive the authorities, but as he had the necessary outfit and had had some experience, the Council decided that he was the best man to head the expedition, though Zuniga favored Don Gabriel Maldonado, of Saville, for commander. The Council ordered that Vizcaino be supplied from the royal treasury with all necessary funds; it granted the boon of encomienda for three lives, and that the discoverers should have all the privileges of gentlemen throughout the Indies. It also granted other minor privileges and boons asked for. Vizcaino was made captain-general of the expedition, and sailed from Acapulco May 5, 1602, with orders to explore the coasts of the Californias from Cape San Lucas to Cape Mendocino, or as far north as latitude forty-two. His ships were the San Diego, flagship, the Santo Tomas, under Toribio Gomez de Corvan, the Tres Reyes, a small fragata or tender, under Alferez Martin Aguilar, and a barcolongo for exploring rivers and bays[4]. The chief pilot of the expedition was Francisco Bolanos who had been one of the pilots with Cermenon on the lost San Agustin. Three barefooted Carmelites looked after the spiritual needs of the adventurers. The story of this second voyage of Vizcaino is well known. On the 10th of November, they were in the Bay of San Diego, which Vizcaino named for San Diego de Alcala, whose day, November 14th, they spent in the bay, ignoring the name, San Miguel, given it by Cabrillo sixty years before. Later in the month he entered and named San Pedro bay, for Saint Peter, bishop of Alexandria, whose day, November 26th, it was. He also named the islands still known as Santa Catalina and San Clemente. He next sailed through and named the Canal de Santa Barbara, which saint's day, December 4th, was observed while in the channel, and also named Isla de Santa Barbara and Isla de San Nicolas. Passing Punta de la Concepcion, which he named[5], Vizcaino sailed up the coast in a thick fog, which lifting on December 14th, revealed to the voyagers the lofty coast range usually sighted by the ships coming from the Philippines. Four leagues beyond they saw a river flowing from high hills through a beautiful valley to the sea. To the mountains he gave the name of Sierra de la Santa Lucia, in honor of the Saint whose day (December 13th) they had just celebrated, and the stream he named Rio del Carmelo, in honor of the Carmelite friars. Rounding a high wooded point, which he named Punta de los Pinos, he dropped anchor in Monterey bay, December 16th, 1602. Here Vizcaino found the much desired harbor of refuge, and he named it for his patron, the Conde de Monterey. Vizcaino made the most of his discovery, and in a letter to the king, written in Monterey Bay, December 28, 1602[6], he gives a most glowing description of the bay, which is, at best, but an open roadstead. The Indians, as usual, told him of large cities in the interior, which they invited him to visit, but Vizcaino could not tarry. His provisions were almost gone, his men were sick with scurvy, of which many had died, and putting the most helpless on board the Santo Tomas, he sent her to Acapulco for aid, and sailed, January 3, 1603, with the flagship and fragata, for the north. A storm soon separated the vessels and they did not see each other again until they met in the harbor of Acapulco. Vizcaino was told by the pilot, Bolanos, that Cermenon had left in Drake's Bay a large quantity of wax and several chests of silk, and he entered the bay on January 8th to see if any vestiges remained of ship or cargo. He did not land, but awaited the arrival of the fragata. As she did not appear, he became uneasy, and sailed the next morning in search of her. On the 13th, a violent gale from the southeast drove him northward. This was followed by a dense fog, and when it lifted, he found himself in latitude forty-two--the limit of his instructions--with Cape Blanco in sight, "and the trend of the coast line onward," he writes, "towards Japan and Great China, which are but a short run away." Only six of his men were now able to keep the deck, and he bore away for Acapulco, where he arrived March 21, 1603. Of the company that sailed with him, forty-two had died.

In 1606, Philip III, King of Spain, ordered that Monterey be occupied and provision made there to succor and refit the Philippine ships. He directed that to Vizcaino should be given the command of the expedition. His orders were not carried out and Vizcaino sailed instead for Japan, whence he returned in 1613, and died three years later.

For over one hundred and sixty years, no steps were taken for the pacification and settlement of Alta California. The galleons continued to make their yearly voyages to the Philippines, and returning, sail down the coast within sight of the fair land; but no harbor of refuge was established and no attempt was made to colonize the country.

At last the Spanish king began to realize that if he would retain his possessions in America, some action was necessary for their protection. Spanish sovereignty in the Pacific was threatened. The Russians had crossed Bering Sea, had established themselves on the coast of Alaska, and their hunters were extending their pursuit of the sea otter into more southern waters. England had wrested Canada from France and was ready to turn her attention to the American possessions of Spain. The Family Compact of the Bourbon princes of France, Spain, and Italy had aroused the ire of Pitt, then at the zenith of his fame, and he resolved to demand an explanation from Spain, and, failing to receive it, attack her at home and abroad before she was prepared, declaring that it was time for humbling the whole house of Bourbon. A check in the cabinet caused Pitt's resignation, but in 1766 he was again restored to power with vigor and arrogance unabated.

On February 27, 1767, Don Carlos III of Spain issued his famous decree expelling the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions. This society had established a number of missions in Lower California, and Don Gaspar de Portola, a captain of dragoons of the Regiment of Spain, was appointed governor of the Californias and sailed from Tepic with twenty-five dragoons, twenty-five infantry, and fourteen Franciscan friars to dispossess the Jesuits and turn the California missions over to the Franciscans.

The king having been warned of the advance of the Russians upon the northern coasts of California, ordered the viceroy of New Spain to take effective measures to guard that part of his dominions from danger of invasion and insult. While the viceroy was casting about to find a person of sufficient importance and ability to organize and carry out so great an undertaking, Don Jose de Galvez, visitador-general of the kingdom and member of the Council of the Indies, offered his services and volunteered to go to Lower California and effect the organization and equipment of the expedition. His services were eagerly accepted, and Galvez set out from the City of Mexico, April 9, 1768, for San Blas, on the coast of New Galicia. Before arriving at that port, he was overtaken by a courier from the viceroy bringing orders just received from the court directing that a maritime expedition should be at once dispatched to Monterey and that port fortified. Convening the Junta at San Blas on the 16th of May, 1768, the senor visitador laid before them the situation and the wishes of the king. He stated that on the exterior or occidental coasts of the Californias, Spain claimed from Cape San Lucas on the south to the Rio de los Reyes[7] in 43 degrees, though the only portion occupied was from Cape San Lucas up to 30 deg. 30'.[8] The civilized or Christian portion of the community (gente de razon--people of reason) did not, he said, number more than four hundred souls, including the families of the soldiers of the garrison of Loreto and those of the miners in the south; that if foreigners of any nation were to establish themselves in the celebrated ports of San Diego and Monterey, they might fortify themselves there before the government could receive notice of it. In all the Sea of the South that washes the shores of New Spain there were no other vessels than the two packet-boats recently built in San Blas, the San Carlos and the San Antonio, and two others of small tonnage which served the Jesuit missionaries in their communications between California and the coast of Sonora. In these few ships consisted all the maritime forces which could have been opposed to foreign invasion. All this Galvez laid before the Junta, there being present the commandant of the department and the army officers and pilots who chanced to be there. It was resolved to send an expedition by sea in the San Carlos and San Antonio, and orders were made to prepare the ships, while Galvez proceeded to the peninsula to attend to the gathering of supplies and provisions. All the missions of Lower California were laid under contribution of vestments and sacred vessels for the new missions to be established, also dried fruits, wine, oil, riding horses and mule herd; for Galvez had decided to supplement the maritime expedition by one by land, lest the infinite risks and dangers attending a long sea-voyage should render the attempt abortive. The governor, Don Gaspar de Portola, volunteered to lead the expedition, and he was named commander-in-chief. Don Fernando de Rivera y Moncado, captain of the presidio of Loreto, was appointed second in command. The troops were composed of forty cavalrymen from the presidio of Loreto in Lower California, under Rivera, and twenty-five infantrymen of the compania franca of Catalonia, under Lieutenant Don Pedro Fages. To the presidial troops were joined thirty Christian Indians from the missions, armed with bows and arrows. These were intended for the land expedition. The mission of Santa Maria, the northernmost mission on the peninsula, was the rendezvous of the land forces, and from Loreto four lighters loaded with provisions for the land expedition were sent up the gulf to the bay of San Luis Gonzaga, the nearest point to the mission of Santa Maria, whither also went by land the troops, muleteers, and vaqueros, with the herd of every sort. Finding insufficient pasturage for the cattle at Santa Maria, they advanced to Velicata, some thirty miles distant, and here was assembled the land expedition. In addition to the officers named, Don Miguel Costanso, ensign of royal engineers, was ordered to join the expedition as cosmographer and diarist, and Don Pedro Prat was appointed physician. To minister to the soldiers and take charge of the missions to be established in the new land, the following missionary priests, all of the college of San Fernando in Mexico, were named to accompany the expedition. Fray Junipero Serra, appointed president of the missions of Alta California, Fray Juan Crespi, Fray Fernando Parron, Fray Juan Vizcaino, and Fray Francisco Gomez.

On the 6th of January, 1769, at the port of La Paz, the San Carlos was loaded and ready for sea. The venerable Father Junipero Serra sang mass aboard her, and with other devotional exercises blessed the ship and the standards. The visitador named the Senor San Jose patron of the expedition, and in a fervent exhortation, kindled the spirits of those about to sail. These were Don Pedro Fages, with his twenty-five Catalans of the 1st batallion 2d regiment, Voluntarios de Cataluna, Alferez Miguel Costanso, Surgeon Don Pedro Prat, and Padre Fernando Parron. The ship was commanded by Don Vicente Vila, lieutenant of the royal navy; the mate was Don Jorge Estorace, and twenty-three sailors, two boys, four cooks, and two blacksmiths made up the rest of the ship's company--sixty-two in all. They embarked on the night of January 9th and sailed on the 10th. Galvez appointed Fages gefe de las armas--chief of the military expedition at sea, and instructed him to retain command of the soldiers on land until the arrival of the governor at Monterey[9]. On the 15th of February, Father Junipero performed like offices for the San Antonio, and she sailed the same day under command of Don Juan Perez, "of the navigation of the Philippines," carrying Frays Vizcaino and Gomez, some carpenters, blacksmiths, and cooks, that, with the sailors, made some ninety persons, all told, on both ships. The rendezvous was San Diego bay, where all were to meet.

The land expedition was divided into two parts. The first division, under Rivera, started from Velicata March 24th, and the second, under command of the governor, started May 15th. With Rivera were Padre Crespi, Pilotin (Mate) Jose Canizares. Twenty-five soldados de cuera[10], three muleteers, and eleven Christian Indians--forty-two men. With the governor marched Junipero Serra, fifteen soldados de cuera, under Sergeant Jose Francisco de Ortega, two servants, muleteers and Indians--forty-four in all. The previous day, May 14, 1769, being Easter Sunday, Junipero established the Mission of San Fernando with Fray Miguel de la Campa as Minister. For the succor and relief of the forces, both sea and land, Galvez built, at San Blas, a ship which he named in honor of the protector of the expedition, the San Jose, and loading her with supplies and provisions, sent her with orders to meet the expedition at Monterey. She was lost at sea.

There is very little of interest in this march of some two hundred miles through a barren country to the bay of San Diego. Junipero's diary lies before me[11]; it is a dreary recital of small incidents of the march, the Indians they met, the barrancas they crossed, with pious comments, etc.; no course, no distances traveled, or other like information necessary to an understanding of the route and country. As a diarist, he is not to be compared with Crespi. On June 20th they came first in sight of the sea at the Ensenada de Todos Santos; thence their journey was by the sea until they came to the rendezvous. As they drew near to San Diego, their Indian allies began to desert, evidently in fear of the Dieguenos, whom they began to meet in numbers and who proved a rascally lot. They thronged the camp and became a perfect nuisance with their begging and stealing. They begged from Junipero his robe and from the governor his cuera, waistcoat, breeches, and all he had on. One of them succeeding in inducing Junipero to take off his spectacles to show them to him and as soon as he got them in his hands made off with them, causing the priest a thousand difficulties to recover them. On the 27th of June Sergeant Ortega, with his scouts, pushed on to San Diego and announced to the anxious camp the proximity of the governor. Rivera sent ten of his soldiers with fresh horses back with Ortega, and Portola, in advance of his command, reached the camp June 29th, and the entire division arrived, June 30th, in good order and condition, forty-six days from Velicata.