Part 4

Costanso spoke first; Vizcaino had put Monterey in 37 deg.; they had only reached 36 deg. 42'; they should not fail to explore up to 37 deg. 30', so as either to find the port or decide it did not exist. Fages was for going up to 37 deg. or a little more. Rivera thought 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, all would be well. If Monterey did not appear, they would find a place for a settlement; but if it should be the will 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 all agreed, and signed their 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 their limbs. Each night they were rubbed with oil, 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[26]. 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 killed 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 still had a supply of saints on hand, gave the river the name La Senora 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 Waddell 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 tortillas of bran and flour per day. Crespi named the camp San Luis Beltran, while the soldiers called it 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[27]. The next jornada was a long one of four leagues, and their 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 their end, but the contrary appeared to be the case. The diarrhoea seemed to relieve the scurvy, and the swollen limbs of the sufferers began to be less painful. They named the camp Vane de los Soldados de los Cursos, and Crespi applied 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 deserted. The Spaniards took possession of the huts, but soon came running forth with cries of "las pulgas! las pulgas![28]" 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 Wild Geese--and Crespi called it San Simon y San Judas. Every man in the command was ill; the medicines were nearly gone and the supply of food very short. They contemplated killing some of the mules. That night it rained heavily and Portola, who was very ill, decided to rest on the 29th. On Monday, October 30th, they moved forward. Half Moon Bay and Pillar Point were noted but no names given. Several deep arroyos were crossed, some of which required the building 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 while Ortega and his men were sent out to find a passage over the Montara mountains. A little stream furnished them with water and they named the camp El Rincon de las Almejas, on account of the mussels and other shell fish they found on the rocks. Crespi calls it La Punta del Angel Custodia. The site of the camp is about a mile 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 trail of the exploradores and made their painful way to the summit. Here a wondrous sight met their 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 no mistake. The distant point was the Punta de los Reyes and before them lay the Bahia o Puerto de San Francisco. The saint had been good to them and with joy in their hearts they made the steep and difficult descent and camped in the San Pedro valley[29] at the foot of the Montara mountains.

Some of the company thought they had left the Port of Monterey behind but would not believe 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 Vallecito de la Punta de las Almejas del Angel de la Guarda, as Crespi calls it, combining the two names of the camp of October 30th and transferring them to the camp in San Pedro valley.

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 mountain 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, while the many columns of smoke rising over them showed that they were well stocked with Indian villages. This story confirmed 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[30]. 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 their fire-arms as they approached. They reported that they found themselves obstructed by immense estuaries which ran extraordinarily far back into the land[31], but what caused their 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 Borromeo, 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 liberally on the mussels which abounded on the nearby rocks, and which were pronounced large and good, and, in better spirits than they had been for some time, they took up their march at one o'clock in the afternoon. Proceeding a short distance up the beach, they turned into the mountains on their right, and from the summit beheld the immense estero o brazo del mar. Then descending 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 hill, very green with low brush, and having a cluster of oaks at its base. The next two days they traveled down the canada, coasting the estero, which they could not see for the low hills (lomeria) on their 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 received by the half-starved Spaniards. They begged the strangers to go to their 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[32] was finished in a spacious valley. To the canada they gave the name of San Francisco[33]. 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[34].

Having failed 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[35].

During the absence of the explorers, the people of the expedition were compelled for want of meat to eat oak acorns, which caused them much suffering from indigestion and fever.

Portola called a council of officers, on November 11th, to determine the best course to pursue. The decision was unanimous to 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 wild geese which they shot, and on mussels gathered from the rocks of the coast. The following 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 tired out with their travels over the rough mountain trails, and they reported that no port of Monterey existed south of their 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 landfall 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 docile; * * * they have flax like that of Castile, and hemp, and cotton,"[36] etc.

The commander knew not what to think. What should be a great port, protected from all winds, was but an ensenada; what should be the Rio Carmelo was but an arroyo; what should be great lakes were but lagunillas; "and where, too, were the people, so intelligent and docile, who raised flax and hemp and cotton?" Costanso says that in their entire 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.

The situation of the command was becoming very grave. The food supply was almost gone. They had killed a mule, but only the Indians and the Catalonians would eat it. The commander called a council 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 half sacks of flour left; winter was upon them, the cold was becoming excessive, and snow was beginning to fall in the mountains. He invited free discussion, but postponed the decision until the next day, that all 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 entirely 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 if 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 Monterey. Before leaving Carmelo Bay, they set up a large cross on a little hill on the shore of the ensenadita, and on it, cut into the wood, the legend: "Dig; at the foot you will 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 desired to reach Point Reyes, but some esteros intervened which ran far inland, which required 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 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, their provisions nearly gone, they return to San Diego. Then follows the latitude at various points as observed by Costanso. 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 sail 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 their departure. On the 11th, they ascended the Salinas and began to retrace the route of their coming. They killed many geese, which relieved their 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 mudhole near San Luis Obispo, and were unable to say mass, though it was a feast day[37]. On January 3d, they passed Point Concepcion. Here, among the Channel Indians, food was abundant, their severe trials were over, and the health of the command improved daily. Instead of following up the Santa Clara river, they crossed the Santa Susana mountains, into the San Fernando valley, and followed 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."[38]

Portola found a joyful welcome at the little camp at San Diego. Many had died, and Junipero and Father Parron were just recovering from scurvy. No tidings were yet received from the San Antonio. The commander made a careful inventory of supplies, 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 little 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 sail 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 Vila of the San Carlos declared, when the details of the search were related to him, that the place where they erected the second cross was the long-lost Port of Monterey.

On April 16th the San Antonio sailed for Monterey, carrying Junipero, Costanso, 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 Vila with his mate and five sailors 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 supplies, and one hundred and sixty head of cattle.

Portola followed 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, while 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 Monterey which we have sought. It is exactly as reported by Sebastian Vizcaino and Cabrera Bueno."[39]

Remembering the good water at the camp on the Rio del Carmelo, Portola ordered the expedition to Carmelo Bay by direct line, while he, with Fages and Crespi, proceeded around the Point of Pines. They found it well 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 sailors to be a most famous port.