The March of Portola and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco Part 1

The March of Portola.

by Zoeth S. Eldredge and E. J. Molera.

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 s.h.i.+ps to look in Hudson's Bay for a northwest pa.s.sage 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 lat.i.tude (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 leaders.h.i.+p. 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 viatic.u.m 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. Doc.u.mentos 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 doc.u.ments of the Sutro collection are printed, with translations by George Butler Griffin. These relate to the explorations of the California coast by s.h.i.+ps 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 doc.u.ments, 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 Francis...o...b..y, 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 doc.u.ments 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 a.s.signed 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 doc.u.ments, 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 a.s.signed 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 pa.s.sed 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 lat.i.tude by right of discovery, but more than two hundred years had pa.s.sed 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 flags.h.i.+p, the San Pedro, back to New Spain under command of his grandson, Felipe Salcedo, with orders to survey and chart a practicable route for s.h.i.+ps 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 lat.i.tude thirty-eight, thence sailing eastward, following the Kuros.h.i.+wo, the Black Current of j.a.pan, they made a landfall on the coast of California about the lat.i.tude 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 s.h.i.+ps in distress were obliged to put about and make for j.a.pan. A harbor on the coast of California in which s.h.i.+ps 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 lat.i.tude, 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 lat.i.tude 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, anch.o.r.ed 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 s.h.i.+p, 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 lat.i.tude 37 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 s.h.i.+p, 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 s.h.i.+p'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 s.h.i.+pwrecked, sick, and hungry men, crowded into an open boat. With the loss of the San Agustin, explorations of the California coast by laden s.h.i.+ps 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 fis.h.i.+ng 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 leaders.h.i.+p 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 ent.i.tled 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 s.h.i.+ps 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 flags.h.i.+p San Francisco, six hundred tons; the San Jose, a smaller s.h.i.+p, 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 flags.h.i.+p 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 flags.h.i.+p 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 s.h.i.+p'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 flags.h.i.+p 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 lat.i.tude 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 quant.i.ty 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 s.h.i.+ps. 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 s.h.i.+ps, 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 lat.i.tude forty-two. His s.h.i.+ps were the San Diego, flags.h.i.+p, 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 Francis...o...b..lanos 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 Ca.n.a.l 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. Pa.s.sing 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 s.h.i.+ps 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 flags.h.i.+p 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 quant.i.ty of wax and several chests of silk, and he entered the bay on January 8th to see if any vestiges remained of s.h.i.+p 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 lat.i.tude forty-two--the limit of his instructions--with Cape Blanco in sight, "and the trend of the coast line onward," he writes, "towards j.a.pan 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 s.h.i.+ps. He directed that to Vizcaino should be given the command of the expedition.

His orders were not carried out and Vizcaino sailed instead for j.a.pan, 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 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 sh.o.r.es 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 s.h.i.+ps 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 s.h.i.+ps, 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 f.a.ges. 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 a.s.sembled 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 ma.s.s aboard her, and with other devotional exercises blessed the s.h.i.+p 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 f.a.ges, 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 s.h.i.+p 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 s.h.i.+p's company--sixty-two in all. They embarked on the night of January 9th and sailed on the 10th. Galvez appointed f.a.ges 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 s.h.i.+ps. 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 s.h.i.+p 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.