Its Fourth Jornada (Day's Journey) Brought It To The
Pretty Valley Where Later Was Established The Mission Of San Luis Rey.
They Called It San Juan Capistrano, But That Name Was Afterwards
Transferred To A Mission Forty Miles North Of This Place.
The command
rested here, July 19th.
Resuming the march on the 20th, the sierra (San
Onofre), whose base they were skirting, drew so near the sea that it
seemed to threaten their advance, but by keeping close to the shore,
they held their way, and on the 24th they encamped on a fine stream of
water running through a mesa at the foot of a sierra, whence looking
across the sea, they could descry Santa Catalina Island. This was San
Juan Capistrano, and here they rested on the 25th. On the 28th they
reached the Santa Ana river, near the present town of that name; a
violent shock of earthquake which they experienced caused them to name
the river Jesus de los Temblores[19]. July 30th and 31st they were in
the San Gabriel valley, which they called San Miguel, and on August 1st
they rested near the site of the present city of Los Angeles. The stop
this day, in addition to the needed rest and the necessity for
exploration, was to give opportunity for the soldiers and people of the
expedition to gain the great indulgence of Porciuncula.[20] The priests
said mass and the sacrament was administered. In the afternoon the
soldiers went to hunt and brought in an antelope (barrendo), with which
the land seemed to abound. The next day they crossed the Los Angeles
river by the site of the present city, and named it Rio de Nuestra
Senora de Los Angeles de Porciuncula[21]. Passing up the river, they
went through the canon and came into the San Fernando valley, which they
called Valle de Santa Catalina de los Encinos - Valley of St. Catherine
of the Oaks. Five days they spent in the valley, and crossing the Santa
Susana mountains, perhaps by the Tapo canon, they came to the Santa
Clara river near the site of Camulos, and there rested, August 9th.
Portola named the river Santa Clara, which name it still bears, in honor
of the saint, whose day, August 12th, was observed by them. Five days,
by easy jornadas, they traveled down the river, and arrived on the 14th
at the first rancheria[22] of the Channel Indians. It being the vespers
of the feast of La Asuncion de Nuestra Senora, Portola named the village
La Asuncion. It contained about thirty large, well-constructed houses of
clay and rushes, and each house held three or four families. These
Indians were of good size, well-formed, active, industrious, and very
skillful in constructing boats, wooden bowls, and other articles.
Portola thought this pueblo must be the one named by Cabrillo, Pueblo de
Canoas (Pueblo of the Boats). This was the site selected for the mission
of San Buenaventura, founded March 31, 1782.
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