"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
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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
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.
