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.
Let us anticipate their arrival and ascertain the fate of the other
divisions of the expedition. For more than a century and a half the
placid waters of San Diego bay had lain undisturbed by any craft more
formidable than the tule rafts (balsas de enea) of the natives, when on
the 11th of April, 1769, a silent ship slowly entered the bay and
dropped her anchor not far from the point where now the ferry boat for
Coronado leaves the slip. It was the San Antonio, the first arrival at
the rendezvous. No attempt was made to land, for they were alone and
dread scurvy had them in its grip. Two had died, and most of the ship's
company were sick. On the 29th, the San Carlos arrived, 110 days from La
Paz, with her company in even worse condition. All were sick, some had
died, and only four sailors remained on their feet, aided in working the
ship by such of the soldiers as were able to help.
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