The Sketch Here Submitted Is The Result Of Much Study Of Original
Documents, 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 Francisco Bay, 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 documents 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 assigned 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
documents, 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 assigned 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 passed 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.
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