Expanded Diary of Father Pedro Font
Colonizing Expedition, 1775-1776
Friday, March 1 SP -- I said Mass. We set out from Laguna Graciosa at eight o'clock in the morning, and at a quarter past five in the afternoon halted at the site of the village of El Buchon, having traveled some thirteen leagues, about three to the northeast, one to the north-northeast, two to the north, two to the north-northwest, three to the northwest along the beach, and two to the north-northwest. Thirteen leagues.
In the morning it was foggy and continued so all day, with scudding clouds, and with the very strong cold west wind which afterwards arose we had a very unpleasant day. The road runs somewhat away from the sea, and for about three leagues through sandy hills or sand dunes with ups and downs. Afterward it descends a long slope to the Laguna Grande, which to me looked like some estuary, and near which there is a village. Then it continues for some three leagues over level land, after which follow other hills and sand dunes until the beach is reached. In the dunes there are some lagoons of not very bad water, which is in pools and cannot flow out to the sea, except a little when it rains and the pools overflow. In these last sand dunes it is necessary to guess at the road, because, since the wind continually moves the sand, there is no sign or trace of a trail in this stretch. Then follow some three leagues, after which one comes near the point of a range which runs toward the sea. It is the very high, rough and long Sierra de Santa Lucía, which begins here and ends at the mission of Carmelo near Monterey. At this point also one leaves the sea.
The village of E1 Buchón is so-called because when the first expedition of Señor Portolá came, there lived in this village a very high Indian chief called Buchón, famous in all the Channel for his valor and for the damage which he had done there with his wars. I learned that one of his principal wives still lived there, recognized by the heathen, who paid her tribute of a portion of their seeds; but he is now dead. Another of his concubines became a Christian and lived at the mission of San Luís, married to a soldier. This place has very fine water, and much firewood, which supplied us very well. The beach which we followed on all this road is almost lacking in shells, and I saw very few there, although there were some rather rare and exquisite ones. I think that perhaps this scarcity may be due to the fact that the sea is very wild on the coast and has very high tides.
Saturday, March 2 SP -- I said Mass. We set out from the village of E1 Buchón at eight o'clock in the morning, and at a quarter to twelve arrived at the mission of San Luís Obispo, indicated on the map by the letter D, having traveled some four leagues, one to the north, and the rest to the north-northwest and northwest, swinging somewhat to the west a little before arriving. Four leagues.
The day was quiet but cold, for after leaving the Punta de la Concepción the land very greatly changes in aspect and in climate, although it is healthful. At daybreak a messenger was sent to the mission to announce our coming. On emerging from a canyon about a league from the camp site, we traveled along the foot of a hill, between whose rocks we saw right on the road some springs of tar which rise there. Afterward we entered the plains which they call the Llanos de San Luís, where there are some mires, with water in pools. In the worst of these the mules bogged down and some of the people fell off, as a result of which we suffered some delays. The father ministers of the mission of San Luís, Fray Joseph Caballer and Fray Pablo Mugártegui, came out on the road to welcome us, and on our arrival Father Fray Juan Figuer, vested with his cope and bearing a censer, was awaiting us at the door of the church. The fathers welcoming us with peals of bells and the guard with volleys, we entered the church chanting the Te Deum, and thus our arrival was a matter for very great and mutual joy.
The mission of San Luís is situated in a beautiful site, on a small elevation near a stream of the finest of water, near the Sierra de Santa Lucía and three leagues from the sea. It has very fertile lands and pretty fields. The mission buildings consist of a large quadrilateral shed, with a square hall in the middle, and four rooms or divisions, one at each corner of the hall. The hall has two doors which give the light, one opening into the hall and the other leading out to a small patio where the kitchen and the corrals are located. Separate from this one there is another shed which serves as a church; and at one side there are some small huts or divisions which serve as another habitation, in which sleep, locked in, the converted girls, whom they call nuns. They are under the instruction and care of the wife of a soldier, who is rather old and whom they call maestra. She teaches them to sew and to keep clean; and they already do so very nicely, as if they were little Spaniards. In front of the mission are the guardhouse and the little huts of the village, which they call the ranchería, of the Christian Indians. With all this a half plaza is formed, but the entire structure, although carefully made, is of tule, logs, and partly of adobe, because there have been no provisions for anything else; and consequently it is in danger of fire.
The Indians of this mission are neat and clean, and are better featured and comelier than those of any other tribe of all those that I have seen. The women wear a tupé which they make by cutting the hair in front, leaving it short, so that it falls a little over the forehead. The rest of the hair they tie behind or leave loose down the back, as I said of the Indian women of the Channel. But those Indians are not so good featured and clean as these of San Luís, for these, besides having good features, have well rounded eyes, lively, bright, black, and rather large. Their color is between dark and light and is agreeable, and they are Indians with almost as good features as the Spaniards. They are neat and clean, the men as well as the women, so far as is possible to such a class of people; and they are not so offensive to the smell as the other Indians. Moreover, the women are affable and friendly with the Spaniards and are fond of them, a reason why the soldiers were so disorderly with them when they remained in this vicinity for a time, killing bears to conquer the hunger which they suffered there in the time of Captain Fages because the supplies failed to reach them. The men have their ears pierced, although they do not wear very many pendants, but the women wear them.
These Indians are of the Nochi tribe, and they appeared to me more jovial and attractive than others. The dress of the men in heathendom is complete nakedness like the rest, while the women wear capes of deer and beaver skin. They know how to make baskets with a great variety of designs and of any form which may be requested of them?even the shape of sombreros, one of which they made for Señor Ansa when he asked them to do so. I was not able to find out with full certainty where such abundance and diversity of baskets as are seen on the Channel are made, but I am inclined to think that most of them are made by this Nochi tribe, which is the one that lives in the tulares near this mission. What is certain is that on the Channel I did not see them make a single basket, which perhaps I would have seen if they made any; unless it be that they make them inside of their huts, which I was not able to enter because they did not permit it, as I said. Some fathers are of the opinion that they make them on the Island of Santa Cruz, whose inhabitants bring them to the Channel and mainland for trade. Some soldiers who went to the other side of the tulares in search of some deserters (whom they could not capture, being able only to take their arms away from them), said when they returned that in that country they had seen more baskets and finer ones than on the Channel. If this be the case it follows that they are made by these Nochi Indians, who are the ones who live in the tulares, of which I shall speak in the proper place.
Sunday, March 3 SP -- I said the last Mass, and preached a few words to the people on the gospel, which was that of the Transfiguration, comparing the glory of Mt. Tabor to the joy which we all felt in reaching that mission, which is so pretty, and to rest in it for a day; and encouraging them all to perserve and have patience in the trials yet to come, since this was no more than a transitory rest to renew the spirit in order to persevere to the end, just as Christ gave his disciples that day of glory to encourage them to begin the career of the apostolate to which he had destined them and to suffer the trials which awaited them. After Mass I solemnly baptized an Indian boy about seven years old, whose godfather was Commander Ansa, the baptism being made with all the ceremony of the ringing of bells and the firing of muskets. We remained here today. I observed the latitude of this mission, and found it to be without correction in 35° 8 1/2', and with correction in 35° 17 1/2', and so I say: at the mission of San Lúis Obispo, March 3, 1776, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 48° 4'.
Monday, March 4 SP -- I said Mass, and bade goodbye to my fellow countrymen, Father Cavaller and his two companions, who were in every way very demonstrative. We set out from the mission of San Luís Obispo at nine o'clock in the morning, and at a quarter to five in the afternoon halted at a place called La Assumpción on the banks of the Monterey River, below its junction with the Santa Margarita River, having traveled some ten leagues, about one to the northeast, four to the north, one to the north-northwest, two to the northwest, and two to the west-northwest. Ten leagues.
On setting out we at once entered a long canyon through which flows a pretty arroyo. It is very shady and all along it there are various trees, among which I saw some beautiful laurels. Ascending the canyon we crossed a spur of the range which runs out from the Sierra de Santa Lucía and joins another range which we kept on our right, and behind which are the tulares. This last range continues clear to the mouth of the Puerto Dulce at the extremity of the Puerto de San Francisco, where it ends. Then we descended among some hills and very green meadows with their arroyos, which form the Santa Margarita River, where we arrived after going five leagues, there being a small village at this place. From here we went as far as the camp site through level country, which is like a valley, having on the left the Sierra de Santa Lucía and on the right the other sierra mentioned. All the road and all these plains are full of very large, tall oaks having good and large acorns. Likewise there are many sycamores, and pines bearing good pinenuts with hard shells, and so leafy that their branches begin near the ground, and, tapering toward the top, end almost in a conical point. High up in the sierras are seen large numbers of spruce and other trees. Along here there are some birds which they call carpenters, which make round holes in the trunks of the oaks. In each hole they insert an acorn so neatly that it can be taken out only with difficulty, and in this way they make their harvest and store, some of the oaks being all dotted with the acorns in their trunks.
Tuesday, March 5 SP -- I said Mass. In the morning the weather was fair. A little before we set out a messenger arrived from San Luís with letters written by the fathers so that we might take them to the mission of E1 Carmelo. They did not write them during the day when we were there, because they were talking with us; for they are so lonesome and so far apart that it is a rare day when they see anybody. We set out from La Assumpción at a quarter to nine in the morning and at a quarter past four in the afternoon we halted on the banks of the San Antonio River at the place called the First Ford, having traveled some ten leagues, about three nearly to the north, five to the northwest, and two to the west-northwest. Ten leagues.
On setting out we without difficulty crossed the Monterey River, which, because it has rained little this year, was not swollen, though it has few fords and is usually miry. We traveled some three leagues near the river, and then after five more leagues we arrived at the Nacimiento River, which farther down joins the San Antonio River, this in turn joining the Monterey River. Finally we arrived at the camp site, which is on the banks of the San Antonio River, at the beginning of a long valley through which this rivers runs and emerges from the Sierra de Santa Lucía, from which also run the other rivers which I have named. At this place we were molested somewhat by fleas. We had already felt them at the missions but not so much as here, because here they are very hungry, lean, and have hard bills, and they were not few in number. These fleas appear to be a plague in those lands, especially when the weather gets a little warm, so that they are to be found not only in the houses and huts but also in the fields and on the roads, and wherever one halts they are right on hand.
Wednesday, March 6 SP -- At daybreak it was fair, and I said Mass. We set out from the Primer Vado at a quarter to eight in the morning, and at four in the afternoon arrived at the mission of San Antonio de los Robles, indicated on the map by the letter E, having traveled ten long leagues, some four to the west and west-northwest, two to the northwest, two almost to the north, two to the northwest, and a short distance to the west-northwest just before arriving. Ten leagues.
On the road yesterday we saw many oaks, but today there are many more and very large ones, and for that reason this valley is called the Cañada de los Robles. Through it flows the river which we forded three times. The valley at the beginning is rather narrow, but afterward it widens out greatly. About a league before arriving we passed the site of the old mission, which they moved to the place where it is now because it is a better location, with water from the river more permanent and more certain.
The mission of San Antonio is situated in the Sierra de Santa Lucía, which, as I said, begins a little below the mission of San Luís, and, following the coast, comes to an end near the mission of San Carlos del Carmelo. The mission is in a rather wide valley some ten leagues long and full of large oaks, for which reason they call the mission San Antonio de la Cañada de los Rohles.
The site is very good, with fine lands, and plentiful water from the river which runs through this valley. But it is somewhat apart from the sea, and although by air line it must be only about eight leagues, a long day's journey is necessary to reach the coast because of the roughness of the road across the Sierra de Santa Lucía, which lies between and its very high and broken, and on the coast forms great cliffs. And so the mission is almost at the head of the valley before turning into the sierra. In the range there is a great abundance of oaks, live oaks, and pines, and consequently plenty of pinenuts and acorns, for which reason the mission raises large numbers of hogs.
The fathers of the mission were Father Fray Francisco Dumets (minister of the mission of Carmelo, who had come here because Father Fray Miguel Prieras was ill, and had gone to Carmelo to recover his health) and Father Fray Buenaventura Sitjar, all Malloreans. They welcomed us with special rejoicing, and with great generosity offered us what they had. They immediately gave a shoat to the soldiers of the escort from Tubac and another to the muleteers of the commander, and they forthwith took out a large quantity of fat and distributed it amongst the people, who for a long time had not tasted any.
The construction of this mission is better than that of the others, being of adobe and having a good roof with terraplen and good beams, for they have timber to spare. It has a hall, two small rooms at one end, and another at the end through which one enters the church, which is next to it. From the hall one enters a patio around which there is sufficient room for a kitchen, oven, other work rooms, and corrals. Close by are the garden and the fields, about which the fathers, aided by the Indians, have made a very large fence, which completely encloses everything. It is very well made of good poles, most of it being built of a tree which they call brazil wood. In short, this appears to me to be a very good mission, with fine conveniences and advantages.
The Christian Indians who compose it, who must already be some five hundred persons, are entirely different from the others whom I have seen hitherto. They are of the tribe which lives in the Sierra de Santa Lucía, but I did not learn what they are called or whether they have any name. They are small in body, degenerate, and ugly, both men and women, and they live in their heathendom scattered through those mountains and canyons without any special knowledge of God. The men go naked and the women wear some kind of a cape, although the fathers manage to clothe some of them, as I have stated. The women do not bang their hair, as I said of those of the Channel and at San Luís, and neither the men nor the women are particular with their coiffure. I saw several women with their faces striped and marked somewhat as the Pimas paint themselves.
Their language is very rough and most difficult to pronounce because it has so many crackling sounds. It has been learned by Father Fray Buenaventura through continual application and hard labor, and he has written the catechism in the language; but since there are no letters to express such barbarous and ridiculous crackling and whistling and guttural sounds, he has made use of the K, and of various accents and figures, whereby the catechism is as difficult to read as to pronounce. But the Indians can already recite in Castilian, and in this language they say the prayers at least once a day.
I think it would be a most difficult thing to find among heathen anywhere else in the world such a variety of crude and barbarian languages. And here I am reminded that perhaps to this may be attributed that reluctance which was felt by the Apostle Santo Thomás to come to the Indies to preach the faith of Jesus Christ, as is related by the Venerable and Illustrious Senor Dn. Fr. Julián Garcés, in the letter printed at the beginning of the first volume of the Mexican Councils, which he wrote in favor of the Indians to the Supreme Pontiff, Paul III, in which he says that this saint was accustomed to say to Jesus Christ, Quocumque mitte me praeterquam ad Indos. And by this feeling I think may be explained without misrepresentation that text of Psalm 104 which speaks of the suffering that afflicted the pure heart of Joseph when he found himself a prisoner in Egypt and unable to speak, or deprived for the time being from speaking: Ferrum pertransiit animam ejus, donec veniret verbum ejus, because he was in a land and among people of whose language he was ignorant and which he did not understand: Linguam, quam non noverat, audivit (Ps. 80, v. 6). For there is no thorn of grief which more torments the heart of a minister who desires to serve God in the ministry of the conversion of souls, nor any harder toil, than to find himself among people of such diverse and barbarous languages, without any means to converse with them, as is well stated by Father Vieyra in the sermon on the Holy Spirit, Volume One.
Thursday, March 7 SP -- I said Mass, and afterward I assisted with the instrument in another Mass, which we sang with all possible solemnity to San Antonio, for success in our journey and the exploration or reconnaissance which we were going to make of the San Francisco River. For, as a result of what Señor Ribera said to us of the report given by the pilot Cañizares, to the effect that there was no such river, we were all anxious for this exploration, in order to learn the truth; especially since the fathers, both there and here, assured us that there was such a river, for several times they had heard Indians of this mission say that on the other side of the sierra which on the way we bore on the right there was much water, so that it was not possible to go further in that direction. In this they were right because the tulares are there now. But since the Indians usually do not distinguish between river and no river, and are in the habit of explaining themselves in their way by saying that there is much water, in this consisted the error of the fathers, founded on the report that such a river existed, a report in which they already firmly believed.
I observed the latitude of this mission and found it to be without correction in 35° 53 1/2', and with correction in 36° 2 1/2', and so I say: at the mission of San Antonio de los Robles, March 7, 1776, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 48° 52'.
A little after noon the lieutenant of the expedition, who went to follow the deserters, arrived at this mission, his arrival being a matter of great pleasure to everybody. He overtook and arrested the runaways a little beyond Pozo Salobre del Carrizal on the way to Laguna de Santa Olalla, and left them in prison at the mission of San Gabriel. He said that he recovered everything that was stolen except a few saddle animals, which were lost, and a few others which the Indian malefactors of San Diego killed in the Sierra Madre and at San Sebastián, where he found more than two hundred assembled, who presented themselves armed as if they wished to impede his passage. From that place he brought some of the cattle which had remained tired out and scattered when they stampeded from San Gregorio, leaving them with the saddle animals at San Gabriel. And he told us how he captured the prisoners and what happened to them at that time, their reason for committing the theft and for the flight, according to the statement which the prisoners themselves immediately made to him of everything.
It was this way. While we were in San Diego the corporal of the guard of San Gabriel fell in love with a girl of our expedition; and since he had nothing to give her as a means of getting into her good graces, he urged the muleteers to give him something of what came in their charge, and, condescending, They gave him chocolate and other things. From this it followed that the prime mover of the disorder and the one most culpable was the corporal. Several days having passed, the muleteers and servants realized that they had already stolen a great deal and were sure to be discovered; so they began to plan to flee, and to this end they entered into an agreement with a soldier of the guard, who was a malecontent and was also thinking how he might flee. Indeed, this fellow told them that an his night on guard of the horse herd they should provide themselves well with tobacco, glass beads, and other things from the camp, and that together, in the silence of the night, they would flee with the animals of the horse herd, assured that nobody would be able to prevent them, since they were in charge of the horses. And so they executed the plan. They said they wished the glass beads to give as presents to the Yumas so that they would take them across the river; and that their plan was that when they arrived at Sonora or Cieneguilla they would divide up the animals and color their flight with the uprising at San Diego, spreading the news that the Indians had killed all the rest of us, they only having been able to escape.
They said, also, that the night before the lieutenant captured them one of them said, " Companions, my heart tells me that tomorrow we shall be captured." Fearful, they were not able to sleep during the whole night and before daybreak they began to travel, but, losing the trail, they wandered round without making any headway, and so three of them returned to the fire which they had made at the camp site. They stopped there again for a long time until, long after sunrise, they decided to travel once more, but they had hardly started when the lieutenant fell upon them. Although at first sight they planned to offer some resistance to him with the muskets which they carried, on hearing his voice when he called to them, "Halt, by command of the king," they stopped and surrendered to him at once, a very remarkable and prodigious thing.
These prisoners, then, were left secured at San Gabriel, and although Señor Ansa for his part sentenced them as peons to the building of the fort of San Francisco, Señor Ribera decided to leave two of them at San Gabriel, and ordered two others to go to San Diego. From there one of them fled and afterwards came to overtake us at the Colorado River, as I shall state; and he was so partial to the soldiers that though the deserter, who, having fled while he was on guard duty, had committed a capital offense, he inflicted no other punishment than to discharge him from his place as soldier, thereby exempting him from being court martialed. In short, although he was the chief offender, because he was related to him in some way he made no charge against him.
Friday, March 8 SP -- I said Mass. In the morning the weather was very good and clear. We set out from the mission of San Antonio de Los Robles at a quarter to nine in the forenoon, and at a quarter past three in the afternoon halted on the banks of the Monterey River at the place called Los Ossitos, having traveled some nine leagues, about two to the northeast, three to the north, bearing to the north-northwest until we had passed a spur of the Sierra de Santa Lucía which forms the Cañada de los Robles, and the rest of the way to the northwest. The road at first runs through a spur of mountains, until it descends to a wide valley called the Cañada de San Bernabé; then it continues in level country through a very long valley formed on the left by the Sierra de Santa Lucía, and on the right by the range mentioned as running to the port of San Francisco.
Through the middle of the valley runs the Monterey River, already having been joined by the San Antonio River. It carries a great deal of water and has a deep channel. Its banks on one side and the other for some distance are very thickly grown with cottonwoods and other small trees, and it runs about northwest to the sea. All the country is good and well grown with pasturage -- Nine leagues.
Saturday, March 9 SP -- I said Mass. About midnight it rained a little, and day dawned with some clouds and a fresh breeze, but it did not rain any more. We set out from Los Ossitos at eight o'clock in the morning, and at a quarter past three in the afternoon halted on the banks of the Monterey River at the place called Los Correos, having traveled ten leagues, about six northwest by west, and the rest to the west- northwest. Ten leagues.
The road runs all the way through very wide plains that form a very wide valley that I mentioned yesterday, and in sight of the Monterey River, which runs most of the way between very high banks and has a large growth of cottonwoods which it waters with its floods when it wanders from its channel. About six leagues from Los Ossitos is the place called La Soledad. They told me that they gave it this name because in the first expedition of Portola they asked an Indian his name and he replied, "Soledad," or so it sounded to them. At this place and elsewhere on the road some Indians came out to see us who were different from those of San Antonio and of the Sierra de Santa Lucía. Some of them knew Castilian and spoke a few words to us in it, and one of them asked us where Captain Don Fernando was, mentioning him by name. The commander decided to send a courier from here in the morning to Monterey to report our coming; and we two wrote to the father president, Fray Junipero Serra, begging him to have some father come to the presidio in order that we might sing Mass as an act of thanksgiving.
Sunday, March 10 SP -- I said Mass. Before daybreak it began to rain and it continued raining all day at times, lightly or heavily, so that we arrived at Monterey very wet. When we arrived the rain slackened a little, but the sky continued very dark and lowering. After Mass the courier whom I mentioned yesterday was dispatched. We left Los Correos at a quarter past nine in the morning, and at half past four in the afternoon arrived at the royal presidio of the port of Monterey, indicated on the map by the letter F, having traveled some ten leagues, eight to the west- northwest, and the last two almost to the west -- Ten leagues.
On setting out we followed the Monterey River some four leagues, to the place called Buenavista. Then, leaving the river at the right, we continued through some hills and over flats. Midway of this stretch is the place called E1 Toro Rabon, after which one begins to see the Sierra de Pinos, which forms the port of Monterey. The road like all the rest is through pretty country, green, shady, flower strewn, fertile, beautiful, and splendid. When we arrived at the presidio everybody was overjoyed, in spite of the fact that we were so wet, for we did not have a dry garment. We were welcomed by three volleys of the artillery, consisting of some small cannons that are there, and the firing of muskets by the soldiers.
The royal presidio of Monterey is situated in a plain formed by the Sierra de Pinos, which ends here. It is close to the sea and about a quarter of a league from the port of Monterey. Its buildings form a square, on one side of which is the house of the commander and the storehouse in which the storekeeper lives. On the opposite side are a little chapel and the quarters or barracks of the soldiers, and on the other two sides there are some huts or small houses of the families and people who live there. All are built of logs and mud, with some adobe; and the square or plaza of the presidio, which is not large, is enclosed by a stockade or wall of logs. It is all a very small affair, and for lack of houses the people live in great discomfort. Nor is this for want of materials, for there is lime and timber to spare, but for lack of effort directed to the purpose. The commander, indeed, had to lodge in the storehouse, and I in a dirty little room full of lime, while the rest of the people accommodated themselves in the plaza with their tents as best they could.
The port of Monterey consists of a small inlet affording slight shelter, formed by the Point of Pines, which extends about three leagues into the sea, and Point Año Nuevo, which extends into the sea for about twelve leagues, making a large but very open bay. For this reason what is called a harbor has little shelter, and almost none against the northwest wind, which blows there a great deal of the time, aside from the fact that it is so small that with two barks it is filled up, and likewise is very shallow. The Point of Pines with respect to the presidio of Monterey, from which it is distant about three leagues, lies almost to the north, and Point Año Nuevo with respect to the harbor, from which it is distant some ten or twelve leagues, lies almost to the northwest. The patron of the presidio is San Carlos, and it is therefore called San Carlos de Monterey. In this title participates also the nearby mission, which for this reason is called San Carlos y San Joseph, the latter in honor of the most Illustrious Señor Don Joseph de Galbes, who gave the mission a beautiful image of Señor San Joseph, as the principal patron whom he invoked for all that new establishment; and it is called Carmelo because this is its original name, given at the time of the first discovery made by sea by General Don Sebastián Vizcaíno.
Monday, March 11 SP -- In the morning the very reverend father president of the missions, Fray Junípero Serra, came from the mission of San Carlos del Carmelo with four other friars, those assigned to the two missions which were to be founded on the port of San Francisco, namely Father Fray Francisco Palóu, Father Fray Joseph Murguía, Father Fray Pedro Cambón, and Father Fray Thomás Peña. They came with the royal surgeon of the king to welcome us, one of the two ministers, Father Fray Juan Crespi and the father minister of the mission of San Antonio, Fray Migue1 Prieras, who was sick, remaining at the mission, and Father Fray Francisco Dumets, the other missionary, being at San Antonio as I said. Great and very special was the joy which we all felt on our arrival, and after we had saluted each other with many demonstrations of affection it was arranged to go and sing the Mass. We sang the Mass, then, as an act of thanksgiving for our successful arrival. I sang it at the altar, and the five fathers assisted, singing very melodiously and with the greatest solemnity possible, the troops of the presidio and of the expedition assisting with repeated salvos and volleys of musketry, all this together causing tears of joy to flow.
After the gospel, which, because it happened to be the feast of Santa Francisca Romana, was de Viduis, I preached a brief sermon to the assemblage, applying the text to the expedition as appropriately as I could. For this reason I took as a theme Simile est regnum caelorum sagenae missae in mare, et ex omni genere piscium congreganti. I began by exhorting them to give thanks to God for our arrival and for the good fortune which we had experienced in the journey. I said:
Thank God that he has dealt with us so benignly, heaping us with blessings and favoring us in so long a march, just as he favored his most dearly beloved people of Israel. In order that this may be better appreciated, let us recount the blessings which we have experienced most especially, so that thereby we may better know how to render due thanks to God. I do not count the blessings which our small capacity prevents us from recognizing, for these no doubt are innumerable, but only those most palpable and most perceptible to all, those which everybody recognizes and cannot deny.
We set out from San Miguel and traveled to Tubac through dangerous country where, if the Apaches had come out to attack us, no doubt we should have suffered disasters. We continued from Tubac to the Gila River, and although that was a transit of such risk that even the soldiers and men of valor tremble when passing through there, we covered the distance without fear, without fright, and without seeing the face of the enemy, even at a distance. We entered the heathendom of the two rivers, the Gila and the Colorado, with the same confidence and security as if we were entering lands of Christians, and we forded the formidable Colorado River without the least mishap. We crossed the sand dunes through which the Indians scarcely dare to pass because it is a land so bad that not even birds inhabit it. We reached the Wells of Santa Rosa where, if we had found them dry, no doubt the expedition would have perished for lack of water. But the Virgin of Guadalupe, our patroness, did not wish that we should suffer such disaster, and so on the eve and on the day of her feast, with the slight labor of opening a few wells, she provided us with sufficient water for everybody.
Then we all assembled at San Sebastián. And was it not a miracle that in spite of the snow and such bad weather as we experienced no one perished? Might we not have died, just as so many animals died of cold? But why do I say die? Nobody even became ill. In the Sierra de California could not those Indians who had just destroyed the mission of San Diego, as enemies of the Spaniards, have attempted to prevent our passage and give us trouble and cause us grief? But since we were guided by the column of light and were under the protection of María Santísima we arrived safely at San Gabriel. No less was the blessing which we experienced on the way between that mission and this presidio, for we passed through such a land of heathen, and so thickly settled, especially along the Channel; and yet in all places we found them peaceful, giving us safe passage. Moreover, we made this part of the journey in the worst time of the year; for as the experienced men know, this is the rainy season of these lands, and when it rains this road becomes impassable. But God did not wish that it should rain on us, in order that quickly and successfully we might reach this presidio, and so we covered this stretch of road almost as rapidly as if we had come in light order of marching.
But, Father, you will say to me, did it not rain upon us heavily yesterday? Did we not get wet yesterday on the way? Yes, that is true, but in this consists the beauty of the blessing which God gives us, arranging that in this way we may better appreciate it. Why, you say to me, if we were troubled by yesterday's rain, how would it have been if it had rained on us in the preceding days? But God did not wish that it should rain on us any day except yesterday, when we were about to reach the end of the journey, and then only in order that by the experience of this trial we might understand the many tribulations from which He had freed us, because through the experience of a trial and in sight of peril one better recognizes a benefit. A sick person understands the blessing of health by means of his infirmity.
All these blessings God has bestowed upon us, and through whom? Why, through our patrons, the most Holy Virgin, María de Guadalupe, the Prince San Miguel, and Our Father San Francisco! This is so certain that no one can doubt it, and so clear that anybody can understand it. Indeed, in the very number of the days which we have spent in this long journey are depicted our three patrons, under whose favor we have finished the journey. Hark well the one hundred and sixty-five days exactly which we have spent on the way since the 29th of September, when we set out from San Miguel, up to the present, the 11th day of March, on which we have concluded our journey, and give to God thankfully His due worship.
Who can fail to see that in this number of days our patrons are depicted? The number 165 is composed of three figures, namely, 1, 6, and 5. Number 1 alone has the value of only 1, but if combined with other figures, although they may be zeros; it equals a hundred, a thousand, many thousands. And to whom might this number more appropriately be likened than to our principal patroness, the most Holy Virgin of Guadalupe? She is the One Only and Elect, chosen among thousands to be the mother of God and the help of mankind, and under the title of Guadalupe, the principal patroness of this America, she is equal to a hundred. Even in the rays of light which we see in this her image, which has been the standard of the expedition and our consolation on the journey, her patronage is depicted. From the head to the feet a hundred and one rays of light are counted on this sovereign image which we have before us. (It was the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe which I carried with me and with which I formed the altar on the journey when I said Mass.) And in this number is mirrored the Patroness of this sovereign land, in order that we may under stand that by the number one hundred is symbolized our principal and first patroness, who is a person equal to a hundred.
The second number is the 6, which, united with another, is equal to 60. And by this number is signified our second patron, the Prince San Miguel, whom we see pictured at the foot of the sovereign image of Guadalupe, and whose name Miguel, if you look carefully, consists of six letters. This prince, then, humbled himself at the feet of that portentous sign which appeared in the heavens and on the soil of Mexico. Obeying the precept of God, he paid it the due tribute of adoration which was denied it by the angels of darkness, to whom it exposed itself, and made fierce warfare upon them until he left them vanquished. And with what arms did he conquer them? With that so celebrated and oft repeated Quis ut Deus, which consists of ten letters. So you see figured here in the number 60 our patron San Miguel, because the 10, which is Quis ut Deus, multiplied by 6, which is Miguel, makes the number 60.
And even more clearly is this seen in the number 6. In that portentous and spiritual battle it appears from the Apocalypse that from all the angels comprised in the nine choirs a third were lost with their chief Lucifer, Miguel remaining captain of the rest of the good angels. For when from 9 a third part, or 3, is subtracted, 6 remains. This number 6, then, represents our patron San Miguel, prince and head of all the angelic host. The third number is 5, a simple number standing alone. And what number more appropriate than this to signify to us that humble, excellent, and singular saint, Our Father San Francisco, our third patron under the avocation of his five portentous wounds? And so, with the patronage of our saints we have arrived at Monterey with the felicity which we have experienced.
And for what purpose have we come? To gain Heaven by suffering trials in this world, and assisting in these lands by setting a good example of Christianity in the conversion of the heathen, whose souls are the precious pearls sought by that celestial merchant, Jesus Christ. Happy are you if you cooperate in so high a design as this, to which you are called and for which you have been chosen. Now you will understand what Christ says to us in the gospel of today. He says that the kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net which He casts into the sea and in which are caught all kinds of fish; Simile est regnum, etc. Notice what happens to the net, for it is all very applicable to this expedition. The fisherman casts the net into the sea and immediately many fish begin to enter it; but with different motives, some drawn by the bait, others by curiosity, some to follow the example and to be in the company of others, some perhaps moved by their evil nature to disturb and break the net, some, finally, because they are naturally good, and others, and they are the most numerous, because they are thoughtless. Afterward the fisherman draws the net out on the beach, and, choosing the good fish, he throws away the bad.
And so it is with this expedition. The commander, in the name of the king our Lord, cast the recruiting net in Sinaloa. I have no doubt that you entered the net and enlisted with the good intention of serving God on this journey. But who knows how many were moved by the wax of wealth and advantages which they were seeking? Who knows whether some joined the expedition drawn, perhaps, by bad example and by bad company, with the intention to destroy more than build up, seeking liberty of conscience, etc -- I do not assume this of anybody. But I do say that if any came to Monterey for any crooked purpose, they should try to rectify their intention, and being among those called let them be among those chosen. Let it not be that in the day of Judgment there be found fish rejected by God after having taken the trouble to come to a land in which suffering is the chief advantage.
Let us then give thanks to God. And I, in the name of God and of the king our Lord, give thanks to our commander, Don Juan Bautista de Ansa, for the patience, prudence, and good conduct which as chief he has shown in commanding this expedition, and I promise him that God will reward him for his labors. And I charge all of you not to forget the obligations of good Christians, and that you may remember what I have said to you on the way in various talks, in order that you may have patience in the trials which the future promises to you, and by these trials prove worthy to live in the grace of God, so that when we die we may meet in heaven.
God willed that everything should come out so well and so much to the purpose that I was not able to finish without tears. After Mass the fathers decided to return to the mission of Carmelo; but, because of some urgent tasks, we were not able to go until afternoon. Therefore, consenting that the four other fathers should return, we managed by urging to induce the reverend father president to remain to dine with us. Although in the morning it was somewhat cloudy and remained foggy all day, I planned to make an observation at this presidio, and I succeeded, although with a good deal of difficulty and not with the exactitude which I intended, (I observed the latitude of the presidio, although the observation was not entirely to my liking, nor with the exactitude which I desired although I took the greatest pains with it, because the day was very foggy), and I found it without correction to be in 36° 27 1/2' and with correction in 36° 36 1/2', and so I say: at the royal presidio and port of Monterey, March 11, 1776, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 49° 52'.
It was decided that we should go to the mission of Carmelo to yield to the urging of the reverend father president, but principally because in the presidio there was no place for us to lodge. And so in the afternoon, the lieutenant of the expedition remaining with the people we had brought, we set out from the presidio of Monterey, the commander and I, with a few soldiers, the reverend father president, the commissary, and the surgeon of the presidio. Starting at four o'clock, at five we arrived at the mission of San Carlos del Carmelo, indicated on the map by the letter G, having traveled a long league to the southwest by south. Here the fathers, who were seven, welcomed us with singular joy and festive peals of the good bells there, especially a large one which they brought by sea, to which the soldiers replied with volleys and a salvo, accompanying us to the church at whose door Father Fray Joseph Murguía was awaiting us, vested with a cope. I sprinkled holy water on the commander, etc., we adored the holy cross, and, entering the church in a procession, we intoned the Te Deum with much pleasure and with tears of joy for our arrival. Then, after having given thanks to God we went to the dwelling and hospice that had been prepared.
The mission of San Carlos del Carmelo is situated on a little elevation near the sea, and close to the Carmelo River, which empties into a little bay called by Vizcaíno the Puerto del Carmelo, which is formed here by the Sierra de Santa Lucía, which ends here, and the Punta de Cipreses. It is an excellent site with very fertile lands. The temperature is cold in a desirable way and very healthful, although somewhat foggy, as is the case on all that coast. The mission has a rather spacious and well made church, although it is of palisades and tule for the most part, and it is somewhat adorned with paintings. Apart from it are three good-sized rooms of adobe for the dwelling of the fathers. Separate from it are a kitchen, a forge, and two or three other rooms. Although it has the Sierras near by, because it is between the end of the Sierra de Santa Lucía and the Sierra de Pinos, nevertheless it is a most beautiful site and pleasing to the view, because it is so near the sea and in a country so charming and flower covered that it is a marvel.
The Indians of this mission, who already number four hundred Christians, appeared to me to be rather tractable, not very ugly, nor so ill smelling as those of San Diego. They devote themselves to fishing, for at this place many good fish are caught. Besides the sardines, which are very plentiful and at times are caught without any trouble because many are stranded, there are obtained also many good salmon which enter the river to spawn. Since they are fond of fresh water they ascend the streams so far that I am assured that even at the mission of San Antonio some of the fish which ascend the Monterey River have been caught. Of this fish we ate almost every day while we were here. Besides, as many as possible were gathered to dry, being carried by the commander as a delicacy. In short, although the rest of the missions are very good, this one seemed to me the best of all.
Tuesday, March 12 SP -- We remained at this mission to rest. Day dawned cloudy and at times it misted. In the morning the lieutenant of the expedition came to the mission. I went to take a walk through the garden, which is a stone's throw from the mission, and it was a delight to see it so beautiful and full of vegetables, cared for by Father Palóu with such diligence that he spent all the day working in it and had it very well laid out. It is square, and all around it has a border of alelies already in flower, and the beds full of cauliflower, lettuce, and other vegetables and herbs. And the finest thing about that country is that without irrigation all such vegetables are raised, than which there are no better in Mexico. Indeed, one artichoke would ordinarily last two or three days. They do not irrigate because up to the present they have had no way to make an acequia from the river, for lack of men to work on it, although one can easily be made. And so they only water the plants by hand, throwing on each plant a gourdful of water after transplanting, and this suffices.
In the afternoon I went with the commander and two fathers to see the fields of wheat, barley, and legumes (beans, chickpeas, peas, and lentils), and it was really a benediction of God to see such fine fields, planted without irrigation for lack of peons. On the edge of the fields runs the Carmelo River, so-called, as is this place likewise, since the expedition of Sebastián Vizcaíno, the name being given it by the two Carmelite friars who came with him and went on foot from Monterey to this place. I saw also the mast which the sea brought and stranded on this beach a few years ago. It is very thick, some four varas long, round, made of some hard wood which I did not recognize, and all nailed together with iron nails like staples; for it still had some after they had taken from it about half an arroba of iron, and pulled out as many nails as possible. This mast came from far away, for in all that land there is no iron, and it is not known what purpose might have been served by a mast of this make.
The little bay which Captain Vizcaíno called the Puerto del Carmelo does not merit the name of a port, for aside from the fact that it has a bad bottom and is very rocky, it is entirely unsheltered from the northwest wind, which prevails here; and it has only a little protection on the east and south from the Sierra de Santa Lucía.
The fathers greatly desired that the people should go to the port of San Francisco, for they came with this object in view. And the four fathers, who had been here for two years, and found themselves here as if on deposit, being destined for the two missions which were to be founded there, were now tired of waiting any longer. For this reason I talked with the commander about pleasing the fathers, urging him to choose the best means in order that the people we had brought might go to the port of San Francisco. I reminded him that the fathers were displeased with so long a wait, and especially with the new delay which they now feared because of the absence of Commander Ribera, and of his opposition to that foundation, adding that they were willing that the people should go there even though the missions might not be founded immediately, and that if this were not done they were determined to return to the College. The commander was now so human with me that he told me of his plan to ask the consent of Señor Ribera, sending him a message for the purpose, and told me that he would read me the letter when he had written it.
Wednesday, March 13 SP -- I said Mass. I wished to observe, but I was unable to do so because, although the day dawned fair, in the middle of the forenoon the sky became clouded over with fog. At that time the commander was taken with a pain in the groin, so severe that it forced him to go to bed, to which he went from the table, almost carried in the arms of others, the occurrence causing all of us not a little distress. He was taken with the pain while writing the letter to Señor Ribera, which he showed me afterward. In it he told him that he was going to examine the port of San Francisco, and, in case he found a good site he offered on his return to go there to escort the people, if Señor Ribera agreed, even though for this purpose he might have to remain a month longer. He exhorted Ribera to agree to this plan, because the viceroy would be greatly pleased to have that port occupied immediately, and to have it effected by establishing the people there. He added that the people also wished to go there because that was their destination, and that they were discontented in Monterey because of the discomfort in which they found themselves; and finally, that unless this should be done promptly the fathers were determined to leave on the first bark which might come. because they did not wish to wait any longer. It was this letter which caused Señor Ribera such hostility to Señor Ansa, because he had declared himself on the side of the fathers and in favor of that establishment, to which Señor Ribera himself was so much opposed.
Thursday, March 14 SP -- In the morning it was very cloudy and it misted nearly all day. The commander continued to be sick in bed and unable to rise. As for me, my affliction in the mouth, which began at San Diego, became worse, but afterward I was almost entirely cured by the large and good lettuce which I ate here nearly every day.
Friday, March 15 SP -- I said Mass to San Juan de Dios, in order that if he wished he might give us health. The commander continued without any particular improvement. The day was blustering like yesterday, although it did not rain; and I was somewhat troubled by my mouth.
Saturday, March 16 SP -- The commander continued in the same condition, and I likewise was without much improvement. I observed the latitude of this mission, and found it without correction to be in 36° 25 1/2', and with correction in 36° 34 1/2, and so I say: at the mission of San Carlos del Carmelo, March 16, 1776, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 51° 52'.
Sunday, March 17 SP -- The commander was somewhat better this morning. I went to say Mass at the presidio of Monterey, returning to the mission after it was over. When I arrived there some people of the expedition came to see and greet me, and to lament the misery in which they found themselves, with bad water to drink, and no water or soap with which to wash themselves, etc., and complaining because Señor Ribera had ordered that no one should leave the presidio, and that the saddle animals should be kept at the Punta de Pinos whether there was grass there or not. I replied to them with words of consolation, because I believed and was confirmed in the truth of what they said to me, for it was patent.
The sergeant, who on my arrival scarcely spoke to me, heard my remarks, and coming out of his little room he said:
Father, do not make the people dissatisfied.
I replied to him that I was not making them dissatisfied by talking with them concerning the state of the presidio and its inconveniences, all so patent; indeed, I had preached to them about this very thing during the whole journey. To this, in a petulant way, the sergeant said, replying to the people:
You are here now and here you may go mad or tear your hair.
With this he returned to his room. Seeing that the saddle animals were looked up in the corral, I asked him why he did not keep them in the open all day, as Señor Ansa had ordered, and he replied that it was because Señor Ribera had ordered him to keep them locked up.
During the Mass, after the gospel of the day, I gave a talk based on it, saying to the people a few words of consolation concerning the repast of the five loaves of barley and the two fishes with which Christ regaled those who followed him with good intentions ; by which he gave us to understand that the blessings which God gives to his people are not those of prosperity and temporal abundance, but of necessities, and these sometimes not very savory, as represented by the loaves, which were of barley and not of wheat, and of fish which were not the best of meat.
As soon as I returned to the mission I reported to Señor Ansa my interview with the sergeant, and what he told me with regard to the horse herd, whereupon it was ordered that the animals should not be locked up daily. On my way back to the mission I went to view the harbor which is there, near the presidio, and saw that it scarcely merits the name of harbor, because of its small capacity and poor shelter; although the bay formed by Cabo de Pinos and Punta de Año Nuevo is very large. There I saw the landmarks given by General Vizcaíno, the oak to which he anchored his ship, and the arroyo nearby, in which recently a small dam has been built. Not far from all this a store was being erected in which to keep the provisions which the annual vessel brings to the presidio.
Today some soldiers whom he asked for were dispatched to Commander Ribera, and with them the message from Señor Ansa, advising him of the wish of the people of the expedition to go to their destination at the port of San Francisco, in order that he might deliberate concerning the matter, and offering personally to coöperate quickly to effect the occupation of that port with the settlement intended for it and which the viceroy so greatly desired to have effected at once. He set a date for the reply, which he hoped would arrive by the time he returned from the reconnaissance which we were going to make of the port, in order to proceed according to the reply he might receive.
Monday, March 18 SP -- I said Mass. The commander continued to improve somewhat, and I likewise. The day was fair, although not very clear because of the fogs.
Tuesday, March 19 SP -- Day dawned very fair and serene, and the commander continued to improve somewhat. I said Mass, and the last one was sung to San Joseph, with deacons and all the solemnity possible, we fathers assisting, I with my instrument and the rest singing. Afterward the reverend father president preached a good sermon. At all of this Señor Ansa was present because he was now better. I again observed the latitude of this mission, but I do not note the result because it came out the same as on the 16th, with a difference of a minute more, and because I adhere to the first result.
Wednesday, March 20 SP -- I said Mass. The weather was fair today. The commander was so much better this morning that he decided to continue the journey two days hence for the examination of the port of San Francisco. He desired, and I likewise, that one of the four fathers destined for that place should accompany us, for they also wished to go and would have accompanied us gladly, but the father president would not consent to it. Among other reasons which he alleged, the principal one was the fear that thereby the founding of the two missions of that port might be retarded; for he knew how little favorable or how unfavorable to it Señor Ribera was, and feared that he would be less so if a father should go, inasmuch as Señor Ribera might think that the examination of the sites which Señor Ansa went to make was being made through the influence of the fathers. And thus Señor Ribera by his conduct has greatly offended the missionaries and likewise the people there.
I occupied myself in copying the map of the port of San Francisco which my cousin, Fray Pablo Font, made in Mexico from the data in the diary kept by Fray Juan Crespi in that journey which he made with Captain Fages. I talked of the affair of Señor Ribera at length, or almost all the morning, with the reverend father president, who did me the honor to tell me of several difficulties and troubles which this commander has caused him and the fathers by his opposition to the founding of missions and to aiding those already founded; by going contrary to the orders of the viceroy, and by his excessive timidity, coupled with perfect satisfaction with himself, without paying any attention to the fathers or appreciating their labors, etc. And this is a difficulty that has arisen frequently with the chiefs at long distance, who, seeing themselves in command and far from reach, do what their heads or their convenience may dictate, as experience shows.
This conversation came about from my having said to the father president that while at San Diego, speaking of the slender provisions made for the founding of the mission of San Juan Capistrano, Señor Ribera said:
I have never seen a father more zealous for founding missions than this father president: He thinks of nothing but founding missions, no matter how they are established. attributing to the father president that performance, so hurried and with such inadequate preparation and provisions.
This report which I gave the father president caused him some irritation and offense, and to unbosom himself he related to me the whole story, which was very long. In substance it was that Señor Ribera, having received orders from the viceroy that a mission should be founded between those of San Diego and San Gabriel, without prejudice to the others, and the founding of the two at the port of San Francisco having been effected, he went at once to see the father president in order that the establishment might be founded at once. The latter having represented to him that the two missions of the port of San Francisco should be first, he replied:
No, Father, those two will be founded when Señor Ansa comes, for they are in his charge; and who knows when he will come? But, since the viceroy entrusts this one to me, I wish to have it founded at once because I desire to serve him, etc.
By this it will be seen how these lords fulfill their obligations to the friars when it suits them. It is true that the father president always urged that the missions which were already endowed be founded, but only with adequate provisions; and in order to obtain these he even went to Mexico to request them in the year 1773. To these petitions Señor Ribera now attributed the founding of that mission which had miscarried. On the other hand, if the father president had objected he would have said that it was not founded because the fathers did not wish it.
At this time I learned also the cause of Senor Ribera's grudge against Lieutenant Ortega, of San Diego, with whom formerly he had gotten along very well, and whose compadre he was when they were both in California Baxa. It was this way: When the father president went to Mexico to request measures directed to the best establishment and administration of those missions, he asked also that Captain Fages should be removed. This was not only because of his dissimulation with regard to the licentious life which the soldiers lived with the Indian women (especially when they were at the bear killing at the mission of San Luís), or of failure to correct heir excesses as such, for fear that they might flee from him on account of the hunger and misery which they suffered, but principally because he took to himself all the authority, wishing to deprive the friars of all temporal jurisdiction over the Indians.
The viceroy then told him that he must propose someone else as captain. To this the father president objected, until finally, after having several times urged him in the matter, the viceroy asked him if he knew any person thereabout who might be of good conduct. The father president replied that he knew Señor Ortega, who was then sergeant, and had comported himself very well in the first expedition. At that same time Señor Ribera was in Mexico with his pretensions, and the viceroy told the father president that Sergeant Ortega could not be made captain because he was not even brevetted, but that there was Señor Ribera, and if he approved he would appoint him as captain. The father president replied that he would agree to whatever his Excellency might decide, for if his Excellency would entrust this charge to Señor Ribera, of course he must be suitable for it. From this, then, arose Señor Ribera's grudge against the president and the fathers, and his hatred for Ortega, because Ortega got along well with the fathers and had been his competitor, although without any culpability on his part, for it was only a simple suggestion of the father president, without any urging.
From this it can be seen that it is never well for the religious to interfere in the naming of chiefs, even though they may be requested to do so, because ordinarily they are paid with ingratitude. Moreover, if the chief who is elected or removed as a result of their urgings afterward turns out badly, there remains to the friars no chance to complain, for they will then be called malcontents. Indeed, that happened at this very time to those fathers, for, having seen Captain Ribera they sighed for Captain Fages and wished they had him back, but they did not dare complain or clamor for another who might have better conduct, and who would not insult them or cause them to suffer, like this one, lest they be rebuffed.
Thursday, March 21 SP -- I said Mass. The day was serene, Don Juan was better, and I likewise. I continued copying the map, to which I added the ports of Monterey and Bodega, finishing it before noon. I again observed, and at the same time an observation was made by Father Francisco Palóu with the graphometer, and by Father Fray Juan Crespi with his astrolabe, but I do not note down the result of this observation because it was the same as that of the 16th, with half a minute more, although in the minutes we all three differed somewhat. In the afternoon I went with fathers Cambon, Peña, and Prieras, who was now better of his illness, to walk to the beach and to the mouth of the Carmelo River, and there I saw the sea lions with which that sea and coast greatly abound, and heard them bark.
Friday, March 22 SP -- I said Mass. Day dawned fair, Don Juan was better, and it was decided to begin our march this afternoon, the lieutenant of the expedition coming with us on the exploration, the commissary remaining at the mission. We three again observed, the same as yesterday, and the results were almost the same as the last, although we did not even yet agree in the minutes.
In the afternoon we said goodbye to the father president and the other fathers and set out from the mission of San Carlos del Carmelo, the commander and I, to go with the lieutenant of the expedition to the port of San Francisco. We started at three o'clock, and at four arrived at the presidio of Monterey, having traveled a league northeast by north. Before entering the presidio we went to see and examine the harbor of Monterey, going about half a league beyond it, until we could see the end of Point Año Nuevo, which, because it projects a long distance into the sea, from the presidio is covered by the Point of Pines. We traveled in all about two leagues, and Don Juan experienced no trouble during the journey, although, since he was suffering in the groin, he did not travel with perfect ease, and they had to help him mount and dismount because he was unable to do so alone.
Saturday, March 23 SP -- I said Mass. Meanwhile they prepared the saddle animals and the provisions necessary for those of us who were going to explore the port of San Francisco, the Rio Grande, and the sites suitable for the two missions and the fort or settlement, to which end was directed this expedition commanded by Señor Ansa.
We left the presidio of Monterey at half past nine in the morning, Commander Ansa, I, the lieutenant and eleven soldiers (eight from Tubac, two from Monterey who went on the journey with Captain Fages, and the corporal from there called Robles, who went on the journey with Captain Ribera), the last three going in order that as experienced men they might guide us to the port and river. There were also the necessary muleteers and servants, six in number, making altogether twenty persons. At a quarter to four in the afternoon we halted on the other side of the valley of Santa Delfina, at the entrance to a canyon, at the place called La Natividad, having traveled about eight long leagues, somewhat more than one to the east, three to the northeast with some declination to the north, until we crossed the Monterey River, which about two leagues from here empties into the sea, and then about three to the northeast and one to the north-northeast. All the road is very level, through pasture-covered lands for the most part, but without trees except the cottonwoods on the banks of the river. Eight leagues.
The valley of Santa Delfina is the same as that of which I spoke on the 8th. It is very long but not very wide, and it ends in the large arm of the sea formed by Point Año Nuevo, which is the end of the range at the foot of which we halted. On setting out from the presidio we passed on the right two fairly large lagoons. Then we entered some hills in which at times a very peculiar odor like amber was perceived. Then it disappeared, and I was not able to ascertain whence it came. I noticed this same odor several times on the road, especially between San Luís and Monterey, and several times I dismounted to smell some of the many and various flowers which there are in those fields, but I never found one with a scent like that or so sweet. From this I inferred either that on those beaches there is amber expelled by the whales in which that sea greatly abounds, or that it is some sweat vapor which the land gives forth. At times it is very perceptible and at other times it is lacking or slight. It suddenly appears and then suddenly disappears although there may be no air current to carry it, as I observed every time that I noticed it. The fathers told me the same thing, saying they had noticed it many times but were never able to ascertain what produced so marvelous and so fragrant an effect.
Sunday, March 24 SP -- I said Mass. I proposed to the commander that it should be said every day during this journey in order that we might begin to sanctify that land, and that God might give us success and good luck in our exploration; and my proposal appeared to him to be very good. We set out from La Natividad at a quarter to eight in the morning, and at a quarter past four in the afternoon halted at the Arroyo de las Llagas, having traveled some twelve leagues. First we went two leagues northeast and somewhat east until we reached the top of the sierra, in order to descend to the arroyo of San Benito, near which among some rocks there is a fairly large cave with a partition, or divided into two compartments and very suitable for hermit life; then one league north, and two northeast with some deviation to the north, going through the valley of San Pasqual until we crossed the Páxaro River, which is somewhat miry and much more so farther down; then one league almost due north; three to the north-northwest through the valley of San Bernardino, and three to the northwest.
Yesterday, in the silence of the night, the roar of the sea was heard; but not today, because, since the Páxaro River farther down is so miry that it is unfordable, we made the detour indicated and in the directions stated, thereby getting away from the sea. On the other side of the valley of San Bernardino runs the long sierra of which I spoke on the 8th. This valley is miry and when it rains heavily it is for the most part a lake. During the whole distance there are few trees, but in the sierra many spruces and other trees are seen, and likewise in the valley of San Bernardino a few are seen in the distance, which must be on the banks of the arroyos and lagoons. In the valley we saw many antelopes and white and gray geese. In the same valley we forded an arroyo with little water but very miry, and then came to a village in which I counted about twenty tule huts, but the only people we saw were two Indians who came out to the road and presented us with three fish more than a foot long. They were of the same species as those very spiny ones which at the Colorado River we called matalotes, and which grow in those lagoons. We passed a grove of sycamores and small cottonwoods, and then continued through the valley over better country than at first.
At the foot of a range of hills on the left we saw many Indians who appeared to be fleeing. One of them came near the road to see us and then, following his example, as many as eighteen came, but the rest stopped far away, so that we were not able to distinguish whether or not there were women among them. It was seen that they were hunting. They offered us some of their game, and the commander accepted a rabbit and an arrow which they offered him as a sign of peace. Then they offered us their arrows, and quivers made of skins of wildcats, in exchange for glass beads, as if trading. They were very talkative, but we understood nothing that they said. We judged them to be very poor, for those whom we saw were very lean, and besides being very black their faces were very dirty. One of them that I saw had his body painted with white streaks. They wear their hair cut short.
We followed this valley until we came to some low hills where it appears to end, and near which there is a growth of small oaks in the same plain. We climbed the hills and on descending from them we crossed the Arroyo de las Llagas, where we halted. At this place we found still standing the poles of the little bower erected in the journey which in September of last year was made by ship captain Don Bruno de Hezeta and Father Palóu, and in which Father Palóu said Mass, when they went to explore for a second time the port of San Francisco. We found that the Indians had made a fence of little poles around them, and in the middle had set up a thick post about three spans long, decorated with many feathers tied in something like a net, as if dressed, and with an arrow stuck through them. On one pole many arrows were tied and from another were hung three or four balls of grass like tamales, filled with pinole made of their seeds and of acorns, or of others of their foods which we did not recognize. In the middle of a long stake there was hung a tuft of several goose feathers, but we were not able to understand what mystery this decoration concealed.
On passing near the village which I mentioned on the road we saw on the edge of it something like a cemetery. It was made of several small poles, although it was not like the cemeteries which we saw on the Channel. On the poles were hung some things like snails and some tule skirts which the women wear. Some arrows were stuck in the ground, and there were some feathers which perhaps were treasures of the persons buried there. This place appeared to me very good for a settlement, especially if one followed the course of the river upstream a little; for it has extensive level and good lands, and sufficient timber of sycamores, oaks, and other trees. Moreover it has very close at hand the sierra containing cedars, which is very thickly forested. This range is the one which, beginning here, runs forward and forms a valley of San Andrés, and afterward ends at the Punta de Almejas. From here we kept this range at our left, having at our right at some distance the one which I mentioned on the 8th.
Monday, March 25 SP -- I said Mass. We set out from Arroyo de las Llagas at a quarter to eight in the morning, and at four in the afternoon halted at the arroyo of San Joseph Cupertino, having traveled some twelve leagues, three to the northwest, two northwest by west, five west-northwest, and two west by north. This place is in the Llano de los Robles, which began a little after we set out from camp, and through which we traveled all the way. In this valley or plain there is a great abundance of oaks, in some places more, in others less, some very large and others not so large. On the way we found some lagoons of water collected in pools when it rains or formed by the arroyos which run from the sides of the sierras and, flowing toward the estuary of the port, become lost in those plains and flats. All the way is very level and good except for some mires which are encountered, making necessary some detours in order to get around them.
Along the way many Indians came out to us. On seeing us they shouted amongst the oaks and then came out naked like fauns, running and shouting and making many gestures, as if they wished to stop us, and signaling to us that we must not go forward. Although they came armed with bows and arrows, they committed no hostility toward us. They did not appear to me so lean and miserable as those of yesterday. I saw some with beards, one or two with long mustaches, and several with medium mustaches and long beards. Many had their hair tied, wearing a branch around the head, perhaps to fasten it with, and others had their hair cut short. They had their ears pierced like those of the Channel and wore little reeds in them. I think that I must have seen today more than a hundred Indians. About thirty of them came out to us, and seeing that we paid no attention to them and continued on our way, or perhaps because of the novelty, they followed us for a good distance. Their method was to run, one behind the other in single file, until they got ahead of us, and then, halting, they began to shout and even to shriek, making many gestures and signs as if they were angry and did not wish us to go forward. Then, seeing that we continued on our way, without paying any attention to them, they again began to run to get ahead of us. Then they went through the same performance of shouting and talking very loud and fast, although we understood nothing of what they said. And so they continued for about a league, when all but a few of them went away, then, finally, little by little even these left us and we saw them no more.
This place of San Joseph Cupertino has good water and much firewood, but nothing suitable for a settlement, because it is among the hills very near to the range of cedars which I mentioned yesterday and lacks level lands. Near it begins a very dense grove of abrojos which they call El Bosque Espinoso, although it does not have thorns. From the camp we already descried the estuary of the port and the island at its extremity.
Tuesday, March 26 SP -- I said Mass. We set out form the arroyo of San Joseph Cupertino at half past seven in the morning, and at a quarter to four in the afternoon halted at a small and nearly dry arroyo about a short league beyond the arroyo of San Matheo, having traveled some twelve leagues, one to the northwest, another to the north-northwest, then some four to the west-northwest until we crossed the arroyo of San Francisco, and afterward three to the northwest by west and three to the west-northwest. Twelve leagues.
On leaving camp, from the top of a hill we had in sight a large part of the southeastern estuary of the port, on whose margins are seen several small inlets and a large stretch of bad, muddy, and salty land this side of the water; but if appears that the estuary extends at times through all that margin and flat. Then we crossed an arroyo called Los Laureles because it had many laurels; and a little afterward, on entering the Bosque Espinoso, we came to an arroyo or ditch with much water in pools, where we stopped for quite a while to find a ford across it. I may note that all the arroyos which are encountered between the valley of San Bernardino and the port rise in the spruce-covered sierra on the south, of which I spoke day before yesterday, and run toward the flat and the estuary.
Near here we saw something that looked to us like a building. Going to see what it was, we found a very round enclosure made of laurel branches well woven together and about six spans high, with a door somewhat higher by which to enter, and opposite it near the ground another small one like a little window. On the top of the enclosure there were four tufts of dry grass like beaten hemp, and within, on one side, a bundle of poles about two varas long without points, stuck in the ground and with feathers at the end like arrows, and other sticks that were shorter, all tied together. But there was no Indian about, and from the sign of the fire in the middle we concluded that this enclosure was some sort of a plaza for dancing.
Afterward we reached the arroyo of San Francisco, on whose banks we saw a village. The Indians came out to us on the road, and the commander went with me to the village and gave the women some glass beads, and I counted about twenty-five huts. We crossed the arroyo and found the holy cross which Father Palóu set up on its bank last year. On the arroyo there are various laurels, ash, and other trees, and a few spruce trees which they call redwood, a tree that is certainly beautiful; and I believe that it is very useful for its timber, for it is very straight and tall, as I shall show later on.
We continued through a very beautiful plain full of oaks, which we saw all the way yesterday and today, and which are likewise seen at a distance. Thus it appears that they are found in all the plain which surrounds the estuary and which is continuous with yesterday's plain. For this reason it appears to me that if it is permanent the arroyo of San Francisco would be a pretty site for a mission. After we had traveled a league through the plain, twenty-three Indians came out to us shouting, and then as many more, most of them bearded; and near the village some women came out and the commander gave them glass beads. These Indians, whose long-bearded captain Corporal Robles recognized, they called the other time the Shouters. About a league farther on we came to another village where there was a great pile of the shells of mussels which they get from the estuary, and for which one village often fights with another. We stopped here, and the commander gave presents of glass beads to the women. We went a little farther and now ended the oaks which are found all the way from the other side of the Arroyo de las Llagas to here.
which came out several Indian men and women. The commander presented them with glass beads, and we stopped a little while with them. One of them was wounded in the leg by an arrow, and another stood with his bow and arrows making signs and gestures as if he were fighting, and pointing out the wound. From this we inferred that he was telling us how they were at war with other villages ahead, and was trying to persuade us not to go there because they were very warlike. We continued on our way, and about a league before halting we came to a good-sized village situated on the banks of the arroyo of San Matheo. It has many laurels and ash trees on its banks, and in all this stretch, which likewise is level country, there are many laurels and also oaks and some live oaks. If the water is permanent this site would not be bad for a settlement, for besides a very pretty view which it enjoys, the country is level and has plentiful trees and timber, especially in the Sierra de Pinabetes, which is near here.
At sunset some Indians were sighted on a hill. Then others came out and the first ones ran and afterwards came to the camp, and according to the signs which they made with their bows and arrows it seems that they wished to tell us that the others were hostile, but that we need not be afraid because they had already chased them away. These Indians were very friendly with us, and it seemed to me that they were saying that we must stay there; but I did not understand them, though I tried by signs to tell them that we were going forward, and at nightfall we bade them all goodbye. All these Indians whom we saw today are very ugly, with ears and noses pierced and little sticks thrust through them, the men all naked and the women with little skirts made of grass, but they are not very emaciated. Most of them are bearded and have the hair cut short, although some of them wear it rather long and tied above the head like the Yaquis. They appear to be gentle Indians, and it would seem possible to form of them a good and large mission.
From this place the estuary is very clearly seen, and likewise the hills which form the mouth of the port. The estuary is very large, but has very bad shores, for everywhere for a good stretch it is surrounded by marshy lands and little bays which run out from it and extend for a greater or less distance through these shores and flats. But outside of the flats the land is level and very green.
Wednesday, March 27 SP -- I said Mass. In the morning the weather was fair and very clear, a favor which God granted us during all these days, and especially today, in order that we might see the harbor which we were going to explore, which we would not have been able to do if the fog had risen. We set out from the little arroyo at seven o'clock in the morning, and shortly after eleven halted on the banks of a lake or spring of very fine water near the mouth of the port of San Francisco, having traveled some six leagues, the first three to the northwest, and the last three to the north-northwest, and even almost to the north -- Six leagues.
At first we traveled some three leagues over level and green country with some low hills, having on our left the foothills of the Sierra de Pinabetes, which ends at the Punta de Almejas. In this range of foothills we saw a grove of live oaks near which is the Lagruna de la Merced, where Captain Ribera stopped; and through here we saw many bears, but although the men chased them they were not able to kill any. Then we entered lands somewhat broken and sandy, with plentiful grass and brushy growth, and stretches of groves of shrubby live oaks, but without any large trees. Then, going around the sand dunes of the beach, which we kept at our left and in whose vicinity we saw a good-sized lake of fresh water, we came to the lake where we halted.
I wished to observe the latitude, but since the packs were a little late in arriving, when I set up the instrument the time had already passed, and I was not able to make the observation; so I deferred it to the next day. We went then to examine the port, the commander, I, the lieutenant, and four soldiers, and there we saw a prodigy of nature which it is not easy to portray, but of which I will later on give a description. We went first to the point of the mouth where Captain Ribera was, as I said on February 7, and where he set up a cross. We found it on the ground, and now without the form of a cross, perhaps because the Indians took from it the rope with which it was tied and held in shape. Here I occupied myself a while in mapping, with a graphometer which Father Palóu loaned me, the mouth of the port, the Punta de Reyes, the Punta de Almejas, the Farallones which are out in the sea, and the length of the passage as far as the estuary. On leaving we descended to a small stretch of beach between cliffs where the sea is very quiet, to which runs the arroyo of the port, which hitherto had not been seen. From here we went over to the sea beach which runs to ward the Punta de Almejas and is very sandy, to see the cayuco brought by the bark San Carlos when it returned from the exploration of the coast farther up and entered this harbor, as I said on February 7. We found it broken in pieces and the commander brought out two of its fragments. The cayuco is a vessel resembling a canoe or little launch, like those of the Channel, used by the Indians farther up the coast. It is made of several pieces without nails, and the extremities end in a point with a piece hollowed out as if with a chisel, judging from the cutting and the signs which were seen on the inside of the point.
We again ascended the sand hills, descended to the arroyo, and crossed high hills until we reached the edge of the white cliff, which forms the end of the mouth of the port, and where begins the great estuary containing islands. The cliff is very high and perpendicular, so that from it one can spit into the sea. From here we saw the pushing and resistance which the out-going water of the estuary makes against that of the sea, forming there a sort of a ridge like a wave in the middle, and it seems as if a current is visible. We saw the spouting of whales, a shoal of dolphins or tunny fish, sea otter, and sea lions. On this elevation the commander decided to erect a cross, ordering it made at once so that he might set it up the next day. We now returned to the camp, which was not far away, and where we arrived at five o'clock, having traveled in all this journey some three leagues.
This place and its vicinity has abundant pasturage, plenty of firewood, and fine water, all good advantages for establishing here the presidio or fort which is planned. It lacks only timber, for there is not a tree on all those hills, though the oaks and other trees along the road are not very far away. The soldiers chased some deer, of which we saw many today, but got none of them. We also found antlers of the large elk which are so very plentiful on the other side of the estuary. The sea is so quiet in the harbor that the waves scarcely break, and from the camp site one scarcely heard them, although it was so near. Here and near the lake there are yerba buena and so many lilies that I had them almost inside my tent. Today the only Indians we saw were one who was far away on the beach of the estuary, and two who came to the camp as soon as we arrived. They were of good body and well bearded. They were attentive and obsequious, and brought us firewood. They remained at camp a while, but when the commander gave them glass beads they departed. While we were on the cliff at the mouth, some Indians on the other side of the port yelled at us several times, according to what the soldiers said; but I did not see them or hear them.
The port of San Francisco, indicated on the map by the letter H, is a marvel of nature, and might well be called the harbor of harbors, because of its great capacity, and of several small bays which it enfolds in its margins or beach and in its islands. The mouth of the port, which appears to have a very easy and safe entrance, must be about a league long and somewhat less than a league wide on the outside, facing the sea, and about a quarter of a league on the inside, facing the harbor. The inner end of the passage is formed by two very high and perpendicular cliffs almost due north and south of each other, on this side a white one and on the other side a red one. The outer end of the passage is formed on the other side by some large rocks, and on this side by a high and sandy hill which ends almost in a round point, and has on its skirts within the water some white rocks, like small farallones. It was this point which Commander Ribera reached and on which he placed a cross when he went to reconnoiter this port.
The shore of the passage on the farther side runs from east to west, inclining to the south, as I observed on the 1st of April from the other side of the estuary or port when I passed along there, and it appears to be entirely of red rocks. On this side the shore of the passage runs from northeast to southwest, not in a straight line, but broken by a bend, on whose beach empties the arroyo which runs from the lagoon where we halted, and which we called the Arroyo del Puerto. To it the launch can come to take on water, for in all the coast for the length of the passage the sea is quiet and the waves do not break on the beach as they do on the coast of the sea outside. The Punta de Almejas, with respect to the exterior point of the mouth of the port on this side, lies to the south, and by an air line must be some three leagues, the beach between, which is very sandy, forming almost a semicircle. The Punta de Reyes, on the other side, with respect to the same exterior point of the mouth lies northwest by west, and by the coast to that point it must be some twelve leagues. The coast does not run straight, but is broken by an inlet or bay of no great size, about three or four leagues away from what I could see. About six or eight leagues out at sea are seen some rather large farallones like white rocks, which have this shape (sketch inserted here), and with respect to the exterior point of the mouth of the port they lie west by south. To the west of the same point there are seen nearer the coast four other farallones which look like this (sketch inserted here).
From what I learned, the Puerto de Bodega, discovered on October 3, 1775, by Don Juan de la Quadra y Bodega, captain of the goleta Sonora, and situated in latitude 38° 18', lies some four leagues to the north of Punta de Reyes. Its mouth is formed on this side by the Punta del Cordón and on the other side by the Punta de Arenas, and a league to the northwest of the mouth lies the Punta de Murguía, past which the coast runs.
From the inner terminus of the passage extends the remarkable port of San Francisco. This harbor consists of a great gulf or estuary, as they call it, which must be some twenty-five leagues long. Viewed from the mouth it runs about southeast and northwest, the entry or mouth being in the middle. Most of the beach of the harbor, according to what I saw when we went around it, is not clean, but muddy, miry and full of sloughs, and for this reason bad. The width of the port is not uniform. for at the southern end it must be a league wide and in the middle some four leagues. At the extreme northwest it ends in a great bay more than eight leagues in extent, as it seemed to me, whose beach appeared to me clean and not miry like the other, and which is nearly round in shape, although several inlets are seen in it, so that at so long a distance I was not able accurately to distinguish its form.
About the middle of the bay on this side is the outlet or mouth of what hitherto has been taken for a very large river and has been called the Rio de San Francisco, but from here forward I shall call it the Boca del Puerto Dulce, from the experiments which were made when we went to explore it, as I shall set forth hereinafter.
Within the harbor I counted eight islands, and I am not able to say whether there are more or not. The first one seen on entering the harbor, whose center looked at from the outer end of the mouth on this side, lies to the northeast by north, is about a league from the mouth. It is called the Isla del Angel or Isla de los Angeles, and is the island behind which the bark San Carlos anchored, as I said on February 7. It must be nearly a league long, and looked at from the mouth it presents this appearance (sketch inserted here). In front of the mouth there is a very small one like a farallón and another not so small, and nearly to the southeast a still larger one. Another quite long one is seen to the extreme southeast very close to the land. I sketched it afterward on passing near it, and to me it appeared to have this shape (sketch inserted here). Another, about three leagues long, and likewise close to the land, is seen to the northwest from the mouth, and near it there are two other small ones which I saw when we went round the port. From the road I sketched the large one and it presented this figure (sketch inserted here). And these, it appears, on that side begin to form the great bay in which ends all that immense sea of waters which, because closed in and surrounded by sierras, are as quiet as if in a cup. Finally, besides the foregoing, in the bay in front of the month of the Puerto Dulce there is a medium-sized island which has this shape (sketch inserted here).
As soon as we returned from the reconnoissance I said to Señor Ansa:
Señor, now that you wish to erect a cross at the port tomorrow, order it made right off, so that in the morning after Mass I may bless it, if you think well, before going to erect it.
He replied: "All right, that shall be done, Father."
Then, turning his back to me, he went into his tent, snorting and saying between his teeth:
You always come with if you think it well, 'if you think it well!'
The fact is that he could not bear to have me give my opinion about anything, and he still retained some of yesterday's rancor, caused by what I shall now relate. It happened that I had with me the diaries of Father Crespi and Father Palóu, kept by them in their journeys, and the map of the port which I had copied; but Señor Ansa did not wish to carry them, saying that he was satisfied with what they had told him in conversation. After we halted at the little arroyo I took out the diaries and went to where he was, because on account of the pain which he still felt in his groin he was half reclining. I began to read, and the lieutenant sat down at my side to listen. In a short time Señor Ansa got up and, leaving me with the notebook in my hands, went and sat down some distance from me.
The same thing happened once before, at the Arroyo de las Llagas, where, I having brought out the map, he refused to look at it but got up and went some distance away. Thereupon I went to where he was and said to him:
Señor, you seem to be displeased that I should read the diaries, for you left the seat where you were comfortable and came to sit down here. And this is not the first time that you have left me reading.
He replied that he had moved because he was comfortable there also. I said to him:
No, you need not admit it, but I very well know that you moved in order not to listen to me. If I bring out the diary it is because we came to explore the port and the good sites for the two missions. The diary may serve to afford us much light, and I am carrying it because you did not wish to bring it.
He replied that he did not need the diary; that he was not preventing me from reading it; and that if any doubt arose in his mind he would then ask me about it. He said that it was not his duty to seek sites for the missions, for this task belonged to Señor Ribera; that his duty was solely to explore the port in order to establish the presidio on it; that he would take care to fulfill his obligation and be guided by what might seem best to him, according to how the country might appear, etc. We talked a little while, very familiarly and in a friendly way, but he appeared somewhat hurt because I had touched upon a subject which was his affair, for he could not bear that I should give him my opinion about anything.
I note this down in order to show the tact with which it is necessary to conduct oneself with persons of sensitive nature and satisfied with themselves. But we were getting along well now, and only with this was he displeased; and afterward we again became harmonious, on account of the care with which he desired to make and did make the exploration of the port and river, and because of the tilts with Señor Ribera which took place when we returned. We continued in friendly harmony until we finished the Journey, when I again fell out of his good graces, because he did not need me any more or because up to that time he had concealed his dislike.
Thursday, March 28 SP -- I said Mass. In the morning the weather was fair, although there were some clouds which scarcely permitted me to observe; but at length by dint of care and patience I succeeded in making the observation. The commander decided to erect the holy cross, which I blessed after Mass, on the extreme point of the white cliff at the inner terminus of the mouth of the port. At eight o'clock in the morning he and I went there with the lieutenant and four soldiers, and the cross was erected on a place high enough so that it could be seen from all the entry of the port and from a long distance away, and at the foot of it the commander left written on a paper under some stones a notice of his coming and of his exploration of this port.
On leaving we ascended a small hill and then entered upon a mesa that was very green and flower-covered, with an abundance of wild violets. The mesa is very open, of considerable extent, and level, sloping a little toward the harbor. It must be about half a league wide and somewhat longer, getting narrower until it ends right at the white cliff. This mesa affords a most delightful view, for from it one sees a large part of the port and its islands, as far as the other side, the mouth of the harbor, and of the sea all that the sight can take in as far as beyond the farallones. Indeed, although in my travels I saw very good sites and beautiful country, I saw none which pleased me so much as this. And I think that if it could be well settled like Europe there would not be anything more beautiful in all the world, for it has the best advantages for founding in it a most beautiful city, with all the conveniences desired, by land as well as by sea with that harbor so remarkable and so spacious, in which may be established shipyards, docks, and anything that might be wished.
This mesa the commander selected as the site for the new settlement and fort which were to be established on this harbor; for, being on a height, it is so commanding that with muskets it can defend the entrance to the mouth of the harbor, while a gunshot away it has water to supply the people, namely, the spring or lake where we halted. I again examined the mouth of the port and its configuration, using the graphometer, and I was able to sketch it, and the map is the one which I insert here at the end of this day.
From there the commander decided to go to examine the hills which run toward the interior of the harbor, and which, viewed from the arroyo of San Matheo, look like this (sketch goes here), to see if in their vicinity there were good advantages for the new settlement. We therefore descended a slope and came to the beach of the estuary, which here is clean, because it is near the mouth. Here we found a little hut with four small children, and from this I judged that they must belong to the Indians who yesterday came to the camp. Today likewise four came and were very gentle and obliging.
From here we continued along a plain in an opening made by some hills, all of very good land and well grown with grass and other herbs. In the middle of it there is a small lake like a fountain or spring of fresh water, with tule, of which we saw three rafts made there. If a ditch were made for it this water would run to the beach of the estuary, and then all the plain, which is not small would become very good for planting crops. It appears that this water is permanent because at the foot of the hills in their canyons it is very green and shady, with plentiful small trees. We climbed another hill and then entered a very thick grove of scrubby live oak and other small trees and brush, which continues for a considerable stretch over the hills along the shore of the estuary.
The plan was to go to explore all those hills and openings, in whose plains were seen at a distance some patches of water and of level lands; but in order not to miss the observation the commander told me that it was best that I should return to the camp, for he had decided not to return until he had finished seeing all the advantages of this site and its environs, even though he might spend the entire day at it. And so it was done, I being satisfied by what I had seen, and able to testify that the place has very good advantages for the intended settlement, for it has plentiful firewood, water, and very good grass or pasturage for horses and cattle, all near by, which is the principal consideration.
Well, then, I accompanied the commander for awhile, but at ten o'clock in the morning, he continuing his exploration with the lieutenant, I returned to the camp in order to make an observation, having traveled some two leagues. I observed the latitude of this port, and found it to be without correction in 37° 40', and with correction in 37° 49', and so I say: at the mouth of the port of San Francisco, March 28, 1776, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 55° 21'. Afterward I occupied myself in making a map of the port, as far as I was able to chart it with the compass which the commander then loaned me, and the graphometer which I was carrying.
About five o'clock in the afternoon the commander and the lieutenant returned from their exploration very well pleased, for they had found more than they had expected in the vicinity of these hills, whose extent must be some three leagues. On them and in their canyons they found plentiful timber and firewood, much water in several springs or lakes, abundant lands for raising crops, and finally, a vast supply of pasturage in all the country, so that the new settlement will be able to have plentiful fuel, water, and grass or pasturage for the horses, all near by.
The only lack is timber for large buildings, although for huts and barracks and for the stockade of the presidio there are plenty of trees in the groves. And with very little trouble they can have all the timber that may be desired, for all the way from a point some six leagues on the other side of the arroyo of San Joseph Cupertino, to some three leagues on this side of the arroyo of San Francisco, there runs a plain about fifteen leagues long, which is called the Llano de los Robles because it is very thickly grown with oaks of all sizes, and from which very good timber may be obtained. Moreover, all the way from the vicinity of the Arroyo de las Llagas there runs clear to the Punta de Almejas a very high range, most of it thickly grown with cedars and other trees which continue as far as the valley of San Andrés, of which I shall speak tomorrow. From these places may be obtained all the timber of all sizes that may be desired, and without very much trouble, because it is not very difficult to get it out; not to mention the timber which is seen on the other side of the mouth in the sierras which run toward Punta de Reyes, or that which is in the groves and sierras on the other side of the estuary or port.
The Indians whom we saw on the road from Monterey to the port appear to be gentle and good natured, although very poor, and, judging from the fact that they came unarmed, they do not give signs of being warlike or evil intentioned. Those who live in the neighborhood of the port are heavily bearded, but in color they are not different from the rest. I make this observation here and farther on, notwithstanding the report given in his diary by Father Crespi, when he says that in his journey he saw white, fair, and bearded Indians. We went hoping to see such Indians, but although, according to what the experienced soldier told us, we saw the same ones as Father Crespi and passed through the same villages, we saw no such white Indians, but only black ones like all the rest. On the return we spoke to Father Crespi concerning this report which he gave and with which we could not agree. Since he is so candid he replied to us with great simplicity and without conceit:
They must not be white, for you men have observed them carefully. If I said that, it was because they looked white to me.
And this must be the case. For, the father is so good and so fond of the Indians that when he saw those heathen poor, friendly, and gentle, as they showed themselves to us, they no doubt looked to him like angels.
Friday, March 29 SP -- I said Mass. In the morning the weather was fair, although there was a rather stiff and raw south wind which after noon ended in a mist of no consequence. At a quarter past seven in the morning we set out from the lake or spring in which arises the Arroyo del Puerto, which I have mentioned, and at half past six in the afternoon we halted at the arroyo of San Matheo. With the detour which we made and which I will now explain, we had traveled some fifteen leagues, although from the port to that arroya by direct road it would be only about six long leagues -- Fifteen leagues.
As a result of his exploration yesterday the commander decided to let out from the port, skirt the hills which surround it in the vicinity of the mouth, and follow the interior beach until he should come out to the level country. Therefore, he sent the pack train by the direct road with orders to halt at the arroyo of San Matheo. And we, taking a different route, traveled about a league to the east, one to the east-southeast, and one to the southeast. Passing through wooded hills and over flats with good lands, in which we encountered two lagoons and some springs of good water, with plentiful grass, fennel, and other useful herbs, we arrived at a beautiful arroyo which, because it was Friday of Sorrows, we called the Arroyo de Los Dolores. On its banks we found much and very fragrant manzanita and other plants, and many wild violets. Near it the lieutenant planted a little maize and chickpeas to test the soil which to us appeared very good, and I concluded that this place was very pretty and the best for the establishment of one of the two missions. It appeared to me that the other might be founded at the arroyo of San Matheo, so that in this way they would have the two missions near the port, as it was desired, and to this opinion of mine the fathers were inclined.
We went a little further, and from a small elevation there I observed the trend of the port in this direction. I saw that its extremity was toward the east-southeast, and that a very high redwood, which stands on the bank of the arroyo of San Francisco, visible from a long distance, rising like a great tower in the Llano de Los Robles, and whose height I afterward measured, lay to the southeast. Near this elevation, at the end of the hill on the side toward the port, there is a good piece of level land dominated by the Arroyo de Los Dolores. This arroyo enters the plain by a fall which it makes on emerging from the hills; and with it everything can be irrigated, and at the same fall a mill can be erected, for it is very suitable for this purpose.
We traveled about three leagues more to the south and southwest and west, and finally, making a turn around the hills, we came out to the plain. In this stretch we found the land good like the rest, and a small spring of water like a well very near the water of the estuary. Some bearded and gentle Indians who live around there came out to see us, and followed us for a short distance. Afterward, now apart from the hills, we came to a small arroyo with very little water, which was called by Father Palóu the arroyo of San Bruno, and near which there were signs of a good-sized abandoned village. Having eaten a bite here, we continued on our way till we struck the road taken on going, along which we traveled a short distance to the southeast.
Here the commander decided to go to explore a nearby valley called San Andrés, which is in the range of the spruce trees, also called redwoods, which ends at the Punta de Almejas, as I have said, to see if it had good timber for the settlement at the port. Therefore, leaving the road, we traveled about a short league to the southwest and somewhat to the south, passing an abandoned village. Afterward we came to the Laguna de la Merced, where Señor Ribera, with Father Palóu, stopped a few days when he came to explore the port and it rained on him, as I said above. Then we entered the valley named. In it we saw, as we went through, extensive groves with many and various trees of good timber, such as live oaks, madroños, spruce, and also cottonwoods and other trees, with much brush on the banks of the arroyo or long and narrow lake, which runs through this valley and forms the arroyo of San Matheo, which runs out upon the plain by a narrow pass through some hills, and consists of two arroyos that join before emerging.
We traveled through the valley some four leagues to the southeast and southeast by south, and crossed the arroyo of San Matheo where it enters the pass through the hills. About a league before this there came out on our road a very large bear, which the men succeeded in killing. There are many of these beasts in that country, and they often attack and do damage to the Indians when, they go to hunt, of which I saw many horrible examples. When he saw us so near the bear was going along very carelessly on the slope of a hill where flight was not very easy. When I saw him so close and that he was looking at us in suspense I feared some disaster. But Corporal Robles fired a shot at him with aim so true that he hit him in the neck. The bear now hurled himself down the slope, crossed the arroyo, and hid in the brush, but he was so badly wounded that after going a short distance he fell dead. Thereupon the soldiers skinned him and took what flesh they wished. In this affair we spent more than an hour here. The commander took the hide to give as a present to the viceroy. The bear was so old that his eye teeth were badly decayed and he lacked one tooth, but he was very fat, although his flesh smelled much like a skunk or like musk. I measured this animal and he was nine spans long and four high. He was horrible, fierce, large and fat, and very tough. Several bullets which they fired at him when he fled they found between his hide and his flesh, and the ball which entered his throat they found in his neck between the hide and the muscle with a little piece of bone stuck to it.
We now traveled some two leagues to the eastsoutheast, and considering the exploration of this valley sufficient, since there was nothing else in it to see, it was decided to go to the camp. So, crossing some high hills, which, together with the Sierra de Pinabetes, are those that form the valley, we traveled some two leagues almost to the north until we came to the camp at the arroyo of San Matheo. The Indians of this village were very attentive and obliging, and even troublesome, for they had so attached themselves to the camp that when it was already very late it was necessary to drive them out in order that we might get some sleep. So I think that it would be easy to establish them in a mission.
Saturday, March 30 SP -- I said Mass. Last night it rained on us a little, and in the morning it was very cloudy and misting at times. At noon it rained hard for a spell, and a fine rain continued until a little before we reached the halting place. The Indians of the village of this arroyo came to camp very early in the morning and were very obliging and friendly. We set out from the arroyo of San Matheo at a quarter past seven in the morning, and, having traveled some twelve leagues in different directions, at four in the afternoon we halted on the other side of a river which we called Rio de Guadalupe, which empties into the extremity of the harbor. About a league above its mouth it is very deep, for the water has a tide and no current -- Twelve leagues.
On setting out we retraced our outward road some six leagues and passed by the same villages, whose Indians were very gentle and friendly. Those of the third village came out to the road and were very sad because we did not go to their huts, to which they invited us. We went as far as the arroyo of San Francisco, on whose bank is the very tall redwood which I mentioned yesterday. I measured its height with a graphometer which they loaned me at the mission of San Carlos del Carmelo, and I found it to be, according to the calculation which I made, some fifty varas high, a little more or less. The trunk at the foot was five and a half varas in circumference, and the soldiers said that they had seen even larger ones in the sierras. The method by which I measured the tree was as follows: I set up the graphometer thirty-six varas form the foot of the tree and a vara and a half above the ground, and, pointing at its top through the sights of the alidade, it showed 52 1/2. Then, with the graduated semicircle, forming the triangle of those degrees, and adding to it the height of the base of the graphometer, which was a vara and a half, it gave as a result the altitude stated. Present at all this performance were the Indians who live in the village here. They came to see us and were very attentive and quiet, and appeared surprised to see what I was doing.
With the plan of going to explore the large river which was called San Francisco, and was said to empty into the port on the north side, at this place we left the road which we had followed in coming. Changing our direction, we traveled along the water but apart from it about a league, and in places more on account of the marshes, going some three leagues to the east. Then beginning to go around this extremity of the port, we traveled for about three leagues to the northeast, finally winding around all the way from west to east in order to ford the river and reach the camp site. All this road is through very level and low land and therefore miry, so that when it rains heavily it becomes impassable. For this reason the experienced soldiers told us that to go to the other side it was necessary to make a detour almost to the Arroyo de las Llagas, but God willed that we should come out well by the short cut through here, by which we saved several leagues and discovered the Guadalupe River, of which the soldiers had not heard.
Because the river was so deep it cost us more than an hour to find a ford across it. We wished to cross at the place where we first struck it, because at that place there was a bridge consisting of a tree lying athwart it. On the other side there was a village whose Indians manifested great fear as soon as they saw us. Four of them who were there the commander quieted by giving them glass beads; but it was not possible to cross because the banks were very high. A ford was now sought lower down, but the farther we went toward the estuary and its mouth the worse it became, so it was decided to take over the packs and everything by the bridge, and the animals by swimming; and since the banks were so high and so grown with trees, a beginning was made by cutting branches and digging into the banks to make a path to the river. Then a soldier went to seek a ford higher up, and after a short time returned reporting that he had found one, and in fact we were able to cross over there very well by merely cutting a few branches.
This place is one of very level land and well covered with pasturage, but is lacking in firewood, for there is no other timber than the growth along the river, which is of cottonwoods, sycamores, ash, and laurels: and in all that region there is not a single stone. The Indians afterward were somewhat obliging, bringing same brush for firewood, and were not so much afraid as they had been at first. On the way here we had the Llano de los Robles on our right. On beginning to go around the head of the estuary we found another village, whose Indians showed great fear as soon as they saw us, but it was greatly lessened by giving them glass beads. One of the women, from the time when she first saw us until we departed, stood at the door of her hut making gestures like crosses and drawing lines on the ground, at the same time talking to herself as though praying, and during her prayer she was immobile, paying no attention to the glass beads which the commander offered her.
From here I viewed the course of the estuary and saw that it ran east- southeast, just as I noted yesterday. Likewise I sketched the island which is seen at this end near the shore, as I said on the 27th. In this place we were very cold, and likewise were molested somewhat by the mosquitoes which live on the banks of the river. This stream appears to have some fish, for we saw there some small mojarras, and some nets with which the Indians fish; but I think it all amounts to very little, for I noticed that the Indians who live round the port are not fishermen, for in their villages are seen only piles of shells of mussels, which must be what they fish and eat most of.
Sunday, March 31 SP -- I said Mass. Day dawned fair and with a frost so heavy that the grass, the tents, and everything else was very white. It was quite cold all night, and likewise today it was cold, with the northwest wind which was blowing. We set out from the Guadalupe River at eight o'clock in the morning, and having traveled some ten long leagues in varying directions, at four in the afternoon we halted on the banks of the Arroyo de San Salvador, so-called by Father Crespi It is known also as the Arroyo de la Harina, for so the soldiers called it during the journey of Señor Fages, because in it a load of flour got wet, according to what was said by the soldier Soberanes, who came as a guide. ?Ten leagues.
At first we went about a short league to the north-northwest. Then because of the sloughs and marshes we wound around for about three leagues to the east-northeast, and northeast, twisting about until we emerged from the sloughs and lowlands where we had been, and gained higher ground at the foot of the hills which run as far as the bay and mouth of the Puerto Dulce and belong to the same range which I mentioned on the 8th. Then we traveled, far away from the water, for some three leagues to the north northwest and three more to the northwest. The Indians whom we saw along here are totally distinct in language from the previous ones. They are somewhat bearded, gentle, and very poor, but in color they are the same as all the rest. As soon as we began to travel we came to a small arroyo which, according to the account, is the one which Father Crespi called La Encarnación, and which they crossed higher up than we.
After we had left the sloughs and taken the higher ground, we passed along the shores of a somewhat salty lagoon, which we left on our right and into which apparently flowed some arroyos from the canyons of the range of hills which we were following. All the rest of the road is through very level country, green and flower covered all the way to the estuary, but with no other timber or firewood than that afforded by the trees in the arroyos which we encountered, which were five. All along the plain we saw occasional Indians, some of whom fled on seeing us and others who waited for us. These latter the commander tried to win by giving them glass beads. Those whom we saw before we reached the first arroyo appear to be very poor and miserable, for they have not even firewood by which to keep warm, and they go about naked like all the rest in those countries, and eat grass and herbs and some roots like medium-sized onions, which they call amole, and in which those plains greatly abound. One Indian who carried his provisions on the end of a pole invited us to eat some of them.
About half way on the road we came to an arroyo with little water, most of it in very deep pools. It has on its banks many sycamores, cottonwoods, and some live oaks and other trees, and it appears to flow west to empty into the estuary, toward which all the arroyos flow and toward which runs a thick growth of trees; but I was not able to distinguish whether it marked the course of the river or was a stretch of grove. From these trees about thirty Indians came out on the road to us, armed with somewhat dilapidated bows and arrows, but in a peaceful mood, and apparently very gentle. Their language is distinct from all those we had formerly heard and is very ugly; and with the gabbling which they made, all speaking together, it was very disagreeable to the ears. Their method of greeting us was as follows: They came running, and before reaching us they raised an arm, extending the hand as a sign that we should stop. Yelling with great rapidity, they said: "Au, au, au, au, au, au, au, au, au, au, au, au, au," and then they halted, vigorously slapping their thighs. As they went yelling, one behind another and then continued talking with great velocity and shouting, it seemed like something infernal. We stopped with them a short while and the commander gave them glass beads. These Indians, perhaps, belong to that tribe of which Father Garces makes mention in his diary, saying that when they salute they speak in this way.
A little more than two leagues farther on we crossed two small wooded arroyos which are separated only by a small hill, and between which we saw a village without people. We traveled a league more and crossed another arroyo, where we saw an abandoned village, and in a hut many birds stuffed with grass, which the Indians had to hunt with. Here the soldiers got some wild tobacco of which there was a considerable amount. Going another league we came to the fifth arroyo, where we halted. As soon as we crossed it we came upon a poor Indian who was coming very carelessly along, carrying a bunch of grass such as they eat, like that which at the mission of Carmelo they call morrén. But as soon as he saw us he manifested the greatest fright that it is possible to describe. He could do nothing but throw himself at full length on the ground, hiding himself in the grass in order that we might not see him, raising his head only enough to peep at us with one eye. The commander approached him to give him some beads, but he was so stupefied that he was unable to take the gift, and it was necessary for the lieutenant to dismount and put it in his hand. Completely terrified, and almost without speaking, he offered the lieutenant his morrén, as if with the present he hoped to save his life, which he feared was lost. He must never have seen Spaniards before, and that is why we caused him such surprise and fear.
This place is almost opposite the arroyo of San Matheo, whence we set out yesterday. All the way the road is apart from the estuary, at first about a league and then farther and farther away, so that this place where we halted is distant from the water of the estuary somewhat more than two leagues. All the country is level clear to the foot of the hills which we have been following.
All day today the commander and I have been in doubt as to whether the island at the end of the estuary which I mapped yesterday is really an island or not, because aside from the fact that today it has changed its shape, we were not able to see the water on this side of it. We had the same experience with another long island which I mapped next day, and I concluded either that the water which surrounds it is small in amount and could not be seen on account of the distance, or that the passage is so miry that because it is impassable from the mainland it may be reputed as an island. I was not able to ascertain whether or not Indians live on them.