The March of Portola and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco | Page 3

received other documents of the utmost importance to
the history of San Francisco: a chronicle of the events following the
discovery of the Bay.
By royal edict, a maritime expedition for the exploration of the
northwestern coasts of America sailed from San Blas early in the year
1775. This consisted of the frigate Santiago, under the
commander-in-chief, Don Bruno de Heceta; the packet boat San Carlos,
under Lieutenant Ayala, and schooner Sonora, under Lieutenant
Bodega. To Lieutenant Ayala was assigned the exploration of the Bay
of San Francisco, while the Santiago and the Sonora sailed for the north.
Bodega discovered the Bay which bears his name, and Heceta (to spell
his name as it is usually written) discovered the Columbia River.
Bancroft (History of California), in giving Palou's Vida as authority for
his short and incorrect account of Ayala's survey, says: "It is
unfortunate that neither map nor diary of this earliest survey is extant."
It is with pleasure we are permitted to present to the public these
important documents, now printed for the first time, and only regret
that the shortness of time allowed for their study may perhaps
necessitate later some minor corrections.
We have also received from the Minister of Marine of Spain, Don José
Ferrano, under date of July 14, 1909, a drawing of the paquebot, San
Carlos, together with the record of her gallant commander, Don Juan
Manuel de Ayala.
Ayala was born in Osuna, Andalucia, on the 28th of December, 1745.
He entered the Marine Corps on the 19th of September, 1760, and was
made Alférez de Fragata, October 10, 1767; Alférez de Navio, June 15,
1769; Teniente de Fragata, April 28, 1774; Teniente de Navio,
February, 1776; and Capitan de Fragata, December 21, 1782.

When the order for the exploration of the northern coast was made,
Ayala was one of the officers assigned to the work. He arrived in Vera
Cruz in August, 1774, proceeded to the City of Mexico, and was
ordered by Viceroy Bucareli to San Blas, where he was given
command of the schooner Sonora. The squadron under Heceta had
hardly got under way, when the commander of the San Carlos, Don
Miguel Manrique, suddenly went mad. Ayala was ordered to the
command of the packet-boat, and returned to San Blas with the
unfortunate officer, to follow the squadron a few days later.
In December, 1775, Ayala conducted a reconnaissance on the coast of
New Spain, and at its conclusion was placed in command of the
Santiago, and until October, 1778, served the new establishments of
California. In August, 1779, he was sent to the Philippine Islands in
command of the San Carlos, returning to San Blas in 1781. In July,
1784, he returned to Spain, and on March 14, 1785, was retired, at his
own request, the royal order granting him full pay as captain of frigate
in consideration of his services to California. He died December 30,
1797.

Zoeth S. Eldredge, E. J. Molera, Charles H. Crocker,
San Francisco, August, 1909. - Committee.

The March of Portolá and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco
by
Zoeth S. Eldredge.

The popular mind accepts the oft-repeated statement that the settlement
of California was due to the pious zeal of a devoted priest, eager to save
the souls of the heathen, supplemented by the paternal care of a
monarch solicitous for the welfare of his subjects. The political
exigencies of the day are forgotten; military commanders and civil
governors sink into insignificance and become mere executives of the
priestly will, while the heroic efforts of Junípero Serra to convert the
natives, his courage in the face of danger, his sublime zeal, and his
unwearied devotion, make him the impelling factor in the colonization
of California.

Nor is the popular conception that the church led the way into
California strange, when we understand that it is to the writings of Fray
Francisco Palou, friend, disciple, and successor of Junípero, that all
historians turn for the account of the occupation. Fray Palou details the
glorious life of the leader with whom he toiled; he eulogizes the worthy
priest, the ardent missionary, as he passed up and down the length of
the land, founding missions, planting the vine, the olive, and the fruit
tree in a land whose inhabitants had often suffered from hunger; giving
aid and comfort to the sick and weary and consolation to the dying.
Indeed, the pictures of the padres are fascinating. The infant
establishments planted by the church grew rich and powerful, but so
wise and gentle was the administration of the priests and so generous
their hospitality, that life in California in the first quarter of the
nineteenth century was an almost dolce far niente existence.
Radiant as is the priestly figure of Junípero drawn