The March of Portola and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco | Page 4

by Palou, the careful
investigator will find that the impelling factor in the occupation of
California was stern military necessity, not missionary zeal. From the
time of Cabrillo, Spain had claimed the coasts of the Pacific up to
forty-two degrees north latitude by right of discovery, but more than
two hundred years had passed and she had done nothing towards
making good this right by settlement. The country was open to
colonization by any nation strong enough to maintain and protect its
colonies.
Before relating the story of Portolá's march, let us consider for a
moment the situation of California in its relation to Spain and other
European nations, and we will then understand why Spain found it
necessary to occupy the country.
When Legaspi completed the conquest of the Philippines in 1565, he
sent his flagship, the San Pedro, back to New Spain under command of
his grandson, Felipe Salcedo, with orders to survey and chart a
practicable route for ships returning from the Islands. The San Pedro
sailed from Cebu, June 1, 1565, and took her course east-northeast to
the Ladrones, thence northward to latitude thirty-eight, thence sailing
eastward, following the Kuroshiwo, the Black Current of Japan, they
made a landfall on the coast of California about the latitude of Cape
Mendocino. A sail of two thousand five hundred miles down the coasts
of California and New Spain brought the voyagers to the port of

Acapulco. This route was charted by the priests on board the San Pedro,
and for nearly three centuries was the one followed by the galleons of
Spain sailing from Manila to Acapulco. The voyage across the Pacific
was a long one and ships in distress were obliged to put about and
make for Japan. A harbor on the coast of California in which ships
could find shelter and repair damages was greatly desired. A survey of
the unknown coasts of the South Sea, as it was called, was ordered, and
it was also suggested that the explorations be extended beyond the
forty-second degree of north latitude, it being held that the coast was a
part of the same continent as that of China, or only separated therefrom
by the narrow strait of Anian, which was believed to open in latitude
forty-two.
Up to this time the only exploration of the northern coast of California
was that of Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo, and continued after his death by
his chief pilot, Bartolomé Ferrelo, in 1542-1543. Cabrillo sailed as far
north as Fort Ross, anchored in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the
entrance to the Golden Gate, and then sought refuge from the terrible
storms in San Miguel Island, Santa Barbara Channel, where he died.
Ferrelo took command and sailed up to Cape Mendocino, which he
named in honor of Don Antonio de Mendoza, first viceroy of New
Spain.
On the 17th of June, 1579, Francis Drake, in command of the Golden
Hinde, took refuge in the bay under Point Reyes, now known as
Drake's Bay. He took possession of the country in the name of Queen
Elizabeth, and named it New Albion, because of the white cliffs which,
Chaplain Fletcher writes, "lie towards the sea," and also "that it might
have some affinity with our own country." It was in this place and at
this time that the first English service was held in America, by Master
Francis Fletcher, chaplain to Francis Drake. The "Prayer Book Cross"
in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, commemorates the event.
Drake remained in this bay thirty-seven days, refitted his ship, supplied
himself with wood and water, and sailed on July 23d to the Southeast
Farallones, where he laid in a store of seal meat, and on the 25th sailed
across the Pacific for England by way of the Cape of Good Hope.
In 1585, Captain Francisco de Gali, sailing for the Philippines, was
directed to sail, on the return voyage, as far north as the weather would
permit, and on reaching the coast of California, examine the land and

the harbors on his way homeward, make maps of all, and report all that
he accomplished. It does not appear from Gali's report that he
accomplished anything in particular. He reached the coast in latitude
37° 30' (Pillar Point), and noted that the land was high and fair; that the
mountains[1] were without snow, and that there were many indications
of rivers, bays, and havens along the coast.
In 1594, Captain Sebastian Cermeñon, a Portuguese sailor in the
service of Spain, sailed for the Philippines with orders similar to those
of Gali. In an attempt to survey the coast, he lost his ship, the San
Agustin. It is supposed she struck on one of the Farallones and was
beached in Drake's Bay. From the trunk of a tree they constructed a