The March of Portola and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco | Page 7

or tender, under Alférez Martin Aguilar, and a barcolongo for

exploring rivers and bays[4]. The chief pilot of the expedition was
Francisco Bolaños who had been one of the pilots with Cermeñon on
the lost San Agustin. Three barefooted Carmelites looked after the
spiritual needs of the adventurers. The story of this second voyage of
Vizcaino is well known. On the 10th of November, they were in the
Bay of San Diego, which Vizcaino named for San Diego de Alcalá,
whose day, November 14th, they spent in the bay, ignoring the name,
San Miguel, given it by Cabrillo sixty years before. Later in the month
he entered and named San Pedro bay, for Saint Peter, bishop of
Alexandria, whose day, November 26th, it was. He also named the
islands still known as Santa Catalina and San Clemente. He next sailed
through and named the Canal de Santa Barbara, which saint's day,
December 4th, was observed while in the channel, and also named Isla
de Santa Barbara and Isla de San Nicolas. Passing Punta de la
Concepcion, which he named[5], Vizcaino sailed up the coast in a thick
fog, which lifting on December 14th, revealed to the voyagers the lofty
coast range usually sighted by the ships coming from the Philippines.
Four leagues beyond they saw a river flowing from high hills through a
beautiful valley to the sea. To the mountains he gave the name of Sierra
de la Santa Lucia, in honor of the Saint whose day (December 13th)
they had just celebrated, and the stream he named Rio del Cármelo, in
honor of the Carmelite friars. Rounding a high wooded point, which he
named Punta de los Pinos, he dropped anchor in Monterey bay,
December 16th, 1602. Here Vizcaino found the much desired harbor of
refuge, and he named it for his patron, the Conde de Monterey.
Vizcaino made the most of his discovery, and in a letter to the king,
written in Monterey Bay, December 28, 1602[6], he gives a most
glowing description of the bay, which is, at best, but an open roadstead.
The Indians, as usual, told him of large cities in the interior, which they
invited him to visit, but Vizcaino could not tarry. His provisions were
almost gone, his men were sick with scurvy, of which many had died,
and putting the most helpless on board the Santo Tomas, he sent her to
Acapulco for aid, and sailed, January 3, 1603, with the flagship and
fragata, for the north. A storm soon separated the vessels and they did
not see each other again until they met in the harbor of Acapulco.
Vizcaino was told by the pilot, Bolaños, that Cermeñon had left in
Drake's Bay a large quantity of wax and several chests of silk, and he

entered the bay on January 8th to see if any vestiges remained of ship
or cargo. He did not land, but awaited the arrival of the fragata. As she
did not appear, he became uneasy, and sailed the next morning in
search of her. On the 13th, a violent gale from the southeast drove him
northward. This was followed by a dense fog, and when it lifted, he
found himself in latitude forty-two - the limit of his instructions - with
Cape Blanco in sight, "and the trend of the coast line onward," he
writes, "towards Japan and Great China, which are but a short run
away." Only six of his men were now able to keep the deck, and he
bore away for Acapulco, where he arrived March 21, 1603. Of the
company that sailed with him, forty-two had died.
In 1606, Philip III, King of Spain, ordered that Monterey be occupied
and provision made there to succor and refit the Philippine ships. He
directed that to Vizcaino should be given the command of the
expedition. His orders were not carried out and Vizcaino sailed instead
for Japan, whence he returned in 1613, and died three years later.
For over one hundred and sixty years, no steps were taken for the
pacification and settlement of Alta California. The galleons continued
to make their yearly voyages to the Philippines, and returning, sail
down the coast within sight of the fair land; but no harbor of refuge was
established and no attempt was made to colonize the country.
At last the Spanish king began to realize that if he would retain his
possessions in America, some action was necessary for their protection.
Spanish sovereignty in the Pacific was threatened. The Russians had
crossed Bering Sea, had established themselves on the coast of Alaska,
and their hunters were extending their pursuit of the sea otter into more
southern waters. England had wrested Canada from France and was
ready to turn her attention to the American possessions of Spain. The
Family