CONTENTdm
British Columbia Historical Books Collection
Baker, A. J.
Wagner, Henry R. (Henry Raup), 1862-1957
Benito de la Sierra, Fray
"Reprinted from the California Historical Society Quarterly, vol.9, Sept. 1930, pp.201-242. 50 copies issued separately."-- Strathern, G. M., & Edwards, M. H. (1970). Navigations, traffiques & discoveries, 1774-1848: A guide to publications relating to the area now British Columbia. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 166.
44 pages : maps (1 folded) ; 26 cm
application/pdf
Fray Benito De La Sierra's Account of the Hezeta Expedition to the Northwest Coast in 1775 Translated by A. J. Baker Introduction and Notes by Henry, R. Wagner Fray Benito De La Sierra's Account of the Hezeta Expedition to the Northwest Coast in 1775 Translated by A. J. Baker Introduction and Notes by Henry R. Wagner San Francisco 1930 FRAY BENITO DE LA SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION TO THE NORTHWEST COAST IN 1775 Translated by A. J. Baker Introduction and Notes by Henry R. Wagner The first half of the Eighteenth Century saw a revival of the search for a northwest passage. In view of the importance which was then attached to the apocryphal voyage of Bartholomew de Fonte it seems quite likely that this tale was responsible for the renewed interest in the subject. Fonte's letter had appeared in London in 1708 in the Monthly Miscellany or Memoirs for the Curious. It purports to give an account of a voyage to the northwest coast of America in 1640 and the discovery of a passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The letter appears to have attracted but little attention at the time of publication but its influence may have been much greater than the records show. Arthur Dobbs, an Irishman on whose representations Captain Middleton was sent out by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1737 to search for the passage, was certainly familiar with it. In 1741 Middleton was again sent out to Hudson's Bay, this time by the Admiralty, and after his return Dobbs in 1744 reprinted the Fonte narrative. In the latter part of this year a bill passed Parliament authorizing the payment of a reward of twenty thousand pounds to anyone who should discover the passage, and in 1746 another expedition was sent out to explore the inlets which Middleton had neglected to examine. The results of this expedition were published by Henry Ellis in 1748 in A Voyage to Hudson's Bay by the Dobbs Galley and California in the Years 1746 and 1747 for Discovering a North West Passage. Ellis advanced a number of arguments to prove the existence of such a passage but laid no great stress on Fonte's story. By 1749 the employees of the Hudson's Bay Company completed an examination of the various channels extending westward from that bay, which had been thought might lead to the Pacific, and had discovered that they were all closed. The operations obviously had to be transferred to some other quarter. The subject would probably have now passed into oblivion if Fonte's story had not been taken up by two French geographers, Joseph Nicolas Delisle and Philippe Buache. In 1750 the former, who had been in Russia for many years and was cognizant of the Russian explorations of Bering and Chirikof, read a memoir before the Academy of Sciences in Paris on the subject of their discoveries. With his paper he presented a manuscript map of America. This map, somewhat changed, he published in 1752 with an explanation of it. He was a believer in the voyage of Fonte and also in another apocryphal voyage of Juan de Fuca which had been published by Samuel Purchas in his Pilgrimes in 1625. Fuca, a Greek, was a real individual and had been pilot in the Spanish service in the South Sea for a number of years prior to 1596 when he related his tale to Michael Lok in 4 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION Venice. Briefly, Fuca claimed to have discovered a strait about where the one now known under his name is located. The coincidence is a singular one, but nevertheless there is no probability whatever that Fuca or anyone else had discovered this strait. His idea of the latitude in which he placed it was probably taken from maps showing the Strait of Anian on which the entrance to that strait on the Pacific side was usually placed between 45° and 50°. Although these alleged discoveries of Fonte and Fuca had nothing to do with the genuine ones of the Russians, they all appear on Delisle's map, forming one of the greatest examples of imaginary geography ever produced. Delisle's views were adopted by many geographers and certainly attracted the attention of the Spaniards, as we can see by the space devoted to the subject by Father Andres Marcos Burriel in the Appendix to the Noticia de la California published in Madrid in 1757. Father Burriel after paying his compliments to both Ellis and Delisle asserted that the voyages of Fonte and Fuca were entirely imaginary and that no foundation existed for the belief in any navigable northwest passage. Responsible Spanish statesmen were always skeptical about the existence of this passage. Coupled with this was a more or less settled policy in Spain not to search for it. The reason is obvious. As matters stood the north Pacific was practically a closed sea to other powers in fact if not in theory. It was not so much that there was anything there worth while which made the Spaniards fear an intrusion into it, but the facility with which the establishments in Mexico and Peru could be reached by means of such a passage in case a navigable one should be discovered. The Spanish government later, as we shall see, determined to take possession of the northwest coast as far north as possible with the hope and perhaps belief that this precautionary measure would prevent any foreign power from making settlements there from which the Spanish colonies farther south could be molested if such a discovery should be made. From the remarks to the Indians in Trinidad about returning little by little credited to Father Campa in Father Sierra's journal, it seems likely that in 1775 the intention of the government was gradually to extend the Spanish settlements up the coast. The entry of Spain in 1779 into the war being raged between France and England growing out of the American Revolution probably put an effective stop to the fulfillment of such far-sighted designs, for the moment at The immediate cause, however, of the revived interest Spain now began to take in this coast probably lay in the communications addressed to the government by Spain's minister in Russia, the Conde de Lacy, who kept it well informed of all the moves of the Russians in that direction. These operations began to awaken the suspicions of the Spaniards soon after the occupation of Upper California in 1769; in fact, according to Jos6 de Galvez, the famous visitador, this enterprise which he directed was aimed against possible Russian encroachment from the north. Once the country was occupied, however, a SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION S persistent agitation began in Spain, perhaps fathered by Galvez himself, who had returned to that country, to take possession of the coast above the new establishments. It does not appear that up to this time the Russians had reached any point farther south than the neighborhood of Sitka, and that only by an exploring expedition. Their fur trading operations were confined to the islands in western Alaska, and considering the distance from their base of operations any advance to the south could not have been made for some time, and any actual colonization of the country, even occupation by fur traders, would have been an extremely slow process. As it turned out in the sequel, the movements of the Spaniards on the coast did not stop the Russians, who finally established an outpost at Fort Ross, not far north of San Francisco. As early as August, 1773, the Spanish government decided to send out six naval officers to conduct the new explorations. These, however, did not leave Spain until June of the following year. In the meantime the viceroy of New Spain sent out an expedition of one vessel, the Santiago, a new frigate nicknamed the Nueva Galicia, under the command of Juan Perez with instructions to proceed as high as 60° and take possession of the country wherever convenient. Perez had been a pilot on the Philippine-Acapulco route and was considered to be a capable seaman. As the government was short of clergymen to act as chaplains, the guardian of the Franciscan College of San Fernando in Mexico was persuaded to supply two of his order to act in that capacity. Each of these friars, the famous Juan Crespi and Tomas de la Pefia, kept a journal of the voyage, and their accounts were published with translations in 1891 by the Historical Society of Southern California from copies in the archives of Seville. A translation of that of Crespi has been recently again published by Dr. H. E. Bolton in his Historical Memoirs of New California. The Santiago set sail from San Bias January 24, 1774, reached Monterey May 10 and departed from that port bound for the north June 11. On July 19 land was sighted in about 54° and the following day a point in about 55°. The next day Perez anchored near the point which he christened "Santa Margarita," as it was her day. To the north at some distance another point was visible which was named after Maria Magdalena, whose day is July 22, and to the w.est of this was an island which was named after Santa Cristina, whose day is July 24. Between the two points now called Cape North and Pt. Muzon lies the famous Dixon Entrance between the Queen Charlotte and the Prince of Wales groups of islands. Perez was afraid to land on account of bad weather, and, satisfied apparently that he could not make any more northing, turned south on the twenty-fourth, coasting along the Queen Charlotte islands and naming the San Cristobal mountains. July 30 he stood off from the coast and saw no land again till August 6, when the ship was either in 48° 52', or possibly as the captain stated in 48°. On August 8 Perez cast anchor in a roadstead shaped like a C, named "San Lorenzo" August 10 by him in honor of that saint whose day it was. The point to the north he named "Santa Clara" and the one to the 6 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION south "San Esteban" after that saint and not after his second in command, Esteban Jose Martinez, as usually stated. The Indians came out to the ship, but Perez still refused to land, and August 10 sailed away. On his way south he had occasional glimpses of the coast; he described and named the Sierra Nevada de Santa Rosalia, evidently Mount Olympus; on the 15th he again saw land, and at noon the ship was in 44° 35'. The next morning Perez was again out of sight of land and did not see the coast until the morning of the 22d, an elevated cape which he thought was Mendocino, the position of which he calculated must be about 40° a few minutes more or less. August 26 he sighted the Farallones and the following day anchored in Monterey. Thus ended a perfectly futile expedition. The fact is that Perez was entirely too timid for work in these northern waters. No good reason existed for not going up to 60° as ordered, and for not landing and taking possession, which was the real object in sending him. The names which he gave have disappeared, except his Sierra San Cristobal in the Queen Charlotte group and his Punta San Esteban, which, however, has been moved south to a point at the entrance of Esteban Sound. The name of Perez himself is perpetuated in Juan Perez Sound, given by the Geological Survey of Canada to a place which he never saw. Whether his San Lorenzo was the Nootka Sound afterwards so famous has been and still is the subject of much controversy. He located it in 49° 30*, almost exactly the latitude of Nootka Sound — perhaps, as Bancroft says, too accurately to be Nootka in view of the excess in his latitudes farther north. Martinez, however, who accompanied him as assistant and was again at this place in later years after Captain James Cook had named it Nootka, always asserted it to be the same place. The British, on the other hand, have always maintained that the San Lorenzo of Perez was farther south and they have some good reasons to back up this opinion. It is plain from some occasional remarks of Fr. Crespi, in his diary, that Perez and Martinez did not always agree in their observations of latitude. Martinez later demonstrated that he could make fairly accurate observations, and I am under the impression that Perez was one of the old school Spanish pilots who had not had any technical training. The Santiago certainly, did not enter Nootka Sound, but I am convinced anchored off the entrance. Besides the diaries of the Franciscans, the journal of Perez is extant in the Museo Nacional in Mexico. In the archives in Mexico there is one of Martinez, and a so-called Tabla Diaria, that is, a log of the ship. None of the journals was accompanied by a map so far as known, and in 1791 Juan Francisco Bodega y Quadra could not find one to use in making up his map of that year. Before the Santiago reached San Bias on her return, the officers sent out by the Spanish government arrived in Mexico City. Preparations were now begun for another expedition the following year. In December the officers proceeded to Tepic. At San Bias the Nueva Galicia, that is the Santiago, was again fitted out and placed under the command of Bruno de Hezeta with SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 7 instructions to proceed to 65°. Juan Perez was appointed sailing master. A small schooner named Sonora, only some thirty-six feet long over all and twelve feet beam, was chosen to accompany her and was placed under the command of Juan de Ayala. Juan Francisco Bodega y Quadra, although of the same rank as Ayala, petitioned to be allowed to serve under him. His request was granted, and Francisco Antonio Mourelle was appointed second sailing master. Two Franciscans were again borrowed from the College of San Fernando to act as chaplains on the Santiago, Miguel de la Campa Cos and Benito de la Sierra. On March 16, 1775, the two ships set sail from San Bias, in company with the San Carlos bound for Monterey under the command of Miguel Manrique. The record of the voyage will appear in the following pages. The Conde de Revilla Gigedo in his report to the home government of April 12, 1793, in which he embraced the entire period of later Spanish exploration on the coast, summarized the results of this expedition as follows: In this exploration were discovered and explored the department of Trinidad in 41° 06', the Roadstead of Bucareli in 47° 24', the archipelago and port of the same name in 55° 18', and that of Los Remedios in 57° 20', the respective formal possessions being taken. Besides, Hezeta saw the mouth or entrance of his name in 46° which he called the "Bahia de la Asuncion" but could not examine, and Bodega anchored in the port of his name in 38° 18' close to San Francisco and took possession of it. Such acts of possession were at the time supposed to convey at least a presumptive title to all intermediate territory, and it is difficult to see how the British government could in a few short years thereafter gain any kind of valid title to any part of it. Captain James Cook had instructions when he departed from England in 1776 to take possession of the country north of 45° that had not already been discovered. In the account of his voyage it is admitted that before he left he had information about some Spanish voyage that had attained a high point on the coast either in 1774 or 1775, and that he had some more detailed information than appears in this work is evident from the fact that he did not take possession of Nootka Sound, which is within the limits of the Spanish discoveries. Francisco Antonio Mourelle in a memorial of his services printed June 1, 1814, makes the statement that Cook carried with him his account of the 1775 expedition in printed form. This hardly seems likely as Cook made no mention of it. There does exist however such a printed account probably issued by the Admiralty at the instance of Alexander Daliymple, but very likely not until later as it seems improbable that Mourelle's account could have been available in England before Cook left. What Cook must have had however was an account said to have been sent from Madrid under date of March 24, 1776. In this it is stated that in 1774 the Santiago under Juan Perez explored the coast to 55° 49' and landed there, and that in 1775 the Santiago and Sonora were sent out, the former reaching 50° and the latter 58°. The commander of each vessel is asserted to have explored the intermediate coast, examining the various gulfs, bays and rivers. Although the notice is a brief one and in respect to the landing attributed to Perez is incorrect, it was no doubt intended 8 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION to serve notice to the world that Spain had explored the northwest coast as high as 58°. No mention is made of any possession being taken. The account was translated and printed in London in 1776, but whether before Cook left or not is uncertain, in a Summary of Observations and Facts collected from late and authentic accounts of Russian and other navigators to show the practicability and good prospect of success m enterprises to discover a Northern Passage for vessels by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The documents concerning this voyage are numerous; all the principal officers and both the chaplains kept journals. These have been known for a long time except that of Fr. Sierra. In spite of the importance of the expedition none of them has ever been printed either in the original or in translation, except an account by Mourelle previously referred to. The original used was substantially a copy of the one now in the archives in Mexico. In 1781 the translation was inserted by Daines Barrington in his Miscellanies. During all these years the journal of Fr. Sierra has been unknown. No mention of it occurs in any document or any book that I have ever seen. The page of notations at the beginning indicates that it was delivered by Fr. Sierra to the College of San Fernando on his return. The library of that institution having been dispersed at the time of the reform in Mexico, many of the documents passed into the hands of private individuals and this particular one fell into those of Jose Maria Agreda either directly or indirectly. Agreda died over ten years ago and a few years afterwards his heirs began to dispose of his library. Mr. G. R. G. Conway happened on this document in a bundle of miscellaneous papers which he purchased from them. With his kind permission I am able to offer a translation of it made by Mr. A. J. Baker of Mexico City, having myself added a few notes to identify the various places reached by the expedition and a few extracts from the diary of Fr. Campa where he has included interesting details not given by Fr. Sierra. Except for these additions by Fr. Campa his diary and that of Fr. Sierra are practically the same, in many cases the entries being even identical. It is plain that they wrote them up together. Little is known of Fr. Benito de la Sierra beyond the fact that he acted as chaplain on this expedition and on the two subsequent ones from San Bias to Monterey of 1776 and 1777. Before the annual Monterey ship left San Bias in 1778, he had passed Some Cartographical Notes The expedition carried the journal of Perez of the preceding expedition, the Noticia de la California of Miguel de Venegas (edited by Burriel), and Jacques Nicolas Bellin's maps of 1755 and 1766. Frequent references to these maps occur in the different accounts of the participants, who seem to have assumed that they represented some exploration on the northern coast. In the 1766 map, Cabo Mendocino is located in 42°; C Fortune, that is Fortunas, in about 41° 10'; Cabo Blanco de San Sebastian in 43°, and the Entree Decouvert par Martin d'Aguilar en 1603 in about 44J^°. The Entree Decouvert par Jean de SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 9 Fuca en 1592 is shown in 47J4°, and the pretended Rio de los Reyes of Fonte in about 53J4°. This map, the one Bodega used while on the northern part of the coast, shows the tracks of the Russian expeditions of Bering and Chirikof. Its unreliability soon became apparent to the explorers; all the latitudes were too high, in this respect simply repeating errors of pre-existing maps. Except for the Russian discoveries which Bellin had taken from Russian maps and the various pretended Entrees of Fonte and Fuca they were derived from maps which showed the discoveries made by Vizcaino. The only marked departure from these seems to have been in depicting the Entree de Aguilar north of Cabo Blanco and as high as 44J^°, this having been supposed by Vizcaino to be below 43°, the latitude generally assigned to Cabo Blanco. The discoveries are laid down on three principal maps in the Archivo de Indias, Seville, and some charts of different ports. Two show the discoveries of Hezeta, and the other those made by the Sonora. The two Hezeta maps differ in size and also slightly in the latitudes assigned to some of the places, especially those named by the Sonora south of the forty-eighth parallel, which were included. The map made by Bodega and Mourelle shows of course their discoveries north of that parallel and also those farther south. There are some differences between this and the Hezeta maps. Cabo Diligencias and Cabo Toledo, both named by Bodega, are too high on the large Hezeta map. Neither the journal of Fr. Sierra nor that of Fr. Campa gives any too much geographical detail and it is a matter of some difficulty to unearth the sources of some of the names on these maps, scattered as they are in various journals. Some of them are apparently not mentioned in any of them. A resume of all the journals was made some time later in a document entitled Segunda Exploration de la Costa Septentrional de California hecha en 1775. Even in this the origin of some of the names does not appear, although it is fuller in geographical details than any of the accounts. In order to make the record as complete as possible I give what information I have been able to glean regarding the names which were given and which do not appear in the document translated, or in that of Fr. Campa. When the Santiago was returning, Hezeta discovered about August 25 three small islands in 45° 30' which he named the "Tres Marias," evidently the three Arch Rocks off Cape Meares. When Bodega came down the coast later in the Sonora he found three islands which he also named "Tres Marias," but they are located by him in about 44° 2V, obviously the three islands off Yaquina Head. On Bodega's map the Islas de Aves are shown in about 51° 50', occupying the locality of the small islands just south of Cape St. James, the southern point of the Queen Charlotte group. No mention of them occurs in the narrative, but he must have seen them about December 13 on the voyage south. An Ensenada del Principe will also be found on this map, which was named about August 27 and located in 56° 03', although shown on the map in about 56° 10'. Nearly twenty miles to the south of this are Los Hermanos, two islands close together, which must have been Coronation Island and Warren Island, while the ensenada was the now well-known Chatham Strait. In about 48° 07' Los lo SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION Frayles is applied to a few islands close to the coast, probably the ones now known as James Island and the Quillayute Needle off the river of the latter name in about 48° 03'. Just south of the Cabo de Engafio and a little short of 57° is located the Ensenada de Susto. A small island named "Lobos" appears off Remedios, probably Sinitsin Island. North of Cabo Engafio there is an Ensenada de Guadalupe and still north of this another Guadalupe. The Ensenada del Susto is of course the entrance to Sitka Sound, and Guadalupe the bay named "Mary" by Vancouver. The most noticeable addition of Bodega to the cartography of the coast, and one which afterwards gave a great deal of trouble to the geographers, was his Punta Delgada located by him in about 39°. It was the well-known Point Arena. No mention of it occurs in his journal or in that of Mourelle. On the Hezeta map it was moved up to about 39° 20' and thus became established on many later maps in that or even a higher latitude. Mendocino was located in different latitudes by different observers. Perez placed it in 40° 15' and on the Bodega map it is in about 40° 10'. Mourelle discussed the location of Vizcaino's Cabo Mendocino, and by deduction from the errors of latitude in the account of that expedition which he had discovered at other points, came to the conclusion that it was Trinidad Head or at least, as he said, it ought to be. In view of the latitude ascribed to it on the French maps, namely about 42°, it is not clear why the name was moved down to one in just over 40°, but it seems that there must have been some tradition among the pilots on the Manila-Acapulco route that it was in the lower latitude. In view of the fact that Bodega's observations were only two or three minutes too high it may well be doubted that his Cabo Mendocino was the one now so called; more likely it was the present Punta Gorda. I think that there can be but little doubt that the massive point which was seen to the south when the expedition was off Trinidad Bay was in reality Cape Mendocino and that this is the Punta Gorda of the early maps; neither of the ships was very near it. On Martinez y Zayas' map of 1793 Cabo Vizcaino is laid down in about 40° 21', Cabo Mendocino in about 40° 28', and Punta Gorda in about 40° 44'. It is obvious that in this order we have what are known as Punta Gorda, Cape Mendocino, and Table Bluff, unless we assume that his latitudes are more in error than those of Bodega. Henry R. Wagner. SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION DIARY OF FRAY BENITO DE LA SIERRA I. H. S. On March 16, 1775, at five of the afternoon, we left the church of San Bias with the image of Our Lady, Maria Santisima, and reciting the litany proceeded in procession to the shore where we embarked. On the 17th after midnight a land breeze sprang up and we made sail, raising the topsails only, so as not to draw away from the Schooner, the Sonora, which accompanied us and which was a small vessel, suitable for examining the coast. Although we were under easy sail we left her a long way behind and had to go about and return three leagues south of the Piedra Blanca in order to rejoin her. The wind failing, we dropped anchor before sunset, the calm lasting until after midnight. On the 18th about two in the morning we set sail with the land breeze and at daybreak found ourselves off the Piedra Blanca, and having passed it a short distance we dropped anchor to await the Schooner. The wind failing we lay there until after the dinner hour, when we heard a cannon shot by the despatch- boat San Carlos which was lying not far away and had sent her launch to the port of San Bias. Thinking she might require something we sent a boat, but before it could reach her we perceived that she was under weigh and setting her course for San Bias; but presently our boat having reached her, her captain, Don Miguel Manrique, with three sailors entered the boat and came on board our ship explaining that he desired the Commandant to call a council of war. After making the request he went back to the Schooner to bring off the two officers who were on her, returning with one of them and the pilot, but we saw that his mind was unhinged, because he was under the delusion that they wished to kill him, for which reason he carried six fully-loaded pistols, much to the consternation of all on board his own ship, especially of a man whom he had ordered to cut the cables, threatening to kill him if he refused. The Padre Campa had his full share of the trouble, passing a most disturbed night, not out of fear but because the madman, his hallucinations increasing, trusted only him and refused to let him out of his sight for a moment, and consequently he was obliged to sit up with him all night. On the 19th we remained at anchor all day not only because of the steps which had to be taken to put on shore Don Miguel Manrique but also because the northwest wind which was blowing was contrary. At daybreak the Padre Campa prepared to say mass, but the madman would not let him out of his sight until he was assured that during his absence I would stay with him, which I did, and he was comforted by always having someone with him. The Commandant Don Bruno de Hezeta directed that the surgeons should give their professional opinion and the officers their vote, and was even desirous that we friars should say what we felt: everybody was of the opinion that one of the two officers of the Schooner should take command of the despatch-boat, and 12 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION that, the madman should be sent on shore, which was done at night and cost no little trouble as he persisted in refusing to leave the Frigate in spite of being assured over and over again that he had nothing to fear because he would be accompanied by two companions as well as by the chaplain of his own ship, who had also come on board and who made no secret of the fears he had entertained of receiving a pistol shot. Eventually, after two hours of arguing, the madman was got off. On the 20th after sunrise an almost contrary wind arose, but rather than lie idle we set sail and gained a little over a league, dropping anchor in the mid-afternoon. On the 21st in the early morning a southeast wind started to blow, but so light that although it was favourable we gained very little distance. At eleven o'clock the launch of the San Carlos overtook us with a letter from Don Juan Manuel de Ayala in which he asked a boat for a little cargo which he had on deck and which hampered the handling of the ship and the accommodation of the crew: he was told to send it; and to allow him time to do so and for the Schooner to catch up we anchored at four in the afternoon. At nightfall the cargo from the San Carlos arrived in charge of her pilot, Don Josef Cafiizares, the Schooner lying about a league away. On the 2 2d in view of the slowness of the Schooner the Commandant gave orders to tow her, for which purpose he had provided overnight a stream-cable of 80 fathoms; and the land breeze starting to blow at eleven o'clock at night we lay to and signalled the Schooner to come alongside. This she did, and we took her in tow, which was done at two o'clock in the morning. At daybreak the wind changed and blew almost dead against us, and we had to sail due west until noon, when the wind veered to the west-northwest and we stood in towards the coast seeking for a place to anchor, but the wind freshening a little our fore topmast sprung, which caused us to anchor sooner than we intended. On the 23d the slowness of the Schooner again caused us to lose distance, because when the land breeze came at three in the morning we were forced to lie to over an hour waiting to take her in tow, and when we got under weigh the wind veered to the northwest which obliged us to leave Isabela Island to windward which threw us out of our course. The San Carlos now went about and stood into the coast to drop anchor, waiting for a better occasion to round the island to windward, but our Commandant proceeded hoping that farther on the wind would be more favourable. We this day commenced to take observations at noon, finding our position to be 21° 39' N. At sunset we sighted the Islas Marias off the bow to the southwest, and we were becalmed. On the 24th about midnight a northwest wind started, and at daybreak we found ourselves close aboard to leeward of the most southerly of the Islas Marias. In the afternoon we lost sight of the islands. At midday our position was 21° 40' N. On the 25th the same wind blew. The midday observation showed our position to be 21° 15' N. Our Commandant ascertaining that in the few days SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 13 since we started we had consumed fifty-two casks and four quarter-casks of water endeavored to reduce the allowance of each person to two quarts a day, but did not put his plan into execution, contenting himself with ordering that more care should be taken in the distribution. On the 26th the wind blew from the same quarter but more fresh. At midday our position was 20° 20' N. At night the wind blew up stronger, and what with the maneuvering of the ship and the way it heeled over, sleep was somewhat difficult to obtain. On the 27th the northwest wind continued but not so strong. At midday our position was 19° 30' N. At night the wind almost died away. On the 28th the day was calm. Our position at midday was 19° 23' N. On the 29th at three o'clock of the morning the northwest wind sprang up again, but at sunrise it died out, the calm lasting all day. At midday our position was 19° 27' N., the wind and currents having made us lose latitude. On the 30th we gained but little distance, the Island of Santo Tomas, also known as Socorro, which we had sighted at sunset on the day before, being still two leagues away. It is situated five degrees of longitude from the meridian of San Bias. Our position was 18° 38' N. In the afternoon the wind failed entirely, the calm lasting all night. On the 31st the calm continued, and the island being still in sight the Commandant determined that the Schooner towed by the longboat should explore the coast to ascertain if it would be possible to anchor and also if there were wood, water and fodder for the live-stock, which for lack of anything to eat or drink were dying; but although the rowing was kept up all day long they could not get near the shore, and at sunset were signalled by a cannon shot to return. The calm lasted into the night. To-day our position was 18° 28' N. The stock of water was examined, nine empty quarter-casks and ninety-four full ones being found, a small quantity for so long a journey. When we were at supper the pilot of the Schooner came on board with an enquiry from his captain as to whether he was to continue his efforts to make and explore the island, to which the Commandant sent a reply to the effect that if he were sure of finding water no effort should be spared, but that as this was problematical the expedition would be guided by the weather, resuming the search if the calm lasted, but continuing the voyage should a favouring wind spring up. On April 1, the calm still lasting, the currents drove us back southward; the result of the midday observation showed our position to be 18° 24' N. Soon after nightfall a northwest wind started up and we sailed west-southwest until two o'clock in the morning, when we lay to awaiting the Schooner. On April 2 at eight o'clock in the morning the Schooner arrived as we were saying mass, and we took her in tow and set sail, keeping the island to leeward on our port bow. Our position to-day was 18° 25' N. At ten of the night, the weather being calm, our ship drifted against the Schooner, but although the two vessels ground their sides together, it pleased God that no great damage should be done. (Fortunately it was calm.) 14 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION On the 3d at daybreak the wind was west-northwest and we found ourselves on the far side of the island above referred to, which has nothing to recommend it, consisting as far as we could observe of a hill so arid and bare as not to have a solitary tree, the entire surface being covered with rocks. The island runs east and west and has a length of about four or five leagues. Our position to-day was 18° 49' N. On the 4th the northwest wind blew all day, and we sailed westward. In the afternoon we lost sight of the island. On taking the midday observation we found our position to be 18° 29' N. During the night we had spells of calm. On the 5th the northwest wind blew up again, and we steered west. At noon our position was 18° 10' N. On the 6th the wind veered round to the north but we continued to steer northwest one-quarter west. At midday our position was 17° 43' N. On the 7th the wind was more favourable, and although we did not succeed in gaining latitude we lost little. Our position at midday was 17° 40' N. On the 8th our bowsprit was found to be sprung. We were told that the condition of the spar had been duly reported when in port: Heaven knows if this be true. The damage cannot be remedied here. When making the repairs one of the crew fell into the water, but a rope was thrown to him which he caught and he was rescued without suffering any more harm than a. ducking. Our position to-day was 17° 38' N. On the 9th, having sailed since the preceding night with a somewhat more favourable wind, we succeeded in maintaining our latitude, our position being 17° 40' N. In the evening it fell calm. On the 10th we were becalmed the greater part of the day, the faint wind which blew being from the northwest: our position at midday was 17° 35' N. During the night the wind while it lasted was favourable and we were able to sail almost due north. On the 11th we had the same wind, favourable though fitful, and our position at midday was 17° 36' N. On the 12 th conditions were the same, and our position at midday was 17° 42' N. On the 13th the wind fell almost to a calm. Owing to its veering round we steered to the west and lost 3' of latitude, our position at midday being 17° 39' N. On the 14th about two in the morning the wind started to blow from the northwest and we steered north a quarter northeast. Our position at midday was 17° 44' N. On the 15th the wind freshened and although it carried us to leeward we gained latitude, our position at midday being 18° 20' N. To-day the topmast again sprung in two other places and we lost time in repairing it. On the 16th the wind freshened still more, and the sea was rough, and consequently, when at daybreak the longboat which was made fast to the stern SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION IS of our ship got loose and the Schooner was sent to pick it up, the maneuvering cost considerable trouble and we lay hove to about three hours. Our position at midday was 18° 59' N. On the 17th the wind was not so fresh; our midday position was 19° 47' N. On the 18th the mild wind continued to blow from the same quarter. Our position at midday was 20° 20' N. During the night it fell almost calm. On the 19th at daybreak we were becalmed, the calm lasting all day. At noon we took an observation which showed our position to be 20° 37' N. On the 20th at two of the morning a favourable wind started to blow, but it only lasted a short time and at daybreak we were in a calm which lasted all day. Our position at midday1 was 20° 45' N. On the 21st the calm persisted, varied by occasional puffs of wind. Clouds prevented our taking observations. After dark the breeze freshened slightly. On the 2 2d the weather conditions were the same as on the preceding day, but it clearing up at midday we were able to take observations, our position proving to be 21° 2' N. After dark the wind started to blow from the north- northeast, but mildly. On the 23d we had the same wind, our position at midday being 21° 16' N. After nightfall the wind became variable. On the 24th the wind freshened but continued variable. Our position at midday was 21° 40' N. On the 25th the wind continued the same as yesterday both during the day and after nightfall. Our position at midday was 22 ^ 23' N. On the 26th the same wind prevailed until midday when it veered round to the east and freshened; after dark it continued to blow from the same quarter but less strongly. Our position to-day was 23° 20' N. On the 27th in the morning a mild east wind continued. Our position at midday was 24° 7' N. In the afternoon the wind calmed and after dark it veered to the north-northeast but blew very faintly. On the 28th the wind all the morning was so faint that we were almost becalmed. At midday our position was 24° 42' N. At this hour the north- northeast wind blew up again, lasting the rest of the day and all night. On the 29th the same wind continued. Our position at midday was 25° 11' N. In the afternoon the wind slackened somewhat and so lasted all night. On the 30th the same wind blew until noon, when it veered round to the east-northeast, continuing to blow during the afternoon and all night, but very faintly. Our position at midday was 25° 54' N. On May 1 the dawn broke calm, which lasted all day. At midday our position was 26° 30' N. The calm lasted all night. On the 2d the calm still continued and our position at midday was 26° 38' N. At eight o'clock at night a light and fitful breeze started up. On the 3d at daybreak the calm still prevailed, but at eight o'clock in the morning a mild north-northeast wind started. Our position at midday was 26° 50' N. At seven in the evening the breeze freshened slightly. 16 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION On the 4th the same wind continued. Our position at midday was 27° 39' N. At nightfall the wind freshened. On the 5th the wind hardened and a heavy sea arose. At midday our position was 28° 36-N. and both the wind and the sea started to go down. By nightfall it was almost calm and heavy clouds assembled which resulted in a downpour. On the 6th at daybreak the cloudy and rainy weather continued, the wind being faint and anything but favourable. The sun was not visible and consequently no observations could be taken. On the 7th the weather was the same as the day before and no observations could be taken. On the 8th the weather conditions were the same, the clouds still preventing the taking of observations. On the 9th the clouds were higher and less dense, and the sun was sufficiently visible to allow of observations being taken, our position being 30° 45'N. On the 10th it started to blow from the northeast but softly; it was still cloudy but not sufficient to prevent an observation being taken, our position being 31° 12' N. In the afternoon the wind freshened and so continued during the night. On the 11th the wind during the forenoon was stronger and more favourable, and our position at midday was 32° 8' N. In the afternoon the wind dropped somewhat, but at night it freshened, veering to the southeast. To-day two of the men were found to be sickening with scurvy: God forbid that it should spread! On the 12th the wind kept the same throughout the whole day and night. Our position at midday was 32° 15' N. On the 13th at eight in the morning the wind veered round to the south, this being the first time we have had a following wind since the voyage started, but it was so faint that we did not make much headway, although we took advantage of it to make some slight gain in latitude and to stand in closer to the coast, we being far out at sea. At midday our position was 34° 7' N. On the 14th the same wind blew until four o'clock of the afternoon, when it changed to north-northwest, being accompanied by squalls which lasted until seven o'clock at night, when the wind veered to the north-northeast. The ship was put about and we changed our course to due east, heading towards the land, continuing thus throughout the night. Our position at midday was 34° 33' N. On the 15th the wind freshened at four in the morning, and in order not to lose latitude we changed our course to northwest. Our position at midday was 34° 28' N. After dark the wind slackened. On the 16th the wind blew from the same quarter, but faintly. At midday our position was 34° 52' N. At nightfall we again set our course for the land, but the wind failed, with the exception of a few puffs. SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 17 On the 17th the calm continued. Our position at midday was 34° 48' N. At six in the afternoon a storm came up from the southeast; it only lasted a little while and was followed by a calm. On the 18th the calm lasted until ten o'clock, when it was succeeded by a gentle southeast wind which lasted all day and throughout the night. Our position at midday was 34° 45' N. On the 19th at four in the morning the wind freshened and at midday our position was 35° 43' N. The wind freshened still more after dark. On the 20th the same wind continued, although light, our position at midday being 36° 42' N. During the afternoon it veered round to a more favourable quarter and so continued all night. On the 21st it was raining at daybreak and at eight o'clock in the morning the wind veered around to the northeast, and we steered north a quarter northwest with little sail in order not to be driven away from the coast. At midday our position was 37° 1' N. On the 2 2d we had the same wind, and at midday our position was 37° 46' N.1 On the 23d with the same wind we steered southeast. At midday our position was 38° 4' N. On the 24th the same wind continued and with the same course we lost latitude, our position at midday being 37° 43' N. We were forced to alter our course to north a quarter northwest; at nightfall the wind dropping and changing direction we set our course to the land with short sail. On the 25th the wind continued the same, and we steered east-southeast towards the land. At noon we took an observation, finding our position to be 37° 23' N. Through the night we steered northwest. On the 26th with the same wind we steered north a quarter northwest, occasionally going about and heading east-southeast, so as not to be driven farther away from the land. At midday our position was 37° 8' N. During the night we were becalmed. On the 27th the calm continued, and as it was cloudy no observations could be taken. On the 28th at daybreak the calm still persisted, but at nine o'clock a light breeze from the southwest sprang up. Our position at midday was 36° 47' N. On the 29th the same wind continued until the afternoon, when it veered round to west-northwest. At midday our position was 37° 23' N. At night we were becalmed. On the 30th at daybreak a variable wind started with clouds and some rain, but later in the morning it dropped and we remained practically becalmed. At midday our position was 37° 45' N. On the 31st the same weather conditions prevailed, and at midday our position was 37° 54' N. At eight o'clock at night the captain of the Schooner 1 Campa notices that the wind was very cold all night. 18 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION sent aboard a ship's boy, who he said had been stealing brandy and was drunk, and asked that he might be punished, but leniently, when he recovered his senses; but at midnight the man died and went blind drunk into Eternity. A gentle southwest wind blew all night. On June 1 the same wind continued, and an observation gave our position as 38° 13' N. On the 2d at daybreak the wind freshened, veering round to the east- southeast, and at six o'clock it began to rain, the fall lasting eight hours. The wind caused much trouble to the crew because it was always changing, until noon. By this time it was blowing from the northeast, and we hove to until two in the afternoon, when the rain ceased and the weather improved, and a fresh southwest wind arose and raised a rough sea which kept the ships rolling heavily till after midnight. On the 3d the wind was not blowing as strongly as on the previous day; our position at midday was 39° 13' N. On the 4th the southeast wind continued, but softly; the day broke clear, but by nine o'clock the sky had clouded over and although at midday the sun was just visible and the pilots took observations they were by no means sure that the position they obtained, 40° 23' N., was exact. After dark the wind blew from the east accompanied by rain squalls, the downpour being very trying to the poorly clad sailors. On the 5th at four in the morning the wind veered round to the southeast, with tenuous clouds and some rain. Li spite of this, observations were taken, our position proving to be 41° 19' N. The wind continued the same for the rest of the day and during the night. On the 6th the wind was milder and it was almost calm. Our position at midday was 41° 36' N. In the afternoon the wind veered round to the west, blowing up fresher and continuing all night. On the 7th day broke with the same wind; at nine o'clock land was descried on the horizon, but so far away and so indistinct that we thought it might only be clouds, of which the sky was full. Nevertheless, we were able to take an observation at midday, our position proving to be 41° 38' N. At four in the afternoon the clouds having disappeared and the horizon being clear, the land was clearly visible lying to the northeast over our prow some eight leagues away more or less. At night the wind, which had been somewhat contrary, veered round in our favour. The 8th opened in a calm which lasted until nine o'clock of the morning, when the northwester began to blow. Owing to some optical illusion, the land ahead seemed to be close aboard and to consist of a range of snow-capped mountains, with two large promontories jutting out into the sea to form a vast inlet. We were preparing to take our bearings when the northwester dissipated the clouds, whereupon the snow-capped peaks melted away and the promon- SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 19 tories disappeared. The French maps mark between Cape Mendocino and Cape Blanco an inlet of twenty leagues.2 Doubtless those who saw this were deceived as we were by the clouds, because this coast is generally wrapped in dense white clouds which take the appearance of snow-capped mountains and inlets, but in reality the coast is unbroken. This illusion always happens except when the northwester is blowing, it being the broom which sweeps clean the atmosphere of this hemisphere. Taking advantage of this wind we stood in towards the land in an endeavour to find a place to anchor and to take on water and wood. At midday our position was 41° 28' N. In the afternoon the wind freshened, which raised a heavy sea and so we were only able to observe the land which lay in front of us and which consisted of a range of hills, very high and steep but not snow-covered, about half a league away; these hills were apparently fertile because interspersed among the rocks were large stretches of verdure and forest. As by that time it was five in the afternoon and a strong wind was blowing, we stood out to sea and hove to awaiting the Schooner, which being of less draught had been ordered by the Commandant to go close in shore to ascertain if the roadstead afforded suitable anchorage; she was unsuccessful in her search. Although the wind dropped during the night, daybreak found us some two leagues away from the land. On the 9th about four o'clock in the morning the wind died out but the currents carried us towards the south. At eight o'clock a light northwester again started up, and taking advantage of it we stood in to within a quarter of a league of the land, when we saw before us some low foothills. A sounding was taken and a rocky bottom found in forty-five fathoms. So we stood out a little farther and went along the coast, our position at midday being 41° 18' N. At two o'clock in the afternoon four canoes put out from the shore in which were twenty-four Indians, who having approached us somewhat closely, stopped, but on our making signs to them to come alongside they did so without fear. They were given something to eat, after which they fell to bartering with the sailors, exchanging their otter and deer skins for knives, and in due course departed with many demonstrations of joy, raising their hands. The Schooner, which was proceeding ahead of us in search of a place to anchor, found a port with good shelter, and following in her wake we anchored at four o'clock of the afternoon. Two of the canoes which had come out to meet us went alongside the Schooner. They were given beads and other trifles, with which they were very pleased, and afterwards returned to our ship, where they were also presented with beads and whence they went on shore to their camp, which lay in plain view of us. On the 10th we devoted ourselves to assuring the safety of our vessels, and owing to the reports taken back by our Indian visitors of yesterday to their companions in the camp on the shore and the one on the heights, a number of the inhabitants, women as well as men, all wearing crowns of flowers and 2 Campa refers to this as Cabo Blanco de San Sebastian, which was its proper name. 2o SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION foliage, came out to see us, coming alongside and receiving without hesitation whatever was presented to them and inviting us to go to their settlement. In the afternoon we landed and they came out to receive us, but with a certain amount of distrust, caused doubtless by the sight of a number of armed strangers. Some of them carried bows and arrows, but their chief ordered them to remove the strings from their bows. We went into some of their houses, which showed their poverty-stricken condition. They appeared to be keen at a bargain; one of them had given a little manzanilla? to a sailor, asking in payment therefor a knife, but the sailor not being satisfied with the exchange returned the manzanilla to the native. They did not seem interested in articles of clothing, because on the Commandant presenting to their chief an undercoat and some kerchiefs he returned them; however, on our making signs to him that they were presents, he took them.4 On the 11th, on which this year our Holy Mother Church celebrates the ineffable Mystery of the Blessed Trinity, the Commandant Don Bruno de Hezeta determined to take possession of this land in the name of our Catholic King, and to make the necessary arrangements at break of day sent the pilot Don Cristobal Revilla with some armed men, who at the top of the hill which serves as a shelter to the port made an arbour which they adorned as suitably as possible for performing the holy sacrifice of the mass. On their advising that all was ready we went on shore with all the officers and the greater part of the men of the Frigate and the Schooner, and on the beach worshipped the Holy Cross which had been constructed for the purpose of being placed in position on the top of the hill. My companion and I chanted the Te Deum Laudamus, after which, the men being marshalled in good order, we made our way to the summit, not without difficulty as the path was rough, and steep and in places, even dangerous. On reaching the top the Holy Cross was duly set up and the 3 The word ordinarily meant' "The houses were few in number, not exceeding seven, and were built of planks with very low doors, oval in shape and more like the entrances to dog kennels than anything else; being closed on the inside with running boards we were unable to see within. Surrounding two of the houses were small enclosures in which a small quantity of tobacco was sown, they being addicted to smoking a pipe. The men go about naked, and only in cold weather men and women, wear their hair long, only the boys and girls wearing it short; this being the way the unmarried are distinguished. The men have two or three wives. We did not remark anything else noticeable about them. Their arms are bows and arrows, some lances with flint, and spears made by fixing sharpened flints four or six fingers in length on short wooden pikes. A few of them had also some pieces of sword-blades about a span long which they told us by signs came from the north. On our asking them if they obtained any from some other part they answered no and that they only obtained them from the north where there were larger ones. One of them gave us to understand by very expressive signs that he had made his from a nail which he had found in a piece of wreckage and had beaten out 22 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION Commandant took formal possession of the territory, in accordance with the instructions of his Excellency the Viceroy Don Antonio Maria Bucareli. This being concluded, Fray Campa said mass and preached a sermon with great tranquillity as the Indians contented themselves with observing from their settlement what we were doing. The day being the feast of the Santisima Trinidad caused us to give that name to the port. From the top of the hill we saw a river, not visible from the port, to the east of which it emptied into the sea, to which was given the name of "Rio de las Tortolas." On descending, near the beach we were met by four Indians, one of whom, the one whom the afternoon before we had considered the most intelligent of our visitors, was asked by the captain of the Schooner to repeat "Long live Charles III]" This he did very cheerfully in unison with our men at the salute with the guns, not being perturbed by the roar of the guns on board which were discharged when our men on shore fired volleys with their guns. The Indians of the settlement did not receive it with so much equanimity because the noise of the cannon and the echoes which resounded in the mountains caused them to tremble with fear, as they told us when in the afternoon we went to visit them and explained by signs what it all signified and that they were our friends. We pointed out the cross to them, charging them not to remove it; whereupon their chief harangued them and they promised not to tear it down. On the 12th we commenced to make provision of water and wood and as a matter of precaution the Commandant sent some arms, which proved to be unnecessary because the Indians showed themselves to be friendly and assisted in the work. We went to dine on the beach and after we had sat down a number of Indians with their wives and children came from the settlement by the river and stationed themselves near us, one of them seating himself by the side of Padre Campa. They received with great gratitude what was given them from the table, putting it away after tasting it, but a dish of mussels having been put on the table they were unable to restrain themselves and put their hands into the dish, especially he that was seated next to the padre, who partook of it with great avidity, laughing and embracing him repeatedly. On the dinner being finished they departed in a great state of contentment. On the 13th the Frigate touched ground with the rudder owing to the tide being much lower than on previous days, it being the full moon, and we passed the day in taking her farther outside and assuring her safety. On the 14th the work of taking on water and wood was continued on the beach, on the edge of which were many springs of very good water. We counted as many as seven, two of them, between which were located the Indians' camps aforesaid, being very full, the water coming down from a hill hard by, which serves to shelter the harbour from the northwesters, the prevailing winds on this coast. Some of the sailors went to one of the Indian camps and saw them very busy in one of their huts, a very sheltered underground building having a board floor, in the centre of which was a stone-lined SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 23 pit where a fire was always maintained. They observed that the Indians went in and out of this, giving them to understand with sighs that they had some grief. They came out perspiring freely and went to wash themselves in a watercourse nearby. Going in again they continued their wailing. They explained that one of their people had died, and the horrible smell which came out from the hut seemed to prove that they were burning the body. Many of the people from the two largest villages adjacent to the port came to see them. In the afternoon we went on shore to see these guests and to make them presents, and Padre Campa asked them if any other ships had come there. They answered that none had, but that lower down (indicating the direction of Monterey) they knew that large ships like these came. He gave them to understand that two such ships called there every year, where we were, and that we ourselves would return to their country little by little. On hearing this they showed great pleasure, especially a big youth who laughing joyfully embraced him. Another Indian asked us with a significant sign if we were men the same as he. His curiosity seemed to be aroused by the little regard that the seamen had for their women, they faithfully observing the prudent orders issued by the Commandant. That night two of the sailors were missing. On the 15th the feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated, the men resting. On the 16th the launch that went to take the men to work brought back one of the deserters, who was compelled by hunger to return and who with his lies caused the Commandant to suspect that the Indians were accomplices in the desertions, the man asserting that they had invited and hidden him and had held out inducements to him. The Commandant decided to tax the Indians with this and oblige them to give up the other deserter, and ordered the man who had come back in the boat to be taken ashore again for the necessary investigation in his presence. The Indians proved their innocence, explaining that, far from concealing him, they had shouted a warning when they saw him making off. The upshot was that the man was given a thrashing with the straps of the gun, which would have flayed him well if the compassion of the Indians had not caused them to intercede with tears in his favour. On the 17th the work of obtaining wood and water was continued, and a topmast for the foremast was cut and brought back to repair it, as the one brought from San Bias had been sprung and repaired. On the 18th the Commandant accompanied by the pilot of the Schooner went to explore the Rio de las Tortolas,5 and found that the water there up to 5 The name of this river, meaning "that of the doves," came from the number of these exists as to which river it was, whether Little River, which is only two or three miles from the port, or Mad River, which is farther away. On the early maps it appears almost opposite Trinidad Head, but on later maps the name appears attached to a river in about the location of Mad River. Bodega in his account of the voyage in the Archivo Historico 24 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION half a league from its mouth was somewhat salty; at this season the quantity of water carried by the river is inconsiderable, but it was evident that during the rainy season it must carry a great deal, as its bed is over half a league in breadth. They saw some cottonwoods and a number of mulberries. The Indians presented them with dried sardines, and some of them coming alongside with the Commandant in the launch were presented with glass beads.6 In the days we remained in this port the Indians behaved with the greatest friendliness and confidence, coming alongside the Frigate in our launches and taking our men ashore in their canoes, which are not large, being four yards long at the most, but are well built, with two prows, generally of a single log, half decked at stem and stern except the poop, which has a piece added on top to prevent the entrance of the waves, and are very safe. They could be made larger as there are plenty of large pine trees available. Near the river the party came across one very thick and very tall which out of curiosity they measured, finding it to be over forty-seven yards in height,7 but the Indians are content with a size sufficient for the fishing of mussels which are very abundant and form their regular food. Of other kinds of fish we did not see a single one either in the port or on the neighboring coast which we explored, with the exception of some dried unsalted sardines which the Indians brought to exchange for beads. What are to be found in great number are seals, to which the Indians are very partial, keeping in their houses a supply of the flesh and bladders of the oil. They preserve the flesh as we do ham and cook it by roasting slices over a fire, the grease being allowed to drip on to certain beaten herbs, the whole being eaten with great satisfaction. Otters are also to be seen, but they are not as abundant as seals. The port is situated in latitude 41° 6' N.;8 it is well sheltered but the bottom for the most part is rocky. From lack of experience a stream cable was thrown into the sea: it was only in the water three days and yet when drawn up it was found to be very much damaged. The hill which shelters the port is properly speaking a peninsula, because only at the northern end does it communicate with the land. It dominates the whole harbour and would be very suitable for the erection of a fort, because the part of it that fronts the sea is steep and rocky; at the southern end a stream of water comes down between the rocks. We found the climate cold and the sky generally cloudy. During the short time that the sun was shining we would go out to warm ourselves, the climate being like Mexico in the depth of winter. The soil is well-watered and very fertile and the trees come down to the beach, on the edge of which we saw an abundance of strawberries. The hills are covered with great pines, tall and straight, and the land with many herbs and flowers, among them Castilian roses and lilies and camomile, mint, celery, pennyroyal, wild marjoram and 6 This party did not enter the river with a boat, as might be inferred from reading this passage, but walked up the banks. There was a bar across the mouth, as at present. 7 These trees were redwoods, which are especially large in that neighborhood, or were if we can judge from the stumps remaining. 8 Both Bodega and Mourelle give the latitude as 41° 07'; actual, 41° 03'. SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 25 other herbs, many of them aromatic, which are eaten by the Indians. The latter among other things gave us mulberries to eat, some yellow and some purple, the latter being of a better flavour than the former. The only birds I saw were crows, sparrows and swallows, but the men who went up the river said that they had seen doves, nightingales and a number of other birds whose names they did not know. Of animals, to judge by the skins we saw in possession of the Indians, deer abound and bears are not lacking, and apparently there are also bison because we saw a skin among the Indians and even noticed the hoof prints of one at the edge of the river.9 We went this day to bid farewell to the Indians, who spontaneously gave us to understand that they would not remove the Cross which we had set up on the day we took possession. They1 showed great grief at our departure and told us by signs that they would mourn for us for five days, begging us to return, and assuring us that when we- did we would find the Cross as we had left it.10 On the 19th we set sail with a very gentle northwest wind, and as we were weighing the anchor a canoe with four Indians returning from fishing for mussels came alongside and took leave of us affectionately, begging us to return and displaying much regret at our departure. Half a league from the port the little wind there was died out and we anchored in ten fathoms. The calm lasted the whole day and night. On the 20th we awoke in a calm which lasted until midday. After dinner a northwest wind arose and we set our course westward in order to get clear of the land, having observed that the water was of a muddy colour although our soundings gave us fifteen fathoms. In the afternoon the clouds dispersed, the horizon cleared and we could plainly see the coast which runs due north and south and observe that the pine forests were not so dense inland and that the coast runs more than twenty leagues from Cape Mendocino to the point near the range of hills where we first touched. On the 21st the day broke with a calm, the sky covered with tenuous clouds, our distance from the coast being about seven leagues. At midday an observation was taken and we found ourselves in the latitude of 40° 55' N. At four in the afternoon the northwest wind became stronger, and lasted fresh all night. We sailed west-southwest. On the 2 2d the northwest wind blew all the morning but more softly. At midday we were in latitude 40° 6' N., having been carried back by the currents. On the 23d at four in the morning the wind veered to north-northeast and we steered northwest quarter west. At eight o'clock the wind changed to north and we set our prow west-northwest, the sky clearing. At midday an observa- n this part of the country. Probably tl and the footprints were t ose of elk. 10 Campa states that Vancouver visited Trinida (srnen the Indiai d Bay, May 2 is departed they said "Adi , 1793, Archibald Menzies cay. It bore the inscript as amigo.' on^arol When Ge the Head us in De 26 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION tion was taken, our position being found to be 40° 4' N. At this hour the wind became stronger and gradually veered round to the northwest, lasting all the afternoon and night. On the 24th the wind continued in the same quarter, blowing as strongly as before; the sky was clouded over, which in these latitudes is very common, and no observation could be taken. To-day being the saint's day of the Captain ■of the Schooner, he invited us all to dine with him on the ship. We friars •on account of the roughness of the sea did not go, but the officers went and the occasion was celebrated with great rejoicing, including speeches and toasts; the ships were dressed with flags, and salvoes of musketry were discharged, and the two crews vied with each other in acclamations of "Long live the Kingl" At three in the afternoon our officers returned and sail was set. On the 25th at four in the morning, the wind blowing up strong from an unfavourable quarter for gaining latitude, we lay to and the towing of the Schooner was given up definitely. At noon an observation was taken, our position proving to be 39° 23' N. At this hour we resumed our course under easy On the 26th at daybreak the wind was very mild; taking an observation at midday our position we found to be 39° 20' N. About six o'clock the wind blew up fresher but dropped after sundown. On the 27th the day broke clear and calm; at midday an observation showed us to be in latitude 39° 19' N. About one o'clock in the afternoon the .sky began to be covered with clouds and the calm lasted until the following day. On the 28th the day broke foggy and rainy, with occasional squalls from different points of the compass. At noon no observation could be taken, .although the fog was a little thinner. About two in the afternoon a southeast breeze began to blow, but so faintly that it was almost a calm, and later we were in a complete calm which lasted all the night. On the 29th the calm continued. At noon we took an observation which gave our position as 39° 38' N. At that hour a gentle wind sprang up from the west-northwest and we steered north a quarter northwest. In the afternoon the wind veererl to the west-northwest, keeping up all night.11 The 30th broke with a thick fog and the same wind. At midday no observation could be taken; during the rest of the day we steered north a quarter northwest. At nine o'clock at night the wind calmed. On July 1 the day broke with the same calm and a high tenuous mist; at eight o'clock it cleared up somewhat and the wind started to blow from the west-southwest, and we steered northwest a quarter north. At midday we were ■in latitude 40° 57' N.12 The breeze gradually veered gently to the southwest n Bodega ivhile in the port had cut some spars in ord er to change the rigging on the Sonora, which e effected this day, with the result that her ne thereby somewhat dangerous. 12 Bodega: 41° 01'. The latitudes of Bodega vary son e taken on the Santiago, in so ne cases no doubt due to the fact that the two vessels wer some distance SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 27 during the afternoon until six; at this time it veered to south-southwest, when it became stronger and lasted so all night, which was very clear. On the 2d the day broke with a clear sky and the same fresh breeze as the previous night, the course being northwest a quarter north. Our position at midday was 42° 13' N. The wind gradually lessened until veering round to the west it blew up strong, raising high seas which lasted all night, the course being northwest a quarter north. On the 3d we sailed with the same wind and direction, and on an observation being taken at midday we found our position to be 43° 25' N. In the afternoon the wind lessened and the sea calmed down. On the 4th at four o'clock of the morning the wind died down completely but sprang up again at nine, blowing from the west. At midday an observation was taken and we found ourselves in latitude 44° 12' N.; the same wind blew until midnight. On the 5th the day broke calm, the skies covered with mists; at ten in the morning the wind started to blow from the same quarter as the day before, in the afternoon veering round to northwest a quarter north. At midday no- observation could be taken. At eight o'clock the wind veered to the west, and so remained all night. On the 6th the weather was misty, the wind still blowing from the same quarter, but at eight o'clock in the morning it veered round to west-southwest, and we steered northwest on the tack. Owing to the density of the mist no- observation could be taken. The wind kept up all day, and after dark the sea grew rougher. On the 7th with the same wind and mist we continued on our course. At midday our position was 46° 20' N. In the afternoon the wind gradually changed to the northwesti and so lasted all the night. On the 8th the northwester blew up harder, raising high seas. At midday we were in latitude 47° 7' N. This day a sailor died and was given an ocean grave. As the wind was blowing up harder and harder and did not allow us to gain latitude, it was decided to run for the land which, according to the charts, was not far off, and the ship was therefore headed northeast. On the 9th the northwest wind, which is the king of these seas, still continued, sending up heavy rollers and churning the sea into foam. In the morning some of the people said that they could see the land, but indistinctly. At midday our position was 47° 36' N.13 In the afternoon the wind became stronger and the sea more furious, and the Schooner found herself in difficulties, those on board being in danger of their lives. More sail had been raised on her than her construction warranted and owing to a sudden squall the main topmast gave way, which threw her on her beam ends and although the sails were struck she did not right and was in imminent danger of foundering, but the Divine 1S In this latitude Bodega remarks that according to the French map they were opposite 28 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION Providence so willed it that a wave which broke on her masts righted her, and although some water entered the lazarette, damaging the stores, no great harm was done. At seven o'clock at night, calculating that we were near the land, we wore ship and stood out for the open sea, remaining hove to all night. The 10th broke clear, but with the northwester as strong as ever and the sea as heavy. We turned our prow in the direction of land, and at noon, according to an observation taken, our position was 47° 33' N., we having lost 3' of latitude owing to our drift while we were lying hove to during the night. In the afternoon the wind slackened and the sea went down, and so we passed the night. On the 11th at four o'clock in the morning the northwester again blew strong, throwing up high seas. By observation our position at midday was 48° 24' N. This morning we made out very high land.14 At three o'clock in the afternoon the wind compelled us to lay to because the Schooner could not stand the high seas; a little later it was judged prudent to wear ship and stand away from the land, but after sailing for an hour the Schooner signalled to lay to, which was done, and so we remained the rest of the day and all the night. The Frigate rolled so tremendously that we feared she would lose her topmasts; none of us could obtain a moment's sleep. On the 12th when we awoke we were so near the land that we could count the trees, and to get away from it we stood farther out to sea. In the distance we made out the Schooner, which was still lying hove to, not having drifted as much with the currents as the Frigate. At eleven o'clock she rejoined us, and the Commandant decided to close in on the land and explore it, as that morning he had seen an inlet which looked as if it might be a harbour. At noon the wind decreased somewhat and the sea became quieter. An observation taken at that hour showed our position to be 47° 41' N. About six o'clock in the afternoon a sounding was taken which showed twenty fathoms of water. A signal was made to the Schooner, which was lying nearer the coast, to take soundings, after which we stood out to sea, but the wind lasted only a short time and by nightfall we were becalmed. On the 13th at four o'clock in the morning we again headed for the land, but there was so little wind that it was almost calm; with a cannon shot we signalled the Schooner, which was closer in shore, to rejoin us, but she failed to reply to our signal and continued her search for some harbour.15 About seven o'clock the wind failed and we noticed that the current was carrying us away from the land. At midday an observation was taken which showed that we were in latitude 47° 23' N. At four in the afternoon a west wind started to blow and we stood in towards the land looking for the Schooner, which we found anchored in an inlet which she had found. The Frigate, being >r six leagues north of the corvette and three from land, "Dolores." It is now known as Destruction Island. SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 29 to leeward, dropped anchor about a league away in an open roadstead farther down about seven o'clock at night in eight fathoms of water, the signal which the Schooner made of the little depth where she was anchored being seen.16 The 14th broke calm, and on sounding it was noticed that the tide was unusually low, because the night before we had anchored in eight fathoms of water at high tide and now lay in five and a half. The Schooner had then anchored ini four fathoms and now lay in one and a half; just beyond her bow was a reef which caused great discomfort to the crew owing to the breaking of the sea over it. At six in the morning a canoe with nine Indians approached the Frigate, making gestures of friendship, and inviting us to go to their settlement, but although we invited them to come on board and threw them ropes for the purpose they refused to do so. They carried no bows or arrows and all we saw in the canoe was a large almost new machete. They gave us some fish and exchanged some otter skins with the sailors. At the same hour, more or less, the Commandant, I, the pilot and the surgeon and twenty armed men went in the launch to take possession of the land, which was done without opposition but with the greatest possible haste and without mass being said, because the weather and the position of the Frigate did not admit of any delay. We did not come across any people, with the exception of six grown boys on the beach who were looking for shellfish and eating, unarmed, and who invited us to go where they were roasting the fish, but the Commandant would not allow any of our people to join them, and when they came over to us offering to share the fish they had caught, to avoid delay he declined their offer. About seven we returned on board. At noon an observation was taken which showed the position of the roadstead to be 47° 25' N. The name of "Rada de Bucareli" was given What happened to the men of the Schooner shows the duplicity of these Indians, and the worthlessness of their invitation. The day before they had been on board and received presents from the captain and afterwards some of them returned with a quantity of fish and whale flesh which they gave to the sailors in exchange for some trifles, inviting them to eat and to dance. They even repeated their visit this morning, the chief bringing his wife and two other women, who were given presents, and conducted themselves with the same deceit, inviting our people, who had no suspicion, satisfied with the experience they had had in Trinidad. It was therefore determined to complete the watering of the ship and to cut a topmast. The Indians, who had planned their treachery beforehand, lay in ambush for the Schooner's men in the dense woods of pines and brush which came down to the water's edge. The party consisted of seven lourelle went Vhile this name ad was named board the Santiago, and Hezeta told him to have Bodega come appears on the maps, it was abandoned fo orth. The point now known as Point Gre 'Punta de los Martires" by Bodega on ac nville to the north of 3o SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OP THE HEZETA EXPEDITION men,18 and as the surf was strong the longboat shipped a quantity of water. The Indians who had been watching came rushing out from the forest andr without giving our men time to draw the longboat on shore, cut to pieces five of them, the remaining two escaping from their hideous cruelty by throwing themselves into the sea. Although efforts to help them were made by the Schooner, from which the whole affair was visible, by sending a sailor on a barrel, the attempt was unsuccessful, because the two men were seen to turnback half way and make for the shore again, and as they were not seen to emerge from the water the probabilities are that they were drowned. Even if they had reached land it would only have been to fall victims to the barbarous cruelty of the Indians. After satiating their sanguinary instincts by murdering our men, the savages- set to work to smash up the boat, carrying off with them every piece of iron it contained.19 Iron is what the Indians most prize, because iron articles are what they always ask for first when bartering. These Indians are fair, with tawny hair, and are of good stature. They use bows and arrows, and flint spears fixed on long wooden poles. They use in fighting some skins as well tanned and as white as those worn by our soldiers, shaped like cloaks which cover them down to their feet, on which they paint reproductions of the skulls of their victims- as emblems of their prowess. The women wear skirts, similar to those at La Trinidad which I have described, and pierce their nostrils, inserting therein a ring. The rings worn by the women who went on board the Schooner, according to what her captain said, appeared to be of copper. The men also wear a sort of cape of otter or deer skins to protect themselves from the weather, apart from which they go about naked. Their ears are pierced all around by a number of holes, from which they hang small shells of different colours. After completing their work of butchery the assailants withdrew, not in a body as they had come, but two by two, one by one and three by three, and it appeared to the men on the Schooner who saw it all that they carried with them the dismembered limbs of their victims and pieces of planking from the boat. Presently it was noticed on the Schooner that nine canoes were approaching,, but only one came near, which proved to contain nine Indians, among them being those who had gone aboard her the night before and who appeared to be chiefs of the canoes. A sailor who was at the masthead examining the shoals which the day before had not been seen because they had anchored at high tide, reported that the natives were putting on their skins and stringing their bows even as they approached with their deceitful signs of friendship and- invitations to eat. But the men on the Schooner, who already had seen what had happened ashore, also dissimulated; showing the Indians glass beads to induce them to come within range of their guns, and the latter seeing how few 18 The men were under the command of Pedro Santa Ana, the boatswain. The Sonora "This account is somewhat different from that of Bodega but the facts are the same. The roadstead was located by Mourelle in 47° 21' but the position of the Schooner off the SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 31 men there were on deck, closed in to board the ship on the prow, whereupon our four men with a swivel gun and their muskets opened fire and killed seven of the nine, thus making them pay life for life for the seven Spaniards they had slain. The other canoes did not dare to come up, seeing that in the one that did only two of the nine men came back. Nothing of this was known on board the Frigate, as it was a league away, until the shots were heard, when, noticing that the waves were breaking over the reef and fearing that she would be wrecked, she sent a launch with men and a stream-anchor. On the Schooner coming up a council of war was held, but although her captain was anxious to take vengeance for the outrage it was not considered prudent to do so because to land a force against a couple of hundred Indians concealed in a dense wood would be to sacrifice the men and lose the launch, as the natives would not show themselves, and furthermore the sea was getting rougher and rougher and the Frigate lay in an exposed condition owing to the bad anchorage, for which reason we decided to take advantage of the wind and make sail, which we did a little after three in the afternoon. On the 15th the day broke clear and at six o'clock in the morning the wind veered to the southeast, blowing gently. At noon an observation was taken, our latitude proving to be 47° 10' N. At that hour a calm fell which lasted the rest of the day and all the night. On the 16th at five o'clock in the morning a south-southwest wind arose and we steered westward to get away from the land. On this day the viaticum was administered to a sick man. An observation gave our latitude as 47° 8' N. At eight o'clock at night the wind dropped little by little and during the whole night we were in a dead calm. On the 17th when we woke up the calm still continued. At eleven a light breeze sprang up from the west-northwest. At noon we took an observation which showed our position to be 47° 11' N. The wind gradually veered round to the northwest and we altered our course to west. The 18th broke clear, and with the same wind and course we gained some longitude but lost latitude owing to the wind and the currents. At midday an observation gave our position as 46° 50' N. On the 19th the light wind continued from the same quarter and the sky remained clear; we were steering west-southwest. At noon an observation showed our position to be 46° 28' N. On this day the chief pilot and the second captain Don Juan Perez made representations to the Commandant to the effect that the wind being diametrically opposed to our reaching a higher latitude, the season far advanced, and the crew either sick or worn out, it would be advisable to proceed to Monterey. The Commandant held a council with the officers of the two ships, at which it was resolved to continue as before for several days in order to see if the winds improved and whether the sick got better or worse, this being the proposal of the officers of the Schooner.20 20 Bodega had quite a little to say about this council. 32 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION On the 20th the morning broke clear. At four o'clock the wind changed to- north a quarter northwest and we steered west. At midday an observation showed our position to be 46° 18' N. The wind gradually veering to the north-northwest, we altered our course to west a quarter southwest. At eight o'clock at night the wind freshened, casting up a high sea, and so lasted all. On the 21st the morning was clear, and at three of the morning the wind began to veer round to the northwest and to lose strength, the course being west- southwest. An observation was taken at twelve, our latitude being 45° 59' N. From eight o'clock at night the wind commenced to go down, as also the sea. The 22d dawned rainy, the wind continued from the same quarter, but more gently, and the sea was smooth. The number of men sick from scurvy and other maladies has been increasing daily and now stands at fourteen. At seven in the morning the sky cleared up. At noon an observation was taken, our latitude being 45° 45' N. During the afternoon and night we had favouring winds. On the 23d daybreak found us with the same favourable wind and a clear sky. There were sixteen sick men and on examining the whole crew the surgeon found twelve more showing symptoms of scurvy. An observation was taken at midday which showed that our latitude was 45° 42' N. At this hour the wind changed to north-northeast and we steered west-northwest all the afternoon and night. On the 24th with the same favourable wind and a clear sky we continued steering west-northwest. At noon an observation was taken which showed our latitude to be 45° 55' N. In the afternoon the wind changed to the north- northeast. At seven o'clock at night we altered our course to northwest, and so continued until midnight. After this hour the wind gradually veered round to the northwest and we changed our course to north-northeast. To-day the naval officers presented a written memorial to the Commandant pointing out the lamentable condition of the men, a number of whom were sick and the remainder broken down, the ships being consequently short-handed, and that if the attempt to go farther north was persisted in there was considerable danger of the expedition being lost, because in case of some unfortunate event the two watches, weakened as they were, would not be sufficient to work the ships. The Commandant nevertheless would not desist from his efforts to proceed to a higher latitude. On the 25th the northwest wind continued and we kept on the same course, north-northeast. During the morning it rained, but before midday it cleared up and the sun was visible. An observation taken at noon showed us to be in latitude 46° 7' N. On the 26th the day broke clear. At seven o'clock in the morning the wind veered to the west-southwest and we changed our course to northwest. At SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 33 noon an observation was taken which gave our latitude as 46° 29' N. At five in the afternoon the wind veered to the west, and all night we steered north- northwest. On the 27th both the wind and our course remained unchanged, the sky being clear. At noon an observation was taken which showed our latitude to be 47° 8' N. After seven o'clock in the evening the sea came up from the northwest, increasing in roughness during the night, although the wind continued mild. The morning of the 28th broke misty, the wind being west-northwest and blowing strong, with a high sea and our course north. At eight the sun became somewhat visible. At midday an observation was taken, our latitude being found to be 47° 42' N. At seven o'clock in the evening the wind veered to the north- northwest, still blowing strong and raising high seas, these conditions lasting all night. On the 29th the day broke clear with some scattered clouds, the wind continuing to blow from the same quarter but harder and the seas running high. A little after nine the wind veered completely round and we changed our course to west a quarter southwest. At noon an observation was taken which gave our latitude as 47° 56' N. At seven o'clock in the evening we hove to and so remained all night. On the 30th the same wind continued as strong as ever and accompanied by the same high seas. At four o'clock in the morning we got under weigh again, steering west a quarter southwest. The Schooner which the previous afternoon- had hove to near the Frigate was now in the offing to windward, so far away as to be barely visible. A little after seven we again hove to to await the Schooner, which we signalled to rejoin us. At noon an observation was taken which showed our latitude to be 47° 20' N. At three in the afternoon the Schooner came up, but hardly had we started off in company than she again hove to, compelling us to do the same. At five the two vessels resumed their sailing, steering west- southwest, but an hour later they were compelled to heave to once more, and so lay all night. On the 31st the day broke cloudy, the wind blowing from the north-northwest very strong with heavy seas. While we were hove to since the afternoon before the Schooner disappeared just after nightfall. The Commandant at eight o'clock in the morning assembled the officers to take their opinion as to what had best be done. Don Juan Perez and the pilot, Don Cristobal Revilla, answered ratifying the opinion they had given on the 19th, to wit, that it was. advisable to turn back. The naval officers said that they ratified what they had said in their memorial of the 24th, the more so as the sick men were getting worse and the first heavy storm would find the remaining members of the crew incapable of working the ship. In consequence of the foregoing, {it eleven o'clock in the morning it was decided to make for the coast, and the ship was headed east-northeast. The sun coming out permitted an observation to be OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION taken, our position proving to be 46° 42' N. The number of the men now sick is twenty-eight. From midnight the wind gradually decreased.21 The 1st of August broke with a thick mist, the wind having almost died out and the sea being more quiet. No observation could be taken on this day. At one o'clock the north-northwest wind blew up again, and we steered east- northeast. On the 2d at daybreak the same dense clouds obscured the sky and the same wind blew. Our course was east-northeast. The Commandant called a council of the officers to decide what should be done in view of the lateness of the season and the persistence of contrary winds, and they informed him in writing that it was advisable to turn back in view of the unfavourable weather, the large number of men who were sick, and the fact that a considerable proportion ■of the remainder were useless, on account of being recruits and consequently incompetent for this kind of work. In spite of their opinion the Commandant would not desist from his efforts to go farther north. The number of men sick and in bed was to-day twenty-eight, ten more showing symptoms of scurvy. No observation could be taken this day. In the afternoon the wind changed to west-northwest and we altered our course to north a quarter northeast. On the 3d daybreak found us in a calm, with the exception of a few puffs of wind from the northwest. The sky was clear in some places and cloudy in others, the sun being visible from time to time. At noon an observation was taken which showed our latitude to be 46° 12' N. After this hour the wind started to blow from the west-northwest and we altered our course to north a quarter northwest. In the afternoon the wind changed to north-northwest and we steered north-northeast. On the 4th the day broke cloudy with light airs from the north and a calm sea; we steered east-northeast. No observation could be taken to-day. At four in the afternoon the wind changed to north a quarter northeast, and we steered east-northeast; it lasted until midnight when it died out except for an occasional laint puff. On the 5th day broke with a tenuous mist, with signs of clearing. At four in the morning the wind settled down from the north-northwest and we steered northeast a quarter east. At midday an observation was taken which gave our latitude as 46° 27' N. At nine o'clock at night the wind changed to the west and we steered northwest a quarter north. Later, it veered round to the west- southwest and our course was altered to northwest. On the 6th day broke with rain squalls, and the wind being southwest we altered our course to west-southwest. To-day the viaticum was administered to two sick men. No observation was taken owing to the mist. At seven in the evening the wind changed to south-southeast and our course was altered to ■west-northwest even more. This wind lasted until midnight, when it failed: 21 This was the last that the commander, Hezeta, saw of the Sonora until she reached Monterey. The translator of Mourelle's journal in Barrington's Miscellanies apparenUy never knew that the two ships became separated and continually writes about "ships" while pursuing the voyage of the Sonora, just as if the two were still together. SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 3f On the 7th the day broke misty with a calm sea and very faint breezes from the third and fourth quarter. At ten o'clock a light wind blew up from the south-southwest and we steered west-northwest. At noon an observation was taken which showed our latitude to be 47° 53' N. During all the afternoon and night the wind was light and variable. On the 8th the day broke with a thick mist and rain, which prevented an observation being taken. About midday the wind blew up fairly strong from the south-southwest, lasting until after midnight, we steering west-northwest. On the 9th the break of day found us with a sky flecked with occasional clouds, it having fallen calm at three in the morning. The midday observation- gave our latitude as 49° 9' N. At eight o'clock at night came a heavy rainstorm which lasted an hour. The 10th opened with the same calm weather and fleecy clouds, permitting us to see the snow-clad Sierra de Santa Clara.22 At eleven o'clock a fresh tiller was fitted to the rudder, the one it had being found to be split. At noon an observation was taken which showed our latitude to be 49° 17' N. At one o'clock a wind came from the south-southeast which lasted until midnight, we steering east a quarter northeast. On the 11th day broke with mists and rain squalls, the wind veering round- to the southeast and blowing fresh and we steering south a quarter southwest. Owing to the density of the mist no observation was taken. On this day the naval officers addressed a fresh memorial to the Commandant to the effect that while they were well aware of his great efforts and anxiety to comply with the orders of his Excellency the Viceroy to reach the 65th degree of latitude north they were compelled to state that they considered it impracticable owing to the deplorable condition of the men, because they could hardly muster three men to a watch, and to take in a few reefs in the mainsail they had to call on both watches and even then it took much time, and the same with the foretopsail. Besides, between the two they could not clew up the foresail and brace the mainsail, consequently if the ship were caught in a storm it would be in imminent danger of foundering; all of which reasons he was begged to take into account. In view of the foregoing it was decided to make for Monterey, surveying the coast on the way. About one o'clock the wind which had been blowing from the southeast suddenly dropped, presently starting up from the northwest, we steering east a quarter northeast. At six o'clock in the afternoon we ran into a calm which lasted all night. On the 12th at daybreak the calm still persisted, the partially clouded sky permitting an occasional glimpse of the sun. An observation was taken at noon which showed our latitude to be 49° 11' N. At this hour a west wind arose 22 This name according to Campa was derived from the account of the Perez expedition, of the year previous. He says, "It has a number of peaks covered with snow and one without snow which looks higher than the rest and greatly resembles Teneriffe according to some. It also has a cleft hill said to be similar to the one in Valencia called the 'Cuchillada de Roldan'." This was the range of mountains on the north end of Vancouver Island. 36 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION and we steered northeast a quarter north. From 50° to 47° the country was named "Bucarelia." On the 13th at daybreak the weather was calm and the sky half clear, the land lying about five or six leagues away. At ten o'clock four canoes came off, in each of which were two Indians, who made signs to us to go on shore to their land. The Commandant gave them a sabre in exchange for one of their canoes,23 and some beads for one of their capes, which are made of a sort of grass, softer than hemp, which they wear like a stole. At noon an observation was taken which showed our latitude to be 49° 5' N. At one o'clock came a mist which lasted the whole afternoon and evening. At nine at night a west-northwest wind started to blow and we set our course south-southwest. On the 14th day broke with a mist, which, however, allowed the sun to be seen at intervals. At five o'clock the wind veered to the northwest and we altered our course to southeast a quarter south. At eleven o'clock the sun shone out, and at noon an observation was taken which gave our latitude as 48° 32' N. On this day the master gunner died and was buried at sea. After the day cleared up we saw as we went a great range of mountains, with snow-capped peaks, to which last year Don Juan Perez gave the name of Sierra de Santa Clara. On the 15th the day broke clear with a northwest wind; we were steering east with the land in full view three or four leagues away, and the sea calm. At noon an observation was taken which showed our position to be 48° 3' N. Between four and five o'clock in the afternoon a canoe came out with Indians, some of our men asserting that they were of the band which had so foully murdered the party from the Schooner. They came to invite us to go ashore.2* The Commandant decided to try and capture them with the idea of sending two of them back to their camp to bring back if alive the two of the party whose fate was uncertain. To this end he tried to deceive them, and when the canoe came near the Frigate he ordered the grapnel of the launch to be dropped on it. It fell on an Indian who was sitting in the prow, but with great dexterity he got clear of it and threw himself into the water. The rest of the Indians made off in the canoe, keeping to windward of the Frigate. At ten at night the wind failed. On the 16th at daybreak the weather was clear with the exception of a slight haze, and calm with the exception of a few puffs of wind from the southeast. At nine o'clock the wind settled down from the south and we 28 Campa: "The canoes have two sharp prows, are very light and narrow and unstable, yards long and the prows are ornamented along the edges with the insertions of bones or apron hanging down from the waist. For the breast they use a smaller one with a fringe on the lower edge which looks like a stole when worn. They use palm hats, some shaped like a cornucopia!?] and others like doctors' bonnets. For fishing they use harpoons of bone, and spears with points of bone for fighting, besides bows and arrows. This we know because they exchanged with a sailor a harpoon and a lance for other articles." ■ 2i Campa: "The oldest Indian stood up in a canoe and made a long speech." SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 37 steered east-southeast. At noon an observation was taken which showed our latitude to be 47° 14' N. At four o'clock in the afternoon the puffy wind changed to the southwest, whereupon, as it was unfavourable and the land was -close aboard, we went about and made for the open sea, steering west-northwest. At six o'clock in the evening a mist arose and some rain fell. At ten o'clock at .night the wind veered to the northwest, and we steered south all night. On the 17th the morning broke clear with a northwest wind and from four •o'clock we steered east-southeast looking for the coast in order to reconnoitre it. At noon an observation was taken, our position proving to be 46° 11' N. The whole coast Une when we made it out proved to be low-lying lands. At two o'clock in the afternoon we changed our course to south-southwest. About five o'clock we discovered a great bay, to which we gave the name of "La Asuncion";25 to the two capes which guard the entrance we also gave names, calling the northern one the "Cavo de San Roque,"26 and the southern one the "Cavo Frondoso,"27 from the great number of trees which covered it. On arriving •opposite the bay we perceived that it extended inland for a considerable distance •eastward, and formed the conclusion that it must be some great river, the mouth •or entrance being a league and a half or two leagues in width. From lack of men we were unable to explore it. We continued to sail in the same direction until ten at night, when in order not to go too far from the coast we hove to. On the 18th at three in the morning, the wind being north, we got under ■weigh, and steering due east stood in towards the land, which we found to consist of a range of high hills, to which we gave the name of "Sierra de Mon- tefalcon."28 At eleven the wind veered to the northwest, and we ran before it to the southeast, keeping the coast about a couple of leagues away. At noon an observation was taken which showed that we were in latitude 45° 41' N. At two o'clock in the afternoon we turned southward. At eight o'clock at night v?hen we were preparing to stand in to the coast, the Frigate of its own accord turned its prow to the west, nor could all our efforts bring it under control for the space of an hour, after which it obeyed its helm perfectly and we steered southwards until midnight. On the 19th the morning broke clear, although the mist on the coast obscured our view of it, and we were only able to make it out properly when the rising of the sun dissipated it, the land proving to be about four leagues away. At seven o'clock, being desirous to approach the coast more closely, we endeavoured to steer east, but the Frigate again refused to answer her helm and 25 The entrance to the Columbia River, so named because of the celebration of the Asuncion de Nuestra Senora, August 15. 28 Named after that saint whose day is August 16. It is now known as Cape Disappointment. 2T Point Adams. 28 This seems to have been where Cabo Falcon later appeared on the maps. The day of Santa Clara de Monte Falco is August 18 and this name was obviously given in her honor. It was stated by Hezeta to be in 45° 43', and Cape Falcon is in 45° 47'. The name disappeared later from the maps and was restored in 1853 by the Coast Survey to what was then known as False Tillamook. 38 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION broke off her course with her prow to the west as she had done on the previous night, remaining out of control for two hours, after which she steered perfectly. These two cases appear to me prodigies, because the Frigate had never done anything like it before, and although some say that it was a question of currents, on many occasions we had met with currents and never had the Frigate behaved in such a fashion. What is certain is that it is very rash to approach so closely an unknown coast, and it looks as if God in His mercy willed in that manner to deliver us from some unknown peril on these two occasions. The Lord be thanked for this and all His other mercies 1 The wind being north we sailed all the morning south a quarter southeast. At midday an observation was taken, our latitude being 44° 10' N. All the afternoon and until midnight we steered southward in sight of land. On the 20th from midnight on we steered east in order to approach the coast, which at dawn, the day being clear, we perceived to consist of very high land lying about three leagues away, and standing in to the distance of a musket shot we passed a number of farallons in file,29 but comprehending that there was nothing especial there, we stood off to the south. At noon an observation was taken which showed our position to be 42° 34' N. No sooner had the observation been taken than the wind suddenly dropped, and a number of great rollers came from the west; fearing some accident as the waves took the ship on her beam, we headed for the open sea, when a gentle southeaster blew up with extensive mists which hid the whole coast, to get away from which we steered southwest and continued in the same direction all that afternoon and night. All the coast between the fiftieth degree, which was as far north as we reached, and the forty-second and a half degree has now been explored inch by inch with the exception of half a degree, because the first expedition surveyed the part of the coast which lies between the degrees of forty-one and a half and forty. This good fortune has not fallen to others, which is why so much inaccurate information exists about this coast.30 The 21st broke with a thick fog, the wind which had been blowing south- southeast was almost calm, thus enabling us to steer southwest a quarter west. At noon no observation could be taken. All the afternoon we steered southwest until after midnight, when we were becalmed. On the 2 2d at daybreak the weather was calm but foggy. At noon there came a slight breeze from the southwest which enabled us to steer southeast, but it died away almost at once. No observation could be taken to-day. The calm continued all the afternoon and night. On the 23d the calm and the fog continued during the whole day and night. In consequence no observation could be taken. The 24th broke with the same calm and fogs. At midday the sun appeared and an observation was taken which showed that we were in latitude 41° 27' N. 29 Campa states that he counted twenty-one. SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 39 At five o'clock in the afternoon a gentle north wind started which enabled us to steer south a quarter southeast. It blew up fresher after midnight. On the 25th with the same wind we steered east-southeast. The day was misty, but clearing up, an observation was taken at midday which showed our position to be 40° 38' N. About four o'clock in the afternoon the horizon to the east became clear, so much so that we could descry Cape Mendocino, towards which we steered until eight o'clock at night, when we hove to and so lay all On the 26th at four o'clock of the morning, taking advantage of the same north wind, we steered eastward in order to approach the coast, which was not visible, as the day was cloudy and the horizon obscure. At nine o'clock it •cleared up somewhat and we could see the coast composed of high mountains. At noon an observation was taken which showed our position to be 39° 56' N. The wind had changed to the north-northwest, blowing strong and clearing the skies, and with it behind us we went along the coast all the afternoon and night. On the 27th the day broke clear with the wind in the same quarter, and we steered south-southeast. At noon an observation was taken which showed our latitude to be 37° 56' N. At nightfall, steering eastward for the land, we saw the camp-fires of the Indians, and spent the rest of the night tacking to and fro in order to make the port of San Francisco. On the 28th from two o'clock in the morning the coast was covered with a dense fog which prevented us seeing it, and between seven and eight, while steering for the land blindly, we saw in front of us a long line of surf without being able to make out the beach on which it was breaking, whereupon in the utmost haste and not without apprehension we put about and stood out to sea. At nine o'clock the sun became visible and, although the fog continued to envelope the coast completely, we were able to discern the line of islands which lie in front of the entrance to the port,31 about four or five leagues away. At noon we took an observation, our position proving to be 37° 46'. We could not make the port of San Francisco as the whole coast was covered with fog. On the 29th at daybreak we were surrounded by fog, through which we sailed all the morning. At noon it cleared up somewhat and an observation was taken, our position proving to be 36° 46' N. At one o'clock we made out the Punta de Pinos and at four we dropped anchor in the port of Monterey. The rest of the afternoon was spent in making fast the Frigate, furling the sails, and Tunning out cables to moor her. On the 30th the morning was spent in further safeguarding the ship and in lowering the topmasts. In the afternoon we landed, returning on board at night to sleep. On the 31st all the morning was spent ashore setting up a shed covered with sails to protect the sick. In the afternoon when the sick were being taken on 31 The Northwest Farallons. 4o SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION shore one died in the launch as soon as the wind struck him; the others were transferred without mishap.32 On September 1 we landed and I gave the sailor who had died an ecclesiastical burial in the Chapel of San Carlos of the Presidio of Monterey. We then went to the Mission of Carmel. On November 1 we left the port of Monterey, weighing anchor at nine o'clock in the morning, the wind being light and fitful. In the afternoon we ran into a calm which lasted all night. The 2d broke calm. Don Juan Perez, the second captain, died at six in the morning of typhus, after an illness of nine days. At noon an observation was taken which showed our position to be 36° 44' N. About one o'clock a southeast wind arose and we steered southwest a quarter west. At nine o'clock the wind went down with the exception of a few light gusts which recurred at intervals during the afternoon and night. On the 3d we awoke in a calm. At break of day it rained a little. At eight o'clock mass de cuerpo presente was celebrated, and a sailor's burial was given to the body of Don Juan Perez, second captain and standard bearer, a salvo of muskets and cannon being fired. At nine o'clock a west-southwest wind arose. No observation was taken this day. At two o'clock in the afternoon the wind' veered to the south-southeast and we steered southwest. On the 4th from four in the morning, the wind being west-northwest, our prow was turned south-southwest. At eight the wind veered to the northwest and we steered south. At noon an observation was taken which showed our position to be 36° 11' N. At three o'clock the wind became stronger and we- changed our course to south-southeast. At twelve o'clock at night a sudden blast of wind broke the fore topmast, which was the new one we had cut at La Trinidad. On the 5th the wind and our course remained unchanged. The sky was- covered with clouds which prevented an observation being taken. On the 6th the wind blew from the same quarter but stronger. We continued to steer in a south-southeast direction. At noon an observation was taken which gave our position as 32° 48' N. At this hour we changed our course to southeast a quarter south. On the 7th daybreak found us happily steering in the same direction with the same wind, the horizon being hazy. The weather clearing up, at midday an- observation was taken which showed our position to be 30° 56' N. On the 8th the same favouring wind continued, and an observation taken at midday showed our latitude to be 29° 14' N. From that hour we steered southeast a quarter east. The 9th broke calm. No observation could be taken, but working out our »2 Campa: "Thirty-six men were sick with scurvy and fourteen with other maladies.. and others had been put aboard the Schooner, the disastrous state in which we were when. SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 41 position by dead reckoning it was 28° 46' N. At five in the afternoon a light northeast wind started which at nine at night veered round to the northwest, but we continued to steer southeast a quarter east. On the 10th we continued in our course with the same favouring wind, the horizon obscured, and at noon an observation was able to be taken which showed our latitude to be 27° 50' N. On the 11th at daybreak the horizon wj being unchanged. At noon an observation -w to be 27" 7' N. On the 12th from six in the morning, with a fresh breeze from the north we continued on our way, steering east-southeast. At noon an observation was taken which gave our latitude as 26° 9' N. On the 13th the same wind continued but somewhat stronger, we steering east a quarter southeast. At noon an observation was taken which gave our latitude as 25° 12' N. At that hour we started to steer due east. On the 14th the day broke clear, our course remaining unchanged. At noon an observation was taken which gave our latitude as 24° 32' N. On the 15th, sailing on the same course and with the same fresh wind, we perceived a little distance away the coast of the southern part of California. At noon an observation was taken which gave our latitude as 23° 58' N. At five in the afternoon the wind veered to the northwest, somewhat stronger, and so continued all night. On the 16th when we awoke the northwest wind continued but not so strong and we were in sight of the Sierra del Enfado. At noon an observation was taken which gave our latitude as 23° 0' N. At four in the afternoon we were opposite the Cape of San Lucas. At six the wind dropped, but at eight o'clock at night it blew up strongly, veering to the north-northeast, and so lasting all night. On the 17th the wind continued from the same quarter, but fresher. At eight o'clock we lost sight of the cape above-mentioned. At midday an observation was taken, our position proving to be 22° 23' N. At night the wind veered round to the north-northwest. On the 18th we continued sailing east with the same wind. An observation at midday gave our latitude as 21° 52' N. On the 19th we continued with all felicity, and on observing the sun we found ourselves to be in 21° 40'. At daybreak we were between the Tres Marias and Isabela. At nightfall when near the Piedra Blanca the wind fell and we anchored about two leagues from San Bias. On the 20th about ten o'clock we got under weigh, taking advantage of a light breeze, and at half past two in the afternoon we entered the port with the greatest contentment and went on shore. Thanks be to God who brought us safely through so many perils! SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION The Schooner having arrived I give below the narrative of her voyage after le two vessels got separated, furnished to us by her captain, Don Juan Fran- sco de la Bodega y Quadra. They lost sight of the Frigate on the 31st of July, when the two vessels -were lying hove to on account of a gale, but were unable to set sail and go in search of her because the wind had been blowing up stronger and stronger until it had come to be what for the Schooner was a tempest. On the 1st of August the storm ceased and they stood out for the open -sea until the 5th,33 when, they being in latitude 46° 307 N. and 170 leagues from the coast, they ran into a southwest wind and took advantage of it to steer due north in an endeavour to reach the latitude of 65°, which was the objective of the expedition, but in spite of all their precautions to keep well .away from the coast, the inaccurate way in which it is marked on the charts caused them to sight land on the 15th, in the latitude of 57° 0' N., when they calculated that they were 135 leagues away from it.34 Nevertheless, they continued along the coast until the latitude of 57° 18' N, when they found a harbour to which they gave the name of "Los Remedios"35 and of which they took possession, obtaining there wood and water. They saw a number of Indians, -whom they kept at a distance, making them presents of trinkets and other -trifles, but with the greatest precautions, only allowing them to approach one ;at a time. They noticed that the Indians are black and ugly and do not use ;bows and arrows but spears, which they handle with great dexterity. On the 21st they resumed their voyage with southeasterly winds, but on the 22d when they were in the latitude of 58° they encountered the northwesters, .and as the cold was excessive owing to the many snow-covered ranges which lay all along the coast, and the rains were continuous, and the men were in a .lamentable state and in rags, they resolved to turn back, examining the coast ■as they went, which they did with the greatest care until in latitude 55° 17' N. •they found a vast inlet of the sea without a visible end, so exceedingly placid, sheltered and pleasant that on the 24th of August they took possession of it, giving it the name of "Rada de Bucareli."36 Here they took on water and wood, 8*On this day Mourelle states that Bodega called a council to consider whether they should go on or not. All including the crew agreed to do so and even to contribute proportionately for a solemn mass to Our Lady of Belen to ask her assistance to reach the latitude posed to be sixty-nine leagues, he says, from an island to the west. On the sixteenth the Schooner sighted land, a high snow-covered mountain six leagues to the northwest, now known as Mount Edgecumbe. It was named "San Jacinto" in honor of that saint whose day is August 16, and the cape was named "Engafio" and located hi 57° 02'. The port inside above the cape was named "Guadalupe" and was located in 57° 11'. 3« This must have been Kalalina Bay in about 57° 20\ Mourelle states that they planted a cross and carved another on a rock. The Indians, he says, removed the planted 'one and set it up in front of their house. 38 The Inlet is still known as Bucareli Sound. The cape at the northern entrance Bodega named "San Bartolom6" after that saint, whose day is August 24. It is still known SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION 43 and due to the mildness of the climate the men recovered completely. They felt the heat which they considered would be from the quantity of flames which were emitted by a volcano, which erupted four or five times a day, the whole locality being illuminated at night by the glare. They saw no Indians in that region, and the only trace of them was a single empty hut. On the 26th they went out to sea to examine an island which was in sight six leagues away and to which they gave the name of "San Carlos," 37 and while they were on shore there it fell calm, and they dropped anchor, and there remained until the 27th. Then the southeast winds starting to blow, which hindered their return south, they decided, the men being fully recovered, to renew their voyage of exploration to the north; but when they reached the latitude of 56° 40' N. they found the winds so variable that they not only impeded the navigation but were driving them inshore; nevertheless they got clear of the coast on the 30th. As in this short space of time five of the men were found to be suffering from scurvy, which not only affected them in the mouth but also prevented their walking, they were forced to turn back once more and make for Monterey, which they did without losing sight of the coast. On the night of the 6th of September they were overtaken by a terrible storm, which left them without sufficient men to handle the vessel, because one of the seas which broke over the side injured the quartermaster and the men who had still remained fit, the ship itself almost capsizing. Not until the 8th did the weather improve, the wind abating in fury and veering to a quarter which enabled them to make the land in latitude 54° 0' N. and to proceed along the coast, although without surveying it closely, because they were left with only two men fit for duty, one of whom steered while the captain was keeping watch, the other doing the same when the pilot was in charge of the ship. This state of affairs compelled them to keep well off-shore, day and night, and prevented them from carrying out the orders of His Excellency in the matter of exploration. When they reached the latitude of 48° 30' N. the climate became gradually milder, which enabled two of the injured men to come on deck, which addition to the watch heartened the officers and determined them more than r to spare no pains in carrying out the survey properly, and to that end they followed the coast at a distance of i bare half league as far south as 46° 0' N.,88 3TNow known as B orrester Island. Bodega says tha t there wa s a fl t r ck just north of it which hardiy appe ared above the ea. This, Wolf Island, appears on Bodega's ma ward the east he noticed a cape which was named "Sa is August 28. It must have been the south end of Dall Island, for a know Kygane, the Russian name for it, bu Muzon. The nai ne is still found north of Point Muzon. 38 When in 45° 50' on September 23 probably, Mc Duntain like a d to the one mentioned in Fr. Sierra' journal of August 18. The Cabo Falcon n hat time, that is False Tillamook, was hardly this ro und cape which Til amook Head. On some later maps it i cas called Cabo Redondo, but it Bodega's own map. On the map in Barrington's Mis 'ellanies the cape is named "Mez error for "Mesa" or "Mesa Redonda." 44 SIERRA'S ACCOUNT OF THE HEZETA EXPEDITION but at that latitude the land winds drove them farther out to sea, the more so as both the captain and the pilot were taken with fevers and scorbutic pains, a misfortune which demoralized the four sailors who were still fit for duty. Comprehending this, the officers made a supreme effort to dominate their maladies, and a few days later made their appearance on deck to reassure the men, but when they once more stood in close to shore they were able to make only the latitude of 45° 0' N., whence they continued as far as 42° 50' N.,39 examining the coast as they went. At the latter latitude they ran into unfavourable winds and calms which compelled them to make the best of their way to the latitude of 40° 30' N., without surveying the intervening gap; fortunately they had already examined that stretch of coast when they were at La Trinidad. From the latitude of 40° 30' N. they carefully surveyed the coast as far as that of 38° 18' N., where they entered a harbour which forms the mouth of an exceedingly large river, which they judged was that of San Francisco, from the fact that it is almost land-locked and that the width of the stream is very great, with the exception of the mouth where it narrows to a little over two hundred yards, the harbour itself forming a vast expanse of water capable of holding an incredible number of ships, and highly suitable for wintering and careening. As the Schooner was making ready to sail, the exploring party returned to the mouth of the river, where they passed the night disturbed by the noise of the beating of the surf on the bar, which at high water gives fifteen fathoms. This mouth or entrance was given the name of "Entrada de la Bodega." When returning on board a heavy sea smashed the longboat to pieces. On the following day, October 4, they set sail and continued along the coast, which they examined as they passed.*0 On the 5th they found themselves at the mouth of the port of San Francisco, but having no suitable boat, and deeming it already sufficiently explored, they left it and proceeded on their way to the port of Monterey, where they entered and anchored on the 7th at four o'clock in the afternoon. (Signed) FR. BENITO DE LA SIERRA. that Bodega noticed a cape cut off at the sea which had the i as "Cape Blanco," which he named "DiKgencias" probably tear it the Rio de Martin Aguilar. The Dragon Rocks appear ' is map is Cabo Toledo, the on his map as "Los M onges." Somewhat farther n Cape A This a Bodega's Bodega e. He t October 1, nr appare tly Tor ntly thought the Bahia de San Francisco but tl ere Drak Bodega of the ba y in his Si Fra Drake's •of this visit.
Other copies : http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/970527901 Part of: Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung Collection
Books
English
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
San Francisco : [publisher not identified]
Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy, or otherwise distribute these images please contact digital.initiatives@ubc.ca.
Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. F5813.1.H3 S5
Hezeta, Bruno de, 1751-1807
Northwest Coast of North America
Discoveries in geography
Fray Benito de la Sierra's account of the Hezeta Expedition to the Northwest Coast in 1775
Text