USA > California > San Diego County > San Diego > History of San Diego, 1542-1908 : an account of the rise and progress of the pioneer settlement on the Pacific coast of the United States, Volume I > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28
32
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO
stained throne, Philip III. immediately took steps to improve the Spanish possessions of what is now the Pacific Coast of the United States.
Don Sebastian Viscaino was chosen as Captain-General of the expedition and sailed on May 5, 1602, from the port of Acapulco, with two ships and a frigate, together with a small vessel to be used in exploring shallow waters. He was accom- panied by three religions Carmelites, one of whom, Friar
SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA From whom the Bay and region derived their name
Antonio de la Ascension, became the journalist of the expedi- tion and wrote an account of the voyage, which extended to the northern coast of California.
Viseaino pursued his leisurely course northward, stopping at several points in Lower California, and found himself at the picturesque islands which rise abruptly from the sea off San Diego on November 5, 1602, precisely six months after leaving Acapulco. He gave the islands the name which they still bear. the Coronados. It was November 10 when his feet sailed into the harbor which no white man, save Cabrillo and his com-
33
THE POINT LOMA FOREST
panions, had visited before. A survey of the harbor was im- mediately undertaken, for Viscaino was bent on obtaining ex- act information as far as it was possible with the facilities at his command, and he was able to leave several maps which con- stituted a very valuable contribution to the geographical knowledge of the time.
It was he who gave the port its present name, though many people suppose that the name originated with the mission which was established more than a century and a half later, and others suppose it was derived from St. James of the Bible. Because his survey was either begun or ended on November 12-no one knows exactly which, though the former seems more probable- and because that was the day of Saint James of Alealá (San Diego de Alcalá) Viscaino gave the port the name of San Diego. It would be pleasant to linger on the virtues of this saint, whose best monument is the San Diego of today; but space forbids the digression. Born in a hamlet of the Archbishoprie of Se- ville, Spain, in 1400, he died on November 12, 1463, and was buried in the chapel of his monastery near Toledo, Spain. IIis sainthood was won by a life of loving service, and may well inspire the city which bears his name to lofty effort in behalf of humanity.
On the day after his arrival the Captain-General organized a party to survey a forest lying "on the Northwest side of the Bay,"-evidently Point Loma. The party was in charge of Ensign Alarcon, and included Captain Pequero, Father Antonio de la Ascension, and eight soldiers. In this forest they found "tall and straight oaks and other trees, some shrubs resembling rose- mary, and a great variety of fragrant and wholesome plants." The identity of the spot with Point Loma is further confirmed by the report that "the high ground commanded a view of the whole harbor, which appeared spacious, convenient, and well sheltered," and by the further statement that "to the North- west of the wood is another harbor," which doubtless refers to False Bay. The forest is described as bordering on San Diego Bay and its dimensions are given as "three leagues in length and half a league in breadth."
The existence of anything approaching a noble forest on the slopes and top of Point Loma in 1602 is a matter of unique interest, in view of the fact that nothing of the sort is found today. But the story is unquestioned by the oldest settlers : indeed, those with whom I have talked confirm it and furnish some evidence to sustain the view. Thus Ephraim W. Morse said :
Many years ago I saw in the possession of the late Mr. Ens- worth of San Diego, a piece of an old book in the Spanish language which gave an account of Viscaino's visit to, and
34
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO
his survey of, the Bay of San Diego in 1602. It had neither title-page nor date; consequently I do not know its author. It is stated that at the time of Viscaino's visit there was quite a large grove of oak trees on the slope of the hill on the north side of the bay and flat now known as Roseville, and ex- tending around the point towards the North Bay, which is now called False Bay, and that the valley of the San Diego River from opposite where Old Town now stands, as far up as could be seen from the top of the hill, was a dense wil- low grove, and that at high tide the waters of the North and South Bays met. It further stated that while the bay was being surveyed, the sailors went up the point of the hill (I suppose about where Judge Robinson was buried) and sat under the oak trees, and washed and mended their clothes.
And Miss Margaret Macgregor, another old settler, says: "There is no doubt that Point Loma was covered with trees [referring to Viseaino's time]. There are now old stumps in the ground there, charred by fire, and the Indians used to dig them out for fuel. The Indians said there was once a heavy forest there, but that it was destroyed by fire. They were live oak stumps. They were not very large-about the same as the other trees on the Point. I would not call it timber. There was a good deal of it-the Point was covered with it."
This testimony finds very strong corroboration in the follow- ing article published in the San Diego Daily World, June 12. 1873:
The Gipsy yesterday brought into port Captain Bogart. In a conversation with that gentleman some very interesting reminiscences were developed. Captain Bogart first visited San Diego in the Black Warrior in 1834, 39 years ago.
In those days the hills about the Playa, and indeed all around San Diego, were covered with a thick growth of oak, such as is found in the Julian mountains now. This was the case, to a very great extent, when Captain Bogart came to San Diego in 1852, as the agent of the Pacific Mail S. S. Co.
He ascribes the destruction of this timber to its liberal nse by the native population, and by the crews of vessels trading for hides, in their tanning operations.
lle can remember the time when the whole flat, where the race-course is, was covered with a dense willow growth. His memory also goes back to the days when Rose's Canyon, clear to Captain Johnson's, at Peñasquitas, was covered with a liberal forest growth. The tanning operations of the vener- able Mr. Rose are responsible for much of this disappearance of timber. We asked Captain Bogart how he accounted for the fact that there were no reminders of the forest growth at the Playa. He replied That he had occasion to ent a road to the Playa once, and came across many stumps. Captain Bo- gart's accounts agree with the narratives of the old Mission- aries, who say that when they came here, nearly a hundred years ago, the site of San Diego was covered with a forest.
Andrew Cassidy thinks there is no doubt that Point Loma was once quite heavily wooded, but is of the opinion that the
35
THE FIRST "BOOMERS"
Spaniards exaggerated the size of the trees. This is probably the case. for the early tales of their explorations are notoriously full of such exaggeration. The disappearance of the forest in the manner described by Captain Bogart, or by fire. is entirely probable, and is only another instance of the familiar process by which the natural resources of the West have been wasted.
Viscaino ordered a tent to be pitched on shore for religious worship, and then proceeded to clean and tallow his ships. His men were also bisy getting wood and water, and a few were employed in keeping guard to prevent any sudden attack by the natives. They obtained water from "a little island of sand," where they dug deep trenches. "During the flood." says the account, "the water was fresh and good, but on the ebb, salt."
1142891
Viscaino and his men saw mich of the Indians during their brief stay and found them both interesting and friendly. On their first appearance they came in great numbers, armed with bows and arrows. For the most part, they were naked, but their skins were daubed with black and white. Father Antonio went forth to meet them, attended by six soldiers. They responded to his overtures for a peaceful conference. Presents were distributed by the Spaniards, and the Indians went away pleased with the visitors. It is related that "the kind of paint they used looked like a mixture of silver and gold color : and on asking them by signs what it was, they gave them a piece of the metallic ore, from whence they made it." They also signified that they had seen men like the Spaniards in the interior. In return for the food and trinkets which were given them, the Indians left a good many skins of wild animals.
The explorers were delighted with San Diego, and their expressions sound much like those of the tourist of today. They admired the beauty of the scene and appreciated the remark- able climate. They declared that the situation offered "a fine site for a Spanish settlement." Of the mineral possibilities of the country Father de la Ascension wrote: "In the sands of the beach there was a great quantity of marcasite, golden and spongy, which is a clear sign that in the mountains round the port there are gold-mines, because the waters when it rains bring it from the mountains." They also found in the sand masses of a gray light substance, which it was thought might be amber. Some very heavy blue stones with which, when powdered and mixed in water, the natives made shining streaks on their faces, were thought to be rich in silver.
But most of all, the visitors were impressed during their ten days' stay, with the importance of San Diego as a natural sea- port. In their whole voyage they found no more perfect harbor. nor any place upon which nature had written more unmistak-
36
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO
ably the prophecy of a great destiny. In fact, it may be truth- fully said that Viseaino and his chroniclers were the first San Diego "boomers." And yet for a period of one hundred and sixty-seven years after this exploration, which added so richly to geographical lore, civilization held aloof from the tempting opportunity. For one hundred and sixty-seven years - what history was made elsewhere in that space of time !- the sun rose and set, the seasons came and went, and the ocean roared along the shore, while this land, which daring explorers had rescued from the unknown, slept in primeval silence. The Indian papooses that Father de la Ascension blessed in 1602 grew to manhood, and their children and children's children lived and passed away, before the white man came again with sword and cross to plant the first seed of institutions which were destined to take root and flourish.
CHAPTER II
BEGINNING OF THE MISSION EPOCH
T WAS in the year 1769 that Spain finally got ready to reap where her explorers had sown I generations before. Carlos III. was King, the Marquis de Croix, a man of great energy and enterprise, was Viceroy of New Spain, Don Joseph de Galvez was Visitador General. The royal order came for occupation of the ports of San Diego and Monterey. And it was high time. Spain could not hope to hold vast territories indefinitely by mere right of discovery, and both England and Russia had eyes upon the Pacific Coast of North America. It was the latter's aggression which was most feared and which probably gave the specific impulse to the new movement.
It is not, however, the name of king or statesman which survives in the popular imagination when the early settlement of San Diego, and the coast line which stretches north of it, is recalled, but the name of an immortal missionary. And it is a fine tribute to the quality of mind and heart which finds its expression in unselfish and loving service that this is so. But as I study the records of the past it seems clear enough that it was the lust of empire far more than religious zeal which led to the pioneer plantings in California. This judgment is no reflection on the Missionary Fathers, who simply availed them- selves of a favorable political situation to accomplish designs unquestionably born of a high conception of duty to God and man. But if we seek the motive behind the movement, we find it when we ask ourselves the question : If the Spanish King had not wanted to hold California for the advantage of his empire, would it have been within the power of the Franciscans to found a line of missions from San Diego northward, and thus to lay the foundation-stones of an enduring civilization ? The question must be answered in the negative, for the missionaries could not have supplied the necessary ships and soldiers nor the other provisions essential to the great undertaking. Put the question in another way and ask: If there had been no missionaries, and if the Spanish King had still desired to occupy the California coast, could he have done so with the men
38
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO
and money at his command ? Unquestionably, he could ; but he was wise enough to utilize the enthusiasm and capacity which he found ready to his hand in the shape of the Fran- eiseans and who were the more necessary because the Jesuits had but recently been expelled from their mission holdings in Lower California.
It is important to note the influences which led to the founding of San Diego, and it is the simple truth of history to say that the most vital of these influences was the need of
CARLOS III King of Spain when the Spanish soldiers and missionaries made the original settlement at San Diego, 1769
Spanish stateeraft to exert itself in order to hold valuable possessions gained in previous centuries by exploration and discovery. If this motive had been absent. San Diego would not have been settled in 1769. nor perhaps by those who spoke the Spanish tongue. Its history might have been entirely different. It might have been settled by Russians, or by Englishmen, or it might have slept on until a new nation - almost at that hour in travail on the Atlantic Coast of North America -sent its pioneers across the plains and mountains to give a new and strange flag to the breeze.
39
MOTIVE FOR COLONIZATION
It is true, of course, that for many years the missionaries had urged the King to lend his assistance to the conversion of the gentiles of the North, and that a Catholic nation like Spain, always influenced by the Papacy, would naturally give heed to the claims of the faith. But while this was doubtless taken into account. it was clearly secondary to considerations of empire. Nevertheless, when the time for action came, a great man, garbed in the cassock of the priest, stood ready to sow the seed of a harvest which men are now but beginning to reap.
Junipero Serra was fifty-six years old when the opportunity came to him. He had been trained from childhood for the work he was to do. Born on the Mediterranean Island of Mallorca, in the humblest circumstances. he was benevolent and devout even in his youth and seemed to have had no other thought than to do good. He became a Franciscan friar at sixteen and the enthusiasm of the boy gradually evolved into the burning passion of the man for the salvation of souls. He songht the blackest midnight of ignorance that he might spread the light of his faith the most widely, and his quest brought him to the North American Indian. For many years he labored in Mexico, among the Missions of the Sierra Gorda, and pene- trated to the farthest frontiers. When he heard of the expulsion of the Jesuits from Lower California, he feared that the Indians in that country would relapse into utter barbarism, and hastened to occupy the field before this calamity could occur. It was thus that Galvez found him on the ground, ready to co- operate in the scheme of settlement and to raise the Cross under the protection of the sword.
In October, 1768, the two leaders met at Santa Ana, Mexico, to develop their plans in detail. It seems clear that Galvez was the master mind at the conference, but that the priest as- sented heartily to all his suggestions. When they separated a perfect understanding had been reached and both proceeded to push the organization of the expedition with the utmost vigor. The early days of 1769 found plans well advanced and the hour for the actual beginning of the movement close at hand. It was the work of Galvez to get the ships ready for the voyage and to direct the organization of the military parties who were to go by land and sea ; and the work of Father Serra to select the priests who were to go, some by sea and some by land, to engage in the founding of the new missions. There was much to be done in securing furniture, ornaments, and vestments for the churches which were to be established. It was arranged that these things, together with implements, live stock, grain, and other food. should be taken from the old Jesuit establishments. now fallen into the hands of the Franciscans, and that with the
10
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO
exception of the few articles to be accepted as gifts, they should be religiously repaid in kind. Thus the old missions were called upon to support the new, after the Jesuit custom.
On January 9, 1769, the San Carlos sailed from La Paz, after the performance of impressive religions ceremonies at which Father Serra presided. The San Antonio sailed from San José del Cabo on February 15th, and the third vessel, the San Jose, followed many months later, but went to "the Port of Missing Ships." It was never heard of again.
The land parties went forward from points where they had been assembled on the Peninsula in the month of March, one proceeding under the leadership of Governor Portolá, and the other under Captain Rivera. Father Serra had expected to go with Portolá, but when the time came it found him suffering keenly from an ulcerous sore on his foot, contracted during a long journey in Mexico the previous year. He was thus com- pelled to see the party start withont him, but he followed soon after and overtook Portolá on May 5th. The effort cost him much pain and lends a touch of real heroism to a journey which was otherwise unmarked by any special hardship. The sore was healed in a single night by an ointment of tallow and herbs such as was commonly applied to beasts, but the ointment was sup- plemented by his own prayers and his touching faith in their ef- ficacy. The eure was only partial; he suffered from the in- firmity to the day of his death.
Very good accounts of the progress of the expedition, on both land and water, were kept by several of the participants, includ- ing Father Serra himself. These have been preserved and made accessible to students, some of the most important of the trans- lation having been accomplished by Charles F. Lummis, the most competent and tireless student of early California history. But though the accounts are remarkably complete, it is not un- til the story reaches San Diego that they are of special inter- est to ns.
Although the San Antonio had sailed over a month later than the San Carlos, it was the first to arrive at its destination. Mis- led by Cabrillo's error in placing the port two degrees farther north than its true latitude, both ships went as far as Santa Barbara Channel and then turned south on discovering the mis- take. The San Antonio sailed through the Silver Gate and dropped anchor in the harbor, April 11th. Two of her crew had died, and many were ill, from seurvy. But the condition of the San Carlos, which followed on April 29th, was very much worse. Only four sailors were able to stand at their post and half the troops were also down with the wretched disease. The men were just able to reach port and had no energy left to lower a boat and go ashore. Their plight was soon discovered by the
41
THE DIARY OF COSTANSO
-
DIARIO HISTORICO
DE LOS VIAGES, DE MAR, Y TIERRA HECHOS AL NORTE DE LA CALIFORNIA DE ORDEN DEL EXCELENTISSIMO SEÑOR MARQUES DE CROIX, Virrey, Governador, y Capitan General de la Nueva Efpaña: Y POR DIRECCION
DEL ILLUSTRISSIMO SEÑOR DJOSEPH DE GALVEZ
Del Confejo, y Camara de S. M. en el Supremo de Indias, Intendente de Exercito, Vifitador General de efte Reyno ..
Executados por la Tropa deftinada à dicho objeto al mando DE DON GASPAR DE PORTOLA, Capitan de Dragones en el Regimiento de Efpaña, y Governador en dicha Peniofula.
Y por los Paquebots el S. Carlos. y el S. Antonio al mando DE DON VICENTE VILA, 'Piloto del Numero de primeros de la Real Armáda, " Y DE DON JUAN PEREZ, de la Navegacion de Philipinas,
DE ORDEN DEL EXCMO. SR. VIRREY, En la Impreat der Superior Gobierno.
FACSIMILE OF THE TITLE PAGE OF THE COSTANSO Diary of the Spanish officer who served as historian of the expedition of 1769
42
HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO
captain and crew of the San Antonio, who proceeded to remove the sick sailors and soldiers to a rude hospital which they had improvised on the shore. Like the early explorers, they were charmed with the port and its surroundings and soon became enthusiastic over the prospects of settlement. "A country of joyous aspect," they called it, and no one has improved upon the phrase.
One of the most valuable records of the time was that left by C'ostansó, a civil engineer and cosmographer of the expedition. who came on the San Carlos. He gives an interesting account of the Indians, who were present in large numbers to witness what must have been a most exciting scene for them-the ar- rival of the first white settlers. The Indians were very shy. at first, but it seemed absolutely necessary for the Spaniards to make their acquaintance without delay. since they had urgent need to obtain a fresh supply of water. The water question ap- pears early in the annals of San Diego, and stays late!
The Indians were finally induced to parley and, after pres- ents had been distributed among them, undertook to show the strangers where they could find a flowing stream. "They went a matter of three leagues," says Costansó. "until they arrived on the banks of a river hemmed in on either bank by a fringe of willows and cottonwoods. very leafy. Its channel must have been twenty varas wide [about 55 feet ] and it discharges into an estuary which at high tide would admit the launch and made convenient the accomplishing of taking on of water." This was. of course, the San Diego River, and it is evident that there had been a fair rainfall in the Winter of 1769. A good-sized Indian village was found in the valley, and Costansó leaves us this item of society gossip: "These natives are of good figure, well-built and agile. They go naked without more clothing than a girdle of ixtle or very fine maguey fiber, woven in the form of a net." After a better acquaintance with them, he drew this picture of the Indians: "They are of hanghty temper, daring, covetous. great jesters and braggarts: although of little valor, they make great boast of their powers, and hold the most vigorous for most valiant. They greatly erave whatsoever rag; but when we have clothed different ones of them on repeated occasions, they would present themselves the following day stark naked."
The temporary pest house or hospital erected for the accom- modation of the sick sailors stood at what is now the foot of H street. It was a rude affair, made of canvas. A third of those who had come on the San Carlos died before the ravages of the senevy were stayed. They were buried there, and henceforth the place was known on the Spanish charts of the harbor as Punta de los Muertos, or Dead Man's Point.
43
ARRIVAL OF LAND PARTY
It was on the 14th of May that Captain Rivera arrived with the first land party. This consisted of twenty-five soldiers, from the Presidio of Lereto; Father Juan Crespi, José Canizares, who had been designated to write a diary of the land trip, three omleteers, and a band of converted natives who had been drawn from one of the missions in the South. The natives were brought along for the purpose of performing the drudgery. The party had been fifty-one days on the march without incurring any special hardship. As they approached San Diego they met many of the gentile Indians, and when they came in sight of the ships and camp they were welcomed by a salute of fire-arms.
Rivera proceeded at once to establish a more permanent camp, moving it from the present site of the city to the neighborhood of what is now known as Old Town, in order to be near the river. The exact location of this first attempt at a permanent camp is not entirely clear. Costanso says it was on the "right bank of the river," and, if he used the term as it is now understood, he must have referred to the north bank of the stream. There is a tradition in Old Town to the effect that the camp was on the north side, though the more general impression seems to be that it was on the south side, not far from the famous old palms. The camp was fortified, a few rude huts built, and a corral made for the animals. Here the whole party was busy for six weeks, at- tending the sick and unloading supplies from the San Antonio. It was here that the second land party found them when it reached San Diego at the end of June. Governor Portolá ar- rived June 29th in advance of his men, and Father Serra just before noon, July 1st. Besides the leaders, the party included nine or ten soldiers, four muleteers, two servants of the Gov- ernor and the President, and forty-four natives of Lower Cali- fornia.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.