Tales of discovery on the Pacific slope

Front matter

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Preface

knights and captains and friars of orders gray, adventurers to China and Japan, Canadian voyageurs, wild Cossacks of the northern seas. So it comes about that we add to the historic heritage of the stanch virtues of our Anglo-Saxon stock another treasure, rich in picturesque, cosmopolite variety.

So a book like this, which clips into the golden hoard and brings its beauty to the sight and touch of our children, deserves gratitude and attention, for it bringsan endowment to their best and mo.st enduring life. It widens their personality by a store of new experiences, it strengthens their love of home and country by a new circle of attachments, and will surround their everyday life with the finer air of poetry.

London, 1897.

MARY SHELDON BARNES.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Ship Sailing Into Bay of San Francisco . Frontispiece

PAGE.

The Story of Tejos lo

The Wanderings of Cabeza de Vaca . . . .16 Fray Marcos Plants Cross on Hile-top ... 38

Shouting “Santiago” as he Rode . . . .46

The Indians Watched Him 50

The Indians Pulling the Boat up the River . 54

Alarcon and the Strange Indian .... 64

Discovery of Monterey Bay by Sebastian Viscaino . 74 Holding Mass on Shore June 3, 1770 . . . .90

Cabrillo Landing at San Diego Bay ... 94

Death of Cabrillo on the Isle of San Miguel . 98

PORTOLA Discovers Bay From Top of Hill . . 102

Ayala Sending Boat Ahead in Bay of San Francisco 106 The Ships Being Overhauled in the straits of

Juan de Fuca^ no

Vancouver Trading With Indians . . . .116

Captain Cook Landing on the Sandwich Islands . 130 The Indian Making Captain Cook Pay for His

Grass 140

McKenzie Starts on Voyage ..... 144

Captain Gray’s Fight With Indians . . . .164

Captain Gray Entering the Columbia . . .168 i

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Table Of Contents

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I. The Seven Cities That Were Not . .it

1. The Story of Tejos.

Chapter I. Alarcon Discovers The Colorado River

1 \ FTER the people of Spain had con- .A \ quered the people of Mexico, the V Spain sent Lord Don

Antonio de Mendo9a to rule over Mexico, and also told him to explore the new country, and send back to Spain the news of all they discovered.

So the Lord de Mendo9a sent out men to explore both the land and the sea.

He said to Fernando Alar9on, “ Here is a great lying close by our new country, but no one has yet sailed to its head.

Take two ships and plenty of men, and everything

Reference Topics.

Gulf of California.

Colorado River.

Indian Food.

Indian Clothes.

Indian Hovises.

you need, and sail up this gulf and find out all that you can.”

On Sunday, the 9th of May, in the year 1540, Alar9on set sail with two ships, one called Saint Peter and the other Saint Catherine.

They had sailed but a few days when a terrible storm came up. The people who were in the ship called Saint Catherine were so frightened they threw overboard many of their guns and cannons and other things. This they did to keep the ship from sinking. But they came through the storm safely and went on.

When they had gone a little further they came to a place where the water was so shallow the ships could scarcely sail and they were in great danger of being wrecked. The pilot and all the other men were very much frightened and said to Alarcon, “ Let us return back again.” But Alar9on said, “His Lordship commanded me that I should bring him the secret of the gulf, and if I knew we should lose our ships, I should still try to sail to the head.”

Then he called Nicolas Zamorano, the pilot, and Dominico del Castello and said, “ Each of you get into a boat, and take the lead in your hands, and sail in among those shoals, and see if you cannot find a channel for our ships.’’

The men got into the boats, sailed in among the shoals, and found a channel, and ‘‘the ships came sailing along after them when of a sudden they found themselves fast on the sands.” They were in such danger that the decks of one of the ships was often entirely under water, and they would all have drowned but that a great wave came and lifted them high up onto the sand. There they had to stay until the tide came in again and the ships could float.

Then all the men on the ships said to Alarcon, “ Let us go back, let us go back.” But Alargon said, “No, I am bound to go forward.”

So they sailed forward with much trouble, steering the sterns of the ships now this way, now that way, to find the channel. Thus they went until they came to the very end of the gulf There they found a mighty river that ran with such fury that they could hardly sail against it, and this river was the Colorado.

THE INDIANS PULLING THE BOATS UP THE RIVER.

Chapter II. Alarcon Sails Up The Colorado

After Alargon had discovered the Colorado, his men said to him, “ You have come to the end of the gulf, and you have found a mighty river; now let us go back.”

But Alargon said, “No, I will sail up this river.”

So he left the ships, and took two boats, twenty men, an Indian, and some small cannon, and began to sail up the Colorado. As they sailed along, he said to his men, “ We shall likely meet some Indians soon, and if we do, I charge you that none of you but our own Indian shall speak, or stir, or use any sign.”

The very next morning just at daylight, they came to some wigwams close by the bank of the river, with many Indians near by. When the Indians saw the boats they were greatly frightened and cried out in a loud voice, and other Indians came out of the wigwams to see what was the matter. Then they ran back into the wigwams and began to carry out their things and to lay them under the trees.

When Alar9on’s men steered the boats to- "ward the bank of the Colorado, many of the Indians came running down to the river making signs that they should go back again, shouting, and looking angry, and running first on one side of the boats and then on the other.

When Alar9on saw the Indians in such a rage, he ordered the boats back to the middle of the river, that the Indians might get over their fear. He said to his people, “ I charge you, let no man speak, nor make any sign nor motion, nor stir out of his place, nor be offended at anything the Indians do, nor show any sign of fighting.’’

When the Indians saw the people in the boat so quiet, they came quite close to the river bank. There were as many as two hundred and fifty of them and they had bows and arrows, and a kind of war flag. Little by little Alar9on tried to get toward them. When the Indians saw he was doing this, they came toward the boat with great cries, and put their arrows to their bows and waved their banners.

Then Alar9oii went to the end of the boat nearest the shore and told his own Indian to stand beside him and speak to those on the shore for him. When the Indian spoke they could not understand him, but when they saw he was an Indian like themselves, they took their arrows from their bows.

Then Alargon tried again to draw near the shore, but “they came again with great cries to keep them from the bank, and made signs that he should not come further, and put stakes in his way between the water and the land.”

Alar9on now tried making signs of peace to them. He took his sword and his target and cast them down in the boat and set his feet upon them. He took his banner and cast it down, and set his feet upon it, trying thus to make them understand that he did not wish to have war with them. Then he caused all his people to sit down, and took some of the beads and bright-colored cloth he had brought with him, and held them up for the Indians to see, and called to them to give them some.

“At hrst, none of them stirred to take any of

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the ^ifts, but rather drew nearer together, and began a great murmuring among themselves.”

Suddenly, one of them came out from the others with a long stick, on which some shells were placed, and walked into the water to give them to Alargon. Alar9on took them, and made signs to the Indian that he should come close to him. The Indian did so, and Alargon embraced him and gave him some bright beads and some red cloth, with which he ran back to the others.

They all began to look at them and admire them, and very soon many of them came toward Alar9on. He made signs to them that they should lay all their weapons in a heap and go away from them. This they did, and called to others who were coming to do the same.

Then Alar9on “called them to him and began to give them beads, and cloth, and little bells, and they came in such throngs about him that he was afraid, and made signs to them that they must stand a little way off and come to him only about ten at a time. One of their oldest men called out to them what to do, and they did it.”

When Alargon saw how well they obeyed, he said to his people : “ I am going on shore, and will teach them not to fear me.”

Then he made signs to them to sit down on the ground, and he stepped out of the boat on to the shore. The Indians were glad to have him come ; but when ten or twelve of his men came also, they began to be angry and got up from the ground. But Alargon made signs to them not to be afraid, so they sat down again.

Then, he went to them, and embraced them, and gave them beads. He wanted to know what sort of food they had, so he made signs to them that he was hungry, and they ran and brought him some cakes made of corn and a loaf of Mizquiqui, which is a kind of bread.

They then made signs to Alargon that they would like to hear one of his guns shot off, and he said to one of the men : “ Shoot off your gun.” The man put the gun to his shoulder and fired. The Indians were so frightened they threw themselves on the ground and buried their faces in the sand.

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But there were two or three old men who were not frightened, but who, instead, were angry at the others for being afraid, and cried out to them in a loud voice. When one of those old men got through speaking, they began to get up from the ground and to take up their bows and arrows.

When Alar9on saw that the old man was angry, he tried to put him in a good humor by giving to him a girdle of bright colors. But the old Indian would not take it, but bit his lip, hit Alar90u on the chest with his elbow, and spoke to the others in great fury.

Then they all took up their banners and their bows and arrows and came toward Alar9on and his men.

Alar9on said, “It is time we got back into the boats.” So they went into the boats and once more set sail up the Colorado.

The men said to Alar9on, “ Let us go back.” But Alar9on said, “ No, we will go on.”

They went on and the Indians ran along the bank and made signs for them to come on land again, and offered them food; but Alar9on said, “We must not stop.”

ALARgON AND THE COLORADO RIVER. 6l

When they had gone up the river about six miles, they came to a cliff of a hill on which was an arbor newly made. Here the Indians again tried to get him to come on shore, sucking their fingers, beckoning to him with their hands, and calling to him.

But Alar9on saw the rocks and brush and ^aid, “ We will not stop for them for many more may be lying in ambush.’^ So they sailed on and had just got by, when out came a thousand Indians, all armed with bows and arrows.

‘‘ Some of them had their faces all covered with paint, others had their faces half covered, and others had just streaks of paint. Some carried false faces in front of them painted like the real faces. They wore on their heads a piece of deerskin shaped like a helmet, and fastened to it were small sticks and feathers. They had holes in their noses and ears from which hung bits of shell and bone. About their waists they wore a girdle of bright colors, and in the middle of the back was a bunch of feathers which hung dov/n behind like a tail. Their bodies were tattooed and

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they wore their hair cut in front and hanging down behind.” They followed Alarcon up the river until it grew dark.

The next morning, just at daylight, Alarcon and his men heard a great cry of Indians on both sides of the river, and there they were with their bows and arrows.

Alarcon made signs to them again that they must lay down their bows and arrows if they wanted him to come to them.

Some laid them down and some did not. Those that did lay them down, Alarcon called to him and gave them beads and other things. When the others saw this, they also laid down their weapons and came to him. Then he leaped on shore and stood among them.

When they saw he had not come to fight them, some began to give him bits of shells, and “some gave him beautiful skins, and others gave him maize or corn. But always before they gave it, they would go a little way from him, and cry out, and make a sign with their arms and bodies, and then come to him and give him what they had brought. And so it was until every Indian had given him something.”

Then Alargon got back into the boat and rowed close to the land and the Indians followed along the bank. Al'argon made signs to the Indians that he came from the sun, w^hereupon they looked at him from tip to toe and seemed more delighted than ever.

When he asked them for food, they brought so much that he had twice to call for boats to put it into, and each time they brought him anything, they first took a little piece of it and threw it up into the air towards the sun and then gave the rest to Alargon.

“ So much love did they show him that when he and his men went on shore, the Indians wanted to carry them in their arms into their houses. In every way they obeyed him and tried to please him.

All the time new Indians kept coming, and when they came, the Indians that were thefe first would run to meet them and tell them to lay down their bows and arrows, and Alargon would smile, nod to them that that was what he wanted them to do, and when they did it he would give them something.

To some he gave bright napkins, to some

ALARCON AND THE STRANGE INDIAN beads and to some crosses made of small sticks and paper. If one of the Indians forgot to throw away his weapon, the others would run to him, and take it away from him, and break it to pieces before Alargon to show him how much they wished to please him.

The Colorado ran so swiftly that Alargon’s men could not row against it, so he tied strong ropes to the boats and said to his men, “ You must walk on shore and pull the boats.” “But the Indians came and begged for the ropes, striving one with another to see who should have them,” and thus they pulled Alargon and his men up the river.