Father Junipero Serra by Mariana Medina

Author:Mariana Medina
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Enslow Publishing, LLC

The California Redwood forests amazed the men in Rivera’s group, who were likely the first white men in the area.

The Native Americans that the Portolá group met had been friendly, but Portolá’s group had not found Monterey Bay. In fact, Rivera said, there was no such bay. They had found another bay that was big enough to hold European ships, but it was not the bay described by the explorer Vizcaíno.26

Monterey Bay, After All

With more mouths to feed, the conditions at San Diego de Alcalá got worse. They waited without luck for the much-longed-for supply ship, the San José, which had been lost at sea. Portolá told Father Serra if a ship did not come by March 19, then they would all return to the Baja. The idea of giving up made Father Serra almost sick.

On March 19, after breakfast, the soldiers packed their few belongings, getting ready for the march south. Then, at about 3:00 P.M., a ship was sighted. Someone yelled out, “Sail!” Everyone cheered; it was the San Antonio, a different ship than the one expected, but one carrying plenty of supplies. The mission was saved.27

Now that the San Diego mission had supplies, Portolá and Father Serra made new plans. Portolá, with Father Crespí, would head north with his men. Father Serra would sail on the San Antonio and join Portolá at Monterey. Fathers Parrón and Gómez would be left in charge of the San Diego mission. After the Monterey mission had been built, Father Crespí would travel south and start Mission San Buenaventura, somewhere on the Santa Barbara Channel.

They were certain that this time they would find Monterey. In fact, they now thought that it must be the large bay where Portolá’s group had raised a cross. They finally decided they had reached Monterey Bay, but had identified it incorrectly. The description that they had carried with them had been of a view from the sea, not from land. Also, the trees and flowers that grew there did not match the description because they had arrived in a different season than the one described by earlier explorers. Once they took these factors into account, they were certain that the bay they had seen was Monterey. They decided to meet at the cross. It turned out that they were right—the bay where they had raised a cross was indeed Monterey.

When Portolá reached Monterey, he found the cross that he had planted the winter before. It was a strange sight—the cross was surrounded by a number of things: meat, shellfish, arrows that had been planted in the ground, and a string of sardines. The Native Americans, knowing that the cross was important to the Spanish, decided to use it as a place to leave offerings for their own gods.

Mission San Carlos Borromeo

One week after Portolá arrived, the San Antonio sailed into Monterey Bay. On June 3, 1770, as the Native Americans watched, Fathers Serra and Crespí said prayers and named the new mission. They called it Mission San Carlos Borromeo (St.

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