Vizcaino Was Told
By The Pilot, Bolanos, That Cermenon Had Left In Drake's Bay A Large
Quantity Of Wax And Several Chests Of Silk, And He Entered The Bay On
January 8th To See If Any Vestiges Remained Of Ship Or Cargo.
He did not
land, but awaited the arrival of the fragata.
As she did not appear, he
became uneasy, and sailed the next morning in search of her. On the
13th, a violent gale from the southeast drove him northward. This was
followed by a dense fog, and when it lifted, he found himself in
latitude forty-two - the limit of his instructions - with Cape Blanco in
sight, "and the trend of the coast line onward," he writes, "towards
Japan and Great China, which are but a short run away." Only six of his
men were now able to keep the deck, and he bore away for Acapulco, where
he arrived March 21, 1603. Of the company that sailed with him,
forty-two had died.
In 1606, Philip III, King of Spain, ordered that Monterey be occupied
and provision made there to succor and refit the Philippine ships. He
directed that to Vizcaino should be given the command of the expedition.
His orders were not carried out and Vizcaino sailed instead for Japan,
whence he returned in 1613, and died three years later.
For over one hundred and sixty years, no steps were taken for the
pacification and settlement of Alta California. The galleons continued
to make their yearly voyages to the Philippines, and returning, sail
down the coast within sight of the fair land; but no harbor of refuge
was established and no attempt was made to colonize the country.
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