Redwood History Basic Data

A. THE CABRILLO-FERRELO EXPEDITION

The first Europeans to reconnoiter the Humboldt Coast belonged to the expedition commanded by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, which cruised the coast of Alta California in 1542. Cabrillo in June 1542, sailed from the port of Navidad, and in September his two ships anchored in San Diego Bay. Continuing up the coast, the explorers sighted or stopped at a number of points, including Catalina and San Clemente Islands, Santa Monica Bay, San Buenaventura, and the Channel Islands. After cruising Santa Barbara Channel, past Point Conception and northward beyond Point Reyes, the expedition turned back. A stop was made at one of the Channel Islands, where Cabrillo died on January 3, 1543.

Cabrillo's chief pilot, Bartolomé Ferrelo, succeeded to the command. Under his leadership, the exploration of the coast of Alta California was continued. A storm was encountered, and at dawn on February 25, the Spanish sailors sighted Cape Pinos. The ships then bore to the northwest. The coast was rugged and without shelter. A point which "looked like a cape where the land turned north-northwest" was observed. At midnight the wind shifted, and for the next two days the ships continued to run to the northwest, and Ferrelo changed course, and the ships sailed toward the south with few sails.

On the 28th the winds died, and a reading indicated that they were at 43° north latitude. By nightfall a wind out of the south-southwest had freshened, and the ships beat a course to the west-northwest. The wind now veered into the southwest, and became a gale. The sea broke over the decks. Fears were voiced by all that the ships would founder, and the sailors "commended themselves to Our Lady of Guadalupe." While the storm was at its height, numerous signs that land was near were seen. As if in answer to the men's prayers a Norther bore in, and the ships were driven southward. On Monday, March 5, the Spaniards found themselves off the island where Cabrillo had died and been buried. The two ships now became separated, and San Salvador put into San Diego Bay. After waiting six days for Victoria, she sailed down the coast. The two ships rendezvoused at Cedros Island on March 26. [1]

Hubert H. Bancroft, upon studying the Log of Cabrillo's Voyage, expressed the opinion that the Spaniards "did not pass far, if at all, beyond Cape Mendocino in 40° 21'." Herbert Bolton and Henry R. Wagner are of the opinion that the northernmost point reached by Ferrelo on February 28, 1543, was in the general area of the Rogue River in southern Oregon. My colleague, F. Ross Holland, who has made exhaustive studies of the Cabrillo voyage, agrees with Bolton and Wagner. [2] If Bolton, Wagner, and Holland are correct, the first Europeans to cruise the Humboldt Coast were the crews of San Salvador and Victoria, in the last week of February 1543. It is unlikely, however, that they made any landfalls north of Cape Mendocino.

B. FRANCIS DRAKE CRUISES the HUMBOLDT COAST

The first European explorer to sight the Humboldt Coast was probably Francis Drake in 1579. Drake, having entered the Pacific Ocean through the Straits of Magellan in 1578, cruised the coasts of Peru and Panama. After plundering several Spanish towns and capturing the Manila galleon, he sailed his ship, Golden Hind, northward. When off the coast of North America near 43°, the cold and adverse winds which accompany the Japanese Current forced Golden Hind toward the continent, and Drake anchored his ship in a "bad bay." [3] This anchorage being exposed to "many extreme gusts and flawes," and at times enveloped in the "most vile, thicke, and stinking fogges," Drake determined to seek another bay farther south. Utilizing information found on Robert Dudley's manuscript chart, first published in 1630, George Davidson, who has made exhaustive studies of Drake's voyage to the Pacific, concluded:

Drake was twelve days, with presumably favorable winds and moderate weather, sailing along the coast by day, and laying to at night; full of anxiety, and keenly alert to find a convenient harbor where he could heave down his vessel and stop her leaks, as well as lay in a fresh store of provisions and water. The coast he traced is bold, compact, and nearly straight between controlling headlands; and to the southeastward of Crescent City Reef . . . is almost free from dangers except those close in shore. Drake could thus safely reconnoitre the shores at a distance of two or three miles, except at Blunt's Reef off Cape Mendocino. Under Trinidad Head . . . he would be attracted closer in shore by the prospect of a harbor, and by the low, sandy and retreating shore, with retreating hills to the eastward and southeastward. From the masthead he may have seen the extensive waters of Humboldt Bay. In the stretch between Trinidad Head and Cape Mendocino, the discolored waters passing through the clear ocean waters would indicate the existence of rivers or bays; but Mad River, north of the Bay, and Eel River, to the south of it, do not offer any well defined marks to betray their entrances to the navigator. [4]

C. THE MANILA GALLEONS off the HUMBOLDT COAST

It is possible that the crews of the Manila Galleons, after the discovery of the Japanese Current in 1565, on their return from the Philippines may have sighted the headlands of the Humboldt Coast before Drake and his seadogs. But as the captains turned south, as soon as the lookouts found seaweed or other indications that land was near, it is doubtful they secured more than an occasional glimpse of the fog-bound coast. [5] A captain of the Manila Galleon, Francisco Gali, in 1584 was the first European to refer to a geographic feature of the Alta California coast by other than its native name. On returning from the Philippines Captain Gali reported that he cruised the coast to Cape San Lucus, which "is the beginning of the lands of California...being fiue [five] hundred leagues distant from Cape Mendocino." [6] There is no proof that Gali was responsible for the name beyond giving us its first recorded use. There are two theories as to its origin: one is that the name was given by an earlier navigator of whom we have no record; and the other is that it may have been applied in New Spain to a headland discovered but not named by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo or Ferrelo in 1542-43. [7]

D. SEBASTÍAN RODRÍGUEZ CERMENÕ RECONNOITERS the HUMBOLDT COAST

The loss of ships to the English Seadogs, such as Francis Drake and Thomas Cavendish, made Spain cognizant of the need for a harbor on the California coast to serve as a port of refuge for the Manila Galleons. Until 1595 no captain in the employment of Spain attempted to locate such a harbor. The Spanish crown in that year charged Sebastían Rodríguez Cermenõ with such a mission. He left Manila in July and reached the California mainland at "Cape Mendocino" on November 4. Professor H. R. Wagner holds that Cermenõ reached the coast north of "Rocky Point" or Trinidad Head, then sailed south, passing in and out of Trinidad Bay, but did not anchor for fear of rocks. Proceeding down the coast, Cermenõ took his ship into Drake's Bay, where she went aground. Cermenõ and his shipmates used a launch to reach Acapulco. [8]

Cermenõ's voyage satisfied the authorities that a galleon could not effectively reconnoiter the coast. The Council of the Indies accordingly recommended that future expeditions be made in light-draft vessels. Determined to follow the suggestion of the Council, Viceroy Castillo of New Spain in 1603 sent out an expedition led by Sebastian Vizcaíno. [9]

E. VOYAGE of VIZCAÍINO

Sebastian Vizca&icaute;ino, in the spring of 1603, sailed from Acapulco with two ships, the frigate Tres Reyes and San Diego, to explore the coast of Alta California. After leaving Monterey bay, the vessels separated. When on June 12 San Diego reached Cape Mendocino, most of her crew were sick and the weather foul. A decision to turn back was made, but a storm drove her northward as far as latitude 42°. The weather, however, prevented a detailed reconnaissance of the coast. Meanwhile, Tres Reyes had been driven even farther north to the vicinity of Cape Blanco. Here the weather, in conjunction with the death of Ensign Martin de Aguilar, the master, and his chief pilot, Antonio Flores, made impossible a close examination of the coast. The boatswain, who survived, reported that on the run northward from Drake's Bay

near Cape Mendocino, they found a large bay, into which entered a full flowing river which came in from the north with such force that they were not able to enter it more than two leagues, although they endeavored for a whole day with full sails and wind astern to force their way in. The river was then rising and carried many trees with it. The country is timbered with very large pine and oak forests. The coast runs from this place north and south to Cape Mendocino and thence it runs northeast and southwest as far as Cape Blanco in latitude 43°.

A number of Indians came out to the ship in canoes, made of pine and cedar, and invited the explorers to send a small boat expedition upstream. Taking cognizance of their numbers, the sailors declined to do so, although the redmen offered as inducements fish, game, hazelnuts, chestnuts, and acorns. [10]

Dr. Owen C. Coy feels that the river described by the boatswain may have been Eel River, which discharges into the Pacific in latitude 40° 39', about 14 miles north of Cape Mendocino. Following a cloudburst, the Eel overflows its banks, causing the lower valley to resemble a large bay, with sufficient depth to afford navigation for a considerable distance. The references to trees swept along by the powerful current, and the thick forests are in keeping with local conditions. [11]

F. HECETA and BODEGA and the EXPEDITION to TRINIDAD HEAD

For almost 175 years following Vizca&icaute;ino's voyage, the officials of New Spain were too preoccupied elsewhere to push the exploration of the Humboldt Coast. During the years immediately preceding the American Revolution, the activities of the Russians to the far north, along with the push of the Hudson's Bay Company to the northeast compelled the Spanish to take countermeasures. Monterey and San Francisco Bay were occupied. Expeditions were organized and dispatched up the coast to determine if the rumors of Russian and British encroachments were true, and to cement the claims of Spain to that region.

Bruno de Heceta in the summer of 1775 beat his way up the coast of Alta California with two vessels—his flagship, Santiago, and a schooner, Sonora, with "a keel of eighteen cubits and breadth of beam of six." The latter vessel was commanded by Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Cuadra. The expedition had sailed from San Blas on March 16, the schooner being towed by the ship. By May 21 the vessels were in the latitude of Monterey, but it was determined not to enter that port, as the principal goal of the expedition was exploration, and it was hoped to secure water at a river presumed to have been discovered by Aguilar in latitude 42° or 43°.

Adverse winds compelled the pilot, Francisco Mourelle, to hold a course well to the seaward. As the ships approached the latitude of Cape Mendocino, the color of the water told the pilot and crews that they were approaching shore. Bodega ordered Mourelle to steer a course toward land. Mourelle reported:

On the ninth [of June] . . . we saw, with greatest clearness, the plains, rocks, bays, headlands, breakers and trees. At the same time we sailed along the coast, and endeavored to find out a port, being at the distance only of a mile, and approaching to a high cape, which seemed to promise shelter, though we were obliged to proceed cautiously, as many small islands concealed from us some rocks, which scarcely appeared above the surface of the sea.

As we now perceived a land-locked harbor to the SW., we determined to enter it. The schooner cast anchor opposite a little village, which was situated at the bottom of a mountain.

As soon as we had anchored, some Indians in canoes came on board, who, without the least shyness, traded some skins for bugles.

On the 11th we had fixed everything with regard to our anchorage, and we determined to take possession of the country, upon the top of a high mountain, which lies at the entrance of the port. The crew marched in two bodies, who adored the holy cross upon disembarking, and when at the top of the mountain formed a square, the center of which became a chapel. Here the holy cross was again raised, the mass celebrated, with a sermon, and possession taken. We also fired both our musquetry and cannon which naturally made the Indians suppose we were irresistible. As we took thus possession on the day when [the] holy mother church celebrates the most holy Trinity, we named the port accordingly. [12]

What they saw of the country, satisfied the Spaniards of its fertility, and its capability of growing all the plants raised in Europe. They found strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, onions, and potatoes. The hillsides were "covered with very large, high, and straight pines, amongst which . . . [were] observed some of 120 feet high, and 4 feet in diameter towards the bottom." These trees, it was observed, would be excellent, for masts and shipbuilding. [13] These trees were Redwoods.

Sonora remained anchored in Puerto de la Trinidad for nine days, during which the ship was careened, a new mast, sails and yards positioned, the harbor charted, the customs of the Indians observed, and a fresh supply of water taken aboard. A day was spent in reconnoitering either the Little or Mad rivers, to a distance of a league. On this river, the sailors saw "larger timber trees than we had before seen." Sighting a large flock of wild pigeons, the Spaniards named the river, Rio de los Tortolos. [14]

One sailor was lost by desertion, and on June 19 the sailors re-embarked and left the port of Trinidad. The ships beat a course to the northward. Heceta in Santiago kept on to latitude 49° where on August 11 he resolved to return to his base, as many of his crew had been felled with scurvy. He held a course offshore and made observations down to 42° 30', but then the weather changed and the coast was fogbound. Cape Mendocino was passed on the night of the 25th, and four days later Santiago dropped anchor in Monterey Bay.

The schooner Sonora, after parting from Santiago, continued up the coast to about 58°, before she turned back. On October 7 she rendezvoused with Santiago. The return voyage from Monterey to San Blas took 20 days, from November 1 to 20, 1775. [15]

G. FATHER SERRA'S PLANS

Father Junipero Serra, president of the California missions, was understandably excited by the discovery of Trinidad Bay. He was anxious that the Spanish secure the area by making settlements and founding missions among the Indians. The Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio Bucareli, was emboldened by Father Serra's enthusiasm, and he declared his willingness to cooperate with the Franciscans by detailing the necessary troops, as soon as he could be assured that the missions would be self-sustaining. Before Father Serra could implement his plan, Bucareli's death deprived him of his powerful ally, and he was compelled to abandon the project. [16]

H. GEORGE VANCOUVER SAILS the PACIFIC

The first British navigator to cruise the Humboldt Coast in 200 years was George Vancouver. He was on a "grand exploring voyage round the world." In April 1792 Vancouver, having sailed eastward from the Sandwich Islands, touched the California coast south of Cape Mendocino. He then ran up the coast, holding a course about two leagues offshore. The Britisher observed that

the shores became strait and compact, not affording the smallest shelter; and although rising gradually from the water's edge to a moderate height only, yet the distant interior country was composed of mountains of great elevations; before which were presented a great variety of hills and dales, agreeably interspersed with woodlands and clear spots [Bald Hills], as if in a state of cultivation; but we could discern neither houses, huts, smokes, nor other signs of its being inhabited.

The coast was observed as far north as Rocky Point, probably Trinidad Head. [17]

In November, Vancouver again navigated the Humboldt Coast as he returned from Nootka Sound. No stops were made until the 14th, when Discovery entered San Francisco Bay and anchored off Yerba Buena. Following the arrival of Chatham, Vancouver proceeded to Monterey with his little fleet, where he remained for 50 days. On January 15, 1793, the British sailed for the Sandwich Islands. [18]

After refitting his ships, Vancouver again touched the shores of Alta California, or New Albion as he preferred to call it, in the spring of 1793. He again approached the continent near the "promontories of Cape Mendocino." The weather was foggy, and the explorers were unable to study the coast until they reached the latitude of Puerto de la Trinidad. Entering the bay, the ships anchored for three days, while fuel and water were taken aboard. Simultaneously, a chart of the harbor was prepared, and a patrol climbed the headland and found the cross erected by the Heceta Bodega Expedition, 23 years before.

Vancouver put to sea on May 5, "without the least regret at quitting a station that I considered as a very unprotected and unsafe roadstead for shipping." [19]

I. AMERICAN SHIP CAPTAINS VISIT the AREA

1. Captain William Shaler

The first American ship to land on the Humboldt Coast was Lelia Byrd, Capt. William Shaler master. She had sailed from Canton in February 1804 and arrived off the mouth of Columbia River on May 1. Unable to cross the bar, Shaler took his ship down the coast in search of a bay which could be entered. Lelia Byrd accordingly anchored in Trinidad Bay on the 11th. Steps were taken to secure water and fuel, while the ship's carpenter was sent ashore in search of spars. These were found in great numbers, and a large spruce was cut for a foremast. A trade with the Indians was commenced, but they soon became more numerous and trouble threatened. The distribution of gifts eased the situation. The arrival of additional Indians alarmed the Americans, and armed guards were posted to protect those detailed to shore duty. By May 18 the water casks had been filled, the spars positioned, and the ship weighed anchor. [20]

2. Captain Jonathan Winship

In 1805 another American ship, O'Cain, visited the Humboldt Coast. Capt. Jonathan Winship in that year left Boston, took his vessel around Cape Horn, and on to the Sandwich Islands. From there he plotted a course to New Archangel, where he contacted Alexander Baranof of the Russian-American Company. Baranof agreed to furnish Winship a number of his Aleut Indians with their bidarkas to go to Alta California to hunt sea otter. The profits would be divided between Winship and the Russian American Company.

O'Cain reached the Humboldt Coast in June, and on the 10th she anchored north of Trinidad Bay. A party led by Winship went ashore and found a sound which they named "Washington Inlet," today's Big Lagoon. A large number of Indians were camped upon its shores, while sea otter and seal were numerous. The next day O'Cain hoisted her anchor and beat her way down the coast and entered Trinidad Bay. A vigorous trade with the Indians was inaugurated, the natives having a large surplus of fur. After about a week, the Indians, their number having increased to about 200, began to grow hostile. Trading was then conducted on the beach, under cover of O'Cain's guns. On June 22, rather than chance a fight, Captain Winship determined to abandon the area. O'Cain accordingly put to sea, after first filling her water casks and laying in a good supply of fish. [21]

Winship returned to the Humboldt Coast in 1806, where he entered and charted Humboldt Bay. The Indians, having learned of the troubles of the previous year, were hostile to the Americans and their confederates—the Aleut hunters. [22]

During the next several years, the Humboldt Coast was visited by other vessels engaged in the sea otter trade. O'Cain, herself, was on the coast again in 1809, 1810, and 1811, and other ships are known to have operated in the area. The crew of O'Cain in 1809 secured 2,782 sea otter pelts. No conclusive evidence has been found that any vessel anchored in Humboldt Bay from Winship's visit in 1806 until its rediscovery by the Americans in 1850. [23]

J. THE RUSSIANS OFF the HUMBOLDT COAST

The Russians, in the years 1803-1805, had reconnoitered the Humboldt Coast. In 1805-1806 Nikolai Resanov, the Russian Imperial Chamberlain, visited New Archangel and the California coast. This led the Tsar's government to adopt a twofold course of action. On one hand steps were taken to develop trade with the Spanish settlements in California, and on the other an expedition would be fitted out to establish a Russian settlement, which could serve as a base of supplies for their Alaskan bases. A trusted official of the Russian-American Company, Ivan Kuskov, accordingly outfitted a ship. While the purpose of the expedition was said to be the hunting of sea otter, Kuskov was to pinpoint a site for the projected settlement. Sailing from New Archangel, in October 1808, Kuskov took his vessel down the coast, making his first landing on Trinidad Bay.

The Russians found the sea otter population decimated and the Indian villages deserted. Unimpressed with the area, Kuskov continued southward and anchored in Bodega Bay. For a number of years, the Russians occupied Fort Ross and Bodega Bay, but the Humboldt Coast appears to have held no attraction. There is no record of any Russian visits to that region, after Kuskov's voyage in the vessel Kodiak. [24]

K. THE SCHOONER COLUMBIA in TRINIDAD BAY

In 1817 the British schooner Columbia anchored in Trinidad Bay. On doing so, the sailors found the bay full of high rocks, which served as roosting places for thousands of birds. The Indians had returned to their villages, and hardly had the anchors been dropped before the vessel was surrounded by canoes. As a precautionary measure, boarding nets were triced up, all ports except one closed, and the canoes were swept to the starboard beam. Trading was then commenced, the British receiving a few furs in exchange for "pieces of iron-hoop, cut to six-inch lengths." The Indians also brought aboard "plenty of red deer and berries."

In the afternoon, several women made their appearance, and despite offers of blankets. and axes, refused to come aboard. It was apparent to the British that the Indians had not "had much communications with Europeans, as they did not know the use of firearms; nor have they any iron among them." Their daggers were made of stone, and they were: "clothed in dressed leather apparel, prettily ornamented with shells." The women wore a "finely dressed leather petticoat," which reached halfway down the leg, and "a square garment of the same thrown loosely over the shoulders." Their tongues and chins were tattooed.

Ashore the British found the cross erected by Bodega 37 years before. After having purchased all the pelts the Indians had for sale, the anchors were weighed on July 24. Columbia experienced considerable difficulty in beating her way out to sea. The crew was glad to leave the area, because the Indians were the most savage tribe on the coast. [25]

L. COMMENTS and RECOMMENDATIONS

Included within the Redwood National Park are miles of magnificent seacoast. This seacoast with its rocks, cliffs, beaches, driftwood, and surf constitutes a tremendously valuable resource. The Service must take advantage of this resource to interpret for the enjoyment of the visitor the early voyages of daring navigators and explorers to the Humboldt Coast, and the initial contact of Caucasians with the Indians of today's Del Norte and Humboldt counties. This interesting and vital story can be told at the Visitor Center, at field interpretive stations overlooking the Pacific Ocean, or in both areas.

ENDNOTES

1. J. R. Moriarty and M. Keistman, A New Translation of the Summary Log of the Cabrillo Voyage in 1542 (San Diego, 1963), pp. 39-41; Hubert H. Bancroft, The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, 38 vols. (New York, 1967), 18, 69-79; Chad L. Hoopes, Lure of Humboldt Bay Region (Dubuque, 1966), p.3.

2. Moriarty & Keistman, A New Translation, p. 44.

3. Owen C. Coy, The Humboldt Bay Region, 1850-1875: A Study in the Colonization of California (Los Angeles, 1929), p. 18; George Davidson, "Francis Drake on the Northwest Coast of America in the Year 1579," Transactions and Proceedings of the Geographical Society of the Pacific (San Francisco, 1908), 5, Series 2, 113-133, 219-226. Davidson has identified this bay as Chetko Cove, Oregon.

4. Davidson "Discovery of Humboldt Bay," Transactions, 2, No. 1, 2-3,

5. William L. Schurz," The Manila Galleon and California," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly (1917), 21, 107-126.

6. Richard Hakluyt, The Third and Last Volume of the Voyages, Navigations, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation (London, 1599-1600), p. 446.

7. Coy, Humboldt Bay Region, pp. 19-20. Cape Mendocino was named for Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain from 1535-1550.

8. H. R. Wagner, Spanish Voyages to the Northwest Coast of America (San Francisco, 1929), p. 157.

9. Ibid., p. 32.

10. "Vizca&icaute;ino's Dairy," found in Herbert E. Bolton, Spanish Exploration in the Southwest, 1542-1706 (New York, 1916), p. 102.

11. Coy, The Humboldt Bay Region, pp. 21-22.

12. Francisco Antonio Mourelle, Journal of Voyage in 1775, to Explore the Coast of America Northwest of California . . . (London, 1780), pp. 13-23.

13. Ibid.

14. Ibid.; Coy, The Humboldt Bay Region, pp. 13-23.

15. Bancroft, The Works of Bancroft, 18, 242-243

16. Coy, The Humboldt Bay Region, p. 25; Francisco Palou, Relacion Historica de la Vida y Apostolicas Tareas de Venerable Padre Fray Junipero Serra (Mexico City, 1787), pp. 170-172.

17. George Vancouver, A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World; in the Years 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794 and 1795 (London, 1795), 2, 200, 245. Vancouver had two ships—Discovery and Chatham.

18. Bancroft, The Works of Bancroft, 18, 510-513.

19. Ibid., 2, 239-249.

20. William Shaler, "Journal of a Voyage Between China and the Northwest Coast."

21. "Solid Men of Boston in the Northwest," MS, Bancroft Collection.

22. Davidson, "Discovery of Humboldt Bay," found in Humboldt Times, Feb. 23, 1898.

23. Coy, The Humboldt Bay Region, p. 29.

24. W. W. Elliott, History of Humboldt County California . . . Including Biographical Sketches (San Francisco, 1881), p. 36.

25. Peter Corney, Voyages in the Northern Pacific . . . (Honolulu, 1896), pp. 78-81.