Laut, New York, 1908; History of California by H. H. Bancroft; Treaties
of Navigation, Cabrera Bueno, Translation, Dalrymple, London, 1790; The
Discovery of San Francisco Bay, George Davidson, and Francis Drake on
the Northwest Coast of America in 1579, the same author; Proceedings of
the Geographical Society of the Pacific.

In view of the forthcoming Portola Festival, The California Promotion
Committee, through its Reception Committee, appointed three of its
members to compile a history of the first expedition for the settlement
of California. In the endeavor to obtain further knowledge of the life
and character of Portola, the committee has been enabled, through the
efforts of one of its members, to have careful search made among the
archives of Madrid, of the India Office at Saville, of the City of
Mexico, and of Puebla, and while we have little to show, as yet,
concerning Portola, we have received other documents of the utmost
importance to the history of San Francisco: a chronicle of the events
following the discovery of the Bay.

By royal edict, a maritime expedition for the exploration of the
northwestern coasts of America sailed from San Blas early in the year
1775. This consisted of the frigate Santiago, under the
commander-in-chief, Don Bruno de Heceta; the packet boat San Carlos,
under Lieutenant Ayala, and schooner Sonora, under Lieutenant Bodega. To
Lieutenant Ayala was assigned the exploration of the Bay of San
Francisco, while the Santiago and the Sonora sailed for the north.
Bodega discovered the Bay which bears his name, and Heceta (to spell his
name as it is usually written) discovered the Columbia River. Bancroft
(History of California), in giving Palou's Vida as authority for his
short and incorrect account of Ayala's survey, says: "It is unfortunate
that neither map nor diary of this earliest survey is extant." It is