The
Expedition
In
1775, the Viceroy of New Spain authorized Anza to command an expedition
escorting soldiers and their families to occupy and settle the port of
San Francisco. Anza began to enlist volunteers in the large city of
Culiacán,
where poorer people might be likely to accept the rigors of an arduous
trek to start a new life. Recruits gathered at the Presidio of San
Miguel
de Horcasitas, Sonora's provincial capital. Anza chose as his
lieutenant
José Joaquín Moraga. Friar Pedro Font, a Franciscan
missionary,
was picked as expedition chaplain for his ability to read latitudes.
The
final staging area was Tubac. Apaches had driven off the entire herd of
500 horses three weeks prior to the expedition's arrival, forcing it to
continue with no fresh mounts. Food supplies included six tons of
flour,
beans, cornmeal, sugar, and chocolate, loaded on and off of pack mules
every day. Materials from cooking kettles to iron for making horseshoes
added more tonnage. The commander and his servants had a tent, as did
Padre
Font and his assistants. The families, cowboys, muleteers, and soldiers
shared ten tents among them.
Over
240 people set out from Tubac on October 23, 1775. The first night out,
the group suffered its only death en route when María Manuela
Piñuelas
died from complications after childbirth. Her son lived. Two other
babies
born on the trip brought the total number of settlers to 198. Of these,
over half were children 12 years old and under.
The
expedition continued down the Santa Cruz River to its junction with the
Gila River. While they camped, Anza, Font, and a few soldiers visited
Casa
Grande, which was already known as an ancient Indian site. They
followed
the Gila to the Colorado River crossing, one birth occuring along the
way.
They were assisted in crossing the Colorado by Olleyquotequiebe
(Salvador
Palma), chief of the Yumas (Quechan), whose tribe had befriended Anza
on
his 1774 trek.
As
the route headed through the sand dunes and deserts of southeastern
California,
the journey became more difficult. To better secure forage and water
during
one of the coldest winters on record, Anza divided the expedition into
three groups, each traveling a day apart to allow water holes to refill.
They
regrouped near what is now Anza Borrego Desert State Park. On Christmas
Eve they welcomed another birth and reached Mission San Gabriel
Arcángel
on January 4, 1776. From there they followed known trails through
Indian
villages along the coast of California, visiting Mission San
Luís
Obispo de Toloso and San Antonio de Padúa, to arrive at Monterey
and nearby mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on March 10.
Anza
then took a small group to explore San Francisco Bay, where he chose
sites
for the presidio and the mission. Following orders to explore the
"River
of Saint Francis," he traveled the east side of San Francisco Bay
before
turning south to return to Monterey.
On
April 14, 1776, Anza left Monterey for Mexico City and a later
appointment
as governor of New Mexico. In June, Lieutenant Moraga brought the
settlers
from Monterey to San Francisco Bay to build the presidio and found the
mission.
Significance
Anza
successfully opened an overland route of emigration and supply from
Sonora
to the missions and settlements of Alta California. He confirmed that
San
Francisco Bay was a great harbor.
The
soldiers and families that Anza escorted brought with them their
language,
traditions, and diverse New World Hispanic culture. The backgrounds of
all soldiers and settlers were carefully recorded as español,
mulato
or mestizo. Almost all the expedition members were born on this
continent
and had mixed European, African or Indian parentage. These influences
changed
the lives of the indigenous peoples and shaped the development of
Arizona
and California.
The
route Anza opened supplied the settlements of Alta California long
enough
for them to become established. In 1781, the Yumas revolted against
Spanish
rule and closed the route during the rest of the colonial period. In
later
years, Anza's trail served the military, settlers, cattlemen,
forty-niners
and other desert travelers.
Additional
Reading
Herbert
Eugene Bolton, Editor, Anza's California Expeditions, 5 Volumes,
Berkeley,
CA, 1933.
Don Garate,
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, Southwest Parks and
Monuments
Association, 1994.
Richard
F. Pourade, Anza Conquers the Desert, Copley Books, 1971.
