es a most glowing description
of the bay, which is, at best, but an open roadstead. The Indians, as
usual, told him of large cities in the interior, which they invited him
to visit, but Vizcaino could not tarry. His provisions were almost gone,
his men were sick with scurvy, of which many had died, and putting the
most helpless on board the Santo Tomas, he sent her to Acapulco for
aid, and sailed, January 3, 1603, with the flagship and fragata, for
the north. A storm soon separated the vessels and they did not see each
other again until they met in the harbor of Acapulco. 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.

At last the Spanish king began to realize that if he would retain his
possessions in America, some action was necessary for their protection.
Spanish sovereignty in the Pacific was threatened. The Russians had
crossed Bering Sea, had established themselves on the coast of Alaska,
and their hunters were extending their purs