cing season
should expose them to the danger of having the passes of the sierra
closed by snow, as even at San Diego those who came by sea reported the
sierras covered with snow on their arrival in April.

On the 14th of July, Portola began his march to Monterey, distant one
hundred and fifty-nine leagues. His force consisted of Sergeant Ortega,
with twenty-seven soldados de cuera under Rivera, Fages with six Catalan
volunteers--all that could travel, Ensign Costanso, the priests, Crespi
and Gomez, seven muleteers, fifteen Christian Indians from the missions
of Lower California, and two servants--sixty-four in all. Both Fages and
Costanso were sick with scurvy, but joined the command notwithstanding.
The personnel of this expedition contains some of the best known names
in California. Portola, the first governor; Rivera, comandante of
California from 1773 to 1777, killed in the Yuma revolt on the Colorado
in 1781; Fages, first comandante of California, 1769-1773, governor,
1782-1790; Ortega, pathfinder, explorer, discoverer of the Golden Gate
and of Carquines Strait[14]; lieutenant and brevet captain, comandante
of the presidio of San Diego, of Santa Barbara, and of Monterey;
founder of the presidio of Santa Barbara and of the missions of San Juan
Capistrano and San Buenaventura. Among the rank and file were men whose
names are not less known: Pedro Amador, who gave his name to Amador
county; Juan Bautista Alvarado, grandfather of Governor Alvarado; Jose
Raimundo Carrillo, later alferez, lieutenant, and captain, comandante
of the presidio of Monterey, of Santa Barbara, and of San Diego, and
founder of the great Carrillo family; Jose Antonio Yorba, sergeant of
Catalonia volunteers, founder of the family of that name and grantee of
the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana; Pablo de Cota, Jose Ignacio Oliveras,
Jose Maria Soberanes, and others.

At San Diego, Portola left the sick under the care of the faithful
surgeon, Prat, and a guard of ten cuera soldiers; Captain Vila of the
San Carlos, with a few seamen; Frays Junipero Serra, Juan Vizcaino, and
Fernando Parron, a carpenter, a blacksmith, and a few Lower California
Indians, some forty persons in all. The governor also left with them
a sufficient number of horses and mules and about sixty loads[15] of
provisions. On July 16th, two days after the Portola expedition started,
Junipero founded, with appropriate ceremonies, the mission of San Diego
de Alcala, the first mission est