he did obey its
contents and in its provisions it was ordered that Lieutenant-Colonel
Don Gaspar de Portola be given possession of said office, and for that
purpose, said noble corporation went out with the heralds to bring him
to this hail of sessions, and when he was in, a notary-public having
certified to his identity, he swore to use faithfully and well the
office of Governor, doing justice, punishing, and not burdening the
poor with excessive taxes; to keep and cause to be kept, the rights,
privileges, royal decrees and ordinances, etc."

"Having signed the oath, the president gave him the cane of Royal
justice, by which the act of possession was completed."

In the same volume many decrees and ordinances are signed by Portola as
Governor of Puebla.

That in the year 1779, Portola was still Governor of Puebla is proved by
two original manuscripts in possession of the writer. One is a circular
official notice to all the head authorities of Mexico, announcing the
death of Viceroy Frey Don Antonio Bucareli y Ursua, and shown herewith;
the other is a letter of Don Gaspar de Portola, dated April 17th, 1779.

Letter from the Viceroy of New Spain to Don Julian de Arriaga, Giving
an Account of the arrival at San Blas of the Packet Boat San Carlos,
Returning from the Survey of the Port of San Francisco. Document
Obtained from the Archives of the Indies, Seville.

"My Dear Sir:"

"By courier sent to me from San Blas, I have just learned that the royal
packet-boat San Carlos, under command of Lieutenant of the frigate Don
Juan Manual Ayala, which with provisions and goods sailed for the harbor
of Monterey, thence to the port of San Francisco, anchoring on the 6th
inst. at San Blas."

"In the copies which I send herewith, of the extensive examination made
by this officer and his pilot, Don Jose Canizares, your Excellency will
see, in detail, all that was found advantageous, and the news obtained
gives knowledge of all that that vast port contains and the facilities
that is has to invernate[40] vessels. The docility and gentle manners
of the heathen that live in its vicinity inspire hopes in the utility
of the plan, on which I had previously determined, of colonizing this
land."

"The letter of this officer, a copy of which is also enclosed, confirms
everything, extolling the grandeur of the view of the port, the water,
wood, and ballast with which it abounds, and although the climate is
rather cold, it is he