One Indian who carried his provisions on the end of a pole
invited us to eat some of them.

On or near Alameda Creek they met "about thirty Indians" (Anza says 40),
who greeted them peaceably. Font here notes that "their language is
distinct from all those we had formerly heard and is very ugly; and with
the gobbling which they made, all speaking together, it was very
disagreeable to the ears." Font also comments in another place on the
language: "The Indians whom we saw along here are totally distinct in
language from the previous ones." Since the Spaniards had been in
Costanoan territory for many days, they must have encountered a sharp
dialectic boundary at the southeastern corner of San Francisco Bay. Both
Anza and Font (F2) describe the incidents of this encounter in graphic
terms.

Two leagues beyond the creek (somewhere near Alvarado) a village without
people was seen. Then:

We traveled a league more and crossed another arroyo, where we
saw an abandoned village, and in a hut many birds stuffed with
grass, which some Indians had to hunt with. Here the soldiers
got some wild tobacco of which there was a considerable amount.

Although Font does not mention the exact number of villages seen, his
account in other respects closely parallels that of Anza and does
nothing to refute the statement that there were six villages between
Irvington and San Lorenzo.

On the appearance of these Indians Font and Anza are very positive.
Crespi had said the natives were light-colored. Font says (F2, p. 356),
"They are somewhat bearded, gentle, and very poor, but in color they are
the same as all the rest." Elsewhere he reiterates his opinion that
Crespi was mistaken. Anza adds, regarding appearance (A, p. 136):

The Indians who have been seen from the first arroyo forward are
not short haired like those from the Mission of San Antonio to
the port of San Francisco. These of which we are now speaking
wear their hair tied upon the very top of their heads where only
a piece of thread is to be seen.

The journey on April 1 brought Anza's party to camp on Rodeo Creek
(Bolton, 1930, II: 138n). It is noteworthy that these explorers saw
much more timber than had Crespi, or perhaps they were merely more
circumstantial in their account. Font (F2) says:

The road followed the foot hills of the range which I mentioned
on the 8th of March. In all its exterior this range has very few
t