en passing
over." They rushed back to the seashore, waving their hats and
shouting. Then the whole party crossed over from Halfmoon Bay into the
valley of San Mateo Creek. Thence they turned to the south to go
around the head of the bay, passing first over into the Canada del
Raymundo, which skirts the foot of the mountain. Soon they came down
the "Bear Gulch" to San Francisquito Creek, at the point where
Searsville once stood, before the great Potola Reservoir covered its
traces and destroyed its old landmark, the Portola Tavern. They
entered what is now the University Campus, on which columns of
ascending smoke showed the presence of many camps of Indians. These
Indians were not friendly. The expedition was out of provisions, and
many of its members were sick from eating acorns. There seemed to be
no limit to the extension of the Estero de San Francisco. At last, in
despair, but against the wishes of Portola, they decided to return to
San Diego. They encamped on San Francisquito Creek, and crossed the
hills again to Halfmoon Bay. Then they went down the coast by Point
Ano Nuevo, to Santa Cruz. At the Point of Pines they spent two weeks,
searching again everywhere for the Bay of Monterey.

At last they decided that Vizcaino's description must have been too
highly colored, or else that the Bay of Monterey must, since his time,
have been filled up with silt or destroyed by some earthquake. At any
rate, the bay between Santa Cruz and the Point of Pines was the only
Monterey they could find. According to Washburn, Vizcaino's account
was far from a correct one. It was no fault of Portola and Crespi
that, after spending a month on its shores, it never occurred to them
to recognize the bay.

On the Point of Pines they erected a large wooden cross, and carved on
it the words: "Dig at the foot of this and you will find a writing."

According to Crespi this is what was written:

"The overland expedition which left San Diego on the 14th of July,
1769, under the command of Don Gaspar de Portola, Governor of
California, reached the channel of Santa Barbara on the 9th of August,
and passed Point Concepcion on the 27th of the same month. It arrived
at the Sierra de Santa Lucia on the 13th of September; entered that
range of mountains on the 17th of the same month, and emerged from it
on the 1st of October; on the same day caught sight of Point Pinos, and
the harbors on its north and south sides, without discoverin