114 VOYAGE OF JUAN PEREZ. [1774. 



of the permission, and those who did so, for the most part, sunk into 

 sloth and misery, or returned to the wilds, and resumed the savage 

 life. In the latter cases, the Spaniards employed every means in 

 their power to retake the fugitives, who were, indeed, often sent 

 back by the barbarians, as unworthy of enjoying the privileges of 

 freemen. 



The Franciscans did not, like the Jesuits, exert themselves in 

 procuring information respecting the countries in which they 

 resided ; and nothing has been learnt from them of the geogra- 

 phy or natural history of the part of California which they occupied. 

 In 1775, Friars Font and Garzes travelled, by land, from Mexico, 

 through Sonora, and the country of the Colorado River, to the 

 mission of San Gabriel, in California, making observations on their 

 way, with the view to the increase of intercourse between Mexico 

 and the establishments in the latter region. They were, however, 

 coldly received by their brethren, who informed them that they had 

 no desire to have such communications opened ; and their journal 

 was never made public. In the same year, Friars Dominguez and 

 Escalante, of the same order, attempted to penetrate westward 

 from Santa Fe, in New Mexico, to the Pacific ; but, after proceed- 

 ing about half the distance, they turned back. The journals of 

 both these expeditions are still preserved, in manuscript, in Mexico, 

 where they have been consulted by Humboldt and other travellers ; 

 but they are, from all accounts, of no value. 



Between 1774 and 1779, three exploring voyages were made, 

 by order of the Spanish government, in which the west coasts of 

 America were examined, as far north as the 60th degree of latitude. 



The first of these voyages was conducted by Ensign Juan Perez, 

 who had been long employed in the Manilla trade, and afterwards 

 in the vessels sailing between San Bias and the new establishments 

 on the Californian coast. He was accompanied by Estevan Marti- 

 nez, as pilot, and Friars Pena and Crespi, as chaplains, from whose 

 journals, as well as from those of the commander, the following 

 account of the voyage is derived.* 



Perez sailed from San Bias in the corvette Santiago, on the 25th 



* The authorities for the account of this expedition are — the Narrative composed by- 

 Perez for the viceroy — the Journal of Friar Tomas de la Peria — and the Observations 

 of the pilot Martinez — manuscript copies of which have been procured from Madrid. 

 The Journal of Friar Crespi was examined by Humboldt, who has given some par- 

 ticulars derived from it in his Essay on Mexico. Of this voyage no account was ever 

 given to the world until 1802, when a short notice of it appeared in the Introduction 

 to the Journal of the Sutil and Mexicana. 



