Remember Father Crespi

In the 16th and 17th centuries, exploring the California coastline by ship was a difficult task. It was made difficult by the prevailing southerly currents, and the huge masses of floating seaweed that were prevalent near the coastline. These masses of seaweed are described in the logs of Rodrigues Cabrillo (1542), Sir Francis Drake (1579), and many other ships that tried to approach the coast of California during that time.

In response to Russian encroachment from the north, it became imperative for the Spanish to strengthen their claim to “Alta California,” and On July 14th, 1769, an overland expedition led by Gaspar de Portola set out from what is now “Old Town,” in San Diego, to explore the northerly coastline of California. A little known Franciscan Monk by the name of Juan Crespi accompanied the party. Juan Crespi kept a diary of the entire journey, and even took daily compass readings to include in his notes. From those compass readings, it is possible, with the use of Google Earth, to follow the trek up the coastline of California along what would later become El Camino Real (The Royal Road). El Camino Real is the trail that connected all 21 Missions. A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to read Juan Crespi’s journal and retrace that journey.

I mention all this because there are a couple of very interesting accounts mentioned by Father Crespi. The first thing that surprised me was the mention of a vast Grizzly Bear population around the San Francisco Bay area. After the party reached what is now Monterey, the local Indians warned them not to proceed, as they were going to enter an area of extreme danger. Even the local tribes would not venture into the area. As we all know, the party did continue on, all the way to the San Francisco Bay, but they hugged the shoreline as much as possible and only had a few encounters with the bears.

The second thing that intrigued me was the mention of what appeared to be a tribe of gay Indians! They were obviously a part of the local tribe, but maintained a village separate from the main group. In his journal, Father Crespi indicated that most of the men wore female attire and conducted themselves in a very feminine manner. I find this interesting because it is the first time that I have ever heard of gay Indians, and that they existed so near to what would later become a Mecca for the gay population, San Francisco! Is this pre-destiny in action?

Although Crespi’s superior, Father Junipero Serra got all the credit for establishing the California Missions, it was Father Crespi who made the first trek and, in his journal, suggested most of the suitable locations for them.