Instead of following
up the Santa Clara river, they crossed the Santa Susana mountains, into
the San Fernando valley, and followed down the Los Angeles river,
crossed the Santa Ana, January 18th, and reached San Diego, January 24,
1770, with the command in good health and without the loss of a man,
"with the merit of having been compelled to eat the flesh of male and
female mules, and with not having found the Port of Monterey, which we
judged to have been filled up by the great sand dunes which were in the
place where we had expected to find it."[38]
Portola found a joyful welcome at the little camp at San Diego. Many had
died, and Junipero and Father Parron were just recovering from scurvy.
No tidings were yet received from the San Antonio. The commander made a
careful inventory of supplies, and reserved enough to march to Velicata
in case the San Antonio did not appear when the remainder should be
exhausted. This, he calculated, would be a little after the middle of
March, and the 20th of that month was fixed as the date of departure,
very much to the disappointment of the priests.
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