The morning call., 1892-09-29
San Diego Sees Once More the Coming
Of the Bold Navigator.
MEETING OF THE PAST And PRESENT
4 Chest Of Yesterday Comes 10 Clasp Hands With
To.Day Upon The ShGreS Of the Beautiful
Bay Of The SiIveF Gate.
Special to THE MORNING CALL.

SAN DIEGO, Sept 2S.-The three hundred
and fftieth anniversary of Cabrillo's dis
cOvery of San Diego Bay opened with the
promise of a dull. cloudy day. but long be-
fore the hour appointed for the landing of
the Portuguese fisherman who lmpefson-
ated the dlsc0yerer the sun came out, and
everybody hastened to take up position
commanding the best possible view of this,
the inaugural part Of the celebration. 1t
had been fixed for 10 80 o'clock A. NJ, but
at that hour the carayel Of Cabrillo was
still lying unnOticed and almost uudiStin-
guishable among the crowd of small boats
and coasters at the foot of b street. The
earavel itself was metamorphosed out of an
old Chinese junk which has been plying
around San Diego Bay for a number Of
years.
Tie wharves Immediately adjacent to the
landing place were tbroDged with people,
and as several of them were b0at-aDdings,
built in frail style for the accommodation
of pleasure boats, there were several acci-
dents. About twenty feet OF PaYlSon's
wharf collapsed bodily and four women
were thrown into the water They were
promptly rescued and behaved with remark
able coOness. even at the critical time when
they were dragged into skiffS and padded
ashore with the consciousness of days
pleasure spoiled and innumerable opportu-
mites for fun and filtration irretrievably
lost.
The promoters of tie celebration are wild
with Joy. Last night they were happy in the
conviction that there were at least 5000 to
10000 visitors In town. This morning from
fifty to sixty coaches came In on special
trains from Los Angeles and other points,
and the people from the county arrived in
blocks of fives from daybreak 10 noon, so
that on the most conservative estimate
there were $4,000 strangers and visitors on
the streets when Cabriilo landed, and the
business of the day began precisely at IL
O'Clock.
The exact spot where the representative
OF Cabrlllo landed was between ID and Il
streets, near the old Excelsior boat house.
There he was met by the Governors staff
and about 100 Indians. The bucks were
gotten up fearlessly and Enthusiastically.
Nude TO the waistband and tatooed at that /:
from the knees downward those who did
not go absolutely barefoot looked like Stone
wall Jackson's foot cavalry" after the flank
march which demoralized the eleventh corps
at Charlottesville.
Joe Williams, who is Portuguese notwith-
standing mis- name, was very we'll made up
as CabrilU He wore black cloak of silk
with bright yellow lining, and black vest
and knee -breecbes, and the banner which
be carried was Of bright gold with two hori-
zontal bars of red. Turning to the assem-
bled Indians lie uplifted the cross hilt OF his
sword. and with il traced in the sand the
figure Of cross. Then he read the procla-
nation by which he took possession of the
port destined by the Creator above all
others as the sailors refuge and rest" The
Indians knelt as he did so.
The reading of the proclamation occupied
quite considerable time, during which the
crowd approached nearer to the circle of
Indians, crowding them considerably The
realism of the picture was, perhaps. some
what marred. although not altogether de-
stroyed, by the anachronism inevitably pre-
seated by the presence of the Governors
staff and number of United States officers
in uniforms Immediately behind Cabrillo
and his sailors, and still more by the we'll
defined outline of the United States cruiser
Charleston off the Santa Fe wharf close by.
The gulf of $50 years between the San
Diego Of 1912 and the San Diego Of 1892
could not. however, be more fitly illustrated
than by the contrast between the little
caravel of Cabrlio and the floating fortress,
the triumph of mechanical and engineering
skill, which was embodied in the Charles
ton, the pride and JOY of San Francisco's
men OF "blut und eisen."