Another example of historical coloring involves our perceptions of the early days of space travel. Following the return of the Apollo 12 Astronauts from the second lunar landing mission, the crewmen were televised in a worldwide broadcast with President Richard M. Nixon via a secured telephone connection to the White House. While awaiting the President’s arrival, the crew sat idly as television cameras focused on the planetary explorers, trapped behind the glass window of their quarantine trailer. As the world watched, Mission Commander Pete Conrad cupped his hand over the telephone receiver, turned away from the camera and whispered a comment to Command Module Pilot Richard Gordon. The public would never hear his remark, which was later revealed to me: “See Dick, I told you if you stuck with me you’d be farting through silk.” I obviously never met George Washington, but I did get to know Pete Conrad extremely well and humor was a hallmark of his personality. He was a brilliant astronaut, but he never let an opportunity for a joking comment pass him. I had heard this story before meeting him and it helped me to shape a more accurate image of his personality. I’ve always wished that I had read more such stories when I was in school, rather than the carefully woven images that my textbooks always seem to provide. When Pete later stepped foot on the moon, his historic first words spoken from the lunar surface were: “Whoopee.... Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me.” His humor shows the human side to those historic accomplishments.
With all of this in mind, the greatest weakness of Alcatraz – A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Yearsalso remains its principal strength. I felt it was important to capture the essence of the island’s history, but at the same time to ensure the integrity of the archival records. Above all, I had to resist the temptation to venture too deeply into the states of mind or the thought processes of the individuals involved, or to replace plain fact with entertaining narrative. The voices of Alcatraz are numerous and one simply cannot understand the complex history of the island by looking solely at any exclusive source. In my process of researching specific events, when the source materials provided little or no information, I turned to the excellent works that are listed in the bibliography to verify the chronology. These works have served to preserve the history of Alcatraz to the present day. It should also be noted that the bibliographic references provided herein serve as a map for those whose interests require a more expanded research base. Alcatraz – A Definitive Historyis intended as a source reference rather than a conclusive text. The history of Alcatraz is a fascinating window into one of the richest and debatably one of the darkest aspects of America’s history. I hope that this book will inspire you to read further on the subject and will help you to hear for yourself the many voices of Alcatraz, and their fascinating stories.
- Michael Esslinger
Discovery and Exploration
For centuries the bay of San Francisco lay hidden to passing ships, due to a unique illusion created by a small island that is known today as Alcatraz. This island positioned at the center of the bay and three miles inland from the Pacific Ocean was indistinctly visible from the misty coastline. The Rocky formations draped with gloomy vegetation blended in with the soft features of the East Bay Hills, screening the mouth of the elusive harbor.
A survey map from the 1800’s showing Alcatraz Island set against the background of the East Bay Hills. This unique topography masked the small island and the San Francisco Bay from early explorers.
Spanish Explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo.
In 1542 Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of New Spain, commissioned a Spaniard named Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo to explore the northern reaches of the colony’s west coast.Following the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492, a steady stream of explorers had charted expeditions to the New World in search of gold, and to claim territory for their rulers. Mendoza was lured by their tales of magnificent wealth in this unexplored territory, with coastlines said to be rich with pearls, and interiors abundant with precious gold. The main purpose of the expedition, however, would be to seek out the legendary waterway called the Strait of Anián, known to English explorers as the Northwest Passage. For centuries, voyagers had dreamed of a westward route to Asia through the waters of North America, but their expeditions had often ended in disaster.
There is little known about Cabrillo’s early life and the factual traces that remain are debated by historians. It is believed that he was born in Portugal between 1498 and 1500 and spent most of his life in military service. Historical records in the Spanish archives maintain that in 1520, Cabrillo accompanied Panfilo de Naravaez in an unsuccessful attack against Hernán Cortés, the conqueror of Mexico’s Aztec Empire – though this is disputed by equal numbers who believe that Cabrillo fought alongside Cortés. Some references suggest that Cabrillo himself served as Governor of Guatemala and was one of the conquerors of the Central American region including Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Many historians believe that Cabrillo’s interest in exploring the northern coast originated with Cortés. In 1522 Cortés had built a shipyard at Zacatula on the Pacific coast of Mexico, as a base from which to send out expeditions to chart the Pacific. Building the ships proved problematic, and by the time they had managed to produce seaworthy vessels in 1526, the King of Spain ordered them sent to the South Pacific. Cabrillo was destined to command one of history’s most daring voyages of discovery and became the first European to explore the northern coastline.
On June 27, 1542, Cabrillo departed from Navidad (known today as Acapulco) in a small sailing vessel christened the San Salvadoraccompanied by a support vessel named the Victoria. His ships were equipped with modern weapons of the era – cannons, swords, and crossbows – and loaded with massive food rations. The San Salvadorwas also loaded with trade goods as the explorers hoped to return from their voyages bearing treasure. Cabrillo was instructed by Mendoza to maintain records regarding which trade goods proved most popular for the benefit of future expeditions.
Blessed with strong and steady winds, they journeyed north along the North American coast, staking claim to prominent territories along the way. Cabrillo and his crew of nearly one hundred men made few stops to explore the interior of his newfound claims, which were known as Alta California.
The expedition resulted in extensive charting of the Pacific territories, but it also conveyed a myriad of mapping inaccuracies. The explorers aboard the San Salvadorsailed past Monterey and the San Francisco Bay without even noticing them. Although Cabrillo was noted as a distinguished navigator, references indicate that his course-plotting logs erred by one to two degrees of latitude. This was likely the result of an inaccurately calibrated compass. Navigation was further complicated by inclement weather, which did not allow for reliable sextant readings. Several months into the voyage the crew would also endure violent storms, as described on November 11, 1542 in a post summation ship’s log written by a scribe:
The weather from south-southeast worsened so much with rain in the southwest, and darkness, that they could not have a palm of sail and were forced to run with a close-reefed piece of sail on the foremast, with much work all night, and on Sunday the weather grew so much worse that day and night were ruined, and it continued until Monday at midday. The storm was as violent as any could be in Spain, and on Saturday night the ships lost sight of each other.