Page 28 - Historical Study of Yerba Buena Island, Treasure Island and Their Buildings

Ayala north by sea with the same purpose. Ayala made the first confirmed sea entry into San
Francisco Bay aboard the San Carlos. He was the first to survey and map the Bay and initially
name the islands within it. The San Francisco Presidio and Mis_sion were established in 1776 by
Juan Bautista Anza. Both establishments struggled at first, but eventually prospered and grew in
importance to the region.

News of the successful Mexican Revolution of 1821 reached California in 1822, and the Spanish
leaders promptly acceded to the new Mexican government. This new successor government had
many of the same concerns as the old Spanish government. Mexico wanted to ensure that its
claims in the Alta California area were maintained. During his two years of service, Governor
Jose Figueroa (Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1833 till his death in 1835) sent
General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (later to be the last Mexican Governor of Alta California) to
Alta California. His mission was to investigate the Russian venture at Fort Ross and
countercolonize the area. General Vallejo reported that Fort Ross was basically a fur gathering
base and not really a threat to their claims. However, he did establish settlements at Petaluma
and Santa Rosa. His own rancho was located in what is now the town of Sonoma. The house he
built and lived in is maintained as a museum today.

Another action of Governor Figueroa was to order the secularization of the missions in Alta
California_ This was actually against his recommendation, but it was ordered by the Mexican
government in Mexico City. This order resulted in the earliest of the treasure stories of Y erba
Buena. (Ref. H). The story is told that in 1833, when word of the coming secularization reached
the padres at Mission San Dolores, they packed up all the gold and silver altar pieces used in the
church and put them aboard a ship for return to Spain. However, as soon as the ship left harbor,
a storm came up that blew the ship onto the shoals at Yerba Buena Island. Someone on the ship
removed the treasure from the sinking vessel and buried it on the island for safekeeping. Over
the years, the lost treasure of the Mission has never been found despite many searches.

A famous treasure story of Yerba Buena Island concerns a whaling ship. It had stopped at
Callao, Peru at the time of a local revolt against the Spanish rulers. Some of the rich folks
brought out two barrels of coins and a cask of jewels for the ship's captain to protect while they
put down the rebellion. The Captain got nervous and left. Upon his arrival in the San Francisco
Bay, he and two crewmen (one of whom was Charles Stewart) took the barrels and cask and
buried them on Y erba Buena Island. The Captain then sailed his whaling ship to the Arctic and
never returned. However, Charles Stewart had jumped ship before it sailed from San Francisco.
Though he lived in the Bay Area for the rest of his life, he claimed to have taken an oath not to
reveal the location of the treasure and being an "honorable man", he refused to divulge the secret
and took it to his grave. The treasure (if it actually exists) remains buried on Yerba Buena
Island.

The most common "treasure", however, to be actually buried on the island was opium. Until the
Navy moved onto Yerba Buena Island in 1899, the island was used extensively by smugglers.
Once the lighthouse keeper nearly caught a group of smugglers, but by the time he got his gun,
they were off the shore and pulling oars for San Francisco. (Ref. E).

Early local settlers heard of a legend about a race of giants living on Y erba Buena Island. The
legend was born from the finding of several skeletons on the island that measured 6'6" and taller,
though no giants had ever been seen by Europeans. The skeletons were found in 1899 during the

September I, 1995 Historical Study of Yerba Buena Island, 1-5
Treasure Island, and their Buildings