noon
Wind and tide served , and in a few minutes the Lively Polly rounded the point , and looking back , I saw the yellow haze of the afternoon sun sifted sleepily over all the place ; the knots of white-clad people standing statuesque and motionless as they gazed ; the flag of Mexico faintly waving in the air ; and with a sigh of relief slumbrous veil seemed to fall over all the scene ; and as our boat met the roll of the current outside the headland , the gray rocks of the point shut out the fading view , and we saw the last of San Ildefonso . Captain Booden had gathered enough from the people to know that we were somewhere south of San Francisco -LRB- the Lively Polly had no chart or nautical instruments on board of course -RRB- , and so he determined to coast cautiously along northward , marking the shore line in order to be able to guide other navigators to the harbor . But a light mist crept down the coast , shutting out the view of the headlands , and by midnight we had stretched out to sea again , and we were once more out of our reckoning . At daybreak , however , the fog lifted , and we found ourselves in sight of land , and a brisk breeze blowing , we soon made Pigeon Point , and before noon were inside the Golden Gate , and ended our long and adventurous cruise from Bolinas Bay by hauling into the wharf of San Francisco . I have little left to tell . Of the shameful way in which our report was received , every newspaper reader knows . At first there were some persons , men of science and reading , who were disposed to believe what we said .