8 o'clock
They wore their laciest mantillas , silkiest gowns and daintiest footwear to impress the alien invader . And , beside their equipages , like outriders in the cortege of a queen , caballeros and vaqueros sat their caracoling steeds . Sailors from the trade and whaling ships , trappers , hunters and the motley populace of Yerba Buena made a colorful and strangely varied picture , as they gathered with the rancheros about the Plaza . At 8 o'clock four boats descended simultaneously from the Portsmouth 's sides . They were greeted by loud cheers from the Americans on shore and watched with excited interest by the others . The boats landed their crews near the spring where a sort of wharf had been constructed . They returned for more and finally assembled seventy marines , a smaller number of sailors and the ship 's band .