i
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979.402
v.i GENEALOGY COLLECTION
1434022
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01114 9991
m
THE BEGINNINGS OF
SAN FRANCISCO
i lie
B eginnings of San Francisco
from tJift
Expedition of Anza, 1774
fn tne
City Charter of April 15, 18 "
With Bi^^^i^ .^ol2Hr 3^
By
ZoK : ; Skinner L
^
SAN rRANCISCO
ZOETH 8. ELDREDGE
1912
THE VISION OF ANZA
Drawn by Walter Francis.
The
Beginnings of San Francisco ^
from the
Expedition of Anza, 1774
to the
City Charter of April 15, 18^0
With Biographical and Other Notes
, 1
^iJ
t
By
( ,
ETH Skinner
K
LDREDGE
^
SAN FRANCISCO
ZOETH S. ELDREDGE
I9I2
Copyright, 191 2
By Zoeth S. Eldredge
San Francisco
Printed by
John C. Rankin Company
54 & 56 Dey Street
New York
1454022
VOLUME I.
CONTAINS
Contents
Introduction
Chapters I. to XII.
Notes I to 32
CONTENTS
Introduction 21
Chapter I.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO
1769
The Portola Expedition — Sergeant Ortega — The Deer Hunters —
Ortega's Progress Interrupted — The Bay from Telegraph Hill 31
Chapter II.
EXPLORATION OF THE BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO
1770-1775
A New Province of Spain — Expedition of Fages — Llano de Los
Robles — Rio de San Francisco — Expedition of Rivera — Camp of
the First Expedition — The Palo Alto — Canada de San Andres —
Cross on Point Lobos — Sea Expedition of Don Bruno de Heceta —
Lieutenant Ayala — The San Carlos Enters San Francisco Bay — Isla
de Los Angeles — Isla de Alcatraces — Bahia Redonda — Puerto
Duke — Laguna de la Merced 39
Chapter III.
EL CAMINO DEL DIABLO
1774
Juan Bautista de Anza — His First Expedition — Across the Papa-
gueria — Sonoyta — Camino del Diablo — Las Tinajas Altas — The
Colorado River — Palma, Chief of the Yumas — Anza Reaches the
End of the Known Trail 55
Chapter IV.
THE PASSAGE OF THE COLORADO DESERT
1774
Crossing the Rio Colorado — The Yuma Indians — March Down
the Colorado River — Laguna de Santa Olalla — Anza Essays the
Desert Without Guides — Lost in the Sand-hills — Narrow Escape
of the Expedition — Retreat to the River — Soldiers on Foot —
Palma Welcomes their Return — The Passage Accomplished 69
10 The Beginnings of San Francisco
CHAPTER V.
EL GAMING REAL
1774
Over the San Jacinto Mountains — The Royal Pass of San Carlos —
Down the San Jacinto River — Arrival at San Gabriel — Up the
Coast — San Luis Obispo — Mission of San Antonio — Down the Salinas
— Arrival at Monterey — Joy at the Presidio and Mission — Starts on
His Return — Meets Father Junipero — Fertility of California — Rejoic-
ing of the Yumas — Passage of the Colorado — Up the Rio Gila —
Peace Among the Tribes — Reaches Tucson — Arrival at Tubac 85
CHAPTER VI .
THE foundation OF SAN FRANCISCO
1775-1776
Anza Promoted — Authorized to Raise Company for San Francisco —
A Great Expedition — Pedro Font Named for Chaplain — The Start
from Horcasitas — Carion of San Ignacio — The Start from Tubac —
Reach the Gila — Sickness — Across the Desert of the Gila Bend —
Down the Gila — Welcomed by Captain Palma — Palma Desires
Missions on the Colorado — The Chief Decorated — Passage of the Rio
Colorado — Sufferings in the Desert — Passage of the Cordillera —
Heavy Loss of Cattle — Pass of San Carlos — Distress at Snow — Pas-
sage of the Rio de Santa Ana — Arrival at San Gabriel — Revolt at San
Diego — Rivera Asks for Loan of Troops — To San Diego — The
March to Monterey Resumed — San Buenaventura — Mescaltitan —
La Laguna (Santa Barbara) — San Luis Obispo — The Salinas Valley —
San Antonio — Arrival at Monterey — Father Junipero — Sudden Ill-
ness of Anza — Departs for Peninsula of San Francisco — San Benito —
Rio del Pajaro — Las Llages — Santa Clara Valley — San Francisquito —
Camp at Mountain Lake — Lobos Creek — Font's Description of the
Bay — Anza Selects Site for Fort and Presidio — Arroyo de los Dolores,
Site for Mission — Rio de Guadalupe — San Pablo Bay — Carquinez
Strait — Suisun Bay — San Joaquin River — Anza Sees the Sierra
Nevada — Puerto Dulce — Return to Monterey — A Sad Day at the
Presidio — Anza Starts on His Return to Tubac — Meets Rivera —
Discourtesy of Rivera — Perilous Crossing of the Rio Colorado — A
Long Swim — Across the Papagueria — San Miguel Horcasitas —
Anza's Character — Moraga Takes the Expedition to San Francisco —
Founding of the Presidio and Mission 99
Contents ii
CHAPTER VII.
COLONIZATION
1769-1836
The Mission Scheme of Colonization — Description of the Missions —
Their Great Wealth — Secularization Their Destiny — The Presidial
Soldiers — Settlers Enlisted — Founding of Los Angeles — Villa de
Branciforte — San Jose de Guadalupe — Land Grants to Settlers —
Artisans Imported — Convict Settlers — Costanso's Report — Military-
Establishment — Mission Lands — Decree of Scularization — Governor
Figueroa's Reglamento 155
CHAPTER VIII.
SECULARIZATION
Denunciation of the Secularization — De Mofras — Wilkes — Bryant —
Robinson — Government Control — Spain Announces the End for
which Missions were Established, and their Fulfilment — Seculariza-
tion No Wrong to the Church — Looting Begun — Hijar-Padres
Scheme — Figueroa Interferes — Missionaries Slaughter Cattle — Lands
and Property Distributed to Indians — Death of Figueroa — Adminis-
tration of Alvarado — Secularization a Benefit to California — ^The
Era of Missions closed 171
CHAPTER IX.
THE GOLDEN AGE
The California of the Spaniards — A Chain of Missions — Private
Ranchos in 1830 — Families of Soldiers — ^The Good Eatables of
California — ^The Remarkable Virtues of El Polin — Origin of the
Mission Grape — Founders of California Families — ^The Handsome
Hijo del Pais — The Courage of the Caballero — Beautiful Women —
Attempt to Establish Schools — Sola and Echeandea Interest Them-
selves in Education of the People — No Trade in California in Eight-
eenth Century — American Ships Visit California — Trade in Fur
Animals — Free Licences to Take Otter and Seals — Lima Traders —
Trade in Hides and Tallow — Boston Ships — Floating Shops —
Smuggling — Richard H. Dana, Jr. — Honest Trade Cannot Compete
with the Smugglers — First Land Grant — Reglamento of 1773 — Colo-
nists Encouraged — Land Grants to Foreigners — Foreigners Required
to Become Mexican Citizens — Limit to Size of Grants — Method
Followed in Obtaining Grants — American Immigrants — Comments
12 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of Bartlett, Simpson, and Others — Daughters of Bandini, Argiiello,
De la Guerra, Carrlllo, Vallejo, etc. — Marriage of Americans with
California's Daughters — Don Tomas Yorba — Costume of a Cali-
fornia Don — Women's Dress — Race Improvement in California —
Courtesy Universal — A Californian's Word — A Guaranty from
Agustin Machado — No Jail in San Francisco — California Hospitality. 1 85
CHAPTER X.
EDUCATION, TRADE, LAND GRANTS
The Soldier Schoolmasters — Limited Facilities for Learning — Borica's
Schools — Land Commission — Its Operation — Californians Lose Their
Lands 207
CHAPTER XL
SPANISH ADMINISTRATION
I 769- I 846
A Military Government — ^The Presidio — The Small Military Estab-
lishment — ^The Russians in California — Captain Bouchard — A Terri-
tory of the Republic — Revolt of Neophytes — Vallejo — Alvarado —
Isaac Graham — Expulsion of Gutierrez — Alvarado Made Governor —
California a Department — Forts Abandoned — Vallejo Asks to be
Relieved of Command — Arrivals of Armed Bands of Foreigners —
Micheltorena and His Cholos — Commodore Jones Takes Monterey —
Jones Apologizes — Micheltorena Driven Out 223
CHAPTER Xn.
THE FOREIGNERS (LOS EXTRANJEROS)
1795-1846
The Boston Nation — O'Cain Refused Permission to Settle — ^John
Gilroy — ^Thomas Doak — Number of Foreigners in 1820 — Richardson
— Livermore — First Trappers from United States — Jedediah Smith —
The Pattie Party — First Organized Overland Expedition — Search
for the Humboldt River — A Desperate Journey — John Bidwell —
Large Emigration from United States — Mexico Orders that no
Foreigners be Permitted to Enter California — John A. Sutter —
Sutter's Fort — Alvarado Arrests Foreigners — Americans Take Part
in Political Revolution — Action of Bear Flag Party — Fremont
and His Acts — Mormon Pilgrimage — Sloat Ends Bear Flag War —
Kearny in Command 243
Contents 13
CHAPTER XIII.
THE COMING OF THE ARGONAUTS
184^1850
Early Gold Discoveries — Discovery by Marshall on American Fork —
Mason's Report — Rush to the Mines — Desertions of Soldiers and
Sailors — Excitement in San Francisco — Military Force in California —
DifHculties of Civil Administration — General Smith Arrives — Pacific
Mail — First Steamer — Sufferings of Immigrants — ^The Overland
Route — Suffering in the Desert — Starvation, Cholera, Scurvy — The
Lassen Route — The Carson Route — ^Twenty Thousand Immigrants
in the Desert — Army Relief — Immigration of 1850 — More Suffer-
ing — Havoc Among Immigrants — Fifteen Thousand Starving — Im-
migrants Reach Sacramento Valley — Aid by Miners — Land Troubles
— Plan of Rob Roy — Halleck's Report — Mission Property Seized by
Immigrants — Mason Interferes — Foreigners Driven from Mines —
Lawlessness — General Riley Calls for Delegates to Constitutional
Convention — Prominent Men of the Convention — Constitution
Formed — Election of State Government — Riley Resigns to New
Government the Administration of Civil Affairs — Recklessness of
the Miners — Mingling of Classes — Advantages of Association 443
CHAPTER XIV.
EL PARAJE DE YERBA BUENA
1792-1839
The Anchorage of Yerba Buena Cove — George Vancouver — First
Structure at Yerba Buena — Vancouver Entertained — Kotzebue —
Morrell — Beechey — Dana — Richardson's Tent — The Vallejo Line —
Establishment of Ayuntamiento — Town Laid out by Richardson —
Leese Builds First House — Store on Beach — Nathan Spear — Kent
Hall — Hinckley 495
CHAPTER XV.
THE VILLAGE OF YERBA BUENA
1839-1846
Survey by Vioget — First Map of the Village — O'Farrell's Survey —
Richardson's Temescal — Fuller — Thompson — Davis — Hinckley's
Bridge at Lagoon on Montgomery Street — Ridley — Brown — Ports-
14 The Beginnings of San Francisco
mouth House — Leese Sells to Hudson's Bay Company — Visit of
Simpson — Death of Rae — Hudson's Bay Company Sells to Melius
and Howard — Juana Briones — Sherreback — Leidesdorff — City Hotel
• — First Steamer on Bay — Custom House — The Bad Taste of Ellis'
Whisky — W. D. M. Howard — First Brick Building — Noe — Guerrero
— George Hyde Succeeds Bryant — Arrival of Stevenson's Regiment —
Personnel of Officers — First Bank in San Francisco — The Russ
Family — Election of Town Council — Ratification of Peace 511
CHAPTER XVI.
THE CONQUEST
I 846- I 847
The Portsmouth at San Francisco — Montgomery Raises the Flag —
Militia Company Formed — Fort Montgomery — Arrival of the Brook-
lin — A Night Alarm — Bartlett Appointed Alcade — Visit of Stockton
— Capture of Alcalde Bartlett by the Enemy — The Battle of Santa
Clara — Bryant Succeeds Bartlett — George Hyde — Arrival of Steven-
son's Regiment — Personnel — Translation of Geographical Names. . . 539
CHAPTER XVH.
SAN FRANCISCO
1847-1850
Relief of Donner Party — Fourth of July — Population — Sale of Lots —
Peter Smith Sales — Limantour Claim — Santillan Grant — Beach and
Water Lots — Landing Place — First Wharf — Central Wharf — Other
Wharves — Building on Piles — Tehama House — Steinberger's Beef
Speculation — Vessels in Harbor — Over importation of Goods — Im-
prisoned Vessels — The Niantic — Abandoned Ships — Talbot H. Green
—Ward and Smith— The "New York Store"— The First Post-
master — Parker — DeWitt and Harrison — Hotels of San Francisco —
St. Francis — Ward House — Tehama — Union — Oriental — First News-
paper — Schools — Churches — Doctor Fourgeaud — Forty Thousand
Immigrants in San Francisco — Happy Valley — Pleasant Valley —
Spring Valley — Saint Ann's Valley — Early Construction — Fire — Fire
Department Organized — Improvement in Buildings — The Plague of
Rats — Dreadful Streets — People Drowned in Mud of Montgomery
Street — Town Full of Thieves and Gamblers — The Hounds — Hall
McAllister — Legislative Assembly — General Riley Pronounces the
Body an Unlawful Organization — Orders Election of Ayuntamiento —
Contents 15
Prefect Horace Hawes — John W. Geary — Prison Brig Euphemia —
Scarcity of Coin — Gold Dust as Circulating Medium — Profits of
Merchants — Prices of Commodities — Forced Sales of Cargoes — Fall
in Prices — Rents — Real Estate Prices — Potrero Laid Out — A Preach-
er's Dilemma — General Smith Reports Against San Francisco —
Removes Depot to Benicia — General Prosperity of City — Improve-
ment in Dress and Manners — The Gamblers — Washerwomen's
Lagoon — Honest Harry Meiggs — Excursion to Old Spanish Fort —
Road to Mission — Dignity of Labor — Drinking and Gambling —
Interest in Better Things — Growth of Civic Pride and Establishment
of Social Order — The Charter of 1850 563
I
NOTES
San Carlos Borromeo 269
2. Punta de los Reyes 272
3. Jose Francisco Ortega 274
4. San Buenaventura 276
5. Don Pedro Pages 277
6. The San Carlos, alias El Toison de Ore 279
7. Arizona 283
8. Francisco Eusebio Kino 284
9. Las Tinajas Altas 286
10. Captain Feo 288
11. The Royal Pass of San Carlos 289
12. Soldiers of the Expedition 291
1 3 . Bac — Tubac — Tucson 307
14. Destruction of the Missions of the Colorado 309
15. The Colorado Desert 315
16. Rio de Santa Ana 318
17. Santa Barbara 320
18. Mescaltitan 321
19. Junipero Serra 322
20. The Climate of San Francisco 324
21. Los Dolores 327
22. San Jose Guadalupe 331
23. Don Fernando Javier de Rivera y Moncada 334
24. The Colorado River 336
25. Lieutenant Charles Wilkes 339
26. Bucareli 343
27. Concepcion Argiiello 344
28. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo 346
29. Pio Pico 358
30. John A. Sutter 365 "^
3 1 . John C. Fremont 3 74
32. The Revolt of the Californians and the Affair at San Pedro 428
33. The Donner Party 627
34. The Overland Route 661
35. The Military Governors of California 668
36. Jacob Primer Leese 700
37. Stockton and the Conquest of California 702
38. Selim E. Woodworth 707
39. Sam Brannan 709
40. The Claim of Captain Phelps 712
16
APPENDIXES
A. The Presidio of San Francisco 717
B. The Streets of San Francisco 732
C. Bucareli to Rivera y^g
D. The Murder of Bcrreyesa and the De Haros 753
E. Bibliography 758
INDEX 760
17
INTRODUCTION
"Bells of the Past, whose long forgotten music
Still fills the wide expanse,
Tingeing the sober twilight of the Present
With the color of romance"
THE years following the discovery of America
witnessed scenes of marvellous adventure
and the new continent became a region of
wonder and mystery. No tale was too extrav-
agant for belief and by every ship from the New
World the store of marvels was increased. The lure of
gold and the glories of conquest drew adventurers from
all quarters of the kingdom of Spain. The needy gen-
tleman relied on his sword to carve out for him a for-
tune, if not a principality, and his humble follower
saw opportunity open before him and the possibility
of his being made a gentleman. Ponce de Leon
gave his life to the search for gold and for the foun-
tain of youth. The exploits of Cortes filled Spain
with amazement. Panfilo de Narvaez perished
miserably in an endeavor to conquer Florida, and
the waters of the Alississippi closed over the ambi-
tions and hopes of De Soto.
The bull of Pope Alexander VI. divided the New
World between Spain and Portugal, giving to Spain
all west of a line drawn, by agreement between the
two powers, from north to south three hundred
and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde islands —
about longitude 43° 15' west from Greenwich. The
English claimed the right to trade with all the Span-
21
22 The Beginnings of San Francisco
ish possessions by virtue of a treaty of trade and
amity made in the reign of Charles V., but Spain
disputed this interpretation of the treaty and main-
tained that there was "no peace beyond the Hne";
i. e. the Hne of Pope Alexander, a maxim which the
English freebooters turned against the Spaniards
and preyed upon and plundered their ships and
their possessions in the West Indies.
For more than two hundred years California re-
mained unexplored. It did not hold out the promise
of glory and riches such as fired the imagination of
the adventurers of the sixteenth century and it was
not until the latter part of the eighteenth century
that the king of Spain, warned by the openly expressed
hostility of the English cabinet towards the Bourbons
as well as by the steady advance of the Russians
on the Northwestern coast of America, realized that
military necessity demanded the occupation of long
neglected California and the establishment of an out-
post to show to the world that Spain would protect
her domain from invasion and insult. Though in
her decadence Spain still commanded the services
of warriors and statesmen.
This work is not a history of California, but in
accounting for the existence of San Francisco it has
been found necessary to give some brief statements
concerning the settlement of the country, the charac-
ter of its people, and the occurrences which pre-
ceded and led to the rise of the modern city. The
romance with which California history abounds adds
Introduction 23
much to its attractiveness, but however pleasing
tales of wonders and of marvelous adventure may be
to those Californians whose state pride is gratified
by having an interesting and romantic past added
to the glories of climate, scenery, and other attrac-
tions, such tales should not be permitted to usurp the
place or exclude matter of historical importance.
The romance of California history has been some-
what overdone by writers who, in their pursuit of
striking and romantic incident, have failed to under-
stand and appreciate the true significance of events,
and have, in consequence, spread before the people
a vast amount of misinformation and have raised
to the rank of heroes men of very ordinary attain-
ments, or those whose service to the state was of
doubtful honor, while overlooking men whose charac-
ter and achievement entitle them to the highest
place in the respect and esteem of the people. It
will be my duty and pleasure to remedy this mis-
conception of history so far as lies in my power.
This work is the result of a study of original docu-
ments and the statements of contemporary writers
and of actors in the events described; and it is none
the less interesting because true.
The passing of the great Spanish families closes a
period of California history. The Spanish era is a
memory of the past. Travelers tell us of a people of
Arcadian simplicity, of grace and dignity, who re-
ceived the stranger with courtesy and entertained
him with a hospitality that knew no bounds. Of
24 The Beginnings of San Francisco
these people, who came into an untamed country
and conquered it for civilization, the California of
to-day knows but little. Few are the citizens of
San Francisco who have even heard the name of
Juan Bautista de Anza, its founder. Yet he was a
gallant soldier and he executed with courage, energy,
and fidelity the difficult task entrusted to him by
his king, of bringing across deserts and overhigh
sierras the settlers for a city whose destiny neither
king nor captain could imagine. In making my
countrymen acquainted with this accomplished sol-
dier and gentleman I feel that I am doing them a
service.
After the American occupation San Francisco grew
rapidly, and with the immigration following the gold
discovery it suddenly became a large city, with all a
city's needs and perplexities. The thousands thus
thrown together had no thought for charters
or constitutions. They came only for gold, and then
for a quick return home. The disorders to be
looked for in such a community, formed of people
gathered from all parts of the world, made necessary
some form of organization for the protection of life
and property. The Americans were largely in the
majority and with their executive instinct for self-
government, order was gradually evolved from chaos.
Had Anza been gifted with prophetic vision as he
stood on the summit of the presidio hills, what a
strange sight would meet his eyes! He would see
spread before him, to the east and south, a great and
Introduction 25
beautiful city; under the shelter of the hills he would
see a great military camp, and floating above it a
strange flag, — the flag of a nation he knew not of:
a nation which at the time of his journey was in the
throes of parturition; beyond, he would see upon
the waters of the bay the traffic of a great seaport,
while upon the contra costa he would see other cities
Hning the shores for many miles. A mighty change
has taken place since he looked upon the solitude of
San Francisco bay. Plumed cavalier and bare-
footed friar are alike gone. The power of Spain has
departed and the youngest of the great nations of
the earth possesses the land.
San Francisco,
December 8, 191 1.
ILLUSTRATIONS
1. The Vision of Anza Frontispiece
2. Ayala's Map of San Francisco Bay Facing page 50
3. The Cementerio " " 58
4. Sand-hills of the Colorado Desert " " 76
5. Mud Volcanoes of the Colorado Desert " " 80
6. Carrizo Creek, Colorado Desert " " 82
7. A Soldado de Cuera " " 100
8. Routes of Anza's Expeditions " " 102
9. The Trail on the Gila " " 106
10. The Route Across the Colorado Desert " " 114
11. The Palo Alto. San Francisquito Creek " " 130
12. Font's Map of Entrance to San Francisco Bay " " 132
13. Font's Map of Explorations, Monterey to San Francisco. . " " 140
14. Mission of San Francisco de Asis " " 150
15. California Indians " " 224
16. Port of Monterey, 1846 " " 228
17. Port of San Diego, 1840 " " 230
18. Vallejo Reviewing His Troops at Sonoma " " 232
19. The San Carlos Entering the Bay of San Francisco, 1775 . " " 280
20. Las Tinajas Altas. One of the Upper Tanks " " 286
21. Las Tinajas Altas. The Lower Tank " " 286
22. Laguna de Manantial " " 330
23. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo " " 346
24. Yerba Buena Cove and Island " " 496
25. Vancouver's Map of the Entrance to San Francisco Bay. . " " 498
26. Richardson's Plan of Yerba Buena, 1835 " " 504
27. San Francisco in 1837 " " 506
28. Jacob P. Leese " " 508
29. Rosalia Leese " " 508
30. Vioget's Survey of Yerba Buena, 1839 " " 512
31. The Alcalde Map of San Francisco, 1847 " " 514
32. San Francisco in 1846 " " 526
27
28 The Beginnings of San Francisco
33. Custom House, San Francisco Facing page 530
34. The Limantour Diseno " " 568
35. The Limantour Claim " " 570
36. New York Store, Montgomery Street " " 582
37. San Francisco in 1849 " " 596
38. Prison Brig Euphemia and Ship Apollo " " 606
39. The Overland Route, Missouri River to South Pass " " 662
40. The Overland Route, South Pass to California " " 662
41. Brigadier-General Stephen W. Kearny " " 670
42. San Pascual. The Charge of the Caballeros " " 678
43. Colonel Richard B. Mason " « 688
44. Brigadier-General Bennet Riley " " 692
45. Entrance to Bay of San Francisco in 1852 " " 720
46. Presidio of San Francisco in 1820 " " 722
47. The Military Reservation in 1847 " " 724
Chapter I.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE
BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO
1769
IN the beginning of the year 1769, Don Jose de
Galvez, visitador general of Spain and member
of the council of the Indies, sent an expedition
under command of Don Caspar de Portola to
take possession of and fortify the ports of San Diego
and Monterey in Alta California. The expedition
consisted of two sea and two land divisions with the
rendezvous at San Diego Bay. By the first of
July, 1769, the divisions were assembled at San Diego
and on the 14th, the march to Monterey began. On
the last day of September, the command reached
Monterey Bay, but failing to recognize it from the
description furnished them, passed on and discovered
the bay of San Francisco. The expedition then
returned to San Diego, and in the spring of 1770,
another attempt was made and Monterey was
reached on May 24th. This time they recognized
the bay and on June 3, 1770, the presidio and mis-
sion of San Carlos Borromeo de Monterey' were
founded with appropriate ceremonies.
In a previous work I stated that Jose Francisco
Ortega, sergeant and pathfinder of the expedition,
was the discoverer of the Golden Gate and of the
Straits of Carquines.* As commander of the ex-
pedition, Portola is entitled to the credit for what-
ever the expedition accomplished, but it is nowhere
claimed that Don Caspar was the first white man to
look upon the waters of the great bay. From the
* The March of Portola and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco.
31
32 The Beginnings of San Francisco
summit of the Montara mountains, Portola sighted
the high headland of Point Reyes and recognized
what was then called the Port of San Francisco,
afterwards known as the ensenada or gulf of the
Farallones. He descended the mountain on the
north and camped at its foot, in the San Pedro
Valley, while he sent his scouts forward to explore
the coast up to Point Reyes% giving them three days
for the reconnaissance. The scouts returned late at
night of the third day and reported that they could
not reach Point Reyes because some immense esteros
iesieros inmensos) intervened which extended far
into the land. The day following the departure of
the scouts, some soldiers received permission to go
into the mountains to hunt for deer. These return-
ing after nightfall, reported that on the other side
of the mountain there was a great estero or arm of
the sea.
The question of actual discovery of the bay lies
between the party of hunters and the scouts. Let
us first consider the claims of the hunters. Costanso,
engineer officer, cartographer, and diarist of the
expedition, says in his diary, under date of November
2d, that the hunters set out in the morning after
mass and did not return until after nightfall. They
reported that from the mountains north of the camp
they had seen an immense arm of the sea or estuary
which thrust itself into the land as far as the eye
could reach, inclining to the southeast (que se metia
por la tierra adentro cuanto alcanzaba la vista tirando
The Deer Hunters 33
^ara el sudeste). These hunters of the deer, whose
names are not given, probably saw the bay of San
Francisco about noon of Thursday, November 2, 1769.
Under date of Wednesday, November i, 1769,
Father Crespi, priest and diarist of the expedition,
writes: "In this little valley of the Punta de las
Almejas del Angel de la Guarda, we celebrated
mass, * * * and after this the sergeant (Ortega)
with his party started for a three days' exploration."
His entry for the next day, November 2d, notes
the report of the hunters concerning the great estero,
and says: "We conjectured also from said news
that the explorers would not be able to reach the
opposite shore which is seen to the north [the Marin
coast] and would therefore be unable to inspect the
point which we believed to be that of Los Reyes,
because it was impossible within the period of three
days to make the circuit necessary to go around the
estero whose extension was so magnified to us by
the hunters."
Costanso, moreover, under date of November i,
says: "Our comandante ordered the explorers to
examine the country to a certain distance, allowing
them three days for such examination." He also
says in his entry of the next day, that in view of the
report of the hunters the explorers could not in
three days "descabezar" (behead) an estero of such
great extent as that described.
From San Pedro Valley, Crespi's "Vallecito de
la Punta de las Almejas del Angel de la Guarda,"
34 The Beginnings of San Francisco
to Point Lobos is, as the crow flies, thirteen miles.
From Point Lobos to Telegraph hill* is six miles.
According to Crespi, Ortega started immediately
after mass — say at eight o'clock in the morning of
Wednesday, November ist. He would travel at
the rate of one league per hour, at least, and five
hours of travel would bring him to Point Lobos
where his further progress towards Point Reyes
would be arrested by the waters of the Golden Gate.
He had been given three days' time to explore
the coast up to Punta de los Reyes, say twenty
leagues distant. Here in half a day's journey,
with only five of the twenty leagues accomplished,
he had come to the end of the land, with the objec-
tive point of his order still in the distance before
him. What was he to do? Return to the com-
mander and report that he could not get through.''
Certainly not until he had satisfied himself that
the terms of the order were impossible of execution
without boats to carry him over the water. Ortega
was thirty-five years old and had served for fourteen
years as a soldier on the frontier; he was the explorer
and pathfinder of the expedition and upon his
experience, sagacity, and courage his commander
depended. He had exhausted but one-half of the
first of his three days. Perhaps it was possible
for him to descahezar this body of water that impeded
his progress .'* It was clearly his duty to try, and
I do not think there can be any doubt as to what
* Loma Alta, the high hill north of Yerba Buena cove.
1134022
First Sight of the Bay 35
Ortega would do. The language of both Costanso
and Crespi indicates that Ortega connected the
water which had barred his progress with the estero
seen by the hunters. A ride of half or three-
quarters of an hour would bring him to the mesa,
back of Fort Point, whence the central and northern
portions of the bay and the Alameda and Contra
Costa shores would be in full view, while a further
ride of three-quarters of an hour would carry him
to Telegraph hill, from the summit of which the
greater part of the bay of San Francisco would
spread before him. On this theory then, Ortega
would, by two or half past two o'clock of the after-
noon of November ist, have seen that part of the
bay lying north of Yerba Buena island, and by or
before four o'clock the greater part of the whole.
I am of the opinion therefore, that Jose Francisco
Ortega was the actual discoverer of the bay of San
Francisco, and that he saw it some twenty hours
before the hunters of the deer.
The second day of Ortega's expedition was prob-
ably spent in exploring the shore of the bay and
the third in his return, by the route of his coming,
to the camp at San Pedro. ^
That the commander realized the impossibility
of reaching Punta de los Reyes by proceeding up
the ocean shore is shown by the fact that the day
after Ortega's return he took up his march for the
south end of San Francisco Bay and made an attempt
to reach Point Reyes by the contra costa.
Chapter II.
EXPLORATION OF THE
BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO
1770-1775
ijORTOLA established the presidio and mission
1^ of San Carlos Borromeo de Monterey, June 3,
1770, and dispatched a messenger to the City
of Mexico to the Marques de Croix, Viceroy of New
Spain, announcing the addition of a new province to
the realms of His Most Catholic Majesty, Don Carlos
III. For more than two hundred years Spain had
claimed the Pacific coast of North America up to forty-
two degrees but had done nothing to maintain her right
by settlement. Now, in the foundation of Monterey,
Alta California was brought under the flag of Spain
and all nations were notified that she would protect
her land from invasion and insult. The news of Por-
tola's success was received with joy and steps were
at once taken to found on the shores of the great
bay so recently discovered an establishment which,
it was thought, would develop into a great com-
mercial city. Portola had been ordered to establish
three missions: one at San Diego, one at Monterey,
and one at some intermediate point, to be named
for the good doctor serafico, San Buenaventura.*
It was now resolved to found five more missions in
the new province and the guardian of the college
of San Fernando was asked to furnish ten additional
missionaries. The five missions proposed were San
Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Antonio, San Fran-
cisco, and Santa Clara.
On November 12, 1770, the viceroy instructed Don
Pedro Fages, comandante of California, to explore
39
40 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the port of San Francisco for the purpose of estab-
lishing a presidio and mission there, since a place
so important ought not to remain exposed to foreign
occupation. This order was received by Fages some
six months later. Fages had but nineteen men at
Monterey, while at San Diego, Rivera had twenty-
two. This was the entire military force in Cali-
fornia. Two missions: San Diego and Monterey,
had been founded, but the establishment of San
Buenaventura had been delayed by lack of troops.
Rivera was ordered to send a portion of his force to
Fages in order that the latter might make the recon-
naissance of San Francisco, but the Indians at San
Diego were manifesting a hostile disposition and
Rivera would not divide his force. So it was not
until March 1772 that Fages found himself able
to obey the order to explore the port of San Fran-
cisco.* On the 22d of March 1772, Fages left the
presidio of Monterey with a guard of twelve soldiers.
Father Juan Crespi, two servants, and a pack train,
and taking a northeasterly course camped the first
night on the bank of the Salinas river. The next
morning they crossed the plains of Santa Delfina
(Salinas valley), passed over the Gavilan mountains
by the canon of Gavilan creek, and descended into
the San Benito valley, camping on the bank of the
Arroyo de San Benito on the 21st, the day of St.
Benedict, giving the stream the name it now bears.
* Fages had made a brief trip to the bay of San Francisco in Novenxber, 1770,
and explored the contra costa to the Carquines straits.
Expedition of Faces 41
The beautiful valley they called San Pascual Bailon.
The next day they crossed the Pajaro river and
entered the San Bernardino valley, naming it for
Saint Bernardine of Siena, and camped for the night
on an arroyo which they called Las Llagas de Nuestro
Padre San Francisco — The Wounds of Our Father
St. Francis. Ancient San Bernardino is now a part
of the Santa Clara valley, but the Arroyo de Las
Llagas still retains the name Fages gave it. The
next day they passed into the upper Santa Clara
valley, then called the Llano de Los Robles — the
Plain of the Oaks — and keeping to the right of the
great estero camped on an arroyo near the south-
eastern point of the bay. On Wednesday March
25th, they camped on San Leandro creek, called
by them San Salvador de Horta. Thursday the
26th they were on the site of Alameda, then covered
with a forest of oaks, and called the San Antonio
creek, Arroyo del Bosque — Creek of the Grove.
Looking across to the Golden Gate they named it
La Bocana de la Ensenada de los Farallones — ^The
Entrance to the Gulf of the Farallones. On Friday
they looked from the Berkeley hills through the
Golden Gate to the broad Pacific. The next two
days they followed the shore of San Pablo bay,
hoping to get to the high sierra they saw to the north
of La Bocana and reach Point Reyes near which,
they believed, was the real port they were seeking.
This they could not do because of an estero, quarter
of a league wide, deep, and impassable without
42 The Beginnings of San Francisco
boats. To the mountain of the north* they gave
the name La Sierra de Nuestro Padre San Francisco,
as it seemed to be the guardian of his port. On the
opposite bank of that estero we call Carquines strait,
they saw many rancherias whose Indians called to
them, and seeing that the strangers were passing on,
crossed the strait on their tule rafts and presented the
travelers with their wild eatables.
Following up the estero, they camped March
30th on an arroyo near the present Martinez and
the next day passed on to the site of Antioch. They
tasted the waters of Carquines strait and Suisun
bay and found them fresh, then climbing the hills
they looked upon the great valley with its rivers
dividing themselves into many branches, all of
whic?h united to form one great river before entering
La Bahia Redonda. To this mighty river "the
largest that has been discovered in New Spain"
Pages gave the name of San Francisco. Satisfied
that it was impossible to reach Point Reyes by this
route with his present equipment, Fages returned
to Monterey and made his report to the viceroy. '
On August 17, 1773, Bucareli ordered Rivera,
who had succeeded Fages, to make a further explora-
tion of the port of San Francisco and of the great
river that emptied into it, and on the 23d of Novem-
ber 1774, Rivera with Father Palou and an escort
of sixteen soldiers with forty days' provision, left
Monterey and took his way to the famous port.
* Tamalpais.
Expedition of Rivera 43
Keeping to the west of the bay they found them-
selves at 11.30 a. m. of November 28th on a deep
arroyo through which ran about two bueyes* of
water, its banks well covered with poplars, willows,
laurels, and other trees, while some hundred paces
below the ford stood a great redwood (madera
colorada), seen for more than a league before reaching
the arroyo, and which from a distance looked like
a tower. They camped on the north bank of the
stream and believing it to be a good place for a
mission erected a cross near the ford. Palou writes
"In this same place the first expedition (Portola)
arrived, and was the limit it reached, and where it
stopped the 7, 8, 9, and loth days of December, '69,
while the explorers were looking for the port of
San Francisco." They were on the Arroyo de
San Francisco, or as it is now called, the San Fran-
cisquito creek, and the great redwood described is the
famous palo alto (high tree) of Stanford University.
On March 30th they passed through the Canada
de San Andres and gave it that name, it being the
day of St. Andrew, though it had been previously
named by Portola the Caiiada de San Francisco.
It now belongs to the Spring Valley Water Company
and in it are the company's principal reservoirs.
On December 4th, Rivera and Palou planted a cross
on Point Lobos at a place "that had not, up to this
* A Buey de Agua is the unit of the old Mexican system. It is the amount
of water that will pass through an orifice one vara (2.75 ft.) square. I am sup-
plied with this definition by Mr. Charles F. Lummis of Los Angeles.
44 The Beginnings of San Francisco
time, been trodden by Spaniard or other Christian,"
and where it could be seen from the beach. The
weather was bad and Rivera returned to Monterey
without further exploration.
In March 1775 an expedition for exploring the
northern coast sailed from San Bias under command
of Don Bruno de Heceta, consisting of the frigate
Santiago in charge of the commander-in-chief, the
packet boat San Carlos under Don Juan Manuel
de Ayala, lieutenant of frigate, and the schooner
Sonora under Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y
Cuadra, lieutenant of frigate. To Lieutenant Ayala
was assigned the survey of the bay of San Francisco,
while the Santiago and Sonora sailed for the north.
Bodega discovered the bay that bears his name and
Heceta discovered the Columbia river. Sailing with
thesquadronwasa supply ship, the San Antonio, under
Lieutenant Fernando Quiros, bound for San Diego.
For forty days Ayala faced contrary winds
steadily driven southward to latitude 18° 40', and it
was not until June nth that he reached Cape San
Lucas. From now on his progress was steady if
slow, and on the 29th he cast anchor in Monterey
bay, loi days from San Bias. Here he unloaded
the cargo of stores brought for the Monterey presidio,
made some needed repairs, took on ballast and wood
and water, and prepared for the expedition to San
Francisco bay. He also constructed on the Rio
Carmelo, a cayuco — a canoe or dugout — from the
trunk of a redwood tree, to assist in the survey.
The San Carlos Enters the Bay 45
On July 27th the San Carlos sailed for San Fran-
cisco bay, beginning the voyage with a novena to
their seraphic father, Saint Francis. Owing to
contrary winds progress was slow and it was not
until August 5th that they approached the entrance
to the port. At eight in the morning of that day
the launch was lowered, and Don Jose Canizares,
sailing master, with a crew of ten men, was sent in
to make a reconnaissance and select an anchorage
for the ship. At nine the tide was running out so
strongly that the ship was driven to sea, but at
eleven o'clock the tide turned and it drew near the
coast, the captain approaching the entrance with
caution, taking frequent soundings. At sunset the
launch was seen coming from the port but the flood
tide was too strong and she was forced back. Night
was now coming on; an anchorage must be found and
the San Carlos stood in through the unknown
passage. Rock cliffs lined the narrow strait and the
inrushing tide dashing against rock pinnacles bore
the little ship onward. In mid-channel a sixty
fathom line with a twenty pound lead failed to find
bottom. Swiftly ran the tide and as day darkened
into night the San Carlos sailed through the uncharted
narrows, passed its inner portal, and opened the
Golden Gate to the commerce of the world. Skirting
the northern shore, the first ship cast anchor in the
waters of San Francisco bay at half past ten o'clock
on the night of August 5, 1775, in twenty- two fathoms,
off what is now Sausalito.^
46 The Beginnings of San Francisco
At six the next morning the launch came across
from the opposite shore and the mate* explained
his failure to come to the ship when he saw her
approaching by saying that the tide was so strong
that it drove him back in spite of all his efforts.
Richardson's bay was then explored by the mate
in the launch, but was not considered safe because
of the character of its bottom and the fact that it
was exposed to the southeast winds. Ayala named
it Ensenada del Carmelita because of a rock in it
that resembled a friar of that order. From a ranch-
eria in Richardson's bay the Indians came, and with
friendly gestures invited the boat's crew to visit
them, but they, having no orders to do so, kept at
a distance from the beach, and at nine o'clock
returned to the ship. From Belvidere point the
Indians cried out to the sailors on the ship who, hav-
ing no interpreter, could not understand them. At
three o'clock in the afternoon an attempt was made
to move the vessel to a safer anchorage but the tide
was running too swiftly and they anchored off Point
Tiburon in fifteen fathoms, dropping two anchors
which however did not prevent the ship from
drifting.
Meanwhile the Indians on shore near the vessel
were keeping up their solicitations and on the seventh
the commander sent the chaplain. Fray Vicente
Santa Maria, with the mate and a boat's crew of
armed men, in the launch, to pay them a visit. He
* Piloto: sailing master, or mate.
IsLA DE Los Angeles 47
furnished them with beads and other trinkets for
the Indians and charged them to take every precau-
tion against treachery. They were hospitably
received by the natives and entertained at their
rancheria with pinole* bread made from their
corn or seeds, and tomales of the same. They were
much pleased with their reception and found that
the Indians could repeat the Spanish words with
facility.
Explorations by use of the launch were continued
and on the twelfth they made an examination of
the large island near them which they named Isla
de Los Angeles. Here they found good anchorage,
and near at hand, wood and water. Another island
near by they named Isla de Alcatraces because of
the number of pelicans on it.f This was steep and
barren and without shelter, even for a launch.
On the thirteenth Ayala moved his ship to the
anchorage of Isla de Los Angeles, or Angel island,
as it is now called, which I presume was Hospital
Cove where the United States Quarantine station
now is. Here, protected from the wind and the
strong currents, he made his ship secure with anchors
fore and aft, lowered the yards and sent down the
top masts. This done he sent the launch with
Cafiizares and an armed force of men and provisions
* Pinole: a meal made from parched corn or acorns.
t Bancroft says (Hist. Cal. i, p. 702): "The name, 'Isla del Alcatraz' is
used by Borica in 1797. I mention this fact because it has often been stated
that the original and correct form was Alcatraces, in the plural." Comment
is unnecessary. See Ayala's map, p. 50.
48 The Beginnings of San Francisco
for eight days, to continue the survey into San
Pablo and Suisun bays. Caiiizares returned on the
twenty-first and the launch was sent with fresh
men under the second mate, Juan Bautista Aguirre,
to look for a party Rivera had promised to send by
land from Monterey, and, if he failed to find them,
to explore the southeastern portion of the bay.
Aguirre did not find the Monterey expedition for
the good reason that Rivera had sent none, and when
sent again on the thirty-first, with the cayuco, he
found neither the Monterey expedition nor that of
Colonel Anza, for which Ayala was looking.* Mean-
while on the twenty-third fifteen Indians came oif
to the ship on two of their tule rafts or canoes and
were taken on board, entertained and given food.
On the twenty-eighth Canizares resumed his explora-
tion of San Pablo and Suisun bays and returned
September ist. The next few days he spent in
surveying the southerly part of San Francisco bay
and in making his report to the commander. His
descriptions of the bay are excellent and the sound-
ings shown on his map compare with those of the
Coast Survey, allowing for the shallowing of the
last sixty years. San Pablo bay he calls Bahia
Redonda, though he says it is not round but in the
shape of an isosceles triangle. This appears on his
map as Bahia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. He
visited an Indian rancheria at the entrance to Car-
quines strait and found the natives polite and modest,
* Anza did not start from Tubac until October 23d.
Carquines Strait 49
not disposed to beg although they accepted some
presents of beads and old clothes, and responded by
giving the Spaniards some excellent fish, pinole, and
seeds. These Indians had rafts or canoes made of
tule and so well constructed and woven that they
won the admiration of the sailing-master. Four
men in them with double bladed oars could make
greater speed than the launch. Passing through
Carquines strait, to which he gives no name, Cafii-
zares describes Southampton bay which he calls
Puerto de la Asumpta, having examined it August
15th, the festival day of the Assumption of the Vir-
gin. Suisun bay is described as a large port into
which some rivers come and take the saltiness from
the water which there becomes sweet as in a lake.*
One river coming from the east-northeast (east — the
San Joaquin) is about two hundred and fifty varas
wide; the other, which has many branches, comes
from the northeast through tulares and swamps, in
very low land, and there are but two fathoms of
water in their channels and sand bars with but half
a fathom at their mouths.
Canizares also mentions another island, to which
no name is given, about two leagues to the south-
east of Angel island. This is Yerba Buena. The
tide flats of the Alameda coast with poles driven
into the mud for the fishing stations of the Indians;
the Presidio anchorage, Yerba Buena cove. Mission
bay and Islais creek are all described, as well as
* Font's "Puerto Duke."
50 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the hills and groves of oak and redwood. A rancheria
on the Alameda shore, seemed to be a good place
for a mission, though he only viewed the site from
a distance.
To Point Lobos was given the name Punta del
Angel de la Garda. Fort Point was called Punta
de San Jose. Lime Point was Punta de San Carlos,
and Point Benito, Punta de Santiago. Point San
Pedro was called Punta de Langosta (Locust Point),
Point Richmond, Punta de San Antonio, and Point
Avisadero, Punta de Concha. Mission bay was
named Ensenada de los Llorones (The Weepers)
because, it is said, the sailors saw some Indians
weeping on the beach. Islais creek was called
Estero Seco; the cove between Tiburon and Belvi-
dere was Ensenada del Santo Evangelio; Mare island,
Isla Plana, and Suisun bay Junta de los Quatro
Evangelistas — The meeting of the four Evangelists.
Of all the names given by Ayala there only remain to
us Angel and Alcatraz islands. Point San Jose
transferred its name to the next point east, while
the point to which it was originally given became
known as the Punta del Cantil Blanco, the name
given it by Anza, and is now called Fort Point.
On the yth of September Ayala had completed his
survey and at eight in the morning he weighed anchor
and leaving the shelter of Hospital Cove sailed for
Monterey, but the wind failing, the current swept
him on to a rock near Point Cavallo, injuring his
rudder and compelling him to put into Horseshoe
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50 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the hills and groves of oak and redwood. A rancheria
on the Alameda shore, seemed to be a good place
for a mission, though he only viewed the site from
a distance.
To Point Lobos was given the name Punta del
Angel de la Garda. Fort Point was called Punta
de San Jose. Lime Point was Punta de San Carlos,
and Point Benito, Punta de Santiago. Point San
Pedro was called Punta de Langosta (Locust Point),
Point Richmond, Punta de San Antonio, and Point
Avisadero, Punta de Concha. Mission bay was
named Ensenada de los Llorones (The Weepers)
because, it is said, the sailors saw some Indians
weeping on the beach. Islais creek was called
Estero Seco; the cove between Tiburon and Belvi-
dere was Ensenada del Santo Evangelio; Mare island,
Isla Plana, and Suisun bay Junta de los Quatro
Evangelistas — The meeting of the four Evangelists.
Of all the names given by Ayala there only remain to
us Angel and Alcatraz islands. Point San Jose
transferred its name to the next point east, while
the point to which it was originally given became
known as the Punta del Cantil Blanco, the name
given it by Anza, and is now called Fort Point.
On the yth of September Ayala had completed his
survey and at eight in the morning he weighed anchor
and leaving the shelter of Hospital Cove sailed for
Monterey, but the wind failing, the current swept
him on to a rock near Point Cavallo, injuring his
rudder and compelling him to put into Horseshoe
AYALA'S MAP OF SAN I-RANCISCO BAY
Heceta's Expedition 51
bay for repairs. While thus detained he employed
the time in examining the entrance to the bay. He
sailed on the eighteenth and arrived at Monterey
the next day. He had spent forty-four days in the
bay of San Francisco.
Meanwhile Don Bruno de Heceta had returned to
Monterey from his northern trip August 29th and
learning that the land expedition for San Francisco
promised by Rivera had not been sent, organized a
party to go to the assistance of Ayala and help in the
survey of the port. On the 14th of September he set
out, with a guard of nine soldiers and accompanied
by Fathers Palou and Campa, three sailors, and a
carpenter, and carrying on a mule, a small canoe.
They followed the route taken by Rivera in 1774,
and on the twenty-second arrived at the beach below
the Cliff House rocks where they found the wreck
of Ayala's cayvco cast ashore. At the foot of the
cross erected on the hill at Point Lobos by Rivera
in 1774, they found letters from Padre Santa Maria
directing them to go a league inland and light a
fire on the beach to attract the notice of the San
Carlos anchored at Angel Island. When this was
done and there was no answer to the signal, Heceta
retraced his steps as far as Lake Merced where he
encamped September 24th, the day of Our Lady of
Mercy, and gave to the lake the name it bears to-day:
La Laguna de la Merced. Concluding that the San
Carlos had finished her survey, Heceta left for
Monterey where he arrived October ist.
Chapter III.
EL CAMINO DEL DIABLO*
1774
»
WHILE Don Jose de Galvez was organizing
the expedition for the conquest of California,
there was in the far-off frontier presidio of
Tubac, a gallant soldier, Juan Bautista de Anza, by
name, who manifested the liveliest interest in the un-
dertaking. He petitioned the visitador-general for
permission to make a journey overland from Sonora
by way of the Rios Gila and Colorado to meet the ex-
pedition of Portola at Monterey bay. He proposed to
pay the entire cost of the journey and only asked to
be allowed to take with him twenty soldiers whom
he himself should name. It was represented that
with the reduction of California a road of communica-
tion could be opened between Sonora and the new
foundations by which the latter could be succored
more surely and quickly than by the uncertain
sea voyage. Anza's request was refused. The
visitador-general did not consider such an expedition
necessary at that time and the opening of such a road
was believed to be extremely difficult, if not impos-
sible. Not only were the two great rivers, the Gila
and the Colorado, to be crossed, but between them
and Sonora lay vast, inhospitable deserts. f
The expedition led into California by Portola
founded the presidios of Monterey and San Diego,
and under their protection, the missions San Diego,
* Chapters iii, iv, v and vi, were originally published in the Journal of American
History, Vol. II, No. i to Vol. Ill, No. 3.
fPalou: Noticias, iii, 154.
55
56 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Monterey, San Antonio, San Gabriel, and San Luis
Obispo. The life of the new establishments was
precarious in the extreme. All supplies were brought
in by sea from La Paz or San Bias, and the ships
were sometimes many months on the voyage. The
only ships the government had at that time on the
western coasts of New Spain were a few small, poorly
constructed, ill found boats built at San Bias for
carrying dispatches and supplies to the missions.
In addition to the ordinary perils of the sea, dread
scurvy, that decimator of early navigators, made
the arrivals irregular and uncertain and the unfor-
tunate colonists were in constant danger of starva-
tion.
Anza now renewed his request for permission to
take an expedition overland to Monterey, alleging
that by the road he would open supplies could be
taken to the new colony in less time and with much
more certainty than by sea. Again he offered to
conduct an expedition at his own expense. The
difficulty of maintaining the new foundations caused
the viceroy, Don Antonio Bucareli y Ursua, to lay
the matter before the king, and while awaiting his
reply he consulted the president of the California
missions, Fray Junipero Serra, to ascertain his views.
Fray Junipero gave enthusiastic support to the
application and suggested a similar expedition from
Santa Fe, in New Mexico. The reply of the king
not only approved Captain Anza's proposal but
directed the viceroy to provide him from the royal
Anza's First Expedition 57
treasury with all that was necessary to make his
expedition a success. Anza's preparations were soon
made and on the 8th of January 1774, he set out
from Tubac on his long and hazardous journey.
The expedition consisted of the comandante with an
escort of twenty soldiers, Fray Juan Diaz and Fray
Francisco Garces, of the College of Santa Cruz de
Queretero, the necessary guides and muleteers,
thirty-four persons in all, one hundred and forty
saddle and pack animals, and sixty-five head of
beef cattle. Just as Anza was starting a war party
of Apaches descended upon him, killed some of his
escort and ran off a large number of his horses.
Not having sufficient stock to replace these he was
obliged to make a detour of about one hundred and
twenty-five miles southwest to the Piman pueblos
of the Altar river to get pack and saddle animals.
Starting January 8th he was on the 9th at Aribac
(Arivaca) where, he says, the gold and silver mines
were worked up to the year 1767, when they were
abandoned because of the Apaches. On the 13th
he was at Saric, on the Altar river, a place of great
fertility of soil but one most harried by Apaches.
He notes that the distance from Saric to Arizona
or Las Bolas is seven or eight leagues to the north-
east.7 On the 17th he was at the presidio of Altar
and on the 20th reached the mission of La Purisima
Concepcion del Caborca. The only animals he could
obtain, however, were a few worn out mules, and with
this insufficient equipment he left the mission of
58 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Caborca, January 22d, crossed the Rio del Altar,
and struck across the forbidding Papagueria,* a
wide and desolate desert reaching from the Rio del
Altar to the junction of the Rios Gila and Colorado.
In five days of travel, moving as rapidly as he could
push his decrepit outfit he reached the ruined
mission of Sonoitac on what is now the boundary
line between Arizona and Sonora. For the next
two days the route was easy through the dry arroyo
of the Sonoyta river, which is described by Dr. W. J
McGee as a channel broad enough for the Ohio and
deep enough for the Schuylkill but dust-dry from
bank to bank. A march of twenty-three miles
brought the expedition to the sink of the Sonoyta
and here the brief existence of the river is ended.
This is ancient Carrizal of Father Kino and may be
seen on his map (1702) and on that of Venegas
(1757). From here on to the junction of the Gila
and Colorado, distant one hundred and twenty
miles, the country contains not one permanent
inhabitant and but two known watering places.
The trail is well known and has long been traveled.
It is the dreaded Camino del Diablo, whose terrible
length is lined with the graves of its victims. Over
this dreadful road came, in 1540, Captain Melchior
Diaz of Coronado's army to die amid the sandy
wastes of the Colorado. Later it formed the high-
way of that untiring traveler and missionary Eusibib
Francisco Kino.^ During the gold excitement in
* Papagueria, The land of the Papagos.
I
THE CEMENTERIO
Grave of a family that died of thirst on the Camino del
Diablo. ^^«
Photograph by Captain D. D. Gaillard. ;^H
t
4
I
VCISCO
■ Rio del Altar,
ng Papagueria,*
ling from the Rio c
OS Gila and Colorado.
»p as rapidly as he could
reached the niin^
at is now the boundary^
_.. ad Sonora. For the next
tVi.-» _s easy through the dry arroyo
which is described by Dr. W. J
r\n^-^ «^nrMi\7h fn- the. Ohio and
v.«.t-dry from
>->x L»cnty-three miles
V the sink of the Sonoyta
omTm3.K30 Qinthe river is ended.
hb onimfiD srij no jeiifU: iq ^9iFa^^i''^ift^ lY^may be
rAaa-iAO A '.at't'S^^m^^lii,^ '"[ Senegas
n to the junction of the Gila
e hundred and twenty
is not one permanent
vnown watering places.
\ has long been traveled.
terrible
of its V Over
Ichior
die amid the sandy
jrmed the high-
missionary Eusibib
i excitement in
.aai
El Camino del Diablo 59
California this trail was used to a limited extent by
Americans who braved the terrors of the desert
rather than risk encountering the hostile Apaches
by a more northerly route. So great was the mor-
tality, however, among the travelers that the route
was soon abandoned. It is said that during a period
of eight years four hundred travelers perished of
thirst between Altar and Yuma.
From Carrizal the trail stretches across the Tule
desert with the nearest water forty-five miles distant
and but a scanty supply then. Dividing his expedi-
tion into two parts Anza marched with the first
division at noon of January 30th, leaving the second
division, which consisted of the pack trains, under
charge of a corporal and seven soldiers, to follow
later. He made about sixteen miles and encamped
for the night in what he calls a bajio (flat place)
without either water or pasture. This bajio was
a low lying place in the Tule desert called Las
Playas. It is bordered by a fringe of mesquite and
greasewood and in certain seasons a little water
may be found there. Resuming his march at seven
thirty o'clock the next morning an hour's travel
brought him to the mal pais, a vast, sloping sheet of
black lava reaching from the Sierra Pinto on the
north to the Sierra Pinecate on the south, and
which, Anza says, grew neither grass nor tree, small
shrub nor larger one. Passing the lava beds, the
division reached the Tule mountains and the Tinajas
del Cerro de la Cabeza Prieta — ^The Tanks of the
6o The Beginnings of San Francisco
Blackhead Butte — having traveled about sixteen
miles. Anza gave to the tinajas the name of La
Empinada — the Elevated. It is the Agua Escon-
dida — ^Hidden water — of Father Kino or his Agua
de la Luna; it is situated in longitude one hundred
and thirteen degrees, forty-five minutes, about five
miles north of the boundary line and consists of
several tanks high up a rocky canon, reached only
after a hard climb. These tanks hold, when filled
by the rains, about five thousand gallons.*
Anza found but a scanty supply of water in La
Empinada, and leaving it for his pack-train pushed
on eight miles into the Lechuguilla desert, f and
camped for the night without water and with little
pasture for the animals. Resuming his march at
eight o'clock in the morning after the second night
without water, Anza remarks that the ground they
passed over gave forth a hollow sound under the
tramping of the horses as if there were dungeons
beneath the road. J A march of twelve miles brought
* A tinaja or tank is a pocket in the rock where water may be found after
local storms.
t This desert lies between the Tula mountains and the Gila range. It
takes its name from a plant of the Agave family called Lechuguilla — Little
Lettuce. Costanso writing of the Indians of San Diego, says: "They wear
no clothing save a girdle, woven like a very fine net with a fiber which they
obtain from a plant called lechuguilla. Anza notes the Indians of San Jacinto
mountains wearing this girdle, also a headdress of the same. The illustrations
in Venega's Noticias show the Indian women of Lower California wearing the
netting in that manner.
X Captain Gaillard of the Boundary Commission informs me that he noticed
the same peculiarity ?n that locality caused by the horizontal stratifications and
separation of the underlying layers of rock.
Las Tinajas Altas 6i
the division to Las Tinajas Altas — the High Tanks.
Here was water in plenty and pasture nearby. These
tinajas have been known since the time of the earliest
Christian explorers and were probably known to
the Papagos centuries before.* They are set in
the side of a natural semi-circular area on the
east side of the Gila mountains, about three and a
half miles north of the boundary line, and consist
of a number of tanks worn in the solid rock
by the waters of a narrow rocky valley several
hundred feet above, which during the rains come
tumbling through the narrow gorge and fill the
tanks. There are seven large tanks and a number
of small ones; but with exception of the lowest
tank, which can be approached by animals, they are
very difficult of access. They range one above
another and can only be reached by climbing several
hundred feet up the steep side of a ravine. The
water, surrounded and protected by overhanging
walls, is deliciously cool and palatable. The
tanks will hold from fifteen to twenty thousand
gallons.'
Anza remained here until the morning of the
third day to rest his command and let his pack-
train come up, the mules being in bad condition
and barely able to travel. In honor of the day,
which was the Feast of the Purification of St. Mary,
Anza named the aguage La Purificacion.
* Prof. Herbert E. Bolton identifies La Tinaja of Father Kino with a tank
east of the Gila range, about fifteen miles south of the Gila river.
62 The Beginnings of San Francisco
He resumed his march February 4th, and crossed
the Gila range by the Tinaja pass. His next day's
march was thirteen miles and he stopped at some
wells named by him Los Pozos de en Medio — ^the
Half-way Wells. The next day he followed the same
general direction, north-northwest, keeping close to
the base of the Gila mountains to avoid a range of
high and almost impassable sand-hills extending
in a northwesterly direction from below the bound-
ary line, in longitude one hundred and fourteen
degrees, twenty minutes, to the Gila river. A
march of eighteen and a half miles brought him to
his next watering place, a spring off the road — per-
haps in the Telegraph pass of the Gila mountains.
Neither this well nor that of the preceding camp is
known to-day. Anza says from its being out of the
road they inferred it was the one named by the Jesuit
fathers La Agua Escondida — the Hidden water. The
Agua Escondida shown on Father Kino's map is
east of the Gila range.
At this last camp he found a Papago Indian await-
ing him with a message from Palma, chief of the
Yumas. Anza had met Palma at the presidio of
Altar just before starting to cross the Papagueria 1
and had notified him that he would pass through
his territory. The Yuma chief now sent to warn
Anza of an intention among the Indians of the river
to murder him and his company and seize his outfit.
Palma, the messenger said, had vainly endeavored
to dissuade the Indians from attempting such an
An Indian Conspiracy 63
act which, as he told them, would bring down upon
the tribe the vengeance of the Spaniards. '° They
were, however, bent upon mischief and he advised
Anza to be on his guard and approach the junction
of the rivers with caution. Anza did not consider
the matter serious, but sent the Papago to ask Palma
to meet the expedition, that they might confer in
regard to the conspiracy, and at two o'clock the
following afternoon resumed his march for the rivers,
distant twelve leagues* (31.2 miles). He made
about one-half of this distance and halted for the
night where there was some feed for the animals,
but no water. Starting at sunrise the next morning
he met his messenger returning with an under-chief
of the Yumas, Palma being absent. This under-
chief was unarmed and was accompanied by eight
warriors armed with bows and arrows, and all, like
himself, entirely naked. In his hand he carried a
lighted brand with which, Anza tells us, he warmed
himself by applying it to the stomach or hindquar-
ters, f
The chief informed Anza that Palma had taken
vigorous measures for the protection of the Spaniards
by expelling from his jurisdiction those who were
trying to make trouble, and all was now quiet and
peaceful; that Palma had been sent for and would
soon meet him with a hearty welcome. Resuming
* The league was jooo varas — 2.604 miles. A vara is 33 inches.
t Melchior Diaz, who reached the Colorado river in the fall of 1540, named
it the Rio del Tizon — River of the Firebrand — because of this custom.
64 The Beginnings of San Francisco
his march Anza reached the Rio Gila at three in
the afternoon accompanied by two hundred Yuma
braves who had come out to meet him and who
escorted him with shouts and laughter and other
demonstrations of joy. At five o'clock Palma arrived
with a body of sixty Indians and the white and red
chieftains embraced each other with affection before
the company. Captain Anza entertained his visitors
with some refreshments while at Palma's request
he permitted the Indians, most of whom had never
before seen a white man, to examine the dress and
equipment of the men. Palma, noting the posted
guards with swords drawn and horses ready, asked
why this was done and said the men should betake
themselves to rest and liberty, relying on the friend-
ship of the Yumas. Anza informed him that
soldiers were ever on guard; that even in the presidio
the men were on guard as if in the face of the
enemy.
After bestowing a decoration on the chief, Anza,
in the name of the king confirmed him in his com-
mand of the Yumas, giving him a brief account of
the authority of the king who, in his turn, was
responsible to God the ruler of all. After this Palma
took Anza's staff and made a long harangue to his
people, explaining the nature of the honor done
him and of his responsibility to the king, and then
ordered them to their huts for the night. In the
morning a short journey down the river brought
them to the ford of the Gila and the house of Palma
First Stage of Journey Completed 65
where, in the presence of six hundred of his people,
the chief received and entertained the white men with
generous hospitaUty.
The first stage of the long journey is completed.
In one month Anza has traveled one hundred and
thirty-eight leagues (three hundred and fifty-nine
miles) of desert, with a worn and decrepit outfit.
So far he has braved the known danger, traveled
the known trail. He is now to face the unknown.
Desolate as was the land through which he has
come, he has now to encounter deserts as dreadful,
fierce savages warring against each other and hostile
to the invader, and without guides, wander amid
sandy wastes in search of water.
Chapter IV.
THE PASSAGE OF THE
COLORADO DESERT
1774
I
A NZA reached the junction of the Rios Gila and
AA Colorado, February 7, 1774. Giving up the
following day to rest and to the enjoyment
of the hospitality of the Yumas, he began the second
stage of his journey February 9th, by the passage of
the Rio Colorado, the first crossing into Alta California
by white men. The river had been crossed by Melchior
Diaz in 1540, Father Kino in 1701, and by Father
Garces, one of the two priests now with Anza, in 177 1,
but all these had crossed into Lower California. Palma
guided the expedition to a ford where, with the
assistance of the Indians, they made a safe passage.
In celebration of this event, and of its being accom-
plished for the first time by the king's arms, the
comandante fired a salvo and set off some rockets
which pleased the Indians very much by their flight
through the air, though the sound of the guns
frightened them so that they threw themselves on
the ground. Anza crossed the river above its junc-
tion with the Gila, and notes in his diary that it is
the season of the greatest drouth and he found it
|, only three and a half feet deep and five hundred
and seventy feet wide. He gives an excellent
description of the river and its surroundings, the
San Dionisio of Father Kino, a Yuma rancheria,*
now the town of Yuma, Arizona; the Purple hills
ten miles to the north-northwest, through whose
gorges the Colorado emerges into the open valley;
* Rancheria — an Indian village or town.
69
70 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the large peak to the northwest, which he named
Cabeza del Gigante — Giant's Head — now called
Castle Dome; a lesser peak fifteen miles to the
north, which, on account of its shape, he named La
Campana — ^The Bell — now called Chimney Peak.
He also notes that below the junction of the Gila
and Colorado the united river is constrained to a
narrow strait about lOO varas (275 feet) wide between
bluffs of moderate height. To this he gave the name
of Puerto de la Concepcion. Here was established
in 1780, on the bluffs of the California side, the mis-
sion of La Purisima Concepcion, the site of the
present Fort Yuma.
Having safely transferred his baggage across the
river Anza camped for the night, being much troubled
by the multitude of naked Indians in the camp.
He presented them with an ox, and trinkets and
tobacco, hoping to get rid of them, but they remained
to sleep with their new friends. Anza describes
the Yumas as tall and robust, lighter in color than
the Pimas, with faces which, though naturally good,
they had disfigured with paint. Their ears were
bored with from three to five holes in each of which
they wore a ring. They also pierced the cartilage
of the nose and through it passed a bunch of feathers
or a stick a palm (eight and a half inches) in length,
and as thick as a large quill. They went naked for
they considered it womanly to be covered. They
dressed their hair with clay and over it threw a
powder that had a luster like silver, sleeping seated
The Yuma Nation 71
so as not to disturb this headdress. Their arms
were bows and arrows of poor quality, staves four
varas (eleven feet) long, and clubs. The women
were large like the men, and Anza observes that their
faces were about as he has seen other Indian women;
he saw none that were horribly ugly nor did he see
any specially handsome. Their dress consisted of
a sort of petticoat down to the knee divided into
two parts, that in front being the shorter.
Anza estimated the Yuma nation as numbering
thirty-five hundred souls. Their lands were rich
bottom lands capable of high cultivation. Indeed
he saw wheat growing without irrigation so good
that the best lands in Sonora could not equal it,
and he was astonished at the abundance of maize,
beans, calabashes, and melons they grew. He also
notes that dams could be made and the water carried
for a long distance for irrigation. All these descrip-
tions are interesting in view of the reclamation work
being done at this point by the United States Govern-
ment and by private corporations.
On the following morning, February loth, Anza
resumed his march taking his way down the Colorado,
which here flows almost due west, accompanied by
about six hundred Yumas who, with somewhat
troublesome kindness, insisted on driving the horses,
pack mules, and cattle, each beast being surrounded
by five or six Indians. The march was a weary one,
for the road, though mostly level, was but a twisting-
corkscrew of a trail through a chaparral of mesquite
72 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and other brush that filled the river bottom and made
it difficult for the animals. After four leagues of
travel the expedition reached Pilot Knob, to which
Anza gave the name of Cerro de San Pablo. Here
the river takes a turn to the south, and traveling
another league further the expedition halted for
the night at the Rancheria de San Pablo, a Yuman
village on the river-bank. This was the site of the
second Colorado mission, San Pedro y San Pablo
de Bicuiier, established in the fall of 1780, and
destroyed, together with its sister mission La
Purisima Concepcion, on July 17, 1 781, by this same
Palma and his Indians. The next day's march
carried them six leagues further down the river in
a southwesterly direction to a lake in the flood plain
of the river which the commander called Laguna de
las Cojas. Here the jurisdiction of the Yumas
ended and that of the Cojat nation began. I find
no record of any tribe of that name, but Anza's
description fits that of the Cajuenche, a tribe inhabit-
ing the lower Colorado below Yuma. The next day's
travel of four and a half leagues to the south and
west and away from the river, brought the command
to a large laguna, two and a half miles in length, but
narrow, some five and a half feet in depth, and well
stocked with fish. This lake, to which Anza gave the
name of Laguna de Santa Olalla, was left from the
overflow of the river. It was probably located on
the Rio Padrones, about twelve miles south of the
boundary line and eight miles west of the river.
The Perils of the Desert 73
Anza had now reached the end of the known land.
The Cajuenches, or, as he calls them, the Cojats,
received him with the same friendly welcome given
by their relatives, the Yumas, but their jurisdiction
was confined to the flood plain of the river, and to
the west ranged the fierce Comeya, into whose terri-
tory no Cajuenche or Yuma would venture. The
expedition must cross the Colorado desert without
guides and find the water-holes as best it could.
Among Anza's train was a Christian Indian,
Sebastian Tarabel, by name, a native of the mission
of Santa Gertrudes in Lower California. He was
one of five Indians of that mission who had accom-
panied Portola on his march to Alonterey in 1769.
Sebastian had found the country so well suited to
his taste that he had brought his wife from Lower
California and settled at the mission of San Gabriel.
Becoming tired of life at the mission he had run
away, taking with him his wife and his brother, and
had struck out across the San Jacinto mountains
and the Colorado desert for the pueblos of the
Yumas. Lost amid the sand-hills of the desert, his
wife and his brother perished, but he, rescued
by the Yumas, had been taken by Palma to the
presidio of Altar, where he joined the expedition of
Anza as guide. These sand-hills of the Colorado
desert reach from a point about thirty-five miles
north of the boundar}^ line to some ten or twelve
miles below it, the tract varying in width from ten
to thirty miles. They are greatly dreaded, because
74 The Beginnings of San Francisco
their similarity of appearance is most bewildering
and the constantly shifting sand quickly obliterates
any trail made through them. It was to avoid
these that the detour to the southwest into Lower
California was made.
The Indian, Sebastian, was of no help to Anza
in his present need. Palma had accompanied them
to Santa Olalla, but here he left them, saying he
could go no further, for the expedition would now
pass into the land of his enemies. He said that by
the time Anza returned the Colorado would be in
flood but he would be prepared with rafts and would
take the Spaniards over in safety. With tears in
his eyes he said good-bye (a Dios) to his friend, and
the expedition plunged into the unknown desert.
Anza had induced some Cajuenches to go with
him the first day's journey, and traveling seven
leagues to the west-northwest, the Indians guided
the party to an arroyo containing some thick and
brackish water and a little carrizo (reed grass) which
Anza named Los Pozos del Carrizal. The arroyo
was the Alamo river and the place was one now known
as Gardner's Lagoon. Two of the Cajuenches
remained in the camp, the rest returning to Santa
Olalla. Resuming his march the next morning,
February 14th, Anza was accompanied a short
league by the two Cajuenches who then left him,
saying they dared go no further, but that the expedi-
tion could safely reach the next watering place
{aguage) near the sierra to the west. In the same
Lost in the Desert 75
arroyo, near some carrizo, Anza dug for water and
finding a little halted to rest the animals. These
wells he called Los Pozos de en Medio (the Half-
way Wells). The next morning he began his march
in a westerly direction towards the sierra. After
traveling a league he came to a pool of very brackish
water, thence another league through sand-hills
brought him to another pot hole containing very
little water, but somewhat better than the last.
Here the exhausted condition of the mules compelled
him to leave half his baggage, and placing it in charge
of a guard he pushed on. He was soon in the midst
of thickly clustered sand-hills where the trail became
entirely obliterated. Finding himself in a dangerous
situation, Anza consulted the two priests and sug-
gested that since the animals were too weak to carry
through all the baggage, they return half of it and
half of the troops to the rancheria of the Yumas,
and with the other half, without encumbrance,
make a rapid journey to Northern California.
Father Diaz agreed to the plan but Garces objected.
He did not see the necessity for it and did not think
it wise to divide the force. Realizing the danger
Anza related to him the fate of previous expeditions
in like circumstances, but Garces remained of the
same opinion and Anza, having a high opinion of
Garces' experience and skill as a traveler, resumed
the march. For some time they held to the westerly
course among the sand-hills and then came to one
larger and higher, which neither the horses in their
76 The Beginnings of San Francisco
weakened condition nor the laden mules could sur-
mount. Forced to abandon the route to the sierra
in the west, which appeared to be about five leagues
distant,* Anza turned to the south towards another
sierra nearer than the first, close to which, Garces
said, was a large rancheria called San Jacome, where
he had been two years before. Anza notified the
leader of the pack-train, which was following, of
the change of direction and with the advance guard
pushed on for San Jacome. The sun had set when
they reached the sierra and having passed it they
found neither tracks, paths, nor other indications
of habitation. Some of the soldiers were now on
foot, their horses having given out, and Anza halted
while the priests with two soldiers went in search
of the stopping-place (paraje). Returning unsuc-
cessful late in the night, Garces begged for another
chance, and Anza giving him the only soldiers whose
horses could carry them sent him on his quest.
Garces returned without having found San Jacome
and Anza resolved to go back to the last aguage,
realizing that if water and pasture were not found the
next day the expedition would be exposed to total loss.
All through the night he waited for the pack-train,
horse-herd, and cattle to come up, and at daybreak
began his return. At sunrise he met the train and
at two in the afternoon, worn out with hunger and
thirst, and having lost a large number of animals,
they reached the well where they had left the bag-
* Probably Signal mountain; about forty miles away.
SAND-HILLS OF THE COLORADO DESERT
Photograph by United States Geological Survey.
W. C. Mendenhall.
^o
i !•
iiNMNGS OF San Francisco
w ' i nor the laden mules could sur-
> abandon the route to the sierra
•speared to be about five leagues
■ >^d to the south towards another
c, the first, close to which, Garces
rancheria called San Jacome, where
iwo years before. Anza notified the
k-train, w' " ' \vas following, of
. aiiection and Vviiii the advance guard
. lor San Jaco " -le sun had set when
hed the siern; ^g passed it they
lound neither : indications
of habitatior now on"
foot, their he and Anza halted
while th(r^38ga oqa^iojoo 3Ht to 2JJiH-aMAa '^^ search
of the Sl'Sfsviug JfiDisofoaO aaJsiS h^iiitU xd rfqBigoJorfl ' ■ g UnSUC-
cessful lat
.jjAHnaawaM -O^W
for another
chance, and Anza
-:rs whose
horses could ca
. quest.
Garces re tun
ad San Jacome
and Anza r(
the last aguage,
realizing that
ere not found the
next day the
.josed to total loss.
AD ti
for the pack-train,
and at daybreak
At s
the train and
nooii,
with hunger and
lost a :.. ^
nmher of animals,
veil wherr
^ ^^ft the bag-
HVJUiuain; about forty n::
Retreat to the Colorado 77
gage. In memory of their sufferings and in the fear
that this miscarriage would defeat the object of
the expedition, Anza named the paraje La Poza de
las Angustias — the Well of the Afflictions. Sending
the cattle on to the Pozos de en Medio that ihe^
might find some carrizo to eat, Anza rested until
noon of the following day. He realized how hopeless
was the attempt to cross the desert with his animals
in such condition and he determined to return to
the river, give his men and animals a rest, entrust
his baggage and useless animals to the care of Palma,
and with his escort mounted on the strongest horses
and taking only the most necessary supplies, make
a dash for Monterey. With this intent and without
consultation with the padres, Anza began his retreat.
Leaving the Poza de las Angustias after midday
of February 17th, Anza took the trail to the Pozos
de en Medio, the pack-mules carrying half loads.
Most of the soldiers were now on foot but to the co-
mandante's words of encouragement they responded
that if all the horses failed they would make the
whole journey on foot, could the object of the expedi-
tion be thus attained. Anza commended their
faithfulness and promised to remember and reward
them as far as was in his power for their concern
for the king's service.*
* On October i, 1786, Don Pedro Fages, governor of California, ordered that
Juan Ignacio Valencia, a soldier of Anza's first expedition, be paid one escudo
(about $2.00) per month additional pay from October 8, 1774, to June 10,
1788, for his services on that trip. (Spanish Archives of California, Provincial
State Papers MSS. VIII, 142).
78 The Beginnings of San Francisco
On the morning of the nineteenth Anza reached
the Laguna de Santa Olalla and the half laden pack-
train arrived at eleven o'clock on the night of the
twentieth, but it was not until the twenty-third
that he got in all his baggage. He was received by
Palma as one returned from the dead. The Yuma
chief made known his grief at the hardships of his
friend and the loss of his cahallerias* Garces
volunteered to visit the rancherias of the lower
Colorado in hopes of obtaining some information
regarding the route across the desert, and to this
the comandante agreed, charging him to return
within four or five days. Anza then proceeded to
explore the mind of Palma to ascertain if he were
worthy of confidence, and satisfied on this point,
he communicated to the chief his intention of leav-
ing with him a portion of his baggage and animals,
and some of his people, to await the return of the
expedition from Monterey which, Anza said, would
be in a little more than a month. To this Palma
heartily agreed, promising to keep all in safety
until Anza's return, and that the mules might suc-
ceed in reaching the rancheria he offered to transport
the baggage on the shoulders of his people. This,
however, Anza would not permit. Having com-
pleted the arrangement with Palma, Anza communi-
cated it to the individuals of the expedition, and with
one voice they approved of the plan. The soldiers
* Caballeria, riding beast. Anza uses the expression to mean both riding
and pack-animals.
Anza Again Essays the Desert 79
repeated the statement that they were eager to
undertake the journey and again declared their
willingness, should all the horses be lost, to march
on foot so long as their strength lasted.
Several days passed in rest and recreation. The
Yuma, Cajuenche, and Quiquima Indians thronged
the camp and were much entertained by the music
of a violin played by one of the soldiers. The
women learned to dance in the Spanish fashion, and
both sexes learned to salute the Spaniards with
"Ave Maria"; "viva Dios y el Rey'^; pronouncing
the Spanish words with fluency.
On the first of March Garces returned without
having learned anything concerning the route they
must take, and the next day the expedition again
essayed the passage of the desert, leaving behind
the greater part of the baggage, three soldiers, three
muleteers, and one of Anza's servants, with the surplus
cattle and caballerias. They now kept down the
plain of the Colorado to avoid the sand-hills and
shorten the journey across the desert to the sierra.
For two days they continued down the river among
the rancherias of the Cajuenches, and then, on March
4th, turned to the west-northwest towards the Cocopa
mountains, guided by a Cajuenche Indian. After a
journey of six or seven leagues the guide proposed
that they camp for the night, assuring the commander
that they would reach the aguage by noon the follow-
ing day. To this proposition Anza assented with
reluctance as there was in the place neither water
8o The Beginnings of San Francisco
nor pasture. Starting at daybreak the next morning
the march was continued In a direction varying be-
tween north and west to avoid the sand-hills, and after
a journey of twelve and a half leagues (thirty-two and
a half miles) they reached some pot holes containing
a scanty supply of water and a little pasture. To
these wells Anza gave the name San Euseblo. On
the day's journey they came upon what appeared
to be an arm of the sea {hrazo del mar) which Anza
thought must come from the Gulf of California,
thirty leagues distant. He tasted the water and
found It salty and he found stranded there a large
quantity of fish of the kind that belong to the sea.
The little water of the wells of San Euseblo was
soon exhausted and one half of the beasts had none.
To add to their misfortunes they discovered that the
rascally guide had run off during the night leaving
them to the peril of the desert without knowledge
of the location of water. Suffering from thirst Anza
sent a corporal and five men to search for the aguage,
and at two in the afternoon moved the train over the
track of the explorers. After three leagues of travel
they met two of the soldiers who guided them to
some springs in the hills where there was water but
very little grass for the beasts. Anza named the
wells Santo Tomas and here they remained the night
of March 6th. I cannot locate this spring but it
is in the Cocopa mountains about ten miles below
the boundary line. On the seventh Anza again sent
out the scouts, following on their trail in the after-
a
MUD VOLCANOES, COLORADO DESERT
Photograph by United States Geological Survey.
W. C. Mendenhall.
^0 "Vnr V^rmx\TKr,9, of San Francisco
nor r Starting at daybreak the next morning
th' itinued in a direction varying be-
west to avoid the sand-hills, and after
and a half leagues (thirty-two and
n '■ y reached some pot holes containing
of water and a little pasture. To
inza gave the name San Eusebio. On
.„^. 's journey they came upon what appeared
.. an arm of the sea {brazo del mar) which Anza
••-^rht must come from the Gulf of California,
, .,./ leagues distant. He tasted the water and
found it salty and he found stranded there a large
quantity of f -^ '^^ 'he kind that belong to the sea.
The little wa _. .1 ihe wells of San Eusebio was
soon exhir^ggd oaA!^oaoa^i^M)wi3iffi/b(naBts had none.
To add .Y9vii;2 iBDigoiosO 39jBje i)?jinUec^ itif8i??vvi8red that the
rascally g. •■^^^"■'^^"^^' d^u?fng the night leaving
them to the ine desert without knowledge
of the location oi w*ccr. Suffering from thirst Anza
sent a corporal and five men to search for the aguage,
and at two in the afternoon moved the train over the
■ of the explorers. After three leagues of travel
met two of the soldiers who guided them to
' springs in the hills where there was water but
very little grass for the ' named the
Santo Tomas and here the^' x- the night
01 March 6th. I cannot locate this spring but it
!> in the Cocopa mountains about ten miles below
loundary line. On the seventh Anza again sent
. scouts, following on their trail in the after-
'
Miidk .iii
They Reach Water 8i
noon, and camped for the night where there was some
pasturage for the animals but no water. They were,
however, cheered by information the scouts obtained
from some Indians of the certainty of reaching the
long-looked for aguage early the next day. Starting
at seven in the morning, a march of one and a quarter
leagues brought them to the wells which on being
opened distilled an abundant supply of most beauti-
ful water. To these wells Anza gave the name of
Pozos de Santa Rosa de las Lajas (the Wells of Santa
Rosa of the Flat Rocks).* Anza's native Californian
and guide, Sebastian Tarabel, recognized in these
wells one of the stopping places of his former journey,
and they all rejoiced in the thought that now their
expedition would not fail. This aguage, Anza says,
was but eighteen leagues from Santa Olalla (it was
twenty) and could have been made in two forced
marches, though it had taken six days and thirty-five
leagues of travel to reach it. At 2.30 in the afternoon
Anza resumed his march and traveling almost due
north made four leagues and camped for the night
in the desert without water and with but little
pasture for the animals. At daybreak the next
morning they took their way again to the north
across some dangerous sand-hills, with the men on
foot leading their horses, and after traveling seven
* These wells are now known as the Yuha springs and are located in the
northwest corner of section eight, township seventeen south, range eleven east,
San Bernardino base and meridian, four miles north of the boundary line. The
water is about two feet below the surface of a dry wash.
►
82 The Beginnings of San Francisco
leagues, arrived at one in the afternoon at a large
cienega or marsh — the sink of the San Felipe river —
at the base of the San Jacinto mountains, the
western wall of the desert. Anza gave to the aguage
the name of San Sebastian del Peregrino. He had,
in the face of great peril, without guides, and with
much suffering, accomplished the passage of the
Colorado desert.
•rwimm^
CARRIZO CREEK, COLORADO DESERT
Photograph by United States Geological Survey.
W. C. Mendenhall.
I
82 *N Francisco
^^ afternoon at a large
the San Felipe river —
Jacinto mountains, the
Anza gave to the aguage
del Peregrino. He had,
vithout guides, and with
wi iiohed the passage of the
T^383a OaA^OJOO ,iia3M3 OSW^AO
.v9VTu8 IfiDigoIoaO 83Jbj8 baJinU ^cf rfqeigoJori*!
.jjAHnaawaM .3 .W
Chapter V.
EL CAMINO REAL
1774
/I NZA found the water of the Cienega de San
/-% Sebastian* very alkahne and the grass so
affected by it that the animals were made
sick. At the cienega was a small rancheria of hill
Indians (Indios Serranos), a most miserable, half-
starved lot, ugly and entirely naked, living on mescal
and seeds, with such game as they could kill with their
bows and arrows. They also used the boomerang,
throwing it with great dexterity and skill. These In-
dians have been identified with the Comeya who form-
erly occupied the country from the head of the Gulf
of California to the Sierra Madre and from the Pacific
to the lands of the Yumas. They were as fierce and
treacherous as they were cowardly, and were the only
Indians that Anza met on his long march whom he
could not convert into friends. There was war between
the Comeya and the Yuma, and two of the latter tribe
whom Anza had brought with him notified the coman-
dante that they and all who accompanied them would
have their throats cut. Anza told the Comeya Indians
that the war between them and the Yumas had
ceased and that the tribes were now friends. This
statement was apparently accepted and with the
breaking of arrows the former enemies embraced
* The Cienega de San Sebastian is on the San Felipe river near where the
Carnzo creek joins it, in Section 2, township 12 south, range 9 east. It is a
little below sea level and the water, while abundant, is brackish.
It must not be inferred that a "river" in Southern California is necessarily
a stream of water visible to the naked eye. Frequently the flow is under-
ground, except in times of freshet.
8S
86 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and assured the comandante that their future
excursions into each other's territory would be but
pleasure trips.
Remaining at the cienega until three o'clock the
next afternoon, March ii, 1774, Anza resumed his
journey, and turning his back on the Colorado desert
passed into the San Jacinto mountains by the broad
dry Canada* of the San Felipe river. His animals
were very weak from the purging caused by the
alkaline grass and water of San Sebastian, and
two of them died. He advanced only one and a
half leagues, then halted for the night where there
were some mesquite trees, whose leaves furnished
scanty forage for the beasts. In this place were
four or five families of Serranos who informed him
that the sea was distant three days' journey to the
west, and that some of their relatives near it had
seen people like the Spaniards who lived at a dis-
tance of five or six days' journey. The sea, Anza
inferred, was the Philippine Ocean, and the people
were those who lived at the Puerto de San Diego.
Before daybreak the next morning the march
was resumed up the gently ascending canada of the
San Felipe, in a west-northwest direction, and turn-
ing into the canonf of Coyote creek they camped
where there was running water of good quality and
better grass than they had seen since they had left
* Canada: a dale or glen between mountains: a valley,
t A canon is a narrow valley with more or less precipitous sides, a defile or
ravine.
In Coyote Canon 87
the Pimeria.* At this aguage they found some
sixty Serranos who scattered at the approach of the
Spaniards. Anza sent the native Californian after
them to induce them to return. Tarabel succeeded
in bringing them back, and Anza rewarded them with
presents of trinkets and tobacco; but the pack-mules
coming up and scenting the water, set up a terrific
braying which put the Indians to precipitate flight.
Anza named the aguage San Gregorio and remained
in camp the next day to give his sick animals rest.
The expedition resumed its march before dawn on
March 13th, continuing up the canon of Coyote
creek and camping at the head of Borega valley.
Here the Coyote, coming through a narrow canon
where its flow had been forced to the surface, again
sinks to its underground channel. Anza notes the
good grass and vines and trees which promised
improvement further on. He named the aguage
Santa Caterina.
Starting two hours before daybreak the next morn-
ing, they continued up the caiion, which now began
to narrow and rise sharply. For four leagues they
followed the canon of the Coyote, then turning into
Horse caiion a sharp climb of two leagues brought
them to a bajio and the summit of the San Jacinto
mountains, where they found good grass and water.
* Pimeria: the country of the Pima Indians. It extends, roughly speaking,
from the Sonora river to the Gila east of the one hundred and twelfth meridian.
Anza left the Pimeria and passed into the Papagueria when he crossed the Altar
river at the mission of Caborca, January 22d.
88 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Anza says: "This paraje is a pass and I named it El
Puerto Real de San Carlos (the Royal Pass of San
Carlos). From it may be discovered some very
beautiful plains, green and flowery, and the sierra
nevada with pines, oaks, and other trees proper
to cold countries. In it the waters are divided,
some running to the Gulf and others to the Philip-
pine Ocean. Thus is it verified that the cordillera
we are now in is connected with that of Baja Cali-
fornia." This bajio is Vandeventer flat, at the base
of Lookout mountain, and its altitude is about four
thousand, seven hundred feet. I have been some-
what particular in tracing Anza's route across the
Sierra Madre of California, of which the San Jacinto
mountains form a part, because Bancroft, in his
History of California, identifies the pass of San
Carlos with the San Gorgonio pass, the route followed
by the Southern Pacific railroad, and all subsequent
writers have accepted the statement and confirmed
the error."
The Indians met on this day's march were of the
same appearance and language as those of San Sebas-
tian, but were more impudent in manner and speech.
Their harangues were accompanied by movement
of hands and feet so violent that Anza called them
Danzantes (Dancers). They were great thieves and
Anza says they could steal with their feet as dex-
terously as with their hands.
That night it rained and snowed, and it was not
until the next afternoon that the expedition started,
La Canada del Paraiso 89
taking its way over the divide between Vandeventer
flat and Hemet valley, an elevation of four thousand
nine hundred and eighty-five feet, and camped at a
beautiful lake in Hemet valley which Anza named
Laguna del Principe. In crossing the divide he says
he found a fair vein of silver ore. The next three
days he traveled down the Hemet valley, the San
Jacinto river, camping on March 19th on the border
of a large and beautiful lake, covered with white
geese, which he named Laguna de San Antonio de
Bucareli. This was San Jacinto lake. He is enthusi-
astic in his description of the beautiful river, the trees,
and the flowers. The river he named San Jose,
and the San Jacinto valley he called La Valle Ameno
de San Jose (The pleasant valley of San Jose). Into
this pleasant valley comes the north fork of the San
Jacinto river, a bounding, precipitous stream of such
crystalline beauty that they named the gorge down
which it runs La Canada del Paraiso — the Vale of
Paradise.
The next day they reached the Santa Ana river,
so named by Portola, July 28, 1769, but finding the
river full were unable to cross. Passing down the
river for half a league they looked in vain for a ford,
and at four o'clock halted to make a bridge. This
they finished at nightfall and rested for the night.
Crossing the Santa Ana the next morning on the
little bridge, the expedition traveled seven leagues
in a west-northwest direction along the base of the
Sierra Madre and camped for the night in a fertile
90 The Beginnings of San Francisco
valley thickly studded with poplars, willows, and
alders, on the bank of a clear stream coming down
from the sierra, which Anza named Arroyo de los
Osos (Bear creek), having seen and chased several
of those animals. The stream was San Antonio
creek and the location of the camp was a little north
and east of the site of the present town of Pomona.
A march of eight leagues the next day brought them
at sunset, March 22d, to the mission of San Gabriel
where they were received by the padres with demon-
strations of joy, the ringing of bells, and the singing
of the Te Deum.
Tears of joy filled the eyes of those exiles from home
as they looked upon these intrepid men and realized
how near Sonora really was to them. As they heard
the story of the expedition, wonder filled their hearts
at the marvelous journey made by such a handful of
men. Anza found the mission on very short rations,
the priests and soldiers of the guard being allowed
but three corn cakes per day which they eked out
by wild herbs, each one seeking for himself; and of
this scanty ration of corn they had but one month's
supply. Nevertheless, the father superior of the
mission offered to supply Anza with food until an
expedition could be sent to San Diego, where, the
father superior had been informed, a ship, the Nueva
Galicia, had arrived. Giving his men two days' rest,
Anza dispatched four soldiers with seven mules to
San Diego, forty leagues distant, with a request to
the captain of the ship and to the comandante of the
Los Angeles River 91
port for provisions and for horses to enable him to
continue his march to Monterey.* The soldiers
returned April 5th, bringing six fanegasf of maize,
half damaged, one sack of dried meat, not edible,
one sack of flour and two fanegas of beans which
could not be taken because his troops did not carry
pots in which to boil them. The horses asked for
could not be supplied. As the provisions would last
the expedition but sixteen days, Anza sent the two
priests, with most of the soldiers, back to the Rio
Colorado to await his return, and, with an escort of
six soldiers, began the last lap of his journey, one
hundred and twenty leagues, to Monterey.
Starting at nine o'clock in the morning of April
loth, he reached the Rio de la Porciuncula (Los
Angeles river), J passed up the river into the San
Fernando valley over the Santa Susana mountains,
and camped on the Rio de Triunfo, a march of four-
teen leagues. The next day's march of sixteen
leagues brought him to the Rio de la Carpenteria
and the first rancheria of the Santa Barbara channel.
This was the Rio de la Asuncion of Portola and the
site of the future mission of San Buenaventura. He
* On March 24th, Anza stood god-father to an Indian baby baptized by the
padres, and gave him his name — ^Juan Bautista.
tFanega: about 1.6 bushels.
X Portola crossed the Los Angeles river on the 2d of August, 1769, the day
of the Feast of Porciuncula and named it in honor of the day Rio de Nuestra
Seiiora de los Angeles de Porciuncula. It is to this incident the city of Los
Angeles owes its name which is in full Nuestra Seiiora La Reina de los Angeles
de Porciuncula — Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula.
92 The Beginnings of San Francisco
also made sixteen leagues the next day along the
Santa Barbara channel and stopped at the Rancherias
de Mescaltitan. The next day's march was fifteen
leagues to the Rancheria de los Pedernales. On the
fourteenth he passed Point Concepcion and camped
on the Rio de Santa Rosa (now the Santa Inez) near
its mouth. He speaks well of the channel Indians,
describes their houses, round, like the half of an
orange, their well built boats in which they venture
out to the channel islands on fishing expeditions,
their tools of flint, their manufacture of baskets and
dishes of stone. He thinks the estimate of 8,000 to
10,000 previously made of the channel Indians, too
large. The country is beautiful and fertile and
refreshing to eyes accustomed to the lands bordering
on the Gulf of California where there is nothing
seen of trees and herbs, while here the sea waves
break upon shores as fertile as they are flowery.
A march of twelve leagues the next day brought
Anza to the mission of San Luis Obispo, where his
arrival gladdened the hearts of the missionaries.
His route the next day was over the Cuesta pass of
the Sierra de Santa Lucia into the Salinas valley,
down the Salinas river to the Rio del Nacimiento
where he camped after a march of thirteen leagues.
The next morning he reached the mission of San An-
tonio and, pausing for a brief rest, pushed on into
the Salinas valley* by the Arroyo Seco, named by
*The Salinas river was named by Portola September 26, 1769, Rio de San
Elizario. Later when the presidio of Monterey had been established the
river came to be called Rio de Monterey.
Arrival at Monterey 93
Portola, La Canada del Palo Caido — the Valley of
the Fallen Tree — and camped on the site where,
in 1791, was established the mission of Nuestro
Seiiora de la Soledad. The next day, April i8th,
a march of thirteen leagues brought him to the
presidio of Monterey. He was joyfully received by
Don Pedro Fages, comandante of California, but
found the garrison in a sad plight and much nearer
to starvation than were the people of San Gabriel.
All rejoiced in the success of his journey, for now that
a road was opened to Sonora, they would no longer
be dependent for supplies on the uncertain arrival
of ships. The father superior and priests of the
mission of San Carlos Boromeo de Monterey, in the
valley of the Carmelo, distant one league from the
presidio, called on the successful explorer and ex-
tended their congratulations and bade him welcome.
Anza returned the visit the following day, and on
Friday, April 22, 1774, set out on his return trip,
taking with him six of Fages' soldiers to show them
the road to the Rios Gila and Colorado. On the
sixth day's march while traveling along the Santa
Barbara channel, he met the father president of the
California mission. Fray Junipero Serra, who was
returning from a visit to the city of Mexico, whence
he had been to procure the recall of Fages. At
Junipero's request, Anza spent with him the rest of
the day and the night and gave him an account of
his journey.
94 The Beginnings of San Francisco
• On reaching San Gabriel Anza sums up his observa-
tions concerning the people and the country of the
new foundations. He confirms the reports of Cap-
tains Don Caspar de Portola and Don Miguel Cos-
tanso concerning the mildness and docility of the
gentile nations and says that, were food abundant,
the conversions to Christianity would be greatly
increased; that the scarcity of food among many of
the missions was due more to lack of seed than any
sterility of soil; that the lands produce most abun-
dantly wheat, barley, peas, beans, and other vege-
tables.
On May 3d he left San Gabriel for the Rio Colo-
rado, returning by the same route he had come, save
that in crossing the Colorado desert he avoided the
long detour of his coming, and by a forced march of
twenty-two leagues from San Sebastian, reached
Santa Olalla on the morning of May 9th. On his
journey eastward to the Laguna de San Antonio
Bucareli (San Jacinto lake) May 4th, he saw to the
north of it, in the cordillera nevada, a good pass
which he thought might be a direct route from Sonora
to Monterey. He was looking into the opening of
San Timoteo caiion and the San Gorgonio pass.
After a rest of a few hours Anza continued his march
up the valley of the Colorado and halted in the land
of the Yumas who received him with extravagant
demonstrations of joy, for they had heard reports
that the expedition had been destroyed by the Ser-
ranos and Anza and all his men killed. The Yumas
Palm A Rewarded 95
informed Anza that on receipt of the report the
soldiers he had left in care of Captain Palma had
fled to the Rio del Altar in spite of the remonstrances
of the Yuma chief.
The following day, May loth, Anza reached the
junction of the Colorado and Gila, where Palma met
him with much affection and informed him that Padre
Garces was encamped on the other side of the river,
and he, Palma, had delivered to him the cattle and
provisions Anza had left in his care. By three o'clock
in the afternoon Palma had a raft prepared and fer-
ried the party over the river, which, Anza notes, was
six hundred varas (sixteen hundred and fifty feet)
wide. The passage of the river was safeguarded by
five hundred Yumas swimming beside the raft.
At five o'clock he reached the camp where he found
Garces and the troops he had sent back from San
Gabriel. Sending the soldiers brought from Mon-
terey back to their presidio, Anza resumed his march
May 15th, after praising Palma for his fidelity and
rewarding him by giving him his staff (baton), four
oxen, and some articles of dress. He enjoined him
to keep the peace with his neighbors and requested
him to send to Altar any Spaniard who might come
within his jurisdiction. He then took his way up the
Rio Gila, past the pueblos of the Papagos, Cocomari-
copas, and the Pimas Gilenos, to all of whom he
announced the cessation of wars warning them to
keep the peace and report to the Spanish presidios
any infraction of it. Leaving the river at the eastern
96 The Beginnings of San Francisco
extremity of the Gila Bend, he passed up the valley
of the Santa Cruz river and arrived at the Pima
pueblo of Tucson on May 25th. Here he found
dispatches requesting him to hasten his return as
there was danger of an Apache raid. Starting before
dawn the next morning he made a forced march of
twenty leagues and arrived at sunrise of the second
day, May 27th, at his own presidio of Tubac, and the
end of his journey, for the accomplishment of which
he gives praise to the Lord of Armies.
Anza had conquered the desert and had overcome
the natural barriers between a paternal government
and its feeble establishments in distant California.
He had realized his cherished dream and had opened
the King's Highway. He had secured for Spain the
friendship of the powerful tribes of the great river,
a friendship without which, he says, the river could
not be passed. He was now to establish a presidio
and mission worthy of the seralic patron and father,
Saint Francis, to found a city that, in the fullness of
time, was to dominate the great ocean and take its
place with the mighty ones of earth.
Chapter VI.
THE FOUNDATION
OF SAN FRANCISCO
1775-1776
THE fame of Anza's achievement spread
throughout New Spain. He received the
plaudits of his countrymen and was honored
by his king. Promoted to the rank of lieutenant-
colonel, he was authorized to raise and equip a com-
pany of thirty soldiers for the establishment of a
strong presidio and mission on the bay of San
Francisco. Of the company, ten were to be experi-
enced men from the Sonora presidios and twenty were
to be new recruits. All must be married men with
families and at the end of their ten year enlistment
were to be given land and turned into settlers. In
addition to the soldiers and their families, there were
to be a certain number of families of settlers {pobla-
dores) .
Anza raised the standard of the expedition at San
Felipe de Sinaloa with the rendezvous at San Miguel
de Horcasitas, then the residence of the governor of
Sonora. His own presidio of Tubac was on the
northern frontier and contained no white inhabitants
save the garrison. By order of the king the royal
treasury was thrown open, the colonists, men, women,
and children were clothed from head to foot and
from date of enlistment "ate with the king."* One
hundred and forty pack mules were required to carry
the provisions, war material, baggage, and other
goods and presents for the Indians among whom they
were going. There were one hundred and twenty
* Noticias de la Nueva California. Palou, iv, 133.
99
lOO The Beginnings of San Francisco
horses and twenty-five mules for the use of the troops,
two hundred and twenty horses belonging to the
expedition and three hundred and twenty head of
beef cattle, altogether, eight hundred and twenty-five
head of stock. Anza took the ensign, sergeant, and
eight soldiers from his own presidio and enlisted
twenty new men. All were married. The amount
allowed for equipment and transportation of each
family was eight hundred dollars; this in addition
to pay. Besides the soldiers there were several
families of pobladores. These also received pay,
rations, etc. The chaplain of the expedition was
Fray Pedro Font, and two priests, Fray Francisco
Garces and Fray Tomas Esaire, accompanied the
expedition to the Rio Colorado where they were to
remain to explore the country and catechise the
natives until Anza's return. The commissary of
the expedition, thirty muleteers, vaqueros, interpre-
ters, and servants, an escort of ten soldiers from
Anza's presidio, together with the families of the
soldiers and settlers, made up in all a company of
two hundred and forty souls, of whom one hundred
and sixty were women and children. The number
was increased by the birth of eight children on the
road. By September 1775, the expedition was
assembled ready to start for Tubac, and waiting for
the arrival of the escort from that presidio, for the
road from Horcasitas to Tubac, infested with the
plague of Apaches, was the most dangerous part of
the whole journey. As the escort was about to
t
A SOLDADO DE CUERA
Drawn by Walter Francis.
». I w. i 1 * i '
n<?eof the troops,
- .longing to the
: twenty head of
d and twenty-five
vnza took the v "\ sergeant, and
"Ti his own pi .Mio and enlisted
li. All were married. The amount
' rnent and transportation of each
hundred dollars; this in addition
' soldiers there were several
lores. These also received pay,
haplain of the expedition was
and two priests. Fray Francisco
as Esaire, accompanied the
:'j(! C/olorado where they were to
.■■ r-' ana catechise the
.eioMAal HaTJAW vdnw^iQ , .
commissary oi
ers, vaq' interpre-
r t of ten soldiers from
cr with the families of the
made up in all a company of
: and souls, of whom one hundred
-ty were won; d children. The number
'sed by the birth of eight children on the
^tember 1775, the expedition was
y to start for Tubac, and waiting for
he escort from that presidio, for the
>itas to Tubac, infe^^ted with the
-, was the most da- is part of
•V. As the escort i!^out to
March from Horcasitas ioi
leave this outpost for Horcasitas the Apaches de-
scended upon them and ran off all their horses. The
commander at Horcasitas was notified and sent horses
from that place to Tubac for the use of the escort.
Anza improved the time afforded by this delay to
increase his escort but only succeeded in getting
five additional soldiers for duty between these points.
On September 29th the outfit was mustered and
inspected and at 4.30 in the afternoon they began
the long march of seventy leagues to Tubac. Cross-
ing the Rio de Horcasitas they left the river on the
right and took a course north-northwest to the pueblo
of Santa Ana on the Rio San Ignacio, thence up the
San Ignacio past the pueblos of Santa Maria Mag-
dalena,San Ignacio, and Imuris, — all known to-day —
and at eight o'clock of October 12th entered the
dreaded caiion of the San Ignacio. This was the
danger point of the journey and the scene of many
a massacre by Apaches. A cafion ten miles long, in
many places less than a hundred feet wide, with walls
rising abruptly to a height of five hundred to eight
hundred feet, invited ambush and attack. Anza pro-
ceeded very slowly, taking precautions against sur-
prise, and safely accomplished thepassageinfive hours.
Two more jornadas* of eight leagues each brought
him to the presidio of Tubac. This was his official
starting point and the presidio under his command.
On Sunday, October 22d, mass was sung with all
possible solemnity for the purpose of invoking
* Jornada, a day's journey.
102 The Beginnings of San Francisco
divine aid for the expedition; the Santisima Virgen
de Guadalupe was named as patroness, with the
Princes San Miguel and San Francisco de Asis as
protectors, and at eleven o'clock the following morn-
ing, Monday, October 23, 1775, the journey began.
Of the personnel of this expedition, the interest
centers mainly around the thirty soldiers* who were
to remain in California and become the first settlers
of San Francisco. Fifteen are classed as Espanoles,
seven as Mulatos, six as Mestizos, and two as Indios.
They were good people, carefully selected, and they
proved themselves good soldiers and excellent citi-
zens. Anza makes a public record of their faithful-
ness and devotion to king and country."
Owing to the lateness of the season and the great
number of women and children, Anza would not
attempt the passage of the Papagueria, but pre-
ferred the longer and safer route by way of the Santa
Cruz river and the Gila. The first day's journey was
four leagues to the north where the expedition
camped at a place called Canoa. Here the wife
of a soldier, taken with labor pains, gave birth to a
boy and died at 3.45 in the morning. The body of
the unfortunate woman was taken by Padre Garces
to his mission of San Xavier del Bac, thirteen leagues
* Soldados de cuera, so called because of a sleeveless coat worn by them
made of six or seven thicknesses of dressed deer skins, impervious to Indian
arrows except at very short range. The horse was also protected, in part,
by a leathern apron, fastened to the pommel of the saddle and covering the
breast of the horse and the legs and thighs of the rider. The arms were lance
and shield, carbine, and broadsword.
!l!(!t
\
I02 The Beginnings of San Francisco
divine aid for the expedition; the Santisima Virgen
de Guadalupe was named as patroness, with the
Princes San Miguel and San Francisco de Asis as
protectors, and at eleven o'clock the following morn-
ing, Monday, October 23, 1775, the journey began.
Of the personnel of this expedition, the interest
centers mainly around the thirty soldiers* who were
to remain in California and become the first settlers
of San Francisco. Fifteen are classed as Espanoles,
seven as Mulatos, six as Mestizos, and two as Indios.
They were good people, carefully selected, and they
proved themselves good soldiers and excellent citi-
zens. Anza makes a public record of their faithful-
ness and devotion to king and country."
Owing to the lateness of the season and the great
number of women and children, Anza would not
attempt the passage of the Papagueria, but pre-
ferred the longer and safer route by way of the Santa
Cruz river and the Gila. The first day's journey was
four leagues to the north where the expedition
camped at a place called Canoa. Here the wife
of a soldier, taken with labor pains, gave birth to a
boy and died at 3.45 in the morning. The body of
the unfortunate woman was taken by Padre Garces
to his mission of San Xavier del Bac, thirteen leagues
* Soldados de cuera, so called because of a sleeveless coat worn by them
made of six or seven thicknesses of dressed deer skins, impervious to Indian
arrows except at very short range. The horse was also protected, in part,
by a leathern apron, fastened to the pommel of the saddle and covering the
breast of the horse and the legs and thighs of the rider. The arms were lance
and shield, carbine, and broadsword.
THE ROUTES 01" ANZA'S EXPEDITIONS
SpccJallv drnwn tot thia work.
The March Down the Gila 103
north of Tubac, for burial. On October 26th they
were at Tucson which Anza speaks of as an Indian
pueblo, containing the most northerly of the con-
verted Indians. '3 Five uneventful jornados brought
them to the Rio Gila where a rest of one day was
taken and the comandante and his chaplain visited
the famous Casa Grande, of which Font gives an
excellent description. On November ist, the expe-
dition began its march down the river. The order
of march, as given by Font, was as follows: Four
soldiers went ahead as scouts, Anza led off with the
van guard; after him came the priests and next the
men, women, and children, escorted by soldiers; the
ensign brought up the rear guard. Behind these
followed the pack trains with the loose horses and beef
cattle. As soon as the long column started. Font
would strike up the Alabado,* to which all the people
would respond. On making camp, when they had
dismounted the ensign reported and received his
orders. The soldiers made shelters with their cloaks
and blankets and there were thirteen tents — nine for
the soldiers' families, two for the priests, one for
the ensign and a big circular one for the seiior coman-
dante.
As he passed through the Pima villages, Anza was
joyfully received by the Indians and noted their
irrigation ditches and the crops raised, and also,
with satisfaction, that the peace established by him
between the nations of the Gila and Colorado had
* A hymn of praise.
I04 The Beginnings of San Francisco
been kept. On November 3d he reached Maricopa
Wells, the waters of which had such serious effect
upon both his people and animals that he gave them
the name of Las Lagunas de Hospital. So bad was
the water that two of the women were taken violently
ill and were thought to be dying. Anza administered
such remedies as he had and brought water from the
Gila, three leagues distant, for them to drink. Many
of the caballerias became sick also and two horses
died. Anza determined to move the expedition,
though the women were still very ill, and the next
journey must be a forced march across the Gila
Bend, a desert, without water, and with but scanty
feed for the animals. Starting at one o'clock in the
afternoon of November 7th, he passed around the
southern end of the Sierra de Estrella thence west-
southwest towards the Sierra Maricopa and halted
for the night before the Pass of the Cocomaricopas.
Resuming the march in the morning he crossed the
mountains by the above pass and at four in the after-
noon reached the village of Opas, or Cocomaricopas,
called by him in 1774 San Simon y Judas, having
made the journey in fourteen hours of actual travel — •
very good time with his sick women and sick and
dying horses. Bartlett* who crossed this desert in
1852, gives a graphic account of the passage. From
now on to the jurisdiction of the Yumas, Anza
traveled among the rancherias of the Cocomaricopas.
He found them enjoying the fruits of the peace he
* John Russel Bartlett, U. S. Boundary Commissioner.
A Governor of the Maricopas 105
had established between them and the Yumas on
one side and the Pimas on the other and they gave
him repeated thanks for the great service he had done
them, for they could now dwell on open ground and
cultivate their lands. The expedition was detained
for three days at San Simon y Judas by a very sick
woman, and five other members were added to the
sick list, including the chaplain. Father Font, who
became very ill with a tertian ague.
Resuming the march November nth they passed
down the plain of the river among rich cultivated
fields and on the fourteenth reached Agua Caliente*
where a day's rest allowed opportunity for doing
family washing. Here Anza was waited on by a
large number of Maricopas — to give them their
modern name — who desired him to appoint a chief
to rule over them. Anza conferred on one of their
number, selected by themselves, the title of governor,
and appointed another alcalde, and admonished
them to recognize the king as their master and to
obey all the orders he or his ministers might give
them. This they all agreed to do and Anza fixed
the bounds of their jurisdiction. Before installing
them he gave them the most precise instructions
concerning their duties which, he says, so intimidated
the governor that for more than an hour he trembled
as if he had an ague.
The expedition resumed its march Thursday,
November i6th, continuing down the plain of the
* Hot Water; named by Anza on his upward passage May 19, 1774.
io6 The Beginnings of San Francisco
river and passing from the jurisdiction of the Mari-
copas to that of the Yumas. The stops were usually
made at or near some Indian rancheria which Anza
had named in his upward passage in May of the pre-
vious year. Everywhere he notes improvement in
the condition of the people and he cements the friend-
ship established between them and the Spaniards
by liberal presents from the stores furnished him for
that purpose. With the exception of Agua Caliente,
which shows on the map on the north bank of the
Gila on the western border of Maricopa County,
the names given by Anza in this region have disap-
peared.
From Agua Caliente the comandante sent forward
four soldiers with a Yuma interpreter to announce
his approach to Salvador Palma, captain of the
Yumas, to select a place for crossing the Colorado
river, and to look for a better route across the Colo-
rado desert from Santa Olalla to San Sebastian. At
a place named by him in 1774, San Pascual, the expe-
dition was detained three days by the confinement
of the wife of a soldier. The cold was excessive and
in four days six horses died from it. On the twenty-
second Anza resumed his march and on the twenty-
seventh Captain Palma with an escort of thirty
unarmed Indians met him four leagues above the
confluence of the rivers. The Yuma chief embraced
his friend joyfully and announced that his nation and
all the tribes of the river joined him in the welcome to
the expedition. Palma had advanced so far in civili-
THE TRAIL ON THE GILA
From Bartlett's Narrative.
SCO
lotion of the Man-
were usually
ria which Anza
m his upward May of the pre-
Everywhere he s improvement in
lof the people and he cements the friend-
<hed between . and the Spaniards
om the stores furnished him for
the exception of Agua Caliente,
map on the north bank of the
I border of Maricopa County,
\n7n in this rnmnn have disap-
the comandante sent forward
'I'uqia mrerpFerff'to announce
.'jvjjBnc/l a'-njajxaAa moiT . - ,
iv'aaor ralma, captam of the
.1 . , jFqj. crossing the Colorado
tter route assess the Colo-
oialla to San Sebastian. At
'774, San " lal, the expe-
diu i aei Uiree days by liie confinement
of the vviie of a ooiuier. The cold -^vas excessive and
' days six h< ' J from it. On the twenty-
resunitd his march a!?d on the twenty-
m Palma with ai ^rt of thirty
i^- Indians met him four -s above the
c nee of t' The Yu: embraced
^ i announced \ :s nation and
all the tribes oi ver joined hin e welcome to
the in. Paima had advanced so far in civili-
Palma Asks for Missions 107
zation as to enquire courteously after the health of
his majesty, the king, and that of his excellency,
the viceroy, saying that he was fortunate in having
seen them when they were at the presidio of San
Miguel* (Horcasitas) and happy in having heard
them speak and that to have understood what they
said he would willingly have taken off his ears and
put on Spanish ones. He anxiously enquired if the
missions he had asked for were soon to be established
in his country, and said that to make himself worthy
of such a blessing he had complied exactly with the
the order Anza had given him, and had not made war
on any nation save the Serranos on the west and
had only done that because the Serranos had attacked
a Spanish mission in Alta California and killed some
of its people. t He concluded by offering to the Span-
iards all his lands in the name of his people, since
all desired the Spaniards to come and settle among
them and Christianize them, and he requested that
Anza and all his expedition remain with him until
the king was advised of his petition.''* In reply to
this Anza said that he had no power to grant such a
request, but as his majesty had sent him with troops
and families to establish a presidio and two missions
* Palma had visited Horcasitas to ask the governor of Sonora to establish a
mission on the Rio Colorado. The diarist does not state whom Palma took for
the king and viceroy.
t This referred to the destruction of the mission of San Diego by the Die-
guenos, who, as well as those Indians called by the diarist Serranos, belonged
to the Comeya. Anza had evidence that the Serranos of the San Jacinto moun-
tains participated in the sack of the mission.
io8 The Beginnings of San Francisco
in California he would undoubtedly in due time
consider Palma's wishes. This satisfied the chief
who said that on Anza's return, if three establish-
ments (a presidio and two missions) had not been
made in his country he would accompany Anza to
the City of Mexico and make his demand on the
viceroy. Anza replied that he would willingly take
Palma to Mexico, provided it met with the approval
of his people.
On the evening of this day Anza presented the
chief with the baton of authority as captain of the
Yumas, and also a dress the viceroy had sent him,
consisting of a shirt, trousers, waistcoat yellow in
front and trimmed with gold, blue coat laced, and
black velvet cap adorned with false gems and a plume
a modo de Palma. The chief was greatly pleased
with these attentions, as were his followers, for the
power and authority of Palma were greatly enhanced
by the favor shown him by the Spaniards. The
Yumas were very proud of the ability of their wives
to say "Ave Maria" and other salutations taught
them by the members of the former expedition, and
were covered with shame at the recollection of the
naked condition in which they had then presented
themselves.
On the following day a march of four hours
brought the expedition to the confluence of the Rios
Gila and Colorado. Crossing the Gila by a good ford
they reached the rancheria of Captain Palma — San
Dionisio of Father Kino — where they were hospitably
A Ford of the Colorado 109
entertained by the Yumas who brought them beans,
calabashes, maize, and other grains in abundance,
and very many water-melons. Here came the scouts
sent out from Agua Caliente to find a better route
across the Colorado desert, and reported that though
they had spent six days in the survey they could find
no other watering places (aguages), than those
indicated in the route of the previous expedition;
nor could they find any trails or footprints of men or
beasts save those noted thereon. The Indians in-
formed Anza that there was no ford to the Rio
Colorado, and when he ordered a raft made said that
it was impossible to cross in that manner owing to
the coldness of the water, the Indians having to swim
and guide the raft. He, however, persisted in making
the raft, and at seven o'clock the next morning
mounted his horse and accompanied by a coura-
geous soldier and a Yuma went in search of a ford.
He spent the forenoon in testing the river at various
points, both he and his companions submerging
themselves and their horses in the icy waters, and
at one o'clock in the afternoon found a place where
the river was divided into three branches and could
be forded. Here he would attempt the passage and
returning to the camp sent a party of axemen to
open a road to the ford through the dense forest
growth of the river bottom. At seven in the morning
of November 30th the expedition moved up to the
ford, about a quarter of a league above the camp.
The pack-trains were brought up and the freight and
no The Beginnings of San Francisco
baggage were sent over in half loads. The women
and children were placed on the tallest and strongest
horses, each led by the head strap and each accom-
panied by ten men on the lower side for rescue in
case of a fall. Thus the passage was made in safety
with nothing more serious than a wetting, for the
water was but little over four feet in the deepest
part and about eight hundred and fifty feet wide.
One reckless rider who was carrying a child was
swept from his horse, but both were instantly rescued.
Font, who was sick and dizzy, was held on his horse
by a servant on either side, while a third led the
animal. He got wet to the knees. Garces was
carried over on the shoulders of three Yumas, two
by his head and one by his feet, stretched out stifi^,
face upward, like a corpse. By one o'clock in the
afternoon the first settlers of San Francisco were
on California soil.
Building a hut (barraca) on the bank of the river
for the two priests who were to remain, Anza pre-
pared to resume his journey when he was informed
that two more of his people were added to the sick
list and were so desperately ill that the sacrament of
penitence had been administered to them. Hasten-
ing to their relief, he applied such remedies as he
had, but it was not until the fourth day that he could
again take up the march.
Settling the padres in their abode with an inter-
preter and three servants, one of whom was Sebastian
Tarabel who had accompanied the first expedition.
Laguna de Santa Olalla hi
Anza provided them with horses and four months'
supply of provisions, and committing them to the
care of Palma, began his march down the plain of the
Colorado on the morning of December 4th. The
route was a toilsome one, so overgrown with brush
that in many places only a narrow trail could be found.
It was so difficult to get the cattle through this cha-
parral that they remained more than a league behind.
That night he camped at the Cerro de San Pablo
(Pilot Knob) near the present boundary line. The
cold was so great that two horses died and the sick
list was increased to eleven. In the morning the
march was resumed in a southerly direction with
frequent detours to avoid the forest and the crooked
branches of the river channel. After an advance
of three leagues, camp was made at the Laguna de los
Cojas. The sacrament of penitence was adminis-
tered this night to one of the sick who was thought
to be dying. The next day they reached the Laguna
de Santa Olalla where they were to rest and prepare
for the most difficult portion of their journey: the
passage of the Colorado desert. The Indians of
Santa Olalla received them hospitably and gave them
great quantities of fish from the lake, and grains
and fruits, including more than two thousand water-
melons which they were obliged to leave behind.
Mindful of the dangers of the previous journey,
Anza divided the expedition into three parts, to
start on different days that all might not arrive at the
wells the same day. The first division was under
112 The Beginnings of San Francisco
his own command; the second he placed In charge
of Sergeant Grijalva, and the third was under com-
mand of Ensign Moraga. The beef herd he sent by
a separate road in charge of vaqueros, for the cattle
were so wild they could not be watered from buckets,
but must go from the Pozos del Carrizal to San Sebas-
tian, a distance of fifty miles, without water or pas-
ture. The vaqueros, muleteers, and troopers were
ordered to carry maize and grass for the animals.
At 9.30 on the morning of December 9th, the first
division began the march. It reached the Pozos
del Carrizal at half-past two in the afternoon, and
found the water abundant, though bad. Font, who
was with the first division, called the aguage El
Poso Salobre del Carrizal — the brackish well of the
Carrizal — and denounced it as a dreadful stopping
place, without pasture and with very bad water.
The next day after giving the animals all the water
they would take, they resumed the march and
traveled about five leagues in a west-northwest direc-
tion, and camped for the night in a deep dry water-
course where there was a little firewood, but neither
water nor pasture. The camp was in the bed of the
New river about a mile below the boundary line.
The cold was intense. At three o'clock in the morning
the caballerias were fed with grain, and at daybreak
began a forced march of ten leagues in a westerly
direction, reaching Los Pozos de Santa Rosa de las
Lajas at night. Anza had sent men in advance with
tools to open the wells, but he found them much be-
ClENEGA DE SaN SeBASTIAN II3
hind hand with the work. He set himself personally
to the task, but so slowly did the water distill that
it was ten o'clock before he was able to give water to
any of the beasts. The night was cruelly cold;
thev had no fuel, and in the darkness none could be
found. It was two o'clock in the morning before the
last thirsty animal had relief, but not till the next
forenoon was the herd satisfied. At 12.30 they
resumed the march, laying their course in a northerly
direction with a slight inclination to the west. A
fierce cold wind from the north distressed them and
impeded their progress. They made four leagues
and camped at a place where there was a small
quantity of firewood — very necessary on account
of the cold. At daylight they saw the high moun-
tains on their left covered with snow; the cold wind
continued, causing much distress to the women
and children, and to increase their discomfort it
began to snow. At nine o'clock they took up the
march, traveling in the same general direction for
five and a half leagues, then due north one and a
half leagues more, and arrived at 3.30 in the after-
noon at the Cienega de San Sebastian. The weather
had calmed somewhat and in the clearer atmosphere
they saw the Sierra Madre, through which they m.ust
pass, so filled with snow that they marveled that so
much could be gathered together. Anza caused the
people to gather all the firewood possible; this was
but little, while at five o'clock the cold wind began
again with great force and continued throughout
114 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the night. At daylight it began to snow, and Anza
determined to wait in camp the arrival of the two
divisions that were to follow. At twelve o'clock the
cattle arrived, four days from Los Pozos del Carrizal
without water, and with the loss of ten oxen. Though
taken to the edge of the pool, most of them refused
to drink the brackish water and began eating the
alkali whitened grass. All day Anza waited the
arrival of the second division. All day the bitter
wind continued and the snow fell until plain and
mountain were alike covered. At eleven o'clock in
the night the snow ceased and a pitiless frost followed
from which the people suffered greatly and six
oxen and one mule died. The morning of the fif-
teenth dawned clear and cold, with the snow that
had fallen the preceding night well hardened by the
frost that followed. At 12.15 ^^e second division
under Sergeant Grijalva arrived, badly crippled by
the storm which had caught them between the wells
of Santa Rosa and San Sebastian. Many of the
people were badly frost-bitten, one barely escaped
death, and they had lost five caballerias from the
cold. The frost continued severe and four more
oxen died that night. The next morning Anza was
informed that the Serranos had run off some of his
caballerias during the night. The sergeant and four
soldiers were dispatched in pursuit and instructed to
recover the animals without harming the Indians
unless the latter showed fight, but to warn them that
a second offence would be severely punished. All
114 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the night. At daylight it began to snow, and Anza
determined to wait in camp the arrival of the two
divisions that were to follow. At twelve o'clock the
cattle arrived, four days from Los Pozos del Carrizal
without water, and with the loss of ten oxen. Though
taken to the edge of the pool, most of them refused
to drink the brackish water and began eating the I
alkali whitened grass. All day Anza waited the
arrival of the second division. All day the bitter
wind continued and the snow fell until plain and
mountain were alike covered. At eleven o'clock in
the night the snow ceased and a pitiless frost followed
from which the people suffered greatly and six
oxen and one mule died. The morning of the fif-
teenth dawned clear and cold, with the snow that
had fallen the preceding night well hardened by the
frost that followed. At 12.15 ^^e second division
under Sergeant Grijalva arrived, badly crippled by
the storm which had caught them between the wells
of Santa Rosa and San Sebastian. Many of the
people were badly frost-bitten, one barely escaped
death, and they had lost five caballerias from the
cold. The frost continued severe and four more
oxen died that night. The next morning Anza was
informed that the Serranos had run off some of his
caballerias during the night. The sergeant and four
soldiers were dispatched in pursuit and instructed to
recover the animals without harming the Indians
unless the latter showed fight, but to warn them that
a second offence would be severely punished. All
UNITES sT*r?5..-i-^ ";;;?. „., „,
THE ROUTE ACROSS THE COLORADO DESERT
Specially drawn for this work.
Passage of the San Jacinto 115
day long they waited for the third division. In the
evening the sergeant returned with the stolen ani-
mals. He had found them in charge of the women
in two different rancherias, the men having disap-
peared. At seven the next morning the commander
sent soldiers with twenty horses to the relief of the
distressed rear guard, and at 3.30 in the afternoon
it came in. Upon them the storm had fallen with
fury and the driving snow had stampeded most of
their horses. Four horses had died from the cold,
and the ensign with the greatest difficulty had saved
the lives of his men. His exposure in caring for the
people had brought on an earache so severe that it
made him, for a time, totally deaf.'^
Two more oxen died this day from the cold, but
Anza notes a general improvement in the health of
the command, and notwithstanding the exposure, his
sick list is reduced from fifteen to five. He gives
credit for this to the many water-melons the people
ate at Santa Olalla.
On the following day, December 18, 1775, Anza pre-
pared to resume his march and begin the passage of
the Cordillera. Three oxen died from cold and ex-
haustion in the morning, and five more, unable to
move with the band were killed, and the beef dried
and salted, though hardly eatable by reason of its
smell, taste, and color. At 1 130 in the afternoon the
expedition moved up the broad Canada of the San
Felipe river and traveled three and a half leagues.
The next day they made four leagues to San Gre-
ii6 The Beginnings of San Francisco
gorlo, in Coyote canon, where the water in the wells
was insufficient for the cattle and the cold was so
intense that each day many of the cattle and cabal-
lerias, weakened by the hardships of the journey,
died. The cold this night was so great that the
people dared not sleep, and three caballerias and five
oxen were frozen. At seven in the morning the
commander was notified that many of the cattle,
driven by thirst, had escaped from their keepers.
Sending the sergeant with three soldiers and a
vaquero to look for them he moved forward to the
sink of the Santa Catarina (Coyote creek), the site
of the camp of March 13, 1774. Here he proposed
to give rest to his tired caballerias, which, he says,
have, like the cattle, dried up and become so thin
that they could not be recognized for the beasts that
began the march. In this day's march the loss in
cattle and horses was very heavy. In the afternoon
of the second day the sergeant returned with a few
of the cattle and reported a loss of fifty head, suffo-
cated in the mud of the Cienega de San Sebastian.
Anza was greatly distressed at this mishap which had
cost him so dear, in spite of all his care. A few miser-
able Indians came into camp and were fed by the
Spaniards. The morning of December 23d began
with a rain storm, but the rain ceased at nine o'clock
and the expedition resumed its march up the canon
of the Coyote. Two short jornadas brought them
on the twenty-fourth to the rancheria of the Dan-
zantes. They were halted here by the sickness of
The Pass of San Carlos 117
one of the women, and ten o'clock that night she was
happily delivered of a boy. Anza makes record that
"she is the third who has done this thing between
Tubac and this place. Besides these there have
been two other births, that, with the other three that
happened on the march to San Miguel de Horcasitas
make a total of eight, all in the open air." Owing to
this affair Christmas was passed quietly in camp
but on the following morning, the sick woman having
courage for the march, the command moved forward
and after a hard climb of about five hours, passing
through Horse caiion, arrived at two in the after-
noon at the Royal Pass of San Carlos where a halt
was necessary on account of the rain. Here they
had a thunderstorm followed by an earthquake.
Five leagues of travel the next day carried them to
San Patricio, the beginning of San Jacinto river.
From this point Anza sent three soldiers of his escort
to the missions of California and to the comandante,
Don Fernando de Rivera y Moncada, advising them
of the probable time of the arrival of the expedition,
its condition, and the necessity of furnishing him
with horses. He also expressly requested that on
the arrival of the expedition at Monterey, the coman-
dante be prepared to accompany him to the survey
of the Rio de San Francisco as ordered by the viceroy.
From the summit of the cordillera the poor people
looked with dismay upon range after range of moun-
tains filled with snow. To the west, those towards
ii8 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the South Sea,* as well as those extending into Baja
CaHfornia, all were so covered that only a few trees
on their summits could be seen. Coming from a hot
climate few of them had ever seen such a thing, and
so terrible did the sight appear that some began to
weep, saying that if here so many animals died from
the cold and they themselves barely escaped the same
fate, what would happen to them in the north where
the snow would be so much more plentiful?! The
commander comforted their hearts by telling them
that as they approached the sea the cold would dimin-
ish and the journey would be easy and comfortable.
The next day they were obliged to remain in camp
for between the cold and the damp the invalid was
much worse and was threatened with convulsions.
Responding to the treatment given, the sick woman
obtained relief during the day and night and on
December 29th, the expedition moved forward and
traveling six leagues down the caiiada camped in the
Valle Ameno de San Jose. The following day they
marched down the spacious and beautiful valley and
camped at the Laguna de San Antonio de Bucareli.
A long march of seven leagues the next day brought
them to the Santa Ana river, which on inspection
proved to be unfordable. Anza was obliged to build
* The Pacific Ocean was usually called the South Sea. Father Font's map has
it"MardelSur."
fit is difficult foronewho is not a Californian to realize how little the latitude
has to do with the climate of California. On the coast the same temperature
practically rules without regard to latitude, and in the interior, the northern
citrus belt, six hundred miles north of Los Angeles, produces the earliest oranges
Destruction of San Diego Mission 119
a bridge to get his people over, and it was twelve
o'clock the following day before this was completed.
The women and children were passed over first, and
then the rest of the people and the baggage. The
animals had to swim for it and one horse and one ox
were swept away and drowned. By three o'clock
the passage was completed and they camped for the
night of January ist, 1776, on the western bank of
the river.'^ The three soldiers Anza had sent to
the mission of San Gabriel December 27th, now
came to report, bringing eleven horses from the
padres and a message from the corporal commanding
the mission guard, to the eifect that the Indians had
risen against the mission of San Diego, killed one of
the priests and two of the servants, wounded the
soldiers and burned the mission buildings. The
Indians, the corporal said, were gathering in the
vicinity of San Gabriel and threatened an attack.
He had sent word to the comandante. Captain Rivera,
at Monterey, and was expecting that officer at San
Gabriel.
In the morning Anza sent two soldiers forward
to the mission to announce his approach and taking
up his march advanced through a heavy rain storm,
intermingled with snow, as far as the site of the
present town of Pomona, camping on San Antonio
creek. The next day they made five leagues through
the heavy mud to the San Gabriel river, and the
following morning at eleven o'clock of January 4,
1776, entered the mission of San Gabriel Arcangel,
I20 The Beginnings of San Francisco
seventy-three days from Tubac. Here Anza met
Captain Don Fernando Rivera y Moncada, who
had come the previous day. Rivera laid before
Anza the particulars of the revolt at San Diego and
requested the loan of his troops to suppress the
rebellion and pacify the country. The entire mili-
tary establishment of California at this time (without
counting Anza's troops) consisted of Comandante
Rivera, one lieutenant, two ensigns, two sergeants,
eight corporals, fifty-four soldiers, one armorer, and
one drummer, a total of seventy-one. This force was
scattered over a coast line of four hundred and twenty
miles, guarding two presidios and five missions.
Rivera had brought with him from Monterey
a force of ten soldiers and with two more, taken from
the San Gabriel escolta, proposed to put down an
insurrection in which from eight hundred to one
thousand savages were already engaged and which
threatened to unite the entire Comeya in an effort
to expel the Spaniards. This incident reminds one
of the heroes of the Long Sault in Canada when
seventeen devoted young Frenchmen checked the
invasion of more than seven hundred Iroquois; only
the comparison between the fierce Iroquois and the
cowardly Dieguenos will hardly hold. Rivera told
Anza that he doubted if the force he had with him
was sufficient to inflict the necessary punishment
upon the perpetrators of the outrage at San Diego
and he had information that the Indians were uniting
for a further attack upon the Spaniards.
The March for Monterey Resumed 121
Anza gave Rivera's request careful consideration
and believing he would be justified in stopping to
assist him, gave consent to the proposition and vol-
unteered to serve under him in the expedition against
the savages. His offer was accepted, and taking
seventeen of his veteran troopers, joined to the
twelve under Rivera, they set out, January 7th
for San Diego, forty leagues distant, leaving the
expedition at San Gabriel under command of Moraga,
whose commission as lieutenant {teniente) was re-
ceived here. We will not follow Anza on this march.
Nothing was accomplished so far as punishment to
the perpetrators of the outrage was concerned,
and Anza, in disgust with the dilatory tactics of
Rivera, resolved to proceed with his journey. He
returned therefore to San Gabriel where he found
that a soldier of the mission guard together with
three muleteers and a servant of Sergeant Grijalva
had, the night before he arrived, deserted and carried
off twenty-five of the best horses of the expedition
and of the mission, together with a lot of his stores.
He at once dispatched Moraga with ten soldiers
in pursuit of the deserters, and after waiting eight
days for his return, resumed his march February
2 1st, leaving orders for Moraga to follow. For
Rivera's assistance he left twelve of his soldiers
including Sergeant Grijalva, all of whom joined
their comrades at Monterey before June 17, 1776.
The incessant rains of a very wet season had made
travel slow and difficult for the laden mules, and
122 The Beginnings of San Francisco
marching in a westerly direction, Anza passed
through what is now the city of Los Angeles, crossed
the Rio Porciuncula (Los Angeles river), and came
through the Cahuenga pass into the San Fernando
valley. He camped for the night in the mouth of
the pass, which he calls Puertezuelo (Little Gate).
Resuming the march the next morning the expedition
traveled along the southern border of the San Fer-
nando valley and halted in the canon of the Rio de
las Virgenes at a spring called by Anza Agua Escon-
dida, now known as Agua Amarga (Bitter Water).
The next day's march was a long and difficult one
of nine leagues, over the Susanna mountains, the
descent of which (Liberty hill) was so steep that the
women were obliged to dismount and accomplish
it on foot. Passing into the Santa Clara valley
they camped on the river of that name, near the
present village of Saticoy. A march of two leagues
in a dense fog the next morning brought them to
La Asuncion, the first rancheria of the channel
Indians, and the site of Anza's camp of April ii,
1775- Portola reached this rancheria, August 14,
1769, the vespers of the feast of La Asuncion de
Nuestro Senora, and gave it that name. It was
then decided to establish on this site the mission of
San Buenaventura, and Anza on his return march
camped again on the site April 26, 1776. He then
calls the river Rio de San Buenaventura. Continu-
ing his march along the Santa Barbara channel,
Anza camped for the night at the Rancheria del
On the Site of Santa Barbara 123
Rincon, on the Arroyo del Rincon, the boundary
line between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
The Indians brought them an abundant supply of
good fish, and among them Anza named sardines,
obadas, and tangres, more than a third of a vara
long, not counting the tail.
A march of seven leagues the next day brought
the expedition to the Rancherias de Mescaltitan,
four large Indian villages around the shore of an
estero or lake, while on an island in the midst was
one larger still, consisting of more than one hundred
houses. On the march this day they passed through
three large rancherias, one situated on a lake of
fresh water, named by Portola, La Laguna de la
Concepcion, is the site of the city of Santa Barbara.
When Governor Neve was about to establish the
presidio and mission of Santa Barbara in 1782,
he hesitated between the site of Mescaltitan and
that of La Laguna, but decided in favor of the latter
because the water was of better quality.'^ The
rancherias of Mescaltitan have all disappeared,
but the island still preserves the name.'^
The following day they passed through five ran-
cherias, all abounding with fish, and finished the
day's journey at Rancheria Nueva. Four more
rancherias were passed the next day, February 27th,
and camp made at the Rancheria del Cojo, just east
of Point Concepcion. When Portola reached this
village August 26, 1769, he was graciously received
by the chief who, being lame, was called by the
124 The Beginnings of San Francisco
soldiers "El Cojo" (The lame one) thus giving a
name for the chief and his rancheria. Crespi, priest
and diarist for the expedition, "baptized" the
village with the name of Santa Teresa, but El Cojo
was the name that stuck and it may be seen to-day
on the county maps. The next morning the expedi-
tion finished the Santa Barbara channel and turning
Point Concepcion, proceeded to the mouth of the
Rio de Santa Rosa (now Santa Inez) where they
camped for the night.
Anza remained in camp on the Rio de Santa Rosa
until the falling tide enabled him to cross, and in
the afternoon of February 29th, continued the
northerly march along Burton Mesa, in sight of the
ocean, and came in three leagues of travel to a little
lake named La Laguna Graciosa where they camped
for the night. The map of the Geological survey
does not show any lake in this vicinity and it has
possibly disappeared. It may have been formed by
the San Antonio creek which here flows into the sea.
The name is perpetuated by the Canada de la Gra-
ciosa through which the Pacific Coast railroad runs
and by Graciosa station at the mouth of the cafion.
Three leagues of travel the next morning brought
them into a wide and beautiful valley containing a
large lake, named by Portola La Laguna Larga de
los Santos Martires, San Daniel y sus Companeros —
The Great Lake of the sainted Martyrs, St. Daniel
and his Companions — now known as Lake Guada-
lupe, situated in the northwestern corner of Santa
San Luis Obispo 125
Barbara county. Anza did not halt at Lake Guada-
lupe but pushed on to the mouth of the San Luis
canon, a long Jornada of nine leagues, to the Ran-
cheria del Buchon.
A march of three and a half leagues the next
morning brought the expedition to the mission of
San Luis Obispo, founded in 1772, and now a flour-
ishing town of 3500 inhabitants. In anticipation
of their arrival at the mission the colonists had
smartened themselves up but disaster overtook
them. Just before they reached the mission they
fell into a marsh so miry that all had to dismount
and make their way across it as best they could.
The men had to relieve the pack animals and carry
the baggage on their shoulders, while those who
endeavored to preserve their finery by forcing their
horses through the mire fared worse than the rest,
being obliged to dismount and extricate their horses.
The marsh which caused such distress was located
in what is now the southern part of the town of
San Luis Obispo, and one of the finest residence
streets of the town to-day is Marsh street. It was
the same marsh that entrapped the Portola expedition
on the Fiesta de los Santos Inocentes.
There was great joy in the mission of San Luis
Obispo over the arrival of the expedition. Not
only was it a delight to the priests and the soldiers
of the escolta to see so many Spanish faces and hear
the news from home, but they had been badly
frightened by the affair at San Diego, and had been
126 The Beginnings of San Francisco
informed by the Indians that they were to be next
attacked, and that Anza had been killed and his
expedition totally destroyed by the tribes of the
Colorado.
Sunday, March 3rd, was given to rest, and on
Monday morning the march was resumed. Travel-
ing up the caiion of San Luis Obispo creek for seven
miles, they crossed the summit of the Santa Lucia
mountains by the Cuesta pass at an elevation of
about 1500 feet, thence a descent of four miles
brought them to Santa Margarita where now a little
town marks the site and preserves the name of the
ancient rancheria. Two and a half miles down
the Rio de Santa Margarita they came to the Rio
de Monterey (Salinas river), down which they
traveled five and a half miles and camped at the
rancheria of La Asumpcion (Asuncion), still so called,
a good day's march of seven leagues. This is one
of the sites selected by the United States government
for the camp and summer manoeuvers of the army.
The next morning they traveled down the beautiful
plain for three leagues, then left the river at a point
where El Paso de Robles now stands and passed into
the hills to the west, traveling in a west-northwest
direction. Four leagues more brought them to the
Rio del Nacimiento which they crossed and proceeded
another mile to El Primo Vado of the Rio de San
Antonio where they camped for the night. Re-
suming the march the next morning they reached
the mission of San Antonio de Padua at four o'clock
San Antonio de Padua 127
in the afternoon after a march of eight leagues.
Their reception here was equal to that of San Gabriel
and of San Luis, and the padres regaled the troops
with two very fat hogs and some hog lard. This
present, Anza says, considering the condition of the
country and of the priests' necessities, they highly
appreciated. The following day was given to rest
and at one in the afternoon. Lieutenant Moraga
arrived and reported to the commander that he had
captured the deserters in the desert of the Colorado
and had left them prisoners at San Gabriel to be
dealt with by Captain Rivera. He also reported
that the Serranos of the Sierra Madre had made
hostile demonstrations against him, but when he
charged them they dispersed. He said that the
Indians had secretly killed three of the stolen horses
to prevent their recapture, and that he had noted
in their possession articles indicating that they had
taken part in the sacking of San Diego.
Leaving the mission the next morning, the Span-
iards passed up Mission creek and descended Re-
leuse cafion to Arroyo Seco, down which they
traveled to the valley of the Rio de Monterey and
halted for the night at the site of Anza's camp of
April 17, 1774, which he now calls Los Ositos (the
Little Bears). The next day they traveled eight
leagues through a spacious and delightful valley
and camped at a place called by them Los Correos.
The following day, Sunday, March 10, 1776, they
marched three leagues down the river, then leaving
128 The Beginnings of San Francisco
it, turned westward for four leagues more, all in a
heavy rain, and at half past four in the afternoon
reached the Royal Presidio of Monterey and the
end of their journey. Anza gives the distance
traveled from Tubac as three hundred and sixteen
and a half leagues, made in sixty-two jornados —
somewhat fewer than he had calculated before
starting.
The next morning the very beloved father-presi-
dent of the missions. Fray Junipero Serra,'** accom-
panied by three other religious, came from the
mission of San Carlos del Carmelo to congratulate
the travelers and bid them welcome, the priests sang
a mass as an act of thanks for the happy arrival of
the expedition, after which Padre Font preached
a sermon. In the evening the seiior comandante
and his chaplain accompanied the priests to the
mission, one league distant, as there were no proper
accommodations for them at the presidio. Anza
notes that the number of Christian converts has
been increased to more than three hundred souls,
and he says that here, as in the other missions he
has passed through, they do not, with all they raise,
produce enough to maintain themselves, because,
while the land is very fertile, there has been no means
of planting it, although this year the amount of land
under cultivation is much greater than before;
"and in proportion as this abounds will be the spirit-
ual conquest, since the Indians are many, and if.
Violent Sickness of Anza 129
as we say of the greater part of these, conversion
and faith enter by the mouth, so much greater
will be our success."
The viceroy had ordered Anza to deliver his
expedition to Rivera, the comandante of California,
at Monterey, and proceed to make a survey of the
port and river of San Francisco before returning
to his presidio of Tubac. Two days after his arrival
at the mission, while preparing for his survey, Anza
was suddenly taken with most violent pains in the
left leg and groin. So great was the pain that he
could scarcely breathe and believed that he would
suffocate and die. After six hours of torment,
during which the doctor of the presidio administered
such remedies as he had without giving him relief,
Anza had them make a poultice of a root among
his own stores, which somewhat alleviated the pain,
but not enough to enable him to sleep. For over
a week he was unable to move, but on the ninth
day he got out of bed, and on the day following,
in spite of the remonstrance of the doctor, he mounted
his horse and began his journey to the San Francisco
peninsula, going as far as the presidio of Monterey.
There he rested, being able to walk but a few steps.
The next day, March 23 rd, he set out, accompanied
by Padre Font, Lieutenant Moraga, and an escort
of eleven soldiers. While sick at the mission he had
sent to Rivera to say that the soldiers of the expedi-
tion were anxious to reach their destination and get
settled in their new home and he begged Rivera
130 The Beginnings of San Francisco
to join him in establishing the fort and mission of
San Francisco as ordered by the viceroy; and notified
him that he should himself proceed at once to the
survey and examination of the port. The travelers
made seven leagues across the valley of Santa Del-
fina, as Font calls it, and camped at the mouth of
a canon at a place called La Natividad, probably
an Indian rancheria. The village of Natividad
now marks the site and preserves the name. The
place was the scene of a sharp little engagement
November i6, 1846, between a detachment of
sixty Americans under Captain Burrows and a
force of about eighty Californians under Don Manuel
de Jesus Castro. The valley, which is the lower
Monterey or Salinas, was given the name of Santa
Delfina, virgen y esposa* de San Elcearo, by Portola.
Leaving the Salinas valley, the explorers passed
into the Gavilan mountains, traveling up the
beautiful caiion of Gavilan creek, over the summit,
and descended to the San Benito river. They
crossed the San Benito just north of where the mission
of San Juan Bautista now stands and entered upon
the Llano de San Pascual, now called the San Benito
valley, passed the Rio del Pajaro, entered the San
Bernardino valley and camped for the night on the
Arroyo de las Llagas. The following morning the
explorers passed between the low hills where the
valley narrows to the Coyote river and entered upon
* Esposa, as used here, does not mean spouse — wife, but a young woman who
devotes herself to the service of the holy man.
THE PALO ALTO O^A^FRSNCISQOTTO CREEK
K-a-^clbCO
jl7l3^D OTFTniPnvrAJn vu
now
Rio
fort and mission of
' viceroy; and notified
ceed at once to the
ort. The travelers
^ alley of Santa Del-
ainped at the mouth of
La Natividad, probably
iiie village of Natividad
- -ervxs the name. The
a sharp little engagement
en a detachment of
Burrows and a
under Don Manuel
which is the lower
the name of Santa
axjA 0JA*i am ,.
cdrOy by rortola.
explorers passed
eling up the
r the summit,
ito river. They
ere the mission
1 entered upon
. he San Benito
tered the San
.' night on the
' morning the
- where the
i entered upon
a young woman who
Palo Alto 131
the great Llano de los Robles del Puerto de San
Francisco — ^The Plain of the Oaks of the Port of
San Francisco — now better known as the Santa
Clara valley — and keeping well to the western part,
they traveled along the base of the foot hills and
camped on the Arroyo de San Jose Cupertino, where
from an elevation of about three hundred feet, they
saw the bay of San Francisco some seven miles to
the north. A march of four leagues the next morning
brought the exploradores to the Arroyo de San
Francisco, now known as the San Francisquito creek,
the site of Stanford University and of Portola's camp
of November 6th to nth, 1769. A little rancheria
of about twenty huts on the bank of the stream
received the name of Palo Alto in honor of a giant
redwood tree growing on the bank, whose size,
height, and appearance is recorded by both Anza
and Font as it had been by Father Crespi six years
before. The name has been retained and the people
of the pretty university town are fond of their name
and proud of their tree.
Anza found on the bank of the creek a cross which
had been planted by Rivera in 1774, to mark the
spot for a mission, but the plan had been abandoned,
he says, because the creek was dry in summer.
Passing on the explorers crossed the Arroyo de San
Mateo and halted for the night on a little stream
about a league beyond. Anza comments upon
the abundance of oaks and other trees they have
been passing through during the last two days and
132 The Beginnings of San Francisco
particularly notes the many tall and thick laurels
of extraordinary and very fragrant scent. He has
been traveling through the most beautiful section
of California. After breaking camp early the next
morning a march of three and a half leagues brought
the Spaniards to the mouth of the port of San
Francisco, and they camped at Mountain Lake,
known afterwards as Laguna del Presidio. Anza
does not give any name to the lake but the creek
running from it to the sea he calls the Arroyo del
Puerto and says its flow is considerable and sufficient
for a mill; while Font says that boats can come into
it for water. Its present name is Lobos creek and
it is but a little brooklet*.
Pitching his camp at the laguna, Anza went at
once to inspect the entrance to the bay for the pur-
pose of selecting a site for a fort. Font grows
enthusiastic over the wonderful bay. He says the
port of San Francisco is a marvel of nature and may
be called the port of ports. He gives at length an
excellent description of it; its shores; its islands;
the great river which disembogues into the Bahia
Redondo (San Pablo bay), which has been called
the Rio de San Francisco, and which, he says, he
will henceforth call La Boca del Puerto Dulce —
The Mouth of the Fresh Water Port. At eight
• The government is taking measures to fortify the mouth of Lobos creek,
which forms the southern boundary of the Presidio reservation, not to prevent
the boats of a hostile fleet from entering the creek, but as a part of the system
adopted for fortifying the harbor of San Francisco.
Plan At U Roc» d^.
•f- ■ ' ■' *9J
r
J^
issk-
f^i
FONT'S MAP OF THE ENTRANCE TO
S.\N FRANCISCO BAY
Facsimile of drawing accompanying his diary in John Carter
^ Brown Library, Providence, R. I.
'By permission of George Parker Winship, Librarian.
13
VCISCO
thick laurels
^cent. He has
mtiful section
,' early the next
; leagues brought
port of San
■.iountain Lake,
aci Presidio. Anza
he lake but the creek
alls the Arroyo del
iderable and sufficient
t boats can come into
le is Lobos creek and
.K^.-I.*,
.1 i^ ,3DnDfaivoT*I ,'^iBidi Ji nvi^fff . Font grOWS
.nfiiiBidiJ ,qiH8MiW JiaataA^ aoAogp Myifi**'"'''M8^SayS the
larvel of nature and may
He gives at length an
!s shores; its islands;
■nbogues into tiie Bahia
.V hich has been called
CO, and which, he says, he
Boca del Puerto Dulce —
Wntrr Pnrt- At eight
oi Lobos creek,
11, not to prevent
-.reek, but at a part of the system
Plan de la. Boca del Puerto de S&n Franciico, situido en 37, 4«9.
E«ra/a de dos {c^uaiMexicana*
PUNTA DEL CaNTIL BlANCO 133
o'clock the next morning Anza resumed his survey,
and going to the place where the entrance to the
bay was narrowest, which he called Punta del Cantil
Blanco — Point of the Steep White Rock, now called
Fort Point — and where, he says, no one had hitherto
been, he planted a cross to mark the spot where the
fort should be built, and at its foot, underground,
he placed a notice of what he had seen. Between
the Laguna del Presidio and the Punto del Cantil
Blanco is a mesa — table-land — ^having an elevation
of some three hundred and fifty feet, about a mile
in breadth and a trifle more in length, narrowing
to the north until it ends in the Cantil Blanco. Font
says: "This mesa presents a most delicious view.
From it may be seen a great part of the port and its
islands, the mouth of the port, and of the sea, the
view reaching beyond the Farallones.* The Sefior
Comandante designated this mesa for the site of
a new town, "f
The comandante, taking with him his lieutenant,
now turned to explore the inner coast of the penin-
sula. He encountered some streams and trees.
* The Farallon Islands; about twenty-five miles off the coast.
t Captain Benjamin Morrell, who visited the port in May, 1825, says:
"The town of San Francisco stands on a table-land, about three hundred and
fifty feet above the sea, on a peninsula five miles in width, on the south side of
the entrance to the bay, about two miles to the east of the outer entrance, and
one-fourth of a mile from the shore" (MorrelFs Narrative p. 211). The settle-
ment at the presidio was abandoned after 1835-6, when the Americans and other
foreigners began to build their trading-houses and residences at Yerba Buena.
It was not on the mesa but on the lower and more sheltered ground of the pre-
sidio.
134 The Beginnings of San Francisco
mostly of oak, of good thickness, but twisted against
the ground by the prevailing northwest winds. '°
About three-quarters of a league from camp he came
upon a little lake of good water, known to the Span-
iards as Laguna Pequena and to the San Francisco
pioneers as Fresh Pond, or Washerwomen's Lagoon,
from which he thought water for irrigation might
be drawn. Continuing along the eastern shore of
the bay he came to a large lake into which flowed a
good stream or spring — ojo de agua* — , and which
appeared as if it might be permanent in the dryest
season, while the land about it was fertile and promised
abundant reward for cultivation. He returned to
camp about five o'clock much pleased with the result
of his examination.
The next morning, Friday, March 29th, Anza
packed the baggage and sent it by the road of his
coming with orders to await him at the Arroyo de
San Mateo; then taking his padre capellan, Pedro
Font, and an escort of five soldiers, he went to com-
plete his examination of the southeastern part of
the peninsula and of the lake he had seen the day
before, to which he gave the name of Laguna de
Manantial. He also examined the stream — ojo de
agua — which Font calls a beautiful little rivulet, and
because the day was the Friday of Sorrows — Viernes
de Dolores\ — ^Anza named It Arroyo de los Dolores."
* Ojo de agua, means a spring of water or a spring from which flows a stream
of water. Anza frequently used the expression to denote a small stream,
t The Friday of Sorrows is the Friday before Palm Sunday.
Sites of Fort and Mission Chosen 135
Thus originated a name that became the official
designation of a very large and thickly settled
section of the city of San Francisco — the Mission
Dolores — shortened in the vernacular to the "Mis-
sion." Anza found here all the requirements for
a mission: fertile land for cultivation, unequalled
in goodness and abundance, with fuel and water,
timber and stone suitable for building; nothing
was wanting. Anza speaks with enthusiasm of
the new town and mission. The fort, he said,
shall be built where the entrance to the port is
narrowest and where he set up the cross, the town
on the mesa behind it, and the mission in this quiet
beautiful valley, sufficiently near the fort to be under
its protection, but far enough away to insure its
peaceful serenity.
Having settled these details Anza proceeded across
the peninsula to examine the Laguna de la Merced,
which is situated near the ocean shore in the south-
western part of the city, thence he turned into the
Canada de San Andres,* through which he traveled
its entire length of some six and a half leagues; and
he gives an account of the abundance of suitable
timber for building, speaking particularly of the
red-wood — palo Colorado, the oak, poplar, willow,
* It extends from a little north of Point San Pedro southerly to the San
Francisquito creek. It was from the heights as he crossed into it that Portola
first saw the bay of San Francisco. It formed part of the Buri Buri and Las
Pulgas grants and now belongs to the Spring Valley Water Company and con-
tains their principal reservoirs.
136 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and other trees, of its proximity to the bay and of
the facility with which the lumber could be gotten
out. He also suggests that the second bay mission
could be established in this Canada, and would serve
as a stopping-place — escala — between Monterey and
San Francisco. In the caiiada an enormous bear
came out against them and they succeeded in killing
it. At 6.15, after dark, they reached the camp on
the Arroyo de San Mateo.
The following morning, March 31st, they pro-
ceeded to the survey of the Rio de San Francisco,
keeping to the road of their coming until they reached
the San Francisquito, then leaving the road they
passed around the head of the bay and came to a
large arroyo which they crossed and camped for
the night. Anza gave the name of Rio de Guadalupe
to the stream, a name it still bears, and said it had
abundant and good timber, and lands that would
support a large population.^^ The next morning
the march was resumed and crossing with some diffi-
culty the Coyote river, they traveled northward
for seven leagues and camped on the San Leandro
creek, named by Fages in 1772 Arroyo de San Sal-
vador. They passed six rancherias, the people of
which, being unaccustomed to seeing white men,
fled in terror. Anza endeavored to pacify them and
gave presents of food and trinkets to all who would
approach him. The Indians of the San Francisco
bay were of darker color than those of the Colorado
and the Santa Barbara channel, many wore beards
Exploration of Contra Costa 137
and all wore hair long and tied up on top of the head-
Three leagues of travel the next morning brought
the exploradores to the site of the University of
California at Berkeley, "a point opposite the dis-
emboguement of the estero commonly called San
Francisco, " and they gazed out through the Golden
Gate to the broad Pacific beyond. Anza noted his
opinion that the estero was not five leagues broad,
as had been stated, but scarcely four.* Proceeding
on their journey they climbed over the treeless hills
and crossed the deep arroyos of Contra Costa and
camped for the night very close to the "disembogue-
ment of the Rio de San Francisco into the port of
that name." Font gives a very good description
of San Pablo bay (Bahia Redonda) and speculates
whether the large cove and stretch of water which
from a high hill he could see away to the west, one-
quarter northwest, communicated with the port of
Bodega, discovered six months before by Lieutenant
Juan Francisco de Bodega y Cuadra. What Font
saw was Napa slough. The camp that night was
on Rodeo creek about two and a half miles from
Carquines strait. On the following day, April 2d,
the command proceeded a short distance up the
strait and halted to take the latitude of the place,
to observe the condition of the "river," and to
measure its breadth and depth. Both Anza and
Font doubted if it were a river at all as there appeared
* 4 leagues: 10.4 miles. It is 9.75 miles from the Berkeley shore to the Marin
coast.
138 The Beginnings of San Francisco
to be no current and there was no evidence of freshets
in the shape of driftwood and rubbish thrown up
on its banks. They both tasted the water and
found it brackish but not so salty as the sea. They
record their observation of the sun as giving the
latitude 38° 5' 14". Resuming the march in the
afternoon they saw the so-called river begin to
widen out until it took on the appearance of a laguna
rather than that of a river,* then turning somewhat
to the south to avoid the marshes they camped for
the night on the bank of an arroyo of wholesome
water that had been named by Fages Arroyo de
Santa Angela de Fulgino, now known as Walnut
creek. The next morning they crossed the valley
of Santa Angela de Fulgino in a northwest direction,
entered Willow Pass and mounted a hill, from the
top of which they could see how the river divided
itself into three arms or branches, as described by
Don Pedro Fages. Descending the hill they tried
to approach the river, but were prevented by the
marshes. Continuing to the east-northeast for two
and a half leagues they came to the river and to a
large rancheria of some four hundred Indians who
received them with friendly demonstrations and gave
them cooked slices of salmon, while Anza recipro-
cated with the usual presents. Tasting the water of
the river they found it quite fresh and were per-
suaded that what Captain Fages had called the
* This was Suisun bay.
The Rio de San Francisco 139
Rio de San Francisco was not a river at all, but a
great fresh water sea. They were now on the San
Joaquin river.
Resuming his march to the east-northeast for
about one league, Anza climbed a high hill to observe
the country and from this vantage point he saw a
confusion of water, tulares, forest, and level plain
of an extension unmeasurable. To the east, beyond
the plain, he saw a great sierra nevada, white from
the summit down, which appeared to run from
southeast to northwest, while northward to the
horizon extended the plain, encroached upon by the
sea of fresh water and tulares. With the doubt that
the Rio de San Francisco was a river at all becoming
more fixed in his mind, he descended to the water
and camped for the night in a grove of oaks near an
abandoned rancheria, which he called San Ricardo.
This was at or near the site of the present town of
Antioch. It was here that Fages in 1772 gave up
the attempt to reach Point Reyes, and turned back
to Monterey. Anza again tasted the water and
found it crystalline, cool, fresh, and good. Seeing
that the breeze caused some gentle waves to wash the
beach or shore, he took a good sized pole and threw
it as far out on the water as he could, but instead
of being carried down the stream it was washed
ashore by the little waves. He resolved to go further
up the river or laguna and see if he could ascertain
what It was. Noting the rise and fall of the tide
he posted Lieutenant Moraga to watch throughout
140 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the night and measure its height. They found that
the difference between high and low water was eight
feet and eleven inches. All this convinced Font
that the Rio de San Francisco was no river at all
but a fresh water sea, and he named it Puerto Dulce —
Fresh-water Port, a name which was frequently-
used by the Spaniards in speaking of Suisun bay.
One who has been through the waste of waters of
the San Joaquin delta can understand what it might
have been one hundred and thirty years ago in the
spring of the year. Anza still retained his doubt
and from this day used the term, Rio 6 Laguna de
San Francisco, in alluding to it. Until two o'clock
the following afternoon Anza struggled on foot and
on horseback to overcome the obstacles which pre-
vented him from reaching the plains on the north-
east, but the farther he went the farther he was
diverted from his true direction and the more his
course was obstructed by water running into the
river or laguna. He was now informed by two
soldiers of his escort who belonged to the Monterey
garrison that the water came from the tulares*
that reached as far south as the mission of San Luis
Obispo, that they were thirty leagues in breadth
and were unfordable even in the dry season. Realiz-
ing that what he attempted could only be accom-
* "The Tulares" is a large tract of marsh reaching from Kern lake in the
Upper San Joaquin valley to Butte in the Sacramento — a distance of about
three hundred and fifty miles — and filled with tules or bulrushes. It has been
largely drained and contains some of the richest land in California.
if \^
^
!
FONT'S MAP OF EXPLORATIONS, MONTEREY
TO SAN FRANCISCO
Facsimile of drawing accompanying diary.
By permission of George Parker Winship, Librarian.
'^/\^
^
n
r,
R
W^ P*/r«w Font jj(iT A uou;£,-a..
AM Francisco
■ height. They found that
- . and low water was eight
All this convinced Font
mcisco was no river at all
he named it Puerto Dulce —
me which was frequently
n speaking of Suisun bay.
igh the waste of waters of
m understand what it might
...1 .u! — years ago in the
ained his doubt
. Rio 6 Laguna de
I. Until two o'clock
' d on foot and
; '.c (>i'^las^ies whIch orc-
Y.-^Jr.^TVlOM ,2M01TA;iOJ*IXa 10 HAM 8'TMP'i ^ ,
o^^l^vikm kAz'm^^^ on the north-
•vibHj §niYnBqmo33£ sntwBib 16 9liml8*i1[ner lie WaS
.nens-jdiJ .-imamW aax^Al.aoHDsjp la Hojezimtoq X^orc hlS
" running into the
now informed by two
d to the Monterey
the wate e from the tulares*
ar south as the mission of San Luis
^y were thirty leagues in breadth
even in the dry season. Realiz-
u 1 could only be accom-
t of marsh reaching from Kern lake in the
a the S to — a distance of about
' ' ' ' ' cs. It has been
-^ia.
g«0 MAPA DBLVIAiSE Q1
In the Monte Diablo Range 141
plished by a detour of three or four hundred miles
and that a survey could be better made from San
Luis Obispo, Anza turned and rode straight to the
southwest in the direction of Monterey, and traveling
four and a half leagues camped for the night in the
foot hills of the Monte del Diablo range. Being
without a guide he had crossed the entrance to the
Livermore pass, missed a very easy road through
Livermore valley to the route of his upward journey
and plunged into about as rough a mountain country
as could be found in America. For the next two
days he struggled with the difficulties of the mountain
passage, frequently turning back to escape from
impassable canons and on April 6th emerged from
the Cordillera into the Santa Clara valley by the
canon of Coyote creek. The explorers' route from
the camp in the Livermore hills was by the caiion of
the Arroyo de Bueno Ayres to the summit of the
mountains whence they looked down upon the great
San Joaquin valley; thence descendinginto the Arroyo
Mocho they traveled some five miles, passing to the
west of Cerro Colorado, which they noted, and camp-
ing in San Antonio valley. The second day's route
was over the divide to the cafion of the east fork of
the Coyote creek down which they traveled, climbing
into and out of the dangerous canon, and camped at
night near the site of Gilroy Hot Springs. It was
a difficult journey. Anza says that the hardships
of the march were very great. "If we traveled by
the canons we were impeded by the rocks, and when
142 The Beginnings of San Francisco
we attempted the heights we nearly fell over the
precipices. The sierra, whose width and dangerous
heights no one would have believed we could sur-
mount, was named by those who came before 'La
Sierra del Charco. '"
. The rest of the journey was easy and rapid. They
reached the presidio of Monterey at 10.30 in the
morning of April 8th, and Anza went to the mission
of the Carmelo to cure his leg, from which he was
still suffering. On April 13th he sent five soldiers
to the presidio of San Diego, where Rivera still
lingered, to request the comandante of California
to meet him at the mission of San Gabriel on the
25th or 26th of April, and come to some agreement
regarding the duty with which they were both
charged, viz: the establishment of the presidio and
mission of San Francisco. Then with but slight
improvement in his malady, Anza went to the presidio
of Monterey to deliver to Lieutenant Moraga the
command of the expedition.
At two o'clock in the afternoon of April 14th
Anza began his return march to Mexico. With
the commander was his chaplain, Fray Pedro Font,
the purveyer of the expedition, Don Mariano Vidal,
his escort of ten soldiers, and twelve vaqueros,
arrieros, and servants — twenty-five in all. He was
also accompanied by two priests of San Luis Obispo,
visiting at Monterey, who availed themselves of
this opportunity for returning. "This day," he
writes, "has been the saddest that said presidio (of
Anza Says Good-by to his People 143
Monterey) has experienced since it was founded. As
I mounted my horse in its plaza, the greater part of
the people I had brought from their country, and
particularly the women, remembering the treatment,
good or bad, they have experienced from me while
under my command, came dissolved in tears, which
they shed publicly, not so much because of their
banishment as because of my departure, and with
embraces and wishes for my happiness bade me
farewell, giving me praises I do not deserve. I was
deeply moved by their gratitude and affection,
which I reciprocate, and I testify that from the
beginning up to to-day I have not seen any sign of
desertion in any of these whom I have brought from
their country to remain in this distant place; and
in praise of their fidelity I may be permitted to
make this memorial of a people who in the course
of time will come to be very useful to the monarchy
in whose service they have voluntarily left parents
and country, which is everything one can abandon."
Returning by the road he had come Anza met on
the morning of the second day, the sergeant whom he
had sent with dispatches to Rivera. Delivering
to Anza two letters from Rivera the soldier requested
the honor of a private interview in which he com-
municated to Anza the fact that Rivera, who was
following close behind, had been excommunicated
at San Diego for having violated the sanctuary of
the church in taking therefrom by force an Indian
criminal; that in his opinion the comandante was
144 The Beginnings of San Francisco
mad; that he had treated him with indignity and
had reduced him from the rank of sergeant; that
the comandante had first refused to receive Anza's
letters, and on the following day had demanded
them and at the same time, without opening them
had given him the letters for Anza and bade him
begone. Anza opened Rivera's letters and found
they contained a refusal to join him in the establish-
ment of the presidio at San Francisco.
Directing the sergeant to continue his way to
Monterey Anza resumed his march and a league
further on met Rivera. Anza saluted the coman-
dante courteously with an enquiry for his health,
but without halting Rivera answered the enquiry
and spurred his horse forward with a short "good-
bye." Anza called to him, "Well! about the letter
lately written you, you shall answer me in Mexico —
or wherever you wish"; to which Rivera replied,
" Very well. " This so enraged Anza that he called on
the priests with him to witness Rivera's discourtesy.'^
At San Luis Obispo Anza was overtaken by a
messenger from Junipero Serra who requested his
good offices in the matter of the Indians concerned
in the late rebellion at San Diego who had now offered
their submission. The messenger also brought a
letter from Rivera, apologizing for his discourtesy,
and both priest and soldier asked Anza to await
their arrival from Monterey. Anza waited, but
the conference resulted in nothing. The two officers
did not meet but conducted their negotiations by
Return March Across the Desert 145
letter. Rivera, from his camp a short distance from
San Luis, requested a conference at San Gabriel.
Anza, who had lost four days in waiting, pushed on
for San Gabriel where he waited three days more for
Rivera to appear, and then resumed his march,
first sending to Rivera a plan of the port of San
Francisco, with the places selected for the fort and
mission. At the Santa Ana river he was again over-
taken by a messenger from Rivera who wrote that
he had been so busy over the papers in the affair
at San Diego that he had had no time to write to
his excellency, the viceroy. He begged Anza to
make his excuses to the viceroy and at the same time
enclosed him a letter to be delivered to the father
guardian of the College of San Fernando. Anza,
who was out of patience with Rivera's trifling and
considered it disrespectful for him to write to the
guardian and not to the viceroy, refused to receive
the letter and sent it back. Crossing the San Jacinto
mountains by the route he had come, he reached the
Cienega de San Sebastian on the evening of May yth.
Wishing to cross the desert in one Jornada if possible
Anza made what he calls a tardeada — a late march —
and starting at 12.45 P-"^- ^^ May 8th reached the
Laguna de Santa Olalla at midnight of the 9th,
having traveled twenty-five leagues with two rests
of five and a half hours each. Joyfully received by
the Indians of Santa Olalla, who brought the travelers
an abundance of maize, beans, and other eatables,
Anza rested his weary men and caballerias until
146 The Beginnings of San Francisco
three o'clock of the next afternoon and then resumed
his march for the junction of the rivers, where he
arrived at eleven on the morning of May iith.
At the Puerto de la Concepcion Anza found
Padre Esaire, one of the two priests that had accom-
panied him from Horcasitas to the Colorado river;
the other, Garces, had gone up the river, whence he
had crossed the Mojave desert into the interior of
California and was, at that moment on the Kern
river on his way back from San Gabriel. Anza
dispatched a letter by an Indian messenger to the
place where Garces was supposed to be, saying that
he would wait three days and then resume his jour-
ney. He then began collecting logs for a raft, for
the river was running full.
The next day came Palma, chief of the Yumas, to
remind Anza of his agreement to take him to the
City of Mexico. Anza represented to the chief
that the City of Mexico was a great distance off,
and that if Palma went there he would be a long time
away from his people. Palma asked how many
years he would be away and the comandante told
him not more than one at most. Palma said it
was well; that he had provided for the government
of his nation during his absence, and he presented
to Anza two underchiefs to whom he had committed
the administration of affairs. Anza required him
also to select three of his people to accompany him,
that there might be witnesses to report to the Yumas
The Passage of the Colorado 147
if anything should befall their chief, and then, after
consultation with the priests, granted Palma's
petition.*
They now prepared to cross the river, selecting a
place where it was compressed to about one hundred
varas in width. The current was very rapid but
the banks were approachable. One raft was launched
on the morning of the 13th, loaded with some of
Anza's people and baggage, directed by twenty-
three Yumas swimming, and made the journey in
safety, but consumed five and a half hours on the
trip. At four o'clock another raft was sent over
and made the opposite shore, but far down the
stream, and was so badly damaged that the Yumas
did not attempt to return it that night.
At daybreak the next morning the river was much
higher and the great force of the water made the
passage of the train very difficult. The provisions
and such of the freight as could be divided into
small portions were sent over in coritas and cajetes
grandeSy\ which the women, swimming, pushed
before them like little boats. Owing to the swiftness
of the current a woman would have to swim more
than fifteen hundred varas — four-fifths of a mile —
in going and coming, and they had to bring back
* Anza took with him to the City of Mexico Palma, his brother, a son of Pablo,
and a Cajuenche Indian — four in all. They lived with him in a house in the Calle
de la Merced and were handsomely entertained. They were baptized February
I3> ^777 't Don Jose Gomez, Cabo de Alabarderos, was sponsor.
t Corita — a large, shallow, water-tight basket.
Cajete — a flat, earthen bowl.
148 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the empty vessels. Anza says that some of the
women made twelve trips. All they asked for the
service was a few glass beads, which Anza gave
them in abundance. A raft was sent over at
midday with some of the people of the expedition,
and late in the afternoon two others were completed
on which the rest of the command embarked. On
the larger of the two were the comandante, the two
priests, the purveyor, and some soldiers — thirteen
persons in all. It was managed by forty Yumas
in the water, but as it was leaving the bank it
began to sink. Instantly more than two hundred
Yumas — among them many women, plunged into
the river and with much noise and shouting the
raft was passed over to the other shore, traveling
some eight hundred varas, its passengers safe, but
a little wet."^ Anza says: "I have, before this,
made the statement which I now most emphatically
confirm, that the fact of our having the people of
this river for friends, enables us to cross it with the
fewest difficulties, and that were the contrary the
case, it would be almost impossible to make the
passage."*
On May 15th, having seen all his people and bag-
gage safely over the river, Anza resumed his march,
passing up the Gila some thirty-one and a half
* After the destruction of the missions of the Colorado in 178 1, the overland
route from Sonora was closed until sometime after the beginning of the nine-
teenth century. It was reopened in 1823, but there was always trouble with
the Yumas.
Character of Anza 149
miles to the Laguna Salada; then leaving the river
he struck across the Papagueria, direct to the south-
east and by forced marches reached Carrizal, the
sink of the Sonoita, about noon of the 19th, having
lost six caballerias on the passage. From here on
to the mission of Caborca on the Rio del Altar he
followed the route of his upward passage of 1774.
Starting from Caborca on the 25th, he continued
his route to the southeast. At Real de la Cieneguilla,
a rich gold mining camp, he took under his protection
a pack-train that was waiting for an escort, this
portion of the country being infested with Apaches,
and reached San Miguel de Horcasitas and the end
of his journey, June I, 1776.
Here ends the diary. Anza's mission was accom-
plished. He had taken his people through in safety
to Monterey, meeting with skill and courage the
perils of the way — the cold, the deserts, the moun-
tains, and the rivers — and he testifies that of all
those entrusted to his care, not one had been lost
except the woman who died in childbirth the first
night out from Tubac. He had left them in a strange
and far country and they had parted from him with
tears, not because they had left home and friends,
but because they should see his face no more.
Anza's character may be read in the pages of
his diary. He was by nature simple and kindly,
responsive to the call of duty and true to the " chival-
rous traditions of heroic Spain." It is not easy to
estimate the value of the services of this gallant
150 The Beginnings of San Francisco
soldier, and the monument erected in San Francisco
to the Pioneers of CaHfornia is incomplete without
his name.
From San Diego Rivera wrote Moraga to build
houses at Monterey for the people of the expedition
as there would be a year's delay before the presidio
could be founded at San Francisco; but on May 8th,
the comandante, having changed his mind, ordered
the lieutenant to proceed to San Francisco and estab-
lish the fort on the site selected by Anza, also instruct-
ing him to notify the priests that the founding of
the two missions was for the present suspended.
In conformity therefore with this order Lieutenant
Moraga with Sergeant Grijalva and sixteen soldiers,
two priests, seven colonists, besides servants, arrieros,
and vaqueros, left Monterey, June 17th, and took
the road followed by Anza to the peninsula of San
Francisco. They traveled slowly, the men having
their families with them, and on the 27th reached
the site selected by Anza for the mission and camped
on the bank of the Laguna de Manantial, which
they called the Laguna de los Dolores, taking the
name from the arroyo. The packet boat San Carlos
was to sail from Monterey with the stores and the
remainder of the expedition. While waiting the
arrival of the vessel Moraga employed the men in
cutting timber for the buildings of the presidio and
mission. After waiting a month for the vessel
Moraga moved the greater part of his command to
the site selected for the presidio, leaving six soldiers
THE MISSION OF SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS
AS IT APPEARED IN 1849
Photographed by Turrill and Miller from a
daguerreotype.
S4-
San Francisco
rected in San Francisco
.iia is incomplete without
wrote Moraga to build
people of the expedition
delay before the presidio
rancisco; but on May 8th,
'ed his mind, ordered
lan Francisco and estab-
d by Anza, also instruct-
" t the founding of
ent suspended.
order Lieutenant
2I8A aa oD^l^v[PJlrlm^■'io noi8^it*^'^Htol<iiers,
Q^Hi HI aaiiAa^^, Ti 3Av'ants, arrieros,
£ moi\ xajJiM boE jjiaauT yd badqetaoJioHl^j^^ tOOk
.e.qYJ03n3usBt .
■n the penmsuia oi ban
he men having
id on the 27th reached
a for the mission and camped
^ de Manantial, which
ores, taking the
v^'t boat San Carlos
he stores and the
- .. ;iile waiting the
--.- . Tc^a employed the men in
mhrr ir Ings of the presidio and
.... month for the vessel
.. moveci > , part of his command to
e selected '. residio, leaving six soldiers
San Francisco Founded 151
to guard the camp on the Laguna de los Dolores.
On August 1 8th the paquebot arrived, seventy-three
days from Monterey, having been driven by adverse
winds as far south as San Diego. The commander
of the San Carlos, Lieutenant Fernando de Quiros,
sent his sailors ashore and they, with the soldiers,
began the construction of the buildings at the presidio
and mission. At the former were built a chapel, a
storehouse, and quarters for the troops, all of wood,
and thatched with rushes. Before the arrival of the
San Carlos, on the loth day of August, 1776, was born
the first white child in San Francisco to the wife
of the soldier De Soto in the camp at the mission.
On the 17th of September, "The anniversary of
the impression of the wounds of our father Saint
Francis, patron of the presidio and fort," as Father
Palou says, they took formal possession of the pre-
sidio. Father Palou said mass, blessed the site,
and after the elevation and adoration of the Holy
Cross, concluded the religious services with the Te
Deum. Then Moraga and his officers took formal
possession in the name of the sovereign and with
discharges of cannon by the San Carlos and the
shore batteries, and volleys of musketry from the
troops, the city of San Francisco was born.*
* The authorities for the narrative of Anza's two journeys are his diary of
1774, his diary of 1775-6, Pedro Font's diary of 1775-6, and Garces diary of
1775-6. Of Anza's subsequent career little is known. After his return from
California he was made governor of New Mexico where he served until April,
1788. He died December 19th of that year and his widow and heirs were paid
a year's salary of a colonel of cavalry — twenty-four hundred dollars.
Chapter VII.
COLONIZATION
1769-1836
BEFORE proceeding to the story of the formation
of the modern city of San Francisco let us
consider the method adopted for the reduc-
tion and settlement of the newly occupied territory
and the administration of its affairs, temporal and
spiritual.
In the scheme to colonize California the missions
were to play an important part. They were intended
from the beginning to be temporary in their charac-
ter, and it was contemplated that in ten years from
their foundation they should cease. It was sup-
posed that within that period of time the Indians
would be sufficiently instructed in Christianity and
the arts of civilized life to assume the position and
character of citizens; that these mission settlements
would become pueblos, and that the mission churches
would become parish churches, organized like other
establishments of an ecclesiastical character in other
portions of the nation where no missions ever existed.*
The missionary establishments were widely different
from the ordinary ecclesiastical organizations. They
had for their object something more than the
spiritual care of those connected with them. They
were intended not merely to christianize but to
civilize the Indians; to instruct them in the arts,
and to guide their labors; and the charge was
committed to priests who were specially trained in
such work. The scheme was not a new one; it had
* Judge Alpheus Felch, of the Land Commission: Opinion in re Petition of
the Bishop of California.
ISS
156 The Beginnings of San Francisco
been in operation in Sonora and Lower California
for a hundred years, but it was expanded in Cali-
fornia and its results, aside from its colonizing value,
justified those who put it into operation. "At the
end of sixty years (1834) the missionaries of Alta
California found themselves in possession of twenty-
one prosperous missions, planted upon a line of about
seven hundred miles, running from San Diego north
to the latitude of Sonoma. More than thirty thou-
sand Indian converts were lodged in the mission
buildings, receiving religious culture, assisting at
divine worship and cheerfully performing their easy
tasks. Over four hundred thousand horned cattle
pastured on the plains as well as sixty thousand
horses and more than three hundred thousand sheep,
goats, and swine. Seventy thousand bushels of
wheat were raised annually, which, with maize,
beans and the like, made up an annual crop of one
hundred and twenty thousand bushels; while, ac-
cording to the climate, the different missions rivaled
each other in the production of wine, brandy, soap,
leather, hides, wool, oil, cotton, hemp, linen, tobacco,
salt, and soda. Of two hundred thousand horned
cattle slaughtered annually, the missions furnished
about one half, whose hides and tallow were sold
at a net result of about ten dollars each, making a
million dollars from that source alone, while other
articles of which no definite statistics can be obtained
doubtless reached an equal value, making a total
production by the missions themselves, of two
Great Prosperity of the Missions 157
millions of dollars per annum. Gardens, vineyards,
and orchards surrounded all the missions, except
Dolores, San Rafael, and San Francisco Solano;
the climate of the first being too inhospitable, and
the two latter, born near the advent of the Mexican
revolution, being stifled in their infancy. The
other missions, according to their latitude, were
ornamented and enriched with plantations of palm
trees, bananas, oranges, olives, and figs, with orchards
of European fruits, and with vast and fertile vine-
yards, whose products were equally valuable for
sale and exchange, and for the diet and comfort of
the inhabitants.
"Aside from these valuable properties and from
the mission buildings, the self-moving or live stock
of the missions, valued at their current rates,
amounted to three millions of dollars of the most
active capital, bringing enormous annual returns
upon its aggregate amount, and, owing to the great
fertility of animals in California, more than repairing
its annual waste by slaughter.
"Such was the great religious success of the
Catholic missions in Upper California; such their
material prosperity in the year 1834, even after
many depredations had been committed upon them
by the first governors of the regime of 'Independ-
ence.'"*
•John W. Dwindle: The Colonial History of the City of San Francisco,
page 44,
158 The Beginnings of San Francisco
After the conquest of California the absolute title
to the land vested in the crown, and the Indians were
recognized as the owners, under the crown, of all
the land needed for their support. The missionaries
had only the use of the land for mission purposes,
namely: to prepare the Indians that they might, in
time, take possession of the land then held in com-
mon. This accomplished, the missions were to be
secularized and made pueblos and the missionaries
returned to their convent. As the years rolled by
the missions became wealthy and were indisposed to
relinquish the power they has acquired. In their
zealous efforts to protect the interests of their wards
they claimed all the land, extending their possessions
from one extremity of the territory to the other,
making the bounds of one mission form those of
another, and fighting every grant made to an
individual. They held the Indians in subjection
and were served by them without pay, receiving only
food and a very limited amount of clothing. When
it came to a division of the property under the orders
for secularization, the Indians sold or otherwise
disposed of their portions about as soon as they were
put in possession. The entire scheme failed for
the reason that the Indian's lazy, shiftless nature,
further weakened by sixty years of slavery, made
it impossible for him to assume the rights and
responsibilities of citizenship.
The most important factor in the colonization
of California was the soldier. The presidial soldiers
Inducements to Settlers 159
were enlisted for ten years and on the expiration of
this term of service they were entitled to land in
such quantity as they could use. Failure to put
land to use worked a forfeiture of the grant. In
the expectation of turning the soldier into a settler
care was taken to select only those who would make
good citizens, and usually married men were taken.
Settlers were also enrolled and received rations,
and pay for a specified period. They were required
to live in the pueblos of the Spaniards, where to
each settler (poblador) was given a building lot, a
lot for cultivation, varying from seven to fourteen
acres, the use of the common pasture lands for his
cattle, and for the common use of all were the rights
of Montes and Aguas — the woods and waters. In
return, the settler was bound to hold himself ready
to march at the order of the governor. In spite
of the inducements thus held out but few settlers
would come, and the government was dependent for
population on the natural increase from the families
of the garrisons. When the establishment of the
pueblo of Los Angeles was ordered, Rivera was sent
to enroll twenty-four married men, healthy and
robust, likely to lead regular lives, and to set a good
example to the natives. Extra inducements in the
way of increased pay and other privileges were
promised, but the best he could do was the collection
of twelve men and their families; viz: two Span-
iards, two negros, four Indians, two mulatos, one
i6o The Beginnings of San Francisco
mestizo, and one "Chino."* With this motley
crew the famous pueblo of La Reina de los Angeles
was founded. Three of these promising settlers
were, within a year, pronounced worthless, their
property was taken from them, and they were sent
away.
Nor was the attempt to establish the Villa de
Branciforte more successful. A miserable band of
vagabonds was collected at Guadalajara and sent
up to Monterey on the transport Concepcion. They
arrived May 12, I797,t and the villa was founded
some time in July. There were nine of the founders;
one had a wife and five children and two others
brought wives. They were a worthless lot and
continually in trouble with the authorities. Later
the village became the home of many retired soldiers.
The site selected for the Villa de Branciforte was
across the river from Santa Cruz, and there it was
founded despite the protests of the padres, who did
not wish a pueblo of Spaniards so near the mission.
It was named in honor of the Marquis de Branci-
forte, viceroy of New Spain and now forms a part
of the city of Santa Cruz. This ended the attempts
of Spain to form pueblos of Spaniards in California.
In all, three were founded, viz: San Jose de Guada-
* A Chino is the off-spring of a Salta Atras and an Indian woman. A Salta
Atras is the off-spring of white parents having a trace of Negro blood — whether
Moorish or other crossing. (Chas. F. Lummis.)
t The colonists of Branciforte and those of Los Angeles were paid $ii6.
per year for two years and $66. for the next three years, besides the live stock
and implements furnished them.
Grants of Land Authorized i6i
lupe, in 1777, a description of which is given else-
where,* La Reina de los Angeles in 1781, and La
Villa de Branciforte in 1797. All the other pueblos
were grown from mission and presidial settlements.
To encourage the cultivation of the soil the viceroy,
as early as 1773, authorized the comandante of
California to distribute lands to such persons, either
natives or Spanish, as were worthy and would devote
themselves to agriculture or stock raising; and later,
when discharged soldiers began to apply for land,
Governor Fages was authorized to grant tracts of
land not exceeding three sitiosf — thirteen thousand,
three hundred acres — on conditions which included
the building of a stone house on each sitio and the
keeping of at least two thousand head of live-stock.
These conditions were not well regarded and but few
grants were applied for before the close of the eight-
eenth century. Besides, the grants were made
subject to the requirements of the missions. Thus
a portion of the land granted to the soldier, Jose
Manuel Nieto, by Fages in 1784, was taken from
him in 1796, on the demand of the padres of San
Gabriel who claimed it for their neophytes; and in
1797, when the mission of San Fernando was estab-
lished, Los Encinos, the rancho of Francisco Reyes,
was taken from him for the use of the friars.
Each governor of California endeavored to over-
come the backwardness of the province in respect
* Note 22.
^ Sitio: one square league — 4438.68 acres.
i62 The Beginnings of San Francisco
to population, and between 1792 and 1794, a number
of artisans were imported to instruct the inhabitants
in various trades. They were brought under con-
tract for four and five years and every effort was
made to induce them to remain, but most of them
returned to Mexico. The friars received the
benefit and their neophytes were taught the trades
of mason, carpenter, tanner, weaver, shoemaker, etc.
During the last decade of the century Mexico began
sending her convicts to California. This undesirable
class of settlers was unwelcome and the Californians
bitterly resented the action of the Mexican authori-
ties. Their protests were unheeded and the con-
victs continued to come, though never in large
numbers and I do not find that they made much
impression upon the character of the population.
Under the rule of Borica, 1794-1800, an attempt was
made to import young marriageable women as wives
for the settlers, especially for the convict settlers,
as the padres objected to the convicts marrying the
native women. Later the governor asks that one
hundred young, healthy women be sent him for
wives for the pobladores. These women did not
come, but there were sent some small shipments of
foundlings, both boys and girls, who were distributed
among the families of the different presidios.
The colonization of California was very slow and
in 1790, the only year in which I have a full padron
of the territory, the entire population, not counting
aborigines, was but 989 souls.
Why the Mission Plan Failed 163
Why was It that in a country so blessed as Cali-
fornia with a fertile soil, an agreeable climate, and
all the conditions that go to make life easy and com-
fortable, the efforts to colonize it should meet with
such dffiiculty? We find two obstacles to success:
first, the prohibition of trade with the ships on the
coast deprived the settlers of a market for their
product, and, second, it was not to the interest of
the missions to promote colonization. By the end
of the century Spain had established in California
eighteen missions, each without settlers, but each
intending to become a pueblo, and each entitled
under the law of Philip II, to four leagues of land.
In addition to the missions were the three pueblos
of Spaniards referred to, containing an aggregate
of less than three hundred souls. Emigrants would
not come. The pay and the rations offered only
attracted the worthless and indolent. The mission
scheme had failed. The vast missionary establish-
ments absorbed the lands, business, and capital of
the country and all interests were held under
ecclesiastical sway; there was no individual enter-
prise and immigration was discouraged. The power
of the padres was such that they not only dictated
the religious policy of the country but even inter-
fered with its civil management. All proposed
grants of land were submitted to them and they
virtually dictated where and to whom lands should
be given.* In 1794, Colonel Costanso, the engineer
* Colton: Three years in California, 440. Forbes: Hist. 0/ Cal., 133, 209.
164 The Beginnings of San Francisco
officer who, as ensign, had accompanied Portola on
his famous march to Monterey, was sent to Cali-
fornia to investigate conditions and ascertain the
reason for the lack of progress in the settlement of
the country. His report condemned the mission
plan so far as the colonization of the country was
concerned. He said that missions many years old
still remained in charge of friars and presidial guards;
there were no ship owners on the Pacific coast; no
trade in the South Sea and therefore no revenue; a
lack of population, and the province was a great
expense to the crown. There were no inducements
to the farmer and stock-raiser, for no trade was per-
mitted with either foreign or Spanish ships, but only
with the regular transports. He said that settlers of
Spanish blood should have been mingled with the
natives from the beginning, and that every ship
should bring a number of families supplied with
proper outfit.
California was divided into four presidial districts.
The military establishment, at the end of the eight-
eenth century, consisted of a lieutenant-colonel,
who was the governor, four lieutenants, four ensigns,
one surgeon, six sergeants, sixteen corporals, and
two hundred and eighty-two privates. This small
force had to guard a coast line of six hundred miles,
four presidios, three pueblos, and eighteen missions.
The territory included within the jurisdiction of
these missionary settlements was never definitely
settled and very seldom even defined. Some bound-
The Bounds of the Missions 165
ary lines were usually recognized, but about all
that is certain in this respect seems to be that the
jurisdiction of the missions extended from one
mission to another so that no portion of the coast
country could be said not to be included in some
one of them. The designs of the government of
Spain were often interfered with by the religious
power which it fostered. On the 4th of January,
18 1 3, Spain passed a law expressly requiring that
all vacant lands and all lands for municipal uses
in her provinces beyond the sea, except com-
mons necessary for villages, should be reduced to
private ownership; and that in disposing of lands
the settlers in the towns should be preferred over
others. On the 13th of September, 1813, Spain
passed another law expressly requiring that all her
settlements beyond the sea should be taken from
the control of the priests wherever they had been
for ten years under their charge; that the missionary
priests should immediately cease from the govern-
ment and administration of the property of those
Indians, leaving it to them to dispose of it through
the medium of their ayuntamientos* and requiring
the superior political authority to name the most
intelligent among the Indians to direct the disposi-
tion; and also again requiring that the lands be
distributed and reduced to private property con-
• Ayuntamiento: town council. It was composed of one alcalde, two regi-
dores (councilmen) and a sindico-procurador (city attorney). For a large town,
the number of alcaldes and regidores was increased.
i66 The Beginnings of San Francisco
formably to the law of January 4th. From this will
be seen the intentions of Spain in regard to the mis-
sions. At the date of the decrees Ferdinand VII
was a prisoner in Paris in the hands of Napoleon;
upon his release, on the 22d of August, 18 14, he
repudiated these, with other acts of the Spanish
cortes; but they were all revived by the revolution
of 1 8 19, and this one was in force when on the 27th
of September, 1821, Mexico achieved her independ-
ence.
Of all the aborigines of America, the Indians of
California were perhaps the least capable of exercis-
ing the rights and privileges of citizenship, and the
education they received from the friars was not of
a nature to prepare them for such a responsibility.
Nevertheless, Mexican independence was promptly
followed by an order to liberate all pueblo Indians
of good character and grant to them lands for their
maintenance. It was ordered that the salaries
paid the missionary priests ($400 per annum)
should be stopped; that the mission settlements
should be formed into pueblos with a curate for
each; that the country should support its own
priests, and that liberal donations of lands should
be made to the pueblo Indians, who were supposed
to be able to maintain themselves. But the Indians
for the most part were mere slaves. The order for
their sudden liberation proved disastrous and had
to be modified. The reglamento of November 21,
1828, provided that the lands occupied by the mis-
Secularization Ordered 167
sions should not be colonized at present. Some
provision had to be first made for the Indians.
This was a stay of proceedings and the rule of the
friars continued. On the 17th of August, 1833, the
Mexican congress passed a law on the basis of the
Spanish law of January 4, 1 81 3, to force the mission
settlements from the control of the priests, to organ-
ize local civil governments, and to grant the lands
they occupied to settlers. This act was supple-
mented by another, November 4th, of the same year,
authorizmg the government to transport emigrants
from Mexico to settle upon these mission lands of
Alta California. On the i6th of April, 1834, another
law on the same subject was passed requiring all
the missions in the republic to be secularized.
In all these acts of the Mexican congress for
granting lots to settlers, the rights of the Indians
were to be respected. The territorial diputacion
of California declared on October 21, 1834, that all
the property, real and personal, of the missions
belonged to the converted or pueblo Indians, and that
they were its only owners. General Jose Figueroa,
the able and upright governor of California, mindful
of the rights of the pueblo Indians who had created
the wealth of the missions, published on the 9th of
August, 1834, a reglamento giving effect to the law
of 1833, to begin the conversion to the missions into
pueblos. He decreed that to the head of each family,
and to every man over twenty-one years of age whether
the head of a family or not, should be given a lot
i68 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of land, irrigable or otherwise, not more than four
hundred nor less than one hundred varas square,
from the common land of the missions; and in com-
munity, a sulBcient quantity of land should be
allotted to them for pasturage and for watering their
cattle; that ejidos (common lands) should be assigned
each pueblo and, when convenient, propios* also;
that they should receive one-half of all self-moving
property (live-stock), and one-half or less of all
chattels, while instruments and seeds were to be
divided among them in proportion to their needs.
The rest of the property was to be retained by the
government for the support of the churches, schools,
etc., and the cost of administration of the missions.
* Propios, were such lands, houses, and other properties of pueblos and cities
as were rented and the proceeds thereof applied in the payment of municipal
expenses.
Chapter VIII,
SECULARIZATION
THE purpose for which the missions were
created has been shown in the preceding
pages. That the missionary establishments
were to be retired when their work was done has also
been made clear. There was no misunderstanding
of the government's intentions in this respect, least
of all on the part of the missionary priests, yet in
many instances they allowed the impression to pre-
vail that they were cruelly wronged.
The secularization of the missions has been
denounced in unmeasured terms. It has been
represented as an outrage against the thirty thousand
Christianized Indians who enjoyed the beneficence
and created the wealth of the missions of California,
against the good and devoted men who with such
wisdom, sagacity, and self-sacrifice reared those
wonderful institutions in the wilderness; against
the church, and against the peace and welfare of
the province. The Franciscan monks were generally
driven out, says De Mofras, but the parish priests
did not arrive, so that the neophytes were generally
left without teachers or protectors, and the services
for the most part ceased. The mayor-domos ap-
pointed to take charge of the missions were often
brutal and illiterate persons — sometimes those who
had been menial servants; so that frequently the
missionary was at the mercy of one of his former
herdsmen. The few missionaries who remained
were insulted, thwarted, stinted in their allowance,
171
172 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and, in some instances, died of starvation while
ministering at the altar.* Wilkes, who found little
to commend in California, said that with the change
of rulers anarchy and confusion began to reign, that
the want of authority was everywhere felt, that some
of the missions were deserted, the property dissipated
and the Indians turned out to seek their native
wilds. Secularization had brought ruin to the mis-
sions and that the property that was still left became
a prey to the rapacity of the governor, the needy
officers, and the administrador.f The Indians
complained of the fact that they had endured out-
rages from the whites who had deprived them of the
cattle which had been given them, and pastured
their own flocks upon the small patches of ground
which had been assigned to them for cultivation and
that the civil authorities themselves had pillaged
them. They returned therefore to their native
tribes among the tulares whence they issued in
raids upon the missions and settlements sweeping
off herds of cattle and horses, and sometimes carry-
ing into captivity the wives and daughters of the
whites. These latter retaliated by excursions into
the Indian country, in which whole villages were
devoted to slaughter, rapine, and burning, by the
wild and indiscriminate fury of revenge.| Edwin
Bryant says : "The administrators have made them-
* De Mofras: Exploration, \, pp. 273, 303, 342, 380-390, 421.
t Wilkes: Exploring Expedition v, 162, 168.
t De Mofras i, 347, 414: Wilkes, Exp. Expedition v, 173, 174.
Missions Belonged to Government 173
selves and those by whom they were appointed,
rich upon the spoils of the missions."* Alfred
Robinson too, who, whatever may have been his
training in his New England home, was a faithful
friend of the church in California, loses no oppor-
tunity to score the government and the administra-
tors of the missions.
Let us consider for a moment how much of this
censure is deserved. Bryant was here for a few
months only, long after the secularization of the
missions was accomplished. De Mofras' observation
was superficial, and while he wrote copiously of the
secularization his information was largely hearsay.
Wilkes was here in the same year, 1841, and his
information on this point was from the same source
as that of De Mofras.'' Alfred Robinson was in
California throughout most of the period of secu-
larization and his opportunities for observation were
excellent, but his statements are so general that
little can be done with them by way of analysis.
Most of the writers of the period following the
secularization assume that the missions, with their
great holdings of real and personal property, belonged
to the church or that the property belonged to the
missionary establishments as corporations. Such
however was not the case. The missions belonged
to the government and were established under its
direction. The missions of Lower California estab-
lished by the Jesuits were, in 1768, taken from them
* Bryant; fFhat I saw in Califoinia, 444.
174 The Beginnings of San Francisco
by order of the king and placed in the custody of
the Franciscans. Later, when the estabhshment of
a chain of missions in Alta California was determined,
the Franciscans relinquished the missions of Lower
California to the Dominicans, who felt that their
order had not received proper consideration, and
confined themselves to the new establishments of
Alta California. Moreover, the government control
and direction of the missions is seen in all the orders
and regulations concerning them. It was the duty
of the governor to choose their sites, direct the con-
struction and arrangement of their edifices, and to
lay out their streets regularly, as, the viceroy
advised, a mission may become a pueblo and the
pueblo grow into a great city. Not only this, but
the governor had a right to reduce their possessions
by grants of land to Indians and to settlers {pob-
ladores) within their so-called boundaries, and could
change a mission into a pueblo and subject it to the
same laws that governed other pueblos. Bucareli,*^
viceroy of New Spain, in his letter of instructions to
the comandante of the new establishments of San
Diego and Monterey, dated August 17, 1773, said:
"When it becomes expedient to change any mission
into a pueblo, the comandante will proceed to reduce
it to the civil and economical government, which,
according to the laws, is observed in the other pueblos
of this kingdom, giving it a name, and declaring for
its patron the saint under whose auspices and vener-
Figueroa's Policy Wise and Humane 175
able protection the mission was founded."* Thus
at the very foundation of these CaHfornia estabHsh-
ments did Spain announce the end and complete
fulfilment of all missions.
The change by which the monastic monopoly was
to be broken up involved no wrong to the church,
the Franciscan order, or to the Indians. Figueroa's
regulations by which the policy and the law were to
be carried out were wise and humane, but it cannot
be denied that sixty-five years of tutelage had left
the Indian no more fitted to assume the responsibili-
ties of citizenship than it found him. Colonization
was obliged to wait upon secularization, and there
could be no political organization where there was
no population. The missions occupied all Cali-
fornia, and while all the land was not needed, and
ought not to be distributed among the Indians, the
government could not undertake to make grants of
national lands until the requirements of the Indians
were ascertained and provided for. Secularization
would accomplish this and the property of the
government and that of the Indians would be
separated when the missions became pueblos.
The great wealth of the missions could not fail
to excite the avarice of those whose ofHcial position
gave opportunity for plunder. Already the looting
had begun and in some instances a decUne in the
prosperity of the missions had been noticed before
the process of secularization was under way. Under
* H. R. Ex. Doc. No. 17, 31st Cong., ist Session 1850, p. 133-4-
176 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the influence of Echeandia, governor from 1825 to
183 1, assisted by his inspector-general, Jose Maria
Padres, a spirit of revolt had been incited among the
neophytes and a general feeling of unrest prevailed.
In 1833 a scheme for the colonization of California
was organized in the city of Mexico which received
the aid and support of the Federal government. So
far as the planting of a colony in California was con-
cerned the scheme was apparently legitimate. But
the fact that its chief promoter was Jose Maria
Padres, the person mainly responsible for the revolt
of the neophytes, caused a feeling of uneasiness among
the missions. Associated with Padres was Jose
Maria Hijar, a man of wealth and position. Hijar
was appointed governor of California and director
of colonization, and Figueroa was directed to deliver
to him the missions. With two hundred and fifty
colonists Hijar and Padres, who had been appointed
sub-director, sailed from San Bias in August, 1834, ^^
two ships, and after a rough voyage landed, one at
San Diego and the other at Monterey. Meanwhile
a change of administration in Mexico had retired the
friends of the scheme from office; the appointment
of Hijar was revoked and a special courier was sent
express to Governor Figueroa forbidding him to
deliver the missions to Hijar and his associates.
These instructions reached Monterey in advance of
Hijar and confronted him when he presented his
orders to the governor. He tried to bribe Figueroa
to deliver him the missions but in this he failed, and
Destruction of Mission Property 177
charges of conspiracy being preferred against him and
his associates, they were returned to Mexico to
answer. The unfortunate colonists, deprived of
the support of their leaders, were after a period of
distress merged in the settlers of the northern mis-
sions. Among them all there was not one of the
class California stood most in need of, agriculturists.
Some of the missionary fathers regarded seculari-
zation as an outrage upon themselves and their
neophytes and, when convinced that it could not be
averted, ceased to care for the buildings, vineyards,
and gardens, as in former times, and attempted to
realize in ready money as large an amount as possible.
Information concerning the Hijar-Padres company
was circulated throughout the missions and the
priests resolved to defeat the scheme if possible. At
many of the establishments orders were given for
the immediate slaughter of their cattle, and con-
tracts were made with individuals to kill them and
divide the proceeds with the missions. Thousands
of cattle were slain for their hides only, while their
carcases remained to rot on the plains, and in this
way a vast amount of tallow and beef was entirely
lost. The rascally contractors who were enriching
themselves so easily, were not satisfied with their
legitimate profit, but secretly appropriated to them-
selves two hides for one given to the missions. A
wanton spirit of destruction seemed to possess them,
co-equal with their desire for plunder, and they contin-
ued to ravage and lay waste. In like manner other
178 The Beginnings of San Francisco
interests of the establishments were neglected by the
missionaries and the missions gradually fell to decay.*
The curates that were to be appointed to the newly
created parishes never came, and the friars remained
to serve as curates, being relieved of temporal man-
agement but cooperating with the mayor-domos in
supervising the labors and conduct of the Indians.
Many of the friars accepted the situation and did
the best they could, striving to reconcile discordant
elements and retain their influence over the neo-
phytes; others, soured and disappointed, retired
sullenly to the habitations assigned them by law and
mechanically performed the duties of parish priests
when applied to; others were belligerent, quarreled
with everybody, and protested against everything
on every possible occasion. f
The secularization proceeded. Lands were as-
signed to the neophytes who also received a portion
of the mission property consisting of cattle, horses,
sheep, grain, implements, etc. It was forbidden to
buy from them, but this precaution amounted to
nothing, and in about a year the Indians had either
sold or gambled away what they had not eaten or
drunk. After a while some died and the rest dis-
persed, abandoning their lands which eventually
fell into the hands of rancheros under grants from
the government.^
* Robinson: Life in California, 168-9.
t Bancroft: Hist. Cal. iv, 42, 51.
X Id. iv, 230.
Death of Figueroa 179
In the midst of the work the honest and humane
Figueroa died, mind and body worn out by the repeated
attacks of the missionaries, the representations of the
Indians, and the disordered state of the country. He
was mourned by the people and proclaimed by the
most excellent diputacion " Bienhechor del territorio
de la Alta California" (Benefactor of the territory of
Alta California). Then followed a period of revolu-
tion, the reign of four governors of California, and
the proclamation of the diputacion of November 7,
1836, declaring that Alta California was independent
of Mexico and a free and governing state, under the
governorship of Juan Bautista Alvarado, with Mar-
iano Guadalupe Vallejo, raised from the rank of
lieutenant to colonel of cavalry, comandante-general,
and Jose Castro, president of the diputacion.
The evils that befell the missions in the process of
secularization have been largely attributed to the
administration of Alvarado, but a careful study of
the evidence will not justify the censure he has
received. It must be remembered that the period
of his administration, 1 836-1 842, was one of revolu-
tion, strife, and political unrest. The north was
divided against the south; the province was filled
with warring factions, and among them, engaged first
with one party then with another, were bands of
armed foreigners, chiefly Americans. In spite of
the condition of the country Alvarado made earnest
efforts to supervise the work of secularization and
i8o The Beginnings of San Francisco
check the spoliation of the missions. He appointed
William E. P. Hartnell, an Englishman of high stand-
ing and intelligence, fifteen years a resident of Cali-
fornia, inspector and visitador of the missions.
Hartnell visited each mission and made a most
conscientious examination of its affairs, and on his
report the governor made a number of changes in the
administration looking to a betterment of the service.
If Alvarado had had an intelligent and industrious
body of neophytes to organize into self-governing
pueblos, the hearty cooperation of the missionaries,
and a community free from sectional strife, the story
might have been different. There is no evidence
that he profited personally through the secularization
and he passed the later years of his life in modest
retirement on the rancho his wife inherited from her
father.
The secularization of the missions opened up Cali-
fornia to settlement. In 1830 there were in the entire
province not more than fifty ranchos in private pos-
session. In 1846, above seven hundred land grants
had been made by the authorities. Many of these,
it is true, had been distributed among the friends of
the administration, and Alvarado also loaned mission
stock to rancheros to be returned in kind later, though
it does not appear what proportion, if any, of this
property was returned to the government. The
policy of the government towards foreigners was
liberal and many of them obtained valuable tracts
of land.
Benefits of Secularization i8i
Altogether the secularization of the missions was
of the greatest benefit to California, notwithstanding
the evils which accompanied it. Alfred Robinson,
true friend of the church as he was, says: "To
secure lands for farming purposes, it was, in former
years, necessary to get the written consent of the
missionaries under whose control they were, ere the
government could give legitimate possession, therefore
their acquisition depended entirely upon the good
will of the friars. It may be justly supposed that
by this restriction the advancement of California
was rather retarded. So it was, for the immigrant
was placed at the mercy of a prejudiced missionary
who might be averse to anything like secular improve-
ment; for although these religionists were generally
possessed of generous feelings, still, many of them
were extremely jealous of an infringement upon the
interests of their institutions. * * * At first the
change (secularization) was considered disastrous
to the prosperity of California, and the wanton de-
struction of property which followed seemed to war-
rant the conclusion; but the result, however, proved
quite the contrary. Individual enterprise which
succeeded has placed the country in a more flourish-
ing condition, and the wealth instead of being con-
fined to the monastic institutions as before, has been
distributed among the people."*
The era of the missions was closed, and the ranch-
eros with their flocks and herds rivaled the patriarchs.
* Robinson: Life in California, 224-5.
Chapter IX.
THE GOLDEN AGE
IN 1834 the California of the Spaniards had as yet
undergone no great change. Figueroa, then ad-
ministering the affairs of the country, found
himself in the midst of an era of innovations — at the
end of the spiritual dominion of the missionary fathers
and the beginning of the attempt to introduce a new
civilization. "From 1769, " says Edmond Randolph,*
"when Father Junipero Serra and the body of mission-
ary priests who followed him first reached the spot
where they founded San Diego, sixty-five years had
elapsed of a tranquillity seldom witnessed on this
earth. " The cattle upon the rich pasture multiplied
and the missions grew in wealth and importance.
Shrewd traders too were the good padres, and the
Boston ships trading on the coast soon learned to re-
spect the business ability of the priests. To the In-
dians they were, as a rule, kind and gentle, teaching
them the Christian religion, accustoming them to a
regular life, and inuring them to labor. They were
well qualified for their work and many of them were
highly cultivated men — soldiers, engineers, artists,
lawyers, and physicians before they became Francis-
cans. Up to the year 1833 they were all from the
College of San Fernando in the City of Mexico, but in
that year the seven missions north of San Carlos de
Monterey were given in charge of the priests of the
college of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Zacatecas.
The Zacatecans were, as a rule, inferior to the Fer-
nandinos and less successful in their administration.
* Argument: Hart vs. Burnett et al. Sup. Court of California, 1859.
I8S
1 86 The Beginnings of San Francisco
The Franciscan monks generally treated the neo-
phyte Indians with paternal kindness and did not
scorn to labor with them in the field, the brickyard,
the forge, and the mill. "When we view the vast
constructions of the mission buildings, including the
churches, the refectories, the dormitories, and the
granaries, sometimes constructed with huge timbers
brought many miles on the shoulders of the Indians,
it cannot be denied that the missionary fathers had
the wisdom, sagacity, and patience to bring their
neophyte pupils far forward on the road from bar-
barism to civilization and that these Indians were
not destitute of taste and capacity."* A complete
chain of missions had been established from San
Diego to San Francisco, and thence across the straits
to San Rafael and Sonoma; the scheme being to
plant the missions throughout the whole length of
the coast, says Father Palou, so that the Indians
might fall within the reach, if not of one, then of
another of these establishments, and thus all be drawn
into the apostolic net.
The Indians received no pay but were fed and
clothed: each Indian receiving one blanket a year,
and if he wore it out, another; each received also a
loin cloth (taparrabo) and a serge blouse. Every
woman got serge for a petticoat. They were
flogged for failure to do the work assigned to them,
for non-attendance at mass, and for other causes, and
at times the discipline was so severe that the neo-
* Dwindle: Colonial Hist. p. 84.
The Great Ranchos 187
phytes ran away and soldiers had to be sent to cap-
ture and bring them back. But on the whole, they
were fairly well treated and were attached to the
priests. The Spaniards, having a wholesome dread
of mounted Indians born of encounters with the
Apaches, permitted no Indians to ride axcept those
employed as vaqueros.
Notwithstanding the claims of the missionaries
to all the land from one mission to another, there
were, in 1830, about fifty ranchos in possession of
private individuals. There were a number of ranchos
in the south and along the coast, while around the
bay of San Francisco the Vallejos, Argiiellos, Castros,
Peraltas, Estudillos, and other historic families of
California occupied ranchos which, according to
Davis,* supported some two hundred thousand
cattle, fifty thousand horses, and many thousand
sheep. These lands had been granted to the soldiers
of Portola, Rivera, and Anza, and their descendants,
and California was being slowly populated by the
natural increase from the families of the garrisons.
The families of the soldiers were so large as to excite
the wonder of visitors. General Vallejo had sixteen
children; Argiiello had thirteen; Carrillo, twelve;
Jose de la Guerra, ten; Jose Antonio Castro, twenty-
two, and so on. Governor Borica, on taking com-
mand in 1794, expressed to the engineer Cordero his
satisfaction with the society at the capital (Mon-
terey), the fine climate, the abundance of wine of
* Davis: Sixty Years in California, 29-32.
i88 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the Rhine, of Madeira, and of Oporto, of the good
bread, beef, fish, and other good eatables, and says:
"But what astonishes one is the general fecundity
both of rationals and irrationals" {pero lo que
espanta es la fecundidad general en racionales e irra-
cionales)* Within the presidio reservation of San
Francisco is a spring called El Polin to whose marvel-
ous virtues were attributed the large families of the
garrisons. t Its existence and peculiar qualities
were known to the Indians from a remote period and
its fame was spread throughout California.
Among the followers of Portola in the first expedi-
tion were Mariano de la Luz Verdugo and his brother
Jose Maria and both served for many years in the
companies of San Diego and Monterey. Mariano
brought from Loreto in Lower California cuttings
from the grape vine planted there by the Jesuit
fathers. These he planted at the San Diego mission
and in a few years the Franciscan fathers were able
to make from the fruit of these vines the wine used
in the mass. Cuttings were sent to other missions
and all the mission vineyards were planted from these
* Borica a Cordero: Prov. State Papers, M. S. XXI, 208-9, Academy of
Pacific Coast History.
t"It gave very good water, and experience afterwards demonstrated that
it was excellent and of miraculous qualities. In proof of my assertion I appeal
to the families of Miramontes, Martinez, Sanchez, Soto, Briones, and others;
all of whom several times had twins; and public opinion, not without reason,
attributed these salutary effects to the virtues of the water of El Polin, which
still exists." Vallejo: Discurso Historico, San Francisco Centenary, Oct. 8,
1876, MS. Academy of Pacific Coast History (Bancroft Collection).
Humble Origin of Founders 189
vines of San Diego. This is the origin in California
of the famous Mission grape.*
Reference has been made in the previous chapter
to the convicts sent to CaHfornia by the home govern-
ment. This was a cause of hatred towards Mexico;
but neither the convicts nor the few settlers she sent
appear to have made much impression on the coun-
try; the descendants of the soldiers were the ruling
class.
It has sometimes been held and believed that the
founders of the great California families were men of
rank and birth {sangre azul). This is not the case.
With but few exceptions they were men of humble
origin and station. The founders of the Alvarado,
Argiiello, Arellanes, Castro, Carrillo, Estudillo,
Ortega, Pico, Peralta, Vallejo, and Yorba families,
and many others hardly less known, were private
soldiers, and only four of the eleven named reached
the commission grade. But these families were
among the most prominent in California and fur-
nished six governors to the province.
The Californians were a fine handsome race. The
men were tall, robust, and well made; the women
were beautiful. "Particularly is the hijo del pais\
* Taylor: Fragments and Scraps, MS. p. 87, Statement of Don Anastacio
Carrillo (Bancroft Collection).
Hayes, in Emigrant Notes, MS. p. 150, says: "The grape cultivated at the
missions of California is the same as that of the Island of Madeira — according
to Maj. George H. Ringold, an accomplished officer of the U. S. Army who is
stationed here" (San Diego). (Bancroft Collection.)
t Native of the country.
190 The Beginnings of San Francisco
well-formed, graceful In his movements, and athletic.
Spending his life in manly pursuits, roaming his
native hills, breathing the pure air of the Pacific,
the horse his companion, the lasso his weapon, he
carries about him and into all life's commonplaces
the chivalrous bearing of the cavaliers of old Spain.
His courage no one will question who has seen him
face a herd of wild cattle, or lasso a grizzly, or mount
an unbroken horse, or fix his unflinching gaze upon
the muzzle of a pistol pointed at his breast. He is
by nature kind and frank. The treatment he re-
ceived at the hand of hard featured, ill-mannered,
grasping, and unprincipled strangers taught him to
be suspicious; but his confidence once gained, he is
yours, wholly and forever. "* Costanso, an officer of
the regular army, said of the presidial soldiers of
California, " It is not too much to say that they are
the best horsemen in the world and among the best
soldiers who eat the bread of the king, "f The
defeat of the veterans of the "Army of the West,"
under General Kearny, by the caballeros of Andres
Pico on the field of San Pascual, and that of Mervine
by Carrillo, at San Pedro, proves that the descend-
ants of the soldiers of Portola and Anza were not
lacking in either skill or courage. Davis says:
" The Vallejos ; the Bernals ; the Berreyesas, of whom
Don Jose Santos was particularly noble looking and
intelligent; the Estradas, half-brothers of Alvarado,
* Bancroft: California Pastoral, p. 276.
t Diario Historico. MS. original in Sutro library.
A Handsome Race 191
were all fine looking; also the Santa Cruz Castros,
three or four brothers; the De la Guerras; Don
Antonio Maria Lugo; Don Teodoro Arrellanes; Don
Tomas Yorba and his brothers; splendid looking,
proud and dignified In address and manners, the
cream of the country. The Sepulvedas of Los
Angeles were also fine specimens. The Argiiellos,
sons of the prefect (Santiago) were finely formed
men; Dona Modesta Castro, wife of General Castro,
was beautiful and queenly in her appearance and
bearing. The wife of David Spence, sister of Prefect
Estrada, was of medium size, with fine figure and
beautiful, transparent complexion. The sisters of
General Vallejo: Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Leese, were
strikingly beautiful. "*
Bartlett,t writing from Monterey in 1852, says:
"Many officers of the United States army have
married In California and from what I have heard
here and at other places, others intend to follow their
example. The young senoritas certainly possess
many attractions; and although shut up in this
secluded part of the world, without the advantages
of good education or of intercourse with refined
society, they need not fear a comparison with our
own ladles. In deportment they are exceedingly
gentle and ladylike with all the natural grace and
dignity which belong to the Castillian nation. Their
complexion is generally as fair as the Anglo-Saxon,
* Davis: Sixty Years in California, 176, 201.
t Bartlett: Narrative, p. 73, 74-
192 The Beginnings of San Francisco
particularly along the seacoast, with large black
eyes and hair, * * * and they are as slender and
delicate in form as those of our Atlantic states. I
was struck, too, with the elegance and purity of their
language, which presented a marked contrast with
the corrupt dialect spoken in Mexico." Even Sir
George Simpson, who could see little to commend
either in California or in the Californians was finally
overcome and surrendered a captive to grace and
beauty: "Of the women, with their witchery of
manner," he writes, "it is not easy, or rather it is
not possible for a stranger to speak with impar-
tiality * * * of those who, in every look, tone, and
gesture, have apparently no other end in view than
the pleasure of pleasing us. With regard, however,
to their physical charms, as distinguished from the
adventitious accomplishments of education, it is
difficult, even for a willing pen, to exaggerate.
Independently of feeling or motion, their sparkling
eyes and glossy hair are in themselves sufficient to
negative the idea of tameness or insipidity; while
their sylph-like forms evolve fresh graces at every
step, and their eloquent features eclipse their own
inherent comeliness by the higher beauty of expres-
sion. Though doubtless fully conscious of their
attractions, yet the women of California, to their
credit be it spoken, do not 'before their mirrors
count the time,' being, on the contrary by far the
most industrious half of the population. In Cali-
fornia, such a thing as a white servant is absolutely
Dona Angustias de la Guerra 193
unknown, inasmuch as neither man nor woman will
barter freedom in a country where provisions are
actually a drug and clothes almost a superfluity."*
The men he describes as tall and handsome, most
showily and elaborately dressed and mounted.
The daughters of Jose Bandini were famous for
their beauty. Bandini was the son of a trader who
came from Lima in 18 19 and settled in San Diego.
He had six lovely daughters, four of whom married
Americans. The heroine of Bret Harte's beautiful
poem, "Concepcion Argiiello," was the daughter
of Jose Dario Argiiello, comandante of San Francisco.
How Doiia Concepcion's black eyes won the heart
of the chamberlain of the tsar has often been told;
it is the most famous romance of California.''''
The daughters of Jose de la Guerra were very
beautiful. Teresa married W. E. P. Hartnell, an
English merchant at Monterey; Angustias married
Jimeno, secretary of state, and after his death. Dr.
J. L. Ord, United States army; and Ana Maria
married Alfred Robinson. Dana, who attended
Robinson's marriage in Santa Barbara in 1836, gives
a most delightful picture of the handsome and
sprightly Doiia Angustias, and in his "Twenty-four
years after" says: "'Doiia Angustias' he (Captain
Wilson) said, 'I had made famous by my praises of
her beauty and dancing and I should have from her a
royal reception.' She had been a widow and had
remarried since and had a daughter as handsome as
* Simpson: Narratize p, 280-1.
194 The Beginnings of San Francisco
herself. * * * In due time I paid my respects to
Dona Angustias, and notwithstanding what Wilson
had told me I could scarcely believe that after twenty-
four years there would still be so much of the enchant-
ing woman about her. She thanked me for the kind,
and as she called them, greatly exaggerated compli-
ments I have paid her; and her daughter told me that
all travelers who came to Santa Barbara called to
see her mother, and that she, herself, never expected
to live long enough to be a belle. "* Bayard Taylor,
writing from Monterey in 1849, says of this same
lady: "The most favorite resort of the Americans
is that (house) of Dona Angustias Ximeno, the sister
of Don Pablo de la Guerra.f This lady whose active
charity in aiding the sick and distressed has won
her the enduring gratitude of many and the esteem
of all, has made her house the home of every American
officer who visits Monterey. With a rare liberality
she has given up a great part of it to their use, when
it is impossible for them to procure quarters, and they
have always been welcome guests at her table. She
is a woman whose nobility of character, native vigor,
and activity of intellect, and above all, whose instinc-
tive refinement and winning grace of manner would
have given her a complete supremacy in society, had
her lot been cast in Europe, or in the United States.
During the session of the convention, J her house was
*Dana: Two Years Before the Mast. Reprint, 1895. He revisited Cali-
fornia in 1859.
t She was then a widow, and about thirty-five years old.
JThe Constitutional Convention, 1849.
Jose Raimundo Carrillo 195
the favorite resort of all the leading members, both
American and Californian. She was thoroughly-
versed in Spanish literature, as well as the works of
Scott and Cooper, through translations, and I have
frequently been surprised at the justness and elegance
of her remarks on various authors. She possessed,
moreover, all those bold and daring qualities which
are so fascinating in a woman when softened and
made graceful by true feminine delicacy. She was
a splendid horsewoman, and had even considerable
skill in throwing the lariat."*
In the little company of soldados de cuera that
followed Portola to Monterey, were two brothers,
Guillermo and Mariano Carrillo, and their nephew,
Jose Raimundo Carrillo. Guillermo died, a sergeant,
in 1782, and Mariano, an ensign, the same year.
Neither left any children. Jose Raimundo was
twenty-three years old when he joined the expedition.
For twenty-six years he served as private and non-
commissioned officer in the presidios of San Francisco,
Monterey, Santa Barbara, and San Diego, and in
1795, received his commission as ensign. He served
until his death in 1809, as ensign, lieutenant, and
captain, becoming, in turn comandante of Monterey,
Santa Barbara, and San Diego. His wife was a
daughter of the patriarch de Lugo,t to whom he
was married at San Carlos by Junipero Serra. He
* Bayard Taylor: El Dorado, p. 141-2.
t Another daughter married Ignacio Vallejo and was mother of General
Vallejo.
196 The Beginnings of San Francisco
was the founder of what may perhaps, by reason of
the number and prominence of its members, be con-
sidered the leading family of California. His son
Carlos Antonio became governor of California. Don
Carlos had a number of handsome daughters one of
whom married William G. Dana; one married
Thomas W. Robbins; one Alpheus B. Thompson;
one John Cofhn Jones; one Lewis T. Burton, and
one Thomas W. Doak, all Americans. Don Rai-
mundo's sons were men of prominence who took an
active part in the affairs of the province and married
into the best families. They were distinguished for
their courtly manners and dignified and magnificent
presence. Each was over six feet tall and over
two hundred pounds in weight. Joaquin Carrillo
had five beautiful daughters one of whom married
Henry D. Fitch and was the heroine of another
California romance; one married General Vallejo,
who named the town of Benicia for her, one married
his brother, Salvador, one married Ramuldo Pacheco,
and after his death Captain John Wilson and was the
Ramona of R. H. Dana's enthusiasm, and one married
Victor Castro. Of Ramona, Sir George Simpson
writes: "Then returning to Captain Wilson's house
(at Santa Barbara) we had the pleasure of being intro-
duced to Mrs. Wilson whom we already knew by
name as a sister of Seiiora Vallejo and whom we now
found to be one of the prettiest and most agreeable
women that we have ever met with either here or
A Prosperous Ranchero 197
elsewhere."* Lieutenant Martinez, comandante of
San Francisco, had nine lovely daughters, one of
whom married Captain W. A. Richardson, for whom
Richardson's bay was named, one married William
S. Hinckley, alcalde of San Francisco, and one. Dr.
Samuel Tennant.
These personal descriptions of contemporary
writers will enable the reader to realize more fully
than he could otherwise do the character of the
people of California.
Alfred Robinsonf gives a description of a passing
visit at the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana in 1830.
"The proprietor, Don Tomas Yorba, a tall, lean,
personage, dressed in all the extravagance of his coun-
try's costume, received us at the door of his house.
He came towards us, embraced Gale and his
compadre,X Don Manuel, took me cordially by the
hand, and invited us to enter. Arrangements were
soon made for dinner, which, notwithstanding the
haste with which it was served, did much credit to
the provider, as did our appetites to its excellent
qualities.
"Don Tomas and friend Gale then commencing
a business conversation, I got up from the table and
retreated to the corridor, where I could study, unob-
* Simpson: Narrative, p. 376.
t Robinson: Life in California, p. 42-3.
X The term compadre implies more than the relationship of friend or benefac-
tor. It denotes a closer association, a somewhat sacred relationship, as that of
godfather and godmother, not only in its relationship to the child, but to each
other.
198 The Beginnings of San Francisco
served, the character and appearance of our host.
Upon his head he wore a black silk handkerchief,
the four corners of which hung down his neck behind.
An embroidered shirt, a cravat of white jaconet
tastefully tied, a blue damask vest, short clothes of
crimson velvet, a bright green cloth jacket, with
large silver buttons, and shoes of embroidered deer
skin, comprised his dress. I was afterwards informed
by Don Manuel, that on some occasions such as
some particular feast day or festival his entire dis-
play often exceeded in value a thousand dollars."
Davis* describes the California costume: Short
breeches extending to the knee, ornamented with
gold or silver lace at the bottom, with botas (leggins)
below made of fine soft deer skin, well tanned and
finished, richly colored and stamped with beautiful
devices and tied at the knee with a silk cord wound
two or three times around the leg with gold or silver
tassels hanging below the knee; long vest with fila-
gree buttons of gold or silver, although men of ordi-
nary means had them of brass; a jacket, generally of
dark blue cloth, also adorned with filagree buttons.
Over that was the serape or poncho, made in Mexico
and costing from twenty to one hundred dollars,
according to the quality of the cloth and the richness
of the ornamentation. The serape and poncho
were made in the same way as to size and cut, the
former of coarser texture than the latter and of a
variety of colors and patterns, while the poncho was
* Davis: Sixty Years in California, p. 84.
The Outfit of a Caballero 199
of dark blue or black cloth of finer quality, generally
of broadcloth. The serape was always plain while
the poncho was heavily trimmed with gold or silver
fringe around the edges and a little below the collar
around the shoulders. Hat from Mexico or Peru,
generally stiff, the finer quality, soft, of vicuna — a
kind of beaver skin — and cost forty dollars. Saddle,
silver mounted; bridle, heavily mounted with silver;
reins of select hair of horses' mane with links of silver
at a distance of every foot; spurs inlaid with gold or
silver. The whole outfit sometimes costing several
thousand dollars. Simpson, in 1842, describes the
men as wearing the pantaloons, split on the outside
from the hip to the foot, with a row of buttons on
either edge of the opening which is laced together
nearly down to the knee; underneath a full pair of
linen drawers and a boot of untanned deerskin, and
a silk scarf around the waist. The women wore
gowns of silk, crape, calico, etc., short sleeves and
loose waist without corset; shoes of kid or satin,
sashes, or belts of bright colors, and almost always a
necklace and earings. They wore no bonnets, the
hair hanging loose or in long braids. Married women
did the hair up on a high comb. Over the head a
mantilla was thrown, drawn close around the
face when out of doors. In the house they wore a
small scarf or neckerchief and on top of the head a
band with a star or other ornament in front.
All travelers unite in the statement that the Cali-
fornians were vastly superior to the Mexicans. Bay-
200 The Beginnings of San Francisco
ard Taylor says they had larger frames, stronger
muscles, and a fresh ruddy complexion, entirely
different from the sallow skins of the tierra caliente,
or the swarthy features of those Bedouins of the
West, the Sonorians. One reason for this difference
was the fact that the Califomians were of purer
blood. Father Lasuen, president of the missions,
testifies that from the beginning, in 1769, to the end
of the century, but twenty-nine Spaniards had mar-
ried native women. While there was more or less
mixture among the soldiers who came with the first
expeditions, the race improved in California. The
sons of soldiers married soldiers' daughters. The
cool moist air of the coast gave them fresh com-
plexions; the habit of life in the open air with its
accompanying exercise gave them vigorous frames
and elastic muscles. As all things grow and improve
in California; so it is with the people. The men
become larger and stronger, the women more beauti-
ful. The soldiers who established the presidios and
missions were not, as a rule, large men, yet they
developed in California a race that in proportions
and symmetry was fair to look upon. They were
also a happy and contented people. Incivility was
unknown. They were always ready to reply to a
question and answered in the politest manner. The
poorest vaquero would salute the traveler politely,
and a favor was always granted with an air of courtesy
and grace that was very pleasing. Implicit obedience
and profound respect were shown parents by children.
A Ranchero's Guaranty 201
even after they were grown up. A son, though him-
self the head of a family, never presumed to sit,
smoke, or remain covered in the presence of his
father; nor did the daughter, whether married or
unmarried, enter into great familiarity with the
mother. With these exceptions, the Californians
gave little regard to the restraints of etiquette, and,
generally speaking, all classes mingled together on a
footing of equality. Honest and kindly, the Cali-
fornian's word was as good as his bond. Indeed
bonds and notes of hand were entirely unknown
among them. The trading ships would sell goods
along the coast and returning in twelve or eighteen
months would receive in hides and tallow payment
for goods sold the previous year. Don Antonio
Aguirre was a prominent merchant of Los Angeles,
and owner of the brig Leonidas. His supercargo,
a new man, sold a bill of goods and asked for payment
or a note of hand. The purchaser, Agustin Machado,
was well to do, but could neither read nor write. He
looked at the supercargo in astonishment, but finally
realizing he was distrusted, plucked one hair from his
beard and handing it to the young man, said:
"Here! deliver this to Senor Aguirre and tell him it
is a hair from the beard of Agustin Machado. It
will cover your responsibility. It is a sufficient
guaranty." Aguirre was chagrined on hearing that
the supercargo had demanded a document from
Machado, a man whose word was as good as the best
202 The Beginnings of San Francisco
bond even for the entire ship's cargo.* The old
inhabitants maintain that CaHfornia was a perfect
paradise before the foreign immigration set in to
corrupt patriarchal customs; then robbery and assas-
sination were unheard of, blasphemy rare, and fraud-
ulent creditors unknown. In 1839 Jose Antonio
Galindo of San Francisco, who in his expediente of
1835 for the Rancho Laguna de la Merced is described
by Justice de Haro as an "honest man," appears
now to have lapsed into the position of a criminal,!
and the same Justice de Haro reports to the governor
that the population having become rancheros, there
are few remaining in San Francisco to guard him, and
as there is no jail the justice asks that Galindo be
sent to San Jose for security. This document
illustrates the primitive simplicity of the Golden Age
in California in which the cause came always before
the effect, and no necessity was found for jails until
criminals existed to be restrained of their liberty.}:
"Happy was San Francisco," says Dwindle, "to
whom the 'fact' criminal had not yet suggested the
word 'jail'; less happy, but more wise San Jose,
whose experience had already advanced to the word
and fact 'prison.'"
Among the light-hearted and easy-tempered Cali-
fornians the virtue of hospitality knew no bounds.
"They literally vie with each other in devoting their
* Bancroft: California Pastoral, p. 472.
t He had killed his relative, Jose Peralta, in a quarrel.
t Dwindle: Colonial History of the City of San Francisco, p. 65.
Hospitality of the Californians 203
time, their homes, and their means, to the enter-
tainment of strangers."* On arriving at a rancho
the traveler was received with joy and the best
things were prepared for him. He was pressed to
remain as long as he would and when he went on his
way horses and servants were furnished to take him
to his next stopping place. It was the same with the
missions. The padres gladly received and entertained
all travelers, setting before them the best of meats,
fruits, and native wines, providing them with good
beds and on their departure furnishing them with
fresh horses and guides, caring for the tired animals
of the travelers until the owners came or sent for
them. No pay was expected and none was given.
Such was the hospitality and such were the men
and women of the Golden Age of California.
* Simpson: Narrative, p. 387.
Chapter X.
EDUCATION, TRADE, LAND GRANTS
IN the matter of education California was back-
ward. The miHtary rosters of 1782 show that
only about one-third of the soldiers could read
and write. The officers taught their children and
occasionally a soldier of the escolta was taught by a
priest to read and write. The padres confined
their attentions to the spiritual welfare of the people
and took little interest in their education. Borica
endeavored during his administration — 1794 to 1800
— to establish schools, and the first was started in
1794 at the pueblo of San Jose by the retired sergeant
Manuel de Vargas. He was succeeded a year later
by the retired ensign Ramon Lasso de la Vega, and
Vargas was sent to San Diego to open a school there.
In San Francisco the corporal Manuel Boronda
taught the children, in Monterey the soldier Jose
Rodrigues, and in Santa Barbara they were taught
by Jose Manuel Toca, a ship's boy from one of the
transports. The children were taught the doctrina
cristiana and to read and write. They learned very
little, books were rare, and in the simple life led by
the people extensive book-learning was not considered
necessary. In 181 8 Corporal Miguel Archuleta had
a school at Monterey which was attended by Vallejo,
Alvarado, Castro, Estrada, Pico, and other well
known Californians. Outside of the "three R's"
but little was taught and the line of reading was con-
fined mostly to the lives of the saints and martyrs.
The bigger boys, however, managed to secure from
207
2o8 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the foreign ships many prohibited books which they
contrived to prevent falling into the hands of the
watchful friars. In 1834 William E. P. Hartnell,
an educated man, and Father Patrick Short estab-
lished on the Hartnell rancho of Patrocino, a sem-
inario which for two or three years was attended
by the sons of a few prominent families, but the
attempt was soon given up.
Governor Sola, during his term, 181 5-1 822, in-
terested himself in the cause of education and con-
tributed from his private funds for the support of
the schools, but the most he could do was to main-
tain a primary school at each of the four presidios
and the two pueblos. Governor Echeandia recom-
mended an appropriation for the employment of
teachers, but nothing was done. There was no
money to pay teachers and teachers themselves
were scarce; the lack of education however, was
partly due to apathy on the part of the people them-
selves. They had but little intellectual ambition,
though some of the more noteworthy families con-
tained men of intellect and scholarly attainments.
There was no necessity for the soldier to read and
write unless he wished to be a corporal, then, if the
desire was sufficiently strong, he learned.
California in the eighteenth century had no trade.
The garrisons bought from the missions and rancheros
such supplies as they required, paying for them by
drafts on the royal treasury, and each year sent re-
quisitions to Mexico for articles California could not
Beginning of the Fur Trade 209
supply. Twice a year the government transports
brought the supplies and the people had to be con-
tent with the goods so furnished. No foreign ships
were permitted to trade but the settlers could buy
from the transports such articles as they had, paying
for them by their products. This cutting off of all
outlet for the products of their farms and labor could
only result in stagnation. With a fertile soil, a sea
filled with fish, and a coast swarming with fur-seals
and sea-otter, the California settler could only sell
a few skins, a few hides, a little tallow, and a few
fanegas of grain.
About the beginning of the nineteenth century
American ships began to visit the Pacific coast of
North America for skins of sea-otter and other fur-
bearing animals. These vessels carried goods for
trade and landed their wares whenever opportunity
offered. With the assistance of Aleuts furnished by
the Russian-American company, they took great
numbers of fur-seals and sea-otter. The Farallon
islands, off San Francisco, and the islands of the
Santa Barbara channel furnished quantities of
these animals. The bay of San Francisco was full
of sea-otter and the Russians entered in their canoes
and hunted them under the very guns of the Spanish
fort. The Russians maintained a station on the
Farallones, whence in 1810-11, the ship Albatross
took 73,402 fur-seals according to the log of the cap-
tain's clerk, W. A. Gale. Robinson tells of landing
2IO The Beginnings of San Francisco
on the largest Farallon with him in 1833, when Gale
attempted to show Robinson how he bagged the
seals and taking a club started to descend the rocks
to head off a couple of big fellows they discovered
asleep; but Gale had lost his youthful vigor and
activity and, his courage failing him, the seals
escaped. Down to the year 1830 the Russians took
a large number of otter on the California coast,
variously estimated from five to ten thousand peryear,
the best skins selling in China at sixty dollars each.
It seems strange that the Spanish and Mexican
authorities should permit their coasts to be stripped
of this great wealth by foreigners who returned no
revenue. Later otter hunting was licensed on con-
dition that two-thirds of the crews should be Cali-
fornians and that the foreigners paid duties on their
share of skins. Free licenses were also granted to
Californians. The sea-otter which in 1812 were so
plentiful that, according to Vallejo they were killed
by the boatmen with their oars in passing through
the seaweed,* were now growing scarce.
Before the end of the second decade the prohi-
bition of foreign trade had become a dead letter.
California, left to herself, had to get on as best she
could. The needs of the government were such that
the governor was glad to purchase any supplies that
could be paid for in produce and for revenue he levied
import and export duties. In 1821 Monterey and
San Diego were formally opened to foreign trade, and
* Vallejo: Hist. Cal. MS. i, 105-6. Bancroft Coll.
The Coming of the Hide Droghers 211
in 1822 the Lima firm of John Begg & Co. entered
into a contract with the missions to take all the hides
offered, and at least twenty-five thousand arrobas*
of tallow per year. The contract was for three years
from January i, 1823, and the price was one dollar
each for hides and two dollars per arroba for tallow.
The Lima firm was represented by Hugh McCulloch
and William Edward Paty Hartnell who formed the
firm of McCulloch, Hartnell & Co. Hartnell re-
mained as the resident partner of the firm and
became a citizen of California. He was baptized
into the Roman Catholic faith; married Maria
Teresa, daughter of Jose de la Guerra y Noriega, and
thus became allied with one of the most prominent
families of California.
In 1822 came Henry Gyzelaar and William A.
Gale for hides and tallow, in the American ship
Sachem from Boston, the first ship to engage in the
profitable trade so long continued between California
and Boston. Gyzelaar was master and Gale super-
cargo of the Sachem and both were part owners.
Both had been in the fur trade in California before,
and Gale had, as we have seen, taken large quanti-
ties of seal-skins on the Farallon rocks at San Fran-
cisco. Some difficulty was encountered by Gale in
getting a cargo by reason of the contract the missions
had entered into with the Lima house, but by offering
one dollar and fifty cents per hide and one dollar
and seventy-five cents per arroba for tallow, he
* Arroba — twenty-five pounds.
212 The Beginnings of San Francisco
disposed of his cargo of notions and secured a load of
hides, tallow, and other produce. These prices were
later advanced to two dollars for hides and five dol-
lars per arroba for tallow, while two dollars and fifty
cents per pound was paid for beaver skins, and
thirty to forty dollars apiece for sea-otter. The
opening of the ports to foreign trade was a great
stimulus to California development and the seculari-
zation of the missions opened the lands to settlement.
Cattle raising became a great industry and each year
more ships came to the coast for hides and tallow.
The trade was largely in the hands of Americans,
Boston houses predominating. The ships came
loaded with cloths, silks, hardware, utensils, wines,
liquors, and all the miscellaneous articles needed by
the Californians, and after entering the cargo at
Monterey and paying the duties, the ship would
trade up and down the coast until all the goods were
disposed of. A trade room was fitted up on the ship
with shelves, counters, etc., like a country store,
and the goods displayed to the best advantage. The
arrival of a Boston ship always excited the greatest
interest, lining the roads with people coming to
inspect the goods and to make purchases, and with
cattle and carts laden with hides and tallow for the
ship. Smuggling was extensively carried on. Most
of the merchants engaged in it and, it is said, some
of the padres were wont to indulge in the practice
of evading the customs dues. The method pursued
by the customs ofiicials made smuggling easy. Mon-
Smuggling Operations 213
terey was made sole port of entry. If a vessel on
any pretext entered any other port, a guard was
placed on board and she was ordered to depart with
the shortest possible delay for Monterey. On
arrival at that port she was visited by the collector
who was received on board with all due ceremony.
The event was usually made one of social enter-
tainment and the merchants and prominent residents
of the town were invited to accompany the customs
officials. In the cabin would be laid out refreshments,
solid and liquid, in the greatest variety and abun-
dance, and afterfeasting and the drinking of numerous
healths and toasts, the collector would proceed to
inspect the cargo and fix the amount of duty to be
paid. A favorite method of smuggling was for a
vessel to land the more valuable portion of her
cargo on some lonely part of the coast or island and
re-load after passing the Monterey custom house
inspection. So openly was smuggling conducted
during the latter part of the Mexican administration
that the officials could hardly be ignorant of its
extent. The duties were about one hundred per
cent., and, it was argued, if the traders were obliged
to pay the whole tax, instead of about one-quarter
of it the goods would have to be sold at so high a
price the people would be unable to buy them, thus
the trade would be destroyed, the people suffer,
and the government receive no benefit. Davis tells
of the arrival at San Francisco of the American bark
Don Quixote, of which he was supercargo, from
214 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Honolulu with a full cargo valued at twenty thousand
dollars. The sub-prefect ordered the ship to Mon-
terey and placed a guard on board. The obliging
guard was put in a state room, furnished with a bottle
of madeira, one of aguardiente, a box of cigars, was
promised twenty dollars in the morning and locked
up for the night. All night the crew worked landing
the cargo on the beach in front of Spear's store,
whence it was taken inside. Davis says they
landed half the cargo, but it would seem nearer the
whole, for the subsequent appraisal at Monterey was
but one thousand one hundred and eight dollars.
After paying dues at Monterey and getting her per-
mit, the Don Quixote returned to San Francisco,
openly reloaded her cargo and proceeded south on
her trading expedition, maintaining a fiction that
Spear was shipping some of his goods south.*
Another practice was to exhibit a fictitious invoice
and pay, say ten thousand dollars on a cargo worth
forty thousand dollars. The trader considered that
there was nothing particularly wrong about this, as
the invoice did not have to be sworn to. Davis
says that the merchants and owners engaged in
smuggling were just as much respected as any one
else in the community. Sometimes whole cargoes
would be transferred at sea to vessels having the
custom's permit. It is said that the Sandwich islands
traders were the particular offenders in these trans-
actions. Occasionally a smuggler would be caught
* Davis: Sixty Years in California.
Trade on the Coast 215
up and ship and cargo condemned and sold. The
whalers coming into San Francisco bay for supplies
and anchoring at Sausalito were allowed to trade
goods in limited amounts in payment of supplies
and they took advantage of their privilege to engage
in extensive smuggling operations.
Having attended to the formalities of the custom-
house at Monterey the ship became a floating store
and traded up and down the coast until her cargo
was disposed of and a return load secured. As
the hides were collected they were taken to La Playa
at San Diego where great hide houses were erected
for their curing and storing and where the ship
loaded for her homeward voyage. The Boston
houses found the trade very lucrative. They sold
their goods at a large profit and bought their return
cargoes at a low price. A voyage generally took
between two and three years, and a house engaged
in the trade contrived to have one or two ships on
the coast all the time. Richard Henry Dana's
Two Years Before the Mast gives a most interesting
account of these "hide droghing" days and second
only to this is William H. Thomes' On Land and Sea.
The customs duties that in 1826 were thirteen thou-
sand dollars, rose in 1835, the year of Dana's arrival,
to fifty thousand dollars and in 1840 to seventy
thousand dollars. These sums may be safely esti-
mated at about one-half of what they should have
been, while the annual exports of California were
valued at that time at two hundred and forty-one
2i6 The Beginnings of San Francisco
thousand dollars, of which San Francisco furnished
eighty-three thousand dollars. The Boston ships
paid the greater part of these duties, but so extensive
became the operations of the smugglers that the trade
ceased to be profitable to houses that paid duties
and the Boston ships retired.
The first private land grant in California was made
November 22, 1775, to Manuel Butron, a soldier
of the Monterey presidio, by virtue of his military
services and also in recognition of the claims of
his wife, Margarita, a daughter of the mission of the
Carmelo. The grant was for a piece of land one
hundred and forty varas square and was made by
Don Fernando de Rivera y Moncada, comandante
of California, and attested by Corporal Hermenegildo
Sal, who acted as a sort of secretary of state.
This grant was made pursuant to a reglamento
of Bucareli, viceroy of New Spain, dated August
I7> 1773' This reglamento authorized the coman-
dante of California to distribute lands in private to
such Indians as would devote themselves to agri-
culture and the breeding of cattle; it also gave
the comandante authority to distribute lands to
settlers according to their merit and means of labor.
The reglamento of Felipe de Neve, governor of
California, approved by the king October 24, 1781,
provided that the colonist {poblador) should receive
one hundred and sixteen dollars and forty-four cents
per year for two years and sixty dollars per year for
the next three years, in lieu of rations; each was to
Land for Settlers 217
receive a house lot {solar), and a planting lot (suerte)
two hundred varas square, together with cattle,
sheep, pigs, fowls, and implements, and was to be
exempt from all taxes for five years. Each poblador
was to hold himself equipped with two horses, a
saddle complete, musket and other arms, for defense
at the call of the governor. In the decree of August
18, 1824, the Mexican nation "promises to those
foreigners who may come to establish themselves in
its territory, security in their persons and property,
provided they subject themselves to the laws of the
country." It provided for distribution of lands to
Mexican citizens, without distinction except only
such as is due to private merit and services rendered.
No one person could obtain ownership of more than
one league square of five thousand varas of irrigable
land {tierra de regadio), four superficial ones of land
dependent on the seasons (de temporal), and six
superficial ones for the purpose of rearing cattle
{de abrevadero). Land within twenty leagues of
the boundaries of any foreign nation, or within ten
leagues of the coast could not be colonized without
the previous approval of the general government.
The general rules and regulations of November 21,
1828, authorized the governors of the territories,
in compliance with the law of August 18, 1824, to
grant vacant lands to such contractors {empresar-
ios), families, or private persons, whether Mexicans
or foreigners, who might ask for them for the purpose
of cultivating and inhabiting them. These were the
2i8 The Beginnings of San Francisco
laws under which lands were granted down to the
time of the American occupation in 1846. The law
made provision for the method to be followed in
the granting of lands and no private grant was valid
without the consent of the territorial diputacion,
though an appeal to the supreme government could
be taken by the governor should the diputacion
reject a grant. The petitioner filed with his appli-
cation a plan or sketch {diseho) of the desired tract.
The request was then referred to the proper authori-
ties for information concerning the applicant and
the land desired, and if all was favorable, the grant
was made, the papers {expediente) transmitted to
the diputacion where they were copied into the
record, and were then delivered to the applicant for
his protection and constituted his title. But few
grants were made prior to the establishment of the
republic, but after the opening of the ports to foreign
trade the applications for ranchos became more
numerous and with the secularization of the mis-
sions, the advent of the foreigners, and the general
expectation of American domination, the scramble
for land became very great. The foreigners were
very well treated and by becoming naturalized
obtained grants of land. Many of the Americans
who came during the last days of Mexican control
imagined that they were entitled to land, and refused
to comply with the requirements of law, expecting
to obtain it without doing so. Some even claimed
that land had been promised them to induce them to
Land Commission Created 219
emigrate to California. Perhaps it had, but not By
those who owned it. With the conquest and the
subsequent discovery of gold, the land question
became acute. Americans with guns in their hands
asserted their right to "preempt" such land as they
chose to consider vacant, and in the opinion of the
"squatters" the Californians had no rights the
conquerors were bound to respect. The matter was
further complicated by the appearance of a number
of alleged grants, whose timely production was, to
say the least, suspicious.
In 1 85 1 Congress passed an act creating a com-
mission to examine all California land claims.
Within a stated period all claims must be presented
before the board by the claimants and those not
so presented were to be no longer regarded, but the
lands in question were then to be considered part
of the public domain. All claimants were to appear
before the board as suitors against the United States
which as represented by its attorneys was to resist
their claims. Either party could appeal from the
decision of the board to the United States district
court and thence to the United States supreme court.
The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had guaranteed
to Californians the protection of their property rights
and the land bill of 185 1 was an act of injustice and a
violation of the spirit of the treaty. Instead of
the protection guaranteed, the land owner was
obliged to defend his title to land which had perhaps
been in his family for many years and to which his
220 The Beginnings of San Francisco
right was well known and had never been disputed.
He was placed in the position of holding a fraudulent
title which he had to defend at his own expense
against a powerful opponent. The lawyers took
immense fees in land and cattle, while the United
States through its able attorneys contested the
claims. By questioning the title, the law rendered
the land hard to sell and the owner in order to raise
money for taxes, support, and defense was obliged
to part with a good portion at a fraction of its value
and thus vast tracts fell into the hands of lawyers and
speculating land sharpers. The resulting concentra-
tion in a few hands of a great part of the agricultural
lands worked to the detriment of the development
of the state, while to the individual Californian
the result was disastrous. If the land commission
decided in his favor the case could be, and usually
was, appealed to the district court and thence to the
supreme court at Washington; the struggle for "pro-
tection" lasting anywhere from five to twenty-five
years, and long before a final decision was reached
the once ranchero prince had perhaps parted with his
last acre and was a vagabond and a wanderer.
Chapter XL
SPANISH ADMINISTRATION
I 769-1 846
UNDER the rule of Spain the administration
of California was purely military. The terri-
tory was divided into four districts, each
under the protection of a military post known as
a presidio.* A presidio was a walled camp about
six hundred feet square whose walls of adobe were
some fourteen feet high and five feet thick with small
bastions flanking the angles. The walls had but one
gate and were surrounded by a ditch twelve feet wide
and six feet deep. Its armament generally con-
sisted of eight bronze cannon — eight, twelve, and
sixteen pounders. Although incapable of resist-
ing an attack of ships of war these fortifications
were sufficient to repel the incursions of Indians.
Not far from the presidio was the fort or battery,
called the castillo. Within the enclosure of the pre-
sidio were the church, the quarters of the ofiicers and
soldiers, the houses of colonists, store houses, work-
shops, stables, wells, and cisterns. The military
reservation of a fort or presidio (egidos) as laid down
by law was equal to a square of three thousand
varas;t that is, fifteen hundred varas measured to
"each wind" (cardinal point) from the center of its
plaza. If the lay of the land was such that the
measurement could not be made in the form of a
square, the required quantity was to be made up by
measurements in other directions. The commander
* From the Roman praesidium, a garrison or fortified camp,
t 3000 varas square equals 1564 acres.
223
224 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of the presidio had full jurisdiction within his district,
subject to the approval of the governor. The
governor, who was an officer of the army, held his
appointment from the viceroy of New Spain; there
was neither a legislative body nor council, the gov-
ernor executing the orders of the viceroy and being
responsible to him only. Each presidio furnished to
the missions within its district, a guard {escolta)
varying from five to eight soldiers under command
of a corporal or sergeant, and also a guard of from
two to five soldiers to each pueblo, keeping in the
presidio as a garrison and for escort duty, expeditions,
etc., from twenty to thirty men.
The small military establishment of California
excited the wonder of foreign naval commanders
visiting the coast. They could not understand
Spain's neglect of a country of such great natural
resources. The excellence of its climate, the fertility
of its soil, the spaciousness of its harbors, rendered
possible the creation of a province of great power
and influence on the coast of the Pacific. Van-
couver, writing in 1793, after describing the beauty
of the country, its climate, soil, etc., says: "From
this brief sketch some idea may be formed of the
present state of the European settlements in this
country, and the degree of importance they are to
the Spanish monarchy, which retains the extent
of country under its authority by a force that, had
we not been eye-witnesses of its insignificance in
many instances, we should hardly have given credit
/
.f:i
CALIFORNIA INDIANS, NAPA VALLEY
From Bartlett's Narrative.
224 '1)1 E Beginnings of San Francisco
J presidio had fuii jurisdiction within his district,
suDject to the roval of the governor. The
governor, who was an officer of the army, held his
appointment from the viceroy of New Spain; there
was neither a legislative body nor council, the gov-
ernor executing the orders of the viceroy and being
responsible to him only. Each presidio furnished to
the mi within its district, a guard (escolta)
varying from five to eight soldiers under command
of a corporal or sergeant, and also a guard of from
Lo five soldiers to each pueblo, keeping in the
presidio as a garrison and for escort duty, expeditions,
from twenty to thirty men.
The small military establishment of California
excited tM-i^^iMm c^^,<?i%/>iivWfi>^MA:^ommanders
visiting the c(?Bf"fii^F'rra^T;.Aa moiH derstand
Spain's neglect of ach great natural
resources. Tht of its climate, the fertility .
of its soil, the spaciousness of its harbors, rendered ^
possible the creation of a province of great power
and influence on the coast of the Pacific. Van
couver, writing in 1793, after describing the beauty
of the cr^nnf ry, its climate, soil, etc., says: "From
this br; . .^ctch some idea may be formed of the
present state of the European settlements in this
country, and the degree of importance they are to
• ' Spanish monarchy, which retains the extent
>untry under its authority by a force that, had
■"■^ been eye-witnesses of its insignificance in
i. ustances, we should hardly have given credit
Small Military Force 225
to the possibility of so small a body of men keeping
in awe and under subjection the natives of this
country, without resorting to harsh or unjustifiable
measures. The number of their forces between port
St. Francisco and San Diego, including both estab-
lishments, and occupying an extent of one line of
upwards of four hundred and twenty nautical
miles, does not amount to three hundred, officers
included. * * *
"Should the ambition of any civilized nation
att mpt to seize on these unsupported posts (the pre-
sidios of San Francisco, Monterey, Santa Barbara,
and San Diego) they could not make the least
resistance and must inevitably fall to a force barely
sufficient for garrisoning and securing the country."*
The force at the time of Vancouver's visit was
two hundred and twenty-five men all told. It was
increased in 1795 to two hundred and eighty, and in
1796 a company of seventy-five Catalan volunteers
(infantry), and eighteen artillerymen were added,
raising the force to three hundred and eighty-five
men, the largest number it attained.
Until 1804 the two Californias were united under
one governor, but in 1805 a separate governor was
appointed for Lower California. The first governor
of the Californias, Caspar de Portola, was a captain
of dragoons. His successors held the rank of
lieutenant-colonel. The presidios were each com-
manded by a lieutenant, but in 1805 these officers
* Vancouver: Voyage of Discovery ii, 499-501.
226 The Beginnings of San Francisco
were raised to the rank of captain and henceforth
the comandante held that rank. The capital of
the Californias until 1777 was Loreto, in Lower
California, Alta California being ruled by the coman-
dante. In November 1777, the governor, Felipe
de Neve, by order of the king, removed his office to
Monterey, which henceforth with exception of a
brief interval was the capital.
In the Mexican war for independence California
took no part, and the sympathy of the people, so
far as it was manifested, was with Spain. During
the long struggle California suffered from neglect.
For ten years the troops received no pay and but for
the assistance rendered them by the missions, must
have starved. The transports, which had twice
a year brought supplies to the presidios, failed to
appear and the result was great distress to the gar-
risons. The supplies collected in 18 10 for the Cali-
fornia presidios were captured by the insurgent forces,
and those collected in 1811 were held in Mexico for
fear they would fall Into the hands of the rebels while
being conveyed to the coast. In 181 2 the Russian-
American company established a post at Bodega,
a few miles north of San Francisco, built a fort, which
they called Ross, and issued a proclamation express-
ing a wish to establish commercial relations with
their friends and neighbors, the noble and brave
Spaniards of the Californias, and offering to supply
them with the various lines of goods which they
needed. Trade was forbidden the province, but
A Piratical Adventurer 227
the necessities of the governor (Arrillaga) compelled
him to supply from the Russian company some of
the most imperative needs of the presidios. Another
source of supply was the foreign ships visiting the
coast for the skins of fur animals. This trade was,
of course, strictly forbidden, but the smugglers
managed to land goods from time to time to the
great profit of those concerned and the relief of the
needy inhabitants. For beef and produce the gover-
nor made his requisitions on the missions, giving in
payment his drafts on the real hacienda* and in 1820
the missions held unpaid treasury drafts for hundreds
of thousands of dollars. For ten years the padres
supported the province and during that entire time
received no salaries. There was no increase of popu-
lation during this period beyond a few soldiers sent
from Mexico and the natural increase in the families.
In November 181 8, two ships flying the flag of
the Buenos Aires insurgents suddenly appeared off
Monterey and the commander, Captain Hippolyte
Bouchard, a piratical adventurer, landed three
hundred men and captured and plundered the presi-
dio. The pirate then sailed south, plundered and
burned the buildings of the Refugio rancho near
Santa Barbara, and then departed without doing
further damage in California. The news reached
Mexico in December and a company of one hundred
infantry was sent from San Bias and a cavalry com-
pany of one hundred men from Mazatlan, to rein-
* Royal treasury.
228 The Beginnings of San Francisco
force the presidios. The San Bias infantry was
composed of cholos — convicts and vagabonds of the
lowest description — and they gave the Californians
an infinite amount of trouble before they succeeded
in getting rid of them.
After the independence of Mexico California
became a territory of that republic and entitled to
one diputado in its congress. The first territorial
diputacion was organized at Monterey, November 9,
1822. It was composed of seven members, two
substitutes, and a secretary. Each of the four
presidial districts: Monterey, San Francisco, Santa
Barbara, and San Diego, was represented by a mem-
ber, one from the pueblo of Los Angeles, one at large,
and the governor, ex-officio president. This was the
first legislature of California. It was, however,
more of the nature of a council than a legislative
body. Its resolutions had to be sent for approval
to the supreme government at Mexico. Figueroa
said, in referring to its powers, "The Diputacion
never had the vain pretension to attribute to any of
its determinations the force of laws."* In 1827
the diputacion adopted a resolution changing the
name of California to Moctezuma, but the govern-
ment at Mexico, fortunately, did not give its ap-
proval.
In 1825 a special board, the Junta Fomento de
Californias, was assembled in the City of Mexico
to formulate plans for the government and coloniza-
* Figueroa: Manifiesto, p. 26.
PORT OF MONTEREY IN 1846
Reproduced from De Mofras' Atlas.
siNGS OF San Francisco
force Lne piesidios. The San Bias infantry was
composed of cholos — convicts and vagabonds of the
lowest description — and they gave the Californians
an infinite amount of trouble before they succeeded
in getting rid of them.
After the independence of Mexico California
became a territory of that republic and entitled to
one diputado iii its congress. The first territorial
rr putacion was organized at Monterey, November 9.
1H22. It was composed of seven members, two
substitutes, and a secretary. Each of the four
jvesidial districts: Monterey, San Francisco, Santa
Barbara, and San Diego, was represented by a mem-
ber, one from the pueblo of Los Angeles, one at large,
and the eovernpr. ex-'. ". This was the
first legislatnrv,„^^^,,(^^^(^^^^,.j^^^i^^,^s, however,
more of th rjj a council than a legislative
body. \x:; resolutions had to be sent for approval
to the supreme government at Mexico. Figueroa
said, in referring to its powers, "The Diputacion
never had the vain pretension to attribute to any of
its determinations the force of laws."* In 1827
the diputacion adopted a resolution changing the
name of California to Moctezuma, but the govern-
ment at Mexico, fortunately, did not give its ap-
proval.
In 1825 a special board, the Junta jl 'jiiiento de
Californias, was assembled in the City of Mexico
to formulate plans for the government and coloniza-
• Figueroa: Manifiesto, p. 26.
.n-'-'-
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ff
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it
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lUii's *Mr la ( olr S<|)t'" ilria Coliliiriiir
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I Mm'uiiiipUt
Junta Fomento de Californias 229
tion of the territory. It was composed of the most
distinguished statesmen and lawyers of Mexico,
and among them was Don Pablo Vicente de Sola,
who had for seven years been governor of California.
This board while recognizing the benefits resulting
from the Spanish system of discoveries and conquests
felt that the time had come when the natives should
be aroused to a desire for civil and social life. They
recommended a change in the monastic system of
administration, that the government assume the
administration of the mission temporalities, and
that the lands be distributed to the Indians. The
report of the junta was published in 1827 and formed
the basis for the reglamento of November 21, 1828.*
In regard to the distribution of lands however, the
reglamento provided that those occupied by the mis-
sions could not be colonized until it was determined
whether they were to be considered as the property of
the establishments of the neophytes, catechumens,
and Mexican colonists. The Indians must first be
provided for and this Governor Figueroa undertook
to do in his reglamento of August 9, 1834, before
alluded to, in which he decreed that to every individ-
ual head of a family and to all those above twenty-one
years of age, although they have no family, should
be given a lot of land not less than one hundred nor
more than four hundred varas square, a portion
of the self-moving property (cattle) and of the
* For the colonization of the territories of the Republic.
230 The Beginnings of San Francisco
chattels, tools, instruments, and seeds on hand.
Also in cummunity, a sufficient quantity of land for
pasturing and watering their cattle.
Mexican independence was followed by the regency;
that by the empire of Iturbide, and the empire, in
turn, by the republic. The federal constitution was
received in California in January 1825, and ratified
by the diputacion the following March. The padres
did not take kindly to the republic. Most of them
were born in Spain and their sympathies were with
the monarchy. They refused to take the oath of
allegiance and until compelled refused to furnish
supplies to the presidios. The ratification of the
constitution by the diputacion was unaccompanied
by the religious ceremony customary on such occasion,
as Padre Sarria, comisario prefecto* did not approve
of the republic. Though the attitude of the priests
caused some angry protests, and the Indians, under
their influence, gave signs of disaffection, they con-
tinued to rule over the temporal as well as the
spiritual affairs of their respective missions.
While the general condition of the mission pueblos
was one of peace and content, severe treatment for
petty offences caused, in several instances, serious
revolt. In 1824 the Indians of Santa Ines, La
Purisima, and Santa Barbara rose simultaneously.
* The comisario prefecto was the superior of the father president and had
charge of the mission temporalities. Sarria refused to take the oath, pleading
anterior obligations. Sarria a Argiiello, Archivo de Artobispado iv, 135-6.
Bancroft Collection.
PORT OF SAN DIEGO IN 1840 ;
Reproduced from De Mofras' Atlas. j
Note the Punta de los Muertos where the dead of the First }
Expedition were buried; also the hide houses mentioned by
Dana.
INNINGS OF San Francisco
uuiiients, and seeds on hand.
, a sufficient quantity of land for
Vicitering their cattle.
independence was followed by the regency;
that by the empire of Iturbide, and the empire, in
turn, by the republic. The federal constitution was
received in California in January 1825, and ratified
by the diputacion the following March. The padres
did not take kindly to the republic. Most of them
were bom in Spain and their sympathies were with
the monarchy. They refused to take the oath of
allegiance and until compelled refused to furnish
supplies to the presidios. The ratification of the
constitution h^^^})^ ^^^^<gI^0^«f^4lnaccompanied
by the relipiou86(j^i'©«?roh^'a9i«'&dtifasaff66-qsflsuch occasion,
caused some angry protests, and the Indians, under
their influence, gave signs of disaffection, they con-
tinued to rule over the temporal as well as the
spiritual affairs of their respective missions.
While the general condition of the mission pueblos
was one of peace and content, severe treatment for
petty offences caused, in several instances, serious
revolt. In 1824 the Indians of Santa Ines, La
Purisima, and Santa Barbara rose simultaneously,
• ,:lo was the superior of the father presideni ana had
^1i jniporalities. Sarria refused to take the oath, pleading
obligations. Sarria a Arguello, Archivo de Anobispado iv, 135-6.
Bancroft Collection.
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo 231
and it was with some difficulty and at a cost of several
lives that peace was restored; and while several of
the ring leaders were severely dealt with for their
activity in inciting the revolt the padres used their
influence to soften the punishment inflicted upon
their wards, and the Indians who had fled to the
wild tribes of the Tulares gradually returned to
their mission homes. In 1835, Ensign Vallejo was
ordered by Governor Figueroa to establish a garri-
son town and colony on the northern frontier to
hold the heathen tribes in subjection and serve
as a check to the advance of Russian settlement.
Vallejo with a small force of soldiers established the
post at the ex-mission of San Francisco Solano,
then in process of secularization, and laid out a
pueblo to which he gave the name of Sonoma (Valley
of the Moon), the Indian name for the valley. To
this post he transferred the San Francisco company,
leaving at Fort San Joaquin a few artillerymen, to
care for the guns. Vallejo was raised to the rank of
lieutenant and made commander of the northern
frontier. He was now twenty-nine years old and a
thoroughly trained soldier, having entered the army
at the age of seventeen. He had been in command
of the San Francisco presidio for several years and
had had the experience of several Indian campaigns.
With a comparatively strong company at his com-
mand he pursued a wise policy toward the Indians,
protecting them when at peace, but punishing severely
any manifestation of hostility. He was a strict
232 The Beginnings of San Francisco
disciplinarian and possessing an imperious character,
he permitted no interference with his military com-
mand and preserved the peace of the frontier. He
formed an alliance with Solano, chief of the Suisunes,
and with his assistance ruled the tribes of the north,
many of whom were brave and warlike.
The Californians were becoming tired of the way
in which their province was governed by distant
Mexico and believed that the officials to rule Cali-
fornia should be chosen from among the educated
and competent men of the country instead of men
sent from Mexico. They rose and expelled Governor
Victoria in 1831, and later, in 1836, Governor Chico.
Chico in leaving California turned over the command,
civil and military to Lieutenant-colonel Nicolas
Gutierrez, who became governor ad interim. The
diputacion resented this believing the control should
have been left with them. In 1836 the Californians
of the north rose in revolt and headed by Juan
Bautista Alvarado, a young Californian of marked
ability, drove Gutierrez from the country. In this
rebellion Alvarado was assisted by a Tennessean
named Isaac Graham, a mountaineer hunter and
trapper, a crack shot, and a man ready for any
desperate adventure. Graham had come into Cali-
fornia from New Mexico three years before and had
set up a distillery in the Salinas valley at a place
called Natividad, making his house a resort for
runaway sailors and other foreigners as wild and reck-
less as himself. To Graham came Alvarado for help
VALLEJO REVIEWING HIS TROOPS ON THE
PLAZA AT SONOMA, 1836
From a painting in possession of^^Dr, Platon Vallejo.
232 The Beginnings of San Francisco
'ji cipiiiianan and possessing an imperious character,
he permitted no interference with his military com-
mand and preserved the peace of the frontier. He
formed an alliance with Solano, chief of the Suisunes,
and with his : nee ruled the tribes of the north,
many of whom were brave and warlike.
The Californians were becoming tired of the way
in which their province was governed by distant
Mexico and believed that the officials to rule Cali-
fornia should be chosen from among the educated |
and competent men of the country instead of men
sent from Mexico. They rose and expelled Governor
Victoria in 1 831, and later, in 1836, Governor Chico.
Chico in leaving California turned over the command,
civil and militarv Lieutenant-colonel Nicolas
^ . 3HT \C.O 8100^'r 8IH OMIW3IVa>I OTajJAV t^i
Gutierrez, \<\u- ^^g, ,amo>io8 ta asajh - "m- The
diputaci©^jjrj??<li6tAjq .itl> noi88988o(rra 8n/^AiB(r<?ftfei"^l should
have been left with them, la 183b the Californians
of the north rose in revolt and headed by Juan
Bautista Alvarado, a young Californian of marked
ability, drove Gutierrez from the country. In this
rebellion Alvarado was assisted by a Tennessean
named Isaac Graham, a mountaineer hunter and
trapper, a crack shot, and a man ready for any
desperate adventure. Graham had come into Cali-
fornia from New Mexico three years before and had
set up a distillery in the Salinas valley at a place
called Natividad, making his house a resort for
runaway sailors and other foreigners as wild and reck-
■ t-s as himself. To Graham came Alvarado for help
Alvarado's Revolution 233
which was readily granted, and Graham raised a
company of some fifty foreign riflemen and, joining
forces with the Californians under Jose Castro,
marched, one hundred and fifty strong, against Mon-
terey. Gutierrez surrendered and was sent with his
officers to Cape San Lucas on the EngHsh brig
Clementine, November 11, 1836. The diputacion
declared California independent of Mexico, elected
Alvarado governor and called Vallejo to the coman-
dancia-general. In the south, Los Angeles and San
Diego refused to recognize Alvarado as governor
and would not agree to the separation from Mexico.
Alvarado went south with a force to meet the opposi-
tion arrayed against him, but before any collision
took place he realized that to succeed he must give
up the idea of an independent state and submit him-
self to the constitutional authority. This he did,
sending a special commissioner to Mexico. Mean-
while, under the influence of Jose Antonio Carrillo,
diputado for California, the supreme government
had appointed Carlos Antonio Carrillo, brother of
the diputado, governor. Alvarado refused to sur-
render the office and after several skirmishes made
prisoners of Carrillo and the southern leaders, but
soon released them, and the supreme government
reconciled the belligerents by recognizing Alvarado as
governor and compensating the Carrillos by the gift
of the island of Santa Rosa.
The laws of December 1836 made the Californias
a department of the republic. The diputacion
234 The Beginnings of San Francisco
became the junta departmental, Alta California was
divided into two districts, and each district into two
partidos. A district was governed by a prefect whose
authority was second to the governor and he was
appointed by the governor subject to the approval
of the supreme government, while a partido was
governed by a sub-prefect who was appointed by
the prefect, subject to the approval of the governor.
The first district extended from the Sonoma frontier
to San Luis Obispo, with the head-town (cabecera)
at San Juan Bautista, and the second district from
El Buchon to Santo Domingo on the peninsula
frontier, with the cabecera at Los Angeles. The
line of division of the first district was Las Llagas
creek, and San Francisco was the cabecera of the
second partido. The line dividing the second dis-
trict was between San Fernando and Cahuenga.
Vallejo was made comandante-militar of California
and received a commission as colonel of defensores
de la patria. He exerted himself to bring the military
establishment into something like efficiency. The
country was defenseless and it was Vallejo's opinion
that in the restoration of the presidial companies lay
its hope of salvation. With the exception of the
San Francisco company maintained at Sonoma by
Vallejo from his personal resources, there was hardly
pretense of a military force in California. The
roster of the presidial company of Monterey showed
in 1 841 twenty-two men, all told, and that of Santa
Barbara, twenty-five. At San Diego, where, in 1830,
Vallejo's Appeal 235
there was an eflfective force of one hundred and
twenty men, the company had entirely disappeared,
the presidio was abandoned and in ruins; the fort
on Punta Guijarros (Ballast Point), which in 1830
mounted thirteen guns, was abandoned, and in 1840
sold for forty dollars. The guns seem to have
remained at the fort, as it is stated that Captain
W. D. Phelps of the American ship Alert, loading
with hides at San Diego, spiked the guns of the fort
on hearing of Commodore Jones' action at Monterey,
fearful that his ship and cargo would be seized
by Governor Micheltorena. The militia companies
{dejensores de la patria) existed mainly on paper.
Vallejo urged his views upon the governor and also
appealed to Mexico, laying before the minister of
war the need of repairs to the fortifications, explain-
ing the danger of foreign encroachments and stating
that he could no longer maintain the military force
on the northern frontier from his own means. He
asked for money, arms, and munitions of war. He
received some arms, ammunition, uniforms, etc.,
and was given authority to reorganize the presidial
companies. A few recruits were obtained but they
were of such a character that he could not accept
them, and for money he was obliged to content
himself with the small share of the revenue duties
apportioned to the army. The soldiers, not receiv-
ing their pay, went to work on the ranchos to sup-
port their families. ^^
During the interregnum following the expulsion
236 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of Governor Victoria, the foreigners living at Mon-
terey were enrolled for the defense of the town.
The Compania Extranjera, as it was called, was
organized in January 1832 and forty-six men signed
the rolls. Among them were W. E. P. Hartnell,
Nathan Spear, Captain J. B. R. Cooper, Thomas
Doak, George Kinlock, James Watson, and Henry
Bee. Hartnell was elected captain and J. B. Boni-
facio, lieutenant. Bancroft says the company dis-
banded in April.
In January 1841 Vallejo laid before the supreme
government his dissatisfaction with the administra-
tion of Alvarado and his conviction that it would
be wise to unite the civil and military commands
under one head. He reiterated his recommenda-
tion for the restoration of the presidial companies
and asked to be relieved of his command and per-
mitted to visit the national capital. Later Governor
Alvarado reported the arrival in California of a party
of thirty armed Americans from Missouri and of
another party of foreigners from New Mexico,* and
suggested the sending of one hundred and fifty or
two hundred men to reinforce the presidios.! The
opportunity was thus offered the home government
to reestablish its authority in California, and Briga-
dier-general Don Manuel Micheltorena was ap-
pointed governor, comandante-general, and inspector,
and a battalion of five hundred men was authorized
* These were the Bartleson and the Workman-Rowland companies.
t Robinson: Life in California, 211. Bancroft: Hist. Cal. iv, 198-284.
A Convict Army 237
for service in California, of whom two hundred were
to be regular troops and three hundred were to be
recruited from the prisons of Mexico. Of the regu-
lars the most undesirable men were assigned for duty
in California. With this promising material the
general started for his new department, his ranks
thinning by desertion as he went. The army was
known by the pretentious title of the Batallon Fijo*
de Californias, and of the five hundred enlisted,
about three hundred and fifty reached California.
Robinson, who was in San Diego in August 1842
when the first detachment landed, says: "The brig
Chato arrived with ninety soldiers and their families.
I saw them land and to me they presented a state of
wretchedness and misery unequaled. Not one in-
dividual among them possessed a jacket or pantaloons ;
but naked, and like the savage Indians, they con-
cealed their nudity with dirty, miserable blankets.
The females were not much better off; for the
scantiness of their mean apparel was too apparent
for modest observers. They appeared like convicts
and, indeed, the greater portion of them had been
charged with crimes either of murder or theft. And
these were the soldiers sent to subdue this happy
country! These were the valiant followers of a
heroic general, who had fought on the battlefield
where he had gained laurels for himself and country.
These were to be the enforcers of justice and good
government. Alas! poor California! when such are
* Batallon Fijo — Permanent battalion.
238 The Beginnings of San Francisco
to be thy ministers, thou art indeed fallen! The
remainder of the 'convict army' arrived in course of
time, and I had an opportunity of seeing them all
afterwards at the Pueblo (Los Angeles) when on their
route towards Monterey, the seat of government.
They mustered about three hundred and fifty men,
and their general had given them, since their arrival,
a neat uniform of white linen. Here their stay was
protracted in order to drill and prepare for service,
in case of opposition from Seiior Alvarado. "* Both
Robinson and Bancroft intimate that Micheltorena's
cholos\ were more proficient in foraging for supplies
by night than they were in the drill during the day.
After a month's stay at Los Angeles Micheltorena
resumed his march to Monterey, but had proceeded
no further than San Fernando when he received an
extraor dinar io from Alvarado with dispatches to the
effect that Commodore Jones had anchored in the
port of Monterey and had demanded the surrender
of the place on the day following (October 20th).
Micheltorena received the dispatch on the night of
the 24th and at once began his preparations for a
retreat to Los Angeles, ordering all available forces
and supplies concentrated there, but before he could
get under way he received a message from Jones
himself to the effect that Monterey had been
restored. Micheltorena replied saying that he was
marching to meet the invader and expel him from the
* Robinson: Life in California, 212-3.
t Cholos: Thieves, vagabonds, ruffians.
The March of the Cholos 239
country, but as he had seen fit to withdraw he
demanded a personal conference at Los Angeles
that the satisfaction rendered by the American com-
mander might be as public as the outrage. To this
reasonable demand Jones assented and with several
of his officers landed at San Pedro where he was met
and escorted to Los Angeles. With many compli-
ments and toasts the ethics of international law were
satisfied and the Mexican general gave Jones and his
officers a ball at which they all had a jolly good time,
and departed well pleased with their entertainment.
Micheltorena's courteous manners and gentle-
manly conduct won him many friends, particularly
among the foreigners, but it was with the greatest
difficulty that he found means to sustain his army.
Indeed it was said that his cholos maintained them-
selves — by stealing. Contributions were received
from citizens and Vallejo responded liberally to the
general's appeal, as did Jose Yves Limantour, a
French trader on the coast, of whom we shall hear
more later. Micheltorena remained in Los Angeles
until midsummer and then marched his hatallon to
Monterey, much to the delight of the cholos, who
had, it is said, stolen everything eatable in the south.
In July 1844, Micheltorena ordered the enrolment
of all citizens between the ages of fifteen and sixty,
including naturalized foreigners, to be formed into
nine companies of militia and drilled every Sunday.
They were to hold themselves in readiness to be called
into active service. This was in accordance with
240 The Beginnings of San Francisco
orders from Mexico, in anticipation of a war with
the United States. The governor established his
headquarters at San Juan Bautista where he assem-
bled his ammunition stores and where he determined
to make his last stand against the invader. These
stores fell into the hands of a small revolutionary
party under Manuel Castro in November 1844, at
the beginning of an uprising that drove Michel-
torena from power. In March 1845, the defeated
governor, accompanied by his officers and about
two hundred of his cholos, sailed for San Bias in the
American brig Don Quixote, Captain John Paty,
and Pio Pico, first vocal of the junta departmental,
reigned as governor in California.
Some of Micheltorena's convict soldiers who
through desertion or other causes were left in Cali-
fornia, and who began to commit acts of rapine,
robbery, and murder were hunted down like wild
beasts and destroyed.
Vallejo had failed in his plan to rehabilitate the
presidial companies. His appeal to the supreme
government had only resulted in the shipment to the
country of a lot of convicts. The new governor,
though an hijo del pais, was a dull, stupid man, and
the reins were held with a feeble grasp.'''
This then was the deplorable condition of Califor-
nia on the eve of its conquest by the Americans.
Neglected by Mexico, its presidial soldiers disbanded
and its forts in ruins, it lay defenseless, a prey to the
first comer who cared to take and hold possession.
Chapter XII.
THE FOREIGNERS (LOS EXTRANJEROS)
1795— 1846
IN that section of the western coast of North
America extending from the blue waters of Puget
sound to the sunHt shores of San Diego bay,
the fame of the Boston man has been known and
regarded from the dawn of civiHzation; and very
firmly did he establish himself in the minds, at least,
if not in the hearts of the native races of the north-
west. The untutored mind of the savage is apt to
associate men — the individual and the race — with
some one whom he admires, or with some special
class whose character or occupation has made an
impression on him. Thus the Iroquois gave the
name of Corlaer to the governors of New York,
because of Arent Van Corlaer, the founder of Schenec-
tady, who had won their hearts and was as a father
to them. The governor of Canada was always
Onontio, from Montmagny, governor in 1635; ^he
governor of Pennsylvania they called Onas — the
feather or quill (Penn) ; and the governor of Massa-
chusetts was Kinshon — the fish — the name being
also applied to the people of New England. So
to the Siwash of the northwest, the American was
"Boston man," and thus he is known to-day.
At the time when the American colonists were
fighting for independence the Spanish missionary
fathers, under the protection of a small military
force, were making a spiritual conquest of California.
As the years went by, the inhabitants of this distant
corner of the globe became aware that a nation had
243
244 The Beginnings of San Francisco
been born somewhere on the other side of the conti-
nent. They did not understand the thing very clearly
at first, but they knew very well that Boston had had
something to do with it.
About the beginning of September 1795, an Eng-
lish merchantman, the Phoenix, Captain Moore,
from Bombay, put into Santa Barbara for supplies.
The officers of the ship were handsomely entertained
by the comandante of the garrison and his attentions
were reciprocated by a dinner and dance given on
board the ship. Among the ship's company was a
young sailor and shipmaster from Boston whose
ship had been lost in the Pacific. The beautiful
country, the delicious climate, the kind hospitality
of the people, and the bewitching grace of the lovely
senoritas proved strong attractions to the young
Bostonaise, and he determined to forsake the hard-
ships and dangers of the sea, give up friends and
country, and spend his life in this delightful spot.
He was received with open arms and his petition for
permission to remain in California was warmly en-
dorsed by the comandante of the presidio in the
following letter:
"I inform your Excellency, that on this day, at
about four o'clock in the morning, the mail arrived
from San Diego bringing safely the enclosed letter.
"Also, I have caused to be about to depart the
English vessel, of which I have informed your Excel-
lency, which will finish taking water to-day.
The Boston Nation 245
"There has come, as a passenger on this vessel,
a young man of the Boston nation, {Un moso
Bostones de N acton), who presented himself to me,
asking permission to remain in the province. He
wishes to become a Christian, and serve our Catholic
monarch (whom God preserve). His name I do not
state now, not having it before me, but will do so
on the first occasion. He is a very handsome fellow,
a skillful pilot and carpenter, of good parentage,
according to the statements of all from the captain
downward, and having lost two vessels and his
capital he does not wish to continue longer in the
business of navigation. He will remain in my house
until your Excellency may dispose of all according
to your superior pleasure.
"Of the refreshment with which this vessel has
been succored I will inform your Excellency when
she has set sail, as I know not whether she will ask
for anything else.
"Our Lord preserve your Excellency many years.
"Santa Barbara, September 5, 1795.
"Felipe de Goycoechea.
"Senor Governor and Comandante Inspector,
"Don Diego de Borica."*
In a subsequent letter dated October 8, 1795,
Captain Goycoechea gives the American's name
"Josef Ocayne," and says he has sent him on the
frigate, Nuestra Senora Aranzazu, to San Bias.
He also says "This Englishman is a native of Ireland
* Provincial State Papers XIV, 221, 222. Spanish Archives of CaHfornia.
246 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and his parents now live in Boston." (Dicho Yngles
es nativo en Yrlanda y ahora sus padres viven en
Boston.)* This is the first foreigner I have record of
who desired to settle in California.
In December 1799 Captain Goycoechea, who had
been appointed governor of Lower California, better
informed concerning the Boston nation, complains
to the viceroy that the vessels of the Anglo-Americans
have not only, within the past few years, begun to
frequent the waters of the Spanish possessions in
quest of fish, pearls, and furs, "but, confident that
there is no one to restrain them, they come with
arrogant boldness to anchor in our very harbors and
to act with the same liberty as if they were Spaniards.
Their arrivals, which are becoming frequent, should
convince your Excellency that quite possibly this
proud nation, constantly increasing in strength,
may one day venture to measure it with Spain, "t
It was nineteen years after the advent of Joseph
O'Cain at Santa Barbara before the first permanent
foreign settler appeared in California. In January
1814 the Isaac Todd, an English armed merchant-
man, bound for the Columbia river, anchored in
Monterey bay and landed three men sick with scurvy.
One of these, a mere boy of twenty named John
Gilroy, was not expected to live. He was taken
by Maria Teodora Peralta, wife of Jose Apolonario
Bernal, and carried to her father's rancho at San
* Provincial State Papers XXI, 637, 638. Spanish Archives of California,
t Bancroft: Hist. Cal. ii, 32.
John Gilroy 247
Antonio (Alameda county) where he was nursed
back to life and health. Gilroy was a Scotchman
and his real name was John Cameron for he had run
away from home and had changed his name to avoid
arrest. The boy made himself useful to his kind
friends and in 18 19, on application of Captain Jose
de la Guerra, received permission to remain in
California. He had been baptized into the Roman
Catholic faith and Ignacio Ortega, son of the path-
finder, gave him his daughter, Maria Clara, to
wife, and one sitio of his rancho of San Isidro. He
was married in the mission church of San Juan Bau-
tista March 2, 1821. The entry in the libro de
matrimonios recites the fact that he had resided in
California eight years by permission of the viceroy
and that he had been baptized in the mission of San
Carlos. With the advent of the Americanos, Don
Juan lost all of his property, as did most of the ran-
cheros, but he lived to see his rancho become the flour-
ishing town of Gilroy.
In January 1816 the American schooners Albatross
and Lydia put in to Refugio rancho, near Santa Bar-
bara, and endeavored to land some goods. The
comandante of Santa Barbara captured the Lydia
and the captain and boat's crew of the Albatross.
A settlement was made with the government and the
smugglers released. The Lydia sailed for Monterey
and on March 11, 18 16, landed there Thomas W.
Doak, one of the boat's crew of the Albatross. Doak
remained in California and was the first American
248 The Beginnings of San Francisco
settler. He married Maria Lugarda, daughter of
Jose Mariano de Castro.* He was a native of Boston
and was born in 1787.
In 1820 there were thirteen foreigners in Califor-
nia, viz: three Americans, two Scotchmen, two
Englishmen, one Irishman, one Russian, one Portu-
guese, and three negroes. Foreign vessels became
more frequent on the coast. California was closed
to foreign trade but under pretense of entering for
needed supplies vessels would take the opportunity
to land a few goods and incidentally increase the
census of California by losing a few of their sailors.
In 1 82 1 the port of Monterey was opened to foreign
trade and the number of ships increased. In 1822
William A. Richardson, an Englishman, mate of
the English whaler Orion, left the vessel at San
Francisco and was permitted by Governor Sola to
remain in California on condition of teaching his
arts of navigation and carpentry to the young Span-
iards. He was baptized June 16, 1823, as "un
adulto de razon de nacion Yngles de religion pro-
testante su edad de 27 aiios, natural de la cuidad de
Londres,"t and on May 15, 1825, was married to
Doiia Maria Antonia, daughter of Lieutenant Igna-
cio Martinez, comandante of San Francisco. | Rich-
ardson made the first plan for the town of Yerba
* Libro de Matrimonios, Mision de San Juan Bautista.
t Libro de Bautismos, Mision de San Francisco de Asis.
t Libro de Casmientos, Mision de San Francisco de Asis.
Advance of the Pioneer Hunters 249
Buena, erected the first structure there, became
owner of Sausalito rancho in 1836, and was captain of
the port in 1837.
Another Englishman, Robert Livermore, first
settler of Livermore valley, deserted from the
English brig Colonel Young. He married Josefa,
daughter of Jose Higuera.
The opening of the port of Monterey brought an
increasing number of ships for trade, American,
English, Peruvian, and Russian ; the Americans largely
predominating; while English and American whalers
came into San Francisco for supplies, anchoring at
Sausalito. These ships contributed from time to
time to the foreign population of California.
Meanwhile from the east and from the north hardy
bands of pioneer hunters and trappers were approach-
ing the borders of California. From the north came
the trappers of the Hudson's Bay company pushing
their way into the upper valley of the Sacramento
river, while from the broad interior of the continent
the American hunters were each year working their
way further and further to the west, passing through
the Rocky mountains and into the great basin, until
in 1826 they approached the lofty barrier of the Sierra
Nevada. The first of this army of hunters to reach
California was Jedediah S, Smith, an American.
With a party of fifteen Smith started from the Great
Salt Lake in August 1826, traveled in a southwesterly
direction, passed into California below Death valley,
crossed the Mojave desert, and reached the mission
250 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of San Gabriel in December. Leaving his men at
the mission, Smith was taken before the governor
(Echeandia) at San Diego to give an account of
himself. He stated that he was a hunter and trapper
of fur animals and that he had penetrated so far into
the desert country lying to the eastward that a return
by the way he had come was impossible as most of
his horses had died for want of food and water. He
was therefore under the necessity of pushing forward
to California, it being the nearest place where he
could procure supplies to enable him to return. He
exhibited his passports from the government of the
United States and begged permission to return by a
different route to the headwaters of the Columbia
river. His petition was endorsed by Wm. G. Dana,
captain of the schooner Waverly, Wm. H. Cunning-
ham, captain of the brig Olive Branch, and the
mate and supercargo of the Waverly and Courier,
all of whom certified to the correctness of Smith's
papers and their belief in his story.* The trapper
was given a passport by the governor and after several
ineffectual attempts to cross the Sierra Nevada he
remained in camp near San Jose until the melting
of the snow made the passage possible. Proceeding
northward in May, he crossed the sierra by the Pitt
river pass near the mountain of " St. Joseph" (Lassen
Peak) and reached Salt Lake in June, having eaten
six of his seven horses. This is the first recorded
crossing of the Sierra Nevada.
* Randolph: Address, p. 33-34.
Foreigners Welcomed 251
In December 1827 Sylvester Pattie, a native of
Kentucky, with his fifteen year old son, James Ohio
Pattie, and a party of six trappers, reached the
junction of the Gila and Colorado. Proceeding
down the Colorado on rafts they reached tide water
January 18, 1828. Burying their furs and traps
they started across the desert to the Spanish settle-
ments, and after terrible suffering reached the mis-
sion of Santa Catalina in Lower California on March
1 2th. They were sent to Echeandia at San Diego
under guard, reaching there May 27th. The gover-
nor refused to accept their story. They were locked
up in separate cells where the elder Pattie died a
month later. The boy received kindness from the
sergeant, and his beautiful sister, whom he calls
"Miss Peaks," and was ultimately released.*
The Californians now began to welcome the foreign-
ers — in small doses — and to assimilate them, yet the
laws were strict in requiring them to show passports
and submit to surveillance. In 1827-8 more strin-
gent orders relative to passports were received from
Mexico, and the California authorities were required
to render monthly accounts of new arrivals. They
were also instructed to grant the foreigners no lands
and not permit them to form settlements on the coast
or on the islands. Both Americans and Russians
were to be located in the central parts of the province.
The Russians had gradually advanced their stations
♦Bancroft: Hist. Cal. iii, 162. (The sergeant of the garrison at that time
was Jose Antonio Bernardino Pico, brother of Pio Pico).
252 The Beginnings of San Francisco
until they had established trading posts at Fort Ross
and Bodega, a few miles above San Francisco. In
1828 theMexican government authorized the granting
of lands in California to such foreigners as could
comply with all the requirements of law. Among
these was baptism into the Roman Catholic faith
and naturalization as Mexican citizens.
The Californians treated the foreigners with un-
exampled generosity and kindness; they gave them
their daughters in marriage and lands on which to
pasture their cattle. The masters and supercargoes
of American vessels trading on the coast were
especially favored by them. The Californian did
nothing by halves. When he gave his confidence
he gave it fully and finally. The Americans who
came early were for the most part superior men;
they amalgamated with the Spaniards; their interests
became identical, and they did not as a rule, prove
ungrateful.
During the latter part of the third decade of the
nineteenth century rumors were spread throughout
the settlements of the western frontier of the United
States of a fairy land beyond the mountains; a land
whose shores were gently caressed by the sparkling
waters of the Pacific; where, under genial skies, life
was easy and farms could be had for the asking.
Returning trappers brought wonderful tales of the
country and these stories were confirmed and sup-
plemented by letters received from friends long
settled in California. Dr. John Marsh, a native of
First Overland Company 253
Massachusetts and graduate of Harvard college, who
came to California in 1836 and had obtained a great
rancho,* wrote to friends in Missouri most glowing
accounts of the country and urged immigration
thither. In May 1841 a company was organized
at Independence, Missouri, for emigration to Cali-
fornia. Talbot H. Green was made president, John
Bidwell secretary, and John Bartleson captain.
Among the company were Charles M. Weber,
Josiah Belden, Joseph B. Chiles, Robert Hickman,
and others well known in California. They were
joined by a party of emigrants bound for Oregon.
The expedition began its march May 19, 1841,
taking its way up the north fork of the Platte, up
the Sweetwater, through South pass, up a branch of
the Green river into Bear river valley, and down the
Bear to Soda springs. Here the party separated,
the Oregon emigrants taking the trail along the Snake
river while those for California moved down the
Bear. Twelve of the California party joined the
Oregonians, their hearts failing before the terrors
of a journey across an unknown desert, Bartleson
understood that they must find a stream called the
Mary's river somewhere in the desert to the west,
which would lead them to within sight of the Sierra
Nevada. Failing to find this stream they would perish
in the desert. There were now left in Bartleson's camp
thirty-two men, one woman and a child — the wife
and daughter of Benjamin Kelsey, one of their num-
* Los Medanos, four leagues, in Contra Costa county.
254 The Beginnings of San Francisco
ber. On August 12th they camped at a mountain
spring and two of the party proceeded westward
to find Mary's river. Their beef meat had now given
out and they killed one of the oxen for food. On
September 5th they moved slowly forward meeting
the scouts on the ninth, and on the fifteenth decided
to abandon the wagons and such property as could
not be packed on animals. On the twenty-third
they crossed the east Humboldt range and reached
the south fork of the Humboldt river,* or as it was
then called, the Mary. Traveling down the valley
of the Humboldt, the route of the Central Pacific
railroad, they reached the sink of the Humboldt
October 7th. Thence traveling in a southerly direc-
tion they reached Walker river and crossed the Sierra
Nevada by the Sonora pass.f On October 30th they
were on the head waters of the Stanislaus river, and
on November 4th arrived at Dr. Marsh's rancho on
the San Joaquin. This was the first overland expedi-
tion from the Missouri river to California.
The newspapers of the United States had an-
nounced preparations for a large emigration to Cali-
fornia and stated that it was a step towards the
inevitable annexation of the country. Extracts
from these papers were forwarded from Washington
to Mexico and the Mexican representatives abroad
* Jedediah Smith who was, perhaps, the discoverer of the river, named it
the Mary, for his Indian wife. It was also called the Ogden, from Peter Skeen
Ogden, a brigade leader of the Hudson's Bay company.
jr-.f Statement of Josiah Belden, Bancroft Collection. Bancroft: Hist. Cal.
iv, 268-272. 1
Immigrants Arrested 255
were notified that any person going to California
without the consent, in due form, of the Mexican
consular or diplomatic agent, would do so at his
peril, and orders were sent to California that no
foreign emigrants were to be permitted to remain in
the country except those who were provided with
legal passports and even those settled there must
furnish letters of security or leave the country.*
These were the regulations in force when the Bartle-
son party arrived at Los Medanos. On the follow-
ing day Marsh notified the sub-prefect of their
arrival and said they would, after resting, present
themselves to the authorities and prove their lawful
intentions. General Vallejo, commanding on the
northern frontier, requested Marsh to give an
account of his conduct in inviting such an immigra-
tion, and ordered the immigrants arrested and
brought to him at Mission San Jose, where they de-
clared their intention of becoming lawful citizens
of Mexico and alleged their ignorance of any necessity
for passports. Notwithstanding his express orders
Vallejo decided to assume the responsibility of grant-
ing temporary permits to serve to legalize their
residence and he took bonds of well known citizens for
their good behavior. The immigrants speak well of
the kindness shown them by Vallejo and other Cali-
fornians. Another party of overland emigrants under
Workman and Rowland came by the Santa Fe route
* Statement of Josiah Belden, Bancroft Collection, Bancroft: Hist. Col.
iv, 264.
256 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and reached California November loth. Among them
was Benjamin D. Wilson ("Don Benito"), well known
in California. A small party came from Oregon and
reached Sutter's fort in October of that year.
In June 1839 the brigantine Clementine, Captain
Blinn, arrived from Honolulu by way of Sitka, having
on board John A. Sutter and his party, consisting of
four or five Swiss mechanics and several Hawaiians
with their wives. Sutter came with the purpose of
establishing a large colony of his countrymen in the
Sacramento valley. Nathan Spear sent Sutter and
his party up the Sacramento river with his goods in
two schooners and a four oared boat, under command
of William Heath Davis. Sutter had two pieces of
artillery and other arms and ammunition. The
fleet left Yerba Buena August 9, 1839, and traveled
eight days up the river. Entering the American
river, Sutter landed, pitched his tents on the south
bank, mounted his brass cannon, and made ready
his small arms for defense against the Indians. Davis
says that Sutter told him that he would immediately
build a fort as defense against the Indians and also
against the government of California in case any
hostility should be manifested in that quarter. He
also said he intended to import a large colony of
Swiss and develop the Sacramento valley.*
Sutter obtained a grant of land from Governor
Alvarado and built his fort on rising ground about
two miles from the embarcadero, as the landing on
* Davis: Sixty Years in California, 16-18.
i
Sutter's Fort 257
the Sacramento river (now the city of Sacramento)
was called. It was a parallelogram, five hundred
feet long by one hundred and fifty wide, built of
adobe with double walls; the outer wall eighteen or
twenty feet high and the inner, somewhat less. The
space between the walls, twenty-five feet, was roofed
and used for store rooms, stables, etc. In the center
was the captain's residence, a two-story adobe build-
ing. Sutter agreed to protect the Spanish settle-
ments from the raids of Indians from the Sacramento
valley and his fort, being the first post of civilization
reached by overland immigrants coming by the
central route, became the refuge and rallying point
for Americans and other foreigners. He gathered
about him a trained body of white men and Indians
and, as a Mexican officer {juez de paz), stopped the
fur-hunting brigades of the Hudson's Bay company
from further descent into the Sacramento valley.^"
In 1840 Governor Alvarado becoming alarmed by
the actions of some American settlers ordered the
arrest of all foreigners. Some fifty or sixty men were
arrested and sent to San Bias under charge of General
Castro. The Mexican government disavowed the
action of the governor, ordered the men released,
returned to California, and compensated for the
trouble and inconvenience to which they had been
put.
There can be no doubt that the acquisition of
California had for some time been considered by the
government at Washington, or that the attention
258 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of some of the European governments had been
directed to the desirability of such a possession. As
far back as 1793 Vancouver pointed out the ease
with which this delightful country could be acquired.
Rezanof, Russian envoy, wrote in 1806: "The Span-
ish are very weak in these countries, and if, in 1798,
when war was declared by Spain, we had had a force
corresponding to its proportions, it would have been
very easy to seize a portion of California." France
sent several expeditions to California, and the
English consuls at Pacific ports, notably Alexander
Forbes at Mazatlan and James Alexander Forbes
at Monterey, urged the taking of California for the
debt due England by Mexico.
In the summer of 1842, Commodore Thomas Ap
Catesby Jones, in command of the Pacific squadron,
was in the harbor of Callao with the frigate United
States, sloops Cyane, Dale, and Yorktown and
schooner Shark. The English had a fleet in the Pa-
cific in every way superior, while the French had, in
the same waters, a fleet equal to both the English
and American combined. Jones' instructions were
to protect the commerce of the United States, the
flag from insult, and citizens from oppression. In
May 1842 the French fleet sailed from Valparaiso,
destination unknown, but Jones thought it might
be California. On September 3d the English admiral
sailed from Callao with three men-of-war, under
sealed orders just received from England. At the
same time Jones received a letter from John Parrott,
Monterey Captured 259
United States consul at Mazatlan, dated June 22d,
in which he stated that war with Mexico was immi-
nent, and he enclosed a Boston newspaper containing
an item to the effect that Mexico had ceded Cali-
fornia to England for ^7,000,000. After consultation
with the United States charge d'affaires at Lima, Jones
put to sea with the United States, Cyane, and Dale.
Sending the Dale to Panama with dispatches, Jones
proceeded with the other two vessels under full sail
for Monterey which he reached October 19th and
anchored at 2 p. m. under the guns of the castillo.
With full realization of his responsibilty Jones sent
Captain Armstrong ashore at 4 p. m. with a flag of
truce to demand a surrender of the post to the United
States, "to avoid the sacrifice of human life and the
horrors of war." The demand was presented to
Alvarado who was given until 9 o'clock the next
morning to consider the proposition. Resistance
to such a force was useless and before the hour
named articles of capitulation were signed.
At 1 1 a. m. on the 20th Jones landed one hundred
and fifty men under Commander Stribling; the gar-
rison marched out of the fort with music and with
colors flying and gave up their arms at the govern-
ment house. The American force took possession
of the Castillo and raised the stars and stripes. The
frigate and sloop fired a salute and the guns of the
fort replied.*
* Bancroft: Hist, of Cal. iv, 256-329.
26o The Beginnings of San Francisco
Jones soon learned that he had made a mistake;
that relations between the United States and Mexico
were friendly, and that there was no truth in the
rumored cession to England. He apologized, re-
stored the post to the Mexican officials, saluted the
Mexican flag, and sailed away. His act was disa-
vowed by the United States government and he was
ordered home for trial. He was later exonerated
from all blame by the secretary of the navy.
This action by the United States naval commander
was considered indicative of the purpose of that
government to take possession of California, and the
Forbes' and other Englishmen redoubled their efforts
for an English protectorate or annexation. Mean-
while immigration from the United States continued
and notwithstanding the feeling against Americans
in Mexico, they were treated with kindness and
hospitality by the authorities in California. In the
Sacramento valley the Americans became so numer-
ous that they began to consider the country theirs
and resented the restrictions and requirements of
Mexican law. In the revolt of Alvarado against
Micheltorena in 1844-5, the Americans took a hand,
and Sutter marched with Micheltorena against
Alvarado and Castro with a force of one hundred
foreign riflemen — mostly Americans, one hundred
trained Indians, and eight or ten artillerymen in
charge of a brass field piece. To oppose Sutter's
riflemen Alvarado raised a company of fifty foreigners
in the south. The opposing armies with their for-
Entry of Americans Prohibited 261
eign contingents met in the San Fernando valley,
near Los Angeles, February 21, 1845, and after two
days cannonading, during which a horse had his
head blown off and a mule was wounded, Michel-
torena proposed terms of capitulation. At the com-
mencement of the action the foreigners on both sides,
by agreement, retired from their several parties,
leaving the Californians to fight the battle alone.*
Before marching to the aid of Governor Micheltorena,
Sutter took the precaution to secure from him large
grants of land for his followers.
In September 1845 the Mexican government sent
to California positive orders prohibiting the entry
of Americans from Oregon or Missouri. Immi-
grants w^ere summoned to appear before the prefect
and the comandante-general. The order was read
to them and the immigrants protested that their
intentions were lawful; that they had not been
informed that passports were necessary; that it
was impossible to cross the mountains during the
winter, and they promised that if permitted to remain
until spring they would obey the laws in every par-
ticular and would then go away if license was denied
them. Castro considered the hardship to the women
and children if the immigrants were compelled to
leave the department during the winter season, and
he compromised his duty with the sentiment of
hospitality so strong in the breast of every Californian
and granted them temporary permits, taking bonds
* Robinson: Lije in California, 218-219.
262 The Beginnings of San Francisco
to insure their good behavior and their departure
in the spring, should license to remain be refused.
Meanwhile they were to remain under surveillance
of the Vallejos at Sonoma and Napa and of Captain
Sutter on the Sacramento. It does not appear that
this matter was carried any further — certainly the
settlers did not leave California — and Bancroft says
that both General Vallejo at Sonoma and Salvador
Vallejo at Napa treated the settlers with great benev-
olence, without which they could not have gotten
through the winter.*
How well the consideration of the California
officials was requited by the Americans is told in
the story of the Bear Flag revolt. Encouraged by
the presence of Captain John C. Fremont, of the
United States topographical engineers, a party of
armed Americans under Ezekiel Merritt, took pos-
session of the town of Sonoma on June 14, 1846,
made prisoners of General Vallejo, his brother Sal-
vador, Lieut.-Colonel Prudon and Jacob P. Leese,
sent them under guard to Sutter's fort, raised the
Bear Flag, and proclaimed the " California Republic."
Fremont, with a party of sixty armed men, was
engaged in an exploring expedition and had come
into California to rest and recruit his men. Obtain-
ing permission to encamp for that purpose in the San
Joaquin valley, he had brought his men into the
Salinas, to the very doors of Monterey. In conse-
quence of this move and in obedience to orders from
* Several of these men took part in the Bear Flag affair the following June.
The Affair at Gavilan Peak 263
Mexico, he was directed by the authorities to leave
the department at once. Fremont chose to consider
this an insult, and withdrawing to the summit of
the Gavilan mountains, he erected fortifications,
raised over them the American flag, and announced
his purpose to hold the position or die in defense of
it.* Later he withdrew to the Sacramento valley
and started for Oregon, but returned in May to the
upper Sacramento, and remained quiet, watching
the movements of the disaffected settlers. He was
asked to take command of the contemplated rising
but declined to commit himself, though he afterwards
claimed to be the head and front of the revolt, and
that Merritt and other leaders among the Americans
were acting under his instructions.! Moving nearer
to the "seat of war," Fremont and his party were
encamped at the embarcadero on the Sacramento
river when the prisoners were brought before him.
He declined to receive them. General Vallejo
demanded to know why and by whose authority he
had been arrested and dragged from his home.
Fremont denied that he was in any way responsible
for what had been done, declaring that they were
prisoners of the people who had been driven to
revolt for self-protection. The prisoners were taken
to Sutter's fort where they were imprisoned for two
months. Thus did the foreigners return the kind-
*"If unjustly attacked we will fight to extremity and refuse quarter."
Fremont to Larkin, March p, 1846.
t Fremont: Memoir of My Life, i, 509.
264 The Beginnings of San Francisco
ness and forbearance of the owners of the soil. Of
all the Californians, Vallejo was most friendly to
the Americans, was favorable to American ascend-
ency, and believed that the best interests of his
country lay in its absorption by the United States. ^^
In the spring of 1846 the Mormons driven from
Nauvoo began their western pilgrimage, and Sam
Brannan, Mormon preacher and elder, sailed from
New York with about two hundred saints for San
Francisco. Believing that the United States govern-
ment would take California the Mormon leaders
laid before the Washington authorities a proposition
to colonize that country with ten or twelve thousand
Mormons, then at Nauvoo, and bring forty thousand
more from the British islands, giving the president
assurance that the patriotism and fidelity of the
Mormons to the United States government could
be fully relied upon. Meanwhile the war with Mex-
ico broke out and General Kearny was ordered with
his command from Fort Leavenworth to California
by the Santa Fe route. The offer of the Mormons
was rejected, but Kearny was authorized to enlist
from among the Mormons who desired to go to Cali-
fornia, five companies of one hundred men each, for
one year's service. The vanguard of the Mormon
advance had now reached Council Bluffs, on the
Missouri river, and here the men were enlisted.
This was the Mormon battalion which, under Lieut.
Colonel Philip St. George Cooke, reached California
in January 1847.
Termination of Bear Flag War 265
The founders of the "California RepubHc" were
beginning to feel somewhat uneasy regarding the
fate of their undertaking when on the 7th of July
1846, Commodore Sloat landed his men at Monterey,
raised the United States flag, and took formal posses-
sion of California. This terminated the embarrass-
ment of the Bear Flag party. The movement had
been an ill-advised one, an unnecessary and utterly
unwarranted interference with a people from whom
they had received nothing but kindness and hospi-
tality. Their conduct at this time and later created
such a feeling of antagonism towards Americans as
made difficult the pacification of the country. The
better class of Californians had long realized the
fact that the province would be infinitely better oft
under either English or American rule and would
have accepted the change with relief. General
Kearny says in his official report from Monterey
March 15, 1847. -j- * * * "The Californians are now
quiet, and I shall endeavor to keep them so by mild
and gentle treatment. Had they received such treat-
ment from the time our flag was hoisted here, in
July last, I believe there would have been but little
or no resistance on their part. They have been most
cruelly and shamefully abused by our own people —
by the volunteers (American emigrants) raised in this
part of the country and on the Sacramento. Had they
not resisted they would have been unworthy the name
of men. "3"
t Executive Doc. No. 17, H. of R. 31st Cong, ist Ses. p. 284 .
266 The Beginnings of San Francisco
I cannot, in this place, go into the history of the
Conquest. With the return of peace the country
settled down to the quiet life of a rural people.
Everything was peaceful and dull, until suddenly,
when no man expected, there came a change of tran-
scendent magnitude.
NOTES
Note i
SAN CARLOS BORROMEO
Some years ago, on proper representation being made
to the government, the war department issued the follow-
ing:
"General Order No. 142.
"War Department, Washington, August 29, 1904.
"The following order is published to the Army for the
information and guidance of all concerned.
"War Department, Washington, August 25, 1904:
"By the direction of the President, the cantonment on
the military reservation at Monterey, Cal. named Ord Barracks
by War Department order of July 10, 1903, will hereafter be
known as the Presidio of Monterey, in perpetuation of the
name of the first Spanish military station in California.
William H. Taft,
Secretary of War. "
The presidio and mission of San Carlos Borromeo
were formally established by Portola June 3, 1770, the
religious ceremony being conducted by Junipero Serra,
president of the California missions. In 1771 or 1772
the mission was moved from its original site near the
presidio to the Rio del Carmelo, about one league distant.
In 1777 Monterey was made the capital of the Californias
— Alta and Baja California being united under one gover-
nor — and with the exception of a few years when the
seat of government was at Los Angeles it remained the
capital of Alta California until the American occupation.
Count Carlos Borromeo, for whom the presidio and
mission were named, was an Italian nobleman, son of
the Count of Arona and nephew of Pope Pius IV. He
was born in Arona October 2, 1538. At the age of twenty-
269
270 The Beginnings of San Francisco
two he was created cardinal and soon after made arch-
bishop of Milan. He devoted much time to reforming
abuses which had grown up in the church and to the
establishment of seminaries, colleges, and communities
for the education of candidates for holy orders. To
the people he was ever the friend and counselor. His
life was spent in their service; in succoring the sick; in
relieving distress whenever and wherever he found it.
His heart, his hand, and his purse were always open.
In 1576 when Milan was visited by the plague, he went
about giving directions for accommodating the sick and
burying the dead, avoiding no danger and sparing no
expense. He visited all the neighboring parishes where
the contagion raged, distributing money, providing
accommodations for the sick, and punishing those,
especially the clergy, who were remiss in discharging
their duties. Moving calmly amid the panic stricken
people "he was brave where all others were cowards,
full of compassion where pity had been crushed out of
all other breasts by the instinct of self preservation gone
mad with terror; cheering all, praying with all, helping
all with hand, brain, and purse; at a time when parents
forsook their children, the friend deserted the friend,
and the brother turned away from the sister while her
pleadings were still wailing in his ears."*
The reforms instituted by Borromeo were fiercely
opposed by the civil authorities and by several religious
orders. The governor and many of the senators addressed
remonstrances to the courts of Rome and Madrid, and
a conspiracy, which failed, was formed against his life.
His manifold labors and austerities appear, however,
to have shortened his life. He was seized with an
intermittent fever, and died at Milan on the 4th of
*Mark Twain: The Innocents Abroad. Autograph Ed. 231-2.
Notes 271
November 1584. He was canonized in 1610, and his
day is November 4th. Contrary to his last wishes
a memorial was erected to him in Milan cathedral, as
well as a statue seventy feet high on the hill above
Arona.
272 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 2
PUNTA DE LOS REYES
"The Kings of Tarshish and of the Isles shall bring
presents, the Kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts"
(Ps. Ixxii, 10). The Three Kings of Cologne: Kaspar,
Melchior, and Balthasar — the three wise men of the
East — are honored at the feast of the Epiphany as the
first of the pagans to whom the birth of the Messiah
was announced.
On the i6th of November 1542, Juan Rodrigues
Cabrillo, a Portuguese "very conversant with matters
of the sea," in command of the San Salvador (flag ship)
and La Victoria, vessels sent by the viceroy, Don Antonio
de Mendoza, to explore the northern coasts of New Spain,
found himself upon a large gulf that looked like a harbor
and after beating about this gulf all that day and night
and the day following without finding any river or shelter,
cast his anchor in forty fathoms in order to take possession
of the land. They called the great gulf La Bahia de los
Pinos, and Professor George Davidson has identified it
as the Gulf of the Farallones. So far as I know, they gave
no name to the cape that marks its northern point.
The next visitor of whom we have record was Francis
Drake who anchored in the little bay under Punta de
los Reyes June 17, 1579. He gave the point no name
although the bay bears his. Next came Sebastian
Rodrigues Cermefio, whose ship, the San Agustin,
was lost here in 1 595. It remained for Sebastian Vizcaino,
to whom we are indebted for so many beautiful names,
to honor the Three Kings of Cologne by naming for
them the Punta de los Reyes.
Notes 273
"The Capitana (Flag-ship, San Diego) and Fragata (Tres
Reyes) had no sooner left the harbor of Monterey (January
3, 1603) to seek for the Cabo de Mendocino, than they had a
formidable wind which lasted to the sixth of January, the day
of Los Santos Reyes, and carried them beyond the Puerto
de San Francisco (Drake's bay), and the day after that of Los
Reyes, which was the 7th of January, the wind suddenly shifted
to the northwest and blew somewhat fiercely but they were
able to make some headway; and the Fragata concluding
there was no necessity to seek a harbor from this wind, continued
her voyage, but Vizcaino returned with the Capitana to the
Puerto de San Francisco to await the return of the Fragata
* * * and learn if anything was to be found of the ship San
Agustin which came upon the coast in 1595, * * * and was
wrecked and driven on shore by a contrary wind. * * *
"The Capitana came to anchor behind a point of land which
makes this port, and which he (Vizcaino) called La Punta
de los Reyes."*
*Venegas: Noticia de la California.
274 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 3
ORTEGA
Jose Francisco Ortega, the discover of the bay of
San Francisco, was born in the city of Celayo, in the
state of Guanajuato, Mexico, in 1734. He enlisted in
the company of the royal presidio of Loreto (Lower
California), October i, 1755; was made a corporal August
3, 1756, and a sergeant February 8, 1757. On the
14th of August 1773, Ortega was made a lieutenant and
assigned to the command of San Diego. During this
year Junipero Serra, who had quarreled with Captain
Fages, the comandante of California, made a trip
to the city of Mexico to induce the viceroy, Bucareli, to
recall Fages, and he wished him to appoint Ortega to
the command, saying that the seiiores of the regular army
were unfitted by education and training for the peculiar
duties required of a commander of a frontier department
"not being versed in the service of the soldados de cuera,
totally different from that of the other troops. " Bucareli
agreed to recall Fages, realizing that to obtain the best
results from the reduction of California there must
be harmony between the military and religious branches
of the government. He demurred however, to the
appointment of Ortega, urging want of rank, but probably
not wishing to have a comandante too much under the
influence of the venerable priest. Junipero said that
the objection regarding Ortega's want of rank was easily
overcome, but Bucareli settled the matter by appointing
Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada, the commander
of the presidio of Loreto, and Ortega was given his
lieutenancy and sent to San Diego. While Ortega was
in command at San Diego there occurred the first serious
Notes 275
trouble with the Indians of California. On the night
of November 4-5, 1775, without warning, a body of
eight or ten hundred savages attacked the mission,
burned the church and other buildings, and killed one
of the priests, a carpenter, and a blacksmith. The
mission guard finally beat them off but not until all
the soldiers were badly wounded. Ortega was absent
at the time, having gone with about one half of his force
to establish the mission of San Juan Caplstrano. Being
notified by messenger of the disaster, he at once returned
and took active measures to repress the revolt.
In 1 78 1 Ortega founded the presidio of Santa Barbara
where he served as comandante until 1784. In 1782
he founded the mission of San Buenaventura. From
1784 to 1787 he served on the frontier In various ex-
cursions and explorations, and in September 1787 was
assigned to the command of Monterey. Here he served
until 1791 when he was transferred to Loreto where he
succeeded Captain ArrlUaga, later governor of California,
and in 1795 was retired as brevet captain and attached
to the Santa Barbara presidio. He died February 3,
1798, and was burled in the Santa Barbara mission.
The blood of this interesting pioneer of California
flows in the veins of many prominent families of the
state, as the De la Guerra, BandinI, Wilcox, More,
Vallejo, Carrlllo, Castro, and others will testify. His
sons became ranchero princes and his granddaughters
wives of governors. His wife was Maria Antonia Victoria
Carrillo, who outlived him, dying May 8, 1803.
276 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 4
SAN BUENAVENTURA
San Buenaventura (Giovanni de FIdenza) was born
in Bagnorea, Italy, in 1221; died in Lyons, France, July
15, 1274. He became general of the Franciscans in
1256 and was canonized in 1482. He was greatly beloved
and received the title of doctor serafico. When the settle-
ment of California was decided on, it was ordered that
a mission should be established at San Diego bay, one at
Monterey bay, and one to be known as San Buenaventura,
in honor of the doctor serafico, at a point to be selected
between the two. The mission was founded by Junipero
Serra March 31, 1782, in presence of the governor, Don
Felipe de Neve, the troops being under command of
Lieutenant Don Jose Francisco de Ortega. A thriving
town of thirty-five hundred inhabitants is the result of
that establishment. The postal authorities some years
ago changed the name to Ventura.
Notes 277
Note 5
DON PEDRO FACES
Don Pedro Pages, first comandante and fourth governor
of California, was born in Catalonia, Spain, and came to
Mexico in 1767 with the First battalion. Second regi-
ment, Catalonia Volunteers, in which he held the rank
of lieutenant. In the autumn of 1768 he joined the
California expedition by order of Galvez, being appointed
jefe de las armas to the expedition, and with twenty-five
of his men, sailed for San Diego bay on the ill-fated
San Carlos. While still weak and sick from the scurvy
he joined Portola on his march to Monterey; and also
accompanied him on his second expedition in 1770,
which founded the presidio and mission of Monterey,
when he was appointed by Portola comandante of
California. In November 1770, he made a brief explor-
ing trip to the bay of San Francisco, going perhaps as
far as San Leandro creek on the Alameda coast, while
his men pushed on to Carquines strait. He was made
a captain May 4, 1771, and in 1772 he explored the
eastern and southern coasts of San Francisco, San Pablo,
and Suisun bays, and the San Joaquin river. He gave
the name of Rio de San Francisco to the waters now
known as the straits of Carquines, Suisun bay, and San
Joaquin river. In 1773 Junipero Serra, with whom he
had quarreled, procured his recall and he was ordered
to join his battalion at Real de Minas de Pachuca, Mexico.
He turned over his command to Rivera March 24, 1774,
and sailed with his Catalans for Mexico; the places of
the Infantrymen being filled with soldados de cuera brought
by Rivera.
278 The Beginnings of San Francisco
In a subsequent letter to the viceroy Serra expresses
regret for the removal of Fages, commendation for his
services, and a desire that he be favored by the govern-
ment.
Fages made two trips to the Rio Colorado in 1781-2
to punish the Yumas for the massacre and destruction
of the Colorado missions, and on July 12, 1782, was
appointed governor of California, having previously
been made a lieutenant-colonel, and reached the capital,
Monterey, the following November. In 1789 he was
made a colonel. He was retired at his own request
April 16, 1791, and died in Mexico in 1796. His wife
was Dofia Eulalia Calls, whom he married in Catalonia.
One child, Maria del Carmen, was born in San Francisco
August 3, 1784.
Don Pedro Fages was a pioneer of pioneers, a brave
soldier, and undaunted explorer and a gallant and pictur-
esque figure of early California. He is described in his
latter days as a t-all, stout man of generous, open disposition,
very fond of children, who used to search his pockets
for the cakes and confections (dulces) with which he used
to fill them for their delight.
Notes 279
Note 6
THE SAN CARLOS Alias EL TOISON
DE ORO (GOLDEN FLEECE)
As the first ship to enter the port of San Francisco
the packet San Carlos is entitled to notice here. We
are told that the two paquebots, San Carlos and San
Antonio, were built in 1768 at the newly constructed dock
yards of San Bias, by order of the Most Illustrious Seiior
Don Jose de Galvez, visitador-general of New Spain,
for the contemplated expedition to San Diego and
Monterey. Costanso, engineer and officer of the regu-
lar army, who accompanied the expedition, says that
in all the coasts of New Spain the only maritime forces
that could be used to oppose foreign invasion were these
two packets and two other vessels of smaller tonnage
which served the Jesuit missionaries of Baja California
in their communications with the coasts of Sonora and
New Galicia. The two packets made their maiden
voyages in March 1768, sailing from San Bias with troops
for Guaymas. Returning to San Bias they were ordered
to La Paz, Lower California, to take on a portion of the
California expedition and stores for the new foundations.
The San Carlos reached La Paz December 15th, leaking
badly from the rough handling of the seas. Under the
forceful supervision of the seiior visitador she was ca-
reened, her gaping seams closed, and on January loth
sailed, under command of Don Vicente Vila, for San
Diego bay, the rendezvous of the expedition. She
carried Lieutenant Pages and his company of infantry,
Engineer Costanso, Surgeon Pratt, and for the spiritual
care of all, the very reverend Father Fray Fernando
Parron.
28o The Beginnings of San Francsico
Owing to the constancy of the north and northwest
winds which so greatly opposed the navigation of the
coasts of California, the San Carlos found herself driven
far out of her course, short of water, and obliged to put
into the island of Cedros for a fresh supply. At last
on April 29th, she reached San Diego in a most deplorable
condition, all hands sick with scurvy, of which two had
died, and only four sailors able to keep the deck. The
San Antonio had arrived eighteen days before in much
the same condition, but seeing no signs of the other divi-
sions of the expedition, had made no attempt to land.
Encouraged now by the presence of her consort an ex-
ploring party was sent out to find water and preparations
were made to land the sick. Hospital tents were erected
on the beach, protected by palisades, the sick removed
to them and all that could be was done for them. No
one was well and the labor of the few who remained on
their feet was very great and rapidly increased as their
numbers lessened; while of the sick several died every
day, until of all who had sailed on the two ships two-
thirds were laid under the sands of Punta de los Muertos
(Deadmen's Point). The Indians, of whom there were
many, were a miserable lot, thievish and impudent,
and altogether the colonists found themselves in a most
critical situation. Their medicines were gone and but
very little food was left when on May 14th, the first
division of the land expedition under Rivera arrived.
Rivera was also short of provisions but his men were all
well and his arrival changed the aspect of the camp of
desolation. It was determined to send the San Antonio
back for supplies; all the available sailors were placed
on her and she sailed for San Bias June 8th with eight
men for a crew. On June 29th the second land division
under Portola arrived with one hundred and sixty-three
mules laden with provisions. On July 14th Portola began
THE SAN CArLOS ENTERING THE BAY OF
SAN FRANCISCO, AUGUST 5, 1775
The first ship to enter the port.
Drawn by Walter Francis.
-«^ ^ns OF San FRAvr^TCO
^ to the constancy of the north and northwest
winds which so greatly opposed the navigation of the
> of California, the San Carlos found herself driven
tai out of her course, short of water, and obliged to put
into the island of f' ' s for a fresh supply. At last
on April 29th, '^ - - San Diego in a most deplorable
condition, ^" ->ck with scurvy, of which two had
died, and ■ :_ . sailors able to keep the deck. The
San Antonio had arrived eighteen days before in much
the same condition, but seeing no signs of the other divi-
sions of the expedition, had made no attempt to land.
Encouraged now by the presence of her consort an ex-
ploring party was sent out to find water and preparations
were made to land the sick. H' I tents were erected
on the beach, protected by "-^ -he sick removed
to theTn^a^nd^jll^.J^.^pj'^4^3 ^^^^^^ v^pj%ki^''^' ^o
-n- ^v - -^^i ;j tauiMfc ",0D8i0VlAJ!T /«.& uned on
- ':jioq3rij,ajn3^W-4irf^feft'9rfri"^- . ^^s their
nu .3io-/rA«H >i3tjaW '{d rtw£^ several died every
day, until of all wi i sailed on ^hips two-
thirds were laid under the sand" nta de los Muertos
(Deadmen's Poii The Indians, of whom there were
many, were a miserable lot, thievish and impudent,
and altogether the colonists found themselves in a most
critical situation. Their medicines were gone and but
vrrv little food was left when on May 14th, the first
on of the land expedition under Rivera arrived.
Rivera was also short of provisions but his men were all
well and his arrival changed the aspect of the camp of
desolation. It was determined to send the San Antonio
back for supplies; all the available sailors were placed
on her and she sailed for San Bias June 8th with eight
■'■ -" for a crew. On June 29th the second land division
T^->'*tola arrived with one hundred and sixty-three
\ with provisions. On July 14th Portola began
i
Notes 281
his march to Monterey leaving his sick under protection
of a guard, and the San Carlos swinging at her cables
without a sailor to her deck.
The voyage of the San Carlos in 1775 ^or the survey of
the bay of San Francisco is told in chapter ii of the nar-
rative.
On the 5th of June 1776, the San Carlos sailed from
Monterey for San Francisco under command of Don
Fernando Quiros, lieutenant of man-of-war, having
on board a portion of the soldiers for the San Francisco
presidio, two cannon and other arms, and the supplies
for the presidio and mission. The distance was only
eighty-five miles and she made it in seventy-three days.
Entering the port of San Francisco August i8th, Quiros
at once landed his men and the work of erecting the
presidio buildings was pushed with vigor.
In August 1779 the San Carlos, under command of Don
Juan Manuel de Ayala, sailed for Manila where Ayala
was transferred to another ship and returned to New
Spain in 1781.
It is possible that the San Carlos was wrecked in the
Philippines or she may have been broken up, and another
ship, larger and better equipped, built to take her place,
as a paquebot, San Carlos, was later engaged in naval
service on the northwestern coast of America. The
fact that this San Carlos was also called "El Filipino,"
while the alias of the original packet was "El Toison de
Oro," would seem to indicate that the San Carlos of 1788
-1797 was a ship built in the Philippines. In view of
the record here given of the different voyages of the
original San Carlos, viz.: La Paz to San Diego, no
days; San Bias to Monterey, loi days; Monterey to San
Francisco (1776) 73 days, it must be admitted that
she was ill-fitted for her work. She was small — of the
caravel type — high poop and low waist — and had three
282 The Beginnings of San Francisco
masts, two with square sails and one with mizzen as well
as a sprit sail on bowsprit.
The packet San Carlos alias El Filipino was lost in
San Francisco bay March 31, 1797.
[Fray Zepherin Englehardt, in his book just out {Mis-
sions and Missionaries of California) says that the San
Carlos, a vessel built in the Philippines, arrived thence,
at San Diego, December 9, 178 1, under command of Juan
Gonzales. 1
Notes 283
Note 7
ARIZONA
Anza writing January 13, 1775, says: "This place
(Arizona) is famous for the balls of virgin silver found
in 1736 which weighed up to one hundred and fifty arrobas
(3750 lbs.) The fact has been doubted but it is certain,
and many are living of those who possessed them and I
can equally give documents which accredit it; since my
father, acting by advice of persons learned in the law,
attached them because it appeared to him they belonged
to his majesty, and while his action was not entirely
approved by the tribunal at the city of Mexico, it was by
the royal council of Castile."
Arizona, or as it was sometimes written Arizonac was
a real de minas, (mining camp), in the Arizona mountains
on the head waters of the Rio del Altar just below the
boundary line of Arizona, to which territory it gave its
name, about ten or twelve miles east of Nogales. The
mines were called Las Bolas de Plata — ^The Balls of
Silver. The discovery of these wonderful deposits
created great excitement and brought a crowd of treasure
seekers into the district. Captain Juan Bautista de
Anza, father of the explorer, who was in command of
the presidio of Fronteras and acted as judge and recorder
of the district, claimed that the deposits did not con-
stitute a mine proper but were hidden treasure or a
criadero de plata — growing place of silver — and as such
were not subject to denouncement, but belonged to the
king. In this he was sustained by royal decree of May
28, 1741, but by that time the deposits were about
exhausted and the Apaches had driven the miners out.
The bolas, which were of almost pure silver, weighed
from twelve pounds to a ton and a half.
284 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 8
EUSEBIO FRANCISCO KINO
Padre Jose Ortega of the Company of Jesus has given us
In his Breve Elogio del Padre Kino, a fairly comprehensive
account of the life and adventures of the famous explorer
and missionary, Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino. In
addition to this we have the diary of Lieutenant Mange,
his escort from 1694 to 1701.
Eusebio Kino or Kuhne was born in Trent in the
Austrian Tyrol about 1640 and educated at Ala in Tyrol.
Recovering from a serious illness through the intercession
of San Francisco Xavier, patron of the Indies, he adopted
that saint's name, incorporating it with his own, and
declining the offer of a professorship of mathematics in
the college of Ingolstadt in Bavaria, devoted his life
to the conversion of the American Indians. He came
to Mexico in 1680 or 168 1 and for thirty years labored
among the Indians of the Pimeria, the Papagueria, the
Gila, and the Colorado. Commencing his missionary
work in Sonora in 1687, Kino established a number of
missions in Pimeria. In 1690 he made his first entrance
into what is now Arizona, and in 1694 followed down the
Rio Altar to the Gulf of California. In 1694, Domingo
Crusati, commanding in Sonora, appointed his nephew,
Juan Mateo Mange, a lieutenant in the compania volante
of Sonora, a guard to accompany the padre and write
official reports of all his discoveries. In November
1694, Kino reached the Gila and said mass in the Casa
Grande. In the autumn of 1698 Kino was requested
by the viceroy to make a reconnaissance of northern
Pimeria and Papagueria with a view of ascertaining if
supplies could be sent from that quarter to Padre Juan
Notes 285
Maria Salvatierra then operating in the peninsula of
Baja California. Kino went to the Gila via San Javier
del Bac, proceeded down the river some distance and then
struck off to the southwest towards the gulf. From the
Cerro Santa Clara (Gila range) he saw how the gulf
ended at the disemboguement of the Rio Colorado.
From here he returned via the Camino del Diablo, thence
to Caborca. On the 7th of February 1699, Kino started
from the mission of Dolores on the western fork of the
Sonora river and traveled in a westerly direction to San
Marcelo de Sonoita; thence by way of the Camino del
Diablo to the Gila, and returned via the Gila and Santa
Cruz rivers to his mission — virtually Anza's route of 1774
across the Papagueria. In 1700 he started in September
for the Gila via the Santa Cruz valley, journeyed down
the Gila to its confluence with the Colorado, and returned
over the Camino del Diablo to Sonoita, to San Luis de
Bacapa, San Eduardo, Caborca, Tabutama, and San
Ignacio: Anza's route of 1775-6. Kino's map, dated
1702, has often been republished, and Anza probably
had a copy of it. He refers to Kino, whom he called
Quino, and also to the diary of Lieutenant Mange,
corrects their latitude and says he cannot find the Sierra
Azul and the Rio Amarillo mentioned by Mange. Kino
made his last journey over the Camino del Diablo to
Las Tinajas Altas in November 1706, and climbing to
the heights of the Cerro de Santa Clara gazed for the last
time upon the waters of the gulf and the continent of
the Californias, and then returned to his cell in the mission
of Nuestra Seiiora de los Dolores. The work of the great
missionary was done, though he continued to labor with
tongue and pen until his death in 1710 or 171 1, at seventy
years of age, twenty-four of which were in the Pimeria.
286 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 9
LAS TINAJAS ALTAS
The second, third, and fourth tanks may be reached
by climbing the steep water-worn rocks on the left of the
gorge, but the upper ones can only be reached by ascending
to a height of several hundred feet the steep ravine on
the right of the gorge and being lowered by ropes from
above. The United States and Mexican Boundary
Survey commission of 1891-96 replenished the water in
the lower tank by siphoning from those above by means
of a length of garden hose. Water can usually be found
at all times in some of these tanks as there is no loss from
seepage, and as the steep rock surrounds and overhangs
the tanks and greatly retards evaporation, to what extent
is shown by the fact that on reconnaissance by the
commission from Yuma to Quitobaquita in the winter of
1893, these tanks were found nearly half full, although the
rainfall at Yuma for the preceding twelve months had
aggregated less than three-fourths of an inch, a remarkable
deficiency even for that dry section.
Yet even here the Camino del Diablo claimed its
victims. Captain Gaillard of the commission states that
during the gold immigration of 1849 some of the pilgrims
reached the tanks to find the water all gone, and too weak
to go further, lay down and died; others reached the place
in such a state of exhaustion that, unless water was found
in the lower tank they were too feeble to climb to the next
and perished miserably, their horrors aggravated by the
thought that the water, for want of which they were
dying, was but a few yards off had they but the strength
to reach it. Fifty graves near the foot of the tanks,
LAS TINAJAS ALTAS— ONE OF THE UPPER TANKS
Note the overhanging walls.
Photograph by Captain D. D. Gaillard.
.AS TINAJAS ALTAS— THE LOWER TANK
Photograph by Captain D. D. Gaillard of the Boundary
Commission.
3 OF San Francisco
Note 9
LAS TTNfAJAS ALTAS
Th '. inira, ana lourih tanks may be reached
by cl ♦^' cp water-worn rocks on the left of the
gorge, ... .... a^j^.i ones can only be reached by ascending
to a height of several hundred feet the steep ravine on
the right of the gorge and being lowered by ropes from
above. The United States and Mexican Boundary
Survey commission of 1891-96 replenished the water in
the mm\^^'^,^^lm^frW^ means
of a length of gafacTi^fi'^^e/' ^t*f af/° :.ii! j^^-ially be found
at all times m some or tnesc tanks xs there is no loss from
.. _. ^^^^^^f'^^_r^^^lv^^^^^^^Vfd overhangs
^ XnsBhuo^-arlf )6"(^jJiaO .CI .d'niBJqED vd rfqiTgoJoli^^ ^^^^"^
IS shL^vvi. b> ihc taci„o}^„moD .....ace by the
commission from Yuma i(> Qui = in the winter of
1893, these tanks were found nearly half full, although the
rainfall at Yuma for the preceding twelve months had
aggregated less than three-fourths of an inch, a remarkable
deficiency even for that dry section.
Yet even here the Camino del Diablo claimed its
-'■'-*'TTis. Captain Gaillard of the commission states that
....... .ig the gold immigration of 1849 some of the pilgrims
reached the tanks to find the water all gone, and too weak
to go further, lay down and died; others reached the place
in such a state of exhaustion that, unless water was found
in the lower tank they were too feeble to climb to the next
and perished miserably, their horrors aggravated by the
.<ht that the water, for want of which they were
cy ujg, was but a few yards off had they but the strength
. ,,..w.k ]^^ Fifty graves near the foot of the tanks,
m
^^^
'4
■■■■
^
PP: ''
^
BH^H
\y-
"^B
^
i
^^^^m- ^
;'.\~-S^*,'i^^^|
rV^
V.
X
Notes 287
marked by rough stones piled in the form of a cross,
testify to the numbers of these victims.*
At the Tinajas Altas Anza tells us a wonderful story
of the mountain sheep and their horns. The Boundary
commission notes the quantity of these horns near the
Tinajas Altas and the Cabaza Prieta and says: "Many
years ago the Papagos were accustomed to camp at these
tinajas for the purpose of hunting big horns or mountain
sheep which then, as now, constituted the principal
inhabitants of these desolate sierras. In the vicinity
of the tanks are still seen the remains of their old camps,
around which are strewn the horns of the mountain
sheep, as many as twenty or thirty pairs having been
counted at a single camp." The horns however were
there for a purpose, and Anza explains it to us, but in
terms so extraordinary as to be unintelligible to me until,
after much investigation, I succeeded, with the aid of
Mr. F. W. Hodge of the Bureau of American Ethnology,
in getting light upon the matter. It appears that there
was an ancient superstition among the Pimas and Papagos
that the horns of the mountain sheep exerted an influence
on the air and the rains. They never brought the horns
home but piled them in some place in the hills near the
aguages where they held in check the evil influences
of the elements, and no one was permitted to disturb
or remove them.
*Gaillard: Perils and Wonders of a True Desert.
288 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note io
CAPTAIN FEO
The principal in the move to oppose the passage of the
river by the Spaniards was the chief of a tribe, kindred
with the Yumas and subject to them, to whom the
Spaniards gave the name of Captain Feo on account of
his ugly (f^o) looks. The men under Captain Feo's
command were about as numerous as those under Palma.
He is described as a great preacher, with a thick voice,
given to long harangues, and was suspected also of being
a sorcerer. He set himself to count the Spaniards and
seeing there were but few of them told his people that it
would not be difficult to kill them and take their horses
and property. Anza sent him warning that if he began
hostilities against the Spaniards they would bring suffi-
cient force against him to destroy him.
Notes
289
Note 12
THE ROYAL PASS OF SAN CARLOS
Desde esta sitio se comienza a atravesar la cordillera que
forma la Peninsula de la California. "From this place
one must begin to cross the cordillera that forms the
peninsula of California," writes Anza December 19th,
from the paraje of San Gregorio at the entrance to the
Coyote cafion.
I am sorry I cannot agree with the historians who have
so well told the story of this remarkable journey and take
this expedition through the Coahuila valley and over
the San Gorgonio pass; but to do so I would have to turn
them in a different direction from that in which they
said they traveled and make them march eighty odd
miles through the desert sands to reach the San Gorgonio
pass when they say they only traveled forty-eight miles
up a mountain trail to the pass of San Carlos. No one
who reads Anza's diary with a map of the country before
him would say he went through the San Gorgonio pass.
The Cienega de San Sebastian is on or very close to the
Il6th meridian and the eastern entrance to San Gorgonio
is about 116° 40', and is therefore a little west of north,
eighty miles away, with but scanty water supply before
reaching Palm spring, sixty-five miles distant. Anza's
record of direction and length of march is explicit and
Font's practically agrees with it. I give the two.
ANZA
FONT
To Puenticitos
W. by W.N.W.
3KI
W. X N.W.
4I
" S. Gregorio
« «
4
u u
5
" Vado de S. Caterina
W. N. W.
4
NW. X W.
4
" Fuente S. Caterina
N.W. & W.N.W.
i>^
« u
I
" Los Danzantes
N.W. by W.N.W.
3
W. N. W.
4
" San Carlos pass
W.N.W. & N.W.
six jornadas
zH
W. N. W.
3
18KI
ail
290 The Beginnings of San Francisco
I would say that Anza was more accurate in his estimate
of distances traveled than Font and had, besides, been
over this route twice before. He gives the distance
traveled from San Sebastian to San Carlos 18^ leagues
— say forty-eight miles. By turning into the mountains
as he did he soon reached water and grass. I have
measured him up and have measured him down on each
of his journeys and have done the same with Pedro Font
on his journey. Anza writes on May 7th at San Sebastian
(on his return trip; present expedition), "At this place
we left the caiiada in which we have been traveling from
San Carlos to here;" showing that between the pass of
San Carlos and the Cienega de San Sebastian he traveled
through a Canada (valley or canon). Pedro Font writing
from Fuente del Santa Caterina (fourth Jornada from
San Sebastian) December 23d, says: "This stopping
place is in a cahada which continues upward and through
which the road goes crossing the Sierra Madre de Califor-
nia.
I make this particular explanation because the mistake
made by Bancroft has been copied by other writers and
the San Gorgonio pass is called the "Historic Gateway
to California."
Notes 291
Note 12
SOLDIERS OF THE EXPEDITION
As the soldiers of Anza's expedition were the founders
and first settlers of the city of San Francisco, it becomes
a matter of historical importance to know who and what
they were. They left their imprint on the civilization
of California and their names are as familiar as household
words to all who know the country. The list is now
given for the first time and the particulars concerning
the families were taken from the Spanish archives of
California, destroyed by the fire of 1906. In giving the
members of the families I only enumerate the children
accompanying the expedition. Many more were born
in California.
I. Ensign Jose Joaquin Moraga was born in 1741;
died in San Francisco and was buried July 15, 1785,
in the mission church whose corner stone he laid in 1782.
Moraga was an able assistant to Anza and received his
commission as lieutenant on the arrival of the expedition
at San Gabriel. He accompanied his commander on the
survey of the peninsula and river of San Francisco, and
on Anza's departure for Mexico, took command of the
expedition. He founded the presidio and mission of
San Francisco and was the first commander, retaining
the position until his death nine years later. He founded
the mission of Santa Clara in 1777, and in the same year
the pueblo of San Jose Guadalupe (San Jose). His
record as an officer is an honorable and stainless one.
His wife was Maria del Pilar de Leon y Barcelo. She
did not accompany the expedition, being sick in Terrenate
at the time, but with her son Gabriel, joined her husband
n San Francisco February 20, 1791, the government
292 The Beginnings of San Francisco
paying the cost of transportation: three hundred and
eighty dollars and twenty-five cents. The only child
of Moraga I find any record of was his son Gabriel,
born at the presidio of Fronteras, Sonora, in 1765; buried
in Santa Barbara, California, June 15, 1823; married,
first, Ana Maria, daughter of Juan Francisco Bernal;
second, Joaquina, daughter of Francisco Javier Alvarado,
and sister of Pio Pico's wife. Don Gabriel enlisted in
the San Francisco company December i, 1783, and
served for twenty-two years as private, corporal, and
sergeant, at the presidios of San Francisco and Monterey
and in command of various mission escoltas of those dis-
tricts. On March 10, 1806, he received his commission
as alferez and was assigned to the San Francisco garrison.
On August 16, 181 1, he was made brevet lieutenant for
gallantry in a battle with the Indians on the strait of
Carquines, and on October 30, 1817, he was made a full
lieutenant and ordered to Santa Barbara. His hoja de
servicios of December 1820, shows thirty-seven years
service and forty-six expeditions against the Indians.
He applied for retirement on account of chronic rheu-
matism and other infirmities, and Governor Sola, Captain
Jose Dario Argiiello, and other officers, as well as padres
Seiian and Payeras, testified in terms of highest praise
regarding his character and the value of his services,
but no attention was paid to his request. In 1806
Moraga explored and named the San Joaquin river and he
made a number of expeditions to and beyond the Tulares.
Don Gabriel is described as a tall, well built man of dark
complexion, brave, gentlemanly, and the foremost soldier
of his day in California. His son Joaquin, was grantee of
Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados in Contra Costa
county, and a portion of Moraga valley on said rancho
is still in possession of his descendants. Another son,
Vicente, was grantee of Pauba in Riverside county.
Notes 293
2. Sergeant Juan Pablo Grijalva was born in La Valle
de San Luis, Sonora, in 1742; died in San Diego, Cali-
fornia, June 21, 1806. He enlisted in the presidial
company of Terrenate, Sonora, January i, 1763, and
served twenty-four years in the ranks before he received
a commission — eleven of them at the presidio of San
Francisco. On the 20th of July 1787, he was commis-
sioned alferez and attached to the San Diego company.
In 1796 he applied for retirement on account of infirmities
contracted during his long services. Governor Borica
endorsed his application, recommending that he be
retired with the rank of lieutenant as a reward for his
services to the king. He was retired as alferez with half
pay — two hundred dollars a year. The following Novem-
ber he was made lieutenant, his pension remaining the
same. Grijalva brought with him in the expedition his
wife, Maria Dolores Valencia, and three children: Maria
Josefa, age nine; Maria del Carmen, age four; and Claudio,
a baby. Josefa married Sergeant Antonio Yorba, who
came with Portola in 1769 as sergeant of Catalan vol-
unteers. She became the mother of one of California's
great families, grantees of Santa Ana de Santiago, Las
Bolsas, and Lomas de Santiago. Carmen married Pedro
Regalado Peralta, son of Gabriel. Of Claudio I know
nothing. The name of Grijalva died out in California.
3. Corporal Domingo Alviso lived but a short time
after reaching San Francisco. He was buried March 11,
1777, and the libro de difuntos gives neither age nor place
of birth. With him came his wife, Maria Angela Trejo,
and four children: Francisco Javier, age ten; Francisco,
age nine; Maria Loreta, age five; and Ignacio, age three.
The family became a large and influential one and were
grantees of Natividad, Canada Verde y Arroyo de la
294 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Purisima, Milpitas, Potrero de los Cerritos, El Quito,
Canada de los Vaqueros, and RIncon de los Esteros.
The town of Alviso was named for Ignacio.
4. Corporal Jose Valerlo Mesa was born In 1734 in
Opodepe, a mission on the Horcasitas river a little above
San Miguel In Sonora. His wife, Maria Leonor Barboa,
and six children, born at the presidio of Altar, accompanied
him to California. They were: Jose Joaquin, age
twelve; Jose Ignacio, age nine; Ignacio Dolores, age eight;
Maria Manuela, age seven; Jose Antonio, and Juan,
age three. Valerio's grandson, Juan Prado, son of
Jose Antonio, became an ensign and comandante of San
Francisco under Vallejo. This family received the
following grants: San Antonio (Santa Clara county),
Los Medanos, RInconada del Arroyo de San Franclsqulto,
and Soulajule.
5. Corporal Gabriel Peralta was born at the presidio
of Terrenate, in Sonora, in 173 1; died in Santa Clara,
California, October 22, 1807. His wife, Francisca Javier
Valenzuela, and four children: Juan Jose, age eighteen;
Luis Maria, age seventeen; Pedro Regalado, age eleven;
and Maria Gertrudis, age nine, accompanied the expedi-
tion. Luis Maria enlisted in the Monterey company
December 2, 1781, and served In the ranks for forty-five
years. He was eight years a private, twelve years a
corporal, and twenty-five years a sergeant. He was a
soldier, engaged In many expeditions against the Indians,
and was several times recommended for promotion to the
commission grade of alferez, but never received It. He
was retired invalido In 1826, and died in San Jose In 1851,
aged ninety-three.
On June 20, 1820, Don Pablo Vicente de Sola, governor
of California, granted to Sergeant Luis Peralta the San
Antonio rancho, eleven square leagues — 48,825 acres,
Notes 295
perhaps the most famous as well as the most valuable
of all the California grants. It includes the sites of the
cities of Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley. The Rin-
conada de los Gatos, the Canada del Corte Madera, and
the San Ramon ranchos were also given to the descend-
ants of Corporal Peralta.
6. Juan Antonio Amezquita was born in Metape,
Sonora, in 1739. He enlisted at the presidio of Tubac
July 9, 1764, and was retired invalido November i, 1788.
On October i, 1786, he was transferred to Monterey
where in 181 3 he was living with his third wife, Maria
Micaela Sotelo. Juan Antonio's wife, Juana Maria de
Guana, and five children: Manuel Domingo, age twenty-
three; Maria Josefa, age twenty; Maria Dolores, age ten;
Maria Gertrudis, age about three; and Maria de los Reyes,
a babe, came with the expedition. With this family
was Rosalia Zamora, wife of the oldest son, Manuel
Domingo — who was also called Salvador Manuel and
Manuel Francisco. Maria Josefa became the wife of
Ensign He'menegildo Sal.
7. Jose Ramon Bojorques, born in the city of Sinaloa
in 1737, brought with him his wife, Francisca Romero,
and three children: Maria Antonia, age fifteen, wife
of Jose Tiburcio Vasquez; Maria Micaela, age thirteen;
and Maria Gertrudis, age twelve. With the family
was the husband of Maria Micaela, Jose Anastacio
Higuera.
8. Justo Roberto Altamirano was born in Aguage,
Sonora, in 1745. He brought with him his wife, Maria
Loreta Delfin, and two sons: Jose Antonio and Jose
Matias. Matias died in 1783, and Jose Antonio in 1789.
296 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Justo Roberto had a number of children born in San
Francisco and Santa Clara, but the name has died out
in California.
9. Ignacio Linares was born in San Miguel de Hor-
casitas in 1745; died in San Jose Guadalupe, California,
June 5, 1805. His wife, Maria Gertrudis Rivas, and
four children: Maria Gertrudis, age seven; Juan Jose
Ramon, age five; Maria Juliana, age four; and Salvador,
age one; came with the expedition.
10. Carlos Gallegos brought his wife, Maria Josefa
Espinosa, but no children. I know nothing about him
except that he was sent to the mission of the Colorado
and was killed by the Yumas in the rising of 1781.
The above ten constitute the veteran soldiers of the
Sonora presidios who volunteered to cast their lot in
California. The recruits were:
11. Juan Salvio Pacheco lived but a short time in
California. I do not know the date or place of his birth.
He died before July 21, 1777, but the family he founded
became a large one. He brought with him to California
his wife, Maria del Carmen del Valle, and five children:
Miguel, age twenty; Ignacio, age fifteen; Ignacia Ger-
trudis, age fifteen; Bartolome Ignacio, age ten; and Maria
Barbara, age ten. Juan Salvio's descendants were gran-
tees of Potrero de los Cerritos, Arroyo de las Nueces,
Santa Rita, San Jose Rancho, San Ramon, Monte del
Diablo, and Positos ranchos. The towns of Pacheco in
Contra Costa and Pacheco in Marin counties are named
for this family.
12. Jose Antonio Garcia was born in Culiacan, Sonora,
and died in Santa Clara, California, January 25, 1778,
the first death recorded {gente de razon) on the books
of that mission. His wife, Maria Josefa de Acuiia, and
Notes 297
five children: Maria Graciana, Maria Josefa, Jose
Vicente, Jose Francisco, and Juan Guillermo, accom-
panied the expedition.
13. Pablo Pinto was born in the city of Sinaloa in
1732; buried in San Francisco December i, 1783. He
brought with him his wife, Francisca Javier Ruelas,
and four children: Juan Maria, age seventeen; Juana
Santos, Juana Francisca, and Jose Marcelo. The husband
of Juana Santos, Casimiro Varela, accompanied the
family. Another daughter of Pablo Pinto was with the
expedition — ^Teresa, wife of the poblador, Nicolas Galindo.
The marriage of Juana Francisca to Mariano Cordero,
a soldier of the Monterey garrison, November 28, 1776,
is the first marriage recorded in the libro de casamientos
of San Francisco.
14. Antonio Quiterio Aceves was born in La Valle de
San Bartolome, Durango, in 1740. He brought with
him his wife, Maria Feliciana Cortes, and six children:
Maria Petra, age thirteen; Jose Cipriano, age eleven;
Maria Gertrudis, age six; Juan Gregorio, age five; Pablo,
age three; and Jose Antonio, age two. Aceves was
granted the Salinas rancho, four leagues on the Salinas
river, in 1795, one of the earliest grants.
15. Ignacio Maria Gutierrez, brought his wife, Ana
Maria de Osuna, and three children: Maria Petronia,
age ten; Maria de Los Santos, age seven; and Diego
Pascual, born on the Gila, en route.
16. Ignacio de Soto, was born in the city of Sinaloa
in 1749, and died in Santa Clara, California, February 23,
1807. His wife, Maria Barbara Espinosa de Lugo, was
a sister of the soldier Francisco de Lugo, whose daughter,
Maria Antonia, became the mother of General Vallejo.
She, with two children: Maria Antonia, age two; and
298 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Jose Antonio, age one, accompanied her husband. The
first white child born in San Francisco was Francisco
Jose de los Dolores Soto, son of Ignacio and Barbara,
born August 10, 1776. The child was hastily baptized
ab instantem mortem, but he lived to become a great
Indian fighter and died in 1835, a sargento distinguido.
I have a record of fourteen children born in California
to Ignacio and Barbara Lugo de Soto, and their descend-
ants were grantees of the following ranchos: Canada
de la Segunda, El Piojo, San Matias, San Lorenzo,
Canada de la Carpinteria, Canada del Hambre, Capay,
San Vicente, Los Vallecitos, and Bolsa Nueva.
17. Jose Manuel Valencia was born in Guadalupe,
Zacatecas, Mexico, in 1749, and died in Santa Clara,
California, in 1788. His wife, Maria de la Luz Muiios,
and three children accompanied him to California. The
children were: Maria Gertrudis, age fifteen years;
Francisco Maria, age eight; and Ignacio Maria, age three.
His descendants were granted Alcanes rancho and Canada
de Pinole.
18. Luis Joaquin Alvarez was born in the city of Sinaloa
in 1740. He brought with him his wife, Maria Nicolosa
Ortiz, and two children: Juan Francisco and Maria
Francisca.
19. Jose Antonio Sanchez was born in the city of
Sinaloa in 1751. He brought his wife, Maria de los
Dolores Morales, and two children: Maria Josefa, age
seven; and Jose Antonio, age two; also, Ignacio Cardenas,
a prohijado — adopted son. Sanchez was a man of some
education and wrote a beautiful hand. The family
became prominent in San Francisco and Jose Antonio,
second, became ensign and comandante of San Francisco
and famous for his skill and courage as an Indian fighter.
Notes 299
In 1827 he was permitted to occupy the rancho nacional
which was afterwards formally granted him. This was
the great Buri Buri rancho immediately south of the city
and county of San Francisco, comprising 15,793 acres
now belonging, in part, to the Spring Valley Water
Company. In 1836 Jose Antonio 2d was retired with
forty-five years' service to his credit. He passed the
rest of his life on his rancho and at the mission of Dolores.
He appears on a padron of San Francisco in 1842 as an
hacendado (farmer). He was a brave and honest man,
and somewhat given to asserting his rights. He became
involved in a controversy with the priests over the
question of tithes, which Sanchez, following the example
of Vallejo and other prominent landowners, refused to
pay. In consequence of this quarrel he was denied the
comforts of religion on his death bed and for a time,
Christian burial. He died June 22, 1843, and was finally
given ecclesiastic interment in the cemetery of the mission
on July 5th. His son, Francisco, grandson of Anza's
trooper, was comandante of San Francisco at the time
of the conquest and was the Captain Sanchez who cap-
tured Alcalde Bartlett and commanded the Mexican
forces at the battle of Santa Clara. Francisco was
granted the San Pablo rancho.
20. Manuel Ramirez Arellano was born in Puebla in
1742 and brought with him his wife, Maria Agueda de
Haro, and son, Jose Mariano. He was retired in 1786
and removed to Los Angeles. He had three children
born in Santa Clara and three more born in Los Angeles.
The family was quite prominent in the south and the
name became changed to Arellanes. Manuel Ramirez
was alcalde of Los Angeles in 1790, and his daughter,
Maria Martina married Don Ignacio Martinez, later
comandante of San Francisco, and was the mother of
300 The Beginnings of San Francisco
some of California's famous beauties. Don Teodoro
Arellanes, son of Manuel, born In Santa Clara, November
5, 1782, Is mentioned by Davis, Robinson, and other
writers as a ranchero prince. The family obtained the
Guadalupe, El RIncon, and La Punta de la Laguna
ranchos.
21. Joaquin Isidro de Castro was born in the city of
Sinaloa In 1732. He brought with him his wife, Maria
Martina Botiller, and nine children: Ignacio Clemente,
age twenty; Maria Josefa. age eighteen; Maria Encarna-
nacion, age twelve; Maria del Carmen, age ten; Jose
Mariano, age 9; Jose Joaquin, age six; Francisco Maria,
age two; Francisco Antonio, and Carlos. This was a
very large family and became connected by marriage with
most of the prominent families of California. One
granddaughter married Governor Alvarado, and another
married Carlos Antonio Carrillo and became mother of
five beautiful daughters, all of whom married Americans.
One of the earliest grants of land in California was made
to Joaquin Isidro who, together with his son-in-law,
Mariano Soberanes, was granted Buena Vista on the
Salinas river in 1795. In 1801 Castro was given La Brea.
His sons and grandsons were given the following ranchos
and islands: Aptos, Del Refugio, El Sobrante, Laguna
de Teche, Las Llagas, Las Palclnes, Las Animas, San
Andres, San Gregorio, San Lorenzo, San Pablo, San
Ramon, Shoquel, Soils, Vega del Rio del Pajero, Isla
de la Yegua (Mare Island), and Isla de Yerba Buena.
The Castros of Monterey and the Castros of San Fran-
cisco call each other cousin. General Jose Castro be-
longed to the Monterey family.
22. Felipe Santiago Tapia, born in Cullacan in 1745,
brought his wife, Juana Maria Fllomena Hernandes (or
Juana Maria Cardenas) and the following children: Jose
Notes 301
Bartolome, Juan Jose, Jose Crlstoval, Jose Francisco, Jose
Victor, Maria Rosa, age fifteen; Maria Antonia, age
thirteen; Maria Manuela, age ten; and Maria Ysidora,
age four. Jose Bartolome, who settled at San Luis
Obispo was grantee of Topanga Malibu rancho in 1804.
His son, Tiburcio, was granted Cucamonga rancho.
23. Juan Francisco Bernal, born in Rancho del Tule,
in the district of Sinaloa, in 1737, brought his wife, Maria
Josefa de Soto, sister of Ignacio, and seven children:
Jose Joaquin, age thirteen; Juan Francisco, age twelve;
Jose Dionisio, age ten; Jose Apolonario, age nine; Ana
Maria, age five; Maria Teresa de Jesus, age three; and
Tomas Januario. This family received the following
lands: Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo (South
San Francisco), Rincon de Ballena, Santa Teresa, Laguna
de Palos Colorados, Embarcadero de Santa Clara, El
Alisal, and Canada de Pala. Bernal Heights, San Fran-
cisco, is a part of Rincon de Salinas.
24. Juan Atanasio Vasquez, born in Agualulco, Sonora,
in 1735, brought his wife, Maria Gertrudis Castelo, and
three children: Jose Tiburcio, age twenty; Jose Antonio,
age ten; and Pedro Jose. This family received Corral
de Tierra, Chamisal, and Soulajule ranchos.
25. Juan Agustin Valenzuela, born in Real de los
Alamos, Sonora, in 1749, brought his wife, Petra Ignacio
de Ochoa, and one child: Maria Zepherin.
26. Santiago de la Cruz Pico was born in San Miguel
de Horcasitas in 1733. In 1777 he was transferred from
San Francisco to the San Diego presidio and founded a
large family in the south. His sons all enlisted in the
presidial companies, as did the sons of the other soldiers,
and one, Jose Dolores, being transferred to Monterey,
founded the northern branch of the family. Santiago
brought with him to California his wife, Maria Jacinta
302 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Vastlda, and seven children, all born In San Javier de
Cabazan, on the Rio Piastla, Sonora. The children
were: Jose Dolores, age twelve; Jose Maria, age eleven;
Jose Miguel, age seven; Francisco Javier, age six; Patricio,
age five; Maria Antonia Tomasa, and Maria Josefa.
Jose Maria, son of Santiago, was the father of Pio Pico,
the last Mexican governor of California. Andres, another
son of Jose Maria was, perhaps, the ablest member of the
family of Pico. He was in command of the Californians
at the battle of San Pascual and was present and took
part in the engagements at the San Gabriel river and
La Mesa. As commander of the national forces in Cali-
fornia he signed the capitulation of Cahuenga, January
13, 1847, which ended the war. He was member of the
assembly in 1851; presidential elector, 1852; land re-
ceiver and brigadier general of militia, 1858; and state
senator 1 860-1. Antonio Maria, son of Dolores, was
lieutenant of militia, captain of defensores, member of
constitutional convention, presidential elector in i860,
and register of the land office at Los Angeles in 1862.
Another son of Dolores, Jose de Jesus, was captain of
defensores. He broke his parole and was captured and
condemmed to death, but was pardoned by Fremont
whom he assisted in bringing about the treaty of Cahu-
enga. The descendants of Santiago de la Cruz Pico received
the following grants: Agua Caliente, Arroyo Seco, Bolsa
de San Cayetano, Piedra Blanca, El Pescadero, Jumal,
La Habra, Los Flores, Moquelamo, El Paso de Bartolo
Viejo, Punto del Afio Nuevo, San Jose del Gracia de
Simi, Santa Margarita, Temecula, Valle de San Jose,
and Casa Loma.
27. Jose Vicente Felix, was born in Real de los Alamos,
Sonora, in 1741. His wife, Manuela Piiicuelar, was the
woman who died in childbirth, the first night out from
Notes 303
Tubac. Seven children came with the expedition: Jose
Francisco, Jose Doroteo, Jose de Jesus, Jose Antonio
Capistrano, Maria Loreta, Maria Antonia, and Maria
Manuela. Jose Vicente was transferred to the San
Diego company before 1782 and in 1802, or earlier, was
given the Felix rancho just north of the pueblo of Los
Angeles — now within the city bounds.
28. Sebastian Antonio Lopez brought his wife Felipa
Neri (or Felipa Xermana) and three children: Sebastian,
Maria Tomasa, and Maria Justa. I have no information
about this family.
29. Jose Antonio Sotelo died in San Francisco January
20, 1777, the second death recorded in the libro de difuntos.
The name of his wife is given by Pedro Font as Gertrudis
Peralta, but the above register has it Manuela Gertrudis
Buelna. They brought one child: Ramon.
30. Pedro Antonio Bojorques, born in Sinaloa in 1754,
brought his wife, Maria Francisca de Lara, and daughter,
Maria Agustina, age four. The wife died January 28,
1777, the third death in San Francisco, and Pedro married
the widow of Corporal Domingo Alviso, Maria Angela
Trejo, on the 20th of July following. His son, Bartolome,
was grantee of Laguna de San Antonio, six leagues in
Marin county.
Accompanying the expedition were four families of
settlers {pohladores) and three solteros (bachelors). The
families were:
1. Jose Manuel Gonzales, with his wife, Maria Micaela
Bojorques, and children: Juan Jose, Ramon, Francisco,
and Maria Gregoria. Jose Manuel was made a poblador
of San Jose Guadalupe.
2. Nicolas Galindo, born in Real de Santa Eulalia
in 1743, brought with him his wife, Maria Teresa Pinto,
304 The Beginnings of San Francisco
daughter of Pablo, and one child: Juan Venancio, one
year old. Nicolas enlisted, in the San Francisco company
and served until 1794, when he was retired and his son,
Jose Rafael, took his place. Jose Antonio Galindo,
son of Juan Venancio, received on September 23, 1835,
the first grant of land in San Francisco: La Laguna
de la Merced, twenty-two hundred and twenty acres in
the southwestern part of the city and county. On May
12, 1837, Galindo sold this rancho to Francisco de Haro,
for one hundred cows and twenty-five dollars in goods.
It now belongs to the Spring Valley Water Company
and is valued at four million dollars. Galindo also
received in 1835, the Sausalito rancho which he sold to
William A. Richardson the following year. Other mem-
bers of this family received town lots in San Francisco
and the lands of the Santa Clara mission. A grand-
daughter of Nicolas Galindo married James Alexander
Forbes, English consul at Monterey.
3. Nicolas Antonio Berreyesa, born in Sinaloa in 1761,
was accompanied by his sister, Isabel, age twenty-two,
both unmarried. Nicolas married Gertrudis, daughter
of Gabriel Peralta, and Isabel married Juan Jose Peralta,
her brother. Nicolas enlisted in the San Francisco
company October i, 1782. His son, Jose de los Reyes,
born in Santa Clara, January 6, 1785, was one of the
first victims of the war of conquest. He was a retired
sergeant with thirty-seven years' service to his credit.
He was killed June 28, 1846, by Fremont's men as he
landed from a boat at San Rafael on his way to Sonoma
to visit his son who was alcalde at that place. With
him were two sons of Francisco de Haro, Francisco and
Ramon, bearers of dispatches from Castro to his lieutenant
Joaquin de la Torre. Jose Reyes Berreyesa was owner
of the land on which the New Almaden quicksilver mines
Notes 305
were situated The members of this family received the
following grants: Canada de Capay, Rincon de Musula-
con, Chirules, San Vicente, Malacomes, Milpitas, and
Las Putas. Nicolas wrote his name Berrelleza.
4. Maria Feliciana Arballo, widow of Jose Gutierrez,
accompanied the expedition with her two little girls:
Maria Tomasa Gutierrez, age six, and Maria Estaquia
Gutierrez, age four. She left the expedition at San
Gabriel, where on March 6, 1776, she was married to
Juan Francisco Lopez, a soldier of the guard. The
marriage ceremony was performed by Fray Francisco
Garces, missionary to the Colorado river tribes, who,
it will be remembered, Anza had left at the junction
of the rivers. Garces had gone up the Colorado to visit
the Mojaves and had crossed the Mojave desert, arriving
at San Gabriel after the expedition had passed up the
coast. Little Maria Estaquia, thirteen years later,
married Jose Maria Pico whom she had first known when,
a boy of eleven, he accompanied his family with the
expedition. She became the mother of Pio Pico. Maria
Feliciana had, by her second husband, Maria Ignacia
de la Candelaria Lopez, who married Joaquin Carrillo
of San Diego, and became the mother of General Vallejo's
wife and four other daughters whose loveliness is duly
recorded in the pages of this historia verdadera. After
her husband's death Maria Ignacia Lopez de Carrillo,
who was a most beautiful woman, was granted, in 1841,
the rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa in Sonoma county,
where she lived with her son Ramon. She is buried in
the ruined mission of San Francisco Solano, at Sonoma.
Her remains were laid under the font where it would
receive the holy water that fell from the hands of devout
worshippers.
3o6 The Beginnings of San Francisco
The three solteros were: Don Francisco Muiios,
Pedro Perez de la Fuente, Marcos Villela.
Villela became a poblador at San Jose Guadalupe.
Of the others, I know nothing.
Notes 307
Note 13
BAC —TUB AC —TUCSON
Bac (house). The mission of San Xavier del Bac
nine miles south of Tucson was founded by Father Kino
in 1700. On the expulsion of the Jesuits Father Garces
was assigned to this mission which he took charge of in
1768 and administered for ten years. The present
church, which is described as a most remarkable object
to find in so wild a country, was begun in 1768 and finished
in 1798. Bartlett, who visited it in 1852, said it was the
largest and most beautiful church in the State of Sonora.
Benjamin Hayes, writing in 1857, says: "San Xavier
is not what it was when I passed in 1849. The magnifi-
cent church is becoming dilapidated, the Papagos who
had the care of it having left. It then looked magnif-
icently over the dark mesquite forest through which
it is approached, with its white walls like marble and
its three domes. The altar seemed a mass of gold as
the sun's rays streamed upon it in the afternoon. It
had thirteen good oil paintings, kept in a side room with
the altar furniture and priest's robes. The interior
walls were filled with scriptural scenes, fresh as if painted
the day before. * * * This church might be an ornament
to Fourth Street, Saint Louis, or to any other city."
(Benj. Hayes: Emigrant Notes MS. p. 150.)
Tuhac. The presidio of Tubac was one of a chain of
presidios guarding the northern frontier of Sonora. It
was erected in 1752 on the Santa Cruz river, in what
is now the Territory of Arizona, about forty-five miles
south of Tucson. In 1767 the place had a population
of four hundred and twenty gente de razon* including
*People of Reason — Civilized Folk.
3o8 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the families of the fifty soldiers of the garrison under
Captain Anza. In 1776 the presidio was removed to
Tucson. In 1777 the people of Tubac petitioned for
a restoration of the presidio and a company of Pimas
was organized for a permanent garrison. Later, the post
was occupied by a company of Spanish regulars. After
the cession to the United States there was a temporary
revival of the old town. It is situated within the southern
rain belt, in the richest portion of the Santa Cruz valley.
The annual rainfall is from twenty to twenty-five inches.
In 1858-9, Tubac had a population of eight hundred,
and the houses with their gardens and groves of acacias
and peach trees made the little town most attractive.
It was in the center of the mineral region and had probably
one hundred and fifty silver mines within a radius of
sixteen miles. During the War of the Rebellion it was
occupied for a short time by Confederate troops and later
by a regiment of California volunteers. The location
is adjacent to the Apacheria. It was frequently raided
by the Apaches and in 1861-62 and 63 was made un-
inhabitable by those savage warriors, and several well-
known mining engineers fell victims to their fury. There
is but little left of the historic town now.
Tucson. The claim that Tucson was settled by the
Spaniards in 1560 has no foundation. Anza on his return
from Monterey in 1775, reached Tuscon May 25th. He
calls it the Pima pueblo of Teson and says it belongs to
the Pimas Altas (i. e. the inhabitants of Pimeria Alta);
that it is within the jurisdiction of his presidio and con-
tains eighty families. Passing through Tucson October
26, 1775, with the second expedition. Father Garces calls
it " A visita of my administration and the last christianized
pueblo in this direction" (north). The foundation of
Tucson as a Spanish settlement was in 1776, when the
presidio of Tubac was transferred thither.
Notes 309
Note 14
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE
MISSIONS OF THE COLORADO
Salvador Palma, chief of the Yumas, whose anxiety
to embrace the true religion and have his people con-
verted to Christianity was so extreme that he made peace
with the surrounding nations and complied with all of
Anza's requirements, headed a revolt against the pueblo-
missions of the Colorado and totally destroyed them,
killing Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncado, lieutenant-
governor of Lower California, the four priests in charge
of the missions — including this same Father Garces —
and some forty-two of the soldiers and settlers, one of
whom was a private soldier in the company now being
entertained by him. While the tale is a cruel one, a
study of the events leading up to the outbreak forces
the conclusion that from the Indian's point of view there
was much provocation. No one can read the accounts
given by Anza of the services rendered by this chief and
his Yumas without realizing how valuable to the infant
establishments of California was the friendship that
Anza so carefully and successfully cultivated. He
records his opinion that Palma's affection and fidelity
may be fully trusted, and says that with the friendly
assistance of the Yumas the passage of the Colorado
was assured, but if It were opposed by them It would
be next to Impossible. On his first journey he trusted to
the care of the Yuma the lives of seven of his men, and
what Is especially tempting to an Indian, a large part
of his horses and cattle and the most of his baggage with
its precious stores of trinkets, tobacco, and other things
of value to the savage; all of which was safely guarded
310 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and returned to him when he came back from Monterey,
although the time set for his return was long passed and
reports had been received that Anza and all his party
had been killed by the hill tribes of California.
On Anza's return from San Francisco in 1776, Palma
accompanied him to the City of Mexico where he was
well entertained. Bucareli, favorably impressed with
him and Anza's report concerning him, promised to
establish a presidio and two missions on the Rio Colorado.
The project was delayed by Indian troubles in the Pimeria
Aha, and in the meantime a new element was introduced
which gave the execution of the plan into new and untried
hands. The office of comandante-general of the Pro-
vincias Internas de Occidente was created and made
independent of the viceroy; Don Teodoro de Croix was
appointed to the place and Anza was sent as governor
to New Mexico. Palma was still in the City of Mexico
when the new official arrived. Bucareli commended him
to Croix who promised to give the matter his early
attention, and Palma returned to his people much pleased
with his reception and importance. A year passed and
nothing was done. Palma went to Altar to ascertain
the cause of the delay. The captain of that presidio
satisfied him that matters were progressing and he re-
turned to the Colorado. Another year passed with
nothing accomplished. Palma's people taunted him with
his failure and his allies regarded him with contempt.
The authority of an Indian chief is but precarious at best.
He must be wise; he must be strong; but above all he
must be successful. The domination of Palma was
largely due to the recognition and confirmation of his
authority by the Spaniards. He was now being dis-
credited. He went again to Altar and thence to Hor-
casitas whose commander represented to the comandante-
general the uneasiness of the Indians of the Colorado.
Notes 311
The king had been advised of Palma's visit to Mexico,
had seen Anza's reports of his two expeditions as well as
Garces' reports on the Yumas, and he ordered Croix to
concede to Palma the promised presidio and missions.
The comandante-general, however, had ideas of his own
on that subject and he attempted to console Palma by
sending Friars Garces and Diaz with an escort of twelve
soldiers and a scanty equipment to the Colorado. They
reached Palma's domain late in 1779 and great was the
disappointment and chagrin of the Yumas. The contrast
between what they expected and what they got was too
great. In 1775 there had passed through their country
a great expedition with a large body of troops clad in
leather armor {soldados de cuera), great herds of cattle
and trains of sumpter mules laden with precious wares,
all under command of an officer of high rank and dignified
bearing who created governors and alcaldes, conferred
decorations in the name of the king, and scattered largess
with a liberal hand. All this gallant array was for the
purpose of founding a presidio and two missions on the
bay of San Francisco. They had been promised a like
establishment in their country, and now, after years of
patient waiting, the fulfillment of that promise came in
the shape of two priests, twelve soldiers, and a beggarly
outfit hardly sufficient for their own subsistence. Many
Indians were already in revolt and the peace, so carefully
established by Anza, had already been broken by the
murder of a Yuma by the Papagos. It was the beginning
of war between the tribes and of general distrust of the
Spaniards. Garces, whose wide experience had taught
him the Indian character, reported the dangers of the
situation and Croix resolved to adopt a new plan in the
establishments of the Colorado and found two missions
each of which should combine the features of a presidio,
a pueblo, and a mission. Against the protests of Garces
312 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and the warnings of Anza he proceeded to carry his plan
into effect; and the autumn of 1780 witnessed the arrival
in the land of the Yumas of twenty settlers, twelve
laborers, and twenty-one soldiers, all bringing their
wives and plenty of children. The number of priests
was increased to four. One presidio-pueblo-mission was
established at Puerto de la Concepcion, later the site
of Fort Yuma, where the partly demolished remains of
stone walls of buildings were seen by Bartlett in 1852;
and the other about eight miles down the river, almost
on the boundary line between Alta and Baja California,
both on the California side of the river. The upper
establishment was called La Purisima Concepcion and
the lower San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicufier. The new
settlers proceeded to appropriate the best lands and forage
their cattle and horses on the growing crops of the Yumas.
Nothing more was needed to fan the smouldering
discontent into the fierce flame of open rebellion. Ensign
Santiago de las Islas was in command and in June 1781,
came Captain Rivera y Moncada from Sonora with a
party of recruits for the California establishments. The
recruits Rivera sent on to California, a portion of his
escort he sent back to Sonora and, with about a dozen
of his men, he remained to his death in camp on the
Arizona side of the river.
On Tuesday, July 17, 1781, the blow fell. Under the
leadership of Palma the attack was made simultaneously
on both missions and all but seven of the men were killed;
the women and children were carried into captivity and
the houses were destroyed. Garces was at Concepcion
and both he and his companion. Father Barrenche,
survived the first attack, and while the Indians were
killing right and left and looting the houses, both padres
were busy hearing confessions and administering the
sacraments to the dying. Both were beaten to death
Notes -?i3
with clubs two days later. On the eighteenth the Yumas
crossed the river, and attacked Rivera, killing the com-
mander and all of his men and destroying his camp.
Thus ended the first and last attempt to establish missions
on the Colorado.
The death of Father Garces in his forty-fourth year
closed the earthly career of one of the most heroic, spirit-
ual, and lovable of men. Born in the Villa de Morata
del Conde, in Aragon, April 12, 1738, baptized Francisco
Tomas Hermenegildo, he was carefully educated, ordained
in the priesthood, and at the age of twenty-five was sent,
at his earnest request, a missionary, to the college of
the Santa Cruz de Queretaro (Mexico). In 1768 he
was given charge of San Javier del Bac. He visited the
various pueblos of the Pimas and Papagos and in August
of that year made his first visit to the Gila. In 1770 he
made another trip to the pueblos of the Gila and in 1771
traveled to the junction of the Gila and Colorado. The
Yumas took him across the Colorado on a raft into Lower
California and he wandered for some time among the
Indians of the lower Colorado, preaching and baptizing
the dying. He accompanied Anza on his first expedition
of 1774 as far as San Gabriel, and accompanied him on
the second trip as far as the Colorado. He visited the
tribes up the river, crossed the Mojave desert to San
Gabriel and discovered the Mojave river. Returning
he passed into Tulare valley, discovered Kern river and
went nearly to Tulare lake. He visited the Moqui
pueblos whose inhabitants refused to receive him and
would give him neither shelter nor food. In this journey
he was alone, his guide, in fear of his life, refusing to go
with him.
In much of his wanderings he was alone, in the desolate
desert or in the midst of ruthless savages, yet he was
without fear, for he was on the Master's service. In his
314 The Beginnings of San Francisco
death at the hands of those he loved and for the welfare
of whose souls he labored, he was found worthy of the
highest reward, the crown of martyrdom. Precious in
the sight of the Lord is the death of the just.
Notes ^le
Note 15
THE COLORADO DESERT
In order to realize Anza's great achievement, one has
but to read the passage of this desert by the advance
guard of the Army of the West under General Stephen
W. Kearny in November 1846, as told by Lieutenant
W. H. Emory, U. S. Topographical Engineers, accompany-
ing the expedition.* Kearny, with his staff and one
hundred dragoons, a pack-train, and a large supply of
extra saddle and pack animals, followed the route of the
"great highway" opened by Anza seventy years before.
The hardships and sufferings of these toughened soldiers
in crossing this desert were great, and they lost a large
number of animals. Also read Bartlettf who crossed
the desert in June 1852.
A great change has been wrought in this desolate region.
The waters of the Rio Colorado have caused the desert
to bloom as the rose; grains and grasses, fruits and flowers
cover the once glistening sands, and the mesquite and
cactus have given way for the date, the fig, and the olive.
But the genius of the desert was not to be overcome
without a struggle. By the advancing forces of reclama-
tion and civilization the mighty power of the great river
had not been sufficiently considered and suddenly the
Colorado asserted itself; it deserted its channel and
poured its flood through the canal opened to convey a
portion of its waters to the arroyo of the Alamo river and
thence to the irrigating canals. The force of the river
soon widened the intake to a channel of six hundred yards
and the entire flow of the Colorado went racing down
*30th Cong. 1st. Ses. Ex. Doc. No. 41.
fBartlett: Personal Narrative.
3i6 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the comparatively steep incline to the Salton sea. Des-
perate attempts were made to dam^ the new channel.
A channel was opened between the Alamo and the Rio
Padrones in an effort to divert the flood through the
Rio Padrones, Volcano lake, and Hardy's Colorado to
the gulf; but just north of the lake the water cut a channel
for itself from Rio Padrones through to New river and
flowed thence northwest to Salton sea, which began to
fill under the flow from two channels; the Alamo and New
rivers. The water rapidly eroded the soft silt of the desert
forming deep channels and cataracts which, progressing
up stream, threatened to result in conditions that would
not permit of the waters being diverted into the irrigating
canals, being from sixty to eighty feet below the surface
of the surrounding country.
An appeal was made to the Federal government and on
January I2, 1906, the president sent a message to Congress
asking for an appropriation of two million dollars to con-
trol the Colorado river and save the homes of the settlers
of the Imperial valley of California, as it is called; but
it was not until February 1907 that the stream was
finally subjugated.
In December 1908 I visited the valley and plucked a
delicious orange from a four year old tree in a grove in
the midst of the terrible desert. The so-called rivers of the
Colorado desert are but dry channels through which the
waters of the Colorado flow when the river is in flood. The
flow is northward, and in times of great freshet the waters
have reached and filled the Salton sea, a depression in the
northern part of the desert lying some three hundred
feet below sea level. There are two of these rivers, the
Alamo or Salton river, and the New river. The Rio
Padrones connects the New river with the Colorado. It
takes the overflow of the great river at a point six or
eight miles below the boundary line and conveys it
Notes 317
through several channels to Volcano lake, thence through
New river to Salton sea, and also through Hardy's
Colorado to the gulf. The waters of the Colorado have
reached Salton sea several times within the memory
of the present generation; the depression is now filled
to a depth of nearly eighty feet and the water covers an
area of about three hundred square miles.
Hardy's Colorado is another of these overflow rivers —
In this case being supplied by the flood from above.
In May 1826 Lieutenant R. W. H. Hardy of the British
navy, traveling in Mexico, chartered in the port of
Guaymas a twenty-five ton schooner. El Bruja, and
sailed to the head of the gulf. Encountering a good
deal of trouble in high winds and shoals he finally reached
a vein of reddish water which he surmised came from
"Red" river and at two o'clock of the same day he saw
an opening ahead which he took to be the mouth and he
sailed into it and anchored for the night at half past six.
At midnight he cast the lead and found but a foot and
a half of water. He got off without damage at the next
rise of the tide but next day he broke his rudder and
continued his exploration for some distance upward in
a small boat. He thought the mouth of the Gila was
below him, but what he took for the Gila was the Colorado
itself. He was in a bayou or flood water channel from
which he finally extricated himself. This channel is still
called Hardy's Colorado.
3i8 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note i6
RIO DE SANTA ANA
To those who have only seen the dry bed of the Santa
Ana river in summer Anza's account of the passage will
seem strange. Some one has said that the bed of a
southern California river is on top; and the Santa Ana is
a typical river of southern California. The visible
water supply is not by any means all there is if one of
these streams. A great part of the flow is under the
surface, and though the bed of the river may be dry,
abundance of water may be generally found by sinking.
Where the rock approaches the surface, as in the entrance
to a canon, the water rises, only to sink again as the
rock recedes. The Santa Ana river, the crossing of which
was so serious a matter to Anza's expedition, shows to
most persons passing through San Bernardino valley but
a dry bed of sand; yet this river forms one of the most
important and valuable water supplies in the south.
Rising in the San Bernardino mountains (Sierra Madre)
it comes out of a broad canon at the east end of the
valley where its surface flow in summer is all taken by the
ditch companies supplying the Highlands and Redlands
districts. The San Bernardino valley, bed of an ancient
lake, receives at its edge several streams, tributary to the
Santa Ana, which promptly disappear. The subter-
ranean flow of the river, probably spread out through the
basin of the valley, is gathered with the water of the
tributaries and thrown to the surface again by the rim
of the basin as the stream passes from the valley through
the gap between Slover mountain and the Riverside mesa.
Here the water is taken for the Riverside district. Ten
miles below, the stream rises to the surface again as it
Notes 319
enters the head of its canon through the coast range and
during its passage through this canon the ditches supplying
Orange county take their water.* Emerging from the
caiion the waters again seek their underground channel and
flow onward to the sea, spreading through the land and
in some places creating large cienegas. In one of these
cienegas, on Las Bolsas rancho, an important industry
was begun some years ago — the raising of celery. From
this rancho there is shipped annually two thousand
carloads of celery.
Portola reached the neighborhood of the river July
26, 1769, Saint Anne's day, and crossed it on the 28th,
giving it the saint's name, by which it is still known.
Crespi named it Rio Jesus de los Temblores, because of
an earthquake they experienced there.
*Hall: Irrigation in California, iigetseq.
320 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 17
SANTA BARBARA
On August 18, 1769, Portola came to a large lake of
fresh water, on the bank of which was the largest rancheria
they had yet seen. They were courteously received by
the Indians who supplied them with an abundance of
fish both fresh and roasted. Crespi says that the fish
given them as a present amounted to four cargas (iioo
lbs.) The lake appeared to be a permanent one, fed
from springs, and the mesa near by was covered with
great oaks. They named the lake Laguna de la Con-
cepcion; the pueblo being called the Pueblo de la Laguna.
On the 15th of April 1782, Felipe de Neve, governor
of California, accompanied by Junipero Serra and a
large company of soldiers, arrived at Laguna de la Con-
cepcion where they were handsomely received by the
chief, Yanonolit, ruler of thirteen large rancherias. The
advantages of La Laguna and those of Mescaltitan,
two and a half leagues to the west, were considered and
it was decided to establish the presidio and mission at
the Laguna. The presidio was formally founded April
21, 1782, when Father Junipero said mass and chanted
an alahado. Ortega was given the command with Jose
Dario Argiiello as ensign and fifty-five non-commissioned
officers and men. Thus was established the presidio
of Santa Barbara, the strongest military post in California.
Eight of the company, including Lieutenant Ortega and
Sergeant Pablo de Cota, were veterans of Portola's
expedition.
Notes 321
Note 18
MESCALTITAN
This was the largest group of rancherias the Spaniards
found in California. The Indians of the Santa Barbara
channel were superior to all others seen in California
and the large and populous towns of this group Portola
called the Contiguous Rancherias of Mescaltitan. The
marshes surrounding the estero have been mostly drained
and contain some of the finest walnut groves in California.
The four rancherias of this group were called Salspalil,
Hello or the Islet, Alcas, and Oksbullow; while the group
was known as the rancherias of the Mescaltitan. Around
the estero and marshes are numerous mounds containing
the remains of a large population. These rancherias
were on the Goleta and Dos Pueblos ranchos. The
map of Santa Barbara county has the island designated
as Mescalititan, but the quadrangle of the geological
survey (Goleta special) has it "Mescal" island. The matter
has been represented to the director of the survey but
he has not seen fit to notice it. Thus are our historic
names destroyed through the ignorance and carelessness
of the public servants.
322 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 19
JUNIPERO SERRA
At Petra on the island of Mallorca there was born
November 24, 171 3, Miguel Jose Serra, son of Antonio
Serra and Margarita Ferrer, his wife. The boy early
developed religious tendencies and his favorite reading
was the lives of the saints. He took the Franciscan
habit at Palma September 14, 1730, and made his pro-
fession a year later, at which time he assumed the name
of Junipero. He was an earnest and proficient student
and taught philosophy in the chief convent of Palma
for a year before his ordination. He was noted for
doctrinal learning and for sensational preaching, and
often bared his shoulders and scourged himself with an
iron chain, extinguished lighted candles on his flesh,
or pounded his breast with a large stone, as he exhorted
his hearers to penitence.
On March 30, 1749, he obtained his warrant to join
the college of San Fernando and devote himself to mis-
sionary work in America. He sailed from Cadiz in
August, reached Vera Cruz December 6th, and walked
to Mexico where he arrived January i, 1750. For
seventeen years he preached and taught in various
places and on July 14, 1767, was appointed president
of the California missions. In company with the governor
(Portola) he marched with the rear guard — always on
foot — reaching San Diego July i, 1769. He was unable
to accompany the expedition on its march to Monterey
but sailed April 16, 1770, reached Monterey May 31st
and founded the mission of San Carlos June 3d.
Fray Junipero's administration of the missions was
very successful and while kind-hearted and charitable
Notes
323
he was most strict in his enforcement of religious duties.
He was not always in accord with the military com-
manders and the viceroy was at times put to it to maintain
the peace in his new establishments of California. Serra's
death at San Carlos August 28, 1784, cast a gloom over
the province, for he was greatly beloved. He was buried
the next day in the mission church and Palou acted as
president until the appointment of Fray Fermin Fran-
cisco Lasuen in 1785.
324 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 20
THE CLIMATE OF SAN FRANCISCO
The scrub oak which Anza describes reaches a height
of from ten to twenty-five feet, though this does not
indicate the length of the trunk which frequently extends
some distance in an almost horizontal position. The
winds of which he speaks blow regularly during the
summer months from ten o'clock in the morning until
ten or eleven o'clock at night. They begin about the
first of May and are over by the first of October. They
are practically confined to the upper end of the peninsula
— the city of San Francisco. These winds, which blow
from the west and have been erroneously called trade
winds, are caused by a circulation established by the
displacement upward of the warm air of the great valley
of the Sacramento-San Joaquin which appears to move
seaward at a height of about 4,000 feet probably descend-
ing slowly to sea level some distance from the coast,
and the cool air flowing in from the sea has its movement
accelerated both by the topography and by the temper-
ature gradient. From experiments which have been
made by weather bureau officials the depth of the surface
flow in midsummer is about 1,700 feet. It is these
winds that give to San Francisco its peculiar climate
and make the citizen hesitate to name the coldest month
of the year. They have been much abused and afford
to many inhabitants of the city a constant and fruitful
cause of complaint. To persons of weak lungs and to
those subject to bronchial affections they are sometimes
trying. It is not the west wind, however, that exerts
a baleful influence, but the north wind, and that, fortu-
nately, is not frequent. The summer winds are healthful
Notes 325
and Invigorating. A chart of mean summer wind
velocity, prepared by the weather bureau, shows the
increase of velocity from 8,6 miles per hour at 9 A. M.
to 21 miles at 5 P. M. and a decrease to 11 miles at 10
P. M. These are the averages for the three summer
months. The highest recorded velocity for those months
in a period of thirty-nine years is forty-eight miles an
hour, southwest, on June 30, 1873. With the wind
direct from the ocean at a velocity of twenty-one miles,
laden perhaps with fog, a mean temperature of 59°
Fahrenheit, with an occasional drop to 47°, one can
readily understand why summer visitors to San Francisco
are advised to bring warm clothing with them. Warm
weather comes but rarely, usually lasts three days, and
is accompanied by north wind. A period of warm
weather during the summer months is usually brought to
a close at the evening of the third day with strong west
winds, dense fog, and a temperature ranging from 49°
to 54°. The highest temperature recorded in San Fran-
cisco is 101°, September 8, 1904; the lowest, 29°, January
15, 1888; the greatest daily range recorded 43°, June 29,
1 891 , and the mean daily range for June, July, and August,
is 11° 8'. San Francisco's pleasantest weather is after
the winds cease in the fall and before they begin in the
spring. This is during the so-called rainy season. People
who do not know California imagine that the rainy season
is one of gloom when those of the unfortunate inhabitants
who are obliged to venture out do so in peril of the floods.
It is, on the contrary, the most delightful season of the
year. The rainfall is not excessive; the average in San
Francisco for sixty years being only 22.98 inches per
annum. The rains begin after the summer winds close
and come with the soft southeast wind. The air is
warm and springlike and as the Egyptians rejoice over
the rising of the Nile, so the Californians are happy in the
326 The Beginnings of San Francisco
coming of the rain. It means for them not only prosperity
but health and a relief from the nervous tension caused
by a long dry summer.*
*See Climatology of California, by Alexander G. McAdie, Professor of Meteor-
ology, Bulletin U. S. Dept. Agriculture.
Notes 327
Note 21
LOS DOLORES
There has been much discussion over the original
location of the mission of San Francisco and to what
stream or body of water was given the name of Los
Dolores. Franklin Tuttle says: "The first site chosen
for the mission was near the 'lagoon' back of Russian Hill,
but the winds were so bitter that it was soon removed
to the spot on the creek where the crumbling old church
and some of the houses that surrounded it still stand"
{Hist, of California, p. 86). Soule, Gihon, and Nesbit say:
"On the 27th of June, 1776, an expedition which had
started from Monterey arrived on the borders of a small
lake, the same which is now called 'Washerman's Lagoon,'
near the sea shore from which it was separated by low
sand-hills. This was situated towards the northern
extremity of the peninsula of San Francisco and the
surplus waters of which discharge themselves into the
strait that connects the bay with the ocean and which
was afterwards called the Golden Gate.* The neighbor-
hood of this lake promised the best place for a mission,
though it was subsequently planted about two miles
to the south" {Annals of San Francisco. 46). General
M. G. Vallejo says: "The lake of Dolores was located
and could be seen to the right of the road coming from
the presidio to the mission, between two hills" {Dis-
curso Historico. Centenial Memoir, p. 107). The editor
of the memoir (p. 25) identifies the spot as the San Souci
valley, immediately behind the hill on which the Prot-
♦Washerman's Lagoon was never connected with the bay. The conformation
of the land forbids it.
328 The Beginnings of San Francisco
estant Orphan Asylum now stands. John W. Dwindle
says: "I have been to the mission of Dolores and had an
interview with a lady resident there, Dona Carmen
Sibrian de Bernal. She was born in Monterey in 1804
was married in 1821 to Jose Cornelio Bernal, and came
here to reside the same year. She is a woman of great
vivacity and intelligence, and states that the tradition
is that when the missionary Fathers came here to establish
the mission, they encamped at a pond which existed
where the Willows now are, and to which a great tide
creek made up from the bay. I also visited the site of
the 'Willows,' and found that although the soil had been
filled in there several feet during my own recollection,
the fresh water was still flowing out towards the bay"
{Colonial History of San Francisco, p. xiii). "The
Willows" was a resort of the early fifties occupying what
is now the block between Valencia, Mission, i8th, and
19th streets. Judge Dwindle was correct in his location
of the Laguna de los Dolores. Bancroft says: "It will
be remembered that Anza applied the name Dolores to
an ojo de agua, a spring or stream which he thought
capable of irrigating the mission lands, making no mention
of any laguna" {Hist. California, i, 294). Bancroft is
mistaken. Anza wrote on March 28th that at a little
more than half a league to the southeast of Laguna
Pequeiia there was a rather large laguna that appeared to
be permanent, on the margin of which garden stuflF could
be raised; and on the 29th: "I again went to the Laguna
de Manantial spoken of yesterday and also to the ojo de
agua which I called Los Dolores." Palou says: "He
(Anza) followed a course along the inside of the port,
going around the land, coming out on the shore of the
estero or arm of the sea (bay of San Francisco) on the
southwest and arriving at the shore of the bay which
Notes 329
the mariners (Ayala's men) called Los Llorones,* crossed
an arroyo where a great lake empties itself which (lake)
he called Los Dolores, and the site seemed to him a good
one for a mission" {Noticias de Nueva California iv, 142).
Father Palou established the mission of San Francisco
and administered it for eight years, and when he took
the name Anza gave to the ojo de agua and applied it
to the Laguna de Manantial, it stuck.
I have spent a good deal of time over the location of
the Arroyo de los Dolores and the Laguna de Manantial.
The oldest inhabitant of the Mission has no tradition
of there ever having been a lake there. It had been
filled up by the natural wash from the mountains long
before the oldest resident appeared, and had left no
memory behind. Dwindle however, writing in 1865,
found those whose memory went back to the early part
of the century and whose knowledge of the traditions,
then fresh, of the foundation of the mission, was full
and accurate. To-day the memory even of the "Willows "
is dim and fading. On the United States Coast Survey
map of 1857 there appears on the Mission road continua-
tion, about in the neighborhood of Eighteenth street, a
piece of land two hundred by three hundred and fifty
feet, planted with trees and marked "Willows" — a
roadside house with stables, sheds, etc. This was the
place referred to by Doha Carmen and was about the
center of the laguna. The only map I have seen which
shows the Laguna de los Dolores is that of La Perouse.
This map shows a large lake near the shore of Mission
bay {Ensenada de los Llorones) and immediately west of
It is shown the mission, which agrees with Palou's account
of the founding of the mission. La Perouse was a com-
*The Weepers. The name being given by Aguirre, second mate of the
San Carlos, because of some Indians weeping on the shore.
330 The Beginnings of San Francisco
modore in the French navy commanding an expedition
sent to explore the coasts of the Pacific. He was in
Monterey in 1786.
The Laguna de los Dolores covered the present city
blocks bounded by Fifteenth, Twentieth, Valencia, and
Howard streets, now closely built up with residences.
It was on this filled land of the ancient laguna that the
earthquake of April 18, 1906, did such damage, wrecking
buildings and causing loss of life. The Arroyo de los
Dolores had its rise in Los Pechos de la Choca (The
breasts of the Indian girl) — now Twin Peaks, and flowed
down about the line Eighteenth street into the laguna.
Bayard Taylor who saw the Mission valley in 1849 says:
"Three miles from San Francisco is the old mission of
Dolores situated in a sheltered valley which is watered
by a perpetual stream fed from the tall peaks towards
the sea. * * * Several former miners in anticipation of
a great influx of emigrants in the spring, pitched their
tents on the best spots along Mission creek and began
preparing the ground for gardens. The valley was
surveyed and staked into lots almost to the summit of
the mountains" {Eldorado pp. 64, 298-9).
The mission was established on the spot designated
by Colonel Anza and was never changed. The mission
church, which was finished in 1784, is still in use as a
parish church.
-I
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z
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en
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FOUSOM
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r
HAHRlSONf
LAGUNA DE MANANTIAL (DE LOS DOLORES)
^1 .HNNiNHs OF San Fraxcisco
modore in the French navy commanding an expedition
sent to explore the coasts of the Pacific. He was in
•Monterey in 1786.
The Laguna de los Dolores covered the present city
blocks bounded by Fifteenth, Twentieth, Valencia, and
Howard st'-'^^ '"nv closely built up with residences.
It was on .: land of the ancient laguna that the
earthqu^ April 18, 1906, did such damage, wrecking
buildings and causing loss of life. The Arroyo de los
Dolores had its rise in Los Pechos de la Choca (The
breasts of the Indian girl) — now Twin Peaks, and flowed
down about the line Eighteenth street into the laguna.
Bayard Taylor who saw the "^ " " n valley in 1849 says:
"Three miles from San Fra. " the old mission of
Dolores situated in a shelter^v. »< .1: !. jg watered
by a perpetual stream fed from t ^ towards
the sea. (^3^o^(fe"«a:&b<&?rj!^CT^OHJ«*M^-aa AWJOAiluion of
a great influx of emigrants in the spring, pitched their
tents on the best spots along Mission creek and began
preparing the ground for gardens. The valley was
surveyed and staked into lots almost to the summit of
the mountains" (Eldor ' ^ 64, 298-9).
The mission was esLuuiibhed on the spot designated
by Colonel Anza and was never changed. The mission
church, which was finished in 1784, is still in use as a
parish church.
Notes 331
Note 22
SAN JOSE DE GUADALUPE
The royal order for the establishment of San Francisco
also included a pueblo in the vicinity under the juris-
diction of the presidio. The site selected was on the
Rio de Guadalupe. Under orders of Governor Neve,
Lieutenant Moraga took nine soldiers, skilled in agri-
culture, from the presidios of San Francisco and Monterey,
five settlers {pobladores) and one servant, numbering
with their families seventy-eight persons, and with them
founded, on November 29, 1777, the pueblo of San Jose
de Guadalupe, the first pueblo established in California.
I have found no record of the names of these fifteen
heads of families. Some of them evidently did not
remain, for when, in 1783, the citizens were formally
invested with the title to their lands, there were but
nine who received the grants. Each settler received a
solar (house lot) of thirty-three varas, and four siiertes
(planting lots) of two hundred varas each. Surrounding
each solar was an alley of ten varas in width, and around
each suerte one of four varas. Each also received a yoke
of oxen, two horses, two cows, one mule, two sheep, and
two goats, together with the necessary implements and
seed, all of which was to be paid for in farm products
delivered at the royal warehouse. Each settler was to
receive ten dollars per month pay and soldiers' rations.
In addition to all these rights, privileges, and emolu-
ments, each settler had the use of the common lands,
ejidos — the four leagues provided by law for pueblos
de razon in the Indies — for the pasturing of his cattle;
and for the common use of all were the rights of the woods
and waters.
332 The Beginnings of San Francisco
The first earth-roofed structures of palisades were
erected a little more than a mile north of the center of
the modern city, but the site was flooded by the river
freshets and the pueblo was moved to higher ground.
Thus the beginning of beautiful San Jose, the Garden I
City. It had a guard of two soldiers from the presidio
of San Francisco, and owing to Its location and mild
climate It early became the favorite place of residence
for the retired soldiers (invalidos) of San Francisco and
Monterey. Following Is a list of the nine original
grantees:
1. Ignacio Archuleta born In San Miguel de Hor-
casitas, 1754. His wife was Ignacia Gertrudls Pacheco,
daughter of the soldier Juan Salvio Pacheco. He was
the first alcalde of San Jose.
2. Jose Manuel Gonzales; came with Anza; see note 12.
3. Jose Tiburcio Vasquez; came with Anza; see note I2-
4. Manuel Domingo Amezqulta; came with Anza, see
note 12.
5. Jose Antonio Romero; born In Guadalajara In 1750;
married Maria Petra, daughter of Jose Antonio Acebes.
6. Bernardo Rosales; born In Vllle de Parras, Durango,
In 1744; his wife was Monica, an Indian.
7. Francisco AvUa; born In Villa del Fuente, Sonora,
1744. In 1790 he was living In San Jose, a widower,
with one son. He was reported by the governor as a
hard citizen.
8. Sebastian Alvltre, was a soldier of Portola's expedi-
tion. He was an incorrigible scamp and, like Avila
spent most of his time in jail. About 1786 he was sent
to Los Angeles because San Jose could no longer stand
him, and Los Angeles passed him on.
Notes 333
9. Claudio Alvires; born in Tetauch, Sonora, 1742;
wife, Ana Maria Gonzales. He was also in constant
trouble with the authorities and they were finally obliged
to ship him out of the country. The condition {calidad)
of these original grantees, as shown by the padron of
1790, is as follows: Espaiioles 3; Coyote, (Half-breed)
i; Indio, i; Mulato, 2; Mestizo, i; unknown, i.
I
334 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 23
DON FERNANDO JAVIER
DE RIVERA Y MONCADA
The genesis of California contains no more notable
figure than that of Don Fernando Javier de Rivera y
Moncada, Quarrelsome, jealous, self-willed, and impa-
tient of control or advice as he was, his abilities were
recognized by the government which found constant
employment for them, though his limitations were
ascertained by one trial of Independent command in
California. He was captain in command of the presidio
of Loreto in Baja California when Galvez organized the
first expedition and was by him placed second in command
to Portola. He was given command of the first land
division of that expedition and was thus the first explorer
to enter California by land. On the march to Monterey
Rivera commanded the rear guard. When Fages was
recalled in September 1773, Rivera was appointed to
succeed him and assumed command of the California
establishments May 24, 1774. He had been captain
of presldial troops for seventeen years; he had resented
the preference shown Fages by Portola, both officers
of the regular army, and In relieving Fages of his command
at Monterey his manner was arrogant and his demands
peremptory. The padres who found Fages difficult
now found Rivera Impossible. He was aggressive,
overbearing, and hard to get along with. He would
neither listen to advice nor permit any suggestions
whatever regarding the affairs of the province, and he
opposed the padres In everything. The viceroy, Bucarell,
requested Rivera to keep on terms with the priests, as
Notes 335
friction between the military and religious organizations
retarded the conversion of the natives. Bucareli's sug-
gestions were unheeded and on July 20, 1776, the viceroy
ordered Felipe de Neve, governor of the Californias to
take up his residence at Monterey. Rivera was ordered
I to Loreto and given the post of lieutenant-governor of
Baja California. In 1781 Rivera was detailed to enlist
recruits for the military service of California and settlers
^ for the proposed pueblo on the Porciuncula (Los Angeles).
i This was his last service. He recruited his men in
f Sonora and in June 1781 arrived at the junction of the
Gila and Colorado with forty-two soldados de cuera for
the California presidios. These with their families he
sent across the desert to San Gabriel under a guard of
veteran soldiers, and with a personal escort of ten to
twelve men remained in camp on the left bank of the
Colorado opposite the mission of La Purisima Con-
cepcion to await the return of the guard sent with the
recruits. On July 17th the Yumas rose, and under the
leadership of Palma destroyed the missions of La Purisi-
ma Concepcion and San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuiier,
and then crossed the river and slew Rivera and all his
men. Thus perished a brave and gallant officer, an
Indefatigable explorer, and one of the most famous of
the founders of California.
I
I
336 The BeginninGvS of San Francisco
Note 24
THE COLORADO RIVER
In February 1540 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
started from Compostela at the head of an army of three
hundred Spaniards and eight hundred Indians to conquer
the Seven Cities of Cibola. To co-operate with the army
and to carry the heavy baggage, a fleet of two vessels
sailed from Acapulco May 9th under command of Her-
nando de Alarcon whose instructions were to sail as close
to the coast as possible and keep in communication with
the army. For a time the course of the army and that
of the ships was parallel, but from San Hieronimo de
los Corazones (modern Ures) the route of the army was
north, and from Cibola (Zuiii) it was east-northeast while
the trend of the coast was northwest.
Alarcon sailed to the head of the gulf of California
and discovered that California was not an island, as had
been supposed, but a peninsula. He also came on
August 26, 1540, at the head of the gulf, to a great river
which at its mouth was two leagues wide. Alarcon gave
the river the name Rio de Buena Guia — Good Guide
river, and he ascended it, he says, eighty-five leagues.
After the departure of Coronado's army from Corazones
Captain Melchior Diaz, who had been left by Coronado
in command of the town, took twenty-five of the most
efficient men and went to find the coast and the ships of
Alarcon. Taking guides, Diaz traveled north and west
and in a journey of about one hundred and fifty leagues,
came, perhaps in October 1540, to a province of exceed-
ingly tall and strong men living on a great river, which
by reason of a practice these men had of carrying in
cold weather a firebrand {tison) to warm themselves.
Notes 337
the Spaniards called Rio del Tison* — River of the Fire-
brand. Diaz probably traveled by Horcasitas and
Caborca, thence across the desert of the Papagueria by
the route afterwards taken by Kino in 1701 and by Anza
in 1774, by way of the wells of San Eduardo Baipia;
San Luis de Bacapa — ^Anza calls it Quitobac, the Papago
name — to San Marcelo de Sonoitac; thence via the
Camino del Diablo to the Colorado. Quitobac may be
found on the map of Mexico and it is connected with
the Gulf of California by a little railroad running to
San Jorge's bay. The distance traveled by Diaz to the
Colorado is about one hundred and thirty-eight leagues.
Diaz learned from these Indians (Yumas) that there
had been ships at a point three days' journey down the
river and proceeding thither found written on a tree:
"Alarcon reached this place; there are letters at the foot
of this tree." Digging up the letters Diaz learned that
Alarcon had waited long for news of the army and that
he had gone back with the ships to New Spain, because
he was unable to proceed farther since this sea was a
bay, which was formed by the Isle of the Marquis (Cor-
tes),! which is called California; and it was explained
that California was not an island but a point of the
mainland forming the other side of that gulf.
Passing up the river five or six days' journey Diaz,
with the help of his Indian allies, crossed it on rafts and
continued his exploration. Here he met with a grievous
accident and his men retreated carrying their dying
captain and fighting with hostile Indians. Diaz lived
twenty days and after his death his men returned to
Sonora.
In 1605 Juan de Onate reached the mouth of the
Colorado, coming overland from Santa Fe, and named it
*See Anza's description of the Yumas, chapter iii.
fCortes was given the title of Marques del Valle de Oaxaca.
338 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Rio Grande de Buena Esperanza (Good Hope). In his
journey he crossed that branch of the river now known
as Colorado Chiquito (Little Colorado) and named it
Rio Colorado a name which was later extended to the
principal river.
Notes 339
Note 25
LIEUTENANT WILKES
Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, United States Navy,
commanding a fleet of six vessels engaged on a scientific
exploring expedition, reached San Francisco October
19, 1 841. From the Columbia river he had sent the
sloop-of-war Vincennes under command of Lieutenant
Ringgold who, from August 20th, had been exploring
the bay and San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. An-
other party under Lieutenant Emmons had been sent
overland from Oregon and reached Sutter's fort October
19th, Wilkes' Narrative, that part of it relating to
California, is a mass of misinformation concerning the
climate, soil, and people. His criticism of the inhabitants
appears to have been drawn from all the ill-natured
accounts of disgruntled foreigners who had gone before,
and he seems to accept for truth any statement dis-
creditable to the people, however absurd His statements
are mostly hearsay, for his experience among the people
was confined to a trip of two or three days to Santa
Clara and San Jose and back to San Francisco. He
says (vol, v, p. 153): "At Yerba Buena there was a
■ similar absence of all authority. The only officer was
the alcalde who dwells at the mission of Nostra Sefiora
de los Dolores some three miles off. He was full of
self-importance, making up for what he wanted in the
eyes of others by a high estimate of his own dignity.
I could find no one who could furnish me with his name,
which must be my apology for not recording it in this
place." This is ridiculous. The alcalde {juez de pa%)
was Don Francisco Guerrero, a man as well known as
any in northern California; owner of Rancho Laguna de
340 The Beginnings of San Francisco
la Merced and a man of sufficiently high standing among
Americans to be elected sub-prefect of the district,
1849-1850. Again Wilkes says: "The state of society
here is exceedingly loose; envy, hatred, and malice
predominate in almost every breast, and the people are
wretched under their present rulers; female virtue, I
regret to say, is also at a low ebb; and the coarse and
lascivious dances which meet the plaudits of the lookers-
on show the degraded tone of manners that exists"
(p. 198). "They have a reputation for hospitality, but
will take money if offered through a servant, and will
swindle a guest should he wish to hire or buy anything."
His own experience during the only time he was brought
in personal contact with them should make his cheek
burn with shame for writing such stuff. This very
censorious gentleman made, as I have said, a trip to
Santa Clara and San Jose, and records the hospitable
and courteous treatment he received throughout. Going
in his ship's launch to the Embarcadero de Santa Clara
(now Alviso) he there took horse for the mission, six
miles distant. It being late at night he stopped with
his companions about midway at the rancho house of
one of the Peraltas. The family were in bed and asleep,
but after considerable hammering the officers succeeded
in arousing Peralta, who is described as a large Californian
over six feet in height with the countenance of a ruffian.
Making known their wants they were courteously invited
to enter while Peralta awakened his wife and daughters
who proceeded to get up a hot supper of beef, tortillas,
tea, etc., most appetizing and welcome to the weary
travelers, while the ranchero looked after their horses.
While the mother was serving the supper the daughters
changed the beds, and on finishing their supper the guests
were shown to their room where comfortable beds with
fresh sheets awaited them. The mother and daughters
Notes 341
had given up their beds and bestowed themselves else-
where; but so quietly was this done the guests were un-
aware of it until morning. A comfortable breakfast
awaited their rising, after which they set out on their
journey. There were eight of them; and there was nothing
to pay. Arriving at the mission of Santa Clara they
were hospitably received by the administrador and the
priest, Father Mercado. Wilkes says that the adminis-
trador, tired of his own name, had taken the name of
his wife, Aliza, one of the most famous in early times.
Senora Aliza entertained the visitors with a most delicious
repast, prepared with her own hands; after which they
went to the pueblo of San Jose. Here they were received
by the alcalde (sub-prefect) whom Wilkes calls "Don
Pedro"; says he was a Frenchman who had been twenty
years in the country, and who, he says, had the appearance
of a French pastry cook. This was Don Antonio Sunol
who was a Spaniard — however much he may have looked,
in the eyes of Commander Wilkes, like a French pastry
cook. They were entertained by Sunol and returned
to Santa Clara for more of "Senora Aliza's" deliciously
cooked food, and thence by horse to Yerba Buena. The
administrator of Santa Clara who had "taken his wife's
name," was Don Ignacio Alviso who came, a child of
three years, with his father. Corporal Domingo Alviso,
with the Anza expedition. His wife's name was Marga-
rita Bernal.
The foregoing will give some idea regarding the accuracy
of this accomplished officer's observation of a people
who received him and his officers everywhere with
courteous hospitality, who permitted him to enter their
harbors, ascend their rivers and spy out the weakness
of their hold upon the country, and the care with which
he prepared his report to his government. I have given
but few of his comments on the inhabitants; they are too
342 The Beginnings of San Francisco
absurd. His miscalling of Spanish names is inexcusable
in the work of an educated officer. The Carquines
straits he calls Kaquines; the Cosumnes is Cosmenes;
theMoquelumne is theMogueles; Natividad is Nativetes;
Jose de la Guerra y Noriega is Senor Noniga; San Joaquin
is San Joachin, etc. He asserts that the land between
San Francisco and San Jose is unfit for cultivation; a
large part of the Sacramento valley is undoubtedly
barren and unproductive, and must forever remain so;
the country was involved in anarchy and confusion,
without laws or security of person or property. With
California is associated the idea of a fine climate. "This
at least was the idea with which I entered its far-famed
port; but I soon found from the reports of the officers
that their experience altogether contradicted the received
opinion." Only a small portion of the country offers
any agricultural advantages. A Californian is content
with coarse fare, provided he can get enough strong
drink to minister to his thirst. "The palm for intem-
perance was, I think, generally given to the padres."
The report of Wilkes was very much quoted by writers
of the period, and of the accuracy of his observation
and the justness of his comments the reader can judge.
Notes 343
Note 26
BUCARELI
El Bailio Frey Don Antonio Maria Bucareli y Ursua
lieutenant-general of the royal armies, was a nobleman
of the highest rank, a soldier of distinction, and the forty-
sixth viceroy of New Spain. His address of El Bailio Frey
is that of a knight commander of Malta. Bucareli was not
only a great but a good man and the term of his rule
was the happiest that New Spain had experienced.
Peace and prosperity reigned and the country took long
strides in advance. He took the oath of office September
3, 1771, and his untimely death April 9, 1779, spread
sorrow throughout the land, for he had won the title of
Virey amado por la pax de su gobierno — Viceroy beloved
for the peace of his government.
344 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 27
CONCEPCION ARGUELLO
NIcolai Petrovlch Rezanof, chamberlain of the tsar,
appointed ambassador extraordinary to the court of
Japan and imperial inspector of the Russian American
Company, arrived in Sitka in September 1805 where
he found the Russian colony in a pitiful state of starvation,
sickness, and misery. In the hope of obtaining provisions
from the Spanish settlements of California he loaded
a small ship with a cargo of goods likely to be pleasing
to the Californians and sailed for San Francisco where
he arrived on the 4th of April 1806. The comandante,
Don Jose Argiiello, was absent at Monterey and had
left his son, Don Luis, then an ensign, in command.
Rezanof was hospitably received and entertained by the
comandante and during the long negotiations with the
provincial government which followed was received as
a friend by the Argiiello family. Among the lovely
daughters of the comandante, Doiia Concepcion had the
name of being the beauty of California. She was just
over sixteen and in a country where girls married at
thirteen might be considered as being at the height of
her loveliness. The advent of the distinguished and
handsome courtier into her little uneventful world natur-
ally impressed the girl. Rezanof, though no longer
youthful, and a widower, was of fine presence and had
a very attractive face. He fell desperately in love with
the pretty Dona Concepcion and his passion being
reciprocated he demanded of Don Jose the hand of his
daughter. Finding his child's happiness at stake, Don
Jose gave a reluctant consent, providing, of course, that
Rezanof obtained the consent of his imperial master.
The consent of the friars was more difficult, but with
the combined effort of all it was finally obtained with
Notes 345
the understanding that the betrothal should be kept
secret until the decision of the pope should be known,
Rezanof being of the Greek church. With the signing
of the betrothal contract Rezanof found himself, as a
member of the family, in much better condition for
obtaining the supplies he needed, and in May sailed for
Sitka with a full cargo of grain and other provisions for
his starving colonists.
In September Rezanof set out from Okhotsk in Siberia
for an overland trip to St. Petersburg, to report to the
tsar and obtain his consent to a marriage with the fair
Californian. Weakened by the hardship of the past
year he was unable to endure the long journey. He
was seized with a violent fever and died at Krasnoyarsk,
in central Siberia.
In far California Dona Concepcion waited for her
lover's return. The years passed and no word came.
Constant to his memory she refused to listen to words
of love from other suitors, but devoted her life to works
of charity. After the death of her parents she lived with
the De la Guerra family in Santa Barbara. Here Sir
George Simpson met her in 1843 and from him she learned,
it is said, the fate of her lover. Simpson says of her:
"Notwithstanding the ravages of an interval of time
which had tripled her years, we could still discover in
her face and figure, in her manner and conversation,
the remains of those charms which had won for the
youthful beauty Von Rezanof's enthusiastic love."*
When the Dominicans founded their convent of St.
Catherine at Benicia, Dona Concepcion entered that
establishment, and there she died in 1858 at the age of
sixty-seven. She enjoyed the respect and veneration
of all who knew her and there were few families who
could not remember some act of kindness at her hands.
*Simpson: Narrative, 377.
346 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 28
VALLEJO
During the session of the first legislature of California,
1850, the tediousness of daily debate over appropriations,
the dry-as-dust reports of highway commissions, and
all the weary detail of law making, were relieved and
illumined by a tale of romance which tinged with roseate
hue the somber twilight of legislative halls. The in-
novation came in the unwonted form of a report of a
committee on the derivation and definition of the names
of the counties of California, by its chairman, Mariano
Guadalupe Vallejo.
Said the distinguished senator: (in part) "The follow-
ing circumstance which happened during the first months
of the foundation of San Luis Obispo is insignificant
in itself, but the writer cannot help but dwell upon it for
a moment with the most tender feelings of the heart.
"As a matter of course at that period, few families
had as yet immigrated to this country and the female
sex was an oasis in the desert. The writer's father was
one of the many who emigrated here in bachelorship,
and while sojourning in San Luis Obispo he unexpectedly
met with a lady who was in travail, and about to bring
a new being into the world; and as there was no one,
save her husband, to assist her, he acted as tenedor
(holder). The lady was safely delivered of a girl, where-
upon the tenedor, then a young man, solicited of the
parents the hand of their child and a formal agreement
ensued between the parties, conditional, that if at a
mature age, the girl would willingly consent to the union
the ceremony would be duly performed. * * * Time
rolled by and year after year transpired until the
MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO
Born in Monterey, July 7, 1808; died in Sonoma, January
18,1890. Comandante del Frontera del Norte; Comandante-
general of California; Director of colon'zation; favored
American domination; member of the Constitutional Conven-
tion and of the California Senate.
74.^ Thf. B of San Francisco
Note 28
VALLEJO
During the session of the first legislature of California.
1850, the tediousness of daily debate over appropriations,
the dry-as-dust reports of highway commissions, and
all the weary detail of law making, were relieved and
illu by a tale of romance which tinged with roseate
hue the somber twilight of legislative halls. The in-
novation came in the unwonted form of a report of a
ttee on the derivation and definition of the names
oi iiic counties of California, by its chairman, Mariano
Guadalupe Vallejo.
Said the dig)flg^Vliig:Ja,A/a^<yK) QW^AM-^ "The follow-
ing ciTtMMitas¥???p^\4ifel{jh^pdii;x!(ft(^i^^aoMi?i (tio^ months
of th'^^"^M^P?tf^^°^¥^ ^-^^^o^ Jsf^. 3jpBb0£raoO -•098^,,^j^j^^^j^^
-na^noDYBqoIiuJiiaiio'j adJ lb ladmani ;rtoiiBri;rnbb nBoharpA '
a moment with the mosl„^;^g,gfn,ol}f6a^j:^o fyrifi {ifii? heart.
"As a matter of course at that period, few families
had as yet immigrated to this country and the female
sex was an oasis in the desert. The writer's father was
'"'^'^ of the many who emigrated here in bachelorship,
„..J while sojourning in San Luis Obispo he unexpectedly
met with a lady w-ho was in travail, and about to bring
a new being into the world; and as there was no one,
save her husband, to assist her, he acted as tenedor
(holder). The lady was safely delivered of a girl, where-
upon the tenedor, then a young man, solicited of the
rents the hand of their child and a formal agreement
ued between the parties, conditional, that if at a
• ture age, the girl would willingly consent to the union
ceremony would be duly performed. * * ♦ Time
lied by and year after year transpired until the
Notes 347
muchacha (girl) had reached her fourteenth year, when
the marriage took place and the offspring of that union
has now the honor to present his readers with this short
biographical sketch."*
Ignacio Vicente Ferrer Vallejo was born in La Hacienda
de los Santos de las Caiiadas in the bishopric of Guadala-
jara, Mexico, July 29, 1748. He was the son of Geronimo
Vallejo and Antonia Gomez, his wife. He enlisted under
Rivera in 1773 and came to California with Lieutenant
Ortega in 1774, serving under that officer at San Diego.
In 1789 he was made a corporal and in 1805 a sergeant;
that being as high as he rose, though in 1806 he was
named sargento distinguido. He was married in Santa
Barbara February 18, 1791, to the young woman at whose
birth he so fortunately assisted, Maria Antonia Isabel
de Lugo, daughter of Francisco de Lugo and Juana
Villanauel his wife. He died in Monterey in 183 1. His
children were:
i. Maria Isidora, born, 1791; married Mariano So-
beranes.
ii. Maria Josefa, born 1793; married (i) Jose Francisco
Alvarado and became the mother of Juan Bautista
Alvarado, governor of California. After her husband's
death she married Jose Raimundo Estrada.
iii. Jose Ignacio, born, 1795-
iv. Jose de Jesus, born, 1797; married Soledad Sanchez-
V. Juana Maria, born, 1799.
vi. Maria Magadelena, born, July 23, 1803.
vii. Maria Prudencia, born. May 20, 1805; married Jose
Amesti.
viii. Mariano Guadalupe, born in Monterey July 7,
1808.
* Senate Journal. First Session, 1850. p. $26.
348 The Beginnings of San Francisco
ix. Maria Encarnacion, born March 25, 1809; married
Captain J. B. R. Cooper.
X. Maria Rosalia, born, 181 1; married Jacob P. Leese.
xi. Salvador, born, 181 3; married Maria de la Luz
Carrillo.
xii. Maria de Jesus, born, 181 5.
xiii. Juan Bautista, born, 1817.
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, born in Monterey July
7, 1808; died in Sonoma January 18, 1890; married in
San Diego March 6, 1832, Francisca Benicia Carrillo,
one of the most beautiful of the handsome daughters
of Don Joaquin Carrillo and Maria Ignacia Lopez
his wife.
Vallejo entered the military service as cadet of the
Monterey company January 8, 1824. He was made
alferez (ensign) July 30, 1827; lieutenant June 22, 1835;
captain July 9, 1838; lieutenant-colonel of calvary May
2, 1842. In 1838 he was made comandante-general of
California; and previous to that had been made coman-
dante militar del Frontera del Norte, with headquarters
at Sonoma. A commission as colonel of cavalry was
sent him September 9, 1846,*
The life of young Vallejo at Monterey was not different
from other boys of his class. With young Castro, Al-
varado, Estrada, and the rest, he went to school to the
soldier schoolmasters and as he grew older his desire for
knowledge craved other works than the lives of the
saints and the doctrina Christiana. Governor Sola took
much interest in the boys and helped them to obtain
a few books of a more secular nature, and as they grew
older they made use of their opportunities in procuring
from visiting ship-masters such books as could be had
*He also held a commission of colonel under the independency of 1836.
Notes 349
which they carefully concealed from the vigilant eyes
of the padres ever on guard to confiscate and destroy
books of heretical tendency.
In 1830 Vallejo was assigned to the San Francisco
company of which he was made comandante in 1831.
He made several campaigns against the Indians and in
1834 was sent as comisionado to secularize the mission
of San Francisco Solano. He was a member of the
territorial diputacion in 1827, and for several years
thereafter, and in 1834 was granted the Petaluma rancho.
In 1835 Vallejo was instructed to lay out a pueblo at
the Solano mission, was made director of colonization at
the north, and was authorized to issue grants of land to
settlers; the scheme being to prevent, by Spanish coloni-
zation, further extension of the Russian establishment
of Ross. Vallejo laid out the pueblo and gave it the
Indian name of the valley, Sonoma — Valley of the Moon.
He labored very earnestly to establish his pueblo and
succeeded in attracting a number of families to it. He
transferred the San Francisco company to Sonoma and
also organized a company of about fifty Indians whom
he drilled in the manual of arms. After the neglect of
the Mexican government to pay its soldiers had caused
the presidial companies to disband, Vallejo supported
his military establishment for several years at his own
expense. In 1834 he took the preliminary steps for
establishing a civil government at San Francisco and on
January i, 1835, turned over to the ayuntamiento the
control of civil affairs of that pueblo. He was untiring
in his efforts to settle and develop the northern frontier
and through his wise management and influence with
the Indian chiefs the peace of the frontier was rarely
broken. In the rising of Alvarado and Castro against
Gutierrez he took no active part, though his sympathies
were with his nephew^ Alvarado, and he accepted office
350 The Beginnings of San Francisco
under the government formed by him. He was now
(1837) the foremost man In California as he was one of
the richest. Over the hills of his princely estate of
Petaluma roamed ten thousand cattle, four to six thousand
horses, and many thousand sheep. He occupied a baro-
nial castle on the plaza at Sonoma, where he entertained
all who came with most royal hospitality and few travelers
of note came to California without visiting him. At
Petaluma he had a great ranch house called La Hacienda
and on his home farm, Lachryma Montis (Tear of the
Mountain), he built, about 1849, a modern frame house
where he spent the later years of his life.
Vallejo's attitude towards the Russians at Fort Ross
and Bodega was firm and dignified. He maintained that
the Russians were on California soil and he notified the
Russian manager, Rotchef, that while the use of the
port of Bodega by the Russians was tolerated, if he
permitted foreigners to land and enter the country in
defiance of law he must not be surprised If he found
Mexican troops stationed there.
Vallejo also objected to Sutter's establishing an in-
dependent principality In the Sacramento valley and his
assumption of authority to wage war upon the natives,
to grant passports, and to exercise other prerogatives
of sovereignty. This made Sutter very angry and he
announced that if he were interfered with he would not
only defend himself but would declare the independence
of California from the Mexican rule.
We have seen (in chapter xi) the ineffectual attempts
of Vallejo to revive the military establishment of Cali-
fornia. He had cause to be dissatisfied with the adminis-
tration of Alvarado, who, giving himself up to luxurious
ease and dissipation had largely left the management
of affairs to the politicians that surrounded him. Juan
Bautlsta Alvarado was a young man of excellent ability,
Notes 3C1
fairly well educated for his time, of handsome person and
courteous manners, and of great popularity and influence
with all classes. He was born in Monterey February
14, 1809, and was son of Jose Francisco Alvarado and
Maria Josefa Vallejo, and his grandfather, Juan Bautista
Alvarado, was a soldier of Portola's expedition, 1769.
Alvarado's marriage to Doria Martina Castro, daughter of
Francisco Maria Castro, at the mission of Santa Clara
August 24, 1839, was a notable event and was attended
by all the great in social and political life. Alvarado,
who was then governor, was ill at Monterey and was
represented by his half-brother, Jose Antonio Estrada,
who as his proxy, stood at the altar with the bride.
The governor was at this time thirty years of age, and of
most distinguished appearance; but already the habit
of excessive drinking was upon him and it soon became
so confirmed that he was frequently unable, through
"illness," to perform his official duties.
Disappointed in his expectation of reform in the
government and in the failure of what he considered
necessary measures for the national defence, Vallejo
wrote the supreme government in 1841 giving his opinion
of Alvarado's rule, stating his belief that the country
was going to ruin, and asking to be relieved of his com-
mand. He recommended that the offices of governor
and comandante-general be united in one person. Later
in December of that year he pointed out to the minister
of war the illness of California and suggested the remedy
that should be applied. California as a country was
nowhere excelled in natural advantages of climate, soil,
and harbors, and it had all the elements of a grand pros-
perity, needing only an energetic population and wise
regulations. The land was capable of every product
for the welfare of a happy and prosperous people yet
they imported most of the articles they consumed. A
352 The Beginnings of San Francisco
man free from ties of relationship with the people should
be placed at the head of affairs and invested with both
civil and military authority; a force of at least two hundred
men should be sent in charge of competent officers; the
fort at San Francisco should be rebuilt and a custom
house established there; a colony of Mexican artisans
and farmers should be sent to the country to counter-
balance the influx of foreigners; and many other recom-
mendations were made.
The result of Vallejo's dispatches was the appointment
of Micheltorena to the offices of governor and comandante-
general. Having been instrumental in bringing Michel-
torena into California Vallejo stood his friend and fed
his army, and also loaned him several thousand dollars
in money. For this assistance Micheltorena, having
no funds with which to pay Vallejo, granted him, in
June 1844, the Rancho Nacional Soscol, in what is now
Solano county.
In the rising against Micheltorena Vallejo took no
part, but he made an indignant protest against Sutter's
arming foreigners and Indians against his country. He
advised Micheltorena that he was well esteemed by the
Californians and would be still more highly thought of
if he would send his cholos away. He would not take
an active part against the governor, but to avoid sending
him reinforcements and defend a band of convicts whose
presence he deemed a curse to California, he disbanded
his Sonoma forces November 28, 1844, and so notified
the governor, saying he could no longer support them
at his own expense as he had been doing.
Always friendly to the immigrants Vallejo exceeded
his authority in protecting them, and in this and in openly
advocating the cause of the United States, his great
influence was always used for the American cause,
notwithstanding the treatment he received. One can
Notes 353
hardly conceive a more ungrateful return for the kindness
to immigrants and help to Americans than to be seized
and confined in a dismal prison by these same immigrants
and kept there long after the United States authorities
had taken possession and the United States flag was
flying over his prison house. On September 15, 1846,
he wrote Larkin: "I left the Sacramento half dead and
arrived here (Sonoma) almost without life, but am now
much better. * * * The political change has cost a
great deal to my person and mind and likewise to my
property. I have lost more than one thousand live
horned cattle, six hundred tame horses, and many other
things of value which were taken from my house here
and at Petaluma. My wheat crops are entirely lost,
for the cattle ate them up in the field and I assure you
that two hundred fanegas of sowing,* in good condition
as mine was, is a considerable loss. All is lost and the
only hope for making it up is to work again, "f
That Vallejo's services to the American cause were
appreciated by some of the officers is shown by a letter
from Captain Montgomery of the Portsmouth dated
September 25, 1846. The Captain sends hearty thanks
*'for the service you have rendered as well as for the
prompt and sincere manner in which you were pleased
to tender your assistance to the government of the United
States in the recent emergency, and to your associates
whose ready obedience to your call has done much towards
allaying natural prejudices and unfriendly suspicions
among the various classes comprising the society of Cali-
fornia, and for hastening arrangements for the establish-
ment of peace, order, and good government in the
country. "J
*Represents a crop of about 25,000 bushels.
^Larkin Doc. iv. 280.
XVallejo Doc. xii. 242.
354 The Beginnings of San Francisco
I quote these letters because they represent the char-
acter of the man far better than any words of mine can,
and how did the United States requite the services of
this man? By passing laws which by their action de-
prived him of all his property and changed his condition
from that of the richest man in California to one of
comparative poverty. The land commission confirmed
his grant of Rancho Nacional Soscol. The government
carried it to the district court which confirmed the action
of the land commission. The government appealed the
case to the supreme court which rejected the claim on
the ground that the Mexican government gave away its
land in California but could not sell government land
for food furnished its soldiers. A most astounding
decision. In 1863 Congress by special act permitted
the holders of Vallejo titles to buy their land at a dollar
and a quarter an acre. His great rancho of Petaluma,
ten leagues, to which he added five leagues more by
purchase — sixty-six thousand acres — nothing remains but
the little home farm and residence, Lachryma Montis.
This is the possession and home of his two youngest
daughters and the spring which gives it its name supplies
the town of Sonoma with water, and the daughters with
a small income. The claim to the Petaluma rancho
was not confirmed until 1875, after General Vallejo,
tired of fighting squatters and lawyers had given up his
right to the land.*
On December 22, 1846, Vallejo deeded to Robert
Semple an undivided half of a tract of five square miles
of the Soscol rancho, on the straits of Carquines, for a
new city to be built which was to be the great seaport
and commercial city of the bay of San Francisco. The
town was to be named Francisca, in honor of Vallejo's
"Vallejo: Historia de California, MS. iv. 386.
Notes 355
wife, Dona Francisca Benicia Carrillo. Thomas 0.
Larkin became interested in the venture and took over
the greater part of Vallejo's interest. The attempt to
appropriate the name, as well as the commercial supremacy
of San Francisco was frustrated by an order of Alcalde
Washington A. Bartlett requiring the name San Francisco
substituted for Yerba Buena on all public documents.
Doctor Semple was very indignant at this action and
spluttered over it in the Californian which he had removed
from Monterey to San Francisco. To prevent confusion
the name of Francisca was changed to Benicia, the second
name of Sefiora Vallejo, The site for the city was a beau-
tiful one, but trade did not leave San Francisco, though
General Persifer F. Smith removed the army headquarters
to the city on the strait. The attempt was made to have
Benicia named capital of California and General Vallejo
made most generous offers to the legislature of land and
money if they would move the capital thither.
Vallejo was a member of the constitutional convention
and he applied himself to the work of creating a state
with energy and diligence. In common with the other
Californians in the convention he endeavored to protect
the interests of the natives of the country. The seal
of California caused much discussion. Major R. S.
Garnett made a design which was accepted, but the
members insisted upon the addition of various features.
At last when all was agreed the bear emblem was brought
forward. Some of the California members were very
angry and protested against the bear being used. General
Vallejo said that if the bear was put on the seal it should
be represented as under the control of a vaquero with a
lasso around its neck.
Bayard Taylor says, writing of the convention: "One
of the most intelligent and influential of the Californians
is General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, whom I had the
356 The Beginnings of San Francisco
pleasure of meeting several times during my stay in
Monterey. As military commandant during the gover-
norship of Alvarado, he exercised almost supreme sway
over the country. He is a man of forty-five years of age,
tall and of a commanding presence; his head is large,
forehead high and ample, and eyes dark, with a grave,
dignified expression. He is better acquainted with our
institutions and laws than any other native Californian."*
Thomes says: (1843) "The next morning, when all
hands were called I was again dispatched to Senora
Abarono's (Briones) rancho for milk, as General M. G.
Vallejo was on board and it was necessary to give him a
feast, he owning half a million acres of land, and fifty
thousand head of cattle, so it was reported. * * * He
was a very gentlemanly Mexican, and quite affable to
us boys, often giving us a silver dollar for pulling him on
board the ship and on shore." William Kelly says:
"I waited on the general, (at his Sonoma house in 1850)
who is an enormously rich man, and was received with
the greatest courtesy and hospitality. He is a fine,
handsome man, in the prime of life, of superior attain-
ments and great natural talent: the only native Californian
in the senate. His lady is also possessed of unusual
personal attractions and of that easy dignity and cordi-
ality of manner so peculiarly characteristic of Spanish
ladies. His house is a fine one superbly furnished and
wanting in nothing that comfort or luxury requires."!
In common with most Californians General Vallejo
was most careless and improvident when money was
plenty, and while he realized large sums from the sale
of lands and cattle, his later years were passed in com-
parative poverty. The town of Vallejo was named for
*El Dorado. 157.
On Land and Sea. 214.
t^ Stroll through the Diggings of California. 54.
Notes 357
him and a street in San Francisco bears his name. He
had sixteen children, of whom ten Hved to maturity.
One daughter married John B. Frisbie, captain of company
H, Stevenson's regiment, and another married his brother
Levi. One married Arpad Harasthy and the two younger
daughters married Don Ricardo de Emparon and James
H. Cutter.
I
358 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 29
PIO PICO
The Last Mexican Governor of California
Pio Pico, son of Jose Maria Pico and Maria Estaquia
Gutierrez, su legitima esposa, was born at the mission
of San Gabriel May 5, 1801. His grandfather, Santiago
de la Cruz Pico, his father and his mother, all came with
the expedition of Juan Bautista de Anza in 1776. His
father and mother were married in San Diego May 10,
1789, and had:
i. Jose Antonio Bernardino; born, San Diego May 21,
1794.
ii. Maria Concepcion Nicanor; born, San Diego Jan-
uary 14, 1797; married Domingo Carrillo.
iii. Maria Tomasa; born, San Diego January 20,
1799; married Francisco Javier Alvarado, 3d. It was
she whom Dana called upon in San Diego in 1859 and
was the only person of the old upper class of those friends
of 1835-6 whom he could find there.
iv. Pio; born, San Gabriel May 5, 1801.
V. Maria Casimira; married Jose Joaquin Geronimo
de Ortega. Dona Trinidad de Ortega, their daughter,
born in 1832, was of such rare beauty that Don Antonio
de Coronel, a friend of her father, called her La Primavera
(the spring time) and named Spring street (La Primavera)
in Los Angeles in her honor. She married Miguel Carlos
Francisco Maria de la Guerra.
vi. Andres; born, San Diego November 30, 1 8 10;
died, Los Angeles, 1875.
vii. Maria Isidora; married John Forster.
Notes 359
viii. Maria Estefana; married Jose Antonio Carrillo.
ix. Maria Jacinta; married Jose Antonio Carrillo
(his second wife).
X. Feliciana. It was one of these sisters of Pio Pico
that was so kind to the forlorn boy, James Ohio Pattie,
in the prison at San Diego in 1828.
Pio Pico's boyhood was spent in San Diego where he
grew up, went to school to Jose Antonio Carrillo, later
his brother-in-law, and was acolyte for the padres. In
1821 he kept a little pulperia in San Jose. The first we
hear of him in public life was in 1826 when he was clerk
of a court-martial in San Diego. In 1828 he was elected
a member of the territorial diputacion and was thence-
forth more or less prominently connected with the
political affairs of the territory. He headed a revolt
against Governor Victoria in 1831 and on the overthrow
of that official was named by the diputacion jefe politico
(governor) ad interim, January 11, 1832. The ayunta-
miento of Los Angeles refused to recognize Pico as gover-
nor and declared in favor of Echeandia, while Pico
withdrew saying he declined to retain the office in opposi-
tion to the wish of the people. On the expulsion of
Micheltorena the junta departmental declared Pico gov-
ernor ad interim February 15, 1845. This was confirmed
by the supreme government at Mexico and Pico took the
oath as constitutional governor of California April 18,
1846. The period of Pico's polirical activity was one
of revolution, of contest between the north and south
and between the civil and military authorities. Through
the influence of Jose Antonio Carrillo, diputado to the
Mexican congress, that body decreed that "The Pueblo
of Los Angeles in Alta California is erected into a city,
and it will be in future the capital of that territory."
This order was proclaimed May 23, 1835. The Monterey
360 The Beginnings of San Francisco
ayuntamiento protested against the proposed change
as outrageously detrimental if not fatal to the best Inter-
ests of the territory, while the diputacion concurred and
decided to remain in Monterey. The governor, Figueroa,
ignored the order as did Castro, Gutierrez, Chico, Al-
varado, and Micheltorena; Los Angeles protesting all
the time and fighting for her right to be the capital of
the territory. The only interruption in this agitation
was when Micheltorena remained for six months at Los
Angeles, and after his cholos had stolen everything eatable
in the south, Los Angeles relinquished her claim to the
honor of being the governor's residence and congratulated
Monterey on its acquisition. It was not until the
appointment of Pico in February 1845 that Los Angeles
came into her own. Pico made it his capital.
The controversy between Jose Castro, comandante-
general, and Governor Pico immediately preceding the
American occupation was the question of civil or military
supremacy. Castro was alarmed by the aggressive
attitude of the American adventurers in the north while
Pico made light of the trouble and believed, with some
cause, that Castro was making this a pretense for ac-
cumulating an army for the purpose of overthrowing
him. The revenues, too, were largely in Castro's hands,
Monterey being the chief port of entry, and Castro
allowed the civil government one-third of the receipts
claiming two-thirds for the military department as, under
instructions from the supreme government, it was his
duty to defend the country and he had that right.
Castro convened a junta of military officers at Monterey
to take measures for defense and Pico deeming this a us-
urpation of his prerogative prepared to march against Cas-
tro with an army of eighty men, and had reached Santa
Barbara when he received the startling news of the
capture of Sonoma and the raising of the bear flag.
Notes 361
Pico's course during the conquest was not heroic,
but what could he do? On the landing of Sloat he issued
a proclamation calling upon all Mexican citizens, native
and naturalized, every man without exception, between
the ages of fifteen and sixty, to present himself to the
government, armed for the national defense.
To this order there was little or no response. Many
Californians of influence were in sympathy with the
invaders; others felt that a struggle was useless and all
were more or less influenced by the advice of Larkin
and other American friends whose efforts were directed
to effecting a peaceful change of flag.
Castro joined Pico at Los Angeles with one hundred
men; Pico had his original army of eighty, with a few
additional men obtained at Santa Barbara. Meanwhile
Stockton landed three hundred and fifty men at San
Pedro and Castro sent commissioners to negotiate with
him. Stockton demanded, as a preliminary to negotia-
tions, that the Californians declare their independence
of Mexico and raise the American flag. Castro con-
sidered this an insulting proposition to be made to the
commander-in-chief of the Mexican forces and he deter-
mined to leave California rather than suffer the humilia-
tion of capture. In a letter to Pico, August 9th, he says
that notwithstanding the governor's efforts to assist
him in preparing for the defence of the department, he
can only count on one hundred men, badly armed,
worse supplied, and discontented, and he has reason
to fear that not even these few men will fight when the
necessity arises. He will, therefore, leave the country
and report to the supreme government and he invited
the governor to go with him.
Pico submitted the letter to the junta August loth,
and announced the impossibility of a successful defence.
He recommended that the assembly should dissolve in
362 The Beginnings of San Francisco
order that the enemy might find none of the depart-
mental authorities acting. The assembly approved Pico's
resolve and after appropriate expressions of patriotism
by the members the last junta departmental of California
adjourned sine die.
Pico and Castro left the capital on the night of August
loth. Castro after disbanding his military force took
the road to the Colorado river, accompanied by a few
friends. He returned to California in 1848 under a
passport from Colonel Mason and lived for some years
at Monterey as a private citizen. Pico retired to the
Santa Margarita rancho where he was concealed by his
brother-in-law, John Forster, for about a month while
Fremont's men searched for him. He escaped into Lower
California and in November crossed the gulf to Guaymas.
He returned to California in July 1848, and announced
that he came as Mexican governor of California to carry
out the terms of the armistice agreed upon between the
generals commanding the forces of Mexico and those
of the United States, and requested the co-operation of
his excellency. Governor Mason. Mason ordered Colonel
Stevenson, commanding the southern department, to
arrest Pico, hold him incommunicado, and send him by
sea to Monterey, whence he intended to ship him to
Oregon, fearing his absurd pretensions might incite
some of his countrymen to seditious acts. Three days
later Mason received the text of the treaty which provided
for the release of all prisoners and he immediately in-
structed Colonel Stevenson to release him.
The period of Pio Pico's administration was one of
unrest, of internal strife, and the constant warring of
factions for privilege and for personal advantage. The
land was being invaded by armed bands of rough adven-
turers who freely expressed their contempt for the owners
of the soil and scarcely concealed their intention to
Notes 363
appropriate the territory. Without vigor or determina-
tion or a force to compel obedience to his commands,
Pico was utterly unable to oppose the manifest destiny
of the weak to be ruled by the strong, and apparently
made no effort to stem the current which was sweeping
his country into the hands of a foreign power.
Don Pio has been severely criticised for his mission
policy, somewhat unjustly perhaps, for there is no
evidence that either he or his friends profited by the sale
of the missions. In regard to land matters there is more
reason to believe him blamable. Up to the 7th of July,
when Sloat proclaimed the sovereignty of the United
States, the grants made by him were apparently regular
and in accord with the law. The belief that California
was about to be absorbed by the United States caused
an extraordinary demand for land, and if Pico gave it away
with a free hand I cannot see that he should be censured
for it. He was within his legal rights, and he was no
friend of the United States. He favored English as-
cendancy and he undoubtedly signed the McNamara
grant of three thousand square leagues with the idea of
promoting English influence through the colonists to
be brought into California by this concession; but in
this his act was subject to the approval of the supreme
government. There is little doubt, however, that some
grants were signed by him after the 7th of July and
antedated — grants through which certain prominent
citizens of California hoped to obtain large tracts of
valuable land.
Don Pio Pico w?« married in Los Angeles February
24, 1834, to Maria Ignacia Alvarado, daughter of Fran-
cisco Javier Alvarado and Maria Ignacia Amador his
wife. The wedding was a great event in Los Angeles
and General Jose Figueroa (the governor) was groomsman.
Maria Ignacia died February 2, 1854, and Pico married,
364 The Beginnings of San Francisco
second, Concepcion Avila. In person, Don PIo was
about five feet, seven inches in height, corpulent, very
dark, with pronounced African features. He was an
amiable, kind-hearted man, of limited education and
without sufficient ability or intelligence to prevent
himself from being used by abler men. His own vast
holdings of land, acquired before he became governor,
gradually passed from his possession. He died in Los
Angeles September 11, 1894, in his ninety-fourth year.
Notes 365
Note 30
JOHN A. SUTTER
John Augustus Sutter was born of Swiss parents in
Kandern, Baden, February 15, 1803. He served his
time in the Swiss army and was, for a time, an officer
in the force of citizen soldiery of that republic. Having
failed in business in Burgdorf, Bern, he sailed for America
in 1834, leaving behind him his family who joined him
some years later in California. Landing in New York
in July 1834, Sutter went to St. Louis and later to Santa
Fe. In New Mexico Sutter met men who had been in
California and who told him of that country's climate,
lands, and cattle. He formed a party of seven and
started from St. Louis in April 1838 for California by
way of Fort Hall, Walla Walla, Fort Boise, and Fort
Vancouver, arriving at that point in October, six months
from St. Louis. There being no vessel soon to sail for
California, Sutter sailed for Honolulu. From Honolulu
he sailed for the American coast April 20, 1839, as super-
cargo of the English brig Clementina, landing first at
Sitka, thence down the coast to San Francisco bay
which he entered July 1st. He brought with him three
or four white men and eight or ten kanakas for his Cali-
fornia rancho. He also brought letters of introduction
to the Spanish officials from James Douglas of the Hud-
son's Bay company at Vancouver, from Russian officials
at Sitka, and from prominent merchants at Honolulu,
From the United States consul at Oahu he brought a
letter to General Vallejo. In these letters he is referred
to as formerly a captain in the French army and was
supposed to have been a captain in the famous Swiss
guard of Charles X. Proceeding to Monterey he was
366 The Beginnings of San Francisco
well received — his letters opening all doors, and his pleas-
ing manners confirming the impressions created by his
recommendations. Unfolding his colonization scheme to
Governor Alvarado he was by him advised to announce his
intention of becoming a Mexican citizen; to go into the
interior and select any unoccupied tract of land that
might suit him, and to return to Monterey in a year when
he should be given his papers of naturalization and a
grant of his land. This suited Sutter and he returned
to San Francisco, visited Vallejo at Sonoma and the
Russian agent at Ross. Vallejo advised him to settle
in Sonoma or Napa, but Sutter had decided on the
Sacramento valley before coming to California. He
wished to be far enough away from the Californians to
be independent — to set up, as it were, a little province
of his own. Chartering a small flotilla from Nathan
Spear, he embarked his colony and his goods and set
out for the Sacramento, the fleet being under command
of William H. Davis. For eight days they sailed up the
Sacramento river and on the afternoon of the last day
entered the mouth of the American river and landed on
the south bank; unloaded the cargoes; pitched the tents
and mounted the cannon — three brass pieces which
Sutter had brought from Honolulu. Thus the beginning
of Sacramento: the inhabitants being, Captain Sutter,
three white companions — names unknown — ten kanakas
including two women; an Indian boy from Oregon; and
a bull dog from Oahu. The site selected for the settle-
ment was about a quarter of a mile from the landing,
on high ground where two or three grass and tule houses
were built by the kanakas on wooden frames put up by
white men. These were ready for occupation early
in September and before the rains came Sutter had com-
pleted an adobe house roofed with tules. A number of
recruits were obtained before the end of the year and
Notes 367
Sutter had them all at work hunting, planting, and pre-
paring for the next season's trapping operations, while
the rancho was stocked with horses and cattle.
Sutter named his establishment Nueva Helvecia and
in August went to Monterey to receive his naturalization
papers; and as soon as the proper steps could be taken
he was appointed commissioner of justice and representa-
tive of the government on the frontier of the Rio del
Sacramento.
In 1 841 Sutter employed Jean J. Vioget to make a
survey and map of the region to be used in his application
for the grant of land that had been promised him, and
on August 15th filed his petition and diseno with the
governor who made the grant August i8th of eleven
square leagues (48,825 acres) on the Sacramento and
Feather rivers.
Sutter pursued a wise course with the Indians and was
very successful in his dealings with them. He treated
them with uniform kindness and justice but with constant
vigilance and prompt punishment of offenses. He had
unusual tact in making friends, and he not only kept the
Indians of the Sacramento on friendly terms but succeeded
in obtaining from them a large amount of useful service.
In December 1841, Sutter bought the Russian post at
Fort Ross consisting of houses, mills, tannery, live-stock,
and implements, for thirty thousand dollars to be paid
in four yearly installments. The Russian agent also
gave Sutter a certificate of transfer of the land occupied
by them but as they had no title they could convey none
to Sutter. He removed the personal property to New
Helvetia, including the guns, seventeen hundred cattle,
nine hundred and forty horses, and nine hundred sheep.
In 1843-4 the fort, which he had begun in 1840, was
completed.
368 The Beginnings of San Francisco
It is quite evident that Sutter had an idea that he
could create an establishment that would be in a position
to maintain at least a sort of independence of the Mexican
government. He is described by visitors of that period
as living in a principality sixty miles long by twelve broad
in a state of practical independence, colonizing his lands
and employing an army of workmen in raising crops and
in hunting the beaver. Wilkes predicts that it will not
be long before New Helvetia becomes in some respects
an American colony,* while De Mofras says that Monsieur
Sutter can trade independently of the custom house or
the Mexican authorities.! It is not surprising that,
fostered by a benign government that gave him the land
for nothing, he waxed fat and kicked; and when Vallejo
and others objected to some of his doings he talked of
bringing in men from the Willamette and the Missouri,
of Shawnees and of Delawares, and of raising the standard
of the republic of California.
Sutter made strong objections to the operations of
the trappers of the Hudson's Bay company in the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin valleys and peremptorily ordered
the brigades to discontinue their visits. Not recognizing
Sutter's authority the trappers paid no attention to
his orders, but in 1841 Chief Factor James Douglas came
to Monterey and arranged for permission to employ
thirty hunters in California agreeing to pay a duty on
each skin taken. Sutter, prevented from interfering
with the company's operations, endeavored to stir up
strife among the trappers and enlist them under his
banner of revolt, but Vallejo was assured by Sir George
Simpson, governor of the company, that none of his
* Wilkes Nar. v. 262-3. Ringgold's report.
^Mofras Explor. i. 457.
Notes 369
men or his agents would enter into any political engage-
ments with Sutter or any one else of an unfriendly nature
towards him or the governor.
From 1 841 regularly organized parties of American
immigrants came across the plains to California and also
from Oregon. Lying on the direct route both from the
Missouri and the Willamette, Sutter's fort was the general
rendezvous where all Americans were kindly welcomed
and found succor and temporary employment until
they could arrange with the authorities for permission
to remain and settle in California. Sutter encouraged
the immigration which was profitable to him and assisted
the immigrants in many ways. He was generous to
a degree and no appeal to him was made in vain. He
gave freely whether remuneration was expected or not.
He assumed the right to grant passports to foreigners
which gave offence to the authorities, being contrary
to the laws and against the express orders from Mexico.
The alcalde of San Juan Bautista complained that
foreigners holding passes from Sutter were catching the
wild horses and were buying those stolen from the ranchos.
In 1844 a militia company was organized at New Helvetia
and Sutter was made captain. He made several expedi-
tions against the predatory Indians of the north and did
good work in protecting the frontier.
In taking up arms in the quarrel between Michel-
torena and Alvarado Sutter did a blamable and foolish
thing. The foreigners in California were too ready to
interfere in the domestic affairs of the province, and there
was too much talk about their "rights" and how they
proposed to protect them. Alvarado had been Sutter's
friend and benefactor and he turned his arms against
him. Vallejo wrote Sutter entreating him to reflect
before taking a step that must seriously disturb the
friendly relations existing between the Californians and
370 The Beginnings of San Francisco
foreigners; but Sutter would not listen. Micheltorena
was going to give him and his friends large grants of
land in addition to what they already had, and also
other lands which Sutter could parcel out among those
of his followers who did not wish to become Mexican
citizens. These considerations overbalanced any Vallejo
could urge and Sutter marched to meet the enemy with
one hundred mounted riflemen under Captain John
Gantt, one hundred Indians under Ernest Rufus, and a
brass field piece in charge of eight or ten artillerymen.
Dr. John Townsend, later alcalde of San Francisco, and
John Sinclair, later alcalde of Sacramento district, acted
as aides-de-camp; Jasper OTarrell was quartermaster,
Samuel J. Hensley, commissary, and John Bidwell,
secretary. Before entering the San Fernando valley
Sutter had Micheltorena sign a grant of what was known
as the Sutter general title, twenty-two leagues in the
Sacramento valley. Before the fight began Pio Pico,
who was in command of the parliamentary army and
who would, as first vocal, succeed Micheltorena, assured
Sutter and his men that Micheltorena's grant and prom-
ises were worthless because lands could only be granted
to Mexican citizens. He told them, however, that they
would not be disturbed in their present occupation of
lands, and that as soon as they chose to become citizens
he would give them legal titles. On this they abandoned
Micheltorena and remained out of the fight; the story
of which is told in chapter xii. The grant of twenty-two
leagues was thrown out by the United States supreme
court as illegal. The New Helvetia grant of eleven
leagues by Alvarado in 1841 was confirmed after it had
passed for the most part out of Sutter's possession.
With the conquest of California Sutter was in position
to become the richest and most influential man in the
country. Popular, with a magnificent address and fine
Notes 371
presence, he had the dignity and military bearing of an
old officer, while his kindly nature and courtesy drew all
to him and he had in a wonderful degree the art of making
friends; but he failed to realize his opportunity and lacked
the ability to manage and conserve his great resources.
Full of energy and audacity he was without strength to
hold what he had and while possessing many good and
kindly qualities he was somewhat wanting in the attri-
butes of honesty and fidelity. His posing as an officer
of the Swiss guard at the French court, which he never
was but which he permitted to be reported and believed,
was a piece of characteristic foolishness; but notwith-
standing such weakness almost all travelers were favorably
impressed with and speak well of him. His hospitality
was shamefully abused by the immigrants. At the time
of the discovery of gold Sutter was building, in addition
to his sawmill at Coloma, a grist mill on the American
river where Brighton now is. It was never completed.
His men deserted to the mines, after Sutter had spent
thirty thousand dollars on the mill, and everything was
stolen — even the stones. The immigrants stole the bells
from the fort and the weights from the gates; they car-
ried off two hundred barrels he had made for packing sal-
mon; they stole even his cannon; they drove their stock
into his yard and helped themselves to his grain and to
anything else they wanted; they squatted on his land,
denied the validity of his title, cut down his timber,
and drove oflF his cattle. Sharpers robbed him of what the
squatters did not take until at last he was stripped of
everything. The California legislature in 1864 provided
him a pension of two hundred and fifty dollars a month.
This was continued until 1878 when the bill was defeated.
He died in Washington D. C. in 1880, in comparative
poverty.
372 The Beginnings of San Francisco
In person Sutter was about five feet, nine inches in
height and was thickset. He had a large head and an
open manly face, somewhat hardened and bronzed
by his life in the open air. His hair was thin and light
and he wore a short mustache. Thomes wrote in 1844:
"One day a flat boat came alongside, manned by ten
naked Indians, and in the stern was a white man. He
brought us two hundred hides and a large lot of beaver
and other skins. When he came on deck Mr. Prentice
(chief mate) told me the visitor was the celebrated Cap-
tain Sutter; that he lived a long way off, up the Sacra-
mento river somewhere, and had ten thousand wild Indians
under his command, a strong fort, and employed all the
white men who came in his way. The captain was a
short stout man, with broad shoulders, large, full face,
short stubby mustache, a quiet reserved manner, and a
cold blue eye that seemed to look you through and
through, and to read your thoughts. * * * He was
reported to be a Swiss by birth and formerly an officer
of the Great Napoleon's army."* Bartlett says:t "Cap-
tain Sutter has the manners of an intelligent and courteous
gentlemen, accustomed to move in polished society.
He speaks several languages with fluency. He is kind,
hospitable, and generous to a fault; as many Americans
know who have lived on his bounty. He is a native of
Switzerland, fifty-five to sixty years of age, and of fine
personal appearance. He was one of the officers of the
Swiss guard in the Revolution of July (1830) during the
reign of Charles X. After this he emigrated to the
United States." Bayard TaylorJ says: "Captain Sut-
ter's appearance and manners quite agree with my
preconceived ideas of him. He is still the hale, blue-eyed
*0n Land and Sea. 192
t Personal Narrative. 69.
X El Dorado, 158.
Notes 373
jovial German, short and stout of stature, with a broad
high forehead, head bald to the crown, and altogether a
ruddy, good-humored expression of countenance. He is
a man of good intellect, excellent common sense, and
amiable qualities of heart. A little more activity and
enterprise might have made him the first man in California
in point of wealth and influence."
Sutter's public career practically ended with the
constitutional convention of which he was a rather
ornamental member, having little influence and doing
but little work. His title of general comes from his
being named in 1856 major general of the Fifth division,
state militia.
374 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 31
JOHN C. FREMONT
No history of California would be complete without
some account of John C. Fremont, the man who Senator
Nesmith of Oregon said had the credit with many people
of "finding" everything west of the Rocky mountains.
John Charles Fremont was born in Savannah, Georgia,
January 21, 1813; died in New York, July 13, 1890. His
wife was Jessie, daughter of Senator Thomas H. Benton.
In 1838 he was appointed second lieutenant of topo-
graphical engineers and was sent, in 1842, in charge of
a party of surveyors to explore the regions of the great
west and map out the routes followed by the trappers
and emigrants. With a party of twenty-five men he
came over the Oregon trail as far as the South pass which
he explored, climbed the peak of the Wind River mountains
which bears his name, and returned to the Missouri.
He made a series of accurate observations of this portion
of the overland route and his report was ordered printed
by Congress. On the 29th of June 1843, he started with
a similar party to complete his survey from South pass
westward to connect with that made by Lieutenant
Wilkes on the Columbia river. He reached South pass
in August, made a brief survey of Great Salt lake and
was at Fort Hall on September 19th, Fort Boise October
8th, and the Dalles November 4th. He made a boat
trip to Fort Vancouver and back and on the twenty-fifth
of November started up the Fall river (now Des Chutes)
to explore Klamath lake; thence southeast to find a lake
called Mary's; thence still southeast to explore the San
Buenaventura river, "flowing from the Rocky mountains
to the bay of San Francisco"; thence to the head waters
Notes 375
of the Arkansas, to Bent's fort, and home. On December
loth he reached Klamath marsh and turning to the east
discovered and named Summer, Abert, and Christmas
(now Warner) lakes. Continuing southward in search
of Mary's lake, or the sink of the Humboldt, he reached
and named Pyramid lake on January 10, 1844, and feasted
on its supply of salmon trout. On the i6th he followed
up Salmon Trout (Truckee) river to its bend, and then
continued southward in search of the San Buenaventura.
On the 1 8th of January Fremont determined to attempt
the snow covered sierra and cross into California rather
than venture the great basin with his worn and foot-
sore animals. Seeking a pass he kept on southward,
up the eastern branch of Walker river, and then turned
northwest to regain the Truckee, but came, instead, to
the Carson, being obliged to abandon a brass howitzer
he had brought thus far, and which was found years later
somewhere between Genoa and Aurora. From the
second to the end of February the explorers fought their
way through the deep snow and thirty-three out of
sixty-seven horses and mules were lost or killed for food.
At length they reached the south branch of the American
river and six days' journey brought them to Sutter's
fort where they arrived the 8th of March. The pass
by which they crossed was that known by the immigration
of 1849 as the Carson. Sutter supplied the travelers with
what they required, taking Fremont's drafts on the
topographical bureau at twenty per cent, discount.
After a brief rest Fremont started v/ith fresh animals
on his return. Passing up the San Joaquin he crossed
the Tehachapi pass, Mojave desert, the great basin,
and reached Utah lake May 24th, and the Missouri
river at the end of July. Fremont was accompanied
on both of these explorations by Kit Carson, as guide,
and for gallant and highly meritorious service in the two
376 The Beginnings of San Francisco
expeditions was made brevet-captain of topographical
engineers, dating from July 31, 1844.
Fremont's third expedition left Bent's fort in August
1845. He had sixty-two men, including six Delaware
Indians, and some of the men of the former expedition.
This time he made some explorations in Utah and on
November 5th was on the head waters of the Humboldt.
Sending the main body down the river he started with a
small party to the southwest through what are now the
counties of Eureka, Nye, and Esmeralda, Nevada, and
met the main body at Walker lake November 27th.
After arranging a rendezvous in California, Fremont with
fifteen men left Walker lake on the 29th, reached Salmon
Trout river December 1st, crossed the Sierra Nevada
by the Truckee pass on the fifth and sixth, and arrived
at Sutter's fort December loth. Obtaining from Sutter
mules, cattle, and other supplies, Fremont started,
December 14th, up the San Joaquin valley and on the
twenty-second reached Kings river, the River of the Lake,
as he called It, the place of meeting. Meanwhile the
main body remained at Walker lake to recruit their
animals and resumed their march, December 8th, guided
by Joseph R. Walker, one of the most skilful and famous
of the guides and trappers of the far west. Walker was
one of Captain Bonneville's trappers, and in 1833 had been
sent by that officer In command of a brigade of forty
men to explore the Great Salt Lake, but instead of doing
so had carried his party down the Humboldt and over
the sierra Into California where they had spent the winter
in riotous living. Returning in the spring of 1834,
Walker had crossed the mountains by the pass that bears
his name and regained Bonneville on Bear river, near
Salt Lake.* He had discovered on this trip Walker
lake, river, and pass, all named for him.
• Washington Irving's Captain Bonneville, page 404.
Notes -jyy
Under Walker's guidance the main body of the expedi-
tion took up its march and proceeding southward passed
to the west of the White mountains and up Owens river
to Owens lake, both named for Richard Owens, a member
of their party. Following the line of the present Carson
and Colorado railroad, thence passing on the west side
of the lake, southward, they went through Walker pass
and down the south branch of Kern river, named for
another member of their party, E. M. Kern, topographer
of the expedition. At the forks of the river, in Kern
valley, they encamped December 28th to await their
leader, mistaking the stream for that called by Fremont
Tulares lake river, or River of the Lake. The two
divisions of the expedition were thus encamped about
eighty miles apart, each awaiting the arrival of the other.
On January 7, 1846, Fremont returned with his party
to Sutter's fort where he met Leidesdorff and Captain
Hinckley, the three being entertained by Sutter who
gave them a grand dinner. From Sutter's Fremont went to
Yerba Buena, and thence with Hinckley to visit San
Jose and the new quicksilver mines at Almaden. On
January 24th he left Yerba Buena with Leidesdorff,
United States sub-consul, for Monterey where they were
received by Consul Thomas O. Larkin on the twenty-
seventh. On the day of their departure from Yerba
Buena Sub-prefect Guerrero notified Prefect Manuel
Castro of the fact and the prefect addressed a note to
Larkin asking to be informed respecting the purpose for
which United States troops had entered the department
and their leader had come to Monterey. Fremont
explained through the consul that he had come by order
of his government to survey a practicable route to the
Pacific; that he had left his company of fifty hired men,
not soldiers, on the frontier of the department to rest
themselves and their animals; that he had come to
378 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Monterey to obtain clothing and funds for the purchase
of animals and provisions; and that when his men were
recruited, he intended to continue his journey to Oregon,
This communication was supplemented by a personal
interview with the prefect when the explanation was
repeated in the presence of the alcalde of Monterey,
of Colonel J. B. Alvarado, and of General Jose Castro,
and was duly forwarded to Governor Pico and to the
supreme government. The explanation was apparently
satisfactory and no objection was made to Fremont's
plan.
Thus ended the famous interview. It does not appear
in any of the documents that express permission was
given Fremont to winter his men in the San Joaquin
valley, but that consent was understood. This is the
testimony of those present: Larkin and Castro.* A
few days later Fremont left Monterey to look for his men.
The main body of the expedition remained on Kern
river waiting for Fremont until January i8th, when they
broke camp and started northward, and on February
6th camped on the Calaveras river near the present
Stockton. Hearing that Fremont was at San Jose the
command moved into the Santa Clara valley and joined
him on February 15th at the Laguna Seco rancho, a
little below San Jose. A week later Fremont started
with his entire company, crossed the Santa Clara valley,
passed into the Santa Cruz mountains, and descended
to the coast southward by the route later followed by
the railroad; thence into the Salinas valley and camped
on March 3d at the Alisal rancho, about eighteen miles
from Monterey.
* Lar kin's official correspondence MS. ii. 44-5.
Castro — Doc. MS. i. 316. ii. 55.
Doc. Hist. Cal. MS. ii. 86, 89.
Notes 37^
The bringing of a body of armed men into their settle-
ments was a piece of effrontery which expressed the con-
tempt in which Fremont held the authorities of California.
The insult was calculated to alarm and anger them, and
their displeasure was increased by the insolent manner
in which the strangers conducted themselves towards
the people. While at the Laguna Saco Sebastian Peralta,
a ranchero, owner of the Rinconada de los Gatos, visited
the camp and pointed out some horses which he claimed
had been stolen from his rancho some months before.
A very extensive business had been carried on by Indian
horse thieves in stealing horses from the ranchos and
selling them to dealers who took them out of the country,
and Fremont had been warned against buying horses
from Indians and other irresponsible persons. He
refused to give the horses up to Peralta and ordered him
from the camp. Peralta complained to the alcalde of
San Jose who sent Fremont an official communication
on February 20th. In reply the captain stated that all
of his animals with the exception of four obtained from
the Tulares Indians, had been purchased and paid for;
and that the one claimed had been brought from the
states. "The insult of which he complains," Fremont
continued, "and which was authorized by myself, con-
sisted in his being ordered immediately to leave the camp.
After having been detected in endeavoring to obtain
animals by false pretences, he should have been well
satisfied to escape without a severe horse-whipping. * * *
Any further communications on this subject will not,
therefore, receive attention. You will readily under-
stand that my duties will not permit me to appear before
the magistrates of your towns on the complaint of every
straggling vagabond who may chance to visit my camp.
You inform me that unless satisfaction be immediately
made by the delivery of the animals in question, the
380 The Beginnings of San Francisco
complaint will be forwarded to the governor. I would
beg you at the same time to enclose to his Excellency a copy
of this note." The alcalde forwarded the correspondence
to the governor with the statement that Peralta was
an honest man.
While at the Alisal three of Fremont's men visited the
rancho of Don Angel Maria Castro, an uncle of General
Castro, and offered insult to one of his daughters. The
father, an old man, who had in his younger days served the
king, defended his daughter from outrage when one of the
trappers drew a pistol and presented it at his breast. The
old man, whose strength had not yet failed him, seized
his assailant by the throat, wrested the pistol from his
hand and rolled him over the floor. At this the men
withdrew, threatening to return.*
On the 5th of March an officer arrived in Fremont's
camp with the following order from General Castro:
"This morning at seven information reached this office
that you and your party have entered the settlements of
this department; and this being prohibited by our laws,
I find myself obliged to notify you that on receipt of this
you must immediately retire beyond the limits of the
department, such being the orders of the supreme govern-
ment, which the undersigned is under the obligation of
enforcing." At the same time the prefect sent Fremont
similar orders, f saying that if he did not obey, the
* Osio: Hist. Cal. MS. p. 458. Bancroft Collection.
t"I have learned with surprise that you, against the laws and authorities
of the Mexican republic, have entered the pueblos of the district under my
charge, with an armed force, on a commission which the government of your
nation must have given you to survey solely its own territory." etc. Manuel
Castro to Fremont. Niks Register, Nov. 21, 1846.
Notes 381
prefect would take measures to make him respect his
determination. Both orders were communicated at once
to Larkin and by him to the government of the United
States.
To these orders Fremont sent back no written reply
but merely a verbal refusal to obey. He then moved
his camp to the summit of Gavilan peak, erected forti-
fications and over them raised the flag of the United
States. On March 6th Castro reported to the minister
of war that Fremont had presented himself at head-
quarters some days previous with request for permission
to procure provisions for his men whom he had left in
the mountains. This permission had been given him.
"But two days ago I was much surprised at being in-
formed that he was only two days' journey from this
place. Consequently I at once sent him a communication,
ordering him, on the instant of its receipt, to put himself
on the march and leave the department. But I have
received no answer, and in order to make him obey in
case of resistance, I sent a force to observe his operations,
and to-day I march in person to join it and to see that the
object is attained."
Larkin, alarmed at the direction affairs had taken,
sent a communication to the prefect and also to the
general urging caution in proceeding against Fremont
on account of causes arising, possibly, from false reports
or false appearances, and recommending that any party,
going to the camp of Captain Fremont be commanded
by a trustworthy and experienced officer, lest affairs
be brought to some unhappy conclusion. The prefect,
in reply, stated that the orders to Fremont had not been
founded on false reports or appearances, but on the
laws and oft-repeated instructions from Mexico, and
he complained that the consul, instead of ordering Fre-
mont to depart, had to a certain extent defended his
382 The Beginnings of San Francisco
entry. He urged him to Impress on the captain the
necessity of submitting at once if he would avert the
consequence of his illegal entry. Larkin enclosed this
letter to Fremont with one of his own in which he warned
that officer that Castro would soon have at least two
hundred men in arms against him. Larkin did not know
what instructions Fremont had received from the govern-
ment, but could not comprehend his movements, *'It
is not for me to point out to you your line of conduct,"
he wrote, "you have your instructions from the
government, and my knowledge of your character obliges
me to believe you will follow them; you are of course
taking every care and safeguard to protect your men,
but not knowing your actual situation and the people who
surround you, your care may prove insufficient. * * *
Your encamping so near town has caused much excite-
ment. The natives are firm in the belief that they will
break you up and that you can be entirely destroyed by
their power. In all probability they will attack you;
the result either way may cause trouble hereafter to
resident Americans. I myself have no fears on the
subject, yet believe the present state of affairs may cause
an interruption to business. Should it be impossible
or inconvenient for you to leave California at present, I
think in a proper representation to the general and pre-
fecto, an arrangement could be made for your camp to
be continued, but at some greater distance; which arrange-
ment I would advise if you can offer it. I never make to
this government an unreasonable request, therefore
never expect a denial, and have for many years found them
well disposed to me." This letter was forwarded on
the ninth, one copy being entrusted to an American and
another to a Californian. On the same day Larkin wrote
to John Parrott, United States consul at Mazatlan,
enclosing copies of the correspondence and requesting
Notes 383
that a man-of-war be sent to California without
delay. This brought the Portsmouth which arrived
April 22d.
The American courier sent by Larkin to Fremont was
captured and the dispatches fell into the hands of Castro.
The Californian, provided with a pass by Alcalde Diaz
of Monterey, reached the camp and returned at eight
o'clock p. m. with Fremont's reply which bore no date
and was written in pencil. "I this moment received
your letters," wrote the captain, "and without waiting to
read them acknowledge the receipt, which the courier
requires instantly. I am making myself as strong as
possible, in the intention that if we are unjustly attacked
we will fight to extremity and refuse quarter, trusting
to our country to avenge our death. No one has reached
my camp and from the heights we are able to see troops —
with the glass — mustering at St. John's and preparing
cannon. I thank you for your kindness and good wishes,
and would write more at length as to my intentions did
I not fear that my letter would be intercepted. We
have in nc wise done wrong to the people or the authorities
of the country, and if we are hemmed in and assaulted
we will die, every man of us under the flag of our country.
P. S. I am encamped on the top of the sierra, at the
head waters of a stream which strikes the road at the
house of Don Joaquin Gomez."
In a letter to the president of the United States dated
November 9, 1846, enclosing Fremont's letters, Thomas
H. Benton says: "To my mind this entrenching on the
mountain, and raising the national flag, was entirely
justifiable under the circumstances, and the noble resolu-
tion which they took to die if attacked, under the flag
of their country, four thousand miles distant from their
homes, was an act of the highest heroism, worthy to
384 The Beginnings of San Francisco
be recorded by Xenophon and reflecting equal honor
upon the brave young ofiicer who commanded and the
heroic sixty-two by whom he was supported."*
Notwithstanding his declaration to fight to extremity
Fremont abandoned his camp that same night and moved
off eastward, giving his men to understand that the
United States consul so ordered it.f The California
army was disbanded and returned to their homes on the
thirteenth by an order in which the general announced
to them that the highwaymen who had abused their
hospitality and raised the United States flag on California
soil had, at the sight of two hundred patriots arming for
the defence of their country, abandoned their camp and
fled, leaving behind some clothing and war material.
Fremont had abandoned some worn out clothing and
articles not worth removing.
So ended the famous affair of Gavilan Peak celebrated
in the annals of San Benito and Monterey, and in honor
of which an unsuccessful attempt has been made to
change the name of the sierra from Picacho del Gavilan
to Fremont Peak.
Fremont's statement before the court-martial con-
cerning this incident is disingenuous and misleading, if
not made with deliberate intent to deceive. He says:
"I explained to General Castro the object of my coming
into California and my desire to obtain permission to winter
in the valley of the San Joaquin for refreshment and repose,
where there was plenty of game for the men and grass for the
horses, and no inhabitants to be molested by our presence.
Leave was granted, and also leave to continue my explorations
south to the region of the Rio Colorado and of the Rio Gila.
"In the last days of February I commenced the march
south, crossing into the valley of the Salinas or Buenaventura
* NiUs Nat. Reg. kxi, 173-4.
t Martin, TVarraaW, 12. The writer was one of Fremont's men and was
with him on Gavilan.
Notes 385
and soon received a notification to depart, with information
that General Castro was assembling troops with a view to
attack us, under the pretext that I had come to California
to excite the American settlers to revolt.
"The information of this design was authentic, and with
a view to be in a condition to repel a superior force, provided
with cannon, I took a position on the Sierra, called Hawk's
peak, entenched, raised the flag of the United States and
awaited the approach of the assailant."*
There is nothing in this statement to explain to the
court how the captain could march his men from the
place of rest and refreshment into the Salinas valley
on his way south to the Rios Colorado and Gila. In
the absence of any clear idea of the geography of Cali-
fornia, it was not to be expected of the members of the
court to know that the place where Fremont was per-
mitted to winter his men was more than two hundred
and fifty miles southeast of the point where he "com-
menced the march south by crossing into the valley of
the Salinas."
The only understanding the court could have, in the
absence of explanations and a map of the country, is
that after giving Fremont permission to winter in the
valley Castro treacherously prepared to attack him.
That it was so understood by the people generally is
shown by the usually accepted statements regarding
Castro's treachery.f
The absurdity of the contention appears to have
occurred to General Fremont in his later years, for in
an article in the Century in 1891, he says: "My purpose
(in visiting Monterey) was to get leave to bring my party
into the settlements in order to outfit and to obtain the
* 30th Cong. ist. Ses. Senate Ex. Doc. 33. p. 372-
t See map facing page 102; the camp of Fremont's men on Kern river is
indicated.
386 The Beginnings of San Francisco
supplies that had now become necessary. ♦ * * The
permission asked for was readily granted."*
The permission to extend his survey to the Colorado
and Gila rivers does not seem to have attracted the
attention of Larkin, who was present at the interview,
for he wrote on March 4th, of Fremont, "He is now in
this vicinity surveying. * * * He then proceeds for the
Oregon, returns here in May, and expects to be in Wash-
ington about September. " Nor was Pico better informed
for he directs that a close watch be kept on Fremont with
a view to learn if he had any other design than that of
preparing for a trip to Oregon.
Crossing into San Joaquin valley by the Pacheco pass,
Fremont proceeded to the Sacramento and on March
2ist was at Sutter's fort, and on the 30th at Peter Lassen's
rancho on Deer creek. While here he was called on by
the settlers for aid against the Indians who, thej^ claimed,
were gathering to attack them. According to Martin,
Fremont said he would discharge his men and they could
do as they pleased. The result was a raid in which a
large number of Indians were killed. f While at this
camp Fremont sent out men to buy horses from the
Indians. These animals he knew had been stolen from
the ranchos, for he was warned of that fact by Sutter.
Martin says that they bought one hundred and eighty-
seven horses from the Indians of the Tulares, giving a
knife and a string of beads for each horse. On April
14th Fremont left Lassen's and proceeded northward
* Century Mag. xix. 921. The difference between this and the previous
statements will be noted. The italics are mine.
t Martin, Narrative, 14. The writer says that 175 Indians were killed.
Lancey says that the Indians were "defeated" with considerable loss. Cruise
of the Dale. 44. There is not the slightest evidence of hostile intent on the
part of the Indians. They were probably having one of their annual pow-wows
or dances.
Notes 387
to Oregon. Martin says: "We followed up the Sacra-
mento killing plenty of game and an occasional Indian.
Of the latter we made it a rule to spare none of the
bucks."* On the 8th of May Fremont had reached the
northern end of Klamath lake where his further progress
was barred by lofty snow covered mountains and hostile
Indians, and he determined to retrace his steps and
return east by way of the Colorado river. Late on the
evening of that day two horsemen rode into camp with
the information that a United States officer was approach-
ing — two days behind — with dispatches; that he had
but a small escort and was in danger. The following
morning Fremont with nine of his men started back and
after a ride of twenty-five miles met Archibald H. Gillespie
at nightfall. Gillespie, a lieutenant of marines, United
States navy, had been sent in October 1845, by James
Buchanan, secretary of state, as bearer of a duplicate
of secret instructions to Larkin, with whom he was to
co-operate, and he was ordered to communicate the
contents of the dispatch to Fremont. Gillespie com-
mitted his dispatch to memory before reaching Vera
Cruz and destroyed the written duplicate. Then crossing
Mexico he reached Monterey in April 1846. He re-wrote
the dispatch for Larkin and then proceeded to the Sacra-
mento to find Fremont, to whom he also carried a letter
of introduction from Buchanan and a package of letters
from Benton. He presented his letter of introduction
to Fremont, repeated to him the contents of the secret
dispatch and delivered the package of family letters.
No watch was kept in camp that night and about mid-
night there was an attack by Klamath Indians and three
of Fremont's men were killed. The Indians were repulsed
with the loss of a chief and in the morning the party
* Narrative page 15.
388 The Beginnings of San Francisco
started north to join the main body. On the return
march the party wrecked terrible vengeance on the
Indians, and on May 24th reached Lassen's. A few
days later they encamped at the Marysville Buttes,
fifty miles below.*
In the famous secret dispatch to Consul Larkin that
official was informed that the future destiny of California
was of anxious solicitude for the government and people
of the United States; that the interests of our commerce
and fisheries on the Pacific Ocean demanded of the consul
that he should exercise the greatest vigilance in discover-
ing and defeating any attempts which might be made
by foreign governments to acquire control over that
country. "In the contest between Mexico and Cali-
fornia," wrote the secretary, "we can take no part,
unless the former should commence hostilities against
the United States; but should California assert and
maintain her independence, we shall render her all the
* Benton says: "He found his further progress completely barred by the
double obstacle of hostile Indians, which Castro had excited against him,
and the lofty mountains covered with deep and fallen snows. * * * Behind
and on the north bank of the San Francisco bay, at the military post of Sonoma,
was General Castro assembling troops with the avowed intention of attacking
both Fremont's party and all the American settlers. Thus, his passage barred
in front by impassable snows and mountains, hemmed in by savage Indians
who were thinning the ranks of his little party, menaced by a general at the
head of tenfold forces of all arms, the American settlers marked out for de-
struction, his men and horses suffering from fatigue, cold, and famine, * * * Cap-
tain Fremont determined to turn on his pursuers and fight them instantly,
without regard to numbers, and seek safety for his party and the American
settlers by overturning the Mexican government in California." (Benton
to president. Niles Register. Ixxi. 173-4). So is history made. Upper Kla-
math, where Fremont was, is over four hundred miles by the most direct route
from Sonoma where General Castro at the head of "tenfold forces of all arms"
was supposed to be menacing Fremont's rear. The hostility of the Klamaths
was due to the treatment they had received from trappers and immigrants.
The Spaniards had never been in that country, or near it.
Notes
389
kind offices in our power as a sister republic. This
government has no ambitious aspirations to gratify and
no desire to extend our Federal system over more territory
than we already possess, unless by the free and spon-
taneous wish of the independent people of adjoining
territories. The exercise of compulsion or improper
influence would be repugnant both to the policy and
principles of this government. But whilst these are the
sentiments of the president, he could not view with
indifference the transfer of California to Great Britain
or any other European power. The system of coloni-
zation by foreign monarchies on the North American
continent must and will be resented by the United States."
The secretary enlarges on the evils of European coloni-
zation and acquisition, and states that his remarks are
inspired by the act of Rae, agent for the Hudson's Bay
company, in furnishing the Californians with arms and
money to enable them to expel the Mexicans from the
country during the previous fall, and that now the
Mexican troops are about to invade the province, insti-
gated thereto by the British government. "On all
proper occasions," he says, "you should not fail to warn
the government and people of California of the danger
of such interference to their peace and prosperity — to
inspire them with a jealousy of European dominion and
to arouse in their bosoms that love of liberty and inde-
pendence so natural to the American Continent. * * *
"Whilst the president will make no effort and use no
influence to induce California to become one of the free
and independent states of this union, yet if the people
should desire to unite their destiny with ours, they would
be received as brethren, whenever this can be done without
affording Mexico just cause of complaint. Their true
policy, for the present, in regard to this question, is to
let events take their course, unless an attempt should be
390 The Beginnings of San Francisco
made to transfer them, without their consent, either to
Great Britain or France. This they ought to resist by
all the means in their power as ruinous to their best inter-
ests and destructive of their freedom and independence."
He assures Mr. Larkin that our countrymen in Cali-
fornia have the cordial sympathy and friendship of the
president and that their conduct is appreciated by him
as it deserves.
Mr. Larkin is informed that he is appointed a con-
fidential agent in California, in addition to his consular
functions, but he must take care not to awaken the
jealousy of the French and English agents there by
assuming any other than a consular character. The
state department would like to be informed of the progress
of events and the disposition of the authorities and people
towards the United States and other governments; also
the aggregate population with the proportion of Mexican,
American, British, and French citizens, the feelings of
each class towards the United States, the names and
character of the principal persons in the government and
other distinguished and influential citizens, and other
matters pertaining to trade, finance, and resources.
Larkin's compensation was fixed at the rate of six dollars
a day and necessary expenses. The letter was dated
October 17, 1845, and received by Larkin April 17, 1846.
From the fact that Lieutenant Gillespie was instructed
to show Fremont the secret dispatch, we must infer that
the orders to Larkin were also the orders to Fremont.
So particular were Gillespie's instructions regarding Fre-
mont that two days after reaching Monterey he started
to find the captain to communicate to him the wishes of the
governmentof the United States; andthishe did at no small
risk to himself. He pretended to be an invalid merchant
traveling for his health, but was suspected of being a
secret agent of the United States government and wa
Notes 39 i
liable to be arrested as a spy. Sutter notified Castro
of the arrival of Gillespie at New Helvetia and said that
in spite of his pretence of being an invalid in search of
health, with family letters for Fremont, he believed he
was a United States officer with dispatches.
The government of the United States instructed its
consular agent in California to whom Mexico had in
good faith issued its exequatur, to intrigue with the officers
and people of that province to persuade them to separate
the department from Mexico and declare her inde-
pendence, under the assurance that we would "render her
all the kind offices in our power." We may have our
opinion concerning the morality of this dispatch and may
disapprove the secret instructions to Larkin, but they
were the orders of the government to its agents and it
is clear that the orders to Larkin were also orders to
Fremont.
Let us see then how the young captain of engineers
obeyed his orders. First however we will consider the
orders in their relation to the Californians and see how
far they are in harmony with orders issued to the naval
and military commanders. On June 24, 1845, Bancroft,
secretary of the navy, wrote to Commodore Sloat on
the Pacific station as follows: "If you ascertain with
certainty that Mexico has declared war against the
United States, you will at once possess yourself of the
port of San Francisco, and blockade or occupy such
other ports as your force may permit. * * * You will be
careful to preserve if possible the most friendly relations
with the inhabitants, and * * * will encourage them to
adopt a course of neutrality." To General Kearny, the
secretary of war wrote June 3, 1846: "In your whole
conduct you will act in such a manner as best to conciliate
the inhabitants and render them friendly to the United
States." In the secret dispatch Larkin (and Fremont)
392 The Beginnings of San Francisco
are instructed to assure the Callfornians that the govern-
ment of the United States stands ready to render them
all the kind offices in its power, and that "if the people
should desire to unite their destiny with ours, they would
be received as brethren." We see therefore, that in
addition to instructions relative to the machinations of
foreign powers, the United States agents, civil and
military, were instructed to cultivate friendly relations
with the Californians and prepare them for a peaceful
change of flag, if, indeed, California could not be induced
to apply for admission as "one of the free and independent
states of this union."*
On the 30th of May Fremont was again encamped at
the Buttes where, as he says in his Memoirs, his camp
became the rendezvous for the settlers and whence he
sent out agents to stir up the restless and the roving
among them and incite them to violence by stories of
what the blood-thirsty Spaniards were going to do to
them. William B. Ide, who arrived in California in
October 1845, and was living on Belden's rancho. Barranca
Colorado (Red Bluff), says that a letter, without signature,
was delivered to him by an Indian in which was stated
that two hundred and fifty Spaniards were coming
up the valley, destroying crops, burning houses, and
driving off cattle. "Captain Fremont invites every
freeman in the valley to come into his camp at the Buttes
immediately and he hopes to stay the enemy and put
a stop to his operations." Ide received this letter June
8th and hastened to the camp. To him Fremont un-
folded his plan, which was: to select a dozen men who
had nothing to lose and everything to gain and encourage
them to commit depredations upon the Californians,
* 2gth Cong. 2d. Ses. House. Ex. Doc. ig.
31st Cong. 1st Ses. House Ex. Doc. 17.
Buchanan's Instructions MS. Bancroft Coll.
Notes 393
run off their stock and take their horses; then make
prisoners of some of their principal men and provoke
Castro to strike the first blow and bring on hostilities,
when the United States government would have to inter-
fere. Meanwhile, the men who committed the outrages
would be provided with fleet horses and make their
escape into the territory of the United States. Ide
says that he would not consent to commit depredations
against Castro and then run away and was quite indignant
against Fremont for making such a suggestion.* Fremont
argued with him and showed how badly the foreigners
had been treated by the Californians and said they should
retaliate. At the moment this conference was taking
place, a party sent out by Fremont was actually engaged
in a raid upon the Californians. Lieutenant Arce with a
party of eight men was conducting a band of one hundred
and seventy horses from Sonoma to Santa Clara, for
the use of the government; information of this had been
brought to Fremont's camp, and a party of twelve or
fourteen men under Ezekiel Merritt was sent to cut
them off. Merritt, Fremont says in his Memoirs, was
his field lieutenant among the settlers.f John Bidwell
says the party was made up of roving hunters and trappers.
Merritt and his men came upon Arce at Martin Murphy's
rancho on the Cosumnes, and captured the Californians,
no resistance being made. The prisoners were released
and sent back to Castro with the message that if he
* Ide: Biographical Sketch, 107-119.
t John Bidwell says of Merritt: "He could neither read nor write. He
was an old mountaineer and trapper; lived with an Indian squaw and went
clad in buckskin. * * * He chewed tobacco to a disgusting excess and stam-
mered badly. He boasted of his prowess in killing Indians and the handle of
the tomahawk he carried had nearly a hundred notches to record the number
of his Indian scalps. He drank deeply whenever he could get liquor. Cent.
Mag. xix. 523.
394 The Beginnings of San Francisco
wanted his horses he could come and take them, and
that they proposed to take Sonoma and continue the war.
The horses were driven to Fremont's camp which had been
removed to Bear river, and which the marauders reached
June nth. Merritt's force was increased to twenty men
and they left Fremont's camp on the afternoon of the
same day and crossed the hills into Napa Valley that
night. They remained in Napa valley two days during
which time their number was increased to thirty-two or
thirty-three men. At dawn of June 14th they presented
themselves at the house of General Vallejo at Sonoma,
calling upon him to surrender. Hastily dressing himself
Vallejo opened the door and inquired the object of this
unceremonious visit. He was informed he was a prisoner
and must surrender the frontier post and government
property in his hands. Vallejo courteously invited them
to enter and draw up articles of capitulation. Merritt
and Semple entered, with William Knight as interpreter,
and when Vallejo inquired by whose authority this
was done, he was informed that they were acting under
Fremont's orders. Relieved to find a United States officer
in command of the war Vallejo set refreshments before
the men while the terms of surrender were being discussed.
Lieutenant-colonel Prudon and Captain Salvador Vallejo
came over to the general's house and were arrested, and
Jacob P. Leese was brought in to act as interpreter.
The men outside, weary of waiting, elected John Grigsby
captain and sent him in to see what was doing. Grigsby
took a hand in the negotiations — and the drink, and
after waiting a long time the men sent in Ide to investigate
the cause of delay. Under the influence of the general's
hospitality very favorable articles were drawn up and
signed, guaranteeing the lives, property, and religion
of the prisoners and others of that jurisdiction, so long
as they made no opposition. Ide took the document
Notes ^gs
out and read It to the men who, it appears, had also
succeeded in getting something to drink. Some of the
men were inclined to be insubordinate and it was decided
by them to send the Californians prisoners to Sutters'
fort, instead of taking their parole and releasing them.
Among the gallant band who thus disturbed the seren-
ity of the peaceful little town was Doctor Robert Semple,
a native of Kentucky, printer and dentist by trade, who
reached California with a belated party on December
25, 1845, and had therefore been in the territory not
quite six months. Dr. Semple, an honest, kindly man,
ambitious to do great things, a ready speaker, with perfect
confidence in himself and without the slightest sense
of humor, has left for us in winged words the lofty story
of the Sonoma revolution; for he became the historian
of the Bear Flag war. "The world has not hitherto
manifested so high a degree of civilization," he says,
"for the party did no wrong, its watchword being 'equal
rights and equal laws.' One single man, who in the
innocence of his heart made a natural interpretation
of the watchword, cried out, 'Let us make a fair and
equal division of the spoils,' but one universal, dark,
and indignant frown made him sink from the presence
of honest men, and from that time forward no man dared
to hint anything like violating the sanctity of a private
house, or touching private property." Supplies for the
troops were "borrowed" on the faith and credit of the
Bear Flag government, but there is no doubt that the
efforts of Semple, Grigsby, and a few others, prevented
indiscriminate plunder. "Their children, in generations
yet to come will look back with pleasure upon the com-
mencement of a revolution carried on by their fathers
upon principles high and holy as the laws of eternal
396 The Beginnings of San Francisco
justice."* Returning to his home from two month's
imprisonment, General Vallejo found the filibusters and
their successors had taken from his rancho all his live
stock, all his crops, and many other things of value.
He had lost one thousand head of cattle and over six
hundred tame horses. The "dark, indignant frown"
was evidently out of working order.
Before the prisoners set out for Sacramento, a meeting
was held by the revolutionists to decide upon a plan of
operation. The question asked by Vallejo: by whose
authority had he been arrested, had caused some inquiry
among the men. It was understood that the movement
was by Fremont's order, but the fact was no one could
produce the order. Confusion reigned. Grigsby, who
had been elected captain, vice Merritt, deposed, ex-
claimed: "Gentlemen, I have been deceived; I cannot
go with you; I resign and back out of the scrape." One
said he would not stay to guard the prisoners; another
swore that they would all have their throats cut; another
called for fresh horses; all were on the move, each man
for himself. The crisis had come, and with it the man.
With that quick insight which is an attribute of genius,
William B. Ide realized the peril of the moment. In
trumpet tones he called to the receding men: "We
need no horses; saddle no horse for me; I can go to the
Spaniards and make freemen of them. I will lay my
bones here before I will take upon myself the ignominy
of commencing an honorable work and then flee like
cowards, like thieves, when no enemy is in sight. In
vain will you say you had honorable motives. Who
will believe it.? Flee this day, and the longest life cannot
wear out your disgrace! Choose ye this day what you
* Bryant: What I Saw in California, 290. Dr. Semple with Walter Cotton
started the Californian, the first paper published in California. He was also
president of the constitutional convention.
Notes ^07
will be," he cried with impassioned eloquence. "We
are robbers, or we must be conquerors." The day was
won. With renewed hope the men gathered about him
and made him commander-in-chief.*
A guard of ten or twelve men took the prisoners to
Sacramento, the order being given to the guard to "shoot
the damned greasers if they attempt to escape," an order
in shocking contrast to the lofty spirit and aim of these
patriots of six months' residence. Arriving at the
American river whither Fremont had removed his camp
the captives were brought to him, but he declined to
receive them saying that he was not responsible for
what had been done. They were, therefore, taken to
Sutter's fort and locked in a room containing no furniture
except some rude benches, without blankets, and with
neither food nor water until eleven o'clock the next day,
when an Indian was sent in with a pot of soup and meat
which they might eat as best they could without spoons
or dishes. Fremont also ordered the arrest of Leese as
a "bad man," which made Leese very angry, and he was
locked up with the rest.
Considering Vallejo's rank, his character, and his
known friendly attitude towards the United States, his
arrest and confinement in prison was a great outrage.
He had, time and again, shown favor to American im-
migrants notwithstanding the strict orders of the supreme
government, and probably some of these very men who
had captured him had received his help during the
proceeding winter.f To be treated like a convict, kept
in close confinement, allowed no communication with
friends or family, and insulted by coarse, vulgar fellows,
* Ide: Biographical Sketch.
t The Grigsby-Ide party, members of which formed one half of the Bear
Flag party, arrived in California on October 25, 1845, and most of them wintered
in Sacramento and Sonoma.
398 The Beginnings of San Francisco
was very hard for the general and his health broke under
it. Sutter endeavored to show the prisoners some kind-
ness until warned that he would be himself arrested.*
Thus did the young officer set about the execution of
his orders. It would seem to be a peculiar way to
cultivate "the most friendly relations" with the people
of California and to "make them feel that we come as
deliverers," by stealing their horses, insulting their
magistrates, and imprisoning their chief citizens. We
have seen that, instead of obeying the instructions he
received through Gillespie, from the moment he pitched
his camp at the Buttes after his return from the Oregon
border, he began to stir up the "settlers." He tells us
so himself.f Rumors of an impending attack from Castro,
of rising of Indians, and the proposed burning of the
wheat fields of the settlers were spread through the valley.
Let us see what authority there was for these rumors.
John Bidwell, a man of standing, then and since, who
was at the time Captain Sutter's business man at the
fort, says: "There were not at that time over twenty-
one persons who had located ranchos and were living
on them or had others occupying the same for them.
There were, however, a good many without homes or any
intentions of making homes, staying, some at the places
occupied by others and some, and by far the greater
part, camped about the Sacramento valley hunting.
This floating population would probably number three
times as many as those permanently settled.
"The Americans in the Sacramento valley had no
fear whatever about Castro coming to attack them; on
the contrary they were able, as they knew, to cope with
any force he could bring against them.
* Leese says in his Bear Flag Revolt, p. i6, that Fremont threatened to hang
Sutter.
t Memoirs, p. 509.
Notes 399
"This floating population had all to gain and nothing
to lose. They wanted a war. I doubt whether any
permanent settlers went to Fremont's camp. Fremont
sent men — not of his own expedition — to capture the
horses (of Arce). Captain Sutter denounced the act as
an outrage. * * * The reason given for the (Bear Flag)
movement was news to me, and I think to most others."*
He says, that there were no permanent settlers in the
party; that the war was not begun in defense of American
settlers, that Fremont began the war; that to him belongs
all the credit; and upon him rests all the responsibility.f
While at the Buttes, on May 30th, Fremont sent
Lieutenant Gillespie to Captain Montgomery, command-
ing the Portsmouth, for supplies to enable him to proceed
homeward, which he announced to be his immediate
intention, by way of the Rio Colorado. Gillespie reached
Yerba Buena June 7th and Montgomery immediately
honored the requisition. Gillespie made no mention
of Fremont's filibustering operations and a friend, whom
he met in Yerba Buena, put in his hand a letter written
to some person in the east to be taken "by the gallant
Captain Fremont who is now encamped in the Sacramento
and about to proceed directly to the United States."
Fremont also wrote to Larkin June ist enclosing a letter
to Benton, and to both he announced his intention of
starting at once for the States. The Portsmouth's
launch was loaded with the supplies to enable the survey-
ing party to return home and reached Sutter's fort June
1 2th. By the returning boat Fremont wrote Mont-
gomery (in part) as follows:
"New Helvetia, June 16, 1846.
* * * "This evening I was interrupted in a note to yourself
* California in 1841-8 MS. 159-168. Ban. Coll. There is plenty of other
testimony to the same effect.
t John Bidwell to Rev. Dr. Willey: Digest in Royce's California, 99-102.
400 The Beginnings of San Francisco
by the arrival of General Vallejo and other officers who had
been taken prisoners and insisted upon surrendering to me.
The people and authorities of the country persist in connecting
with me every movement of the foreigners and I am hourly
in expectation of the approach of General Castro.
* * * "The nature of my instructions and the peaceful
nature of my operations do not contemplate any active hostility
on my part, even in the event of war between the two countries;
and therefore, although I am resolved to take such active
and precautionary measures as I shall judge necessary, I am
not authorized to ask from you any other than such assistance
as, without incurring yourself unusual responsibility, you
would feel at liberty to afford me."*
In a letter to Benton dated July 25, 1846, Fremont
details the events following the meeting with Gillespie
at Klamath lake and says that on June 6th he decided
on the course he would pursue, "and immediately con-
certed my operations with the foreigners inhabiting the
Sacramento valley." He gives Benton an account of
the capture of Arce's horses, the surprise and capture
on June 15th, of the military fort of Sonoma, with nine
brass pieces of artillery; two hundred and fifty stands
of muskets; other arms and a quantity of ammunition;
also General Vallejo and other prisoners, who were placed
at New Helvetia, "a fortified post under my command."
Having accomplished this he proceeded to the American
settlements on the Sacramento and the Rio de los Ameri-
canos to obtain reinforcements of men and rifles. He
says that the information carried by Gillespie to Captain
Montgomery of the Portsmouth concerning his position
caused Montgomery to dispatch his launch to Fremont
with aid. "I Immediately wrote to him," says Fremont,
"by return of the boat, describing to him fully my position
and intentions, In order that he might not, by supposing
me to be acting under orders from our government,
unwittingly commit himself to affording me other than
* Century Magazine, xix. 780.
Notes 401
such assistance as his instructions would authorize him
naturally to offer an officer charged with an important
public duty."*
We have seen this letter and have read how fully Fre-
mont described to the naval officer his position and
intentions.
Meanwhile Castro had written Captain Montgomery,
under date of June 17th, demanding an explanation of
Fremont's conduct. To this letter Montgomery replied
on the eighteenth, in a tone of absolute sincerity, that
Captain Fremont's mission was solely scientific in its
aims and that it was in no manner whatever, either by
the authority of the United States or otherwise, connected
with the political movements of the residents of the
country at Sonoma.
Captain Montgomery's awakening came later. In
his diaryt he writes on June 28th of the second visit of
Lieutenant Gillespie who gave him the news that Fremont
had openly joined the Bears and was at that moment
in pursuit of Joaquin de la Torre in the San Rafael region.
It appears that after the re-organization of the Bears
and the election of Ide as commander-in-chief, that
officer had sent an emissary to the naval commander
to inform him of the breaking out of the war, and inci-
dentally, to obtain a supply of powder. Captain Mont-
gomery informed the agent of the Bear Flag republic
that his position as a naval officer in a foreign port pre-
vented his taking any part in internal disorders, and
he would therefore have to refuse the request for powder.
"The course of Captain Fremont," says Montgomery in
* N ties National Register, Nov. 21, 1846, 191. This letter, emphasized by
Benton in most vigorous language, was sent to the president and by him
repeated in public documents thus becoming the authorized version of historic
events preceeding the conquest.
t Century Magazine, xix. 780.
402 The Beginnings of San Francisco
his diary, "renders my position as a neutral particularly
delicate and difficult. Having avowed not only my own
but Captain Fremont's entire neutrality and non-inter-
ference in the existing difficulties in the country, it can
scarcely be supposed, under the circumstances, that I
shall be regarded as having spoken in good faith and
sincerity."
After comparing Fremont's letter to Montgomery with
that to Benton, what respect is it possible to retain for
the veracity of the young hero.^ Not only in his letter
to Benton does he assume the entire direction of the Bear
Flag rising, but in his Memoirs he again states that
everything was done by his orders.
After the election of Ide as commander-in-chief ("gov-
ernor," he claimed) of the California republic, a flag was
constructed of a piece of unbleached cotton cloth to the
bottom of which was sewn a strip of red flannel. In the
upper left hand corner of the white field was drawn a
five pointed star, outlined in ink and filled in with red
paint. To the right of the star and facing it was drawn
in like manner what was intended for a grizzly bear,
statant. Under the emblems was the legend, California
Republic, in black ink. Next, it occurred to the comman-
der-in-chief, a proclamation would be in order, that the
world might know their true character and the circum-
stances which had compelled them to assume such an
unusual position. Ide therefore shut himself up and by
morning had his proclamation ready to read to his com-
panions. In it the commander-in-chief assures all persons
in California, not found under arms, protection to life,
property, and religion. He declares that his purpose
is to defend himself and his brave companions who had
been invited to the country by promise of lands, by prom-
ise of a republican government, and who, having arrived
in California, were denied even the privilege of buying
Notes 403
or renting lands, and instead of being allowed to partici-
pate in or being protected by a republican government,
were oppressed by a military despotism and were even
threatened by proclamation with extermination if they
would not depart out of the country, leaving their prop-
erty, their arms, and their beasts of burden; and thus
deprived of the means of flight or defence, they were to
be driven through deserts inhabited by hostile savages
to certain death. He declares their purpose to overthrow
the government which has despoiled the missions and
shamefully oppressed the people of California — and much
more. The proclamation with its false and absurd
statements having been read to the assembled "troops,"
Ide sent a messenger to notify Montgomery of the change
in the government and then set about reorganizing the
army, arranging for the payment of the public debt,
the establishment of a land office, a survey of the public
domain, and regulations concerning the tariff. The
charge so frequently made by the American immigrants
that they were invited to California by a promise of
lands on which to settle is ridiculous. Their very en-
trance into California was in violation of law and so
disturbed had the supreme government at Mexico
become over the American immigration, that strict
orders had been sent to the governor and comandante-
general to prevent their coming into the department.
But as the arrival of the overland immigrants was usually
late in the fall neither Castro nor Vallejo could do such
violence to their sentiments of hospitality and humanity
as to force the immigrants, in their weakened condition
with their wives and little children, to re-cross the sierra
in winter to almost certain death. The officials con-
tented themselves with taking bonds for good behavior
and promises to depart in the spring, should citizenship
and license to remain be denied. These bonds were
404 The Beginnings of San Francisco
signed by those who had come earlier and had become
Mexican citizens and owners of ranchos. George Yount
of Napa valley was very good to the immigrants and would
sign bonds for them by the score. A number of the
immigrants, chiefly hunters and trappers, did not come
into the settlements, gave no bonds, and made no prom-
ises. The charge that the government had despoiled
the missions was not true, but even if it had been so,
it was no affair of the immigrants.
In the reorganization of the army Henry L. Ford was
made first lieutenant; Granville P. Swift and Samuel
Gibson, sergeants; the first two were immigrants of 1844,
while Gibson came in 1845.
On the 19th of June two men, named Cowie and Fowler,
who had been sent by Lieutenant Ford to a rancho on
the Russian river to obtain powder, were captured by
a small, roving band of Californians under Juan Padilla,
and put to death. The killing was done after the men
had surrendered and by a well known desperado in the
band named Garcia, called by Americans "Four-Fingered
Jack." The testimony concerning the murder is con-
flicting, but it is said that the men were tortured. Two
other men were captured by this same band : W. L. Todd,
and an Englishman. When the men sent by Ford
did not return, he sent on the twentieth Sergeant Gibson
with four men to the rancho. They obtained the powder
but heard nothing of the two men. On the return
Gibson was attacked by a small party of Californians
which he beat off, wounding one and capturing one
who was taken a prisoner to Sonoma. From the captive
was learned the fact of the murder and of the two prisoners
remaining in the hands of the Californians. On the
twenty-third Ida sent Lieutenant Ford with seventeen
or eighteen men to rescue the prisoners; and under
guidance of Gibson's captive they came upon the Cali-
Notes 405
fornians at the Olompali rancho, on San Antonio creek
a little below Petaluma, on the morning of the twenty-
fourth. Padilla's band had, without Ford's knowledge,
been joined by a larger force under Joaquin de la Torre.
On learning of the outrage at Sonoma, Castro issued
on June 17th, from his headquarters at Santa Clara, a
proclamation calling upon the citizens to rise and protect
the country from invasion, and had, with some difficulty,
increased his army to about one hundred and sixty men.
Dividing his force into three divisions he sent one under
Joaquin de la Torre against the Bears at Sonoma, With
fifty or sixty men De la Torre crossed from San Pablo to
San Quintin on the evening of June 23d and proceeded
to San Rafael. Leaving a few men at the mission he
started northward and effecting a junction with Padilla
encamped, early on the morning of the twenty-fourth, at
Olompali. The Californians were at breakfast when
the Americans came upon them. Seeing a larger force
than he expected to meet Ford ordered his men to dis-
mount and take cover behind the trees. The Californians
charged and were received by a discharge of Bears'
rifles and retired with the loss of one man killed and
several wounded. The Bears released the prisoners,
secured some horses from the corral, and returned to
Sonoma. This was the first battle of the war.
Up to this time Fremont had taken no active part in
affairs. Asked to head the uprising he had replied that
he was a United States officer and could not take part
in an insurrection. He may have waited to see if some
real settlers joined the movement — men who had a stake
in the country. He sent emissaries to Doctor Marsh
and other land owners, and later Bidwell, Baldridge,
Reading, and others came in, some of whom did not
approve the filibustering plan, but joined, believing that
Fremont was acting under secret orders from his govern-
4o6 The Beginnings of San Francisco
merit; a belief that was general among both Californians
and foreigners. At last Fremont decided to come out
into the open, or, as he says: "I decided that it was for
me to govern events rather than to be governed by them.
I represented the Army and the Flag of the United
States."* Breaking camp on the American river June
23d, he appeared at Sonoma on the twenty-fifth with
his entire force accompanied by some thirty settlers
under Samuel J. Hensley, an immigrant of 1843. Fre-
mont at once assumed command of the Bears, the com-
bined force amounting now to about one hundred and
sixty-five men. Leaving a garrison to hold Sonoma,
Fremont at the head of one hundred and thirty men
marched to San Rafael where he expected to find De la
Torre. Now occurred a most lamentable incident; and
affair that must leave an indelible stain upon the name
of Fremont — the murder of Berreyesa and the De Haros.
I will let Jasper OTarrell tell the story. In a statement
published in the Los Angeles Star September 27, 1856,
OTarrell says: "I was at San Rafael in June 1846 when
the then Captain Fremont arrived at the mission with
his troops. The second day after his arrival there was
a boat landed three men at the mouth of the estero on
Point San Pedro. As soon as they were discovered by
Fremont there were three men (of whom Kit Carson
was one) detailed to meet them. They mounted their
horses and after advancing about one hundred yards
halted and Carson returned to where Fremont was
standing on the corridor of the mission In company
with Gillespie, myself and others, and said * Captain,
shall I take those men prisoners.'" In response Fremont
waived his hand and said, 'I have got no room for pris-
oners.' They then advanced to within fifty yards of
the three unfortunate and unarmed Californians, alighted
• Memoir: 520.
Notes 407
from their horses and deliberately shot them. One of
of them was an old and respectable Californian, Don
Jose R. Berreyesa, whose son was then alcalde of Sonoma.
The other two were twin brothers and sons of Don
Francisco de Haro, a citizen of the Pueblo of Yerba
Buena. I saw Carson some two years ago and spoke
to him of this act and he assured me that then and since
he regretted to be compelled to shoot those men, but
Fremont was blood-thirsty enough to order otherwise,
and he further remarked that it was not the only brutal
act he was compelled to commit while under his com-
mand." Jose de los Santos Berreyesa, the alcalde of
Sonoma, who, with his two brothers had been imprisoned
by the Bears, says that his mother had sent the father to
Sonoma to ascertain their condition. The three men were
unarmed and were non-combatants. They had left their
saddles on the beach and were walking up to the mission
to obtain horses to continue their journey.* So far as
is known, no one of them was connected with Castro's
army. Kit Carson, G. P. Swift, and a French Canadian
trapper of Fremont's company are named by contempo-
rary writers as constituting the firing party. Fremont
wrote Benton, in the letter already mentioned, that three
of Castro's party having landed in advance were killed
near the beach: adding; "beyond this there was no
loss on either side." This implies an engagement. If
so, it was Fremont's only battle during the conquest
of California. In his Memoirs, Fremont says: "My
scouts, mainly Delawares, influenced by feelings of
retaliation (for murder of Cowie and Fowler) killed
Berreyesa and de Haro who were the bearers of inter-
cepted dispatches."! Captain Phelps of the barque
* For the full text of these communications, see Appendix D.
t Memoir of My Life, 525. This does not agree with his statements to
Benton, and both statements are false.
4o8 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Moscow makes the statement that on the body of one
of the men was found an order from Castro to De la
Torre to kill every foreigner he could find, man, woman,
and child. This absurd story has been repeated by sev-
eral writers. It is said that the De Haros were carrying
dispatches from Castro to De la Torre, which was probably
the fact. The testimony of Jasper O'Farrell has never
been impeached.*
The position of De la Torre was not a pleasant one.
He was greatly outnumbered and even if his men were
equals in arms, courage, and skill of those who were
pursuing him — which they were not — he stood no chance
of success in an engagement. He therefore prepared a
letter announcing his intention to attack Sonoma the
next morning (June 29th), and sent it out by an Indian
to be captured by Fremont's scouts. The ruse was
successful. Fremont hurried back to Sonoma where he
arrived before daylight of the twenty-ninth and De la
Torre quietly embarked his men — some seventy-five or
eighty — in a lighter at Sausalito, crossed to San Pablo,
and joined Castro at Santa Clara. On July ist Fremont
crossed from Sausalito to the old fort at San Francisco,
Castillo de San Joaquin, and spiked the guns lying on
* Many writers of the time speak of this murder and a few attempt to justify
it. Ida {Biog. Sketch, 190) says that the men fell on their knees and begged
for quarter; "but the orders were to take no prisoners from this band of mur-
derers, and the men were shot and never rose from the ground." Swasey
{Cal. '4S-6, MS. 10) says: "The firing was perfectly justifiable under the
circumstances." Fowler {Bear Flag Revolt. 5), says: "The killing of old
Berreyesa and two youths in the most wanton manner somewhat opened
the eyes of the ofiicers in command to the fact that they must assume a stricter
control over the doings of their subordinates." He puts the blame on Kit
Carson and a Canadian Frenchmen, both of whom, he says, were drunk.
Charles Brown, an immigrant of 1828, married to a sister of the De Haros,
says: "The murder of Jose Reyes Berreyesa and the De Haros was a most
infamous act." (Early Events, 25-6). The bodies were stripped and lay
unburied where they fell for several days.
Notes 409
the ground, as has been told; and on the second, Doctor
Semple landed at Yerba Buena with ten men, captured
that valiant Mexican warrior, Robert Ridley, and sent
him to join the other prisoners at Sutter's fort. Fremont
announced to Benton that he had defeated De la Torre,
driven him across the bay, spiked the guns of the fort,
and had freed from all Mexican authority the territory
north of the bay of San Francisco from the sea to Sutter's
fort. He writes as if this was an important military
campaign in which he had swept a large section of the
country clear of the enemy. The guns he spiked were
large and handsome pieces, he says, but he does not say
that they were dismounted and lying on the ground.*
Fremont's letter of July 25th gives to Benton the history
of events as he wished them to appear, from the meeting
with Gillespie at Klamath to the transfer of command
to Stockton. He speaks of "Sonoma, in the department
of Sonoma, commanded by General Vallejo," as if It
were a real military department commanded by a general
officer with, presumably, a military force. Again, he says :
"At daybreak on the 15th, the military fort of Sonoma
was taken by surprise," etc. The term "fort" implies
to the general public, a fortified place defended by a
garrison. There were no fortifications at Sonoma and
there had been no troops there for two years. Vallejo's
rank in the regular army was that of lieutenant-colonel, f
and at this time he had no military command. None
of these things are explained In the letter. The mission
of Santa Clara was "a strong place" and San Juan
Bautista was "a fortified post." There were no fortl-
♦ See Gillespie's testimony: Note 40. Gillespie was with the party.
Bancroft says (Hist, of Cal. v. 177): "So far as can be known, not one of the
ten cannon offered the slightest resistance."
t He was also colonel of Second Regiment, Defensores de la Patria, a militia
organization on paper.
4IO The Beginnings of San Francisco
fications at either place, unless the mission churches
may be so termed. The statements made in this letter
were used by Benton and repeated by the secretary
of war, and form the basis of Fremont's claim to glory
as conqueror of California; for the letter is a summary
of his active military service. He made two trips to
the south with his battalion but engaged in no more
battles.
After driving De la Torre from the field Fremont
returned to Sonoma and addressed the people, July 5th,
advising a course of operations which was unanimously
adopted. California was declared independent; the
country was put under martial law; the force, now amount-
ing to two hundred and twenty-four men, was organized
into three companies with Fremont in command, and all
pledged to continue in service as long as necessary for
the purpose of gaining and maintaining the independence
of California.
These proceedings ended the political career of that
administrator, William B. Ide, who strongly resented the
unwarranted interference of Captain Fremont. He had
accomplished a successful revolution and now came this
captain of engineers, after all was done, to claim the glory
of a conqueror and to present to the United States, with
his compliments, the fair province of California.
Leaving fifty men to garrison Sonoma, Fremont
marched with about one hundred and seventy men to
the Sacramento and moved up to his old camp on the
American river on the 9th of July. It was given out,
and it was so understood, that he was in "pursuit of
Castro," but on the tenth an express from Captain
Montgomery arrived with the announcement that Com-
modore Sloat had raised the flag of the United States.
The Bear Flag war was ended.
Notes 411
On raising the flag at Monterey Sloat sent a summons
to Castro at Santa Clara to surrender his forces to the
United States, and at the same time invited the general
and also the governor to a conference at Monterey,
assuring the governor that though he came with a power-
ful force, he came as the best friend of California. Sloat's
summons reached Castro at San Juan Bautista July 8th
and that officer started southward with what remained
of his army — about one hundred men — to join forces
with Pico for the national defence.
Leaving Sacramento July 12th Fremont marched with
one hundred and sixty men and two guns in hot pursuit
of Castro, then in the neighborhood of San Luis Obispo.*
On the seventeenth he reached San Juan Bautista where
he met a company of dragoons formed from the sailors
of Sloat's squadron and commanded by Daingerfield
Fauntleroy, purser of the Savannah. Assuming com-
mand of the combined forces of the army and navy
Fremont resumed his march and entered Monterey
July 19th, where his fame had preceded him, and where
he and his men created no little interest. The following
picture is by Lieutenant Walpole of Admiral Seymour's
Collingwood: "During our stay Captain Fremont and
his party arrived, preceded by another troop of American
horse. It was a party of seamen mounted. * * * Fre-
mont's party naturally excited curiosity. Here were
true trappers. These men had passed years in the wilds,
living on their own resources. They were a curious
set. A vast cloud of dust appeared first, and thence
in a long file emerged this wildest wild party. Fremont
rode ahead, a spare, active-looking man, with such an
eye! He was dressed in a blouse and leggings, and wore
a felt hat. After him came five Delaware Indians, who
*The distance between Sacramento and San Luis Obispo is about three
hundred miles.
412 The Beginnings of San Francisco
were his bodyguard; they had charge of two baggage-
horses. The rest, many of them blacker than the Indians,
rode two and two, the rifle held by one hand across the
pommel of the saddle. Thirty-nine of them are his
regular men, the rest are loafers picked up lately. His
original men are principally backwoodsmen from Tennes-
see and the banks of the Missouri. * * * The dress of
these men was principally a long, loose coat of deer-skin,
tied with thongs In front; trousers of the same, of their
manufacture, which, when wet through they take off,
scrape well inside with a knife, and put on as soon as
dry. The saddles were of various fashions, though these
and a large drove of horses, and a brass field gun, were
things they had picked up in California. The rest of
the gang were a rough set; and perhaps their private,
public, and moral characters had better not be too closely
examined. They are allowed no liquor * * * and the
discipline Is very strict. They were marched up to an
open space on the hills near the town, under some large
firs, and there took up their quarters in messes of six or
seven, In the open air. The Indians lay beside their
leader."*
Walter Col ton saysrf "Monday, July 20th. Capt.
Fremont and his armed band, with Lieut. Gillespie of
the marine corps, arrived last night from their pursuit
of Gen. Castro. * * * They defiled, two abreast, through
the principal street of the town. The citizens glanced at
them through their grated windows. Their rifles, revolv-
ing pistols, and long knives glittered over the dusky
buckskin which enveloped their sinewy limbs, while
their untrimmed locks, flowing out from under their
foraging caps, and their black beards, with white teeth
glittering through, gave them a wild, savage aspect."
* Walpole: Four Years in the Pacific, ii, 215-16.
t Deck and Port: 390-1.
Notes 413
These men were not United States troops; they were
Fremont's "hired men," and this spectacular entrance
must have satisfied even the theatrical soul of that young
conqueror.
Commodore Sloat had heard at Mazatlan on the 17th
of May of trouble on the Rio Grande between General
Taylor and the Mexicans and on the thirty-first he learned
of the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. On
the 7th of June he learned that the ships of the United
States were blockading the gulf ports of Mexico. His
instructions from the secretary of the navy required him
to take possession of the port of San Francisco and other
ports of California immediately on learning that war
had been declared between United States and Mexico.*
Uncertain how to act, not having specific information
that war had been declared in terms, though hostilities
had begun, he sailed June 8th for Monterey where he
arrived July 2d. Still uncertain, he sent an officer ashore
to tender the usual civilities by offering to salute the
Mexican flag, which honor was declined for want of
powder to return the salute. t Larkin came on board
and had a long interview with the commodore. On the
third the commodore landed and called on the California
authorities. On the fifth came a dispatch from Mont-
gomery with an account of Fremont's doings. The
sixth was spent by Sloat in consultation with Larkin and
in preparation for landing. Larkin still hoping for a
* Later instructions from the secretary substituted the words "in the event
of actual hostilities" for this sentence.
t "It was a matter of great surprise on the part of many officers that the
commodore should have tendered these civilities, knowing, as we all did,
that the Mexican government had already commenced offensive operations
against our army on the Rio Grande, and that the squadron of the United
States was blockading the gulf coast of Mexico." Midshipman J. K. JVilson
before Cal. Claims Commission, joth Cong, ist Ses. Senate Rep. 75.
414 The Beginnings of San Francisco
change of flag by consent of the California authorities,
notwithstanding the acts of the filibusters, counseled
delay, but the commodore, fearful of blame, would wait
no longer and the next morning, Tuesday July 7th,
after a demand for surrender, landed two hundred and
fifty men under Captain Mervine and took possession.
On arrival at Monterey Fremont called on the com-
modore and in reply to a request for information told
him that in what he had done he had acted on his own
responsibility without any express authority from the
government and that he knew nothing whatever about
the breaking-out of war. Sloat was much put out by this
piece of information and gave the captain distinctly
to understand that in raising the flag at Monterey he
had acted upon the faith of Fremont's operations In the
north. Reports of the interview state that the com-
modore was violent in his denunciations of Fremont's
conduct. He declined to adopt Fremont's plan of
conquest or to accept the Bear Flag battalion as a part
of the United States forces. In short, Sloat's decision
left Fremont without any standing as a conqueror.
Commodore Stockton, however, had arrived in the
Congress a few days before and reported to Sloat for
dutv. Sloat who was in ill health and had asked to be
sent home, had on July 23d made Stockton commander-
in-chief of the land forces, and on the twenty-ninth
sailed for home, leaving Stockton in command of the
squadron. On receiving command of the forces operating
on land Stockton immediately accepted Fremont's force
of one hundred and sixty men, as a battalion of volunteers,
giving Fremont the rank of major, Gillespie that of
captain, and ordered the battalion to embark on the
Cyane for San Diego for the conquest of the south.
Notes
415
Stockton was a conqueror after Fremont's own heart
and on assuming command issued a proclamation*
as false in its premises and as full of buncombe as any
hando ever issued by Mexican revolutionist. He sailed
on the Congress for San Pedro where he landed three
hundred and fifty men and marched to Los Angeles
without opposition from an "exasperated' and" powerful
enemy" as he terms Castro's force, meeting Major
Fremont's battalion just outside the town, and the
combined forces entered the pueblo and raised the United
States' flag without opposition or disapproval on the
part of the inhabitants, Castro's formidable army having
melted away and the comandantc-gcneral being on his
way to the City of Mexico.
Considering the conquest of California complete,
Stockton and Fremont returned to the north leaving
Los Angeles in charge of Gillespie with a garrison of
fifty men, and Santa Barbara in charge of Lieutenant
Talbot with a garrison of nine. Stockton appointed
Fremont military commandant of the territory and
instructed him to increase his battalion to three hundred
men for garrison duty.
On September 29th came the news of the revolt of
the Californians in the south and Stockton sent Mervinc
in the Savannah to Gillespie's assistance and sailed
himself In the Congress, October 13th. Soon came the
news of Mervlne's defeat at San Pedro and Fremont,
now made lieutenant-colonel, sent his officers to enlist
the immigrants arriving in large numbers in the Sacra-
mento valley. On the 29th of November, Colonel
Fremont began his march from the rendezvous, San
Juan Bautlsta, with four hundred and twenty-eight men
in eight companies of mounted rifle-men and a company
artillery. Before he got off there occurred a sharp
* See note 57.
4i6 The Beginnings of San Francisco
engagement at Natlvidad, in the Salinas valley, between
a detachment of the battalion under Captain Burroughs
and a party of Californians under Manuel Castro, In
which Burroughs and three or four of his men were killed
and a number wounded. The loss to the Californians,
who slightly outnumbered the Americans, was three
killed and four wounded.
Fremont swept the country of horses — with or without
the consent of the rancheros — and he promised his men
twenty-five dollars a month pay. One company was
composed of Walla Walla and California Indians. The
artillery, six pieces, was commanded by Louis McLain,
passed midshipman, of the Savannah. This officer had
served as lieutenant of Fauntleroy's dragoons and his
rank in the battalion was that of captain. Later he had
the rank of major and was one of Fremont's commissioners
in the treaty of Cahuenga. He resigned from the navy
in 1850 and returned to California. lie was for many
years manager of Wells Fargo and Company's express
and was the first president of the Nevada Bank, serving
from 1875 to 1882.
The heavy rains made the march of the battalion
slow and difficult. The route was up the San Benito
and into the Salinas valley, up which they marched,
then over the Cuesta de Santa Lucia to San Luis Obispo
where they arrived December 14th. In the Salinas they
captured an Indian servant of Don Jesus Pico whom
they shot as a spy — a concession to the "feelings of the
undisciplined men." Another outrage was the plunder
and destruction of Los Ojitos, whose owner had two sons
with the California army.* At San Luis Don Jesus
Pico (called Totoi Pico) was arrested for breaking his
parole, tried by court-martial, condemned, and sentenced
* Mariano Soberanes. He put in a claim before the commission for $19,930
and was allowed $423.
Notes 417
to be shot. His wife with her fourteen children and a
number of women of San Luis, threw themselves at the
leader's feet and begged for the life of the husband and
father. Unable to withstand their tears and pleadings,
to which were added the solicitation of his officers,
Fremont granted a pardon to Don Jesus and made a
life-long and very useful friend.
Santa Barbara was reached December 27th and after
a week's rest the march was resumed and on January
nth the battalion occupied the buildings of the mission
of San Fernando. Fremont had proceeded cautiously,
having received exaggerated accounts of the number of
Californians engaged in the revolt, and his respect for
them had been increased by the affairs of San Pedro,
Natividad, and San Pascual.
Advised of the occupation of Los Angeles by the
Americans Fremont sent Don Jesus Pico to the camp of
the Californians at Los Verdugos, just north of the pueblo,
and Don Andres Pico, realizing that further resistance
was useless with his command reduced to less than one
hundred men, made terms with the conqueror that
protected the lives and property of his men; and on
January 13, 1847, the war in California was ended,
somewhat to the annoyance of that other conqueror,
Commodore Stockton, who was put out to find that his
clever young protege had stepped in between him and
his final triumph.
The controversy that arose between Kearny and
Fremont is told in the note on the military governors.*
On the 19th of January 1847, Stockton turned over
to Fremont the civil command and on the twenty-second
Fremont proclaimed order and peace restored, required
the release of all prisoners, and ordered civil officers to
♦Note 35.
4i8 The Beginnings of San Francisco
return to their duties. In Los Angeles Fremont was
recognized as governor and was able to borrow money
and buy cattle for government use. Into his financial
transactions I will not go. The government, after many-
years, paid some portion of the claims but the greater
part, so far as I know, have never been settled.
On March i, 1847, Kearny issued his proclamation
assuming charge of California as civil governor and
although Fremont continued for some weeks thereafter
to issue orders as governor he was soon obliged to cease.
On March 23d Major William H. Russell, sometime
"secretary of state" under "Governor" Fremont departed
for Washington with dispatches and, it is said, a petition
signed by Fremont's friends in the south for his appoint-
ment as governor. In May another petition was cir-
culated in the north and received a number of signatures;
but on June 14th a public meeting was held in San
Francisco to protest against the appointment, his Bear
Flag exploits and unpaid accounts of the California
battalion being urged against him. The question of
payment for property taken by the officers and men of
the California battalion and by various irresponsible
persons, as well as the pay of the volunteers, was a burning
one, and Colonel Mason and Special Agent Larkin urged
the payment of these claims as a means of reconciling
the Californians to the change of flag; but it was not
until 1853 that any part of these claims were paid, and
a large number of them were never paid at all.
In his memoirs, in his letters to Benton, in his defence
before the court-martial, in his testimony before the
claims commission, and in the numerous statements
of his admirers, Fremont's claim to fame as the hero of
California is maintained on the following points: By
his action in June 1846 he saved the lives and property
of the American settlers in California; by his acts and
Notes 419
those of his fellow filibusters of the Bear Flag he pre-
vented the acquisition of California by England through
the McNamara grant and plan of colonization, and also
ended the disposal of public land, it being the evident
intent of the Mexican governor to place all the land
in private ownership so that when the Americans came
in there would be no land obtainable and finally by
forcing prompt action on the part of the United States
by means of the settler's revolt he prevented the English
admiral from anticipating Commodore Sloat's action
and raising the English flag.
In regard to the first plea: that of protection to the
settlers from annihilation at the hands of a blood-thirsty
Mexican — the statements are false in every particular.
Captain Fremont in his letter to Senator Benton, before
referred to, says: "I had scarcely reached the lower
Sacramento (on his return from Klamath) when General
Castro, then in the north — at Sonoma, in the department
of Sonoma, north of the bay of San Francisco, commanded
by General Vallejo — declared his determination immedi-
ately to proceed against the foreigners settled in the coun-
try, for whose expulsion an order had just been issued by
the governor of the Californias. For these purposes
Castro immediately assembled a force at the Mission
of Santa Clara, a strong place, on the northern shore
of the Francisco bay. * * * Castro's first measure was
an attempt to incite the Indian population of the Joaquin
and Sacramento valleys, and the neighboring mountains,
to burn the crops of the foreigners and otherwise proceed
immediately against them." Semple says in Californian
May 23, 1847: "In this state of things, General Castro
issued one proclamation after another, ordering foreigners
to leave the country." As a matter of fact. General
Castro issued no such proclamation; he made no threats of
driving the Americans from the country; he did not incite
420 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the Indians to burn the crops; he was not marching
against the settlers with an army, and he had no force
whatever north of the bay of San Francisco. The
Americans of the Sacramento had nothing to fear from
the CaHfornians, and according to Bidwell this was as
well known to the settlers as it was to Fremont; and the
plea that the rising was a matter of self-defence, as he
testified at the court-martial, had been abandoned and
forgotten by General Fremont himself when he was
consulted by Josiah Royce in 1884.*
In regard to the McNamara grant, Fremont testified:
"The movement (Bear Flag) prevented the design of
the Californians to place their country under British
protection, and it also prevented the completion of the
colonization grant of three thousand square leagues to
McNamara, who was brought to California in the British
sloop-of-war Juno in June 1846."!
The claims commission gave particular attention to
this McNamara matter and all the witnesses were ques-
tioned concerning the effect of the Bear Flag rising on
that scheme for bringing California under British influence.
Hensley, Owens, and others testified that the settlers'
rising put an end to it. The fact is that NcMamara
made his application to Pico, July i, 1846, seventeen
days after the capture of Sonoma; it was considered
by the assembly on the sixth and sent back to the governor
on the seventh of July with recommendation that the
grant be made under certain conditions. It was un-
doubtedly the action of the Bear Flag party in June that
caused the governor and departmental assembly to attempt
to push the matter forward so rapidly. It was beyond
the power of the departmental authorities to make any
* Royce: California, 122.
1 30th Cong. 1st. Ses. Senate Rep. 75. 12-13.
Notes 421
grant exceeding eleven square leagues, and the McNamara
grant, after the action of the governor and assembly,
would have to go to the supreme government at Mexico
for approval. Sloat's occupation on July 7th, therefore,
put an end to the scheme. This pretext on the part
of Fremont and his fellow filibusters was an afterthought.
The legend concerning the rivalry between the American
and the English naval commanders as to which should
out-manceuver the other and be first to raise the flag in
California has ever been a great favorite with writers,
and was brought before the claims commission to enhance
the importance of Fremont and his Bear Flag allies.
The inference of the various accounts is that Sloat,
getting news of the outbreak of hostilities, outwitted his
rival and reached Monterey first. Walter Colton in
referring to the story says: "It has been often stated
by American writers that the admiral intended to raise
the English flag in California and would have done it
had we not stolen the march on him. I believe nothing
of the kind; the allegation is a mere assumption, un-
warranted by a solitary fact. He had no such instructions
from the British ministry."* Josiah Royce, in an article
in the Century, prints a letter from Lord Alcester, who,
as Lieutenant Seymour, was flag lieutenant to his uncle,
Sir George Seymour, on board the CoUingwood, in which
he says that the admiral had no intention of raising the
flag in California.f That the English in California were
active in trying to interest the English government in
the acquisition of California we know, but we also know
that their appeals were unheeded; and if it was the design
of the British ministry to intervene in California, Fre-
mont's course was calculated to accomplish that very
* Colton: Dick and Port, 393.
t Century Magazine, xvlii, 779.
422 The Beginnings of San Francisco
result by provoking the California authorities to ask
for British protection.*
Realizing the weakness of Mexico's hold on California
the foreigners settled in the country had for some time
looked for a change in the government. Larkin, as United
States consul, had kept the government fully advised.
The British government had for some years been interested
in the affairs of Alta California and it was thought that
the leading men among the Californians would be glad
to declare the independence of California and put the
country under the protection of England. The admin-
istration of James K. Polk came in with the full deter-
mination to acquire possession of California, and in less
than seven and a half months from the president's
inauguration the secret dispatch to Larkin was sent.
The active and efficient consul took immediate steps
to carry out the wishes of his government which were
in direct line with the work he was already doing and for
which he was well qualified through his standing with the
best people and his cautious and conservative nature.
Had there been no interference with Larkin's plans
it is altogether probable that his influence and that of
other prominent men, together with the general desire
of those who had permanent interests in the country,
would have prevailed, and California would have accepted
a change of flag without protest. The special agent
had secured the assurance of General Castro that he
would favor independence from Mexico in 1847 or 1848,
and from his knowledge, acquired in twelve years' dealing
with Californians, he put implicit faith in their promises.
But Larkin's intrigue, progressing as he thought to a
successful issue, was rudely interrupted by the rising
of foreigners, most of whom, he says, were unknown
in the settlements.
* See Prof. E. D. Adams in American Historical Review, xiv., No. 4, July, 1909.
Notes 423
That the Bear Flag rising was no part of the scheme
of the United States government for the acquisition of
California is clear. Why then, should this officer of the
United States army, in disobedience of orders, secretly
and by circulation of false rumors of impending massacre
and destruction, instigate a revolt and incite those rough
borderers to acts of violence against those with whom
it was his duty to cultivate friendly relations? His
course shows that he deeply resented the humiliation
put on him by Castro in forcing a retreat from Gavilan
peak, and he was also informed by Gillespie that the
officers of the squadron made unfavorable comments
on his conduct. Besides, he knew from Benton, who
was in the confidence of the administration, the designs
of the government regarding California and his ambition
prompted him to improve the situation unscrupulously
for his own advancement. His whole conduct after
reaching California showed his desire to provoke a fight.*
There was absolutely no excuse for the Bear Flag rising.
"The valley," says John Bidwell, "was peace and quiet.
No settler, the truth of history compels me to say it,
had any apprehension of danger, "f
* Benton, in the letter to the president before alluded to, says: "I hope
the information I am able to give, though all of a private character, written
solely for the information of friends and never expected to go before the public (!)
may be sufficient to relieve present anxieties, to disprove the accusations
of Governor Castro, and to justify the operations of Captain Fremont. I
make this communication to you, sir, upon the responsibility of an American
senator addressing the president of the United States, and with the sole view
of vindicating the American government and its officer from the foul imputation
of exciting insurrection in the provinces of a neighboring power with whom
we were then at peace. I could add much more to prove that Captain Fre-
mont's private views and feelings were in unison with his ostensible mission —
that the passion of his soul was the pursuit of science and that he looked with
dread and aversion upon every* possible coUision either with the Indians,
Mexicans, or British, that could turn him aside from that cherished pursuit."
t Bidwell to Willey, in Royce's California, 99-101.
424 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Canada reveres the memory of the heroes of the Long
Sault — the seventeen young Frenchmen who devoted
themselves to death, stayed the Iroquois' invasion and
saved their country from destruction. Our children are
being taught to revere the memory of the heroes of the
Bear Flag; the men who brought war into a peaceful
community and to a people from whom they had received
nothing but kindness and hospitality; a war, unjust and
unnecessary, that left behind it a heritage of bitterness
and hate that sixty years of peace have not entirely
eradicated. And the young hero.'' He had a powerful
protector in the person of his father-in-law, and the
Mexican war came in time to save him from the conse-
quences of his disobedience. His letter of July 25th
showed clearly how grossly outraged and insulted he
had been by Castro in March and how necessary had been
the subsequent operations in the Sacramento and Sonoma
valleys for the protection of the lives of his party and
of the American settlers. The cabinet of Mr. Polk could
not be expected to confess their intrigue for the peaceful
possession of California and Fremont's statement became
history. He was raised to the rank of lieutenant-colonel
in the United States army and was made governor of
California by Stockton. He established his headquarters
in Los Angeles, in the house of Alexander Bell, the largest
house in town, and kept an armed sentry at his door
night and day. So set up was he with the pride, pomp,
and circumstance of glorious war that he defied the au-
thority of his superior officer and got himself court-
martialed. Here again did fortune stand by her favorite,
for though condemned by the court, he was made a
martyr and the president of the United States remitted
the penalty on account of the previous services of the
accused. Fremont was defended by his father-in-law,
who, being allowed free range by the court, insisted on
Notes 425
trying Kearny for his alleged misdeeds in California
and for his persecution of Fremont. "After the con-
spiracy of Cataline," said the venerable senator, "Cicero
had a theme for his life; since this conspiracy against
Fremont, and these rewards and honors lavished upon
all that plotted against his life and character, I also have
a theme for my life."*
Fremont's entire statement before the court-martial
regarding the conquest of California rings false and is
calculated to and did create an erroneous impression
concerning that historic event. "The defile of San
Fernando was also passed," says the lieutenant-colonel,
"a corps which occupied it falling back as the rifles
advanced. We entered the plain of Cowenga, (San
Fernando valley) occupied by the enemy in considerable
force, and I sent a summons to them to lay down their
arms or fight at once. The chiefs desired a parley with
me in person. I went alone to see them (Don Jesus Pico
only being with me) . They were willing to capitulate with
me; the terms were agreed upon. Commissioners were
sent out on both sides to put it into form. It received
the sanction of the governor and commander-in-chief,
Commodore Stockton. It was the capitulation of Co-
wenga. It put an end to the war and to the feelings
of war. "t
Napoleonic sentences these; but what were the facts?
The Californians had less than one hundred men under
arms. The plain of Cowenga was "occupied by the
enemy in considerable force. " Impossible ! the enemy had
no force. The leaders were at the rancho of the Verdugos
in consultation as to the best course to be pursued.
* 30tk Congress ist Session: Congressional Globe, 1847-8. Appendix.
Benton's speech in the United States Senate on promotion of General
Kearnj^
t 30th Congress ist. Session, Senate Doc. 33, 379.
426 The Beginnings of San Francisco
There was no thought of further resistance. All that
could now be done was to secure the best terms possible.
Flores had turned over the command to Andres Pico
and was on his way to Mexico. Don Jesus Pico appeared
with Fremont's summons. Don Andres thought they
could obtain better terms from Fremont than from
Stockton who had exhibited great arrogance towards
them. He dictated the terms which were readily agreed
to by Fremont. The statement that they received the
sanction of Commodore Stockton is correct, but they
were not submitted to him until the peace was signed
and the Californians had departed for their homes.
The taking upon himself of terms of surrender when
his commanding officer was within an hour's ride was a
remarkable exhibition of nerve on the part of the young
Napoleon.*
Fremont declined the president's clemency and resigned
his commission. He organized a fourth expedition in
1848 and lost a number of his men in the mountains.
In 1850 the California legislature elected him United
States senator for the short term, and in 1856 he became
the candidate of the newly formed Republican party
for the presidency. The managers of the party wanted
a candidate who was not identified with the bitter war
between the Whigs and Free-Soil men. Fremont had
the peculiar advantage of having no political record to
contend with, and it was thought that his nomination
would insure at least the neutrality if not the active
support of Thomas H. Benton and his friends in the west.
The stories of his romantic conquest of California materi-
* "The Californians met Colonel Fremont on the 12th instant on his way-
hare, who, not knowing what had occured, entered into capitulation with them.
* * * I have thought it best to approve it." Stockton to Bancroft. 30th
Cong. 1st Ses. Doc. i. Fremont was advised by Kearny that they were in pos-
session of Los Angeles.
Notes 427
ally strengthened his candidacy and much was said
concerning his immense wealth, for had he not refused
two million dollars for the Mariposa rancho? At least
that was one of the many fables concerning him that
went uncontradicted. So men like Summer, Wilson,
and Chase were passed by and the conqueror of California
received the prize. Great things were expected of
California, but the people did not grow enthusiastic over
the nomination of Fremont. The years that had passed
had dimmed the glory which, like an aureola, had sur-
rounded the figure of the young explorer. No longer
did the heroes of the Bear Flag stir their imaginations.
They heard more about beef contracts, and unexplained
financial transactions in which names of more or less
unsavory repute figured, or bogus ore shipments from the
Mariposa claim and all the disagreeable things that are
raked up or invented for such occasions; and when the
vote of California was counted it was found that Fremont
had twenty thousand; Fillmore, thirty-six thousand; and
Buchanan, fifty-three thousand.
In these latter days, however, the Fremont legend has
acquired new life and is taking on the force and mystery
of a northland myth. The unpleasant facts of history
are pushed aside and forgotten. We see only the pictur-
esque figure of the hero of romance and we hail him as
pathfinder, explorer, conqueror. We give his name to
our streets, and cities, and towns, and hold festivals in
his honor. We dedicate schoolhouses to him and teach
our children to look upon him with something of that
reverence they feel for the founders of the republic. This
is wrong. The people should be taught the truth.
John C. Fremont is not the hero of California. The
liberal quotations from original documents in this article
will show how events have been misrepresented in order
to build up an unmerited reputation.
428 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 32
THE REVOLT OF THE CALIFORNIANS AND THE
AFFAIR AT SAN PEDRO
On the last day of August 1846 Commodore Stockton
appointed Captain Gillespie of the California battalion
commandant of the southern military department, with
headquarters at Los Angeles, and sailed for the north
three days later. Gillespie was instructed to maintain
martial law but to administer it with leniency. He was
a brave and gallant officer, but he despised the Californians
and was not the man to conciliate a proud and humiliated
people and change them into friendly and willing citizens
of the United States. He cared as little for the carefully
drawn instructions of the home government as did his
chief, Fremont, and he laid down very strict rules and
regulations to be observed, the Californians thought,
for the purpose of humiliating them. Los Angeles was
ever the hotbed of a turbulent, lawless, and uncontrol-
lable element, and it was not long before there was an
outbreak. A few drunken vagabonds headed by one
Cerbula Varela created a riot and fired on the barracks
garrisoned by Gillespie and his men. The commander
considered the affair an attempt at general insurrection
and arrested several Mexican officers who had given their
parole and were quietly living with their families. Many
other prominent citizens, fearing arrest, fled to the ranches
and prepared to defend themselves. They had no
sympathy with Varela and his crew, but considered the
arrest of the officers a breach of faith, and the affair,
which, properly handled by Gillespie, would have ended
with those who began it, ripened into a general revolt.
A force of three hundred men gathered in camp outside
Notes 429
of the pueblo, issued a proclamation and summoned
Gillespie to surrender. They had but a few flint-lock
muskets, escopetas (shot-guns), and lances, but no powder.
John Temple's wife (a daughter of Francisco Cota) sent
them two kegs of powder from her husband's store in
Los Angeles and they sent out on the Colorado desert
and got saltpetre and sulphur and made powder for
themselves at the mission of San Gabriel. It was poor
stuff, would throw a ball only five hundred yards, and
when used in a flint-lock musket would flash in their
faces. The first engagement of the war was the siege by
fifty Californians under Varela of Chino rancho, where
Don Benito Wilson with a party of twenty foreigners
were in garrison. After an exchange of shots, during
which one man was killed and several wounded, the
Americans surrendered and were turned over to Jose
Maria Flores who had been made commander-in-chief.
The Californians now invested Los Angeles and called
on Gillespie to surrender, offering to permit the garrison
to march unmolested to San Pedro. Gillespie, who
had sent a messenger to Stockton for relief, found his
position untenable and accepted the terms. He marched
out with his colors flying and drums beating and embarked
on the merchant ship Vandalia at San Pedro. Santa
Barbara was taken, Talbot and his nine men fleeing to
the mountains whence they made their way to Monterey.
On October 6th the Savannah sent by Stockton, reached
San Pedro and the commander. Captain William Mervine,
landed three hundred and fifty men and joined by Gillespie
and his men from the Vandalia marched on the morning
of the seventh for Los Angeles with a force of four hundred
men. He could obtain no horses and took no cannon
from the ships. Remembering the promenade of Stock-
ton with the men of the Congress the previous August,
Mervine anticipated no trouble, though he took all the
430 The Beginnings of San Francisco
precautions of a good commander. Flores sent Jose
Antonio Carrillo with fifty horsemen to observe the
movements of the Americans, and in the afternoon shots
were exchanged between Carrillo's men and Mervine's
skirmishers. At night the Americans occupied the
buildings of the Dominguez rancho (San Pedro), below
Los Angeles, and Carrillo received a reinforcement of
forty men and an old four-pounder mounted on a pair
of wagon wheels. There was more or less firing during
the night by Carrillo, whose orders were to harass and
delay the enemy but risk no general engagement. Early
on the morning of the eighth the Americans resumed the
advance, the marines and sailors marching in a solid square
with Gillespie's men thrown out on either side as skirmish-
ers. Soon they came upon the Californians drawn up
in line of battle, waiting to receive them. In Carrillo's
center was the gun in charge of ten men while forty
horsemen were deployed on either flank. As the Ameri-
cans came within range the gun was discharged and
immediately dragged away by the reatas of the horsemen.
At a safe distance it was reloaded and again brought
into action. This operation was repeated several times
with a loss to Mervine's force of six killed and six wounded.
That the casualties were not greater is due to the poor
quality of the home-made powder. Mervine, realizing
the futility of attempting the pursuit of cavalry and flying
artillery by seamen on foot, retreated, and his men
exhausted by the heat and fatigue returned to their
ships carrying their dead and wounded. Carrillo had
fired his last charge of powder, but Mervine did not know
that. The dead were buried on an island in San Pedro
harbor, called Dead Man's island.*
* Dana says: "It was so named because of the burial there of an English-
man, commander of a small merchant brig, who was supposed to have been
poisoned. Two Years Before the Mast.
Notes 43 1
Jose Antonio Carrillo, whose name has frequently
appeared in this narrative, was the fourth son of Jose Rai-
mundo Carrillo, soldier of the Portola expedition. He
was born in San Francisco April 11, 1796, and baptized
Jose Antonio Ezequiel. He became alcalde of Los
Angeles, member of the diputacion, elector, member of
(Mexican) congress, lieutenant-colonel of militia, coman-
dante de escuadron, etc., and signed the peace of Cahuenga
as Mexican commissioner. In 1849 he was member of
the constitutional convention. He was a man of remark-
able natural ability with a great taste for politics and
intrigue. Hospitable and generous he would go far to
oblige a friend or discomfit an enemy, and though easily
placated, he was prone to sharp and cutting remarks.
Foster relates that at a ball in Los Angeles Carrillo
remarked of an officer of the Mormon battalion who was
laboring through a dance with one of the California ladies,
that the lieutenant danced like a bear. This being re-
peated made the Mormons very angry, and claiming
they were insulted they stirred up a good deal of feeling
over the matter. Colonel Stevenson wishing to pour
oil on the troubled waters sent Foster to ask Carrillo
to withdraw the remark. Carrillo received Foster with
the greatest cordiality and in the most courteous manner.
Foster explained and Carrillo at once announced his
readiness to withdraw the obnoxious remark, adding
with the most winning grace that the bear was a paisano
(countryman) of his and great injustice had been done
him in regard to his dancing. This was the best Foster
could do and Colonel Stevenson arranged a meeting of
Mormons and Californians to reconcile matters and
promote good feeling. The meeting was held at the
house of a prominent citizen who in the most hospitable
manner received all that came, setting before them
whisky, brandy, and native wines, and some of the early
432 The Beginnings of San Francisco
comers imbibed very freely. The company was so great
that they adjourned to the yard. Stevenson stated the
matter and then gave Carrillo the chance to explain his
remark. Carrillo began in a dignified manner but had
uttered only a half dozen words when Captain Hunt*
of the battalion, who had seven or eight stiff drinks under
his belt, interrupted him and in a violent speech began
a recital of the wrongs of the Mormons from the time
of their being driven from Kirtland, Ohio, to their arrival
at Council Bluffs; and how, in spite of it all, they had
raised a battalion of five hundred men for the service
of the United States and had marched two thousand
miles, ill-clad and on half rations, and after all that an
unregenerate Mexican with the blood of the Americans
still red upon his hands dared to ridicule one of the officers
because he could not dance. Then raising his arms
aloft Hunt shouted: "By the sword of the Lord and of
Gideon I am for free trade and sailors' rights." At this
an old sea dog of a ship-master who had been left inside
with the bottles came to the door, and in his anxiety to
drink to sailors' rights lost his balance and rolling down
the steps came charging among them like a cannon ball.
In the confusion which followed Carrillo walked quietly
to where his horse was tied, saying to Foster as he passed,
"Sus paisanos son un atajo de pendejos borrachos"
(His countrymen are a pack of drunken cowards), mounted
and rode away, much to the relief of Foster who feared
that his apology would be worse than his original offense.f
* Jefferson Hunt. He went to Salt Lake with the battalion, but returned
to California later with the San Bernardino colony, and represented San
Bernardino in the legislature in 1855. In 1856 he was made brigadier general
of the First brigade. First division, California militia.
t Foster: Angeles from '4/ to '49 MS. 36.
Notes 433
In person Don Jose Antonio was tall and handsome,
had a most urbane and courteous manner, and no man
had greater power in winning friends. In his private
affairs he was indolent and careless, like so many of his
class, and never bothered himself about where the means
were to come from, so that they came. In 1844 he was
grantee, with his brother Carlos Antonio, of Santa Rosa
island. He died in Santa Barbara in 1862. His first
wife was Estefana Pico and the second, Jacinta Pico, both
sisters of Don Pio.
1897
