USA > California > Los Angeles County > An historical sketch of Los Angeles county, California. From the Spanish occupancy, by the founding of the mission San Gabriel Archangel, September 8, 1771, to July 4, 1876 > Part 9
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Don Juan Foster began to occupy this place in the year 1844, and re- mained there until he took possession, in 1864, of his princely estate of San- ta Margarita. He became so identified with it, that he used to be saluted "San Juan Capistrano" as often as by his family appellation. Nevertheless, not to him does it owe its name, but to a personage who was born at the town of Capistrano, near the city of Aquila, in the kingdom of Naples. In a work which treats of these subjects very learnedly, it is stated as follows: "This zealous defender of the Christian religion was son of a French knight, who married in Italy while attached to the retinue of the Duke d'Anjou, who, at Avignon, had been crowned King of Naples. After study of civil and can- onical law, he was made a Judge at Perusa, and was distinguished by bril- liant talents and eloquence. He married there, but on the death of his wife he entered into the religions order of Franciscans (by whom the California Missions were all established). His custom was to eat once a day, and for thirty-six years he did not taste of meat-sleeping but three hours at night on the floor of his cell. He was eminent in the pulpit. IIe filled many em- ployments under Papal appointment in Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, Po- land, and elsewhere. Mahomet II, the terror of Europe, took Constantino- ple in the year 1453; now master of twelve kingdoms and more than two hun- dred cities, he besieged Belgrade, in 1456. San Juan Capistrano was by the Pope appointed preacher and leader of the Crusade. Hungarian, Transylva- nian and Russian combined, San Juan in front, crucifix in ยท hand, met Ma- homet. At the first onset the Ottoman army was routed, Mahomet wounded- and his troops cut to pieces-a victory which the Princes all ascribed to the zeal and prayers of San Juan. He died the sameyear in Hungary at the age of 71 years. In 1690 he was solemnly canonized by Pope Alexander VIII." We have already explained the Pueblo name, as distinguished from that of the Mission. This pretty sea-side valley has had a various history. Its abo- rigines were remarkable from the first, according to the account left of them in the biography of Father Junipero Serra, for their gentleness of disposition ;
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and ever since have been noticed for their comely appearance and good qual- ities. In 1862-63 the small-pox nearly exterminated them. The pirate Bou- chard held high wassail three nights and days within its sacred walls, his outlaw crew, wild from its well-filled cellars, Priests and neophytes mean- while sheltered by the woods of Trabuceo.' About 1859, Daniel Sexton had weary digging under one of its rooms for hidden treasure, until the conde- scending proprietor feared to see his house tumbling down over his head. Ships for trade had anchored in its snug bight, and its hot spring, twelve miles distant, invited invalids to healing waters. Beyond doubt it was a reg- ularly organized Mexican pueblo, yet by sleepy neglect missed a confirma- tory decree, and the homes of the too confiding inhabitants may have been the prey of speculators. November 11th, 1875, its land was finally entered as a town site, amounting to 567.07 acres, for $708.89; the only town site that has been entered in the U. S. Los Angeles District. In more prosperous days, was there ever a gayer people ? And where a firmer fortitude in ad- versity ? Primitive simplicity sought to keep the reign at San Juan. Sel-
dlom they elected a "Justice of the Peace;" nor often had they a dispute which "Don Juan"-whether Foster or Abila-could not lull and compose. So in quiet lived Santiago Rios, Brigido Morrillo, Pedro Verdugo, Matias Olivares, Blas Aguilar, Hermenegildo Bermudez, children, grand children -and friends-at sixty miles from Los Angeles, and seventy other wearier miles from San Diego-too far for excitement or news, unless when the pol- itician irrepressible might stray within their fold, or a charmed visitor share the cheerful board.
On January 22d, 1857, came the band of Pancho Daniel and Juan Flores. Through the day they plundered the stores of Miguel Krazewsky, Henry Charles, and Manuel Garcia, finishing their work by cruel murder of the German merchant, George W. Pflugardt. This led to events which we may briefly relate. Having received some previous information of move- ments of these robbers, Sheriff James R. Barton, on the night of the 22d, left this city with a party consisting of Wm. H. Little, Charles K. Baker, Charles F. Daley, Alfred Hardy and Frank Alexander. Within fifteen miles of San Juan, on the San Joaquin rancho, next morning, Little and Baker advanced a few hundred yards in pursuit of a man in view on horseback. The bandits sallied out from behind a hillock, eight in number, instantly killed Little and Baker, then attacked Barton and companions. After a short conflict Barton was killed, and Daley pursued with like fate. The other two, by the fleetness of their horses escaped and brought this sad intelligence to Los An- geles. Words cannot picture the horror and grief that filled all men. Re- venge became instantly the sole thought. Five companies, French, Germans, and Americans, were at once organized, and two besides of native Californi- ans; one also at El Monte, one at San Bernardino. A company of U. S. In- fantry came from Fort Tejon under Lieutenants Magruder and Pender. At San Diego an express had brought information of the death of Prugardt. Under a warrant issued by the District Judge, Captain H. S. Burton placed at the disposal of Sheriff Joseph Reiner thirty of his artillerymen, mounted, under Lieut. Mercer, who proceeded to San Juan. The Los Angeles compa- nies scoured the country, and some of the bandits were taken and hung. A. company under James Thompson was sent towards Tujunga. Some of the U. S. Infantry with him were stationed on the look-out at Semi Pass. Two of the soldiers, hid behind the rocks, succeeded in arresting a man who had come there for water. Ile was without arms, mounted on a poor horse, and
had a little dried beef on the saddle behind him. He said his name was Juan Gonzales Sanchez; that he belonged to and had come from San Fer- nando Mission ; was out hunting horses, and would go no further. Taken into camp, he was recognized by Don Pancho Johnson as Juan Flores. In the presence of almost the entire population, near the top of Fort hill, he was executed Feb. 14th, 1857, in accordance with a vote of the mass of the people. James R. Barton was of Howard county, Mo .; emigrated to Mexico in 1841; came to California in 1843. William Hale Little was reared in Tex- as, near Palestine, Anderson county ; aged 33 years. Charles K. Baker was born at Rock Spring, De Soto county, Mississippi; aged 26 years: he was last from Sequin, Texas. Charles F. Daley was a native of New York; 30
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years of age. Pancho Daniel was captured by Sheriff Murphy in January, 1858, concealed in a haystack in the vicinity of San Jose. He was put in jail in Los Angeles. His case came before the District Court,-Benj. Hayes, Judge- on March 15th, E. J. C. Kewen his counsel. He pleaded "not guil- ty" to the indictment for the murder of Charles K. Baker, Charles F. Daley and Pflugardt. Col. Kewen then retired from the case and K. H. Dimmick was appointed by the Court to conduct his defense. Various proceedings took place. It appearing impossible to get a jury out of a venire of ninety six persons, the case was continued; C. Sims, Attorney for defendant. At the July term, from illness of C. Sims, C. E. Thom was assigned as associ- ate counsel. A challenge to the whole panel of 96 jurors was sustained by the triers, and a further panel of 96 jurors ordered to be returned on August 9th. The Court then sustained a challenge for bias of the Coroner, and the case was continued until the next term. November 15th the Elisor was challenged for bias in summoning a panel of 96 jurors. This challenge was not sustained. A motion for a change of venue was then made, argued, and the case transferred to Santa Barbara county, in the Second Judicial District. General E. Drown was District Attorney. On November 30th, about 612 o'clock in the morning, Richard Mitchell, the jailor, was on his way to mar- ket. He was stopped by six or eight persons, who demanded the keys of the jail, which he delivered after some hesitation. A piece of artillery was planted so as to bear upon the door of the jail, and a large number of men marched from a neighboring corral The doors of the prison were opened and Pancho Daniel was summoned to leave his cell, which he did with cool- ness and resignation. At twenty minutes past 7 A. M. he was hung within the jail yard. The body was delivered to his wife for interment. A Coro- ner's Jury examined a number of witnesses and rendered a verdict that "he came to his death by being hanged by some persons to the jury unknown."
Freshets of the river have been exaggerated in the excitement of the mo- ment. At Los Angeles, the flood of 1861-62 began with the rain on Christ- mas eve, 1861,and continued almost without intermission until January 17th, 1862, on which last day, 3 o'clock P. M., fell tremendous torrents of water, ac- companied by loud claps of thunder and vivid lightning. Soon the little irri- gating streams of the city flowed on as usual, and the traces of the storm were easily effaced. In fact they were but little more serious than that of Christmas day, 1860; or of November 29th 1859, which was acknowledged to have "accomplished miracles for the good of the country." For many years this of December-January, (1861-62) was the heaviest that had fallen. The city dam was damaged; some adobe houses fell; travel on the roads was con- siderably impeded; the South-east gales delayed the arrival of the Brother Jonathan at San Pedro. At El Monte the San Gabriel river made a new channel, entering near the town of Lexington; but the danger was soon avert- ed by the energy of the inhabitants. On the Santa Ana, at Anaheim, the overflow was rather advantageous than otherwise, to the vineyards. Some thirty miles higher up, by accessions of torrents from the mountain creeks of San Bernardino, on the night of January 17th, the flood destroyed the thriv- ing New Mexican settlement of Agua Mansa (Gentle Water). There was no loss of life, the sleeping inhabitants having timely alarm by the bells of their Church; but every former sign of culture was obliterated by the waste of sand which the rush of waters spread over the whole valley, and five hun- dred souls, houseless, were turned out upon the surrounding hills. These rains extended to the rivers San Diego and Mohave. On the banks of the first, at the town of San Diego, improvements had begun to be made, in for- getfulness of the experience of 1811 and 1825 and 1840. Boats brought off the women and children. The Mohave, which seldom reaches the Colorado, on January 20th had swollen that river, and Fort Yuma was an island. Not a drop of these rains had fallen at Fort Yuma, or on the Colorado Desert. For this fact we are indebted to Dr. Prentiss, Surgeon U. S. A. at Fort Carle- ton, and Lieut. Nichols, who left Fort Yuma January 20th and came to San Bernardino in four and a half days by San Gorgonio Pass. At Algodones, on the river Colorado, where Dr. P. encamped the first day, that river rose six feet during the night. Lieut. Nichols went one day forty-five miles with- out water. February 4th, at night, the Senator, Capt. Seely, encountered off
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Point Concepcion the severest gale that he had ever experienced on this coast. The same day, at 10 o'clock A. M., at San Bernardino, a shock of earthquake was felt, lasting a second ; oscillation from east to west.
No permanent injury has been done here, nor in California, by "earth- quakes," since December 8th, 1812, when San Juan Capistrano and La Purissima Churches were destroyed. There were sensible shocks in July, 1855, April 14th, May 2d, and September 20th, 1856. The shock of Friday, January 9th, 1857, was at twenty-five minutes past eight o'clock in the morning.
On the 10th and 17th, and subsequently, accounts of the phenome arena published in the Star, from which we summarize these interesting facts. At Los Angeles, the morning was calm, cool and clear, the sun shining brightly. The earth's motion was very gentle at first, those sitting at table supposing some one was shaking it; gradually it increased in violence till every house, with all its contents, were seen to rock from side to side, as if about to topple over. There were three distinct shocks-the pause between them being perceptible only to those who have long lived in countries where earthquakes are more common than here. The duration of the oscillation was fully two minutes. The vibration from north to south. In half an hour after another shock occurred, much less violent; another within an hour from that, and during the day a number of slight vibrations. At five o'clock in the afternoon, a shock occurred almost as severe as the first, which was followed at intervals by slight motions till about eleven o'clock, when another heavy one occurred. During the night several other vibrations were felt. On Saturday there were several slight shocks, with one severe one about eleven o'clock at night. Sunday was quiet till about eleven o'clock at night, when a pretty strong vibration was felt, and thereafter at intervals during the night. Monday, many say they felt shocks through the day. After that day the earth remained quiet. Through this county it was felt variously, but most sensibly at Fort Tejon; also, in San Bernardino, San Diego, and Santa Barbara Counties; at Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Stockton, San Fran- cisco, Sacramento, Marysville.
" The waters of the Mokelumne, below Benson's Ferry, then much swollen by the late rains, were turned for a time over the surrounding country, leav- ing its bed nearly bare, while trees were settled several feet into the ground, and limbs were broken from others by the violent motion."-Sacramento Age. "The movement was undulating, from north to south, without damage either to persons or property."-Sacramento Union.
" In San Jose Valley, the only damage was the cutting off or reducing in volume the streams of several of our artesian wells. In some instances the water has entirely ceased to flow to the surface, and in others, the stream was for a time greatly increased, and then subsided to about its former size." -San Jose Tribune.
"In the Counties of Santa Cruz and Monterey, it was a pretty hard shock, yet no buildings were affected."-Pacific Sentinel.
" At San Francisco, all the accompaniments of a second-class earthquake were experienced."-S. F. Herald.
" At Santa Barbara several houses were injured, but no lives lost."
William Denton, Esq., describes the shock at the upper crossing of the Mohave River, fifty miles from San Bernardino. Commencing with a harsh, grating noise, the motion of the earth became very violent, and lasted between thirty or forty seconds; two motions, apparently, vertical and oscillating. With great difficulty he could keep his feet. At night, in camp, he expe- rienced two more shocks-about nine and eleven o'clock-which were not severe; the wind very highi at the time. The first shock, at the Mohave crossing, was immediately succeeded by an appalling noise. At Kern Lake, the water in the river was forced back, and rose over the banks about four feet. All information makes the force of the shock gradually less as it approached northward-from Fort Tejon.
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At Fort Tejon it was more severe than in any other part of the State, and is thus described in a published letter to the Star, from Alonzo C. Wakeman, Quartermaster's Deputy, U. S. A., of date January 11th, 1857:
" The first shock took place about thirty minutes past six o'clock A. M., on Friday, January 9th, which was succeeded, at twenty minutes previous to mine o'clock A. M., by a terrific shock. The vibrations have continued, at intervals, up to the present time, say five o'clock P. M. The earth has opened in many places for a distance of twenty miles. Amongst the narrow escapes from falling buildings, is that of the lady of Captain R. W. Kirkham, Assis- tant Quartermaster, who is absent from the post on official duty; also, Lieut. Col. B. L. Bcall, commanding the post, who had barely sufficient time to escape from his bed amidst the falling of plaster, the crashing of material, falling of chimneys, etc. The line of disruption seems to extend from south- cast to northwest. Mr. David W. Alexander, in from San Emigdio Rancho, reports that the beds of many small streams have been enlarged, and now form almost rivers; and that immense numbers of fish have been thrown out of the lakes upon the dry land. On January 20th, another severe shock was felt, and vibrations had been of frequent occurrence meanwhile. The troops betook themselves to their tents. The buildings occupied by Lieut. Col. Beall, Major Blake, Major Grier, Lieutenants Ogle and Magruder, and others, were all cracked and variously injured, but not beyond easy repair, as was found out on cooler inspection."
Since 1857, there has been no shock in this section of the State that has attracted more than a slight notice from the inhabitants generally.,
Certainly we have not violated the maxim-"hasten slowly." The Sena- tor, Capt. Thomas Seeley, three times a month, and the overland stage three times a week, in the Summer of 1859, were god-sends to the public. At sea, we were glad to have parted with Ohio, Goliah, Sea Bird, and Southerner, al- though memory is true to the pleasant companionship of their Haleys and other officers. On land we hailed Wells, Fargo & Co., April 11, 1857, when "Buck"-A. W. Buchanan, Esq .- came down to establish a branch ; and have pardoned Gregory's great Atlantic and Pacific Express, of 1851, and the mails -a month and nineteen days from the East. We welcomed Paul and Chap- man June 4th, 1859, with their "regular line once a week" to San Diego- 130 miles. What a contrast: The present, with the stages of David Smith semi-monthly to Visalia, April, 1857, and this, when a little over two years before we had made the Tejon road, at a cost of $6,000. The same year we had three wind-mills in the county. January 7, 1856, Heman C. Cardwell had just introduced Hovey's seedling strawberries. Up to September, 1855. there were no bec-hives in the county. January 1st, 1876, there were 10,386 hives. Then, too, "the finest orchard in Southern California," said the Star, was that of Wm. M. Stockton, near San Gabriel Mission, in sight of Fairy Lake Vineyard. The first U. S. patent was issued in 1859 to Don Manuel Do- minguez, for San Pedro rancho. We did not get the telegraph until the end of 1860. Travel had so far improved by December, 1861, that Cattick & Co's stages were able to "leave Los Angeles on Mondays and Thursdays, return- ing Tuesdays and Saturdays"-62 miles; daily we go to breakfast at Los Angeles, from San Bernardino, and back to its fountains and groves ere nightfall. In the full fruition of railway communication between the At- lantic and Pacific-with a promise from every "sign of the times" of new lines of travel between ocean and ocean over other sections of our country- we may not forget that the first earnest public announcement of such bless- ing emanated from a gentleman who was then and is a citizen of Los Ange- les. John J. Warner, being on a visit to Connecticut (his native State), by request of friends, prepared a lecture on California. This was delivered be- fore a society at Rochester, N. Y., and afterwards at Upper Middletown. Conn., in the latter part of the year 1840; and carly in 1841, portions of the same were published in the New York Journal of Commerce. Mr. W. ad- vanced and demonstrated the proposition that the trade of Europe and the At- lantic States of the Union, with China, could be carried across the continent
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more advantageously by rail than by a ship canal at Panama. To him, then, we give the meed of praise for the first suggestion of this great enterprise.
San Pedro was often lively in 1840-and had been so in Mission times -by the trading vessels engaged, with active competition, in the purchase of hides and tallow. Francis Mellus gives a list of those on this coast, August 23d of that year, thirteen in number, as follows: "Ships-California (Capt. Arthur), Alciope (Clapp), Monsoon (Vincent), Alert (Phelps); Barques-In- dex (Scott), Clara (Walters) ; Hermaphrodite brigs-Leonidas (Stevens), Aya- encha (Dare); Brigs-Juan Jose (Dunkin), Bolivar (Nye); Schooners-Fly (Wilson), California (Cooper), Nymph, formerly Norse (Fitch), and two more expected." From 1844 to 1849 the merchants at Los Angeles city' were, John Temple. Abel Stearns, Charles W. Flugge-found dead- September 1st, 1852, on the plains below this city-B. D. Wilson and Albert Packard (Wil- son & Packard), and Alexander Bell. To these add, in 1849, Antonio Cota, Jose Antonio Menendez, from Spain; Juan Domingo, Netherlands; Jose Mascarel, of Marseilles, and John Belin, of Grand Dutchy Baden. The last named came in 1848. He quit business in the Fall of 1853, died December 6th, 1868. Madame Salandie is to be added to those of '49. She came on the same ship with Lorenzo Lecke from Pennsylvania in that year, started at once a little store, butcher shop, loaning money, and general speculation. Juan Domingo came to California in 1829, by way of Lima, married here, was quite noted, died December 20th, 1858.
The first steamer that ever visited San Pedro was the Goldhunter, in 1849-a side-wheel, which made the voyage from San Francisco to Mazatlan, touching at way ports. The next was the old Ohio. At San Pedro, from 1844 to 1849, Temple & Alexander-D. W. Alexander-had the only general store, and they carried on all the forwarding business. The first four-wheel vehicle in this county, except an old-fashioned Spanish carriage belonging to the Mission Priests, was a rockaway carriage which this firm bought of Capt. Kane, Major Graham's Quartermaster, in January, 1849, paying him $1,000 for the carriage and two American horses. It created a sensation like that of the first Wilmington railway car on the 26th day of October, 1868. Goods were forwarded to Los Angeles, twenty-four miles, in carts, each with two yoke of oxen, yoked by the horns. The regular train was of ten carts, like the California carretas. The body was the same, but they had spoked wheels tired, which were imported from Boston. Freight was $1.00 per hun- dred weight; now it is $1.00 per ton. This style of importation continued until after 1850. The first stage line was started by Alexanders & Banning in 1852; the next by that man of iron, J. J. Tomlinson, whose death was early for the public good, June 5th, 1867. In 1851, D. W. Alexander pur- chased at Sacramento ten heavy freight wagons that had been sent in from Salt Lake by Ben Holliday, and in 1853 a whole train, fourteen wagons and 168 mules, that had come through from Chihuahua, paying therefor $23,000. So ox-earts were supplanted.
Alexander & Mellus became a new firm, at Los Angeles City, in 1850, continuing until 1856. Wilson & Packard dissolved December, 1851. John Temple and Alexander Bell kept up their separate stores. Other mer- chants of 1850 were: Jacob Elias, Charles Ducommon, Samuel Arbuckle, Waldemar, O. W. Childs, and J. D. Hicks-Childs & Hicks; Charles Bur- roughs, who died May 30th, 1856; M. Michaels, HI. Jacoby, of violin celeb- rity, and who went rich to Europe; Jordan, Jose Vicente Guerrero, Jose Maria Fuentes, Jose Baltazar, of Prussia, Rimpau, Fritze & Co., with Morris L. Goodwin, Clerk, John Behn and Frank Laumeistre, a German ; afterward, in the same year, Behn & Lamitre, and Mattias Savichi. This estimable gentleman was of Dalmatia. He died June, 1852, at sea, bound from Saint Thomas to London, leaving two young sons, of whom Francisco Savichi survives, a prominent citizen of Los Angeles. George Walters also had commenced business in this year. He was born at New Orleans, April 22d, 1809. After trapping and trading adventures in the Rocky Mountains, at Fort Hall, and elsewhere, under Captain Wyatt, and teaming between West-
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port, Bent's Fort, and Santa Fe, at last, near the end of 1844, he left New Mexico, in company of Jim Beckwith, James Waters (of San Bernardino), and others, and made his home at Los Angeles; and was not long in becom- ing one of the Chino prisoners, with B. D. Wilson and Louis Roubidoux. He enjoys advancing age, in the possession of good property. Mr. Wilson was Indian Agent, for Southern California, in 1853; in the same year made his place on Alameda street, which he sold to the Sisters of Charity for their Institute; and in 1854 began to put into effect his plans for Lake Vineyard. He removed there in 1856. He was born at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1811- is still full of enterprise. Mr. Packard went to Santa Barbara, entered into the practice of law, with horticultural improvements; is well off. John O. Wheeler and Osias Morgan-Wheeler & Morgan, until September, 1852-be- gan in September, 1849, with trading establishments at Rincon, San Luis Rey, Pala, Agua Caliente. In May, 1850, after John Glanton had been killed by the Indians, they put up a branch at Fort Yuma. They, in fact, succeeded Wilson & Packard, in their store, in August, 1850. Mr. Morgan died several years ago. Mr. Wheeler was Clerk of the U. S. District Court, of the Southern District of California, from 1861 until its discontinuance, in 1866; then Deputy Clerk of the Circuit Court; from 1870 to 1873, Chief Clerk of the California Indian Superintendency, Col. B. C. Whiting, Superintendent; Deputy Collector of U. S. Internal Revenue of Second Division, First Dis- trict, comprising Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties, which office he resigned January 1st, 1876.
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