An illustrated history of Southern California : embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of Lower California, from the earliest period of occupancy to the present time; together with glimpses of their prospects; also, full-page portraits of some of their eminent men, and biographical mention of many of their pioneers and of prominent citizens of to-day, Part 2

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1038

USA > California > Los Angeles County > An illustrated history of Southern California : embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of Lower California, from the earliest period of occupancy to the present time; together with glimpses of their prospects; also, full-page portraits of some of their eminent men, and biographical mention of many of their pioneers and of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 2
USA > California > San Diego County > An illustrated history of Southern California : embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of Lower California, from the earliest period of occupancy to the present time; together with glimpses of their prospects; also, full-page portraits of some of their eminent men, and biographical mention of many of their pioneers and of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 2
USA > California > Orange County > An illustrated history of Southern California : embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of Lower California, from the earliest period of occupancy to the present time; together with glimpses of their prospects; also, full-page portraits of some of their eminent men, and biographical mention of many of their pioneers and of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 2
USA > California > San Bernardino County > An illustrated history of Southern California : embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of Lower California, from the earliest period of occupancy to the present time; together with glimpses of their prospects; also, full-page portraits of some of their eminent men, and biographical mention of many of their pioneers and of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 2

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Two years later, June, 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese in the service of Spain, and a navigator of some repute, sailed from Natividad with two vessels of Alvarado's former fleet, and acting under vice-regal instructions took his frail craft northward along the Pacific coast. On September 28, 1542, he discovered " a landlocked and very good harbor," which he named San Miguel, and which has since come

to be called San Diego. He recorded the lati- tnde as 34° 20' north, an error of 1º 37' 2", due, no doubt, to the imperfection of his in- struments. Cabrillo paid the first tribute to the excellence of San Diego's harbor, by record- ing that on the day after his arrival he sent a boat " farther into the port, which was large," and while it was anchored, " a very great gale blew from the southwest; but, the port being good, they felt nothing." Cabrillo remained at the good port six days. It seems that the In- dians hereabouts, though shy, were savage and bloodthirsty, as they attacked and slightly wounded several of the Spaniards out fishing. After a time, they ventured to approach the strangers, and by signs told of men in the in- terior who wore beards, rode horses, and carried fire-arms. This was probably in reference to the party by sea of Ulloa, or that of Alarcon, or the land expedition of Coronado. Cabrillo spent a month in explorations of the coast and islands, up to Point Concepcion, making observations as to the latitude of various points, and taking notes of the characteristics of the country and its inhabitants. In November, he returned to the Santa Bárbara channel islands, and here he died, from the effects of a broken arm, aggra- vated by exposure incurred on the voyage.

Up to the year 1597 there are accounts of voy- ages to Upper California, claimed to have been made by Lorenzo Maldonado and Juan de Fuca; but these narratives bear internal evidence of being, at least in detail, pure fabrications.

In 1594, Viceroy Velasco contracted with Sebastian Vizcaino to re-explore and occupy for the Spanish crown the Islas Californias (Californian Isles); and in 1597, Vizcaino ac- cordingly sailed from Acapulco. He failed in his attempt to colonize the peninsula. Never- theless, he was assigned as commander of an- other expedition which sailed from Acapulco May 5, 1602. Such explorations as they made along the peninsula coast bronght them to San Miguel, which he re-named San Diego, on No- vember 10; they left again on November 20, several men having died and several being

HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY.

disabled from the ravages of scurvy. They proceeded on northward and beyond Cape Men- docino, the two vessels locating a Cape Blanco, in latitude 42° one, and 43° the other. They reached Acapulco again on March 21 of the following year, having lost on the voyage forty- eight men by death.

THE NAME SAN DIEGO.

It is perhaps proper and reasonable to ex- plain, in this connection, the origin of the name San Diego. Many have supposed that from the name of the first mission came that of the bay, the port, the city, the county. This belief is erroneons; for, whereas the mission was not founded or named until 1769, the bay was thus called, as has been said already, 167 years earlier, namely, in 1602, for the following reason: Viz- caino, when he arrived, proceeding to survey the bay, either began or finished that enterprise on November 12, the day assigned in the cal- endar of the Roman Catholic Church to the saint called in Spanish San Diego de Alcalá, in honor of whom the bay was re-named accord- ingly. The English meaning of this is simply "St. James." The Spanish for James is either Iago, Jago. or Diego, the prefix Santo or San signifying Saint or HIoly. The contraction San- tiago is now given, indifferently with Diego, as a baptismal name, although the two are by no means interchangeable. A boy or man called Santiago is named for one particular St. James, and he who responds to Diego is called for an- other light of the old church-namely, San Diego de Alcalá, the patron saint of the city and section in question.

In 1605, Governor Juan de Oñate brought a party of soldiers down the Colorado, from the Gravel cañon, as far as the head of the gulf, having come from Chihuahua up the Rio Grande, into the New Mexico, and across the Northern Arizona, of the present day. Like his predecessors, he saw only the desert side of San Diego, and the natives along the river, whose accounts seemed to support the theory that the gulf was connected by a strait with the Pacific.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MISSIONS.

In 1700 there reached San Diego territory one of most notable characters in the religious history of America: this was Eusebius Kühn, whose German family name is usually mis- written by the Spanish authorities as Kino, Quino, Caino, etc., Kino being the most common form. His career reads like some wonderful romance. He had come northward in indirect consequence of his devoted labors in behalf of the Indians of the Pimeria, and he was asked by the Colorado Ynmas to visit their country. Ac- cordingly he crossed the Gila, and followed its north bank down to the junction, to the chief rancheria of the Yumas, which he called San Dionisio, and where he preached to " crowds of gentiles, inany of whom, of especially large stature, came from across the Colorado by swimming." Kino spoke of the lands there- abouts as Alta (that is Upper) California, and that was probably the first application of that distinctive term, as in contrast with La Baja (Lower) California. It has already been seen (section on Lower California) how prominent a part Father Kino bore in the establishment of the missions in the peninsula, where alone cen- tered the Christianizing of " the Californias," up to 1767-'68, the date of expulsion of the Jesuits from La Baja and the other Spanish possessions.

On November 30, 1767, Don Gaspar de Por- tolá, the Governor of La Baja California under the new regime, landed near San José del Cabo, and immediately set about enforcing the decree of expulsion of the Jesuits, and taking invoice, so to speak, of the mission and garrison property. These possessions he found to comprise some $7,000 in. cash, and goods to the value of some- thing like $60,000 besides, probably the mis- sion cattle, vestments, plate, etc.

About the middle of the year 1768, Don José de Galvez, the Visitador-general, arrived in La Baja, and at once set about the institution of many and radical reforms of the existing sys- tem of administration. He also took action in the matter of extending the dominion of the Spanish crown to the northward, an undertaking

HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY.

which he deemed of the utmost importance. The result of careful investigation was to de- cide that the most practicable plan was the sending of two expeditions by land, and two by water, to start separately, join forces at San Miguel (San Diego), and thence proceed to Monterey. Six months or more were given to careful preparations, and the gathering of re- cruits and collecting of supplies. Besides tem- poral conquest, and the prevention of Russian encroachments from the north, the enterprise was to comprehend a spiritual aspect, the con- version of the heathen; and Father Junipero Serra, the president of the mission forces, was invited to confer upon the theme with Galvez. It hardly needs to say that the padres, disap- pointed and displeased with the situation on the peninsular, and full of hope in a project whore execution they had long desired but hardly dared to hope for, the padres entered with en- thusiasm into the plans of Galvez.

On January 9, 1769, sailed the San Carlos under Vicente Vila, carrying sixty-two persons, among them Lieutenant Fages, later Governor of California. She was followed on February 15 by the San Antonio, Juan Perez com- mander, who carried, besides her crew, Padres Gomez and Bizcayno. On March 24, set out from San Fernando Velicatá the first land ex- pedition, commanded by Rivera, and with it came Father Crespi. There was a command of twenty-five men from the presidio of Loreto, and forty two natives, in this party. Finally, on May 15, Governor Portolá set forth, accom- panied by Father Serra, and escorted by ten or eleven soldiers, and another band of Californian Indians.

The executive ability of Father Serra had se- cured six friars for work in the northern field; one of these, Father Campa, was left in charge of San Fernando Velicatá, the only mission which the Franciscans founded on the penin- sula. This was established mainly for a species of way-station, to facilitate communication with San Diego. It was ceremoniously founded only the day previous to the starting of Portolá and

Serra, and it became in time quite prosperous From the old missions were taken supplies, with which to equip the new ones, of church para- phernalia, food, seeds, grain, livestock, tools, etc., to be repaid when the new establishments should attain to prosperity. A third paquebote, the San José newly built, was despatched later, but she soon put back, disabled, was sent after with supplies the next year, and never heard from after.

For upwards of a century and a half, since Vizcaino's day, in 1603, no white man had set foot on the coast of Alta California, when in April, 1769, the San Antonio anchored in the bay, after a prosperous voyage of twenty-four days from Cape San Lucas. She had gone as far north as one of the Santa Bárbara channel islands, returning to the one objective point of San Diego. Nothing was seen of the rest of the expedition, but the captain's orders were to stay for twenty days, without taking the risk of landing, unless strengthened by the crew of the other vessel. The second ship not ap- pearing the others became im patient and alarmed, and preparations were already making to sail at the expiration of the appointed limit, when on the eighteenth day the San Carlos appeared, with her complement of sixty-two souls. She had been less fortunate than her convoy, and had most of hier people disabled from scurvy. She, too, had voyaged too far northward, and she had been out 110 days, when she anchored on April 29.

The sick were taken ashore, and for two weeks the nursing of the scourge-stricken and the burial of the dead gave the able more than enough to do, without dreaming of pushing Monterey- wards, or exploring their surroundings. Of some ninety sailors, soldiers, and artisans, far less than one-third the unmber survived. It would appear that, if any of the friars or offi- cers were attacked, they recovered. To their aid arrived on May 14 Rivera y Moncado with his division, fifty-one days out from Velicatá, 121 leagues distant. Several of the Indians in the company had died en route, and many had

13 ·

HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY.

deserted, but on the whole, the journey had been uneventful, save the suffering and privation, as it seems that the provisions of the party, through waste or otherwise, ran short.

This reinforcement facilitated preparation for permanent settlement. The location chosen was a spot called by the natives Cosoy, the site of the present old town, some four miles north of San Diego proper. Here were built rade hnts and a corral for the live stock, and a fortified camp; then all able hands engaged in nursing the sick and unloading the cargo.

In the last days of June and the first of July, Portolá's division arrived, in somewhat strag- gling order. All but twelve of the neophytes had deserted. Their trip had been compara- tively easy, the chief suffering being that of Padre Junipero, from his lame foot, whose pangs, however, were borne with the gentleness and fortitude characteristic of his nature.

The four contingents thus reunited, on the next day, Sunday, offered to their patron San José a thanksgiving mass, celebrated with all the solemnities within their compass. Of the 219 souls who had started on this expedition, only 126 remained, but seventy-eight of these being of Spanish blood.

Promptly enongh, measures were taken for the carrying ont of the original project. On July 9, Perez sailed southward in the San An- tonio, to obtain supplies for the colony, and crews to replace those who had died from the two vessels. Five days after his departure, Por- tolá set ont for Monterey. He left at San Diego some forty sonls. The concerns of the sick im- mnediately after arrival, the occupations of set tlement, and the preparations for departure of Portolá and Perez, had militated against the prompt formal establishment of a mission. But now Padre Serra at once proceeded to atone for this delay. On Sunday, July 16, he formally and officially raised and blessed the cross, dedi- cating this, the first of the long chain of Cali- fornia missions, to San Diego de Alcalá, for whom, long before, the bay had been named by Vizcayno. More huts were now built at the

little settlement, and one of them was dedicated as a church. Thus did a lonely little band of earnest men, few and weak, but devoted, on the strange, forbidding shores of that circling bay, then far remote from contact of civilization, lay the foundations of the future great common- wealth, great, rich, advanced, liberal, and pro- gressive, of the State of the California of to-day.

Those pioneers found the conditions of their life and their surroundings far from easy or de- lightful. The natives were abusive and thievish; indeed, they presently became so bold that, on Angust 15, their attempt to rob the sick of their bedding led to a conflict with them in defense of the property. In this affray, Padre Viz- cayno, a blacksmith, a soldier, and a California Indian were wounded, and a Spanish boy was killed. The Indians received therein a salutary lesson, and their behavior was somewhat im- proved. It is chronicled, however, that no- where else in the northwest did the natives so long prove refractory to conversion. For more than a year, not a single neophyte was entered. Meanwhile, death so ravaged the mission as to leave, by the beginning of the new year, only somne twenty persons at San Diego. Portolá re- turned on January 24, 1770, to find no advance in mission work save the construction of a pal- isade and a few huts of tnle. He was discour- aged and despondent from the result of his northward journey, and he counseled abandon- ment of the mission. The friars were greatly dismayed by this proposition, and Serra and Crespi determined to remain, at all hazards, trusting to Providence for maintenance. Cap- tain Vila supported the padres. On February 11, Rivera was sent with Padre Vizcaino and a detachment to reach Velicatá and obtain sup- plies, if possible. He arrived there duly and at once set about collecting supplies, in con- junction with Father Palou, the acting president.

Meanwhile the situation at San Diego was gloomy. Abandonment of the ground seemed certain, and good Father Junipero's heart bled at the prospect. Full of devout faith, he in- stituted a novena, a nine-days course of prayer,

HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY.

for the intercession of the expedition's patron, St. Joseph, to close on the special day of the saint, March 19. And lo! at the very last moment, as his hope died out on that day, as the sun sank below the horizon, far away at sea, a sail appeared. The visible sign of support was given. The San Antonio had returned, convey- ing supplies in abundance, aud bringing in- structions from Galvez and the viceroy to persevere in the undertaking.

Portolá's fainting faith revived, and his energy was restored. He at once made ready to return to the north. Vila with seventeen Europeans and ten Lower Californians, remained at San Diego, whither returned in July Rivera with his ample supplies, his live-stock and his soldiers. Matters at San Diego now moved on for a time in quiet, but up to the end of 1770 there is no record of a single conversion.

The chronicle for 1771 is little important :- a few baptisms, the disablement by senrvy and retirement of Padres Gomez and Parron, two instances of desertion by two groups of soldiers, bronght back to the mission and sub- inission by intervention of the padres; and the departure, in August of the party "who, a month later, founded San Gabriel Mission- such were the events. On Augunt 6, 1771, Padres Cambou and Somera left San Diego with ten soldiers, four mnleteers, and a supply- train, with four soldiers who were to be sent back. They followed the old ronte northward, with the aim to establish a new inission. The spot they chose, near the river now known as San Gabriel, but then called San Miguel, was fer- tile well watered, and at that time well wooded. The natives, at first hostile, succumbed to the supernatural beauty of a painting of the Virgin. Offering their personal ornaments in tribute be- fore her, they signified their desire for peace, and their willingness to pay her tribute of possessions and labor. Cheerfully aiding in the work, by bring- ing timbers, and helping in the construction of the stockade and the wooden honses roofed with tule, they also bronght continually offerings of acorns and of pine nuts. Numerous as were

their hordes, they all continued friendly, until exasperated by the abuses of the rough soldiery, when they attacked the aggressors, who killed one of their chieftains. The Indians fled, and it was by very slow degrees indeed that they were induced to resume friendly relations and to frequent again the mission.

At this time tronble was already fermenting at San Diego between Fajes, the military com- mander, and the friars. This disagreement grew into open rupture The friars accused Fajes of unduly abnsing his anthority and hampering their labors, while he claimed that the fathers wished to extend their spiritual dominion over temporal matters. Be this as it may, in Octo- ber, 1772, Serra sailed for Mexico to compass the removal of the obnoxious commandant, to secure certain desirable changes in the system of mission management, and to take the meas- ure of the new viceroy, Bucareli.

In the spring of this year, a conference held in Mexico between the principals of the two orders, had resulted in the ceding to the Domin- icans of all the peninsular missions, the Fran- ciscans to control those of Alta, or Upper California. When the Franciscan friars were assigned, Palou, the retiring president, had him- self included among those destined for the latter service, and in July he started for the north from Velicatá, with supplies for San Diego. At once he set about preparing a report which had been ordered sent to Mexico, on the condition of the Monterey (i. e. Alta California) Missions. This system comprised at the end of 1773, fifth year of Spanish occupation, five missions and a presidio; namely, San Diego de Alcalá, in lat- itude 32° 43'; San Gabriel Archangel, 34° 10' ; San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, 35° 38'; San An- tonio de Pàdna, 36° 30'; San Carlos Borromeo; and the presidio San Carlos de Monterey. At the close of the period stated, the baptisms chronicled here were eighty-three, a figure far below that of the younger northern inissions. There were hereabonts, within a radins of ten leagues, eleven rancherias, or Indian towns, whose people lived on grass, seeds, fish and rab-

HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY.

bits. At this mission only had there been un- provoked attacks made by the natives. Slight progress had been made liere in agriculture. A small vegetable garden had been moderately productive. Grain was sown in the river bot- tom, and the crop all destroyed by a freshet. The next year, planting was done so far away from the water that dronth destroyed all but a few bushels, kept for seed. Next, the river dried np, and even in the rainy season pools must be dug for the watering of cattle and other uses. Pasturage was fine, and the flocks had flourished. San Diego and San Gabriel had jointly 63 horses, 79 mules, 102 swine and 161 goats and sheep. It may not be amiss here to describe briefly conditions, material and other- wise, existing at San Diego, in common with the other missions. At each one, save San Luis, there was near by a rancheria, its little huts be- ing made of tule, grass, boughs, or some such rude material. The mission architecture at that time was wooden stockades or palisading, for which adobe walls were substituted later. A line of high, strong posts, set close together in the ground, enclosed a rectangular space, in which stood the church and dwellings, in most instances also with stockade walls. The quarters of the soldier were distinct from the mission buildings, within a separate palisade, and the soldiers who married native women had each a separate honse. At first the roofs were of mud, supported by vigas -- horizontal beams; but this proving permeable to the winter rains, tule roofs were substituted. The timber used was pine and cypress. At San Diego, adobes -- sun-dried bricks-were used in the construction of the friars' honses, besides wood and tules-rushes. There had been laid the foundations of a church ninety feet long, stone had been collected, and 4,000 adobes made; but the work had been sus- pended because of the non-arrival of the sup- ply-ships.

The subjective conditions were still somewhat primitive. The rancherias were at war with one another, and the inland ones being barred out from the sea with its fish resources, they

were very often in a state of famine. At San Cárlos, converts could not be kept at the mis- sion for this reason. At San Diego "a canoe and net are needed, that the christianized na- tives may be taught improved methods of fishing." At San Gabriel, there was much in- ternecine warfare, and distress for food was frequent. Also, the soldiers' lawless conduct gave much trouble, yet the natives were rapidly yielding allegiance, and they were very numer- ons. At San Luis also the population was very large and kindly disposed also; yet it was diffi- cult to attract them to mission life, they be- ing better off for food than the Spaniards, thanks to their resources of seeds, fish, rabbits, and deer. At San Antonio, too, food was abundant, aud the natives bestowed on the padres stores of seeds, pine-nuts, acorns, rab- bits, and squirrels. They were willing, how- ever, to domesticate themselves at the missions, as soon as the fathers should be ready for them. Many of the savages attended regularly the teach- ing of the doctrina, and sometimes they would come even from distant rancherias, attracted by the music, and by trifling gifts. Generally they would work when the padres could reward them with food; but this was not always so easy a matter. Such, briefly stated, was the con- dition of the missions at the close of the first epoch of California history. Their future maintenance seemed now established, the King of Spain having issued lately an edict direct- ing that they should be contiuned, instructing the viceroy to aid and sustain "by all possi- ble means" the establishments old and new of the province of California, and indicating a cer- tain sum-$33,000 per annum-to be devoted to that purpose.

THE REMOVAL OF THE MISSION .- THE PRESIDIO PERIOD .- FOUNDING OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO.

The history of San Diego at this period might almost be reduced to a chronicle recording almost continual dissensions between various members of the existing political organization, or else

HISTORY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY.

between the military and the clergy. Never- theless, there was zeal and co-operation enough to make no little material progress in divers directions. One of the most important features was the removal of the mission from its original site, which was not considered a desirable one since the drying up of the river. The first sng- gestion to this purpose was made in 1773 by Fages, who desired the rancheria containing the neophytes and many of the gentiles to be located at a distance from the stockade, in order that the Indians might not have the advantage af- forded by the shelter of the huts, should they become hostile. Padre Serra opposed the move, but Padre Jaume, the minister, favored it, for the considerations of agriculture. The matter was referred by the viceroy to Rivera y Mon- cada, the commandant, and the change was effected in August, 1774. The new site was a point called by the natives Vipaguay, about two leagnes up the valley northeastward from Cosoy. By the end of the year, the buildings here in- clnded a church 57 x 18 feet, built of wood and roofed with tules; and a dwelling, storehouse, and smithy of adobes. The mission buildings here were better than those at Cosoy, which were given up to the use of the presidio, all except two rooms, of which one was reserved for the use of visiting friars, and the other for the reception and temporary storage of mission supplies brought up by ship. On September 26 of this year Ortega reached San Diego with the troops and families recruited by Rivera; and not a little trouble they gave him by their refractory conduct, chiefly in connection with the food question. Father Palou sent back from San Diego mules to bring up from Velicatá sup- plies and part of the church property left there; but, as has been seen, the contumacy of Barri prevented their removal for about a year, or un- til some time in 1775. Serra's second annual report for 1774, was mostly statistical, and showed the year to have been fairly prosperous, with no disaster. Agricultural matters had thriven, and the seed sown had produced forty- fold, yielding more than a thousand fanegas (a

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Author: Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1038

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1038