Historical and biographical record of Los Angeles and vicinity : containing a history of the city from its earliest settlement as a Spanish pueblo to the closing year of the nineteenth century ; also containing biographies of well known citizens of the past and present, Part 7

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 996

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Next day, Victoria, supposing himself mortally wounded, abdicated and turned over the gover- norship of the territory to Echeandia. He re- signed the office December 9, 1831, having been governor a little over ten months. When Vic- toria was able to travel he was sent to San Diego, from where he was deported to Mexico, San Diego borrowing $125 from the ayuntamiento of Los Angeles to pay the expense of shipping him out of the country. Several years afterwards the money had not been repaid, and the town council began proceedings to recover it, but there is no record in the archives to show that it was ever paid. And thus it was that California got rid of a bad governor and Los Angeles incurred a bad debt.

January 10, 1832, the territorial legislature met at Los Angeles to choose a "gefe politico," or governor, for the territory. Echeandia was in- vited to preside, but replied from San Juan Ca- pistrano that he was busy getting Victoria out of the country. The diputacion, after waiting some time and receiving no satisfaction from Echean- dia whether he wanted the office or not, declared Pio Pico, by virtue of his office of senior vocal, "gefe politico."

Pico as 'gefe politico,' but desired that Lt. Col. Citizen Jose Maria Echeandia be retained in office until the supreme government appoint. Then the president of the meeting, seeing the determi- nation of the people, asked the motive or reason of refusing Citizen Pio Pico, who was of unblem- shed character. To this the people responded that while it was true that Citizen Pio Pico was to some extent qualified, yet they preferred Lt. Col. Citizen Jose Ma. Echeandia. The president of the meeting then asked the people whether they had been bribed, or was it merely insubor- dination that they opposed the resolution of the Most Eccellent Diputacion ? Whereupon the people answered that they had not been bribed nor were they insubordinate, but that they op- posed the proposed 'gefe politico' because he had not been named by the supreme government."

At a public meeting on February 19 the matter was again brought up. Again the people cried out, "they would not recognize or obey any other gefe politico than Echeandia." The Most Illus- trious Ayuntamiento opposed Pio Pico for two reasons: "First, because his name appeared first on the plan to oust Gefe Politico Citizen Manuel Victoria," and "Second, because he, Pico, had not sufficient capacity to fulfil the duties of the office." Then Jose Perez and Jose Antonio Car- rillo withdrew from the meeting, saying they would not recognize Echeandia as 'gefe politico." Pico, after holding the office for twenty days, re- signed for the sake of peace. And this was the length of Pico's first term as governor.

Echeandia, by obstinacy and intrigue, had ob- tained the coveted office of "gefe politico," but he did not long enjoy it in peace. News came from Monterey that Captain Augustin V. Zamorano had declared himself governor and was gathering a force to invade the south and enforce his au- thority. Echeandia began at once marshaling No sooner had Pico been sworn into office than Echeandia discovered that he wanted the office and wanted it badly. He came to Los Angeles from San Diego. He protested against the action of the diputacion and intrigued against Pico. Another revolution was threatened. Los Angeles favored Echeandia, although all the other towns in the territory had accepted Pico. (Pico at that time was a resident of San Diego.) A mass- meeting was called on February 12, 1832, at Los Angeles to discuss the question whether it should be Pico or Echeandia. I give the report of the meeting in the quaint language of the pueblo ar- chives: his forces to oppose him. Ybarra, Zamorano's military chief, with a force of one hundred men, by a forced march reached Paso de Bartolo, 011 the San Gabriel River, where fifteen years later Stockton fought the Mexican troops under Flores. Here Ybarra found Captain Borroso posted with a piece of artillery and fourteen men. He did not dare to attack him. Echeandia and Borroso gathered a force of a thousand neophytes at Paso de Bartolo, where they drilled them in military evolutions. Ybarra's troops had fallen back to Santa Barbara, where he was joined by Zamo rano with reinforcements. Ybarra's force was largely made up of ex-convicts and other unde- "The town, acting in accord with the Most sirable characters, who took what they needed, Illustrious Ayuntamiento, answered in a loud . asking no questions of the owners. The Ange- voice, saying they would not admit Citizen Pio

leños, fearing those marauders, gave their adhe- sion to Zamorano's plan and recognized him as

* Stephen C. Foster.

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

military chief of the territory. Captain Borroso, Echeandia's faithful adherent, disgusted with the fickleuess of the Angeleños, at the head of a thousand mounted Indians, threatened to invade the recalcitrant pueblo, but at the intercession of the frightened inhabitants this modern Corio- lanus turned aside and regaled his neophyte re- tainers on the fat bullocks of the Mission San Gabriel, much to the disgust of the mission padres. The neophyte warriors were disbanded and sent to their respective missions.

A peace was patched up between Zamorano and Echeandia. Alta California was divided intotwo territories. Echeandia was given jurisdiction over all south of San Gabriel and Zamorano all north of San Fernando. This division appar- ently left a neutral district, or "no man's land," between. Whether Los Angeles was in this neu- tral territory the records do not show. If it was, it is probable that neither of the governors wanted the job of governing the recalcitrant pueblo.

In January, 1833, Governor Figueroa arrived in California. Echeandia and Zamorano each sur- rendered his half of the divided territory to the newly appointed governor, and California was united and at peace. Figueroa proved to be the right man for the times. He conciliated the fac- tions and brought order out of chaos. The two most important events in Figueroa's term of office were the arrival of the Hijar Colony in Califor- nia and the secularization of the missions. These events were most potent factors in the evolution of the territory.

In 1833 the first California colonization scheme was inaugurated in Mexico. At the head of this was Jose Maria Hijar, a Mexican gentleman of wealth and influence. He was assisted in its pro- mulgation by Jose M. Padres, an adventurer, who had been banished from California by Governor Victoria. Padres, like some of our modern real estate boomers, pictured the country as an earthly paradise-an improved and enlarged Garden of Eden. Among other inducements held out to the colonists, it is said, was the promise of a di- vision among them of the mission property and a distribution of the neophytes for servants.

Headquarters were established at the City of Mexico and two hundred and fifty colonists en- listed. Each family received a bonus of $10.00, and all were to receive free transportation to California and rations while on the journey. Each head of a family was promised a farm from the public domain, live stock and farming imple- ments; these advances to be paid for on the in- stallment plan. The original plan was to found a colony somewhere north of San Francisco Bay. but this was not carried out. Two vessels were

dispatched with the colonists-the Morelos and the Natalia. The latter was compelled to put into San Diego on account of sickness on board. She reached that port September 1, 1834. A part of the colonists on board her were sent to San Pedro and from there they were taken to Los An- geles and San Gabriel. The Morelos reached Monterey September 25. Hijar had been ap- pointed governor of California by President Farias, but after the sailing of the expedition Santa Anna, who had succeeded Farias, dispatched a courier overland with a countermanding order. By one of the famous rides of history, Amador, the courier, made the journey from the City of Mex- ico to Monterey in forty days and delivered his message to Governor Figueroa. When Hijar ar- rived he found to his dismay that he was only a private citizen of the territory instead of its gov- ernor. The colonization scheme was abandoned and the immigrants distributed themselves throughout the territory. Generally they were a good class of citizens, and many of them be- came prominent in California affairs. Of those who located in Los Angeles may be named Ignacio Coronel and his son, Antonio F. Coronel, Augustin Olvera, the first county judge of Los Angeles; Victor Prudon, Jose M. Covarrubias and Charles Baric.

That storm center of political disturbances, Los Angeles, produced but one small revolution during Figueroa's term as governor. A party of fifty or sixty Sonorans, some of whom were Hijar colonists who were living either in the town or its immediate neighborhood, as- sembled at Los Nietos on the night of March 7, 1835. They formulated a pronunciamiento against Don Jose Figueroa, in which they first vigorously arraigned him for sins of omis- sion and commission and then laid down their plan for the government of the territory. Armed with this formidable document and a few muskets and lances, these patriots, headed by Juan Gallado, a cobbler, and Felipe Castillo, a cigarmaker, in the gray light of the morning rode into the pueblo, took possession of the town hall and the big cannon and the ammunition that had been stored there when the Indians of San Luis Rey had threatened hostilities. The slumbering inhabitants were aroused from their dreams of peace by the drum beat of war. The terrified citizens rallied to the juzgado, the ayuntamiento met, the cobbler statesman, Gallado, presented his plan; it was discussed and rejected. The revolutionists, after holding possession of the pueblo throughout the day, tired, hungry and disappointed in not receiving their pay for saving the country, surrendered to the legal authorities the real leaders of the revolution and disbanded.

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

The leaders proved to be Torres, a clerk, and Apalategui, a doctor, both supposed to be emis- saries of Hijar. They were imprisoned at San Gabriel. When news of the revolt reached Figueroa he had Hijar and Padres arrested for complicity in the outbreak. Hijar, with half a dozen of his adherents, was shipped back to Mex- ico. And thus the man who the year before had landed in California with a commission as gov- ernor and authority to take possession of all the property belonging to the missions, returned to his native land an exile. His grand colonization scheme and his "Compañia Cosmopolitana" that was to revolutionize California commerce were both disastrous failures.

Governor Jose Figueroa died at Monterey Sep- tember 29, 1835. He is generally regarded as the best of the Mexican governors sent to Cali- fornia. He was of Aztec extraction and was proud of his Indian blood. Governor Figueroa during his last sickness turned over the political command of the territory to Jose Castro, senior vocal, who then became "gefe politico." Los Angeles refused to recognize his authority. By a decree of the Mexican congress (of which the following is a copy) it had just been declared a city and the capital of Alta California:

"His excellency, the president ad interim of the United States of Mexico, Miguel Barragan. The president ad interim of the United States of Mexico, to the inhabitants of the republic, Let it be known: That the general congress has decreed the following: That the town of Los Angeles, Upper California, is erected to a city and shall be for the future the capital of that territory.

BASILO ARRILLAGA,

President House of Deputies. ANTONIO PACHECO LEAL, President of the Senate. DEMETRIO DEL CASTILLO,

Secretary House of Deputies. MANUEL, MIRANDA, Secretary of the Senate.

I therefore order it to be printed and circu- lated and duly complied with.

Palace of the federal government in Mexico, May 23, 1835. MIGUEL BARRAGAN."

The ayuntamiento claimed that as Los An- geles was the capital the governor should remove his office and archives to that city. Monterey opposed the removal, and considerable bitterness was engendered. This was the beginning of the "capital war," which disturbed the peace of the territory for ten years, and increased in bitterness as it increased in age.

Castro held the office of gefe politico four months and then passed it on to Colonel Gutier- rez, military chief of the territory, who held it about the same length of time. The supreme government, December 16, 1835, appointed Mari- ano Chico governor. Thus the territory had four governors within nine months. They changed so rapidly that there was not time to foment a revolution.

Chico reached California in April, 1836, and began his administration by a series of petty tyrannies. Just before his arrival in California a vigilance committee at Los Angeles shot to death Gervacio Alispaz and his paramour, Maria del Rosario Villa, for the murder of the woman's husband, Domingo Feliz. Chico had the leaders arrested and came down to Los Angeles with the avowed purpose of executing Prudon, Arzaga and Aranjo, the president, secretary and military commander, respectively, of the Defenders of Public Security, as the vigilantes called them- selves. He summoned Don Abel Stearns to Monterey and threatened to have him shot for some unknown or imaginary offense. He fulmi- nated a fierce pronunciamiento against foreigners, and, in an address before the diputacion, proved to his own satisfaction that the country was going to the "demnition bowwows." Exasperated be- yond endurance, the people of Monterey rose en masse against him, and so terrified him that he took passage on board a brig that was lying in the harbor and sailed for Mexico.

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, RECORD.

CHAPTER X.

EL ESTADO LIBRE Y SOBERANO DE ALTA CALIFORNIA. (The Free and Sovereign State of Alta California.)

HE effort to free California from the domina- tion of Mexico and make her an independ- ent government is an almost unknown chapter of her history. Los Angeles played a very important part in California's war for In- dependence, but unfortunately her efforts were wrongly directed and she received neither honor nor profit out of the part she played. Her story of the part she played in the Revolution is told in the Pueblo Archives. From these I derive much of the matter given in this chapter.

The origin of the movement to make California independent and the causes that led to an out- break against the governing power were very similar to those which led to our separation from our own Mother Country-England-namely, bad governors. Between 1830 and 1836 the territory had had six Mexican-born governors. The best of these, Figueroa, died in office. Of the others the Californians deposed and deported two; and a third was made so uncomfortable that he exiled himself. Many of the acts of these governors were as despotic as those of the royal governors of the colonies before our Revolution. Cali- fornia was a fertile field for Mexican adventurers of broken fortunes. Mexican officers commanded the provincial troops. Mexican officials looked after the revennes and embezzled them and Mexican governors ruled the territory. There was no outlet for the ambitious native-born sons of California. There was no chance for the hijos del Pais (Sons of the Country) to obtain office, and one of the most treasured prerogatives of the free-born citizen of any Republic is the privilege of holding office.

ist decrees of the Mexican Congress and by other arbitary measures. He quarreled with Juan Bautista Alvarado, the ablest of the native Cali- fornians. Alvarado and José Castro raised the standard of revolt. They gathered together a small army of rancheros and an auxiliary force of twenty-five American hunters and trappers under Graham, a backwoodsman from Tennessee. By a strategic movement they captured the castillo or fort which commanded the presidio where Gutierrez and the Mexican army officials were stationed. The patriots demanded the surrender of the presidio and the arms. The governor re- fused. The revolutionists had been able to find but a single cannon ball in the castillo, but this was sufficient to do the business. A well-di- rected shot tore through the roof of the governor's house, covering him and his staff with the debris of broken tiles; this, and the desertion of most of his soldiers to the patriots, brought him to terms. On the 5th of November, 1836, he surrendered the presidio and his authority as governor. He and about seventy of his adherents were sent aboard a vessel lying in the harbor and shipped out of the country.

With the Mexican governor and his officers out of the country the next move of Castro and Alvarado was to call a meeting of the diputacion or territorial congress. A plan for the independ- ence of California was adopted. This, which was known afterwards as the Monterey plan, con- sisted of six sections, the most important of which are as follows: "First, Alta California here- by declares itself independent from Mexico until the Federal System of 1824 is restored. Second, The same California is hereby declared a Free and Sovereign State; establishing a congress to enact the special laws of the country and the other necessary supreme powers. Third, The Roman Apostolic Catholic Religion shall prevail,

We closed the previous chapter of the revolu- tionary decade with the departure of Governor Marino Chico, who was deposed and virtually exiled by the people of Monterey. On his de- parture Colonel Gutierrez for the second time became governor. He very soon made himself . no other creed shall be allowed, but the govern- unpopular by attempting to enforce the Central-

ment shall not molest anyone on account of his

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

private opinions." The diputacion issued a Dec- laration of Independence that arraigned the Mother Country-Mexico-and her officials very much in the style that our own Declaration gives it to King George III. and England.

Castro issued a pronunciamiento ending with Viva La Federacion! Viva La Libertad! Viva el Estado Libre y Soberano de Alta California! Thus amid Vivas and proclamations, with the beating of drums and the booming of cannon, El Estado Libre de Alta California (The Free State of Alta California) was launched on the political sea. But it was rough sailing for the little craft. Her ship of state struck a rock and for a time shipwreck was threatened.

For years there had been a growing jealousy between Northern and Southern California. Los Angeles, as has been stated in the previous chap- ter, had by a decree of the Mexican Congress been made the capital of the territory. Monterey On the 16th of January, 1837, Alvarado from San Buenaventura dispatched a communication to the ayuntamiento of Los Angeles and the citizens telling them what military resources he had, which he would use against them if it be- came necessary, but he was willing to confer upon a plan of settlement. Sepulveda and A. M. Osio were appointed commissioners and sent to confer with the governor, armed with several propositions, the substance of which was that California shall not be free and the Catholic Religion must prevail with the privilege to pros- ecute any other religion "according to law as heretofore." The commissioners met Alvarado on "neutral ground,"between San Fernando and San Buenaventura. A long discussion followed without either coming to the point. Alvarado, by a coup d'état, brought it to an end. In the had persistently refused to give up the governor and the archives. In the movement to make Alta California a free and independent state, the Angeleños recognized an attempt on the part of the people of the North to deprive them of the capital. Although as bitterly opposed to Mexi- can governors, and as active in fomenting revo- lutions against them as the people of Monterey the Angeleños chose to profess loyalty to the Mother Country. They opposed the plan of government adopted by the Congress at Monterey and promulgated a plan of their own, in which they declared California was not free; that the "Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion shall prevail in this jurisdiction, and any person publicly professing any other shall be prosecuted by law as heretofore." A mass meeting was called to take measures "to prevent the spreading of . language of the commissioners' report to the the Monterey Revolution, so that the progress of the Nation may not be paralyzed," and to ap- point a person to take . military command of the Department.

San Diego and San Luis Rey took the part of Los Angeles in the quarrel, Sonoma and Sau Jose joined Monterey, while Santa Barbara, al- ways conservative, was undecided, but finally is- sued a plan of her own. Alvarado and Castro determined to suppress the revolutionary An- geleños. They collected a force of one hundred men made up of natives, with Graham's con- · tingent of twenty-five American riflemen. With this army they prepared to move against the recalcitrant sureños.

The ayuntamiento of Los Angeles began pre- parations to resist the invaders. An army of 270 men was enrolled, a part of which was made up of neophytes. To secure the sinews of war José Sepulveda, second alcalde, was sent to the

Mission San Fernando to secure what money there was in the hands of the mayor domo. He returned with two packages which when counted were found to contain $2,000.

Scouts patrolled the Santa Barbara road as far as San Buenaventura to give warning of the ap- proach of the enemy, and pickets guarded the Pass of. Cahuenga and the Rodeo de Las Aguas to prevent northern spies from entering and southern traitors from getting out of the pueblo. The southern army was stationed at San Fernando under the command of Alferez (Lieut.) Rocha, Alvarado and Castro pushing rapidly down the coast reached Santa Barbara, where they were kindly received and their force re- cruited to 120 men with two pieces of artillery. José Sepulveda at San Fernando sent to Los Angeles for the cannon at the town house and $200 of the mission money to pay his men.

ayuntamiento: "While we were a certain dis- tance from our own forces with only four un- armed men and were on the point of coming to an agreement with Juan B. Alvarado we saw the Monterey division advancing upon us and we were forced to deliver up the instructions of this Illustrious Body through fear of being attacked." They delivered up not only the instructions but the mission San Fernando. The southern army was compelled to surrender it and fall back on the pueblo; Rocha swearing worse than "our army in Flanders" because he was not allowed to fight. The southern soldiers had a wholesome dread of Graham's riflemen. These fellows, armed with long Kentucky rifles, shot to kill, and a battle once begun somebody would have died for his country and it would not have been Alvarado's riflemen.

The day after the surrender of the mission, January 21, 1837, the ayuntamiento held a session

IHISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and the members were as obdurate and belliger- ent as ever. They resolved that it was only in the interests of humanity that the mission had been surrendered and their army forced to retire. "This ayuntamiento, considering the commis- sioners were forced to comply, annuls all action of the commissioners and does not recognize this territory as a free and sovereign state nor Juan B. Alvarado as its governor, and declares itself in favor of the Supreme Government of Mexico." A few days later Alvarado entered the city with- out opposition, the Angeleñian soldiers retiring to San Gabriel and from there scattering to their homes.

On the 26th of January, an extraordinary ses- sion of the most illustrious ayuntamiento was held. Alvarado was present and made a lengthy speech, in which he said, "the native sons were subjected to ridicule by the Mexican mandarins sent here, and knowing our rights we ought to shake off the ominous yoke of bondage." Then lie produced and read the six articles of the Mon- terey plan, the Council also produced a plan and a treaty of amity was effected. Alvarado was recognized as Governor pro tem and peace reigned. The belligerent sureños vied with each other in expressing their admiration for the new order of things. Pio Pico wished to express the pleasure it gave him to see a "hijo del pais" in office. And Antonio Osio, the most belligerent of the sureños, declared "that sooner than again submit to a Mexican dictator as governor, he would flee to the forest and be devoured by wild beasts." The ayuntamiento was asked to pro- vide a building for the government, "this being the capital of the State." The hatchet apparently was buried. Peace reigned in El Estado Libre.

At the meeting of the town council on the 30th of January, Alvarado made another speech, but it was neither conciliatory nor complimentary. He arraigned the "traitors who were working against the peace of the country" and urged the members to take measures "to liberate the city from the hidden hands that will tangle them in their own ruin." The pay of his troops who were ordered here for the welfare of California is due "and it is au honorable and preferred debt, there- fore the ayuntamiento will deliver to the govern- ment the San Fernando money," said he. With a wry face, very much such as a boy wears when he is told that lie has been spanked for his own good, the alcalde turned over the balance of the mission money to Juan Bautista, and the governor took his departure for Monterey, leaving, how- ever, Col. José Castro with part of his army stationed at Mission San Gabriel, ostensibly "to support the city's authority," but in reality to keep a close watch on the city authorities.

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Historical and biographical record of Los Angeles and vicinity : containing a history of the city from its earliest settlement as a Spanish pueblo to the closing year of the nineteenth century ; also containing biographies of well known citizens of the past and present, Part 7

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 996

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 996