Historical and biographical record of southern California; containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement to the opening year of the twentieth century, Part 11

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1366

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San Pedro and from there they were taken to Los Angeles and San Gabriel. The Morelos reached Monterey, September 25. Hijar had been appointed governor of California by Presi- dent Farias, but after the sailing of the expedi- tion Santa Anna, who had succeeded Farias, dispatched a courier overland with a counter- manding order. By one of the famous rides of history, Amador, the courier, made the journey from the city of Mexico to Monterey in forty days and delivered his message to Governor Fi- gueroa. When Hijar arrived he found to his dismay that he was only a private citizen of the territory instead of its governor. The coloniza- tion scheme was abandoned and the immigrants distributed themselves throughout the territory. Generally they were a good class of citizens, and many of them became prominent in California affairs. Of those who located in Southern Cali- fornia may be named Ignacio Coronel and his son, Antonio F. Coronel, Augustin Olvera, the first county judge of Los Angeles; Victor Pru- don, José M. Covarrubias, Charles Baric, Jesus Noe and Juan N. Ayala.

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, assembled at Los Nietos on the night of March 7, 1835. They formulated a pronunciamiento against Don José Figueroa, in which they first vigorously arraigned him for sins of omission and commis- sion and then laid down their plan for the gov- ernment of the territory. Armed with this for- midable document and a few muskets and lances, these patriots, headed by Juan Gallado, a cob- bler, and Felipe Castillo, a cigar-maker, 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 in- habitants 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 statesmen, 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 sav- ing the country, surrendered to the legal author- ities the real leaders of the revolution and dis- banded. The leaders proved to be Torres, a clerk, and Apalategui, a doctor, both supposed to be emissaries of Hijar. They were impris- oned at San Gabriel. When news of the revolt reached Figueroa he had Hijar and Padres ar-

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

rested for complicity in the outbreak. Hijar, with half a dozen of his adherents, was shipped back to Mexico. And thus the man who the year before had landed in California with a commis- sion as governor and authority to take posses- sion of all the property belonging to the mis- sions, returned to his native land an exile. His grand colonization scheme and his "Compañia Cosmopolitana" that was to revolutionize Cali- fornia commerce were both disastrous failures.

Governor José Figueroa died at Monterey September 29, 1835. He is generally regarded as the best of the Mexican governors sent to California. 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 José 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 Angeles was the capital the governor should re- move his office and archives to that city. Mon- terey opposed the removal, and considerable bit- terness 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 Mariano 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, Ar- zaga and Aranjo, the president, secretary and military commander, respectively, of the Defend- ers of Public Security, as the vigilantes called themselves. He summoned Don Abel Stearns to Monterey and threatened to have him shot for some unknown or imaginary offense. He fulminated a fierce pronunciamiento against for- eigners, and, in an address before the diputacion, proved to his own satisfaction that the country was going to the "demnition bow-wows." Ex- asperated beyond endurance, the people of Mon- terey 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 XII.

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

T HE effort to free California from the domi- nation of Mexico and make her an inde- pendent government is an almost un- known chapter of her history. Los Angeles and San Diego played a very important part in California's war for Independence, but unfor- tunately their efforts were wrongly directed and they received neither honor nor profit out of the part they played. The story of the part they played in the revolution is told in the Los An- geles Archives. From these I derive much of the matter given in this chapter.

The origin of the movement to make Cali- fornia independent and the causes that led to an outbreak against the governing power were very similar to those which led to our separation from our own mother country of England, namely, bad governors. Between 1830 and 1836 the territory had had six Mexican-born govern- ors. The best of these, Figueroa, died in office. Of the others the Californians deposed and de- ported two ; and a third was made so uncomfort- able 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 Revo- lution. California was a fertile field for Mexican adventurers of broken fortunes. Mexican offi- cers commanded the provincial troops; Mexi- can officials looked after the revenues and em- bezzled them, and Mexican governors ruled the territory. There was no outlet for the ambitious native-born sons of California. There was 110 chance for the hijos del pais (Sons of the Coun- try) to obtain office, and one of the most treas- ured prerogatives of the free-born citizen of any republic is the privilege of holding office.

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 unpopular by attempting to enforce the Central- ist decrees of the Mexican Congress and by other arbitrary measures. He quarreled with Juan Bautista Alvarado, the ablest of the native Californians. 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 Grahamı, a backwoodsman from Tennes- see. 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 sur- render of the presidio and the arms. The gov- ernor refused. 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-directed shot tore through the roof of the governor's house, covering him and his staff with the debris of broken tiles; this, and the de- sertion of most of his soldiers to the patriots, brought him to terms. On the 5th of November, 1836, he surrendered the presidio and his au- thority 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 inde- pendence of California was adopted. This, which was known afterwards as the Monterey plan, consisted of six sections, the most impor- tant of which are as follows: "First, Alta Cali- fornia hereby declares itself independent from Mexico until the Federal System of 1824 is re- stored. Second, The same California is hereby declared a Free and Sovereign State; establish- ing a congress to enact the special laws of the country and the other necessary supreme pow- ers. Third, The Roman Apostolic Catholic Religion shall prevail, no other creed shall be allowed, but the government shall not molest anyone on account of his private opinions." The diputacion issued a Declaration 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 !

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

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 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 Monte- rey 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 pub- licly professing any other shall be prosecuted by law as heretofore." A mass meeting was called to take measures "to prevent the spreading of 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 San José 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 and Graham's con- tingent of twenty-five American riflemen. With this army they prepared to move against the recalcitrant sureños (southerners ).

The ayuntamiento of Los Angeles began preparations 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 liands 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 at 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 recruited to 120 men with two pieces of artil- lery. 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.

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 fol- lowed without either coming to the point. Al- varado, by a coup d'état, brought it to an end. In the language of the commissioners' report to the ayuntamiento: "While we were a certain distance from our own forces with only four unarmed 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 at- tacked." They delivered up not only the in- structions 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 AAlvarado's riflemen.

The day after the surrender of the mission, January 21, 1837, the ayuntamiento held a ses- sion and the members were as obdurate and belligerent as ever. They resolved that it was only in the interests of humanity that the mis- sion had been surrendered and their army forced to retire. "This ayuntamiento, considering the commissioners were forced to comply, annuls all action of the commissioners and does not rec- ognize this territory as a free and sovereign state nor Juan B. Alvarado as its governor, and de- clares itself in favor of the Supreme Govern-

IHISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ment of Mexico." A few days later Alvarado entered the city without opposition, the Angele- ñian 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 he produced and read the six articles of the Monterey 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 apparent- lv 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 complimen- tary. He arraigned the "traitors who were work- ing 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 an honorable and preferred debt, therefore the ayuntamiento will deliver to the government the San Fernando money," said he. With a wry face, very much such as a boy wears when he is told that he 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, however, Col. José Castro with part of his army stationed at Mission San Gabriel, os- tensibly "to support the city's authority," but in reality to keep a close watch on the city authori- ties.

Los Angeles was subjugated, pcace reigned and El Estado Libre de Alta California took her place among the nations of the carth. But peace's reign was brief. At the meeting of the ayuntamiento May 27, 1838, Juan Bandini and Santiago E. Argüello of San Diego, appeared with a pronunciamiento and a plan-San Diego's plan of government. Monterey, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles had each formulated a plan of

government for the territory and now it was San Diego's turn. Augustin V. Zamorano, who was exiled with Governor Gutierrez, had crossed the frontier and was made comandante-general and territorial political chief ad interim by the San Diego revolutionists. The plan restored California to obedience to the supreme govern- ment ; all acts of the diputacion and the Monte- rey plan were annulled and the northern rebels were to be arraigned and tried for their part in the revolution; and so on through twenty ar- ticles.

On the plea of an Indian outbreak near San Diego, in which the red men, it was said, "were to make an end of the white race," the big can- non and a number of men were secured at Los Angeles to assist in suppressing the Indians, but in reality to reinforce the army of the San Diego revolutionists. With a force of 125 men under Zamorano and Portilla, "the army of the Su- preme Government" moved against Castro at Los Angeles. Castro retreated to Santa Barbara and Portilla's army took position at San Fer- nando.

The civil and military officials of Los Angeles took the oath to support the Mexican constitu- tion of 1836 and, in their opinion, this absolved them from all allegiance to Juan Bautista and his Monterey plan. Alvarado hurried reinforce- ments to Castro at Santa Barbara, and Portilla called loudly for "men, arms and horses," to march against the northern rebels. But neither military chieftain advanced, and the summer wore away without a battle. There were rumors that Mexico was preparing to send an army of 1,000 men to subjugate the rebellious Califor- nians. In October came the news that Jose An- tonio Carrillo, the Machiavelli of California poli- tics, had persuaded President Bustamente to ap- point Carlos Carrillo, José's brother, governor of Alta California.

Then consternation seized the arribañas (11))- pers) of the north, and the abajaños (lowers) of the south went wild with joy. It was not that they loved Carlos Carrillo, for he was a Santa Barbara man and had opposed them in the late unpleasantness, but they saw in hts appointment an opportunity to get revenge on Juan Bautista for the way he had humiliated them. They sent congratulatory messages to Carrillo and invited him to make Los Angeles the seat of his govern- ment. Carrillo was flattered by their attentions and consented. The 6th of December, 1837, was set for his inauguration, and great preparations were made for the event. The big cannon was brought over from San Gabriel to fire salutes and the city was ordered illuminated on the nights of the 6th, 7th and 8th of December. Cards of invitation were issued and the people

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

from the city and country were invited to at- tend the inauguration ceremonies, "dressed as decent as possible," so read the invitations.

The widow Josefa Alvarado's house, the finest in the city, was secured for the governor's pal- acio (palace). The largest hall in the city was secured for the services and decorated as well as it was possible. The city treasury, being in its usttal state of collapse, a subscription for defray- ing the expenses was opened and horses, hides and tallow, the current coin of the pueblo, were liberally contributed.

On the appointed day, "The Most Illustrious Ayuntamiento and the citizens of the neighbor- hood (so the old archives read) met his Excel- lency, the Governor, Don Carlos Carrillo, who made his appearance with a magnificent accom- paniment." The secretary, Narciso Botello, "read in a loud, clear and intelligible voice, the oath, and the governor repeated it after him." At the moment the oath was completed, the artillery thundered forth a salute and the bells rang out a merry peal. The governor made a speech, when all adjourned to the church, where a mass was said and a solemn Te Deum sung ; after which all repaired to the house of His Ex- cellency, where the southern patriots drank his health in bumpers of wine and shouted them- selves hoarse in vivas to the new government. An inauguration ball was held-the "beauty and the chivalry of the south were gathered there." The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men. And it was :

"On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined; No sleep till morn, when youth and pleasure meet

To chase the glowing hours with flying feet."

Outside the tallow dips flared and flickered from thie porticos of the houses, bonfires blazed in the streets and cannon boomed salvos from the old plaza. Los Angeles was the capital at last and had a governor all to herself, for Santa Barbara refused to recognize Carrillo, although he be- longed within its jurisdiction.

The Angeleños determined to subjugate the Barbarcños. An army of 200 men, under Cas- teñada, was sent to capture the city. After a few futile demonstrations, Casteñada's forces fell back to San Buenaventura.

Then Alvarado determined to subjugate the Angeleños. He and Castro, gathering together an army of 200 men, by forced marches they reached San Buenaventura, and by a strategic movement captured all of Casteñada's horses and drove his army into the Mission Church. For two days the battle raged and, "cannon to the right of them," and "cannon in front of them

volleved and thundered." One man was killed on the northern side and the blood of several mustangs watered the soil of their native land- died for their country. The southerners slipped out of the church at night and fled up the valley on foot. Castro's caballeros captured about 70 prisoners. Pio Pico, with reinforcements from San Diego, met the demoralized remnants of Casteñada's army at the Santa Clara river, and together all fell back to Los Angeles. Then there was wailing in the old pueblo, where so lately there had been rejoicing. Gov. Carlos Car- rillo gathered together what men he could get to go with him and retreated to San Diego. Al- varado's army took possession of the southern capital and some of the leading conspirators were sent as prisoners to Vallejo's bastile at Son- oma.

Carrillo, at San Diego, received a small rein- forcement from Mexico, under a Captain Tobar. Tobar was made general and given command of the southern army. Carrillo, having recovered from his fright, sent an order to the northern rebels to surrender within fifteen daysunder pen- alty of being shot as traitors if they refused. In the meantime Los Angeles was held by the enemy. The second alcalde (the first, Louis Aranas, was a prisoner) called a meeting to de- vise some means "to have his excellency, Don Carlos Carrillo, return to this capital, as his pres- ence is very much desired by the citizens to pro- tect their lives and property." A committee was appointed to find Don Carlos.

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Historical and biographical record of southern California; containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement to the opening year of the twentieth century, Part 11

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co. Number of Pages: 1366

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1366