History of California, Volume III, Part 32

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe
Publication date: 1885-1890
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers
Number of Pages: 824

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18 Osio, IIist. Cal., MS., 236-8; Pico, Hist. C'al., MS., 50-5. Robinson, Life in Cal., 164-7, gives a full narrative with a translation of the pronuncia- miento. Other accounts in Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS., iii. 1-5; Fernandez, Cosas de Cal., MS., 80-2; Vallejo, Remin., MS., 55-6; Botello, Anales, MS., 15-16; Avila, Notas, MS., 10-11; Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 66; Galindo, Apun- tes, MS., 30; Tuthill's Hist. Cal., 138-9. Nearly all represent this as a revolt in the interests of the colony or its directors. In Los Angeles, Ilist., 14, it is spoken of as a revolt of Torres and Apalatey to placo Ijar at the head of affairs.

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FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ-THE COLONY.

the plan had not been approved by that body, after the exercise of what was doubtless better judgment than they themselves had brought to bear on it, they had decided to give up the instigators of the movement, and to throw themselves, if any wrong had been un- wittingly done, on the indulgence of the legal authori- ties. Accordingly they gave up two men, and dis- banded their force.

The two men given up, locked in jail, and sent next day to Lieutenant-colonel Gutierrez at San Gabriel for safe keeping, were Antonio Apalátegui, a Spanish es- cribiente, or clerk, and Francisco Torres, a Mexican doctor, or apothecary, who had come with the colony, and who lately had left Monterey with despatches from Híjar to the authorities in Mexico. All the Sonorans agreed that these men had instigated the revolt, Apalátegui being the active agent. The ayuntamiento on the evening of the 7th issued an address to the peo- ple, in which the events of the day were narrated, and a similar report respecting the doings of 'una reunion acéfala de Sonorenses' was forwarded the same night to Figueroa. Unconditional pardon was granted to the Sonorans, and some twenty of the number started im- mediately for Sonora, where many of them werearrested and submitted to a close examination respecting their deeds in California. The taking of evidence and other routine formalities of the case against Apalátegui and Torres occupied two months, and in May they were sent off to Mexico as disturbers of the public peace and con- spirators against the legitimate authority.

The testimony and correspondence respecting the Apalátegui revolt as preserved in the archives form a very voluminous record, of which I offer a partial re- sumé in the accompanying note.19 From the whole

19 March 3d, Lient-col. Gutierrez to Figueroa, that he suspected Torres and is watching him. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 7-8. March 7th, record of events at Angeles-including ayunt. session; two letters of Gallardo to the ayunt .; Gutierrez to the ayunt. and to F .; and ayunt. to F. and to the people, in Los Angeles Arch., MS., i. 36-8, 41-3; iv. 152-64; Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., ii. 17-25; v. 185-96; Dept. St. Pap., Angeles, MS., i. 174-5; Figueroa, Mani- fiesto, 130-1, 146-7. March 8th, 10th, 11th, 14th, corresp. on subsequent

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CAUSES OF THE RISING.

it appears that the Sonorans had no special grievance to redress, but were easily induced to join what they were led to regard as a general and popular move- ment, which they abandoned as soon as they learned its unpopularity; that the immediate motives of the leaders Gallardo and Castillo are not known; that

alarms and rumors. One or two arrests were made, and the Sonorans feared punishment and sent a committee, including Wm A. Richardson, to plead for them with Gutierrez. On March 19th, F. sent a full pardon and permission to return to Sonora. Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., ii. 25-7; v. 191-6; Dept. St. Pup .. MS., iv. 23. March 11th to May 6th. Apalategui and Torres, Causa seguida contra ellos por Conspiradores, 1835, MS., 100 p. Testimony and legal proceedings, with some additional papers, in Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 21-3; Dept. St. Pap., Angeles, MS., ii. 12-13. Fragmentary testimony of Hidalgo and others at Monterey in Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., liii. 77-86. Ga- llardo and Castillo testified that A. and T. had seduced the Sonorans, assur- ing them that the happiness of Cal. depended on the movement, and that all the settlers and the ayunt. were in favor of it, and had given the pronunci- ados $2 cach. T. they said had furnished $60 to buy lead, etc. A. deposed that T. and Gallardo had led him into the affair; but admitted that he him- self had written the plan and lent $200 for distribution. He said that Ga- lardo was the leader, and had secured the re-payment of the $200 by pledging His horses. He thought that many citizens of Los Angeles and some foreign- ers of Sta Bárbara knew of the plot in advance. T. swore that he had made many objections to the plan shown him by A. and Gallardo after they had 'pronounced;' that lic had loaned a little money without knowing for what it was to be used; and that he had never favored nor instigated the movement. Miguel Hidalgo testified at Monterey that T. at Los Angeles had tried to in- duce him and others to join a plot, though speaking very guardedly. All of- forts to prove by this witness an understanding with Hijar or others failed completely. Several foreigners, including Dr Wm Reid, Hugo Reid, and Santiago Johnson, testified that they knew nothing of the revolt except by rminors; but they said some arms had been taken from them or other foreigners. There was some evidence respecting the manufacture of lances and the pay- ment of various sums of money, implicating none but Gallardo. A.'s defender was Julian Padilla, Osio declining; and T. was defended by Regina de la Mora. The fiscal was Manuel Requena. There is nothing in the legal rou- tine that requires notice. The defence was confined mainly to protests, com- plaints of irregularities in the proceedings, and declarations of the ease with which the innocence of the accused was to be shown before the sup. court in M xico. On June 13th, the asesor, Cosme Peña, reviewed the case; and June 30th the alcalde rectified certain errors. April 10 to May 6, 1835, Apalate- gri and Torres, Averiguacion en Sonora del Tumulto hecho en Los Angeles por varios Sonorenses a Instigacion de los dichos ( fex, MS., 50 p. About a dozen men were examined in this Sonora investigation, and the general purport of their testimony was that the Sonorans had joined what they were led by Apalate- gui to regard as a general movement of Los Angeles, the prominent citizens of the south, and the foreign residents, made with a view to restore the mis- sions to the padres, and that they had abandoned the scheme as soon as its true nature was known. The record is a fragment, and the result not known. March 13th, Figueroa at S. Juan Bautista toayunt. of Angeles on the events of March 7th. Original in Coronel, Doc. Ilist. Cal., MS., 23-34: Figueroa, Manifiesto, 147-51. Same to alcalde of Monterey. Original in Vallejo, Doc., MS., xxxi. 175. Same to alcalde of S. Diego. Hayes, Miss. Bock, i. 228. Same to Gutierrez in Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 9-10. Replies of Argüello and Portilla. March 21st, all right at S. Diego and S. Luis Rey. Id., iv. 13-14.

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FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ-THE COLONY.

Antonio Apalátegui, who may have had a personal grievance against Figueroa, was the active instigator, though hardly more prominent than Gallardo; that Torres probably encouraged the plot, though acting with much caution and secrecy; and finally that there is no evidence to connect either the colony or its di- rectors with the movement in any way. There is room, however, for a plausible conjecture that Torres, in behalf of himself and his associates, was disposed to test by experiment the strength of Figueroa's popularity in the south.

Figueroa was at San Juan Bautista on March 13th when he heard of the affair at Los Angeles. His theory was that that revolt was part of a deliberate plan on the part of Padres and Hijar to overthrow him and seize the mission property. That same day, in addi- tion to the despatches which he sent south, as already noticed, he sent to Hijar an order suspending him and Padrés from their positions as directors, directing them to give up all arms and munitions to Vallejo, and to start at once for Mexico to answer before the supreme government for their conduct in California.20 At the same time he ordered Vallejo at Solano to receive the surrender of Híjar and Padrés, to seize all the arms and ammunition in possession of the col- onists, to arrest Francisco Verduzco and Romualdo Lara, and to embark all on board the Rosa, a Sar- dinian bark then in the port of San Francisco, to the captain of which vessel the corresponding instruc- tions, or request rather, were forwarded at the same

March 19th, ayunt. of Angeles receives written thanks from F. Los Angeles, Arch., MS., iv. 165. March 30th, thanks expressed by F. verbally. Id., iv. 106. In April Mariano Bonilla, a teacher of the colony, was removed from his school at Monterey and ordered to be sent away for complicity in this affair; but he did not leave Cal. St. Pup., Miss., MS., ix. 28. May 7th, A. and T. taken to S. Pedro. Dept. St. Pap., Angeles, MS., ii. 13. The date of sailing on the Loriot is not known.

20 Figueroa, Manifiesto, 157-8; Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., ii. 27-9. F. claims to have been fully aware of the plots that were being formed, and of the purposes with which Torres had been sent to Los Angeles, but had calm- ly awaited the outbreak before taking any definite action. It is true that on Mar. 4th he had warned Vallejo to look out for any attempt at revolt. Vallejo, Doc., MS., iii. 13.

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ARREST OF THE COLONISTS.

date. 21 Vallejo received the order on the 14th, "watched the colonists until their preparations called for prompt action, and then suddenly fell upon them on the 16th at 4 P. M., arresting Verduzco, Lara, and others," who the next day were taken on board the Rosa at San Francisco.22 On the 15th, several ses- sions of the Monterey ayuntamiento were held to approve all the governor had done and proposed to do; though the latter seems not to have made known his orders to Vallejo, and the ayuntamiento declined to name the persons who ought to be sent away. Next day Figueroa issued a printed address to the people, announcing that "the genius of evil has appeared among you, scattering the deadly poison of discord," declaiming in the most bitter terms against Híjar and Padrés, congratulating all that he has been able to save his beloved country, and promising a more complete vindication of his policy later.23 On the 17th, Híjar, still at Solano, replied to Figueroa's order of the 13th with a protest against the insult offered him, a declaration of his belief that the revolt was purely imaginary, a denial of the governor's right to suspend him, an expression of his determination to drag his prosecutor before competent tribunals, a complaint of unnecessary outrage at the hands of Vallejo, but at the same time an announcement of his disposition to yield to force and obey the order to

21 March 13, 1835, F. to Vallejo in Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 11-12; Id., Ben., ii. 29-31. Private note of same tenor and date, in Vallejo, Doc., MS., iii. 18. Ignacio Coronel, Rafael Padres, and other suspected persons were also to be sent on board the Rosa. Request to capt. of the Rosa, who was desired to take the prisoners to S. Blas if possible-the same being also com- municated to the captain of the port at Monterey, in Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., Ixxxvii. 69. F. to Alf. Valle. Valle, Dor., MS., 40.

22 Vallejo, Doc., MS., iii. 25. 37 rifles were seized besides other muni- tions. Id., xxiii. 4. Mar. 19th, Verduzco to Padres from the Rosa. Id., iii. 21. March 20th, Vallejo certifies that before the rifles were taken 2 parties of the colonists had departed to other parts of the territory. Also that no resistance was made. Id., iii. 22. Vallejo went back on the 1Sth to Solano after putting his prisoners on the bark.

23 Monterey, Actos del Ayunt., MS., 73-80. Figueroa, el Comandante Gen. y Gefe Politico de la Alta Cal. a los Habitantes del territorio. Monterrey, 1835, I sheet, in Earliest Printing in Cal .; Castro, Doc., MS., i. 22; Figueroa, Mani- fiesto, 151-4.

288 FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ-THE COLONY.

depart.24 Neither Híjar nor Padres was arrested at Solano, but at San Francisco on March 26th they went on board the Rosa in obedience to Figueroa's orders as exhibited by Vallejo, and the vessel sailed for Monterey. 25

The Rosa, after lying at anchor in the port of Mon- terey for a week or more, carried the prisoners down to Santa Barbara, where-numbering with their fam- ilies twenty-four persons-they arrived on April 16th, and three days later were transferred to the American brig Loriot, with the supercargo of which vessel Figue- roa had made a contract for transporting them with Torres and Apalátegui to San Blas.26 On May 8th- 9th the Loriot was at San Pedro, but the exact date of sailing for San Blas does not appear in the record. Before his departure, Padrés addressed to Figueroa a formal and indignant protest against the summary and illegal treatment which he had received, accusing the governor of having been influenced from the first by hostility to the colony.27 With the exiles were

2ª Figueroa, Manifiesto, 158-62; Guerra, Doc. Hist. Cal., MS., v. 106-9.

2. March 26th-27th, Vallejo to Figueroa, Id. to Híjar, H. to V. in Vallejo, Doc., MS., iii. 24, 26; vi. 349. Coronel had not been arrested. H. and P. had started for Monterey by land when ordered to return and embark on the Rosa. March 30th, some fears of trouble at Monterey reported to F. in the south, who orders watchfulness, and arrests if disorder occurs but not other- wise. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 15-16. March 31st, F. at Angeles to Vallejo, ordering him to form a representation on the acts of H., P., and the rest, their revolutionary projects, seduction of Indians, etc. Id., iv. 17. April 4th, F. to V. Has heard of the sailing of the prisoners; V. must keep the effects seized for the present, and try to discover where the rest of the rifles were that had been brought by Padres. Id., iv. 19-20. Passage money, etc., to capt. of the Rosa. Id., iv. 17-19; Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., Ixxxi. 6.

26 Figueroa had tried to engage the Mexican brig Catalina, Capt. Frederico Becher, for the service. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 20-1. Contract with A. B. Thompson of the Loriot, dated Apr. Ilth, to sail after Apr. 30th; to carry to S. Blas and maintain on the voyage Hijar and Padres with their families, Torres, Apalátegui, Verduzco, Lara, Bonilla, Araujo, and some others, with families and luggage; and to receive on return of the vessel $4,000. Id., iv. 24-6. Duties duc from Thompson and Robinson were to be deducted from the amount. Apr. 17th, Padres to F .; is ready to continue his voyage as or- dercd. Apr. 30th, F. instructs captain not to touch at any other port than S. Blas. Id., iv. 27-9. Same date, H. to Guerra, asserting his innocence, though it cannot be proven 'in this unhappy country, where the laws are trampled on.' Guerra, Doc., MS., v. 109-10. 24 persons landed on Apr. 19th. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., Ixxxi. 6-7.

21 May 8th, Padres, Protesta que Dirige D. José Maria Padres al Gefe Politico, 1835, MS. May 9th, Gutierrez is at S. Pedro guarding the prisoners and forming a sumario. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 38.

289

END OF THE COLONIZATION SCHEME.

sent reports of the gefe político explaining his action in the matter, together with the indictments more or less legally substantiated in each case. The docu- mentary process against Apalátegui and Torres was quite elaborate and has been sufficiently noticed; that against the parties arrested in the north is not extant, if it ever existed in any more definite form than the somewhat vague accusations of Figueroa and Vallejo.23

On the sailing of the Loriot from San Pedro, in May 1835, the famous colonization scheme of Híjar and Padrés, with its attendant controversies, may be regarded as having come to an end, though over two hundred of the colonists remained to swell the popu- lation of California. Figueroa devoted the remaining few months of his life to the preparation of an elabo-

28 Mar. 31st, F. to sec. of the interior, reporting the plots of H. and P. and his own policy, without mention of the arrests in the north-also some accom- panying correspondence. Vallejo, Doc., MS., xxxi. 182-3, 185, 198. May 5th, F. to sec. of state. Reports his later proceedings. H. and P. go to Mex. to answer to the sup. govt, whose employees they are; Torres and Apalátegui go as prisoners at the disposal of the sup. court; Verduzco, Lara, and Rafael Padres are also implicated in the revolt, and are to await the result of their trial (that is, probably the sumario in a complete form was not sent with them); and Licut Araujo goes because he is of no use in Cal., is sick, and has asked to be removed, besides being being an adherent of Hijar. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 29-31. April 15th, Vallejo at Solano sends to F. the pro- ceedings or investigations against the colonists. The documents are not given; but in his letter V. states that the coming of Híjar, Verduzco, and Lara caused great excitement; that they openly talked of surprising the gar- rison; that he overheard them plan to capture him, first occupying the church; that he was on the watch for 9 days until the order came from F .; that he seized and disarmed them on the 16th, as they were cleaning their weapons; and that the wife of Padres exclaimed on that occasion, 'I am glad they have been licaded off for being so slow.' Vallejo, Doc., MS., iii. 28. May 21st, F. sends V. 27 pages of proceedings against Padrés and associates, instruct- ing him to continue them as fiscal. Other allusions to these papers. Id., iii. 23, 50, 52. Vallejo, Ilist. Cal., MS., iii. 39-42, says that the colonists at Solano instead of going to work spent their time in plotting and gaining the good will of the Indians, Lara and Verduzco spending in presents for the In- dians the $2,000 that F. had paid for the support of the colony. They told him he was lucky in making the arrest just when he did, for half an hour later they would have seized him. They accused Pepe de la Rosa of having be- trayed their plots, but unjustly, since Rosa's interviews with Vallejo were as a printer and not as a politician. Brown, Statement, MS., 9-10, who was at Solano at the time of the arrests, thinks Rosa did give the information. Alf. Ignacio del Valle took a prominent part in protecting the country from im- aginary plots, as is shown by the records and by his own statement. Valle, Lo Pasado de Cal., MS., 13-14. Coronel, Cosas de Cal., MIS., 12-14, is sure there were no thoughts of revolt at Sonoma. Janssens, Vida y Aren., MS., 51-7, also regards the charges as having been invented by F. and V. to get rid of H. and P.

HIST. CAL., VOL. III. 19

290

FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ-THE COLONY.

rate defence of his own policy, which was a very com- plete history of the whole affair, and has been fully utilized with other documents in the preceding pages. It was besides one of the earliest specimens of Califor- nia printing-in fact, the second book printed in the territory.29 As a defence, the production is some- what too elaborate and earnest. The governor's ac- tion at the beginning in refusing to give up the com- mand and the mission property, as later in banishing Apalátegui and Torres, were so manifestly just and proper as to require no justification. His acts in other phases of the controversy, not perhaps without a cer- tain foundation of justice and policy, would show to better advantage without the declamatory arguments in their support with which the volume is largely filled. The author's very earnestness and violence at times betray the weakness of his cause. The charge of bribery against Híjar should have been made sooner or not at all. I have elsewhere expressed my belief that the revolutionary plots of Híjar and Padres were largely imaginary.

Of the men exiled from California at this time, Hi- jar will re-appear in the history of a later period; but of the rest I know nothing. I have found no record bearing upon their reception and treatment in Mexico, nor any evidence that the directors ever published a reply to Figueroa's manifiesto, or took any other steps to vindicate their conduct in California. For them the colony and the Compañía Cosmopolitana were dis- astrous failures. Of Padrés I would gladly append a biographical sketch, as I have done of other promi-

29 Figueroa, Manifiesto á la República Mejicana que hace el General de Bri- gada José Figueroa, Comandante General y Gefe Político de la Alta California, sobre su conducta y la de los Señores D. José María de Híjar, y, D. José Maria Padrés, como Directores de Colonizacion en 1834 y 1835. Monterrey, 1835. Imprenta del C. Agustin V. Zamorano, 12mo. 184 p. This book was being printed when the author died, and contains some obituary matter to be no- ticed later. An English translation was printed in S. Francisco in 1855. Figue- roa, The Manifiesto which the General of Brigade, etc., S. F. 1855, Svo, 104 p., the title on the cover being Missions of California. As has been seen, the orig- inals of most documents published in the Manifiesto are extant, either in my collection or in some of the archives.

291

SESSIONS OF THE DIPUTACION.

nent men; but beyond his first coming in 1830 as ayu- dante inspector, his influence with Echeandía and the Californians in behalf of radical republicanism and sec- ularization, his exile by Victoria in 1831, his connec- tion with the colony as just related, and something of his character which the reader has learned in these chapters, I have no information to offer.

At the election of October 1834, four or five men were chosen to replace the outgoing vocales of the diputacion; 3) but that corporation did not assemble, chiefly because three of the members were ill, until August 25, 1835, the sessions continuing, according to the records, until October 12th. I append a brief résumé of the business transacted.31 President Figue- roa's opening address was short, being a congratulation on the escape of the country from dangers that had

30 The election record, Actas de Elecciones, MS., 19-21, does not show who were elected. The hold-over members were J. A. Carrillo, Estudillo, and Castro; and the new diputacion seems to have been composed as follows: 1st vocal, José Antonio Carrillo, absent as congressman; 2d, José María Estudillo, excused on account of sickness. Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., ii. 17; 3d, José Castro; 4th, Juan B. Alvarado (though it is not clear whether he was 4th or 5th or 6th, and in one record, Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 42-3, Figueroa summons him as a suplente); 5th, Manuel Jimeno Casarin; 6th, Antonio Buelna; 7th, absent and unknown (perhaps J. A. de la Guerra); suplente, present, Salvio Pacheco; secretary, José María Maldonado. Leg. Rec., MS., ii. 212-15.

31 Aug. 25, 1835, examination of credentials; appointment of committees; and address by the pres. Buelna granted Icave of absence on account of ill- ness. (p. 212-16.) Aug. 27th, Sec. Maldonado offered his resignation, and asked to be paid $120 due him. Aug. 29th, land grants submitted for ap- proval. Sept. Ist, ditto; Maldonado submitted an index of documents in the archives, and retired, his place being taken by Alvarado. Sept. 3d, land grants; and wild cattle. (p. 217-18.) Sept. 5th, commun. from Los Angeles on cutting timber; from the alcalde of Monterey on boundaries of the capital. Sept. 10th, petition of inhabitants of S. Francisco to be attached to the jurisdiction of S. José for convenience of all concerned. Sept. 12th, 15th, 21st, land grants. (p. 219-21.) Sept. 26th, commun. from J. M. J. Gonzalez on appointment as police commissioner at Sta Inés. Oct. 10th, teacher at Sta Clara resigns; and Ignacio Coronel wants an appointment as teacher at S. Buenaventura. Oct. 12th, land grants. Prop. to place the portrait of the late Gen. Figueroa in the hall of sessions. (p. 221-2.) Oct. 14th, land grants. Oet. 13th, claim of Estudillo to be gefe politico ad interim, backed by the ayunt. of S. Diego, referred to com., but no action. Acting gefe pol. Castro au- thorized to collect his salary. Munic. fund of Monterey. Land grants. Oct. 16th, Salvio Pacheco granted leave of absence for sickness. No formal ad- journment. Leg. Rec., MS., ii. 212-26. On p. 262-9 are found also many communications of no available importance connected with the acts of the dip.

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FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ-THE COLONY.

lately threatened; and the routine of business at successive sessions was for the most part unimportant, though I shall have occasion to notice elsewhere a few of the topics treated. The president was occu- pied with other matters, and the chief aim of the legislators was apparently to devise acceptable excuses for obtaining leave of absence. It is remarkable that Figueroa did not bring before the diputacion his policy and acts toward Híjar and Padrés with a view to strengthen his record with the approval of that body; but for some reason this was not deemed neces- sary.

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History of California, Volume III, Part 32

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe Publication date: 1885-1890 Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers Number of Pages: 824

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe
Publication date: 1885-1890
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers
Number of Pages: 824