USA > California > History of California, Volume IV > Part 3
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18 April 23d, A. to the junta. Leg. Rec., MS., iii. G5. Vallejo, Informes al Ministro de Guerra sobre la sublevacion de Graham y otros extrangeros, 25 de Abril, 1840, MS. These despatches add nothing in detail to Alvarado's report, but are largely devoted to a repetition of his oft-repeated demands for aid, using the late trouble as a strong argument. He draws on his imagination somewhat in stating that the chief aim of the late conspiracy was to get pos- session of S. F. as a key to the whole country. He compliments Castro and his men for their valuable services, and asks to be relieved of his office that
14
ALVARADO'S RULE-THE GRAHAM AFFAIR.
sued a printed proclamation, in which he informed his fellow-citizens how " a sordid and venal faction, got- ten up by some ungrateful foreigners whom you have welcomed to your hospitable soil, attempted to strip us of the most precious treasure, country and life, de- siring to sacrifice to their unmeasured ambition the first authorities of the country"! He congratulated all on their escape, and advised the people to maintain the most friendly relations with foreigners legally in California.19 Orders were issued on the disposition to be made of property left by Graham, and arms be- longing to others of the exiles;20 and then all was quiet for a time at the capital.
In the south as well as in the north the governor's orders had been carried into execution, and twenty foreign prisoners had been collected at Santa Bárbara, none being arrested, however, who could show papers to account for their presence.21 The sub-prefect,
he may devote all his energies to the northern frontier. April 20th, Com. Sanchez of S. F. thanks providence that the vile designs of ungrateful for- eigners have been frustrated. Id., ix. 132.
19 Alvarado, [ Proclame del] Gobernador constitucional del Departamento de las Californias; á sus habitantes [sobre destierro de extrangeros]. Imprenta del Gobierno (1840), in Earliest Printing; Arce, Mem. y Doc., MIS., no. 15; Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt ii. 26-8; Vallejo, Doc., MS., xiv. 48; Bandini, Doc., MS., 44.
20 May 2d, gov. to justice of S. Juan. Let the foreigner Enrique (Henry Naile ?) realize from the effects of Graham and leave the republic within two months. Lists and accounts of all foreigners must be seut in. Dept. Rer., MS., xi. 12-13; Vallejo, Doc., MS., xxxiii. 68. S .: me date, Jimeno to justice of Branciforte, and S. Juan. Arms of the foreigners sent away to be collected and a report rendered. Sta Cruz, Arch., MS., 30; Gomez, Doc., MS., 43. May 16th, juez of S. José to gov.'s sec. Has in deposit some of the arrested foreigners' property, and their ereditors wish to take legal steps to get their pay from this deposit. Judge wishes to save his responsibility. S. José, Arch., MS., ili. 33.
21 April 13th, Guerra y Noriega to gov. Has aided the sub prefect to arrest all resident foreigners. Dept. St. Pap., MS., v. 6. April 21st, all prisoners at Angeles to be sent to Sta B. under guard. Id., Ang., xi. 117. April 23d, sub-prefect to prefect. Order of arrest excented. Id., iv. 84. April 21th, prefcet of Angeles to gov. 10 foreigners arrested here; some here several years, but none have papers; comisionado sent to S. Diego and Sta B. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Pref. y Juzg., MS., vi. 68. April 29th, list of 11 men under arrest: Jas Door, Wm Lumsdale (Lumsden), Gabriel (Nath. ? ) Pryor, Wm Wald, Milton White, Jacques Dufra, Tom Jones, Win Green, Jeffrey Brown, John Auntroy, and Albert Williams. Id., 67-8. Johnson the black- smith escaped. Id., Ang., iv. 70-4. May 12th, sub-prefect says 20 prisoners, 14 from Angeles and 6 from Sta B., had been delivered to Castro. Id., Ben.,
15
ARRESTS IN THE SOUTH.
Raimundo Carrillo, got himself into some trouble in connection with the arrests, being accused of speaking too freely when strict secrecy was enjoined, a charge which he earnestly denied.22 The Guipuzcoana arrived May 4th, though Farnham puts the date a week ear- lier, and five at least of the southern prisoners were added to the number already on board the vessel, though eight of those deemed least criminal were left behind for want of room and shackles.23 The exile- laden bark sailed on the 8th, and Castro carried with him a grandiloquent congratulatory address of certain patriotic Barbareños.24 Troops and exiles were landed at San Blas on or about May 16th; and early in Sep- tember the Guipuzcoana was back in California, with news that the foreigners were in prison at Tepic, while Castro, with Covarrubias and Soto, had gone to Mexico.25
Having thus presented a simple narrative of facts as drawn from archive records, I have now to give further information, founded more or less directly on the testimony of men concerned in the Graham affair. The victims and their friends have accused the Cali- fornians, not only of having exiled them without cause, but of cruelty at the time of the arrest, during their confinement, and on the voyage to San Blas. These charges are, I believe, exaggerated, though from the nature of the case they cannot be entirely dis- proved. In considering the evidence to be offered, the reader should bear in mind the character of the
iii. 5. June 23d, James Orbell, Thos Ridington, and Robt Robertson to be arrested at S. Diego. Id., Ang., i. 1.
22 Aug. 28, 1840, Carrillo to prefect in defence of himself, and other com- munications. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Prof. y Juzg., MS., iii. 6-8; Id., Ang., xii. 33-7; Los Angeles, Arch., MS., i. 216-18.
23 May 7th, Castro to Guerra, in Guerra, Doc., MS., v. 191-2. Those left were to leave Cal. when an opportunity should occur.
2| May Stli, signed by the Cotas, Oliveras, and others. Dept. St. Pap., MS., v. 7. This proclamation, signed by 'seven citizens of note,' is partially translated in Monterey Co. Hist., 34-5. Arrival and departure of the vessel noted in Mellus' Diary, MS., 4.
25 Sept. Gth, sub-prefect at Sta B. announces arrival of Aguirre's vessel on Aug. 31st. Dept. St. Pap., Ang., MS., iii. 27.
16
ALVARADO'S RULE-THE GRAHAM AFFAIR.
exiles as men whose word could not be trusted, the opportunity they had to make their stories agree, their interest with a view to indemnity from Mexico in maintaining and exaggerating their wrongs, and the prevailing spirit of hatred for everything Mexican, which in the following years served as a favorable medium for their complaints. The Californians per- sonally concerned in making the arrests are in many cases not better witnesses than the victims; but the general denial of leading Californians should have some weight, especially when supported by the fact that foreigners of the better class made no opposition and offered none but the mildest protests, after the matter had assumed a political aspect.
The Californians had no real military organization, and their system of police and prisons was still less effective. To arrest and confine a hundred foreigners was under the circumstances no slight achievement. The arrests were made for the most part by small parties of citizens imperfectly armed, with no training as policemen, and with a decided fear of their enemy's prowess. Undue severity was to be expected in some instances, and an occasional gratification of personal dislikes might naturally occur. But prompt action was demanded, followed by strict precautions; a little more attention to kid-glove niceties would have re- sulted in the escape of Graham and his company to join the trappers of the interior and laugh at the efforts of their persecutors. The arrest and exile were, in a legal sense, and in the case of certain individuals, an outrage; but the reader will, perhaps, after a study of the facts, be led to accept with some allowance the wholesale charges of inhumanity made against the Californian authorities and people.
Of the men arrested in the north, there were per- haps one hundred, though it is doubtful if all were sent to Monterey, and some, I think, were arrested at their own request, or with their own consent, in order to avoid making enemies among their foreign ae-
17
LISTS OF NAMES.
quaintanees. Farnham names about fifty in addition to those sent to San Blas.26 Alvarado announced to the government that sixty men had been arrested and that forty-three were to be sent away. Twenty more seem to have been delivered to Castro at Santa Bár- bara, but eight were not taken for want of room, and one, Robert King apparently, of the Monterey men was also left here sick. If twelve were put on board -though only six are known, one of whom, Lumsden, was landed at San Diego-there should have been fifty-four sent to San Blas. I suppose, however, that either there is some mistake about the Santa Bárbara record, or some of the Monterey captives were released in the south; and that forty-seven reached San Blas, though there may have been a few more. In nation- ality they are said to have been about equally divided between Englishmen and Americans. I append a list of their names.27
26 Farnham's Life in Cal., 69-70. The list, with some orthographical im- provements, is as follows, though it contains the names of one or two not likely to have been arrested, and one or two others of whom I know nothing; and the author does not present it as complete: Adams, Walter. Gulnac, Wm.
Atterville, Jas.
*Hance, Wm. Hathaway, H.
*Matthews, Wm. Mirayno, Jon. (?)
*Bee, Henry.
Bcechay, Capt. (?)
Henderson, Wm.
Bowen, Thos.
Herven, Jon. (?)
*Naile, Henry. Sill, Danicl. Smith, Jon.
Brander, Wmn.
Horton. (?)
*Smith, Wm.
*Brown, Chas. Burns, Wm.
Jones,
*Spear, Nathan. Storm, Peter. Thompson, Wm.
*Cole, Thos.
*King, Robt. Kinlock, Geo.
*Tomlinson, Thos. (or A.G.)
*Cooper, Henry. Coppinger, Jas.
La Grace, Fran. (?)
*Trevethan, Wm. Ware, Wm.
Dickey, Wm.
Livermore, Robt. Lodge, Mich.
*Watson, Ed.
Eagle, F. (?)
*Weeks, Wm.
*Farwell, Jas.
Ferguson, Geo.
*Majors, Jos. L. Mckinley, Jas. McVicker, Hen.
*West, Mark.
Fuller, Jon.
*Marsh, John.
Watson, Andrew.
*Dye, Job.
Jones, Jerry.
*Chamberlain, Jno.
Kelley, Jas.
*Wilson, Alvin.
The names marked with a star are also mentioned by other authorities than Farnham. Bee adds the name of James Rogers. Morris accuses Job Dye of having been in the ranks of the party that arrested him. Wm H. Davis says he was arrested at Yerba Buena, with Spear, but released at the mission.
27 On May 24, 1840, at Tepic, 46 men signed a letter of thanks to Farnham for his services. Honolulu Polynesian, Dec. 5, 1840. Naturally all would have signed the paper, and Wm Chard is the only one not named whom there is reason to suppose to have been a member of the party. An official com- HIST. CAL., VOL. IV. 2
18
ALVARADO'S RULE-THE GRAHAM AFFAIR.
It is best to give literally the statements of Graham and Morris about the arrests at Natividad on the morning of April 7th. The former, after stating that he and Naile went to bed in his house while Morris and Barton as usual slept in the still-house,23 says: "We slept quietly until about three o'clock in the morning, when I was awakened by the discharge of a pistol near my head, the ball of which passed through the handkerchief about my neck. I sprang to my feet and jumped in the direction of the villains, when they discharged six other pistols so near me that my shirt took fire in several places. Fortunately the darkness and the trepidation of the cowards prevented
munication from Mexico also gives the number as 47. Vallejo, Doc., MS., x. 97. Morris, Diary, MS., insists that there were exactly 46 on the vessel after leaving S. Diego. The names of the 47 are as follows-those who are known to have returned to Cal. being marked with a star, the nationality being given when known, and also the year of arrival for those who came before 1840:
*Anderson, Wm, Engl. 1837. Armstrong, John. Baily, Wm (Engl. 1834 ?).
*Barton, Win, Amer. 1839. Bloomfield, Wm.
*Boles (Bowles), Jos., Amer. 1838. Brincken, Wilhelm.
*Carmichael, Lawrence, Engl. 1833.
"Chapel, Geo., Engl.
*Chard, Wm, Amer. 1832-3. Christian, John, 1838.
*Cooper, Chas H., Amer. Daly, Nathan, Amer. 1834.
*Dove, Jas G., Engl. 1833. Forbes, Wm, Engi. 1S35.
*Frazer, Geo., Amer. 1833. Goff, Daniel.
*Graham, Is., Amer. 1833. Green, Wm.
Higgins, John, Engl. 1830. Irvin, John.
Jones, Thos. Knight, Henry.
*Langlois, Wm, Engl.
*Lewis, Thos, Engl. 1833. Louzade (?), Jas.
*Lucas. Jno., Engl. 1838. McAllister, Robt. Perhaps returned.
*McGlone, Wm, Engl. 1837. Maynard, John, Engl. Perhaps re-
turned.
*Meadows, Jas, Engl. 1837.
*Morris, Albert F., Engl. 1834.
*O'Brien, Jas, Engl. 1838.
*Pearce, Jos (or Jas Peace), 1838. Perry, Elijah. Pollock, Lewis.
*Price, John, Engl. 1836. Pryor, Gabriel.
Shea, Wmn.
Thomas, Thos. Vermilion, John.
*Warner, John, Engl. Westlake, Rich.
White, Milton.
Whitehouse, Jos.
Williams, Albert. Williams, Chas, 1839.
Of these persons, the account in the Polynesian of June 20th says 'several of them were sailors. Some came here with passports. Four or five arrived here the same month in the Roger Williams, one being the first mate. (Also Graham et al., Petition.) One half had been in the country for years, and were owners of some property, all of which they had to leave behind.'
28 Graham's statement in Farnham's Life in Cal., 71-2. For what preceded, that is, Garner's visit, see p. 6 of this chapter. Farnham says he obtained written statements from 41 of the prisoners, but he prints only two or three.
19
GRAHAM'S NARRATIVE.
their taking good aim; for only one of their shots took effect, and that in my left arm. After firing they fell back a few paces and commenced reloading their pieces. I perceived by the light of their pistols that they were too numerous for a single man to con- tend with, and determined to escape. But I had scarcely got six paces from the door when I was over- taken and assailed with heavy blows from their swords. These I succeeded in parrying off to such an extent that I was not much injured by them. Being incensed at last by my successful resistance, they grappled with me and threw me down, when an ensign by the name of Joaquin Terres (Torre) drew his dirk, and saying with an oath that he would let out my life, made a thrust at my heart. God saved me again. The weapon passing between my body and left arm, sunk deep in the ground! and before he had an opportunity of repeating his blow they dragged me up the hill in the rear of my house, where José Castro was standing. They called to him, 'Here he is!' whereupon Castro rode up and struck me with the back of his sword over the head so severely as to bring me to the ground; and then ordered four balls to be put through me. But this was prevented by a faithful Indian in my service, who threw himself on me declaring that he would receive the balls in his own heart! Unwilling to be thwarted, however, in their design to destroy me, they next fastened a rope to one of my arms and passed it to a man on horse- back, who wound it firmly around the horn of his saddle. Then the rest taking hold of the other arm endeavored to haul my shoulders out of joint! But the rope broke. Thinking the scoundrels bent on killing me in some way, I begged for liberty to com- mend my soul to God. To this they replied, 'You shall never pray till you kneel over your grave.' They then conducted me to my house and permitted me to put on my pantaloons. While there they asked where Mr Morris was. I told them I did not know.
20
ALVARADO'S RULE-THE GRAHAM AFFAIR.
Then they put their lances to my breast and told me to call him or die. I answered that he had made his escape. While I was saying this Mr Naile came to the house, pale from loss of blood, and vomiting. He had had a lance-thrust through his thigh, and a deep wound in his leg, which nearly separated the cord of the heel. They next put Mr Naile and myself in double irons, carried us half a mile into the plain, left us under guard, and returned to plunder the house. After having been absent a short time, they came and conducted us back to our rifled home. As soon as we arrived there a man by the name of Manuel Larias (Larios) approached me with a drawn sword, and commanded me to inform him where my money was buried. I told him I had none. He cursed me and turned away. I had some deposited in the ground, but I determined they should never enjoy it. After having robbed me of my books and papers, which were all the evidence I had that these very scoundrels and others were largely indebted to me, and having taken whatever was valuable on my premises, and distributed it among themselves, they proceeded to take an inventory of what was left, as if it were the whole of my property; and then put me on horseback and sent me to this prison. You know the rest. I am chained like a dog, and suffer like one." 29
29 In a deposition of Sept. 1, 1847, at S. José, Graham said that Garner came with Castro, taunted and insulted him after his capture, blamed Castro for not having kept his promise to kill him, and as he believed broke open trunks in his house, containing $3,700. Monterey, Arch., MS., xiv. I-S. Wiggins, Demin., MS., 5-6, says 'Graham was always the hero of his own stories, yet he had scars to show.' James Meadows and Jolin Chamberlain give a brief version, substantially agreeing with that of Graham. Mofras, Gleeson, Alfred Robinson, Hastings, and Willey, Centen. Sketch of Sta Cruz, present a s'ill briefer version of similar purport. Hastings says Alvarado "despatched a few of his niggardly hirelings in tho dead of night ... to bring tho foreigners before his contemptible excellency. In most instances the first notice which the foreigners had of their approach was a volley of musket- balls poured in upon them through their windows and doors.' Wilkes and Fayecte Robinson add that a working-man named Chard (Naile ?) was held down by two men while a third deliberately eut the tendons of his legs with a butcher-knife, and left him to die! Estevan de la Torre, Remin., MS., S9- 90, narrates that when his brother Joaquin called at Graham's door, the for-
21
TESTIMONY OF MORRIS.
Morris narrates the adventures of the night as fol- lows: "At evening a Spaniard called, said he had lost a bundle, and wished to stay all night. There were also in the house two foreigners who said they were going to San José, but disliked to ford the rivers until the water had fallen. About nine o'clock we all re- tired, Graham and Naile as usual to a small house about twenty-five or thirty yards away. Myself, a hired man (Barton), and the three travellers retired to the still-house. About two o'clock I was awakened by a loud knocking at the door. I hailed in English, but got no answer; then in Spanish, and was answered by Nicolás Alviso, a neighbor. I told him to wait till I could dress, light a candle, and let him in. I had only time to put on my pantaloons when I heard the report of fire-arms at Graham's house, and the tramp of horses behind the still-house. Alviso called on all to break in my door; I heard the foreigner set on shore for mutiny (Garner) calling out to set the buildings on fire; and as they came against the door I gave them a broadside from my pistol, loaded with a ball and the necks of 14 bullets-but it being dark I fired rather too high. They returned my fire, and wounded me in the left side with a musket-ball. The dastardly cowards then ran, except Alviso. Looking
eigners began to fire rifles from the houses; and when he forced the door, Graham, sitting on the bed dressing, fired a pistol-shot through his eloak. Torre then fired both his pistols at Graham's breast, burning himsomewhat; but the bullets had dropped out into the holsters during the night's ride. Graham fell upon his baek, and when Torre rushed upon him with drawn sword, called for mercy. Torre replied, 'Tell your men to stop firing and surrender,' which was done, and all were made prisoners. This version, supported by Serrano, may be regarded as that of Joaquin de la Torre, whose character as a witness was about on a par with that of Graham-that is, very bad. Marsh, Letter to Com. Jones, MS., 11, says: ' His house was surrounded at night, the door forced open, and a volley of fire-arms discharged into the beds where it was known that Graham and Naile were sleeping. Before they had time to leave their beds, Naile received two severe wounds, and was left for dead. Graham was knocked down, severely beaten, bound, and carried to Monte- rey.' The account in the Polynesian says: 'When they started to arrest Graham, Garner told them not to attempt to take him alive, but to go to his house in the night, and open the door of his room, and fire upon him while in his bed. This they did, and it is surprising that he escaped being killed. His bed-clothes were much torn by the balls, and one ball wounded him slightly in the abdomen.'
22
ALVARADO'S RULE-THE GRAHAM AFFAIR.
through the open willow-work that formed one side, I leveled my rifle at him, and exploded three caps; but one of the foreigners had tampered with the rifle, and it would not go off, though Alviso now took to his heels. The hired man and two of the travellers had escaped, and I was left alone with the remaining stran- ger, a man who had lost all his fingers. Both the others had been emissaries of the Californians sent to watch us, and to escape and report if we had any notice of the coming danger. They had singled out Graham, Naile, and myself as special victims; and they had agreed that neither of us should be left to tell the bloody tale. I now escaped, my companion not fol- lowing me, into a willow swamp near by, barefoot, and having on nothing but shirt and pantaloons. I was the only man who had attempted any resistance." Morris remained in the swamp all day, and at night found his way to the house of Littlejohn, eight miles away, where he remained two days, and then went by way of Santa Cruz to the distillery of Dye and Ma- jors at Zayante. He relates at considerable length that Dye, after promising protection, betrayed him into the hands of Castro's men, and treated Majors, his partner, in like manner. He was finally arrested about April 16th by Ness and Lyons, and was taken to Monterey by Buelna's company, in which Dye served as a soldier. On the way he stopped at Nati- vidad, where Naile was found, unable to rise from his bed on account of his wound, but kindly treated, as he said, by Alviso. Not a scrap of property was left, all having been stolen. He arrived at Monterey the 18th of April.30
There is not much to be said about the arrests made, except at Natividad, and no special outrages are charged upon the Californians even by the vic-
30 Morris' Diary of a Crazy Man, MS., 7-8, 10-25, with many minute de- tails for which I have no space. A statement by Morris, agreeing more or less with this, was also published by Farnham. He says Naile claimed to have been wounded by Garner himself.
23
OTHER ARRESTS.
tims. James Meadows relates that he, with Higgins and Anderson, engaged in sawing on the Carmelo Creek, was lured to the house of one Romero, who by giving up the foreigners hoped to secure their rifles as a reward.31 Rafael Pinto brought in six or eight other sawyers from El Pinal.32 Eusebio Galindo was one of the party that brought in the lumbermen of San Francisquito, without force or fetters, feeling sure they were engaged in no plot, and soon procuring their release.33 Jacinto Rodriguez and his command took seven Americans, lumbermen like the rest, at the Aguage de Tres Pinos.34 J. M. Covarrubias was sent toward San José, and kept the prisoners of that region for some days confined at Santa Clara, one of them being James W. Weeks.35 Harry Bee was in the redwoods with Trevethan, Rogers, and an American, when José Castro himself with fifty men made a raid on the saw-pit; and Bee's throat was even honored, if we may credit his story, by the grasp of the eoman- dante himself.36 John Chamberlain was arrested at his shop early in the morning, and on his arrival at the calabozo found six or seven others already there.37 Charles Brown was also arrested in the redwoods; and at one time he enjoyed the distinction-so he says-of being chained to Isaac Graham, but was soon released.38 Marsh, visiting Mission San José on busi-
31 Meadows' Graham Affair, MS. On the way a Mexican fired a pistol- ball very near Meadows' head.
32 Pinto, Apunt., MS., 41-51. These two arrests were made the same. night as those at Natividad.
33 Galindo, Apuntes, MS., 44.
34 Rodriguez, Statement, MS.
35 Weeks, Remin., MS., 103-10, says 'Covarrubias came putting on airs worse than the devil, and locked me up as if I had been Walker or some other gran filibustero.' At S. José he 'had the satisfaction to see a pack of Christians and people of reason overhauling my writing-desk and pillaging every little thing that satisfied their gluttonous eyes. They set in robbing me from the word go; said they were looking for doenments to prove conspir- cy.' On the way to Monterey they met Castro and Montenegro at the Roblar de la Laguna.
36 Bee's Rccoll., MS., 21, etc. They were taken to Monterey on horseback. Bee was a married man, as was Weeks also.
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