USA > California > Riverside County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume I > Part 44
USA > California > San Bernardino County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume I > Part 44
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In Platte County, Missouri, and the region thereabout, excitement ran high in the late summer and autumn of 1840 owing to the represen- tations of one Robidoux, who had been in California with the Santa Fe trappers and pictured the country as an earthly paradise, not only in conversation, but in public meetings, to consider the expediency of emigration on a large scale. During the winter some 500 agreed to go, but owing to unfavorable reports no one went except Louis Rubi- doux and John Bidwell, who afterward located in the northern part of the State and founded the Town of Chico. Missouri seems at that time to have been in a restless condition for numbers of them found their way to the Pacific Coast in the Columbia River Valley, being the first American settlers there. Louis Rubidoux, having been in California. knew something about the southern country and knew where he was going.
Hunting, trapping and trading must have been profitable in these times, for Rubidoux is represented as having brought cattle and sheep with him and also a large sum of money. The assessment roll of San Bernardino County for 1854 shows him assessed at over $20,000, a large figure in those days, and possibly the richest man in the county. The dry bench lands were not assessed as being of no value. These are the lands on which the City of Riverside now stands. He also married into a rich family in New Mexico before he settled in California. There was a large family of sons and daughters who were educated by an
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English tutor and all of them talked English very fluently. The tutor wished to marry one of the daughters but was opposed by the mother, who did not wish her to be taken away to Australia, where the teacher finally went, as in those days Australia or New Zealand were very far- away countries and difficult of access.
Mr. Rubidoux brought quite a library of books with him, as during the Mexican domination books were very scarce and the early missions discouraged the importation of books. He also built the first flour mill in these parts and possibly in Southern California, for during the war with Mexico about all the soldiers had to eat was beef, and a small supply of flour and beans from Rubidoux was greatly enjoyed. He was able to talk four languages himself and probably had a partial knowledge of some of the Indian languages.
The tenure of his land-holding under Mexican rule was short, but in Southern California there was a lesser influx of Americans to disturb the peaceful pastoral relations soon to pass away. There were the Mormons who came to San Bernardino a few years later than the ces- sion of California from Mexico to the United States. Previous to that time Jurupa was a central place and just south of the Rubidoux home- stead there was a fort occupied by United States troops to protect the settlers from raids by Indians on the horses and cattle for the rancheros, who run them off onto the Mohave and Colorado deserts and on to Utah. where there was a market. The Rubidoux homestead itself was in the nature of a fort with loopholes for musketry. The settlement at Agua Mansa just above and adjoining the Jurupa grant was formed by Mex- icans from Santa Fe, New Mexico, on lands given by Bandini as a protection against these Indian raiders, some of whom were aided by renegade whites. After the Mormons came, the Indians burned the sawmills in the San Bernardino Mountains, but it ultimately became a costly pursuit for all kinds of raiders for they finally got wiped out and at the time of the settlement of Riverside all was peace.
During the Civil war and at the time of the great flood of 1862 there was still a company of soldiers at the fort at Jurupa on account of the disloyalty of some of the Mormons and also some Southern people who were settled and, as it afterward happened, members of the military company fought in the South on different sides and San Bernardino County was always in the democratic ranks until outnumbered by the influx of colonists in Riverside and elsewhere.
Mr. Rubidoux not having lived under Spanish and Mexican rule for but a short time after the purchase of the Jurupa, was always loyal to the United States and took an active part during the war with Mexico and was wounded and captured at a battle at Chino, where rabid ones on the Mexican side were for executing the whole of the prisoners, but wiser counsels prevailed and they were all imprisoned for a considerable time. During the gold excitement in the upper part of the State in 1849 and the early '50s Mr. Rubidoux made money by driving stock up north to supply the miners with meat.
The great flood of 1862 washed away much of the best land of the Rubidoux ranch in the lowlands, leaving nothing but barren sand. The homestead was also more or less endangered by the high water. The extreme drought immediately following the flood decimated the cattle, further impairing the Rubidoux fortunes, to be followed later by an accident incapacitating Mr. Rubidoux from active labor and his death in 1868 and the division, distribution and sale of part of the property with the final sale of the remainder to the Silk Center Association and finally to the Southern California Colony Association removed the family
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from the scene of their former greatness. At that time there was quite a settlement along the river of white men and Mexicans on Rubidoux grant lands and all down the river to Juapa for eight miles, where Don Juan Bandini had his headquarters while he owned the Jurupa grant, and a school was also maintained there on the easterly side of the river where Mr. Hyatt, who finally became state superintendent of public schools first taught. The school finally lapsed and was moved to the newer Riverside School District. But for his untimely accident and death at a comparatively youthful age, Mr. Rubidoux would have taken an active part in the establishment of the new era on the settlement of Riverside. As it was, he served as a local judge and was one of the first members of the Board of Supervisors of San Bernardino County.
Vol. I-21
CHAPTER IV THE PADRES AND THE MISSIONS
One of the remarkable movements of the Spanish era was the efforts of the priests of the Roman Catholic church to civilize and christianize the native inhabitants of the newly discovered continent of America. It was an effort of both church and State which at that time sustained more intimate relations than they do today. It can fairly be compared with our modern movement from Europe, especially England to America and other places. The love of gold was in the main the leading motive. California then as more recently, was a leading goal, and the strange feature of it all was that gold in California was not before discovered. In our modern movement, however, religion and the spiritual welfare of the native inhabitants was only an incidental and after-thought, although the Catholic church never lost sight of the original purpose. Church and State especially under Roman Catholic denomination being so intimately associated, there was always the religious ideas running through the whole movement and deriving support from the State, and so as a matter of course the religious movement in California as in the whole of America was under the supervision and watchful eye of the King of Spain, and what the priest or padre said had great shadow of authority.
And so the first movement after discovery, was of the clergy for the welfare of the aboriginal inhabitants. But as California was a goodly land to look upon and a pleasant place to live, with a fruitful soil capable of meeting the bodily wants, the two movements, that is the religious and colonization, although not simultaneous, followed one another some- what closely. The fact that the soldiers of Spain were, in the absence of women of their own race, encouraged to marry native women, and that the Missions themselves went into stockraising and farming show the trend of things towards what soon became part of the settlement of California, namely, the pastoral system, with the necessary granting of large tracts of land for pastoral purposes by the kings of Spain. The sword and the cross were equally the emblem of the newer civilization that was destined in but a short time to supplant and almost extinguish the old. The King sent his soldiers to conquer and hold the church, its well-trained servants to proselyte and colonize. Where the missionaries went, there also went the soldier to help enforce, if need be, the decrees of the clergy. Under a decree of Philip II it was death to any foreigner who should enter the Gulf of Mexico or any of the lands bordering thereon. A decree of the Pope had given Spain almost the whole of the lands of North and South America and by virtue of that right the decree against foreigners was given. It was, as the Kings of Spain found to their cost, one thing to utter a decree, but quite another to enforce it. Under such a policy the only means left to Spain to hold her vast colonial possessions, was to prosletize the natives of the countries conquered and to transform them into citizens. This had proved effective with the semi- civilized natives of Mexico and Peru, but with the degraded Indians of California, it was a failure.
There were twenty-one Missions founded in California and San Diego was the first one. Lower California had several, before California proper had any. They were generally not a great distance from the coast and their location was governed by the number of Indians as much as by any
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other circumstance. As a rule the sites were all located where water was to be had, for irrigation and.the soil was good. The San Gabriel Mission was at first founded at what is known as the old mission near the lower end of what is known as El Monte, but was later moved from there to its present site, owing to overflow in high water from the river. There was no mission nearer Riverside than San Gabriel. At old San Ber- nardino there were some buildings of adobe, supposed to have been mission buildings, but they were never used for missions, but only as an agricultural station and as storehouses and ranch headquarters. The buildings were destroyed by the Indians in 1834. The ruins were still to be seen after the settlement of Riverside close to Brookside Avenue that now leads to Redlands. There was also on some of the lands now occupied by orchards west or northerly of Brookside Avenue, remains of an old ditch which had to be filled up before the lands could be fitted for planting, showing that irrigation had been carried on at a higher level than the then existing brook which was running at that time, was capable of. This brook apparently was formed for irrigation, for at the time of the founding of Redlands its waters came from Mill Creek and were used on the lands at Old San Bernardino.
At nearly all of the Missions there was some trouble with the Indians, but from all accounts the Indians had good cause for the disturbance. At San Diego there were one or two killed, but like all encounters with the Indians everywhere, the Indians in the end got th worst of it. It is matter for surprise that considering the treatment the Indians have received ever since their intercourse with the white man, that there could be any kind of truce or amity between them. They have been dispossessed of their lands no matter how long they may have been in their possession, whenever it suited the whims of the whites or to satisfy their greed. Their women have been outraged and abused in every possible way without having any recourse at law, as an Indian's testimony would not be believed as against that of a white man. Even since the reservation idea has come into usage, their holdings have not been secure against the encroachments of the white man. Helen Hunt Jackson in her reports to the Government shows some of the injustice to which they were sub- jected. Ramona, although a romance showing the good side of the Indian, and when not wronged it was mostly good, had a great influence in directing public attention to the wrongs under which the Indian suffered.
Under the old Spanish laws and customs, the Indian was always recognized and protected in his land holdings and little settlements. The large land grants also were subject to the rights of the Indian, but whether these rights were properly embodied in the grant seems doubtful in view of subsequent events. At the best the Indian has been a pawn of fate. Even on the reservations that have been made for him by gov- ernment, he has not so far been much better off. Boundaries have been changed whenever the greed of the incoming settler demanded it. Surveys and surveyors have been uncertain and faulty, and agents whose duties were to protect the Indian have not always been faithful to their duties and it has been reported by those appointed to inquire into the Indian troubles, that there were sometimes good reasons why an Indian agent should not be a man at all, but a woman. Today the reservations are generally where no white man wants to live, away out on the moun- tains bordering the Colorado Desert, barren and dry, but taking advantage of every little spring of water where they can raise something to eat. Their children when educated at the Indian school are just as capable of learning as the white children and as mechanics are good in all depart-
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ments. The girls also excel in all feminine accomplishments and are quite capable of attaining to be musicians. The Indian band appears to hold its own as an organization in public demonstrations.
Perhaps the most glaring and unjust example of our modern system of treatment of the Indian happened with the Warner ranch Indians at the warm springs where they had had their homes and little settlement from time immemorial. Their title was good so far as possession and occupation was concerned, but because they could not produce a written deed from God Almighty some smart lawyer was able to dispossess them for lack of title and so they were without homes. The Pope's gift to the King of Spain seemed in this instance to have taken precedence over all other rights. However, the United States Government having seen the injustice of the whole affair, not being able to set aside the decision of the courts, purchased another site at Pala, near Temecula, in San Diego County, where they are supposed to be fairly well located, but the moving of them, according to those who participated in the moving, was a heartrending affair. The purport of the missions was, however, for the benefit of the Indians materially and spiritually.
The establishment of the missions at some distance from the coast was for protection from lawless sailors and also against buccaneers who were after the rich Spanish galleons that annually came down the coast from Manilla, laden with riches of all kinds. The settlements along the coast were not exempt from these raids.
Spain had nominal possession of the whole coast all the way up, but Russians from Siberia hunted and fished as far south as San Francisco and traded even further, at the Spanish missions, establishing some claims on the coast that were finally extinguished by the purchase of Alaska in 1867 .. Then the Hudson Bay Company pushed its way through to the northwest coast and again the United States by discovering the Columbia River, with a claim, by virtue of that discovery, of all the lands drained by that river, together with establishment of a fur trading station at Astoria along with settlements in later days in the Columbia River Basin. The Lewis and Clark expedition across the continent, although mostly in later days than the establishment of the missions, showed that Spain's fears of the loss of her Pacific Coast possessions were well founded Captain Cook and Vancouver were also busy on Britain's behalf, all caus- ing Spain great uneasiness about her possessions. Spain ultimately relinquished in 1818 all claims to anything north of 42 degrees.
Four expeditions were fitted out by Jose de Calvez under instruc- tions from the Viceroy of New Spain for the physical and spiritual con- quest of Nueva California, which were all united at San Diego, July 1, 1769. The leaders, Governor Gasper de Portola and President Junipero Serra lost no time in beginning their work. On the 14th of July Governor Portola set out on his exploration of a land route to the Bay of Monterey and two days later Father Junipero Serra founded the first mission in California, for the conversion of the Indians. The original site of the Mission of San Diego de Alcali was near the Presidio at Old Town. Temporary buildings were erected here, but the mission was, in 1774, moved up the San Diego River about two leagues. Here a dwelling for the padres, a storehouse, a smithy and a wooden church 18 by 57 feet were erected. The missionaries had been fairly successful in the con- version of the natives and some progress had been made in teaching them to labor. In November, 1775, the gentile or unconverted natives sud- denly attacked the mission, killing one of the friars and the blacksmith, and wounding the carpenter and setting fire to the buildings. The rest escaped to an adobe building that had been used as a kitchen. Two of
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the soldiers were wounded and what were left, a corporal, one soldier and the carpenter, held the Indians at bay until daylight when they left. Thus early in the work one martyr for his principle was registered.
Father Junipero Serra was a very remarkable man and a short notice of his life and labors may not be out of place.
JUNIPERO SERRA. Miguel Jose Serra was born at Petra on the island of Mallorica, November 24, 1713, took the Franciscan habit at Palina, September 14, 1730, and made his profession September 15, 1731, on which occasion he assumed the name Junipero. In early boyhood he served as chorister and acolyte in the parish church greatly to the delight of his parents, a God-fearing couple of lowly station. The lives of the saints were his favorite reading, and his fondest ambition was to devote his life to religious work. He was an earnest and wonderfully proficient student and taught philosophy for a year before his ordination in the chief convent of Palma, then obtaining a degree of S. T. D. from the famous Lullian University with an appointment to the John Scotus chair of philosophy, which he held with great success until he left Spain. He was also noted for his doctrinal learning and still more so as a sensa- tional preacher. He was wont to imitate San Francisco Solano and often bared his shoulders and scourged himself with an iron chain, extinguished lighted candles on his flesh, or pounded his breast with a large stone as he exhorted his hearers to penitence.
March 30, 1749 after repeated applications he obtained his patente to join the College of San Fernando and devote himself to missionary work in America. With Paloa he left his convent April 13, and sailed via Malaga to Cadiz where he arrived May 7. On the way to Malaga he maintained a continuous disputation on dogmatic theology with the heretic master of the vessel and would not yield even to the, somewhat forcible though heterodox arguments of a dagger at his throat, and repeated threats to throw him overboard. Sailing from Cadiz August 28, he touched at Puerto Rico where he spent 15 days in preaching, anchored at Vera Cruz December 6, and walked to Mexico, reaching the College January 1, 1750. Assigned the same year to the Sierra Gordo Missions Queretero and San Luis Potosi, he made the journey on foot and reached Santiago de Jalpan on June 16. For nine years he served here, part of the time as president, devoting himself most earn- estly and successfully to the conversion and instruction of the Pames. In 1759 or 1760 he was recalled and appointed to the so-called Apache Missions of the Rio San Sabi in Texas; but the plans being changed he was retained by the college and employed for seven years in preaching in Mexico and the surrounding bishoprics, in College service and in per- forming the duties of his office of Comissario of the inquisition held since 1752.
July 14, 1767 Serra was named president of the Baja Californian mis- sions, arrived at Tepic August 21, sailed from San Blas March 12, 1768 and reached Lareto April 1,-March 28, 1769, he started-always on foot-for the north, founded San Fernando de Celicata on May 14, reached San Diego July 1, and founded the first California Mission July 16. After founding several missions going as far north as San Carlos and Monterey, on his return he sailed from San Diego for Mexico which he reached by way of San Blas February 6, 1773. Leaving Mexico in September he arrived at San Diego March 13, and went up to Mon- terey by land arriving May 11. After many wanderings, visitations of missions and founding others, June, 1784, found him at San Francisco and Santa Clara.
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Paloa in his biography enumerates in his many virtues his profound humility as shown by his use of sandals and his abnegation of self. He always deemed himself a useless servant. He avoided all honors not actually forced upon him, shunned notice and praise, sought the lowest tasks, kissed the feet of all even to the lowest novice on leaving Spain and Mexico, ran away from the office of guardian and was in constant fear of honors from his order or from the Church or King. Then came the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, rest- ing like columns on his humility as a base, and supporting the "sumptuous fabric of Christian perfection." His temperance was such that he had no other passion than that for the propagation of the faith and constantly mortified the flesh by fasting, vigils and scourging.
In 1784 the California Missionaries were called upon to lose their well-beloved master. President Junipero Serra died at San Carlos on the 28th of August. In January he had returned from his last tour of confirmation in the south during which he visited every mission from San Diego to San Antonio. In June he came home from a last visit to the Northern Missions and San Francisco and Santa Clara. He left Mon- terey by sea for the south so ill that all, including himself, deemed his return doubtful. He was near death at San Gabriel when he left Santa Clara it was with the avowed intention to prepare for the final change. He had long been a sufferer from an affection of the chest and ulcers on the legs, both aggravated, if not caused, by self-inflicted hardships and pious neglect of his body.
He passed away peacefully and was buried in the Mission Church by Paloa in the presence of all the inhabitants of Monterey and with all possible ceremonial display, including military honors and the booming of guns from the fort and Ganizares' vessel at anchor in the bay.
Thus ended a great and remarkable man. All his energy and enthus- iasm were directed to the performance of his missionary duties as out- lined in the regulations of his order and the instruction of his superiors. Limping from Mission to Mission, for he always walked, with a lame foot that must never be cured, fasting much and passing sleepless nights, depriving himself of comfortable clothing and nutritious food, he felt that he was imitating the saints and martyrs, who were the ideals of his sickly boyhood, and in the recompense of abstinence was happy. He was kind hearted and charitable to all, but most strict in his enforcement of religious duties. In his eyes there was but one object worth living for, the performance of religious duty. He managed wisely the mission interests both temporal and spiritual; and his greatest sorrow was that the military authorities were not so easily managed as padres and neophytes. In his controversies with the governors he sometimes pushed diplomacy to the very verge of inconsistency, but all apparently without any intention of injuring them, though he knew he was dealing with men who cast obstacles in his great work. On the whole, the preceding remarks fail to do him justice; for he was a well-meaning, industrious, enthusiastic and kind hearted old man ; his faults were those of his cloth, and he was not much more fanatical than others of his time, being like most of his California companions, a brilliant exception in point of moral- ity to friars of some other lands and times.
Hittell says in his account of the padre's life "that his cowl covered neither creed, guile, hypocrisy, nor pride. He had no quarrels and made no enemies. He sought to be a simple friar, and he was one in sincerity. Probably few have approached nearer to the ideal perfection of a monkish life than he."
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It is an historical fact known to all acquainted with California history that these establishments were not intended by the Crown of Spain to become permanent institutions. The purpose for which the Spanish government fostered and protected them was to Christianize the Indians and make of them self-supporting citizens. Very early in its history Governor Borica, Fayes and other intelligent officers in California dis- covered the weakness of the mission system. Governor Borica, writing in 1796, said: "According to the laws, the natives are to be free from tutelage at the end of ten years, the missions then becoming doctrinairs, but those of New California at the rate they are advancing will not reach the goal in ten centuries; the reason. God knows, and men, too, know something about it." Spain, early in the past century, had formulated a plan for their secularization, but the war of Mexican independence pre- vented the enforcement of it.
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