USA > California > San Mateo County > History of San Mateo County, California, including its geography, topography, geology, climatography, and description, together with an historical sketch of California; a record of the Mexican grants; the early history and settlement, compiled from the most authentic sources; some of the names of Spanish and American pioneers; legislative history; a record of its cities and towns; biographical sketches of representative men; etc., etc > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36
42
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CALIFORNIA.
the top with two heavy planks, placed so as to be roof-shaped ; others had simply a rude cross; others, a cross on which some mechanical skill was displayed, and one has a large round post, standing high above the adjacent crosses. They are all buried in graves dug due east and west, and, presumably, with heads to the west. There are now no inscriptions to be seen upon any of the graves, and it is not likely that there ever were any, while from their size some of them must have contained children. Silently are these sleeping in their far- away graves, where the eyes of those who knew and loved them in their earthly life can never rest on their tombs again, and while the eternal roar of the Pacific makes music in the midnight watches will they await the great day that shall restore them to their long-lost friends. Sleep on, brave hearts, and peaceful be thy slumber :
In an easterly direction, and about one mile distant from the fort, there was an enclosure containing about five acres, which was enclosed by a fence about eight feet high, made of redwood slabs about two inches in thickness, these being driven into the ground, while the tops were nailed firmly to girders extending from post to post, set about ten feet apart. Within the enclosure there was an orchard, consisting of apple, prune and cherry trees. Of these fifty of the first and nine of the last-named, moss-grown and gray with age, still remain, while it is said that all the old stock of German prunes in Cali- fornia came from seed produced there.
The Russians had a small settlement at a place now known as Russian Gulch, where they evidently grew wheat, for the remains of a warehouse are still to be seen.
There were several commanders who had charge of the Russian interests on the Pacific coast, but the names of all save the first, Alexander Koskoff, and the last, Rotscheff, have been lost to tradition. General William T. Sherman relates a pleasing incident in his "Memoirs," which is called to mind by the mention of the name of Rotscheff : While lying at anchor in a Mediterranean port. the vessel on which Sherman was traveling was visited by the officers of a Russian naval vessel. During the exchange of courtesies and in the course of conversation, one of the Russian officers took occasion to remark to Sher- man that he was an American by birth, having been born in the Russian col- ony in California, and that he was the son of one of the Colonial ruler's. He was doubtless the son of Rotscheff and his beautiful bride, the Princess de Gargarin, in whose honor Mount St. Helena was named. The beauty of this lady excited so ardent a passion in the breast of Solano, chief of the Indians in that part of the country, that he formed a plan to capture, by force or strategy, the object of his love, and he might have succeeded had his design not been frustrated by General M. G. Vallejo.
We have thus set forth all the facts concerning the Russian occupancy, and their habits, manners, buildings, occupations, etc .; we will now trace the causes which led to their departure from the genial shores of California :
43
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CALIFORNIA.
It is stated that the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine caused them to leave; but that is hardly the fact, for they remained seventeen years after this policy was announced and accepted by the nations of Europe; it is, how- ever, probably true that European nations had something to do with it, for both France and England had an eye upon this territory, and both hoped some day to possess it. As long as the Russians maintained a colony here, they had a prior claim to the territory; hence they must be got rid of. The Rus- sians also recognized the fact that the Americans were beginning to come into the country in considerable numbers and that it was inevitable that they would soon overrun and possess it. The subsequent train of events proved that their surmises were correct; one thing, however, is evident, and that is, that they did not depart at the request, or behest of either the Spanish or Mex- ican governments. It is almost certain that the Russians contemplated a per- manent settlement at this point when they located here, as this section would provide them with wheat, an article much needed for the supply of their sta- tions in the far north. Of course as soon as the Spanish authorities came to know of their permanent location, word was sent of the fact to Madrid. In due course of time reply came from the seat of government ordering the Mus- covite intruders to depart, but to this peremptory order, their only answer was that the matter had been referred to St. Petersburg.
We have shown above that an interview had taken place between Koskoff and the Spanish authorities on board the "Rurick," when anchored in the Bay of San Francisco, to consult on the complaints of the latter, but, that nothing came of it. The commandants under the Mexican regime, in later years, organized several military expeditions for the purpose of marching against the intruders, but none in that direction was ever made. For more than a quar- ter of a century they continued to hold undisturbed possession of the disputed territory, and prosecuted their farming, stock-raising, hunting, trapping and ship-building enterprises, and, whatever may have been the causes which led to it, there finally came a time when the Russian authorities had decided to withdraw the California colony. The proposition was made first by them to the government authorities at Monterey, to dispose of their interest at Bodega and Fort Ross, including their title to the land, but, as the authorities had never recognized their right or title, and did not wish to do so at that late date, they refused to purchase. Application was next made to Gen. M. G. Vallejo, but on the same grounds he refused to purchase. They then applied to Captain John A. Sutter, a gentleman at that time residing near where Sacramento city now stands, and who had made a journey from Sitka, some years before, in one of their vessels. They persuaded Sutter into the belief that their title was good, and could be maintained; so, after making out a full invoice of the articles they had for disposal, including all the land lying between Point Reyes and Point Mendocino, and one league inland, as well as cattle, farming and mechanical implements; also, a schooner of one hundred
44
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CALIFORNIA.
and eighty tons burthen, some arms, a four-pound brass field piece, etc., a price was decided upon, the sum being thirty thousand dollars, which, how- ever, was not paid at one time, but in cash instalments of a few thousand dollars, the last payment being made through ex-Governor Burnett in 1849. All the stipulations of the sale having been arranged satisfactorily to both parties, the transfer was duly made, and Sutter became, as he thought, the greatest land-holder in California-the grants given by the Mexican gov- ernment seemed mere bagatelles when compared with his almost provincial possessions; but, alas for human hopes and aspirations; for in reality he had paid an enormous price for a very paltry compensation of personal and chattel property. It is apropos to remark here that in 1859 Sutter disposed of his Russian claim, which was a six-eighths interest in the lands mentioned above, to William Muldrew, George R. Moore and Daniel W. Welty, but they only succeeded in getting six thousand dollars out of one settler, and the remainder refusing to pay, the claim was dropped. Some of the settlers were inclined to consider the Muldrew claim, as it is called, a blackmailing affair, and to cen- sure General Sutter for disposing of it to them, charging that he sanctioned the blackmailing process, and was to share in its profits, but we will say in justice to the General, that so far as he was concerned, there was no idea of black- mail on his part. He supposed that he did purchase a bona fide claim and title to the land in question, of the Russians, and has always considered the grants given by the Mexican government as bogus, hence on giving this quit- claim deed to Muldrew et al., he sincerely thought that he was deeding that to which he alone had any just or legal claim.
Orders were sent to the settlers at Fort Ross to repair at once to San Francisco bay, and ships were dispatched to bring them there, where whaling vessels, which were bound for the north-west whaling grounds, had been chartered to convey them to Sitka. The vessels arrived at an early hour in the dav. and the orders shown to the commander, Rotscheff, who immediately caused the bells in the chapel towers to be rung, and the cannon to be dis- charged, this being the usual method of convocating the people at an unusual hour, or for some special purpose, so everything was suspended just there- the husbandman left his plow standing in the half-turned furrow. and unloosed his oxen, never again to yoke them, leaving them to wander at will over the fields; the mechanic dropped his planes and saws on the bench, leaving the half-smoothed board still in the vise; the tanner left his tools where he was using them, and doffed his apron to don it no more in California. As soon as the entire population had assembled, Rotscheff arose and read the orders. Very sad and unwelcome, indeed, was this intelligence, but the edict had emanated from a source which could not be gainsaid, and the only alternative was a speedy and complete compliance, however reluctant it might be-and thus four hundred people were made homeless by the fiat of a single word. Time was only given to gather up a few household effects, with some of the
45
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CALIFORNIA.
choicest mementoes, and they were hurried on board the ships. Scarcely time was given to those whose loved ones were sleeping in the grave yard near by, to pay a last sad visit to their resting place. Embarcation was commenced at once.
" And with the ebb of the tide the ships sailed out of the harbor Leaving behind them the dead on the shore."
And all the happy scenes of their lives, which had glided smoothly along, on the beautiful shores of the Pacific, and in the garden spot of the world. Sad and heavy must have been their hearts, as they gazed for the last time upon the receding landscape which their eyes had learned to love, because it had been that best of places-HOME.
" This is the forest primeval ; but where are the hearts that beneath it Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the huntsman? Waste are the pleasant farms, all the farmers forever departed ! Scattered like dust and leaves, when the mighty blasts of October Seize them and whirl them aloft, and sprinkle them far over the occan, Naught but tradition remains.
Still stands the forest primeval ; but under the shade of its branches Dwells another race, with other customs and language, While from its rocky caverns the deep-voiced neighboring ocean Speaks, and in accents disconsolate, answers the wail of the forest."
It may be asked how did the population having an European origin come to be located in California? The reply is simple; the sources from which they sprung were the presidio and pueblo.
In its early day the whole military force in upper California did not number more than from two to three hundred men, divided between the four presidios of San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey and San Francisco, while there were but two towns or pueblos, Los Angeles and San Jose. Another was subse- quently started in the neighborhood of Santa Cruz, which was named Bran- ciforte, after a Spanish Viceroy. It may be conjectured that the garrisons were not maintained in a very effective condition; such a supposition would be correct, for every where betokened the disuse of arms and the long absence of an enemy. The cannon of the presidio at San Francisco were grey with mould, and women and children were to be seen snugly located within the military lines. The soldiers of the San Francisco district were divided into three cantonments-one at the Presidio, one at Santa Clara Mission, and one at the Mission of San Jose. We here append a list of the soldiers connected with the Presidio in the year 1790, which has been copied from the Spanish archives in San Francisco. Here will be found the names, positions, nativity, color, race, age, etc., of the soldiers, as well as those of their wives, when married :
Don Josef Arguello, Commandant, age 39.
Don Ramon Laro de la Neda, Alferez de Campo, age 34.
Pedro Amador, Sergeant, Spaniard, from Guadalaxara, age 51; wife, Ramona Noreiga, Spanish, aged 30; 7 children.
46
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CALIFORNIA.
Nicolas Galinda, mestizo, Durango, 42.
Majio Chavoya, City of Mexico, 34; wife, a Bernal.
Miguel Pacheco, 36; wife, a Sanches.
Luis Maria Peralta, Spaniard, Sonora, 32; wife, Maria Loretta Alvisa, 19. Justa Altamarino, mulatto, Sonora, 45.
Ygnacio Limaxes, Sonora, 49; wife, Maria Gertruda Rivas, Spaniard, 38. Ygnacio Soto, 41; wife, Barbara Espinoza.
Juan Bernal, mestizo, Sonora, 53;wife, Maxima I de Soto.
Jph Maria Martinez, Sonora, 35; wife, Maria Garcia, mulatto, 18.
Salvado Iguera, L. C., 38; wife, Alexa Marinda, Sonora, 38.
Nicolas Berryessa, mestizo, 25 ; wife, Maria Gertrudis Peralta, 24.
Pedro Peralta, Sonora, 26; wife, Maria Carmen Grisalva, 19. Ygnacio Pacheco, Sonora, 30; wife, Maria Dolares Cantua, mestizo, age 16.
Francisco Bernal, wife, Sinaloa, 27; Maria Petrona, Indian, 29. Bartolo Pacheco, Sonora, 25; wife, Maria Francisco Soto, 18.
Apolinario Bernal, Sonora, 25.
Joaquin Bernal Sonora, 28; wife, Josefa Sanchez, 21. Josef Aceva, Durango, 26.
Manuel Boranda, Gua lalaxara. 40; wife. Gertrudis Higuera, 13.
Francisco Valencia, Sonora, 22: wife, Maria Victoria Higuera, 15.
Josef Antonio Sanchez, Gua.lalaxara, 39; wife, Maria Dolora Moxales, 34. Josef Ortiz. Guadalaxara, 23.
Josef Aguila, Guadalaxara, 22; wife, Conellaria Remixa, 14.
Alexandro Avisto, Durango, 23. Juan Josef Higuera. Sonora, 20.
Francisco Flores, Guadalaxara, 20.
Josef Maria Castilla, Guadalaxara, 19.
Ygnacio Higuera, Sonora, 23;wife, Maria Micaclo Bojorques, 28.
Ramon Linare, Sonora, 19. Josef Miguel Saens, Sonora, 18.
Carto Serviente, San Diego, Indian, 60.
Augustin Xirviento, L. C., 20. Nicolas Presidairo, Indian, 40.
Gabriel Peralta, invalid, Sonora.
ManuelVutron, invalid, Indian.
Ramon Bojorques, invalid, 98. Francisco Remero, invalid, 52.
A recapitulation shows that the inmates of the Presidio consisted altogether of one hundred and forty-four persons, including men, women and children, soldiers and civilians. There were thirty-eight soldiers and three laborers. Of these one was a European, other than Spanish, seventy-eight Spaniards, five Indians, two mulattos, and forty-four of other castes.
An inventory of the rich men of the Presidio, bearing date 1793, was dis-
47
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CALIFORNIA.
covered some years since, showing that Pedro Amador was the proprietor of thirteen head of stock and fifty-two sheep; Nicolas Galinda, ten head of stock; Luis Peralta, two head of stock; Manuel Boranda, three head of stock; Juan Bernal twenty-three head of stock and two hundred and forty-six sheep; Salvador Youere, three head of stock: Aleso Miranda, fifteen head of stock; Pedro Peralta, two head of stock: Francisco Bernal, sixteen head of stock ; Barthol Pacheco, seven head of stock; Joaquin Bernal, eight head of stock; Francisco Valencia, two head of stock: Berancia Galindo, six head of stock; Hermenes Sal. (who appears to have been a Secretary, or something besides a soldier . five head of stock and three mares. Computing these we find the total amount of stock owned by these men were one hundred and fifteen cattle, two hundred and ninety-eight sheep and seventeen mares.
These are the men who laid the foundation of these immense hordes of cattle which were wont to roam about the entire State, and who were the fathers of those whom we now term native Californians. As year succeeded year so did their stock increase. They received tracts of land "almost for the asking;" let us, however, see what was their style of life. Mr. William Halley says of them: From 1833 to 1850 may be set down as the golden age of the native Californians. Not till then did the settlement of the rancheros become general. The missions were breaking up, the presidios deserted, the population dispersed, and land could be had almost for the asking. Never before, and never since, did a people settle down under the blessings of more diverse advantages. The country was lovely, the climate delightful; the valleys were filled with horses and cattle; wants were few, and no one dreaded dearth. There was meat for the pot and wine for the cup, and wild game in abundance. No one was in a hurry. "Bills payable" nor the state of the stocks troubled no one, and Arcadia seems to have temporarily made this her seat. The people did not, necessarily, even have to stir the soil for a livelihood, because the abundance of their stock furnished them with food and enough hides and tallow to pro- cure money for every purpose. They had also the advantage of cheap and docile labor in the Indians, already trained to work at the missions. And had they looked in the earth for gold, they could have found it in abundance.
They were exceedingly hospitable and sociable. Every guest was wel- comed. The sparsity of the population made them rely on each other, and they had many occasions to bring them together. Church days. bull-fights, rodeos, were all occasions of festivity. Horsemanship was practiced as it was never before out of Arabia; dancing found a ball-room in every house, and music was not unknown. For a caballero to pick up a silver coin from the ground, at full gallop, was not considered a feat, and any native youth could perform the mustang riding which was lately accomplished with such credit by young Peralta in New York. To fasten down a mad bull with the lariat, or even subdue him single-handed in a corral, were every-day performances. The branding and selecting of cattle in rodeos was always a gala occasion.
48
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CALIFORNIA.
Gambling was a passion, and love-making was ever betokened in the tender glances of the dark-eyed señoritas. Monte was the common amuse- ment of every household. Its public practice was against the law, but in the privacy of the family it went on unhindered.
What farming they did was of a very rude description; their plow was a primitive contrivance, their vehicles unwieldy. Such articles of husbandry as reapers, mowers and headers had not entered their dreams, and they were perfectly independent of their advantages. Grain was cut with a short, stumpy, smooth-edged sickle; it was threshed by the tramping of horses. One of their few evils was the depredations of the wild Indians, who would sometimes steal their stock, and then the cattle would have to perform the work of separation. The cleaning of grain was performed by throwing it in the air with wooden shovels and allowing the wind to carry off the chaff.
While the young men found means to gratify their tastes for highly wrought saddles and elegant bridles, the women had their fill of finery, furnished by the Yankee vessels that visited them regularly for trade every year. Few schools were established, but the rudiments of education were given at home.
There was a strict code of laws in force for maintaining order, and crime seldom went unpunished. Chastity was guarded, and trouble about females was not as frequent as might be supposed. Women, unfaithful to their vows, were confined in convents or compelled to periods of servitude. Men, guilty of adultery, were sent to the presidios and compelled to serve as soldiers. The law was administered by Alcaldes, Prefects and Governor. Murder was very rare, suicide unknown, and San Francisco was without a jail. Wine was plentiful, and so was brandy. There was a native liquor in use that was very intoxicating. It was a sort of cognac, which was very agreeable and very volatile, and went like a flash to the brain. It was expensive, and those selling it made a large profit. This liquor was known as aguardiente, and was the favorite tipple until supplanted by the whisky of the Americanos. It was mostly made in Los Angeles, where the better part of the grapes raised were used for it. When any considerable crime was ever committed, it was under its influence. Its evil effects, however, might possibly be attributed to a counterfeit, which is yet in use in the southern part of the State, and which is one of the vilest of concoctions. Those who are acquainted with its evil effects say that it is "too unutterably villainous for words, and the wretch who has swallowed three fingers of it may bid adieu to all hope of days passed without headaches and nights put in without unsufferable agony, for a week at least." The beverage most in use, however, was the mission wine, and a major domo has informed the writer that he made fifty barrels a year of it at Mission San José. Milk and cheese, beef, mutton, vegetables, bread, tortillos, beans and fruit constituted the daily diet. Potatoes were unknown, but pinole was plentiful. Wild strawberries were numerous about the coast, an l honey was procured from wild bees.
i
49
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CALIFORNIA.
The Californians were not without their native manufactures, and they did not, as is generally supposed, rely altogether upon the slaughter of cattle and the sale of hides and tallow. The missionaries had taught them the cultivation of the grape and manufacture of wine. Hemp, flax, cotton and tobacco were grown in small quantities. Soap, leather, oil, brandy, wool, salt, soda, har- ness, saddles, wagons, blankets, etc., were manufactured. Wheat even then was an article of export and sold to Russian vessels.
There were occasional political troubles, but these did not much interfere with the profound quiet into which the people had settled. The change from a monarchy into a republie scarcely produced a ripple. The invasions of the Americans did not stir them very profoundly; and if their domains had not been invaded, their lands seized, their cattle stolen, their wood cut and carried off, and their taxes increased, no doubt they would have continued in their once self-satisfied state to the present day. But they received such a shock in their slumbers that they too, like their predecessors the Indians, are rapidly passing away.
Whether the rude and unjust treatment they have received at the hands of the new-comers, or that the band of Mexican cut-throats imported by Michel- torena in 1842 as soldiers, have bred a race of thieves and vagabonds, will not here be determined; but certainly the Mexican population of California has produced, since the American occupation, a large number of dangerous and very troublesome criminals. Happily, owing to the exertions of intrepid offi- cers they have been exterpated. Horse and cattle stealing was their great weakness.
Let us now briefly outline that remarkable march of events, the rapidity of which is a wonder of the world.
War between the United States and Mexico broke out in the year 1846, at which time it is estimated there were fifteen thousand people in Upper Cali- fornia, exclusive of Indians. Of these. nearly two thousand were from the United States. In the month of March of that year, there came over the plains and across the mountains to California, on his way to Oregon, Colonel John C. Fremont. He suddenly appeared at Monterey, and there requested permission of Governor Castro to proceed on his errand, via the San Joaquin valley, which was granted, but almost immediately after revoked, and he and his party of forty-two men ordered to leave the country, but not being of the same way of thinking as the Governor, he did not leave, but proceeded on his journey, choosing his route by way of the Mission San Jose, Stockton, and finally entered the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, but on reaching the Great Klamath Lakes, he received dispatches notifying him of hostile demon- strations in his rear, whereupon he determined to retrace his steps. In the meantime the "Bear Flag" had been raised at Sonoma, the Mexican forces driven out of that part of the province north of the Sacramento river, the guns of the old fort near the Presidio of San Francisco spiked, and the inde-
50
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CALIFORNIA.
pendence of California declared. This was not all. War had been declared between the United States and Mexico, and Commodore Sloat had taken pos- session of Monterey, the capital of California, and there hoisted the American flag. With a greatly increased force Fremont was in pursuit of the hostile Mexican bands, levying supplies as he went along, and when asked by what right he thus deprived people of their stock and other property, his character- istic reply was, "by the right of my rifles." Before long the country was soon quered. Fremont's corps disbanded, and many of his men became permanent settlers in the county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.