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HISTORY
5-OF-
2.
SISKIYOU
COUNTY,
ALIFORNIA.
BY HARRY L. WELLS
CHAPTER I. CALIFORNIA PRIOR TO THE AMERICAN CONQUEST.
TO GAZE out upon the lovely State of California and behold her cities and towns, her fields of nod- ding grain and acres of luscious fruits, her thou- sands of mines and aqueducts, her herds of cattle and sheep, her railroads and telegraphs, fills the breast with admiration; and to reflect that this has been the work of less than two score years, deepens the admiration to wonder and astonishment.
One hundred and twelve years ago the first Cau- casian foot pressed the soil of California, and called it home. Thirty-three years ago the workmen at the mill-race at Coloma espied those little flakes of gold that electrified the world, turned the thoughts and feet of thousands towards the sunny slope of the Sierra, and laid the foundation for a new jewel in the diadem of the Union.
In 1513 Vasco Nuñez de Balboa was guided by an Indian to the summit of the mountains of Pan- ama, and beheld the boundless expanse of ocean stretching out to the north, west and south, the con- tinuation of that westward route to the Indies that Columbus had sought, and which is soon to he com- pleted by the construction of the great canal near where rested the feet of this first of the Caucasian race to view its vast expanse of water with joy and admiration. It received its name, " Pacific," from Magellan, a Portuguese, who entered it, six years later, from the south, through straits which now bear his name, and which he then called the Straits of the Ten Thousand Virgins. From this time the desire of Spain to extend her dominions by new con- quests, and the zeal of the Catholic church to spread the story of the cross, led to many efforts to explore and reveal the mysteries of the newly -found ocean.
From this resulted the discovery and settlement of California.
A letter, written from Mexico by Cortez to the King of Spain, dated October 15, 1534, gives the first intimation of California. He says that he has iuformation of "an island of Amazons, or women, only, abounding in pearls and gold, lying ten days' journey from Colima." Colima is one of the States of Mexico. The same year Cortez fitted out a ves- sel to explore the unknown waters, and the pilot, Ximines, headed a mutiny, killed the officers, and took charge of the ship. He discovered and landed upon the Peninsula of Lower California, at a point between La Paz and Cape St. Lucas, and was there killed, with twenty of his meu, by the natives.
The name " California," which had not yet been given to this region, first appears in a popular romance published at Seville, in 1510, and 'entitled " The Sergas of Esplandian, the Son of Amadis of Gaul," in the following passage :-
Know that on the right hand of the Indies, there is an island called California, very near to the Terrestrial Paradise, which was peopled by black women, without any men among them, be- cause they were accustomed to live after the manner of the Am- azons. They were of strong and hardened bodies, of ardent courage, and of great force. The island was the strongest in the world, from its steep rocks and great cliffs. Their arms were all of gold, and so were the caparisons of the wild beasts they rode.
Twenty-four years after the appearance of this work, Cortez wrote to the King of the "Island of Amazons," and Ximines discovered the penin -. sula. Two years later Cortez planted a colony where the discoverer had been killed, May 1, 1536, and called the bay "Santa Cruz." It was then that the name " California " was first applied to any defi- nite portion of the Pacific coast.
Four more attempts were made to explore the coast during that century by the Spaniards, the
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HISTORY OF SISKIYOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
most important one being that of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who, on the tenth of March, 1543, reached latitude 44°, on the Oregon coast. He discovered and named Cape Mendocino and the Farallone Islands.
The hostilities existing between Spain and Eng- land led Captain Francis Drake, an English free- booter, to visit the Pacific, in 1578, and prey upon the Spanish shipping. He captured the annual East India galleon, with its load of treasure for Spain, and committed ravages that loaded his ves- sels with spoils. Fearing to return by the Straits of Magellan, where the Spanish fleet was awaiting him, he sailed north to find the Straits of Anian, a passage that was then believed to exist to the north of America, connecting the two oceans. He penetrated to latitude 48°, and was compelled by cold weather to return, and cast anchor in Drake's bay, near San Francisco, where he remained thirty- six days. This was in June, 1579. The historian of this expedition was its chaplain, Rev. Mr. Fletcher, who writes :-
Our General called this country Nova Albion, and that for two causes : the one, in respect of the white bankes and cliffes which lie toward the sea; and the other, because it might have some affinitie with our countrey in name, which sometime was so called.
There is no part of earth here to be taken up, wherein there is not a reasonable quantitie of gold or silver. Before sailing away our General set up a monument of our being there, as also of her Majestie's right and title to the same, viz .: a plate nailed upon a faire, great poste, whereupon was engraved her Majestie's name, the day and year of our arrival there, with the free giving up of the province and people into her Majestie's hands, together with here Highness' picture and arms, in a piece of five-pence of cur- rent English money under the plate, whereunder was also writ- ten the name of our General.
Drake then returned to England and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, and the successful sea-robber became the great navigator, Sir Francis Drake.
The next voyage of importance was that of Sebas- tian Viscaiño, who sailed from Acapulco, May 5, 1602. He discovered the bays of San Diego and Monterey, but, like Drake, missed the Golden Gate, and anchored in Drake's bay, behind Point Reyes. He continued north, searching for the Straits of Anian, until he reached Cape Mendocino, when the ravages of scurvy among his crew compelled him to abandon the attempt and return to Mexico. In 1606 a supply station was ordered by the king to be established at Monterey, but the order was not carried into effect.
The next attempt at a settlement was made in 1683, when Admiral Otondo and Father Kino landed at La Paz, and planted a colony that remained three years. The government then offered an annual appropriation of $40,000 to the Jesuits to undertake the conquest and settlement of California, but the offer was declined, and after one hundred
and forty-seven years of effort, Spain abandoned the attempt to colonize the country. Finally, what the government with its military power was unable to accomplish, was effected by the holy followers of the cross.
In 1697 Father Eusebio Kino, Father Juan Maria Salva Tierra and Father Juan Ugarte obtained from the crown a warrant for the Jesuits to enter upon the conquest of California at their own expense. On the nineteenth of October of the same year Father Salva Tierra, with six soldiers and three Indians, landed on the east coast of the peninsula, and on the twenty-fifth took formal possession. They had brought with them the necessary furniture for a church, and a plan of conquest by kindness and religion was entered upon. The natives were called together, bountifully supplied with food such as they had never before enjoyed, and taught the cate- chism. An attack in force was made upon the mis- sion only twelve days after the landing, by the natives who thought thus to secure all the food with- out the catechism, but they were repulsed with great slaughter, and sued for peace. By kind treatment and administering to the wants of their stomachs, the Fathers gradually won the natives to their side, taught them the forms of the Roman Catholic religion, and coaxed work enough out of them to build up the mission and cultivate considerable land.
In this way did these patient and self-sacrificing brothers of the Society of Jesus extend their power and influence over the peninsula for seventy years, establishing sixteen missions and thirty-six villages. At the end of this time, in 1767, the society having come into disfavor, they were expelled from the scene of their labor of love, and the result of their energy and efforts was turned over to the Order of St. Francis, who succeeded them. This society relin- quished these missions to the Dominican Monks, and set about conquering the country lying further to the north, known as Alta California. In pursu- ance of this object Father Francis Junipero Serro, in 1769, dispatched three sea and two land parties for the port of San Diego, where all arrived, save one vessel, the last to reach its destination being a land party under Father Junipero Serro himself, which arrived July 1, 1769. The first party had landed from the San Antonio on the eleventh of April
The man who thus planted the seed of civilization in California, was cast in no common mould. He was educated from his youth to the church, was pos- sessed of great eloquence, enthusiasm and magnetic power, and had gained reputation and experience in the missions of Mexico. Peculiarly fitted for the work before him, he entered upon it with a zeal that admitted not of failure or defeat. He immediately sent the San Antonio for more seamen and supplies,
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HISTORY OF SISKIYOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
and set about founding a mission. The writings of Father Francis Palou, published in 1787, describe the ceremony as follows :-
They immediately set about taking possession of the soil in the name of onr Catholic monarch, and thus laid the foundation of the mission. The sailors, muleteers, and servants set about clearing away a place which was to serve as a temporary church, hanging the bells, and forming a grand cross * *
* The venerable Father President blessed the holy water, and with this the rite of the church and then the holy cross; which, being adorned as usual, was planted in front of the church. Then its patron saint was named, and having chanted the first mass, the venerable President pronounced a most fervent discourse on the coming of the Holy Spirit and the establishment of the mission. The sacrifice of the mass being concluded, the Veni Creator was then sung; the want of an organ and other musical instruments being supplied by the continued discharge of the fire-arms during the ceremony, and the want of incense, of which they had n ne, by the smoke of the muskets.
On the fourteenth of July, Gaspar de Portala, the military governor, and Father Crespi, with sixty- five men, started northward to search for the long neglected harbor of Monterey. This they found, and planting a cross there, they continued their journey until they came upon a bay which was named San Francisco, in honor of the patron saint of the order, St. Francis. The expedition then returned.
By the same method practiced in Lower Cali- fornia, were the missions established on a firm foot- ing, suffering frequently from the hostility of the natives, and gradually overcoming all obstacles, and creating populous and prosperous missions and towns. The mission of San Carlos was established at Monterey on the third of August, 1770; that of San Antonio de Padua, on the fourteenth of July, 1771, on the Antonio river, twenty-five miles from the coast and thirty-five south of Soledad; and that of San Gabriel, September 8, 1771, at a point eight miles north of Los Angeles. In September, 1772, the mission of San Luis Obispo was founded, between Los Angeles and Monterey. Father Serro then went to Mexico for reinforcements and sup- plies. He returned the next spring by sea, having sent Capt. Juan Bautista Ansa, with some soldiers, overland, via Sonora and the Colorado and Gila rivers, thus establishing an overland route by which communication with the home country could be more speedy and certain than by sea. In 1774 Captain Ansa returned to Mexico for reinforcements, and in November of the same year a well-organized but unsuccessful attack was made upon the San Diego mission by Indians from the interior.
Reinforcements of soldiers and priests having arrived with supplies, it was determined to extend the missions to the north, and the San Carlos was dispatched to see if the bay of San Francisco could be entered from the sea. In June, 1775, the little vessel sailed through the Golden Gate and cast
anchor where so many thousand vessels have since been securely sheltered. On the seventeenth of September, 1776, the presidio was established at San Francisco, and on the tenth of October the Mis- sion Dolores was founded. The missions of San Juan Capistrano and Santa Clara were soon after- wards established.
From this time the missions began to grow in power and wealth, and pueblos (towns) sprang up, occupied chiefly by the families of soldiers who had served their terms in the army and preferred to remain in the country. Gradually population increased, until, in 1802, it was estimated by Hum- boldt at thirteen hundred. To this he adds fifteen thousand five hundred and sixty-two converted In- dians, taking no account of wild or unsubdued tribes, which probably outnumbered the others. By 1822, in which year Mexico declared her independence of Spain, twenty-one missions had been founded and were in a prosperous state. The first disturbing ele- ment was a settlement of Russians in 1812, in the present Sonoma county. All efforts to dislodge the intruders, such as starting the San Rafael and San Francisco de Solano missions, were a failure, and they retained their foothold until they sold their property to Capt. John A. Sutter, in 1842.
Mexico declared her independence in 1822, and two years later adopted a republican form of gov- ernment. From that year dates the downfall of the missionary system. The Fathers had complete con- trol of the land, claiming it for the benefit of the con- verted natives, and discouraged all attempts at colo- nization, as calculated to weaken their power and frustrate their designs. When, therefore, the Mexi- can Congress, in 1824, passed a colonization act, giv- ing the Governor of California power to make grants of land to actual settlers, it was considered a direct blow at the mission monopoly. From this time the missions were a leading element in Mexican politics, and they gradually declined before the encroach- ments of the civil power, until in 1845, the property that had survived the pillage and decay of the pre- vious ten years was sold at auction, and the missions were at an end.
Passing by the political history of California as a territory of Mexico, let us consider the steps by means of which she became a portion of the United States. At a very early day American whaling and trading vessels touched at the ports of Monterey and Yerba Buena (San Francisco), and occasionally sail- ors left their ships and remained in the country. In 1825 an American, Jedediah S. Smith, at the head of a party of trappers, made the first overland journey to California from the Atlantic States, and in 1828 the the first party of Hudson Bay Company's trappers entered the Sacramento valley from the north. The
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HISTORY OF SISKIYOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
foreign element seems to have become of considera- ble importance by 1830, for in that year Soliz headed a rebellion, captured Monterey, the Territorial cap- ital, and issued a manifesto, in which he said it was his intention to not interfere with foreigners in the country. In the numerous revolutions that kept California constantly in a state of turmoil, the first direct interference by foreigners was in 1836, when a Tennessee trapper named Isaac Graham, who had made his home in the Santa Cruz mountains, at the head of fifty foreigners, accompanied by José Castro, and one hundred Californians, entered Monte- rey one night and overthrew the government in the interest of Juan B. Alvarado. On the seventh of November of that year the Territorial Deputation declared California independent of Mexico. In the conflict of authority which followed, Alvarado was maintained in power against the home government chiefly by Graham's Rifles, and recognizing the fact that California, like Texas, was liable to come under the domination of the American element, he decided in 1838 to return to the Mexican fold, and in 1839 was appointed governor by that power.
In 1839 Capt. John A. Sutter established his famous fort at New Helvetia, near the junction of the Sacramento and American rivers. April 7, 1840, fearing a rebellion of foreigners, some one hundred of them, all except Sutter's and the Hudson Bay Com- pany's men and the Russians, were seized and taken to Monterey. Graham and some twenty others were put in irons and sent to San Blas, and then conducted to Tepec on foot, by General Castro. Here the Mex- ican authorities, through the influence of the Amer- ican and British Consuls, imprisoned the guard and liberated the prisoners, who were clothed and armed and sent back to California, to astonish Governor Alvarado by their unexpected return.
Anticipating a war with Mexico over the Texas difficulties, the United States government issued orders to naval commanders to be on the alert, and having reason to suppose that war had been declared, Commodore T. A. C. Jones sailed into Monterey harbor, October 19, 1842, hoisted the stars and stripes, and declared Alta California under the . authority of the United States. Being convinced the next day that he had made a mistake, he hauled down the flag, saluted the Mexican ensign and departed as gracefully as possible.
The same year Micheltorena was appointed gov- ernor to succeed Alvarado and general to succeed Castro and Vallejo, and these three combined against him. The new governor had brought with him an army of four hundred convicts, and it was easy for the three conspirators to raise a force to expel these licentious and pillaging troops from the country. With the aid of foreigners under Charles
M. Weber, Castro defeated Micheltorena near San José, and compelled him to surrender and agree to return to Mexico. The defeated governor failed to keep his compact, and with the aid of Capt. John A. Sutter and two hundred foreigners and Indians, renewed the struggle. For the first time the for- eign element was arrayed on both sides, and in the battle which followed near Los Angeles, in Febru- ary, 1845, Captain Sutter on the one side and Joseph Mckinley on the other were the chief reli- ance of their respective commanders. Before the two bodies of foreigners came into hostile collision Sutter was induced to abandon the contest, and February 22, 1845, Micheltorena capitulated and returned to Mexico. Pio Pico was declared gov- ernor and held the position until the Territory became a portion of the United States.
Under Spanish and Mexican rule California had twenty-three governors, as follows :-
SPANISH RULE.
From
To
Gaspar de Portala
1767
1771
Felipe Barri.
1771
1774
Felipe de Neve.
1774 1782
Pedro Fages.
1782
1790
José Antonio Romero .
1790
1792
José Joaquin de Arrillaga
1792
1794
Diego de Borcica
1794
1800
José Joaquin de Arrillaga
1800
1814
José Arguello
1814
1815
Pablo Vincente de Sola. 1815
1822
MEXICAN RULE.
Pablo Vincente de Sola 1822
1823
Luis Argüello
1823
1825
José Maria Escheandia
1825
1831
Manuel Victoria
1831
1832
Pio Pico
1832
1833
José Figueroa
1833
1835
José Castro. 1835
1836
Nicholas Gutierrez
1836
Mariano Chico ..
1836
Nicholas Gutierrez
1836
Juan B. Alvarado 1836
1842
Manuel Micheltorena
1842
1845
Pio Pico
1845
1846
CHAPTER II.
THE AMERICAN CONQUEST.
IT has already been stated that, as early as 1830, the foreign population had become to be recognized as an important element politically. From that time until the war with Mexico, in 1846, the increase of foreigners was very rapid. In 1841, M. DeMo-
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MMARCH 4
18
STOCK RANCH OF ALEXANDER PARKER, 960ACRES, PLOWMAN VALLEY SETTLED IN 1858 SISKIYOU CO CAL
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HISTORY OF SISKIYOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
fras, agent of the French governinent, estimated the population, exclusive of Indians, as follows :-
Americans. 360
English, Scotch and Irish 300
Other foreigners 90
European Spaniards . 80
Mexicans 170
Half-breeds (native Californians), about. . 4,000
Total population, other than Indians,. . 5,000
From this it will be seen that the Anglo-Saxon element was very strong, and that in it the Ameri- cans predominated, the majority of those of other nationalities, also, having a predilection in favor of the United States and a republican form of govern- ment.
Commencing in 1841, there was a large annual immigration over the plains, and by 1846 the Amer- ican element was influential and powerful, and com- pletely overshadowed all others, so that the field was ripe for the harvest when Fremont and Sloat ap- peared upon the scene, to take possession of Cali- fornia in the name of the United States of America. It was the settled policy of those pioneer men, who looked to the near future to relieve them from the insecurity to life and property resulting from the fre- quent revolutions, to take no part in any revolution- ary movements, but, holding aloof, to await patiently the time when they would become sufficiently strong to effect their purpose. Their intention was to create an independent State out of that portion of California lying north of San Francisco bay and San Joaquin river, imitating the example of Texas. The subse- quent events rendered an independent State unnec- essary, by the direct interference of the United States government.
England, also, looked toward California with hungry eyes, and took steps towards securing the prize. J. Alexander Forbes, resident agent of the Hudson Bay Company, was appointed Vice-Consul in 1843, and worked energetically in the interest of his government. In December, 1845, Lieut. John C. Fremont arrived in California, with a company of nineteen men, on his second overland exploring expedition to Oregon. He proceeded with his com- mand towards Monterey the next spring, and was ordered by General Castro to vacate the Territory, which order he failed to comply with, fortifying himself, instead, on the summit of Hawk's Peak, in the mountains back of Monterey. General Castro ap- peared before his camp, with two hundred men and a six-pounder, and made demonstrations for several days, Fremont withdrawing on the night of the tenth of March. He joined the balance of his com- mand, a company of about forty men, that had just crossed the mountains, commanded by Lieutenant
Talbot, and started for Oregon. He arrived at the trading-post of Peter Lassen, on Deer creek, on the thirtieth, and, after a delay of a number of days, continued his journey. On the ninth of May he was overtaken, on the west shore of Klamath lake, by Lieut. A. H. Gillespie, bearing secret dispatches from the government. The nature of these dis- patches can only be known by the subsequent con- duct of the man to whom they were directed. He turned about and retraced his steps into the Sacra- mento valley and encamped, early in June, at the junction of the Yuba and Feather rivers.
The foreign settlers were ripe for rebellion, and it seems to have been Fremont's object to encourage and aid them, without involving the United States, until such time as the two governments should make the expected declaration of war. It was in pursu- ance of this policy that eleven men, led by Ezekiel Merritt, left Fremont's camp on the ninth of June, and being joined by four more, pursued Lieut. Fran- cisco De Arce, General Castro's private secretary, who was conveying some eighty horses from Sonora to Santa Clara for the use of the army, and the fol- lowing morning charged into his camp and captured the entire command. De Arce and his men were allowed to proceed on their journey, but the cap- tured animals were conveyed to Fremont's camp. This was the inauguration of what is known as the Bear Flag War. It was then determined to seize Sonoma, raise the flag of rebellion, and declare inde- pendence from Mexico. Accordingly, twenty men, led by Captain Merritt, left the camp on the twelfth of June, for Sonoma, being joined on the way by thirteen others. Early in the morning of the four- teenth, they dashed into Sonoma, and the garrison of six soldiers and nine cannon was captured without a shot being fired. Merritt then retired from the command, and John Grigsby was chosen captain. The celebrated bear flag was designed and given to the breeze the same day. Captain Grigsby con- veyed the prisoners to Sutter's Fort, with an escort of nine men, among the captives being Gen. M. G.Vallejo and Jacob P. Leese. The company of twenty-three men left in Sonoma then chose William B. Ide, cap- tain, and Henry L. Ford, lieutenant. Two of Ide's men, Thomas Cowie and Fowler, were captured near Sonoma by a band of thirteen Californians, and put to death with inhuman tortures.
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