USA > California > San Bernardino County > Ingersoll's century annals of San Bernadino County, 1769-1904 : prefaced with a brief history of the state of California : supplemented with an encyclopedia of local biography and portraits of many of its representative people > Part 10
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And the history of material development in this county is as yet in its opening chapter. During the last fifty years the foundations have been laid; we must look to the future for the completion and the fulfillment of the promise.
ANNALS OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.
March 14, 1774-Anza and party entered San Gorgonio Pass.
January 1, 1776-Anza forded Santa Ana river in San Bernardino valley. March 21, 1776-Garces came down through Holcomb and Bear valleys.
May 20, 1810-Padre Dumetz of San Gabriel entered the valley and gave it the name of San Bernardino.
1810-Foundation of mission station of Politana.
1812-Formation of Urbita Springs by earthquakes and destruction of Politana by Indians
1822-Building of mission San Bernardino and construction of Mill Creek zanja.
1831-Destruction of the mission by desert Indians.
1833-Rebuilding of mission.
1834-Revolt of mission Indians and plunder of mission which was then abandoned by the San Gabriel priests.
1838 Jurupa Rancho granted to Juan Bandini.
1839-Cucamonga Rancho granted to Tiburcio Tapia.
1841-Santa Ana del Chino granted to Antonio Maria Lugo.
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1842-San Bernardino Rancho granted to Antonio Maria Lugo and his sons.
1842, July 4-Daniel Sexton raised American flag in San Gorgonio Pass. 1842-The Lugos offered lands in the vicinity of Politana to a colony of New Mexicans.
1843-Lorenzo Trujillo and others settled at Agua Mansa.
1846-Louis Robidoux built gristmill on Jurupa Grant.
April 12, 1847-Detachment of Mormon Battalion sent to establish mili- tary post at Cajon Pass.
April, 1848-Party of Mormon Battalion passed through Cajon Pass with wagon- first wagon to cross this route.
June 11, 1851-First party of Mormons reached Cajon Pass.
September. 1851-Purchase of San Bernardino grant by Mormons.
1852-Erection of the Old Fort.
1852-Erection of the grist mill by Mormons.
1852-Building of road up Twin Creek cañon.
1852-Military post established on Jurupa.
1853-April 26-Act segregating San Bernardino from Los Angeles county.
1853-Townsite of the city of San Bernardino laid out.
1853-Erection of Mormon Council House.
1854. April 13-Act incorporating city of San Bernardino.
1854-First stage service between San Bernardino and Los Angeles.
1855-Volunteers under Captain Lytle went out into desert after Indians.
1855-City purchased six school lots from the grant owners.
1856-Trouble between Mormons and Independents.
1857-Recall of the Mormons.
1858 First Union Sunday School organized.
1858-First May Day picnic.
1858-Butterfield stage route established.
1859-Ainsworth-Gentry fight.
1860-Discovery of gold in Bear and Holcomb valleys.
1860, June 16-First appearance of the San Bernardino Herald; first newspaper in county.
1861-Toll road through Cajon Pass established with ferry across Colo- rado river in connection.
1861-C. W. Piercey, assemblyman for San Bernardino, shot in duel near San Rafael.
1861-Camp Carleton, United States troops, established on Santa Ana river.
1862-January flood ; Agua Mansa swept away.
1862-May-First educational convention held in the county.
1862-First orange grove (of four acres) set out at old San Bernardino.
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1863-A. P. Andrews put on four-horse coach between San Bernardino and Los Angeles.
1863-First Republican victory in county ; plurality of 83 votes for Lincoln.
1865-Banning & Company put on stage from Wilmington, via San Ber- nardino to Yuma.
1867-Party of rangers pursued a band of Indians and killed four of them.
1867-Establishment of the San Bernardino Guardian.
1867-Stage line between San Bernardino and San Diego established.
1868-First artesian well put down at Old San Bernardino and in city.
1868-Railroad proposed between Anaheim and San Bernardino, and "Pacific and San Bernardino line," incorporated.
1869-Silk Culture Colony purchased Jurupa lands.
1870 Muscat grape vines introduced.
1871-Foundation of Riverside begun.
1872-Discovery of Borax lake in northwestern part of county.
1873, Sept. 18-Completion of telegraph line from Anaheim to San Bernardino.
1873-Organization of Cucamonga Association and Val Verde ) pany-both to irrigate and cultivate fruit lands.
1873-Slover Mountain Association formed-origin of Colton.
1874-Erection of new Court House; cost $25,000.
1874, October-Southern Pacific officials visited San Bernardino and rail- road meeting was held to discuss the coming of the Southern Pacific railway.
1874-San Bernardino honey took first prize at St. Louis fair.
1874-First Washington Navel orange trees sent to Riverside.
1875-July 30-The Southern Pacific Railroad reached Colton.
1877-Colton Land and Water Co., and Cucamonga Homestead Co., or- ganized for irrigation on extensive scale.
1879-Santa Fe officials first visited the county.
1879-First Citrus Fair ever held in the world at Riverside, San Bernar- dino county.
1880-First cannery in county opened at Colton.
1881-Redlands Water Company organized and colonization of Redlands begun.
1881-City of San Bernardino first lighted by gas.
1881-First overland train between San Francisco and Kansas City by southern route.
1882, August 21-Southern California road completed from San Diego to Colton.
1882-Colony of Ontario started by Chaffey Brothers.
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1883, September 13-First train on California Southern entered city of San Bernardino.
1883-October-Bear Valley Reservoir Company incorporated.
1884-Heaviest rainfall ever recorded in county.
1884-Completion of Bear Valley Dam.
1884-Riverside and Lugonia fruit took first prize and premiums against the world at New Orleans.
1885-November 15-Completion of California Southern extension from San Bernardino to Waterman and first overland train over Santa Fe.
1886-"Rate war" started the "boom."
1886-County Hospital erected.
1886-Motor line between Colton and San Bernardino began operation in November.
1886-Citrus Exhibit in Chicago.
1887-February Ist-First street-car line in city of San Bernardino put in operation.
1887-Town plats of Redlands and Lugonia filed.
1887-Town of Chino laid out.
1888-Railroad and motor lines completed to Redlands.
1888-Motor line to Riverside opened for service in November.
1888-San Bernardino, Arrowhead and Waterman Railway completed, August 17th.
1888-Chino Valley narrow gauge road built.
1888-Creation of the Board of Horticulture.
1890-December 15-Corner stone of Southern California Insane Asylum laid at Highlands.
1891-Board of Supervisors voted direct tax to build Hall of Records.
1891-First Riverside bill for county division defeated, March 25th.
1891-Erection of Chino Beet Sugar factory ; machinery set in motion August 28th.
1891-Arrowhead Reservoir Company organized.
1892-Hall of Records completed and tax levied for Court House.
1892-Woman's Non-partisan Political Convention met in San Bernar- dino, October 12th.
1892-San Antonio and Redlands Electric Power companies formed.
1893-February 24-Riverside bill passed legislature.
1893-Setting aside of San Bernardino Forest Reserve, February 25th. 1894-Anti-Chinese riots.
1898-Edison Electric Company purchased plants of Redlands and South- ern California Electric Power Companies.
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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
CHAPTER I.
THE SPANISH ERA. SPANISH MISSIONARIES IN "NEW SPAIN."
The story of the Spanish missions and missionaries must always remain one of the most interesting and ro- mantic chapters in American hist- Cabril ory. So closely were the church and state united, that the history of the Cabrillo and San Diego Bay missions is practically the history of the Spanish rule in what is now the territory of the United States. Of late years Americans have been inclined to feel that "no good thing could come out of Spain" and to decry the Spanish regime as one of self-interest and inertia alone; but, while the rule of the Spanish on this continent was far from perfect, it inay be questioned whether the native races would have received wiser treatment at the hands of any other European nation.
As early as 1534, the bishoprics of New Spain were established and organized in Mexico, and from this time on the Church carried forward active efforts to instruct and convert the natives. Monks and priests were sent out "to make the natives give up their savage vices and teach them the faith of our Holy Catholic Church." Missions and pueblos were established and churches built and Indians were gathered about these stations and taught what the priests considered necessary to their salvation. In order that the establishments might be supported the Indians were compelled to work for the priests and in time became dependent on their spiritual fathers and entirely subject to the control of the Church. Such a system was, of course, open to grave abuses. Yet the majority of the fathers who labored among the natives seemed to be sincere and ready to sacrifice comfort-life itself-in their devotion to their work.
Led by their zeal for souls and their desire to add new glory to Spain, the friars pushed into unknown regions. Crossing barren plains, burning deserts, and rugged mountain chains; footsore, suffering from hunger and thirst, surrounded by unfriendly or hostile Indians, often driven back yet never discouraged, these humble brothers worked northward through Mexico, Lower California, along the Pacific Coast; they followed the Rio Grande and the Colorado, they reached Great Salt Lake and the Missouri, and thus gradually explored the country and established their little oases of missions throughout all the broad sweep of the southwest.
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The first man to thread the deserts of Arizona and enter what is now New Mexico, was Fray Marco, "the lying priest" as Coronado calls him, after being induced through the priest's glowing accounts of the country to make the same expedition.
After establishing a number of missions along the Sonora coast and mak- ing many explorations of the gulf coast, Father Kino, a Jesuit monk, decided that Lower California was a peninsula and not an island as was then com- monly supposed. He conceived the idea of carrying a chain of missions around the gulf and along the Pacific Coast, and labored unceasingly to carry out this magnificent project, but for many years could gain no aid either from the government or from his own brotherhood. All attempts to colonize Lower California had been unsuccessful on account of the savage character of the inhabitants and at last in despair the government offered to turn the Peninsula over to the Jesuits. The Superior of the order in Mexico had no desire to undertake so unpromising a task, but Father Kino and a colleague, Father Salvatierra, were determined that the gospel must be carried here and through their almost unaided efforts missions were established among these heathen and Father Kino's chimerical plan became a reality.
In 1767 the Spanish government decided that a determined effort must be made to colonize Upper California. To this end, Don Gaspar Portala was appointed political governor of that territory and Fray Junipero Serra was made President of the missions to be established.
Father Serra was a Franciscan monk of brilliant gifts and high rank, and it was largely through his zeal and energy that the task of colonizing this large territory and of civilizing, to an extent, at least, a great number of savages, was accomplished.
As a beginning, three missions, one at San Diego, one on Monterey Bay, and one between these points, were to be established. Three small vessels were dispatched from Mexico with supplies, and Father Serra, accompanied by Portala, made the trip overland, coming up through Lower California and reaching San Diego in July, 1769. Many unexpected difficulties arose ; one of the ships was lost, many of the sailors on the other ships died en route and after arrival; the Indians at first curious, soon became indifferent and then hostile, attacking the Spanish before the completion of the buildings and kill- ing one man and wounding several. The party sent to examine the site at Monterey returned without having been able to locate the Bay, and Serra. being obliged to return to Mexico for supplies and new arrangements, did not found the mission of Monterey until 1771.
At first all supplies for the missionaries had to be brought from Mexico, and the Indians could only be induced to listen to the gospel through the gift of "baubles" and food. But Father Serra lived to establish nine missions between San Francisco and San Diego harbors; he baptized and confirmed with his own hands between five and six thousand "gentiles:" he saw his
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missions gather great numbers of neophytes about them, erect large and sub- stantial churches, cultivate flourishing fields and orchards, and become not only self-supporting but wealthy. Pueblos, or towns, sprang up in the vicinity of the missions. Spanish settlers came into the country and California became an important province of New Spain.
All of this was not accomplished without unwearied vigilance on the part of the president of the missions. Frail of body, worn with constant fastings, self-afflicted tortures and an incurable disease, he traveled constantly between the establish- ments, administering affairs, preach- ing, admonishing, and keeping close e watch upon every feature of the Father Junipero Serra. mission life. Again and again he made the toilsome journey to Mex- ico, sometimes on foot, or riding a mule, sometimes pitching for weeks in one of the dreary little ships of the day. He met and overcame opposition from the government, from his super- iors, from his subordinates, will be constantly endured terrible spiritual conflicts of his own. Surely Junipero Serra is worthy to rank with the saints he so faithfully emulated.
The nine missions were increased to twenty-one and they continued to grow in power and wealth until about the time of their secularization in 1832. At that time nearly all of the Indians in California had been brought more or less directly under their influence. Many of the natives had collected about the missions and under the instruction of the Padres had become valu- able laborers. They were the workmen in building the churches; they built the houses, store rooms, etc., necessary for a large settlement; they dug with the rudest of tools, irrigation ditches which would task modern appliances; they cultivated the fields and cared for the stock. Some of them learned to read and write, and many of them gained some knowledge of music. They learned to use the Spanish tongue and to an extent adopted Spanish customs and ideals.
They could have had but little comprehension of the doctrines so faith- fully dealt out to them-for the salvation of their souls-and for the teacher's salvation, too, perhaps; but they gained an abiding faith in the efficacy of the church and its forms, and to this day the Indians of the southwest are Catholics, and the word of the priest has more influence over them than all the elaborate machinery that the United States has set in motion in their behalf.
As the missions had prepared the way for the Spanish settlements, so, it
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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
may be said, they made the way easy for the American conquest. The natives had been prepared to furnish "cheap labor," the resources of the country had been discovered, if not developed ; the monks had demonstrated that the most arid and unpromising soil would produce luxuriantly under irrigation ; they had also introduced the grape and the sub-tropical fruits.
To the Spanish missionaries we owe the most of our knowledge con- cerning the ancient history of our country. They made notes and kept careful records of their journeyings. Some of them attempted to gather up the traditions and legends of the Indians. The records and papers of the missions furnish much valuable historical material.
The Franciscan fathers left behind them an architecture which was note- worthy for its distinctive character, and for its fitness for the purpose and for the conditions. Some of these buildings, now more than a century old, are still in a fair state of preservation. We owe the missionaries much, also, for the nomenclature they gave to the southwestern states. To the initiated the fitness-and sometimes unfitness-in the names they bestowed is a con- stant joy. As, for example, Sierra Nevada, literally the "saw with a fall of snow upon it ;" Los Angeles was originally, "Nuestro Senora de Los Angeles de la Porciuncula :" San Gorgonio pass was "Puerto de San Carlos." "door of St. Charles," etc.
The Indians were not exterminated under Spanish rule as were the natives of the north and west who came into contact with the English element. The "mission system" had many and serious defects, and it left the Indians with little ability for self government, but it must be admitted that under the teaching of the fathers, the Indians made more progress toward civilization than they have ever done under any other system applied to them, and we must believe with the devout fathers, that they were "chosen" for the work that they did.
EARLY HISTORY OF INDIANS.
The various explorers who touched upon the coast of California prior to the explorations of the interior, give conflicting accounts of the natives. All, however, agree that they found a gentle, amenable people, not without some intelligence and skill in providing for their wants, although they were far infe- rior to the aborigines found upon the Atlantic coast or to the Aztecs of Mexico. They made various tools, they wove baskets, hunted small game; those in the vicinity of Santa Barbara, made boats and went out considerable distance from the shore to fish. They prepared acorns and various seeds for food, and dressed skins for clothing. They lived in villages, or rancherias as the Spanish named them, and ranged over the surrounding country, but seldom went outside their limits. Although there was a strong resemblance in lang- uage and customs between the various tribes or branches, there seems to
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have been but little relationship between them ; yet the coast Indians were not quarrelsome.
Viscaino, who visited the coast of California in 1603, describes the natives thus: "The country (around Monterey Bay) is thickly settled with people whom I found to be of gentle disposition, peaceable and docile, and who can be brought readily within the fold of the holy gospel and into subjection to the crown of your majesty. Their food consists of seed which they have in abundance and variety, and of the flesh of game, such as deer larger than cows (?), and of bear and of neat cattle and of bisons and of many other ani- mals. The people are of good stature and of fair complexion, the women somewhat lesser in size than the men, and of pleasing countenance. The clothing of the people of the coast lands consists of the skin of the otter, abounding here, which they tan and dress better than is done in Castile ; they possess also in great quantity flax, like that of Castile, hemp and cotton, from which they make fishing lines and nets for rabbits. They have vessels, very well made, in which they go to sea with great dexterity, even in stormy weather."
Evidently Viscaino was bent upon impressing the king with the import- ance of his "find," and large allowance must be made for the truth of his statements.
One of the most interesting and truthful accounts of the native Califor- nians which we have is found in the diary of Father Crespi, who was a member of the first overland expedition made in California-that of Gaspar de Portala. which set out from San Diego, July 14, 1769. to go to Monterey and found the second of the proposed missions in California. Frey Crespi kept a daily account of the journey and the simple directness and accuracy of this narrative makes it valuable as a historical document and interesting as revealing the sincere piety and sturdy manliness of the good father himself. The course of their journey and the location of their camping places can still be traced, so minutely does he describe the country through which they passed. He notes the birds, animals and plants, marvels at the dry riverbeds which bear the marks of mighty torrents, the sudden disappearance of streams in the sand, the full currents of night where only a thread of water trickled at noon : he sets down the appearance and manners of the various groups of Indians- all of this almost without comment. Again and again he refers to the sweet- ness of the wild roses, and frequently he points out the fact that some particu !- lar spot is especially fitted for the site of a mission. He mentions frequent earthquakes in the vicinity of Santa Ana and named the river now known as Santa Ana, "Rio del dulcisimo Nombre de Jesus de los Temblores" (River of the sweet name of Jesus of the Earthquakes) ..
The earlier part of their journey through the broad, rich valleys of Southern California was not difficult, especially as the Indians met the Spaniards with the greatest friendliness, bringing them food and guiding
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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
them to the best springs. Father Crespi declares: "They came without weapons, but with a gentleness that has no name, bringing as gifts to us their poor seeds, and we in return gave them ribbons and gewgaws." The priest made every effort to preach the gospel to these poor "gentiles": "I made the gentiles say the acts of Faith, Hope and Charity, which, without understanding one word, they repeated after me with such tenderness and fervor that it found, in my heart, at least, an echo." The Spaniards were fre- quently invited to remain at various rancherias. At one place, "fifty Indians, with their captain, invited us by signs which we understood perfectly to come and live with them; that they would build us houses and give us grain and the meat of antelopes and hares. They insisted on their offer, telling us that all the land in sight, and it was much, was theirs and they would divide it with us." Frequently the natives awaited the travelers with feasts already spread and honored them with ceremonials and dances-sometimes to the discomfort of the guests. At one place Father Crespi says, "Toward evening we received the visits of the chiefs of each town, one after the other, who came in all their finery of paint and overloaded with feather ornaments, holding in their hands split reeds, the motion and the noise of which they used as a measure to their chants and dances, and this they did so well and so uniform that the effect was harmonious. The dances lasted all the even- ing and we had hard work sending our guests home. We dismissed the gen- tiles, begging them by signs not to come back and trouble us during the night. But it was in vain ; as soon as night had set in they returned blowing horns whose infernal noise was enough to tear our ears in pieces." The comandante was obliged to resort to threats to secure sleep-the only place in the journal where any mention of disagreement with the natives is made. Thus we see how these people welcomed the race which was to work their destruction. Father Crespi may have been somewhat prejudiced in favor of these simple "gentiles" whose salvation he was most anxious to accom- plish. But Constanzo, the civil engineer of the same party, was certainly free from any undue bias in favor of the natives. He says: "These natives (about San Diego) are of good figure, well built and agile. They go naked withont more clothing than a girdle. Their quivers, which they bind between the girdle and the body, are of wild cat, coyote, wolf, or buck skins, and their bows are two varas (66 inches) long. Besides these they have a species of war-club, whose form is that of a short and curved cutlass, which they fling edgewise and it cleaves the air with much violence. They hurl it a greater distance than a stone : without it they never go forth into the fields; and if they see a viper (rattlesnake) they throw the club at it and commonly sever it half from half. According to later experience, they are of haughty temper, daring, covetous, great jesters and braggarts; although of little valor, they make great boasts and hold the most vigorous the most valiant."
This report, while not so flattering as Father Crespi's, is still a far cry from the lazy and degraded brutes whom Bancroft pictures.
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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
TRIBES OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.
The principal tribes located in what is now San Bernardino county were the Coahuillas, "masters" or "ruling people," who lived in the mountain ridges and valleys east of San Bernardino mountain and in the San Jacinto range and along the eastern border of these mountains. These Indians came but little into contact with the Spanish and were never brought under mis- sion influence so that we know but little of them until a later period.
The Serranos lived in the vicinity of San Bernardino valley. The name signifies "mountain Indians," but they do not seem to have been so much "mountain Indians" as were the Coahuillas. They were a more peaceable- and a weaker-people than either the Coahuillas, or the desert Indians. The Ganchamas, of San Bernardino valley, and probably the Cucamongas, be- longed to this division.
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