San Diego County CA Archives History - Books .....Chapter IV Under The Mexican Flag 1922 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 21, 2007, 12:17 am Book Title: City Of San Diego And San Diego County CHAPTER IV UNDER THE MEXICAN FLAG The story of San Diego under Mexican control is not one of vast importance. The hide and tallow industry kept increasing in importance, but growth in population was slow, and as Smythe has aptly said, the Mexican authorities spent much of their time and energy in political squabbles which kept conditions sadly unsettled. Yet in these disputes there were a number of interesting characters, and in the government of California San Diego played a large part. Among the San Diegans who became prominent in that period was Juan Bandini, one of the most striking characters in all California at that time. Another was Pio Pico, who was the last Mexican governor of California. Still another was Henry D. Fitch, a New Bedford sailor, who became a Mexican citizen here, who was first town attorney of San Diego when the pueblo form of government was organized and who kept the largest store at Old Town for many years prior to American occupation. Then there were the Arguellos, the Carrillos, the Estudillos, the Zamoranos and many other families whose names are a very part of Old Town. They joined in building up at the little settlement such an atmosphere of old-time courtesy and hospitality that its romantic fragrance has lasted through all the years. Although never so officially designated, San Diego was to all intents and purposes the capital of California for about five years, while Gen. Jose Maria Echeandia was governor. His territory, it must be remembered, included both Upper and Lower California, and San Diego was not very far, geographically, from the center of that large section, but his choice of San Diego met with some opposition from various other places and when he attempted in 1827 to hold an assembly at San Diego the delegates declared that this city was too hard to reach. Echeandia seems to have been a fairly sensible and efficient officer, but his career as governor was not without troubles of various kinds. His presence and residence at San Diego made the place of course the political center of affairs in California, and political schemes in abundance were concocted here. The volatile schemers doubtless were a source of some anxiety to Echeandia. At that time, too, Americans were beginning to come not only by sea but by land to California, the hardy pioneers of the nation being ever eager to push on to the west. Some of these came to San Diego in what is known as the Pattie party in 1828. In referring to this episode Smythe directs attention to the fact that the Californians (or Mexicans) were not hostile to the Americans, probably being more inclined toward them than to the Spaniards who viewed the advent of Mexican or Mexican rule with no great satisfaction. But the Californians somewhat naturally looked upon all foreigners with suspicion. Under that suspicion the Pattie party fell. This party was headed by Sylvester Pattie, a Kentuckian who had achieved fame as an Indian fighter. His son, James O. Pattie, later wrote a "Narrative" of the affair and left considerable room for argument. At any rate, Pattie in 1827 organized a company at Santa Fe, New Mexico, to trap and hunt on the Colorado River, about which, of course, little was known at that time. Eight of the company, all Americans, including the two Patties, floated down to the mouth of the Colorado and after considerable hardships started west, at last reaching the mission at Santa Catalina in Lower California, early in 1829. All eight men were brought to San Diego. Echeandia had them locked up and they remained prisoners here for several months. The elder Pattie died and was buried on Presidio Hill. The younger Pattie appears either to have been an obstreperous prisoner or to have been badly treated. His six companions were released under guard to go for some furs they had buried near the Colorado River, but he was kept in prison until, as Pattie's story has it, a smallpox epidemic broke out and he, having some vaccine with him, was let out to vaccinate everybody around. He later seems to have gone to San Francisco and to have played the doctor there. The old governor had some trouble with the Indians, and kept his troops busy much of the time in keeping them scared away from the port. The California soldiers brought in the ears of their victims to show what the day's work had been. On one occasion a lieutenant is said to have brought in twenty pairs of ears from Indians slain in this section. An interesting account of San Diego in the days of Governor Echeandia rule is given by Alfred Robinson in his "Life in California." Robinson came here in 1829 as clerk on the trading ship, Brookline, and in 1836 married, at Santa Barbara, Ana Maria, the daughter of Capt. Jose de la Guerra y Noriega, one of the wealthiest Spaniards of California. After the Brookline hove to, a boat was sent ashore and "satisfactory arrangements" were made with Governor Echeandia, after which the Brookline ran in and anchored close under the guns of old Fort Guijarros. The Brookline was there for a long stay, so the long boat was hoisted out, ready to be put down, the royal yards and masts and the top-gallant yards of the good ship were lowered, "and these and all other surplus rubbish on the decks sent on shore and deposited." Those were not modern days of telegraphic haste in trading, but the good old leisurely times, in which the Spanish courtesies had to be thoroughly observed before any mere barter was to be considered. Then lumber was sent ashore and the ship's carpenter began to build "a large house" for the storage of hides. This, wrote Robinson, served "as a place of accommodation" for the lighter part of the Brookline's cargo while it was being examined and cared for by the Spanish custom officers. Don Manuel Dominguez, a brother-in-law of one of Robinson's companions, soon sent horses to the visitors and they galloped away to the town. Then followed Robinson's interesting description of the San Diego of those days: "Our way was barren of interest till we came suddenly to an almost perpendicular descent of some thirty or forty feet into a deep and broad ravine, where formerly some river had flowed, but its bed was now filled with bushes and shrubs. Previous to this we passed a small shanty in an unfinished state, which had been erected some time before as a Custom-House, but owing to its incapacity and situation, had been abandoned. We saw also the commencement of a new Presidio, that, on account of the difficulty of procuring water, had also never been completed. These two monuments of the imprudence and want of foresight of the Governor, served as very good evidence to me of the want of sagacity and energy of the Government. "A short ride further brought us to the house of our friend Don Manuel. We rode into the 'patio', or courtyard, where a servant took the horses. At the threshold of his door we were met by Don Manuel, who embraced us cordially, and presented us to the family, his mother, wife and sister. This was to be our home during the ship's detention, and though its coarse mud walls and damp ground floor did not altogether coincide with the idea I had previously formed of it, yet if their walls were cold, and their floors damp, their hearts were warm, and the abundance of their luxurious entertainment more than compensated for any disappointment. "After dinner we called on the Gen. Don Jose Maria de Echeandia, a tall, gaunt personage, who received us with true Spanish dignity and politeness. His house was located in the centre of a large square of buildings occupied by his officers, and so elevated as to overlook them all, and command a view of the sea. On the right hand was a small Gothic chapel, with its cemetery, and immediately in front, close to its principal entrance, was the guard-room, where the soldiers were amusing themselves; some seated on the ground playing cards and smoking, while others were dancing to the music of the guitar; the whole was surrounded by a high wall, originally intended as a defence against the Indians. At the gate strode a sentinel, with slouched hat and blanket thrown over one shoulder, his old Spanish musket resting on the other; his pantaloons were buttoned and ornamented at the knees, below which, his legs were protected by leggins of dressed deer-skin, secured with spangled garters. "On the lawn beneath the hill on which the Presidio is built stood about thirty houses of rude appearance, mostly occupied by retired veterans, not so well constructed in respect either to beauty or stability as the houses at Monterey, which with the exception of that belonging to our 'Administrator,' Don Juan Bandini, whose mansion, then in an unfinished state, bade fair, when completed, to surpass any other in the country. "The climate of St. Diego is milder than that of any other part on the coast, and not so much subject to dense fogs as Monterey and St. Francisco. The soil presents a barren and uncultivated appearance, and although several spots dignified by the name of gardens are found upon the bank of a river which flows from the mountains during the rainy season, in which they cultivate a few vegetables, yet nothing can be seen of any agricultural importance except in places at some distance from the town. The hills and glens abound with many kinds of cactus, among which the rabbit and quail find shelter when pursued by the sportsman. These are both very numerous, the latter frequently rising in flocks of two or three hundred. Hares are abundant and here also, as at all other places on the coast during the rainy season, the plains and ponds are crowded with ducks and geese, while thousands of brant cover the extensive bay. "Our accounts with the Custom-House were soon adjusted, and we were prepared to commence our trade. Visitors were numerous, both male and female, who came on board to purchase. Amongst others, the Rev. Padre Antonio Peyri, of the Mission of St. Luis Rey, had expressed a wish to visit his many friends on shipboard for besides our own, there were two other vessels in port, the English brig Vulture, under charter by H. D. Fitch, of Massachusetts (whose matrimonial adventures I shall presently relate) and the Mexican brig Maria Ester, from Acapulco. The good old priest was accordingly invited, and the last day of his visit was to be passed with us; other friends came also, and dinner was prepared for the occasion. "As the old gentleman was held in universal respect upon the coast, not only as a founder of the Mission over which he presided, but also as a man of great mental energy and capacity; high in favor with the government because of these qualities, and being dearly loved by the people for the extreme benevolence of his disposition, we were prepared to receive him with 'all the honors.' Accordingly as the Reverend Padre descended the gangway, we thundered forth a salute and proceeded to show him the different parts of the vessel. Particularly did we call his attention to our trade-room, which had been fitted up with shelves and counters, resembling in appearance a country variety store. The amount of his purchase testified how vastly he had been pleased. "On the following morning he departed, and when the boat had reached a short distance from the ship, the men laid upon their oars whilst our guns sounded a parting salute. As the smoke cleared off I beheld the old man standing in the boat, and gazing toward us with apparent delight, and I thought I could perceive from the glistening of his eye that future patronage would be the result of this reception." Another interesting account of San Diego at this period is given in William Heath Davis' "Sixty Years in California." Davis came here in 1831, two years after the time of which Robinson wrote. Governor Echeandia's term of office had ended, but conditions at San Diego were not changed to any great extent, of course. Davis' account makes it plain that the military headquarters was still maintained at the presidio, which, wrote Davis, was placed so as to protect the citizens of the "miniature city" from "the ferocious and savage Indians." He estimates that the citizens and soldiers at that time numbered from 400 to 500. "Quite a large place," remarked the writer. Davis also observed that at San Diego in those days there was much gaiety and refinement, the people being, according to his account, "the elite of this portion of the department of California." Old Town had been laid out, but the people had not yet become satisfied that they would be entirely safe in leaving the protection of the presidio for houses on the level land below Presidio Hill. Monterey by that time had been designated as the port of entry for California and also the seat of Government, and vessels which came from the Atlantic coast were obliged to go to Monterey and enter that port before they could come to San Diego for trading; but, after paying the necessary duties at Monterey, they could enter any other California port. Echeandia's term ended in December, 1830, when Col. Manuel Victoria, the new governor, arrived in San Diego. His headquarters was established at Monterey. Pio Pico, Juan Bandini and several others started a little revolution at San Diego and organized a force which went to Los Angeles and seized it. Victoria was badly wounded in a battle which followed and left the country. The months that followed were full of plots and threatened revolutions. Echeandia went to Mexico in 1833 to remain. Pico became governor in 1832. The pueblo of San Diego was formed on December 21, 1834. Juan Maria Osuna was the first alcalde, or mayor. In 1838 the population had fail en off to such an extent that San Diego was not entitled to a town council or ayuntamiente, as the Californians called it, and from that time until the United States stepped in, San Diego was under Los Angeles jurisdiction. The last years of California rule were filled with petty political disputes among the various leaders, "revolutions" with "armies" of 100 men and "battles" which were sometimes wholly bloodless. In the political affairs of the time the following were some who were prominent: Juan Bandini, Pio Pico, who became governor; Andres Pico, who had command of the Californians at the battle of San Pasqual in 1846; Santiago E. Arguello and Francisco Maria Alvarado. Of these by far the most noted in San Diego annals was Bandini, a slightly built yet impressively, dignified, typically graceful Spanish gentleman. On one side of the plaza in Old Town he erected a mansion, then very fine, at least in comparison with many of those around it, and its walls still stand, although they bear the additional burden of another story, in less romantic times, to serve as part of a hotel. In this mansion, as in the Estudillo home across the way, there was many a gay dance or ball. When Commodore Robert F. Stockton arrived at San Diego and took the port it was Bandini himself who, siding with the Americans, as did many of his kind, offered the residence to Stockton for the American headquarters. Exquisitely polite, well educated, known far and wide as one of the most gracious and hospitable of all residents of California, a fluent writer, a good speaker, with a biting sarcasm, the father of several beautiful daughters, Bandini indeed was a notable figure of the period and easily the foremost citizen of San Diego at the time. Just before the United States went to war against Mexico, Bandini was secretary to Governor Pico, but. he soon espoused the American cause without hesitation and became one of its most loyal and valuable supporters in this part of California. He died at Los Angeles in 1859 leaving a family, several branches of which are still prominent in California. Pio Pico, in the last few months of his rule, made a name for himself by giving away land to his friends and followers. He did it lavishly and almost up to the last minute, before the Americans took control of California. And he thereby built up a puzzle which it took the American courts many a long day to solve. John Steven McGroarty, the gifted California writer, in his "Los Angeles, From the Mountains to the Sea," refers to Governor Pico's action thus: "It appears from the records, not to speak of the memory of men still living, that no governor of California even remotely approached in openhanded generosity Don Pio Pico." [photo] O'NEILL RANCH HOUSE (LOOKING SOUTH) BUILT BY PIO PICO IN 1820. Don Juan Forster lived in this house from 1870 to 1882. Since that time it has been occupied by Richard O'Neill and his son, Jerome O'Neill. The truth of the matter is, as McGroarty says, that Governor Pico and his close associates saw that California was certain to fall into the hands of the United States and that it would be a fine thing to apportion as much of this land as possible to his friends and supporters. So he kept at the task of conveying property up to the very last and made a legal tangle which went up to the Supreme Court of the United States. This court, after many years of effort in American courts to decide between valid and fraudulent titles to the vast expanse of land claimed by virtue of Pico's grants, said: "No class of cases that come before this court are attended with so many and such perplexing difficulties as these are. The number of them which we are called upon to decide bears a very heavy disproportion to the other business of the court, and this is unfortunately increasing instead of diminishing. Some idea of the difficulties that surround these cases may be obtained by recurring to the loose and indefinite manner in which the Mexican Government made the grants which we are now required judicially to locate. That Government attached no value to the land, and granted it in what to us appears magnificent quantities. Leagues instead of acres were their units of measurement, and when an application was made to the Government for a grant which was always a gratuity, the only question was whether the locality asked for was vacant or public property. When the grant was made, no surveyor sighted a compass or stretched a chain. Indeed, these instruments were probably not to be had in that region. A sketch, called a diseno, which was rather a map than a plat of the land, was prepared by the applicant. It gave, in a rude and imperfect manner, the shape and general outline of the land desired, with some of the more prominent natural objects noted on it, and a reference to the adjoining tracts owned by individuals, if there were any, or to such other objects as were supposed to constitute the boundaries. Their ideas of the relation of the points of the compass to the objects on the map were very inaccurate; and as these sketches were made by uneducated herdsmen of cattle, it is easy to imagine how imperfect they were. Yet they are now often the most satisfactory and sometimes the only evidence by which to locate these claims." Literally hundreds of these cases were reviewed by the United States Supreme Court. Many celebrated attorneys took part in the preparation and argument of these cases. Among them were Jeremiah Sullivan Black, at one time Attorney-general of the United States; Caleb Cushing, Edwin M. Stanton, Reverdy Johnson, William M. Everts, John J. Crittenden, Judah P. Benjamin, Charles O'Conor, Titian J. Coffey, and Hall McAllister. The United States Land Commission, to which was intrusted the task of investigating these grants, reported that a greater variety of subjects or a wider field of inquiry had rarely if ever been put before any tribunal. In connection with this the work of Col. J. D. Stevenson of the U. S. Army is of interest. In the spring of 1847 he was put in command of the southern military district of this state and instructed to investigate the Mexican land grants. "Colonel Stevenson," writes McGroarty, "said that soon after he got his district in order he began to make inquiries as to who were the civil officers under Pico, and learned from Abel Stearns and others that he (Stearns) was either the prefect or subprefect, and an intimate and confidential friend of Pico, and from him and others he learned that grants were made after it was known that the Americans had taken possession of California, which were antedated, and especially those made in this section of the county from San Jose this way, and that a very large portion of them were signed by Pico on the day and night preceding his start for Mexico, which was about the 8th or 9th of August, 1846: Stearns told him that he was present on the day and night referred to, especially the night those grants were executed, and that Pico left him (Stearns) in charge as next officer in command. These grants were frequently the subject of conversation; and on one occasion a party to whom a valuable grant was made, confessed to him that the grant was executed that night, and he knew nothing of it until he was sent for to accept the grant. He availed himself of every opportunity to obtain information about these grants, both by conversation and otherwise. "And that was the way things went in those days-the good old days now long since gone, when a few thousand acres of land between friends was a small matter; and not as it is now, when they measure it off by the inch to you, and every foot of it in Los Angeles is worth a king's ransom." Additional Comments: Extracted from: CITY OF SAN DIEGO AND SAN DIEGO COUNTY THE BIRTHPLACE OF CALIFORNIA BY CLARENCE ALAN McGREW SAN DIEGO Assisted by a Board of Advisory and Contributing Editors WITH SELECTED BIOGRAPHY OF ACTORS AND WITNESSES IN THE PERIOD OF THE CITY AND COUNTY'S GREATEST GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT VOLUME I ILLUSTRATED THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 1922 Copyright 1922 The American Historical Society File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/sandiego/history/1922/cityofsa/chapteri263gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/ File size: 22.5 Kb