\v ■'> /\:-'>fm'y°^c^'-¥m' /\ --m^' /°-. •!i^' /-% ,0^ ^ c^^.v^.;,'.'^ ^^..-^-^"^ ^-a^"^ .^ • • ?■ — 'Vij-''-"" ..q^ » . , 1 ■> > - ■'■■'■ ■-*'- "*■ ■ ..\ •6 \ *«^. /.V^JTV*. '^<-o r> ^^' "-^ ^V->^. i-J-" .0' ?►" 'V •J- -/• .•.\ ^-..A- ^U ^; ■=.- ,0^ •^^o'^ o o , % ■v^^- • • - » ' .t' V ■r % ...\^ A^ V •.^'»^ <■ -?■ '0^ ^o. ■.V .'.■' ^.. .0^ ^ z. ^ 7^^ •y- History of POMONA VALLEY California with Biogmi)hical Sketches of The Leadinij Men and Women of the \alley Wlio Have Been IcU-ntified Witli Its Growth and l)eveh>])nient from the Early Days to the Present ILLUSTRATED COMIM.KTK I\ (^SV. VOI.IMK HISTORIC RKCORl) COMl'ANV l.OS ANCKl.KS. CAL. r«/.^ M . Al 8M r I© COXTKXTS CHAPTER ONE MI'.XIC.W IMONEERS 3.^ First X'lsrr ui- Tahimakks and \'i:.iar to tiik San Josk N'aluky — Tin-: Grant FROM GOVKRNOR AlVARAIK) — Sa\ JdSK DaY — SlRVKV AND LifJUXDARIK S oK THE Rancho Sax Iosk. CHAPTER TWO LIFE OX THE RAXCHOS IX IFIE FORI'IES .... 41 OCCI'PATION OF TIIK RaNCIKi IIV I'ALOM \Ki:s AND \'i:jAR l-.\MlLli:s — lIoMlC l,ll"i: IN THE Hacie.vdas — Tin-: Mission of S.\n Gauriel — ISrancii Missk'N .\t San Bernardino — Indians of the X'alley — Story of IjI'Ried Treaslri-; — Grants Adjoin km. the Kanciio San Jose — Henry Dalton and .\zrsA — Don .\ntonio Li'co and the Chino — La Piente Rancho — The Rdw- LANDS AND WcRKXIANS DesCRII'TKIN .\NI) PARTITION liF THE RaNCIHi SaN Jose — Connections with the World CX'Tside — ^The War of 184') — • Battle of thi: Chinh Ranch IlmsE — Tin: Gold 1'"ever. CHAPTER THREE THE Ul ARIER CEX 11 R^ 1 OELOWIXC; IHE CESSION OF CALIFORXIA TO THE UNITED STATES 6^' Willow Grove. Lexinc.tox and Monte — Early Settlers and Life at El Monte — Becinnincs t)F Spadra — Schlesinc.icr and Tischler P'oreclusire — Uiris Phillips and His Ranch — 'I'he RrnoTTd.MS at Spadra — The Fryers and Other Settlers — The Overland Stac.e — Bttterfield and HoLLiDAv — The Stac.e at Spadra — Death of Hilliakd P. Dorsev — Other Tragedies — Kewen Dorses . CONTENTS- Continued CHAPTER FOUR THE SPANISH SETTLEMENT AT SAN JOSE' HILLS 89 CvRus Bi'KnicK, THE Pioneer of Pomona — Revolutionary Forp.ears — Over- land JouRNEv — Residence at San Gabriel — Earthquakes — Removal to San Josii Valley — First Orange Grove — Mexican Life at the Spanish Settlement — Passing of the Early Generation — Children of Ygnacio Palomares — The \'ejar Families — The Ygnacio Alvarado House and Its Activities — The Indians — The First School and Its Teacher, P. C. Tonner — First Schoolhouse — Tonner the Teacher — Tonner the Stu- dent AND Poet — Sweet San Jose — The Loop and AIeserve and Other Early Tracts of the San Tose De Ariba. CHAPTER FIVE BEGINNINGS OF POMONA U3 Coming of the Railroad — Tonner-IU'kdick-Palomares Contracts — Los An- geles Immigration and Land Cooper^^tive Association — The New Town OP Pomona — Public School — Collapse of the L. A. I. and L. C. A. — Pomona Land and Water Company- — The Boom — Po.m(i\a in 1882 and 1885 — Constable Slanker and Other Old-Timers. CHAPTER SIX WATER, LIGHT AND POWER LS5 Three Sources of Water — Old Settlement \\'ater — Canyon Water — Artesian Wells — Water Companies — Tunnels — Conservation — Elec- tric Light and Power. CHAPTER SEVEN INDUSTRIES OF THE VALLEY 145 Spadra, Puente and the Grain Country — Spadra After the Railway — James M. Fryer, F. M. Slaughter and Senator Currier — -Vineyard and Orchard — Viticulture — Deciduous Fruits — Olive Culture — Oranges and Lemons — Cooperative ^Iarketing — Business and Manufacture — Pomona Manufacturing Company — Business — Banks. COXTKXTS-Continucd CIIAPTKR KKiirr SOCTAI , 1\ ri:i.I.KCTL'AI. A\D SPIRITUAI, 1,1 1-K OF POMONA 1^'^ Education — Poxiona Schools i-k(iM 1875 — Hic.iikk Eiu'cation — Chikchks and Riaicious LiFK — Early Condition's — Catholic. Baptist, EpiscorAi, Mktii- ODiST. Christian. Prksuvtkrian and Concriccational Ciukciiks — Fra- TKRNITIKS — XlCWSl'Al'KRS — PoMONA TiMKS PoMONA PROGRKSS — TlIK RE- VIEW AND Other Papers — Plblic Lhjrary — Social Life in Pomona. CHAPTKR XIXE I'OMOXAS ML.MCIPAI. LIFE 17! Incorporation and Liquor P'ight — P>ei"ore Incorporation — The Great Issue — Drl'nkenness — The Conflict — Chi.nese Prchlem — Othi:r I^ripiu.ems AND Contests — The Murchison Letter — Mi-nicii'al Solidaritv. CHAPTER TEN THE FOOTHILL cm ES ALONG THE SANIA IE . 177 Coming of the Sa.nta Fe — Railri>aii .\cTivniES — Boo.\i of Xew Tii\vnsiti:s — Effect of Santa Fe on Shutiiekn Pacific and Pomona — La X'erne. LoRDsnuRG AND La \'er.\e College — San Dimas — Mud Sprin<'.s — Canyo.v Settlers — The Teagues — Mound City Land and Water .Association — San Jose Ranch Company — Water Co.mpanies and Litigation — Citrus Industry — Growth of San Di.m.ss — Charter ().\k — Claremont and Pomona College — The Bimi.m and Its Collapse — Indians and Wilds of THE Desert — T(k'Ts Martin — Pi;tek Flemin<. — I'.ei.innini.s of Pomona College — Claremont I!i/si.\ess .vnd Citrus Fruits — School and Church. INCONCLLSION 20.1 I X I) I : X Page A Aborn. Mrs. Ida E 720 Adams. Frank E 2''.? Adams, John S 510 AdamsDH, John E J?2() Afflcrbaugh, Clinton Bertram.... bl2 Allard, Joseph A.. Jr 748 Alter, Charles H., D.D.S 812 Anderson. Daniel Walter 7.?2 Arbuthnot, Daniel G 493 Armour, Elmer Eugene 314 Arnold, William Henry 404 Augustine, \'ictor Curtis 730 Avis, .Americus Benezctte 519 Avis. Walter Moore 391 B Bailey. Ira D 704 Baker, Abram 371 Baker, Charles D 489 Baker, X'incent W., D.D.S 626 Baldwin. Frank H 541 Baltour. Frank W 504 Bangle. Ethan G 604 Bartlett, William Henry 298 Baumgardner, Welcome A 534 Bayer, Charles Phillip 742 Ba\ nham, Joseph J 335 Bcalc, Henry W 567 Beck. Albert Allen 506 Beck, Samuel Sanders 324 Belcher, Harry T 751 Bennett, James Stark 813 Bichowsky, Emmo C 701 Billheimer, Jr)hn S 528 Blaisdcll. James .Arnold. D.D M)h Blatz, Frederick A 814 Blickenstaff, Lynn A 707 Booth, Charles J 705 Booth, Elmer E 564 Bowden, Jere C 816 Bowcn, Frederick W 632 Bouen, John Carson 599 Page Bowen, John F 477 Bern ler. William W .W3 Boviinan, [unathan \' 331 Boyd, Sydney R 746 Brackett, Frank Parkhurst, M..A.. . 254 Bradlev. Edward D 695 Bright. H. Verner 7.?9 Brooks, Ernest 499 Brooks, John Tinlcy 458 Brown. Harry P 559 Brubakcr. Henr.\ J. and John B. . . 685 Br\ant, DeWitt Clinton. .A..M.. .\l.D 414 Buckncr, Rev. Walter C 691 Bulla. Quincv A 615 Burr. Rollin T., .M.D 234 C Calkins, Benjamin E 757 Camers, Jacob 749 Camp, [ohn Bradford 520 Campbe'll, J. E 708 Carson, Walter Scott 227 Carter, Rov H 817 Catelli, Frank 818 Chain, Charles H U2 Clapp, Stacv W.. D.D.S 712 Clark, Charles ^11 Clark, C. Ralph 810 Clark, Llovd R 709 Clark, Ralph S 793 Clark, Rev. Stephen Cutter. Jr... 759 Clarke. Joseph C ". . . . 798 Clifton. Samuel B 282 Coates. Thomas, M.D 288 Cogswell, Capt. Franklin ^28 Cole, Cvrus H 698 Collins. David H 275 Colvin, Joseph 1 397 Condit, Albert P 726 Coon, William R 521 Corbeil, 'I'heophile 337 Crank, F, DcWitt. M.D 248 INDEX- Page Cniwtord, llciiT\ M 745 Cree, Ira j 711 Crookshank, I)a\ id C 383 Cumberland. Julian F 480 Curran, Charles P 522 Currier, Hon. .Alvan T\ ler 211 Curry, Da\ i.i \V 471 D David and Margaret Hdine tor Children 704 Davis, Ferdinand 631 Davis, Henry B 639 Davis, Walter T 723 Dav, Eduv IVI 398 Deere, J. Harvey, B.A., D.D 721 Dehnel, Joseph Severns 796 Dewey, Harold C 640 Dillman, George 297 Dole, James Albert 269 Doughty, William Clyde 680 DouH, Albert P 763 Doutt, Mace B 725 Doyle, Patrick W 283 Dovolos, John 760 Duffy, Maj. Homer Leo 768 Durward, Arthur, A.M 625 Duvall, t)li\er Har\ey 766 E Eakin Brothers 727 Eakin, Charles M 727 Eakin, Freeman M 727 Earle, Ethan H 388 Eells, Francis Clark 622 Elliott. Joseph 526 Elliott, Leslie L 698 Ellsworth, Fred E. and F'rank E.. 515 Ercanbrack, William S 622 Evans, Frank C .- 527 Evans. John P 642 F Fender, John A 341 F"erree, Ernest I) 700 Ferrell, James G 672 Ferrell, Louis 771 Ferry, William 653 Fich, Bertram 659 F'itch, Joseph A 606 . — Continued Page I'lemuig, Edward J 253 F'leming, Miss Minerva C 552 Fleming, Peter 302 Fleming, William T 432 F'oote, William Burr 741 Forbes, John J 551 Ford, Seiden 1 434 Forester, George Wilmont, M.D. 589 F"oster, Herbert Clare 512 Fowkes, Alfred M 769 Fox, Capt. Charles J 532 Fox, William A 501 Fredendall, Earl 770 F'revermuth, Harr\- W 571 Fritz, William O.'. 703 Frver, James M 218 Fulton." James W 281 Fulton. Samuel M 801 Funkhouser, William E 621 G Gammon, Edward H 694 Ciapp, fohn C 655 Garcelon, Frank, M.D 279 Garrett, Judge W. A 425 Garrison, Christopher H 805 Garthside, loseph Relton 250 Gates, Clyde A 773 Gates, W. B 651 Geer, Francis Heman, M.D 610 Gerrard, Albert Campbell 747 Gibson, Bertram W 803 Gillen, Edward E 525 Gillette, Charles V 516 Gilman, Herbert S 791 Goettsche, John 468 Gore, Thomas E 802 Gray, Ralph E 675 Greaser, Charles E 716 Griswold, George C. B.L., Ph.D.. 574 H Hall. Orin J 656 Hamilton, William Wright 804 Hanawalt, Harvey M 800 Hansen, Hans B 338 Hansen, Jacob P 710 Hanson, Harry 669 Hanson, Mrs. Marie A 669 Hardon, Charles H 426 IN Hardy. Ormal G Harrison, Thomas Hart, Elmer W.. LL..M Hartman, Fred \V Harwood, Frank H Hatha\va>, Jefferson M Haugh, Prof. Benjamin S Heath, Col. George Henzie, Edward A Hickman, Frank A Hill. Alton B Hinman, Elliott Hinman, Harr\' H Hitchcock, George Gale Hoover, William 1. T.. Ph.D. Hough, Jesse \V Howard, Horace E Hudson, Rev. Charles R Huff, Charles C Hume, James Hunter, John H Huston, Rov DEX- Page 795 75 S 385 744 808 M)\ bOO 257 743 620 410 •372 625 5 60 6211 784 780 706 445 464 b7() 710 I Inwood, Rev. Alfred 731 Izer, Elmer E 588 Jacobs, F"red C 531 Jerde, Edward B 554 Johnson. Cassius C 4'.)8 Johnson, James Dixon 756 Johnson, William Ellis 786 Johnstone, \V'illiam Arthur 502 Jones, Cyrus W 750 Jones, George E 73 1 K Kaltenbeck, Fred 500 Keiser. Edwin T 407 Kciser, John Wilford 5ii Keiser. Oscar G 538 Kelly. Elmer Ellsworth, M.I) 733 Kenned) . William .A 737 Kepner. Shcllburn .M 781 Kettelle. Herbert C. D.D.S 736 Kiler, William H 448 Klein. Philip G . . 435 Klinzman. I>ouis Carl 537 Knight, Frank W 724 Continued Page Knox, Reginald 1 728 Krehbiel, Henr.\ A 505 Kuns, Henr\' l^eBosquette 430 Kuntz, Charles 266 L Eamont, James W 542 l.amb, mVs. Elizabeth 381 Laughlin, Joseph 'F ?07 Lavars, Harry J 737 Lawrence, Edgar A 2t>4 Lee, Alonzo W 272 Lee, Ira A 502 Lee, John Henr\ 327 Levengood, E. J 544 Lewis. Fred R 430 Lewis, Jerry N 549 Lewison, Lewis 378 Lichty, Arthur Millard 570 Lorbeer, Carl H 575 Lorbcer, Charles Augustus 236 Loucks, Richard N 630 Ludden, Jerome A 572 Lussier, Joseph 616 Lyter. Albert William 573 M .McCain. Nelson Grant 734 McCannel. Mrs. Flora 547 McCom.is. J. E.. Hon 238 McCom.is, Mrs. Emma 238 McGannon. Alfred 1 707 Mclntire, Samuel \\' 702 McLeod. fohn A =^47 Mc.Mullin. Wm. W 433 Mackenzie, Daniel 635 Manley, Mrs. Sylvia Lucile Powers 323 ALnnning. Herman L 687 ^L■lpcl. .\Lirion 686 ALirtin. WiUi.im M 688 Martin, William 'F 355 .\Lison, John W 557 .\Litthews, Lee R 454 Mav. Clement Robert 786 ALay, Hal 807 Meredith, Lewis C ^()2 .Mcserve, AKin Rand 441 .Metz, .Mitchell K 700 .Middleton, Carl W 702 .Midgley, Charles ^50 INDEX- Page Miller, George W 799 Mills, Lindsay M 779 Minnich, Lerov 451 Mishler, Harry 440 Mitchell, Allen G 694 Mitchell, James M 361 Moore, George R 553 Morris, Chester J 753 Morton, Rohert Lee 649 Mosher, f>ank D 674 Mullen, Joseph 689 Myers, Mrs. Myra 461 N Neibel, Ira L 436 Neilly, P. J 782 Newcomer, Paul W., M.D 693 Nichols, Allen P 271 Norcross, Hobert F 558 Norton, Willis A 313 Nunneley, Ferris J 778 o Oglivie, William M 713 Osgoodby, Andrew 258 Osgoodbw George 258 Otto, Charles E 785 P Paige, Joseph Morgan 511 Palmer, Edwin T 289 Palmer, Frank Fletcher 624 Palmer, Frank L 318 Pallett, Mrs. Mary Jane 446 Palomares, Jose Dolores 217 Palomares, Porfirio 222 Park, Schuyler Howard 609 Parsons, Cyrus Mason 690 Patten, Mrs. Frances Ada 22i Patterson, Tillman W 644 Pease, Edmund Morris, Rev 452 Penn, Warren 754 Persons, Dennis L 455 Petty, Moses 403 Phillips, Louis 215 Pierce, Himon N 294 Pierson, Joseph Christmas 410 Pirdy, Adelbert J 679 Piatt, George C\ ril 788 Plush, William 259 Continued Page Poling, Ira W 636 Pomona Fixture & Wiring Co. . . . 750 Porter, David C. W 665 Porter, Frank B 670 Potter, Mark H 614 Pratt, Harrv S 548 Presnell, William H 717 R Rambo, J. Frank 750 Reed, Henrv M 276 Reid, William 442 Reimers, Justus 500 Reynolds, Henry Presley, B.S 457 Ricciardi, Philip L 752 Rice, Miss Flora A 787 Richards, Addison W 456 Riley, Patrick 233 Ring, Miss Alice B 666 Ritter, Frederick W 696 Robbins, Homer E., Ph.D 776 Robertson, John G 663 Robinson, Frank C 652 Romick, John W 290 Ruth, Theodore 237 Rutty, Luman 650 S Sanborn, Carlton H 634 Scorield, Ira 568 Scofield, Miss ALiie E 568 Seaver, Carlton 312 Sederholm, E. Theodor 587 Sevmour, Miss Alice M.. ., 585 Shafer, Walter 308 Shaw, Edward D 353 Sheehv, Rev. John J 560 Sheets, L. E 809 Shepherd, B. Chaffey 758 Shettel, Walter A 811 Shewman, John 662 Shirk, Frank M., M.D 671 Shoemaker, J. Ralph 681 Silva, Morgan P 810 Slanker, Frank Oscar 349 Smart, Thaddeus 605 Smead, Franklin 568 Smith, B. Lillian, M.D., D.0 674 Smith, Frederick J 295 Smith, Lewis N 613 INDEX- Pagc Smith. Ralph. M.I) 699 Smith. T. Hardv. M.D 284 Smith. William Hi-nry 714 Somerville. William D 777 Spalding, Miss Phebc EstcUe. Ph.D bll Sparks, Marcus L 287 Spencc. Mrs. Cornelia A 332 Spencer. Charles G 597 Stahlman. Edward G 755 Steinruck. Bernard G 061 Steves. Thurman J 578 Stine, Rollie A 772 Stone, Charles M 22b Storment, John C 806 Stoughton. Arthur \'., M.D 652 Stout. B. P.. Prof 775 Stover, William Willard 596 Straley, Elmer 368 Strong, Nathan E 249 Studer. Robert 594 Sumner, Charles Edward 462 Swank, Amzi S 673 T Tate, Albert Edward 472 Taylor. Albert L 232 league. David Clinton 375 Teague, Jasper N 4iM Teague. Robert M 3^'^> Tcitsworth, Hugh S 735 Thatcher. Hugh A 543 Thomas. Anson C 745 Thomas, Edward Walter 598 Thompson. Kirk W 619 riuirman, Monroe 467 Todd & Patterson 644 Todd, Walter B 644 Tolton. D. Mat 774 Travis. G. Luther 593 Trimmer, Scott 473 Trotter, Thomas Ross 416 True, William S 305 Tuller, Louis B 495 Tvler, George R 641 Tyler, John L.. AM)., V.S 591 u Ulcrv. Howard E 633 Continued Page V N'andegritt, W'illiam A.. Hon 474 \'cjar, Abraham H !>^i^ \'ejar, Ignacio C) 577 Vejar, Jose H 4'lll X'ejar, Ramon 213 vv Walcott. Herbert E 478 Walker. James W 5o3 Waters, Arthur E 600 Waters, George H 480 Weaver. Ered D 729 Weber, John 317 Weigle, George J 479 Weineke, Morris Randolph 490 Welch, Everett Haskell 344 Wells, Jasper T 7o2 Westerman, Mrs. Ellen D 319 Westgate, Harry B 70 1 Whaley, Guy V 581 Wheelan, Richard Barrett 367 Wheeler, Edward Myron 004 Wheeler, Frank....! 738 White, Caleb 231 White, Francis Harding, Ph.D... 715 \V'hite. Harr\- Randolph ^44 White. Ira F. 387 White, John J 205 White, ALibel E.. D.0 088 White, Robert 040 White, Ulvsses E 429 Whitehead, J. Moses 420 Whiting. Asa G 346 Whvtc. Fred E 054 Williams, Henrv H 2b3 Williams. Thomas A 394 Wiltberger. Miss L 082 Witman. George B 704 Wittenmyer, George H 043 Wood. William Stanley 705 Woodford. B. A .U^) Wyman. Francis G 7o7 Y \()rba, PorHrio J 423 ^'undt. Emcr\ Roscoc 7411 z Zander. Milton W 71H A Brief Earl\- History » * of the SAN JOSK RANCHO and its Suhsequcnt Cities Pomona, San Dimas, Clarcmont, La Verne and Spadra Prepared hy F. P. BRACKETT Copyright Applied for by F. P. Brackctt ^^^ /^ /^b^ C-C-<_-->ion at San Ilernardino. They had crossed the San Galjriel River among the tides near the camp that later came to be known as the Monte, and had followed the trail beside the low-lying hills which we now call the rucnte and San Jose hills. makiTig excursions now and then from the trail to climb the hills, until now they had come, toward siuisct, to this place at the eastern end of the hills where a generous stream (lowed around the point. Weary from the day's riding, tliey dismounted. P.y their fine mounts, riclily caparisoned in silver and figured leather, and by their own inii forms, as well as by their commanding presence, two of the men were evidently Mexican officers. Piesidcs the half dozen soldiers accompanying them there were a number of Indian followers, who unsaddled the horses and watered them, gathering fuel and water for the cam]) and obeying the orders of their leaders. Knowing wlio these caballcros were and the time of the story, one may easily guess the subject of their conversation as they sat smoking by the camp fire, in the evening. P)Otli men were in the prime of early manhood. One at least traced his descent from a noble family in Spain. This one, the leader of the two, was ^'gnacio Palomares. His father. Don Jose Cristolial. had come to Monterey during the Spanish era and had been loyal to the Crown of Spain in the days of Governor .\rrillaga and the later years when Pablo N'icentc de Siila, last of the line of Spanish governors in California, fought his losing fight to hold the new province for his own country, Spain, to which he was so loyal. The other caballero was Ricardo X'ejar. who. though born in San Diego, had become an intimate friend of Vgnacio Palomares during the years in which they had lived on the rancho "Rodeo de las .\guas" (near the present city of Hollywood ), espe- cially the years of this decade of the eighteen thirties. Tonight they would have talked about the cattle they had seen grazing over the plains, those remnants of the larger herds of the San Gabriel Mission that 1 34 HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY used to roam the lower slopes of the valley all the way from the San Gabriel to San Bernardino. They would perhaps have referred to the Indian tribes (Sabobas, San Antonio, and San Gabriel Indians) that came down from the mountains at times to work for the Mission fathers in the valley and then returned to their native villages, unwilling to accept for long the life of civilization which the Mission offered them. Or, mindful of the more troublesome San Gorgonio tribe which would sometimes swoop down into the valley and run off cattle for their own use, they may have ordered their own Indians to guard their mounts with special care. And they must also have talked of their relations to the government at Monterey, for these were troublous times. Revolts and insurrec- tions had followed in quick succession during the dozen years or more since the revolution in Mexico under Iturbide had made California a province of Mexico. Arguello, licheandia, Victoria, Pio Pico, I'lgueroa, and now Jose Castro in turn had been governor of the province. Mexico was far away and the new govern- ment had changed hands almost as rapidly as that of the Province of California. Ygnacio Palomares and Ricardo Vejar, sons of loyal Spanish subjects, were not eager to yield allegiance to every victorious leader who might for the moment be in control of the provincial government. It was different in the old days of the Spanish regime. Arrillaga and Sola held their high positions directly for the Crown, and as such commanded the full devotion and service of their subjects, whether in Madrid or INIexico, whether in the outermost trading posts, in the Philippines, or in tlie even more inaccessible Province of California. But why .'should one pay tribute of property and time, and life perhaps, to a Carrillo or to other crafty and ambitious men? Victoria had been a brave captain — how fiercely he had fought at Los Angeles when, with a handful of men, he turned back the band of insurrectionists who gathered from the southern parts of the Province as far as San Diego ! And now Jose Castro was in command and doubtless he was lawfully entitled to their support. There must be a strong defense, a uniting of the people against adventurers like Bouchard and his party from Buenos Aires whom Arguello and his thirty men from the San Diego presidio, with the help of a band of Indians from San Luis Obispo under Father Martinez, bravely put to flight when they attempted to raid the Mission of San Juan Capistrano. , Certainly these caballeros, Palomares and Vejar, would have talked much of the large grants of land which the governors of California were making to the leading Mexicans of the Province. Not sucli princely domains as Pedro Pages and other Spanish governors had made to Verdugo, Dominguez, Nieto, Yorba and Arguello, imperial counties in extent and resource, but yet thousands of square leagues, where large estates might be established. There was Don Antonio Maria Lugo, so well known and popular, wliose services both to Spanish and Mexican governors had been rewarded by grants of large tracts of land. To be sure, he was a man of power and influence, a brave soldier and a prominent Spanish gentleman ; yet these caballeros, Palomares and Vejar, were also men of worth and had fought well for the government. Moreover, they believed that a request of the Commissioner Juan B. Alvarado would be favorably received. .A.nd the rich grazing land over which they had come during the afternoon was yet outside of the grants already made. Don Antonio Lugo, it was said, had petitioned for more land farther east, but this was still open and it seemed to be good grazing land. Plere by the hills the stream from the cienegas promised an abunflancc of water for stock. DON RICARDO V EJAR DON VGNACIO PALUMARES IIISTOKV AND l;l()(•■RAl'll^■ 35 Aroiintiiij:; ihoir liorscs in tlic inorniiij^, tlie two crnsstd the >;irc:iiii and rode to tlic top of tlic Iiill, avoidini; tin' tliick i;ro\vth of cactus (»n tlic snntli ami cast and picking,' their way tlironi^li llic cliaparral of tlic canyon and slopes on the north side of the hill. Arrivini,' at the >-uniniit, a scene of wondrous heanly met their eyes. L.eaijiic upon league of virgin count')- lay helow them. I'a^l. tifirlli and south it stretched away, gently sloping toward the south, where rolling hills, carpeted with green, rose to the nearer horizon. ]""ar to the east the snowy masses of San Uernardino, San (inrgonici .iiid S.ni Jacinto glistened in the ri--ing sun. N(irthw;ird. hardly more than a h.alf hour's gallo]) away it seemed in the clear mountain air, the great mountains towered into the hhie sky, range tipon range, from the nearer foothills to the snow-c.ipped |)eaks which mark the lofty horizon. Vet hctween them and the northern foothills l;iy ;i great carpet thou- sanils of acres in extent, whose varie,t;ate(l colors Nature had woven with l;ivish hand, its warp of .sage hrush and chaparnd, its woof of wild llowers of every hue in unhroken profusion. .\nil this carjjct .stretched out to the hills all along the north, and northeasterly to the hi.t;h gray fan i^f lioulder land openin;^ out from the great canyon whose mountain walls led hack to San Antonio (vulgarly "Old Ualdy"). with its snow-capped head rising ahove all the rest. Mountain, canyon and wash tell of houndless reservoirs of water to su])plement the How of cienegas. Silting long u|ion their horses and drinking in the hcaiitv of this picture, the hearts ni these S()aniards must have thrilled as ihey thought, ".\ll this fair land helonged to Spain — to new S()ain now: and this IVovince of California, their native land — was there ever a f.iirer l;nirl than this:'" ^'et for nearlv three hundred years, since that Sunday in .August, \542. when Ju;in Rodriguez Cahrillo saileil into San Diego Kay and took possession of this whole lanil in the name of Spain, no one harl ever claimed this valley as his very own. The Indian trihes had hunted and fought ui)ou it. had huilt their jacalcs hy its streams, had u«-i] it all as they needed, even as they drank the water and hrealhed the air, with never a thought of onucrsliif'. For over sixty }ears the Hocks and herils of the San Gahriel Mission had grazed over the valley, yet neither church nor palre held any grant or title to its acres, .^o the resolve of these cahallcros was strengthened, their choice determined. They would jietition their friend the Commissioner .Mvarad') f: hui little did they realize how lields of grain and alfalfa would rejilace the pasture lands: anrl still less did ihev dream that the waste of desert under the pnr[)le haze toward the motuitaips would some day be all clothed with green groves of orange and lemon, and that the raising of stock for hides ami tallow anr| the growing of harlex- and wheal for grain would soon he sui)planted hy ;in iiichi^trv f.ir surpassing these and entirely transforming the valley, even as the new race ^houlil hring a new civilization to displace the old. In \vntil l)y tlic Xiclicils families, l)iit tlie l)iiil(liii{j is entirely rcmoveil, as will be mentioned later. Senor N'ejar selected his liomesitc l)y the southern hills farther down the valley, east of the home |>lace of Louis r'hilli|)s. another beautiful spot by the Arroyo Pedregoso. Then to determine the boundaries of the rancho so that they might sen° West 11,700 varas to a landmark L in said map, thence West 13° North 5,730 varas to a landmark marked Y on said niaji: thence West 34° 15' South+ 4.115 varas to a landmark marked H on said map; thence North 32° 15' East 6,525 varas to a place on the mountain where is a landmark at the point marked X on said map, thence along the mountain, .so as to lake in the Canadas, to the ])lace of beginning at the point marked C, containing about two square leagues of land more or less." This first grant ceding to Ygnacio Palomares and Ricardo \'ejar "the place called 'San Jose' " was dated "the 15th day of April A. D. 1837" and was issued by Juan B. Alvarado, then Governor ad interim of California. By the time the official document reached the grantees, their vaqneros had driven their herds of cattle and flocks of sheep to the new pastures, corrals had been built for them by the streams, and the adobe blocks for their houses were baking in the sun. Other houses followed — houses for the vai|uen)s and helpers, storehouses for hides, for wool, and dried meats. Soon the two partners, Palomares and Vejar, were joined by a third. Ivuis Arenas, a native of Sonora, Mexico, who had married Josefa Palomares, a sister of Ygnacio, was taken into the company and a petition was sent to the governor for a third square league of land adjoining the rancho on the west. Acceding to this petition, Juan B. Alvarado, then "Constitutional Governor of the Depart- ment of California," issued a second grant dated March 14, 1840, "in favor of Ygnacio Palomares, Ricardo Bejar and Luis Arenas for the lands called San Jose ceded by decree of the 15th of April, 1837, and one additional league of grazing land." Thus the original grant of two square leagues was confirmed and another league added, the three partners having each an undivided third share in the three scjuare leagues. Turning again to the early documents we find this tlescription of this third square league of the second grant : "The second tract of land, or addition of one league, being bounded or described in the testimonial of juridical possession in this case, as follows, to wit: Commencing on the ancient western Ijoundary of San Jose at the foot of an oak, which is an old landmark from w hich the line was run from east to west 5,000 varas to a point of a small hill which was taken for a corner, this angle adjoining the Puente, thence from south to north 5,000 varas to the foot of a small red hill called 'La Loma de San Felipe' where a mark was made, thence from west to east 5,000 varas to the old boundary of San Jose; provided that the additional tract is confirmed to the extent of one league only within the -boundaries described in juridical possession." • The reference is to "a map or diagram annexed to the testimonial showing a partition of the place called San Jose between Ricardo Vejar, Henry Dalton and the said Ygnacio Palomares, which map and testimonial are filed by the said Ricardo Vejar in Case No. .188 before the Commissioner.' [Extract from the document by the Board of Land Commissioners, dated January 31, 1854. confirming the claim of Vgn,acio Palomares to an undivided third part of the Rancho San Jose.] The point of beginning is now the northeast corner of the Rancho, instead of the southeast corner as before. tThis is evidently an error, the bearing i.robal)ly being West 34° l.V \orth instead of West 34° 15' South. HISTORY AX I) r.IOGKAl'llV 39 Tlie description of tliis "addition to tlic Ranclio San Josc" is very vaKue. and may be disregarded, since it is all included in later surveys as a part of the "Ranclio San Jose''; it should not be confused with the "San Jose Additimi" (called for a lime the "Addition to the Addition"), which tract was secured in the following maimer: Apparently Arenas was not satisfied with his third interest in the Ranch') San Jose and its enlargement, but petitioned for still another league for himself alone. In this petition he was seconded by Antonio Lugo : for Arenas at first had camped on the moist bottom lands of the Chine, and had watered his cattle here. Here also came some of Lugo's herds to drink. So Don Antonio had persuaded .-\rcnas to petition for more land west of the San Jose and leave him free in his lietition for the Chino. The petition of Arenas was allowed in a third grant, dated November 8, 184L by Manuel Jimcno, then "First Proprietary member of the most excellent Departmental Assembly in exercise of the Government of the same" (i.e., the Department of the Californias). CHAPTFR IWO LIFE ON THE RANXHOS IX THE FORTIES OCCITATION Ol- Till-: RaNCHO 1!V PaLOMARKS A.\1> N'K.IAR HaM ILIKS— IIoM K Lll'K IN THE Haciendas— The Mission of San GAnRiEL — Branch Misskin at San Bernardino — Indians of the Valley— Story of Blried Treasure- Grants Adjoining the Rancho San Josk — Henry Dalton and Azisa— Don Antonio Lcco and the Ciiino— La Puente Rancho, the Rowlands and Workmans — Description and F'artitkin of the Rancho San Jose — Connections With the World Outside — The War of 1846— P>attle of THE Chino Ranch Horsi: — The Gold Fever. After the adobe liouses of Palomares and \'ejar liad been comjileted. and those of their overseers and vac|iieros, after the stock had been driven to tlie rancho and pastured there, after the corn and potatoes, the beans and pepper-; and other necessaries of life had been planted and brought to harvest — when all was in readiness, the men transferred their families to the new homes. There had been various journeys to Los Angeles before, for stock and seed, for building materials, lumber, doors and windows, tools and other hardware. Everything that was needed for the simple construction of their adobe houses had been brouglu from Los .-Xngeles. then a pueblo of two or three hundred Mexican population. Now came the household goods, .some on pack animals and some in carrelas drawn by oxen. In this fashion too came Dona Maria Soto de X'ejar, wife of Ricardo \'ejar. and Dona Concepcion Lopez de Paloinares. wife of Ygnacin Palomares. with their children. Primitive as it was, the carreta was the most luxurious vehicle of the time. This carreta was a two-wheeled cart, whose wheels were made either of a single block of wood or of solid jilanks i)laced edge to edge to make a piece broad enough to saw out a circular disk three or four feet in diameter. These turned upon a heavy wooden axle, six or eight inches thick, to which was fastened and braced the long log, or trunk of a small tree, which reached forward to serve as the tongue. I'pon these two logs, the tongue and the axle, with no intervening springs, rested the floor of the cart, four or five feet wide and seven or eight feet long, made of heavy boards or logs hewn flat and framed together by end pieces which, like the edges, were extra thick. Driven into this frame were upright sticks framed together at the top to make sides and ends resembling a hay wagon, rising two or three feet above the bottom. The oxen were fastened to the tongue by reatas or hair ropes bound to their horns, and mounted riders guided them witii garrochas. or goads, and shouts. Women and children roile in these carretas, seated on a blanket or hide, or .squatting on the floor. The appearance of a carreta on the Camino Real was as much of a novelty then as an airplane in the sky today. and a ride in one almost as rare. Moreover the loud shouting of the drivers and the screams of laughter fand pain?) from the passengers, as they jounced and bounced along over the rough mad, togctlier with the piercing S(|ucak of the 42 HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY wheels, despite frequent oiling with soap, would proclaim quite as effectively their approach. Xor were the elements of excitement and danger wanting; for an ox would sometimes pull to one side and overturn the load, or an axle would break, or the wheels would bog to the axle in the adobe mud. At first the life of the rancho centered about these two homes of Palomares and \'ejar, and these soon became extensive estates. By and by other homes were established by friends and relatives of the grandees, who had come out from San Gabriel or Los Angeles from time to time to enjoy the liberal hos- pitality of the rancho. Without flie formality at first of deed or lease these were given locations at various places on the ranch, where springs and trees afforded water and shade. So came the Arenas, the Alvarado and the Lopez families, the Garcias and the Yorbas. Here on the San Jose Rancho, the life on these large estates was much the same as it w^as on other ranchos of that day in California. Other writers have found in this life the theme and the setting for adventure and romance, which, while bringing fame to the authors themselves, have enriched our literature and stored our minds with vivid an XM' DORA MADKI.KVA \ I.IAK Dl" l'\l.oM\Ki;> DON 1-KANCISCo l'\l''V.^|o DK I'Al.i'MAKKS HISTORY A\l) I^.Ior.RAI'llV 43 here instead of inakiiij,' tlic journey all the way to Los Anjjcles, tlic mfirc devout would slij) into the chapel and kneel there for prayer and meditatinii. ( )n the great Church days everyone went who could ride. There were the impressive services at the chapel, formal ceremonies in whicli the Franciscan padres, some- times two or three of them, ofliciated, assisted by companies of nefiphytcs, and accompanied by the singing of the choir of while-surpliced children, .\fter tlvj services there were games, cock tights and races, and there were always many old acquaintances from other ranchos as well as from those of San Gabriel and from the pueblo of Los Angeles, with whom one must visit and exchange the latest news from Monterey, from Mexico and "the States." Rut many could not make the journey to the Mission. The sick ones, the aged or infirm, mothers with their little children, must stay at home on tlie ranclio. And so at times a padre from tlie Mission, following the old trail from San Gabriel to San Bernardino, would tarry at their homes and minister to their needs. These occasions were rare and precious; children were baptized, a little shrine set up in some private room would be blessed, confessions were received, masses read for the sick and even for the dead. Many indeed were comforted by these long remembered visits. Among tlic padres who made these Hying trips, says Mrs. M. C. Kennedy, "were Jose Sanchez. Tomasso Kstenaga, and Francisco Sanchez, the last named being atTectionately referred to as the brown-robed Franciscan who looked like the pictures of St. .\nthony. It was Padre Jose Sanchez wlio baptized Don Ramon \'ejar in the old font of hammered copper in San Gabriel Mission, although at this time the family lived in what is now TTollywood." Whether they saw the Mission often, or rarely, or as in some cases not at all, yet for all the Mission was the center of their religious life, the church il-^elf, with its lieavy buttressed walls of adobe, its red-tiled roof anil its melodious bells, uniquely hung in their arched wall, was very dear to them, as it was to many others living upon other ranchos of the region : and their thouglUs would turn to it more reverently indeed than would those of the more fortunate living within the sound of its bells. This devotion to the Mission was encouraged by the l-'ranciscan fathers. The whole valley was tlie field of the San Gabriel Mission, from the Sierra Madre mountain range on the north to the Temescal and scrraiiias. or hills on the south, from the great mountains of San Bernardino and San Jacinto on the east to the shores of the \\'estern sea. Indeed the Mission of San Gabriel, in the extent of its territory, the numbers of its converts and the value of its resources, was. in its prime, the strongest and richest of them all. "La Reina dc los Mi-Mi'iir^," Queen of tlie Missions, was the name by wliich it had come to be known. Other Missions were more happily located anre innjortant events. Especially was this true of San Diego. Founded by Junipero Serra in 1769, it was the pioneer church and the scene of some of the great priest's most 44 HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY vital experiences. Here, where the first explorer Cabrillo had landed in 1542, was born the life of California Missions and with it that of the State itself. Here were united, after journeys of months, the four expeditions (two by land and two by water) which tlie ^''isitador General of Mexico, Don Jose Galvez, had sent out in January, 1769, with great plans for the occupation of California and for christianizing the Indians. Here the leaders of the expedition, Junipero Serra, the Father of the Alissions, and Don Caspar de Portola, civil and military governor of the new territory, on arriving with the second land party, planned together for the work they were to do. Hence Portola and his party set out upon his long but fruitless search for Monterey, to be rew'arded nevertheless by the discovery of the Bay of San Francisco. Here for a day the future of all California hung in the balance, when Portola upon the return of his expedition, discouraged by tlie apparent failure of all their plans, and with starvation facing tlicm, had ordered the party on board the San Carlos to return to Mexico, and Father Serra, having begged for a little delay — even a day — prayed with all his soul for the coming of the relief sliip that Galvez had promised, — and watched for it from sunrise until with tlie setting sun his anguished vision discovered the tiny sail of the long sought ship. "And wdiat does that day mean" asks jMcGroarty '"to California and the world? It means that, had it never been, the wonderful Franciscan Missions of California had never risen. Came never that day on Presidio Hill with Junipero Serra on his knees, there would have been no Mission San Diego de Alcala in the Mission \'alley, no Pala in the mountain valley, no San Luis Rey, no San Gabriel or Santa Barbara's towers watching above the sea, no San Luis Obispo or Dolores or any of the twenty-one marvelous structures that dot El Camino Real — The King's Highway — between the Harbor of the Sun and the Valley of the Seven Moons, and wdiich to see. untold thousands of trav- ellers make the pilgrimage to California every year." The Mission of San Carlos at Carmel will always be associated most inti- mately with Father Serra; it was his favorite. — beautiful above all in his cncs and most beloved, and here in 1784, when his great and blessed work was done. tlV' founder of the Missions rested from his labors. But every Mission had its own peculiar charm, each had its own strong indi- viduality, and each accomplished its own important work. Certainly this was true of the Mission of San Gabriel. The story of its founding in September, 1771, though well known to all its followers, may not be so familiar now. Father Palou, associate and friend of Junipero Serra and his successor in charge of the ]\Iis- sions, whose story of the Missions is the most direct and authentic, gives the following account: "On the aforesaid sixth of .\ugust there set out from San Diego the fathers, Fr. Pedro Cambon, and Fr. /\ngel Somera, with a guard of ten soldiers, and muleteers with the supply of provisions. They journeyed toward the north by the road which the Expedition traveled ; and having made some forty leagues, they arrived at the River of Earthquakes, Rio de los Temblores, (so called since the first Expedition) and being in the act of selecting a place, there appeared a great crowd of natives (una niniu-rosa inultitud de Gentiles). which, armed and commanded by two captains, attempted with frightful shouting to prevent the work of foundation. The fathers believing that a battle was imminent, and that they should suffer misfortune, one of them brought forth a banner bearing the picture of Our Lady of Sorrows, and held it in view nf tlie savages; but no sooner had he done this than, overcome with the sight of an image so beautiful, they all flung upon the ground their bows and arrows, the lilS■|■t)K^■ AM) l'.l( M'.R \ni\' 43 two captains running swiftly to place at the feet of the Sovereign Queen what- ever of value they wore about their necks, as pledges of highest esteem : manifest- ing by this act the peace which they desired with our people. They summoiu'd all the neighboring rancherias, and great numbers of men, women and children came to see the Holy A'irgin. laden with various kinds of seeds, which they left at the feet of the most sacred Lady, believing that she would eat them like the re>t. "The native women of the port of San Diego made similar demonsiraiions after some of the inhabitants were pacified. When shown another picture of Our Lady the \'irgin Mary, with the Child Jesus in her arms, as soon as they learned of it in the near by rancherias, they ran to see it, and as they could net enter because prevented by the stockade, they called to the Padres and prcsseil Ijetween the pickets their full breasts, expressing vividly by signs, that they came to offer to nurse the Child, so tender and beautiful, which the Padres had. Having seen the likeness of our Lady, the natives of the Mission of San Gabriel were so changed that they were allowed frequent visits to the missionaries, and as they did not know how to manifest their pleasure in having the latter come to live in their land, they sought to make returns to them in caresses and gifts. They proceeded to lay out a large tract, and "gave a beginning to the Mission' in the place which they judged suitable, with the same ceremonies which are related in the former account. The first mass was celebrated under a shelter of boughs (ciirniiiada). the day of the Nativity of our Lady, the 8th of September, and the following day they began to build a chapel which should serve temporarily for a church and likewise a house for the padres, and another for the troops, all with a palisade and with stakes encircling for defense in any event. The greater part of the timber for the buildings, these same natives cut and u])rooted. helping to construct the smaller houses : for which reason the pa