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RAMON A'S HOMELAND 
 
 BY 
 
 MARGARET V. ALLEN 
 San Diego, California 
 
COPYRIGHTED 1914 
 by Margaret V. Allen 
 
 
 A 
 
 
R333 
 
 To The Pioneer Society 
 of San Diego County 
 
 327845 
 
The Old San Diego M 
 
RAMONA'S HOMELAND 
 
 AMONA was 
 published in 1884, 
 thirty years ago, and 
 today is more popu- 
 lar on the Pacific 
 Coast and over the 
 entire country than 
 at any time since it 
 issued from the press. 
 In the generation since Helen Hunt 
 Jackson passed from us, many literary 
 fashions have come and gone. The 
 popular novels of the eighties, dealing 
 with religious doubts and inward 
 questionings, have grown old and be- 
 come difficult reading. The last dec- 
 ade of the nineteenth century, with its 
 false sentiment and striving after effect, 
 has passed into history leaving little 
 that is of permanent value. With the 
 earlier years of the twentieth century 
 has come a strong reaction from the 
 
esthetic arid emotional to the practical 
 and useful in literature as well as in 
 life. 
 
 But through all the varying fortunes 
 of books and authors, this little story 
 of Western life among a humble 
 people has gone through edition after 
 edition, and scarcely a year has passed 
 without the publication of some book 
 or magazine article intended to throw 
 light upon the motives of the author 
 or the incidents that she used in build- 
 her story. 
 
 Much that is absolutely false and 
 misleading has been written and told 
 of the preparation of this powerful 
 and graphic tale,— the greatest novel 
 ever written by an American woman. 
 
 Houses are pointed out in different 
 parts of California — a half dozen of 
 them — as the identical places where 
 Ramona was written. Even the 
 chair in which Mrs. Jackson is said to 
 have sat while writing the story is on 
 exhibition in this city. And yet 
 
Mrs. Jackson herself says that every 
 word of "Ramona" was written in the 
 Berkeley Apartment House in New 
 York City, between December 1st, 
 1883 and March 31st, 1884. 
 
 Although the writting of "Ramona" 
 took place on the sixth floor of a 
 New York Apartment house, the 
 book belongs none the less to Southern 
 California, and especially to San Diego 
 County. 
 
 "Through Ramona's Country," by 
 George Wharton James, is a most 
 thorough and scholarly study of the 
 motives and purposes of the author. 
 It shows the sources of the facts that 
 she used so skillfully in the romance, 
 and gives the names of the men and 
 women whom she met in her trips 
 into the back country, many of whom 
 became characters in the charming 
 story which they helped her to create. 
 It does not seem possible that a work 
 of this character could be better, or 
 the spirit of the author more firmly 
 
grasped than has been done by Mr. 
 James. He is a man after Mrs. 
 Jackson's own heart, and present day 
 readers of Ramona are fortunate, in- 
 deed, in having such an interpreter 
 and guide. 
 
 Among the great number of intro- 
 ductions to Ramona, and in the vast 
 amount of literature on Ramona land, 
 there is much in common. All 
 writers that have attempted to explain 
 the purpose of the author or give the 
 sources from which she collected her 
 material have spent much of their time, 
 and done most of their research work 
 in the vicinity of Los Angeles and 
 Pasadena. 
 
 Many of Mrs. Jackson's most sym- 
 pathetic and helpful friends lived in 
 Los Angeles County. The comfort 
 and companionship that she found in 
 the home of Don Antonio Coronel 
 and his charming wife, the comradship 
 of the most brilliant woman in South- 
 ern California, Mrs. Jeanne C. Carr, 
 
and the practical assistance, in a busi* 
 nessway, of Abbott Kinney cannot be 
 over-estimated. 
 
 In her study of old Mission history j 
 and life, she found Santa Barbara and 
 San Gabriel the best preserved and 
 most typical of the buildings erected 
 by the padres; and about each had 
 gathered a wealth of stories and tra- 
 ditions that other historians and novel- 
 ists besides Mrs. Jackson have found 
 invaluable. 
 
 But none seems to have realized fully 
 the part that San Diego had in the life 
 of the author and the background that 
 it furnishes for the romance that be- 
 longs peculiarly to this city and county. 
 
 Only one that had a part in the old 
 San Diego of the early eighties', which 
 Mrs. Jackson knew so well and loved 
 so tenderly, can appreciate how much 
 of its romance and beauty has been 
 woven into the story. To her, the 
 little town on the bay was the center 
 of Ramona's country, and about it 
 
clustered the history and tradition that 
 she needed for the novel that should, 
 in her own words, "set forth some 
 Indian experiences in a way to move 
 people's hearts/' 
 
 Mrs. Jackson had visited Southern 
 California for a few weeks in 1872, 
 and had written with enthusiasm of its 
 scenery and climate. Shortly after- 
 ward she had moved to Colorado, 
 which was her home during the 
 remainder of her life. She traveled 
 much in search of health and on visits 
 to old friends whom she had known 
 during the years spent with her 
 husband, a popular army officer, in 
 western forts. She made several 
 journeys from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific visiting Indian reservations and 
 Army posts on the frontier. In the 
 course of these visits she was so pro- 
 foundly moved by the injustice suffered 
 by the Indians that for the remainder 
 of her life all literary interests and 
 ambitions were subordinated to the 
 
one purpose of doing something to- 
 ward righting the wrongs of these 
 helpless people. 
 
 After a winter of hard work in 
 the Astor library she published, "The \ 
 Century of Dishonor/' in 1881. This 
 book was most carefully prepared 
 from government documents, military 
 records, and the reports of Indian 
 agents. It told the story of the deal- 
 ings of the Government with the na- 
 tive tribes through its entire history. 
 She had been guided at the most im- ( 
 portant points by the counsel of regular 
 army officers of wide Indian exper- 
 ience, and had authority for every 
 statement that she made and every 
 conclusion that she reached. Yet in 
 spite of all this careful and painstaking 
 investigation the book had little influ- 
 ence. She sent a copy to every 
 member of Congress at her own ex-* 
 pense, but she saw her plain statements 
 discredited by mere civilians as unre- 
 liable and hysterical. 
 
Although the publication of "The 
 Century of Dishonor" failed to ao 
 complish the purpose for which it was 
 written, it opened up opportunities for 
 carrying on her chosen work along 
 another line. The Century Magazine, 
 the successor of the old Scribners, 
 was looking about for subjects and 
 writers that should add to the interest 
 of the new literary venture. In the 
 far south west was a field that had 
 been little exploited. San Diego was 
 becoming known throughout the East 
 as the terminus of a transcontinental 
 road, The Atchinson, Topeka, and 
 Santa Fe. A great commerical city 
 was to grow up in the south western 
 corner of the republic, that should 
 rival San Francisco itself. To literary 
 and historical readers, San Diego had 
 a special interest. It was the place 
 where history had begun on the 
 Pacific Coast. The first mission 
 founded by Father Junipero Serra 
 * was here, and two others of the best 
 
known of the twenty-one Missions 
 were in the vicinity. The surround" 
 ing valleys had been the early homes 
 of the Indians gathered into these Mis- 
 sions, and after the Secularization Act 
 by which the great bulk of the Church 
 property came into the possession of 
 the government, the converts had re- 
 turned to the homes of their fore- 
 fathers. Here they put into practice 
 the arts of civilization learned from 
 their devoted teachers. They built 
 comfortable adobe homes, set out or- 
 chards, and planted vineyards. In 
 many of these Indian villages primitive* 
 churches were built, and the San 
 Diego priest made occasional visits to 
 these scattered converts to baptize their 
 children and marry the youths and 
 maidens of the tribe. 
 
 The Spanish ranch owners, true to , 
 their promise to the Mexican govern- 
 ment, allowed the Indians to retain 
 their lands on the grants to which they 
 themselves held title after the American 
 
occupation. But when these ranches 
 were sold or transferred to American 
 owners or, when the government land 
 upon which many of these Indian vil- 
 lages were built was taken up by set- 
 tiers, the rights of the Indians were 
 disregarded and white squatters came 
 in, and took possession of the orchards, 
 the vineyards and even the homes of 
 the aborigines. 
 
 Appeals were made to the govern- 
 ment at Washington, but the law was 
 on the side of the white settlers. The 
 American Courts, before which the 
 cases, involving the rights of the In- 
 dians settled upon Spanish grants and 
 goverment land, were tried and adjudi- 
 cated, could not, under the treaty made 
 at the close of the Mexican war, give 
 to the Indians what was denied them 
 by law. Occasional articles had ap- 
 peared in newspapers and perodicals 
 regarding these victims of the white 
 man's heartless encroachments. The 
 subject was one that appealed strongly 
 

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 f3$S^j£V 
 
 
 
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 ; 
 
 
 
 Ruins of Church built by 
 Indian Refugees at San Pasqual 
 
to a large class of the reading public. 
 Mrs. Jackson had shown, in "The 
 Century of Dishonor," a familiarity 
 with Indian affairs in California as 
 well as in other portions of the coun- 
 try; so in 1881 she was engaged by 
 The Century Company to write a 
 series of articles on "Missions and 
 Mission Indians of Southern Cali- 
 fornia" for the magazine. 
 
 In the autumn of that year she 
 came to San Diego, and during the 
 winter and the following spring she 
 visited many of the tribes in the 
 county. She lived while here at the 
 hospitable home of Mrs. D. J 
 Whipple, who for years kept boarders 
 in the house still standing, little change 
 ed, on the south-east corner of G and 
 Tenth Streets. Mrs. Jackson occupi- 
 ed the room on the second floor 
 facing south, and made a most delight- 
 ful addition to the family. 
 
 Her room was homelike and 
 attractive from the moment that she 
 
Mrs. Jackson's Home while in 
 San Diego 
 
took possession. She always carried 
 with her a small collection of rare 
 prints, a few baskets, and a rug or 
 two; when these were arranged on 
 the walls, couch and table, she was 
 at home. She was fond of "pretty 
 things," and one evening showed to a 
 group of the women boarders two 
 beautiful soft knitted opera hoods 
 much worn at that time in the East. 
 These were greatly admired by the 
 ladies, and Mrs. Jackson offered to 
 send orders to the knitter, living in an 
 eastern city, for as many hoods as 
 might be desired. Among the guests 
 at the house were several railway 
 officials, connected with the line that 
 was nearing completion, army officers 
 with their families, professional men, 
 several eastern tourists, and two or 
 three teachers in the public schools. 
 
 Many of the older generation of 
 San Diego people still remember her 
 well. She was at this time a hand- 
 some women of fiftyone. She had 
 
an air that has been described as 
 commanding, and her self-poise was 
 so perfect that she seemed to some 
 cold and reserved. Her likes and 
 dislikes were spontaneous, ardent, and 
 sometimes unjust. A characteristic 
 anecdote is told of her at this time. 
 Sitting at the same table was a bright, 
 talkative little woman who had re- 
 cently come to San Diego to teach in 
 one of the public schools. She fre- 
 quently commented upon the traits and 
 doings of her pupils in uncomplimen- 
 tary terms, calling the unfortunate chil- 
 dern that were under her charge, 
 "imps." One day she had made a 
 witty comment on the mental defi- 
 ciency of a pupil, and a laugh went 
 around the table. Mrs. Jackson turn- 
 ed her flashing eyes upon the young 
 woman and said in cold measured 
 tones; "I wonder that the Board al- 
 lows you to retain your position in the 
 schools of this city." 
 
 Mrs. Jackson brought letters of in- 
 
troduction to several residents of San 
 Diego; among these were E. W. 
 Morse and Daniel Cleveland, from 
 whom she received much assistance 
 and encouragement. She was warm- 
 ly recommended by church authorities 
 to Bishop Mora and Father Ubach, 
 the priest in charge of the San Diego 
 parish. She found in the latter a 
 warm friend and a most enthusiastic 
 co-worker in her task of ascertaining 
 the "History and Present Condition of 
 
 3 the Mission Indians." She frequently 
 accompanied him or his assistant in 
 their visits to the back country, where 
 she heard from the Indians themselves 
 the story of their misfortunes. 
 
 There are no finer passages in the 
 entire book than those in which she 
 
 f describes Father Ubach, the soldier 
 priest, — the most unique and interest- 
 ing figure in all California Church 
 history next to Father Junipero himself. 
 Mrs. Jackson tells of his devotion to 
 the hundreds of Mission Indians whom 
 
he visited in their "shifting refuges/' 
 once or twice a year to administer the 
 sacraments of the church; 'for whom 
 he wrote bootless letter after letter to 
 the government officials at Washing- 
 ton; and for whom he made equally 
 bootless efforts to win some justice, 
 some protection from officials nearer 
 home. He had endeavored to stir the 
 church itself to greater efficiency in 
 their behalf, but now he had become 
 disheartened and indignant, with that 
 intense suppressed indignation which 
 the poetic temperment alone can feel. 
 He had ceased, — had said, 'it is of 
 no use; I will speak no word; I am 
 done; I can bear no more/" 
 
 Is it any wonder that, when Mrs. 
 Jackson came, — with her boundless 
 enthusiasm, her appreciation for what 
 was noble and fine in the character 
 of the Indian, and her opportunity to 
 reach a wide and intelligent audience 
 of American men and women through 
 a leading magazine, — Father Ubach 
 
took courage and entered into her 
 plans with a zeal and industry scarcely 
 second to that of the author herself? 
 That she appreciated his assistance as 
 well as his devoted life and character, 
 the pages in "Ramona" given to Father 
 Gaspara testify. 
 
 Mrs. Jackson gained much of her 
 insight into the hospitable and patri- 
 archal life of the Spanish and Mexican 
 i ranches during her frequent visits at 
 Guajome. The mistress of the ranch 
 at this time was Madame Couts, the 
 daughter of Juan Bandini, and the 
 wife of Lieut. Cave Couts. From 
 her, Mrs. Jackson heard the history of 
 San Louis Rey Mission, and the story 
 of the devoted labors of Father Peyri. 
 {The daily life of the household, with 
 its retinue of Indian servants, its gener- 
 ous welcome to travellers, and its 
 deeply religious atmosphere, impressed 
 her greatly. 
 
 If the Morena ranch had any defi- 
 nite existence outside the author's brain, 
 
Patio at Guajom 
 
it must have been at Guajome. It is two 
 
 2 days journey from San Diego, a few 
 miles from San Louis Rey, and less 
 than six hours by a 'fleet pony' from 
 Temecula. Its life and activities fitted 
 
 rwell the picture of the surroundings 
 of the little group that were to have 
 the leading part in her drama. But 
 
 I Ramona, Alessandro, Senora Morena 
 and Felipe, although composite types 
 from many characters that the author 
 had met, were, after all, pure fiction, 
 the children of Mrs. Jackson's own 
 brain; and so their home life, while it 
 
 \ resembled the daily routine at Guajome, 
 never had any real existence. 
 
 Mrs. Jackson says that she obtained 
 the description of the old Spanish 
 ranch-house during a two hours visit 
 at Camulos Ranch, situated near 
 Newhall, half way between Los 
 Angeles and Santa Barbara. But a 
 careful analysis of the incidents of the 
 story connected with the Morena 
 ranch seem to prove conclusively that 
 
San Louis Rey Mission 
 
Mrs. Jackson never intended to make 
 Camulos Ranch the home of Ramona. 
 She simply used the house and its 
 surroundings because it fitted her pur- 
 pose better than the Couts home, 
 which was smaller and more modern 
 than the home of the del Valle family. 
 The homes of the Spanish and Mexi- 
 can families of Southern California, 
 were all of the same type. Low 
 rooms arranged about a central court 
 in which much of the family life was 
 carried on. The Estudillo home in 
 Oldtown, known to tourists as 
 "Ramona's Marriage Place/' which 
 is visited by thousands of travellers 
 each season, is built on the plan com- 
 mon to all early California homes. 
 The arrangement of the rooms; the 
 gardens in the court yard, with their 
 old fashioned flowers; the large out 
 door oven; the olla, with its cool water 
 on the warmest day, make the scenes 
 in the story realistic to eastern visitors 
 that have read Ramona as a part of 
 
their preparation for a winter's trip to 
 Southern California. 
 
 John Hinton, now living in Old 
 Town, was her driver in many of the 
 most interesting excursions in the im- 
 mediate vicinity. She often visited the 
 old Mission, the dam, — built by the 
 fathers, a few miles above on the San 
 Diego River, — and the Arguello home 
 at La Punta. But most of all she 
 loved the drive on the Point; "the 
 most beautiful drive in America/' a 
 famous traveller once said, with the 
 quiet waters of the bay on one side, 
 and beyond the soft outlines of the 
 Mexican hills, and on the other side 
 the blue waters of the Pacific stretch- 
 ing out to infinity. In the story, & 
 Alessandro describes the harbor: "It 
 is the most beautiful water I have ever 
 seen, Majella. The two high lands 
 come out like two arms to hold it and 
 keep it safe, as if they loved it." And 
 the light house on the PointI How 
 old San Diegans miss it I The first 
 
star ot the night it seemed to the little 
 children, and all night long its cheery 
 light shone on the western horizon 
 until sunrise. 
 
 Mrs. Jackson has used the harbor 
 and the Point and the light house most 
 effectively in the approach of Ramona 
 and Alessandro to San Diego, where 
 they came to be married by the priest 
 "that was a friend to the Indians." 
 For her description of the marriage, 
 Mrs. Jackson did not have to rely on 
 her imagination. The story of the 
 marriage of a young girl belonging to 
 one of the oldest and most prominent 
 Spanish families of Southern Cali- 
 fornia, to an Indian, was known and 
 often told, long before the author of 
 Ramona came to San Diego. Father 
 Ubach declared that the account as 
 given by Mrs. Jackson, was accurate, 
 and added that she had told it much 
 better than he could. The marriage 
 took place in the old chapel that stands 
 to-day "in a neglected weedy open," 
 
The Church at Old Town 
 
just as it is described in "Ramona." 
 One change has come since Mrs. 
 Jackson's day that rejoices the heart 
 of every friend of the devoted Father. 
 For nearly forty-five years the "just 
 begun walls of a fine brick church" 
 had stood on the principal street of the 
 old town, which it had been the 
 dream and pride of his heart to see 
 builded and full of worshippers. "To 
 build a church on the ground where 
 Father Junipero first trod and labored, 
 would be a work to which no Catlv 
 olic could be indifferent; but there 
 were other and more pressing claims 
 to be met first. This was right. Yet 
 the sight of these silent walls only a 
 few feet high was a sore one to 
 Father Gaspara, — a daily cross which 
 he did not find grow lighter as he 
 paced up and down his veranda, year 
 in and year out, in the balmy winter and 
 cool summer of that magic climate." 
 
 The corner stone had been laid on 
 the 16th of July, 1869, on the one 
 
hundredth anniversary of the first re- 
 ligious services held in San Diego. 
 Last May the corner-stone was relaid 
 in the presence of a reverant assem- 
 bly, many of whom had attended the 
 solemn service forty-five years before; 
 and today a beautiful new church 
 marks the spot consecrated by the de- 
 voted service of two of the most 
 heroic figures in American Church 
 history. 
 
 In 1882, there were many Indians 
 living in the immediate vicinity of San 
 Diego. Within the city limits were 
 several Indian camps, or rancher ias, 
 which Mrs. Jackson visited; and she 
 frequently attended sessions of court 
 where Indian offenders were tried. 
 Mrs. Mariette M. Gregory, who is still 
 living in San Diego, was her inter- 
 preter on these occasions. 
 
 Mrs. Jackson next turned her atten-\ 
 tion to the outlying valleys. She visit- 
 ed Mesa Grande, Pala, Temecula, 
 Pachanga, and San Jacinto, in the late 
 
fall of 1881, remaining in each place 
 several days, everywhere gathering 
 the material that later she used so 
 effectively in her great romance. 
 
 She remained longest at the Wolf 
 Hotel and store in Temechula, where 
 Mrs. Wolf,— the Mrs. Jim Hartsel 
 of Ramona, — told her the story of the 
 | eviction of the Temecula Indians, and 
 of her own sympathy and grief for 
 the stricken people. The little grave- 
 yard, a few rods from the Wolf 
 home, touched her deeply. To this 
 visit Mrs. Jackson owed more than 
 the casual reader will ever realize. It 
 doubtless gave the name to the book, 
 for the kindly, sympathetic Ramona 
 Wolf, in her simple recital of the 
 pathetic incidents connected with the 
 removal of her friends and neighbors 
 from their homes, stirred Mrs. Jackson 
 more than any other account of Indian 
 wrongs, and gave her the material for 
 one of the most touching chapters in 
 her book and possibly the inspiration 
 for the book itself. 
 
Wolf's (Hansel's) 
 at Temccula 
 
;Ip/ San Jacinto, she heard from 
 'Mary 1 Sheriff, the teacher of the gov- 
 ernment school at Saboba, the story 
 
 t of the killing of Juan Diego, the 
 "locoed" Indian of the San Jacinto 
 mountains. The account of the mur- 
 
 . der as given in Ramona, is substantial- 
 ly correct, and the trial of Sam Temple 
 (Jim Farrar) was often talked of in 
 San Jacinto. Sentiment as to the guilt 
 
 / of a white man that had shot an 
 Indian that was in possession of a 
 horse not his own was divided. But 
 there was only one opinion as to the 
 brutal character of Sam Temple and 
 the dislike that his neighbors felt for 
 him. 
 
 She visited the school and talked 
 with the children, many of whom 
 long recalled her gracious presence. 
 She said that she found that "these 
 children read as well as average white 
 children of their age, and in manners 
 and in apparant interest in their studies 
 were far above the average children 
 
in the public schools/' At her re- 
 quest, one of the pupils, jose Castillo, 
 wrote a letter to the Secretary of the 
 Interior on behalf of his people, that 
 she describes as "touching in its simple 
 dignity." Mrs. Jordan, with whom 
 Mrs Jackson stopped on this visit, be- 
 came the Aunt Ri of Ramona. 
 
 Every article published in the Cen- 
 tury during 1881 and 1882 recalles 
 some trip that she made from San 
 Diego, and reveals some new token of 
 her industry and zeal. At length the 
 authorities at Washington were ar- y 
 roused, and in July, 1882, she was ap- 
 pointed by the government as one of 
 two commissioners, — Abbott Kinney 
 being the other, — to report upon the 
 condition and needs of the Mission 
 Indians in California. This report, to . 
 which Mrs. Jackson's name is signed, ' 
 is dated Cq?ojteido Springs, July 13th, 
 1883, and is a thoroughly business-like 
 document of thirty pages. In the pre- 
 paration of this report she visited 
 
nearly every tribe in Southern Cali- 
 fornia, again going over the ground of 
 the previous year, and her report was 
 commented upon as being "as clear, 
 practical and sensible as if it had been 
 written by the most prosaic of man- 
 kind." This document has been 
 printed as an appendix to all later edi- 
 tions of "The Century of Dishonor," 
 and contains a report of fourteen 
 tribes, all but one of which were liv- 
 ing within the limits of San Diego 
 County. These tribes comprised sev- 
 eral thousand individuals, nearly all of 
 whom had come directly or indirectly 
 under the influence of the Church. 
 Mrs. Jackson says that from the 
 
 ( time that she began to be interested in 
 Indians, she had an ambiton "to write 
 a story that should 'tell' on the Indian 
 question." At first she knew that she 
 could not do it; she had no back- 
 ground, no local color. But during 
 her first few months in Southern Cal- 
 
 j ifornia, while making investigations for 
 
her articles in the " Century/ 'and later 
 for her report to the government, she 
 began to realize that she had this 
 coloring. Here the scene should be 
 laid. "The old Mexican life mixed I 
 with just enough Indian to enable me 
 to tell what happened to them." I 
 wonder if the ordinary reader ever 
 realizes that there is only one real 
 Indian character in the entire book, 
 her hero, Alessandro. But she has 
 certainly made clear "what happen- 
 ed" to the bands of Mission Indians 
 whose history and sorrows were the 
 one theme of her story. 
 
 All the material was at her hand. 
 She had the stories, she had the 
 atmosphere; and Southern California 
 scenery and life not only became the 
 natural home of her people, but had 
 a marked influence upon the lives 
 that she portrayed. In "Ramona" we 
 appreciate the value of a setting of 
 strong contrasts, brilliant coloring and 
 a free out door life. The book pre- 
 
sents a series of pictures of the beau- 
 ties of a land that the author knew 
 and loved; the thicket of wild mustard 
 through which Ramona went to meet 
 the old priest, the picture that she 
 made as she parted the delicate branch- 
 es, standing with her face "set in a 
 swaying frame of the golden blos- 
 soms" appeal strongly to one that has 
 seen this plant in bloom in Southern 
 California. The brilliant sunrises, the 
 clear hot noondays and the quickly 
 falling night are described again and 
 again with ever changing word pic- 
 tures that never grow wearisome. 
 The beauty and softness of the 
 flowers and verdure of early spring, 
 the yellow of ripened grain and the 
 dull autumn tints, in a California 
 landscape before the rains come, 
 appealed to her artistic nature and 
 gave a setting for a story that is as 
 remarkable for its illuminating and 
 satisfying, pictures of nature as for its 
 realistic deliniation of character. And 
 
the lives of the people harmonize 
 with the sharp outlines of the brown 
 hills, the brilliant sunshine and the 
 clearly marked shadows of our own 
 San Diego County. 
 
 For a few weeks after the govern' 
 ment report had been sent to press, 
 she thought earnestly over the story 
 that she was to write. All the mate- 
 rial was at hand; she had the inci- 
 dents; she knew her country well. All - 
 that was wanting was a plot. In a 
 letter written during the latter part of 
 February 1884, to a friend, she says 
 that one morning in the preceding 
 October, while at her home in 
 Colorado Springs, the entire plot, just 
 as it was later written down, flashed 
 into her mind. She wrote the first 
 word December 1st. 1883, and from 
 that time until the story was finished, 
 she wrote with the greatest rapidity, 
 often from two to three thousand 
 words a day. She said the entire story i 
 seemed to be "at her finger ends/' 
 
"Ramona" was first printed in "The 
 Christian Union/' appearing in book 
 form in the latter part of 1884. Her 
 friends told her that it was the best 
 thing she had written, but she herself 
 was at times doubtful. In one of her 
 letters she says, "I can't believe it is as 
 good as they think. I am uneasy about 
 it." But she lived long enough to 
 know that she had not only written 
 a book that would "tell" for the help- 
 less people in whose defense she 
 wrote, but one that placed her among 
 the great novelists of her generation. 
 She herself valued "Ramona" and "A 
 Century of Dishonor," above all her 
 other books. Her life work as she 
 viewed it at the end, had found ex- 
 pression in what she had done and in 
 what she had tried to do in behalf of 
 the Indians. 
 
 In June 1884, she was back in 
 Colorado, busy in renovating her 
 home and looking forward to a de- 
 lightful summer with friends, when, 
 
on the evening of June 28th., she fell 
 from the top to the bottom of the 
 stairs and broke her leg. The injury 
 was a serious one and the inactivity 
 wore on her. Although she was 
 busy with plans for a new story, she 
 felt that she could not endure another 
 winter in New York. She longed 
 for the sunshine and outdoor life of 
 the South. She wrote to Mrs. 
 Whipple in San Diego, "the only 
 place in all California where there 
 was real comfort; and I like the San 
 Diego climate best/' But Mrs. 
 Whipple had moved to Los Angeles. 
 In a letter a little later she writes; 
 "why cannot the people that I want 
 to be with and the place to which I 
 want to go be together?" The refusal 
 of the Railway Company to repair 
 for the second time the road through 
 Temecula Canon, washed out during 
 the rainy winter of 1883 and 1884, 
 distressed her greatly. She writes; 
 "What will become of San Diego? 
 Poor little San Diego!" 
 
She was brought to Los Angeles 
 in November. Very soon after her 
 arrival symptoms of the disease that 
 was to end her life began to appear 
 and in March she went on her 'last 
 shred of nerve force" to San Francisco 
 for better medical advice. Through 
 the last months of suffering she longed 
 for San Diego and for her friends in 
 the South. She wrote, "It's all right, 
 only if 1 had been asked to choose the 
 one city of all I know in which I 
 would have most disliked to be slain, 
 it would have been San Francisco/' 
 
 Five days before her death, she 
 wrote her last poem ending with the 
 following stanza: 
 
 '"Ah, well, friend Death, good friend 
 
 thou art, 
 I shall be free when thou art through, 
 Take all there is— take hand and heart, 
 There must be somewhere work 
 to do/' 
 
And in a prayer which bears the date 
 August 8th, 18^5, she writes: 
 
 "In outskirts of thy kingdom vast, 
 Father, the humblest spot give me; 
 Set me the lowliest task thou hast, 
 Let me, repentant, work for thee." 
 
 And thus passed, on August 12th, 1885, i 
 the woman that wrote "Ramona," 
 the Idyl of Southern California. 
 
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