n i z o embe 1 1 88 I n co o ated F eb ua 1 2 1 8 Orga ed N v r , 3 rp r r ry , 9 1

P ART I I I . VOL . VI .

ANNUAL PUBLICATION

OF TH E

' ' ' H stor c a Soc e ty

So uth e rn C a forn ia

Pu blish e d by th e Soc iety

r an i ~e ovem be I 1 88 I nc o o a e d Fe b u a 2 8 O g d N r , 3 rp r t r ry 1 , 1 9 1

PART I I I . OL . I V V .

ANNUAL PUBLICATION

OF TH E

' ' ’ H stor c a Soc e ty

So u th e rn C alifo rn i a

Pu bli sh e d by th e So c i ety

1 90 ;

E L E C AL . LOS AN G S ,

e . ICE O N S G o R S

1 9 0 6

CONTENTS

Officers o f the Historical Society 1905— 1 906

L s A . . o Angeles Fifty Years go H D Barrows . B H ow . . N . ew Zealand Go t Its Honey Bees . Mary M owman

f L W . Pioneer Courts and Lawyers o os Angeles . . . R Bacon .

H . . ow California Esc aped State Division J M Guinn .

w f . . T o Pioneer Physicians o L os Angeles H . D Barrows .

J . Lancaster Brent . H . D . Barrows .

L l n E F L o s . . a d xtracts rom the Angeles Archives H J e e .

Th e of L os A . . Old Highways ngeles J M Guinn . Office rs of The Histo rical Sociel u

O F F I CERS

ON re e t WALTER R . BAC P sid n RTON ILLIAM SON r t ce - r e t M BU W i s Vi P e sid n MRS . . F ENR ARTER c e - r e t N H Y . C Se c o nd Vi P e sid n H O . E

r EDW I N BAX TER . T e a su r e r

M GU I NN Se c r e ta r an d Cu r ato r J. . y

OARD OF DIRECTORS B

M ON . . O N WALTER R . BAC A C VR A OW N ENRY ARTER . ARR S H C H . D B H O . . E INN DW I N AX TER M G U B J. . E MR U RTON ILLIAM SO M B W N S . .

O F F ICERS

ALTER . e W R Pr side nt O N W I L L I AMso N r t - . U RT M B i s Vi e Pr sid n MRS . F c e e t

- ENRY . ARTER e c o H C S nd Vi ce Pr sid n H ON . E e e t EDW IN BAX TER Tr e a su r e r S e sr e ta ry an d C u r a to r

B OARD F DIRECTORS O

ON DR . . OO ALTER . AC D W R B J D . M Y

Y . O N HENR CARTER H . D . BARR S H O . E W U I N N WI N X M . G D BA TER J. E ON ILLI M ON RS . U RT A S M M . B W H i sto ri c al So c i ety

S o u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a

LO S A NGE LES CA LI FO RN I A

1 9 0 5

LOS ANGELES FIFTY YEARS AGO

Re 1 6 1 905 ad before Historical Society , April ,

By H . D . Barrows

The first time tha t I ever heard that there was such a pl a c e L os n l was th e of 1 854 as A ge es , in summer , at Benicia , where , in e of buying som fruit , which at that time , was b oth indifferent quality and scarce , as well as dear , a friend told me that Los

Angeles grapes would , later, be in the market and that they would be far superior t o any other kind of fruit th en to b e d h a .

I L os 1 2 1 854 h as arrived in Angeles December , , and it been my home ever since . I came from San Francisco o n the steamer “ ” ol i ah W ol f ski l l G , in company with the late William , the W ol f ski l l e Pioneer, and his nephew John , the latter still a resid nt o f this county . The fare on the steamer at that time was forty ri a dollars . Ar ving at the Port of San Pedro , we c me ashore on t o L os we a lighter, and from thence by stage Angeles , where arrived ab out noon . There are many striking contrasts be tween both the city and

f L os . county o that day , and the Angeles of today Topograph i c al l y , this then , was an imperial county , including , as it did , l l f e a o San Bernardino and Orange counties , and the great r part of the present county of Riverside . The immense valley 204 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUT HERN CALIFORNIA o r S o f i eries valleys , ly ng between the great , grisly Sierra Madre or o f M series valleys , lying between the great grizzly Sierra adre

u n d 80 o r 90 m e f r m . mo tains and the ocean , and exten in g il s o n e Simi Pass , to Mount San Bernardino , at that period was vast , re e almost treeless region , over which roamed unnumb e d cattl , of horses and sheep . The planting since the various species of E the Australian ucalypti , and of continuous orange , walnut “ e h a t o t l h as d and oth r orc rds , hrough ut hese val eys , ra i cally

- changed their appearance . To the new comer of today , the landsca pe of these prairie - valleys o f Southern California presents of t o of the appearance a wooded country , similar other sections the United States . of i t The city Los Angeles , when I first saw , half a century a o was o n e - s g , a story , adobe town , of les than five thousand o f inhabitants a large portion of whom were Spanish descent , of u se of and among whom , course Spanish customs and the the h Spanish language prevailed . T ere were , I think , not to exceed

- three or four two story buildings in the town . m wr o h Behold , what a agical change half a century has u g t l, The popul ation of the former Spanish Pueblo o r Ciudad of

- o r . f less , has risen to nearly souls The quaint , lat roofed

- - white washed , one story houses , clustering around or near the

l a fi r e - P za , have given way to splendid , proof , brick and steel i blocks , of two , three , five and ten stories ; and to p cturesque , luxurious homes e xtendin g throu ghout an d beyond the four s of u quare leagues territory granted to the ancient P eblo , by the of u u Kin g Spain , nder whose authority its fo ndations were s e F N laid by that wi Spanish G overnor , Don elipe de eve , nearly a century and a quarter ago . h R When I first came ere , Los Angeles had but one oman

Catholic church edifice , that fronting the plaza ; and not one

P rotestant or other church building . How many places of wor n o w o f th e f h ship there are , numerous religious sects o t e l i n ot . u b c city and county , I do know There were then but two p

: sch ool houses in the city on e , on the site of the present

Bryson Block , on Spring street ; the other , was located on the h t e . e east side of Bath street , north of Plaza Today ther are , h o a h i I know not w many , l rge , commodious sc ool bu ldings scat t e r e d throughout th e widel y extended sections of the munici al i t n e w a r e p y , and ones constantly b eing built , to meet the a h pressing necessities of our r pidly increasing population . T e ’ m o f th e 54 nu b er pupils attending two schools in , prob ably 2 f did n o t exceed 00. The number o children between the ages LOS ANGELES FIFTY YEARS AGO 205

of 5 1 7 wh and years , o attended the public s c hools during th e 1 903 - 1 904 F school year , as reported by Superintendent oshay , was and of those who attended private sch ools making the total number of both public an d private school u p pils , of l 1 904 By the census Apri , , there were children between the ages of 5 and 1 5 ; and under five years ; or a f 1 7 a n L o ltogether , children o ye ars d under in s An geles

n e . i o year a go . I think it a fa r statement to say that at the pr esent time there must b e at lea st childr en ; and th at the total population of the city must be n ot far from n o o r N s We had High , Polytechnic , ormal schools in tho e a L o s e rly years . Angeles was so isolated from all the rest

of ffi of fi r st - the world , and so di cult access , that class teachers were n ot easily obtained ; and when o n e was secured he or

sh e was retained if possible by any re a sonable increa se o f s alary . ’ 50s n In the early , I think we had but o e District ( Superior ) i s court , presided over by Judge Benj am n Haye , and later by a wh o Judge Publo de la Guerra , of S nta Barbara , in turn

e a c i o i s n ow c on . was succ eded by Judge a Sepulveda , who n e c t e d with the United States Embassy at the City o f Mexico The former jurisdiction o f this district included besi d e s L o s W e e o f a . Angeles , the counti s San Diego and Sant Barbara h ad of also a County Court , and court Sessions which was also f or a . . Probate Court . over which Judge Wm G Dryden presided

many years . h e f . t e o U . We had besides a S District Court in fifti s , which

: I . S . K . Ogier was the presiding Judge . This S outhern dis triet includ ed all the southern part of th e State extending t o a o f i line just north of the city of Sant a Cruz . Sessions th s court were held alternately a t Monterey and Los Angeles . In or e those early days of the fifties , we had no horse st am rail

or s . E a roads telegraph lectric ro ds , telephones , bicycles , auto ou r mobiles and the like . so necessary to recent modern life ,

were totally unknown anywhere .

We had n o paved streets or sidew a lks . We had no elevators , o f because , first , we had no use for them as our houses were k n e s . but o story ; and second , because elevator were un nown

T - i an ype writin g machines and Linotype pr nting machines , d O e f W e o . perators of the sam , were unknown and unthought

- had no gas , and electric lighting had not been invented . We had , on e t t o I think , but book store , and , although modes attempt a est blish a public library was made , it soon petered out . I know 206 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

t o m a i m e I contributed a few b ooks it , but I reme ber that , h v ng ad ’ to 57 I a trip the Atlantic States in , when I cam e b ack , learned b that the library had een ab olished and that the b ooks , including

those I had donated , had b een sold . We had neither mercantile nor savings banks during the ’ o f 50s a n f r d e . me entire decade the , but w money safes All c ha n d i se F c not produced here , was brought fro m San rancis o

o r - by steamer sail vessels , lightered at San Pedro , and brought up “ ” t o w U to n by big mule trains of prairie schooners . ntil vine yards and orchards were p lanted and came to b earing in th e o f upper country , after the change Government , the people of a o f the of th t part State , including the p opulation the mining on of L os regions , depended the vineyards Angeles for their f r s f n fruit . I know that o several years large shipment o missio e h grapes , the only kind grown h re then , were made by eac “ ” vi n e r on e s r e steamer during the grape season . The g he , real i z e d o n e all the way from to two bits , (reales) a p ound for “ ” e their grapes . Oth r fruits besides the mission grape ( which on e of was ori ginally brought from Spain , and which was the a s best raised there , ) were scarce here also , well as in the e n north , and gen rally of inferior quality , u til improved varieties n r were introduced from the eastern states . Among the e t e p ri s in g pioneers who first brought the b est standard fruits and

. . . L o s vegetables to Los Angeles, were Dr Wm B Osb orne , ’

. we . n . . . A geles first Postmaster , H C Card ll , O W Childs , etc The H ollist ers of Santa Barbara brought a flock of American

improved sheep all the way from Ohio to Los Angeles , arriving 1 4 he re in the early part of 85 . Los An geles was long known as “ on e of e the Cow counties , as stock raising was xtensively car ried on throughout Southern California for some years under h a d American rule , as it been in mission times ; and it was very e profitable ev n in spite of occasional severe drouths , as these coun

r s n : - al fil r i ties were natu al .gras cou tries burr clover , e a and

wild oats being especially valuable indigenous grasses . Cattl e a as did not need to b e fed and housed in winter in our mild clim te , they are required to be fed in colder countries Besides the best e known breeds of horse , sh ep and neat cattle stock were gradually a introduced . But eventually , as the admirable daptation o f Southern California for the perfection in growth of citrus fruits was demonstrated , and the splendid seedless navel orange was dis c overed the immense cattle ranges were gradually converted into i orange and lemon orchards . The Engl sh Walnut cr0p has been

h r ~ found to be profitable here also , and t us , as we now see , ou orch LOS ANGELES FIFTY YEARS AGO 207

ards have taken the place of what were formerly e xtensive cattle

ranges .

’ ‘ 55 51 M E l r o In the Star , established in by c y and Lewis . , ” e and the Southern California , published by Wh eler and Butts ,

b oth weekly , were the only local newspapers Los Angeles could f b oast o . We heard from the outside world by steamer from San F rancisco , twice a month .

’ 58 on o f When Johnny Temple built a theatre in , the site ou r a the present Bullard Block , list of entert inments was some “ ” of - H what enlarged . Instead high toned orse Shows like that

just held in Pasadena , we sometimes had in those primitive times , o s Bear and Bull fights , cock fights and frequent h r e , mule and s a i o r m donkey races, and occa ionally Span sh circus , maro a , r a and at Ch istmas times we were reg led with the quaint , beauti “ - s ful characteristically Spanish Pa torela , which was very

effectively and charm ingly presented by .a thoroughly trained i So t company under the direct on of Don Antonio Coronel . hat

d . espite our isolation , we had many and varied amusements

Of th e adult people o f Los An gele s who were living here when I a a or a c c me here , and with whon I gradually bec me more less u ai n te d fe w of q very very are now alive , although many their

children have grown up , and have become heads of families .

I cannot suppress a feelin g of sadness as I r ecall the past and w a revie the changes that h ve occurred , in persons , and scenes that n ow as , I look back seem but dreams , but which then were indeed

s o . o c real And the thought arises , if such great changes have c tl l l o r m n urred during the past fifty years , who can even i agi e w L os or i n f o r hat Angeles will b e fifty years hence , what is store o u r children and grandchildren ? Of the present citizens o f e Los Angeles except the younger portion , very few ind ed will then a t o b e alive . And although we may str in our eyes peer into the f uture , And strive to see what things shall be

3? 3? 38 E vents and deeds for us exist ,

As figures moving in a mist ;

And wh at a pproaches— bliss or woe

We cannot tell , we may not know ” N o ! t yet , not yet H NE W E L N NE Y EE OW Z A A D GOT ITS HO B S .

By Mary M . Bowman . Most people whose faces time has turned toward the setting s u n would feel gratified could they b e assured th at when th e light of earth fades from the vision some o n e had b e en happier because they had lived ; that some little spot of earth had b een e an d made b ett r bright er that they had labored in it . To few men has it b een given to create a great industry t o add to the wealth o f a country and the welfare of its inhabitants by one unselfish , unpretentious service .

. N This opportunity came to my friend , Mr oah Levering , the founder of this society and how well he improved it , is the f ’ . v e purpose o this paper t o set forth . Mr Le rin g s interest and enthusiasm in local history has b een the inspiration of much a useful and perm nent work b eing done , in the preservation of landmarks and valuable records of the past , not only here but much m ore extensively in other localities in which he has lived . When h e related the story of how New Zealand procured its L i u r n i an g or honey bees , which transformed it from an annual importer of red clover seed into an extensive exporter of th at of important factor of the dairy products the country , as though

‘

af . it were an everyday fair , I was intensely interested It was history interwoven with the industrial progress of two continents o f and worthy of record in the annals this society , more per manent than the columns o f eph emeral newsp a pers . At my earnest solicitation Mr . Levering was induced to furnish the

s . notes from which thi brief account is written , of his very suc c e ssf u l experiment in sendin g the little captains of industry across the equator and ei ght thousand miles over seas to a foreign country . o r s 1 880 F several years previou to , when this shipment was o f sent , numerous trials had been made by the best apiarists Europe and America in exporting the L i gu r n i an bee to the N island of ew Zealand , but in every instance it had resulted in failure ; when the hives reached their destination the occupants were de a d “ Th e Success of th e proj e c t was consid e red so h of essential to t e welfare of the country , the Commissioner Colonial Industries urged the appropriation o f $2500 t o send a HOW NEW ZEALAND GOT ITS HONEY BEES 209

t o E on man urope this especial errand . But , while the matter was under consideration private e nterprise was at work striving f i t s m . . F t o bring about accomplish ent . S C arr , secretary o the h m i a d e . Canterbury Accl i at on soci ety, communicat d with R f Offi . o F e J Creighton the San rancisco Post , the cial representativ of N Z al an i n Mr e d . . ew _ that city . Mr Creighton wrote to Lever L OS ing, a pioneer bee keeper in Angeles county , then conducting of a i a c u l tu r e L os a department p in the Angeles Herald , request ing his assistance , which was readily given .

r . f Mr . C eighton ordered two colonies o bee s sent to San Fran f o r th e m cisco early in July in time stea eOr Australia , which was to sail for Aukland , under command f Captain Cargill . ’ All the details were left t o Mr . Levering s well known knowl edge and e xperience in b ee culture . H e had hives constructed o wn after his plan , similar to those used in his apiary , except that S pecial provision was m ade f or v e ntil ation in crossing f h h . o t e the equator An orifice was left in the side ive in front , V- b ox covered with wire cloth . A small shaped was placed n over the Opening o the outside with a sliding cov er on top . The b ox was filled with sponge to b e moistened occasionally l h with fresh water , which the bees could inha e throug the wire f cloth and which al so cooled the atmosphere o their prison . A h r e wth similar opening was left in the top of the ive , cove d wire and provided with a sl iding lid for protection a gainst

h - the possible cold . Several t ree quarter inch augur holes in floor a i r a permitted a circulation of . The alighting b o rd and the th e top board , each extended out about four inches and space between being securely covered with wire cloth form e d an air chamber through which thOe honey- m a kers could circulate at will , or at the promptings f instinct , as the case may be . A s f ol d u ficient amount of honey in comb well sealed over , was or of provided for food , a frame two brood comb , empty frames e of and fram s empty comb , kept in place by wooden slats , filled th e remaining space and supplied the working implements f o r

- i o n e -h f the ever busy and industr ous inmates . About al the colony with .a queen was put in each hi v e and the tops firmly sc rewed d own ; t h e obj ect of dividi n g the colony being t o obvi ate the heat th at the whole would engende r in crossi ng the equator , which would have melted the comb and caused the ’

wn . O b e es to perish in their o sweetness . In Mr Levering s pinion the failures of other shippers were due to their putting an entire the c e colony in a hive , which , with honey and the comb ne ssary , could not withstand th e heat of th e equator ; an important factor in the success of the undert aking which had been over 210 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH ORN CALIFORNIA

e look d . After the b ees were p la ced ab oard the steamer a en m an n s o on b ee t g tle co idered an auth rity cul ure , a ssured th e Captain Cargill that they could not survive voyage , owing to the faulty construction of the hives . the H of a In October following , erald Aukland nnounced the safe arrival Of the Los Angeles county b ees ; a public demon s r ti t a on o f rej oicing was h eld and more order s for bees followed . s e f of In the cour o a few months Mr . Levering shipped a number - o f i a colonies without the loss a single b ee , and the ncre se soon

N . s e supplied ew Zealand Mr . Levering , having b een o succ ssful with Italian bees , was asked to send bumble b ees , but after a long and fruitl ess search for them in Southern C alifornia , he was of s forced to ab andon the proj ect , as they are not natives thi part of the world . R N ed clover had previously b een raised in ew Zealand , but t o ol l en i z e produced no seed , there b eing no insect there p the t o blossom , consequently seed for each crop had b e imported 1 889 o f from other countries . In the newspapers Aukland stated that the island wa s then exporting clov e r seed of home raising . New Zealand is unquestionably deeply indebted to California and a i a c u l tu r e to Mr . Levering for the growth of its resources in p a and a v ery valuable and appetizing food product , but side from of ne wspaper glory , the mere price of the colonies bees and the satisfaction of a deed well done there h as been no substantial f acknowledgement o the debt . P I ON EER COURTS AN D L AWYE RS OF L OS A N GEL E S

By Walter R . Bacon

The first Constitution of California provi ded a judicial s ystem a o f a of 1 850 a n th t was installed under the acts the legisl ture , d was continued practically unchanged until the adoption and going f s f 1 879 s s into force o the Con titution o . Under this sy tem tran i tion was made from the Spanish to the Ame ri can method of p r o r st c e d u e in law courts . Under the first Con itution the judiciary

: of n i comprised the Court Sessions , the Cou ty Court , the D strict

Court and the Supreme Court . n 1 1 1 850 a a 86 of th e The Legislature o April , , dopted Ch pter f laws o f that year which established the Court o Sessions . The f e s court as constituted consisted o thre judge . The County

- offici o on e h Judge being ex , memb er , the ot er two being justices of of l aw the peace from the b ody the County , the providing that after the first election all the j ustices of the peace of the coun ty should meet in the court room of the County Court and select two of their num b er t o s erv e as members of the Coun ty Court f or o f a given term , at the end which two successors should be elected in the same manner . i of of a a ul This court had jur sdiction all cases assault , ss t and of afi r a s battery , breaches the peace , y , petit larceny , and all n s e o f n o a 500 or misdemeanors pu i habl by fine more th n $ ,

O n o t . imprisonment f more than three months , or b oth Its ministeri al and executive functions embr a ced the entire

' e x e n d i tu r e f f or care of all County property . It ordered p o money e county purposes , fixed the roads , audit d the expenses of all de ar tm en t s f p o the County Government , ordered them paid and lev i a d d i t on e d taxes . Thus in to its manifold and important duties as a court it performed all the duties now devolving on the Super

‘

Vl S OI S .

COU N TY COURT

1 4th 1 850 On the day of April , , the legislature passed an act t o put into effect th e provision in the Constitution f or a County h . E w o Court ach County elected a County Judge , was president 212 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

r at County Court . The cou t had exclusive probate jurisdiction , ’ heard a ppeals from Justices Cou rts and had original j u risd iction f w m in the issuance o rits of extraordinary re edies , such as habeas i s . corpus , mandamus, njunction and attachment

DISTRICT COU RTS

The District Courts had jurisdiction much similar to ou r i ff Superior Courts . The notable d erence b eing that all probate h n ow matters were then cognizable by the County Court , w ilst i o f the Superior Court has this jurisdiction . One fru tful source pride f or Anglo Saxons is the apparent excellence Of its judi cial

r l d system unde the o common law , in which reason and justice are

given large play . The English point with pride to the fact that E i the Dreyfus incident could never have occurred in ngland , wh ch

is doubtless true , but we Americans b elieve that we have taken all that is good o f the common law and by appropriate machinery adapted i ts rules and principles to our peculiar political exigencies

and social conditions , in such a manner that no where in the world o r s o r is life liberty under the law les subj ect to caprice in judges , f h f prejudice o juries than here . So t at from the b eginning o on o f a legal assault either these , the defendant if guilty , knows that the law will but proceed against him in an orderly manner h of v e n an c e a n d and wit out the spirit g , if innocent , that although circumstances may point to his guilt he will have the presumption o f hi s r O innocence in favor under the law , and all the machine y f the law to procure the evidence o f the innocence o f apparently

guilty circumstances , and then if convicted an appeal to a court o f ample power , whose judges are good men and nearly always wh o al i fi good lawyers , have but recently submitted their qu the th cations to people at an election , are close enough to e “ ' soil to have retained what sacred writ terms the b owels o f com ” s - i pas ion , and an intimate sympathy with the short com ngs and

o f o u r a r e needs the people , yet , by system enough removed from local influences not to be swayed by popular prejudi ces ; u then in case of ultimate fail re in the courts , intelligent

executive clemency may b e appealed to , so that we are quite certain that the Graves incident in England could never have i n occurred Am erica . There is inherent respect for law and its exponents in a l l

civilized peoples . And the e ase of transition from life under l one system o f jurisprudenc e to a system radical y d i fi e r e n t with as little friction as attended the change from the regime Of crude

214 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

O L os meetings f the court . Judges Scott and Olvera lived at o n h a An geles . Judge Roubidoux lived t e S nta An a River o n i H a the present site of R verside . e lived so far way that he was elected justice of the peace for San Bernardino Township a n d afterwards was chosen a member of the Court of Sessions

before he had ever heard that there was to b e an election . After this example of celerity who will say that early California

was slow .

At s of of i s n 24th the fir t meeting the Court Sess on on Ju e ,

: . . F . . there were present Wm C errill , District Attorney ; G T f r . o Bu rill , Sheri f ; Benj amin D Wilson , Clerk ; besides the tw Judge s

Albert H . Clark was sworn in as Deputy County Clerk to look of s after the business of the Court Sessions . The first busines tr ansacted was the action taken o n the report of the District i F . Attorney that Anton o Coronel , County Assessor elect , and R n ot i Charles . Cullen , Coroner elect , had qual fied ; and a citation “ was issued requiring the m to appear tomorrow morning and

give bond according to l aw . Whereupon the court adj ourned ’ i ” 25 h 1 0 . t until o clock tomorrow morn ng On the , Tomor m ” row ornin g , Senor Coronel appeared and gave b ond and was

sworn in as County Assessor , but Mr . Cullen declined to serve as of County Coroner . What visions lon g processions of a spiring and perspiri ng office seekers flock the vistas of imagination and s crowd the chambers of the memory , as we view the acts of thi 55 first coroner of L os Angeles coun ty . Who can say years afterward what controlled him ? He m ay have been deterred

from entering the duties of his. office by fear of un pleasant scenes at inquests that might b e frequent in a county th en o n

of o r the frontier and the goal countless adventurers , it may

b e , that for the benefit of those coming after he desired to serve as an example of the citizen who prefers to se rve hi s fellows by a his orderly private life r ther than by striving , or even holding h on to the pomp and s ow of Office . If the latter impulse controlled him his i dea fell on stony groun d ; since then scores o f f R . o ficers have b een elected in this county , but Charles Cullen

is the only person wh o refused to serve .

f o r The record is silent as to his reason declining , but if

intended as a patriotic sacrifice the lesson was ab solutely wasted . Much business of a routine character was transacted at this

’ s e of S h e r i fi second ssion the court . The was ordered to report PIONEER COURTS AND LAWYERS OF LOS ANGELES 215

Th e on the condition of the County Jail . District Attorney to inquire into the title to it , etc . Samuel Whiting was appointed Jailor at a salary of per i ou of . day , t which he was to provide h mself with an assistant ff f or F ifty cents a day was allowed the sheri feeding prisoners ,

- n o r a n d . o e fourth to be spent for bread rice , the balance for meat

on e - a s h n ow Meat then cost less than third muc as it does , and still ou r sheriff is supposed to make quite a sum in f eeding prison ers at 1 1 cents per day .

a . . . D . On the s me day in the afternoon , A P Hodges, M , was appointed physician t o the County Jail and the n Coroner t o f fill the vacancy occasioned by failure o Mr . Cullen t o qualify

It is amusing and instructive if viewed in proper light , to note into wh at few hands was concentrated the administration of justice at that time .

f . The minutes o the District Court inform us that G . T

Burrill was Sheriff , and on the same day G . Thompson Burrill was appointed interp r eter for the courts of the county at a of salary of $50 per month . This differentiation names was th e doubtless by design , as during all time that he appears in the records of e ither court o r the reports ma de by the coroner the name selected for each official position is never changed .

1 850 th e of e In July , Court Sessions was active in looking aft r the County property and by proper citation called upon Abel t o Stearns , formerly Alcalde at Los Angeles , turn over to the Sh er i fi ff of a m m u n i , as an o i cer the court , the muskets and their a f r h f tion that were in his h nds o t e defense o the people . Abel

Stearns for sometime made no reply, but in the fall reported that he di d not believe the guns belonge d to the County ; that there was no mention Of them in the treaty of Guadaloupe i of Hidalgo , under wh ch the political dominion Mexico was e was f abolish d , and that there nothing in the Constitution o

. n the new state to compel their surrender That in fact , u der the h constitution e could not b e compelled to give the m up . This was the first constitutional question raised in the courts of this of s County . But as is always the habit court they avoided the a deciding issue on the constitution l question , and afterwards such of the guns as had n ot b een sold by Stearns whi le in hi s possession , under his constitutional right thereto , were returne d to the County .

Judge Olvera must have been a man of much exe cuti ve HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

8 1 850 ability . On July , , the first criminal docket was called in i n a court this Co u nty . Casildo Aguilar wa s tried on a plea of guilty Of assa ult and b attery and fined one dollar and costs . Juan Jo s e Vi l l e r os charged with an afi r ay with Juan Am n a n b or si s pleaded guilty and was fi ed one dollar d costs . Refugio Gu at e r n os charged with an a fi r ay and resi sting an

Officer was fined one dollar and costs . h e Pedro Dominguez , c arged with batt ry upon the person of Na sario Dominguez, pleaded not guilty, and a j ury of six was

. of impanelled to try him , composed the following citizens

. . R . . e Lewis Granger, W Jones , G W . obinson , A J Courtn y , s L l am ar eu x Charle Burrows and Louis . The j ury found defend fix ant guilty and ed his fine at and costs , and judgment was entered accordingly . Nasario Domingue z then un der the b onds to keep the peace wa s then tried by the same jury and was ordered to give bond in the sum of $1000to keep the peace f or six mon ths toward the of pe ople the state and particularly toward Manuel Dominguez , and finally Com e n i o M eji o pleaded not guilty to a charge of a n d petit larceny , was tried by the same jury , found not guilty prisoner was disch arged . There w ere three trials t o a jury with verdict and judgment a following in each c se , b esides pleas of guilty and j udgment in ’ h s o n at t ree other case , all in e day , the very first day s session of a the n criminal court in Cou ty , and still people nowadays after ’ witnessing a two o r three o r four days jury trial of a petty Ofi e n d e r in ou r police courts patronizingly refer to the Old a Californians s slow . 9th l oth On the and , several more such ca ses were tried , resul ting in verdicts of guilty with fin es fixed by the jury at from 20 o n o f l 0 h the to $ , but the afternoon the t the case of f o r people vs . Henry Hines assault on th e person o f Lewis Gran w the ger as tried to same jury as were all the preceeding cases ,

h . n ow except t at Mr Granger , the complaining witness , was f o . relieved jury duty and W B . Osburn took his place . The trial consumed only the usual short time and resulted in a ’ S i x verdict of guilty , the j ury fixin g the punishment at months hard lab or a n d judgment of the court went accordingly and the prisoner was remanded .

o f i s. The minutes th trial are dispassionate , and disclose a of the s nothing more th n do the minutes other trials , o that PIONEER COURTS AND LAWYERS OF LOS ANGELES 21 7 inquiry a s to the real reas on f o r this great disparity of punish i s ment f o r crimes of the same name , but speculation , unless we consider that the jury felt outraged that a member of their a augus t b ody should be assaulted by common citizen , and deem ff “ ing it a heinous o ense , made the penalty fit the crime , but ’ i n their zeal they overlooked a bet . Three months imprison f a s ment was the extent of th e jurisdiction o that court , but to whether Hines ever a vaile d himself of this fact the records are silent . 1 2 1 850 of On July , , the Court Sessions appointed Ab el t F F . . o Stearns , rancisco igueroa and B D Wilson recommend a si t e f o r a cou nty j ail and the Mayor and Council o f L o s An geles were requested to confer with th e court on the subj ect of a site at the next ses sion . On the 1 6th : of July the court met and adj ourned to the ’ f m e Mayor s o fice , the committee reported verbally , recom nding the 1 2 3 7 8 9 o f that city donate for a j ail site Lots , , , , , and ’ a 3 4 f r Squ re o Ord s Su vey , and the court ordered that the city b e requested t o dona te the site and loan the County $2000 e of f or with which to build a j ail , the city to hav free use it its prisone rs until the loan was repaid . 22 1 850 R sat on e of On July , Judge oubidoux as the justices h a d f o r of the court of sessions . The court been in existence s about a month , had transacted much busines in an apparently a n intelligent m nner and was ow in full swing . On this day the County Treasurer filed a report showing that he had s old the ff of F F f o r e ects Doctor rancisco allon , deceased , An inquest had been held by the coroner and a jury , upon the of s e o o n th e o remains the decea d Doct r and this day c roner, the sh e r i fi and the interpreter and the jurors filed bills for services a t the inquest and the disposition of his e fi e c ts as follows :

Dr . Hodges , Coroner

ff . Sheri Geo . T Burrill

Interpreter G . Thompson Burrill . And other claimants f o r sums from $20to each t o bring the total to The ne xt day the court allowed t o each of

- six jurors and each to three witnesses , and all but the f or interpreter— a total of ’ ou t of the of s was ordered paid proceeds the decea ed s esta te . We sometimes obj ect t o th e delays in settlement of estates by ou r public administrator and think that his fe e of per cent 21 8 HISTORICAL SGCI E TY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

a f or himself and the same am ount for his ttorney in small estates , ffl Off on t o o n o l . u is much , but here was de ay The doctor sh es th 20th e ff f or e day of July . An inquest is h ld , his e ects are sold

22 on 23 r d o n July , and the this money is reported hand by the trea surer and on the same day the entire e state and e more is o rdered distributed in fees and xpenses , and the a n d e incident and estate are closed , still we sometimes h ar people sighing for the return of the good old days . s This incident shows conclu ively that though unused to forms ,

e Of - — of th ir genius self government that is , the art taking care of themselves , was of high order and though possibly latent , needed only Opportunity to spring full flowered into existence . The County Court had little busines s during the first few f months o its existence . The district court for this County con on 5 1 850 vened in Los Angeles for the first time June , , with

i th e r b r e . . . W District Judge 0 S y , p siding And the court being h a d A advised that William F . Ferrill b een elected District t

a n d . torney , George T . Burrill , Sheriff, B enj amin D Wilson , e s Cl rk , that all had qualified and all were pre ent , declared the

. F . F . R . court organized William errill , Al H Clark , Jonathan H o f L o s Scott and B enj amin ays , attorneys Angeles , were duly

m i a . e ad ad tted to pr ctice There b eing no other busin ss , court ou r n e d 7 1 850 j to the next term . On October , , the fall term convene d and the first case heard was the suit of Abel Stearns An l ai n ti fi against Jose tonio Carillo , in which p had judgment for amount prayed for and costs Abel Stearns wa s the most prominent litigant in all the courts for years the reafter . F r Antonio . Coronel was also f equently mentioned in court f proceedings o the time . It will b e rememb ered that he was 1 850 8 f . o a e sworn in as Assessor in June On Octob er th th t y ar. he was al s o drawn on and served as a member of the Grand

Jury . And Abel Stearns was drawn and served on th e first e p tit jury in the District Court . The first criminal case filed in the District Court was e n ”

. a on titled , The People vs Manuel Du rte , and the same day , 1 5th 1 850 October , , the Grand Jury indicted Vicente Alisado for h 1 8 manslaughter and his case was set for trial on t e th . There is no further mention o f the c as e in the records of the District th 1 8 h h “ ” Court , but on e t t e case o f the People vs Jose Salvador ” c for manslaughter was tried . This ase had not been m e n ti on e d previously . The defendant was an Indian and only two ” “ ” an d r e Indian witnesses , Darius Pasqual we examined . The PIONEER COURTS AND LAWY ERS OF LOS ANGELES 21 9 j ury found the defendant not guilty f o r wa nt of sufficient evi ” dence that the crime was committed in the county . It is fairly inferable that when the defendant was called f o r as ff trial he gave a name , his true name , di erent from the one h under whic he wa s indicted . On this day the Grand Jury brought in an indictment which w of a th e e . as ntitled , The People the State of Californi vs ” of County Jail . The indictment is lost , but the minutes the “ court say respecting it , Court refers so much of it as relates t o e the condition of the j ail , the building b ing at San Pedro , which obstructs the public highway a n d the Indian Village as

s . s being a nuisance , to the Court of Session And o much as relates to the filth y condition of the City to the Common Council ” of this City . Such a state of the record simply stimulates the imagination in an endeavor to realize what the lo c al conditions r e ally were h at that time with the j ail at San Pedro , and the Pueblo in suc condition that a Grand Jury of that day composed almost entirely “ ” of nativ e Californians , called it filthy . 1 9th 1 850 On the of Octob er , , the Court admitted to practice

. R . s . J Woolridge , Loui Granger and J . L Brent . Th e first murder trial in the District Court that a ttracted a h f much ttention to the lawyers then practicing , was t at o Wm .

. . 1 854 h o . H w B Lee , who was tried in December , Benj amin ays , was admitted to practice at the first session of the court in 1 850 s , was now Judge of the Di trict Court . and Jonathan

Scott , who was one of the first Justices o f the Court o f si the Ses ons , was one of attorneys for the defendant . Scott and Hays h a d been partners prior to the elevation of Hays to the bench . Lee had kille d a man named Frederick Leatherman in a di spute over a boundary fence . On the 5th of December when s e f o r a the ca was called tri l , Scott and J . L . Brent for the de fendant , moved for a change of venue , and filed in support of f their motion a fidavits charging prejudice in the Judge . The s motion was denied and ca e tried . All the testim ony including the e xamina tion of jurors was reduced to writing as th e case p r o c e e d e d and the defendant finally found guilty by the jury . h C . E . T om and I . Hartman assisted the Di strict Attorney t o t e . l 6th 1 854 prosecu On the day of December , Lee was t o F 1 2 1 855 sentenced b e hanged at the County Jail on ebruary , . d f e a Just before sentencing the e nd nt the court called Messrs . 220 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Scott and Brent to the bar and informed them that they were in contempt of court by reason of the affidavits they ha d filed affid av in support of their motion for change of venue . That the its were false and defamatory in the h ighest degre e and that they knew they were lies at the time they were penned , that h i s the court held them b eneath contempt , that he could find i t no way under the law to pun ish them for , but would order the ofi e n d i n g affidavit s st ri cken from the files . The Court used language that reeked with invective adj ectiv es and to the extent that their record takes a wh ole pa ge of a large minute b ook . z e John G . D owney was admitted to citi nship in the Dis 21 triet Court , as appears by the records of that Court for June ,

1 851 R . , and on the same day , one James Holman executed a peculiar inde nture which was by the Court ordered copied into

a the minutes and there ppears at length , a reminder of conditions

' we have all heard ab out , but the real purport of which we have o n a forgotten . This document goes to say th t Holman had a 1 850 removed from Crawford county , Arkans s , to California in , and brought with him as his slave a negro woman named Clarissa 2 l he r ab out 9 years O d . That by bringing into a free state she a became free , but th t she had two b oys , three and six years old e respectively , that had b een left b ehind under a chattel mortga g to Whitfield Brown . Holman in this remarkable instrument agreed that if Clarissa would serve him two years more she should b e free and that he would pay the mortga ge on the b oys 21 and set them free when they b ecame years of age , and he fixes the a o f a t 1 5 1 865 d te this event for one of the b oys October , , 1 5 1 866 m and the other January th , . A higher power than Hol a n

u set the boys free b efore the time fixed by this agr e ement . J st why such a p aper sh ou l cl be found in the minutes of the Dist r ict a s Court is not clear , there is no mention of any proceeding was e thereon , or statement that Holman ven in court , but there it stands at pages 1 1 0 and 1 1 1 Of the first minute b ook of our

District Court , as notice to the student th at m an has not a l ways b een free and lest we be careful we may at any tim e fall i nto bonda ge . In the courts at this time pleadings were allowed to be filed in either the Spa nish. or English language and were translated f by an o ficer of the court . I h a ve spent much of your time with recitals of the doings th e Of s of Court Ses ions , a court of inferior jurisdiction , but this was with design . To appraise an e difice we always inspect its

222 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

a f them . Th t the personal habits o many memb ers of the bar are t h not suited o lend dignity to the court in which t ey practice , a and in view of these facts , it is ordered that hereafter ttorneys while in attendance upon court will b e required to wear a coat of some kind and will not be allowed to rest their feet on the o o f o r o r t m tables , whittle or spit tob acco juice on the floor c e ob stove . And the Court sin rely hopes that all attorneys will serve this rule to the end tha t decent order and decorum may ” b e had without trouble . I had intende d to relate some of the incident s of the more i m portant trials of early days and give you some short bio graphical o f sketches the early judges and prominent lawyers . It is a rich field and I have b e en able to collect m uch a uthentic data that f is very entertaining . Many o the early lawyers were men o f h e great natural ability and hig attainments , with spl ndid social. qualities , and the part they played in getting the machinery of r state started is well worth study . I hope soon t o have eady a o f p aper more popular interest than this , but time will not permit reciting any of it here . HOW CALIFORNIA ESCAPED STATE DIVISION

By J . M . Guinn N The antagonism between orthern and Southern California , which still to a limited extent exists and wh ich in ti mes past h as culmina ted in attempts to divide the state and from the

- o c c u parts form new commonwealths , ante dates the American i p at on many years . E - Away b ack in the first quarter of the last century chandia , h Of w o was governor of Las Californias , made San Diego his ficial

ff . residence . The politicians of Monterey were greatly o ended T m hey de anded that the governor should reside at Mont erey , the capital ; but E c h an d i a who was somewhat of an invalid preferred of S an i the .gentle sea breezes and the genial sunshine D ego to f o . the fogs and north winds Monterey When Victoria , the s E c h an di a uccessor of , was overthrown at the battle of Lomitas by the soldiers of San Diego and Los Angeles and compelled to

a E c h an d i a . bdicate , again became governor f The He established the seat o his government at San Diego . i n f rebellious a r r b a o s (uppers) o the north induced Agustin V . ’ Zam ar an o i t of , V c oria s Secretary State , to raise the standard of a revolt and m ake Monterey his capital . E ch governor mar h is shaled adherents in battle array , but finally compromised by f d ividing California into two territories . The northe rn limit o ’ E c h an d i a s M dominions was San Gabriel ission , and the southern b oundary of Zamorano ’s jurisd iction was the Mission of San a o f n Fernando . Between the borders was strip eutral groun d ’ a n o man s land— across which the respective armies of the frontier could defy their opponents and threaten to do things to them if they dared to cross the line . There is no record that the defies were heeded . No D avid and Goliath champion i n s g the respective sides ettled the contest with sling shots . F i n Governor igueroa un ted the divided territory , made Mo t e r e Of a n d y his ficial residence , for a time peace reigned , but the e n d of the controversy was not yet — the politicians of the south were placid , but they were plotting . 1 83 5 Ma c hi e v al i o f In , Jose Antonio Carrillo , the California of history , secured the passing a decree by the Mexican Con 224 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

gress raising Los An geles to the dignity of a city and making the o f i it capital the two Californias . The den zens of Angeles sent a dema nd to Monterey for the archives and a request that i the governor remove to the capital . The pol ticians of the o l d

capital were complaisant . They would ob ey the orders of the

supreme government , but first Los Angeles mus t provide a ” suitable palacio for the government an d the y sent committees

on b e . down to find Search as they might , never a suita le house

could they find . Then to add insult to injury , they exasperated the dwellers in the Angel City by invidious comparisons — taunted h i h them wit lack of pol s , twitted them on their provincialisms

an d sneered at their poverty .

R 1 83 6 a n d Then came the evolution of , when Alvarado Castro drove out the Mexican - b orn Governor Gutierrez and set up a government with the taking title — E l Estado Libre de Alta Cali

formia— The Free State o f Alta California — a state that was to b e independent o f the supr eme government and whose aff airs should

— b e administered by the hij os del pais the native sons . In the at tempt to make California independent the people

o f Angeles discerned a scheme to defraud them of the capi tal .

They promptly rebelled . San Diego j oined them and onc e more th e th North and e South were arrayed against each othe r . Each

raised an army and prepared for hostilities . Alvarado and Castro ma rched down the coast with a superior force and the

Southerners surrendered . Then Jose Antonio Carrillo turned Warwick -kingmaker and with the assistance of President Bus i ’ tamente , .made not a k ng , but a governor , Carlos Carrillo , Jose s

brother was made governor of California .

The people of Los Ang el es invited Carlos to make their city o f h the seat his government . He accepted and was inaugurated wit e imposing ceremonies . Never b efore was the old Pueblo the scen

of such festivities and rej oicing . Never b efore or since was it so supreme ly happy Then Alvarado determined to punish the

rec a lcitrant S u r e n os ( Southerners ) . He gathered together an

army of two hundred men and moved down the coast . He met the Southern army at S a n Buenaventura o r ra ther he found

it safely sheltered in the Old Mission building . For two days a a o f the b ttle r ged . The walls the old mission were mortally ’ s e n a d a s wounded in many places , Ca t mustangs were captured

and the Southern a rmy was compelled to surrende r . Alvarado

and Castro moved down upon the Southern capital , which sur i h O a rendered w t out pposition . Carlos Carrillo with the remn nts HOW CALIFORNIA ESCAPED STATE DIVISION 225

f o his grand army , which had escaped capture , fled to San Diego ,

t r 00 s u n d e r . where , being reinforced , his p , a Gen Tobar , of Mexico , mi moved northward to confront Alvarado . The ar es met at

Campo de Las Flores and a bloodless battle ensued . Carlos Car s t o rillo was defeated and captured . H i soldiers were sent h their homes and ordered to stay th ere and be ave themselves . El Estado Libre — the free state— was uni ted under on e govern o r an d Monterey was the capital .

NVi h Mi c h el t or en a of t the overthrow of , the last the Mexi at of Cah u e n a can governors , the battle g , Pio Pico became governor and Los Angeles was the capital . For twenty years the internecine strife between the North and the South had existed . Three times the territory had been rent a ssu n d er by the war r o ring factions . F o ten years Los Angeles had struggled t become the capital . It had won , but the victory was dearly

a t . bought , and it was but half a victory best The archives f o . o t e remained at M nterey The standing army the rritory , t t if it could be called an army, was s a ioned there and there

Castro , the military commandante , resided .

of Castro , was accused plotting to set up a government in h the old capital in opposition to Pico . The last act in t e drama of Mexica n domination in California wa s an attempt ’ of Pico s with his little army o f Southerners to suppr e ss Castro a o and the plotting politici ns of M nterey . He had advanced northward a s far as San Luis Obispo when a courier met him s e with the sad tidings , that Commodore Sloat had rai d the Amer ican flag at Monterey and taken possessi on of California in the name of the United St ates . Pico and his Southern adherents retreated to L o s Angeles and Castro with the fragment of his f i army followed after . The war o fact ons that for two decades f a . u e d past had distracted Californi , was ended The between the a rribenos and the ab aje n o s— between the Uppers of Mon t e r e y and the Lowers of Angeles— was forg otten in the h presence of an enemy that threatened t eir political extinction . a was But repentance came too l te . California lost to the sons

of . the soil , to the hij os del pais Under its new master Cal f o r n i a became the bone of con l tention betw e en the North and the South . It was not the o d U a n d f or territorial contest of ppers Lowers supremacy , but ' a faction fight in Congress to determine wh i c h sh ou l d gain the new state— the slaveholders of the South or the freemen f i o N . the orth The balance of power then was n cely adjusted , 226 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

There were fiftee n slave states and fifteen free . Into which ever scale the new state was thrown the b alance would be Th o f destroyed . e tidal wave immigration that swept over Cali f or n i a after the news of the discovery of gold spread abroad , s she n the o f m ade her a free tate . When k ocked at doors Congress asking admission into the union of states the slave on s i u o ligar c hs of the South de nied her request . In the C t t ti on al Convention o f 1 849 the Southern faction led by Gwin made the e astern boundary of the inchoate state th e crest of the ’ R of ocky Mountains . Gwin s plan was to make the area the stat e so large th at Congress would refuse to admit it as o n e on of state , and would divide it into two states the line the 3 0 Missouri Compromise 3 6degrees minutes . The Northern men ’ in the convention discovered Gwi n s s cheme and defeated it by a reconsideration of the boundary section a t the very close of the of Convention . A m aj ority two votes changed the b oundary from the cre st of the Rockies to the crest of the Sie rr a Nevadas . After a lon g an d bitter contest b etw e en the two factions in U n Congress , California was admitted into the nio as a free a i state , but its admission as free state did not in the opin on o f th e pro slavery men of the state preclude the possibility of securing a portion of its. t erritory f o r the peculiar institution

f — o the South slavery .

F a e t or d cade after it became a s ate , its division and the creation of a n e w state or states from its area came up in some form at nearly every session of the State Legislature . The pro slav ery men in the state reasoned that if a new state could be cut o ff from the southern portion it could b e made slave territory . Many pro slavery men had settled in that section and although slave lab or mi ght not b e profitable , the accession o f two pro slavery senators would help to maintain th e ba l c of r e o f an e power to the South in the Senate . In the Legislatu

1 854 — 55 Je fi e r son Hunt , Assemblyman from San Bernardino r County , introduced a bill to c e ate and establish o u t of the territory embraced within the limits of the state of Californi a a Th new state to be called the State o f Columbi a . e territory embraced within the Counties of Santa Cruz , Santa Clara , San

Joaquin , Calaveras , Amador , Tuolumne , Stanislaus , Mariposa , r e Tula , Monterey , Santa Barbara , San Luis Obispo , Los Angeles , San Bernardino and San Diego with the isl ands on the coast wa s to constitute the new state . “ The p eople res iding within the a b ov e mentioned terri SCAP D STAT DIVISIO 227 H OW;_CAL I F ORN I A E E E N tory shall b e and they are hereby authorized so soon as the conse nt o f the Congress of the United States shall be obtained thereto to proceed t o organize a state government under such rules as are pre scribed by the Constitution of the United ” States . 262 i N . The Bill , which was Assembly B ll o , was referred to a select committee of thirtee n memb ers representing different c a s su b sti sections of the sta te . This ommittee reported a “ e s ou t of o f tute , An Act to creat three tates the territory California ; and a lso drafted an address to the people of Cal f i f o r n i a o . , advocating the passage the bill

’ a b y The line s proposed this section , says the committee s report , a of so Alters the bound ry line California on the east , as to embrace every portion of th e eastern m p e of the Sierra Nevad a

' h d of Mountains , w ich bor ers the present state California , which can be brought under profitable cultiva tion . The eastern lin e ” will run through the center of the Great American Desert . The eastern line as state d in the section was to b e the 1 1 9 degree of longitude west of Greenwich . Thi s line passes through f of Nevada considerably west o the center that State . These legislators seem to have been somewhat h azy in regard to the location of the Great American Desert . 2 o f c Section , the Act creates a new state to b e alled Colo rado contain ing the portion of the territory n ow known as the of L o s counties San Diego , San Bernardino , Angeles , Santa s Barbara , San Luis Obi po , Monterey , Merced , Tulare , Buena

Vista and part of Mariposa . Buena Vi sta was a mythica l country that f or five o r six years put in a spec tral appearance in the le gislative records , but never was h offic ially created . It would have included t e territory n ow

a .i n Th e embr ced Kern County , had it been organized . northern boundary of the State of Colorado b e gan at the mouth of th e ri n t o Paj ara ver , runni g up that river the summit of the Coast of range ; thence in a straight line to the mouth the Merced river , N v then up that river to the summit of the Sierra e adas , and thence due east to the newly established state line .

3 s a Section creates a new tate called Sh sta . The southern ’ boundary commenc e s at the mouth of Maron s River ; thence a ' h e w Y a e sterly alon g {lt boundary line bet een ub and Butte t o f and the line between Sierra and Plumas , the summit o the N Sierra evada and thence to the newly established state line . ’ a v M ron s Ri er was a mythical river . The committee found 228 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

’ E on e the name on ddy s map of California , but no to my knowl

' s th e edge ever found the stream . The tate of Shasta included

' Si ski ou u counties of Klamath ( now Modoc) , y , H mb olt , Shasta , ri s T nity , Pluma and part each of the following ; Butte , Colusa and Mendocino . The territory n ot embraced in the states of Colora do and

Shasta was to constitute th e State of California . The committee in its address t o the p eople proceeds to show that the revenue derived from taxes and other sources would b e ample to support the state governments of the pro o f f or posed states . The taxable property Shasta the previous 1 854 n year , , amounted to an amou t less than o n e -third of the assessed value of the city o f

Pasadena . The revenue from all sources was estimated a su m f at year , a barely su ficient to pay the present salaries of the teachers o f Los Angeles x of o f City f o r five we eks . The ta able property the new State Ca lifornia for 1 854 amounted to about on e -half of f the present assessed value o Los Angeles City . The yearly t o sum a rev enue , it was estimated , would amount a bout equal to the amount L o s An geles City now expend s on its schools alone .

The value of the taxable property in the propose d State of Colorado for the year o f 1 854 amounted to Its total r evenue from all sources was estimated at a sum that wou ld pay the present expense of ou r police department Th for ab out three months . e committee states that in i t s Opin “ of ion , each the states will be amply able to support the expense of a s eparate government . Evidently it did not require a t o large revenue run a state government in the olden , golden o f days fifty years ago . The relative size o f the three states as described is as fol “ : lows , viz . Colorado will b e the second in its dimensions in

i n n — the rank of the states now the u ion California , the third an h The i ts d Shasta t e ninth . committee in long address to the people of California set forth the evils experienced from ou r n e w e xtensive territory . “ The diffi culties o f intercommunication between the i n h ab i a r e a tants of an overgrown territory so great also , th t it is next to impossible t o find tha t unanimity of sentime nt o r to create that identity of interest which renders popular action ffi consistent and e cacious . The center reaps all the benefits ,

23 0 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA that portion of the present territory of this sta te lying all south of a line drawn eastward from the west b oun dary of the state along the sixth standard parallel south of the Moun t Diablo meridian east to the summit of the Coast range ; thence south erly following said summit to the seventh standard parallel ; on t o s e thence due east said standard , parallel its inter ction with the northwest b oundary of Los An geles Coun ty ; thence northeast a long said b oundary to the e astern b oundary of the of state , including the counties San Luis Obispo , Santa B ar An S a n a bara , Los geles , San Diego , n Ber rdino and a part of Buena Vista shall b e segregated from the remaining portion of the state for the purpose of the formation by Congress with the concurrent action of said portion (the consent for the segrega tion of which is hereby granted ) of a territorial or other gov ‘ ’ e r n m e n t under the name of the Territory of Colorado o r such m n ame a s ay b e deemed meet and proper . 2 i of F Section , prov ded for the submitting the question of or ” a Territory or against a Territory to the vote o f the people living in the p ortion sought t o b e s e gre gated at the next general election ; a n d in case two - thirds of the whole number o f voters of voting thereon shall vote for a change government , the con s ent hereby given shall b e deemed consummated . In case the vote was favorable the Secretary of State was to send a certified copy o f the result of the election and a copy of the a ct t o the President o f the United States an d to the senators and representatives in Congress . In the list of counties to be segregated a gai n appears the of county Buena Vista . For five years this county had haunted s ffi the legislator and yet it had no o cial existence . The territory that would have been included in it was still part o f Tulare . of n Later it became part Kern county , when that cou ty was 1 85 . n 9 created At the general electio in September , , the ques tion of dismemb erment o f th e State was submitted to a vote of the people of the southern counties , with the following result

F r 441 Los Angeles Co o , Against , F o r 441 29 San Bernardino Co , Against , F o r 1 0 283 San Luis Obispo Co , Against , F or 207 24 San Diego , Against , F o r 3 95 51 Santa Barbara , Against , F r 1 7 0 Tulare o , Against , 828 of Total for , against . The returns the election showed considerably more than two - thirds in favor of a new HOW CALIFORNIA ESCAPED STATE DIVISION 23 1

of state . The results the vote and the act were sent to the presi dent and congress . And although Milton Latham a northern man with southern principles an d a pronounced divisionist

e U . represent d California in the . S Senate , no notice seems to o f a have been taken the request of the inchoate state of Color do . The Southern senators and congressmen were preparin g f o r secession . A sparsely settled state on the Pacific coast , miles away from the prospective Confederacy was n ot worth con si d er i n s of g , nad the secessionist Southern California were left to work o u t their scheme alone . f The question o division slumbered for twenty years . In 1 881 F 1 1 881 an effort was made to resurrect the scheme . eb . , a citizens ’ mass meeting was held in Los Angeles to discuss the subj ect of how to improve Wilmington harb or and incidentally of the question State division . A commi ttee was a ppointed to h tak e the question under advisement . T is committe e selected a legal committee of nine attorneys to which was submitted the questions whe ther the Act of 1 859 was still in force and if so what steps were necessary to complete the divisi on and estab f lish the new state o Southern California . The legal committee decided the Act of 1 859 was still in force and it only remained for Congress to admit the new state . A mass convention was 8 1 881 f t o s . u th e r called meet in Los Angele , Sept , , to take action The t n o t in the matter . convention met , but here was a very

f . s large mass o it Los Angele County was in evidence , but the other counties of the prospective State of Southern California were not larg ely represented . Los Angeles City wanted to be t o f the capital of the new state , wanted monopolize the o fices , ” n o t wanted to b e it . The other counties were enthusiastic . The y could not s ee clearly how they were to be b en efitt e d ; so of the question of division fell into a state innocuous desuetude .

1 8 8 . e Co . In 8 Gen Vandever of V ntura , member of Congress from the sixth California district , introduced a bill to divide f T the state and create the State o Southern California. he bill

e . o is still slumbering on the files . There let it sl ep Nearly tw decades have passed since the last attempt was made to divide th e state . The necessity for division if it ever existed exists no longer . The south , with its rapid increase in population and l wea th , will soon hold the balance of power or if not , it will be able t o hold its own with the north . Its astute politicians “ ” s of ffi will always see to it that it gets its full hare them o ces . While the men wh o in the past ch ampioned dismemberment 23 2 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA o f the state were no doubt sincere in their b elief tha t such action f would b e beneficial to the people o the various sections , we should b e thankful that the ir schemes fai led that ou r m ag n i fi cent state escaped division . TWO PIONEER D OCTORS OF LOS ANGELES .

By H . D . Barrows .

In turning over to the Hi storical Society the accompanying brief histor ica l document (which I lately received from Ex f ff R . R o Sheri Wm . owland) , containing the signatures four of L os A h early physicians ngeles , I have thought t at some a c c ou n t o f o f two the signers whom I knew quite well , would be of interest to th e members of our Society .

E - ff R n The document referred to , which x Sheri owland fou d ’ a ff f e mong old papers of the Sheri s o fic was a public notice , “ o r of s Aviso , of the scale charge ( in Spanish ) , by the doctors of a a si th t period (Janu ry , for their profes onal services , as fol lows

Aviso . F E A la junta de la acultad de Medicos de Los Angeles , nero 1 850 , la seguinte lista de precios era adoptado 1 u n a n l a ofii c i n Art . . Por prescriptio en a 2 i . a Art . Por una vis t en la ciud ad de dia

3 . Art . Por una vista en la ciudad de noche 4 . o r l Art . P u n a visita en e campo par c ad a legua . .

5 . Art . Por una Sangria . .

6. r l i i n Art . P o c ada ap c ac o de Ventoses Firmamos nuestros nombres al antecedente

F i r n ad os , . R U EN [ ] CHAS . C LL

. . URN A I BLACKB , 5 D J . W . E { D O G ,

U ER . URN G ILL MO B OSBO .

( Translati on )

Notice . F At a meeting of the Medical aculty of Los Angeles , January 1 850 , the following list of prices was adopted 1 F o r Art . . an office prescription F 2. a Art . or day visit within the city i 3 F .a Art . . or night vis t within the city

4 o r th e a . Art . . F a visit in country , for e ch lea gue 23 4 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

5 F or Art . . bleedin g

6. F or Art . cupping We subsc ri b e ou r names to the foregoing

. R U EN, [ Signers ] CHAS . C LL K URN A . I . BLAC B

. W O E J \ D D G , M W . . URN B OSBO .

on e a Dr . Gui llermo B . Osb ourn , of the signers , who was 1 84 l native of New York, came to California in 7 in Co . Stephen ’ i n L os son s regiment . He established the first drug store ’ 1 850 51 of Mc F ar l an d Angeles in , which was succeeded in by that L os a n d D owney . D aguerreotypes were first taken in An geles 1 1 on 9 85 . by Dr . Osb ourn and Moses Searles , August , In ’ fact Dr . Osb ourn s versatility was somethin g rem arkable . It ffi i b e o r is not easy to recount all the o cial pos tions filled , the

numerous imp ortant public functions he p erformed . In those of early days immediately after the change Government , by of h i s means his keen intellectual ability, together with knowledge of a l the Spanish langu ge , he made himself a very usefu citizen i s . a s in variou capacit es When , often happened in that period, h n wa s an acquaintance wit Spa ish a necessity , he often acted 1 853 a s Deputy Sheriff . In he was appointed Postmaster of this i 1 855 city by Pres dent Pierce . In he proj ected the first artesian a o f well in Southern Californi , at the foot the hills not very of F far from the present junction irst street and Broadway . a of 800 1 856 It re ched a depth feet in June , , b ein g still in blue i t f o r f clay , when was ab andoned want o funds . In 1 852 fruit graf ts of improved varieties had b een introduced h . 1 . N . 855 by Mayor J G ic ols In Dr . Osbourn imported from R a n d ochester, a grand collection of roses other choice shrubbery , as well as many varieties of the best Ameri can fruit trees, which a n up to that time were lmost u known here . He was the first , 1 854 E L os n too , in October , , to ship ast , fresh A geles grapes, which were exhi bited and commanded admiration at a meeting of the busi ness committee of the New York Agricul tural Society

. An d of s at Albany it is worthy mention in thi connection , that

N 1 856, as late as ovember, when Matthew Keller sent a like U “ , . . Ofii c e specimen it was almost doubted at the S Patent , if i such products were common in Cal forni a .

Henry Osbourn , a son of the doctor by his first wife , was f o r a n o r years and until recently , interpreter in u local courts .

a o He lost his life through an accident not very long g . TWO PIONEER DOCTORS OF LOS ANGELES 23 5

’ wh o i , Dr . Osbourn s second wife , was a native Cal fornian is I believe , still living in this city . hi s wa s Dr . Osb ourn , with all versatility , not always over scrupulous as to the means he sometimes employed in carrying a ou t his schemes . He once recounted to me , without semblance b u t on of self reproach , the contrary with a palpable chuckle f s on because o his succes , how he took an active part a certain ’ 50s oc c asion i n a political contest . Sometime in the early ,

n a when an election was o for a St te senator , and San Bernardino f x was a part o Los Angeles county , he was e ceedingly anxious to carry the precinct of Agua Mansa , which was mostly settled

a o r E . by Mexic ns , who knew very little no nglish So he went t o the Padre who had more influence i n his parish than a n y other s person , and used his mo t suave methods of electioneering with the Dominie in behalf of his candid ate ; and then to cli nch the a h e m tter , asked the Padre to pray for the repose of the soul

— of his mother who was then alive a n d well in New York State . And o n the next feast day the wily docPtor was on hand at the church and on his knees , , j oining the adre and his flock , in ’ praying for the repose of h i s mother s soul . He added with just f o a wa s . a shade exultation , th t his candidate elected

o f a c c om Drs . Blackburn and Dodge , two other signers the i m i w . panying docu ent , I was not acqua nted th

, Dr . Charles R . Cullen I knew intimately as he was my

- a r o f m a room mate for conside able portion the time , fro my rrival L os 1 854 i f o r a in Angeles in , t ll he left his home in Virgini in th ’56 e latter part of . of Dr . Cullen was a n ative Virginia , and a graduate of Brown i University . He and his brother John came to Cal fornia soon a wa s fter the discovery of the mines . The doctor a cultured and genial gentleman whom all who made his acquaintance , could

i - a not help liking . The Span sh spe king porti on of our community of that period were especially attached to him , b oth as a sym p athetic friend and a s a physician ; and for years after he went m hi away , I reme b er that if s n ame was mentioned in the presence of those native Californians who had made his acquaintance , they would invariably manifest pleasure at the recall of his “ ” e x c l a i n memory , and would : Ay Don Carlos ! donde esta e l i “ ” o r u e , ! buen hombre era ! or simi lar expressions of kindly feelings towards him . F When the San rancisco Bulletin was established , Mr . C . O . Ger b er d i n o f o f n g ( father several persons that ame in California , 23 6 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

was and also I believe of Mr s . Senator Bard) , the business wa s a c manager , and James King , of William , the brave and h a d Ge r b e r d i n . complished editor . Mr . g and Dr Cullen b een R i ol d friends in ichmond , b efore they came to Cal fornia ; and as the management of the paper desired t o have a p ermanent resi dent correspondent at Los Angeles , they entered into an engage t o ment with Dr . Cullen fill that p osition , paying him at the rate ’

i n 56 . n . a N of ten dollars a colum L te ovember , , Dr Cullen E on a t F concluded to return ast , and stopping his way San ran cisco , it appears recommended me , without my knowledge , as his successor as correspondent of the Bul letin : and accordingly th e he wrote at their request , asking me to keep up correspond r . i f o o n a . ence , the s me terms , etc , wh ch I did several years e e h m - s e ther after , writin g generally by ac se i monthly t amer, giving a general resume of currents events in Southern California . ’ , The doctor s letters , as were mine were headed in the columns “ ” of the Bulletin— i n small capi tals : Letter from Los Angeles “ F an d rom Our Own Correspondent , were signed Observa ” r dor . This signature , however , I soon d opped . My first d d h 6 1 856. a letter w as dated D ecemb er , I would like to t at r r b e r d i n M . Ge in all my dealings with g , the business manager ,

I found him to b e a thorough gentleman a n d a good fri end .

Before I had any connection with the paper, the assa si n ati on ‘ o f of Vi l l i a m h ad James King v given the paper much prominence , and it had already b ecome and it long remained the leading j ournal of the Pacific Coast . It was very ably edited ostensibly of a by a brother J mes King of William , but in reality by James N h o n e of the i a n d th e isbet , a Scotc man , most industr ous finest literary j ournalists whom I ever had any acqua intance with .

. N Afterwards , Dr Tuthill was associated with Mr . isbet and they

made a very strong editorial team .

1 857 ri E R In I made a t p ast , and I went to ichmond to visit

Dr . Cullen . I found his mother and sisters and also his uncle ,

, the widely known and venerable Dr . Patrick Cullen by whom was I cordially welcomed . Dr . Charley Cullen was then located a and practising his profession near Hanover Court House , very few yea rs afterwards the locality of some terrific fii gh ti n g in the

great Civil War . In after years I kept up more or less intermittent c or r e sp on

dence with the doctor , till his death several years ago .

Dr . Cullen was a thoroughly conscientious man and a reli gious

— c o - R man operating with Parson Bland , evs . Mr . Brier and Mr .

J . LANCASTER BRENT .

. s . By H D . Barrow

of ou r z e A very few older citi ns , b oth Americans and native wh o f a n d Californians , resided here in the fi ties , who are still r living , remember well Joseph Lancaster B ent who was a man o f prominence a n d great influence in Los Angeles during the years o f that decade . His recent death at Baltimore awakens many of h memories events whic occurred here in the olden times , in

. o r which Mr Brent was an actor , in which he made his influence f f f . o o elt in potent fashion As a matter fact , he was one the most brilliant figures of our early hi story after California becam e Am U a State of the erican nion . T M . Brent was a native of Maryland . He came to Los Angeles in 1 850 a n d immediately acquired the reputation o f b eing a very able lawyer an d .a very astute politician . He was employed by many rancheros t o pre se nt and prosecute their Spanish and Me xican land titles before the Land Commis sion and b efore the Th- an i sh Courts to final confirmation . e S p rancheros especially , w a a ho felt themselves so helpless before an Americ n Court , c me t o have unb ounde d confidence in his ability , and in his fidelity to their interests

In 1 856 he was elected a memb er of the Legislature , and e although a democrat , all parties had confid nce in him , and of th e took pride , because his ability , in sending him to assist in

f t . councils o the S ate , at Sacramento h At one time Mr . Brent owned the San Pasqual ranc o which include d the site of the present city of Pasadena . o f Mr . Brent was active in organizing the Democratic party s f the State . Although eldom holding o ficial position himself , he was a very astute political m ana ger , and he not only acquired wide political influe nce amon g Americans , but he was able to enlist many native Californians as partisans of democracy . It v was said , and I b elie e truly that he influenced the venerable patriarch Don Julio Verd ugo owne r and original grantee of San R , , afael rancho , to vote , with his twelve sons , the straight demo cratic ticket , which , accordin g to tradition , they continued to d o the , without a b olt , during the remainder of the life of vener able D on . J. LANCASTER BRENT 23 9

1 859 d During the year , a notable convention of the emocratic n was e party of Los A geles County , h ld . At that period , the

— ~ democracy had everything their own way hereabouts , their numerical strength as compared with that of the republicans b i r o . e ng as two or three five to one In fact , they were so strong

“ a ot th t they sometimes g into fights amongst themselves .

. t In the convention to which I refer , Mr Bren was the l e ader

e on e — th e s — and manag r of tronger faction , and Mr . Downey was the Deus ex machina of the other faction , though b oth , for the most part , remained invisible during the progress of the convention . As I wrote an account of the doings o f this Conve ntion at that f o r th e F o f wa s time , San rancisco Bulletin , which I then the th e regular Los Angeles correspondent , and as Mr . Brent was i e m a s lent manag r and adviser of one faction , I am te pted to p ’ ff of . pend here , my description the a air My letter to the Bulletin 1 4 1 859 e was dated June , . After ref rring briefly to the fight in the ranks of the h armonious Democracy as continuing with unab ated fury, I said “ on 8th The county convention held in this city the instant , hopelessly split into two factions Upon the organiza h v e h tion of t at olcanic b ody , it app ars t at one portion found

— s itself in the minority always a sad predicament , to be ure ; but by shrewdness it h a d secured the chair and committee on c r e d e n

ti al s l e . a most xclusively on its side , (the side led by Downey ) So two precincts— San Jose and La B a l l on a — were attempted to be e excluded , because in one the primary election was h ld not on l st 6th e the , but on the , and in the other the polls were clos d t h e half a n hour or an hour b efore the usual time . At same time , both a r e le gal precincts and b oth elections were legally called by the Central Committee , and all that . By quibbles in voting , as to who had a right to vote , etc . , and the Chair on call , voting e twice , etc . , the four votes from these pr cincts , out of forty in

n — the Conventio . were excluded and that . it is averred , wholly o n frivolous prete xts . the h 3 6 . T us , only members were left Here Convention split 1 9 delegates finding their will checkmate d by the gerrymander ing disgusted , as they say , with the way things were going on ,

— . P organiz e d on their own hook appointed Mr arrish , ( still res B al l on a ident of this county , ) Chairman , admitted the and San

—~ Jose delegates— making their numb er 23 an d went th rough

. with their business a ccording to Hoyle , and adj ourned The “ ” e shadowy 1 7 also proc eded t o business on their own account . ab su r a n d as their opponents wickedly assert , first achieved the 240 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA dity of admitting 5 persons a s delegates from localities wherein there was neither a legal precinct n or an election ordered ; and a this , fter having adopted in j oint convention , a resolution declaring that no delegate should b e received who was not cho sen e th e in a l gal precinct at an election called by Committee . That their foolishness might not b e so apparent , the report containing this resolution was suppressed .

This present correspondent is not much of a politician , and ‘ ! he has no ax to grind — not e ven a small hatchet— but accord t o hi s u n so h i st o c at e d ing p notions , the case seems a plain one

On a b asis of representation to which all a greed , the Parrish Convention was in the maj ority any way ; rej ecting all doubtful h ad 1 9 1 7 a precincts , and it memb ers to the other ; dmitting 23 all precincts , and localities not precincts , and it had to the 22 1 3 h other . Of the legal precincts of t e county the Parrish Convention h a d 1 0— and 23 out of 40 memb ers of th e Conventi on — l 3 1 7 e whi e their opp onents had but precincts and memb rs , who after the break received into church fellowship the 5 unapostolic and unorthodox delegates elected outside of the true and legal fold . So this latter b ody , composed of various m aterials , went through lugubriou s incubation a n d hatched out a complete set ‘ ’ f c h i c kl s o e t . . includin g by understanding , J G D owney for

- Lieut . Governor .

Th of e foregoing contemporaneous account that convention ,

f — a held in this city nearly orty seven years ago , would b e l cking a s in completeness , unless supplemented by record of ome of the sequels that grew ou t of it . As a sp ecimen of successful sharp practice by a mi nority

. F faction of a political convention , it was , I think , sui generis or d a R that the faction engineere by Downey , of which Ch rley oss e was act d as Chairman , was clearly in the minority , made man i f e st at the subsequent general election in the county when most of th e local nominees of the Parrish convention were elected . Notwithstanding the fact that the delega tes o f the D owney e faction of the State Convention from Los Ang les county , only n ev e r th e represented a minority clique of the local D emocracy ,

l t . ess they were admitted to the State convention , and Mil on S

Latham and John G . Downey were nominated and elected as

- the e a n . Governor d Lieut Governor , respectively ; and as on s cond d a a 1 860 y fter the meeting of the Legislature in January , , c on sti tu U . . e Latham was elected S S nator , Downey thereby by i n al t o . provision , became Governor th e And as a further sequel to this result , the constitution of J . LANCASTER BRENT 24 1

a th e State was later mended by people , prohibiting the election of a Governor as a U . S . senator . Of the personnel of that county convention when Democracy ” E was in flower in Los Angeles county , only . C . Parrish , I

e . R beli ve , is still living Charlie oss was killed in a land quarrel

w . F . n o h in San rancisco , years ago And , Mr Brent , who , t ough

a , not a memb er, was its domin ting organizer has recently passed away .

1 861 Mr . - r e an When the Civil War broke out , in , B nt . being a ardent sympathizer with the South , went e st and j oined the ’64 Confederacy , and in b ecame a brigadier general . After the wa r a , he settled in Louisian , where he married , and where . i because of his intellectual abilit es , he b ecame a prominent and

. e ff influential citizen As a m mber of the Legislature , he did e ect n h ive work in fighti g t e Louisiana lottery .

He left a widow and a son an d daughter . n Perhaps I should menti o one other , though rather unim portant outgrowth of that convention or of the campaign which followed it . A dispute arose b etween Downey and one of his h R a R henc men , Jose ubio , native Californian , in which ubio “ ” accused D owney of not h aving paid him an electioneering I n h . t e R debt wrangle . ubio gave Downey the lie , whereupon R hi m Downey knocked ubio down with his cane , giving a terri

. R ble black eye ubio challenged Downey , which the latter refused , as he did not conside r the former his equal , etc . The bearer of the belligerent document , Gen . Andres Pico , there the a upon , as required by code duello , challenged the Democr tic candidate for Lieutenant Governor . The latter accepted the h e challenge , and for a time , a fig t seem d inevitable ; but , by the intervention of friends , matters were amicably adjusted . And

a - e so b oth the Sen tor , and a Lieutenant Gov rnor in prospect , ( and eventually , as it turned out , a Governor ) , were saved to the

Comm onwealth . n ow s e s h ot And , after all the year , the contestants of that - n P far distant time , save alo e Mr . arrish , rest within their widely a scattered g r ves in everlasting peace . EXTRACTS FROM THE LOS ANGELE S ARCH IVES

L e l an d e Compiled by H . J . , City Clerk

N — r L el an de ar e ( ote) M . H ] . J . , City Clerk in whose keeping f n ri the archives o Los A geles City , in prepa ng an address which he delivered b efore the Friday Morning Club collated from the different volumes of th e city a rchives a large amount of of interestin g data . He gave the editors the Annual Publica of o f of tion the Historical Society Southern California , a copy s his extracts . From these we have elected those that illustrate diff erent phases o f life in the Mexican and early American ’ s f a of ou r p eriod o the city s history . The e rliest records city f 1 827 w o . hich have b een preserved b ear date Octob er , This is of a record of a trial . Some years since the archives the Mexican period comprised in three volumes and of the first three e w t e y ars of the American rule hich were also writ n in Spanish , were by order of the City Council translated into English . The explan 'ations inte rpolated in this articles are inserted by ’ o n e o f . of the editors (J . M; Guinn ) . Much interest in Mr L s f S collection had to b e omitted for lack o pace . The thanks of e ar e L e l an d e the soci ty tendered to Mr . for the use of his valu able manuscript .

E UY U RE YUNT EN L M IL ST A AMI TO .

The municipality of Los An geles under Spanish an d Mexican domination was governed by a town council called an Ayun ‘ t am i e n o l n n a t . It was usually spoken of as the M u y I u st e Ayu t

— miento (most illustrous council ) . The term was used in the same sense as we speak now of the honorable city council . . The early records of the proceedings of the Ayuntamiento of e — i f — Los Angel s any w ere kept have b een lost . The first record of its proceedings preserved in the City Ar chives b ears of 14 1 83 2 t e date January , . At that time the Ayun ami nto con “ ” sisted of five members , called regidores . The first alcalde was the presiding officer and in his absence the secon d took his place . The secret ar y wh o wa s app ointed from outside its mem b e r sh i p , was an important personage and the only salaried EXTRACTS FROM THE LOS ANGELES ARCHIVES 243

offi cial of the town government . Besides his duties as secre ’ f n of th e tary o the town cou cil , he was clerk Alcalde s Court and

H i s 1 83 2 3 0 . keeper of the archives . salary in was $ a month . The proceedings began ( in Spanish ) with El Pueblo Nues ou r a tra Senora de Los Angeles . ( The town of L dy of the A n gels) .

The jurisdiction of the Ayuntamiento , after the secularization o f the missions extended from San Juan Capistrano on the south to and including San Fernando o n the north ; a n d eastward to the S an Bernardino Mo untains . It extended over an area now comprised in four counties and covering territory as large as three New England States . Its authority was as extensive as a its jurisdiction . It gr nted town lots and indorsed application for grants of ran chos from the public domain . The grants i u were made by the governor . In addition to its legislat ve d s ffi tie , its members sometimes acted as executive o cers to enforce s o f its law . It acted as a board of health , a board education , a police commission a n d a street department . The Ayuntamiento t o a certain extent regulated the soci al functions o f the pueblo and als o provided f o r the spiritual needs f o . the inhabitants . It was local government epitomized The Ayuntamiento of Los Angeles was abolished in 1 840 by a decree of the Mexi ca n Cong ress whi ch provided t hat ci tie s with less than inhabitants should b e governed by a pre f fecto and the enactments o the department a ssembly . The Ayuntamiento was restored in 1 844 and continued t o be the local 3 r d 1 850 governing p ower until July , , when it was superseded i M . . . . E by the City Council J Gu nn , ditor

E N F TH 1 4th Y F NU RY S SSIO O E , DA O JA A

In the town of ou r Lady of the An gels i n the Territory o f Upper California on the fourteenth day of January in the

on e a - year thous nd eight hundred , thirty two , the Ayuntamiento of e the place convened in th ir hall , the meeting being presided over a i by its Alc lde Citizen , Manuel Dom nguez , who immediately b the 9th manifested an official document e had received , dated l e n ti si n a . F f E xc e inst rom the regular member o the Deputation , r Citizen Pio Pico , and then proceeded to take the oath equired f by law , from the second member o the same Deputation , Citi z en Y Tomas orba .

After the above , the said deputies took the seats occupied by 244 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

the Illustrious Ayuntamiento concludin g the session and signing

a . th e present instrument on the same day , month and ye r Ma nuel Dominguez ( rubric ) Juan N ep om u sen o Alb arado ( rubric ) an l F Jose M . Cota (rubric ) elipe Lugo ( rubric ) ac i Juan Ballesteros ( rubri c) a o Ma . Albarado (rubric )

Vicente de la Ossa , Secretary ( rubric ) ( Th -e rubric wa s a series of flourishes made by the pen and

took the place of th e seal in legal docum ents . Each man had

a rubric of his own ) .

SESSION OF THE 1 9th DAY OF JANUARY

I n the town of Our Lady of the Angels in the Territory of U i 1 9th pper Cal fornia , on the day of January in the year

u i - the u n One thousand ei ght h ndred , th rty two , Illustrious Ay t a e miento , dwelt on the lack of improvem nt shown by the Public School o f this town and on the necessity of civilizing and mor

ally training the children . It was thought wise to place Citi s zen Vicente Moraga in charge of said chool from this date , l r e co gnizing in him , the necessary qua ifications for the discharge f o said duties , allowing him fifteen dollars monthly , the same the a that was paid retiring citizen Luciano V ldez , h Signed as an act on the same day , mont and year . ( Here follow the signature s of the regidores the sam e as the above ) The following extract i llustrates the meth od of designating

i - election precincts under the rule of Mex co , three quarters of a

century a g o . The blocks here named were not city blocks and

e . 3 the houses d si gnated were often miles apart Block , com prising the ranchos of the Nietos and that of the Y o r b as included all of the territory from the San Gabriel river to San Juan

Capistrano . B e r d u os an d F R 2 The g elis anchos added to Block , included a l l the country east of the City to Pasadena. an d north to Bur b ank .

1 E N F E 1 9 Y F N E ER 83 2. S SSIO O TH th DA O OV MB ,

’ - 1 2th o f At to day s session , in consequence of the law of June 1 83 0the following has been determined : Notice to the Public Bei ng that a primary election is to be held on the first Sunday of December for the election of the Ayuntamiento of this town accord n 1 2th 1 83 0 the ob se r v ing to the law of Ju e , , said corporation in a 6 7 8 ance of rticles , and determined to divide this town into

46 HISTO ICAL SOCI T O SO TH CALI O IA 2 “ R E Y F U ERN F RN

1 8th SESSION OF THE DAY OF DECEMBER .

f of f In the town o Our Lady the Angels , in the territory o U n 1 8th of m pper Ca lifornia o the day Dece ber , in the year One

- o ; Thousand eight hun dred and thirty tw . The Illustrious Ayun t am i e n t o met for the purpose of repairing the delay su fl e r e d by the electi ons for the renewal of th is Ayuntamiento according t o 1 2 1 83 0 f th . the law o June , The Ayuntamiento havin g considered whether the causes o r n ot f to leading to this delay were were su ficient justify it , took into consideration the physical inability of the maj ority of the commissioners and that of most of the people includi ng th eAl c al d e ; an d occasioned by a pa st experience in this town at the tim e the law prescribe s this election should take place acting under s such circumstances , the commi sioners having recovered the ir on e 3 wh o r e health by this time , except the named for block , m r h - s ains ill , this corpo ation as seen fit to nam e in his tead citizen the n n Anto . Machado and orders that primary electio b e held o 22n the d inst . in the same manner heretofore made known ; leavin g the same c om m i si on e r s and informing them when to fulfill their th e commission . The present step has been taken for inform ation a n d sati sfaction of the peopl e that th e action of this cor p o r ati on may appear justifiable and no responsibility attached to of n them . Passed and signed as an act said b ody o this same

m . day , onth and year e M an l . Domingu z (Rub ) Felipe Lugo ( Rub ) Vicente de la i Ossa a ac o Ma . Albarado (Rub ) Juan Ballesteros ( Rub )

SESSION OF THE 1 9th DAY OF DECEMB ER

In the town of Our Lady of the Angels in the Territory of U on the 1 9th of e the pper California , day D cemb er , in the year

s n -two A one thou a d eight hundred thirty , the Illustrious y u n t e m i e n e a o n t o m eting in the regular session , cted a communi

f . cation o this date from citizen Anto Machado , setting forth his physical inability to fulfill the duties as commissioner o f block 3 of on a s this town . Acting the ab ove and so to occasi on no further delay in the election for members of this Ayuntamiento i a wh offi C tizen Vieto . Moraga was ppointed , o was immediately c i al l y notified of the same and asked to consult this b ody on the f 1 2 h 1 83 0 o u n t . law J e , , that he might act intelligently Man l . F R a e R Dominguez , elipe Lugo ( ub ) Ju n Ball steros ( ub ) i a c o . R . R a Ma Albarado ( ub ) Vincent de la Ossa , Ses ( ub ) EXTRACTS FROM THE LOS ANGELES ARCHIVES 247

E N F E 21 st Y F E E ER S SSIO O TH DA O D C MB .

o f ou r of In the town Lady the Angels , in the Territory o f

on 2l st of e on U pper California , the day December in the y ar , e

- thousand eight hundred thirty two . The constitutional Alcalde m a citizen Maul . Dominguez anifested communication from citi Vi 3 zen c to . Moraga , the commissioner appointed for block of this n 1 9 h town o the t inst , where he sets forth his inability to accept i n o t of l i fi said comm ssion , being possessed the necessary qu a c a on n tions . After some discussion the matter and not fi ding any e 3 wh other citizen in the abov mentioned block , o could be c om a of 1 2th 1 83 0 missioned ccordin g to the law June , , reappointed f r said Moraga o the reason ab ove stated .

Passed and signed as an act in this town this same day , month

and yea r .

Manuel . Dominguez (Rub ) Felipe Lugo (Rub ) Juan Balle s i t e r os (Rub ) a a c o Ma . Albarado (Rub ) Vincent de la Ossa. ( S r i o ) ( Sec r etary)

From the followi n g extract it is evident that enough of the

comm issioners recovered their health to hold a n election .

3 r SESSION OF THE d DAY OF JANUARY .

of of In the town of our Lady the Angels , in the Territory U o n 3 r d of on pper California , the day January in the year e

- thousand eight hundred and thirty three . The Illustrious Ay u n tam i e n t o e of met in th ir hall at the call the Alcalde , its pres the ident . At outset there was presented an official circular 3 1 st dated December , last past directed to this corporation by E r the most xcellent Territorial deputation through its p esident . Th e contents of said communication are reduced to the fol lowing l of st . Giving notice to the Ayuntamiento of the dissolution said corporati on the term o f the majority of its members having

expired . n 2n d . Seeking answers t o several commu ications sent to a 27th this corpor tion last year , the first dated January and the 2 h second March 5t . r o f 1 2th 3 d . E xhorting them to comply with the law June , 1 83 0 so as to begin the elections corresponding to the nomi n ations of deputie s to the general territorial sovereign congress that the new Jefe ( governor) may fin d all in readiness upon his HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

arriv al . After sufficiently discussing the m atter it was agreed to answer the most excellent deputation congratulating them upon the good sentime nts expressed . f In reference to the answers claimed , the two regidores o the last Ayuntamiento confessed having received those c om m u n i c a M a n l n otwi th ' tions but that the then Alcalde , citizen . Dominguez , standing their requests , could not be induced to answer the same , f or said reason it was decided that he should b e asked for such communications thought to b e in his possessi on that they may b e answered a s prayed . With reference to the election it was resolved to invite the i people of the territory , through th s Ayuntamiento so that each

n w 1 2th 1 83 0 o e for himself in compliance with the la for June , , shoul d verify the p ri maries b eing that thi s municipality has the

right of intervention . That in case the Jefe should be absent from the cou ntry and his delay be so excess ive after verifying th e abov e the Ayuntamiento o f the Capital take the proper legal

steps to carry out the general elections , so that the territory will ff o f not su er through the lack representation , by means of which

town s are made happy and remedy their wants . With this under

‘ i s R stand n g the se sion adj ourned , egidor Jose Sepulveda being

absent attending to official duties .

. R F R Jose Anto Carrillo ( ub ) , elipe Lugo ( ub ) , Antonio Ma i R , R a c o . R chado ( ub ) Tiburcio Tapia ( ub ) , a Ma Albarado ( ub )

Vicente de la Ossa ( S r i o ) (Rub ) .

22n SESSION OF JANUARY d .

a a Immediately fter , the said president lluded to the great necessity of having a priest in this town to minister to the wants of the spiritual flock and asked if the corporation thought it wise f B u c h e l ot f o R . . o to procure the services ev Alej o , by consent the f Prelate . It was the opinion o the corporation that this matter b e considere d at the coming session when the que stion of his maint ainance as well as other subj ects might b e discussed and

decided . The meeting then adj ourned , there being present the

same members as at its last session .

The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved . The question of the maintenance of a pri est for th is town was discussed and unanimously decided by the corporation that th e entire town an d b e summoned informed of the matter on the first holiday , so they may stipulate the amoun t of their contribution to said main t e n an c e . ff This brought the a air to an end , whereupon the EXTRACTS FROM THE LOS ANGELES ARCHIVES 249 m eetin g adj ourned , the same members being present as at its last meeting .

. R F R Jose Anto Carrillo ( ub ) , elip e Lugo ( ub ) , Antonio Ma c R R a c i o R hado ( ub ) , Tiburcio Tapia ( ub ) , a Ma . Albarado ( ub )

Vicente . de la Ossa . R Indian aids were quite common in those days . The savages pr eferred horses to cattle b ecause horses traveling more ra pidly the thieves could more easily make their escape with their booty

E N F 27th Y F FE RU RY 1 83 3 S SSIO O DA O B A , .

Th s e minutes of the last se sion were read and approved . The o f Alcalde , president the meeting , made known that citizen F n R h Pedro eliz , ow er of the San Jose ancho , informed him t at on 24 th th . the inst ere had b een stolen from his lands , the greatest m o f nu ber his gentle horses , and according to the tracks on the “ ” ground , they were b ein g conducted toward the Tulares , and h ss for ot er reasons given , he sought permi ion to go in pursuit of a them , accompanied by four citizens whom he would take t his

o wn expense . The corporation Opin-e-d he should go on this errand only to R F the ancho San rancisco , on account of the evident dangers

existing b eyond that place .

e . M eting then adj ourned , all memb ers b eing present R F Ru b S e u l Jose Antonio Carillo ( ub ) , elipe Lugo ( ) , Jose p a d R R ved , Antonio Macha o ( ub ) , Tiburcio Tapia ( ub ) , Vicente

Moraga .

THE AMERICAN PERIOD .

4 1 849 4 5 8 . Vol . , page An auction was held in the year , at 1 which 9 lots in the district b ounded by Main , Hill , Third and Fourth Streets sold for This property is now worth

from one to five thousand dollars per front foot .

4 Y 3 0 1 8 9. MA ,

572 e V l 4 . o . , page The Council conv ned in special session to h consider a communication from Tomas Talamantes , whic stated ' S an Vi c e n t e that the S qu at a I n d i an s o f the Sierra , Santa Monica m Mountains , are da aging his ranch , committing barefaced depre h dations , such as coming up to his house and stealing three orses an d o f that had b een securely staked , driving away some his

c attle from the adj oining pasture . a n d The Coun cil instructed Messrs . Jose Lopez Francisco Ruiz 250 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

o u r w t o solicit from among citizens , arms and ammunition ith s which to aid Talamantes , with thi understanding however , that a m s a s c he shoul d return all b orrowed r , and mu h am m u nition

n ot of as had been used in the pursuit the marauders .

1 84 9 9. June ,

’ ORD S SURVEY .

75 of l 4 5 . Vo . , page In view a note received from the supe ri of t o rior territorial Government , orde ng the making a city map serve as a b asi s for granting vacant city lots ou t of the une p r O r i at e d n p p lands belonging to the mu icipality , Council resolved l a r st . That the s id Superior Government b e assu ed of the ’ committee s desire to give prompt and due compliance to i ts a n d h order , to inform the same that t ere is no city map in s of a exi tence whereby concessions land may b e m de , and furthermore that there is n o s urveyor in thi s town who could get up such a map . “

2n d . That this Honorable body desiring to have this done , requests the territoria l government to send down a. surveyor wi to do this work , for which he ll receive pay ou t of the i f f mun cipal funds , and should they not su fice , by reason o other d emands ha ving to b e met , then he can b e paid with u n ap r 0 i at e d p p lands should the government give its consent .

$6! $3 >li= X> = $5 i t 3? =il= Slt l= =

‘ Your committee charged by your H or n or ab l e b ody with of n ri t the duty co fer ng with Lieu enant Ord , the surveyor wh o to a m a of a is get out p this city , has had conference with that f of gentleman and he o fers to make a map the city , demarking thereon in a clear and exact manner , the b oundary lines and s i point of the municipal lands , for wh ch work he demands a compensation of fifteen hundred dollars in coin , ten lots selected from among those demarked in the map and vacant lands to

200 a the extent of one thousand varas , in sections of varas e ch , wh e r s o v e r and e he may choose to select the same , or in case i this propos tion is refused , then he wants to b e paid the sum of three thousand dollars in cash . Your committee finds th e first t proposition very disadvan a geous to the city , because concedin g to the surveyor the right to select not only the said ten lots , but also the thousand varas of vacant land , the city would de p ri ve itself of the most desirable lands and lots which some r future day may bring more than th ee thousand dollars . EXTRACTS FROM THE LOS ANGELES ARCHIVES 25 1

The City funds cannot now defray this expense , but should your Honorable body deem it indispen sable a loan of that amount may be negotiated , pledging the credit of the City Council and payi ng an interest of on e per cent a month ; this loan could b e repaid with the proceeds of the sale of the first lots dis posed of . The same day the president was auth orized to negotiate a loan of three thousand dollars and provision was ma de for the sale of lots from the proceeds of which the loan was to be paid . On the 1 9th day o f September the syndic Juan Temple sub “ m tt d F a s i e to the Council the inished city map , as well a receipt showin g that he had paid the surveyor the sum of three thousand dollars , this amount being a loan m ade by him to the ”

o . city , t enable it to pay for said map 41 i n The followin g December , lots the survey were sold of 60 f u out a total of o fered , from which the Co ncil realized n which was paid to Juan Temple on accou t , leaving o f i l a balance in his favor , which the Counc l pledged itse f o f f to pay out the proceeds o the first lots sold in the future .

2 ER N 1 86 . WAT BO DS ,

Act of Legislature .

an d Section 1 . The Mayor Common Council of the City of L o s Angeles are hereby authorized to borrow money for the purpose o f munici pal improvements , either for irrigation or for e a furnishing water for domestic purpos s , to the mount and in the manner hereinafter set forth . 2 b o r owe d Sec . . The amount under the provisions of this a c t th e i , shall not exceed rate of nterest shall not exceed ten per cent .

ACT OF INCORPORATION .

f 299 7 o . Vol . Archives, page

An Act to incorporate the City of Los Angeles . The people of the State of California represented in Senate and Assembly , do enact as follows 1 i Section . All that tract of land included w thin the limits of a s a c kn o wl the Pueblo de Los Angeles , heretofore known and edged , shall henceforth b e known a s the City of Los Angeles ; and the said City is hereby decl ared to be incorporated a ccord “ i ing to the provisions of the act , entitled An act to prov de ” 1 8th 1 850 for the incorporation of cities , approved March , 252 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

i Provided , however , that if such lim ts include more than n four square miles , the Cou cil shall within three months after ar e a n d of th e they elected qualified , fix by ordinance the limits

i , a c ty not to include more than s id quantity of land , and the b oundaries so determined shall henceforth b e the b oundarie s of the city . 2 f . o Sec . The number Councilmen shall b e seven . The first election of city o fi c e r s shall b e o n the second Monday of May next .

3 . . a c t Sec The corporation created by this , shall succeed a ll s o f t o the rights , claims and power the Pueblo de Los i n a n d a An geles , regard to property sh ll b e subj ect to all the liabilities i ncurred and obli gations created by the Ayuntamient o of said Pueblo . JOHN BIGLER s of Speaker of Hou e Assembly .

E . R Y M ER N KI B CHA B LAI , i of Pres dent pro tem the Senate . 4 h 1 t 850. Approved April ,

H . PETER BURNETT ,

Governor .

254 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

r a highways . F o several decades the n mes were not changed . There was the Camino Real p ara Sa n Gabrie l y San Bern ardino r i n the highway to San Gabriel and S an B ar n a d o . The Cam ino p ara La Jaboneria appeared on the county ma ps until quite a a n an l recent date . It was the lower road to S Juan Capistrano as a n d San Diego . The upper road w via La Hab ra Santa Ana

(upper ) to San Juan . On some of the maps it was called El Camino l Viej o (the o d road) . Leading out from the old pueblo t o San Pedro were two his n n a of toric roads , one by the Pu ta de La Lagu ( point the lagoon) , n and the other by the Rancho L o s Cuervos . Over these in the olde time passed the commerce of L o s An geles and th e contigu ous e x e r ts country . The p were hides and tallow transp orted on

x - s i wooden wheeled o carts . The imports were family uppl es , dress goods and Yankee notions that had come from Bost m

around Cape Horn in hide droghers .

a Over the Camino by the Punta de La Lagun sixty years ago , ’ c am e the advance guard of the Saxon invaders Stockton s

sailors and marines . Along its dusty length , mounted on wooden

d n . wheeled carretas rawn by oxe , they hauled their cannon ’ By no stretch of the imagination could Stockton s light ox a i b attery be transformed into flyin g rt llery . Louder than the

o f 3 . tramp , tramp , the boys marching rose the shriekings and r ki n f c e a gs o the ungreased wooden axles of the carretas .

R o On the Camino by the way of the ancho de Los Cuerv s , Mervine and his men suff ered defeat in the battle of Dominguez Rancho ; and weary and worn bearing their wounded an d dead n a they retreated to their s hip . They buried their dead o the Isl ’ s s l d de Los Muerto , Isle of the Dead ( now Deadman s I an ) .

Com merce long since deserted thes e old channels of trade ; f and travel foun d means o easier access to the City of the Angels . These historic old roa ds have been in part abandoned and in

part changed . Steam first , electricity next ; and lastly the real an h - estate promoter with his subdivisions , his streets d avenues , as so transformed the landscape that the oldest inhabitant could not now loc ate with certainty a mile of the former road bed o f these ol d caminos .

As population increased and the cattle industry decre a sed the subdivision of the gr e at ranchos began and the existence o f the h f old roads and t e old system o free and easy ro a d maki ng ended . The road s were fenced in a n d the travele r was no lo n g er al lowed

b e - to make a trail where pleased . Cut offs were made in the THE OLD HIGHWAYS OF LOS ANGELES 255

r oads by bridging streams and by filling gulches that greatly a n d reduced the distance between towns settlements . ’ Some forty years a g o the Stearns Ranchos a great body of la nd in the southeastern part of the coun ty containing nearly acres was subdivided into sections and fractional part s o f i sect ons . Following the custom in ma ny western states reser va ti on s were made along section lines for roads . As the land was sold an d settl ers i mproved the ir holdings the old caminos were w o t of iped u existence and new ro ads made on section lines . Th ere is p erh aps n o t five consecutive miles of the old highways of t h e Spanish and Mexican era s to day in use between the Los Angeles and the Santa A n a river and the same is true to a greater o r s les extent throughout the state .

U l an d as h nder the ru e of Spain Mexico . I ave said , there

. s eems to have been no laws or no ordi n ances passed locating roads

a s . in California . Use est bli hed the right of way After the Anglo

Saxon gained possession , with his proclivity for organization , it was not long till ro a ds were officially located and laws and ordi n ances ena cted for their government .

I n the archives of Los Angeles County there is a decree of the 1 9 1 851 e a Court of Sessions made May , , stablishing C minos Pub licos or Caminos Reales ( public high-ways ) in the County of Los Angeles which then included all the territory now embraced in t h e of counties San Bernardino and Orange , and also parts of i f Kern and Riverside count es . This decree o ficially establishes certain roa ds b etween the missions as public highways and where n o subsequent ordinance has changed the road the o l d road is I s till a camino real and needs no legislation to establish it . give th e decree in full

n State of California , County of Los A geles in the Court of 1 851 th e S e . . essions , May t rm A D (May Ordered that fol lowing are declared to b e public highwa ys within this county

- as heretofore ordered by this court , to wit

R — F Santa Barb ara oad . ( Camino para Santa Barbara ) rom

L os Cah u en a Cah u e n a E E Angeles to g , from g to ncino , from ncino

Vi . to Las rgenes , from Las Virgenes to Triumfo Tulare Road to the Mines by the Tulares and to Santa Barbara

(Camino para Las Minas por L os Tulares y para Sant a Barbara . ) By Cah u e n ga or Verd ugo to San Fernando ; from San Fernando to the Rancho o f San Francisco ; from San Francisco to the Canada of Alamos ; from the Canada o f Alamos to Rabbit Lake ; from Rabbit t Lake o Tejon . 256 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Roads from Los An geles t o San Diego

F n R f r m r irst , from Los A geles to the ancho o Cu u g o by the a o r Th e d osi Y Abra to S nta Ana (upper) Santa Ana of o o orb a , t o from Santa An a (upper) to the Aliso , thence the San Juan i Capistrano M ssion , thence by San Mateo to San Diego .

L a u an a s Second , by Las g to the Jab oneria , thence by the N T e u i s u i t e f o rancho of the ietos , by the q q (land o the coyotes ) t A n a o r Y Santa (middle ) the rancho of Don Jose Antonio orb a , thence t o the Aliso ; th ence t o San Juan Capistrano and San

Ma teo . L o s San Bernardino and Sonora road . Angeles to San Gabriel an d below Azusa between San Antonio and San Jose by the plain o f A u a e ta below the rancho Cuca Monga , thence to the hill of g j by N n of the Old Pueblo of the ew Mexica s , known as the Land A ol i t an Ju r u a Y p , by p and San Bernardino to ucaipa and San

Gorgonio . Road to New Mexico Following the a b ove to San Bernardino until arriving at

Cuca Monga and from thence to the Caj on . Colorado Road— Camino para e l rio Colorado : From Los s Sa n of Angele to the Mission Gabriel , thence to the rancho o b ar r a s Puente , thence to the rancho , thence to the Sierra and a n T m l Temescal d thence to the La guna and a ac o d .

San Pedro Road : First by the plai n called Punta de La

La guna and Palos Verdes to San Pedro . Second to the rancho of S an of Los Cuervos , the rancho Los Dominguez , Palos Verdes to

Pedro . It is furthe r decl a red that the roa ds b etween the Missions of F e San ernando , San Gabriel and San Juan Capistrano , as they hav e been anciently established and us d , shall b e deemed public h i ghways ; and the roads in this order heretofore described are understood to be the roads existing as they have been long estab l i sh e d and used .

I , B . D . Wilson , Clerk of the Court of Sessions , Los Angeles

County , State of California , hereby certify that the above is a true copy of an order o f said Court given under my ha nd and

1 . . 24 1 85 . EN N . seal , May , B J D WILSO , Clerk

by Wilson Jones , Deputy .

Note tha t in the ab ove order the j udges of the Court of “ i ” Sessions say , the roads between the M ssions , had there b een i s on . e road , they would have used the singular number There a c om no hint in this order of a royal ro d , evidently the men who THE OLD HIGHWAYS OF LOS ANGELES 257

of i s p osed the Court Sess on (the county judge and two justices of ’ the peace ) had never heard of the s o - called King s highway yet , h i n t ey had been the country before the secularization of the m of issions , and some them were born while Mexico was un der of the rule a king . The San Bernardino and Sonora Road named in the decree was also known as El Cam ino Real de San Gabri el y San Ber n ar — a - dino the road to San G briel and San Bernardino . I t is traced o n of the old maps the ranchos through which it passed . It forms d of the south boun ary the Azusa rancho , passes through the San Jose and marks th e b oundary line between th e ranchos Cuco o n mongo and del Chino and to San Bernardino and Sonora . This ol d Camino Real that leads out from the pueblo o f Angeles to of of the Mission San Gabriel to the hill spouting water , to A ol i t an P Agua Manza , to the Land of p , through th e ass of San of Gorgonia , across the desert Colorado and on to Tubac in S o nora i s the only on e that has any claim to be called a King ’s

Highway . Thirty thousand doll ars were appropriated from the ’ royal treasury t o pay the expenses of Captain Anza s exploring e 1 774 expedition wh n in he opened up this route for tra vel . 1 775 Over it , in , Anza lead the first immigrants who came to

— a 240 h California b and of men , women and c ildren bringing a u with them more than tho sand domestic animals . These

- pobladores were the advance guard of civilization . They built the presidio of San Francisco and founded San Jose the first colony in California . ( A p ortion of this road stretching from Yuma to San Domingo o n the border of Sonora wa s named by the Spanish Pioneers Camino del Diablo and today retains its ’ evil name Devil s Highw a y . There is hardly a mile of its two hundred that is not marked by o n e or more cross - shaped stone heaps raised o ver the grave of vi ctims wh o died of desert thirst . )

s R z . Over thi Camino eal came citi en , soldier and priest R r Across its desert stretches went ive a . and his fated band to Y their death , when the fierce umas sacked the missions on the ’ Colorado . Along its dreary length rode Amador, Santa Ana s s flying courier , with a message that saved the mis ion from the o f h clutches Hij ar and Padres . Throug its mountain passes and over its desert sands fled Castro and his adherents from the Am erican invaders wh o had dispossessed them of the land of their

f — birth . Over it c ame the vanguard o the Argonauts the evan gels o f a str enuous life— the h arbingers of a n e w era for Cal if o r ni a, the most romantic the most poetic , the grandest and most glorious her history .

OF T H E

OUTH ERN ALIFORNIA

o l u m e I

( A N NUA L PUBLI CATI O NS OF 1 90; [ 904 - 1 905)

P UBLISH ED BY TH E SOC IETY

LO S A NGELES , CAL.

N . . A otable Manifesto H D Barrows .

. E Pinacate . Laura vertsen King . f 1 4— 1 fi f L s 9 9 5 . Of cers o the Pioneers o o Angeles County , 0 0 Constitution and By- Laws Reports o f the Secretary and Treasurer Report o f the Finance Committee

— L . . os Angeles The Old and The New L T Fisher .

Some Historic Fads and Fakes . J . M . Guinn .

f . . Some o My Indian Experiences J W Gillette . f Portrait o Wm . H . Workman I u Pioneers Crossing the Plains ll stration . 1 km n Banquet Given t o the Pioneers by Wm . H . Wo a . - u Rain and Rain makers J . M. G inn . Biographical Sketches of Deceased Pioneers

Mathew Teed Compiled .

Nathaniel Coburn Carter . . Committee Report .

Om ri J . Bullis Committee Report .

George Edwin Gard Committee Report .

Jonathan Dickey Dunlap Committee Report .

. f . Mrs . Cornelia R Sha fer Committee Report L . . o s . Thomas D . Mott Angeles Times

Kilian Messer Committee Report .

Pascal Ballade . Committee Report . m John Crimmins . . Com ittee Report .

Roll of Mem bers Officers o f the Historical Society 1905 - 1 906

A . s F Y o . L o Angeles ifty ears g H D Barrows .

w N G t . . . H o ew Zealand o Its Honey Bees . Mary M Bowman f L s W . . o o . R Pioneer Courts and Lawyers Angeles . Bacon .

v . . H o w California Escaped State Di ision J M Guinn . f L s o o . . Two Pioneer Physicians Angeles H D Barrows .

J . Lancaster Brent H . D . Barrows . . m I l n E F . . e a d xtracts ro the Los Angeles Archives H J e . f L o s . . J. o . The Old Highways Angeles M Guinn .