The City of San Diego and San Diego County

Clarence Alan McGrew

• Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9783849649449
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

This book was not written to clothe this history of San Diego in fancy words. The task was begun in the conviction that the best history was a well-marshaled array of facts and that the collection of many essential and interesting facts was much more important than long chapters regarding a lesser number of such facts. San Diego's history is crowded with such facts, and a sincere attempt has been made in the following pages to present them truthfully, simply and clearly. The book covers the period of the city and county's greatest growth and achievement and gives an excellent overview over the prosperous years from the foundation to the boom.

 

CHAPTER I. THE SPANISH DISCOVERERS

Sailing from Natividad in Mexico, then already a substantial unit in the vast colonial empire which had been put under the proud flag of Spain, Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo brought two little ships into San Diego harbor in September, 1542. And these two clumsy little boats, as far as the pages of history reveal, brought to the shores of California the first white men, the first Europeans, to set foot on the soil of what is now the Golden State of the Union.

Columbus had made his discovery of America just 50 years before; the proud Balboa had waded into the waters of the Pacific and claimed the ocean for the king forty-two years before; Cortez had long before started his conquest of Mexico; more than a score of years had elapsed since Magellan had pushed through the straits which bear his name; the Dominion of Spain had been extended over a vast expanse of a continent new to Europe; gold-seekers, soldiery of fortune, hardy mariners had pushed on for new conquests. As Cabrillo's little craft struggled against wind and sea on their way into the unchartered waters to the north, the tattered, hungry, discouraged survivors of the proud band that had set out with De Soto •and had crossed to the Mississippi in search of a new El Dorado were fighting their way back to Mexico. Such were some of the settings of the period.

Cabrillo, like Magellan, was a Portuguese, but in the service of Spain, whose rulers hired whom they best could to do the work of carrying on further the flag of that proud nation, then at about the zenith of its power. The little ships which he commanded were the San Salvador and the Victoria. It seems almost a miracle in these days that men could conquer the perils of the sea in such craft as those—bulky, clumsy, towering high above the water, carrying little canvas and very hard to handle. Yet, after many days on the run up from the Mexican port, they turned at Point Loma and came into the great harbor of San Diego. Cabrillo himself called it large and good, and his enthusiastic praise of its sheltering qualities grew when a heavy storm arose outside, yet made no impression on his little craft, riding- safely at anchor behind the point. A party of men was sent ashore for a new supply of fresh water and, going to the sandy bed of the San Diego River, found some, but on their way back to the ship the men lost their way, mistaking False Bay, now known under the more dignified name of Mission Bay, for the hospitable harbor where they had left their comrades; so they had to camp out for the night, but that meant no hardship in San Diego climate, and they got back safely the next day. Then the Indians came up, and it is said that they, using signs, gave the explorers to understand that other white men were traveling on horseback in the interior. At any rate, Cabrillo remained six days, took observations with his crude instruments and, making a somewhat serious error, placed the harbor at latitude 34 degrees, 20 minutes north, whereas the latitude actually is 32 degrees and more than 41 minutes. Then he sailed on to the north for new discoveries, only to fall, a few months later, on an island later named for him and to receive injuries from which he died.

News of Cabrillo's discoveries at last got back to Mexico, and, in the course of months, to Spain. But nothing came of that news for many years. It was sixty years later, as far as the records show, before other Spanish ships came into San Diego harbor. They were commanded by Don Sebastian Viscaino, who set sail from Acapulco in May, 1602, with two ships, a frigate and a small vessel. With him came three Carmelite priests. They did not reach San Diego until November 5, so slow was their voyage. Viscaino was not the discoverer of San Diego, that honor having gone to Cabrillo, but he left his name stamped on San Diego history by what he did here. For it was he who named the Coronado Islands, that stately group of rocky isles which tower above the sea a few miles below the harbor; it was he who gave the port its name, San Diego de Alcala, and it was he who made some real observations of what he found here. For one thing he gave a very interesting description of Point Loma which he said was covered with a forest of tall and straight oaks and other trees—thus giving to scientists and local historians of much later years a topic of no little interest, for the majestic point for many years has been bare of anything resembling a real forest. Yet there seem to have been many trees, though not very tall, on the point in later years, and indeed, much of the other terrain around the bay seems to have been covered with trees in those days. A new generation of Indians was there, but they were doubtless of the same kind that Cabrillo and his men had seen. The harbor was just as safe, and Viscaino's party was enthusiastic about it. He and his associates were convinced, too, that here was a good place for settlement. Yet it was not settled for more than a century and a half, long after men spoke the name of Viscaino. When his little fleet sailed back, it took the word of San Diego's importance, but the word was not a signal for action. While Spain worked elsewhere, while England and France and Holland sent colonies to the Atlantic shores of America, the Pacific coast of the country was left alone—not forgotten, of course, but neglected.

When the settlement of San Diego—the first in California—was accomplished, the hardy sons of England had made colonies all up and down the Atlantic. The Puritan colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts, was nearly 150 years old. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Virginia, were all well settled; their men had fought the Indians and were pushing the frontier slowly westward. England's ruler had insisted on galling injustices which had aroused those colonies almost to the point of rebellion. The Massachusetts legislature had boldly stated the rights of the colonists, other colonies had followed. While the first settlers of San Diego were on their way up to the harbor from Mexico the Virginia Assembly met and passed ringing resolutions against Crown taxation of the colonies and trial in England of colonists charged with treason. The people were aflame with the resentment which later brought on the war of the revolution.

Such were the conditions in the east when an expedition was started to the west by Spain for the settlement of California. And while this settlement was being made, with crude and humble beginnings, a new nation, to be a great and powerful nation, was being born across the continent. Yet many more years were to elapse before the pioneers of that new nation came across the land and the two waves of civilization met on the Pacific shores.

 

CHAPTER II. FATHER SERRA AND THE MISSIONS

On July 1, 1769, there arrived at San Diego the man who more than any other man was instrumental in establishing on these shores an orderly, constructive, useful civilization. He was Fr. Junipero Serra, Franciscan missionary. Full of a religious faith which gave inspiration not only to those who lived with him but to those who came after him, and possessing an administrative capacity of high order, he left a real milestone in the progress of civilization on the western shores of America. Against what obstacles he worked it is hard to picture. With what simple sweetness of character, with what great love and with what clear wisdom he overcame those obstacles every written line that comes from him and his associates speaks with eloquence. For good reason is Fr. Junipero Serra famous; for good reason do all San Diegans, of whatever religion, acclaim the name of this beloved padre and gladly join in tribute to his memory.

When Serra came to San Diego to found the first of the California missions at this port he was fifty-six years old; yet he entered upon the task, at which younger men might well have hesitated, with the same enthusiasm and devotion which he had shown as a youth. Never faltering, never losing confidence, always displaying great talents not only as a religious leader but as an administrator, he kept at his work until the very end of his life, some fifteen years after he reached San Diego. Small wonder is it that John Steven McGroarty, gifted California writer, was inspired to write his notable "Mission Play," which in recent years has done much more to draw a compelling picture for thousands of the period which Father Serra typifies than could be done on many pages of printed words. No less credit is due to Father Serra and his devoted associates, and those who labored in their path in later years, from the fact that Spain, in sending the missionaries to California, sought to secure territory. No less credit is theirs because Spanish statecraft, in the fear that others might claim this land, resolved to occupy and try to hold it. As one historian has said, the Americans, long before established on the Atlantic coast of America and ever moving west across the continent, might have penetrated the perils of the unknown lands to the Pacific coast. Perhaps the English, ever ranging the seven seas, might have come around and seized the hospitable haven which Cabrillo had entered in 1542. Another historian, an indefatigable searcher after historical truth—Fr. Zephyrin Engelhardt—attributes the action of Spain to the fear that Russia might gain the prize. At any rate, Spain acted. But with the soldiers came the Franciscan Fathers, ready and eager to serve, and theirs was the real conquest.

Early in 1769, Inspector-Gen. Don Jose de Galvez, by order of Carlos III, king of Spain, sent two expeditions, by sea and two by land, instructing that all four should meet at San Diego. The little "paquebot" San Carlos sailed from La Paz, Mexico, on or about January 9, 1769, after impressive ceremonies at which Fr. Serra is said to have presided. This vessel was in command of Capt. Vincente Vila, and on it came Fr. Fernando Parron, a Franciscan, as chaplain. More than a month later, or on February 15th the San Antonio, another little ship under the Spanish flag, left San Jose del Cabo. Her commander was Capt. Juan Perez, and with him came two Franciscans, Fr. Juan Viscaino and Fr. Francisco Gomez. One land party, starting also from the peninsula of what is now Lower California was under Don Gaspar de Portola, Governor of Lower California. The other was under Capt. Fernando Rivera Moncada. With the first party coming by land was Fr. Juan Crespi. Father Serra himself arrived only two days later than Portola, coming to the port with Portola's main force, which the governor had preceded.

The first of the two little vessels to arrive was the San Antonio. It must be remembered that in these days mariners lacked the accurate data and delicate instruments by which vessels proceed in these days. Cabrillo on his chart had set San Diego at the wrong latitude, and both the San Carlos and the San Antonio went up to the Santa Barbara channel, many miles north of San Diego, before the error was discovered. The San Antonio reached San Diego harbor on April 11, 1769, nearly two months out. Anchor was cast near what was named Point Guijarros, now, doubtless, Ballast Point, a name well known to all commanders of craft plowing through the Pacific. There the San Antonio waited for her sister vessel, which did not arrive until April 29. Such were the difficulties of sailing in those days.

Captain Vila of the San Carlos in his diary tells in what condition both crews were, and his words, preserved all these years, show vividly with what trials and tribulation the two sea expeditions had moved throughout the latter part of their voyage. The San Carlos had only two seamen in good condition as the result of scurvy, which had broken out on both ships. More than half the soldiers aboard were seriously ill, and Don Pedro Prat, the surgeon, was prostrated by the same disease. On the San Antonio conditions were even worse. When that vessel arrived two of the crew had died, and many of the others were very ill. When the San Carlos entered the harbor. Captain Perez of the San Antonio was in poor health. It was with difficulty that the weakened sailors still working on the San Carlos were able to bring that craft alongside the other. That was May 1, and on the same day, writes Captain Vila, a party went ashore to explore and seek a good watering place, which the San Antonio's men had not yet found. The party returned to the ships that evening. bringing an interesting description of the Indian village which was then on the bank of the San Diego river:

"The officers and the Missionary Fathers reported that they had walked about three leagues along the shore [of Point Loma and Dutch Flats] and at that distance had come to an Indian rancheria on the banks of a river with excellent water; that the Indians inhabiting the village to the number of thirty-five or forty families scattered along the stream in small rude huts, were very friendly and gentle; and that the country was pleasant and green, abounding in various odoriferous plants, wild grapes and game."

The remark which Captain Vila makes concerning the "river with excellent water" is of some interest in view of the fact that the San Diego River's bed is usually, in recent years, dry by the end of April—at least on the surface, although its sands yield generously of good water if one digs a few feet. Costanso, a civil engineer of the San Carlos party, agrees with Captain Vila in the description of the river, leading to the conclusion that there must have been heavy winter or late spring rains that season.

As the sun was rising well over the hills the next morning, Captain Vila took up his anchor and, with the San Antonio's launch out ahead, doubtless to keep the larger craft out of trouble, went farther into the harbor, anchoring in seven fathoms of water. Later in the day, while the sun was sinking behind Point Loma, a party went off in the launch to bury the dead seamen on the shore. Several days later Vila sent out another exploring party to the mouth of the river. where it was found that at high tide a boat could enter and get plenty of fresh water. Meanwhile the launch of the San Antonio went far up the harbor, in the direction of what is now National City, and found the harbor extensive.

The next day, May 6, it was decided to start construction of a rough hospital near the river mouth and at the distance of a cannon shot from the little boats in which the two sea expeditions had come, and when the site had been selected, work was begun the next day, Father Viscaino being in charge. There was still much sickness among the members of the expedition, and Captain Vila himself wrote that he was unable to walk: only eight men able to work were left in the party ashore. It is easy to imagine the sufferings and worries of the two sea expeditions, far from home and aid. most of the members ill and some of them dying. The land expedition with which Fr. Juan Crespi came arrived on May 14, and Father Crespi, in a letter which he wrote more than a month later, reporting to the Father Guardian of San Fernando College. Mexico, gave this summary of the conditions prevailing at the sorely stricken little camp: Twenty-three soldiers and sailors had died, nearly all the rest were very ill and most of them could be saved from death "only by a miracle." The land expedition had come in good shape, all of the party of about eighty arriving in good health.

In view of the distress of the sea expeditions, it was decided to send the San Antonio with such sailors as were able to work, to San Blas to report what had occurred and come back with more seamen. The San Antonio, however did not get away until July 9, and on the voyage of twenty-one days down the coast nine of Captain Perez' men died. Such were the ravages of the disease with which the Spanish forces had to compete.

Father Crespi's letter gives an interesting description of the native Indians. Although Captain Vila's men had reported that at the rancheria near the mouth of the San Diego river was a settlement of only about forty families, Father Crespi in his letter wrote that on the way up the land expedition had passed many rancherias and that inland from the harbor were many more Indians, gentiles, than at the harbor's shores. The natives, he wrote, using terms which showed his solicitude, were wretched. On the way north the expedition had had a good chance to observe the habits of these people. The males went perfectly naked; the women, however were "decently covered", fiber and animal skins forming their garments. Both men and women were much painted. The cartilage of the male Indian's nose was pierced and filled with a piece of shell. All of the natives were active, wrote Father Crespi. Then Father Crespi told about the San Diego River which had been running so wide a few weeks before. Its bed, so an exploring party found, was dry in many places, with a streamlet here and there: even three leagues up there was no running water. Still, Father Crespi spoke hopefully of the possibility of raising good crops, in which the Franciscan Fathers did notable work in later years, always contending against conditions of which they had to learn as they went along and against which they accomplished veritable wonders. In fact, the great work of irrigation by which this "semi-arid" section has been made to produce fruits and vegetables for a nation's consumption was started by these same fathers in the early days. The remains of the dam and irrigation works by which they experimented successfully are still visible at the site of the Mission dam, a few miles up the river.

Let us, however, go back to the newcomers at the mouth of the river. Such as were able to be around were either exploring the nearby country or attending to the sick when, on June 29, Don Gaspar de Portola, who had come on ahead of his party with a few men, arrived at the harbor. Two days later, just before noon, the main body of the expedition, Father Serr...

Table of contents

• PREFACE
• CHAPTER I. THE SPANISH DISCOVERERS
• CHAPTER II. FATHER SERRA AND THE MISSIONS
• CHAPTER III. AT THE PRESIDIO, UNDER SPANISH RULE
• CHAPTER IV. UNDER THE MEXICAN FLAG
• CHAPTER V. IN THE MEXICAN WAR
• CHAPTER VI. BATTLE OF SAN PASQUAL
• CHAPTER VII. PICTURESQUE OLD TOWN
• CHAPTER VIII. UNDER THE AMERICAN FLAG
• CHAPTER IX - FIFTY YEARS AGO
• CHAPTER X - HORTON COMES TO SAN DIEGO
• CHAPTER XI - BEFORE THE BOOM
• CHAPTER XII - THE GREAT BOOM
• CHAPTER XIV -SAN DIEGO'S RAILROAD HISTORY