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to be published. May God preserve your life many years. Arispe, April 22, 1787.

JACOBO UGARTE Y LOYOLA."

And so this valuable specific was made known by a public crier and with a roll of drums, all the world over, even here in California where the troublesome insect is fortunately unknown.

The Couriers, who were the Overland Mail of that day, on leaving, for instance Monterey, received a certificate from the Commandante of the Presidio, that he started at a certain hour; on his arrival at the next stopping place he presented his certificate to the officer in command of the place, who noted the hour of his arrival and departure, and so on at all the stopping places between Monterey and La Paz in Lower California; so that if the mail carrier loitered on the way his way-bill would show it. Such way-bills from Monterey to La Paz with all these memoranda on them, may be found in the Archives. It was the unfortunate mail rider, and not the Government, that people were in the habit of blaming in those days. These way-bills show that he made the distance from San Francisco to San Diego in five days. Quiet old days! But little of a public sort was doing then in Calfornia. There was a dispute that amounted to something like a law suit between the Mission of Santa Clara and the Pueblo of San José. It commenced from the very day of the establishment of the latter. Father Junipero objected to the Pueblo being so near the Mission, the boundary as at first established running about half way between the two places. The Governor was obstinate and Father Junipero desired that his protest might be entered in the proceedings of the foundation, which the Governor refused. The controversy by no means died out; the head of the College of San Fernando at Mexico to which all the Franciscans of California belonged, brought it before the Viceroy praying him not to allow the Indians and Missionaries to be molested by the Pueblo. The Governor of California was therefore ordered to investigate the matter, and seems to have settled it by making the river Guadalupe the boundary from that time forward. Again; one Mariano

Castro obtained from the Viceroy permission to settle himself upon a place called LA BREA, in the neighborhood of the Mission of San Juan Bautista; under this license he applied to the Governor to give him the possession of the land, but the Priests at San Juan objected strenuously, alleging that the place of LA BREA was needed by the Mission for its cattle. This was represented by the Governor to the Viceroy, who in the end told Castro to select some other place; and the Mission kept LA BREA. We see with what jealousy, and how effectively, the Fathers vindicated the title of themselves and their Indian pupils to their California.

For a complete view of the internal constitution of California at that day, two facts, which are exceptional to this ecclesiastical domination require to be noted.

In 1791, Pedro Nava commandante of the Internal Provinces of the West, in a decree dated at Chihuahua, gives to the Captains commanding Presidios, or recognizes as already existing in them, authority to grant building lots to the soldiers and other residents, within the space of four square leagues. I do not know, but presume, that this power was exercised at San Diego, Santa Barbara and Monterey, and hence the origin of the towns bearing those names, which at a later period come into view as such. At San Francisco however there is nothing, in the Archives or elsewhere yet discovered, to show that such a grant was ever made by the Captain of the Presidio. And in 1795 a commissioner was appointed under the orders of the Viceroy to select a place and establish another town, who reported that "the worst place or situation in California, is that "of San Francisco for the formation of a Villa as proposed." And therefore the Villa of Branciforte, so called in honor of the Viceroy, the Marquis of Branciforte, was by great preference established near the Mission of Santa Cruz. It never attained any consequence and some adobe ruins may now attest its former existence.

Suspicion and exclusion were the rule towards foreigners. On the 23d of October 1776, the Viceroy writes to the Govornor of California :—“That the King having received intelli'gence that two armed vessels had sailed from London under

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"the command of Captain Cook, bound on a voyage of discovery to the southern ocean, and the northern coast of Cali"fornia, commands that orders be given to the Governor of “California to be on the watch for Captain Cook, and not permit him to enter the ports of California." At a later day a better spirit prevailed towards Vancouver, who spent some time in 1793 in the port of Monterey. We have a voluminous correspondence of his with the Governor-the letters in English, and written with his own hand. He sets forth the harmonious understanding existing between England and his Catholic Majesty of Spain and their united efforts in the cause of humanity, and asks assistance in arresting some deserters, and obtaining supplies, &c., which he will pay for with bills on London. Instructions had been previously received by the Governor to treat Vancouver well. We see in this amiability between old enemies that the great French Revolution was making itself felt even on this remote coast. And in some of the letters of the Fathers of a little later period we find Napoleon spoken of as the great "LUZBEL," (LUCIFER)-for such he appeared to their imagination in their Missions.

The first mention of an American ship occurs in the following letter from the Governor of California to the Captain of the Presidio of San Francisco:

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"WHENEVER THERE MAY ARRIVE AT THE PORT OF SAN FRANCISCO A SHIP NAMED THE COLUMBIA, SAID TO BELONG TO GENERAL WASHINGTON, OF THE AMERICAN STATES, COMMANDED 66 BY JOHN RENDRICK, WHICH SAILED FROM BOSTON IN SEPTEMBER, 1787, BOUND ON A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY TO THE RUS66 SIAN ESTABLISHMENTS ON THE NORTHERN COAST OF THIS PENIN"C SULA, YOU WILL CAUSE THE SAID VESSEL TO BE EXAMINED WITH "6 CAUTION AND DELICACY, USING FOR THIS PURPOSE A SMALL

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BOAT, WHICH YOU HAVE IN YOUR POSSESSION, AND TAKING THE SAME MEASURES WITH EVERY OTHER SUSPICIOUS FOREIGN VESSEL, GIVING ME PROMPT NOTICE OF THE SAME.

"MAY GOD PRESERVE YOUR LIFE MANY YEARS.

"SANTA BARBARA, May 13th, 1789.

"To Josef Arguello."

"PEDRO FAGES.

Twenty years before, this same Fages had sailed on the San Carlos to re-discover and people California. The San Carlos and the Columbia, and Fages the connecting link! The United States of America and California joined for the first time in a thought! It is impossible by any commentary to highten the interest with which we read this document. Its very errors, even to the Governor's ignorance of the geography of his own country, are profoundly suggestive.

The Columbia did not enter the ports of California, but made land further to the north, and discovered the Columbia river.

Fourteen years later, it would appear, that American ships. were more frequent on this coast.

On the 26th of August, 1803, José Argüello, Comandante of the Presidio of San Francisco, writes to Gov. José Joaquin de Arrillaga:

"That on the first of the present month, at the hour of evening prayers, two American vessels anchored in the port (San Francisco,) one named the Alexander, under the command of Capt. John Brown, and the other named the Aser, under the command of Thomas Raben; that as soon as they anchored, the captain came ashore to ask permission to get supplies of wood and water, when observing that he was the same Brown that was there in the preceding month of March, he refused to give him permission to remain in port; that on the day following, at six in the morning, he received a letter from the captain (or supercargo,) a copy of which he transmits, which is as follows:

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Notwithstanding your order for our immediate departure from this port, I am constrained to say that our necessities are such as to render it impossible for us to do so. I would esteem it a great favor if you would come aboard and see for yourself the needy circumstances in which we are placed, for during the whole of the time we have been on the north-west coast we have had no opportunity of supplying ourselves with wood and water, the Indians being so savage that we have not been

able to hold any kind of friendly intercourse with them what

ever.

We had several fights with them in the Straits of Chatham; the first was in the port of Istiquin, where we were attacked by three hundred canoes, each canoe containing from ten to twenty-three Indians, each one with two or three escopetas and their pistols and spears. Three times, in one day, they attempted to take the ship, but we defended the same without losing any of our men.

From this port we went to the Ensenada of Icana, in said straits, at which place we found about a thousand Indians encamped, many of whom came aboard our vessel for purposes of trade, carrying their arms in one hand and their skins in the other.

After we had been four days in this port, all the Indians came aboard, saying that they were not afraid of the Americans, since they were but few, while there were many Indians, who had many arms.

On the fifth day of our stay in this port, about six o'clock in the evening, three or four canoes came alongside the ship, and on being ordered to leave they refused, when our Captain seized a gun and fired it in the air, on which the Indians laughed very much, saying he did not know how to shoot, and could not kill; whereupon the Captain seized another gun, fired at and killed the Indian, on which the rest retired to the land, and all of them went to a neighboring Island; and from ten o'clock at night till eight in the morning they made no further demonstrations against us, at which time we made sail, in the meantime striking upon a rock and somewhat injuring our vessel.

From this port we went to Juan de Fuca, at which place we learned from the chief, Tatacu, that the chief Quatlazape had taken the ship Boston; that when the said vessel had been some four days in port the Indian Chief and the Captain of the ship having some difficulty in relation to trade, the Captain of the ship said to the Chief that he had traded with many Chiefs to the north, and that he knew he did not act like an honorable Chief; whereupon the Chief, Pioeque replied to the Captain that he was a bad man; at this the Captain seized a gun and ordered him ashore; whereupon he went to his Rancheria and issued an order for the assembling of all the neighboring Indians, from the straits of Juan de Fuca to the point of Nutka, which were so assembled within three days; and after holding a council they determined to take the Boston, which they effected in the following manner: At seven o'clock

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