A Port at the Edge of the World III

Two Decades of the Don (1821 - 1836): In the wake of Mexico's newfound independence, California finds itself at a crossroads. The dismantling of the missions leaves Native Americans facing a precarious future, while the California Dons ascend to prominence, and the archetype of the American Cowboy takes root. The groundbreaking journey of a mountain man across the Sierras interweaves the destinies of east and west. Amidst this era of immense change and cultural collision, how will the destinies of California and San Francisco's diverse peoples and lands be reshaped? Which dreams will survive the tempest of progress?

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  You were about to listen to episode three.  Have a six part series. On the history of San Francisco. Leading up to the gold rush in California.  If you've made it this far already. Why not leave a rating review.  It's free. Takes one second. And it really helps the cause.  And if you haven't listened to the previous two episodes, I highly recommend you do so. His I'll be referencing a lot of things from those episodes.   But you are the captain of your own ship. And are free to steer it where you will.  Enjoy.  

Beneath  the surface. 

Beyond  the wild lie 

the untold  stories.  America's 

savage beginnings. 

These are those stories. This.  This  is the Savage West. 

   If it's true that baseball.  Is America's pastime.    

It might be fair to say that.  Cowboying or ranching.  Is America's profession.   The one profession.  That encompasses. Our past or present our mindset more. So. Uh, than any other.   

if you go to the Midwest,  there's this cowboy ranching culture.  A lot of the schools in the Midwest have rodeo.  As one of their sports, along with football and baseball.   

There's a whole genre dedicated to the cowboy in westerns.  

 Modern shows like Yellowstone talk about these generations of ranching and how  they're trying to hold on to this culture.  

All, everything is changing around them.   This ranch has been with us since. Time in memoriam. You're not going to take my land no way you're going to develop on it. I'll fight you over it.   cowboys and Indians, portrayed  as good.  Versus evil.   In the media  Cowboys. Being the American pushing westward, trying to maintain their herds.    These Indians, these savages coming in and threatening their way of life.

 Even when you hear the word you think of figures like John Wayne. Clint Eastwood and this tough guy image with the gruff voice and the cowboy hat and the boots and the spurs.  This tough talk.  I dare you. To challenge me. I dare you to take my land.  

Do you feel lucky punk?

 If you look at this idea, statistically, it makes even more sense.   

The United States has the largest ranches in the world  

we have the most cattle exports of any other country by far.    If you look at land use in the United States,  And the continental us.  Around half of the land. Is designated for pasteurized animals.  The vast majority of which are cattle.    

So it might surprise some listeners. 

To learn that.  The modern idea of the American cowboy.  Wasn't uniquely American at all.  

 In fact, there's no such thing.  As 

the modern American cowboy. 

Or these enormous range, cattle ranches. 

in the United States. 

Until the mid to late 18 hundreds.  Which is when the east. Met the west.  By land.  

 And so if this episode is about anything.  And it's going to cover a vast tapestry of this history. But if it is about one subject,  it is about the origin of the American cowboy.  

 When we left off in the last episode,  The year was 1821.   Mexico had just won their independence from Spain after 11 years of war.  He established themselves as a Republic, similar to the United States.  



 For the most part. California has remained largely untouched. By this war.   



 This community continued to evolve in this isolation  shielded from this war itself, other than not being funded. And not being paid.   The real change is this divide that is widening. Between these Presidio soldiers and these missions and the Mexican government.   Not a change that is easily seen.  

 This question of secularization is still pending. 

This strangeness is continuing.  

 Not much has changed in Alta California.  



There's this  incubation period going on here.  Where you really don't have  interaction with these. Northern Mexican territories and California. With really any other cultures around the world.  And this year in 1821,  No one. Has crossed the Sierras by land.  

And you may be thinking, well, , there was the Lewis and Clark expedition 

In 1806.

How can that be? They went from ocean to ocean.  That's true.  

But they cross  in the Oregon territory, they didn't cross the Sierras.  

Since that time. There's only been around three government funded expeditions into the interior of the United States. 

That region. Between the Sierra mountains. And the far Western territory of the United States and like Illinois and Missouri.   Is. Largely unexplored, unmapped and unknown.  

 One of these government funded expeditions by an Explorer name is w on pike.  

Describe the great Plains.  As a great desert.   These accounts from these explorers were hugely popular in the United States.    If you're uh, settler in these frontier. Territories , where there's plenty of land, plenty of area for you to settle  and you're thinking about pushing westward, and then you read this report of everything west of you is a great American desert. 

 Oh. And by the way,  there are these horse riding tribes.  And if you go out there, you'll probably be killed too.   That's.  A huge deterrent to going westward. 

   On top of that,  The Oregon trail hasn't even begun yet. It's not even being conceived.  The American mountain man is still largely in his infancy. 

You really have 

hardly any Americans. at all. Going into this uncharted territory of the interior.   Even if by some miracle and explore a word to make it to the borders of California.  You have to remember that california is surrounded by mountain ranges. 

The cascade range to the north.   The Sierras to the east.  And you have another mountain range for their south,  you want to coming from the south is coming from Mexico.  

 

  The only foreigners coming to this region with any. Symbol of regularity.  Are  these sailors.  And their crews.  

Even still not many ships are coming at all. 

From the year of San Francisco's establishment in 1776,   there's been on average, only 2.5 ships per year. Spotted off the California coast. And most of those wouldn't go into the San Francisco bay.   The accounts I read from the last episode, those were some of the very few explorers to enter that area. Which is why it's so hard to understand. The culture that is really evolving there     

To get a better since. Of how these California's evolved, particularly in San Francisco.  We're going to have to rely on historian. Uh, by the name of Herbert, how banned Croft.    I referenced him in the last episode  and realized I didn't give a whole lot of context.  But  Herbert, how banned Croft is  the godfather of far Western history, especially in California. Mexico  and the early 19 hundreds, he wrote these monumental works that are like, six volumes, a thousand pages each. There's the history of California, the history of the Indigenous species, the in history of Mexico, I think he wrote three others.  he worked With this enormous team that actually Interviewed a lot of these people. 

 That were alive this time,  then combined all these separate accounts .  Which is a great resource for me, because I can go into here and find these accounts and then see banned cross references, and then go to these firsthand accounts. It's an easy. Jump off point.  

So Ben Croft describes this evolution of these Californias during this period evolving around this hide and tallow trade. Leather from these cow hides and the fat from these cows for. Wax.  Everyone's reliant on wax candles  for light  , and then.  This hide from the cattle. There's no synthetic materials. 

So  everyone's using leather for all types of clothing.   Not only that you don't have the car yet,  if you have a longer journey, you're going to need a horse. And to ride this horse, you need. All of the leather material to go along with it   the saddle  rains.  Boots, belts, et cetera.  

Haydn tallow was the main source of profit. for all of these missions and all to California.    They weren't really reliant on these cattle for beef.  thEy use them for beef, of course, but there was no real beef trade.  The high Intello is really what was valuable to them.  

The  dynamic between. These Presidio soldiers.  And these missions, which we didn't discuss a whole lot. In the last episode, it was more about the relationship between these native Americans in the missions.  But it's important to understand this dynamic between these two mean.  Institutions. Of Alta California during this time.   it's just the Presidio and mission at San Francisco at this point  

So.  You have these Presidio soldiers.      Each Presidio would oversee. The protection of around five missions, and then they'd also be assigned to protect. And the pueblos within their area. 

  There's the Pueblo San Jose. That's the nearest Pueblo to San Francisco during this period.  And also these ranches.   There's not a ton of ranches in Northern California. There's only two or three big ones. The  family is the most notable one, which was in the area. 

That's now Stanford.  They had an enormous ranch called the Rancho dealer pool, Gus, which literally manage a ranch of the flies.  Pretty unappealing name, but.  Very good land. If you're familiar with it now, it's Stanford's campus. 

   More often than not, there wouldn't be a whole lot of soldiers. Living within the actual Presidio. And be off  protecting these various settlements.   Each mission would have.  Five to eight  soldiers station there at any given time.  

 These wives in these children and these soldiers would be left to these Presidios to take care of the day to day. Working chores.       The soldiers themselves. \ mixed blood about half would be Spanish.  A quarter was mulatto, mixed Floyd between native Americans and Spanish. And then he have a few pure blood, native Americans.  I was surprised to learn that there was a few soldiers  that had mixed African-American descent.   They were all referred to as the gin today, rezone.  Which literally was translated into people of reason.  that's what they referred to anyone who had adopted the Spanish culture and Spanish mindset, including these native Americans.  . They don't care as much about race. Of course it is.  A factor,  but not as much. So as  the African-American and the south.    These far off colonies needed the help of these native Americans and often allied with them. It was more accepted. To be of a different race within the Gente de. Arizona.  So long as you adopted  the  Spanish culture and been Christianized.  

A lot of these native Americans had been indoctrinated.  

 They believed in what the Spanish friars were teaching them.  

There was incentive to do that.  Because the more you appeal to the Spanish fires, the more you would rise up within the mission.   Your position would improve.   These missions were giant trade centers.   You'd have these  gardens, these  fields to work.  All the vineyards in California originated with these Spanish missions.  

 And then you would have.  



The vaqueros. Heroes.  

The literal interpretation of the Vaquero.  Is cowboy.  

If the name sounds familiar.  Try saying you with, uh,  Backwoods American accent. 

That   that   

bucker. Guru.  

The word Buckaroo comes from the word.  

 

and these Those  were mostly native Americans. 

     you may be thinking to yourself, , how can this be?  How can Indians be the first Cowboys? 

 Is Finkel really? Einhorn is Einhorn Finkel.  Let me explain.   Along with the horse.  The Spanish were also the first to bring over. Cattle.   Around a hundred years. Before the English had even arrived.   Columbus brought cows in his second expedition.  His ship was  like a Noah's Ark with all these different pasteurized animals. Dropped off in the Caribbean    there were an invasive species.   Protected by these Spanish soldiers. 

 So the multiplied quickly,  when other countries would come and colonize,  they'd stop off these islands and purchase cattle and bring them over to their settlements.   In terms of these large range, cattle, ranches,  there were none of those in like a James town or early American states.  There are some larger cattle production businesses, but not to the same extent. As what was happening in Alta California in 1821.  These.  Great ranches with these heightened tallow trait.  

 If you remember the Portola expedition in the last episode, in 1769.   the first. Overland expedition into Alta California. 

He brought with him the very first horses. And cattle into California..    The entire native American population in the region. Weren't introduced to cattle or horses until 1769 to San Francisco. Probably like 1776, which is when the San Francisco mission and Presidio were founded.    The Spanish had been building up these missions and Presidios  earlier  and  arizona, New Mexico, Texas.  

They had to deal with these horse tribes and the planes.  It had been introduced to horses in  the 15 hundreds.    The Spanish government didn't want  to train the native Americans on the horse because they were afraid they would become combative. Rightfully so.  

But These missions,  needed manpower to maintain these large herds.  So while  missions and Presidios. 

East of the Sierras.  .  Had a lot of difficulty expanding. Because you had these horse-riding tribes coming in and.  Stock rating, killing  these Presidio soldiers, killing these Padres, and then riding off with all their cattle and horses.  You didn't have that threat in California, . .   Mountains surrounding. California where a buffer. To these Plains tribes.  

  If you look at the history of the missions and Presidios and other Northern Mexican territories, They'd be settled and then raid would come in and kill off all these settlers and they disband the mission in Presidio. And then they'd try to resettle it.   California was really where these massive ranches were..   



After the introduction of cattle and horses into California, by the Portola expedition.   This  hide and tallow trade expands.  And these Padres have to train these native Americans.  On the horse.  

And these native Americans very quickly. Become. Masters of the horse. That have tons of rodeos and horse riding competitions, similar to how rodeos are today.  So when you see a cowboy wearing chaps,  Using a lasso.   Spurs on his boots. even the rodeo  Those  all evolved from the Spanish . The word radio was Spanish. The word last, it was Spanish.  

Kind of boggles the mind a little bit and takes away from this myth of the American cowboy, being a part of the United States since our founding.

  So this entire culture in California is really evolving around. This hide and tallow trade. These range, cattle ranches.   It's big horse country, more so than the Midwest today.  There's no cars. Your only mode of transportation is the horse.  Your nearest neighbor is. Miles away.  

It's essential. Uh, you are master horseman.  

To survive in this region.  

 

 

 Now these soldiers. Were mostly from. Poor communities.  Looking for a way to advance themselves,   but you would have these officers that come from these more prominent families.   To relate it to the American military. That's the idea of a graduate from west point. I'm going off to Iraq to get some real world experience training, these infantry men, and actually fighting a real enemy. 

 Then returning back to. The United States and joining  the intelligence unit or something like that.  So they're going to get their field work in. And then a lot of them would return to Mexico and join the Mexican army.   Some of them would stay.  Similar to how some officers that go to Iraq or Afghanistan prefer to lead these infantry men.   There's other incentive for these soldiers to stay.  And all to California.   Because some of them were getting these land grants.  Not many at this point.   But now that the soldiers aren't getting paid, there's the question of. How was Mexico? Going to handle these land grants. 

  If you're one of these soldiers, there's also this family question.   Of how you're going to marry off.  Your children.  

If you don't have anyone coming by land . The only opportunity you really have. 



 

Are the children of your fellow soldiers.   

It's not until 1822.  It San Francisco will get its first. European settler outside of Spanish origin.  And a man named William in Tunio Richardson.  

If you know of Richardson's bay, In San Francisco.  This is that base namesake. 

 I found this story.  And the San Francisco bulletin. Which is an old newspaper.   An account called the days of the dawns written by Steve Richardson. Who's William Antonio Richardson, son. He's recounting what his father told him  richardson. 

Was a member of the British Navy.   He had previously been the captain of a ship that was lost in the Arctic.  And in the British Navy at the time, if you were to lose a ship, The punishment would be a demotion.   So when Richardson arrives in San Francisco, it says first meet a board, a Whaler called the Orion. 

That was also a part of the British Navy.   

 

The Ryan sales into the San Francisco bay through what is now the golden gate.  Sees this. Largely uninhabited land.  

 They're not coming immediately to shore. They're dropping anchor, and then watching 

these men from this foreign culture.  That they've never interacted with before. Try to signal to them in some unknown way.   The captain of the Ryan.  Doesn't want to go ashore. Doesn't want to meet these strange people at the Presidio.    Then on top of that, The captain of the Orion doesn't speak Spanish.   So rather than go ashore himself .  You sins Richardson.  Who does speak Spanish?  

 Richardson arrives ashore.    He negotiates for supplies. With the Commandante of the Presidio, Amanda Martinez.  



This is Martinez. California's namesake.   The sun is already lowering. Over the Pacific coast. And if you've been in San Francisco, Around sunset. It's heaviness golden hue to it. It makes everything seem, . Magical almost.  

Before Richardson can return to the ship.  Martinez.  Takes the opportunity. To invite him to. A musical company that's playing in the Presidio later that evening.  With refreshments.  

 This is an opportunity for Martinez to find a potential mate, a member of the British Navy for one of his daughters. Martinez has 12 children.  He's California's were known for their fecundity. Many of them would have 10 plus children. 

There's one woman in Monterey that the soldiers noted. Had 22 children.  Richardson. Who's been at sea for. Probably around a year.  .  Accepts Martinez is invitation. Without notifying his shipmates. 

 

Martinez leads Richardson through the Presidio at this magical golden hour. Everything is bright and beautiful.   Richardson really doesn't know what he's walking into.  

He describes the situation to his son, Steve, as. Seeing all these dilapidated buildings  not sure if he should have accepted this invitation, but Martinez is very friendly and these soldiers are very friendly. They love their guests. They love their fiestas.  

So he's walking through these dilapidated buildings in this. Presidio enclosure.  And they approached this one building from which.  Music is emanating.  

When they opened the door.  

There are quote. 30 comely young people. Just lining up to dance.  In quote, 

  To Richardson, this is music to his ears, music to his eyes,  these California women were notoriously beautiful. 

All these sailors describe them as being short, very small feet, very bright white teeth. And these doctors speculates that it's because of their heavy diet in beef. Who knows if that's true, but  in any case, according to Richardson, all of these women are  astonishing.   And Richardson is the guest of honor.    what would you do if you were in that situation, and you've been on this ship with these same men, eating the same food, drinking the same wine for roughly a year?  Would you embrace the situation?  Would you go back and tell the crew?   jumps in head first.  Martinez is trying to get him to dance with all of his daughters.  and they're enamored by him because he's one of the only foreigners that they've seen in months, years, who knows how long.  He's drinking this renowned wine,  All these missions, they're also wineries. He's eating the best food he's probably had in a long time. Months to a year,  living up this situation, getting passed from woman to woman, all of these people enamored by his stories,  the life of the party, so to speak.   He ends up falling in love with one of Martinez's  eldest daughter,    Now around midnight,  the captain is wondering where his first mate has gone. 

And so he sends the Botswain ashore  to see what has happened to Richardson.  You have to remember  Richardson shipmates don't know he's at this fiesta.  They don't know if he's been captured.  He may have been murdered.  They really have no idea.   So the Botswain  slips into the Presidio,  hears this music, takes a peek inside,   and according to  Richardson, his father is in the middle of this circle of women, showing them all how to do the Irish Jig. embracing the moment.    Richardson ends up staying the night.  

He tells Martinez his eldest daughter, that he's in love with her.  Then he's planning to marry her.  And wants to stay in San Francisco with her.  

now Richardson has a big problem.  Because if he does decide to stay,  that's considered treason by the British Navy. 

Treason at that time  was punishable by death.    The next morning,  Richardson returns to the ship.   The captain is irate. He's already gotten this report from the Botswain. He knows Richardson's been at this fiesta without telling him. 

As punishment,  he tells Richardson that he's marooning him in San Francisco.   Doing Richardson a favor.  Because by doing this.  The captain is really giving Richardson his wish, so to speak, and allowing him to stay without this punishment of death. 

  Richardson ends up staying in San Francisco and living with the Martinez family in the Presidio.    This will change so many different things in San Francisco. 

Not only is he the first European there, and this will start a slow trickle of other Europeans coming into San Francisco and living there,  but he's also a master shipman.  He can navigate the bay better than any of these Presidio soldiers. He can chart the bay, show them better anchorage. He can build launches.

These Presidios didn't have large launches that could go great distances.  He'll also play a pivotal role later in this episode  of founding the city of San Francisco.   



 At this point. There's still this lingering question.  Of what to do with these missions.  

He's military leaders. Can't just up in the mission system. 

Again, these are like cult leaders. And they have huge followings.  Most of the population and all to California's native Americans. I had numbers Europeans  3000 versus around 97,000.   

So there's another. 

Limited secularization attempt.  Overseen by the Padres themselves,   these Padres, aren't going to say these native Americans should be secularized because that would reduce their power. the same idea today is like the Supreme court governing their own ethics. 

  The Supreme court justices. 

Aren't going to say that they are committing ethics violations because that would lessen their authority and they may have to resign. On both sides want to maintain power?  





So these missions continue. As they had been before.  Is incubation period continues.  

And this strangeness that we talked about in the last episode,  Really begins to accelerate.  

 To give you a better idea of what I mean.  

I found this one account.  In November of 1826 by a man named frederick William beachy.  Who's an English geographer. And he is riding on a ship. It's charting the west coast and lands in San Francisco bay. 

And it also takes a tour of the San Jose mission. Goes on this whole journey to a number of different missions. And Presidio's.  And writes his account in. Narrative of a voyage to the Pacific and Bering Strait to cooperate with the polar expeditions.  

  His accounts are vivid. Descriptive and he seems very  observant and literal.  You don't get the sense of bias. So you get the sense of. Trying to be  sincere with his writing.  His writing is just brilliant.    He happens to. Be at the mission in San Jose. For this encounter with this wild native American tribe. Called the cosmetics.   This. Encounter involves the  San Francisco Presidio soldiers 

  and these soldiers.  

Or called leather jacket soldiers.  

  Envision them as  Knights in a leather.  They had this  extremely thick. Jacket that came down over their thighs. It was impenetrable. Did arrows.  It had these shin guards that would protect them from areas equally as thick, often throw this leather over their horse to protect the horse from arrows. 

Some of them would wear helmets with mass.  They have this giant leather shield.   And their main weapon was the Lance.  They have the Lance they'd have a sword. They have pistols. And generally musket, but. At this time their supplies were so limited. A lot of these soldiers were having makeshift armor.     So BT arrives. At San Jose.   He describes  these missions at this time. Allowing these native Americans to go back into the wild and visit there.  Tribes of origin. Or, see their friends and family away from the mission.  And beachy is explaining how.  

It seems like the Padres, encouraging them to try to convert their fellow native Americans and bring them into this mission. , peas, the Padre. Then potentially rise up in their standing 

  Beachy also describes.  How in this one particular occasion with Cosmin is.  

There seemed to be an ulterior motive..    I'll let beachy pick up the story from there. 

Quote.   When the Indians can be spared from their agricultural concerns of the establishment. Many of them are permitted to take the launch of the mission and make excursions to the Indian territory.  

All are anxious to go on such occasions. Some to visit their friends. Some to procure the manufacturers of their Barbara's countrymen, which by the, by. Or often better than their own. And some with a secret determination, never to return.  On these occasions, the Padres desire them to induce as many of their unconverted brethren as possible to accompany them back to the mission. Of course implying that this is to be done by persuasion.  But the boot. Being furnished with a cannon and musketry. And in every respect, equipped for war.  It too often happens. That the neophytes and the Gente day.   who superintend the direction of the boat. Avail themselves of their superiority. With the desire of ingratiating themselves with their masters and ever receiving a reward.  There are besides repeated acts of aggression, which is necessary to punish. All of which furnished Pross lights. A person who's converted from one belief  or religion to another.  Women and children are generally the first objects of capture. As their husbands and parents sometimes voluntarily follow them into captivity.   These misunderstandings.

And captives. Keep up a perpetual immunity among the tribes. Who's thirst for revenge  is almost insatiable. Into quote.   

He heard the term Gentile and neophyte in that account. You'll hear that a lot of these accounts.  Uh, Gentile literally means one. Who's not Christian. And the new fights. Which literally means one who's new at a subject.  Is what these mission native Americans were called, new fights or new photos. So when you hear the term neophyte, just think mission native American Gentiles. Wild native American.  

   So you have these trips for these native Americans to go back to their.  Home villages, whom Rancherias, which were what these villages were called. These wild native Americans.  Encouraged by the Padre to convert their fellow countrymen, to come into the missions.  

 A lot of these native Americans. Are beginning to use force.  There's this sense that.  That's not being dissuaded by this Padre.  It's.  Kind of we'll take converts any way we can get them.  They need more converts at this point.  Because their death rates are increasing year after year the mission Indians population is on a sharp decline and has been for the past. 10 15 years.  

If the government begins to hone in on that.  Which they're beginning to. 

And what's the point of these missions to begin with? Is it to kill off these native Americans?   They still need their support. To build up these communities in the far north.

   To meet up with the cosmetics.  

He wasn't sure if they're trying to convert them or punish them.  Capture or kill them,  either way they sail off this war, like ship. With the Gente de rezone, and then you have other native Americans  trying to appease the Padre.  

So I'll pick up with.  Beaches account there.  Quote.   The call day, it appears from one statement four, there are several converted. 

The party of pleasure,  either into one of attack for the purpose of procuring process lights  or revenge upon a particular tribe for some aggression in which they were concerned.  They proceeded up the Rio de Joaquin until they came to the territory of a particular tribe. Called the Cosmin is when they disembarked with a gun and in camp for the night near the village of Los Gentiles, intending to make an attack upon them the next morning.  But before they were prepared, the Gentiles. Who had been appraised of their intention and had collected a large body of friends.   Became the assailants. And press so hard upon the party that not withstanding. 

They dealt death in every direction with their Canon and musketry  and we're inspired with the confidence by the contempt in which they held  the valor and tactics of their unconverted, countrymen. They were overpowered by numbers and obliged to seek their safety and flight. And to leave the gun in the woods.  Some regain the launch and received, and others found their way Overland to the mission.  But 34 of the party never returned to tell their tale.  End quote. 

 You have these mission native Americans going into the wild tribes. Some of them supposedly to the visit, their friends. 

Riding on this war, like ship. 

Armed with a cannon and all of these native Americans armed with muskets. 

You have the Alvarez  Who's like a lesser officer, one of these Presidio soldiers, that's been stationed at the San Jose mission and one of the five to eight soldiers. That's there to keep the order.  Apparently he may have a grudge against this cause man, his tribe   

Whereas these other rumors circulating that the Padre 

since this war, like party out to attack the cosmic days.   Whatever the reason. You have the ship going in to attack these Cosmin is.  It doesn't go as planned. 

Total you have.   34 people killed.  From these mission, native Americans at San Jose.  You have an unknown amount of these cause many's killed.   If 50 of them had died, that's roughly a half percent. I have the entire native American population in California at the time.  So no small number by any means. 

 When these native Americans were turned to the mission. And deliver the news of their failed attack.  The rest of the mission native Americans are.  Furious and vengeful.    your cult member has been killed. Your family member has been killed. Your brother has been killed by these wild native Americans who are savages, who have not adopted this religion. That they need to, they're not going to be saved unless they're Christianized.  Our fellow converts were killed, doing the Lord's work. Trying to bring them into enlightenment. Trying to give them access to heaven. 

They are heathens. They are savages.  

We need to go out.  And revenge, our fallen brothers and sisters. We need to go out and punish. Those heathens  in the name of God.  

That's what's happening here.  

 

  Will pick up a BJ's account there.  Quote.  

The neophytes became so enraged at the news of the slaughter of their companions. That it was almost impossible to prevent them from procuring forthwith to revenge their deaths.  The Padre was also greatly displeased 

at the result of the excursion. As to the loss of so many Indians to the mission was of the greatest consequence. And the confidence. With which the victory would inspire. The Indians was equally alarming.  He therefore joined with converted Indians and a determination to chastise and strike terror into the victorious tribe. And in concert with the governor planned an expedition against them. The mission, furnished money, arms, Indians, and horses 

and the Presidio  provided troops headed by the Alvarez Sanchez.  A veteran who had been frequently engaged with the Indians. And it was acquainted with every part of the country.  The troops carried with them, their armor and shields as an offense against the arrows, the Indians. The armor consisted of a helmet and Gerkin made of stout skins. Quite impenetrable to an arrow. And the shield might also buy without an Ajax in the number of its folds.   The expedition sit out on the 19th of November.  And we heard nothing of it until the 27th.  But two days after the troops had taken the field. So my mints, columns of smoke rising above the mountains and the direction of the cosmetics is bespoke. 

The conflagration of the village and of the persecuted Gentiles.   And on the day above mentioned  the veteran Sanchez made a triumphant entry into the mission of San Jose.  Escorting 40 miserable women and children,  the gun that had been taken and the first battle  and other true peas of the field.  The victory. 

So glorious, according to the ideas, the conqueror. Was achieved with the loss of only one man on the part of the Christians who was mortally wounded by the bursting of his own gun.  But in the part of the enemy,  it was considerable  as Sanchez. The morning after the battle counted 41 men, women, and children  dead.  In the quote.   You're not going to get as vivid, a description 

As what beachy is really gifted to history.   

And you can relate it to some things today.  One side of a military provokes another to attack them so they can.  Gin up their base and say, we need to go attack these people because they shot at us first.  Like the Russian army. At the Ukraine borders. Daring them to do something, waiting for them to do something, trying to, step one foot in the boarder. 

Step one, foot out,   

Once the other side, the opposition. Responds..  And then all hell breaks loose.  That's what's happening here on a smaller scale.  

  Once this first expedition fails. 

They were turned to the mission.

And gathered the troops.  

Funding from the government. 

The Knights and  leather. Line up  some of the best riders in the world, arguably in that time.   That's gotta be pretty terrifying.  If you're one of these wild native Americans. That's just one, this victory and all the sudden you see these Knights in leather.  Screaming as they ride towards you in this leather shield and this Lance.

 Stabbing people left and right as their ride past. Shooting off their muskets. Uh,  burning down the forest, burning down your village,  burning down villages was a favorite tactic of these Presidio soldiers.   When you hear the words  chastise or revenged.  That typically means something more. 

There were accusations of brutal acts by a lot of these Presidio soldiers.  Particularly the native Americans that they brought with them. A lot of these native American tribes at the missions. There are coastal native American tribes. Some of them had been at war with these. Native Americans in the interior. 

 There was also. This divide, which beachy describes this perpetual MNT. Among the tribes, the wild tribes and the mission tribes.  The cult tribes are. Frustrated with their wild tribe brethren, because they're not coming into the cult 

and the wild tribes  are saying, now you're in a cult.  You're crazy. Don't talk to me. Don't try to convert me into this. Colt that you're living in. You'll see.  Don't you see you're a slave.  

 We see that in modern. Societies.  One side's accusing the other one of.  Lying constantly of twisting the truth all the time. And then the other one is saying, no, you're the one twisting the truth.   It has to be one of them.    So after this victory,   these 40 Cosmin is.  That Sanchez has captured or  brought in to this mission system, forced in a lot of them were put in chains. There's this blind native American that begins teaching them the scriptures.  And remember they're just coming from the slaughter. 

 Their village has been burned down.  Their family members have been killed men, women, and children.  Unmentioned brutal acts probably occurred  

scalping was common. And there's also hangings.  Some of these native Americans would skin their victims sometimes alive.  Even the native Americans that were with these missions.   Limbs cut off and stuffed in the mouth particular limbs.   Something  the command cheese used to do.  

 There's this one account of this child who is captured.  After his mother has been shot out from under him..   It paints the picture of how. These. Presidio soldiers in the Gente de rezone treat these native Americans. 

  Quote.   

The prisoners they had captured were immediately enrolled in the list of the mission. Except a nice little boy whose mother was shot while running away with him in her arms. And he was sent to the Presidio and was, I heard. Given to the Alvarez as a reward for services. The poor little orphan had received a slight. 

Wound in his forehead. He wept bitterly at first and refuse to eat. But in time became reconciled to his fate.  In quote,  This poor child has just had his. Tribe's slaughtered.  His mom shot out from under him.   Then he's given to the leader of the troops that slaughtered his tribe.  For a job. Well done.  

 You wonder why so many of these native Americans were.  Combative against Europeans . Might be encounters like this. 

  Total. For this excursion you have.  75 dead.  Probably more.  That's. 1%.  The native American population gone.   📍  Like that.  



  Let's continue with these cosmetic is being brought in. To this large religious celebration.   

 Cool.   Before the prayers began.   There was a procession of young female Indians  with which I was highly pleased.  They were neatly dressed in Scarlet, petticoats and white bodices  and walked in a very orderly manner to the church.  Where they had places assigned to them, apart from the males.   After the bell had done tolling,  several officers went round to the huts to see if all the Indians were at church.  And if they found any loitering within them,  they exercise  with tolerable freedom,  the long lash  with a broad thong at the end of it.  Discipline, which appeared the more tyrant. Chronicle  as the church was not sufficiently capacious for all the attendance.  And several sat upon the steps without.   The Indian women who had been captured in the affair with the cause men is,  are placed in a situation  where they could see the costly images.  And vessels of burning incense  and everything that was going forward.   The congregation was arranged on both sides of the building,  separated by a wide aisle passing along the center  in which were stationed several law officers with whips  canes  and goons  to preserve the silence and maintain order. 

 And.  What seemed more difficult than either.  To keep the congregation and their kneeling posture.   

The goods were better adapted for this purpose than the whips  as they would reach a long way and inflict a sharp puncture without making any noise.  The end of the church was occupied by guard of soldiers under arms  with fixed bayonets.  Precaution, which I suppose experience had taught the necessity of observing.  In the quote.  

I  it's hard to relate to that . .  It would be  like a cold going in and killing. Your whole community. Except for a few survivors.   Then bringing you into this cult. And  forcing you. To listen to all these lessons in this secret language that you don't understand.   They're beating you if you don't participate or observe what they're doing.   It's  1984 type stuff. 

 Maybe even worse.  

 Now let's flip this script a little bit.  And look at this all from the Padres perspective.  Because I'm really leaning into the Padres and this episode in the last one.  Some of them were worse than others.  Often they believed in what they were doing. They thought what they were doing was God's work. 

Again, it's hard to judge the past because they lived in very different circumstances and had very different belief systems. It's easy to look back and judge  when you don't understand the dynamics involved in that.  

Era. 

But in terms of what these Padres are experiencing themselves.  Again, there are.  Living this far off Northern territory in Mexico. Largely isolated.  Surrounded by these native Americans that are brought into the mission system.  It was roughly only two Padres. At each mission. And then you have these guards from the pursuit of your soldiers.  

And you have, your native American servants. That are working the fields and then also.  These required heroes that are working the cattle for this hide and tallow tray that you're trying to manage. The same time. You're trying to convert these native Americans.  If this has been your life,  And you've been overseeing this as a Padre in this tradition of these missions for the past.  

50 years.

 And you knew a secularization is around the corner.  Your power is about to be revoked.   There may be a come to Jesus moment for you.  Wondering what. The purpose of all of this is.  Losing faith a little bit. 

Let's say.   That certainly seems to be the case with these San Jose friars .  And.  Man beachy. This is, I think this is his best account is the last one.  It has nothing to do with these Presidio. Soldiers has nothing to do with these native Americans being captured.   It's actually a very simple act.  These Padres eating.   I think you'll see what I mean after I read it.  

  The only amusement, which my hospital will host indulged in during my visit to that place. Was during mealtimes. When you amused himself throwing pancakes to the muchachos.  A number of little Indian domestics who stood gaping around the table.  For this purpose. He had every day, two piles of pancakes made of Indian corn. And as soon as the Olo was removed, He would fix his eyes upon one of the boys. Who immediately opened his mouth. And the Padre rolling up a cake. I would say something ludicrous and illusion to the boys' appetite. Or to the size of his mouth. And pitched the cake at him. Which the EMP would catch between his teeth. And devour with incredible rapidity in order that he might be ready the sooner for another. As well as to please the Padre. Who's amusement consisted and a great measure and witnessing the sudden disappearance of the cake.  In this manner. The piles of cake were gradually distributed among the boys. I miss much. 

Laughter. An occasional squabbling.  In quote,

 You have this strangeness. And this insanity in Alta, California.  Slowly heating towards a boil.   

Meanwhile.  The rest of the world. Is beginning to push farther. And farther.  West.    The English are still in Canada and the Oregon territory.  Oregon territory is jointly owned by England in the United States.  

 It's still, mostly for a trapper territory. Hudson's bay company area. 

You have Americans beginning to push. Into Texas. Into Mexican territory.   Manifest destiny is beginning to spread. .    You have more ships. Beginning to approach California.  If you remember in the 40 years. After San Francisco's founding. There are an average. 2.5 shifts per year, spotted off the California coast.  And 1825 only a few years later. There'll be 47. shifts reported off the California coast.    That number is beginning to tick up   1825 is a unique year,  so each year won't come close to hitting that number. 

I was an exception. You'll get 10 to 20.  Most years.  A lot of these ships are whaling vessels. This is about to be the golden age of whaling   but these whalers, when the stop off in California, And they see what's happening. There are beginning to report the news of what California is. This largely uninhabited region with this valley, that is like a garden of Eden. With these massive cattle ranches.  All of this land ready to be taken.  

On top of that,  You also had these mountain men. Beginning to push farther. In farther west. 

One expedition in particular.  We'll change everything. In terms of how to reach California.    The day after beach-y arrives in San Francisco bay. On November 7th.  1826..  

 The mountain man jeopardize Smith.  And his expedition of 18 men.  We the first men.  To cross the Sierras. into California.  The first men to travel into California from east  to west.  By land.   

This event is.  Remarkable in so many ways.     In fact when the Mexicans eventually encounter Smith.  

They're confused as to where he came from. I think it's not even possible to cross. From the east to the west, they think he might be an invading party. They think he might be a spy.   The fact that jeopardize Smith survives. This journey with his group of 18 mountain men.  

Is also  remarkable.  This is uncharted territory. The no European.  Has ever been to before. 

Almost an island in itself.  

 To understand how this journey happened.  We have to backtrack a little bit.  

So I'm sure many listeners have seen or have heard of the movie, the Revenant. Storing Leonardo DiCaprio.  About these early trappers. Hunting beaver pelts 

  A remarkable movie in so many ways, but.  One of the things that I wish the director had done a better job of.  Is framing the importance of that expedition.  

Because that movie Chronicles.  The very first. 

American mountain man expedition into the interior.  Led by a man named William Ashley.   If you remember the young red headed leader.  Of the Revenant.  Expedition.   Who ends up getting killed by. Leonardo DiCaprio's nemesis.  At the very end of the movie.  That character is based on William Ashley. 

 Now at that time, Ashley was the governor of Missouri.  

He had seen the profits that the Hudson's bay company and these other foreign. For a trapping companies were getting off of the American wildlife. These animals that were just beyond these Missouri and Illinois territories and the Rocky mountain wilderness.  

And so Ashley conceives this idea.  To start an American for a trapping company of his own.  And take advantage of this. Beaver pelt frenzy. That's going on in Europe. 

Beaver pelts where all the fashion rave back then.  

So he puts an ad. In the paper.  Calling for a hundred enterprising, young men.  To explore the territory of the Yellowstone. And short the rivers. To its headwaters. Trapping beaver.  

This is mostly in the South Dakota territory. 

These 100 men who end up signing up for Ashley's expedition.  . Later become known as Ashley's 100.  

This is considered the birth of the American mountain man.  

This first group is a who's who? Of notorious mountain men in American lore.  Jim Bridger. Jeopardize Smith, Hugh glass. Fitzgerald. William Ashley.  All of these men will become.  Staples of the Oregon trail and this push westward.   

Now Ashley.  Contrary to the revenue movie.  Isn't killed on that first expedition.  He takes many more expeditions into the interior.  And eventually he conceives of another idea.  Which is to start this gathering of the mountain men.  And like the WIO usually it's in the Wyoming region.  

Called the mountain man rendezvous.  

Before this gathering began every time you were a trapper and you went into the far west. You had to haul your pelts back to like Missouri.  And they're chronicling that in the. Revenant. When they're hiding these beaver pelts and they're worried that.  They might be taken or stolen from them.  Because they have to haul them all the way back to Missouri. So the mountain man rendezvous was an opportunity to unload their pelts early. And have these men that would come out and collect them for them. 

And then also a huge celebration.  Party. Gathering and a trade opportunity. For these men.  

 These gatherings were.  I'm not going to get too into detail on them, but.  It was all these native Americans and mountain men gathered in one place. And they're trading native American slaves. They're trading wives. There's almost always a murder at these rendezvous.  

 It's  at one of these rendezvous.  In 1826.  Where Jebidiah Smith conceives of this idea. Of pushing westward.  Into this uncharted territory. Trying to find more resources and potential areas of beaver pelt.   Smith also happens to be. An accomplished writer.  Which is a rarity among these mountain men. Most of them. Or illiterate came from these far off frontier towns of like Missouri and Illinois. 

 Jeopardize Smith keeps a journal.  He was a very religious man.   And of his decision to go west.  Into this uncharted territory, he writes.  

Quote.  

 What that great and unexplored country might contain. We knew not. But hope to find parts of the country as well-stocked with beaver, as some of the waters of the Missouri. Which was perhaps. As much as we could reasonably expect.   And taking the charge of our Southwestern expedition. I followed the bent of my strong inclination. To visit this unexplored country and unfold. 

Those hidden resources of wealth.  And bring to light those wonders. Which I readily imagined the country. So extensive might contain.  I must confess that I had at the time. A full share of that ambition. And perhaps foolish ambition.  Which is common and a greater or less degree to all the active world.   I wanted to be the first of you a country on which the eyes of a white man had never gazed and to follow the course of rivers that run through new land.  In quote, 





 He's not aiming specifically for California.   But he wants to go into this uncharted territory  try to trap as much beaver as they can and see if they can earn this enormous profit.  If you had a successful beaver trapping expedition,  you could earn your years or 10 years worth of salary, depending on how successful it was, you could also die. 

So it was high risk, high reward territory.  

 So with 18 men, he leaves this rendezvous.  And heads south.  Into the desert regions of Northern Mexico  . Largely uninhabited areas.  



 He describes encountering all these native Americans along the way. And most of them have never seen a white man before. Most of them. I've never seen a horse before.  

A lot of them are inviting him. And his men into their camps.  Giving them acorns, giving them seeds, which is big part of their diet.   One of the native American tribes in. Setting up a net. And capturing a bunch of rabbits and having this big feast for them to bring out like they're dancers.   Other tribes will flee out of fear because they've never seen a white man before.  Or they've never seen a horse before.   Some of these native Americans would. Scout them from a hillside  and the mountain men having dealt with these native American tribes and the planes, which are much more combative.   Worried that there.  Potentially mounting an attack. 

 So they get on their horses and chase them down.  And describe the fear in these men's eyes. When they see this horse riding Adam.   Jeopardize Smith of writing his journals. Like, I don't understand why they're so scared of me.   Not putting himself in their shoes. Like, oh, there's this person with white skin and a horse that I've never seen before chasing me..,   like an alien you might encounter in your backyard or something.  . 

 

  Smith. passes over this mountainous region.  After the desert they'd gone through where they're very little game.  He arrives in  the Southern tip of the central valley. So he doesn't cross the Sierras in this first. Leg of his journey   As men are starving dehydrated. The loss, most of their horses.  He describes.  Stumbling into this verdant valley. This garden of Eden type place.   .  I'll let Smith take over from there.   



   Quote.  

The country through which we passed was strikingly contrasted with the Rocky and Sandy desert through which we had so long been traveling.  There we had passed many high mountain.  Planes who sands drank up the waters of the river and spring, where a need was the greatest. 

There sometimes a solitary antelope bounded by to vex our hunger.   And the stunted useless sedge grew as in mockery of the surrounding sterility.  There for many days, we had traveled, weary, hungry, and thirsty. Drinking from the Springs that increased our thirst and looking in vain. For a boundary of the interminable waste of sands.  But now the scene was changed.  



And whether it was its own real beauty or the contrast with which we had seen it. 

So clearly. Seemed to enchant us.  Our path was to refer tile and well-watered valley. And herds of cattle and the bands of wild horses as they sniff the wind and rushed wildly across our way. He reminded me of the Plains of Buffalo east of the mountains. That seem to me as a home. Or of the cattle of the more distant Prairie's and Missouri and Illinois.  In quote,  



Smith  has this encounter with the Mexican government. 

That I mentioned before, where they're astonished that he's. Made it across from the east to the west.   They're very friendly and welcoming to him. At first, they bring him into this. Mission San Gabriel. They feed him and his men. They invite them into some fiestas. And so they're celebrating with them. Uh,  Smith is apprehensive to join them because there's a Protestant they're Catholic.  And so he thinks it's offensive somehow.   He ends up meeting with a common Dante and the governor.  So it's kind of a hero's welcome at first.   Then they arrest him and his men and they tell him he needs to leave the country immediately.   Before he does. 

He goes on this miniature tour of the area. And visit some other missions.  

And of this. Jeopardize Smith writes.  Quote.  I learned from father Sanchez. That at the different farms, belonging to the mission, San Gabriel.  There were 400,000 head of cattle in 2000 horses.  Three or 400 head of sheep and agree. Many hogs 

of these lasts they make little use. 

 There were, but few white men at this place. Neither  could it be expected that there were many in California? For father Sanchez told me that no white woman had ever come to live there.  In quote, 



 He begins to leave.  

Instead of going directly cross the mountains, he veers northward.  

Gets a full view of the central valley before we'd been just at the Southern tip.  He leaves half of his crew in California to begin trapping on.  What is now the American river.  And if that river sounds familiar, that's the river, the gold was discovered on.   And Smith.  Takes off east.  To  make it back to the mountain man rendezvous from the next year.    This is the actual first crossing of the Sierra, not the trip into California.  And somehow he survives this crossing of the Sierra mountains.  He describes this.  Trip without much flair. He's really just very literally describing what happens. As to his hardships, he doesn't dive into detail about.  How, He actually feels when he's starving or how desperate his men are.  Again, this is incredibly dangerous territory. 

No man has crossed this area before for a reason.  Only these men are really prepared to survive this kind of journey.  

Uh, Smith makes it back to the rendezvous.  And then shares with all the men there. What was happening in California?   

 He returns back.  Gets attacked by native Americans.  Most of his men are  killed. When he reaches the central valley. He's naked and starving .   They end up finding this ranch area. In the far off part of the central valley where these,  Christianized native Americans are living and they ride off to tell, the Padre at the nearest mission.  That these men. Had come through the Sierra mountains. 

They're astonished. At somebody come from the east to the west. As they were before.  With this journey, Smith takes an even larger view of California.  He ventures through San Francisco.  

Stops off at more of these missions  sees this abundance of land. These men have.  Returns to the men that he left trapping on the American river. I have also been very successful .  There's a rumor.  That these men also discover gold.  Well before. The noted discovery of golden California.  There's accounts from these mountain men in later years, about how.  When these men return from Jebidiah Smith's expedition, they report that they had discovered gold in that region.  But you know, these mountain men don't tell anyone or.  Jeopardize Smith himself keeps his mouth shut. 

And  these men only share these details after Gold's actually discovered.  

  Long with word of what's in California.  Jebidiah Smith also purchases, a large band of horses. Which he takes back east.  And sells off 

 This is also very appealing to the mountain man.  

Because by the late 1820s. 

The demand for beaver. Is beginning to dwindle.  

And so if you're one of these mountain men,  

And the price of beaver is falling. 

This fashion craze is ending in Europe.   Your livelihood is largely going to fall apart.  But you hear of all these horses. And California wild horses. And then also these unintended horses at these ranches.    That's a potential for trade for these horses.   And also potential to go on a stock rating expedition.  Which is what a lot of these mountain men will end up doing.  

 This one last account.  Describing these Californias.   Will be the last section of jeopardize Smith journal I read, but.  

It confirms what I was saying earlier. 

About how a lot of these materials commonly associated with the American cowboy.  

We're really originally developed by the Spanish.  then seen by Americans and brought back east.  

So all these California's Smith writes quote.  The Californians are excellent horseman. I went on a swift horse. They catch a wild steer, a horse with the greatest ease. They are seldom seen on foot. But Mount a horse to go even 200 yards and always carry with them. 

A strong group  

 made from pieces of oxide braided. Which is called the Larse.   This is a mispronunciation of the word lasso.  It is seven or eight fathoms in length with a loop at the end for the purpose of forming a noose. The Spaniard mounted on a swift horse with his Larson hand holding it. 

So as to form a news about four feet in diameter and swinging it around his head to keep it connected.  Pursues the wild cattle and horses of that country and arriving at the proper distance while both pursued in pursuer. At the utmost speed.  Throws his noose with such precision. As to generally succeed and fascinating it to the animal and the intended place. 

While at the same time with his left hand, he takes a turn round, the pommel of the saddle. Which has made high  that purpose, with the end of the rope remaining in his hand.  At the animal pursued is a horse. He's caught around the neck and as soon choked down.  If a steer, he is caught by the horns and generally by two persons, one riding before the animal and one behind holding him between them. By their respective of losses. With the power of resistance.  

 

If it is the object to throw the animal down, they throw for their feet and having caught and fastened the rope to the saddle, giving the horse a start. The animal's feet are taken out from under him at once. And this manner they can take almost any animal in the country without accepting even the elk.  But the principal use of this daring and active exercise is the catching of the wild horse. And the wild cattle that ranged the country in great numbers.  And quote. 



 Picture being. One of these mountain men at the rendezvous.  You're struggling to fight off these wild native American bands.  In the Midwest.  And this unexplored territory where you have these combative Plains tribes.  And you have these constantly warring native American tribes that you have to engage with and fight with to maintain your beaver pelts.  And then you hear someone like Smith. Describe this California. Region and the central valley. Filled with these horses and cattle and antelope.  Filled with abundant game. 

Without violent and combative native Americans.  

If you had. The choice of staying in this Rocky mountain region or going west.  You're probably going to choose the ladder.   If you can make it.  And that's a big if.  



In the years to come.  Numerous other mountain men will begin to make excursions into California.  

Stock rating expeditions. Horse trading expeditions.  

With the decline of the beaver pelt.  More and more mountain men will begin to encroach upon California.   

This expedition.  By jeopardize Smith. We'll mark the beginnings. Of the Oregon. And California 

trails.  When these other mountain men. 

Venture into California.  There'll be falling roughly the same path.  And jeopardize Smith. lead. 

 Now you have these external forces.  Beginning to creep into California.    This  strangeness  continuing. At these missions and Presidios, this. Secularization pending.  You also have.  This heightened unrest.  The accelerates in the late 1820s and into the 1830s.  

 This divide is growing between these Mexicans. And these California's  Mexico will  try to. Implant loyalists in the California government.  Implant loyalists in the military.   

  Mexico was taking without really giving anything, still not paying these soldiers, but forcing them to pay duty.  It doesn't seem that fair. 

Nothing's happening in California from the Mexican government. 

  You end up having some revolts.    I'm not going to talk about all of them. This is already a incredibly long episode, but there's this.  One encounter by this native American called is Stanislau. 

Who's the call day at the mission San Jose.   He may have been involved in this encounter with the cause. Man is, I'm not really sure.  But he's the leader of a central California Indian tribe. And he said to be incredibly tall, over six feet literate, smart.  And being the Ecole de he's  the leader of these native Americans at this mission.   He ends up bleeding, revolt, and just leaving with 400 native Americans.  

He turns into abandoned.  

He trains his men to ambush Mexicans.  Riding along these trails and stealing from them.  Eventually builds up this following of 4,000 followers and is trademark.  Was to carve an S and his victims for Stanislau.  Supposedly he wouldn't kill his victims. He just robbed them. And then he carve an S and their side.   If you're a fan of the Zorro series of the Zuora movies, Supposedly as Stanislau was one of the inspirations for Zorro.  And he's fighting against the oppressive mission system  Whereas Zuora was fighting  against the oppressive Mexican government.  

 

 And when you have 4,000 followers, that's a formidable force, especially against these Presidio soldiers. Only have, 35 to 70 at their largest.    There. To Presidio expeditions that go in to try to put down. Stannis allows rebellion. . One from the San Francisco Presidio. One from the Monterey Presidio,   both of them fail.  And then they bring in.  Mariano Oh,  who was 24 at the time. 

If you know,  street over YeahOh California.  This is that namesake and Mariana VAO. Ho become a prominent member of the  California Gentry.  

He's ordered by.  The common Dante Martinez.  

We might remember from. The Richardson story.  To take out a Stanislau.  

 Value organizes 107 men.  Goes into fight a Stanislau Stanislau has adopted a lot of these tactics. The Presidio soldiers and they dug out trenches, waiting for these soldiers to come in, to shoot them with arrows.  VAO ends up burning down the forest that these native Americans are hiding in. 

  Burns out all these men. And ends up killing them.  

There's a lot of controversy around this expedition.  accusations of brutality . Some of the capture leaders. We're found, hanging from trees. Some of them are shot with, dozens of arrows.  It's hard to pinpoint what exactly occurred. Because these accounts are written by the soldiers.  

And of this  Ben Croft writes quote.  There was no doubt that in those, as in later times, To the Spaniards as to other so-called civilized races. The life of an Indian was a slight affair. And in nearly all the expeditions outrageous were committed in quote.  

  A Stanislau escapes.  He rushes back to the San Jose mission.  The Padre there ends up pardoning him. Much to the chagrin of these Presidio soldiers who want to have him killed as revenge for their. Comrades .  But they can't fight against this Padre. He's a leader of the cult. 

What he says pretty much goes. 

 

After the status Lau expedition.   There's a large soldier revolt in 1829.  When a convict rancher named solace.  And Monterey tries to overthrow.

The Mexican government  Mexicans had appointed their own governor and put it in the hands of the Californians. I read somewhere that 50 times in the 10 years,  you had  control of California change hands.    The Mexican government. Like the English government with Australia.  Ends up sending a bunch of their convicts up to California. 

So along with not really providing them any support, not paying the soldiers there. Tossing all their convicts into California as well.  



 Doesn't really get anywhere. The only reason I'm mentioning it is because  Richardson and Martinez in a believing. The San Francisco Presidio when solace and his gang  threaten the Presidio soldiers.

 An 1831. There's a severe drought.  

 It's during this drought that the Mexican government orders, these ranches. To kill off large numbers of their horses.   To maintain. 

The grazing land for their cattle herds   one. Padre ends up drowning over a thousand horses to preserve his feed for his cattle, which are much more valuable at the time.  There's another description of, a mission.  Trapping all these horses in a pin. 

Then walking them in there without feeding them and just waiting until they die.  Some of these Padres, some of these. Native American vaqueros and some of these. Dawns of these ranches.

 Refuse to kill off their horses.   Instead they released them into the central valley.  

 At that time, the central valley was this garden bead in this area, the size of Tennessee, that runs through California, surrounded by these mountain ranges.  All these different waterways running through massive herds, all these different animals  

and when you release these horses into the area and they continue to breed without main predators. 

They breed into massive herds, tens of thousands deep. 

 Now it will be very appealing. To these mountain men, when they come later.  

These horses will begin to eat. A lot of these natural foods, the native Americans require. Things like acorns. Or particularly favorite treat to these horses. And that's the main diet, a lot of, these native Americans.  

Remember there's a severe drought. When the heaviest trouts in California history. So already resources are scarce. For not owning these cattle on these horses.  But also for these native Americans.

   When these horses begin to eat these acorns. Um, take up these native Americans land.  These native Americans will begin to eat these horses.  Who comes a favorite treat of these native Americans?  

And then on top of that, When you have all these mountain men beginning to creep into the region and going these stock rating expeditions.  These native Americans go along with these mountain men,  They teach them how to go on stock rating expeditions.  

And so you have this massive problem. Brewing in California,  with these native Americans. 

Losing their food supply.  Beginning to feed on these horses and then also learning how to stock raid.  Governor, who is a Figaro. In 1833. Writes quote.  Britain and Americans make frequent incursions into this country. On the pretext of trapping beaver. And identified themselves with the wild natives following the same kind of life  influenced by these adventures. 

The natives have dedicated themselves with the greatest determination to the stealing of horses from all the missions and towns of the territory in quote. 







 You can see how all these different. Entities are colliding with one another.  We have this secularization pending.   There's more revolts.  

These native Americans continue to die out.   You have this chaos  brewing  and continuing to bubble up.   

So the California government.  Comes together.  Begins to working with these Padres at the missions.  To get together a plan  for actual secularization, not these.  Small attempts that have been led by these Padres over the past 30 ish years.  

They ended up putting together a proposal that these Padres agreed to.  And are working to present it to the Mexican government. In 1833.  

  Before they  actually present  . The Mexican Congress without consulting the Californians who are interacting with these native Americans and who have the experience  to. Understand the issues that might come about with secularization.  

Into passing their own form of secularization. 

And forcing it upon these Californias and these Padres.  

 These Padres.  And these soldiers are furious.  This is just another step in Mexico trying to enforce their will upon the California is taking without really giving them anything back. Much like all these high taxes they're trying to impose on these California's without really giving them any protection, any supplies? Any payment.    So the secularization begins.  And then.  In 1834, you have Santa Ana coming in and taking power from the Mexican government. Desolving Congress and becoming a dictator.   Then he decides to postpone secularization. Again, another on again, off again, situation, but in the years to come, it will be finally enforced in this slow secularization process will be enacted.   

 Now, with regard to how this affects. The missions and these Padres.  I think these Padres like these soldiers.  Are irate. 

 According to Bancroft quote.  Many of the missionaries regarded secularization as an outrage upon themselves, their college and their neophytes. And when they became convinced that the disaster could not be averted at different times, but chiefly. 1834. They ceased to care for the buildings, vineyards and gardens. As in their former times and attempted to realize in ready money as large, an amount as possible, which of course could best be done by slaughter of the cattle for their hides and tallow.  Accordingly such a slaughter was affected. To some extent in all the missions in quote.  

You have  all these accounts of abuses and. 

The slaughter of all these cattle, the disbandment of buildings, one of these. Padres.  D rooves, all  these, dormitories for these native Americans and just has this giant bonfire  goes and destroys all his fields kills his cattle. He tries to get his native Americans to cut down all the vineyards that they'd planted. And they ended up refusing.  They essentially just have like a giant feast , in rebellion against the secularization. 

Another account I've found of the Padre in San Rafael. Just north of San Francisco.  

Pretty much saying I'll punish these native Americans  as I want.  These are my children. You can't tell me how to punish my children.    The soldiers, they still need these missions for food because they're still not getting supplies. 

 They end up going to this Padre asking. For him to provide food for them.   The a Padre of San Rafeal says, quote, I don't feed wolves. In quote,  

Essentially saying get the hell off of my property.    The soldiers.

Understandably are frustrated  . They're protecting his mission. And had been doing so for a number of years. So they end up just going into fields and killing some animals from themselves because they are starving.  

And the Padre is furious.  The governor of California.  Ends up. Sending some native Americans who are living off the mission.  Into  sin Rafeal to try to pacify the native Americans there because.  When the Padres frustrated. So to  are as followers.  When these native Americans go into this mission, To try to pacify the other native Americans.  This Padre in San Rafael. Accuses them of stealing. 

 Then captures  them, keeps them prisoner.  

 The native American two had escaped. They'd tell their. Kinsmen what had happened. Some of these are brothers. And sons and children of these wild native Americans that are still at this village outside of the mission.    The Padre it center fill. Rather than wait for a potential revolt.  He gathers his  followers and goes out.   And according to Bancroft's account,  quote.   The war like missionary fearing, as he cleaned that the Gentiles would attack the mission to liberate their companions sent out his major Domo Molina with 37 armed to Neo fights who surprised the strangers killed 21. Wounded many more and captured 20 men, women, and children having on their side five wounded. One of the number mortally.  This achievement was Cooley reported my Mercado and that's the Padre. To the governor in a letter of the 25th. With the request for reinforcements to aid and pacifying, the rancher Rhea. End quote.  The Rancherias, like the Indian village.  You have this Padre kidnapping, these native Americans fearing that. The wild native Americans would attack the mission to free them.   Trying to get ahead of this attack. Attacks these wild native Americans, like this kind of thing. Is common during this time after a secularization, because you have these Padres trying to hold on to power. We're seeing the government. Can't tell me what to do. These are my followers. These are my children. I'll abuse them. 

If I want to.      For the Californias,  mainly these soldiers and their families.   This period from roughly 1833 in the year of secularization. 

Up to  Gold's discovery.  We'll be this period of abundance.   Because now  this land, that these missions had owned,  and these cattle herds are being distributed.  

And presents this opportunity.  For the soldiers.  The Mexican government wants to 

sure up their support, so to speak so they can continue to have control over these Northern settlements.  

This opens up.  These massive land grants. And we talked about that law back in. 

The early 1820s, 1824, I think just after Richardson. Had come into San Francisco.  That allows the Mexican government to give off these land grants. To Mexican citizens. And then also to foreigners of good standing. Who agreed to become Christianized. And   gain their Mexican citizenship.   The governor can give out land grants to whoever he pleases.  

 While there were land grants under Spain,  there weren't many.   From 1769  until 1821, there'd only been. 30 land grants given out by the Spanish.  Those were largely temporary land grants.  

Over the next 13 years  to 1846.  

There will be 300. Or more lane grants given out by the Mexican government.     If the population in California at the time was still roughly 3000 people.  Around half of those are males. So half of those are eligible to receive a land grant. And you have 300 land grants being given out in the next 13 years.   If you do the quick math. Around 20% chance. That you're going to get a land grant. 

If you're a male in California at the time.   Probably not quite as high because they were giving out these land grants to foreigners coming in.  But still it's. Way better odds than the lottery.   The amount of land they give away is over 14,000 square miles.  

Between 300. Families.    

14,000 square miles is larger than the three smallest states in the United States combined.  So if you put Rhode Island, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Delaware together. Those four states make up less square mileage than  the amount of land that was given out in these grants during this period.  Each one of these ranches was enormous 

 they're also given these cattle. And they needed workers.  

Um, where do you get these workers?  These native Americans at the mission.  These   these Cowboys. These masters of the horse that have been doing this for generations by this point.  

The best riders.  In America.  

And so you have this mission culture kind of being transferred.  To these ranches and these dawns.  

 Any accounts of this time written from the California's perspective, let's say.  It's always romanticized    looking at this period from Bancroft's account, he writes. 

Quote.  Never before or since was there a spot in America where life was a long happy holiday, where there was less care or trouble.  Such as the old time, golden age under Kronos or Saturn. The gathering of nature's fruit, being the chief burden of life and death coming without decay. Like a gentle sleep. And quote.  

 

Another work also called days of the Dawn, similar to Richardson's title. That was a popular title in those days, but it was about an author named Roscoe Wyatt.  And he has this to say about this period. 

Quilt.  From 18 30, 3 to 1850. Maybe sat down as the golden age of the native Californians. Not until then did the settlements of the Ranchos become general? 

 The missions were breaking up. The Presidios were deserted, the population dispersed and the land could be had for the asking. Never before and never since did a people settled down under the blessings of more diverse advantages. The country was lovely. The climate delightful. The valleys were filled with horses and cattle once were few and no one dreaded dearth,  there was meat for the pot and wine for the cup and wild game and abundance.  The people did not necessarily even have to stir their soil for livelihood  because the abundance of their stock furnished them with food and enough hides and tallow to procure money for every purpose. They also had the advantage of cheap and docile LIBOR, and the Indians already trained to work the missions.  They were exceedingly, hospitable and sociable. The sparsity of the population made them rely on each other. 

And they had many occasions to bring them together. Church days, bull fights rodeos were all occasions of festivity. In court.

  This. Ranch culture. That's expanding with these dawns, 

 it's wild.    

You had these wealthy. California's and in all accounts from these sailors, these are like the best riders they've ever seen.  Dressed in  elaborate. Cloaks. A lot of them talk about this red sash in there. Pants being of adorned with all these different patterns and colors   picture like pimping your ride. The rides were there horse.  So they would essentially pimp their horse with all this. Adornments. 

And that could term on.  The range would have certain things hanging off of them. They have these giant hats  you think of the belt buckle and  the Midwest and,  the fancy cowboy clothes  that really originated with. These dawns and these land grants in these ranches. In California.  

  These Cowboys, these.  

 

their horse was their life.  

Giving your best horse to another man was considered the greatest gift you could give him  

These men, it was said that they would get on their horse to ride 10 yards.  Or 10 miles. It didn't matter. They were always on their horse.  And then when you're using, they get off is too.  Go participate in one of these fiestas.    It's this work hard. Play harder culture.  Where fiestas and rodeos were regular occurrences.  If one of these ranches had a marriage. All of these other ranches and populations. Would meet at that ranch. And join in a week's long celebration. 

 These dawns were very hospitable, very welcoming to foreigners. Welcome to trade. There was a story about how if guests would come to these ranches because they had so much money and their SU. Affluent at this time. The dichotomy between this time and the soldiering time is remarkable.  But they had so much money that they would leave a purse of coins. Uh, beside the bed of any guests, so they could go to. You know, purchase whatever they wanted to the local village. 



 It was considered bad form for the servants to count how many of these coins. Guests had used to pay for. Whatever they had purchased.  

One account 

from the do float. Day more fros.  Who's.  Like a diplomat just below an ambassador.  

Who visited the region in the early 1840s.  Writes.  Quote.  

Today. A large party of Spanish ladies by invitation paid a visit to the ship. The quarter deck was decorated with a profusion of the flags of almost every nation. And regular Fandango commenced at path past 12. And was kept up during the whole day and evening. Till 10 o'clock at night.  The ladies dance, several dances peculiar to the country. Such as an old gentlemen, teased to death by young girl who he had promised to marry. Finds her in constant finally makes up with her and then they are married.  Another dance was performed solely by the ladies. 

Person eating a bull dance or rather bull bait.  It was something new to me to see the ladies person ate a bull. But men and women retired to the shore with a good stock of wine on board.  In quote, 





 It was still this Hyde Intello tree that they just perpetuated at these ranches.  During this one time of year,  

There would be the slaughter where the cattle would be killed off.   This process was incredibly violent.  they killed them off with a knife.    When this hiding tallow was taken.  More often than not, they just leave the beef on the cattle.  

The heightened tower was the most valuable thing to them.  

They'd leave these bodies of these hundreds to thousands of slaughter cattle in a pile.  That was known by these. 

Rancheros and by Quiroz as.  The police of the  skulls.  When you have this pile of decaying meat lying there.  You inevitably have scavenger animals coming in and trying to get at this meat  coyotes. Wolves Panthers.  And bears.  

One of the favorite games. Of these rancheros and  

 

was trying to capture the largest bear they could.  With the lasso.  

 I found an actual account of this.  From one of these early settlers in San Francisco, man named Davis, who was a trader in that area.  And so I'm going to let him tell this story.   

Quote.  When cattle were slaughtered. Bears came to the place at night to feast on the meat that was left after the hides and tallow were taken.  The bears coming the rancheros with the quitters, we'll go there for the purpose of lassoing them. This was one of their greatest sports, highly exciting and dangerous, but the Bayer always got the worst of it.  One would last, so a bear by the neck and another last. 

So the same beast by the hind foot.  And then pulling in different directions. The poor bear was soon strained and strangled to death.  Sometimes half a dozen or more, it would be taken in a single night in this way.  In quote,   

And you wonder why there's no more grizzly bears in California. 

 You have these bear and bull fights, which are still common at the time.  You have these place of the skulls. Or these bears would come and feast on these decaying. Cow hides.  And then  be lassoed and pulled apart.  By these vaqueros.   he's master horseman .  There's a competition over who could get the biggest bear. And one of these places of the skulls nights. 

  Now this romanticized period.  In California for the Gente de rezone. 

That's really only one side. Of the coin.  

The other side.  It's what's happening to these native Americans.  

Because for them.  This is really a period of decimation.  In decline.  

And when I think of this period, From their perspective.  

I think of this quote. From a movie called the king.  

 It's about king Henry's reign. And England.      The king is sitting at this table with one of his Nobles. Who's considering revolting against him.    Rather than directly confront this noble   he tells this  story about a chicken.    I'm going to paraphrase the story, but. He says. Something to the effect of.  Chickens can't fly.  But I've seen one.  Flap its wings. 

Hard and long enough so that it clears the fence of its enclosure.  And then it's free.  

But so too, are the wolves.  

For these mission native Americans.  

They may be free, so to speak.   But now they don't have the protection of these Padres.  

Now these Europeans.  Who are the wolves in this story?  Are free to do what they will to these native Americans.  

 If you are a native American, who is a part of this mission,  There's a part of this cult.  Then the call does suddenly disbanded.  And you're free to return to whatever life you choose.  What do you do?  

 For many of them.  Their entire cultures had been wiped out, particularly the coastal native American.  So there's nothing really. For them to go back to.  Those native Americans that do still have a tribe somewhere out there  

if they had been indoctrinated themselves. 

 They're not going to be welcomed back with open arms, especially if they're a part of like the cosmetic type of expedition where they're going in and trying to force. They're brothers and sisters to convert and join this cult with them.  The fed had been captured, probably have some better luck. 

  



They could stay at these missions and try to hack it out there. 

Some of the Padres lingered there longer,   

probably the best option for you is to go work on one of these. Enormous ranches.  

 Maybe, you know, one of these soldiers. Who's gotten the land grant who worked at your mission.  Maybe you have some relationship with him.  

And go help him build his fortune.  Come under his protection.  

That becomes your new culture.  

That's the best option.  

The final option.  Is to just wander aimlessly.  

And some native Americans don't really have the choice in the matter.  

Because along with this secularization.  

There's this massive malarial outbreak.  Within the wild tribes in California.  

Probably has to do with these native Americans going back into the wild. May have been one of these mountain men that brought the disease with them from the east.  

 You hear stories of these native Americans going back to find their wild tribes. During the secularization period.  Venturing off on this long arduous journey. Into the central valley or wherever their tribes might've been.  

 The central valley is still this vast wilderness. It's now being inundated by horses.  It's still kind of a garden of Eden.    They arrive at where their tribe used to live their old village.   When we defined. Dead bodies everywhere for malaria.  No one left alive.  The survivors had gone and joined other tribes.  

Or they're entire tribes were wiped out by malaria.   

This malarial outbreak.  Which a lot of the accounts of the time, don't really understand  how widespread it was, particularly among the wild native American tribes.  But. I was reading one researcher.  The theorize that around 70%. Of the wild native American population in California died from this one particular malarial outbreak.  So when you had. A hundred thousand native Americans in California. At one point,  now that number has dropped. To roughly 30,000.   Nobody really knows the exact number, because even still, you have these native American tribes in the mountains. And in the central valley who haven't come into contact with Europeans yet.  All this stuff is happening in isolation. 

And then all of a sudden your tribe is.  Infected by this disease, even though you haven't even had contact with these Europeans yet.  And that's  what's happening with a lot of these wild tribes.  



 Kind of turns into this. Mass influx of homeless people. If you will.   Not a lot of pity is given toward them.  

The same way. 

A lot of people look at homeless people today, not considering what their backstory may have been.  What, situation may have got them to that point.  It's natural for.  People who've never lived in that world to assume that it was,  a drug addiction or alcoholism the lead to this state of homelessness, but.  It may have been deaths in the family.   May have been a.  Financial move that.  Someone's parents made. 

  May have been abuse.    So many reasons for somebody to fall into this sort of state.   And the case of these native Americans, this homelessness was largely brought on by.  The missions. Disbanding. And I'm having no culture to go back to their whole life.  Having grown up at these missions.   Again, they're being taught to follow this cult leader.  Not to survive on their own.     On top of that, these native Americans. Our learning how to drink.  

How alcohol had not been introduced to them before.  Their bodies did not react to it the same way.  

Her being taught how to gamble.  

Again, these are very superstitious people.  The introduction of gambling. Alcohol.  And to go back to previous episodes. Some of these tribes were those same tribes that hadn't been taught. Ideas of. Dishonesty before and now they're introduced to stock rating to alcohol, to gambling.  

To the violence that occurs with these. Uh, missions and the killing of cattle and also the killing of their fellow native Americans. 

What does that do to somebody's psychological wellbeing?  

What does that do? To your mindset when you. Think of your past life. Where dishonesty wasn't even really a thing people thought about.  Now your world evolves around. People lying to you.  

 This slaughter of cattle.  Your fellow countrymen being slaughtered. 

Diseases spreading among  all the people, you know,  Maybe your entire culture is wiped out.  

It's a recipe for desperation. And a recipe for insanity. 

  To quote Ben Croft on this period. Once again, he writes quote.  The Indians live mainly on the flesh of stolen horses and cattle were killed for their hides. When money to buy liquor could not be labor, Asley obtained. By the sale of other stolen articles. Far be it from me to blame the Indians for their conduct. For there is little in there past training or present treatment by white men. To encourage honest industry. And quote.







   The difference between.  This period for the California. The Genti day rezone.  And these native Americans.  It was  night and day, if you will.



  In concert with these ranches. Expanding and these land grants being given out.   You also have the population of San Francisco. Dissolving.  

 You have the mission native American slowly dispersing.    These Presidio soldiers.  Moving up north.  The new Presidio of Sonoma. Largely too. Ford, any Russian expansion in that territory?  

And you still don't have a city of San Francisco   

so there's this question of what's going to happen. To this main port.  

When you have the population.   Leaking out, so to speak. 

  

It's during this time. And 1835..    

The William Antonio Richardson. Returns. To San Francisco.   He and his family. Had fled to San Gabriel after one of the rebellions. In the 1820s.   The governor had read some of his reports of San Francisco during this time.    Richardson knew the waterway better than anyone else.    So he's consulting in Richardson. As to where a good. Location might be to build up a city.  

To bring back the population to San Francisco, which is needed because. This is the easiest place for ships to anchor when they come into the region. 



  Richardson recommends this area.  For building up a city near his favorite Anchorage spot.  Which he had been calling.  Yerba wena.  

If you remember that from father Crespi his account in the last episode  that name had stuck and had been used by Richardson to describe.  This Anchorage area on the Eastern side. Of the San Francisco peninsula.  Largely in what is now downtown San Francisco.  At that time, that whole area was.   A Cove.   Now it's all landfill.   Everything east of Montgomery street was underwater from pretty much the trans America building.  To where the bay bridge starts, everything east of that on Montgomery street.  As now landfill . 

  Just beyond Montgomery street, you have this flat plane that was 400 yards by a hundred yards.  And then you have these hillsides funneling into this flat area, almost like an amphitheater.  

There's nothing there at this time. 

  The government asks Richardson to go and chart out a potential city.  

 

Richardson  sets up. 

In this area in north beach, what is now the corner of. Grant and clay street. Near Portsmouth square, which is now in Chinatown.   Is living this tent, it's pretty brutal. His wife comes and lives with him. 

According to Davis's account. He says of this time, quote,  at the time Richardson's only neighbors were bears, coyotes and wolves. The nearest people lived either at the Presidio. Where at mission Dolores. The family lived under that tent about three months. After which Richardson constructed a small wooden house. And later a large, one of Adobe on what is now DuPont. Or grant street. Near the corner of clay street.  

In quote,  

  According to Steve Richardson. William Antonio Richardson, son and author of days of the Dawn's. He writes at this time. Quote.   If the plain truth is to be told. The curve of your bub winnow was a dismal thing to look on. And those early days.  The beach was right enough. But to the westward stretched a wilderness of desolate for bidding sand dunes, often shifting their positions overnight.  When one considers that many of them were a hundred feet or more high, one can realize the uncertainties of the landscape.  When the trade wind blew in fresh from the ocean. It carried with it an almost. Incredible burden of both fine and core sand. 

The got into close eyes, news mouth.  Anything that was open and short. Besides penetrating the inner most recesses of a household.   Only sound lungs were proof against this accumulation of sharp, greedy material daily inhaled.  In fact, the place long had a reputation of unhealthiness, not entirely undeserved until the leveling of the sand dunes and the reclamation of the park tract check the shifting sand dunes for good. 

 Add to this while there were a good Springs in the neighborhood.  One on what is clay street near CUNY. The Cove was many miles from winning water.  From the very time we set up house. Your bubble in a coup have began to grow. And pitiful little beginnings of business commenced to lift their heads.  Everyone had something mean to say about the Cove. Still. They stayed.  To tell the truth. They had no other place to go.  The Presidio had been abandoned.  Little remained of it, but the fast crumbling walls, the rusty guns. The mission building was deserted. And lapsing into decay.  The last human evidence of its former greatness being an encampment or rancher Rhea. Of half civilize Indians on what is now 16th street.  Not far from Dolores.  In quote,  

 richardson will be the first permanent settler.  Of what is now San Francisco.  

And what was then called your Balbuena.  The name will be changed in the early 1840s after. Uh, port further north begins calling itself San Francisco. And the residents of Yerba blend are worried that.  Ships coming in we'll mistake that poured for the mission San Francisco. So they changed their name to San Francisco to try to thought,  the popularity of this Newport.  This will begin a slow trickle.  Of new settlers into that area. 

If you're wondering how the San Francisco streets are named, it was all these early founding settlers.  Then after the Mexican American war, some of these Americans will have their names attributed. To the streets as well.   It really begins in this. Small kind of Cove on the Eastern part of San Francisco, just south of Telegraph hill. On Montgomery street.  

There'll be. Really only six. To 12 buildings.  No more than 200. Inhabitants.   For the next ten-ish years.  

 Settlers from the Hawaiian islands and also some Americans. And. Some California's now celebrate the 4th of July in San Francisco every year.  

 It's still this far off port.   Still bears wolves. And coyotes. Still these enormous sand dunes. 

 During the rainy season in San Francisco.   It's incredibly muddy. You can't walk around.  There's no trees.  

During the dry season, you have this heavy fog coming in.   You heard a Richardson? Describe it as.  Very unhealthy.  Because he had all the sand swirling around.  And it's like living at a cold.  Foggy beach.  



Most of these men are  in tents when they first start out there.   Living in largely wilderness san Francisco still.  Northern reach of Mexico's territory. You have the mission San Rafeal for the north, and you do have Fort Ross, this Russian settlement. At a hundred miles north of San Francisco.  Which is really just like this small trading port.  For these Russian explorers. 

Very collectic there too, but that's like a Fort in the wilderness in the middle of nowhere.  

San Francisco is a port in a wilderness . You have more ships beginning to come in.  As I described them before, but. Still there's hardly anyone. Who's a permanent settler   



  The same year. As the founding of your  The city of San Francisco in 1835. 

You have the Texas revolution happening on the other side of the country.  Essentially what you have is this encroachment of Americans in the Texas territory.   They ended up fighting Santa Ana and declaring their independence.  So they are their own country for a number of years.  The United States wants to take that country from Mexico, but they're also hesitant to do so.   They're worried about their relationships with Europe,  they just take Texas. Steal it from this weaker country.  



America. Isn't this powerhouse that we envisioned it  being today.  They were still a new country.   They had just enlisted the help of France. France is not going to be happy if they. Just go and take this territory from Mexico.  And they still have this debated territory in Oregon with England.  

But from this point forward,  

The United States, will have its eye. Fixated.  On this territory in Northern Mexico. In Texas. Nevada.  New Mexico.  And California.  Manifest destiny will continue to grow.   And this divide will begin in American politics.  A lot of politicians are pushing this idea of manifest destiny.  To defend the conquest of these areas.  Extending our land from sea to shining sea.  

Within the next few years. Things will  get from bad to worse. For these native Americans.  

 We'll get into some of those details here in the next episode.  As we look to a new settler that will have an enormous impact. On California and American history.  In a Swiss-German.  By the name of John. Sutter. 

  Okay.   Thank you so much for listening.  If you liked what you heard.  I hope you'll subscribe.  It should be a button. At the bottom of the podcast.  If you really enjoyed what you heard.  

Please consider leaving a rating review.  It's free. It's easy.  And  helps get more eyes on the podcast.  I'm trying to. Build a following at this point.   If you rate or review or tell a friend about it,  that really helps the cause.  

 The next step is sewed.   We'll focus on Sutter's Fort.   The expansion. Of native American slavery. 

The beginnings of the Oregon trail.  Mountain men pushing westward.  Manifest destiny.  And the slow building. The city of San Francisco.  I hope you join me for that one.  And for the rest of the episodes. And this. The first season.  Have a port. At the edge. Of the world.  I'll see you then.