Los Angeles herald., 1891-06-14
AwoRK THAT SHOULD BIZ ENCOURAGED

who found his grave on one of the Santa
Barbara islands. Sixty years later
came General Sebastian Bizcayfo,
who gave the names to many geograph-
ical features which they retain to the
present day. One hundred and sixty
six years later, in 1859, Governor Por-
tola and that renowned missionary,
Father Junipero Sierra, arrived, and
while one drew the sword and unfolded
the royal banner of Spain to the ocean
breezes, the other planted the crucean
symbol of his religion. From Point
Iona to Point Conception, Sierra estab-
lished, or caused to be established,
seven missions, around which the lazy,
profitless aborigines were gathered and
taught to farm, spin, sew and pursue
the arts of civilization.
Then drifted in for many years the
population of Mexico, until the govern
ment of that country gave them terri
torial autonomy, and then began the
long, fierce and bloody struggle between
Northern and Southern California for
political supremacy. 1t was Monterey
against Los Angeles for the capital, and
Alvarado. Vallejo, Zamorano and Castro
of the 'nortef1os," or northerners,
against Pico, Bandini, Oslo and Coronel
of the "surenos," or southerners, ending
with the triumph of the latter, only to
be overthrown by the Americans in
1916, under Stockton and Fremont.
Following the discovery of gold in the
north were long years of pastoral qui-
etude in the south, broken only by the
bloody contact of the lower elements of
Americans and Mexicans, until the ad-
vent of the railroad placed this delight
full land at the very doors OF the eastern
tenderfoot.
No other land is richer in historic
lore than this. The Spanish explora-
tions, the mission period, and the pas
toral era are all full of deeds of heroism,
gallantry and romance. Here will COM
ing Byrons sing and future Macaulays
write of deeds that will entrance the
young and thrill the old.
But the builder cannot build without
material, neither can the writer write
without knowledge. Here and there
desultory efforts have been made
from the times of the pious
Paloer and the enterprising Forbes
down to the mercenary Bancroft,
to gather portions of this vast historic
wealth, but never has united effort been
made till a few gentlemen, several
years ago, organized the Histori-
cal Society of Southern California.
None of them possess any great
means or talent for purely his
torical work, but rather their labors
have been in the lines of gathering and
every kind of historical mat
ter upon which they could lay their
hands. Old manuscripts and relics fir ON
Spanish families, books, pamphlets,
maps, photographs, etc., of
later times have industriously been OBJ
tanned by them till now they can boast
Of the finest historical collection on the
coast outside of the Bancroft library in
San Francisco. But they have arrived at
a point in their labors where they must
havel help from others than their own
active membership.
While the city is receiving acre after
acre for parks, cannot some one spare
one acre for this noble organization
whereon to erect fireproof building?
Again, and it may be said with sad
ness, the evidences of our early history
are rapidly passing away. One after
another of the old Spanish families are
being broken up, and their invaluable
papers are scattered to the winds or
carted to the junk shops. The pioneers
who came hither from Mexico or
Yankeedom in pre-American times are
swiftly vanishing. A very few years
more, and the last Mexican "colonista,"
and the last American otter-hunter or
land grantee will be no more. Their
should be gathered, that
their deeds of pioneering may be CRATE
fully remembered by those who enjoy
the fruits of their labors. A decade at
the furthest, and it will simply be i'm
possible to gather the wisdom Of these
pioneers, which will perish with them.
This work should be done now, and the
Historical society should be richly en-
dowed to enable it to do this all-im-
portant work. Soon it will be too late
The biographies of many of these pio-
neers are as rich in romance and adven-
ture as those of Boone or Kenton on the
coast.
The great thirty-nine volumes of Cali
fornia history by the composite Bancroft
were mostly written by his collabora-
tors from secondhand material. They
drew little from original records, be-
cause they did not have them. Our his
torical society has already brought to
light an immense number of manu-
scripts and records, fresh from the
archives of Spain, Mexico and the Cali
fornia missions and pueblos, which it's
members are now busy translating.
These old papers contain many impor-
tant items of history of which Bancroft's
hired scribes never heard. These trans
lations must be printed and published,
and to do this the society must have
Great business blocks, stately
mansions, beautiful parks and grand
~ ~. .Ao,, 4c o.o III nall a,,ouob IN thar