Los Angeles herald., 1891-07-19

Francisco he kept this matter in mind,
and reported that he had found two
good localities for such colonies. one at
Los Angeles on the Rio Porciuncula and
the other near Santa Clara on the Rio
Guadalupe, and, without waiting for
| further directions, on November z, l777,
he founded the town of San Jose on the
latter river.
Two years later Governor de Neve sent
Lieutenant-governor Fernando Rivera v
Moncada to Sinaloa and Sonora for the
purpose of recruiting soldiers for mis-
sion guards and the fort at Santa Bar
bara, and also farmers for the proposed
new town of Los Angeles on the Rio
Porciuncula. Don Fernando does not ap-
pear to have had an easy time recruiting
for by August 1, 1880, he had obtained
only forty-five soldiers and seven farm
ers. His instructions were to get fifty-
nine soldiers and twenty-four farmers,
the latter to be heads of families. But
by the 25th of that month he had secured
nearly the required quota of soldiers
and more than half the farmers. The
soldiers he was to conduct to
California in person, but the farmers for
the Los Angeles colony were brought by
another route. Don Fernando left the
town of Alamos, Sonora, in April, 1871,
with his soldiers, and in July arrived at
the junction of the Gila and the Colo
RADIO rivers, where is now the town of
Yuma. Here he foolishly sent his SOL
diers on ahead to the mission of San Ga
briel, while he remained with small
detachment to recruit large herd OF
cattle before attempting to drive them
across the desert. There were then two
missions on the California side of the
river, nearly opposite the junction of
the Gila, and, while Don Fernando was
there, the neophytes revolted and mas
sacred the priests, and though Don Fer
nando entrenched himself behind strong
barricades, he and his guard were all
slain.
The party of farmers for the proposed
colony at Los Angeles embarked at
Guaymas, and sailed across the Gulf of
California to Loreto, under the COM
mand of Lieutenant Jose Zuniga, and
by the 10Th of May were en- route over
land up the peninsula for San Gabriel.
Several deserted on the way, and the
smallpox broke out among them, so
that, when they arrived at San Gabriel,
on the 18th of August, they were placed
in quarantine three miles from the mis-
sion for few days till the children, who
had the disease, had recovered.
Governor de Neve had evolved an
elaborate plan for the settlement of Up
per California and its government, and,
in accordance Herewith, on the 26th
Of August, he issued proclamation for
the founding of the town OF Los Angeles.
The original OF his proclamation is on
file in the United States surveyor gen.
erals Office in San Francisco. Its pro-
visions are sufficiently extensive for the
government of million people; it was
like providing the machinery. OF the
| Great Eastern for a steam launch. So
far as the farmers for Los Angeles were
concerned, its directions for the survey
and distribution of house lots and farm
ing lands was all that was of interest to
them.
Like all Spanish towns of that period,
| the plan was that of a square, around
which the residences would be built,
with farm lands adjacent, and near q
river from which water could be had for
irrigation. The site selected for the
square or parallelogram, which was 100
by 75 varas (about 277 or 2O8 feet) is
now bounded by 277 feet on the east
line of Upper Main street, which was
the eastern line OF the square or plaza
and 20S feet on the northern line of
Marchessault.street,w which was the south
ern line of the plaza and 277 feet on the
northern line of New High street north
erly for the western line of the plaza.
The northern line of this old plaza, long
since abandoned, never seems to have
been defined.
September 4, 1881, Governor de Neve
in person, accompanied by his soldiers
and missionaries from San Gabriel, per-
formed the ceremony of founding the
town of Our Lady, the Queen OF the
Angels, and installing the farmers of
the new colony in their new quarters.
A solemn procession, headed by the
governor, priests, soldiers and colonists,
marched around the plaza, and was fol-
lowed by mass, and the new town was
started. Corporal Vicente Felix with a
guard of four soldiers was left in COM
mand, and the governor, priests and
soldiers retired to San Gabriel to let the
colonists work out their own salvation.
A list of these colonists with theil
families will be of interest, as the foun.
ders of the metropolis of Southern Cali
fornia. They were:
L. Jose de Lara, so years old; had an
Indian wife and three children.
2. Jose Antonio Navarro, a Mestizo
AZ years old, whose wife was mulat.
tress, and had three children.
8. Basilio Rosas, an Indian 68 years
old, had mulatto wife and six chill
dren.
4. Antonio Mesa, a negro, 3S years
old, had mulatto wife and two chill
dren.
s. Antonio Felix Villavicencio, 9
Spaniard, 80 years old, had an Indian
wife and one child.
6. Jose Vanegas, an Indian, % years
old, had an Indian wife and one child
7. Alexandra Rosas, an Indian, Is
years old, had an Indian wife.
s. Pablo Rodriguez, an Indian, 2E
years old, had an Indian wife and one
child.
8. Manuel Camera, mulatto, 81
years old, had mulatto wife.
10. Luis Quintero, a negro 30 years
old, had mulatto wife and five chill
dren.
IL. Jose Moreno, mulatto % years
old, had mulatto wife.
Thus there were eleven families, con
sisting of forty-four persons, and NJ
more, who constituted the founders 0
Los Angeles. Not counting the womer
and children, there were two Spaniards
nine Indians, one mestizo, eight mulat
toes, and two negroes, truly "mixtie
maxtie, motley SQUAD" as Burns woul(