Bisbee daily review., 1907-10-03
OLD CANNON TELL HISTORY OF
 FRONTIER
Used As Hitching Posts, They Recall War With Mexico. With Los Angeles As The Field.


 LOS ANGELES. oct. 2.-old land marks in this city are the two can nons which were planted. muzzle downward, at, the southeast corner of Main and Commercial streets. and
 lsiss just just been transferred ts Q high CT position on the summit of Fort Hill and placed at the base of the flagstaff, as If to protect the flag.
 These guns have done much service and little execution. When the Americans marched on Los Angeles there were four cannon in the Gov ernment House." an abode on the north side of Main street. few doors north of Commercial These fell into the possession of the Americans when Los Angeles fell, without firing a gun. Captain Gillespie was left in charge of the post. with a company of sixty-fiye men and a battery of four guns. Owing to his tyranny. a reyo- | lution started about six weeks after
 wards. on the night of September 22, 1S46. The Mexicans fired several volleys sn the air and-retreated. Next night Gillespie evacuated his position and sought a more elevated 1 one on the hill overlooking the city. Qualifications were thrown up. and ! from this the hill takes sts name
 Fort Hill.
 Dona Inocencia Reyes dug up lit | tie bronze cannon which she had | planted in her garden. on Alameda
 near Marehessault street, when the Americans advanced upon the pueblo | The fort" was besieged and finally
 surrendered. There was no loss oi
 life, but two or three persons were slightly wounded. Gillespie was per | mstted to take two of the cannons
 with his company to San Pedro. with | the understanding that they were tC
 be turned over to the Mexican com
 mander But. when Gillespie aGd
 his paroled company boarded thE | American sloop. he spiked the can mons and threw them into the bay There they remained thirty years
 when an enterpris;ng citizen fished
 them out. There being no other place to put them, they were planted or the southeast corner of Main and
 Commercial streets. to serve as hitch ing posts.
 | The other two cannons were train
 edd on the Americans as they ad vanced on Los Angeles. but the skir
 mish at Los Angeles River seemed
 to settle the revolution and the can
 mons were turned loose. They have stood for about twenty-five years al the Courthouse. commanding the : Broadway entrance. These cannons l were likewise spiked and their trun
 nions broken off by the orders of Gil
 lespie when he surrendered.
 The little brass cannon that Inocen
 cia Reyes buried and resurrected fol the reyolutionists had been on contin ual duty for years. It was used fol the firing of salutes on Mexico's In 1 dependence Day and on other celebra | tions, of which there were many. The cannon was brought from MazatIar
 on the back of bur Q and was occa ssonally fired by the colonists to ter
 rorize the Indians. After it's resur rection by Dona Reyes 1t was given the title of the "woman's Gun l When Los Angeles fell the second time. It was included in the public | arms" turned over by the revolution | ists to the Americans. which capture 1 comprised three cannon and six mus kets. The "Woman's Gun is now ir
 the National Museum at Washington
 Santa Barbara also has a land mark" When the pueblo surrender | ed there were two cannon in the
 adobe fort. Before turning over the public arms" some of the rebels | rolled a cannon down to the beach l 449S< ex I'll ... Hcntnry hesng me gam short, the l American commander levied a fine ! of $500 on the pueblo. The Mexicans then dug up the gun, filled it with
 sand and pebbles and hauled it to the
 American headquarters. The fine
 was then refunded to the city. But
 unfortunately, the Alcalde tried a lmonte game and lost the money. The wise Alcalde decided that the pueblo also lost The eannin. still filled to i the puzzle and out of commission
 was placed at the corner of street
 to do duty as hltcfi2g post. From
 this the street took Its name-La
 Gale del Canon Perdido" tSSe street of the Lost Cannon. The stsset is still on the map as Canon Perdidv. -