ordered to san diego—first view of the pacific ocean—rumors of the enemy—complimentary order, by lieut. col. cooke, on the achievements of the mormon battalion—reported hostility of col. fremont to gen. kearney—living on beef alone—obtain some flour—routine of the camp—ordered to los angeles—damage by an earthquake—wild horses and cattle driven into the sea—arrival at los angeles—rumors of an attack—constructing a fort—guarding cajon pass—surrounded by wild cattle—take refuge in a ravine—col. fremont arrested—site of san bernardino—getting out a liberty pole—brush with the indians—clearing los angeles of dogs—wickedness in the town—brutality of bull fights, horse racing, etc.—always ready for an attack—first raising of the stars and stripes on a liberty pole in california.
orders had been received changing our destination from los angeles to san diego, passing by way of the mission san luis del rey. when we reached the san diego mission we passed it by and camped between it and the town. it was en route to this place that we came in sight of the waters of the great pacific ocean, a view that was most pleasurable to us, and which we hailed with shouts of joy, as we felt that our long march of starvation was about over. we were now drawing five pounds of fair beef, without salt or pepper.
another day's march, and we had completed the journey over the nation's highway across the continent. we were allowed one day at san diego, when we were ordered back to the san luis del rey mission. there was some disappointment, but the order to return was obeyed without murmuring. it was thought we would meet the enemy, as it was said there was a force of about eighteen hundred californians, under general flores, lurking in the mountains northwest of san luis del rey mission, but we did not see them. at the mission we were required to do fatigue duty, as it was called, which included cleaning up the place, it having been neglected a long time. at this place the following was issued by col. cooke:
"headquarters, mission of san diego,
"january 30, 1847.
"lieutenant colonel commanding congratulates the battalion on its safe arrival on the shores of the pacific ocean, and the conclusion of its march of over two thousand miles. history may be searched in vain for an equal march of infantry; nine-tenths of it through a wilderness, where nothing but savages and wild beasts are found, or deserts where, for want of water, there is no living creature. there, with almost hopeless labor, we have dug deep wells, which the future traveler will enjoy. without a guide who had traversed them, we have ventured into trackless prairies, where water was not found for several marches. with crowbar and pickaxe in hand, we have worked our way over mountains, which seemed to defy aught save the wild goat, and hewed a passage through a chasm of living rock more narrow than our wagons. to bring these first wagons to the pacific, we have preserved the strength of the mules by herding them over large tracts, which you have laboriously guarded without loss.
"the garrison of four presidios of sonora, concentrated within the walls of tucson, gave us no pause; we drove them out with their artillery; but our intercourse with the citizens was unmarked by a single act of injustice. thus marching, half naked and half fed, and living upon wild animals, we have discovered and made a road of great value to our country.
"arrived at the first settlement of california, after a single day's rest, you cheerfully turned off from the route to this point of promised repose, to enter upon a campaign, and meet, as we believed, the approach of the enemy; and this, too, without even salt to season your sole subsistence of fresh meat.
"lieutenants a.j. smith and george stoneman of the first dragoons, have shared and given valuable aid in all these labors.
"thus, volunteers, you have exhibited some high and essential qualities of veterans. but much remains undone. soon you will turn your strict attention to the drill, to system and order, to forms also, which are all necessary to the soldier.
"by order of lieutenant-colonel p. st. george cooke.
[signed.] "p. c. merrill, adjutant."
it is stated by sergeant daniel tyler, in his "history of the mormon battalion," that february 4th was the date of the reading of the order. its spirit and tone were an agreeable surprise to us, as the general tenor of the colonel's course had been so different, apparently, that we did not look for him to do the battalion justice. yet if he had been less stern and decisive, it would have been worse for us. we had stern realities to deal with, consequently like means were necessary to overcome the obstacles we had to contend with. it required push and vim to enable the battalion to perform the heroic deeds demanded of it, and a sympathy that would have caused the men to shrink back instead of seeing that every one stood to his post of duty would have been a fatal error. after all, col. p. st. george cooke was a good military commander, maintaining excellent military discipline; and for one the writer feels to say, peaceful be his sleep.
it was about the 4th or 5th of february when we got back to the mission, and the order given, with others, was made known. the other orders included such directions as to trim the hair so that none came below the tip of the ear, and shave the beard all but the mustache.
we were informed that we had no right to think in acting for ourselves—that the government paid men to think for us, and it was our duty to obey orders. we were allowed very little time in which to wash our rags and hunt down the insects that had waged a continuous warfare on us all the way from albuquerque or the rio grande del norte to the coast; yet we turned on the creeping foe, and never relented till we routed him, nor showed any quarter till the last one was gone. we also had to repel an attack from the nimble flea in great numbers, in which we realized that this impudent insect did not care where he hit.
while we were still living on beef alone, without pepper or salt, we were ordered out on squad drill, which seemed to continue about eight hours per day. the reason given for this was the supposed threatened attack from eight hundred californians in the mountains; and further, the rumors that col. john c. fremont, with eight hundred or a thousand men, claimed it was his right, and not gen. kearney's, to dictate to the united states forces in california. in fact, it was reported that col. fremont was in open hostility to gen. kearney, who was military governor of california by orders from washington. under these circumstances, we were kept in constant readiness, not knowing the moment we would be called into active service.
our training daily was one hour for each pound of beef issued, the beef costing less than a cent a pound to the government. sergeant tyler says our rations were five pounds a day, and i say it was not half enough, for we were ravenously hungry all the time. if the reader doubts this, let him try the ration for a little while, and doubt will disappear.
about february 25 we obtained bolted flour and some other supplies of provisions that had been brought from the sandwich islands, by major sward, to san diego, and thence to san luis del rey by mule team. in the meantime we had received a small amount of unbolted flour, brought by lieutenant oman and a small detachment of the battalion sent out for the purpose. then the beef rations were reduced; so that during the whole twelve months' service we did not once have issued to us the full rations allowed by the government to the american soldier—if we had full rations in one thing, another was lacking. either the government made a great saving from regulations in feeding us, or a steal put money into some contractors' pockets.
day after day the duties of soldier were performed, drilling, out on detached duty, or marching here, there and everywhere, early and late, by day and by night, just to suit the fancy of some of our officers, and not always upon real occasion for the movements. it would seem that in many respects the soldier's life is much like a faithful wife's; and in others much unlike a woman's work. like hers, in that the task seems never done, busy all day and up at every hour of night in response to calls of first one child, then another, or even to the exploits of some mischievous cat, her rest broken and her life worn away; unlike hers, in that she usually has a dry shelter, regular meals, and a place to lie down when she can rest, while the soldier in time of war never knows where he will make his bed at night, often is without food and drink, having to move at the word of command over deserts, rocks, mountains, plains and rivers—a stranger to the locality he may call his home. but the toils of both are necessary, she to rear the nation's pride and strength—a soldier in the right; he to protect her and himself, to defend their country's rights and avenge her wrongs.
returning to the narrative of garrison duty, it appeared to me the hours of drill were more than sergeant tyler's account will admit of; but i shall not dispute with him, as i write from memory. i do recall that roll call came at daylight, sick call at 7:30 a.m., breakfast call at 8:40, drill at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. roll call at sundown, tattoo at 8:30, and taps at 9 p.m., after which lights must be out except in case of sickness. all must be silent then, as the men are supposed to have retired for the night.
on or near the 20th of march, companies a, c, d and e took up their journey to the puebla de los angeles. we traveled over a hilly country, where there were numerous herds of cattle and bands of horses. in some places we passed down to and along the sandy beach around big bluffs over which, so we were told, the californians, some years previously, had driven thousands of horses and cattle to rid the country of them, as they had overrun the place so that all were suffering for food. this story seemed confirmed by the great amount of bones that we saw among the rocks and sands at the foot of deep declivities along the seashore.
on the way to los angeles we passed a stone church that had been badly shaken; the walls had been good mason work, but now were mostly broken down. we were told that an earthquake did the damage, and that some three hundred people had been killed. on by the san gabriel river we went, arriving at los angeles in about four days' march from where we had started out. we marched into the main street and stacked our arms as if to say, "we have possession here."
most of the citizens stood aloof, looking as if the cause they had supported was lost, but soon the merchants brought out buckets of whisky and wine, which they set before the command, inviting us to help ourselves. some accepted the invitation rather freely, while others refrained from touching the beverages. we returned to the river at night, and camped. in a day or two we were marched about two miles up the stream, and above the town, where we again ran out of provisions and had to go hungry; nor did we break our fast till 11 a.m. next day.
at this time the air was full of alarming rumors. a revolt of californians was talked of; then it was fremont who was said to be in rebellion against general kearney's authority; and again, a powerful band of indians was ready to pounce down upon us. it was not very unexpectedly, therefore, that we received orders to occupy the most commanding point overlooking the town. soon after this we learned that a supply of provisions for the command had been landed at san pedro, about twenty-one miles distant, and teams and wagons were sent at once, under an escort of soldiers, the writer being one. we returned next day, heavily loaded.
about this date, the command began the erection of a fort, or rather began to throw up earthworks. lieutenant rosecranz was ordered with a small detachment to cajon pass, a narrow opening in the sierra nevada range, about eighty miles east of us. the object was to guard the pass against the advance of any foe, for, as has been said, there were many rumors of impending danger. in a short time, lieutenant pace, with twenty-nine officers and men of the battalion—the writer being one of the number—received orders to relieve the detachment of lieutenant rosecranz. pace's command had just reached the rosecranz party, finding the latter in the act of striking camp, when a dispatch came by pony express ordering us to return as well.
on our march out, the wild cattle, which were there by thousands, became excited and began to bellow and crowd toward us. we could see them for miles coming on the run. they closed in quickly until we were surrounded by them on three sides, with a deep gulch or very brushy ravine on the fourth. we retreated in double-quick time to this gulch, and were compelled to remain in what shelter it afforded until the next day, before we could pass on in safety.
the unsettled state of the country kept us constantly busy. our fort was pushed to completion, and we having obtained what artillery colonel fremont had, the twelve or fifteen pieces now in our possession were placed in proper position for defense. everything was made as complete as could be, and the warclouds began to give way. fremont had been placed under arrest for insubordination or rebellion, i do not recall which, and this contributed to the peace of the country.
a spaniard was hired to haul a liberty pole from san bernardino canyon, a distance of eighty miles, and as he dared not undertake the journey without a military escort, corporal lafayette shepherd and fourteen men, among whom the writer was included, were sent to protect the spaniard and help get the pole down to the fort. on that trip we camped on the present site of san bernardino city, then a wild and lonely wilderness, with not a house or farm in sight. at that time the country abounded in wild cattle, bear, and other wild animals.
just where we came out on the plain we camped for the night, and in the morning our spanish friend went out into the hills to see if he could kill a deer. soon he came upon a party of indians jerking beef, and he shot into their camp. they came out, returned his fire, and gave him chase. we were getting breakfast when he dashed into our camp, shouting that the indians were upon us, and for us to get our guns. of course, we complied, and were ready in short order, but as no indians came, the spaniard insisted that we go in and rout them, as they were killing the citizens' cattle, and our commander had given a promise of protection from this. hastily we saddled our mules and started, expecting every moment to meet the indians, who were on foot. we found no one before we came to the campfires, around which was strewn considerable beef. soon we discovered the indians fleeing up the mountain, and on our jaded mules we gave chase, but when we reached the summit the indians were going up the opposite ridge. we dismounted and poured a few volleys into the brush above them. they did not fire back. i do not think any harm was done. they were fleeing for their lives and did not show any opposition to us, and we had no desire to harm them, but simply to demonstrate to the californians that as united states soldiers we were ready to protect them and their property, as was promised by our officers.
we hastened back to the fort with our charge, the logs in the rough being about fifty feet each, the two making a pole between ninety and ninety-five feet long when completed, which was done by the members of the battalion at the fort.
another event about this period was an order by colonel cooke for a detail of good marksmen and trusty men to go through the town and shoot or bayonet all the dogs to be found in the streets. the colonel had notified the town authorities of his intention. accordingly the detail was made and ammunition issued. the writer was one of the trusted marksmen. we sallied forth in the town of los angeles, where the dogs were more numerous than human beings, and commenced our disagreeable and deadly work. muskets rattled in every street and byway, dogs barked and howled in every direction, and women and children wept to have the animals spared. but military orders had to be obeyed, for the dog nuisance had become intolerable. after that, there were sanitary orders sent forth, and the streets were cleared of the dogs and a great amount of bones and other rubbish.
with all this cleaning up, there still was tolerated the greater nuisances of liquor drinking, gambling, the most lewd and obscene conduct that could be imagined, sabbath breaking by horse racing, cock and bull righting, men righting and knifing one another—indeed, the sabbath was the greater day for all these vices.
bull fighting was carried on inside of a square of one to four acres surrounded by one-story adobe flat-roofed houses, on which spectators would climb, and thus have an excellent view of the whole exhibition of cruelty and bravado and jeopardy to life. numbers of the wildest and most ferocious bulls were taken, and were brought into the arena one at a time. the animal was turned loose, and a man would tease him into fury with a sharp lance. a horseman would charge and make thrust after thrust at the maddened bull, striving to pierce him just behind the horns, the aim being to cut the pith of the spinal column at that point. if this were done, the animal would fall dead on the spot. as a general thing, the bull was more apt to gore the rider's horse, and give the rider himself a very close call; but a number of very expert horsemen were kept in readiness to lasso the bull or cast a blanket over his eyes and thus blindfold him until his tormentor got out of danger. in this cruel sport many horses were sacrificed, and sometimes the riders as well. it was not an unusual thing for a hundred or more of these wild bulls to be collected at a time, and the bloody sport to be kept up three or four days and perhaps more. sometimes a grizzly bear would be captured and turned loose with a wild bull, the death of one and perhaps both being the result. the whole populace seemed to enjoy this cruel sport, shouting and screaming thereat all the day long. males and females, of all ages and conditions, met on a common level to witness this wild and reckless amusement.
horse racing took place on the principal streets. one popular part of this pastime was to secure an old male chicken; this was buried all but the head in a hole in the street, the soil being packed in as tight as could be and have the bird live. an indian stood by to rebury the fowl as fast as the horsemen resurrected him by seizing him by the head when riding past at full speed. the aim was to swoop down, seize the cock's head, pull the bird out of the hole, and hold to the head to the end of the contest, which was indulged in by a dozen or more. when one rider tore the bird from the hole all the others would charge on him and try to capture it. the possessor would strike right and left, to hold his prize, until the poor fowl was torn to pieces. often the bird fell to the ground alive, was buried again, and some one else would lead in the dash for it. just before the rider reached the fowl, a horseman on either side would lash the horse unmercifully, so that the rider could not slow up to get a better chance at the exposed head. this game would be continued till some one carried the fowl's head to the end in triumph.
it was said that a scheme existed to draw the attention of the americans during the most exciting of these sports, and then raid our camp; but if this ever was thought of it failed, for with us everything was kept in readiness for an emergency, and sometimes we lay at night with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets. besides, we had become very proficient in military tactics, and every man had learned well his duty as a soldier.
the fort having been completed, and every reasonable anticipation for surprise in the return of the mexican forces or for an uprising having been cut off, on the morning of the fourth of july, 1847, the stars and stripes was hoisted on the pole in triumph, and floated in the breezes from the pacific ocean—i think the first time that glorious banner waved from a liberty pole in california, although commodore sloat had raised the american flag at monterey on july 7, 1846.
