BajaNomad

History Lesson

Cancamo - 2-2-2020 at 11:52 AM

Although personal digs are counterproductive, the history lesson from Greengrass' post this morning was informative and definitely from the point of view hardly heard from, the indigenous of this continent.

Disappointed it was removed. We could all hear more history lessons based on fact, not glossing over the crimes of our forefathers.

motoged - 2-2-2020 at 12:02 PM

Golly.....have to get up early to avoid the purge of differing opinions. Not so much a surprise....who runs this show?

The senate? :?:

BajaParrothead - 2-2-2020 at 12:06 PM

Quote: Originally posted by motoged  
Golly.....have to get up early to avoid the purge of differing opinions. Not so much a surprise....who runs this show?

The senate? :?:

Removed because it was JJJ trying to stir the pot again!

azucena - 2-2-2020 at 12:08 PM

Wholly agree with Cancamo. Personal attacks are totally distasteful and take away from the message. No reason to attack David K.
BUT the facts regarding the savage treatment of the indigenous peoples are important for all of us to be aware of, and hopefully, learn from.

There is a tendency to romanticize history when in fact , it can be pretty ugly, and the ways in which Native people have been brutalized can have long term traumatic effects not to mention decimation of their culture.

Figured the orginal post would be removed which speaks volumes.

Hook - 2-2-2020 at 12:24 PM

Quote: Originally posted by azucena  
Wholly agree with Cancamo. Personal attacks are totally distasteful and take away from the message. No reason to attack David K.
BUT the facts regarding the savage treatment of the indigenous peoples are important for all of us to be aware of, and hopefully, learn from.

There is a tendency to romanticize history when in fact , it can be pretty ugly, and the ways in which Native people have been brutalized can have long term traumatic effects not to mention decimation of their culture.

Figured the orginal post would be removed which speaks volumes.


Yes, it does speak volumes.

If you personally attack people and call them clueless idiots, then your post stands a good chance of being deleted. He also disparaged Graham Mackintosh by calling him a "nut"..

What's so hard about that to understand?

The post had no business being on the General Discussion Board, either. If it was posted on the History board or the Political board, WITHOUT A PERSONAL ATTACK ON A MEMBER, I dont doubt it would still be up.

David K - 2-2-2020 at 01:31 PM

History, all kinds, is interesting and sometimes informative (if true)!

The person (JoeJustJoe) who (again) tried to go behind the moderator's back was banned for repeated violation of this forum's very liberal rules. His posts were not to be informative as much as they were to be hateful to a few Nomads he has decided to have a beef with. Nothing has ever stopped him from just sharing his personal discoveries for all of us to read. Instead he chose to just attack those who share ideas or services that he has deemed as something we Nomads should not freely read for ourselves. I think this is known as a "troll"?

So, in the morning between 5 am and 9 am, if you see a bunch of slanderous, hateful, or just ugly posts from a "newbie" against longtime Nomads, know that it is "JJJ" again and try to ignore him. Doug (the moderator here, and creator of Baja Nomad) will be removing all of the new posts as soon as he sees them.

As for the "History Lesson", I believe all history deserve to be heard and followed if they are based on facts and not just emotion. My Baja Mission research is something I began as a child, reading books. It became refined after the Internet showed me there was a lot of interest in Baja history. For whatever reason, I like to untangle confusion. There was much confusion about the Baja missions and from reading the letters and books by the people who were in Baja during the mission period, I could glean out the true names, dates, details about the missions' foundings, construction, and people there.

I also read all the mission facts as told in the modern books from the 1880s to the 2000s. It was easy to see what were the real details and what was erroneous, even if accidental.

I first wrote a series on the missions for Discover Baja Travel Club to help Jennifer Kramer get her new blog off and running, gratis. I then decided I could collect all these articles, add more details, and produce a new Baja mission history book. I made many changes to the articles, even a few corrections on the data as I acquired more books with the missionaries' diaries... to have more data than before.

I worked on producing my book for over a year, using recent research, as well as my history of my studies, and travel in Baja. The book came out very well, if I do say so myself. Shortly after I printed the first 200 copies (Feb. 2016), Sunbelt Publications asked to be my book's distributor so it could get into bookstores, libraries, and on Amazon. Sunbelt is pretty fussy about the books they distribute, so it was a stamp of approval of my work, to me. Four years later, I just ordered up my 8th printing of my book... with it that makes 1,400 in print (not Harry Potter, but not bad for a Baja history book)!

My book is about the discovery of California (Baja), the attempts to colonize the peninsula, and the mission program. My book is not a book about judgement of right or wrong but simply the facts as they are known and detailed by those who were there. I address the plight of the native people with a chapter on epidemics and show the differences between how the Jesuits generally spoke of the Indians vs. the Franciscan and Dominicans who came after, under Spanish government control. I tell or show what the mission were like then vs. now, how to find them, and all the missionaries who served at each one. I have many illustrations and maps, past and present. I also have a chapter on the Lost Missions and reveal what they were, where they were (well mostly), and other bits of interest.

On my title page is this:

A detailed history of the activities by
the Spanish and others attempting to
colonize the peninsula of California
from 1535 to 1855

I don't pretend to address the Native Californians point of view or judge good or bad. That belongs in its own book.
If you want to hate the Spanish for occupying California, that is your business. Keep in mind, if not Spain, then it would have been Russia, England, or another power. It was going to happen one way or another and with the same results, diseases would kill off many native people. Not telling the history by burning or boycotting books doesn't change the fact that history happened. Is it not better to learn from the past than to hide that then past actually happened?

Please check out my Facebook group to see more Baja history, mission photos, etc. (link below) and I think you will enjoy my book's contents should you get one! www.oldmissions.com

Thank you!

Sunman - 2-2-2020 at 02:04 PM

By this line of reasoning we should take a wrecking ball to the Great Pyramids of Giza and Chichen Itza, raze the Coliseum and most of Rome too for that matter due to slave atrocities. FFS, learn from history, don’t erase it.

BajaTed - 2-2-2020 at 02:16 PM

In the American continent and its history with first nation people, there was this concept called "manifest destiny" that drove the history.
This was a non-secular concept.
As it relates to the Baja Missions, it was all veiled in religion when it was actually the same thing. The basis for the missions was hypocritical and this is what causes the political correctness of today to bring light to the hypocrisy of the past. Like change, historical realization is hard to deal with.

azucena - 2-2-2020 at 09:36 PM

Bajated
Exactly. But blindness does not create sight. So then, to open our eyes and find a way to understand the experiences of others is the most human act we can endeavor to do. If we can ultimately find greater understanding of what the human experience has been and most importantly how to avoid making the same errors, and become more compassionate then we can all benefit.
Truth is a golden ball. You can toss it in dirt , in chite but in the end, it still glows.

4x4abc - 2-2-2020 at 09:57 PM

JJJ or whatever his name is, is rough.
Abrasive.
Personal.

BUT
he has a valid point.
And whoever feels like discussing history and government practices, should have a chance to kick those ideas around.
Just strip the idea from dirty attachments.
Ignore the insults
focus on the message
not the messenger

this forum could be a place where talented historians and philosophers exchange ideas (lots of collective knowledge here - more than anywhere else)
and it could stay the place where old man talk about stinky fish, they almost caught

KurtG - 2-3-2020 at 10:42 AM

Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc  
JJJ or whatever his name is, is rough.
Abrasive.
Personal.

BUT
he has a valid point.
And whoever feels like discussing history and government practices, should have a chance to kick those ideas around.
Just strip the idea from dirty attachments.
Ignore the insults
focus on the message
not the messenger

this forum could be a place where talented historians and philosophers exchange ideas (lots of collective knowledge here - more than anywhere else)
and it could stay the place where old man talk about stinky fish, they almost caught


I have in the past recommended this book. It is all "primary source" material and is part of the California Legacy Series and is published by Santa Clara University.
LANDS OF PROMISE AND DESPAIR: CHRONICLES OF EARLY CALIFORNIA 1535-1846.

Santa Clara University is a Catholic school but there is no attempt to white wash any aspect of the mission system. It is a lengthy read but I think essential to anyone who professes interest in or knowledge of the mission system.
https://www.amazon.com/Lands-Promise-Despair-Chronicles-Cali...

David K - 2-3-2020 at 10:59 AM

It is one of the books in my library and it is listed in my book's Reference list for further research by Baja history fans and researchers!
Over 500 pages, maps, illustrations, good content. c2001

My edition has a different cover than the Amazon edition...

gnukid - 2-3-2020 at 11:04 AM

The true history is that indigenous people's nations varied greatly, some were warriors that had armys, some had a policy of sacrificing, some played games and the loser was killed, and it was Dona Martina (Cortez), an indigenous woman that played indigenous people against each other and for the benefit of Spain when they arrived in Baja California Sur in Ensenada de los Muertos with the rebel Hernan Conrtez against the orders of the King. Many battles and skirmishes ensued and some were incorporated willing, some as slaves into the Mission system. The Yaqui developed an integrated culture incorporating their traditions with Catholicism and there are 150,000 indigenous Yaqui today from Sonora through North America. The Seri continue successfully in Sonora in Punta Chueca and El Desemboque.

So, while it is true that there were many deaths in war, and horrendous deeds done to the indigenous, they also were very successful and still are, as well as are responsible for their own violent past that intermixed with Spain thoughout Baja California.

The Yaqui integrated a Christian/Catholic God into their belief system more than 500 years ago.

It's not possible to put our current perspective from the present on the life then, but we can research the culture, the traditions, and celebrate those thing we appreciate as well as clarify the history, instead of simply putting blame on Missions alone though if we are to critique Missions in Baja for prostelizing religion, shouldn't we look at those today who do the same, for example, there are Fundamental Evangelical Christians that arrive in Baja today, in the same regions of Yaqui, Seris, Pericu, and Guyacura bearing gifts, who enter our pueblos and after throwing parties and handing out gifts and money they tell the Catholic kids they are going to hell if they don't convert to a strict interpretation of Christianity. Who is right or wrong? All wrong?

There are Casinos on many Indigenous Tribal lands today that cause tremendous harm to all that enter.

Interesting to read about the Yaqui, Seris, Pericu, and Guyacura in Baja California and the battles they had in Todos Sonos, San Antonio, San Jose and La Paz. I'd like to get JJJ down here and reenact them in period clothing.

There were cases where an indigenous person was killed outside of battle, and the Spanish cowboys were court martialed for doing so, though it's not clear if any were actually punished. Point is it was time were there were battles to conquer each other, it wasn't just horrendous Missionaries.

The road from San Jose to San Franciso that connected the Missions was the path of Indigenous people for centuries before. The Missions are just a chapter in the life o fIndegenous people in Baja California that included both an idyllic life of paradise with fruits, nuts, animals and fish to each and a difficult life of dry arid land.




[Edited on 2-4-2020 by gnukid]

BajaTed - 2-3-2020 at 11:29 AM

Fate intervenes sometimes with history too, consider the treaty signing for the Mexican American war in 1848, the Mexicans wanted the war over and hoped that they could keep more territory like Alta California, unfortunately the day after the treaty was signed, John Sutter discovered gold, the rest is history.

4x4abc - 2-3-2020 at 06:49 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaTed  
Fate intervenes sometimes with history too, consider the treaty signing for the Mexican American war in 1848, the Mexicans wanted the war over and hoped that they could keep more territory like Alta California, unfortunately the day after the treaty was signed, John Sutter discovered gold, the rest is history.



wow - earth must be flat indeed

KurtG - 2-3-2020 at 09:25 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
It is one of the books in my library and it is listed in my book's Reference list for further research by Baja history fans and researchers!
Over 500 pages, maps, illustrations, good content. c2001

My edition has a different cover than the Amazon edition...



Yes, that is the copy I have.

David K - 2-4-2020 at 12:41 PM

It is the first book that more accurately dates the first mission-era building at Descanso (as 1810). All others have been repeating a guess made by Peveril Meigs, in the 1930s (as 1817).

Padre Ahumada's papers were discovered, and then published in 1960, giving the true dates of his arrival and departure from Mission San Miguel and Descanso.

Descanso was simply a new location for Mission San Miguel following floods in late 1809, and not a separate mission (until later). By 1815, Ahumada had returned to the previous San Miguel site and was also transferred south to Mulegé. In 1815, Padre Caballero arrived at San Miguel. Caballero built a "new" separate mission at El Descanso in 1830, which was 8 years after California was no longer in Spanish hands. Since missions were Spanish colonization tools, Descanso and Guadalupe del Norte (1834) are Mexican and not Spanish missions. Many historians say they are not new missions at all but simply new locations for Mission San Miguel.

What we don't know (yet) is exactly when Ahumada moved mission headquarters from Descanso back to the earlier San Miguel site or if he simply operated both locations simultaneously?

Fun, right? :biggrin:

4x4abc - 2-4-2020 at 04:36 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Since missions were Spanish colonization tools ...


Wow!
David!
Not long ago you were fighting hard against that notion, when it was brought up by someone here on the forum
The missions as a colonization tool.
Wow again!

David K - 2-4-2020 at 04:51 PM

You will need to remind me because I can't think of anything other than them being a colonization tool. Spain wanted territory control and the Jesuits wanted new souls to save. It was a win-win for the King of Spain, especially since he got the Jesuits to fund the whole project (for the first few years, anyway).

Missions were the method to pacify and convert the local population to Spanish customs so when Spanish civilians arrived, they would be among fellow Spaniards and not among "savage heathens" (as many at the time considered Californians).

You have my book, Harald. Read the chapter starting on page 6 "Why Spanish Missions are in Baja California".

gnukid - 2-7-2020 at 08:52 AM

Hmmm Missions were not solely responsible for the demise of indigenous people's lives, they are symbolic of the time period as a tool for colonization and certainly can be criticized for their harsh treatment of indigenous people.

I went through the the 4th grade curriculum and it was a catalyst to study the true 5000 history of the region and it's indigenous roots. I was inspired to learn about Ohlone, Seri, Yaqui, Guayacura, Pericu and many other nations.

Certainly, there are many more stories to tell. Seri taught me that their violent past was a major cause of their own demise and they had to learn to change in order to survive. Indigenous people didn't have easy lives before the Missions and early death was common, as well, some lived long lives.

The militaristic tactics used varied, there are indigenous nations stories of the first battle using rocks versus arrows which was not common up to that point. Bow and arrow had it's place, muskets were not particularly accurate, and muskets seems silly as a weapon to many at first, but times changed.

Blaming the horrendous circumstances of the Mission system for the entirety of the indigenous demise misses the complexity of the changing environment and hazards. Missions were inhabited by very people.

The underlying theme of the 5000 year history of the region is as the world changes people migrate and adapt their behavior to survive changes. Nothing remains the same, ever. There are those who adapt successfully and those who do not or can not adapt and whose failure to change are integral to their demise.

All cultures were violent and participated in clashes, Yaqui had army of thousands and attacked Spaniards arriving, unfortunately some one loses a violent clash and either die, or be ruled over by others. Many thousands of indigenous warriors died in battle with Spaniards. The 1500-1800s were not easy fun times for anyone, early child mortality and death for mother and child in childbirth was not uncommon, as well as disease, illness, malnutrition and tragedy.




[Edited on 2-7-2020 by gnukid]

gnukid - 2-7-2020 at 09:59 AM

I went to live with the Seri Nacion in Sonora and was invited to participate in ceremonies. Anyone can go to meet Nations and listen to stories and learn.

The Seri showed me the games they played and the traditions which almost always resulted in someone having to die when they lost to others. They finally had to learn to change and adapt and they did, they had to change their traditions, adapt stories, and teach their children that yes you need to be violent to protect, but be cautious about killing each other in order to survive. There are many surviving Seri and and of course Yaqui who have adapted and found new ways t be successful.

Yaqui integrated a form of Catholic religion in with their traditions dating from the 1500's in order to create a synergy and succeed. There are 150,000 Yaqui today from Sonora to the North.

Cowboys were also taught to kill only in battle, laws supported court martial and prosecution of any one who killed passive indigenous or rancheros people even among the army.

You can read about many prosecution, though often unsuccessful, of Spaniards and various Nations cowboys whose actions went outside of their orders, including of course the Rebel Hernan Cortez. In fact many of those who came to colonize were acting on their own against the orders of their nations leaders.

Do you recall William Walker, he built a private army that invaded and raised the American Flag in La Paz in 1853 when he declared himself President of the Republic of Baja California but returned North when the President of the USA ordered the Navy to return him back for failing to follow orders. He was tried for failing to follow the Neutrality act though was acquitted by jury.




[Edited on 2-8-2020 by gnukid]

gnukid - 2-7-2020 at 10:06 AM

Agreed 4th grade mission project should be truthful, and should reflect what we know about the culture and history.

David K - 2-7-2020 at 11:14 AM

Hi gnukid... I didn't know Walker raised an American flag? Thanks for all history input!

He had his own flag made to represent his Republic of Lower California and later wished to include Sonora, renaming his nation ast the Republic of Sonora with two states (Lower California and Sonora)... and a new, 2-star flag...

From Wikipedia:



Flag of Republic of Lower California.jpg - 40kB
The flag hoisted by William Walker consists of a star representing the Republic of Baja California.



Flag of Republic of Sonora.jpg - 41kB
The second flag hoisted by William Walker consists of two stars representing the "republic of Baja California and Sonora."


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Baja_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Sonora


When I was in the museum in La Paz, I saw this:

John Harper - 2-7-2020 at 11:25 AM

Quote: Originally posted by gnukid  

Do you recall William Walker, he built a private army that invaded and raised the American Flag in La Paz in 1853 when he declared himself President of the Republic of Baja California but returned North when the President of the USA ordered the Navy to return him back for failing to follow orders. He was tried for failing to follow the Neutrality act though was acquitted by jury.


Wasn't he later executed in El Salvador, or Nicaragua?

John

David K - 2-7-2020 at 11:32 AM

Nicaragua

From Choral Pepper's unpublished last book (unedited raw text):

WALKER’S MANIFEST DESTINY

It was a time when “poor lower California” had had about all it could endure --conquistadores, buccaneers, padres, smugglers, revolutionists, invaders, bandits, pestilence, and con men. Then, in 1852, Raousset de Boulbon, a French “soldier-of- fortune,” entered Sonora. Rumor quickly reached San Francisco that France was about to acquire the Mexican territory immediately adjoining the southwestern boundary of the United States. Considering the prospect a national insult and direct blow to “manifest destiny” a contingent of fire-eating San Franciscans developed a filibustering scheme of their own with William Walker, a native of Tennessee but now a resident of Marysville, California, as their leader. A man of slight build with delicate facial features, Walker had studied both law and journalism in Pennsylvania, Paris, Gottingen, and Heidelberg before beginning his career with a newspaper in New Orleans. When it subsequently folded, he worked on a San Francisco newspaper before finally opening a law practice in Marysville.

So in 1853, accompanied by his good friend Henry P. Watkins, Walker-- later to become known as “The Grey-eyed Man of Destiny”-- embarked for Guaymas, Mexico to examine local conditions. What he found was a community “threatened” by the local Yaquis which, in his chivalrous view, demanded protection. Thus he returned to San Francisco. His first act was to float a bond issue to raise money for the treasury of the newly formed and protective Republic of Sonora and Lower California. A recruiting office was opened and a large ship named the Arrow was purchased to carry Walker and his liberation forces to the new nation. Their first objective was to seize Baja California. Walker was to be President of the new Republic; his friend Watkins, Vice President.

Before the expedition could sail on the 30th of September 1853, however, the Arrow was confiscated by the United States Army under orders of President Fillmore for breaching a pact of neutrality with a friendly power. In that decade of the fifties, Jefferson Davis and the Southern senators were not to be flouted. In William Walker’s scheme they could visualize a new Texas and future slave votes for the Senate. Moreover, many that cared nothing about Walker’s project resented the arrogant interference on the part of Fillmore. Walker never did recover the confiscated brig, but within two weeks had raised enough money to acquire a larger one.

Therefore, on October 16, 1853, Walker, with forty-six men and supplies, escaped Fillmore’s attention and sailed unmolested for Baja in the Caroline, leaving Vice President Watkins in charge in San Francisco. M.de Boulbon’s aborted French conquest of Mexico, meanwhile, had faded from public view.

In due time the warriors arrived at La Paz. When Walker dropped anchor in the harbor, small boats put out from shore to ferry the army to land. The merchants were delighted to see a ship in port. The city lay down before the invaders like a trollop. The army strolled over to the governor’s palace, arrested that executive and carried boxes of state documents back to the Caroline. Walker then issued a proclamation promising general protection and religious toleration with laws based upon the Louisiana Code -- a simple way of introducing slavery. Declaring himself president of the new Republic, the victorious 29-year-old Walker then lowered the Mexican flag and hoisted his own -- two stars representing Lower California and Sonora with two red stripes enclosing a white one.

For three days there was a fiesta. The army spent money in local cantinas and brothels, but then, like many soldiers, retired to the barracks to await their next payday. Walker began buying supplies with money drawn on the national treasure of the Republic of Sonora and Lower California. His welcome diminished. Mexican pesos and Yankee dollars were welcome tender, but paper Sonoran dollars had no value to the citizens of La Paz.

The Mexican army in La Paz consisted of one man, a Lieutenant Manuel Pineada, who had been ignored by the conquerors because nobody knew who he was. When the spending spree was over, Pineada met with some of the merchants and a decision was reached that the time had come for their guests to depart. There was a problem with the governor who was still a prisoner on the ship, but the consensus was that the governor was only a politician and could easily be replaced.

A counterattack was launched against the invaders. Lt. Pineada did not wish anyone to be seriously hurt so his attack, led by himself in command of twelve volunteers, consisted of a barrage of sticks and stones against a six-man detail that was returning to the ship with supplies paid for with “Sonoran” money. Walked was incensed over this sudden terrorist activity. Immediately he put ashore some thirty armed man. Lt. Pineada prudently withdrew with his smaller band, but he obviously was upset over the state of affairs and dispatched a message to the Mexican Army detachment stationed at a camp some 100 kilometers to the north.

Walker interpreted the withdrawal as a signal of victory for his troops. When word of the encounter reached San Francisco, Watkins announced the battle in a like vein, commenting that Baja was being released from the tyrannous rule of Mexico and that its people were overjoyed. The untapped mineral and agricultural resources soon would be properly developed with the help of her sister republic above the border, and once the conquest had been consolidated, the United States government would recognize the new nation. San Francisco rejoiced. A new ship, the Anita was purchased and 250 new recruits were enlisted.

Meanwhile, Lt. Pineada had decided that, even with the help of the dozen Mexican Army regulars, the odds still were not in his favor for a direct confrontation with the invaders. He enlisted the help of a prostitute who also was incensed over being paid in Sonoran currency by one of the soldiers. To her next client from Walker’s army she confidentially reported that the Mexican Army detachment to the north was very large, that more than a thousand troops were marching on the city.

President Walker sent word to the Vice President, his friend Watkins in San Francisco, requesting that he speed up recruiting and that, due to military expediency, he was moving the temporary capital of Sonora to Santa Cruz. Then he sailed off with his army and the governor of La Paz. Off the tip of Baja he spotted what appeared to be a warship, so he prudently by-passed Santa Cruz and put in at Magdalena Bay instead. There the Indians listened politely to his proclamation, but became unfriendly when the army attempted to buy fruit with paper money.

Walker moved on. His next port of call was Ensenada, less than 100 kilometers from the United States border. This was a matter of military strategy, he explained in his next message to the Vice President. He would consolidate the territory closer to his line of supply. The good citizens of Ensenada also were delighted to see a fresh ship in port. They clapped and cheered as he led his men in a parade through the community, and he evicted one Pedro Gastelum from the town’s finest dwelling to use as his own headquarters, which he named Fort McKibbon. Oddly, in Ensenada, the merchants accepted the Sonoran currency, possibly because they were told that it was as good as a dollar in the United States. Trouble however, arose on a different front.

Walker dispatched a detail to secure horses, cattle, and food at La Grulla Ranch, located some distance from the city. The owners of the ranch were justifiably upset over this confiscation and sought help from a notorious bandit in the area named Antonio Melendrez. The bandit gang consisted of some seventy-five men, and they were happy to help their friends at La Grulla. Indeed, a large part of the band used the ranch as a cover for their other activities, posing as farm hands and slipping stolen horses into the ranch herds to hide them. Thus, Melendrez took it as a personal affront when the Yankee visitors in Ensenada resteal some of his stolen horses.

As the Walker detachment made its way back to Ensenada, it was ambushed by Melendrez’ men. Walker’s army suffered its first casualty. The rest of the detachment fled and reported this terrorist incident to President Walker at Fort McKibbon. Walker was incensed. He immediately had the army round up the citizens in town and bring them to Fort McKibbon, where he “talked to the people.” He had come only to protect them from the outrages of their own government, he said. His sole objective was the amelioration of their own social and political conditions. By all the arts which conduce to civilization, he continued, he desired to render them free from the curse of the Mexican Republic that was not strong enough to protect them, but was strong enough to eat up the products of their industry. No bandit would be permitted to disgrace the flag of the new Sonoran Republic, whereas plundering bands of wandering robbers even now were attempting to destroy the saviors.

It was a beautiful speech. A copy was sent to the Vice President, but didn’t arrive until many months later. Few people understood what Walker was saying, and while he delivered his speech, the Mexican governor from La Paz bribed the skipper of the Caroline to take him back home. No sooner had news of this calamity been reported to President Walker than he was informed that fifty-eight soldiers, pulling a six-pound canon, were headed toward Ensenada from Tijuana. With the military detachment was the entire band of Antonio Melendrez. The enemies had joined to rid Baja of its savior. There was nothing Walker could to but fight. The army and bandits were between him and the border, and the brig was sailing happily toward La Paz.

The encounter was of short duration. In it Walker suffered thirteen casualties, eight dead and five wounded. The Mexican army detachment lost three men, and one of the bandits was wounded. Melendrez and Colonel Negrete of the Mexican detachment conferred. A fight was not necessary. Walker’s men were deployed around the northern edge of the town at the base of two small hills. Between these two hills ran a small stream from which the freebooters were getting their water. A few miles to the east, the stream divided into a Y. It was comparatively simple to post a few snipers on the top of the hill to keep Walker’s men from passing through the canyon back into the city, then dam the tributary of the stream that flowed through his camp.

The siege lasted eight days before Walker’s luck began to change. First, a rare fall thunderstorm swept across the desert. The pressure from the run-off waters collapsed the dam. Under cover of the storm, the freebooters killed three of the hilltop snipers. During the height of the storm, the Anita arrived in Ensenada with 250 heavily armed reinforcements for Walker. The solitary cannon of the Mexican Army became bogged down in the mud. Negrete and Melendrez were much too practical to emulate the fabled Spartans. Between them they had fewer arms and fewer men than the filibustering Walker. With a Latin shrug, they abandoned their cannon and drifted away; Negrete to Tijuana and Melendrez back into the mountains with his men. A greatly relieved Walker moved back into his comfortable quarters at Fort McKibbon.

The administration of the new republic lasted three months in Ensenada. Walker admirably played the role required of a head of state. He issued decrees, attended reviews, and through Vice President Watkins, sounded out the U.S. State Department on the possibility of diplomatic interchange. There were some problems, of course. Three soldiers were accused of undermining the faith of the people in their new currency. Walker had proclaimed that the new Sonoran dollar was worth the same as one Yankee dollar. The three soldiers were buying them at the rate of fifty-to-one. They were stripped of their stripes and sent back to the United States in disgrace. His greatest problem was Melendez.

Periodically one of the bandits would pick off a soldier of the republic. Whenever a detachment was sent into the hills to look for Melendez, however, no trace of him could be found. Walker calculated the risk. He sent 200 men to comb the area where the bandit was believed to be in hiding. While they were gone, Melendrez and his band slipped into Ensenada. They cleaned the army’s mess hall of a week’s supply of provisions and were gone before the theft was discovered.

Toward the end of the third month, a United States warship, the Portsmouth, came into Ensenada harbor with an answer to Walker’s bid for recognition. President Fillmore had no wish to interfere with Walker’s manifest destiny, the skipper told President Walker, but would President Walker get the hell out of Ensenada and quit embarrassing the United States government. Walker’s alternative is not known, if there was one, but he decided to accede to Fillmore’s wishes.

With an announcement that Ensenada would forever be known as the cradle of Sonoran liberty and that this part of his campaign was now secured, he appointed a grocer as governor-general and to him gave the keys to Fort McKibben. He then divided his army into three groups. One he sent to San Vicente and another to El Rosario to solidify the government in those two communities. The fate of these two detachments is unknown, but it is presumed that most of them eventually drifted back above the border. The third group, made of the best 100 men, came under the personal leadership of President and General Walker and set out for the long, dreary march across the desolate dunes of Camino del Diablo to establish the seat of government for the new republic in Sonora. As soon as he had departed, the newly appointed governor-general gave the keys of Fort McKibbon to their original owner and went back to his grocery business.

Walkers division consisted of his 100 men and an equal number of horses and cattle. Most of the animals had been commandeered at La Grulla ranch. Walker never did discover that this was the hideout for Malendrez, If he had, he might have understood why the indigent bandit and his men trailed the army. By the time the army had crossed the rugged mountains of the peninsula, it had lost two men, four horses and twenty heads of cattle. Not one casualty was suffered by the harassing banditos. The frustrated Walker decided to adopt the practice of Hernan Cortez when he impressed the Toltecs into his army on the march to Mexico City.

Thus, when the battered Sonoran army emerged on the lowlands and came upon a small Indian village, Walker enlisted thirty Cocopa Indians in the service of his Republic. The Indians were delighted to serve in the cause, Walker reported to his men; a further indication that people were tired of the oppression from the Mexican government. The expedition with its new personnel renewed its trek. The following morning, when the army arose, it discovered that all of the Indians had deserted, taking with them thirty heads of cattle plus the entire rations for the group. Walker angrily sent a detail back to the Indian village. The detail, carrying two bodies, returned in less than two hours. Melendrez had ambushed it.

They reached the Colorado River. A Captain Douglas and a Mr. Smith crossed the stream on the first raft that was built. In his rucksack, Douglas carried a pint of whiskey. Shortly after reaching the other side of the river, Smith stole the whiskey, whereupon Douglas shot him dead. Walker gave Douglas a presidential pardon for his crime. The men drove the cattle into the river in an attempt to force them to swim across. About half of them drowned and were swept into the gulf. That night, as the army camped on the eastern bank of the Colorado, a large segment of the group had second thoughts about Walker’s manifest destiny. By morning fifty-two men had reached a decision. With not so much as a nod to their president, they left the camp and marched north to Fort Yuma in the United States. With more than a thousand miles to go to the seat of the new government, the army had dwindled to forty-three men and had lost most of its food. President Walker wisely decided that it would be more practical to establish a temporary capital back in Baja at San Vicente.

He lost some more cattle when he recrossed the Colorado River. His band now numbered fewer than that of Melendrez’s sixty horsemen. By evening, Walker reached Rancho Guadalupe, which he captured with no difficulty. He decided that his men needed a rest and they would remain there for a few days. The men, however, got little rest. Melendrez hid his men in the rugged terrain surrounding the ranch and kept up a sporadic sniper fire during the night. Shortly after dawn, Walker decided to counterattack and ordered twenty-five men to wipe them out. The snipers prudently withdrew with Walker’s men in pursuit.

The bandits then raced into the village from the opposite direction, guns blazing. The eighteen filibusters still in Rancho Guadalupe hid in a small adobe building and watched Melendrez round up the remaining cattle and drive them off toward the mountain. So outnumbered were they that not one dared fire a shot and so betray their hiding place. The twenty-five-man detail sent after the snipers gave up its chase about five miles from the village and turned back. About two miles from the tiny town, they rode into an ambush. Ten more were slain. When the survivors realized that they were completely encircled, they threw down their arms and raised their hands in surrender. Melendrez wanted no prisoners, however. He was an honest bandit, not a soldier. He merely took their horses and pistols and motioned them back to the village on foot.

For three days, Walker and the thirty-two survivors of his army remained in Rancho Guadalupe seeing no sign of the dreaded bandit. Then, knowing they could not remain there indefinitely, the band marched into the desert. They had hiked about ten miles toward San Vicente when they spotted the bandits. This time their behavior seemed different, as if they purposely wanted to be seen -- four of the bandits on horseback, motionless with hands resting on the saddle horn. Panic-stricken, the men started to run back in the direction of the ranch, then again abruptly halted. Four other bandits were in the almost identical pose with those in the west. There were none to the north. Slowly and fearfully the bedraggled survivors began to move in that direction. Within a matter of a few hours it became clear to Walker what Melendrez was doing. Every time Walker attempted to turn his men in the direction of Ensenada or San Vicente, the four horsemen would appear in the distance. Only when he turned north did they disappear. Melendrez was herding them toward the United States as if they were cattle being driven into a corral.

Some days later when the sad army straggled onto the outskirts of Tijuana, Walker pulled them all together. They had no money; they were hungry and tired. He presented each remaining member with an IOU for back wages and rations allowance on the treasury of the non-existent republic. He then told them to cross the border and return to San Francisco where they would receive further orders. As for himself, Walker said he would slip through the lines of the enemy and get back to San Vicente.

Once across the border, the filibusters surrendered to Major McKinstry of the United States Army. The soldiers remaining in control at Walker’s SanVicente headquarters were less fortunate. Although supreme while their ammunition lasted, they eventually met their ends by garrote and dagger.

As for Walker, whether or not he really intended to return to San Vicente is unknown, but what is known is that as soon as his last soldier disappeared, Walker removed the insignia as general of the Sonora Republic Army from his soiled, ragged uniform, walked boldly into town, and took a room at the town’s single lodging house. Apparently he still had some dollars, for his first act was to send a porter to bring a tailor to his room. His second act was to bathe in the hostelry’s only tub down the hall.

When he returned to his room, Colonel Negrete was sitting on the bed. Also in the room were three Mexican soldiers. According to legend, the Mexican colonel was in a hurry, so much so that he could not allow Walker time to get dressed. Wearing only his thin summer “union suit,” Walker was paraded under guard out of the hotel and into the street to make his way back across the border. Also according to legend, Colonel Negrete sent Walker’s uniform to Melendrez as a souvenir.

History does not report the bandit’s ultimate fate, but Walker and Watkins were tried in San Francisco and found guilty of violating the United States neutrality laws. They each were fined $1,500, but this was allowed to go by default. Paradoxically, both men were treated as heroes in San Francisco, as were the men arriving from Tijuana
to collect their IOUs.

Some years ago, after a chapter on Walker’s “manifest destiny” was published in The Mysterious West, a book I co-authored with Brad Williams in 1967, we received a letter from a descendent of one of Walker’s soldiers. In it she excerpted a paragraph from the soldier’s memoirs in which he described Walker as “the shortest, slightest of men, but utterly devoid of fear; a soldier valiant beyond words who never ran from a bullet.” Walker may have been a joke to Tijuana, but to his men he was an Atlas.

The humiliating experience with the Mexican bandits was soon forgotten. A short time later, Walker proposed another expedition-- this time to liberate the oppressed people of Nicaragua. Almost all of the survivors signed on.
Walker’s adventures in Nicaragua are much better known than his four-month fiasco in Baja California. He set himself up successfully as president of that Central American nation, was thrown out of the country, then tried it all over again. When the Nicaraguans eventually tired of the same old game, they ended it by standing Walker up against a wall and filling him full of bullets.

So much for Manifest Destiny!




















[Edited on 2-7-2020 by David K]

elgatoloco - 2-7-2020 at 12:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Sunman  
By this line of reasoning we should take a wrecking ball to the Great Pyramids of Giza and Chichen Itza, raze the Coliseum and most of Rome too for that matter due to slave atrocities. FFS, learn from history, don’t erase it.


https://harvardmagazine.com/2003/07/who-built-the-pyramids-h...

bajaric - 2-7-2020 at 12:01 PM

Love this old history.
Gold was actually discovered at Sutter's Mill, east of Sacramento, two weeks before the signing of the Treaty that ceded Alta California to the US, but the signatories in Mexico City were unaware of the discovery. Talk about bad timing for Mexico.
It is a little unfair to accuse the missionaries of genocide. While it is true that they were tools of the crown, their behavior, compared to the run of the mill conquisatador, was almost saintly. (Or in the case if Saint Serra, really was saintly.) The 1500's were a brutal time, just barely removed from the dark ages. The Spanish conquerors routinely took the indigenous peoples they encountered captive and sold them in to slavery, or murdered them in cold blood. The Padres, while they were accompanied by armed soldiers who sometimes killed the Indians if they rose up in rebellion generally treated the natives in a kindly manner. Their favored tactic was to entice them with a bowl of pozole, a soup made of corn. It was the complete lack of immunity to European disease that resulted in the complete disappearance of the tribes of Baja Sur, and most of the tribes of the north. It is a strange irony that the Indians of mainland Mexico ultimately fared better than those of Baja. The soldiers of the conquest, in their blood soaked pursuit of land and treasure, interbred with the native women and created a vigorous new race, that of the Mestizo. It was mestizos from the mainland who repopulated Baja after the indigenous people of Baja had been ushered down the road to extinction by the benevolent Padres.

caj13 - 2-7-2020 at 04:37 PM

so let me get this right. The self discribed historian of Baja has a huge blind spot in his knowledge. one of the most famous gringo in Baja stories there is!
when made aware, he goes to wikipedia - no shame in that, but then he proceeds to quote extensively from a book he has said he has read many times - interesting!

David K - 2-7-2020 at 05:00 PM

Quote: Originally posted by caj13  
so let me get this right. The self discribed historian of Baja has a huge blind spot in his knowledge. one of the most famous gringo in Baja stories there is!
when made aware, he goes to wikipedia - no shame in that, but then he proceeds to quote extensively from a book he has said he has read many times - interesting!


Who are you talking about? I learned about William Walker, probably before you were born. I went to Wiki to get the flags attributed to his countries and left a link for others to see where I got them at.

Quote from what book? Where did I quote anything? I did share the chapter on Walker written by the late Choral Pepper as I think it gives the most detail about this person. I also have a link in my website to William Walker history, here it is: http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/walker.html

The above first reply by me was only to ask gnukid about an American flag raised by Walker.
The only American flag I remembered learning about, at La Paz, was raised by the U.S. forces during our short war with Mexico. I wrote about the American actions in Baja: https://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajatravel/occupati...

David K - 2-7-2020 at 05:50 PM

Got me! Boy, I am looking good! :lol:

gnukid - 2-7-2020 at 08:38 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Hi gnukid... I didn't know Walker raised an American flag? Thanks for all history input!

He had his own flag made to represent his Republic of Lower California and later wished to include Sonora, renaming his nation ast the Republic of Sonora with two states (Lower California and Sonora)... and a new, 2-star flag...

From Wikipedia:




The flag hoisted by William Walker consists of a star representing the Republic of Baja California.




The second flag hoisted by William Walker consists of two stars representing the "republic of Baja California and Sonora."


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Baja_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Sonora


When I was in the museum in La Paz, I saw this:



Good catch! When I read he was from the USA and hoisted the flag declaring Republic of Baja California I assumed he had raised the USA flag but he raised his own 2 star flag to include Baja and Sonora. He was acting truly independently and it was a 3 month blip in time with Walker, Watkins, Pineada, Melendrez finally meeting up in Ensenada...



[Edited on 2-8-2020 by gnukid]

David K - 2-7-2020 at 10:10 PM

Thanks Gnu!