Conflicts of Interest The Letters of Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Conflicts of Interest
The Letters of Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton
Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage

Board of Editorial Advisors
Ramn Luis Acevedo Universidad de Puerto Rico Jos F. Aranda, Jr. Rice University Antonia Castaeda St. Marys University Rodolfo J. Cortina University of Houston Kenya C. Dworkin y Mndez Carnegie Mellon University Jos B. Fernndez University of Central Florida Juan Flores Hunter College of CUNY Erlinda Gonzales-Berry Oregon State University Laura Gutirrez-Witt University of Texas at Austin Luis Leal University of California at Santa Barbara Clara Lomas The Colorado College Francisco A. Lomel University of California at Santa Barbara Agnes Lugo-Ortiz Dartmouth College A. Gabriel Melndez University of New Mexico Genaro Padilla University of California at Berkeley Raymund Paredes University of California at Los Angeles Nlida Prez Hunter College of CUNY Gerald Poyo St. Marys University Antonio Saborit Instituto Nacional de Antropologa e Historia Rosaura Snchez University of California at San Diego Virginia Snchez Korrol Brooklyn College of CUNY Charles Tatum University of Arizona Silvio Torres-Saillant CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Roberto Trujillo Stanford University
The Letters of Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton
Edited, with a Commentary, by Rosaura Snchez and Beatrice Pita
Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage
Arte Pblico Press Houston, Texas
This volume is made possible through grants from the City of Houston through The Cultural Arts Council of Houston, Harris County and the Rockefeller Foundation. Recovering the past, creating the future Arte Pblico Press University of Houston Houston, Texas 77204-2174 Cover design by Ken Bullock Cover photo courtesy of the Graves Family Collection Ruiz de Burton, Mara Amparo, 18321895. Conflicts of Interest: The Letters of Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton; Edited, with a Commentary, by Rosaura Snchez and Beatrice Pita. p. cm. (Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage) Includes indexes. ISBN 1-55885-328-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Ruiz de Burton, Mara Amparo, 18321895Correspondence. 2. Novelists, American19th centuryCorrespondence. 3. Hispanic American authorsCorrespondence. 4. Hispanic American womenCorrespondence. I. Snchez, Rosaura. II. Pita, Beatrice. III. Title. IV. Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project publication. PS2736.R53 Z48 2001 813!.4dc21 2001022420 [B] CIP The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. 2001 by Amparo Ruiz de Burton Introduction 2001 Beatrice Pita and Rosaura Snchez
1234567890 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The past is never dead. Its not even past. William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun
To Tatiana, Victoria, Andrew and Aaron
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter I: Baja California A. Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B. Letters and Documents: Baja and Family Background 1. MARBs biography of Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, written for the Bancroft Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. MARBs transcription of Don Jos Manuels Letter . . 3. Last Will and Testament of Ysabel Ruiz de Maitorena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. H. S. Burtons 1848 Letter to H. M. Naglee . . . . . . . 5. Family Trees for Ruiz, Carrillo, and Burton Families 1 ix
25 29 32 42 44
Chapter II: From Baja to Monterey A. Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 B. Letters and Documents (18481852) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Chapter III: Early San Diego and La Frontera A. Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 B. Letters and Documents (18511859) 1. MARBs Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 2. Jos Matas Morenos Letters on La Frontera . . . . . . 160
vii
Chapter IV: (Shifting) Frames of Reference: Southwest by East A. Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 B. Letters and Documents (18591870) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Chapter V: Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363 Chapter VI: Later San Diego: 18711895 A. Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373 B. Letters and Documents (18701895) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415 Chapter VII: Narratives of Negative Identification A. Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B. Documents: 1. Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Lower California Mining Company Brochure . . . . . . 4. Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. MARBs petition as heir of H. S. Burton, her pension request, and other documents . . . . . . . . . 6. Po Picos Deed to Jamul Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. Isabel Ruiz de Maytorenas suit against MARB . . . . 8. New York Times article on Ensenada . . . . . . . . . . . . .
539 564 573 586 604 613 620 621 624
Unpublished References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629 Index to Letters by Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631 by Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636 by Addressee/Sender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 642
viii
Introduction
By all rights Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton was an extraordinarily talented woman. A writer with a critical voice addressing crucial issues of race and ethnicity, political power, gender, and class, at a binational level, she led a problematic life full of conflicts and contradictions. Her life interests us to the degree that it maps the obstacles in the playing field, never level for women and minorities, whether in the nineteenth century or now. It is her differential circumstancesthose circumstances of ethnicity, class, gender, and culture that constrained her agencyand her particular efforts and failures to militate against them, that particularly intrigue us in looking at her correspondence and reading it against her fiction and other writings. Her negotiations and maneuverings within the economic and cultural sphere were limited not only by these differential circumstances but by the specific historical moment itself, that is, the socioeconomic and political boundaries within which she lived. Breaking boundaries between public and private spheres, or squeezing the maximum leverage possible within political and economic structures was a lifetime battle for Ruiz de Burton (MARB).1 Finding that the various sites entailed varying power relationships and constraints, which both enabled and circumscribed her field of action, MARB showed herself to be especially adept at exposing, prying open, and using rivaling regimes of power. Turning even mechanisms of subjection to ones relative advantage constitutes the tretas del dbil (the wiles of the weak) played out in MARBs engagement with legal tenets and dominant discourses. Of course, working the system against itself is a dangerous gambit; it carries the risk (as our work on MARB here
ix
Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton
and elsewhere demonstrates) of being complicit with and implicated by it, whether intentionally or by default.
Conflicts of Interest is a title that best captures the conflicted positionality of MARB, pulled as she was in different directions by locations of class, race, gender, and nationality, often at odds with one another. In the course of reading her correspondence and other writings, readers will undoubtedly be struck not only by the various sites of social tension as well as her ongoing trials and tribulations, but especially by her compromised positions at every level, explaining perhaps why her friend and fellow californio Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo would tell her that she was a fissured subject. Throughout their correspondence she never lets him forget that he once told her that she had el alma atravesada. Her life was highly contradictory, but, by the same token, its trajectory makes for a compelling and revealing narrative. Driven by personal ambition, she was certainlyfor her time and placea woman with unladylike ambitions. An underdog with aristocratic pretensions and a sense of superiority, a liberal with monarchist tendencies, a U.S. citizen with a racial memory of her latinidad, an anti-imperialist with opportunistic tendencies, MARB strongly defended her fellow californios, whom she nevertheless tended to see as indolent and unclear as to the true dimensions of the changes at stake. She severely criticized the United States as a voracious nation ready to appropriate or dominate Mexico; yet, if she found it convenient, she was all too willing to appeal to the U.S. government in her legal battle with the Mexican government. What MARB was able to do adroitly throughout her life, and rather successfully, it seems, was to shift or maneuver from one position to another, allowing expediency and convenience to determine her course of action and opinion in order to gain relative ground or secure some advantage, however tentatively. Hers is a story of what Goffman terms footing,2 in this particular case, shifting positionality in order to survive. An enterprising woman of Mexican origin in nineteenth-century California, MARB
Introduction
xi
experienced discrimination as a woman, as a Mexican and californio, and as a person of little means. Issues of class in her case are particularly fuzzy as her situation and economic location were often in flux. Her position of privilege was in part dependent on her husband, who had the military rank and access to inner circles of power, but who was financially constrained, and ever in debt; his death reduced her to a state of near poverty but with the potential in place to use their wobbly assets to some advantage. MARBs letters give evidence of an intelligent, well-read woman, mindful of history and well versed in a variety of strategies to accomplish what she set out to do. Although often without a cent to her nameexcept for a thirty-dollar-a-month widows pensionMARB learned how to survive in a capitalist economy by exploiting to the fullest the promise of capital. She became skilled in a variety of sociopolitical discourses, as is evident in her literary production. Her two historical romances focus on matters of political rights, property rights, specific land rights and claims, womens status, ethnicity, and racism, issues that also complicate a personal trajectory characterized by litigation, frustrated entrepreneurial attempts, and the need to harness some discursive vehicle to voice the concerns of the dispossessed californios, whose status and condition are seen as symptomatic of the inequities of the U.S. legal and political system. Those familiar with her two novels know that she takes special aim at the legal ideologies of the period and invokes a wide range of legal discourses in her texts. Her legal discursive skills enabled her to write a brief presented before the Supreme Court of the State of California, and she learned enough of mineralogy to write a mining-company prospectus. She was up to date on political events and on banking, investments, stocks, corporations, and a variety of enterprises, spheres from which nineteenth-century women were, for the most part, excluded. For MARB, gender location all too often determined access to opportunity and to the marketplace, and for this reason, she saw her having been born a woman as a major obstacle: Ah! Si yo fuera hombre! Qu miserable cosa es una mujer! (Ah, if I were a man! What a sorry thing a woman is!) (2-15-69). Providence, she claimed disingenuously, should make up for having made her a woman, ugly
xii
and poor (Decididamente la Providencia debe recompensarme de alguna manera por haberme hecho mujer! . . . y fea . . . y pobre! . . . Va!) (2-15-69). While she saw gender as a major problem in the nineteenth century (Como si ser mujer no fuera suficiente calamidad sin aadir otras.) [As if being a woman were not enough of a calamity without having to bear others as well! (2-15-69)], she also knew that womanly wiles were strategies that she could manipulate, and so she did, as is clear from her comments above, which were calculated to elicit particular responses. MARB could turn on her feminine charm when necessary. Several reports indicate that she was beautiful as a young woman and attractive throughout her life. While San Diego old-timers interviewed by Winifred Davidson in the 1930s make mention of her small feet, her proud grace and fine features, her haughty air, her pride and dignity, and her exquisite beauty,3 the same informants recall that her forceful personality led to her being called la Generala. Perhaps the picture of her daughter Nellie can provide some indication of what she must have looked like as a young woman. Her physical attractiveness and personal charisma undoubtedly added to her keen ability to secure the assistance of a number of important men in her affairs. Her sense of her gender handicap is closely linked to her sense of belonging to an increasingly politically and economically weak ethnic group. In a letter to Vallejo from New York, for example, as she comments on the potential for productive enterprises in California, she laments her double status as a woman and as a californio. Why become enthused with the idea of progress in California, she says: Para qu? Ni mi raza ni mi sexo van a sacar mejora alguna. (What for? Neither my race nor my gender will gain anything from it.) (2-15-69). Social constraints, however, were perceived not only from within (as one who suffered their impact) but also from without (as an outsider). It is as a displaced immigrant with an acute race and gender consciousness that MARB is better able to perceive the constructed nature of social reality, and as a writer and citizen, she not only mocks and parodies dominant social conventions,4 but adroitly reproduces and mimics them as well.
Introduction
xiii
MARB came to the United States as a consequence of this countrys imperial project. It bears recalling that in the Southwest, the dispossession of californio landowners would, for the most part, come after military aggression, and with their loss of political and economic power. New regimes of power constituted, transformed, and enforced after the war created differential circumstances and structured both possibility as well as inequity in the conquered territory. The imposition of new laws and regulations, as well as the californios unequal treatment under the law, facilitated both land seizure and transmission, reducing them to a marginalized and subordinated status. Under these conditions MARBs national identity was often in flux as well. Her stay in California transformed her from a conquered subject to a U.S. citizen in 1850 when the state became part of the Union. But her national identity was not determined by citizenship. In fact, regional identity as a californio and national identity as a Mexican were foremost in her thinking. Equally important was another socio-spatial shift. She came to this country in the middle of its period of modernization, which began to take off in the 1830s. Her leap from semi-feudal village society in Baja California to an Alta California undergoing an accelerated transition to capitalist development and her subsequent leap into the modernity of the U.S. East Coast would lead her to develop a negative identification with the United States as an insider/outsider. She was an insider, a U.S. citizen and the wife of an army officer, but she was also an outsider, a native Californian woman for whom her race, her Latin culture, and gender meant being positioned on the margins of the centers of power. Historians focusing on the Southwest and the Mexican-origin population have tended to posit a break between the nineteenth century and the twentieth century in terms of the demographic and labor characteristics and general socio-political processes at work in each of these periods. History is, however, characterized by both continuity and discontinuity, and, in that sense, ruptures occur as much within centuries as between them. What is not often examined in Chicano/a historiography that distinguishes between the nineteenth and the twentieth century is the emerging continuity within discontinuity; this may be, perhaps, because historians often focus on californio com-
xiv
munities, like Old Town in San Diego, that eventually became marginal sites in the developing town, rather than on the experiences of individuals, like MARB, who though coming out of pre-modern societies became an integral part, however marginalized and subordinated, of modern society. In a sense, MARB, though linked to a californio past, was also an immigrant and a political refugee of sorts. Like many Latinos/as today she came, not to a foreign land but rather to the northern part of her own region, now a conquered land, to improve her social standing and economic chances. In the process she discovered the power of the law and its manipulation, whether to dispossess the californios or to buttress the wealth of corporate monopolies. She found that the law was politically and economically charged, and she soon also learned to manipulate it in her favor, even going as far as using it to gain legally what she wanted, even under false pretenses by operating in the laws gray areas. She learned well and fast the teachings of a capitalist system. An amazing woman in many respects, she was not necessarily an admirable individual; in fact, she was strong, opinionated, pushy, demanding, and even opportunistic, but she was at all times willing to speak out and write critically about the society she observed. As can be gathered by what follows, we have found it fascinatingwithin the limits prescribed by the materials at our disposalto study her work and her life. MARB was linked throughout her life to La Frontera, the northern border area of Baja California, where her grandfather had worked for some thirty years, where her mother was born, and where lay the Ensenada de Todos Santos and the San Antonio lands that she claimed. To understand better her life in California and on the East Coast and the letters that she wrote after 1850, one needs to have some familiarity not only with the dominant ideological discourses of the period but with the broader history of the border area, and by this we mean not merely the area of San Diego or the U.S. Southwest but Baja California as well, especially the northern district of the peninsula. MARBs life and its entanglements provide an opportunity to recast and refocus the notion of border and borderlands, seemingly ubiquitous in U.S. literary and historical discourses today, by broadening the scope to re-include the Mexican side of the border. Only by
Introduction
xv
incorporating Mexican history in this analysis can one see how U.S. designs on this area came to forge particular relations between residents on both sides of the border, and more specifically, create particular fissures in MARBs subjectivity. The border, it becomes clear, was not a scar, nor an invisible line, but rather a deep fissure that began developing in 1848 and is still there today, a permeable fissure that would not protect Mexico from further penetrations of diverse sorts, economic, physical, political, and cultural. Tracing the life and writings of MARB has been a long process. It has taken us almost ten years to gather the information that we present here, primarily because our research has been conducted between quarters and during summers (our work at UCSD does not allow for full-time research), partially because MARBs life was full of many entanglements, but also because archival research is itself a painstaking task; it is slow detective-like work, where one finding opens up new avenues of investigation often ending in archival deadends. Following up on different new leads can become a daunting task, and establishing parameters is only possible after a critical mass of material has been gathered. This search for information on MARB took us into a number of fieldsU.S. history, Mexican history, French history, literature (U.S., British, French, Mexican)and required examination of various archives, including legal documents, court records, military records, and newspaper collections. The following collections were crucial for our studies: the Bancroft Library, the Huntington Library, the Sutro Library, the San Diego Historical Society Library, the San Diego Public Library (especially its California Room and its newspaper collection), the Sacramento State Capitol Library, the UCSD Special Collection, the San Diego Recorders Probate Court records office and the County Registrars Offices, the La Paz, Baja California, Municipal Library, the Catholic Church archives in California, the Archivo de la Nacin in Mexico, the Boronda Adobe History Center, the Monterey Public Library, the Seaver Research Center, and the Hemeroteca Nacional in Mexico City. MARBs correspondence has been key to our research and is herein published for the use of other investigators.
xvi
The letters, as will be evident, are an amalgam of a variety of discoursespolitical, business, and cultural. They can also be seen as discursive sites for political discussions, conducting business, defending womensites in effect for the construction of an intellectual subjectivity. MARBs style is, more often than not, demanding, exhortative, cajoling, overbearing, flirtatious, sarcastic, ironic, and pleading. Only rarely does she refer to her family, unless the matter involves some business enterprise. What her letters do bring out in a convincing and explicit fashion is how matters of race, culture, region, and gender are always intimately linked to issues of land, credit, investment, and speculation, and it is here that we would like to think that MARBs corpus of writing has much to offer investigators doing work in a variety of fields. Her correspondence, like all writing, is a form of representation, and through it, MARB attempts to construct herself in various ways, according to the addressee: as an intelligent woman, as a defender of the Latin race, as a native Californian, as a Mexican, as a liberal, as a monarchist, as an entrepreneurial, energetic, and socially ambitious woman, as a social critic, and as an attractive woman. As life is always ultimately unrepresentable, the glimpses of life that these letters, documents, and articles afford do not so much allow us to reconstruct the whole of the life and experiences of MARB as they serve as a prism for examining a number of relations and crucial events of the period. In so doing, these texts enable us to reconstruct the collective and structural, that is, the structural realms of power (economic, political, and cultural) of the last half of the nineteenth century and the position within these realms of the californios/as-mexicanos/as living in this country, now as U.S. citizens. MARBs dual identification and nationality, her sense of displacement, her contradictory accommodation to and disidentification with the United States, her sense of a Latin race that goes beyond national identity and citizenship, her strong sense of herself as a woman challenged by gender constraints, are all traits that make MARB a very modern subject, one well worth studying, not with a celebratory or compensatory agenda, but to analyze critically. MARBs writings have much to say about her period as well as our own historical moment.
Introduction
xvii
In preparing the commentaries that accompany the body of MARBs correspondence we managed to access, we have sought to provide the historical context within which MARB wrote her letters, to elucidate particular references and concerns. It is important to understand that MARBs time frame, that is, the period between 1848 and 1895 in the United States, was marked by expansionism, modernization, war, monopoly capitalism, graft, anti-labor legislation and practices, and speculative investment. This period was ushered in by the 184648 U.S.-Mexican War. Although often relegated to lesser status within the nineteenth-century national narrative, the U.S-Mexican War was a watershed event in MARBs life and in the history of the U.S., in that this act of expansionism constituted the inchoative phase of a U.S. imperialist policy. This invasion and occupation of half the Mexican territory foreshadowed the imperial and corporate contours of U.S. domestic and international policies and practices for the latter half of the nineteenth century and beyond, setting a continental benchmark as well with respect to the nature and tenor of U.S./Latin American relations. With cries arguing Manifest Destiny, the United States not only reached the Pacific Coast and beyond to Hawaii and the Philippines but turned its head south, with aspirations to control the rest of the Americas. It is this context of imperialism that grounds the life and period of MARB, who spent forty-seven years in the United States. This highly charged political environment also contributed to generating a fissured subject, a contradictory figure swayed by the same hegemonic forces against which she so often railed, and driven by personal ambitions often at odds with conventions of her gender, class, and ethnicity. Engaged in her writing in oppositional enterprises and in her personal affairs in opportunistic acquiescence to whatever promised capital accumulation, the least that can be said about MARB is that her life and writing provide an intriguing crucible from which to precipitate out the key and shaping issues of a period that set in motion a whole set of relations still visiting us today. As an urban, educated individual, she also anticipates a type of ethnic intellectual-writer with binational concerns and access to the language and locations of power
xviii
that would, in good measure, not emerge within the Mexican-origin population until the latter quarter of the twentieth century. Her position as the first writer of Mexican origin to write and publish novels in English in the United States also places her in a key position within Chicano/a literature and American literature. That this first writer was a woman is equally significant at the end of the twentieth century, when Chicana/Latina writers are increasingly recognized in the field of fiction. Her story is important, however, not only for literary reasons, but for historical and political reasons, that is, for her positioning in relation to the dominant intellectual formations of her day. She was an axial figure around which a number of historical characters congregated in the latter half of the nineteenth century, and as such, becomes a productive pivot from which to inquire into and lay bare ideological presuppositions and key historical issues. Both the period and MARBs life, by their very nature, call for a historiographic figuration that is spatially and temporally transverse, that necessarily breaks conventional disciplinary borders and allows for the shaking up of artificial and deceptive categories, providing us in the process a wedge, a fulcrum, for dislodging important correspondences. This volume offers a panoply of sorts, a collection of MARBs correspondence as well as a sampling of articles written by or about MARB and her family, and a series of documents, either prepared by her or about her interests; only framed in this fashion can a broader sense of her place be reconstructed. In what follows we present MARBs exchanges with three primary addressees: Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Jos Matas Moreno, and George Davidson. A few additional letters or notes addressed to Samuel L. M. Barlow, E. W. Morse, Prudenciana Moreno, Platn Vallejo, and others are included. Where we have been able to find letters by Vallejo, Morse, Williston, or Moreno pertaining to MARB or her husband, or to an issue she addressed, these have been included as well. At all times we have been conscious of the limits of available texts and have been able to supplement these letters with other documents, primarily official documents, records, newspaper articles, and other peoples published references to her. MARB was a voracious letter writer, and we know from her own comments, and those of others, that she corresponded
Introduction
xix
with the Mexican Ambassador Matas Romero, Jos Mara Mata (ambassador before Romero), President Benito Jurez, Mexican President Sebastin Lerdo de Tejada, Flix Gibert of La Paz, Edward Plumb, (secretary to the U.S. ambassador to Mexico under Lincoln, Thomas Corwin), Minister Blas Balcrcel, as well as numerous lawyers and businessmen. We have not been able to trace these letters; some no doubt still exist in archives somewhere, but it falls to others to continue this research. There are enormous gaps in this collection, especially her numerous letters to family members, but, as we know, the survivability in the nations libraries and archives of legal and financial documents and personal papers is much higher for men than for women. As a consequence, letters to her daughter, Nellie, her son, Harry, her sister, Manuela, and her mother, Isabelironically, precisely the types of letters that research on women writers has been able to mine as important sources of informationare probably lost to us for good. This volume is divided into six chapters. Each chapter is divided into two parts: the first, (A), offers an initial historical and critical commentary on the period and her life, and the second, (B), a presentation of her correspondence and pertinent documents. Aware of the constraints imposed by a chronological organization of the material, we have nonetheless opted for this method since we found that it also allowed us to situate the materials in terms of key moments, players, and geographically significant shifts. The chapters and letters are thus organized chronologically and geographically, as follows: Chapter I, Baja California, offers an overview of MARBs personal life before coming to Upper California in 1848, the U.S. invasion of Baja California, her marriage to Burton, and the Burton family. Section B contains MARBs biographical sketch of her grandfather, a letter written by Jos Manuel Ruiz, her mother Isabels will, and one of H. S. Burtons letters from La Paz. Chapter II, From Baja to Monterey, focuses on the geographical and social shifts that MARB experienced upon coming to Monterey, California, by briefly comparing life in the southern part of the Baja California peninsula with that of Monterey and San Francisco between 1849 and 1852. Her friendship with Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo is briefly presented before part B, which
xx
offers her letters written from Monterey to Vallejo and a couple of letters from Vallejo to MARB. Chapter III examines MARBs life in Early San Diego and La Frontera, from 1852 to 1859, with a special focus on her land interests in Jamul and Ensenada and filibustering incursions into the Mexican border area. Part B includes her letters to Matas Moreno, Prudenciana Moreno, Jos Castro, Vallejo, Platn Vallejo, as well as letters from Henry S. Burton addressed to Jos Antonio Aguirre and E. W. Morse, and two letters from Matas Moreno outlining problems on the border. Chapter IV, (Shifting) Frames of Reference: Southwest by East, examines MARBs trip to the East Coast in 1859, her contact with the Mexican Legation in Washington, D.C., her interaction with those in the centers of power, her frames of reference for political discussions in her correspondence, historical events in Mexico (civil war, the French invasion) that were her major concerns during this period, and her husbands participation in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. Section B includes MARBs correspondence with Vallejo, Moreno, Morse, Plcido Vega, and Samuel L. M. Barlow. A brochure she produced during this period is included with chapter VI. Chapter V, Later San Diego, Jamul and Ensenada, traces MARBs life after the death of her husband in 1869, and her return to California in 1870, with extended stays in San Francisco and trips to San Diego, where she finally settled. This chapter covers the longest period of her life, from 1870 to 1895, the year of her death, and returns to issues on the border, La Frontera, particularly her lands in Ensenada and San Antonio, that competed in importance with her fight for the Jamul Ranch. Part B includes her correspondence with Vallejo, George Davidson, and S. L. M. Barlow. Her newspaper articles, a legal brief, and other documents from the period are included with chapter VI. Chapter VI, MARBs Documents and Other Writings, offers a short synopsis of her writings, including her novels, plays, articles, brochures, and legal brief, all of which serve, in addition to her letters, to situate MARB within the period. This chapter also features additional documents related in some way to MARBs writing, as, for example, her mothers suit against her, a synopsis of her husband
Introduction
xxi
H. S. Burtons military career, an official report of his death, MARBs request for a widows pension, sample reviews of her books, a copy of her mining brochure, and obituaries of herself and her family members. Many of the legal documents that we will refer to in the text are not a part of this volume; they serve as the basis of another work in progress. As indicated above, MARBs letters appear in chronological order. In our commentaries, references to the letters are indicated as follows: 5 de septiembre de 1859 is designated (9-5-59). The spelling has been regularized, except in specific cases, where two spellings are used consistently (for example, Maytorena and Maitorena) throughout the letters and documents. The letters appear in the original Spanish or English language. Where the writing is illegible, we have placed the probable or unclear term in brackets. Small insertions (for example, an article, a full name, etc.) that facilitate the reading of the letters, are also placed in brackets. Interspersed throughout her correspondence are a few letters written in response to her letters or written by other family members. This volume also includes a number of photographs and other ephemera that add to the broader historiographic panoply alluded to earlier. William S. Graves, husband of MARBs great-granddaughter, Carol Dickson, made available to us a number of materials, and we are much in his debt for his graciousness and generosity. In the presentation of the historical context, we have, wherever possible, referred to the English translation of texts, if available. Several of the works, previously only available at the Bancroft or Huntington Library collections or other archives, have been recently published by a group of historians working at the Universidad Autnoma de Baja California, and that has greatly facilitated our bibliographic work, especially editions by David Piera Ramrez. The publication of Matas Romeros diary by the Colegio de Mxico was a likewise key find. The concerted efforts of Doyce B. Nunis to recover early California texts is admirable. Numerous other historians working on Matas Romero, Maximilian, the U.S. Confederacy, Baja, and Mexico Colonization projects and filibustering have made our task easier.
xxii
But we are, of course, like all researchers, profoundly indebted to librarians and archivists at the Bancroft Library, the State Capital Library in Sacramento, Bill Frank and Lisa Ann Libby at the Huntington Library, Fr. Virgilio Biasiol of the Santa Barbara Mission Archive Library, the Boronda Adobe History Center, Eileen Boyle of the San Diego Public Library, the Library of Congress, Sally West at the San Diego Historical Society Library, Bradley Westbrook and a host of other librarians at the UCSD Special Collections and Rare Books Library, David A. Pfeiffer of the National Archives and Records Administration, Suzanne Christoff, archivist of the United States Military Archives, and the staff at the San Diego Records office. Needless to say, without their patience and willingness to assist us in what was often a convolutedas well as rewardingprocess, the completion of this book would have been impossible. We would also like to thank Therese Muranaka for making us aware of Matas Morenos letters to his wife, Prudenciana, at the Huntington Library. We express our appreciation to these students for their input and shared enthusiasm for the nineteenth century: Yolanda James, Linda Heidenreich, Demian Pritchard, Brbara Reyes, Miroslava Chvez, Yolanda Trejo, and Gerardo Arellano. Special thanks go to our colleague Shelley Streeby, whose ongoing dialog with us on this period is always rewarding. A small grant from UC-Mexus made one of our many trips to the Bancroft Library possible. And, of course, the support of the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project and Nicols Kanellos at the University of Houston Arte Pblico Press is much appreciated.
Notes
1For
reasons of brevity, we will throughout the text use the somewhat inelegant acronym MARB in place of Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton. 2Erving Goffman, Forms of Talk (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983), p. 124. 3Winifred Davidson, Old Town Manuscript. Housed at San Diego Historical Society Library. 4See Terry Eagleton, Heathcliff and the Great Hunger. Studies in Irish Culture (London: Verso, 1995), p. 335.
xxiii
Chapter I
Baja California
A. Commentary
If we take as a given that identity is socially constructed, then we must also acknowledge that it is also contingent and continuously reconstructed. It has become a commonplace to talk of identity as multiple, but what is often left out is an accounting for and analysis of the dynamics of identity formation, that is, identity as a socio-spatial process of ruptures and continuities. It is precisely the shifts in social positioning that trigger shifts in identification and condition ones relation to that process, what we can term ones positionality. Thus, while historical conditions structure ones positioning, there is a certainhowever limiteddegree of agency in positionality, in how one construes oneself relative to a given positioning. Identities or positionalities in this way are not only a set of relations, but strategies to be deployed in various ways, according to the circumstances. In the case of MARB, her positioning in terms of nation, region, gender, race, and class generated a variety of positionalities as she discovered that the very locations that constrained her could also be empowering under particular conditions, affording her a certain credibility and authority, if deployed accurately and appropriately. The strongest positioning for MARB was regional. Her identity as a native Californian from Baja California was a lifelong political identification, even after migration north of the border and her new citizenship status had differentially situated her socially, culturally, and
politically. Her relocation to Alta California made her hyper-conscious of the contingency of political boundaries separating nationstates and of the importance of positioning herself culturally, racially, and geographicallyparticularly if she was to claim property rights on both sides of the border. To understand MARBs positioning and her shifts in positionality as she straddled two nation-states requires that we frame her correspondence in terms of her personal, political, and intellectual trajectory from Baja California.
In the beginning there was La Paz

La Paz, the government seat of Lower California, was nothing more than a small village in 1847, when it was invaded by two companies of the Seventh Regiment of New York Volunteers sent by General Stephen Watt Kearny from Alta California. The troops, some 115 men commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry S. Burton, arrived aboard the U.S.S. Lexington, after Alta California was already under U.S. control. Burtons expeditionary forces were the first to occupy any area of Baja California.1 Earlier naval threats to the southern peninsula had won promises of neutrality from the local jefe poltico, Colonel Francisco Palacio Miranda (Martnez, 354355), but there had been no occupation.2 Like President Polk, naval and army officers in and around Baja fully expected to annex the Baja Peninsula as well as Alta California at wars end. And in view of Palacio Mirandas acquiescence, neither Burton nor his commander foresaw any resistance from the inhabitants of southern Baja California. In his Memorandum on the expedition to Lower California, Captain Henry W. Halleck provides an idyllic description of La Paz: a pretty little town, with whitewashed adobe houses, thatched with palm-tree leaves, orchards, and vegetable gardens, streets lined with willow trees, and inhabitants pleased with the arrival of the U.S. troops.3 U.S. imperialist discourses have always constructed the invader as liberator, welcomed by the invaded. But in this particular case, even Mexican historians have expressed their surprise and repudiation of the inhabitants of La Paz, referring to them as traitors, who for the most part welcomed the invaders and offered little or no opposition.4
Differing from Halleck in his assessment, Lieutenant-Colonel Burton, who acted as governor and military commander of Baja, found upon his arrival, not only a population destitute of arms and munitions but a generally poverty-stricken area, as he noted in a report to his commander: it is, he said, the capital of the poorest civilized country in the universe and inhabited by the poorest people. Alta California is a Paradise compared with it.5 The relative sterility of the capital, with a large harbor surrounded by a hilly and barren area suffering from drought and a scarcity of corn and flour6 and far from the concerns of a distant national capital, perhaps best explains the reaction of the population of La Paz to the U.S. invasion. Among those acquiescing to the invaders were not only Palacio Miranda, but Friar Ramrez and what Burton termed the better class of people. Initially, it appeared that there would be no resistance to the occupation of La Paz, as Burtons men camped out at the plaza and later in improvised barracks, with the officers finding rooms in the town homes. This picture of a Mexican population eagerly awaiting to be liberated by the U.S. invaders was soon to be shattered, for not all the population stood ready to accept permanent occupation and annexation. The Dominican friar of Todos Santos, Gabriel Gonzlez,7 and Captain Manuel Pineda of the Mexican army organized a band of guerrillas made up of bajacalifornios and Yaqui Indians to resist the invasion. Among Pinedas allies was Matas Moreno,8 who years later befriended the Burtons in San Diego and with whom MARB corresponded and maintained close ties. U.S. forces faced oft-repeated if haphazard attacks on their positions in La Paz and later, with additional men arriving on the Cyane, the Sterling, and the Southampton in the coming months, widened their sphere of operations to repel opposition forces in San Jos, San Antonio, and Todos Santos. Sporadic fighting continued until late April of 1848, two months after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had been signed on February 2. It was much to the surprise of all, including the U.S. troops, that news of the treaty revealed that Lower California was to remain a part of Mexico. Before withdrawing their forces from Baja and the Gulf of California, the naval (Commodore T. A. C. Jones and Commodore William B. Shubrick) and army (Lieutenant Colonel-Burton) commanders asked
their superiors for instructions on what to do with the inhabitants of Lower California who had acquiesced to occupation, based on promises that they would become part of the U.S. and who nowleft in the lurchwere certain to suffer the consequences of their betrayal.9 Field commanders in Baja knew that pacification of the peninsula was in all likelihood only temporary and that insurrections were sure to continue, as the number of U.S. troops was small. For this reason they sympathized with the residents fear of revenge from the insurrectionists. Lower California was also by now in ruins and survival under those conditions looked difficult at best. As a consequence, residents of Lower California, as it was termed, were offered political asylum in Upper California, and those with claims for property damages were promised compensation for their losses (see Burtons letter in section B). Burton and Commander Cornelius Stribling were appointed to investigate claims against the United States and to determine who could relocate. Among those electing to leave for Alta California was the young Mara Amparo Maytorena Ruiz. She, together with her mother, Isabel, her sister, Manuela, and her brotherin-law, Pablo de la Toba and over three hundred fifty10 other refugees, left Baja on two storeships, the Southampton and Lexington, at the end of August 1848, with a few also coming on the Ohio and the Warren (Halleck, 72).
Family and social stratification

Despite relocation, ties to Baja California played an important role in MARBs life, as did her ties to the Ruiz family, which positioned her socially. Mara Amparo Maytorena Ruiz was born on July 3, 1831,11 the daughter of Jess Maitorena (also spelled Maytorena) and Isabel Ruiz. Throughout her life Mara Amparo used her maternal last name, as it carried prestige and influence. Her relation to her father is shrouded in interrogatives since she never used the name Maytorena, not even when she married. In the course of her correspondence, at one time or another she mentions her siblings and her mother, but she never mentions her father, nor is there any indication that he was ever
in San Diego, although there are several references to the presence of her mother and her brother Federico (both of whom use the Ruiz and Maitorena surnames interchangeably) at her home in Jamul, near San Diego. Isabel Ruiz de Maytorenas will, filed in Superior Court in San Diego County upon her death in 1893 (see section B), states that she, Isabel, and her husband, Don Jess Maytorena, had three children: Manuela (born in 1827), Mara Amparo (born in 1831), and Federico (born in 1837).12 Don Jess is said to have died in 1878 in Santa Ana, then County of Los Angeles and by 1893, Orange County.13 All accounts of MARBs relocation to Alta California indicate that she came with her mother and stayed in Monterey with her sister and brother-in-law; there is no mention, however, of her father. Maitorena was, in all probability, a soldier at Loreto when he married Isabel Ruiz, the youngest daughter of Don Jos Manuel Ruiz. By then the Ruiz family had moved from La Frontera to Loreto; upon their arrival, around 1822, Captain Ruiz was appointed governor of Baja California. When the capital was later transferred from Loreto to La Paz, the Ruiz and Maitorena families moved there as well; MARB was then three years old (see review chapter VI, section B). There is little in the history books about the Maitorena branch of the family in Baja; another Maitorena (Lieutenant Joaqun Maitorena), married to Isabel Yorba of Santa Barbara, was elected to congress and died in Mexico in 1830. The two Maitorenas were probably related. MARBs failure to mention her father may indicate that after 1848 there was little contact between the two. One can speculate that perhaps Don Jess Maitorena stayed in Baja and did not support the U.S. invaders nor approve of her marriage. Or perhaps Ruiz de Burton considered him an insignificant man, because he was not propertied and held no influential positions. Lasspas in his extensive survey of land tenure in Baja does not list any property owned by Maytorena,14 and neither does Moreno in his report on the Northern District.15 Clearly, the Ruiz name was the prestigious one, but in a culture where both the mothers and the fathers surnames are used, assuming the surname of ones mothers was not uncommon. Thus, Baja jefe poltico Luis del Castillo Negrete (18371842), for example, is often called Negrete, that is, by his mothers maiden name, which is always the
second surname in Latin America and Spain. What is less common and disconcerting at times to researchersis the use of what appears to be her fathers second surname rather than his first. Thus, in 1849 when Mara Amparo Maitorena Ruiz was married to H. S. Burton, she gave the following name, according to the record submitted by Rev. Samuel H. Willey: Amparo Ruiz y Araujo (see fig. 1).16 The Ruiz family, however, was not wealthy either. While serving in La Frontera, Commander Ruiz had received the land grant of Ensenada, but throughout the period of service in the north, the family lived at the military garrison linked to the mission of San Vicente. The Ensenada lands were largely worked for subsistence by Sergeant Francisco Gastelum, a soldier at San Vicente, married to one of Ruiz daughters, Salvadora. In the south the Ruiz family had no land other than pueblo lots, but it did, however, have something on which MARB later capitalized: political recognition and social status. MARB, who was adroit at fashioning and capitalizing upon particular identities, and who never failed to draw attention to her illustrious grandfather Jos Manuel Ruiz, a former governor of Baja California, also claimed to be related to one of the viceroys of New Spain, Juan Ruiz de Apodaca (18161821). As her own brief biographical sketch on her grandfather indicates, Jos Manuel Ruiz was the son of Juan Mara Ruiz and Isabel Carrillo. Juan Mara Ruiz had been one of the founding soldiers of the mission of Nuestra Seora de Loreto, established in 1697, which until 1828 was the capital of Baja; his two sons, Jos Manuel and Francisco Mara, would also be in the military service, the latter serving later as commander of the garrison in the San Diego Presidio. Jos Manuel Ruiz Carrillo married Mara Antonia Trasvia. MARB was four years old when her grandfather, Governor Ruiz, died at the age of eighty-three in 1835 (see MARBs biography of her grandfather, section B). In the biographical sketch that Ruiz de Burton prepared for the Bancroft historical project in the 1870s, she notes that the Carrillo and the Ruiz de Apodaca families came to Sonora and Sinaloa from Spain, more specifically, from Castilla la Vieja. The Carrillos, she notes, were the ancestors of almost all the principal families of both Californias. Don Manuel was still a child (thirteen years old) and his
brother Francisco, only eleven years old, when their father Don Juan Ruiz was killed by a lion. Both boys, named soldados de honor and granted special privileges, were educated by a Jesuit friar. Still a young man when he was sent north to La Frontera as part of the military detachment participating in the founding of missions, Manuel Ruiz helped establish the command post of San Vicente Ferrer in Northern Baja California in 1780, and from that post expanded northward to establish the missions of El Rosario, San Pedro Mrtir, Santo Domingo, Santo Toms, San Miguel, and Santa Catarina. Rojo describes Don Manuel Ruiz as a soldier in every respect: brave, strong, indefatigable, and intransigent in the fulfillment of his duties.17 In 1805, while Mexico was still a Spanish colony, in recognition of his service to the Crown, and more likely to supplement his meager salary, Ensign Ruiz was granted two sitios of landapproximately 8,678.8 acres18in Ensenada de Todos Santos, by Governor Joaqun de Arrillaga. This property played a key role in MARBs life; in fact, she died fighting for her claims to these lands. Ensign and later Lieutenant Ruizs duties as a soldier and commander of the Loreto Presidial troops garrisoned at La Frontera did not, however, provide him the time nor the wherewithal to develop this land. After 1810, in view of turmoil in the central part of Mexico, the commander and his soldiers in the remote and all-but-forgotten Frontera stopped receiving their salaries and supplies and conditions were dire (Rojo, 27, 83).19 In 1822, word reached Baja and Alta California that Mexico had won its independence, but because the missionaries stood opposed to independence, nothing transpired until southern Baja was raided by Lord Thomas de Cochrane, under the pretext that it was still a Spanish domain (Martnez, 316). After the English pirates were repulsed, Ensign Jos Mara Mata at Loreto declared Baja in favor of independence.20 In the Northern District at San Vicente, on May 16, 1822, Lieutenant of La Frontera Don Jos Manuel Ruiz swore allegiance to independence and to the Iturbide empire. That same year, 1822, after thirty years of service and unable to support his family in the northern district, Lieutenant Ruiz, very old, poor, and covered with honorable scars (Rojo, 28), retired to Loreto, where, shortly thereafter, in October of 1822, he was appointed gover-
nor of Baja California. He served until 1825, when he resigned with the advent of the republic and the arrival at Loreto of the newly appointed jefe poltico and commandant general of both Californias, Lieutenant Colonel Jos Mara de Echeanda. Since Echeanda lived in Alta California, he named Fernando de la Toba as his subjefe poltico in Baja, replaced shortly thereafter by Lieutenant Jos Mara Padrs.21 MARB reports that her grandfather, aggrieved over the death of his son, Juan Mara, who died of sunstroke at twenty-five years of age, retired at the age of seventy-one. In addition to the son that died, Don Jos Manuel and his wife had four daughters: Mara Antonia, Mara Encarnacin, Salvadora, and Isabel. (See genealogical chart.) Two years after relocating to Loreto the youngest, Isabel (MARBs mother), born around 1806 at San Vicente in La Frontera, married Jess Maytorena.22 Governor Ruiz died twelve years after his retirement and was buried at La Paz on September 18, 1835. Official records at La Paz note the following: Don Manuel Ruiz, Teniente de Fronteras. En diez y ocho de Septiembre de 1835 di sepultura eclesistica al cadver de Dn. Jos Manuel Ruiz, de edad como de ochenta aos, recibi los Sacramentos. Era casado con Doa Mara Antonia Trasvia. En este Campo Santo de La Paz se halla sepultado. Y para que conste lo firmo. Fr. Jos Morquecho. (Copied in Martnez, Gua, 482) In describing her grandfathers politics, MARB notes that he was a strong monarchist, and that he was for some time much depressed with fears that the republic would not be a success and that the Mexicans would not be as well governed or have peace and order as under a monarchy. As we shall see in the later evolution of MARBs political sympathies, she might well have been projecting her own political perspective on her grandfather. Being a Ruiz not only guaranteed MARB social standing, but also created ties to a number of families of the Baja California Peninsula and Alta California as well. Jos Manuel Ruiz Carrillo was linked to both the Ruiz and Carrillo clans, as much in Baja as in Alta Cali-
fornia. The various Carrillo branches were, moreover, linked by marriage to the Estradas, Amadores, and Verduzcos, as well as the Vallejos, Ortegas, Alvarados, Arces, Verdugos, and Trasvias of both Californias (see chart, section B), allowing for MARBs oft-repeated claim that she was related to all the leading families of Alta California.23 The descendants of these families would, like other nineteenthcentury families, intermarry, creating a closely knit community of cousins, aunts, and uncles to the first, second, and third degree. An instance of this practice can be seen in Martnez Gua Familiar, where he records the request for special church dispensation by Manuela Maitorena (Mara Amparos sister) to marry Pablo de la Toba, third-degree cousins, that is, individuals whose great-grandparents were siblings: El 20 de septiembre de 1844, Pablo de la Toba y Manuela Maitorena se presentaron ante el misionero de La Paz solicitando contraer matrimonio. El, de 27 aos, soltero, hijo legtimo de Fernando de la Toba y Teresa Verduzco; ella, natural de Loreto, de 17 aos, hija legtima de Jess Maitorena e Isabel Ruiz. Tenan impedimento de parentesco de 3er grado. Se les concede la dispensa con multa de cinco pesos. (Gua Familiar, 459460) Manuela, the great-granddaughter of Isabel Carrillo de Ruiz, married Pablo, the grandson of Mara Ignacia Carrillo de Verduzco; the two Carrillo women were sisters. (See genealogical chart 4.) Manuelas and Pablos daughter, Teresa de la Toba, in turn, married Flix Gibert, one of Mara Amparos best friends; the two (Teresa and Flix) were the great-grandchildren of two Carrillo sisters and the children of two de la Toba siblings. Marriage within the family circle thus made for clannishness with airs of exclusivity. A similar fate no doubt awaited MARB, had she not ventured out of the circle. Bancroft notes that her marriage to Burton was highly contested, not only for her marrying a Protestant but also apparently for disdaining a local ranchero, as we shall see. MARB was sixteen when Burton landed on the shores of Baja and already of marriageable age in a society, where,
10
as public records of the period inspected by the historian Pablo Martnez reveal, girls as young as thirteen were marrying. One of Manuela Maitorena Ruizs daughters, Elena de la Toba, for example, married a businessman and widower (Miguel Gonzlez) when she was fourteen years old. (See chart, section B.)
Ties that bind: Marriage under changing flags

The history of the Californias has been closely linked to missionization and the Catholic faith. Under Mexican and Catholic laws, marriage was a sacrament officiated by a priest between two baptized Catholics, rather than a civil contract that could be performed by a justice of the peace or a clergyman between two people of any religion. In 1846 Bishop Garca Diego chastised Governor Po Pico for allowing the celebration of mixed marriage between Protestants and Catholics by civil magistrates like John Sutter at Sacramento and the British vice consul Alexander Forbes, and asked that Pico put a stop to these scandalous practices.24 After the U.S. invasion of California, the Franciscan Jos Gonzlez Rubio, the new vicar general of the Californias, wrote the military governor, Colonel Richard B. Mason, asking that he forbid mixed marriages of Catholics and Protestants officiated by civil magistrates, and Governor Mason agreed, for military policy after invasion was to respect Mexican laws and customs until new policies and laws could be established. In a letter to his priests accompanying Masons order, Gonzlez Rubio made it clear that civil marriage was a violation of traditional Catholic marriage. This agreement between Mason and Gonzlez Rubio was broken on July 9, 1849, when the Catholic Mara Amparo Maytorena Ruiz married the Protestant Captain Henry S. Burton of the U.S. Army in Monterey, California, before a Protestant minister, Samuel H. Willey, shocking both the church establishment and californios, especially the women. The Dominican friar Ramrez, who had left Baja with the political refugees, gave the couple his blessing, to the consternation of Gonzlez Rubio, who subsequently reprimanded the Dominican friar (Neri, 445 and n. 21). When Gonzlez Rubio asked the new governor, General Bennett Riley, to continue to protect Catholic marriage laws
11
and adhere to the understanding with Mason, the acting Secretary of State Henry W. Halleck, replied that the new governor had no power to enforce or renew the Mason order, nor did he desire to do so since the original order had been a temporary wartime provision and its further enforcement would run directly counter to the spirit of the Constitution of the United States (Neri, 446). J. Ross Browne, a writer who was in Monterey for the California Convention in 1849, remarked on the attitude of the native Californian ladies of Monterey, who were visited often by the army officers: Once in a while a match is made up, and they have great matrimonial ceremonies. Captain Burton married a beautiful seorita not long since. The affair occasioned some difficulty in the Church, in consequence of the exclusiveness of the Spanish Catholics in matters of this kind. A dispensation from the Pope will be necessary before the lady can be recognized as a married woman. At present she is banished from Catholic society, and received no better than a chere amie by her countrywomen.25 MARB was not one to refrain from going out on a limb or from countering social prescriptions for women, especially in view of the opposition that her marriage seems to have generated, as she herself told Bancrofts agent. Her testimonial was the basis for Bancrofts comment on this interfaith marriage in his California Pastoral:26 Captain H.S. Burton fell in love with the charming Californian Mara del Amparo Ruiz, born at Loreto, and aged sixteen. She promised to marry him. The servants reported this to a certain ranchero who had been unsuccessfully paying his addresses to her, and he informed Padre Gonzlez,27 saying that a Catholic should not marry a Protestant. The padre thanked the man in a letter, which the latter hawked about offensively, out of spite, because his suit had been rejected. But for all this, the Loreto girl married the Yankee captain. Although a heretical marriage, Rubio, guardian of the See,
12
deemed it discreet not to declare it null, but to remove the impediments. He accordingly allowed the marriage before the padre at Santa Barbara, before two witnesses, omitting proclamas conciliares, nuptial benediction, and other solemnities, but with the condition that the wife should not be seduced from the church, that the children should be educated as Catholics, and that the wife should pray God to convert the captain to the church. Bancrofts account, though narrated out of sequence,28 does capture the various issues at play: the intermarriage of a Catholic and a Protestant; the Catholic clergys attempt to impede the marriage; military orders in California that could have impeded the marriage; and the marriage itself.
A fait accompli: an old marriage tactic in a new context

The Burtons subsequently petitioned Gonzlez Rubio for a dispensation to rectify the situation, after the fact, and more importantly perhaps, after they had been living as man and wife. A draft of his response granting the dispensation, while chastising them for their illadvised procedure, is housed at the Santa Barbara Mission archives: Habindose presentado ante Nos, por conducto del R.P. Fr. Ygnacio Ramrez de Arellano, el Ten. Capitn de Artillera de los E. U. Don Enrique S. Burton de Religin Protestante, hacindonos presente que habindosele negado por el Prroco de Monterey la licencia correspond[ient]e para {scratched out: efectuar su matrimonio} casarse con la Seorita catlica Da. Mara del Amparo Ruiz, vecina de dicho Monterey, y que urgido de gravsimas circunstancias se haba determinado {scratched out: al fin} a verificar su enlace ante un Ministro Protestante, resuelto empero a contraerlo segn el rito Romano tan luego como de Nos obtuviese el permiso y dispensa correspondiente: teniendo en consideracin al conjunto de circunstancias desfavorables que nos rodean {scratched
13
out: ocurriendo en el pas}, y que esta clase de enlaces mixtos no es tan fcil el impedirlos por estar en sentido contrario as [ante] las Autoridades como la mayor parte de los habitantes del pas. Igualmente que dicha S. Ruiz ha procedido en esto mal aconsejada, ignorando las leyes y penas eclesisticas del caso, y sin poder prever sus fatales consecuencias, por ser guiada del ejemplo del mismo que deba haberla instruido en sus deberes como catlica. Asimismo: que hay fuertes motivos para creer ser vlido este enlace por la presencia del R.P. Ramrez de Arellano, que accidentalmente haca veces de Prroco en Monterey, y ante quien aseguran que los contrayentes, verificada la ceremonia de su enlace ante el Ministro Protestante, se dirigieron al R. P. Ramrez como Prroco, reproduciendo ante l su mutuo consentimiento de unirse {enlazarse} en matrimonio; y as {por consiguiente} este enlace aunque muy criminal por el atropellamiento {phrase scratched out} de las leyes santas de la Iglesia, y la dbil condescendencia del Sacerdote que lo autoriz con su presencia, ha sido quiz en realidad vlido, y por lo mismo, fuera de otros motivos, no es discreto el determinar la separacin de estos contrayentes, sino slo el remover el obstculo que tiene la parte catlica, para que en la debida forma se ratifique y solide este {enlace} matrimonio. ltimamente, teniendo en consideracin a las personas de estos Seores y deseando el proveer a la quietud de sus conciencias y al bien de sus almas, y a que se repare en la parte posible el escndalo que ha producido su proyectado matrimonio en el pueblo de su residencia: en uso de la jurisdiccin que como a Gobernador de esta Misin nos corresponde, y a la facultad que el derecho nos concede para usar de la epiqueya, o benigna interpretacin, en los casos graves, urgentes y de difcil recurso a la Sta. Sede, hemos venido en dispensar graciosamente por las presentes y conceder como concedemos a los Seores, Don E[nrique] B[urton] y Da. Mara del Amparo Ruiz, el que a pesar del impedimento impidiendo que les obsta (a casarse con un [h]eterodoxo, pueda permanecer como desea en vida mari-
14
dable con el Sr. Dn. Enrique S. Burton, ratificando ante su propio Prroco mi consentimiento matrimonial, con tal que conste que el Sr. B.[urton]) su enlace, y el modo ilegal con que ha{sido conducido} intentado contraerlo, puedan lcitamente permanecer en l; con tal que renueven su consentimiento matrimonial ante [lo?] que obste al matrimonio; que no tengan algn otro impedimento legitimo d.s.im. [de suma importancia] su propio Prroco y dos testigosfuera de la Iglesiaomitidas las proclamas conciliares, la bendicin nupcial y otras solemnidades eclesisticas y bajo la necesaria condicin de que la parte [h]eterodoxa nunca intentara apartar ni impedir el uso de su Religin a la parte catlica; que la {ni mucho menos} prole que hubieren precisamente ser educada sin distincin de sexos, en la R. C[atlica] y que la Da. har todo empeo para obtener de D[io]s. con sus oraciones la conv. [conversin]de su E[sposo]. (signed)F. Jos Mara de Jess Gonzlez Rubiogobernador de la Sagrada. (California Mission Documents, Santa Barbara Mission) The adoption of the California Constitution at the end of 1849 made the issue moot as it stipulated that no contract of marriage, if otherwise duly made shall be invalidated for want of conformity to the requirements of any religious sect (Neri, 446). Thereafter, the best that Catholic priests could do was to discourage such mixed marriages, and if and when they occurred, to appeal to Rome, although, in the interim, dispensations could be granted (Neri 446).
Treason or regional loyalty?

It seems superfluous to stress that MARBs marriage to Burton should be seen not only as the marriage of a Catholic to a Protestant but as the marriage of a Mexican to a U.S. invader. The discourse of treason is one that Mexican historians have used repeatedly in dealing with this historical period. The question then is whether marriages such as MARBs can be construed as cementing treason or, on the
15
other hand, as opening doors, as some Chicana critics have suggested in analyzing and rethinking the position of Malintzin.29 Could sleeping with the enemy be viewed in other terms? In his study of the Lewis and Clark expedition, for example, Ronda notes that for the Arikara Indians, sexual contact of the Indian women with the elders of the tribe was a way of transmitting spiritual power from the elders to the womens husbands: Sex became a conduit for power. Consequently, sexual contact between the Indian women and the pioneer traders was likewise a means of transferring strength and skill from the outsiders to their mates.30 Viewed in this light, MARBs marriage undoubtedly became a conduit to power, not in the sense of spiritual power nor even in the acquisition of property, because Burton apparently had none when he married, but in the acquisition of status and opportunities that were inaccessible to her as a woman in Baja. Ironically, MARBs letters to Matas Moreno and Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo condemn, as we shall see, any and all acquiescence to the United States. In the work of MARB, the discourse of treason appears, moreover, inverted. Her novel The Squatter and the Don (1885), in fact, suggests that it is Mexico that should be accused of treason for having abandoned the California territory and left it exposed to invasion and occupation. It is then productive, perhaps, to return in greater detail to how this disaffection was perceived by Mexican historians commenting on the relocation of the Bajacalifornios that supported Burtons troops, underscoring the rage provoked by the traitors: These elements [who had embraced the cause of the invaders] earned the most violent hatred of the loyal elements in the country; and when peace was made, they were found to be in a territory whose residents branded them with the insult of traitors. (Martnez, 370371) If one considers, however, that national identity was at best weak at the time and that what was dominant was regional loyalty, then the ambivalence of the population is more easily grasped. In the absence of a sense of a cohesive imagined community of the Mex-
16
ican nation, and in the presence of a strong sense of being californios, it becomes evident that for some in La Paz the national flag under which they had lived for only twenty-four years mattered little. Already in 1843 a letter had circulated in La Paz suggesting thatin terms of development in particularboth Upper and Lower California would be better off if under the protection of another nation: The only salvation which remains for us is stated at the beginning: placing ourselves beneath the protection of another nation which may offer more guarantees to immigrants, in order that our deserts may be populated, and so that with them development of industry and the best material and real enlightenment will come, until we can govern ourselves. (Rojo, 126) The anonymous letter, thought to have been written by Jos Antonio Carrillo from Alta California (Rojo 126), warned that failure to become a protectorate would lead to dismemberment and forced annexation. It is known that the Los Angeles party, which included Po Pico and the Carrillos, favored being a protectorate of England rather than being invaded and annexed by the United States.31 What was sketched out in 1847 would take place in a somewhat similar fashion in Baja later, in 1865, when the then jefe poltico Flix Gibert, MARBs close friend and relative by marriage, surrendered La Paz to a French envoy.32 Perhaps what would be said about Gibert in 1867 is applicable here as well, and speaks to the issue of contingent identifications: El seor Gibert, por ser californio, dej de ser mexicano. [Mr. Gibert, for being a californio [i.e. for the sake of Baja California] stopped being a Mexican [i.e. a good patriot]. (Valads, 139) Regional identity in 1846, for some californios, stood above national identity. And when they relocated, they went north where their relatives lived, to a land that was also California. For some of those relocating to Upper California, the move held the promise of
17
gains of an economic order, since several (about sixty-three) received remunerations for their assistance and losses, for a total of $37,698, from the military contribution fund, an action that was later used against Commodore Jones at his military trial (Halleck, 71). The refugees were housed and fed for almost two months, and after receiving their remunerations, were free to resettle where they pleased. Rojo cites a letter from Manuel Cuevas, a former head of the Baja treasury, who argued the following: . . . more than three hundred persons from the towns of Santiago, San Jos, San Antonio, La Paz, Todos Santos, and points in between, who left afterwards with those United States forces and to whom the Government of that nation paid, in fact, all the damages which ensued; I know several who, after having charged the United States Government four times the value of the property they left, have come back to the country and recovered those same properties without anyone preventing them from doing so and without the Government of Mexico punishing them or prosecuting them for the crimes of treason they committed. (Rojo, 159) Pablo De la Toba, MARBs brother-in-law, for example, received payment for $2,550, and in 1849, he and his wife, Manuela, had a daughter, Elena, born in Monterey, Alta California; how long they stayed thereafter is another matter and raises the question of seizing opportunities as they present themselves. The 1850 California census indicates that Isabel Ruiz and Manuela were still in California, but there is evidence that by 1855 Manuela and her husband, Pablo de la Toba, were back in Baja, and now better positioned to acquire land. The land concession of El Pltano, one sitio in the La Paz district, is registered as having been granted to him on December 3, 1855 (Lasspas, 238). A few years later Isabel Ruiz de Maitorena and her son Federico were in San Diego with MARB and H. S. Burton. Clearly, however, and for a variety of reasons, not all the refugees of 1848 La Paz remained in the United States.
18
Compromised positions
In the aftermath of 184648, MARB found herself in an ambivalent position, one that situated her as both insider and outsider in the United States, as a Mexican who had rejected, but now defended, her country of birth, and at the same time as a participant in that Anglo culture that she daily compromised with and at some level came to despise. This formative exile of sorts gave rise to an incongruous positionality that inextricably bound her to a country that she repudiated, but with which she was complicit in many ways, a role that situated her as a member of what has been termed a schizoid social class,33 both colonized and colonialist, both radical and conservative. Her ambivalence and the incongruities of her positions grew out of her own personal story as a political refugee and as a would-be Mexican landowner, out of her acculturation to U.S. society and her access to the centers of power as the wife of a high-ranking army officer, and out of her intimate contact with the Mexican legation in Washington, D.C., and New York City. Ironically, the farther away she got from Mexico, the more Mexican-identified she became. This disidentification will be further explored in following chapters, but first we will briefly look at the Burton side of MARBs familial and relational equation.
The Burton connection

While birth gave MARB a sense of family, regional, and national identity, migration and marriage determined citizenship, social status, and access to a variety of social strategies in the United States. One of the primary strategies she learned early on was the importance of representation, and MARB clearly became an astute fashioner of self. How one self-constructed oneself had much to do with how one was perceived. Given the epoch and the prevailing identity of a woman in terms of a man, her father or husband, and the long imposition of coverture, whereby a womans property became that of her husband upon marriage, it is not surprising that MARB was often identified simply as Mrs. Burton or even as Mrs. General Burton, as is clear in the following notice in the San Diego Union (6-9-70):
19
Among the passengers who arrived by the Orizaba yesterday, was Mrs. General Burton, widow of the late General Burton, who commanded at Fortress Monroe during the Civil War. Mrs. Burton is a native of this county, and owns considerable property in San Diego. This passenger notice is remarkable in that it points to the two pivots around which MARB masterfully maneuvered: land and socially powerful links. It is H. S. Burton, of course, and his life in the army that enabled the geographical and social mobility that MARB enjoyed for a period of time. MARB both came from and married into a military family. As the granddaughter of a soldier and quite probably the daughter of a soldier as well, Ruiz de Burton was familiar with a military lifestyle in a village or town, but life with Captain Burtonwho in time was promoted to colonel and later brevetted generalopened doors at the highest political and social levels within the U.S. Lieutenant Henry S. Burton, about thirteen years older than she, was a widower when the two met in 1847. Born in New York, at West Point, on May 9, 1818, Henry Stanton Burton was the son of Major Oliver George Burton and Almira Partridge Burton. His father, an instructor at West Point, died in 1821, leaving his wife with two small children. Almira remarried and with her new husband, E. B. Williston, resided in Norwich, Vermont, where Henry S. Burton began his early education. As early as 1833, when Burton was only fifteen years old, his guardian and stepfather, E. B. Williston was making inquiries, and in 1834 he formally requested that Burton be admitted to the academy at West Point. Williston did his best, as letters in Burtons West Point file indicate, to have his stepson accepted. Acceptance required not only scholarly aptitude and achievement but the recommendation of the congressmen of his district; letters from prominent military officers also helped.34 The fact that his father had been a West Point man who had served in the Indian Wars and distinguished himself at the Battle of Tippecanoe, and moreover had left his family almost destitute, was part of the argument that Williston made to have Burton accepted. His skills in algebra, geometry, Latin and Spanish, and history are
20
likewise mentioned in establishing his merits. One of the officers writing in support of his candidacy was Major Henry Stanton, undoubtedly the man after whom Henry S. Burton was named. Stanton describes Major Oliver Burton as his friend and as a meritorious and highly respected officer of the army. In June 1835, H. S. Burton was admitted as cadet to West Point and studied there from July 1, 1835, to July 1, 1839, when he was graduated and promoted in the army to second lieutenant, 3rd Artillery, July 1, 1839. In November of the same year, he was promoted to first lieutenant of the 3rd Artillery. The young Burton served in the Florida War, 183940, 184042, and was garrisoned at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, in 184243. He returned to the military academy in 1843 as assistant instructor of infantry tactics and later as assistant instructor of artillery until 1846, when he served in the War with Mexico as lieutenant-colonel of the New York Volunteers. In 1847 he was promoted to captain of the 3rd Artillery, and after his return to California from Baja, served at Monterey (184851), San Francisco (1851), Monterey again (185152), and San Diego (185257). Details from this period and his life with his wife MARB are covered further in the chapter Early San Diego and La Frontera. In 1857 H. S. Burton was sent to Fort Yuma, and in 1859, to Fort Gaston, California. That same year he was also part of the Mojave Expedition. In 1859 he was ordered back East and relocated there with his family, serving at Fort Columbus, New York, in 1859. In 186061, as the U.S. Civil War was imminent, he took a leave of absence and returned briefly to California, leaving MARB on the East Coast with the children, where she lived throughout the decade. Burton was promoted to major in 1861 and stationed at Ft. Monroe, Virginia, with the Artillery School for Practice. That same year he was again sent to California, where he was stationed for a few months at Alcatraz Island. Once the Civil War broke out, he was ordered East again, serving in the war between 1862 and 1866. During this time he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 4th Artillery (July 1863) and colonel of the 5th Artillery two months later (August 1863). In June 1862 and until September 1863, he was at Fort Delaware in charge of prisoners of war. MARBs novel Who Would Have
21
Thought It? addresses this highly charged issue and reveals her close knowledge of the plight of prisoners of war. H. S. Burton then served on detached service, in the District of Monongahela, Pennsylvania, in 186364; in command of the artillery reserve of the army of the Potomac (JanuaryApril 1864); in the Richmond campaign (army of the Potomac), as inspector of artillery (MayJune 1864); in command of the artillery of the 18th Army Corps (JuneJuly 1864); in command of 5th Artillery and inspector of artillery in Department of the East, headquarters at Ft. Richmond, N.Y., (SeptemberDecember, 1864); as member of the Board for Retiring Disabled Officers at Wilmington, Delaware. (December 1864May 1865); in command of 5th Artillery, headquarters at Ft. Richmond, N.Y. (MayOctober 1865) and as member of the Board for Retiring Disabled Officers, at Wilmington, Delaware (OctoberNovember 1865). In March of 1865 he was brevetted brigadier-general of the U.S. Army for gallant and meritorious services at the capture of Petersburg, Virginia. Although he was a colonel in the army, once brevetted brigadier general, he was often called General Burton, a promotion that MARB, ever and relentlessly in pursuit of rank and social cachet, was intent upon, as signaled by her entreaties to President Lincoln (see chapter IV). After the war H. S. Burton served as commander of the regiment at Ft. Monroe, Virginia. (November 1865June 1867) in charge again of prisoners, relieving General N. A. Miles of the custody of ex-Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Afterwards he served at Columbia, South Carolina (June 1867 to February 1868), at Richmond, Virginia. (February 1868October 1868); and at Ft. Adams, Rhode Island (March to April 4, 1869). He was also on the Court Martial Committee (October 1868March 1869). Changes in addresses noted in MARBs correspondence indicate that in most cases she followed him where he was transferred; both of their children were probably in boarding schools during the war. Colonel Henry S. Burton died on April 4, 1869, at Fort Adams (Newport) Rhode Island, at the age of fifty-one, the cause of death was apoplexy or cerebral hemorrhage (see chapter VI, section B). His military service in areas of malarial infections is said have contributed to liver disease, but the military surgeon conducting the autopsy con-
22
cluded that this contributing factor was doubtful at best (I have not felt at liberty to certify that death in this case resulted from disease caused by exposure in the line of duty.), going on to remark that the General habitually used spirits [Military Certificate 142161]. On January 22, 1870, MARB appeared before the clerk of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia to make a declaration requesting a widows pension (see chapter VI, section B).35 In 1869, she was a thirty-seven-year-old widow with two children, Nellie Burton, (probably named for Manuela, MARBs older sister), nineteen, and Henry Halleck Burton (named after his fathers friend and fellow officer Henry Halleck ), then sixteen. But the family picture is more complicated. Not only did H. S. Burton have a half-brother, Edward (Ned) Bancroft Williston, who went west and for a time lived on the Burtons Jamul ranch until joining the Union army at the outbreak of the Civil War and serving as lieutenant of the Cavalry Brigade in the Third Division, but, as previously indicated, Burton was a widower when he married MARB. His first wife, Elizabeth Ferguson Smith,36 whom he married in 1839,37 died at Fort Moultrie, Charleston Harbor, in August 1842, leaving one daughter, Elizabeth Burton. In 1859 when the Burtons were on the East Coast, MARB met her stepdaughter Elizabeth, then eighteen years old, who was living with her aunt Annie H. Swann and her husband in Annapolis, Maryland. Elizabeth then accompanied the Burtons to Georgetown, D.C., and, according to her auntin a deposition related to a later claim on the H. S. Burton estatehelped nurse her halfbrother and sister, Harry and Nellie, through an attack of scarlet fever. Elizabeth Burton, who married Captain Edward F. Lull of the U.S. Navy in 1865,38 died in 1868, leaving her husband and two children: Elizabeth Lull and Richard Swann Lull. H. S. Burton and MARB both attended the funeral. Captain Lull later remarried, dying in 1887. As noted above, Burtons grandchildren, Elizabeth (who married Captain Henry Clay Cochrane in 1887) and Richard Swann, became involved in the Burton estate lawsuit in California in the 1890s. Depositions by Annie H. Swann and Cochrane are the source of Burton family information, available in San Diego Superior Court records, and further point to the survivability of legal discourses over other texts.
23
After the Civil War and with H. S. Burtons death in 1869, MARB and her two children moved back to California. Daughter Nellie, born in 1850 in Monterey, married Miguel de Pedrorena in 1875 in San Diego and had one child, Eileen.39 Nellies husband was the son of Miguel de Pedrorena, Sr., a Spanish trader who settled in San Diego, married an Estudillo, and became a wealthy californio landowner. Bancroft describes Don Miguel, Sr., as coming from a good Spanish family, one of his brothers holding a high official position at Madrid; and he was himself an intelligent, scholarly man, of excellent character, who by his courteous affability made friends of all who knew him (Bancroft, Pioneer Register, 278). Pedrorena Senior died in 1850. His sons marriage to Nellie Burtonby all accounts the event of the social season in the fledgling town of San Diegowas announced in the San Diego Union (12-28-75, p. 3) as follows: The marriage of Don Miguel de Pedrorena and Miss Nellie Burton took place yesterday afternoon at the Horton House, the newly wedded pair leaving for San Francisco on the steamer Orizaba immediately after the ceremony. A large number of friends were present, who will long remember the happy occasion. Among the brilliant young gentlemen of Southern California there is no more universal favorite than Don Miguel, whose amiable character endears him to all who know him. His bride is one of the most beautiful and accomplished daughters of the Golden State, and has been a reigning belle in social circles here and abroad. They have the cordial congratulations of a host of friends, with whom we unite in wishing them abundant happiness. Miguel de Pedrorena died in 1882. His wife, Nellie Burton de Pedrorena, died on February 5, 1910, in San Diego; their daughter, Eileen, died before her mother. Henry (Harry) Halleck Burton was born in 1852 in San Diego soon after the familys arrival from Monterey. He was not quite seven years old when his family went back East. Educated in various eastern schools, he later enrolled in the School of Mines of Columbia College in New
24
York. In 1872, and with financial resources low at home, he left at nineteen without graduating and joined his mother and sister in California. Ten years later, in 1882, without having fulfilled hisor his mothersexpectations for achievement and prosperity in San Diego, he married Minnie M. Wilbur, the daughter of one of the early Episcopal ministers in San Diego. She too, in all likelihood, came from a military family (her mother, Emily, was born in West Point, New York), arriving in San Diego as a child in 1868. After serving briefly as postmaster of San Diego in 1881, serving only three months, and in the customs service at the Port of San Diego from 1882 to 1887, H. H. Burton worked on the Jamul Ranch, where among other numerous projects, he and his mother attempted to revive brick production on the ranch lands. After the failure of the Jamul Portland Cement Company in the early 1890s and the death of his mother in 1895, Harry Burton, as he was known, accepted a position in 1896 as inspector with the United States Engineer Corps. In late 1900 he moved with his family to Los Angeles, where he was named superintendent of the San Pedro breakwater during its construction and where he utilized his training in engineering. Living in Culver City, California, Harry continued in government service until his retirement in November 1922; He died in 1933. His wife, Minnie Wilbur Burton, died in Los Angeles in May 1930. She and Harry had two children: Henry H., Jr. and Violet, both born in San Diego. Henry H. Burton, Jr., a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, was for many years an assistant engineer for the Southern Pacific Railroad, stationed at Bakersfield. He never married and died in 1969.40 MARBs granddaughter, Violet, who also studied in San Francisco, married Carroll C. Dickson in Los Angeles. For a time they resided in San Francisco where Dickson was connected with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, later moving to Culver City where he was a traveling freight agent for the Pacific Electric Railway at Los Angeles. The Dicksons had only one daughter, Carol, who married William S. Graves;41 they, in turn, had two sons: Burton and Stanton Graves, whose names recall those of their maternal greatgrandfather H. S. Burton.42 The current generation of Burtons is aware of the history of their ancestor Colonel Henry S. Burton, and proudly points to Burtons
25
sword housed at the Los Angeles Museum of History; much less in evidence one hundred years hence are family links to Ruiz de Burtons Mexican background, or to her raza, ironically confirming her expressed fears as to what would occur with intermarriage [see letter to Vallejo, 8-26-67].
B. Letters and Documents: Baja and Family Background

In what follows we include: 1. MARBs biography of, Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, written for the Bancroft Project 2. MARBs transcription of Don Jos Manuels Letter 3. Last Will and Testament of Ysabel Ruiz de Maitorena 4. H. S. Burtons 1848 letter to H. M. Naglee 5. Family trees for Ruiz, Carrillo, and Burton families
1. MARBs biography of Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, written for the Bancroft Project
Biographical Sketch of Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, Commander of Lower California 1. Name. 2. Birth Was born in the Real Presidio de Loreto, then the capital of the Peninsula of Lower California, in December of 1754. And died at La Paz in May 1837, at 83 years of age. 3. Parents. Don Jos Manuel Ruiz was the son of Don Juan Mara Ruiz and Doa Ysabel Carrillo. Don Juan was Spaniard from Castilla la Vieja; was in the Army and came from Spain to be stationed at El Fuerte in Sinaloa when that place was founded. Then was ordered to be stationed at Loreto and there married Da. Ysabel Carrillo and had two sons, Francisco and Jos Manuel Ruiz. Don Juan was killed by a lion on the road to the Real de Sta. Ana when he had gone to bring some prisoners to Loreto.
26
4. Ancestry. Don Manuel Ruiz was son of Don Juan Mara Ruiz and Doa Ysabel Carrillo and grandson of Doa Efigenia and Sr. Carrillo, who were Spaniards from Castilla la Vieja. Sr. Carrillo and his wife Da. Efigenia were the ancestors of almost all the principal families of both Californias. They had ten children, six daughters and four sons. One of the daughters, Ysabel Carrillo was the wife of Don Juan Ruiz and mother of Don Jos Manuel Ruiz. This Da. Ysabel Carrillo de Ruiz had (besides Don Manuel) four other children,vizDon Francisco Ruiz (a bachelor), who was for a long time Commander at San Diego, and three daughters from whom the Estradas, Amadores and Verduzcos [sic] are descended. From the same Sr. Carrillo and wife Doa Efigenia-descended also the Ortegas, Alvarados, Castros and other Carrillos, Estradas and Ruizes. Don Juan Mara Ruiz, father of Don Jos Manuel (and Don Francisco), was descended from the Apodacas of Spainor Ruizes de Apodaca who came early in 1700 to Sonora and Sinaloa. 5. Education. Don Manuel was educated with his brother Francisco by a Jesuit father and were still under his tuition when the lion killed Don Juan Ruiz, their father. Then the governor made him (and his brother Francisco also) soldados de honor, though Francisco was not quite 11 years of age and Manuel a little over 13 only. The soldado de honor did no police or menial duties and had many other privileges being considered gentlemen and treated as such. 6. Active Life. After entering the army both brothers were stationed for a few years at Loreto and after that, were ordered north. Don Manuel then began his labors and hardship in the foundation of missions. First as a young soldierthen as the chief of the expeditions.
27
He was yet a very young officer when founding one of the earlier missions, Capt. Fajes put himself under his orders and made him chief of the expedition. From his headquarters at San Vicente he distributed escorts to all the missions in the jurisdiction of the frontier from San Fernando northward and all those missions looked to him for protection. 7. Manhoods Career. Don Manuel founded the Missions of El Rosario, San Pedro Mrtir, Santo Domingo, San Vicente, Santo Toms, San Miguel, and Santa Catarina. He made two expeditions to the Colorado river between the years of 1781[?] and 1801The country at the Junction of Gila and Colorado rivers and thence to the head of the Gulf of Cortez, was densely populated with the bravest most cruel and daring races of Indians so that expeditions amongst them were extremely hazardous. The headquarters he established at San Vicente as a more central point. In 1821 he was called to Loreto to take command there vice Don Daro Argello relievedThen the headquarters at the Frontier and the Comandancia at Loreto were united and only an escort left at San Vicente. He was the Commander at Loreto from 1821 to 25, when he being much grieved with the death of his favorite son Juan Mara (who died of sun stroke at 25 years of age) tendered his resignation and retired when 71 [years] of age (and died 12 years after). 8. Marriage. Don Juan Manuel married Da. Mara Antonia Trasvia in the year of 1788. She was born at the Real of Santa Ana, then the Capital in 1774. Twelve years after he was married he took his family to the frontier of Lower California and established his headquarters at San Vicente, than a flourishing mission. Of this marriage were born eight children, six daughters and two boys; the oldest of which was very gifted, very grave and
28
handsome and his father loved him with great pride. He died when only 25 years old, a 2nd lieutenant of Cavalry.His name was also Juan Mara, like his grandfather killed by the lion. 9. Religion. His religion was, of course, the Roman Catholic. 10. Politics. He never mixed himself in politics. He was in opinion as well as sympathies a strong monarchist, and held to the monarchical government to the last moment, feeling great distrust towards the new experiment of a Republic. He was for some time much depressed with fears that the republic would not be a success and that the Mexicans would not be as well governed, or have peace and order as under a monarchy. 11. Military Record. His military record is highly honorable as shown in his Hoja de Servicios and the history of the Peninsula. In 18045 Governor Arrillaga granted to him the Ensenada de Todos Santos (a tract of land about 300,000 acres in extent) in the name of the King for his valuable services in establishing Missions and guarding them so well from the depredations of the hordes of savage Indians which often invaded the Frontier from the Colorado river. At one time when they were building the walls of Santa Catalina Mission they were so harassed by the Indians that for days had nothing to eat but parched corn which they carried in their pockets. At the founding of San Pedro Martn. [sic] their horses ran off and while on foot were attacked by the Indians, but when the horses returned the Indians left, and when [they] returned to the attack, Sr. Ruiz and his men were then well mounted and repelled the savages. Governor Arrillaga wrote to Sr. Ruiz that if he wished to be transferred from the frontier to the government of Upper California at Monterey that it would be done. But Sr. Ruiz took so much interest in the missions he had founded that he preferred to remain there.
29
2. MARBs transcription of Don Jos Manuels Letter43

Al Gobernador Don Jos Joaqun de Arrillaga: Muy Seor mo. Participo a S.M. como el da 14 [?] del prximo pasado, a las dos de la maana, falleci el soldado Juan Jos Morillo, de resultas de una postema la que ech poco antes de morir. No dur cinco das, segn el Cabo me ha informado. Lo que ms sensible me ha sido, que no confes ni dispuso testamento, parecindole que su enfermedad no era de peligro, y cuando quiso hacerlo, ya estaba inhabilis. Incluyo a S.M. la fe de entierro del Padre que le dio sepultura al cadver, y el inventario de sus alhajas S.M. dispondr. Con fecha 6 de julio anterior, particip a S.M. de la fuga general que hicieron los indios tomasinos, y como luego me puse en su seguimiento a ver si poda contener algunos. Ahora dir a S.M. que toda esa chusma sali junto de la Misin y a distancia de cinco leguas se esparcieron por diversas partes para de este modo salvarse algunos si eran seguidos. Di yo sobre la huella que me pareci mayor, y alcanc en el Palmara donde S.M. durmiy bajo la sierra, a pie, diez de los fugitivos que ese da salan para el sur. Me impuse del paradero de las dems gente y respondieron que an no bajaban de las barrancas de la sierra. Como es sta tan intransitable por sus orillas, me val de mandar un Perdn General a todos, con tal que se restituyesen a su Misin y me retir con los que haba aprehendido para no amedrentar a los que les mandaba perdn. Llegu a sta el da 13; el 14 se present en esta costa Ensenada una balandra de San Blas, al mando de Don Gonzalo Lpez y Flores. Les suministr tres reses que fue lo que me pidieron. El mismo da tuve aviso del Cabo de Santo Domingo, como en la Ensenada de San Quintn se hallaba fondeada una fragata pero que nadie haba salido a tierra. Comuniqu esta noticia a Don Gonzalo para su conocimiento y se larg de sta el [14] siguiendo su rumbo y al mismo tiempo mand yo
30
un soldado con orden de reconocer qu Buque era aquel y le informara a Don Gonzalo al que encontrara en la Costa. Habiendo dispuesto mis cosas sal el 18 por la maana para Santo Toms a ver qu efecto haba causado el perdn que haba prometido. Hall ya algunos, pero me parecieron muy pocos, y luego dispuse segunda salida para la sierra y logr juntar ms de 40, y entre estos tuve la triste noticia, por un muchacho, que siete hombres que despreciaron mi perdn y se retiraron para el ro, antes de llegar haban sido muertos por los del mismo ro, y cautivadas las mujeres, excepto una que dejaron mal herida. El hecho sucedi de esta manera, segn relacin del muchacho. Se fueron dos hombres y dos mujeres adelante; llegaron al ro y contaron la fuga que haban hecho [de] su misin y que toda la gente iba para all, y que algunos iban ya inmediatos. Los Colorados respondieron, Vamos a matarlos antes que lleguen; se pusieron en camino y lo ejecutaron como digo arriba. Es regular hayan hecho lo mismo con los que dieron la noticia. Sin embargo de este ejemplar, y con noticias de mi persona, el malvado Fiscal en compaa de otros dos, quiso ms bien irse para all que volverse a la Misin, pero de stos no s si los habrn muerto. Regres de mi segunda salida con bastante gente y mand adems a recoger los que me faltaban. Llegu a sta el 22 y me hall con la novedad de la muerte del difunto Morillo y que la Fragata que se hallaba en San Quintn era americana al mando de Don Jos OCays quien solicitaba algunos bastimentos pero luego que se avist a dicho puerto la Balandra de Don Gonzalo sin esperar recursos se hizo a la vela, sin haber comunicado ms que con el soldado que yo mand a reconocerla y el Padre Abad. Este no s si le suministrara cosa alguna. Volviendo a la Misin de Santo Toms digo a S.M. que con las salidas que hice y los recados que mandaba he logrado el juntar ya lo ms de la gente y creo no me faltarn ms de los
31
omisos que se bajaron al Colorado. De nada les he reconocido por el Padrn por no haber tenido lugar. Vamos a otro asunto. Desde a los primeros que pill, les hice cargo de la fuga y aqu tiene S.M. una porcin de enredos. Como el soldado Cota (Antonio) les haba dicho,esto es, a una muchacha que se huyeran porque a todos les haban de matar, y que de miedo se haban huido. Pill a los segundos, les hice cargo, y estos respondieron que el Cabo les haba dicho que a todos los haban de matar por que eran muy malos, y que de miedo se haban ido. Pregunt a una mujer por el Cabo de la escolta, esta me respondi que haca das que tenan tramada esa fuga, y que luego que se fueran tendran todos mujeres. Otros me dijeron que el fiscal los haba alborotado para que se fueran y que haba dicho a los enfermos que no se quedaran, que l mandara a los hombres que los cargaran. A estos dos ltimos puntos me arrimo por razn de que varias mujeres no he encontrado con sus maridos, sino con distintos otros, y los que se fueron al Colorado llevaron mujeres ajenas; las mujeres de los muertos no han hecho ningn sentimiento; el fiscal no ha querido aprovecharse del perdn que promet, ms quiso irse con los que no perdonan, prueba de su delito. El fiscal es la causa de este mal y no otro ninguno. Tambin ha llegado a mi noticia que los Colorados han quedado tan orgullosos con las muertes de los tomasinos y de haberse aprovechado de sus cortos despojos, que ya piensan en Santa Catalina. Creer sern cuentos, de indios, pero no desprecio las noticias. Incluyo a S.M. esa esquela del P. de San Fernando, pero hasta la fecha nada ha resultado. No ocurre otra novedad. Nuestro Seor guarde a S.M., etc., San Vicente, 8 de agosto de 1803. B.L. de S.M. Su menor sbdito, Jos Manuel Ruiz.
32
3. Last Will and Testament of Ysabel Ruiz de Maitorena A. Summary

Will of Ysabel Ruiz, citizen of Mexico, filed in the office of the County Clerk of San Diego. Reg. of Action of Probate Proceedings, vol. 5, p. 40, Box 1103. Died: April 30, 1893, San Diego, California. Residence: San Diego, California, formerly of San Vicente, Lower California, Mexico. Daughter of Don Jos Manuel Ruiz and Mara Antonia Trasvia, Santa Ana, Lower California Dated: January 15, 1892 Wife of Don Jess Maytorena of San Miguel de Orcasitas [Sonora], Santa Ana Lower California. Son: Federico R. Maytorena Daughters: Mara Amparo Burton; Manuela de la Toba (deceased at La Paz, Baja California) Grandchildren: Benigno de la Toba; Carmen de la Pea; Elena de Gonzlez; Teresa de Gibert Amparo de Martnez Administrators: Federico R. Maytorena and J. M. Soto B. Actual Statement. From the San Diego County Records office. In the Superior Court of the County of San Diego, State of California. PROBATE. Testimony of Applicant, on Probate of Will: In the Matter of the Estate of Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena, Deceased State of California, County of San Diego J. M. Soto and Federico Ruiz de Maytorena being duly sworn in open Court verily testify as follows:
33
We are the persons named as the executors in the document now shown to us, marked as filed in this Court on the 13th day of July, 1893, purporting to be the last Will and Testament of Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena, deceased. We reside in the said County of San Diego, and are each over the age of twenty-one years. We knew said Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena; she is dead. She died on or about the 30th day of April, 1893, at San Diego in the County of San Diego, State of California. At the time of her death, she was a resident of the said County of San Diego, and left no estate in the said County of San Diego, State of California. The estate of the decedent consists of one undivided half interest in the Grant of the Ensenada de Todos Santos, containing five leagues of land situated in Lower California, Mexico, in the possession of the Lower California Development [Company], claimed adversely to decedent by said Company and by Mara Amparo de Burton. The said estate and effects for or in respect of which the probate of said Will has been applied for is separate property, the same having been acquired by devise or descent. We do not know and have been unable to ascertain the value of said [decedents] interest. The said document came into our possession as follows, to wit: it was delivered by Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena personally, in her lifetime, to the said J. M. Soto and we believe the same to be the last Will and Testament of said decedent. The next of kin of said decedent are the said Federico Ruiz de Maytorena, aged 49 years, residing at said County of San Diego; Mara Amparo de Burton, aged about sixty years, and Carmen de la Pea, aged about 28 years, both residing in the City of Mexico, Republic of Mexico; Benigno de la Toba, Teresa de Gibert, Amparo de Martnez, aged respectively, about 37, 34 and 23 years, all residing at La Paz, Lower California, Mexico; and Francisco, Carlos, Dolores, Carlota, Pablo, Miguel, Elena and Julia Gonzlez, aged respectively, about 23, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, and 15 years, all residing at said La Paz. On the 15th day of July, 1892, when said Will was Executed, said deceased was over the age of eighteen years, being of age of 86 years or thereabouts, and was of sound and disposing mind.
34
The translation of said will thereto attached is a true and correct translation of said will and testament. Subscribed and sworn to in open Court by F. Ruiz de Maytorena and J. M Soto, before me, the 4th day of August, 1893. Will H. Holcomb, County Clerk. By Bent Moore, Deputy Clerk. Testimony and Probate of Will. Filed August l, 1893. En el nombre de Dios Todo Poderoso, Creador de Cielo y Tierra. Yo, Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena, Natural de San Vicente, en el Partido del Norte de la Baja California, Repblica de Mxico, a la presente residente en la Ciudad de San Diego, Estado de California. Artculo 1. Digo y declaro que soy catlica y que profeso la religin Catlica Apostlica Romana, y creo en los misterios de la Santsima Trinidad, Padre, Hijo y Espritu Santo, y que quiero morir asistida con los Ritos de mi Religin. Artculo 2. Declaro que tengo ochenta y seis aos de edad, y que soy la hija menor y la nica que vive del Subteniente Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, Natural de Loreto, Baja California, y de su esposa Doa Mara Antonia Trasvia, Natural del Real de Santa Ana, Baja California. Artculo 3. Declaro que fui casada con Don Jess Maytorena, Natural del Real de San Miguel de Orcasitas, Estado de Sonora, y que nos casamos el ao de mil ochocientos veinte y cuatro en Loreto, Baja California, y que mi esposo se muri el ao de 1878, en el pueblo de Santa Ana, entonces condado de Los ngeles, ahora Condado de Orange, Estado de California. Artculo 4. Declaro que he tenido dos hijas mujeres y un hijo hombre de los que viven solo Mara Amparo de Burton y Federico R. Maytorena, y que mi hija Manuela de la Toba se muri en La Paz, Baja California. Artculo 5. Declaro que soy la nica heredera legal de los bienes de mi finado Padre Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, quien muri el ao de 1836, en La Paz, Baja California, y que mi Seora Madre, muri en el mismo lugar en 1844. Artculo 6. Declaro que es mi voluntad que sean mis albaceas testamentarios, Don J. M. Soto y mi hijo Federico Ruiz Maytorena, ambos residentes de San Diego, a quienes dejo libres de toda
35
fianza. Con todo poder y libertad, para que ejecuten, y administren todos mis bienes y todo lo que ordeno, en este mi Testamento. Artculo 7. Declaro que he firmado y entregado un Poder y una Contrata, con fecha diez de junio de 1892, a los Seores J. M. Soto y J. B. Mannix, de esta Ciudad de San Diego, cuyo poder y contrata, son y sern irrevocables, y quiero que tengan toda su fuerza y en permanencia sea tal como es declarado en dicho Poder y Contrata. Artculo 8. Declaro que durante mi viudez y desde que mi hijo Federico pudo trabajar, siempre ha estado a mi lado, y me ha ayudado y mantenido, como ha podido y me ayuda hasta la fecha como puede y por esa consideracin lo dejo mejorado con mis bienes habidos y por haber. Artculo 9. Declaro y ordeno que de mis bienes habidos y por haber, mis Albaceas paguen primero todas mis deudas, justas y legales, y del resto, den a mi hija Mara Amparo de Burton la suma de cinco pesos en dinero mexicano; pues mi dicha hija tiene bastantes recursos para vivir, y con qu mantenerse y ha disfrutado de los frutos de mis dichos bienes por mucho tiempo. Artculo 10. Declaro y es mi voluntad, que a mis nietos hijos de mi finada hija Manuela Maytorena de la Toba, se les d, a Benigno de la Toba, un peso dinero americano; a Teresa de Gibert, un peso dinero americano; a Carmelita de la Pea, un peso; a Amparo de Martnez un peso y a los hijos de Elena de Gonzlez un peso a cada una de ellos. Artculo 11. Declaro que no dejo mas a mis dichos nietos y sus herederos porque tienen bastante con que vivir y no necesitan herencia ma. Artculo 12. Declaro que es mi voluntad que de mis bienes habidos y por haber se paguen todos los gastos de mi manutencin y cuidado, los gastos de mi entierro, que se le paguen a mi Albacea, J. M. Soto, por sus servicios en la ejecucin de lo ordenado en este mi testamento que se har arreglado a la Ley y despus de todo lo arriba dicho. Todos mis bienes habidos y por haber sern de la legtima y nica propiedad de mi hijo Federico R. de Maytorena o de sus herederos y personas a quienes l quiera heredar, vender, o traspasar. Artculo 13. Declaro que hago esta diferencia en la disposicin de mis bienes, porque nunca he dado nada a mi dicho hijo, en re-
36
compensa de lo que ha hecho por m, y que no tiene recursos para mantenerse, ms que lo que le dejo de mis bienes. Artculo 14. Declaro que es mi ltima voluntad y es irrevocable, que ste mi testamento sea la nica declaracin legal que gue todos los actos de mi voluntad, y que en caso que exista otro testamento o documento de alguna naturaleza, todos son desde ahora revocados y anulados, excepto el poder y contrata a que se refiere el Artculo 7 de ste mi testamento en favor de los Seores Soto y Mannix, firmado el da 10 de junio de 1892, y pido a las Cortes de Mxico, a sus Magistrados y Tribunales, que den toda asistencia legal a ste mi testamento. Ante todos los Tribunales de la Repblica de Mxico y en cualquiera otra parte o Estado, donde se encuentren bienes que de cualquiera manera pudieren venir a m. Artculo 15. Declaro que nunca he sido Ciudadana de otra Nacin, mas que de mi querida Patria Mxico, y que morir como tal y bajo de la proteccin del gobierno mexicano y en fe y testimonio de todo lo arriba dicho, firmo ste mi testamento delante de Testigos este da quince de julio en la Ciudad de San Diego, Estado de California, en el Ao de mil novecientos noventa y dos. Testigos: Federico Ruiz Maytorena, Thomas H. Bush. Federico Roster, A. B. Spratt Subscribed by the Testatrix Doa Ysabel Ruiz Maytorena in the presence of each of the parties who have signed as witnesses. The said testatrix at the time of subscribing to said will declared the same to be her last will and testament, and we, in her presence, and in the presence of each other, and at the request of said testatrix, have subscribed as witnesses. Subscribed to and sworn to this 15th day July 1892 before me. [signed] Thomas H. Bush, Notary Public. (Translation [part of original text]) In the name of Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth. I, Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena, native of San Vicente in the North District of the Lower California in the Republic of Mexico, and at the present time resident of the City of San Diego, State of California. 1st. I say and declare, that I am a Catholic, and that I profess the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion, and that I believe in the mys-
37
teries of the TrinityFather, Son, and the Holy Ghost, and that I wish to die assisted with the rite of my religion. 2nd. I declare that I am eighty-six years old, and that I am the younger, and the only surviving daughter of Lieutenant Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, native of Loreto, Lower California, and of his wife Mara Antonia Trasvia, native of Real de Santa Ana, Lower California. 3rd. I declare that I have been married with Don Jess Maytorena, native of San Miguel de Orcasitas, State of Sonora, and that we were married in the year 1824 in Loreto, Lower California, and that my husband died in the year 1878 in the town of Santa Ana, then in Los Angeles County, now in Orange County, State of California. 4th. I declare that I had two daughters, and a son; two of whom are alive, Mara Amparo Burton and Federico R. Maytorena, and that my daughter Manuela de la Toba died at La Paz, Lower California. 5th. I declare that I am the only legal heir of the Estate of my deceased father, Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, who died in the year 1836 at La Paz, Lower California, and my mother died at the same place in the year 1844. 6th. I declare that it is my will that J. M. Soto and my son Federico Ruiz Maytorena, both residents of San Diego, shall be the Executors and Administrators of my estate, without bonds, with full power and liberty to execute and to administer all my estate, and everything that I have ordered in this my will. 7th. I declare that I have made, executed and delivered a Power of Attorney, and a contract dated the tenth day of June, 1892, to Messrs. J. M. Soto and J. B. Mannix of the City of San Diego; said Power of Attorney and contract are and shall be irrevocable, and I wish the same to have such force and permanence as is declared in said Power of Attorney and Contract. 8th. I declare that during my widowhood, and ever since my son Federico has been able to work, he has supported me, and has been with me all the time, and has helped me as much as he could; and is helping me at the present time, and in consideration of this, I leave him advantaged with my estate, present and future. 9th. I declare and order that out of my estate, present and prospective, my Executors pay, first, all my just and legal debts,
38
and from the residue to give to my daughter, Mara Amparo de Burton the sum of five dollars [sic], Mexican money, because my said daughter has plenty of resources to live upon and to support herself; and because she has had the use and fruits of my estate for a very long time. 10th. I declare and it is my will that my grandchildren, children of my deceased daughter Manuela Maytorena de la Toba, be given: To Benigno de la Toba, one American dollar, to Teresa de Gibert, one American dollar, to Carmen de la Pea, one American dollar, to Amparo de Martnez, one dollar; and to the children of Elena de Gonzlez, one dollar to each of them. 11th. I declare that I do not leave any more to my grandchildren and their heirs, because they have plenty of means to support themselves, and they do not need inheritance from me. 12th. I declare that it is my will that of my estate present and prospective, there be paid, the whole expense of my maintenance and care; the expense of my funeral; and that my administrator J. M. Soto for his services in the execution of what I order in this my will, be paid the fees allowed by law. And after the whole of the above stated is done, the rest of my estate present and prospective shall be exclusively the property of my son Federico R. Maytorena, and his heirs, or persons to whom he wishes to devise, sell or transfer. 13th. I declare that I make this difference in the disposition of my estate because I never have given anything to my said son in compensation for what he has done for me, and that he has no means to maintain himself, except what I leave to him of my estate. 14th. I declare that this is my last will and is irrevocable, that this my Testament shall be my only lawful declaration and that in the event there may exist other testaments or documents of any kind, every one of them is as of this date revoked and annulled, except the Power of Attorney and Contract, referred to in the Art. 7th of this my Testament, given to Messrs. Soto and Mannix, signed the 10th day of June 1892, and I ask the Mexican Courts, magistrates and Tribunals to give all legal assistance and force to this my will and testament, before all Tribunals of the Mexican Republic, as well as in any other State where may be found any estate that by right should come to me.
39
15th. I declare that I never have been a citizen of any other nation, except that of my dear native country Mexico; and that I will die as such, and under the protection of the Mexican Government. And in faith and testimony of everything above said, I sign this my Will and Testament, before witnesses, this 15th day of July in the City of San Diego, State of California, in the year of our Lord 1892. Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena. Witnesses: Thomas Bush. Federico Roster. A. B. Spratt. C. Certificate of Proof of Will In the Superior Court, County of San Diego, State of California. Probate. Certificate of Proof of Will and the facts found. In the matter of the Estate of Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena, deceased, State of California, County of San Diego, I, E. S. Torrance, Judge of the Superior Court, do hereby certify That on the 4th day of August, 1893, the annexed Instrument was admitted to Probate as the last Will and Testament of Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena, deceased, that the testimony taken on the probate of said Will has been reduced to writing and signed by the witnesses respectively, and filed therein; and from the proofs taken, and the examinations had therein, the said Court finds as follows: That Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena died on or about the 30th day of April, 1893, in the County of San Diego, State of California; that at the time of her death she was a resident of said County of San Diego, State of California; that the said annexed Will was duly executed by the said decedent, in her lifetime, in the said County of San Diego, State of California, and signed by the said testatrix in the presence of Thomas H. Bush, Federico Roster and A.B. Spratt, the subscribing witnesses thereto; also, that she acknowledged the execution of the same in their presence of each other; that the said decedent, at the time of executing said Will was of the age of 86 years, was of sound and disposing mind, and not under restraint, duress, menace, fraud, undue influence, or fraudulent misrepresentations, or in any respect incompetent to devise and bequeath her estate and that the translation in the hereto attached [illegible text indicating translation is a correct version of original in Spanish].
40
Signed by the Court Clerk on the 4th of August 1893. In the Superior Court of the County of San Diego. State of California. In the matter of the Estate of Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena, deceased. Petition for Probate of Will. To the Honorable, the Superior Court of the County of San Diego, State of California: The petition of Mr. Soto and Federico Ruiz Maytorena, both of the County and State aforesaid, respectfully represents: 1. That Ysabel Ruiz de Burton died on or about the 30th day of April, 1893, at said County of San Diego, State of California, and was at the time of her death a resident of said County and State, that she left a last will and testament, which together with a true and correct translation thereof, the original being in the Spanish language, is herewith presented for probate; and that petitioners are the persons named as executors in said will and consent to act as such. 2. That the names, ages, and residences of the heirs of said decedent, so far as known to petitioners are as follows, namely, your petitioner, Federico Ruiz Maytorena, aged 49 years, residing at said County of San Diego; Mara Amparo de Burton, aged about 60 years, and Carmela de la Pea, aged about 28 years, both residing in the City of Mexico, Republic of Mexico; Benigno de la Toba, Teresa de Gibert, and Amparo de Martnez, aged respectively, about 37, 34, and 23, and the children of Elena de Gonzlez, namely Francisco, Carlos, Dolores, Carlota, Pablo, Miguel, Elena and Julia, aged, respectively, about 23, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, and 15 years, all residing at La Paz, Lower California, Mexico, and that the said heirs are, likewise, the devisees and legatees of said testatrix. 3. That the estate of said decedent consists of an undivided half interest in that certain grant of land known as the Ensenada de Todos Santos, containing five leagues, more or less, situated in Lower California, Mexico, which, as your petitioners are informed and believe, is in the possession of the Lower California Development Company, and the title thereto is claimed adversely to decedent by the said Company and by the said
41
Mara Amparo de Burton, and is now in litigation; that our petitioners have been unable to ascertain and do not know the probable value of the interest of said Estate in said property; and that said property is the separate property of the decedent. Wherefore petitions pray that said Will be admitted to probate and that letter testamentary thereon be issued to them. [signed] J. M. Soto and Federico Ruiz Maytorena J. B. Mannix, Attorney for Petitioners D. Order admitting Will to Probate and Appointing Executors In the Superior Court of the County of San Diego, State of California. No. 1108. Probate. Dept. One. In the Matter of the Estate of Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena, deceased. The petition of J. M. Soto and Federico Ruiz Maytorena, heretofore filed herein, praying that a certain document purporting to be the last will and testament of Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena, deceased, be admitted to probate, and that said petitioners be appointed executors thereof, and that letters testamentary thereon be granted to them, coming on regularly to be heard this day, and it appearing to the Court that said Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena died on or about the 30th day of April, 1893, at the County of San Diego, State of California; that said decedent was, at the time of her death, a resident of said County and State; that said document is the last will and testament of said Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena, deceased; that it was duly executed by her in her lifetime; that the same was duly attested as required by law; that said decedent, at the time of executing said will, was over the age of eighteen, to wit: eighty-six years to age, was of sound mind, and not under duress, menace, fraud, or undue influence, or in any respect incompetent to execute said will; that due and legal notice has been given of the hearing of said petition; and that the translation thereto attached is a true and correct translation of said will and testament. It is therefore ordered that said document be and it is hereby admitted to probate. [the last will and testament of] Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena, deceased.
42
It is further ordered that J. M. Soto and Federico Ruiz Maytorena, the persons [named in said will], they are hereby appointed executors of said last will and testament, and that letters testamentary thereon be issued to them, upon their taking the oath required by law, it being provided in said last will and testament that no bonds shall be required of them. Dated August 4, 1893. W. L. Pierce, Judge of said Superior Court.
4. H. S. Burtons 1848 Letter to H. M. Naglee

(Letter from H. S. Burton to Capt. H. M. Naglee on residents of San Jos that need to leave Baja California.)44 Headquarters Det. New York Volunteers La Paz, Lower California July 20, 1848 Capt. H. M. Naglee, lst Regt. N Y. Vols. Commanding at San Jos, Lower California Sir, On the 15th inst. it was decided by Commodore Jones and others, that those inhabitants of Lower California, who have severed their allegiance to Mexico by uniting in arms or other active hostilities against her, relying upon the promises made to them by the Agents and Representations of the United States in this country, that Lower California would never revert to Mexico; will receive transportation with their families and personal baggage to Upper California. You will immediately form a list of all such persons, with their families and the number in each family, living in and near to San Jos, and will send the same with dispatch to these Head Qtrs.
43
You will send copies, also, as soon as possible, of the claims for the remuneration of property destroyed during the late disturbances in this country, made by the friendly Californians in and near to San Jos. It will be necessary to examine closely, into the claims of those requesting transportation to Upper California. None but those whose lives and property are endangered by their known and active friendliness to the United States, who can be considered as traitors to Mexico, can be furnished with transportation. As soon as information is received from the Hd. Qs. 10th Mil. Dept., in answer to an Express sent from this place on the 27th inst., orders will be sent to you respecting the movement of your command. Probably, you will sail for Monterey in the U.S. Sloop of War Warren, between the middle and end of August. Very respectfully, your obt. servt. Henry S. Burton St. N. Y. Vols. Commanding U.S. Forces in Lower California
5. Family Trees for Ruiz, Carrillo, and Burton Families
Burton-Partridge Line
Ruiz-Carrillo-Trasvia-Maytorena Line
Carrillo-Millar Line
Carrillo-Millar-Ruiz-Maytorena-de la Toba-Gibert Line
Notes to Genealogical Lines

George Burton was a major in the U.S. Army and posted at West Point, where Henry Stanton Burton was born. 2Another son (in all likelihood Dr. H. G. Burton, USA). 3There is another childalso buried at West PointWilliam Partridge (18141817). 4S. Blair Smith was a surgeon in U.S. Army. 5quien pereci atacado por un len (Martnez, p. 16). 6Arango or Araujo; Jess Maytorena dies in Santa Ana, Baja California, 1878. 7Married in Loreto, Baja California. 8Mrs. Isabel Maytorena died April 30, 1893 in San Diego, California, female, a widow, Mexican, cause of death: old age; Dr. H. E. Crispin, attending physician (described in San Diego County Birth Death RecordsRef: Book F-191). 9Pablo de la Toba and Manuela Maitorena required special church dispensation. 10Federico Maytorena died in San Diego, California, on March 4, 1894, male, single, Mexican, at the age of 57 of pneumonia, Dr. D. B. Northrupp (described in San Diego County Birth Death Records Ref: Book G-213). 11MARB birthdate in question: 1830, 1831 or 1832; in her request for U.S. Army pension, she indicates, in Jan. 1870, that she is 37 years old. She indicates the same, however, in 1869. The 1850 U.S. Census indicates that she is 20 years old. In her remarks to H. H. Bancroft she states that she met Lt. Col. Burton when she was 16 years old. 12Born May 9, 1818; died April 4, 1869. 13M. Wilburs father was Sidney Wilbur; Minnie Wilbur and Harry H. Burton were married in San Diego April 27, 1882.
49
1Oliver
50
14Nellie
Burton de Pedrorena was born July 4, 1850, died February 5, 1910. 15Violet Burton born June 24, 1887, died April 8, 1974. 16Harry H. Burton Jr. born March 24, 1883, died January 14, 1969. 17According to MARB probate documents, Eileen de Pedrorena Burton died prior to her mother Nellie. 1811 children, 5 male and 6 female, married into the Ortega, Castro, Ruiz, Carrillo Alvarado, Estrada, Ruiz and Arce lines. 195 children (2 males and 3 females) from whom are descended the Estradas, Verduzco and Amador lines. 20Marries an Alvarado. 21Ma. Ignacia marries Anastacio Verduzco. 22Marries Jos Francisco Ortega. Came to Alta in 1769. 23Marries Joaqun Arce. In San Diego, Alta California in 1783. 24Marries Martn de Olvera. 25Came to Alta California. 26Came to Alta California. 27Jos Raimundo Carrillo came to Alta California. Founder of Los Angeles Carrillo family. 28Ma. Ignacia Lpez was a half-sister of Po Picos mother (Ma. Eustaquia Lpez): Ma. Ignacias father, Juan Francisco Lpez, came to California with the de Anza expedition; Ma. Ignacia married Joaqun and stayed in San Diego till she became (in 1841) a grantee of Cabeza de Santa Rosa rancho in Sonoma County; had 12 children (5 male; 7 female): Josefa married Fitch; Benicia married M.G. Vallejo, etc. 29Ma. Antonia marries Jos de la Guerra y Noriega of Santa Barbara, California. 30Marries Anastacio Verduzco; daughter Teresa Verduzco marries Fernando de la Toba, whose son is Pablo de la Toba, who marries Manuela Maytorena. 31Mayordomo of La Pursima Mission in 1788. 32Fernando de la Toba comes to Monterey Alta from Spain (con el grado de cadete) as a 16-year-old. Later to be Acting Commander at Loreto, Baja California. 33Comandante in San Diego; dies in 1839. 34Jos Manuel Ruiz was gobernador de la pennsula, dies in La Paz, September 18, 1835. 35Dies at age of 25.
36Manuela
51
marries her second cousin Pablo de la Toba in 1844; son of Fernando de la Toba and Teresa Verduzco. 37Died 1866; widow of Martn Erquiaga. 38Gernimo Gibert is a Frenchman who in 1834 marries Josefa de la Toba in San Antonio, Baja California. 39Married in 1885 to Flix Martnez Prez: l de 31 aos, natural de Tepic, mdico, cirujano . . . ella de 24 aos natural de San Luis en este territorio, hija legtima de P. de la Toba y Manuela Maytorena. 40Elena (18491884) married Miguel Gonzlez in Feb. 1863 (widower of Soledad Ruffo) at 14 years old; Elena is said to be natural de Monterey y vecina de este puerto (La Paz) [Martnez, p. 484]; they have among others a daughter named Mara Manuela Amparo Gonzlez de la Toba (b. 1884); two die at birth: Luisa and Mara del Carmen; others surviving are Francisco; Carlos y Carlota; Miguel; Pablo Jos; Elena Ernesta; Ma. Julia; Emmanuel. 41Born in 1866. 42Died in 1876 at age of 25. 43Born in San Antonio, Baja California, in 1834.
Notes
1Naval
forces had previously (in September 1846 and April 1847) threatened the capital and asked for the jefe poltico, Colonel Francisco Palacio Miranda, to declare Bajas neutrality. See Pablo Martnez, A History of Lower California. Translated by Ethel Duffy Turner (Mexico: Editorial Baja California, 1960), 352353. All Martnez references will be to this book, unless otherwise specified. 2In fact, Commander John B. Montgomery, who had come aboard the sloop Portsmouth earlier in 1847, had urged the people to submit and enjoy the privileges and rights of citizens of the U.S. 3H. H. Halleck. The Mexican War in Baja California. The Memorials of Capt. H. W. Halleck Concerning His Expedition in Lower California 18461848. Intro. and ed. by D. B. Nunis (Los Angeles: Dawsons Book Shop, 1977), 113. Henry W. Halleck, who was a student at West Point with Henry S. Burton, served with Burton in Baja California. He was the author of a book on the use of asphalt in military structures, a report on public structures in Europe, and a third book on Elements of Military Arts and Science, which became a basic manual for many Union officers and volunteers during the Civil War. 4See Martnez, A History of Lower California, 355, 371. 5Copy of letter sent by Burton to his Captain, 9-8-47. Letter on file as part of H.S. Burton Diary and documents at Bancroft Library, provided to Bancroft by MARB. 6H. S. Burton. Personal Diary. Bancroft Collection. 7An important character in Bajas history is the friar Gabriel Gonzlez, of Spanish origin, who immigrated to Mexico, ordained a Dominican in 1824 and assigned to Baja, arriving at Loreto in 1825 with Gov. M. Echeanda. In 1842 he was appointed Presidente y Vicario Forneo de la Pennsula de las misiones dominicas. As a priest
52
53
he could not marry, but he is known to have had a large family (10 children) with Dionisia Villalobos Albez. He first named his children after the mother but later gave them the last name Villarino. He would be an important part of the Bajacalifornios resistance to the U.S. invasion. 8Jose Matas Moreno, born in 1818, was the son of Joseph Mathew Brown, an English whaler who took the name of Moreno, and Dolores Carrillo. He married Prudenciana Vallejo Lpez, illegitimate daughter of Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, in 1851. He served as Governor Po Picos secretary and as jefe poltico of Baja, Northern District. He died at Rancho Guadalupe in Baja California on Nov. 30, 1869. 9Burton, who had made promises to the residents of Baja on the grounds of the words of President Polk that Baja would never be given up to Mexico, explained in a letter to Governor Mason that their supporters, especially those among the better class of population in the country [who had greeted them with] great pleasure and who had expected the U.S. to take over Lower California, would face hostilities upon the removal of the U.S. troops; their property would be confiscated, and their lives and those of their families endangered. He therefore requested that means of transportation[...] be furnished for removal of their families and effects to Upper California, Oregon and such other of the United States as they may select for their future residence. See H.S. Burton letter of June 27, 1848 to Governor Mason. See Halleck, 60. See also Bancroft H.S. Burton file. 10Burton talks about 500 people who are to be boat-lifted out of Baja. 11This date has been determined by examining several documents including: her Pension request, Census data for 1850 and 1852, her statement to Bancroft, and her letter to Davidson (7-15-80). 12Birth dates are approximate, on the basis of information in obituaries and in Pablo Martnez, Gua familiar de Baja California (Mxico: Editorial Baja California, 1965). Martnez notes that Loreto records were lost, possibly after the flood that destroyed the capital. See also short listing of will in Daughters of the American Revolution. Early California Wills. San Diego County, 18461900. Compiled by the Genealogical Records Committee of the S.D. County Chapter of D.A.R, p. 194. 13This note on Santa Ana may have been erroneously added by the transcriber, who submitted a copy of Isabels last will and testament
54
after her death. It could be that Don Jess Maitorena never left the southern peninsula and instead lived in El Real de Santa Ana, Municipio de San Antonio, in Baja. 14Ulises Urbano Lasspas, Historia de la colonizacin de la Baja California y decreto del 10 de marzo de 1857. Prlogo de David Piera Ramrez (Mexicali: UABC, SEP, 1992). 15Matas Moreno, Descripcin del Partido Norte de la Baja California, 1861, en Fuentes documentales para la historia de Baja California, ao 1, nmero 2, diciembre de 1984. 16Document found at the Boronda Rancho Museum library. The report of all the marriages that Willey had performed between May 10, 1849 and July 16, 1850, is handwritten. Araujo could thus also be Aranjo, as it was indicated in the Alta California announcement of the marriage (July 19, 1849). Thanks also to historian Antonia Castaeda, who first told us about this document. 17Manuel C. Rojo, Historical Notes on Lower California with some relative to Upper California, furnished to the Bancroft Library, 1879. Translated and edited by Philip O. Gericke (Los Angeles: Dawsons Book Shop, 1972), 23. Rojo recounts an episode in which Lieutenant Ruiz, in pursuit of rebellious Indians, arrived at a point where continued pursuit was not prudent; ordering his troops to retreat and not dally behind, he soon learned that a soldier who was trying to free a mule stuck in a swampy area was about to be attacked by the Indians; Ruiz ordered a countermarch and saved the Soldier Avilez, who was then rebuked for not following orders: As soon as we reach headquarters you will be under arrest for three days, after which I invite you to eat at my table and drink a glass of wine in memory of this day. Dont disobey the commandants order again. (24). 18A sitio is said to be 4,336.6 acres in David Piera Ramrez y Jorge Martnez Zepeda, Notas, in Jos Matas Moreno, Descripcin del Partido Norte de la Baja California, 1861, 17. 19This situation affected the soldiers and their families greatly, for without any wages from Loreto, the capital, the soldiers and their families were, for example, unable to acquire new supplies of clothing. Rojos informant, Simn Avilez, one of Ruizs soldiers, recalls that the people were forced to use rags and pieces of cloth to make their apparel (Rojo 25). 20In La Paz the aged governor Don Jos Daro Argello, would resign and Ensign Fernando de la Toba would be appointed as governor.
21See
55
Lasspas, 203-205. Fernando de la Toba, a Spanish hidalgo, came to Alta California in 1802 (Martnez, Gua, 20). 22Will of Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena. In the Superior Court, County of San Diego, California. Records Office. 23Casi toda la gente decente de ambas Californias es mi pariente. [Letter to M.G. Vallejo, 4 October 1869]. 24Michael C. Neri, Gonzlez Rubio and California Catholicism, 18461850, in Southern California Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. LVIII, No. 4 (Winter, 1976), 444. 25J. Ross Browne in a letter to his wife, Lucy. Brownes letters are published in J. Ross Browne, His Letters, Journals and Writings. Edited, with an Introduction and Commentary by Lina Fergusson Browne (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1969), 129130. 26H. H. Bancroft, California Pastoral 17691848 (San Francisco: The History Co. Publishers, 1888), 330331. 27Although the reference is not clear, Padre Gonzlez is probably the Franciscan Jos Gonzlez Rubio of Santa Barbara, rather than Padre Gonzlez of Baja California, unless the letter was sent before relocation. 28The above is followed by this paragraph: Meanwhile the guardian of the diocese learned with great satisfaction of the pains the alcalde was at to prevent the Protestant clergyman at Monterey from authorizing the marriage of Captain Burton and Mara del Amparo Ruiz she being a Catholicand on the 23rd of August, 1848, Governor Mason ordered all the authorities of California not to authorize any marriage where either of the parties was a Catholic. Padre Gonzlez understood that this order was binding, and therefore to be observed until rescinded by competent authority. As this order was necessary in order that Catholics might not contract marriages which would be null, Gonzlez wrote to the governor, requesting him to ratify his predecessors order, and if necessary call the attention of all the authorities thereto. Padre Gonzlez again thanked the alcalde for his zeal in preventing the infringement of the laws of Catholicism by any catholic attempting to marry according to the protestant rite, and hoped for his aid in seeing that no innovation be made, but that the government ratified Masons order (Bancroft, California Pastoral, 330331). This account must have been taken by Savage, Cerruti or reported directly to Bancroft, but we have not been able to find the original manuscript of this interview or report.
56
29This
is not the place to engage in a discussion of the role played by Corts translator and ostensibly the mother of the Mexican mestizo race, but clearly Malintzin/Marina/la Malinche, had no option but to translate for Corts, as she was a slave when she was given to the Spanish conqueror. 30James P. Ronda, Lewis and Clark among the Indians (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1984), 63. To Lewiss words that The Indians believed that these traders were the most powerful persons in the nation, Ronda adds that Sex was a means to appropriate that power and place it at their disposal. 31See Rosaura Snchez, Telling Identities. The Californio Testimonios (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1995), 248249. 32Her sisters daughter, Teresa de la Toba, would marry Flix Juan Gibert, son of the Frenchman Gernimo Gibert and Josefa de la Toba (Pablos sister). Flix, born in 1834, and one of Amparos best friends was governor of Baja in 1865 when a French warship appeared at La Paz demanding that the peninsula declare its support for Maximilians French empire. Martnez says that Gibert surrendered the port (395). Valads, on the other hand, notes that Gibert and the territorial assembly felt pressured to accept as there was nothing they could do against a major French assault. See Adrin Valads, Historia de la Baja California 18501880 (Mexico: UNAM, 1974), 139. 33See Terry Eagleton, The Anglo-Irish Novel, in Heathcliff and the Great Hunger (London: Verso, 1995), 160161. 34In 1835, District 5 itself had no applications for West Point, as the aspirant from that district was under the age required. The congressman from that district proposed Burton be placed on the list of his district. As there was no objection from fellow congressmen, support for Burtons candidacy was requested from the Secretary of War Lewis Cass, the governor, Major General Macomb, and other political and military figures. 35In 1892 and low on funds, Burtons son Harry appealed to the House of Representatives to have Congress recognize that as a commissioned officer, Burton had not been compensated for four years service at the Military Academy. Harry asked that Congress remove any statutable limitation bar that would prevent the Court of Claims from hearing the demand. Harry was seeking the sum of $2,100. The Bill (H.R. 7460) was printed and referred to the House Committee on War Claims.
36She
57
is the sister of Major-General Charles F. Smith, hero of the battle of Shiloh, again here pointing to what is perhaps an under-studied phenomenon: the practice of endogamy among military families. 37In her statement Annie Hill Swann, Elizabeths sister, indicates that Burton and Elizabeth were married in December, 1840. Capt. Cochrane provides the 1839 date and speaks about a ring with that date engraved on it. 38Annie Hill Swann indicates that Lull and Elizabeth Burton were married in 1863. Cochrane is the source for the 1865 date. 39Interestingly, MARBs daughter married into a californio family while her son married into an East Coast military/religious family, thus replaying the familys trajectories. 40Press reports indicate that Henry was a piano player and an enthusiast of the outdoors. The L.A. Times (July 1, 1951) reports that he supervised YMCA summer campers for many years: Fingering the keyboard of a piano, Burton is quoted as saying that the motivating attitudes of his life can be summed up in the phraseMusic, mountains and boys (I, 29). An avid mountain climber, he and a friend once climbed the Sierra Mountains going through the hazardous Harrison Pass, at an altitude of 12,600 feet, on foot. 41It is William Graves of Alhambra, California, who has made a good number of the included photographs and clippings available to us. A model train enthusiast, Graves has created a model Rock Canyon Western scenario, with desert, sandstone hills, rolling hills for his model trains to cross; he has modeled most of the trains cars from scratch and built the entire canyon by hand. He was awarded first place in 1948 for his model railroad setup by the National Model Railroad Association. 42Violet Burton Dickson died in 1974 and her daughter Carol died in 1984. Stanton Graves passed away in 1998 and Burton Graves in 1999. 43In the following letter addressed to Governor Arrillaga, Ensign Ruiz reports on the events in the northern district and provides a revealing description of the missionaries imposition of marriage partners on the mission Indiansand the soldiers role in enforcing these rules. Once free to choose, if they succeeded in escaping, the Indians chose other partners. 44From: Bancroft Library Manuscripts: Naglee Family Collection 18471859: C-B 796, Box VI, Part I, MR-488.
Chapter II
From Baja to Monterey

A. Commentary
MARBs arrival in Monterey placed her in the center of what had been the seat of power for the residents of Alta California and was now an occupied pueblo. There she began her conflicted and even paradoxical existence, caught between a subordinated culture and a new social order, coming to grips with her dislocation and disidentification. Location is always material, that is, it is both social and physical, and in the case of Mara Amparo Maytorena Ruiz, it was the nature of social spaces in Baja California, an isolated peninsula with a small agrarian population invaded by United States forces, that probably served as incentive for her relocation to Upper California. As a Ruiz, she also had an overriding sense of roots in La Frontera, the area where her grandfather had worked for thirty years and her mother had been born, and an even greater sense that she was destined for something bigger than the village of La Paz, where she grew up, as she would often suggest to Vallejo. Her desire to change her social position and assume a place of importance among her own fellow californios was a difficult if not impossible dream, for as a woman in Mexican society, she had her hands tied by numerous social constraints. As she said to her friend Matas Moreno in a letter: Para un mexicano es insoportable la idea que una mujer pueda o deba razonar (2-27-59). If Mexican men found the very idea of intelligent women unconscionable, then she wanted to go where she could be recognized as an intelligent, enterprising person, eventually, perhaps, by her own
58
59
countrymen: Paciencia, algn da me conocern mis paisanos mejor, quiz cuando est miles de leguas distante o con la tierra fra por cobija (2-27-59). Unfortunately, as she would have ample opportunity to prove, the same sexism existed in the United States, but there were already spatial pockets within which women were making a place for themselves, and these MARB sought out and cultivated. The Baja California world MARB left behind differed in some cases slightly and in others greatly from the one she encountered in the United States. It was this difference that generated a particular political and cultural re-positioning, creating a negative identification,1 a mixture of disgust, resentment, and ambivalence towards both what she saw in this country and what she knew in her own. This incongruence provided the outsider-insider perspective and enabled or facilitated comparisons. As she notes in a key letter to M. G. Vallejo, written in 1860 from Vermont after spending time in Washington, D.C., the differences were thought-provoking, warranted textual discussion, and she had much to say on the matter: Mucho hay que ver en Estados Unidos y mucho que hace pensar, particularmente si uno empieza a hacer comparaciones. Realmente para apreciar bien una cosa es necesario mirar bien otra. Creo que lo mejor que yo puedo hacer es escribir un libro (6-23-60). And write she did, two novels narrated from this positioning of negative identification, particularly with regard to the United States. Central to all her work, as well as to her correspondence, are political and economic issues affecting not only the United States, but La Frontera and Mexico. Although her correspondence contains many personal references about her state of mind, her unfulfilled expectations, and her increasing financial and legal problems, these letters are primarily political, in a broad sense, for they not only deal with concrete historical events but with the trials and tribulations of accessing power in a variety of spheres, signally from a position of relative disadvantage. It is for this reason that it is important to set the stage for her many opinions by briefly reviewing the historical context to which she
60
refers in her many letters, a review that must necessarily include an overview of the gender, class, and racial constraints faced by californio/Mexican men and women in nineteenth-century society. But as her letters make clear, MARB was a strong-willed and articulate woman, willing to take on the challenges that might have overwhelmed a lesser-driven individual. She was at the same time keenly aware of the power of discursive representation, a skill she would hone at every turn as she sought to get what she wanted.
National differences
What we are terming MARBs negative identification with the United States was in part a result of those national differences that emerged from different colonial experiences and different patterns of land distribution and production. In her relocation she found a nation undergoing tremendous social and economic transformations attendant to the rapid shift from subsistence farming to commercial farming and from artisan workshops to a manufacturing-based economy. Mexican history between 1821 and 1860, on the other hand, would be marked by violent internal political problems, with fifty heads of state in a period of thirty years, including General Santa Anna, who headed the nation on no fewer than eleven different occasions. The continual revolts by regional military officers, in addition to Indian raids in the northern part of the country and an Indian caste war in Yucatan, practically put a halt to economic development, especially of the mining sector (with the exception of some new mining technologies enabled by British investment) and in agriculture, with each region producing only for regional subsistence.2 The Mexican nation-state had not yet attained cohesion, and by 1846 it was all but bankrupt. The only bastion of wealth in the country belonged to the Church, but not even in the middle of the U.S. invasion were the clergy willing to provide financial assistance for armed resistance (Gonzlez, 101). Of course, the United States was marked by regionalism as well, with identity in the first half of the century defined primarily in terms of an individuals state of origin. What else led Robert E. Lee to reject an appointment in the Union army but the fact that he couldnt bring himself to fight against Virginia? Why else would southern yeomen
61
who did not use slave labor take up arms for their states and the Confederacy? In the United States, wars, along with the greater circulation of printed textsespecially newspapers and journalsand improved means of transportation, would serve to create an awareness of national political and economic affairs. In Mexico, the notion of national concerns was primarily being transmitted by political appointees, elected officials, and army officers linked to Mexico City who served in the provinces. Newspapers circulated on a regional basis and the high rate of illiteracy also undoubtedly accounted for a later notion of nation. Distant territories or provinces were, as one might expect, especially prone towards regionalist identification, even after Mexican independence. As for the Californias, once considered to be one territory, these were by 1829 divided into two separate divisionsUpper (Alta) California and Baja (Lower) Californiawith a different jefe poltico named for each area.3 Baja too, like the rest of Mexico, faced constant political change, at least at the level of administrative personnel, with fifty-six political leaders (be they jefes polticos or governors) between 1821 and 1858 (Lasspas, 214). Politically, the core problems were economic and related to property rights. Since the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Americas and the arrival of Glvez to Baja California in 1758 with reformist Bourbon policies, there had been attempts to establish pueblos and to secularize the missions, distributing land to the pueblo dwellers,4 a move resisted by the Franciscan and later Dominican missionaries. With the sharp decrease in the indigenous population by the early part of the nineteenth century, whether from disease, overwork or mestizaje, the need for a new policy calling for settlement of the area with individuals who were neither Indians nor missionaries, became ever clearer to the Spanish government. As early as the end of the eighteenth century, a few sitios would be granted to those seeking to farm the land and raise cattle near mining areas (Trejo Barajas, 29). In some cases the lands settled were mission lands, as occurred in the mission of Todos Santos, where the missionaries, without a significant indigenous population, were forced to contract with non-indigenous laborers. By 1821 there had been a number of land grants conferred to those working the land as
62
well as to ex-soldiers, whether they received small plots of land or a sitio or more of land.5 With independence, the policy of secularization became widespread, and governors set about creating pueblos where the missions had formerly stood, still setting aside some land for the friars and church. The pueblos in turn established ayuntamientos (town councils) to defend the interests of the settlers, who by the 1830s were mainly mestizos or criollos (Trejo Banderas, 46-49).6 Between 1822 and 1825, Governor Ruiz, too, made a number of land concessions, mostly of one sitio (4,336.6 acres) to a number of individuals.7 Ruiz, however, does not appear to have benefited personally from this power to allocate lands, nor is there any indication that he granted lands to Maytorena. The Ruiz family clearly had pueblo lots first in Loreto and later in La Paz, but no large tract of land was ever granted to him in the southern sector of the peninsula (see Lasspas survey, 246-276). Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century the dominant form of production in Baja was the rancho, for cattle raising and, the small farm, for subsistence farming, where the sparse colono population grew corn, beans, lentils, garbanzo peas, wheat, and in some areas, grapes, figs, dates, and sugar cane. Given its distance from the Mexican mainland, its arid and mountainous terrain except for a few fertile valleys, its limited population (only 12,585 as late as 1857 on the entire peninsula, most in the southern part of the peninsula according to Lasspas), its limited rainfall, its unexploited and mostly unassessed mineral resources, its declining pearl fishing, its salt quarries, Baja California offered southern settlers scant means of survival. This led jefe poltico Jos Manuel Ruiz to report in 1825 that the population suffered from a scarcity of foodstuffs.8 Thirty-two years later, in 1857, Lasspas found no one among the bajacalifornios who could be termed wealthy, although several landowning families enjoyed some comforts (Lasspas, 109). Necessary items, imported from Mazatln and later the U.S., were bought on credit and paid for with hides or wool (315). As Lasspas notes, no currency, per se, circulated even as late as 1857. Suffice it to say that MARB could not boast to be a member of one of the affluent families, as Don Jos Manuel
63
Ruizs lands in Ensenada apparently produced no income and her father, Maytorena, appears to have had no land, although it is likely that the Maytorena family had a pueblo lot in La Paz.
Settlement patterns in the hinterlands

Although La Paz was a small town in 1847, with about a thousand inhabitants,9 it had, nonetheless, the advantage of being a port open to immigration and trade.10 Although separated from the mainland by one nights sailing if one were crossing to the Port of Ahom, or ten to twelve days if crossing the Gulf to Mazatln (Rojas, 101), there was definitely much more contact between La Paz and the mainland than there had ever been between the latter and Alta California. Commercial ties and administrative functions flowed through La Paz; military appointmentsjefes polticos, military commanders, officers and soldierscame from the mainland as well, especially from Sinaloa and Sonora, linking the southern peninsula to the western Mexican States.11 The few towns in the southern part of the peninsula were relatively close to one another, and there was frequent contact between the various townspeople or scattered rancho dwellers, who often were related by blood, marriage, or other ties, as was evidently the case with MARB. In 1857 Lasspas found a healthy and attractive population in southern Baja California, but without much intellectual or material stimulus (Lasspas, 109). The same could be said about 1847; this remote area with its limited social interaction held little attraction for MARB. Like their counterparts in Upper California, the majority of the southern Bajacalifornios were descendants of the original soldiers forming part of the military detachments sent to Loreto to support the missionaries in establishing the missions.12 Other than the few government officials and soldiers and a small number of immigrants from Europe or Latin America, mostly small merchants, by the 1840s the southern inhabitants were primarily mestizo or criollo farmers, ranchers, and day laborers who worked on ranches or mission lands, since there were few Indians to work the land.13 Even in La Paz, where the port created employment for craftsmen and attracted some merchants,
64
there was little going on at a cultural or intellectual level. During his term of office (18381842), Political Chief Luis del Castillo Negrete followed national policy, founded schools in the towns, and encouraged parents to send their children (Rojo, 111). These are the schools that the young MARB undoubtedly attended, although there is evidence that she was also privately tutored in French and other subjects. In these social spaces, marked as they were by distance from the metropolis (Mexico City), scarcity, and a poor cultural milieu, MARB spent the first sixteen years of life prior to moving north to the United States. Locally, the Ruiz family, though not well off, occupied a place of prestige within the Baja Peninsula; being part of the Ruiz family carried perquisites, in terms of cultural capital (i.e., education, manners, contact with the local well-to-do, and military officers moving up in the ranks). As a military officer and governor of Baja California, her grandfather, Don Jos Manuel, was part of the local oligarchy, which in Baja, like in Mexico, was made up primarily of the churchhere, the missionariesthe military, and the prominent landowners and merchants. In fact, the governor of Baja was more often a military officer rather than a civilian (Lasspas, 214). The pay for governors, however, was minimal, and the terms of governors in Baja were always brief. However reduced their circumstances, the Ruiz familys standing in the small village community and in the southern part of the peninsula, did enable MARB to feel situated within the better class of californios, to use Lt. Colonel Burtons own 1847 description of those that supported the invaders. It is her connection to this family and her cultural capital that gave rise to certain aristocratic pretensions, airs, that fellow bajacalifornio Matas Moreno knew had no basis in fact, but which MARB played up when she relocated to Upper California.
The ever quaint and charming Monterey

Monterey was the site of transition for MARB, the place where she learned and refined the special art of footing called for in juggling two different cultures and shifting between two different political and economic systems. The shift was gradual because Monterey was very much a Mexican town of about 2000 in 1848, when the Mexican refugees from Baja California arrived. A port town, Monterey had the
65
bustle of a larger place in the wharf area, but a few blocks away, it was little more than a country village. Prez Rosales, for example, one of the Chilean 49ers, recalls it as a charming town, made cheerful by many small orchards full of beautiful trees; and although the buildings were of the sort that our heavy country houses were a half-century ago, still, their wide-arched porticoes facing the street demonstrated the characteristic hospitality of the Spanish race.14 Arriving in Monterey after walking there from San Francisco in 1849, Prez Rosales found a town of californios as much afraid of the occupational force of Yankee soldiers as of the newly arrived Gold Rush immigrants, the barbarians of the north, who had likewise invaded their town (Prez Rosales, 83). He further describes a californio population that enjoyed partying, wine, dancing, and smoking; he was surprised to find that even the women smoked.15 But with the occupational U.S. force, the californios, especially the women, were as a rule rather cold although sociable when one bec[ame] acquainted with them, as noted by J. Ross Browne.16 The cold shoulder noted by Browne grew from the growing resentment and fear felt by the californios, who, during the first few years after 1848, lived through a period of heightened xenophobia that reduced latinosbe they native californios, Sonorans, Chileans, or Peruviansto one common denominator: greasers or Mexicans. The memoir of Prez Rosales recalls that latinos in general were lynched, beaten, tortured, robbed, and burned out at the mining camps (Prez Rosales, 1949, 324). All were marked as foreigners, unlike German and other European immigrants whose racial makeup enabled them to pass as American. To be white, then, was to be American. The issue of Mexicans or latinos/as as a separate race, a raza latina, was a pressing matter for all californios, some of whom saw themselves as white.17 The racial classification of the californios , which would become an issue at the California Constitutional Convention,18 was difficult if phenotype was to be the sole criterion, as noted in an 1855 letter written by Thomas Rylan Darnell, who lived for a time in
66
Yolo County and Sacramento before coming to San Diego. Writing his brother, James, Darnell confirms the dominant perplexity and anxiety upon viewing the varied complexions of the californios: I cannot write of the people individually nor collectively, more than to say they are a heterogenious [sic] combination and amalgamation of all nations and kinds; before the arrival of the Americans and not a little time before, there were a few families of Spaniards, and a lot of soldiers, who, by amalgamation with the Indians have produced a race now denominated greasers, they are so near the Indian or Negro, that it comes dd neigh to kill it. I know many American men here, whose wives and children, if traveling through the South would be required to show their passes; yet there are some as fair and rosy cheeks among the native Californians as can be found in any part of the world.19 The Constitutional Convention in the end classified the californios as white, enabling them under this rubric to become citizens of the U.S., if they so chose, as stipulated by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of the U.S.-Mexican War, while simultaneously excluding blacks. Concerned with a white/black binary and ongoing national debates on local or states rights to allow slavery, conventioneers thought the designation of californios as white temporarily solved the sticky conundrum, as linking citizenship to whiteness guaranteed the exclusion of Indians and blacks from U.S. citizenship (both were considered citizens in Mexico). This exclusion was expected to discourage the immigration of Indians and blacks to California. This legal strategem did not, however, preclude the racist undercurrent dominant at the convention. Had delegates not been constrained by the treaty, those of the African race, whether slaves or free, would have been joined in the excluded category by Indians, the miserable natives of the Sandwich Islands, the degraded wretches that come from Sydney, New South Wales, and the refuse of population from Chili [sic], Peru, Mexico and other parts of the world (Browne, 150), all considered undesirables at the convention (Browne, 150). Thus the whiten-
67
ing of the californios blurred legal categories of race but did not preclude racism, even against the californios themselves. Given their racist nature, a close look at the state convention proceedings shows that, in fact, the selection of the white classification for californios did not come from a predisposition to integrate the Mexican Californians into the social formation, but rather out of the need to meet the treatys stipulations as required by Congress. Thus, it was not the californios European somatic features or other cultural attributes (Catholic religion, Spanish language)as Almaguer would have itthat led to their presumed integration into the new society, but political expediency. In fact, violence and xenophobic reactions against latinos, including californios and Mexicans, were the norm throughout the nineteenth century.20 With few exceptions, Mexican californios were marginalized and segregated and kept from participation as equals in the new society, and MARB was acutely aware of this. These debates took place in Monterey, the site of the Constitutional Convention, in 1849.21 After the U.S. invasion, Monterey continued to serve as the capital under General Kearny and later under military governor R. B. Mason, until the capital was temporarily established at San Jos. In the 1850s Monterey had not yet declined into a mere seaside port and petty shipping point (Bancroft, 524) as it would by the 1870s, when it was overshadowed by Salinas, which had become an important wheat-producing area. But in 1848, when the bajacalifornios arrived, it was still the home of some of the most important californio families: the Alvarados, the Estradas, the Castros, the Soberanes, and others who might originally be from other towns, but who resided there, like Mrs. Angustias de la Guerra Ord. As another instance of the social milieu and character of Monterey, note that in her letter to M. G. Vallejo, MARB mentions David Spense, a native of Scotland who married Adelaida Estrada and became a prosperous businessman in Monterey, where he established himself in 1824 (4-24-52). In this too, MARB followed the established Alta californio habit of marrying their daughters to the more educated or ambitious foreigners.
68
San Francisco, in the meantime, had begun to grow in a dramatic fashion. From an insignificant pueblo of fewer than a hundred people, it became in thirty years time a key Pacific seaport city of hundreds of thousands. But in 1849, as Prez Rosales recalls, with the Gold Rush upon it, San Francisco was still nothing more than a large village, with many adobe houses, tents, cabins, and even several good-looking if rather small houses. The port, he notes, was crammed with ships of all kinds and nationalities (1618). By the time the Chilean chronicler Prez Rosales and his brothers returned from the mines a few months later, the city had grown with thousands of new immigrants, almost exclusively men, and makeshift buildings as well as prefabricated houses from Chile (67) going up daily. J. Ross Browne describes a similar scene, including buildings of all kinds, begun and half-finished, canvas sheds, goods piled up on streets full of people from Chile, Hawaii, China, Sonora, Malaysia and Yankees of every possible variety as well as native Californians in sarapes and sombreros. 22 Soon, however, women began to arrive as well, especially saloon women (Prez-Rosales, 8586).23 The chaos, gambling, violence on the street, and lynchings of latinos have been variously described by historians of the Gold Rush era, including the Chilean gold miners.24 For Browne, San Francisco in August of 1849 was about the most miserable spot he had ever seen. He describes the climate as cold, damp, foggy, and windy, and the dusty town as marked by saloons, gambling and hells of all sorts (Browne, 126). This is the San Francisco where H. S. Burton would be stationed briefly in 1851 after spending more than two years in Monterey (18481851). By 1851 San Francisco had about thirty-thousand people, with each week witnessing additional changes, with more houses, streets, additional piers, and more immigrants. MARB found even more changes when she returned in 1870. By then San Francisco was a bustling city, attracting tourists from the East Coast who could take the train for under three hundred dollars and travel from New York to San Francisco in eight days. Or, for much less one could still opt for a sea voyage, across the Isthmus of Panama and up the Pacific Coast. Before transcontinental railroad service was established in 1869, the sea voyage or an arduous overland trek was the only choice. Increased
69
transportation demand and commerce led to the establishment of a rail line in Panama so that what had been a three-month sea voyage in 1848 took only twenty-one days by 1859, when the Burtons traveled from San Francisco to New York. The San Francisco of the 1870s that was MARBs home for more than three years must have been a nearly unrecognizable place; it had both fancy and small hotels, shops, restaurants, bookstores, banks, newspapers, and theatres. One New York travelers 1873 advice on what to take to California and what to expect makes for a revealing glimpse of the city on the bay: There is nothing in San Francisco itself to detain the traveler many days. The sail round the Bay, with its views of the Golden Gate and the fortified islands, is beautiful, and so is the drive to the Cliff House. Everyone should visit the Chinese quarter and The Chinese theater, the great blanket manufactories, and, if possible, the works of the Kimball Co., where specimens of the exquisite woods of California are to be seen. The streets of the city are also entertaining, with their irregular and picturesque elevations, their profusion of flowers and shrubs, and their odd mixture of nationalities. Nothing specially novel is to be found in the shops, excepting Chinese and Japanese wares, which are very pretty and tempting, and photographs of California scenery.25 Scenes of this sort are described in The Squatter and the Don, published there in 1885. MARB returned to this modernizing city by transcontinental train in 1870, and she stayed in some of the fancier hotels. But in 1851, when H. S. Burton was stationed there briefly, it was nothing more than a rowdy frontier town, one that MARB would visit en route to Benicia.
Into the breach

The period from 1848 to 1852 was MARBs initial period of adjustment and acculturation. When the Baja refugees arrived in Monterey in 1848, they were housed briefly by the U.S. government. After claims were paid for losses incurred by the bajacalifornios during the
70
invasion, MARB and her mother lived with her sister Manuela and her husband Pablo de la Toba, all of them in voluntary exile from Baja California. MARBs marriage to Burton took place on July 9, 1849, about nine months after their arrival; thereafter, she began not only to study the English language but to interact in a more consistent manner with an Anglo population. Her early communication with Henry S. Burton, whom she called Enrique, was in Spanish, as he was bilingual. MARB, too, was bilingual, having studied French in Baja, possibly with the Gibert children since Gernimo Gibert, the father of MARBs close friend Flix, was a Frenchman who had immigrated to La Paz, where he married Josefa de la Toba, daughter of the Spaniard Fernando de la Toba. In fact, MARB continued to read extensively in French, including the works of Victor Hugo, and later practiced it while in Washington D.C., with Mexican Legation Secretary Matas Romero, as he notes in his diary. But her English skills seem to have been acquired in Upper California; intensive contact with English speakers, as well as her undeniable knack for language learning, allowed her to master the language in a relatively short time. In July 1850, MARBs daughter, Nellie, was born and the varied social circles surrounding the Burtons allowed bringing the child up bilingually. Whatever MARBs initial reception among the upset californio community in light of her heretical marriage to a Protestant, the presence of her mother and sister26 must have offered some comfort to this female nonconformist. As previously indicated by Browne, she was banished from Catholic society for countering the churchs norms (Browne, 130). The tightly knit world of army officers and their wives, however, came to be the center of the familys social circle. The military community that took in the newlyweds included General Major and Mrs. Edward S. Canby, Captain and Mrs. Elias K. Kane, General and Mrs. Bennett Riley (General Riley was Californias military governor in 1849), and Captain and Mrs. George Wescott, the latter a family with whom she often spent the day.27 Tiny Monterey must have been disappointing overall, a boring place for a MARB yearning for greater vistas, and in her letter to M.G. Vallejo, she especially notes her growing exasperation with the californios in Monterey, their lack of ambition and limited outlook (4-24-52).
71
Enter Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo

During her four-year stay in Monterey (late 1848 to 1852), MARB met a californio who became one of her two closest and lifelong friends, Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo of Sonoma. Vallejo was then a wealthy ranchero, a former Alta California military commander, perhaps the most cultured and intelligent man among the californios, intensely disliked by some native Californians, as much for his apparent pro-Yankee sympathies as for his arrogant demeanor and his prosperity. The concrete circumstances under which the two met are not clear. While Vallejos mother, Doa Mara Antonia Lugo de Vallejo, lived in Monterey, indications are that her son did not often visit. Vallejo was, however, one of the few californio delegates at the Constitutional Convention held in Monterey in late 1849, several months after the Burtons wed. He was also elected short-term state senator from the Sonoma District and served in San Jos from December 1849 to 1851. Vallejos enterprising and far-sighted ambitions must have impressed MARB; at the time Vallejo was busy promoting his land holdings and interested in developing Benicia (named after his wife) or the town of Vallejo as sites for the capital of the state. It was perhaps from observing Vallejo and his multiple projects and undertakings that MARB began to value land as capital. There were, however, many other interests that would bring the two together, for MARB enjoyed cultivating the friendship not only of economically and politically important men but of californio men she considered of high intelligence. More importantly, both relished friendships with like-minded members of the opposite sex, as will become evident in their letters. Both also shared a keen interest in literature; and this would be one of the first points of contact between Vallejo and the then twentyyear-old MARB. In 1851, when Thomas O. Larkin (the former U.S. consul in Alta California who resided in Monterey) traveled to New York to look after his business affairs there, Vallejo gave him a thousand dollars to buy books for him. Vallejo, since youth, had built up an impressive library by buying books, even church-banned books, from traders who anchored at Monterey or San Francisco. The books, eventually shipped from New York, attracted the attention of MARB,
72
and, as indicated in her letters, she took advantage of her husbands trips to Sonoma to borrow books from Vallejos impressive library at his residence (11-30-51), Lachryma Montis, a Victorian framehouse (constructed in 1850) that was said to be one of the finest homes in California at the time. During Captain Burtons military service in the San Francisco Bay area, he traveled to Sonoma and Benicia, at times in the company of his wife. We know from her letters that she visited Benicia, San Francisco, and Sonoma, where she met her distant cousin (Vallejos wife), Francisca Benicia Carrillo28 de Vallejo, their son Platn, and their daughter Fannie, who in 1851 married Captain John B. Frisbie, who came to California on the Susan Drew, with Stevensons New York Volunteers commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Henry S. Burton in 184647. In future visits to San Francisco, MARB came to know several of the other Vallejo children. This early post-invasion period brought greatif short-livedprosperity for Vallejo, as he, unlike other californios, continued to live in comfort, building his house, developing his garden and orchard of tropical fruit trees.29 In 1852 Vallejo was elected mayor of Sonoma. It was this prosperous, wellread, gregarious, and affable Vallejotwenty-four years her senior that impressed MARB. Her intelligence, literary talent, and friendship were highly valued by Vallejo as well, although there is evidence that he, a gallant ladies man, was equally impressed with her beauty. It is especially noteworthy that MARB was the only woman acknowledged as instrumental in Vallejos writing of a five-volume work on the history of Alta California; he called her a learned and cultured lady, concerned with the honor and traditions of her land, worthy wife, loving mother and loyal friend. 30 And it was also the generous Vallejo who in 1859 was tapped for a loan of five hundred dollars by the Burtons before their trip back East. Captain Burton wrote Vallejo indicating where the money should be sent and thanking him aforehand: Your unwavering kindness to my wife and myself has won our esteem and friendship and I think that whenever we have the pleasure of meeting you in the Atlantic States we shall have the power, as we now have the wish [of] showering you with our gratitude. 31 Ned Willistons letter, however, suggests that the money, which Williston,
73
Burtons brother, needed to pay off his debts to E. W. Morse in San Diego, was never forwarded (9-23-59). It is unclear, but perhaps Vallejo and MARB met, not in Monterey, but in Benicia, at the home of Mrs. Kane, as suggested in the earliest letters we have between them. By then Frisbie and Fannie Vallejo, as well as Platn, were living in Benicia. The 1851 letter makes clear that in Vallejo MARB had found a kindred spirit, a counterpart of sorts, someone with whom she identified, and in their half-serious, half-teasing and even flirtatious banter, their correspondence reveals that they had come to the conclusion that the two of them were prodigies of sorts, two superior beings, two paisanos, who shared the same raza, and regionCalifornia (11-30-51). They were also of the opinion that the two of them stood over and above their other paisanostheir countrymen, the californios. By 1851 they were both U.S. citizens, but the nuestra patria that is often here mentioned is not the United States but California. Importantly, region, at this time, took precedence over nation; her patria, her nation, so to speak, then and until about 1860, was primarily California, conceived as both Alta and Baja California. In Vallejo, MARB also found an avid correspondent. Although Vallejo, curiously for a man of his time and circumstances, wrote to several women, mostly family members and a few Anglo women friends,32 MARB was quite aware that a letter correspondence between a man and a woman was highly irregular and not well received generally. But she had often occasion to remind Vallejo that they had made a pact to be sincere and speak or write frankly about all things, including her constantly expressed wishes to borrow his books. This then was the beginning of a long friendship and correspondence that continued for many years (18511887), and in all likelihood till his death in 1890, although the latest letters are dated 1887. Their written exchanges serve to reveal multiple sides to MARB, including her mobilization of womanly wiles, her nasty temper, her sarcasm and irony, and her demanding tone, but they especially allow us to see her evolving politics, her economic ambitions, her persistence, and her incisive assessment of U.S. society in the late nineteenth century and to note how these views correlate and diverge from Vallejos.
74
Diagnosis: un alma atravesada

Thus, MARBs relocation from Baja California to Alta California meant, in part, continuing to move within californio circles, gaining the friendship of the most prestigious californios, but also feeling the barbs cast by those who questioned a californio womans right to challenge Catholic norms. At the same time, her attractive and fine manners made her a favorite among the Anglo military circle; this interaction furthered her English skills and accelerated her sometimes-wary transculturation, bringing her into intimate contact with U.S. culture. Her marriage to a West Point officer moving up the ranks also implied a certain social mobility, protection from the xenophobia around her, and access to hegemonic discourses as well. Though married to an Anglo officer and navigating in an Anglo circle, MARB saw herself as different, as part of another race. Relocation thus ended up producing dislocation, for although there is evidence that as much as MARB disidentified with her surroundings in Baja California, she also felt supremely alienated in many ways from the U.S. culture that surrounded her. Moreover, as is reflected in her letters from San Diego in the following sectionand even more clearly from those written from the East CoastMARB maintained a view of the U.S. as the constant enemy of Mexico. At a political level, MARB always found herself both insider and outsider in whatever circles she moved, giving rise to what Vallejo perceived in her to be an alma atravesada (6-23-60), a split and fissured sense of self and place.
B. Letters and Documents (18481852)

MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 30 November 1851, Monterey, California Seor que aprecio, Como el correo sale muy temprano maana y ahora ya es tarde, slo tengo corto tiempo para escribir sta; tampoco tengo mucho que decir y lo que quiero decir, no s cmo decir; pobre californita! Si no me animara el pensamiento
75
que estoy hablando con un buen compatriota seguramente acabara por decir nada, pero el ttulo de paisana vale demasiado para no hacer uso de l; conozco que no debo hablar a Ud. con rodeos, Entre soldados y amigos, cumplimientos son perdidos dejaremos pues para con los extranjeros, el uso de todas esas bagatelas, y para entre nosotros los paisanos la franqueza. Pero no es verdad que (entre nosotros) es una cosa muy difcil para una seora escribir una carta a un caballero? S, y Ud. sabe bien que las dificultades crecen si la seora tiene que recordar al caballero que l prometi prestar a ella todos los libros que ella quiera. Este es el caso ahora; yo quiero recordar a Ud. una igual promesa pero no s cmo, y si no fuera porque malicio que Ud. malicia lo que le quiero dar a entender, tal vez no me resolvera a mandar sta. Ahora conozco cun bueno y til es que haya buen entendimiento entre dos compatriotas, qu lstima que no haya muchos como nosotros dos! no es as cmo convenimos en la conversacin que tuvimos en la casa de Mrs. Kane? S, me parece que quedamos de acuerdo en que somos un par de prodigios. De veras me gusta pensar as, la idea ya la haba yo tenido, pero slo haba sido una idea vaga que como otras, cruzaba por mi cerebro cuando mi vanidad estaba herida o complacida; ahora no, la idea es fija (y Ud. la afij) y estoy persuadida de que nosotros nacimos para hacer algo ms que simplemente vivir, esto es, que nacimos para otra cosa ms, que el resto de nuestros pobres paisanos; he hablado con franqueza y espero que en ella [vea] una prueba de mi sinceridad, y as Ud. puede contar conmigo para cualquier empresa sea para el bien de nuestra patria o para cualquiera otra obra gloriosa, o descabellada; yo creer que es nuestra misin sobre la tierra si Ud. cree as.As es como Ud. debe hablarme tambin, con ingenuidad. Entre dos entes superiores todo debe ir de acuerdo, y la simulacin debe ser desterrada [?] como indigna e intil entre nosotros. Creo que ahora conocer Ud. al capitn Burton, mi esposo, l me dijo que tena la intencin de visitar a Ud. Espero que
76
Ud. leer muy pronto en sus facciones que no deba Ud. tener miedo de prestarme los libros, nada tiene en su cara que le diera [miedo] y no creo es necesario repetir a Ud. como le dije en Benicia que tanto l como yo no creemos que es una cosa horrible prestar un libro. Hgame favor de ponerme a las rdenes de toda la familia y de aceptar el sincero respeto de su afectsima servidora, M.A. de Burton Si Ud. quiere mandarme algunos libros, el capitn los traer con ms seguridad que nadie y l tambin podr decir cules son los que quiero. M. G. Vallejo to MARB. 6 December 1851, Sonoma, California Sra. Da. Ma. A. de Burton. Seora que aprecio y respeto, La apreciable carta de Ud.. de fecha 23 del presente que tengo el gusto de contestar, me llena de satisfaccin, de veras y sin la menor partcula de lisonja. Le aseguro a Ud. que toda ella, desde el principio hasta el fin es el verdadero carcter, la personificacin y estilo amable y gracioso de su autora: es decir, franco, bondadoso y lleno de lo que yo llamo sol y sal. Quiere Ud. que le diga ms cosas? Pues no Sra., no puedo, y si es necesario que se conforme Ud. con sol y sal que significa luz y gracia. Me entiende Ud? Cun dichoso me considerara si poseyera tales dones para poder contestarle a Ud. su carta en el mismo estilo, pero qu podr decir por escrito un pobre californio? Tonteras y nada ms, particularmente cuando es a una Sra. a quien se dirige cuya censura teme, y cuya opinin respeta. Por tanto antes, ahora y despus le suplico me disimule el estilo tosco de mi pobre dialecto pues no acostumbrado a escribir cartas, sino a personas muy conocidas cuya intimidad es ipse... una garanta, en las que se pudiese traslucir nada de erudicin y buen gusto, ahora me sorprende esta nueva
77
empresa, para m difcil pero agradable. Ms dejando aparte, si es posible, al autor de la carta que contesto, necesito disculparme de las inculpaciones que ella contiene. Es el caso, que al separarme de Ud. en Benicia le ofrec algunos libros particularmente los cuarenta y cinco por Alejandro Dumas y no crea Ud. que fue un ofrecimiento vago o sin intencin de cumplir, sino al contrario; fue hecho con mi libre y espontnea voluntad, sin violencia ni compulsin directa o indirecta, ni por temer ni inters, etc. con nimo de cumplirlo. Es el caso que al despedirse de Ud, en Benicia en la casa de la Sra. Kane, es cierto? Pues de all me vine a Sonoma y volv en muy corto tiempo a Benicia otra vez, acompaado de los cuarenta y cinco. Y qu fue lo que me aconteci? Vlgame Dios! Oh! Qu cosa! Qu desgracia! Un infortunio? Un acontecimiento! Por fin, qu ha sucedido?, acabe, estoy con ansias me preguntar Ud.; es verdad? Pues ahora voy a decrselo en muy cortas palabras y sin rodeos, valindome de la misma expresin de Ud. en su carta. Acabe, parece que me dice Ud., que le escriba pues cules las desgracias, cul infortunio, cul sentimiento? Pues Sra. como iba diciendo (sin rodeos) volv a Benicia y dirigime hacia la misma casa color de caf situada en una lomita muy peloncita que mira al sur dando el frente al ro, en el cual despus de una porcin de buques a la As (ncla) en la orilla est uno sin palos, no es as? llegu como digo a la cerca de la dicha casa color de caf, tom del picaporte, lo levant por el lado interior y me dirig al portn verde de la referida casa; toqu una dos y tres veces . . . nadie responde; vuelvo a tocar tres veces, tres veces . . . y entonces despus de un rato de silencio la Sra. Kane, se me apareci, digo, se me present: la salud, me salud; le repito a mal ingls mi saludo, al que me contesta haciendo un movimiento de cuerpo aplomo aflojando los tendones de la rodilla irguindose tanto que cre que se caa. que dejando aparte el saludo yo miraba hacia adentro por sobre ella, por un lado de ella y por toda ella otra y pase . . .: Por fin le dije: Sra., est en casa la Sra. Burton. No, Sr., me contest. Vendr luego? No, seor, que ha
78
salido para abajo. Me qued esttico. La mir de hito en hito, la volv a saludar en sentido inverso y me retir de su presencia acompaado de los 45. He aqu, Sra.: la causa de las reclamaciones anteriores, del infortunio de la [dicha]. Se me olvidaba: estoy muy de prisa para irme ahora mismo a San Francisco y no tengo mucho tiempo de escribir ms largo como quisiera: tambin el Capn. Burton, saldr hoy, cosa que no esperaba y por eso solamente la remito con l en primer lugar los 45 y otras obritas para disipar los ratos de ocio: un diccionario de la lengua castellana, de los ms esmerados y por de contado un devocionario para las horas msticas, todo lo cual espero que Ud. aceptar como un pequeo presente de su amigo que la aprecia y respeta y distinguir en cualesquier tiempo, lugar y c . . . t . . . s. [circunstancias], su ms atento . . . P.D. He tenido mucho gusto en conocer personalmente a su esposo, el Capn. Burton, ha tenido la bondad de visitar a mi familia y tanto yo como ella deseamos cultivar relaciones de amistad con el y la suya. El Sr. Burton es un Sr. con quien uno simpatiza muy bien; y tanto a Ud., como a l les deseo todo gnero de bienes. MARB to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. 24 April 1852, Monterey, California Seor que aprecio, Hace cerca de dos meses que pens mandarle los libros; principi a escribir una carta dndole las gracias por la bondad de habrmelos prestado y despus de estar todo listo nada mand porque yo pensaba ir (por all) muy pronto y cre sera mejor que los llevara yo, y diera las gracias yo misma. Pero como no s si ir pronto, he concluido que ser mejor mandarlos ahora porque tenerlos por ms tiempo aqu sera abusar de la bondad de Ud. y quitarle todo deseo de volverme hacer tal favor. As los mando con un milln de gracias reservn-
79
dome siempre el placer de repetirlas cuando tenga el gusto de ver a Ud. que espero ser pronto. Ningunas noticias interesantes hay que comunicarle; todo est lo mismo, como siempre; nada saca a Monterey de su continuo feliz letargo; todo reposa en tan perfecta quietud que casi he llegado a persuadirme de que dormir eternamente y que andamos y comemos porque somos sonmbulos; yo no creo que pueda pasarse una vida ms sosegada que sta, por nada nos inquietamos el pan nuestro de cada da es todo lo que pedimos y ambicionamos, para qu ms? siempre confiamos en que Dios proveer y de este modo siempre seremos felices puesto que a nada aspiramos Qu tal? no es buena esta nuestra doctrina? As se pasa la mejor vida; se desliza sin sentirse; a los sesenta aos no sabe uno cmo es que tan pronto se anduvo el camino, yo creo que es como quien se bebe un vaso de cha. No, nosotros los montereyanos no somos como esa gente ambiciosa de por all arriba que no tiene ms deseo que atesorar dinero o procurrselo, no importa cmo, para gratificar sus pasiones, eso es horrible. Nosotros no, nuestro objeto (si tuviramos alguno) no sera tan indigno; S, estoy segura que si tuviramos ms energa y menos flojera ganaramos dinero y lo emplearamos mejor; compraramos bonitos vestidos No es verdad que esto es muy inocente? slo gratifica una muy simple vanidad, y es ms, es de gente decente tener buenos trapos. Ahora pasemos a otra cosa, hemos hablado de nosotros, hablemos de Uds. Dgame, cmo estn todos mis conocidos de Benicia, Sonoma y San Francisco? Me olvidaron todos entera y remotamente? Si es as, yo procurar hacer lo mismo aunque me sea ms difcil, y pasemos adelante. Como en la carta de Ud. hablaba con mucha indulgencia de la ma anterior, me he animado a escribir sta no dudando ser acogida con la misma bondad y disimular mi pobre estilo e infeliz ortografa.
80
Como ya no hay ms de que hablar concluir mi carta. Yo no podr darle muchas noticias de aqu pero Dn. David Spence y su esposa me dijeron van a Sonoma y ellos s podrn darle una razn muy circunstanciada de los sucesos de Monterey, esto es, cuantos nios hay ms en cada familia de dos aos a esta parte. Ahora mismo est llegando el vapor y no tengo ms tiempo que para suplicarle me ponga a las rdenes de su esposa y dems familia a quienes tengo muchos deseos de conocer y agradecer acepten las expresiones de mi ms sincero respeto. Y de Ud. espero que no dejar de favorecerme con sus amables cartas, y de noticiarme las ocurrencias de esas tierras de los dichosos protegidos de lo alto, que apenas se dignan echar una mirada hacia a estos desterrados. Mi esposo manda a Ud. muchas memorias y le suplica las d Ud. de su parte a toda la familia. En fin, de mi parte, otra vez, reciba un milln de gracias; y crame, no es de ceremonia sino de corazn, estoy y quedar siempre agradecida y deseando que pueda en alguna manera o por una feliz casualidad serle til. Su afectsima servidora. M.A. de Burton Un tomo de La crcel de Edimburgo no vino, yo creo que se qued; estoy segura que no se perdi en el camino porque llegaron lo mismo que los empac. M.G. Vallejo to MARB. 10 May 1852, Sonoma, California [fragment] Sra. Doa Ma. A. de Burton Sonoma, Mayo 10 1852 Sra. de mi aprecio y respeto, Otra vez tengo el gusto de dirigirme a Ud. para contestar su favorecida de Ud. del 24 del que acab. Otra vez sus letras me llenan de placer y otra vez quedo animado por recibirlas de manera que las veces que las he recibido y las mas veces que Ud. tenga la bondad de escribirme sern otras tantas
81
veces que las [leer], porque cada vez me admira Ud. ms. No es esto lo que se llama simpata? S Sra., as lo definen los inteligentes. Con que Ud. me ha mandado los libros que le remit, pero con quin y cundo? No lo s porque no los he recibido. Pero eso no importa, lo que importa es la carta de Ud. y nada ms. Vamos a otra cosa. Con que Uds. los monterreyanos duermen eternamente, eh? Cmo quisiera yo despertarlos! cunto diera porque pidieran ms del pan de cada da! Sin embargo, la vida montona de que Ud. se queja es la menos [espesura] en este tiempo y a pesar de los enfados que causa al fin tiene su remedio muy sencillo que es brincar de un salto en su vapor y venirse en medio da a las regiones del norte, ver, gozar y disfrutar de una vez y volverse all a dormir eternamente . . . Ojal pudiese yo tambin dormir eternamente con . . . Uds. para despertar y gozar. El continuo goce se ordinaria y llega a ser montono; as es que a veces es necesario el dolor para que se disfrute del placer No es esto una verdad? Los conocidos de Ud. en Benicia estn todos buenos y le saludan a Ud., a lo menos los de mi casa; los dems permanecen en aquel lugar, exceptuando una de las Sras. que muri das pasados, lo que Ud. ya sabr puesto que fue la esposa de un coronel. El Sr. Spence y su seora estuvieron aqu y segn la opinin que nos han manifestado, parece que les ha gustado mucho. Vuelven pues a Monterrey a dormir eternamente pero con nimo de volver a estos encantados lugares cuando despierten otra vez. Los dichos sres. nos han dado muchas noticias de ese lugar, al menos cuantos nos eran capaces de comunicar.
Notes
1See
Eagleton and his use of Raymond Williamss term in Eagleton, Heathcliff and the Great Hunger, 159. 2Luis Gonzlez, El periodo formativo, en Daniel Coso Villegas, Ignacio Bernal, Alejandra Moreno Toscano, Luis Gonzlez, Eduardo Blanquel, Historia mnima de Mxico (Mxico: El Colegio de Mxico, 1977), 102103. 3Baja would, for a time, be bound in military and judicial matters to Sonora. See Pablo Martnez, A History of Lower California, 331. 4Den Trejo Barajas, La secularizacin de misiones y la colonizacin civil en el sur de la Baja California 17681842, en Sociedad y Gobierno en el sur de la Baja California. Prlogo de Ignacio del Ro Chvez (La Paz: UABC, 1991), 26. 5As previously indicated, a sitio was 4,336.6 acres (Piera Ramrez and Martnez Zepeda, in Moreno, 17). 6This redistribution of land led to a number of clashes with the missionaries. Leading the fight against the settlers and the the liberal jefes polticos who favored securalization of the missions and land distribution was the Dominican missionary Gabriel Gonzlez, president of the missionaries, who incited his followers to rebellion, in the name of the Indians, of course, although he worked the land as if it were private property, according to one alcalde (Trejo Barajas, 51). 7Lasspas does list a Doa Isabel Ruiz de Cota who received two sitios, one in 1823 and one in 1830. See Ulises Urbano Lasspas, Historia de la colonizacin de la Baja California y decreto del 10 de marzo de 1857, 224. She may have been a distant relative. 8Deni Trejo Barajas and M. A. Lavandazo Arias, Poblacin y grupos de poder en la pennsula de Baja California. (La Paz: UABC, 1994), 27. 9Lasspas estimates that by 1857 there were only about 1,057 inhabitants in La Paz.
82
10Baja,
83
with its ports, attracted a number of immigrants who chose to settle in the areas villages. Lasspas and Rojo were struck by the number of foreigners who held public office in Baja California. 11According to Manuel Clemente Rojo, a Peruvian exile who settled in Baja California and held various administrative positions, including the appointment as subprefecto of the Northern District, and recorded part of its history through interviews with early settlers, most of the jefes polticos in Baja after 1830, with the exception of Luis del Castillo Negrete, were drunken and lascivious men (Rojo, 161). 12The largest town at the early part of the century was Loreto, the capital, with about 800 residents in 1824. By the middle of the decade, however, it began suffering from food shortages and even here, on the Coast, the soldiers failed to receive their pay. When Loreto suffered a severe flood in 1828 that devastated the area, the population declined significantly and the capital was moved to La Paz. Every decade, however, brought a handful of new settlers from the mainland to the southern area, while the population in the northern division decreased. By 1835, 69% of the population on the peninsula was in the south, with San Antonio-Todos Santos (1,781 inhabitants), La Paz (1,226 inhabitants), and San Jos del Cabo (1,476 inhabitants) as the largest urban sites. See Trejo Barajas and Lavandazo Arias, 20, 2223, 29. 13The indigenous population, thought to have reached as high as 20,000 before colonization, was reduced by 1857 mostly to the gentile Indians in the Northern area, the survivors being those that had escaped missionization and conversion. The others died from disease or or overwork or in violent encounters with the mission soldiers; others had assimilated into the white/mestizo (gente de razn) communities and were no longer considered indios. With the decline in the Indian population, the bajacalifornios in the south were primarily white (Lassepas, 108) or mestizo (Trejo Barajas, 35). 14Vicente Prez Rosales, Diary of a Journey to California 18481849, in We Were 49ers. Chilean Accounts of the California Gold Rush, translated and edited by Edwin A. Beilharz and Carlos U. Lpez (Pasadena, Ca.: Ward Richtie Press, 1976), 82. 15Vicente Prez Rosales, Recuerdos del pasado (18141860) (Santiago de Chile: Zig-Zag, 1949), 344. 16See J. Ross Browne, Letters, Journals and Writings, 128129.
84
17To
combat his classification as a greaser, Salvador Vallejo made sure in 1874 that the collector of his historical documents, H.H. Bancroft, received a 29-page copy of the Vallejo familys ecclesiastical certificate of limpieza de sangre, issued by the Commissioner of the Inquisition in Guadalajara, attesting to the legitimacy and purity of the Vallejo family line, that is, that their blood was not contaminated by Jewish, Arab, Black or Mulatto blood, that, moreover, their parents had married in the Church, that their ancestors came from Burgos, Spain, that there were or had been a good number of priests and nuns in the family in Spain, Italy, and especially in Mexico, and that no member of the family had been incarcerated for any crime. The document had been requested by a brother of his father, Ignacio Vicente Ferrer Vallejo, in 1806, when Ignacio Vallejo was 58 years of age and was residing with his growing family in Alta California. See Salvador Vallejos Notas histricas sobre California in the Bancroft manuscript collection. 18See John Ross Browne, Report of the Debates in the Convention of California on the Formation of the State Constitution on September and October, 1849. Reprint of the 1850 edition (New York: Arno Press, 1973). 19Citation in San Diego in 1855 and 1856: Letters of Thomas Rylan Darnell in The Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly, 1934, 5865. 20Establishing a cultural continuum, Almaguers study finds that Mexicans in California came to occupy a mid-way position, being classified as White, while at the same time deemed half civilized and as a result were ambivalently integrated into an intermediate status within the new societydespite the fact that most were darkcomplexioned mestizos with significant Indian ancestrybecause they shared Christian ancestry, a Romance language, European somatic features and a formidable ruling elite that contested Yankee depradations. See Toms Almaguer, Racial Fault Lines (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994), 4. 21The capital was located at various places, including Monterey, San Jose, Vallejo, and Benicia before being moved permanently to Sacramento in 1855. See H. H. Bancroft, History of California, Vol. VI 18481859 (San Francisco: The History Company, Pub., 1888), 325. 22See J. Ross Browne, His Letters, Journals and Writing, 118.
23To
85
pay passage, women relied on the men eager to have them on shore to meet their debt with the captain and when women became plentiful, boat captains auctioned them off by having bids on their unpaid passage bills. Whoever offered the most gold got to carry away the girl (Prez-Rosales, 87). 24See We Were 49ers. The volume includes accounts by Prez Rosales, Ramn Jil Navarro, Pedro Isidoro Combet, Benjamn Vicua Mackenna, Roberto Hernndez Cornejo and Pedro Ruiz Aldea. It is especially interesting to read the Chileans accounts as counterpoints to other, more well-known, perhaps, versions of the events of the California Gold Rush and its sequelae. 25Susan Coolidge, A Few Hints on the California Journey, in The Overland Monthly, Vol. 6, MayOct. 1873, p.29. 26Her sister Manuela also had a child, Elena, in 1849. Census records indicate that in 1850 both her mother Isabel and her sister Manuela were still in California. 27See letter sent by Mrs. Westcott on The Jeffers-Willey wedding, including an account of Monterey in the Fall of 1849. Transcribed, with an Introduction by Miriam Drury, in California Historical Quarterly, Vol. 35, 1956, 14, 17. 28Francisca Benicia Carrillos great-grandfather Hilario Carrillo and Mara Amparo Ruizs great-grandmother, Ysabel Carrillo, were brother and sister. 29Madie Brown Emparn, The Vallejos of California (San Francisco: University of S.F., Gleeson Library Associates, 1968), 8687. 30See Rosaura Snchez and Beatrice Pita, Introduction, Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton, The Squatter and the Don, 1885 ed. (Houston: Arte Pblico Press, 1992), 14. 31See Emparn, The Vallejos of California, 106. 32Emparn notes that among his correspondents were Oriana Day, an artist who painted old missions and presidios of California (149), and Mrs. W. W. Chipman, the mother of a friend of one of his daughters (134).
Chapter III
Early San Diego and La Frontera

A. Commentary
MARB was pregnant with her second child when Captain Burton was ordered South to San Diego late in 1852 to serve as the commander of the San Diego garrison. San Diego County was then largely an area of large ranchos, open range for thousands of cattle and horses, an area that incoming settlers were converting into farms, much to the dismay and chagrin of the californios, whose livelihood was based on grazing land for their stock. The battle lines pitted californios against grangers and squatters, who saw all uncultivated land as public lands, there for the taking. Property and political conflicts in San Diego County crested, however, more slowly than in the North, where waves of immigration were constant and driven by the lure of the Gold Rush. The more gradual shifts made San Diego a place where appearances were deceiving. At one level nothing much seemed to have changed with the U.S. invasion, and everyday life seemed to go on much the same as before. At another level, however, this political shift brought about changes in social relations, disrupting commercial exchanges (not everyone wished to be paid in hides or cattle), property relations, and, ultimately, the sense of place within the local power hierarchy. This imminent displacement and the racism directed at the californio population that MARB had begun to detect in Monterey were accentuated in the decade of the 1850s in San Diego.
86
87
Although not a native of Alta California, MARB, as a Baja California woman related to a number of native Californians, did not seem geographically displaced in terms of region; she was still, after all, in California. Politically, however, she was no longer in Alta California in the 1850s, as invasion had reconstructed it as U.S. territory. This socio-spatial relocalization brought on a keen awareness of unequal power relations, particularly in regard to the highly volatile issue of land tenancy provoked by the Land Act of 1851. Proposed by Senator William Gwin of California, this bill forced all landed californios to have their grants and titles reviewed for certification by the Land Commission, in effect placing all titles in abeyance. With the Burton purchase of the Jamul ranch in San Diego County in 1853, MARB came into the role of landed californio and experienced firsthand the tension and adverse effects that the Gwin Bill provoked, conflicts reconstructed in her 1885 novel The Squatter and the Don. Residence in San Diego also meant close proximity to La Frontera, reducing distance while placing her in a different relation to the area where her grandfather Lieutenant Jos Manuel Ruiz had served thirty years and received the land grant of Ensenada in 1804. Both the Jamul and the Ensenada land grants served to underscore the issue of land as capital on both sides of the border, an issue that defined the rest of her life. And it was in San Diego that MARBs awareness of racism and of dominant legal strategies, wielded by the likes of Gwin and his cohorts to dispossess the californios, was acutely developed, as were her insights into prevailing sexist attitudes towards women. In what follows we will try to establish briefly the historical and personal context within which she wrote her letters while living in the San Diego and La Frontera area in the decade of the 1850s.
There is no there, there: 1850s San Diego

By 1852 San Diego consisted of three villages: La Playa, Old Town, and New Town. La Playa was across the bay on the Point Loma shore, where steamers brought the mail and the customs officer collected little in the way of customs, for few steamers came to San Diego. Two buildings for U.S. Engineers and the Collector and the
88
ruins of old hide houses were all that stood on the Playa, with a couple of old ships anchored nearby. At the tip of the bay was the lighthouse that Judge Benjamin Hayes mentions was a site for picnics in 1860, one of which was attended by Burtons brother, Ned (Eduardo) Williston.1 Old Town, the largest and oldest settlement, situated inland from the bay at the mouth of the San Diego River, had a small population of some 800 people. Built around a plaza, Old Town continued to be Mexican in culture and language for almost two decades after the U.S. invasion of California, given its primarily californio population and its relatively small number of pioneer American families. Mrs. Matthew Sherman recalls that when she arrived in San Diego in 1866 to become the teacher of the only school in the county, there were fewer than a dozen non-native women in Old Town.2 Old Town was dominated by the Bandinis, Aguirres, Estudillos, Picos, Argellos, Pedrorenas, and other wealthy californios. Politically, the Mexican families continued to dominate (although only for a short while), but after 1850, business was controlled by incoming Anglo merchants. If Monterey was small, quaint, and quiet, San Diego held even less activity and attraction. The plaza was surrounded by both adobe houses and brick-and-frame buildings, with several mercantile houses, a flour mill, the Estudillo house, the Bandini House, and the homes of Tomasa Pico Alvarado and Juan Machado. Joseph S. Mannasse, a native of Prussia who came to San Diego in 1853 and formed a partnership with Marcus Schiller in 1856, had two stores that offered credit to the californios, including the Burtons and the Morenos, most of whom paid in tallow, hides, and cattle.3 South of the Estudillo home were the houses of two wealthy Spanish traders and landowners, Jos Antonio Aguirre and Miguel Pedrorena, both of whom also had stores. The Fitch House and the Pico House were two of the oldest in Old Town. Near the square were a few saloons and hotel buildings, including the Gila House built by Bandini; the Bandini House was remodeled as a hotel later as well. Since the Mission Church was in ruins, Catholic services were held in a chapel at the Estudillos home. There were no Protestant churches. The first Protestant services were conducted in San Diego in 1853 by an Episcopalian chaplain serving in the army. Not until 1868 would Rev. Sidney Wilbur arrive
89
and conduct services in the old government barracks before establishing a church in 1869. Harry H. Burton married Wilburs daughter, Minnie, many years later. During these two decades the population of Old Town grew from 650 residents (in 1849) to 4,300 by 1860. A number of the new residents of San Diego had come to the area during the invasion. Among them were Julian Ames, Cave Johnson Couts, and Phillip Crosthwaite, marrying native Californian women and settling in the town. Some families who figure prominently in the history of San Diego lived in nearby ranchos. Don Santiago Argello, for example, lived at his Rancho Ta Juana, and his son lived at Rancho La Punta. New Town, situated on the bay, was built in two stages. The first attempt failed miserably and was opposed by residents of Old Town and La Playa. The site for the new town was selected by Andrew G. Gray, a surveyor for the boundary commission, who came to San Diego with a survey party in 1849 and, while camping out near the shore, saw the advantages of a town site near deep water. Grays project, supported by William Heath Davis, T. D. Johns, Jos Antonio Aguirre, and Miguel de Pedrorena, stimulated investment and speculation in land along the shore and led to the construction in 1851 of a wharf, government barracks, a military warehouse, several buildings to house the San Diego Herald, several stores, including that of E. W. Morse,4 and a square, Plaza Pantoja, with hotels. The lack of water and funds for the construction of a system for the storage of water and the scarcity of fuel (wood) or arable land along the shore led to the failure of the venture, often disparagingly called Davis Folly or Grays Folly by the people of Old Town. A subsequent Middletown project was also initiated, but it too, as noted by McGrew, languished (71). In a September 3, 1852, letter, George Allan Pendleton and Julian Ames, wholesale, retail, and general commission merchants who had a store in New Town and also served as agents for W. H. Davis, a resident of San Francisco, report that things are looking better in New Town: We are happy to have it in our power to say, that New Town, is in a rather more prosperous condition than when you left it. At present there is not an unoccupied House with the
90
exception, perhaps, of Don Santiaguitos little shanty. We rented your former dwelling to the Quartermaster (for quarters for Captain Burton and family who arrived here with his Co. from Monterey a few days ago) at the rate of $50 per month.5 The Burtons thus arrived in the fall of 1852 and were temporarily housed in Davis former dwelling. By November of that year (1852), Pendleton and Ames reported to Davis that the dwelling house was empty, indicating that the Burtons had moved, probably to the mission. Early in 1853, the new town broke up and Morse, as well as the Herald, moved to Old Town. Pendleton, in a letter to Davis in 1855, notes that New San Diego is completely deserted. Since Maj. McKinstry left here I have not been able to rent the house which he occupied and there ha[ve] been no receipts for rents this year. Pendleton found the entire town exceedingly dull, little or nothing doing here, like most of the small places in the State at present, with nothing to report except that the tyfus families were now well, residents like Bandini were returning on the next steamer, and no marriages or deaths had occurred (Ibid.). Accompanying Captain H. S. Burton to San Diego in 1852 were two companies of artillery to serve a county without troops6 that had recently suffered an Indian uprising led by Antonio Garra from San Luis Rey. Volunteers from San Diego were called out to contain the outbreak and capture Garra as well as his allies, the Yankee ex-sailor Bill Marshall, and Juan Verdugo. All were captured and executed (McGrew, 7374). Burton, who served as commander of the troops stationed at this military post, used the rundown mission as quarters for his men.7 Given the scarcity of news or activity in San Diego, every mission repair or addition made the news. Some measure of the towns dullness can be seen in that even Burtons harvest of olives at the mission was noted by the San Diego Herald (3-1-56; 2: 6). Troop movements and reconnaissance along the border, in view of Indian raids and filibustering incursions of Californians bent on invading Baja California or Sonora, were also fodder for local news in the Herald:
91
Capt. H. S. Burton, Commander of the troops at the Mission, left on Thursday morning last with 24 mounted men, for San Gorgona and the section of country in that immediate vicinity, on a tour of general inspection of affairs in that quarter. (San Diego Herald, 1-19-56, 2) As it would continue to be in the twentieth, already in the nineteenth century, San Diego was a military town, a sort of frontier outpost serving as a base of military supplies for troops here and at Fort Tejn, Fort Yuma, and other points. The mission, with a repaired roof and a second story added, was used as barracks until about 1859, and it was there that MARB first staged her play Don Quixote, with soldiers playing the parts. Given the isolation of San Diego, a town visited by a steamer only once a month,8 the few cultural activities that existed at the mission attracted people from all over the county. In her diary of 1856, Victoria Jacobs recalls going to the mission: Wednesday, July 2, 1856-In the afternoon went to the Mission to see the theatre. Stayed all night at Mrs. Kerrens. My beloved Maurice stayed at Lieut. Winders quarters. He came for me the next morning after breakfast to take me home.9 The San Diego Herald (April 17, 1855) likewise reported on MARBs theatre at the mission and on the amateur performances. The twenty-three-year-old MARB was already then writing, directing, and coordinating the mission posts activities and entertainment, events for which the Burtons were well known, as can be gathered from the social note below, published in the San Diego Herald: As we stated last week, preparations are also being made at Mission San Diego for an appropriate celebration of the Fourth by the troops under command of Capt. Burton, stationed at that post, and which from the well-known liberality of Capt. Burton and the officers connected with him, promises to be a happy time for Company F (6-30-55; 2: 2).
92
But despite her efforts to stir up some activity in San Diego, MARB found the town a frightfully dull and dry and dusty place as she wrote Platn Vallejo,10 son of Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4-23-59). The humorist Lieutenant George Horatio Derby (alias John Phoenix, alias Squibob) said the same thing in 1853 when he took over the San Diego Herald while the publisher John Judson Ames went to San Francisco. Phoenix, who was actually an army topographical engineer sent to San Diego to divert the San Diego River back into its course into Mission Bay, also found San Diego dull with no news to speak of: San Diego has been unusually dull during the past week, and a summary of the news may be summarily disposed of. There have been no births, no marriages, no arrivals, no departures, no earthquakes, nothing but the usual number of drinks taken, and an occasional small chunk of a fight (in which no lives have been lost), to vary the monotony of our existence.11 In his last editorial piece for the San Diego Herald (10-1-53), Phoenix notes that he had tried to the best of his ability to amuse and interest its readers with his good humor and jocular cartoons. If the Herald had little news, there was a logical explanation: Very little news will be found in the Herald this week: the fact is, there never is much news in it and it is very well that it is so; the climate here is so delightful that residents, in the enjoyment of their dolce far niente, care very little about what is going on elsewhere and residents in other places care very little about what is going on in San Diego, so all parties are likely to be gratified with the little paper, and long may it wane. Phoenix lampooned San Diego calling it Sandy Ague, and made its population appear, through the text of his letters and verses, to be inhabited chiefly by the flea, the horned toad, and the rattlesnake.12 Phoenixiana, as his humorous columns were termed, clearly offered some respite for the boredom endured in San Diego during this time,
93
and typical Phoenixian comments poking fun at everything and everybody continued to have an impact on articles appearing in the Herald long after Derby had left the area. The San Diego Herald, initiated by the Yankee Ames in 1851, offered not only few news items but little opportunity for profit. Its very existence was surprising to townspeople, unaware of Ames hidden agenda and his close association with Senator Gwin, who had been a member of the California Constitutional Convention and who had plans of his own for Southern California: Ames established the Herald as an organ of United States Senator William M. Gwin, who expected to bring about the division of the state, the annexation of Lower California and the Sandwich Island, and the construction of a southern transcontinental railway terminating at San Diego. This, of course, would have made San Diego the capital of the new state, and probably the most important city on the Pacific Coast. (Black, 186) It would also have made Southern California a slave state. Ironically, it was Gwin, credited with the creation of the Land Commission to ascertain and settle the private land claims in the State of California,13 who would also work with Huntington to destroy all chances for congressional approval of funding for the Texas Pacific Railroad, thus ruining San Diegos chances of becoming a railroad terminus, and for this he was severely attackedby namein MARBs novel The Squatter and the Don. The Herald, however, also offered articles tinged with racist humor and slander against the californios. In one issue of the San Diego Herald (April 1, 1854), the editor responded to readers protests against the publication of the filibusterer William Walkers edicts, proclamations, and camp reports. Rather than acknowledge the support that the newspaper generated for the filibusterers, in its editorial the Herald denigrated the people of Lower California, saying, We never met with a more lethargic, indolent, lazy set of white men, than the people of Lower California, from their comandante and
94
alcaldes down to their poor, miserable, deluded and denuded, but simple and kind, hearted Rancheros. This same issue offered a news brief from Mexico commenting on the proclamation of the Plan de Ayutla to depose President Santa Anna. The newspaper sought to explain support for the Ayutla (Guerrero) proclamation, emitted against the disastrous dictatorship of Santa Anna, on the basis of the indigenous roots of the Mexican population: The population of the State of Guerrero is nearly Aztec, and the descendants of tribes who fought desperately against the Spaniards. The Pintos, i.e. [sic] they are covered with blotches upon the skin, blue, white and chocolate colorthat give them an aspect of ferocity, which has been fearfully verified on all occasionsthey have no sympathy or feeling in common with any people who boast of Castilian extraction. (San Diego Herald, 4-1-54). The date and the tongue-in-cheek character of much of what appeared in the Herald notwithstanding, the notion of a Pinto tribe nonetheless made its way into Who Would Have Thought It? with MARBs sarcastic use of the Pinto tribe explanation to underscore the ignorance and racism of New Englanders. MARB got a fair and further glimpse of dominant Anglo-Saxon opinion on race matters in the country from the Heralds frequent vituperative and racist comments, casting aspersion on the californios mestizaje or race, through either direct slander or ironic comments like the following in which californios are said to have inherited with the honesty, candor and industry of the Spanish character, the high chivalric courage, intellectual superiority and regard for personal cleanliness dominantly characteristic of the Indian race (Herald, 9-17-53; 2). The sarcastic praise of the californios for their civilization and their supposed elegant private residences, noble public buildings, and academies and colleges in a village with little more than adobe houses, simple frame houses, and no schoolhouse14 was answered by protests from the female part of the population (Herald, 10-15-53). It is not too farfetched to see MARBs hand in this
95
protest against the denigration of californios; undoubtedly, she joined or even organized the incensed reaction, leading the editor of the Herald to respond with feeble excuses of not knowing the Spanish language, assuring readers that the editor entertained no such sentiments as had appeared in the column, and noting at the same time the lack of californio support for the newspaper: We have never received so much as one hundred dollars from the whole native California population; nor do we ever expect toso that self-interest does not prompt the penning of this article (10-15-53). No longer protected by the small military circle in Monterey, in San Diego MARB was made painfully aware of the californios position as the targets of racist and ignorant remarks from an ever-growing and ever more powerful Anglo population that, though still then a minority in San Diego, was already a powerful majority statewide and held sway in state and local politics as well as in the local economy.
Local californios: friends and foes

San Diego was more than a military post; in the 1850s it was still a californio community, one where MARBs great-uncle, Captain Francisco Mara Ruiz, had served as comandante of the San Diego Presidio from 1806 to 1827. On their arrival, the Burtons made a number of friends among the californios; in fact, upon their return to San Diego in the 1870s, their daughter Nellie married the son of one of the once-wealthiest San Diegans, Miguel de Pedrorena.15 MARBs mother, Isabel, also made a number of friends in San Diego. In his diaries and Pioneer Notes, Judge Hayes16 recalls seeing Doa Isabel Ruiz Maitorena in Old Town early in 1860 with friends. Retiring one evening to the office of County Judge D. B. Kurtz to get away from a cold room, Hayes was visited there by a number of ladies, including Doa Isabel and Reyes Estudillo:17 Joined by young Mr. Forbes in the parlor, while Kurtz and I remained in the office, she [Mrs. Reyes] sang Spanish songs; charmed by the melody, I remained an hour longer than I intended. Doa Ysabella Ruis [sic] was there too; she
96
is the mother of Mrs. Mara Amparo de Burton. Occasionally came in Doa Victoria, the mother of Doa Reyes. Ysabel Pedrorena also, just blooming into womanhood, in whose future many take interest.18 MARB mentions Reyes and Eulalia Zamorano de Estudillo19 as people that she would send pictures to from the East Coast. Whenever she wrote Matas Moreno, she sent greetings to his wife, Doa Prudenciana, and to Margarita Amador; Morenos family was always mentioned, as was his brother-in-law Lino Lpez (Prudencianas brother). Not all the San Diegans, however, were friendly to the Burton family, as is clear from Captain Burtons letter to Don Jos Antonio Aguirre,20 in which Burton chastises him for insulting MARB while she was staying at Aguirres house in Old Town, in a room made available to the Burtons during his absence at Fort Yuma (4-57). Aguirre apparently was furious at MARB for allowing a certain doctor21 to enter the house, despite the fact that she had obtained Aguirres wifes permission. Aguirre, one of the wealthiest men in San Diego, was an important contact to have, as Moreno, his compadre, well knew. MARB also had problems with another wealthy californio patriarch living in San Diego: Juan Bandini. In 1856 she was involved in a suit against Bandini for custody of an orphan, Juana de la Ossa, arguing that she was a distant cousin of the child and had the right to possession of the ten-year-old on the basis of letters of guardianship issued by the comandante and Justice of the Peace of the Northern Baja California District. The child, who had been left with Bandini by relatives unable to care for her, was taken by MARB but ultimately returned to Bandini by the court. This case, which concerns the rights of women to adopt or serve as guardians of children, merits a more detailed analysis than will be provided here.22 The case also points to the californios interest in and ongoing habit of securing children, especially mestizo or Indian children, to serve in their homes, under the pretext of educating them. The californio Antonio Coronel in his testimonio for the Bancroft history project recalls that the purchase of Indian children was a common practice before 1846. Judge Benjamin Hayes likewise men-
97
tions that in 1861 Mrs. Cave Couts (Ysidora Bandini) tried to get a little Indian girl to be bound to my sister; it appears to be impossible; the Indians are averse to letting their children go away so far (Hayes, 224). Hayes goes on to regret that there isnt some way to wean these Indian children from their tribal habits. Neither Bandini nor MARB, of course, had any qualms about manipulation or exploitation of Indian children. In one of her letters (1-2-58), it is clear that MARB is interested in having an Indian girl brought to her; she had two small children at the time and was in need of a servant, no doubt. This early stay in San Diego also allowed MARB to meet a number of people with whom she would have lifelong associations, among them Lieutenant William A. Winder, who settled in San Diego and later practiced medicine.23 But the most important person that MARB related to in San Diego was Matas Moreno, who was one of her correspondents. His importance will be discussed both in this chapter in the section on La Frontera, and in chapter IV, where we deal with her correspondence with him while MARB lived on the East Coast.
The twisted tale of Rancho Jamul

In 1853 while Captain Burton was commander of the San Diego military post, he purchased Rancho Jamul, comprised of 8,926 acres. The property, purchased after Burtons marriage to MARB, and after the birth of both of his children, was considered community property. In California, following Spanish and Mexican law, all property acquired after marriage by either husband or wife, except such as may be acquired by gift, bequest, devise, or descent, shall be community property.24 The rancho was initially a grant given to Po Pico in 1831 by Governor Victoria. The Pico family (Picos mother and sisters) when they were not in Old Town where they also had a homelived at the Jamul ranch, where they built an adobe home, and both cultivated the land and placed cattle on it to graze. When Pico resided in Los Angeles, he left in charge a foreman, Leiva, and his family. In 1837, they suffered an Indian attack that led to the kidnapping of Leivas two young daughters. Governor Manuel Victoria was forced out of office after a revolt, and the grant was never officially certified by the Alta California Diputacin until 1845, when Pico was the polit-
98
ical chief of Alta California. For all practical purposes, however, the land was recognized as his, whether it was ratified by the assembly or not, and many a joke about Pico as the Duke of Jamul circulated among his enemies in the territory. In 1846 Governor Pico, his secretary Matas Moreno, and comandante Jos Castro, faced with an invading army, an unarmed population, and no Mexican troops at hand, fled to Mexico to seek military support. Pico left his brother-in-law John Forster (married to Picos sister Ysidora) in charge of his affairs and his property, which included the ranchos Jamul, Santa Margarita, and Las Flores, as well as lands in Los Angeles, where he lived most of his adult life. Pico did not return from Mexico until after the U.S.-Mexican War. During Picos absence, Forster contracted to sell the Jamul lands to Bonifacio Lpez, Philip Crossthwaite, Richard Rust, and William E. Rust. In effect, Foster drew up an agreement with the four whereby the two parties, Lpez-Crosthwaite and Rust-Rust, each gave a down payment of five hundred dollars on the land, with the expectation that upon Picos return, a like sum would be paid, for a total of two thousand dollars, whereupon a deed in fee simple would be delivered to them by Pico. With this contract, Forster had committed to either procuring a deed from Pico by the March 1, 1851, or returning the down payment with damages to the four who would be dispossessed. Pico returned in 1848, but since he and Forster had a falling out, he saw no reason to confirm the sale of Jamul; thus, no deed was delivered to the parties in 1851. In 1853 Henry S. Burton purchased the right of Lpez and Crossthwaite, and in the following year purchased the interests of Richard and William E. Rust in the Jamul Rancho. This purchase, however, did not make Burton the legal owner of the property in view of the fact that at the time of purchase, Pico had the deed and had not conveyed the land to Lpez et al. Pico, in fact, refused to recognize that Forster had any authority to sell Jamul to Burton or anyone else. In effect, Burton, in buying out the four, paid for half of the property value, as gauged by Forster, on a conditional basis, for the sale was subject to the absent Picos agreement upon his return. Nevertheless, the Burtons, after buying the ranch from Lpez et al, lived at the ran-
99
chos adobe house, which they repaired; they also improved the property with cattle and horses. Reacting to the Land Act of 1851 that set up the Land Commission to determine the validity of Mexican grant titles, in 1855, Pico, in Po Pico versus the United States, tried to have his title to Jamul confirmed by the board, but his claim was rejected. Of course, the validity of Burtons 185354 purchase rested on the legal recognition of Picos land grant. As was the case of many californio land titles, the legal cases were pursued, not in the interest of the californios but rather in that of their successors, the new owners, who had acquired the land through purchase or through foreclosure. That is the reason that although it appears on paper that many of these Mexican land grant titles were confirmed, in effect, given litigation costs, tax burdens, and the need to mortgage the ranches, these large tracts were, ironically, almost always validated for the newcomers. The decision of the Land Commission on the Pico title was appealed to the District Court in 1858 by Henry S. Burton, who applied for the ascertainment and settlement of the title to said Rancho Jamul. This court ruled adversely against the title, forcing the Burtons to begin looking into an appeal of the decision. That same year, a number of squatters settled on the rancho, claiming the same to be government land. The Burtons departure for the East Coast and the Civil War put the pursuit of the Jamul title on hold. Already in New York, MARB began pressuring Pico, for the deed, when he visited the Eastern states with his niece Estefana Alvarado 25 and her husband George A. Johnson. Known as a ladies man, who, according to Vallejo, was ever ready to please a woman, Pico assured MARB that he would produce the title to Jamul, although he delayed several years. Upon MARBs return to California in 1870, she used all her resourcefulness, including calling upon Vallejo, to get Pico to recognize the Burtons title to Jamul. He finally did on June 2, 1870, conveying the ranch to MARB, who was then a widow. This conveyance was lost, requiring a second deed to be issued on June 24, 1870. On August 1, 1870, he also ratified, approved and confirmed the sale of Jamul to Burton. (The Jamul matter will be taken up in somewhat greater detail in Chapter V.) In future battles it was important, in an
100
effort to save the ranch from creditors, to demonstrate that Jamul was part of the H. S. Burton estate, which further complicated the issue and invited additional suits, but paradoxically also allowed MARB to claim a homestead in 1879 and a stipend from the estate. After his purchase of Rancho Jamul, Captain Burton began experimenting with brick-making, an enterprise that was continued by his wife and son about thirty years later. The San Diego Herald reports that in 1856, Burton was already interested in testing the quality of lime at the ranch: Building Material.One of our enterprising citizens has established a brick yard, with a patent machine which turns out good brick. Capt. H. S. Burton has had men employed on his ranch, burning lime, of an excellent quality, which during the past year has been thoroughly tested. (Herald, 4-26-56; 2: 1) Burton, an engineer by training, was clearly an enterprising man himself whose ambitions dovetailed with and were matched and fostered by MARBs own aspirations.
San Diego and the railroad: a fleeting chimera run off the track
During their seven-year stay in San Diego in the 1850s, the Burtons also participated in many San Diegans dreams to see the city become the western terminus of a transcontinental railroad. The excitement over a survey approved by Congress to establish a railroad on the 32nd degree parallel led to several efforts and reports, one by the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad Company, and one by the Texas Western Railroad Company for a Southern Pacific Railroad. A San Diego railroad corporation, the San Diego & Gila, Southern Pacific & Atlantic Railroad Company, was organized by Judge James W. Robinson and Louis Rose in November 1854 to promote the construction of the line that promised to be the shortest east-west route arriving at a Pacific port. One of the corporations directors was H. S. Burton. The companys plan was to build a rail line to Yuma, to connect there with some railroad coming from the east. A party of surveyors was sent out, and
101
the city donated two leagues of land for this future construction (Black, 161-162). H. S. Burton was one of those buying one hundred shares of stock in the San Diego & Gila, Southern Pacific & Atlantic Railroad Company. But the Civil War and later intrigues by the powerful Big Four railroad giants dashed the citys hopes. By the late eighteen-sixties the railroad controversy was again a pressing issue, one MARB took up in detail in her 1885 novel The Squatter and the Don. Captain Burton was stationed at San Diego until 1857. During his brief duty at Fort Yuma in 1857 and 1858, at Fort Gaston, California in 1859, and on the Mojave Expedition in 1859, MARB remained in San Diego or at the Jamul Ranch, with her mother and brother Federico, and later with her brother-in-law Edward (Ned) Williston as well. Even when Burton was at Fort Yuma, he came frequently to San Diego to visit and continued keeping San Diegans informed on news that might affect the town. Judge Hayes, who kept a diary of interesting events, reports the following bit of information on the Pima Indians from Capt. Burton: Capt. Burton of Fort Yuma informs me that the Pimas have raised this year more than 200,000 bushels of corn, and the Post has now a contract for its supply with grain from that quarter. (Hayes, 157) In November 1857 a contributor to the San Diego Herald, reportedly from Colorado City, wrote that men from San Bernardino had allegedly surveyed a new road to the San Gorgonio Pass, making it easier for immigrants to go into San Bernardino rather than to San Diego through the Carrizo route: The commanding officer at the Fort, Capt. Burton, intends sending out a party to report on the new route I have spoken of, and the probabilities are that our Mormon neighbors will, with their accustomed energy, build their road while the people of San Diego are looking on.(San Diego Herald, 11-7-57)
102
Early on, Captain Burton, like MARB later, recognized the importance of establishing links between San Diego and points east if the town, and more importantly for them, Jamul, were to develop.
The Morenos
It was while Captain Burton was in Yuma that MARB stayed for a few days at the home of Jos Antonio Aguirre, with the noted unfortunate outcome. The Morenos (Matas and Prudenciana) came to the rescue, offering MARB their home, an act that she long remembered and appreciated, as noted in her letters (5-16-58; 6-4-58). This interaction led to closer ties between the two families and to an ongoing correspondence between MARB and Matas Moreno. Her letters to the Morenos indicate that the Burtons felt comfortable enough to impose on the Morenos, leaving their trunk at their home and staying with them when they came to San Diego as well. The only letters from MARB that we have to a female correspondent are the brief notes that MARB sent Doa Prudenciana, asking that she send her cape (12-6-57) or some ruffles from her trunk (9-1-57) up to Jamul with the messenger. Mention, too, is made of MARBs sending meat freshly butchered at the ranch to Prudenciana, accompanied by a note (5-7-59). Although we know she wrote her sister Manuela and other women acquaintances and friends (like Doa Gabriela, perhaps Mrs. Kane and Mrs. Johnson), those letters to women appear to have been mislaid. Only important letters sent to notable men were solicited for archives and remain available today. Again here, womens discourses and space prove to be much more vulnerable to erasure and difficult to trace as much because of gender as status and social prominence. MARBs notes to Prudenciana became part of the Matas Moreno file and remain extant for that reason. Doa Prudenciana was one of several illegitimate children fathered by Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. MARBs friendship with Prudenciana led her to intercede for her with Vallejo, who, partly in view of MARBs insistence, visited his daughter and the Moreno home in San Diego in 1869 only a few months before the death of Moreno by stroke. The parent-child bond and obligation was supreme for MARB (Bien hecho de ir a ver a Da. Prudenciana, es lo que deba
103
Ud. haber hecho treinta aos ha. No se horroriza al pensar que le rob por tantos aos todo ese afecto que por derecho natural le perteneca?) and his not having recognized or paid attention to Prudenciana was, for MARB, Vallejos greatest sin, one she did not miss the opportunity to chastise him for, assuming a patronizing tone: No le quiero echar un sermn, pero de veras, de todos sus pecados, hijo mo, ste es el ms gordo que yo le conozco . . . pero vale ms tarde que nunca . . . y como ella seguramente lo ha perdonado, espero que Dios tambin lo perdonar! . . . Mucho me conmovi esa parte de su carta y yo tambin llor con Uds. aunque tan lejos. (9-14-69) But MARBs copious correspondence is with Don Matas Moreno, for whom having a female correspondent was highly anomalous. In letters that both tease and joust verbally with the incredulous Moreno, who, some twelve years older, expresses himself cynical about friendship. MARB, who holds idealistic views about friendship, reassures him that his letters are welcome. His retort, insinuating that MARB prefers to make friends with the well-to-do, also states that he writes only business letters. For all their banter and cajoling, the letters between them reveal a MARB that was highly conscious of social conventions and gender roles. She again recognized that it was unusual for a woman to write a man within their cultureone so sexist that a Mexican man found it intolerable to consider a woman a rational, reasoning being. As MARB repeatedly said to Vallejo as well, she realized that her expressions of friendship and her commentaries and aspirations might be misunderstood, but she was willing to be patient, and, as she tells Moreno, Some day my countrymen will come to know me better, although by then I may be many miles away or even beneath the earth (2-27-59). MARB understood Moreno, for she shared his sense of frustration in not having people of their intellectual interests or vision and wit around. When he and Prudenciana lost a child, a favorite of MARBs, she encouraged him to become involved in some enterprise (perhaps hers in La Frontera) that required all his concentration and could help
104
him deal with the pain. Recognizingacutelythe interconnection between class, race, and gender, MARB was able to empathize with Moreno, whom she reminded that it was just as frustrating for a woman to be displaced intellectually as it was for an intelligent man, by force of historical circumstance, to be displaced in terms of nation and to find himself economically powerless and ethnically subordinated. As she states, Muy triste es tener el alma ms grande que la esfera a que est destinada a limitarse! (6-20-62). Commenting further on gender constraints, she adds that a man could always more easily rise above his constraints, while for a woman it was always much more difficult to rise above her station in life: La mujer muchas veces se ve as condenada, y de cuando en cuando algn hombre desgraciado. Pero el hombre casi siempre tienede un modo u otrosu destino en su propia mano, y Ud. an en ese miserable rincn, puede crearse para s un destinoun lugar en la memoria de sus conciudadanos. No desespere ni pierda la paciencia. (6-20-62) MARBs letters to Moreno, however, go beyond unfulfilled expectations and are very much political in nature, dealing with matters related to the border area (La Frontera) and Mexico. Whatever factors might have played into her leaving La Paz at sixteen to join the invaders, in San Diego MARB and Moreno found themselves sharing similar perspectives on the continued U.S. interest and designs on Baja California, and disdaining the californios (Argello, Bandini, etc.) who had sided with the invaders in San Diego. Distance from La Paz led to changes in perspective for Moreno as well. In San Diego he chose to forego his close ties to the Church, becoming a fierce anticlerical liberal, despite his childhood training by a friar.26 MARB liked to tease Moreno about his anticlericalism, reminding him of his long association with Padre Gabriel in Baja, but she also goaded him for his sexism and pretentiousness, time and again commenting on his twisted logic and sophistry. But as always, MARB was also keenly interested in what he could do for her, especially by his political contacts in Baja. Unfortunately, Morenos letters to MARB are not avail-
105
able, but on the basis of her responses, one can deduce that he, too, enjoyed the repartee and the animated interaction with MARB, although Moreno in letters to his wife mockingly refers to her as Ta Copeta,27 suggesting that he saw her snobbish and pretentious side. There were political differences as well between the two, for MARB and Moreno differed on their perspective on the French invasion of Mexico, as we shall see later. What becomes clear in their correspondence is that MARB, who could be sympathetic, witty, and clever, was also overbearing and often unbearable. But what continued to link the two was their fervor of feeling and interest for La Frontera, a region that was undergoing changes that would affect them both.
Across the line: La Frontera

La Frontera was a pivotal geographical and political site in MARBs life, not only because she had property interests in the area but because the border, the dividing line, as we have suggested earlier, signaled a division in her own social and psychological makeup, one that simultaneously constituted her and that she manipulated throughout her life. At the same time, as a californio, as inhabitants of Lower and Upper California were called, she lived in two worlds, represented by the two Californias, Alta and Baja, capitalist Anglo-Saxon-dominated California, and underdeveloped-and-defeated Mexican California. But for her, at some level, it was one region, and whenever she said paisano (countryman), she was usually referring to the population of the Californias, on both sides of the border. Californios were, in fact, the imagined community to which she felt deeply attached, although in time, after she traveled to the East Coast and the viability of the construct faded, she came more and more to identify as Mexican, feeling particularly pained by Mexicos condition. La Frontera, however, was ever on her mind. When she arrived in New York in 1860 after a fast trip to New England, she wrote Moreno, sharing her observations and comparisons of the United States and Mexico and lamenting the latters lack of prosperity. But her personal interests were localized to la Frontera: Si hay algunas noticias de la Baja California y la Frontera, no olvide comunicarlas, (9-5-59) she insists. MARB again wrote Moreno from Georgetown, a few days
106
later asking for news of southern California, but especially of Baja and la Frontera: Le agradezco las noticias que me da de San Diego, etc., y espero que cada vez que me escriba no omitir cosa alguna de inters, en particular de la Frontera y del resto de la Baja California con sus luchas, sus desgracias y su poca esperanza. No importa en dnde ni qu tan lejos yo me halle, siempre sentir el mismo inters por mi pobre pas natal. (2-21-60) Here again, nation and region become intertwined. For MARB, California was the pas, the country, as much as Mexico. As she makes clear in a letter to Moreno, paisano referred to californios: a honor tengo que sea mi paisano. California soy y Ud. sabe bien cun constante es mi cario e inters hacia mis paisanos en general, no importa en qu suelo se encuentren. (6-4-58). On another occasion she again used the same expression to refer to bajacalifornios: Qu le parece de nuestros paisanos que han pedido por gobernador al ilustre y benemrito Castro? Pobres, pobres de nosotros. De veras que si esto es cierto, me avergonzar de ser de la Baja. (12-18-58) MARB and Moreno not only came from the same region, but given their respective social positions, moved in the same circles in southern Baja; he apparently knew her from infancy, as he was present at her baptism (6-4-58). This regional bond was reinforced by their mutual deep interest not only in Baja California but specifically in La Frontera. The two also had friends in common, like Flix Gibert; in 1863 Moreno and Gibert spent time together in San Francisco.28 Moreno and MARB were thus friends and paisanos, countrymen; she was proud of that, although the two had taken opposing sides in the U.S.-Mexican War, with Moreno holding against the invading forces. MARBs concern for her fellow californios, on the other hand, went beyond her paisanos in Baja and included as well those in Upper California, as expressed in her letter to Platn Vallejo (4-23-59), in which she exhorts him to be steadfast in his love for his race without being narrow-minded or unjust, while simultaneously attacking the conquerors who betrayed their promises to the californios to respect their
107
lands, language, and ways, and stooped to a miserable stratagem to dispossess them: How shameful this, in the conquering, the prosperous, the mighty nation! (4-23-59). As we shall see, for MARB nationality and race were closely related, although not synonymous, and clearly separate from citizenship, an important point at the end of the twentieth century, when Mexico has allowed dual nationality but not dual citizenship. To understand the exchange of letters between Moreno and MARB one must bear in mind a number of issues: their shared concern for Baja California, their fear of U.S. annexation of Baja, their interest in the political, economic and demographic state of the northern Baja district, their political conflicts with the wealthy San Diegan californios, and Morenos own political life. During this entire period (1848-1880) people in Southern California generally took as a given that the U.S. would eventually purchase Baja California; constant rumors also circulated that invasion, filibustering, purchase, or annexation was imminent, adding fuel to the uncertainty and tension that reigned in the area. In 1861, as Moreno noted in a letter to the Mexican consul in San Francisco (Moreno, Documentos para la Historia), La Frontera yearned for a period of tranquillity.
Filibustering as expansionist modus operandi

The issue of annexation was an old one. Even after the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, issues of boundaries across the entire twelve-hundred-mile border with Mexico continued to affect relations between the two nation-states. In surveys conducted after the signing of the treaty, it was discovered that, following the limits stipulated in the agreement, an area in southern New Mexico, called La Mesilla, lay in a valley of the Gila River, through which a projected railroad line connecting California with Texas and the South would run. Delegates from the United States on the Boundary Commission insisted that there had been an error in drawing the boundaries and that La Mesilla had always been part of New Mexico. Mexico responded by saying that it was prepared to defend La Mesilla, which included dwellers who had moved there to continue being Mexican citizens after the Treaty.29 The U.S. delegates countered by noting that the Anglos residing in La
108
Mesilla wanted to be U.S. citizens. In the United States the press argued for an outright invasion of the area to retain what had always been part of New Mexico, advocating as part of the same argument that the sale of Sonora, Chihuahua, and Baja California would enable Mexico to avoid bankruptcy and at the same time establish a sanitary cordon [cordn sanitario] of Anglo residents between the two nations (Moyano Pahissa, 129). Mexican President Santa Anna and his conservative cabinet tried to get European supportmeaning diplomatic interventionto keep the United States from invading La Mesilla or other territories, but these attempts were to no avail. When U.S. troops led by General Garland arrived in La Mesilla on August of 1853, James Gadsden, then U.S. minister in Mexico and a railroad stockholder, determined to concentrate strictly on La Mesilla, rather than on a larger purchase of territory. Faced with the material fact of a U.S. troop invasion, Santa Anna accepted to sell a strip for the ten million dollars that Congress offered (the 1854 Gadsden Purchase). With this, Mexico lost La Mesilla and part of the Arizona territory, including several significant copper mines and a fort in Tucson (Moyano Pahissa, 136137). The threat of U.S. expansionism vis-a-vis Mexico would continue for the rest of the century. In particular, the United States was eyeing the Northern Mexican states and trying to get access to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which President Franklin Peirce also wanted to purchase for building a railroad across the isthmus.30 But the United States also had its eye on Baja California. And incursions across the border were frequent, from California to Brownsville, Texas. U.S. interest in Mexicoand Latin America in generalbegan quite early. As early as 1823, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams was already indicating U.S. interest in annexing Cuba and Puerto Rico, especially in view of the French incursion into Spain that same year to reestablish the Spanish monarchy.31 In 1823 as well, President James Monroe expressed the tenets of the Monroe Doctrine in his annual message to Congress, declaring any attempt on Europes part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety.32 By 1848 President Polk was offering Spain one hundred million dollars for the purchase of Cuba, but Spain
109
refused to sell.33 The U.S. government subsequently supported unofficially a filibustering expedition to Cuba led by General Narciso Lpez in 1849 and again in 1850 and 1851. As Mart made clear, for the United States, Lpez went to Cuba.34 These were failed expeditions despite being strongly supported by Southerners, who hoped to annex Cuba as a slave state. The collusion of the government in this filibustering was the subject of an 1850 editorial published in De Bows Review, critical of the military spirit dominant in the land, reminding readers of the similarities between the expedition to Cuba and the assistance to rebels in Texas by the United States: It is difficult to distinguish this case, upon principle, from that of the Texas revolution, when men and arms and ammunition were continually being thrown into that country from our ports, notwithstanding the loud protests of Mexico, with whom we were at peace and with whom we were bound by all the solemnities of treaty stipulations.35 That the United States did not intercept this expedition, despite the fact that the Law of Neutrality of 1818 forbade military expeditions against other nations to be initiated from U.S. soil,36 signaled that such fishing expeditions when not actively promoted, would be tolerated. In 1849 there were also rumors and publications in Brownsville, Texas, speaking of an attempt to gain the secession of seven northern Mexican states through a Declaration of Independence.37 One of the leaders of this movement was Jos Mara de Carvajal, a Texan supported in turn by the major ranchers of Southern Texas, who made several incursions into Mexico.38 In 1851 there was a similar filibustering expedition into Sonora initiated by Joseph Moorehead, who had made off with arms and ammunition from an army expedition.39 These various filibustering expeditions were public knowledge and, as a rule, supported in the U.S. press, anxious to offer news of more free soil to be made available to U.S. settlers. Baja was also subject to filibustering schemes from the United States, as was the entire northern area of Mexico. Expeditions going
110
into Baja placed MARB at the center of various filibustering attempts. Like Mart, MARB saw evidence of North American aggression and a new form of despotism (Mart, 365) being created in relations between the United States and Mexico. The scenario across La Frontera was then one of scarcity and ongoing violence. Horse thieves in the United States regularly fled across the border, as MARB and Judge Hayes remind us, and there were lynchings there too, like in California, often carried out by U.S. citizens.40 Too far from La Paz to receive the attention of the jefe poltico of Baja, the northern region was subject to the opportunistic practices of the various military subjefes appointed for short periods, or of outlaws, as Moreno noted in a letter to Mexican Consul Jos Marcos Mugarrieta in San Francisco in 1861.41 The Northern District, known as La Frontera, like the rest of the peninsula, was left in ruins after the war with the United States (Martnez, 372). In this northern sector the few residents still living around San Vicente, Guadalupe, and Todos Santos, resented that the last California governor, Po Pico, had taken it upon himself to grant the ex-missions to traitors, that is, to those who had taken the side of the enemy in the war. For this reason, President Santa Anna declared those grants null and void in 1853 (Martnez, 372). But there were other serious internal problems, in part generated by the failure of the administrators and troops on the peninsula to receive pay. The situation in La Frontera was worsened by the establishment of a military colony headed by former Alta California officers and soldiers (Captain Manuel Castro and Lt. Jos Antonio Chvez), who operated as caudillos in the area, and were insubordinate to central command (see Moreno letters in section B). It is precisely during this tumultuous period that the peninsula faced its strongest filibustering action from William Walker. Walker, who would invade Nicaragua in 1855, named himself president and was recognized by President Pierce, and in 1860 invaded Honduras, also invaded Mexico in 1853 and again in 1854. Walker42 arrived in San Francisco, where his ex-law partner lived, in June 1850, and began working as a journalist on the San Francisco Herald.43 His critical journalistic attacks against local corruption of the courts won him challenges to duels, jail sentences, and supporters, who would later accompany him south. While practicing law in Marysville,
111
near Sacramento, Walker developed a filibustering plan for taking over the northern Mexican states (Woodward, 14). In June of 1853, Walker arrived in Sonora proposing to establish a colony of Anglo-Americans ostensibly to assist in the defense of the border area against Apache incursions. In view of the recent filibustering endeavor by Raoussett de Boulbon (Vzquez and Meyer, 55), Walker was denied the right to enter the state. Walker then returned to San Francisco, where he began organizing men and gathering support for an invasion of Sonora and Baja California, a filibustering project openly publicized in the California press. Public knowledge of the filibustering plan led General Hitchcock, who had orders from President Fillmore against filibustering expeditions, to confiscate Walkers boat; but Senator Gwin, who would figure prominently in plans for Sonora in the 1860s, visited Hitchcock to make him aware of popular support for the filibusterers. When Hitchcock continued to refuse to release Walkers schooner, he was removed from the post by Secretary of State Jefferson Davis.44 In the meantime, Walker and his men had succeeded in securing another schooner, the Caroline, for their expedition (Moyano Pahissa, 98). The entire Walker episode thus brought into play a number of men who figured in plans for colonization of Northern Mexico in later decades.
The Walker-Burton connection

MARB had grounds to fear U.S.-sponsored incursions into Baja California; she had seen them close up. William Walkers filibustering expedition to Baja took place a year after MARB and her husband arrived in San Diego. In October 1853, Walker set out with forty-six men, arriving in La Paz on the newly procured Caroline in November. After taking over the town and arresting the political head, Colonel Rafael Espinosa, the filibusterer Walker proclaimed himself the president of the independent Republic of Lower California. After a brief skirmish with Mexican troops, the filibusterers headed out with their plunder of the capital to Cabo de San Lucas, a tactic that leads historian Valads to suggest that the entire episode could have been mere theatrics to satisfy the San Francisco sponsors underwriting the venture (Valads, 34). As Walker embarked to leave La Paz,45 a vessel arrived with the new jefe poltico, Colonel Juan Clmaco Rebolledo,
112
enabling the filibusterers to take both Espinosa and Rebolledo prisoners. From San Lucas, Walker, hearing of a Mexican naval warship coming from San Blas and other local efforts to raise forces, headed north to Ensenada de Todos Santos, the area claimed by MARB.46 There Walker took over the house of Pedro GastelumMARBs cousin by marriagewhich he named Fort McKibbin in honor of one of his casualties (Meade, 53), and put out a proclamation declaring the Repblica de Baja California and justifying his expedition to the people of the United States as an attempt to provide Lower California with an adequate government and energetic foreigners who could bring prosperity to the peninsula, unlike the indolent and half-civilized people of the territory.47 Reports of the filibustering expedition and the proclamation began appearing in the San Diego Herald in December of 1853 and later in the San Francisco Alta California, as the California population followed with interest the filibustering expedition that was expected to lead to the annexation of Baja and Sonora. MARB must have read with chagrin how the bajacalifornianos were depicted and how the Upper California public tolerated these racist and imperialist comments. The Herald, as we may recall, defended itself from the californio womens critique (as noted, in all likelihood an indignant MARB) for publishing Walkers proclamations and repeating Walkers chauvinist comments. In all his proclamations, Walker presented himself as the savior of the peninsula, protector of the dwellers property, and proponent of law and order. The initial Mexican resistance led by Colonel Francisco del Castillo Negrete and Antonio Mara Melndrez against the invaders failed, however. In the meantime, after the local press released word of Walkers success at La Paz and arrival at Ensenada, one hundred fifty additional men, well equipped and armed, left San Francisco to join Walker (Woodward, 39). In January 1854, the San Diego Herald published Walkers second proclamation, declaring the union of Sonora and Baja California as the Repblica de Sonora and noting that the area of Sonora had been without defense against the Indians, the merciless savages. Walkers forces, however, began to dwindle as men deserted because of poor rations, the better treatment of the officers, and other dissatisfactions; they returned to Upper California, and published their accounts in the press.48 The San Diego
113
press, following reports that sixty-two Mexicans had taken an oath to the new Republic of Sonora at the new headquarters in San Vicente, alleged that the rancheros in Baja were eager for Walkers help. Bandinis account of the matter conversely indicates that the Mexican rancheros, forced to attend the meeting, took the oath under compulsion.49 Bandini also makes clear that Walkers expedition was supported by the U.S. government, in view of its failure to act when recruitment of forces for the expedition were made in full sight of the authorities and published in local California papers (Bandini, 165). Manuel Clemente Rojo in his Apuntes histricos of 1855 also quotes one of the rancheros, Toms (Bona) Warner, who denies that any of the Mexicans wished to pledge allegiance to Walkers putative republic (cited in Valads, 41). Juan Mendozas and Melndrezs hunt for Walker from San Vicente to the Colorado River and back is described in detail by Valads in his historical account of Baja California. Suffice it to say that Melndrez and a small group of men continued to pursue Walker and his dwindling group of invaders until the latter and his troop of thirtythree arrived at Rancho Ta Juana, where they were contacted by Major Justus McKinstry, who had just arrived from San Francisco with orders to deal with Walker. Upon the arrival of Captain H. S. Burton at the border, both conferred, crossed to Ta Juana to speak with Walker, and returned to the U.S. to await Walkers retreat across the border, where he and his men surrendered to Major McKinstry and Captain Burton. The filibusterers were sent to San Francisco; their only charge: failure to observe the laws of neutrality between nations. Walker was charged and absolved.50 In all of this, the hero of the Mexican resistance to Walkers attempted take-over was Melndrez, who a few months later was ordered shot by the new governor of the peninsula, General Jos Mara Blancarte.51 MARBs friend, Flix Gibert, learned of the treasonous plan, but was unable to warn Melndrez.52 The charges of treason arose from conversations Melndrez had with Juan Bandini, who supported him and who was thought to be conspiring the annexation of La Frontera to the United States (Meade, 92).53 Two years later in 1855, while Walker was busy operating in Central America, Juan Napoleon Zerman and Samuel L. Dennison initiated yet another failed filibustering project in Baja California, alleged-
114
ly in support of the Ayutla Revolution and against President Santa Anna.54 The public in the United States clearly had no problem with giving aid and comfort to filibusterers. These filibustering episodes thus need to be examined within a larger history, for events of the 1850s cannot be separated from what happened in 1836 and 1846, wars that not only grounded MARBs political positions vis-a-vis the United States, but also shaped her entire existence.
Imperial projects and projections: Mexico as nature to U.S. culture

!Ah! que no haya un slo hombre capaz de mirar ms all de donde est parado y con 30 hombres hacerse dueo de ese pas que slo necesita brazos fuertes, guiados por una cabeza clara y previsora, para convertir esa aridez en jardines, esos pedregales en oro! ( MARB, 6-23-60) Mrs. Norval in MARBs Who Would Have Thought It? cannot understand why Dr. Norval, who has rescued Lola from the Indians, is holding the gems for her: And would that little nigger be so rich and her girls so poor! In the nineteenth century, the Unites States saw itself as cultivated and white in contrast to Latin America, which nature had doubly blessed with fertile lands, that lay uncultivated, and rich mineral resources that went without exploitation for lack of energetic and intelligent men. And just as the fictional Mrs. Norval had no problem with appropriating and profiting from Lolas property, so the Unites States saw no problem in invading and annexing Mexican territory. It was only natural that this nation should do so since that was nothing other than its Manifest Destiny. In 1845 John L. OSullivan, editor of the United States Magazine and Democratic Review, wrote, in support of the annexation of Texas, that it was our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.55 That Texas could come in as a slave state, as in fact it later did, troubled the North, but those in favor of annexation, like Presidents Jackson and Polk, argued that in view of the fact that Texas should have come into the Union with the Louisiana Purchase of
115
1803, annexation was no more than a peaceful acquisition of a territory once her own.56 What fifteen years later would be the divisive issue of slavery was considered not pertinent, since, they said, it was not a federal or national but a local question.57 Thus, it was argued, appropriation of Texas corrected a mistake and allowed what was destined to take effect. The discourse of manifest destiny was troubling to European nations, who increasingly saw a need to contain the growing power of the United States. But imperial powers always generate the appropriate rhetoric to justify their aggression, as the French did to justify their invasion of Mexico in the 1860s, constructing an equally powerful geist for intervention in the Americas to forestall U.S. aggression: latinidad, a support and defense of the Latin race and culture as a counterbalance to growing Anglo hegemony in the hemisphere. The two imperial discourses revolved around, on the one hand constructs of natureMexico, in this caseas in ruin and clearly in need of salvation, and secondly, of civilization, which the two rivaling hegemonic powers could provide. The particular historical context of the 1860s diffused and disarmed what could have been yet another inter-imperial confrontation in the Americas. It was not, however, the first time that relations between the United States and Mexico had attracted international attention. In the case of Texas, Great Britain and France were only too willing to recognize the Republic of Texas in order to contain the territorial ambitions of the United States.58 This potential interference had led President Polk to reaffirm the Monroe Doctrine in his message to Congress in December of 1845, warning Great Britain and France that the United States would not tolerate any intervention.59 The United States, which had previously tried to buy the territory60 and later encouraged migration and supplied arms to the rebels, moved swiftly to recognize Texas independence from Mexico, annexing the territory over Mexican objections in 1845. In effect, the United States was provoking and declaring war on Mexico. As William Ellerly Channing had warned already in 1837, To annex Texas is to declare perpetual war with Mexico.61 A year later, 1846, the United States invaded Mexico, alleging as Polk would have it, that Mexico was the aggressor nation. In California, the United States initiated its filibustering strategy, with Lieutenant John Fremonts prearranged Bear Flag Revolt.62 At the wars
116
end and with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico lost half of its territory, and the United States provided an indemnity to salve its conscience. This first war of expansionism in 1846 (although the Texan War of 1836 could also be seen as the beginning of that war) set the stage for a divided public opinion on U.S. aggression, an issue that MARB continually raises in her letters. Among those supporting the war effort was poet-journalist Walt Whitman, who in his editorials in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, in 1846, argued for teaching the insolent Mexican nation a lesson, dismissing unjust beginning protests on the basis of the nations need to fulfill its destiny.63 At one point Whitman favored the annexation of the whole of Mexico, although he later rejected the idea in view of the unfeasibility of the assimilation of the majority of the Mexican population (Brasher, 92). What appealed to President Polk especially was that the California territory was chiefly an uninhabited region, and the population to be transferred small.64 This attraction to the land and resources, but reluctance to accept the Mexican population, went hand in hand with racist notions about Mexicans and Latin Americans in general, notions that MARB takes up in her depiction of Lola in Who Would Have Thought It? Through the perception of Lola as black, MARB also underscores the dominant black/white paradigm that cannot account for latinos/as, except in binary terms.65 This racialization of imperial policies was echoed in future expansionist efforts. As we will see in the next chapter, interest of the southern states in Mexican territory continued throughout the Civil War and beyond.66 Historians for the most part have agreed with Sumner, who argued that the war with Mexico was one waged ingloriously by a powerful nation against a weak neighbor (Sumner, 365) and with Frederick Douglass on the U.S. plunder of Mexican territory. Chastising the nation for its hypocritical pretense of a regard for peace, Douglass noted that the wholesale murder in Mexico and the most barbarous outrages committed upon an unoffending people were shameful acts.67 But rarely is the war with Mexico recognized as the United States first act of imperialism against a legally constituted modern nation-state, notwithstanding that aggression against the Native American nations had been ongoing for an extended period of time.
117
In view of hegemonic consensus to plunder, however, it is important to recall that already in 1846, voices opposed the war, protests that would be only the first of many waged against imperialist intervention, as subsequent history has demonstrated.
MARB and the so-called Manifest Destiny

Understandably, MARB had an especially virulent reaction to the phrase Manifest Destiny. In a letter to Vallejo in 1869, she reacts to Vallejos comments on Baja and to his use of this phrase, noting that it is odious, insulting, and offensive, that it had the effect of making her blood boil: Y qu son esas indirectas que echa Ud. con respecto a la Baja Cal., Vega y el Manifest Destiny? Tres cosas para m muy incongruas porque amo mucho a California, siento mucho inters y simpata por el Sr. Vega, y un verdadero odio y desprecio (como buena mexicana) por el tal Manifest Destiny . . . De todas las malvenidas frases inventadas para hacer robos, no hay una ms odiosa para m que sa, la ms ofensiva, la ms insultante; se me sube la sangre a la mollera cuando la oigo, y veo como en fotografa en un instante, todo lo que los Yankies nos han hecho sufrir a los mexicanosel robo de Tejas; la guerra; el robo de California; la muerte de Maximiliano! . . . Si yo pudiera creer en el Manifest Destiny dejara de creer en la justicia o la sabidura divina. No, amigo mo, el Manifest Destiny no es otra cosa que Manifest Yankie trick como sus wooden hams and wooden nutmegs del Connecticut. Pero por desgracia los mexicanos estn ciegos, atarantados, no s qu tienen, y la verdad, desde la muerte del Emperador, yo tambin no s que esperar. Con l, se fue mi esperanza de cortar la malfica influencia de este pas sobre el mo, influencia como la sombra del rbol Ripas [?] que mata todo lo que no es de su propia especie . . . Pero a pesar de una verdad tan evidente, los mexicanos son atrados como las maripositas a la candela, a morir, a perecer . . . ah! los liberales, los liberales, que como el deslumbrado pastor mat la
118
ovejita que debera ser la ms querida, as ellos, los locos, los ciegos. Ya la posteridad los juzgar como merecen y les dar gracias con el pie del sajn sobre el cuello . . . As como lo dice el Manifest Destiny (2-15-69) Some of these views were attenuated but still reconfigured in Who Would Have Thought It? by Lolas Mexican grandfather and father, who, commenting on the national situation, consider the advantages of having a European monarch and the obstacles to such a project: Of course the ideas of this continent are different from those of Europe, but we all know that such would not be the case if the influence of the United States did not prevail with such despotic sway over the minds of the leading men of the Hispano-American republics. If it were not for this terrible, this fatal influencewhich will eventually destroy usthe Mexicans, instead of seeing anything objectionable in the proposed change, would be proud to hail a prince, who, after all, has some sort of a claim to this land, and who will cut us loose from the leading strings of the United States.68 MARB not only detested what she came to see as Yankee imperialism but was repulsed by the obsequious attitude of Latin-American leaders before the United States. And she had ample proof of this influence in Washington, D.C., where her friend, then Secretary to the Mexican Legation, Matas Romero (sounding much like the Argentine President Sarmiento), wrote his friend James Beekman in 1868: Ser mi orgullo y mi futuro, contribuir a establecer en mi pas el sistema poltico y moral de Estados Unidos. 69 This fawning subservience to the U.S. on the part of Mexican leaders she found abhorrent, leading her to look favorably upon another imperial option for Mexico. Her comments on the desirability of a French monarchy are explored in greater detail in chapter IV. U.S. designs on Mexican territory did not, of course, end with the invasion and occupation of the Southwest in 1846. The search for natural resources and markets triggered continued expansionist efforts
119
and calls for the annexation of the whole of Mexico. As the widely circulated United States Magazine and Democratic Review noted in an editorial, the war with Mexico had as a corollary effect enabled the survey of Mexican lands by taking thirty thousand volunteers into the country to visit the admirable climate, fertile fields and boundless mineral resources of Mexico,70 a prelude to subsequent emigration, for as the journal argued: This occupation of territory by the people is the great movement of the age, and until every acre of the North American continent is occupied by citizens of the United States, the foundation of the future empire will not have been laid. (Territorial Expanison, 366) The Colossus of the North, noted the French press, with no small degree of anxiety, was positioning itself to enslave the entire American continent.71 Like Lolas wealth and beauty, which attracted the likes of conniving predators Hackwell and Hammerhard, the lands and natural resources of Mexico, Central America, Cuba, and South America similarly led to numerous schemes. And while the French, as we shall see, deployed the preservation of the Latin race argument, expansionists in the United States argued for an American salvation of Mexicothe garden of North Americathat could become one day the central source of mineral wealth for the world, if it were saved from despotism and the curses of anarchy.72 A Democratic Review 1858 editorial asserts that Mxico, does not know how to be free, unlike the Anglo-Saxon Norman race of the United States (Ibid.). Drawing on the reigning positivistic logic, the journal argued that Mexicos problem was simple: it was racially determined: She started with every chance in her favor except one: her people were not white men; they were not Caucasians; they were numerous enoughtwice as many as our revolutionary ancestorsbut they were not white men. They were a bad mixture of Spaniard, Indians and Negroes, making an aggre-
120
gate containing few of the virtues of either, with most of the vices of all. Such men did not know how to be free. (Ibid.) The characteristic imperialist pronouncements about colonies not being able to govern themselves were here used with respect to Mexico, an independent nation. If Mexico [could] not govern itself, then what Mexicans needed was to be taken under the wing of American democracy, where the master would govern them till they learned how to govern themselves. The interventionwhich the U.S. rejected from Europewas to be undertaken by the United States itself, a nation of progress, order, and power, capable of emancipating nations. This intervention in the affairs of other sovereign nations, the editorial further notes, might be called filibusterism by Europe: But of what else is the history of nations made up? (Ibid.) The Democratic Review notes that England should be the last one to talk. Had she forgotten her filibustering in India and in China? Let her, at least, hold her peace, for on what part of the earths surface has she not pillaged and robbed where she could? (Ibid.) Casting a blind eye to what was then a recent war with Mexico, as well as the dispossession of Native Americans from their lands, the journal went on unselfconsciously to state: We have acquired by legitimate purchase or friendly negotiation every foot of ground over which our flag waves today. (Ibid.) With its national duty and destiny in mind, the United States, the journal argues, must recognize that the time had come to take control of Mexico and wheel her into the train of the worlds progress, as it ever was our duty to plant the Caucasian race on this soil and open its illimitable bosom to the sun. (Ibid.) Expansionism was perceived as a national and racial prerogative, with the whole of the American-Spanish world destined to change hands: No race but our own can either cultivate or rule the Western Hemisphere. No other system of government exists on the earth that has vitality, power, elasticity, sagacity, adaptation, or even stability to do this Herculean work. It is preeminently our own work, and it is a work which the Almighty has given us to do. (Ibid, 39)
121
The racist imperialist arrogance of this stance, evident in the 1850s and 1860s to MARB, was equally clear to Cuban patriot Jos Mart, who, in exile in New York in the 1880s, daily read press reviews of the plans the United States had not only for Cuba, but for the whole of Latin America, fearing as well the traitorous reaction of those in Latin America who would clear the way for the juggernaut: Will the free nations sweep the Isthmus clear of obstacles to the juggernautthose free nations that dwell there and will climb into its car as did the Mexicans in Texas?73 Mexico, in imperialist expansionist ideology, was thus a recumbent nature in need ofand desirous ofan application of U.S. culture. Only the U.S. could develop her natural resources, help her pay off her debts, take advantage of her strategic location, separate church and state, bring in technology, telegraph, railroads, develop industries for its workers, develop her ports, break down barriers between the United States and Mexico, paradoxically freeing her by making her its own. MARBs continual focus in her letters on race and the need to challenge public acceptance of these imperialist and racist projects can only be fully understood within this context of a nation dominated by expansionist, chauvinist, racist, and even sexualized rhetoric. What is also sad, if unavoidable perhaps, is that she was much affected by these ideological discourses and came to use the same type of language, the need for ambitious and energetic men in Mexico, to talk about her own country, her own culture, as evident in the opening epigraph to this section.
La Frontera politics
Throughout this turbulent period MARBs cherished Frontera, as outlined, was constantly in crisis and in the process of reconstruction. In addition to filibustering, the Northern District of Baja faced other border incidents,74 including continued allegations of U.S. citizens interference in political affairs in Baja California. Juan Bandini, with property in Tecate, and Santiago Argello, with his rancho Ta Juana across the border, were both residents of San Diego and citizens of the
122
United States who were often linked to efforts to annex Baja California. The border was for them and for MARB a constructed borderline, subject to change, which they welcomed and which she feared. As previously indicated, it was alleged that Bandini and Jos Necochea, a Spaniard also living on the Frontera, had both urged Melndrez to turn to U.S. forces if Mexico did not come to his aid in his fight to retain power as subprefecto of the Northern Division (Meade, 65). And, of course, Mexico did not send any aid, not even the salaries for the troops garrisoned on the border. As some fifty-seven rancheros expressed in a letter sent to President Santa Anna, the losses incurred in their fight against the filibusterer Walker, whose plunder left them and the church at Santo Toms without cattle, corn, horses, and farm tools, as well as without goods in the small shops in the area, led to their temporary migration to San Diego, where they joined former subprefecto Castillo Negrete, who had also fled there during the filibustering episode (Meade, 6768). Santa Annas response was to send Blancarte as the new jefe poltico of Baja, who in turn had Melndrez killed. When the Abb Alric arrived at La Frontera in 1856 to serve as priest at Santo Toms, he found the mission church occupied by soldiers, and when he began farming part of the land, the hungry soldiers raided his gardens, with the permission of the subprefecto Francisco de Paula Ferrer, who argued that his soldiers needed to eat.75 The French Alric, who fled to San Diego a few years later when another revolt broke out in the Frontera, was also an acquaintance of MARBs (5-2-57). As in the case of the Walker expedition discussed earlier, as well as the subsequent Esparza affair, the relative isolation of the Mexican northern division meant that any major disruption along the California border forced Mexican residents to flee to the relative safety of San Diego and reside for periods of time on the U.S. side of the border. More frequent were crossings into the United States for food supplies. Problems of contraband, cattle rustling, and Indian raids continued along the entire U.S.-Mexican border until the end of the nineteenth century. As we will see in the next chapter, the Civil War in this country and the French invasion of Mexico created particularly tense situations for all Mexican borderlands, certainly not the propitious environment needed to induce investment and development, a fact not lost on MARB.
123
MARB was still in San Diego when Colonel Jos Castro76 was named subjefe of the northern district in 1856. Although her letters indicate that she thought very little of the former military commander of Alta California, she often wrote seeking his assistance in retrieving stolen goods and even requesting special favors, like pre-dating documents, helping her obtain land on the Colorado River (4-23-57), and obtaining official copies of documents pertaining to her property in Northern Baja (4-23-57). During his subprefecture, Castro is said to have committed a series of illegal acts (Valads, 99) and to have profited personally from sales of lands in the northern district to foreigners.77 Moreno, too, shared MARBs opinion on Castro, especially since the latter had refused to recognize any of the land grants made by Governor Pico in 1845 and 1846, in the process invalidating a land grant made to Moreno. At the onset of the civil war in Mexico (185860), Castros claim to the post of jefe poltico and comandante militar of the whole of Baja was not recognized in La Paz, much to MARBs relief (12-28-58). In the meantime, Moreno had written La Paz asking for a new subjefe of the northern division.78 During this period, Feliciano Ruiz de Esparza, Castros secretary, was often left in charge of La Frontera affairs while Castro went to San Francisco to testify in land title cases, as former commander of Alta California (Doyce in Alric, 99). Upon Castros assassination in 1860 in a drunken brawl after his return from San Francisco, Esparza assumed power as subjefe poltico. His claim to the position was unsuccessfully challenged; his subsequent execution of twelve individuals from the various rancheras, many of them californios from Upper California, accused of being bandits,79 led relatives and friends of those executed to rise up in arms against Esparza, who was supported by San Diegans (among them Bandini and Col. Cave J. Couts, who provided gunpowder and supplies to the Esparcistas), but not by the majority of californios, as San Diego Judge Hayes makes clear in his diaries.80 Those supporting the anti-Esparcistas Mendoza and Moreno, like George Ryerson, were treated with great indignation by San Diego residents, especially by those claiming land along the border like the Bandini and Argello families that turned their anger against Moreno.81 As we have seen, Moreno was not the favorite of the Argellos and Bandinis, whom he despised, a dislike that he shared with
124
MARB. In her letters she laughs with him at his descriptions of the inquisidor-Jos Mara Bandini (who married Teresa Argello)82 and his uncle Santiago Argello. Recalling Argellos claims against the U.S. after the Walker filibustering, since Walker did stay at the Ta Juana Rancho during negotiations with the U.S. army officials, she jokes that the two tan serficos y caritativos will not gainsay them the opportunity to laugh at their expense, being saintly examples of those who feed on their fellow men: con su santo ejemplo justifican el comer prjimo, but MARB does, however contradictorily, sardonically grant them the right to benefit at U.S. expense: Me alegro mucho que su to de Ud. tuvo tan buena oportunidad de matar a costillas de los hijos de Washington el hambre atrasada que trajo de entre los de Montezuma. Sabe Ud. que hay su diplomacia en eso, su golpe de estado? Quiz el inquisidor (Doa Justa) le aconsej; como ella es tan ha! buena abogada! Aunque creo que el instinto natural sera suficiente para guiar a su to cuando un lechoncito relleno es la cuestin. (2-27-59) MARB also shared Morenos disdain towards Castro, and scorned his alcohol-induced annexationist blabber, and his second-in-command Esparza: As es que los planes de anexacin sugeridos por mal whisky a la cabeza embrutecida de Castro y las maromas de ese miserable macaco de Esparza, slo de casualidad los supimos pues las cartas de Ned estaban en Fort Monroe y de otro modo sera casi imposible saber lo que pasa en la Frontera. Yo creo que no sera malo que Ud. me dijera cualquier cosa de inters que Ud. quisiera hacer saber al gobierno constitucional. (2-21-60) From the East Coast MARB tried to maintain close contact with affairs on La Frontera; in this, Moreno was a key conduit. In her letters to him MARB makes clear not only her connections to the Mex-
125
ican diplomatic corps in Washington, D.C., but also her good opinion of Moreno, whose ideas she was willing to transmit to the Legation. Back in San Diego, those who disliked anyone who questioned their right to lands in Baja, were amazed that Moreno had such influence, as is clear in Hayes notes: [Don Matas] is celebrated for intrigue and management, and, unless I am mistaken, has always had considerable influence in Mexico, although a long resident of San Diego. In his day, poor Don Juan Bandini often felt this pestilent influence, to his heavy cost, mentally and pecuniarily. (Hayes, 236) What MARBs reaction to the violence on La Frontera also reveals is her resorting to racism as a putdown of those she despises, which is clear in her description of Esparza as a dark macaco (monkey), a mestizo that Hayes notes was derisively called cholo by the californios (Hayes, 237). MARB resented the entire Esparza affair for frightening off potential investors in her mining business, as she expresses in a letter to Vallejo: En consecuencia de los alborotos en la frontera nos ser necesario suspender operaciones all, hasta saber aqu que aquello est mas quieto. Todo est listo para comenzar la empresa de que habl a Ud. (cuando me dijo que tena el alma atravesada) y slo los desrdenes de Esparza nos detienen ahora. [...] Tenemos hecha una contrata con una Compaa en Baltimore para trabajar esas minas y ahora nos vemos obligados a esperar porque esos bribones de la Frontera siguen con sus estpidas picardas. Ah! que no haya un solo hombre capaz de mirar ms all de donde est parado y con 30 hombres hacerse dueo de ese pas que slo necesita brazos fuertes, guiados por una cabeza clara y previsora, para convertir esa aridez en jardines, esos pedregales en oro! Pero no lo hay, la anarqua los ha enerciado a todos, y Uds. los californios del Alta miran con aptica indiferencia al pas que antes llamaron suyo, y nadie se mueve. (6-23-60)
126
Her words here reiterate her construct of California as el pas, for it is California and not Mexico that can be won over with thirty good enterprising men to work its mines and convert its arid fields into green gardens. But it is worth noting that in her diatribe she also echoes the discourses of imperialismand racismalleging that the lands south of the border only need the energetic push of those with ambition, etc., and sounding much like the southerner Gwin, who a few years later argued for colonization of Sonora by U.S. citizens in view of Mexicos need for an injection of a hardy, vigorous, and energetic race of men, who could not only work the mines and cultivate the soil but defend the country against any hostile invasion or Indian depredations.83 When it suits her, MARB appropriates this heroic narrative, not to argue for Manifest Destiny or an energetic superior Anglo-Saxon race, but to lament that no californio, from either Alta or Baja California, was willing to move to liberate and lift from a state of degradation those lands in Baja that cried out for development. She, who rejected any political intervention of the United States in Mexico, was, however, only too willing to introduce foreign capital to produce progress: Todos los que tenemos propiedad all seramos beneficiados si capital e industria se introdujese en el pas, y slo por un puado de estpidos, abyectos, bribones, todos tenemos que esperar. Ay!, y quin sabe si la buena ocasin pase, pues no es probable que estos Seores quieran detener ese capital y quin sabe hasta cundo esos alborotos cesarn. (6-23-60) As a landowner in La Frontera, she was exasperated by the local stupid and abject rascals who created an uninviting climate of violence. She did, nonetheless, realize that a good deal of the violence on the border was a result of poverty and a lack of employment, as she continues: Yo s bien que sera muy fcil manejarlo todo en la Frontera con slo el hecho de ir all con capital y la misma fuerza necesaria para el laborio de las minas impondra suficiente
127
respeto para impedir atentados violentos. De una vez comenzado el trabajo todo ira bien pues tenemos el apoyo del gobierno liberal y el del territorio tambin. No es esto bastante hacer que le enoje un tanto, que teniendo todas estas ventajas no ms el temor de esos miserables tontos detienen una empresa tan bien proyectada? As es, los Seores en Baltimore han odo que en la Frontera un hombre ha levantado tropas y est fusilando y confiriendo propiedades a trochemoche, y creen que para poder comenzar a trabajar las minas sera necesario mantener una fuerza armada. (6-23-60) Once foreign capital established the mining works and hired local workers, it was argued, order would be established on the border, but nothing would happen as long as it was known that strongman Esparza was executing men without trial or jury and allocating property left and right. While she dismisses Esparzas importance, she also realizes that, for East Coast investors, news accounts of violence on the border magnify the threat to all investment: La distancia magnifica los hechos de tal manera que Esparza con un puado de hambrientos es representado aqu como un hombre que puede con sus tropas oponerse con facilidad al gobierno, pero no saben que slo es fuerte porque nadie le hace caso. (6-23-60) After a period of violence, atrocities, and forced recruitment of troops (Alric, 123), the liberal government finally removed Esparza, who, faced with a battalion of two hundred led by Lieutenant Colonel Eustaquio Cota84 and Jos Matas Moreno, fled to the island of Guadalupe, west of San Quintn, which had been granted to him by Colonel Castro (Meade, 81). Esparza was later assassinated by one of his own men, and Mendoza, who had opposed Esparza with an armed group of his own, was shot in the back by Juan Bandinis son-in-law, Cave Couts, and got away with it.85 When the San Diego courts exonerated Couts, Moreno wrote an article denouncing the judgment and asked Amparo to translate it. MARB received Morenos letter six
128
months later and suggested an alternative tactic that called upon a discursive approach to the matter: a satirical sketch of Couts: Mi opinin es que sera mejor que Ud. le ridiculizara de una manera tan picante que hiciera rer a todo el mundo y rabiar al bribn asesino. Personas como Couts se alegran de entrar en cualquiera polmica con un caballero, porque aunque salgan pateados nunca pierden nada y siempre les orgullece el honor de haber tenido por adversario a un hombre de honor. (6-20-62) MARB ultimately advised against publishing the article in the local San Diego press, noting that to publish it six months after the fact (it took that long for the mail to reach Amparo in Baltimore during the war) would only be counterproductive, serving to grant Couts the celebrity he sought. Her dismissal of Couts as a rascal not worthy of an honorable opponent like Moreno again countered the dominant San Diegan opinion of one of its pioneers, a man defended by Hayes in court and befriended by all the wealthy San Diegans.
Matas Moreno
While MARB was on the East Coast, Moreno was named subprefect of the Northern Baja District, by Mexican President Jurez and Governor Teodoro Riveroll. Moreno, beset by all kinds of problems, resigned after about a year. Morenos life is, in a way, paradigmatic, representing the situation of an intelligent, well-read californio man in the 1860s in Baja California, a progressive thinkerwithout capital and therefore ill-equipped to see his projects through. MARB saw in Moreno a reflection of her own situation, compounded further by her gender, as she told Vallejo: Cmo me entusiasma Ud. con su entusiasmo, al hablar del progreso de California! . . . Pero despus recaigo en mi desaliento y digo, ah!, si yo fuera hombre! . . . Qu miserable cosa es una mujer! Decididamente la Providencia debe recompensarme de alguna manera por haberme hecho mujer!
129
. . . y fea . . . y pobre! . . . va! Como si ser mujer no fuera suficiente calamidad sin aadir otras. (2-15-69) But as the case of Moreno demonstrates, class was stronger than gender, even in the presence of intelligence and ambition. Morenos dire economic straits at home, where he had a wife and several children, led him to serve as an agent for entrepreneurs from Upper California; he also acquired land in La Frontera, yet was never able to gain the economic security he sought for his family. A brief history of Moreno, one of MARBs key correspondents, offers insight on their exchanges, discussions, and references. Jos Matas Moreno, MARBs paisano, was born in 1819 in the town of San Antonio, south of La Paz in Baja California. He was the son of an English whaler, Joseph Mathew Brown, who married Dolores Carrillo, perhaps a relative of the Carrillos in California and of MARB herself.86 Upon the death of Brown, who took the name Jos Matas Moreno, the younger Matas was only two years old. Given the familys poverty, Friar Gabriel Gonzlez, president of the Dominican missions, took him under his wing and educated him. Gonzlez was not a typical friar. As Martnez notes in his history: This priest [sic] had carried his activities beyond the church and had been converted into a farmer, merchant, cattleman, politician, and father of a family.87 When the jefe poltico Luis del Castillo Negrete (18371842) sought to secularize the missions, as ordered by the federal government, Fr. Gonzlez organized a group of bajacalifornios against him; among the leaders was the young Jos Matas Moreno (Rojo, 113). Castillo Negrete succeeded in defeating the insurrectionists and, after a trial, deported the leaders, including Fr. Gonzlez, Moreno, and eight others, to Mazatln (Martnez, 146). With a new government in Mexico (Santa Anna) and a new jefe poltico, Fr. Gonzlez returned to Baja with his followers to have his mission lands restored to him. That year, 1843, Moreno left Baja to reside in San Diego, California. His mother had remarried and her husbands family, the Albanivans, lived in San Diego. In 1845 Moreno, one of the few educated men in Alta California, was appointed Governor Po Picos Secretary
130
General of California. In 1846, as previously indicated, both Pico and Moreno fled south to escape from the U.S. military forces and to seek military support in Mexico, but when they arrived in Guaymas, they found that the entire nation had been invaded and realized no relief was available for Alta California. Immediately afterwards, Moreno went to Baja and joined the resistance promoted by Friar Gonzlez and headed by Captain Manuel Pineda. Friar Gonzlezs reasons for fighting to maintain a system more likely to be favorable to his retention of mission property were perhaps more egoistic than patriotic, as he was a Spaniard by birth, but he can definitely be credited with advocating Bajas resistance against the U.S. invaders headed by Burton in 1847. As commander-in-chief of the Guadalupana Guerrilla of Comand, Moreno addressed the people of Todos Santos, inciting them, in a formal Spanish style, not to fall for the promises of the North Americans and to take up arms: Conciudadanos: dos caminos nos quedan abiertos: el americano ofrece esclavitud y oprobio, Mxico honor y libertad. Volved los ojos a lo pasado, contemplad lo presente y no olvidis en el porvenir que Mxico se hizo libre para vivir tambin libre del influjo de ninguna potencia extranjera. Tened tambin presente que un puado de aventureros no tiene bastante poder fsico ni moral para vencer la gran nacin mexicana.88 Moreno, then about twenty-eight years of age, offered a fiery speech meant to encourage armed resistance in view of the citizenrys generalized acquiescence to the invaders. This excerpt of his speech not only provides a good idea of Morenos anti-imperialist and nationalist ideas but also of his discursive skills. The resistance organized by Pineda, Gonzlez, and Moreno, however, was eventually put down. Once the Mexican forces were defeated, at least temporarily, Burton concentrated on reinforcing his control of the peninsula, only to learn late in June 1848 that in February the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had been signed and that Baja California would remain in the hands of Mexico.
131
After the war Moreno returned to the border area, although he traveled to Mexico City at some point, since MARB refers to that trip in a letter from the East Coast (9-5-59). Once in La Frontera, Moreno worked to gain the patent to lands at the ex-mission of San Vicente in the Northern Baja District that Governor Pico had granted him. It was then, in 1851, that he married Prudenciana Vallejo Lpez and settled in San Diego, keeping abreast of events in La Frontera (as the two Moreno letters in section B reveal), while looking into finding investors for the exploitation of silver deposits, at San Isidro Ajajolojol, and salt, at San Quintn. In 1861, as previously indicated, the Mexican government named Moreno subprefecto of la Frontera. The post was then under the control of Esparza, who, as we saw earlier, controlled the northern area by force. General Plcido Vega, under orders from Jurez, sent troops to install Moreno officially as subprefecto. During his prefecture, Morenos family resided in San Diego while he conducted official business at Rancho Guadalupe (which he would purchase two years later for three thousand dollars), situated in the lands of the ex-mission Guadalupe.89 In 1861, while serving as subprefecto of the Northern District, Moreno surveyed the area and submitted to the Mexican government his statistical report Descripcin del Partido Norte de la Baja California, an important document that provides a detailed description of La Frontera, an area of thirty thousand square miles in northern Baja California, in terms of natural resources, mining potential, fertility of the soil, location of arable land, crops cultivated, water availability, forested areas, grazing areas, demographics, etc. and a thorough report on land tenure, ranchos, titles, vacant lands, etc. The report includes information on the indigenous populations residing in La Frontera, including the Giliguis, the Huerteos and the large group of the Yumas (more than three thousand). MARB, of course, was supremely interested in such a document as it impacted her holdings in the area.90 In his report Moreno notes that the Northern District subprefect Castro, who was a self-proclaimed governor of Baja, sold thousands of acres to individuals who did not reside in the area, including lands that had already been granted to other individuals by former jefes polticos, making the sales and/or claims fraudulent. In some recordings, the lands were nonexistent, as in the case of a Cas-
132
tro grant to Juan Machado of the Sierra Nunca-Vistathe mountain never seen (Lower California Frontier, 65). Morenos main point in exposing Castros machinations was that the land sales often went to residents of Upper California who never intended to live in La Frontera, but got these titles to sell for small sums in San Francisco, in the dream then indulged by both buyers and sellers, that Lower California was soon to be sold to the United States and with an eye to benefiting from speculation and fraud (Ibid.). Of course, in retrospect, MARBs dealings in La Frontera were along the same lines, as we shall see in chapter V. Subprefect Morenos report also questioned the concession of land of the ex-mission Guadalupe made to Bandini in 1845 by Governor Pico. In a letter sent to Consul Jos Marcos Mugarrieta, Mexican Consul in San Francisco, Moreno expresses his concerns over recent events in La Frontera and the problems created by Esparza and his supporters in San Diego. Although the Esparza affair was over by May 1861, when he sent the letter, there would continue to be resentments and bad feelings, as he notes: Algunos Esparcistas yankees, chilenos y espaoles en San Diego, son los que dan algunas habladas, sin dejar de mencionar a los clebres Bandini y Arguelloenemigos jurados del orden y tranquilidad de este pas, porque desde 1846 en la guerra de Mexico y Estados Unidos traicionaron a la patria y siempre que han podido han hecho y coadyuvado a los males de aqu. Estos han huido espantados viendo caer su poder y sabiendo que yo los conozco de cara y maas y puedo asegurarle a Ud. que su poca se acab y que con mano fuerte los castigar al caer en mi poder. Ellos conforme pasaban y repasaban la lnea divisoria, eran ciudadanos americanos o mexicanos segn el terreno que pisaban, llevando y trayendo enredos y torpezascon una constante amenaza para Mexico y como su paniaguado Cave T. Coutsde feliz memoria les ayudaba, ellos son, repito los que se ocupan de hablar de lejos y chismean. Punzan pero no cortan. (Hayes papers MM260 Bancroft Library ms.)
133
In Morenos letters to MARB, it is also clear (from her responses) that he continued to have a deep-seated resentment against those who had sided with the United States in the war against Mexico and were still enjoying property in Mexico, namely, Juan Bandini and Santiago Argello, whom he considered enemies of Mexico. Moreno, like Castillo Negrete before him, challenged the land holdings in Baja of traitors, who changed nationality according to what best suited them at the moment, and questioned whether most of the choice ex-mission lands in La Frontera should be in the hands of foreigners.91 As a consequence of Morenos and Castillo Negretes complaints, all of these land titles were annulled until they were reviewed and ratified by the federal Mexican government. In his 1861 report, Moreno notes that Bandinis title had been canceled by the federal government and granted to Custodio Souza, who died intestate. Once the land returned to the government, it was sold in 1863 to Moreno for three thousand pesos (Piera Ramrez y Martnez Zepeda, in Moreno, 11). Here too, Moreno, like MARB, was not above securing, out of the spoils of contested lands and questionable grants, lands for himself. Later, about a year after he was appointed subprefecto, finding that the central government did not supply him with the means to support his garrison troops, Moreno asked to be relieved of his post, arguing that he wished to dedicate himself to his business affairs and his family. The entire Esparza episode had produced all kinds of problems and humiliations, including his arrest in San Diego on charges of violating the U.S. neutrality laws.92 These charges were dropped, but led Moreno to express to his wife: Parece que todos los Yankees Dieguinos se han propuesto hacerme dao. No importa, yo tambin soy hombre, y muy hombre (Moreno letters, 8-12-61). He knew well that his californio enemies in town were behind these attacks, and as he said in his letters, he hoped he never had to live in San Diego again: Estoy muy fastidiado de ese pueblo,aunque no todos tienen la culpa (Moreno letter, 10-1-63). After 1862, Moreno dedicated himself to his family and business affairs, traveling to La Paz, San Francisco, and Mexico City to negotiate concessions to U.S. businessmen, and associating himself with several U.S. companies and individuals to exploit mines or salt
134
deposits in Baja.93 His letters to his wife, Prudenciana, provide evidence of poverty and a life of debts and of living on credit in order to make ends meet. It was this lack of liquid capital that Moreno shared with MARB, and that led both to seek the support of Yankee investors. Like the equally cash-poor MARB, Moreno, focused as he was on social mobility, did not see U.S. investment and economic control of Mexico as politically dangerous. Both Moreno and MARB feared direct invasion and annexation, but did not yet see the more insidious dangers implicated by foreign investment and development. It would take someone like Mart to make that clear to Latin America. Moreno died in November 1869, at his rancho in Guadalupe, Baja California, a few months after the death of Henry S. Burton. A year after Morenos death, his statistical report, supplemented by information from other reports, became the basis for a series of San Diego Union articles on the Baja region, still a hot topic for investment, speculation, and filibusterism. The importance of La Frontera was clear to the Union in 1870, especially in view of expectations for a railroad terminus in San Diego amidst rumors that Baja would be annexed to the United States. The Union editorial notes that San Diego could not long remain indifferent to whatever may affect the prosperity of any of these localities, identified as are they all, for one reason or another, with the progress of our own city.94
La Frontera: MARBs personal interest

In light of the burgeoning population today in the border city of Tijuana, with more than a million inhabitants, it is difficult to realize that in 1861 when Moreno wrote his report on La Frontera95 there were only 194 inhabitants (white and mestizo) in the northern part of Baja and about 3,697 indigenous peoples, most of these (three thousand) living in Indian camps along the Colorado River or in the area of Jacum, near Tecate (Moreno, 33). Five years earlier there had been a few more white and mestizo residents (about 497) in the ranchos and villages, but violence in the form of filibustering, banditry, and internal strife, as well as the scarcity of goods (food, clothing, etc.), had driven the population to San Diego or to the southern part of the
135
peninsula (Moreno, 3739). Tijuana was in 1856 a rancho with a total of twenty-two dwellers, most of these of the Santiago Argello family, but in 1861 there were no residents there (Moreno, 3739). Among the few residents of La Frontera are several mentioned in MARBs letters to Moreno: George Ryerson,96 Loreto Amador, Guadalupe Amador, Guadalupe Machado, Antonio Chvez, and Lino, who worked at the Rancho de San Ysidro de Ajajolojol. Loreto Amador is mentioned often in Morenos letters to his wife as he often crossed the border with messages for Prudenciana Moreno, especially during Morenos term as subjefe poltico of La Frontera. Frontera in Spanish refers to the boundary, to the limits, of a nation-state and is more akin to the term border, but clearly, it sometimes has been used to mark the limits of a developed or settled area, as is the case with frontier. Thus, Lieutenant Jos Manuel Ruiz, MARBs grandfather, was called Teniente de Fronteras (Martnez, Gua, 482), although he served in the northern Baja area long before there was a division between Alta and Baja California, and many years before there was a state boundary between Mexico and the United States. The fronteras marked the limit to the area under mission control. Beyond that limit were the gentile Indians, who rejected missionization. The term frontera is also used to refer to the lands near a borderline, that is, to the borderlands, but historically in its usage has not always referred to both sides of the border. La Frontera for MARB refers exclusively to the northern Mexican lands near the U. S. border. These borderlandsLa Fronteraare constructed from a Mexican perspective and do not refer to the U.S. Southwest. Thus, when MARB asks Moreno or Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo about La Frontera, she is always referring to the Northern District of Baja California, where she had two land claims. One was her claim to the mines at San Antonio, situated eightyseven miles south of San Diego and said to contain rich copper and silver deposits. These mines were patented to MARB in 1859 and acquired by purchase. The lands of San Antonio were part of a cattle ranch granted in 1834 to the Indian Simn Ranc by the then jefe poltico of the Northern District, Jos Moreno Monterde; judicial pos-
136
session was given in that same year.97 When Ranc died, the land was inherited by his sister, Loreto Ranc, who in turn sold it to MARB.98 Whatif anythingMARB ultimately paid for the mine is not at all clear, but her February 21, 1860, letter, written from Georgetown, to Moreno indicates that she had not paid Ranc the agreed amount: Si ve Ud. a Loreto Ranc, dgale que al salir de San Diego la busqu para darle el dinero que le debo pero que no la pude hallar, adding further that H.S. Burton was traveling to San Diego and would pay her then. MARB was by then concerned with rumors of Andrs Prez Vidals interest in the land (2-21-60). Before MARB had her title to San Antonio certified by President Jurez in 1859, the mine had been worked by foreigners (1857) but abandoned for lack of capital.99 MARBs worries about her title to San Antonio were well-founded since once a site had been abandoned, anyone could make a denuncia, stake a claim for that land, as was done repeatedly under Castros subprefecture.100 After the Burtons had secured title to the San Antonio lands, they looked for ways to exploit those holdings. MARB undoubtedly had a major hand in writing the prospectus brochure for the Lower California Mining Company (see chapter VI, section B), formed by the Burtons in New York in 1865, towards the end of the Civil War. The selling of stock for this company depended on successful assays of the mines but efforts to accomplish this work, while they were on the East Coast, never seem to get off the ground. Burton took a leave from the army in 1860, traveled to California, and left MARBs documents with lawyer George C. Johnson. Whether Burton was able to make any arrangements is unclear, but it appears that nothing came of his trip. Had the corporation been successful in selling stock, this income would undoubtedly have afforded the Burtons a living in New York. (As we will see later, this land served as collateral for a loan from Barlow and Company stockholders.) As Valads notes, mining works in Baja were more often than not a maneuver of speculators to get investors on board, even if nothing thereafter materialized.101 An examination of the prospectus will provide a good idea of the role played by Moreno as well as by Romero (see chapter IV) in the certification of MARBs property by the Mexican government, as well as in granting the project the semblance of official approval, as an inducement for potential investors.
137
Tangled family webs

MARBs major interest in La Frontera was not the mining project at San Antonio, but rather the Spanish land grant of Ensenada, which, as previously noted, had been given to her grandfather in 1804. The land was surveyed, and he came into official possession of the land in 1808. Jos Manuel Ruiz had four daughters, and a son who died young; all four daughters should have inherited a part of the Ensenada grant; it appears, howeverperhaps following patriarchal traditionthat in 1824 Ruiz signed over the grant to one of his sons-inlaw, Francisco Gastelum (married to Ruizs daughter Salvadora). The transfer of property is a private document, merely a scribble on the original grant [Traspaso estos sitios a poder de Don Francisco Gastelum a fin de que haga el uso que mejor le acomode, sujetndose a satisfacer los reconocimientos que arriba se expresan.102], transferring the sitios to Gastelum to use as he saw fit; but it is not an official and recorded document of conveyance. The note is signed, however, by the governor of Baja in Loreto, Ruiz himself. This document was mutilated and only officially registered and filed in 1850, although Gastelum and his wife and their family had lived on part of the land (El Aguajito, El Maneadero and El Gallo) for more than twenty years. Ruizs other three daughters, who were probably all born, like Isabel, in San Vicente, were then married and living in the area of La Paz; they had a totally different interpretation of the inheritance; each of these daughters claimed one fourth of the land. To pursue their claim to their share of the inheritance legally, they needed assistance, and in the 1850s MARB offered to be their agent to investigate the matter. This, at least, is what Isabel Ruiz de Maytorena, MARBs mother, alleged when she sued her daughter some forty years later. In the suit brought by Isabel Ruiz de Maytorena in Superior Court of the County of San Diego in August of 1892 against her daughter MARB (see chapter VI, section B), Isabel Ruiz states that as one of the daughters of Jos Manuel Ruiz, deceased, she stood to inherit one undivided fourth part of all that tract of land known as the Ensenada de Todos Santos, containing, she said, some five leagues in Lower California. She alleged that on May 10, 1853, in San Diego, her daughter induced her mother, Isabel, and two aunts, Mara Encar-
138
nacin Ruiz Cota and Mara Antonia Ruiz Salgado, to sign over and transfer their rights to said property under the pretext that they were merely conveying to her a power of attorney, authorizing her in their names and behalf to apply for and obtain a patent for said land from the government of Mexico. Isabel Ruiz noted that the said document was written in English, a language that the three sisters could not read; no translation of the document was made available to them. Isabel Ruizs suit against MARB and the heirs of her sister Salvadora Ruiz de Gastelum, who were then in possession of most of the Ensenada lands, did not go anywhere, as she died the following year, although her will made clear that whatever she received from the suit was to go to her son Federico and her lawyer. By the time of the suit her other daughter, Manuela, had died. What representations and promises MARB made to her mother and aunts are not clear, but Isabel Ruiz suit notes that her daughter profited from this conveyance, while she received nothing. That MARBs mother and two aunts would make an outright deed to their share of the Ensenada lands to MARB is highly improbable, especially considering that each woman had other children, all of which lends credence to the alleged fraud alluded to in the 1892 suit. MARB perhaps rationalized that none of the Ruiz daughters was, in the 1850s, in a position to fight the court battles necessary for the claim and much less to move on developing the land. She, having important connections on both sides of the border, and a deed, could maneuver and deal from a position of greater strength, however. Although one cannot know what verbal arrangements or promises MARB proffered to the Ruiz sisters, Isabel Ruiz alleged that MARB misled and deceived them. Since the deaths of Isabel Ruiz, her son Federico, and MARB occurred within the space of three years (1893-95), the suit never went to court, and there was ultimately no legal decision on the matter. The accusation and the facts of the case suggest, at best, deception by MARB, who was not above committing fraud to achieve her objectives; she could rationalize that without aggressively pursuing the claim, all was lost. Legal rights are always, unfortunately, linked to economic power and resources, and while MARB never was in full control of these lands herself, here, as in the case of the San
139
Antonio mines, and the case of Jamul, she found that access to legal discourses and political power could spell the difference between having no property at all and having potential property at least. MARB, moreover, learned that potential capital was as important as liquid assets themselves. Suffice it to say that on the basis of this conveyance from her mother and aunts, MARB solicited and received title to this landin her name alonefrom President Jurez. The assistance of Jos Mara Mata, Mexican ambassador to Washington, and later, Matas Romero, would be undoubtedly of great benefit to MARB, as they facilitated courier service while they served in Washington, D.C., as is clear from the company prospectus. Romero, who served as legation officer and later ambassador of Mexico in Washington, was an important contact for MARB, as we shall see. The issue of Ensenada would become MARBs major preoccupation in the last ten years of her life, although clearly, plans for developing this land were in the works as early as 1853 in San Diego, the year after she arrived.103 Retrieving and speculating with La Ensenada became for MARB a lifelongif seemingly futilequest. She would have found vindication and no doubt satisfaction in the fact that about fifty years after her death, the U.S.-Mexican Claims Commission validated part of her claim to Ensenada de Todos Santos.
Leaving San Diego

After spending nearly seven years in San Diego, in 1859, Captain Burton was ordered East to Fortress Monroe. The departure of Burton and his family was reported in the San Diego Herald: Departures.Among the passengers who left on the last steamer were Capt. H. S. Burton, 3d Artillery, and family, en route for the Atlantic. Capt. Burton came to this country as Lieut. Col. of the New York Regiment of Volunteers, during the war with Mexico, and at its close was transferred to the command of Co. F. 3d Arty. in which capacity he commanded the Post at the Mission San Diego, for several years, during which time he acquired a host of warm friends, who sin-
140
cerely regret his departure. Capt. B. was stationed for the last two years at Fort Yuma, and has been ordered to Fort Monroe, on the Atlantic. The evening previous to his departure, a complimentary Ball was given to the Captain, by the citizens of this place, which was attended by the youth and beauty of the town. Lieuts. Ayres and Tipton, as also seven non-commissioned officers, belonging to Co. F. accompany Capt. B. to Fort Monroe. We wish them all a buen viaje. (S.D. Herald July 2, 1859; 2:2) The Burtons traveled from San Diego to San Francisco, where they took a steamship to Panama, and from there, after crossing the Isthmus, continued by ship on to New York. Remaining in Jamul were her mother, Isabel, her brother Federico and Edward (Eduardo/Ned) Williston, Burtons half-brother. Only a few days after the Burtons departure from San Diego, shopkeeper Herman Mannasse brought suit against Burton in the District Court of the First Judicial District to recover the sum of $225 for goods, wares, and merchandise purchased at Mannasses store. Lewis Strauss also filed suit (Herald, 7-30-59; 3:1). Creditors hounded the Burton family for the rest of MARBs life. Ever resourceful, she navigated between dodging creditors and pursuing claims, ironically, learning to use even debts for her own interests.104

In what follows we include: 1. MARBs Letters 2. Jos Matas Morenos Letters on La Frontera MARB to Jos Castro. 23 April 1857, San Diego, California Muy Sr. mo que aprecio, Varias personas han venido de Sto. Toms ahora en estos ltimos das y aunque confiada en la promesa de Ud. por cada uno de ellos esperaba que me hiciera Ud. el favor de remi-
141
tirme la decisin por escrito del Juez Lucero en la demanda de Gastelum contra m, me he quedado chasqueada y parece que ha Ud. olvidado la promesa que me hizo de mandarla luego, o que el Juez ha olvidado hacerla, lo que no me parece probable. As pues, hacindole a Ud. este recuerdito confo que me mandar ese documento lo ms pronto que pueda, estando seguro que ese favor no quedar sin el debido reconocimiento. Espero tambin que no ser presumir demasiado de su buena disposicin hacia m, ni abusar de las generosas ofertas que Ud. ha tenido la bondad de hacerme al acompaarle la peticin que hago al E. Sr. Presidente solicitando los dos sitios en el ro Colorado de que ya hemos hablado. El objeto que deseo es, que Ud. se sirva informar bien conforme a mis deseos, pues creo que dicho informe ser lo ms conveniente a mi intento y el mejor servicio que en este asunto me puede Ud. hacer. Quiero que Ud. tenga la bondad de fechar el informe el da 10 o da 8 de octubre de 1856 y puede Ud. estar seguro que ste es el servicio que ms le agradecer como tambin que me haga Ud. el favor de dar su informe en pliego separado que yo agregar despus. Estoy segura que de este modo me ser ms fcil conseguir este terreno y resarcir el dinero que hemos gastado en poblarlo. Cuando haya yo mandado mi peticin a la Paz con el informe favorable de Ud. o ms bien, cuando sea aceptada mi peticin, entonces si Ud. quiere le devolver el ttulo dado por Ud. a Beruben [i.e. Mximo Barragom]. Mi esposo le dej a Ud. muy finos recuerdos y me dijo diga a Ud.que no fue a San Francisco tan pronto como pensaba porque los indios estaban algo alborotados en el ro y le fue preciso ir all pronto, pero que Mr. Winder ir con ese mismo objeto. Espero que en primera oportunidad me mande Ud. el informe pues quiero mandar a La Paz mi pedido ya informado y lo ms pronto posible, as me conviene. Tambin creo que Ud. me har favor de despabilar un poco al Lucerito oscuro para que sea un poco ms limpia su claridad y escriba de este
142
modo su decisin y Ud. pueda mandarla al mismo tiempo. Sobre todo, el informe, y entonces podr Ud. estar seguro de mi gratitud y sincero reconocimiento de su afta. servidora, M.A. de Burton MARB to Jos Castro. 2 May 1857, San Diego Seor don Jos Castro Muy Sr. mo que aprecio, He tenido noticia que un sirviente de nosotros, llamdose Jos, se halla ahora por la Frontera, a donde se fue a refugiar despus de habrsenos fugado llevndose un caballo con silla y freno, todo robado. Como mi esposo se halla ahora ausente, yo me veo en la necesidad de escribirle a Ud. sobre este particular, confiando en que har lo que le sea posible para apre[he]nder a ese pcaro indio y quitarle el caballo y las otras cosas robadas. La Frontera, por desgracia, ha sido por algunos aos el refugiadero de pcaros y ladrones que les parece que en pasando la lnea, ya estn seguros de lograr impunidad . . . No permita Ud. pues, seor Castro, que ese mal siga adelante; mientras Ud. se halla al mando, siquiera, pues ya demasiado se ha dicho en descrdito de la infeliz Frontera y ya es tiempo en que vean que no es guarida segura de ladrones. Ese pcaro indio Jos nos debe mucho y le agradeceramos a Ud. muchsimo que Ud. de alguna manera intimidara o persuadiera al indio a que volviera diciendo tambin que si no vuelve que tiene Ud. encargo de nosotros (o del capitn Burton) de hacerlo trabajar hasta que desquite los 30 pesos que nos debe y el uso que ilegtimamente ha hecho del caballo, silla y freno robados. Ud., si gusta, podr decirle al juez que lo mande buscar y lo apre[he]nda; la Frontera no est tan poblada que l pueda ocultarse por mucho tiempo. El se fug de Sta. Barbara a donde haba ido por orden ma con un Seor que compr algn ganado de mi esposo. Como el pcaro indio es buen vaquero y a ese seor le faltaban sirvientes yo lo dej ir a l y, bribn, en la noche del 25 de
143
abril le rob a Mr. Peacock (que as se llama el Sr. que digo) y despus de haberle robado su caballo y otras cosas alborot el ganado de tal manera que cuando el Sr. escribe haca de cuenta que se le haban perdido ms de 100 reses, todo esto por la picarda del indio. Si Ud. me hace el favor de recoger estas cosas robadas le agradecer que se las mande entregar a Don Loreto Amador a quien con esta misma fecha escribo para que se encargue del cuidado de ellas en caso que Ud. me haga el favor y la justicia de recobrarlas. Le agradecer tambin muchsimo que me haga favor de mandarme lo ms pronto posible el documento que le mand por el padre francs de Sto. Toms [Abb Henry J.A. Alric]. No puede Ud. dilatar mucho en dar el informe que le pido y como ahora me escribe mi esposo que hay un buque en el ro Colorado que saldr pronto para La Paz, ahora es cuando Ud. me puede dar una segura e inequivocable prueba de su buena disposicin en servirme y entonces dir que las promesas de Ud. no eran noms palabras cuando nos dijo a mi esposo y a m que nos servira en lo que pudiera. Mr. Winder sale esta tarde para San Francisco y me dice que le diga a Ud. que piensa ir a la frontera inmediatamente que vuelva. Dispense mis molestias y si en alguna manera yo en este lado de la lnea puedo serle til, puede Ud. mandar con franqueza su afta. servidora, M.A. de Burton El fierro del caballo es R.K. la marca de la silla U.S. PP. Henry S. Burton to Jos Antonio Aguirre. May 1857, Fort Yuma, California Although HSB knew and wrote Spanish, in all likelihood the letter below was ghost written by MARB, knowing full well that a letter sent from a man would carry greater weight; as the purpose is to impute Aguirres gentlemanliness and courtesy, the critique carries greater weight man-to-man. A partial draft of the letter also exists.
144
Seor Don Jos Antonio Aguirre, San Diego. Muy Sr. mo, Mucha sorpresa me ha causado el saber la manera en que Ud. durante mi ausencia ha tenido a bien tratar a mi esposa, manera que es tanto ms inexcusable en Ud. por hallarse como se halla protegido por su avanzada edad en cierto modo absuelto de toda responsabilidad por sus propios actos. Esto es ingeneroso pues no me deja a m otra alternativa que callar por ms que sienta en lo ms vivo tan inmerecido ultraje, tamaa injusticia para con la persona que ms amo, y tamaos desacatos a las leyes de amistad y aun a las simplemente sociales de urbanidad. Como sta ser la ltima vez que yo le hable a Ud., no puedo menos de expresarle lo muy doloroso que tambin me es ver que yo haya estado tan equivocado y que nuestra amistad que yo pensaba slo acabara con la muerte, haya terminado en una manera que tan claramente muestra que no estaba fundada en la base de recproca estimacin que yo crea y cuya terminacin ningn honor puede hacer al amigo que por tan leve queja, ultraja tan rudamente la esposa de un amigo ausente, y esto, cuando ella haba quedado recomendada a Ud. bajo su techo y proteccin. Es esa cree Ud. la manera que un caballero debe usar con una seora que le queda recomendada durante la ausencia de su esposo? Quisiera Ud. que su esposa fuera tratada en esta manera por un hombre quien profesaba amistad para Ud.? Por qu si Ud. era el amigo que pretenda ser, no le dijo a mi esposa con la calma y cario que se debe esperar de un verdadero amigo, que no permitiese la entrada del doctor? Ella lo habra muy fcilmente remediado o evitando que el doctor visitara o devolviendo a Ud. sus cuartos.De ese modo habra Ud. evitado la mancha que se ha echado Ud. encima al obrar con la frivolidad de un nio a la edad de Ud. y cuando ya tan cerca [de] la eternidad, mostrndose tan inexorable y rencoroso con sus odios. Cmo iba Mrs. Burton a imaginar que una per-
145
sona de la sensatez y religiosidad que en Ud. debe suponerse, abrigara un odio tal por el Doctor hasta el grado de objetar a que l entrara a esa parte de su casa que Ud. no habitaba y que al prestarla, la haca temporariamente ma? Y ms, cuando Da. Rosario, despus de preguntada, haba dicho que le era indiferente que el Doctor entrara all o no. Me parece algo extrao, Seor, que yo siendo un protestante, sea ms catlico que Ud. para con los que me ofenden y no sea tan acerbo en mis resentimientos ni tan severo para con mis amigos. Si Ud. hubiera reflexionado con la calma y madurez que se debe tener a su edad, Ud. habra visto que mi esposa, nunca ha hecho, ni har voluntariamente ninguna accin por la cual merezca ser tratada en la manera tan dura que Ud. us. Si todas las personas que lo rodean no le tuvieran miedo a su genio colrico de Ud. no faltara quien le dijera esto mismo, pero no lo tolerara sin irritarse y por eso callan quienes tal vez lo conocen. Mi esposa es una seora y la conducta tan poco reflexionada de Ud. slo prueba que Ud. nunca ha justamente apreciado ni mi carcter ni el de ella, o que tal vez Ud. no es capaz de apreciarlo, y que slo podr Ud. gustar de la sociedad de personas que por falta de dignidad se someten y toleran todo, los abusos de que Ud. quiera colmarlos. Tambin la conducta de Ud. en este caso prueba cuan ligeramente llevado de una momentnea clera y por la causa ms trivial puede con tanta rudeza herir los sentimientos de sus mejores amigos, aunque para ello tenga que hollar lo que entre caballeros se tiene por sagrado. Muy engaado estaba yo en Ud. y en el carcter o la amistad de Ud. Yo haba credo a ambas de ms solidez, ms formalidad. El cario y bondad conque Ud. me haba tratado antes y por lo que mi gratitud siempre ha sido constante, me haba hecho confiar en que la amistad de Ud. era tan leal y verdadera como la ma. Pero estaba equivocado. Ya todo entre nosotros acab y la memoria de nuestra pasada amistad ser tanto ms amarga cuanto al violarla Ud. lo ha hecho bajo la sombra de esta vejez que lo hace sagrado para m.
146
Aunque esta accin de Ud. para con mi esposa acaso me exime para en el futuro de toda obligacin por pasados favores en esta (no porque Ud. despus de lo que ha pasado pueda decir que tiene derecho a esperarlas sino porque quiero ofrecerlas) doy a Ud. las gracias como ltima y espontnea ofrenda a la amistad que fue. H. S. Burton El Teniente Kellogg de Nuevo San Diego me dice que l mismo entreg esta carta a las manos de Aguirre. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 1 September 1857, Jamul Mi querida Da. Prudenciana, Le agradecera mucho que me haga el favor de abrir mi bal y mandarme unos olanes de gasa como la muestra que aqu incluyo. La molesto porque no s hasta cundo podr ir a S. Diego, como Eduardo no est aqu, tengo que molestar a alguno de los oficiales de la misin para [que] me lleve y me traiga a la vuelta, y por eso no ir por ahora con tanta frecuenciaDele saludes a su criado de Ud. su sirviente Moreno el que aborrece al bello sexo y dgale no he podido hallar su constitucin pero que la buscar ms. Besitos a la malcriadita Da. Carmen y saludes a todos. Su afa. amiga, M. A. de Burton MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 6 December 1857, Jamul Mi querida Da. Prudenciana, Hgame favor de mandarme mi pobre capota vieja que dej olvidada all. No puedo ir ahora porque estoy bastante enferma y no puedo salir de casa. Dgale a Dna. Margarita que rece por m el da de la Virgen que ya que yo no voy a misa, que ella la oiga por la intencin de ambas. Dgale a Dn. Matas que si l supiera rezar que a l le hara la misma splica pero ya s que se le ha olvidado todo lo bueno que le ense su santo amigo el Padre Gabriel, que yo creo que no
147
va a misa porque no sabe persignarse y teme picarse un ojo al hacerlo y que las muchachas lo miren y se ran de l. Un beso a la vieja Carmen y mande a su afa. que la aprecia, M. A. Burton P.D. Dgale a Dn. Matas que si hay algunas noticias de Mxico o la Frontera que no deje de comunicrmelas. MARB to Matas Moreno. 22 December 1857, Jamul Estimado Don Matas, Acabamos de llegar y despus de haber tomado el t, fui a buscar mis cartas para dar la suya a mi mam y me encuentro con que se quedaron olvidadas. As pues, le agradecer me haga el favor de remitirla con el viejito Jessup que lleva sta. Dgale a Da. Prudenciana que tambin se me olvid mi bule y mi pobre capa vieja!, que le agradecer me mande al mismo tiempo ambos. Me parece que le o a Ud. decir hace algn tiempo que hay un decreto nuevo regulando la manera de dar posesiones, y tambin los costos o derechos que se deben cobrar a los propietarios; si Ud. tiene ese decreto le agradecer me lo preste, o si Ud. sabe algo con respecto a este particular, que me lo diga pues me interesa y tal vez tendr que hacer uso de esa informacin pronto. Como no tienen el dinero de sobra en la Frontera, yo no creo que repugnaran hacer los derechos lo ms grande posible, y como ellos no ms tienen los aranceles en la memoria, y como quien dice, en la punta de los dedos es mejor saber bien cunto tienen derecho de cobrar. Dispense la molestia de su afa. quien muy altamente lo estima, M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 2 January 1858, Jamul Estimado Don Matas, Enrique le manda una carta para [Mr. Ryerson] que con la que yo dej sobre la mesa nos haga Ud. el favor de darle a Dn.
148
Guadalupe Amador para que lleve. Si este Sr. ha salido antes que sta llegue, entonces Enrique dice que le agradecer devuelva Ud. la inclusa y de aqu podr mandar un mozo a la Tijuana a encontrar all a Dn. Guadalupe, quien suponemos no ir an muy lejos si es que va en carreta de bueyes. Con el dador de sta le agradecer me responda sobre l particular y me diga (si es que Dn G. ya sali) si acaso l fue a caballo o en carreta para as calcular si ir lejos o no. Saludes a todos. Dgale a Da. Margarita que no se le olvide escribirle a Dn. Loreto encargndole muy particularmente que vea al indio Felipe y le diga que no pudimos ir a la Frontera porque Enrique se enferm, pero que l puede traerme la india ac. Yo no le escribo a D. Loreto ahora porque estoy muy de prisa, pero Da. Margarita lo puede hacer por m. Dgale que no deje de hacerlo. Hasta la vistaSu muy afa. y mejor amiga que Ud. cree, M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 16 May 1858, Jamul Estimado Don Matas, El temor de que no le diera buena acogida a su apreciable carta, era muy infundado, pues tengo mucho gusto en contestarla. Acepto su programa de Franqueza y Confianza y al hacerlo crame, sigo mi natural inclinacin de tratar de esa manera a los que me tratan a m con bondad. Aunque s bien que Ud. (a pesar de su natural penetracin) muchas veces Ud. me ha equivocado, nunca cre que lo hiciera hasta el grado de dudar que yo diese a su carta otra que buena recepcin. Es posible que Ud. me crea capaz de olvidar la cariosa urbanidad con que he sido tratada en la casa de Ud. y la franca hospitalidad que me fue ofrecida y que sin ninguna variacin se me ofrece an? Y esto cuando mi corazn adolorido por aquella accin cruel de las personas que cre mis amigas, necesitaba para suavizar su pena, el cario y atencin que de Ud. y de su familia de Ud. recib.
149
Comprendo bien la desconfianza con que Ud. mira al mundo; yo tengo motivos para sentir lo mismo, pero como tal sentimiento se puede convertir en un triste y rido escepticismo yo creo se debe ahogar tan luego como se siente aparecer. Ud. sabe bien con la crueldad que pag mi cario la amiga a quien tan altamente yo estimaba, y lo mucho que era mi padecer, pues bien, eso no me quita la fe en otros, y hoy tengo esperanza en que tanto Ud. como su esposa me sern fieles en su amistad. Mis mejores amigos no creo debo contarlos entre los ricos y as en cuanto a m, es muy infundado y aun injusto el temor que Ud. expresa de que por no poseer dinero, tal vez sea menospreciado por m. Nunca, ni aun de nia he sido inconstante en la amistad; mi conciencia me absuelve de la ms pequea falta de esa naturaleza y no creo que ahora cuando mi carcter est ya formado, vaya a incurrir en una falta que siempre he considerado vil, cobarde, mezquina. Yo no creo que-como Ud. dice-la amistad haya volado al cielo y no se encuentre ya en la tierra. La amistadyo creo es una de las bendiciones concedidas a la infeliz raza humana, pero sta, con su fatal propensin a pervertir todos los dones otorgados por la Suma Bondad, aun lo ms puro y sagrado, ha abusado tambin de esa preciosa ddiva. Su divino nombre se toma para encubrir falsedad, sentimientos bajos e interesados, pasiones culpables, etc., etc. pero aun con todo, creo que existe en la tierra en toda su primitiva pureza; que aunque las ms veces se oculte a los ojos del escptico o el desconfiado o del observador superficial, muchas veces se deja ver en todo el esplendor y gloria de su celestial hermosura; su morada la tiene en ciertos corazones, all ella se alberga, all florece. Esta es mi teora, mi doctrina, mi fe. Como Franqueza y confianza Ud. mismo propone, no le ocultar que me ha dado pena ver que Ud. equivoc mis palabras cuando hablamos de correspondencias epistolares entre amigos. Ud. dijo que lleva el sistema de no escribir a persona alguna si no es por asuntos de dinero; que otro objeto lo tena por trivial y sera ensuciar papel no ms, escribir otra clase de cartas.
150
Entonces dije yo que mis correspondencias con muchas personas no llevan tal objeto y sin embargo, las cartas de mis amigos siempre me parecen interesantes, y al escribirles yo, me sobra materia de que tratar. Ud. replic que tal vez si Ud. me escriba yo no le respondera, a lo que yo contest, y por qu no? Siempre que Ud. me escriba, yo le responder con mucho gusto. Si repito ahora esta conversacin, no crea Ud. que lo hago por insinuar que quiero que Ud. deje de escribirme, no, slo es porque me da mucha, mucha pena que Ud. se haya credo obligado a escribirme, so pena de faltar en galantera o sentido comn, si continuaba en un silencio tantas veces estimulado por m que lo rompiese. Cunto se equivoc Ud., Don Matas, porque como he dicho, el temor de que yo desdee sus cartas es infundado y aun injusto, pero al mismo tiempo, nunca creo que ser capaz de atreverme a invitar a un caballero a que me escriba, por ms alta que sea la consideracin con que lo distinga, y ms, no teniendo ninguna razn para creer que tal invitacin fuese deseada. Puede Ud. escribirme con confianza cuando gustare, pero no se crea obligado a hacerlo. Demasiado s yo la opinin con respecto a tener correspondencias epistolares, para haber querido insinuar una invitacin cuando me expres en favor de ellas. Slo quise expresar mi opinin, pero nunca obligarlo por ello a que me escribiera. Puede Ud. contarme entre sus amigas ms sinceras y creer que siempre tendr gusto en poder serle til, ahora y siempre, su afa. M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 4 June 1858, Jamul Muy estimado Don Matas, No veo cmo mi carta pudo haberle causado sorpresa. Si niego haberlo invitado a que me escribiera no es porque (en caso de que lo hubiera hecho) habra yo cometido un acto culpable ni vergonzoso, ni tampoco porque perdera algo de
151
los quilates que realzan mi carcter en mi dignidad seoril. No, Seor, no se me adelante Ud. tanto. Lo niego por la simple razn de que no lo hice ni tuve intencin de hacerlo, porque vi que Ud. se engaaba en creer que yo lo haba hecho y quise destruir esa falsa impresin que tal vez le impelera a emprender la desagradable tarea de escribir cuando no exista (segn su doctrina requiere) un negocio de inters de que tratar. Ese fue mi objeto y nada ms. Nunca tuve la ms remota idea de hacerlo hilar de aqu tan sutil y complicada hebra, tan verdadera tela-araa capaz de enredar la ms cauta mosca. Qu dira Ud. si yo ahora, siguiendo su buen ejemplo de desfigurar premisas para sacar convenientes conclusiones, dijera que Ud. me acusa de falsa puesto que dice niego con obstinacin una verdad. No lo har porque no creo que esa fue su intencin y as no me parece justo. Hay varios seores que poseen el arte de perplejar; los abogados lo practican con frecuencia y otros tambin que no lo son de oficio no es verdad? [. . . torn][no tengo el don de] poseer tal arte y siempre digo lo que quiero decir y entiendo [lo que se] dice y no ms. Eludir una proposicin, Seor mo, no es noms ilustrarla; enredar un argumento no es refutarlo, ni evadir una cuestin con sofismas o subterfugios es responderla o aclararla. Hay algunos que tambin poseen el arte de hacer todo esto con gracia, con perfeccin; pero afortunadamente mi imaginacin no es bastante activa para seguir esas brillantes mariposas de argumento y mi mente slo se fija en observar dnde pararon esos revoloteos y de esa manera escapo ser deslumbrada por tan brillantes evoluciones o voliditos [?] graciosos y con mucha humildad llego a la verdad slo guiada por el poco pretencioso sentido comn. Como slo tengo esa humilde gua no me ha sido posible seguir el vuelo del pensamiento de Ud. y comprender por cual proceso u operacin de su mente pudo Ud. deducir que porque yo niego haberlo invitado de all se desprende un dilema preciso, o que Ud. es falso e impostor o mi delicadeza se resiente de aquel acto. Confieso mi incapacidad de seguirlo, se va Ud.
152
afuera de afuera de mi alcance, la luz de su argumento slo me hace ver una caricatura, es preciso que Ud. se baje un poquito para que yo pueda alcanzarlo, Ud. me acusar de injusta cuando slo es que no alcanzo, no veo bien. Ms y ms sube Ud. y menos lo puedo seguir cuando trata de la segunda parte de mi carta. Pero lo que s podr decirle es que al recordar la hospitalidad de Uds. no lo hice insinuando que esa circunstancia sola es la nica base donde se funda nuestra amistad. La amistad entre nuestras dos familias ya . . . [torn] . . . la hospitalidad de Uds. vaya a hacer al mismo tiempo [. . .] amistad, fue porque sta es mtua y aquella slo confiere obligacin. Djese pues de razonar de esa manera [tan] complicada. A honor tengo que Ud. haya llevado la sal para mi bautismo y a honor tengo que sea mi paisano. California soy y Ud. sabe bien cun constante es mi cario e inters hacia mis paisanos en general, no importa en qu suelo se encuentren. Mucho me gratifica leer en su carta que Ud. cree mi amistad de algn valor, gracias por ello, y puedo asegurarle que si sinceridad constituye valor o mrito, mi amistad la posee. Acepto la invitacin de Ud. y no lo hago por urbanidad sino porque tendr placer en que Ud. me escriba cuando guste. Si he omitido contestar alguna parte de su carta lo har verbalmente, hoy estoy un poco enferma y ya es tarde. A ms de esto, temo que me regae porque pobrecita de m, mi lgica nada tiene de admirable, mis razonamientos nada de original y de consiguiente esta carta tampoco dar satisfaccin y se me dir que nada digo, que nada he contestado. Si as es, procurar hacerlo mejor en otra ocasin. Su muy afecta servidora y muy buena amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 23 August 1858, Jamul Estimado Don Matas, Le adjunto una carta que Mr. Ryerson me encarg le mande diciendo que la hall en el Hotel Franklin y se le
153
olvid entregar a Ud. antes de salir. Tambin he dicho a Eduardo le entregue la cantidad que le dije quiero que remita con mis gracias y el otro recado a Don Guadalupe Machado. Si puede mndeme la plantita de que hice mencin el da que sal, y si no se puede, riguela como ya dije, y no hay duda que las flores sern de lo ms exquisito. El capitn lo saluda y dice que le agradecer a Ud. mucho le haga el favor de mandarle su Portafolio que dej olvidado sobre la mesa, que le haga el favor de amarrarlo bien para que no se salgan los papeles. Desendole toda clase de goces y prosperidades, me repito como siempre su ms adicta y ms afa. que mejor los aprecia, M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 18 September 1858, Jamul Mi estimado Don Matas, Le agradecer mucho que me haga el favor de mandarme con Federico una carta que Sr. Ryerson me dice ha mandado al cuidado de Ud. Es decir, hgame favor de mandarla si es que Ud. la haya recibido, si no, hgame favor de no mandarla. Si hubiere por hay sueltas algunas noticias interesantes, tambin puede Ud. mandarlas; si no las hubiere (lo que me sorprender or del bullicioso San Diego) entonces no podr Ud. mandarme ningunalo que le aviso para su etc. etc.Dios y la leyy su ms afa. que mejor lo aprecia por todas estas cercanas y contornos, aunque tal vez en decirlo se pone en duda M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 18 December 1858, San Francisco Mi muy estimado Don Matas, Como cremos irnos en este vapor, no le haba escrito antes, y ahora que hemos decidido quedarnos hasta el prximo, ya no tengo tiempo para escribirle ms que pocas lneas. Pero
154
aunque sea de prisa los saludar, al mismo tiempo que le doy las gracias por la cartita que me escribi en el vapor pasado. Si Antonio llega aqu antes que yo salga, dgale que no deje de verme antes de irse abajo. Qu le parece de nuestros paisanos que han pedido por gobernador al ilustre y benemrito Castro? Pobres, Pobres, de nosotros! De veras que si eso es cierto, me avergonzar de ser de la Baja. Un abrazo a Da. Prudenciana, besitos a los chiquitosy para Ud. el aprecio de su afa. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 22 December 1858, Metropolitan Hotel, San Francisco My dear friend, When we arrived here this morning I did not think I would have to trouble you so soon as this; but I want to see you, very much, now, and as I know your kind feelings toward me, I do not hesitate asking you to come to see me soon. Do come this evening. I shall expect you at half past eight or nine this evening. Yours very truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 20 February 1859, Jamul Estimado Don Matas, Estoy muy cansada de escribir y ya es muy noche, pero no me puedo ir a dormir sin escribirle aunque sea pocas lneas para preguntarle por la salud de Da. Prudenciana y saludarlo a Ud. Como no he recibido ninguna carta de Ud. infiero que Da. Prudenciana estar mejor. Nosotros estamos muy solitos, Enrique ya se fue para el ro. El da que sal de San Diego me enferm de una jaqueca terrible y desde entonces estoy algo enferma, no s por qu me ha durado tanto esa indisposicin.
155
Mndeme todas las noticias que pueda pepenar por esos basureros. Estamos muy solitos, cundo me viene a hacer la visita prometida? Buenas noches. Saludes a Da. Prudenciana y mande a su muy afa. que lo aprecia mucho. M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 27 February 1859, Jamul Estimado Don Matas, Muchsimas gracias por su cartita del 22, la cual aunque me hizo sentir y me hizo pensar, tambin me hizo rer con la descripcin de las barricas de cerveza, el genzaro, el inquisidor, etc. Como su to Don Santiago y su compaero (de l, no de Ud.) son tan serficos y caritativos, no creo que tengan a mal que unos pobres pecadores diviertan sus cuitas a costa de sus santas personas de ellos; con su santo ejemplo justifican el comer prjimo. Me alegro mucho que su to de Ud. tuvo tan buena oportunidad de matar a costillas de los hijos de Washington, la hambre atrasada que trajo de entre los de Montezuma [sic]. Sabe Ud. que hay su diplomacia en eso, su golpe de estado? Quiz el inquisidor (Da. Justa) le aconsej; como ella es tan ha! buena abogada! Aunque creo que el instinto natural sera suficiente para guiar a su to cuando un lechoncito relleno es la cuestin. Siento muchsimo que Da. Prudenciana haya sufrido tanto, la pobrecita cun dbil estar. Dgale que si yo puedo ayudarles en alguna cosa que tendr mucho gusto en hacerlo, que si ella gusta ir all a estarme con ella unos das, si es que en alguna cosa pueda servirle de ayuda, de alivio. Soy incomprensible, eh? Seor mo, si Ud. para ver un objeto toma un vidrio con una mancha en l, Ud. imaginar (si no examina el vidrio) que la mancha est en el objeto observado, y se frotar Ud. los ojos pero siempre ver la mancha, hasta que no tome el vidrio y lo limpie; Entonces desaparecer el defecto que Ud. imaginaba en el objeto pero que no estaba all, ni en los ojos de Ud. tampoco, sino, en el
156
Mediumen el vidrio. Mientras Ud. lleve por regla juzgar a todos por una norma fija y arbitraria, est seguro que encontrar muchos incomprensibles. Baje Ud. un escaln del alto puesto. Limpie Ud. el medium, el vidrio, y los objetos parecern diferentes. Cuando un individuo ha vivido casi siempre entre personas que le son inferiores en inteligencia, insensiblemente se hace desptico.Para un mexicano es insoportable la idea que una mujer pueda o deba razonarJunte Ud. estos dos aforismos y ver si no ayudan a darme esa incomprensibilidad en los ojos de Ud. Cuando vaya seguiremos la discusin, aunque ya s que Ud. lleva por regla nunca concederme la razn, nunca, nunca. Paciencia, algn da me conocern mis paisanos mejor, quiz cuando est miles de leguas distante o con la tierra fra por cobija. Aunque estoy bastante triste procurar tener la cara lo menos desagradable que pueda cuando Ud. venga; no quiero nunca correr a mis visitas con miradas que matan de amargas. Are you ready to read my letter in English? Remember, you told me you would translate into Spanish anything I should write in English; and to try you, I think I shall write you a long epistle requiring a good translation. Give my love to Da. Prudenciana and the babies and believe [me] your friend, M.A. de Burton Dgale a Don Lino que si no quiere l el sarmiento de este ao de la via de S. Ysidro, que yo mandar por l cuando mande por los higueros; pienso mandar por ellos la semana entrante. MARB to Platn Vallejo. 23 April 1859, Jamul, California My dear Platn, I regretted very much that I was not able to answer your welcome letter by last steamer, but I had no time to do it then and I trust that you have not taken this delay as indicative of little desire on my part to correspond with you. On the con-
157
trary, I was very glad to receive your letter and I hope you will write to me whenever you can or wish to say anything to me and I will answer you with pleasure always. I am pleased that you accepted my humble but sincere consejo. It was offered not only because I like you very much in particular, but also, because it is my most ardent wish that all Californians may cherish forever in their bruised hearts that loyal attachment to their own race. But it should be cherished, my dear Platon, with liberality, that is, without the surliness, bitter and repelling, which some seem to think is the best proof of true patriotism; without the narrowness of view which will not see virtues in others or faults in ourselves; but with that judicious liberality, true magnanimity which will grant their due to others fully and willingly we can keep sacred that holy feeling; the love of our own race. Shield it from the trash of the oversympathizing things but not by shutting the heart to justice or benevolence towards others. Unhappily many of our paisanos do not act on this principle, but as if they thought that to draw themselves into this shell of impotent discontent is to be good patriots. How misled they are. They so hate conciliating and the Americans so little generous, what wonder is it that the mutual repulsion is so unyieldingly kept up? And now, we have to beg for what we had a right to demand. It cannot be denied that the californios have reason to complain. The Americans must feel it; their boasted liberty and equality of rights seems to stop when it meets a Californian and witness, the Land Commissionand we are a childs handful in their mighty grasp; they can crush us with impunity, they know it and broke their faith so solemnly pledged at Guadalupe Hidalgo, broke it by stooping to a miserable strategem too. How shameful this, in the conquering, the prosperous, the mighty nation! Better to crush us at once and not trick us out of our lands; to us it will be all the same in the end, die and pass away; poor, despised and unnoticed! It is then, by the exertion of individuals that this evil must be
158
somewhat remedied or neutralized and with this in mind, remember my consejo when you grow up. There is nothing in San Diego that can possibly interest you. The place is frightfully dull and dry and dusty. It seems that to relieve the monotony that pervades the whole county, some bad disaster has to occur. The latest was the suicide of Leandro Osuna (whom your father perhaps knows) residing here in town. The poor man had been sick for some time and his stock of patience must have been very small or quite exhausted for on the 3rd, inst., he shot himself through the heart, to put an end to his suffering (I suppose he thought) and go to a better world! . . . What an awful warning to those who in adversity will not check at the beginning that fretting, chafing spirit of cowardly despair before it gains ascendance over reason! How absurd it isbesides being madly impiousto plunge headlong into that unknown world to get rid of the burden of this, and thus maybe, change transient sorrows for eternal ones! How foolish! You tell me in your letter that you have left school. Are you going to any college in the Atlantic States, or have you completed your studies? What do you think of traveling, wouldnt you like it? It is a very good thing for young men to travel, provided that they have a proper companion with them. Has Jovita left school too, or is she in San Francisco still? Give my love to allTell your mother that we had an earthquake the other day and I thought of her as soon as I got over my fright. Yours very affectionate, M.A. de Burton M. G. Vallejo to MARB. [undated][perhaps a letter of 1867; the issue of race is a consant in MARBs correspondence; see 8-26-67] [fragment] Mil veces me ha dicho Ud. nuestra raza y la raza anglosajona y le confieso con candor que hasta ahora me ha
159
llamado la atencin, en tanto grado que me tomo el privilegio de preguntarle qu quiere Ud. decir en esas dos distintas frases? y me asombra lo que Ud. asienta en su carta de ese respecto. No creo que mi raza est condenada a sempiterna inferioridad con la sola alternativa de mezclar con la Yankie Qu [es] esto Da. Amparo? Ud. cree que la raza nuestra es inferior a la Yankie? Pues yo le juro que jams lo he pensado; ni por asomos se me ha ocurrido a las mientes; al contrario, creo que nuestra sangre es mejor y que ellos (los Yankies) nos ganan en huesos, en espritu mercantil, empresarios, locos sin mas Dios que el dinero. Nosotros, el gusto, los placeres, el romanticismo, etc. As es que estando esos dos elementos contrarios en la masa de la sangre en ambas razas, la mezcla de ellas no puede menos de producir una tercera, ms bella, mas enrgica, ms fuerte, ms dulce en carcter, ms templada y creo que ms fuerte. Esto he querido decir siempre que aludo a las razas mencionadas. Los climas en que se han desarrollado naturalmente han producido efectos contrarios: en una, la actividad, en los otros, la molicie. No piensa Ud. lo mismo? MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 7 May 1859, Jamul, California Mi querida Da. Prudenciana, Tengo que mandar hoy a Federico por las cosas que nos vinieron en el vapor, y le he dicho que llegue a la casa de Ud. y que le pregunte a Ud. si podr poner las mulas adentro del corral de la casa o no. He visto que los Lpez a veces amarran caballos all, y cre que si no tienen el corral ahora Uds. ocupado tal vez Federico ser mejor que ponga all sus mulas y las aliste para salir temprano.Le mando una poca de carne, dispense el regalo, se la mando porque siquiera no es de toro y tan dura como la que tiene que comprar all. Cmo le va de viudedad? Saludes a todas las grandes, y besos a los chicos.Su afa. amiga, M.A. de Burton
160
Henry S. Burton to E. W. Morse. May 9, 1859, Fort Yuma, California E. W. Morse Esq. San Diego My dear Sir, Will you do me the favor to inform me of the number of coupons you cashed for me in January last, and of their amount; since I left this place for the northern country, in Feb. last, many of my memorandums have been lost and cannot [find] them; the [??] offering to this matter. Yours very truly, H. S. Burton Jos Matias Moreno to the Supreme Government of Mxico in care of Don Rafael Espinosa, jefe poltico of Baja California, November 29, 1851.105 (At top: Copia de la comunicacin oficial que se pas al Supremo Gobierno y al jefe poltico de la Baja California, Don Rafael Espinosa.) Excelentsimo Seor, El que suscribe altamente interesado en la paz y orden de sus conciudadanos, los buenos mexicanos, y del buen nombre del Supremo Gobierno, no vacila un solo instante en estar a la mira de las aberraciones que se cometen contra la legtima autoridad y denunciar ante quien corresponda para que los malhechores reciban oportunamente el condigno castigo. Hace un ao y medio que arrib a la frontera de la Baja California una soldadesca al mando del Capitn Don Manuel Castro y el teniente Don Jos Antonio Chvez, con el nombre de Colonia Militar. Desde este fatal ingreso, la frontera ha sido el teatro de innumerables males y de graves trascendencias, ya para los desgraciados habitantes de ese remoto pas, y ya para el Supremo Gobierno, y no obstante de haber estado continuamente escribiendo de cuanto mal ha pasado y los
161
que confundamente [sic] se esperaban, jams he visto tomar una medida que detuviese el torrente impetuoso de estos males. Es verdad que siempre he atribuido esta apata de parte de la superioridad a la enorme distancia que separa la frontera de esa capital o la del territorio, sin tener tampoco un correo con que nos podamos comunicar. En el mes de agosto de este ao esperbamos en la frontera una nueva autoridad con carcter de subjefe poltico y sub-inspector de la llamada colonia y con eso nuestras esperanzas se ensanchaban para ver remediados tantos males. En este mismo tiempo se esparcieron rumores de parte de los jefes de la colonia de que cualesquiera que fuese el nuevo jefe que llegase no sera admitido, y que con cualesquiera pretexto lo lanzaran. Para llevar al cabo tan pernicioso proyecto, el Capitn Castro, hizo, a principios de agosto su desercin fuera del territorio mexicano, relegndose a Monterey de la Alta California, donde aun permanece y dejando al mando de la colonia al teniente Chvez. Por fin, a principios del mes de octubre hizo su arribo a la frontera el jefe que se esperaba, sindolo el teniente Coronel Don Francisco del Castillo Negrete, al que despus de haberle dejado llegar a Santo Toms todos los recursos que traa para la colonia, lo desconocieron de su autoridad, lanzndolo injuriosamente bajo el frvolo pretexto de que quera introducir tropas extranjeras a la frontera. Esta, pues, contina gobernada por un simple alcalde, ingls de nacin, ebrio consuetudinario, llamado Toms Bona, y el teniente Chvez, que ambos reasumen omnmodas facultades. El Capitn Castro, quien ejerce una grande influencia sobre Chvez y Bona, desde Monterey, comunica a esos sus rdenes, las que le son puntualmente obedecidas. Al efecto acompao a Ud. en copia una carta que la casualidad trajo a mis manos y que con la nota de reservada, dirige Castro a Chvez desde Monterey fecha 18 del presente. Por ella ver Ud. que en bosquejo descifradas, las prevenciones que haba de parte de sos para con el Primer Teniente Coronel Negrete. Con igual fecha me escribe el mismo Sr.
162
Negrete, desde la misin de Santo Domingo en la frontera, comunicndome no haberlo querido admitir en su clase de autoridad, los seores de la colonia, y autorizndome comunique el acontecimiento al Sr. Gobernador Don Rafael Espinosa, a la Paz, aprovechando los conductos de los vapores que salen de este puerto para el de Mazatln, lo que con esta fecha verifico, con copia de esta misma nota; parecindome mejor dirigirme a Ud. directamente por ser ms fcil la comunicacin con la capital que con la Paz de la Baja California, que por tierra dista ms de cuatrocientas leguas de camino desiertos y fragosos, y por mar, es preciso pasar a Mazatln y de all volver a la Baja California, por no haber buques que hagan viajes de aqu para con aquel pas. No debo pasar en silencio que la California militar de la frontera desde que ingres a ella hasta la fecha, se ha compuesto de los siguientes: Un capitn.-Un teniente.-dos sargentos, tres cabos y cuatro soldados. Esta clase esta nivelada a los indios del campo, pues slo los distingue el nombre y no las costumbres ni el hbito. Yo que en mi clase de mexicano, avecindado entre la frontera y San Diego, altamente interesado por el bien general de mi pas, y en obsequio del mandato del Sr. jefe poltico teniente Coronel Castillo Negrete, me apresuro en poner esta noticia en el superior conocimiento de Ud. para que si lo tiene a bien lo eleve al del E. S. Presidente de Repblica, para los fines que convengan, protestndole a la vez mi respeto y consideracin muy distinguida. Dios y Libertad. San Diego, Alta California a 29 de nov. 1851. Jos Matas Moreno. (At bottom: Dirigido a E. S. Ministro de Relaciones Interiores y Exteriores de la Repblica Mexicana. Al Gobernador de la Baja, [Don Rafael Espinosa] se le aadi Y lo inserto a Ud. con iguales fines.)
163
Jos Matas Moreno to Jos L. Espinosa. December 7, 1851. San Diego, California106 S. E. Jos L. Espinosa, Sto. Domingo Estimado primo, Son en mi poder sus dos apreciables de 18 y 21 del pasado noviembre y con mucho desagrado me he impuesto de los ltimos sucesos de esa infeliz frontera. Si Ud. conserva su memoria fresca, se acordar que mis narices son chiquitas, pero que alcanzan el olor de las cosas desde muy lejos, y se acordar tambin que mis vaticinios han salido ciertos. Castro y Chvez han credo que la frontera es un patrimonio suyo, y no hay duda que por algn tiempo seguirn causando muchos y grandes males; apoyado en la psima aunque insignificante fuerza de la colonia, con ms ahora el influjo del funesto Padre Real, que tiene a su lado. El Sr. Negrete ha sido desconocido en su autoridad, preso y conducido para abajo, con una acusacin subversiva e insidiosa en la cual descansan los colonos, sin enemigos, creyndose seguros en su triunfo. Se engaan, y muy pronto ver Ud. ese crimen castigado. La Proclama que expidi el Seor Negrete al tiempo de su salida, se halla impreso, as como un comunicado que suscriben varios mexicanos, de lo que acompao a Ud. un ejemplar. Ya mando otros varios para esa frontera. No hay duda que todos ellos respingarn. Por el vapor del 4, remit al Supremo Gobierno Gral., 4 ejemplares de ambos documentos : al Sr. Gobernador del Territorio, otros cuatro, con una comunicacin oficial, de la cual adjunto a Ud. una copia. Esta tiene fecha del 29 de nov., pero con fecha 2 del presente, hice otra, en la cual adjunto los impresos referidos, dando igualmente cuenta de la prisin y conduccin del Sr. Negrete. Al Sr. Gobernador de la Baja, le escribo tambin, una carta particular, en que detalladamente
164
doy una exacta noticia de la frontera, la colonia, sus jefes, y sus sucesos. Con ms copia de una carta que con la nota de reservada escribe Castro a Chvez, desde Monterey, con fecha 18 de nov., y que una mera casualidad hizo venir a mis manos. Le adjunto a Ud. copia de ella en la forma que se halla escrita. Yo les estoy haciendo a estos canallas una guerra sorda, que no esperan, aunque estoy fundado en la verdad y la sana razn. No es imposible poder obsequiar su deseo de que yo pase a esa frontera, segn el espritu de sus apreciables ya citadas, pues Ud. sabe que all no hay razn, leyes ni Dios. La justicia es en la frontera una planta extica y en su defecto se halla entronizada el capricho, la arbitrariedad, en fin, el dicho de Gastelum, que ya all ha pasado a proverbio, Lo mandado, mandado y quin a la vista de esos males se querr exponer a sangre fra a los insultos y vejmenes de esos canallas? para pasar yo a la frontera necesito ir a mano armada. Aqu hay varios hombres mexicanos que voluntariamente se ofrecen armados a ponerse a mis rdenes, para ir a castigar a los disidentes; pero yo no he querido, no lo har; porque ya el Sr. Negrete, no est all y porque ya tambin este asunto est en manos de la Superioridad, a quien legalmente le toca la Calificacin de todo y el castigo de los culpables. Yo estoy, como he estado siempre, dispuesto en servirle a Ud. en cuanto pueda y en cualesquiera parte, y si ahora no voy, como me dice, es por no exponerme con estos hombres, dndoles un triunfo sobre m, ya que por fortuna me libr en abril: Se acuerda Ud.? Esperemos, en fin, el resultado del Sr. Negrete, no violentemos las cosas, ni las echemos a perder, dejmoslos a ellos que caigan por sus propios hechos. Cualesquiera cosa que nosotros hagamos por ahora, sin reasumir carcter de autoridad, sera echarnos una culpa que no nos conviene, y sera tambin darles a ellos alma y vigor en sus desaciertos. Tenga paciencia y procure tener calma, para librarse de los ataques bruscos de esos carajos. Aqu estamos amenazados por los Indios: todos andamos con el fusil al hombro. Mucha gente de aqu y Los ngeles ha
165
salido a batirlos. Saludes a prima de parte de mi familia y Ud. sabe que soy suyo y B. S. Jos Matas Moreno. p.d. Entre tanto las cosas cambien, haga Ud. la novena de San Gonzalo y en las mudanzas que haga, acurdese de su primo, el chapito.
Notes
1Judge
Benjamin Hayes, Diary and Pioneer Notes 18491875 (Los Angeles: Marjorie Tisdale Wolcott, 1929), 196. 2Samuel T. Black, History of San Diego (Chicago: The S. J. Clark Publishing Co., 1913), 125. 3Clarence Alan McGrew, City of San Diego and San Diego County, Vol. I (Chicago: The American Historical Society, 1922), 5859. 4Ephraim W. Morse, a native of Massachusetts, came to San Diego in 1850 and established a store in the new Heath Davis area near the Bay with a partner Levi Slack. After going to Boston to get married he returned to San Diego to find that his partner Slack had been murdered by the Indians; by 1853 he had moved his store to Old Town. A businessman, public figure, later a lawyer, he was a central figure in the development of San Diego and one of MARBs correspondents. 5Letters from San Diego Pioneers, 18501855. (RCC 979.49806). Pendletons letters are part of the William Heath Davis file, San Diego Pioneer Letters, housed in the California Room of the San Diego Public Library. 6The Mormon batallion was the first to be quartered in San Diego after 1846, camping out at the old dilapidated Mission. These troops were replaced by Company I of the Stevenson regiment of New York Volunteers, until they were mustered out in September of 1848. 7Efforts to restore the Mission, in ruins by the end of the century, were begun by Father Ubach in 1891, but restoration was not completed until 1931. 8See Judge Benjamin Hayes, Diary and Pioneer Notes, 133. 9Victoria Jacobs, Diary of a San Diego Girl1856. Edit. by Sylvia Arden (Santa Monica, CA: Norton B. Stern, 1974), 26.
166
10In
167
the spring of 1853 the Frisbies traveled to New York with twelveyear-old Platn Vallejo, who was joining his brother Andronico at school at Emmettsburg, Maryland (Emparn, 262). After two years there, he returned to enroll with his brother Uladislao at San Francisco College. In 1859 before leaving California to return to New York to enroll in the School of Medicine at Columbia University, he wrote MARB and she replied with this letter dated April 23, 1859. 11John Phoenix [George Horatio Derby], Phoenix Installed Editor of the San Diego Herald, in the San Diego Herald, August 24, 1853, p. 2. See also George Horatio Derby, Phoenixiana; or Sketches and Burlesques (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1856), 9596. 12Noted in Walter Gifford Smith, the Story of San Diego (San Diego Printing Company, 1892), 123. 13California Land Titles, in the San Diego Herald, April 3, 1852. 14In 1854, after many failed attempts during the Spanish and Mexican periods, regular teachingin a room rented for that purpose for several months of the yearwould begin in San Diego. By 1860 there was a one-room schoolhouse in Old Town. See Black, History of San Diego, 233. 15Miguel de Pedrorena, Sr., a Spanish merchant who resided in Peru, came to California in 1837 and settled in San Diego in 1845, where he married Mara Antonia Estudillo. He was the grantee of San Jacinto Nuevo in 1846, and his wife of El Cajn in 1845. He, along with Bandini and Santiago Argello, sided with the U.S. cause in the U.S. invasion of Alta California. He would represent San Diego as one of the Constitutional Convention delegates in 1849. Pedrorena, who died in 1850, had four children: Miguel, Elena, Victoria, and Ysabel. His son Miguel, born in Old Town in 1844, married Nellie Burton at Horton House in San Diego in December 1875. and died in Jamul in December 1882. 16Benjamin Hayes was a resident of Los Angeles when he was elected district judge in 1856. After retiring as judge in 1864 he moved to Old Town, San Diego, where he practiced law. Considered the leading lawyer in San Diego (Black, 211), he would also serve as state senator. After his first wife died in 1857, he spent several years traveling from L.A. to San Diego and on to San Bernardino on horseback, by carriage or on steamer, where he conducted court ses-
168
sion three times a year. In 1866 he married Adelaida Serrano, daughter of Jos Antonio Serrano and Nieves Aguilar de Serrano. Adelaida too died in early womanhood. During these years he accumulated a large number of documents relating to early Southern California history, materials housed at the Bancroft Library. 17Reyes, mentioned in MARBs letter of 21 Feb. 1860 to Moreno, was the daughter of Jos Antonio Estudillo and Mara Victoria Domnguez de Estudillo. 18See Hayes, p. 194. 19Eulalia is also mentioned in MARBs letter of 21 Feb. 1860 to Moreno. She was the daughter of Agustn Vicente Zamorano, who came with Echeanda in 1825 and brought the first printing press to Alta California. 20Jos Antonio Aguirre, native of Basque Spain, born about 1793, was a wealthy trader at Guaymas; in 1833 or 34 he began trading in Alta California; in 1838 he settled in Santa Barbara after marrying Francisca Estudillo; when she died, he married her sister, Mara del Rosario Estudillo, both daughters of San Diego Prefect Jos Antonio Estudillo, and resided in San Diego. In 1850 he was residing in Old Town. He was the grantee of the Tejn ranch in 1843 and his wife of San Jacinto Viejo y Nuevo in 1846. After 1854 he was a resident of Santa Barbara. A large man, he was known as Aguirrn. 21The identity of the doctor is not clear but in the 1850s there were always army surgeons stationed with the little garrison and only two doctors , Dr. David B. Hoffman, who began practicing in San Diego late in 1855, and Dr. George E. Knight, who was in S.D. for a short time. An earlier doctor, Dr. Frederick Painter, died in November 1853 (Black, 217218). 22An analysis of the legal problems of Ruiz de Burton is part of a work in progress. 23A native of Maryland, Winder was a veteran of the War with Mexico and of the Civil War. While in California, he served in San Diego and in Yuma, where Capt. Burton also served for a time. Both served in the Civil War and after resigning his commission, Winder would settle in San Diego where he practiced medicine. A painter as well as a doctor, he was the owner of Winders Addition to San Diego and for a time rented rooms to Ruiz de Burton and her daughter at 729 13th Street in the City of San Diego. Winder would co-sign with
169
Ruiz de Burton as guarantors of a bond for $6500 when in January 1889 Nellie Burton de Pedrorena petitioned to be declared the guardian of her daughter Eileen Pedrorena and her estate, after the death of her husband Miguel Pedrorena in 1882 (Case #490). 24See Horace G. Platt, The Law as to the Property Rights of Married Women as Contained in the Statutes and Decisions of California, Texas and Nevada (San Francisco: Sumner Whitney & Co, 1885), 91. 25Estefana Alvarados father, Francisco Mara Alvarado and Francisco Mara Ruiz were co-owners of Los Peasquitos, a grant of 2 square leagues made to the two in 1823 by Governor Argello and in 1834 by Governor Figueroa. Alvarado and Ruiz were probably related, as MARB will later refer to Estefana as her cousin. 26These also are the thoughts of Rojo, a Peruvian and an anti-clerical liberal, who arrived in Baja California in 1849 and served in several administrative capacities, including a short stint as governor of Baja before being removed, later came to the Frontera, purchasing in 1863 the ex-Mission San Vicente, (where Ruiz and family had lived) and was appointed in 1868 as subjefe poltico of the Northern District. Probably it is during his residence in La Frontera that he became Morenos friend. Rojo noted that although in his youth, Moreno was much influenced by his mentor Fr. Gonzlez, clearly in his later years he rejected his earlier folly. In providing Rojo with letters from Fr. Gonzlez, wherein is evident his conspiracy against Negrete, Moreno sought to make up for past mistakes, excusing as best he could the errors of his youth and turning over to us the original letters which Fr. Gabriel had written him. See Manuel C. Rojo, Historical Notes on Lower California with Some Relative to Upper California Furnished to the Bancroft Library, 115). 27Matas correspondence, in manuscript form, to his wife Prudenciana is housed at the Huntington Library. Carta del 23 de septiembre de 1858 de Matas Moreno a su esposa Prudenciana. Huntington Library manuscripts. 28See Cartas a Prudenciana, Moreno documents. August 3, 1863, and August 21, 1863. 29See Angela Moyano Pahissa, Frontera. As se hizo la frontera norte (Mxico: Ariel Divulgacin, 1996), 125137. 30The railroad across the Mexican Isthmus of Tehuantepec, while never built, is still seen by some today as a viable proposal.
170
31John
Quincy Adams, The Caribbean and Our National Interest, in The Annals of America (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1976), Vol. 5, 5761. 32James Monroe, The Monroe Doctrine, in The Annals, Vol. 5, 7375. 33Already in 1848, the caste wars in Yucatn would lead the governor there to request assistance from the U.S., Britain, and Spain in order to put down the Indian uprising. President Polk proposed before Congress that the U.S. intervene; the issue was dropped when the problem in Yucatn was resolved. See Debate on the Yucatan Bill, in The Annals, Vol. 7, 426. 34Jos Mart, The Washington Pan-American Congress, in Inside the Monster: Writings on the United States and American Imperialism. Ed. by Philip S. Foner (New York: Monthly Review, 1975), 366. 35The Late Cuba Expedition, reprinted in The Annals, Vol. 8, 95. 36Quoted in Josefina Zoraida Vzquez and Lorenzo Meyer, The United States and Mexico (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1985), 54. 37La Declaracin de Independencia de los Siete Estados Septentrionales de la Sierra Madre. See Moyano Pahissa, 85. 38A few years later, Carvajal was named Governor of Tamaulipas by Jurez (Moyano Pahissa, 9091). 39The first Moorehead group, which upon arrival proclaimed itself a mining party, was expelled from Sonora in November of 1851 and a second group, detained in San Diego, eventually made its way to Mazatln. Moyano indicates that the men were allowed to disembark when no weapons were found. She found no further notice on these men, who may have later joined Walker or returned to the U.S. (Moyano Pahissa, 93). During this same period the French consul in San Francisco, following rumors of gold in Sonora, was also supporting the organization of filibustering groups (Moyano Pahissa, 95). It is then that Count Gastn Raoul de Raousset-Boulbon initiated two failed trips to Sonora. In 1852 Raousset-Boulbon recruited 150 men to join him in taking over Sonora; although his plans failed, he was able to take over Hermosillo for a short while before being repelled. In 1854 Raoussett again left San Francisco to establish a regime in the northern Mexican States; but he against failed, was captured and shot (Vzquez & Meyer, 55). 40See Hayes, 157.
41From:
171
Documentos para la historia de Baja California. (Bancroft Library: M-M 260 Papers of Benjamin I. Hayes). 42William Walker, originally from Tennessee, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Medical College, who also studied in various European universities, and later studied law, working as a journalist in New Orleans in 1848, was also given to travel and filibustering. 43Arthur Woodward, The Republic of Lower California 185354 (Los Angeles: Dawsons Book Shop, 1966), 13. 44Already by 1850 there were rumors circulating in the U.S. and Mexico that the southern states would secede from the Union and seek to form a confederacy with Mexico. See letter, dated August 11, 1850, sent by Jos R. Moreno in Washington, D.C., to Manuel Castro in Manuel Castro manuscript file at the Bancroft Library, BANC M-M, 21, Box 2, folder 387380. 45Meade, on the other hand, indicates that Walker and his men fled in view of local preparations by Lieutenant Manuel Pineda, who was readying forces to attack the filibusterers again. See Adalberto Walther Meade, El Partido Norte de Baja California (Mexico: UABC, 1983), 53. 46In Ensenada, while Walker and his filibusterers were surrounded by Colonel Castillo Negrete and Antonio Melndrez, the two kidnapped jefes polticos, Espinosa and Rebolledo, would convince the captain of the Caroline to take them back to Cape San Lucas and with them the archives of La Paz that the filibusterers had plundered (Woodward, 37). 47Walkers proclamation is reprinted in Woodward, 3133. 48Mexican accounts, on the other hand, anxious to magnify the size of the encroaching force, indicate that by this time Walker had some 600 men (Valads, 40). 49Bandinis account, a manuscript at the Huntington Library, was translated and published by Robert G. Cleland, Bandinis Account of William Walkers Invasion of Lower California, in Huntington Library Quarterly, Vol. vii (February 1944), 153166. 50Valads notes that the trial was a farce, with the judge expressing his sympathy for the accused. Para muchos, los filibusteros fueron audaces hroes, novicios en una brava empresa, iniciadores del destino manifiesto, quienes, si fracasaron por su descuido, haban
172
dado, sin embargo, un paso adelante en la marcha del progreso y hacia la realizacin de ese sueo que pinta todo el continente septentrional bajo las estrellas y las barras. Para los hombres sensatos, la expedicin aparecer siempre como un desvergonzado crimen. (Valads, 46). 51See Adalberto Walther Meade, Antonio Mara Melndrez. Caudillo patriota de Baja California (Mexicali, Mexico: UABC, 1988). 52Melndrez, who had succeeded in doing what the northern prefect del Castillo Negrete, who fled north to San Diego after initial skirmishes against Walker, had failed to do, faced a number of accusations from Negrete and other officials, who considered him a criminal and feared his growing influence in La Frontera, spreading false rumors to the incoming Blancarte. Ordered to appear before his accuser, Lieutenant Jos Pujol, to receive an official letter from the governor, Melndrez was forcibly detained, faced charges of treason, and was executed by the Mexican army (Valads, 49). 53The execution provoked reaction against the governor and led to a new assessment of the facts and interviews of ten new witnesses, all of whom in their testimonials noted Melndrezs heroic action against Walker and the falsity of the charges made against him (Meade, 1988, 8795). 54See Jorge Flores, Notas preliminares, en Documentos para la historia (Mexico: Coleccin Papeles Histricos Mexicanos, 1940), 34. Zerman, from Italy but a French citizen, said to be fleeing political persecution at the hands of Emperor Napoleon III, was residing in San Francisco in 1855, when an agent of General Juan Alvarez arrived to solicit a loan for the purchase of arms to overthrow Santa Anna. Zerman thereupon proposed a blockade of Pacific ports in support of General Alvarez and General Comonfort. Zerman, who appears to have led a colorful life as French spy, secret agent and officer in the French Navy, declared himself Admiral of the Mexican Republic, named a provisional Army and enlisted merchants and 85 miners who had been left behind in Walkers expedition to Nicaragua, traveling on the Archibald Gracie to Baja California. Upon arriving at La Paz, Zerman in an absurd military costume with feather and all, declared his blockade and stated that thereafter there would be no customs fees on imported goods, only a simple derecho de arancel. Blancarte placed them all under arrest and sent the whole lot to Mexico, where Zerman declared he was no filibusterer
173
but rather a supporter of Alvarez. Released by Comonfort, Zerman returned to the U.S. A few years later Matas Romero from the Mexican Legation in Washington, D.C. would try to get his help to acquire munitions for the republican army (Flores, 4243; Valads, 64; Vzquez and Meyer, 62). 55John L. OSullivan, Our Manifest Destiny, in The Annals of America, Vol. 7, 289. 56James K. Polk, The Annexation of Texas and Oregon, in The Annals, Vol. 7, 286. 57Texas Without War, in The Annals , Vol. 7, 199. 58Antonio de la Pea y Reyes, Lord Aberdeen, Texas y California (Mexico: Editorial Porra, 1970). 59James K. Polk, Reaffirmation of the Monroe Doctrine, Annals, Vol. 7, 301303. 60In 1835 Andrew Jackson had asked to buy the territory and in 1836 after the Texas revolt, President Jackson had offered Santa Anna three and a half million pesos for it. When James Polk became President he sent an envoy John Slidell to Mexico to offer $40 million for the territory but President Herrera, bowing to public opposition, refused to grant Slidell an audience. See Territorial Expansion and the Extension of Slavery, in Annals, Vol. 7, 366369. 61William Ellery Channing, Against the Annexation of Texas, in The Annals, Vol. 6, 358. 62The U.S. had long been interested in California, as were England and France. Polks agent in California, Thomas Larkin, had already begun promoting annexation to the U.S., although there were also advocates among Southern Californians, like Po Pico, for British annexation. 63Thomas L. Brasher. Whitman as editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1970), 8687. See also: Walt Whitman, Justificacin de la guerra con Mxico in Josefina Vzquez de Knauth. Mexicanos y norteamericanos ante la Guerra del 47 (Mexico: Sep/Setentas, 1972), 109110. 64James K. Polk, California and Mexico, in The Annals, Vol. 7, 377. 65Albert Gallatin, in a 1847 pamphlet Peace with Mexico argued that the war had been unjustly begun by the United States and condemned justifying the war on the basis of racial superiority, although he did grant that even if superiority of race with respect to Mexico
174
were allowed, it did not confer superiority of rights. Albert Gallatin, The Unjust War with Mexico, in The Annals, Vol. 7, 369373. 66These hawkish ideas would be much debated in Congress and simultaneously attacked by Horace Greeleys Tribune as well as by the British press (Brasher, 91). The abolitionist Charles Sumner would also condemn the war against Mexico, arguing that this causeless, cruel and unjust war with Mexico had been provoked by the United States in order to extend slavery. With Congressional rejection of the Wilmot Proviso in 1847, which would have excluded slavery in all new territorial acquisitions in the Southwest, four slave states would be established and only one free state, California. Sumner noted in 1847 that the power of the South had controlled the Presidency for 56 years, while the free states, only 12 years. It is generally accepted that the election of a non-Southerner in 1860 precipitated secession. See Charles Sumner A War to Strengthen the Slavery Interests, The Annals, Vol. 7, 361365. 67Frederick Douglass, A Negro View of the Mexican War, in The Annals, Vol. 7, 422. 68Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton, Who Would Have Thought It? Ed. by Rosaura Snchez and Beatrice Pita (Houston: Arte Publico Press, 1995), 198. 69 Romero cited in Harry Bernstein, Matas Romero 18371898 (Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Econmica, 1973), 167. 70 Territorial Expansion and the Extension of Slavery, in The Annals, Vol. 7, 366. 71 The Paris journal Debats is quoted in California and the National Interest, in The Annals, Vol. 7, 327. 72 The Fate of Mexico, published by the Young American faction of the Democratic Party in the Democratic Review magazine. Republished in The Annals, Vol. 9, 36. 73 Jos Mart, The Washington Pan-American Congress, in Inside the Monster. 363. 74 The last important filibusterer in the area was Henry A. Crabb, who in 1856 left California for Sonora with a group of adventurers. Crabb and 93 of his followers would be killed in Sonora. (Vazquez and Meyer, 62.) 75 See Abb Henry J.A. Alric, Sketches of a Journey on the Two Oceans and to the Interior of America and of a Civil War in North-
175
ern Lower California. Translated from the French by Norah W. Jones. Edited, introduced and annotated by Doyce B. Nunis, Jr. (Los Angeles: Dawsons Bookshop, 1971), 7375. 76 Jos Castro was the former Comandante General of Alta California (184546), who fled with Pico to Mexico. A controversial figure, he is often presented as cowardly (Angustias de Ord). Bancroft notes that No Californian has been so thoroughly abused as he in what has passed for history. It should be stated at the outset that nine tenths of all that has been said against him by American writers has no foundation in truth. See H. H. Bancroft, Pioneer Register and Index [excerpted from Bancrofts History of California] (Baltimore: Regional Publishing Co., 1964), 92. 77 See Matas Moreno, Descripcin del Partido Norte de la Baja California. 1861. Introduccin y notas de David Piera Ramrez y Jorge Martnez Zepeda. UABC, Fuentes documentales para la historia de Baja California, ao 1, nmero 2, diciembre de 1984. See also Hayes (24849) for his list based on Morenos report. 78 Alrics description of Moreno is entirely negative, all of which might suggest that his opinion is colored by his friendship with Bandini and his cohorts. (Alric, 67.) 79 Alric indicates that Esparza executed those who had failed to appear and vote for him at his rigged election validating his selfappointment as subprefect (Alric, 114). 80 Hayes finds that despite shooting those twelve men, he [Esparza] does not deserve to be treated disparagingly, whatever opinion may be entertained as to the lawfulness or expediency of the principal act which excites so much indignation amongst the Californians. See Hayes, 235237. 81 The press in Los Angeles (L.A. Star) wrote favorably of Esparza: He has the sympathy of all of our peaceful and law-abiding citizens, and we do most sincerely hope that he will rid the country of that gang of desperadoes who now infest that unfortunate country (Doyce note in Alric, 129). Hayes too would note the Los Angeles Stars anti-Moreno and anti-Mendoza press, although the newspaper did deign to publish a retraction: The report recently circulated that Gov. Moreno of Lower California has favored and been instrumental in pillaging and stealing from the ranchers, is wholly
176
without foundation. Clearly Judge Benjamin Hayes sides with Bandini and Argello and thus with Esparza, who was willing to do their bidding. The arrival of troops to remove Esparza was construed as part of Morenos intrigue, a comment implicitly arguing that La Frontera ought to be ruled by those supported by the better class at San Diego (Hayes, 210, 211, 236, 247), those of course who had sided with the U.S. against Mexico. 82J. M. Bandinis father, Juan Bandini, married Santiago Argellos daughter, Refugio, after his first wife died. 83William M. Gwin, Senator Gwins Plan for the Colonization of Sonora. Edited by Evan J. Coleman in The Overland Monthly, Vol. XVII-Second Series (January-June, 1891), 518. 84Martnez suggests that President Jurez would send General Vega from Sinaloa with a force of 200 men to restore order and place Moreno in his post. Pablo Martnez, A History of Lower California, p. 388. 85Nunis in his notes to Alrics Sketches of a Journey notes that Couts (son-in-law of Bandini) employed Mendoza as a mayordomo on his ranch and after some dispute between them, Couts, alleging he feared for his life, shot Mendoza in the back as he was crossing the street in Old Town San Diego. Judge Hayes was one of Couts defense attorneys. See Abb Henry J. A. Alric, Sketches of a Journey on the Two Oceans, and Notes. Nunis, 137. 86Rojo recounts that Jos Antonio Carrillo, the Congressional Deputy for Alta California, stopped in Baja on his way back from Mexico City to visit Dolores Carrillo, but this Dolores was the wife of Don Jos Antonio Altamirano, a landowner in La Paz. See Manuel C. Rojo, 98. 87See Martnez, History, 341. 88See Moreno documents. Bancroft Library: M-M 1765, Manuel Pineda Documents. 89Moreno in his report indicates that the ex-mission Guadalupe was granted to Bandini in 1845 but this concession was annulled by the Mexican government and later given to Custodio Souza. When Souza died intestate, it was put up for sale and Moreno bought it. (Moreno, 31.) The purchase is reported in his letter to Prudenciana, Feb. 24, 1863, from La Paz. Morenos letters to Prudenciana are housed at the Huntington Library.
90Morenos
177
report was the basis of several articles published in the San Diego Union in 1870. These articles have been collected and published as Lower California Frontier, edit. by Florence C. Shipek (L.A.: Dawsons Book Shop, 1965). 91David Piera Ramrez, Prlogo, in Lasspas, 89. 92See Los Angeles Star, June 22, 1861. A clipping in Hayes Notes (Hayes, 247). In 1861 Moreno was arrested in San Diego for violating U.S. neutrality laws during efforts to remove Esparza from power, a charge instigated by his local enemies, including Bandini, and other Esparza supporters. 93Piera Ramrez and Martnez Zepeda note the following: en 1851 se asoci con Guillermo Norrlin y form una compaa a la que denominaron La Margarita, dedicada a extraer plata en San Isidro Ajojolojol, ubicado en el Partido Norte de la Frontera de la Baja California. En 1856 gestion a Grisar Byrnes & Co. una concesin para explotar salinas en San Quintn. See Introduction and Notes by David Piera Ramrez y Jorge Martnez Zepeda, in Moreno, Descripcin del Partido Norte de la Baja California, 9. 94See Lower California Frontier, 49. 95Relacin estadstica de los pueblos, exmisiones y ranchos del Partido Norte de la Frontera de la Baja California, que comprende desde la ex-misin de San Fernando hasta la lnea divisoria, formando un trapecio, cuya extensin es de cien leguas de longitud por cuarenta leguas de latitud, trmino medio entre las dos bases que componen una superficie de cuatro mil leguas cuadradas. Las leguas de que se habla, son mexicanas de a cinco mil varas. See Moreno, 17. 96Ryerson was granted the Rancho de los Vallecitos by Subjefe poltico Castro. 97Hayes indicates that the land was given to the Indian for saving a priests life when the Indian chief Jatinill, who had previously been an ally of thewhites, turned against them (Hayes, 297). 98See Moreno, 31. 99Interestingly, Lasspas in his 1858 history of the colonization of Baja California lists San Antonio as having been granted in 1834 by the Ayuntamiento of Loreto, but the interested party is said to be Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton; a separate concession, La Pasin, is also said to have first been made in 1834 by the Ayuntamiento of
178
La Paz and is listed to Pablo de la Toba as the interested party. See Lasspas, 230. 100The following is taken from Hayes notes at the Bancroft Manuscript collection (p. 925): San Antonio. Patented Dec. 31, 1859, to Doa Mara del Amparo de Burton, distant 87 miles from San Diego, containing 4,439 acres, with wood, water and grass. Its landing is Sausal de Camacho (or Jurez), at the distance of 5 miles from the mines. Sixty-four leads of copper and silver have been discovered, copper principally. These mines were worked in 1857, about six months, by some foreigners, who were obliged to abandon the enterprise, for want of capital. They shipped about 100 tons of ore assaying from 18 to 25 percent. 101Los capitales invertidos en empresas mineras no lo han sido, en lo general, con acierto; y un juego de bolsa era el principal objeto de los especuladores revestidos con el nombre de mineros (Valads, 112). 102See copy of document in David Piera Ramrez, Orgenes de Ensenada y poltica nacional de colonizacin (Tijuana: UABC: Grupo Cultural Septentrion, 1991), 122. 103Since we have no letters from MARBs years in Baja, it could also well be that from childhood MARB grew up hearing her mother complain about being deprived of her share of the Ensenada land grant, her birthright as heir of Governor Ruiz. MARB must have known that she would have to relocate to be able to initiate the battle that her mother would never be able to mount. In that case, relocation to the U.S. was necessary to return her to La Frontera. 104MARBs legal entanglements are the subject of a work in process. 105From Bancroft Library Manuscript Collection: M-M 21, Box 2, folder 491494. Documentos originales para la Historia de Baja California y sobre todo de la Colonia Militar de la Frontera 18481859, Folders 380678. 106Ibid.
Chapter IV
(Shifting) Frames of Reference: Southwest by East

A. Commentary
Without some contextualization one cannot account for the variety of topics and tones found in MARBs letters written while she was on the East Coast of the U.S. The ten years or so that she spends there are a period of avid letter writing during which she moves in social circles and spaces where the local, national, and global intersect. Reading the letters in tandem with her fiction gives a sense of the transformations taking place in the country, as well as a glimpse into how this new relocation and the opening of horizons translated for MARB into a series of dreams and schemes for accessing power, privilege, and wealth, none of which came to fruition in the long run. The early letters reveal her awe and wonderment before the industrial and modern East Coast; increasingly, though, her growing understandingand disenchantmentand even chagrin with the United States are evident as she comes to terms with the constraints and operative rules of engagement and as she simultaneously relocates within social spaces that will generate closer ties with Mexico. In time, and as she sees her admittedly grandiose plans frustrated, the tone of her letters becomes more and more insistent, even strident and frantic, as she sees her personal and financial situation worsen. The United States was in the midst of modernization when MARB went north to Upper California in late 1848, although the
179
180
backwaters of Monterey and the open fields of the San Diego village showed little signs of it. In 1859 her twenty-one-day trip from San Francisco to New York on board a steamship repositioned her in a wholly different kind of place, a world that moved at an entirely different pace. From life in small villages, whether in Baja or Alta California, where there were still a good number of californios, she relocated to a Yankee world, a move that further intensified her sense of displacement even as it redefined her relation to nation and region. Her frequent moves and stays in several of the major cities of the United States in the nineteenth century, among them New York and Washington, in effect destabilized her sense of the local and refocused her on the global. En route east in 1859 she saw part of what was then still part of Colombia, the isthmus of Panama. What had ten years earlier been an exasperating and harried experience across the isthmus, with travelers going by mule or foot from Panama to Gorgona or Chagres and by canoe along the Chagres River to the Caribbean port at Aspinwall, had by 1859 been shortened to a threehour trip by railcar. Her 1859 letter to Moreno betrays her evident excitement about the trip, despite the unbearable heat on the steamship that fatigued her; she had enjoyed going through Panama and touching briefly at Key West in Florida; she regretted that a fever breakout in Cuba had prevented their landing there but relished the idea of travel, of wider vistas and opportunities (9-5-59). From New York City, after a short rest, the Burton family traveled to New England, where H. S. Burtons family, the Willistons, lived1 and perhaps other relatives, like Dr. Henry Guild Burton, an assistant surgeon in Vermont, who was a pallbearer at MARBs funeral in San Diego in 1895. What MARB thought about Burtons relativesand the family dynamics and reception of H. S. Burtons new family in New Englandis not discussed in her letters to Vallejo or Moreno, but the descriptions of the hypocritical, narrow-minded, and racist New Englanders in her novel Who Would Have Thought It? undoubtedly speak volumes about her impressions and perhaps her interaction with East Coasters.
181
Were not in California anymore

The second half of the nineteenth century brought the U.S. unprecedented developments in technology that sped up transport and communication, and to newcomers to the East Coast, these changes must have been monumental. Trains especially impressed MARB; upon her arrival in New York particularly, she was taken by their speed and the technology that enabled the Burtons to travel on a coach pulled by an infernal monster spewing out sparks and smoke and howling as it flew down the tracks. Stressed in her letters is her sense of this acceleration of time; things moved faster, grew greener faster, as if many years, she says, were condensed into the space of a few days (9-5-59). It is this difference in space and speed, from a pre-modern to a modern time zone, that she underscores in distinguishing between the prosperous, industrializing East Coast, and the still backwaters of California and what she saw as a stagnant Mexico, apparently left in modernitys wake. The latter difference she found personally painful. The time-zone difference MARB encountered impacted all timespaces, all spheres of life, even literary ones. Thus, while staying in Vermont in 1860, MARB remarked in a letter to Vallejo that in a time of railroads and magnetic telegraphs, it was no longer possible to wax romantic about nymphs and gods while contemplating the Connecticut River (6-23-60). She was also impressed by the size and bustle of the Eastern cities, but these she does not describe to Moreno, who had already traveled to Mexico City and, she was sure, would not be impressed by her description of a metropolitan area: Como Ud. ya fue a la Ciudad de Mxico y vino despercudidono creo que se asombrara de ninguna cosa que yo le pueda decir (9-5-59). Trains not only made locomotion faster, but they also juxtaposed different areas and people in a way that a one-steamship-a-month town like San Diego could not. The next decade found MARB pursuing her always-multiple interests and moving frequently about the East Coast, following her husbands constant reassignments during the war. These spatial shifts began right away. After their trip back to New York from New England, the Burtons traveled to Georgetown, where MARB lived for a short time, enrolling her two children in
182
school even as H. S. Burton reported to Fortress Monroe in Virginia. From Georgetown the family took a side trip to Maryland to meet Burtons daughter by his first wife, Elizabeth Ferguson Burton, who went to live with an aunt (Annie Hill Swann) in Annapolis, when her mother died. From this Georgetown site, MARB traveled often to Washington, D.C., where she, as an officers wife, attended many White House events, including Lincolns inaugural reception. Although primarily identified as Californianand no doubt seen as a somewhat exotic specimen from the Westand despite being a citizen of the United States, MARB increasingly saw herself as Mexican, an identification that became more marked when she left the border area and found herself dealing with a new sense of place, marked especially by a rural to urban shift. Although initially marveling at the verdure of New England and the signs of modernity, MARB wrote her friend Moreno in San Diego that she longed to see a similar prosperity in Mexico: Ah!, Mxico, Mxico, quin te viera prosperar as! (9-5-59). Thousands of miles away from California, Mexico as a nationstate acquired a special figuration as MARBs contact with the Mexican Legation increased in Washington, D.C., and as she attempted to further her interests in Baja. The head of the Mexican Legation in 1860 was Jos Mara Mata,2 married to a daughter of Melchor Ocampo.3 The Burtons arrived in Washington, D.C., almost at the same time as Matas Romero, the new secretary of the Mexican Legation. In his diary,4 one of the first social events that Romero indicates attending is the baptism of Matas child, where he met several of Matas friends, including MARB. As is clear from Romeros diary, there was frequent contact between MARB, Romero, Mata, and other members of the Mexican Legation in Washington; MARB served them in several capacities: translating for them, guiding them on visits to West Point, attending social functions with them, and even assisting them when diplomats fell ill. Mata, Romero, and the rest of the Legation, in turn, made her privy to the latest events, problems, and affairs at the highest levels in the Mexican state. As she notes in her letter to Moreno, she not only knew the players, but the latest policies:
183
Yo veo al Sr. Mata con frecuencia y puedo decirle a l lo que sea. Tambin le escribo al Sr. Lerdo y se lo podra escribir a l a Veracruz. Hace pocos das que nos dijo el Sr. Mata que Lasspas ha ido de Veracruz a la Habana a tomar el vapor que sali de N. York ayer para pasar de Aspinwall a California y que lleva algn empleo a la Baja California; pero el Sr. Mata no saba si iba a La Paz o a la Frontera y yo espero que sea a la ltima que es donde por ahora se necesita quien la ordene. (2-21-60) Lasspas, who had published a Memorial in 1859 after analyzing the settlement, land holdings, and resources of Baja California, returned to the peninsula by order of President Jurez in 1860 to serve as juez de deslindes or judge of land holdings and measurements for Baja.5 MARB was ever alert to any and all information that pertained to Baja California. As she notes in the same letter, she met a number of distinguished Mexican visitors, including Jurezs envoy to the United States, Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, who was in Washington to see about obtaining a loan to finance the liberal cause in the civil war in Mexico. Lerdo de Tejada, a future Mexican president, traveled with her to West Point, and she describes their enjoyable conversation in which Lerdo and she passed the time building castles in the air and making plans for Mexicos future: Cuando estbamos en New York tuvimos el gusto de hacer el conocimiento del Sr. Lerdo de Tejada. Fuimos a West Point juntos y durante el viaje me divert yo haciendo castillos en el aire para Mxico y l rindose y ayudndome a hacerlos. ( 2-21-60) Lerdo de Tejada would ask if she knew Matas Moreno, who, as Judge Hayes suspected, had always had considerable influence in Mexico (Hayes, 236). During her stay on the East Coast, MARB also met Jurezs wife and family, Melchor Ocampo, Romeros assistant Ignacio Mariscal, who later was foreign relations minister under President Porfirio Daz, as well as many other diplomats who called at the Legation. The Mexican Legation in Washington, D.C. was, literally and figuratively, an island surrounded by the centers of power of the U.S. to
184
which MARB, ironically, also had access as a consequence of her husbands position in the Union army, which provided an entree to the inner halls of the imperial nation, at that point at the brink of Civil War. Like the orphan Lola in her novel Who Would Have Thought It?, MARB was an outsider culturally and politically, but her status as a citizen with access, through Burton, to the seat of power also made her an insider of sorts. It is this positioning as a citizen, coupled with her sense of being a resident-alien, with a foot on each side of the border, that most defined her and led Vallejo, as we have seen, to label her as fissured, as one with el alma atravesada. But what did it mean for a Mexican-born woman to be a citizen of the U.S. in 1860, considering what was happening in the United States, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America? Her positionality becomes clearer if we consider this moment of modernization and the internal conflict that was about to erupt in the United States. With modernization came new ways of accumulating capital and monopolies, which controlled industries, eliminated competition, and super-exploited workers, all with government as its handmaiden.6 MARB inveighed against this in The Squatter and the Don. The government not only used its coercive forces against strikers and immigrants, it enabled major industrialists to make millions through graft, favorable legislation, and government subsidies. The law, MARB soon discovered, was at the service of capital. In the nineteenth century, moreover, investment and venture capital became dominant,7 as did speculation in shares, bonds, and other securities. What MARB discovered is that shares could be fictive capital since the value they represented might no longer exist or exist only potentially (Mandel, 232233). This lesson in economic theory was one that MARB learned exceedingly well, as she, too, entered a world of entrepreneurship and sought to speculate with her lands in La Frontera.
Getting to know you: U.S. imperialism

This economic context is not the only one necessary to help explain MARBs letters. Equally important is the socio-political context, which, as we have seen in the introduction to chapter III, was marked by U.S. expansionism and the heralding of Manifest Des-
185
tiny that in the latter half of the century took the U.S. beyond California to Hawaii and the Philippines, even while its head was ever turning south, with sights set on one of the three isthmuses in Central America: Mexico (Tehuantepec), Nicaragua, and Panama. The acquisitionby one of several meansof the Northern Mexican states and Baja California was likewise never out of the picture. It is this context of imperialism that grounds the life and experiences of MARB, who spent three-fourths of her life in the United States. Expansionist plans towards the South did not stop after President Franklin Pierce sent troops into La Mesilla and Mexican President Santa Anna agreed to sell the Gadsden strip. Incoming president James Buchanan (18571861), who also held that it was the destiny of the Anglo race to spread itself over the continent of North America,8 and his secretary of state, Lewis Cass, continued to try to gain access to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and investigated the possibility of purchasing territory north of the 30th-degree parallel, including Baja California, Sonora, and part of Chihuahua, for $12,000,000. Cass encouraged U.S. Ambassador John Forsythe to make clear to the Mexican government that these lands, distant from the center of Mexico and poorly populated, were of little value to Mexico; further argued to Mexican leaders was the notion that it behooved Mexico to sell them, rather than have them fall into the hands of U.S. troops .9 In light of political opposition in Mexico to the liberal Constitution of 1857 (which, among other things, appropriated Church lands, restricted Church privilege, and secularized education and marriage), Forsythe felt that Provisional President Ignacio Comonfort, who faced political, social, and economic crises at home, was tempted to accept the sale of Northern Mexican States (Terrazas, 15). The eruption of the Guerra de Reforma in 1858 between liberals and conservatives complicated things further, dividing Mexico politically, with two governments claiming legitimacy: the Conservatives led by Flix Zuloaga, and the Liberals, headed by Jurez upon Comonforts exile. The U.S. recognized Zuloaga and made a proposal to reset the limits of the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico.10 When Zuloaga11 refused the offer, the U.S. Legation in Mexico closed its offices and returned to the United States.
186
In 1859, President Buchanan12 recognized Jurez after sending William M. Churchland to Mexico to investigate reports on the reigning anarchy there. Churchland had several agendas: he recommended recognition of the liberal government and, taking advantage of the situation, tried to gain access to the Isthmus, to the Gulf of California from El Paso by establishing a railroad across Sonora and Chihuahua, and to lands for U.S. companies in Mexico. Urgently in need of funds early in 1859, Jurezs ministers Ocampo and Lerdo de Tejada and U.S. ambassador Robert M. McLane signed a protocolo, infamously known in Mexico as the McLane-Ocampo Treaty, signed by Jurez as well, which granted the United States perpetual right to transit across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, access to land for the establishment of two railroad routes in the north, the right of the United States to protect these railroad lines with or without Mexican consent in case of imminent danger,13 free trade for particular products, and access for the passage of troops and military supplies across the northern and Tehuantepec routes. Mexico ostensibly retained sovereignty over the routes, receiving four million pesos in compensation. The treaty also granted each republic the right to intervene militarily in the other if such action was required to protect the rights of its citizens. The McLane-Ocampo Treaty provoked a strong reaction in Mexico from conservatives and liberals alike who denounced Jurez for signing a treaty that was not valid without the agreement of the Mexican Congress, as specified by the Constitution of 1857. When presented in the U.S. Congress, the treaty was rejected, not only because some saw it as an interventionist policy abroad, but primarily because it was seen as an initial volley by the South to annex additional proslavery territory (Terrazas, 30-36). MARB discusses the implications of this treaty in her letter to Moreno (2-21-60), supporting the liberal legations quest for its passage. In Washington, D.C., Legation Secretary Romero worked avidly to promote Senate approval of the McLane-Ocampo Treaty, which was of particular interest to Louisiana Senator John L. Slidell and Senator Judah Benjamin, both congressmen closely linked to the Louisiana-Tehuantepec Company with an interest in establishing interoceanic trade through the isthmus. Her letter dismisses altruistic
187
explanations for lack of congressional support on the basis of opposition to intervention in Mexico, as she well knew intervention and annexation were ever in the works. MARB, however, analyzes the situation as deriving from the Mexican Legations failure to provide sufficient inducements and successfully bribe the congressmen, specifically the Black Republicans, as she and other Californians termed the Northern abolitionists (2-21-60). In reality, the interests of the railroad monopoly, whose plan for an intercontinental railway across the United States ruled out all competition, were behind fierce lobbying to have the measure defeated. A new twist in the Mexican political situation arose in 1860 when Comonfort, who had left the presidency when Zuloaga came to power, returned to Mexico as part of a project to form a new confederation of Mexican States, including Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, and Coahuila, one that was expected to generate U.S. support. The British, in the meantime, had devised their own plan to restore the conservative-turned Comonfort to the presidency. All these and other plans came to naught with the defeat of the conservative forces in December of 1860. McLane resigned, while, in the United States, the southern states began to secede. Direct annexationist plans through land purchases were only some of the official U.S. government strategies to incorporate Mexican territory. Clearly, in the face of internal strife and a lack of funds to mount an offense, even the Mexican liberals were willing to negotiate away part of their sovereigntyand territoryin order to stay in power. Other more covert or unofficial attempts, but with the U.S. governments blessing, had been initiated immediately after the war with Mexico in 1848, as we saw with Walkers filibustering forays.
Secession in the air: The U.S. Civil War and Mexico

The decade of the 1860s placed MARB in the very eye of the storm raging in the country. After their arrival on the East Coast in 1859, the Burtons settled around Washington, D.C.; soon thereafter, but before the onset of the war, Captain Burton took a leave of absence to come to California, where he apparently further looked into the possibilities of a mining project at his wifes San Antonio
188
mines; meanwhile, MARB stayed in Georgetown, where the children were in school, and she made frequent trips to Washington, D.C. With the outbreak of the war, Burton was ordered back to the garrison at Fortress Monroe, but by 1861, he was back in California, in command at Alcatraz Island, in San Francisco. MARB continued to live on the East Coast with the children. In 1862 Burton was ordered East again, and thereafter she appears to have accompanied him to the various military sites or to have stayed nearby. Burton first took command of Fort Delaware, which was a camp for prisoners of war. Thereafter, he was placed in command of various artillery troops and participated in the establishment of fortifications in the field of battle (Petersburg, Virginia; Pennsylvania; the Potomoc; Richmond, Virginia) until he was sent to Fort Richmond, New York, in 1864. With the end of the war, he returned to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, from 1865 to 1867, relieving General N. A. Miles of the custody of ex-president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis, held there as prisoner. All these moves allowed MARB close-range knowledge of not only government policies and practices, but an intimate insight into life in the Civil War North. MARB drew on the two Burton experiences at sites for prisoners of war, to write about these prisoners and the questionable and controversial prisoner-exchange policies in her novel Who Would Have Thought It? During the war Burton was also brevetted brigadier general for gallant and meritorious services at the capture of Petersburg, Virginia. General Burton, as he was often called thereafter, although he was a colonel in the army, later served in South Carolina, Virginia, Rhode Island, New York City, and back again to Newport, Rhode Island, where he died on April 4, 1869, at the age of fifty-one. Letters from MARB indicate that her stay on the East Coast during this decade enabled her to meet a number of diplomats, military officers and their wives, congressmen, and other officials, as she moved from Georgetown to the Washington area, from New York to Vermont to spend the summers, and later on to Baltimore, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, South Carolina, Fortress Monroe, Newport, Rhode Island, and New York again, with shifts in address corresponding to Burtons latest assignment. As the wife of Colonel Henry S. Burton of the Union Army, she also had access to the White House,
189
where she met President Buchanan, and later President Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, who became a friend (3-8-60). This friendship allowed her years later to join Professor Davidson in making snide remarks about the First Ladys genius in deceiving her husband (5-12-91). Romero also mentions attending events at the White House with MARB and other friends and colleagues. Her access to the President is evident in a letter dated June 1, 1861, sent by Lincoln to his secretary of war, Simon Cameron,14 noting MARB had interceded for her husband to gain him a promotion: Executive Mansion June 1, 1861 Honorable Secretary of War My dear Sir: Mrs. Capt. Burton is very desirous that her husband may be made a Colonel. I do not know him personally; but if it can be done without injustice to other officers of the Regular Army, I would like for her to be obliged. Yours truly, A. Lincoln In Washington and New York, MARB also moved in Mexican and Latin-American diplomatic circles. At the Civil Wars end she met and befriended the wife of Confederate prisoner Jefferson Davis at Fortress Monroe, as we shall see. MARB not only interacted at various levels with key figures of the period, but she also engaged in political dialogues taking place at both a national and international level.
Los sueos de la nacin producen monstruos

At a national level, the dialogue pertained as much to the construction of the nation as to the relation between capitalism and democracy, issues that were discussed at length and reconstructed in MARBs 1872 novel Who Would Have Thought It?15 Almost entirely absent from her discussions, whether novels or letters, is the problem of slavery (perhaps because slavery had been eliminated in Mexico with inde-
190
pendence in 1821); the issues for her were structural and philosophical: democracy and republicanism were flawed, allowing corrupt monopoly capitalists to run rampant and the Worst Men to govern. At an international level, the dialogue had to do with U.S. expansionism, Mexican independence, liberalism, colonization projects, filibusterism, and the opportunistic invocation of the Monroe Doctrine. Mexico was in the middle of its own civil war when MARB arrived on the East Coast in 1859. In the United States, the violence of the period that placed Colonel H. S. Burton in harms way on the battlefield worried MARB and made her remark that she wished her husband could leave the military service (3-8-60). But other than commenting on the required moves and new addresses, very little is said about the Civil War in her letters, although clearly she was aware of fine details about every battle in which her husband participated, as she was generally only a few miles away. In her letters to Vallejo and Moreno, however, it is the international context that concerns her, almost as much as La Frontera, and that fills her thoughts; her plans for investment and developing enterprises were never far in the background.
Enter Matas Romero

A key figure to her access to information at the highest levels about Mexico was Matas Romero, who replaced Mata at the Mexican Legation and whose diary of the period 18551865, gives ample evidence of his extensive contact with MARB.16 Romero, who was by 1863 Mexican ambassador to the United States, was only a secretary of the Mexican Legation in Washington, D.C. in 1860 when MARB first met him. Arriving in Washington in December 1859, Romero was soon in touch with the many Mexicans and other Latin Americans who came by the Legation, including MARB, whom he first mentions in his diary entry of January 17, 1860. He notes her key participation as godmother at the baptism of the daughter of the Mexican ambassador Jos Mata. Thereafter, there are numerous references in Romeros diary to visits with MARB in Washington, D.C., and at Georgetown,17 whether he went with young women friends or with Legation attachs or visitors from Mexico, or whether he accompanied her to President Buchanans and later President Lincolns receptions or to Mount Ver-
191
non. MARB furthered her study of French with Romero, and the Burtons were Romeros guests on outings to the theatre and to view the inauguration of the Washington statue from Romeros apartments (Romero, 288; MARB letter of 2-21-60). When Ambassador Romeros newly arrived sister needed to be escorted to make clothing purchases, Romero called on MARB (Romero, 647), as he did when someone visiting on official business fell ill (Romero, 627). Once Romeros family arrived in Washington, D.C., MARB spent several weeks with them. Colonel Burton, in turn, made himself available to Romero, inviting Mexican visitors to see the fortifications in New York or to visit West Point (Romero, 632). Never one to miss an opportunity when it presented itself, MARB, through this close contact with the Legation, was able to use the diplomatic pouch to receive mail from Mexico on her mining and land interests in Baja California. Already by 1859, the Burtons were seeking official Mexican government recognition and later recertification of her rights to the San Antonio mines and to the Ensenada land grant, as well as the right to work these lands (see Lower Califormia Mining Company prospectus, chapter VI). In a late December 1861 letter to Moreno in San Diego, she reports the sad news from Mexico that Mata has just written her: the French have invaded. She expresses her despair at hearing of yet another invasion: Es una invasin tan, tan injusta como lo fue la americana. Se necesita tener mucha fe para no desesperar a veces de la justicia divina. (12-24-61). Like the characters Don Felipe de Almenara and Don Luis Medina in Who Would Have Thought It?, who initially support the Mexican republic against the French invasion, MARB too first supported Jurez and the liberals and expressed dismay at the French invasion. At this point in time, for MARB, French imperialism was as detestable as U.S. imperialism. Several years later, however, with the execution of Maximilian in Quertaro in June of 1867, MARBs position changed radically. In the interim she had been visited by Flix Gibert, one of her best friends
192
from Baja California and the husband of her niece Teresa de la Toba.18 In Baja, Gibert was considered a French sympathizer, for in 1865 when he had headed the territorial government in La Paz, he had, according to Martnez, readily surrendered the port (Martnez, 395) to a French ship demanding support for Maximilians empire. Baja historian Valads, offers another view, however, noting that Gibert and the Assembly had few options other than to capitulate.19 The varied interpretations of events by residents of La Paz is not surprising, considering that in 1847 the leading families of the capital had taken a similar position, accepting neutrality under promises by the U.S. invaders to respect the lives and property of the inhabitants (Martnez, 352), and later, under Lieutenant Colonel Burton, to annex their territory to the United States.20 Like the residents of Alta California, those in Baja felt neglected by the central government in Mexico, and those in power were not willing to place their properties in danger of being invaded and destroyed. Again in 1865, acquiescence seemed to them to be the best policy. When word of armed opposition to the Assemblys decision reached Gibert, he sent Maximilians emissary on his way, fleeing himself to Mazatln and later to Mexico, where he was well received by Maximilian, who promised not to send troops to Baja and to establish a money exchange office (Casa de Moneda) in La Paz (Valads, 138). The emperor Maximilian also further propitiated Gibert, knighting him in a suitably imperial fashion as a Caballero de la Orden de Guadalupe. Gibert, however, did not stay in Mexico; instead, he traveled to Virginia, where he met with MARB, then later to New York where he and MARB were visited by Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, who, from January to the summer of 1865, traveled the East Coast with his sonin-law John B. Frisbie. Back in Baja, Giberts property was confiscated, but Jurez later had it returned to himperhaps with the aid of Romero, who in 1868 left Washington to become Ministro de Hacienda (secretary of the treasury), serving in that post until the death of Jurez in 1872. Those opposed to Gibert, considered him a traitor, but those who liked him, and apparently there were many, preferred to view his acts as reflecting a provincial or regional concern for the preservation of Baja California; that is, as the Baja press put it, Gib-
193
ert had placed his identity as a bajacalifornio above that of being a mexicano.21 This notion of the sovereignty of the provinces or states was one that Gibert shared with the Confederatesand with MARBalthough in both, ideology no doubt competed with personal aggrandizement.
Ideological crosscurrents
But more than Giberts influence, it is possibly the confused crosscurrents of the period that best shed light on MARBs ideological ambiguities and her shift from being a Jurez advocate to a critic who lamented the failure of Maximilians experiment in Mexico.22 MARBs overriding concern, one that went beyond politics, was stability in Mexico (me dijeron claramente que mientras no haya un gobierno en Mxico que nada espere para la Baja California [3-9-67])the ubiquitous Latin-American call for orden y progresorequisite for attracting investors in her mining project and initiating work at the San Antonio mines, in order to keep others from making claims on what could be construed as vacant land. As she told Moreno, Si no fuera por el estado infeliz de la Repblica, ya habra arreglado mi propiedad de manera que estuviera para siempre a salvo de denunciantes (9-2-63). Thus, even as an erstwhile supporter of the liberals, someone who made herself available to Jurezs diplomats, sheever the entrepreneur manqubegan to think that Maximilian would more rapidly bring about order and stability to the region (3-9-67), for which reason Moreno taunted her by labeling her a monarchist as early as 1863 (9-2-63). In fact, by 1867, the very notion of the U.S. purchase of Baja was not so much abhorrent to her, as it was incredible that it hadnt been carried out already: [a no ser que Estados Unidos la compre! . . . Qu esperanza! (3-9-67)]. Increasingly, if contradictorily, personal ambitions throughout the decade of the 60s would come to be filtered through the prism of race and culture.
Napoleon IIIs Grand Design

MARBs view of the French enterprise in Mexico was colored on the one hand by her resentment in the face of what she saw as the
194
onslaught of Anglo-Saxon imperialism, and, on the other, by her cultural allegiance to a sense of latinidad, much influenced by French writings of the period, as MARB was, without any doubt, a francophile. In an 1863 translation of an anonymous pamphlet titled La France, le Mexique et les Etats-Confdrs, the author, thought to be Michel Chevalier, spokesman for Napoleon III, expressed his support for official French recognition of the Confederacy, justified the French invasion of Mexico as an attempt to establish order and stability in Mexico and develop the nation economically, and stressed the importance of a defense of the Latin race to counterbalance what was seen as an otherwise inevitable absorption of Latin America by the United States. From this viewpoint, the Souths Confederate States of America were to be a buffer between the French empire in Mexico and the United States, playing the role that both Britain and France had projected sixteen years earlier for the republic of Texas. The pamphlet further argued that the presence of French troops in Mexico would promote cohesion, discipline, and industry, and increase interAtlantic trade and European immigration to regenerate the population of Mexico and counter inveterate Mexican indolence.23 Whether written by Chevalier himself or not, this intriguing document expressed the ideas of his works, particularly in La expedicin de Mxico (Paris, 1862) and Mxico antiguo y moderno (1863). In the latter, Chevalier provides a political, economic and demographic rationale for European or French intervention in Mexico, that is pointfor-point identical to that presented in the pamphlet.24 For Chevalier, Napoleon III was the protector of the Latin peoples in Europe and overseas, and would not tolerate the absorption of Southern America by Northern America nor allow the degradation of the Latin race on the other side of the ocean (Hanna & Hanna, 67). Sending an Austrian prince to save the Latin race seemed counterintuitive, except that Maximilian was there as a French subject, sent to carry out Napoleons policies. This fusion of the Austrian and Mexican was symbolically reconstructed in the character of the young Lola in Who Would Have Thought It? The Mexican Lola, granddaughter of a Spaniard and daughter of an Austrian Latino, is the symbol of plundered Mexico in the grasp of Yankees and provides MARB with a synthesis of both Mexicos problems and potential.
195
Napoleon IIIs vision of curtailing U.S. expansionism through a parallel expansion of a Latin empire was shared by MARB, who used similar culturally basedif speciousarguments to oppose U.S. intervention in Mexico and support Maximilians regime in Mexico. Prime among her arguments was the notion of a necessary defense of the Latin race, which she saw under attack by Anglo-Saxons, in so doing, casting the discussion in gendered or sexualized terms: Es necesario que yo no me entusiasme por el progreso del continente. Para qu? Ni mi raza ni mi sexo van a sacar mejora alguna (2-15-69). As MARB told Vallejo, she was convinced that the U.S. was Mexicos mortal enemy: que los Americanos son y sern siempre los enemigos mortales de mi raza, de mi Mxico (8-26-67). She also seems to have shared Chevaliers at best highly suspect notion that, as Hanna and Hanna put it, the U.S. Civil War was itself a struggle between Franco-Latin and Anglo-Saxon races, although only about one percent of the Confederates had French lineage (Hanna & Hanna, 81). Thus, after the Civil War, although married to a Union officer, MARB sympathized with the defeated Confederacy, seeing in the Souths defeat a mirror of the defeat of Mexico in 1848, and in Reconstruction, a clear imposition of Yankee hegemony on the Southern states. These affinitiesimportant differences, like slavery, notwithstandingled MARB and other californios, like the Democrat Antonio F. Coronel, to commiserate with the defeated South.25 For her part, in her memoirs, Mrs. Jefferson Davis, recalls that in contrast to the abusive behavior suffered by her husband under General Miles while Davis was a prisoner at Fortress Monroe, the treatment of her husband under General Burton, who replaced Miles, greatly improved. At first Davis was isolated, but after a few months his wife was allowed to accompany him at Fortress Monroe. She goes on to note: Very soon after my arrival there General Burton called with his cheerful, affectionate wife, and they were, from the first day until the last, most kind and considerate to us.26
196
Thereafter, Burton did his best to make Mrs. Davis stay more comfortable, setting her up in the area where the officers families stayed rather than putting her up on the side of the fort occupied by the camp women (Davis, 763) and, after Miles departure, letting Davis and his wife move to separate quarters and allowing the prisoner to have parole of the fort by day, which enabled him to have visitors. In an 1866 letter to Colonel William Preston Johnston, a Confederate officer who had spent several weeks in prison at Fort Delaware before being released, Mrs. Davis again expresses her appreciation of Burton and his wife: Mr. Davis is not so strong as he was during the last few weeks. I am afraid his health is permanently injured. He is always calm and quiet. Since General Burton came into position here, he has been very civil and kind to me and to him. His wife is a sympathetic, warm-hearted, talented, Mexican woman who is very angry with the Yankees about Mexican affairs, and we get together quietly and abuse themthough to say truth since Miles departure all here are kind to us, and considerate.27 It was this sharing of a common enemy that seems to have inspired cordial relations between MARB and Mrs. Jefferson Davis. Their association and critiques would not go unnoticed and uncriticized, especially after they were joined by Flix Gibert, as MARB explained to Vallejo, while challenging his notions on the freedom of expression allowed in the U.S., arguing that he, too, like the Yankees, and more specifically the Radical Republicans, did not tolerate differences of opinion: Mucho he sufrido por mis opiniones (que le diga Flix por qu salimos de Fortress Monroe) y as no me sorprende que Ud. me quiera castigar tambin. Eso es muy a la americana radical. ( 8-26-67)
197
Although the particulars of MARBs and Giberts departure from Fortress Monroe are not specified, it is easy to see that cordial relations with the vanquished enemy did not go over well with Northerners. Colonel Burton, however, remained at Fortress Monroe and later accompanied Davis to Richmond, where the president of the Confederacy was tried for treason; a divided court left it up to the Supreme Court to take up the issue, if it so desired. The next day Burton accompanied the Davis couple to the port where they took a steamer to New York, as Mrs. Davis recalls: When we reached the boat we bade an affectionate farewell to General Burton and to Captain Brewerton, with both of whom we were loath to part, and sailed for New York, reprieved, but not free. (Davis, 795) MARB had nothing but contempt for the black Republicans, as they were racistly known in California, who, she claimed, wanted freedom for themselves but only rigor, intolerancia y persecucin para los adversarios (8-26-67). What MARBs anti-Yankee indignation kept her from seeing in this instance was that the Confederacy shared with the North the same expansionist interest in Mexico and that, in fact, the South had been the nucleus and instigator of most of the more overt expansionist schemes, as we shall see.
The U.S. faced with the French Invasion

The French imperial project in Mexico had its beginnings in October of 1861 at the London Convention, where the governments of Great Britain, France, and Spain determined to send troops to Mexican ports to demand that the Jurez government pay its foreign debt and respect their citizens and their properties in Mexico. In exchange, the three powers agreed not to take possession of any Mexican territory nor to intervene in the internal affairs of Mexico (Terrazas, 63). What they did not wish under any circumstances, however, was to see the United States intervene to pay interests on the British loan. The British minister Charles Francis Adams in Washington made clear to
198
Secretary of State Seward that Europe saw all attempts by the United States to bail out Mexico financially, on the basis of territorial collateral, as part of a U.S. plan to absorb the entire country.28 Upon learning of the appearance of European ships in Mexican harbors in 1862, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to grant Mexico a loan that allowed the payment of interest to England and the other nations; but this bill was rejected by the full Senate. With the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War and in view of the substantial and substantiated fear that the French might intervene on the side of the Confederacy unless the United States assumed a position of neutrality vis-a-vis Mexico, Secretary Seward sent a letter to the British minister indicating that a permanent policy of armed European monarchical intervention was injurious and practically hostile to the most general system of government on the continent of America.29 But other than their voiced support for a republican system of government, the U.S. opportunistically chose here not to invoke the Monroe doctrine, nor even suggest that the United States would retaliate if Mexico were invaded by European powers. British and Spanish ministers came to an agreement with Jurez government and left, but on March 5, 1862, four thousand five hundred seventy-three French soldiers were received at the Veracruz port by Juan Nepomuceno Almonte, Bishop Miranda and other conservatives, who had lost the three-year civil war and had long clamored for a monarchy, in addition to being strongly opposed to the liberal reforms being implemented by Jurez. This invasion was part of Napoleon IIIs Grand Design for America, which called for the establishment of a series of monarchies in the Americas, all to be established at the invitation of Latin American governmentsas was alleged had taken place in Mexico. (After the French troops marched into the capital and Jurez fled north, a puppet provisional government favoring a monarchy was established.) As characters Don Luis Medina and Seor Almenara would have it in MARBs Who Would Have Thought It?, this new monarchy was based on the will of the people (198); in effect, it was only to be based on the will of the conservatives and the church. The irony was that once Maximilian was in power in Mexico, and per Napoleon IIIs orders,
199
he turned against the conservatives and instituted liberal policies, adopting and promoting Jurezs reforms. As Fuentes Mares notes, the Miramar Accord worked out between Maximilian and Napoleon III in Europe before the Austrian left to become emperor of Mexico had public articles and secret ones. The first secret article stipulated that the empire in Mexico was French and it was liberal.30 Maximilians empire showed its liberal colors almost immediately, running diametrically opposed to conservative expectations; he began replacing Mexican conservative ministers with liberal ministers; he published a decree on freedom of religion (as against un solo culto). The French minister in Mexico, Montholon, suggested Maximilian force the clergy to accept the Leyes de Reforma (Fuentes Mares, 67) to the point where a nuncio from the Vatican was sent to try to have their implementation nullified. By then, the Mexican high clergy saw Maximilian as un simple continuador de la obra de Jurez (Fuentes Mares, 70). Ironically, Jurez began to look like a moderate in comparison (75). By then the conservatives were requesting a replacement for Maximilian and direct annexation to France (Fuentes Mares, 79). But if Napoleon thought these liberal policies would unite republicans and liberals behind Maximilian, he was sorely mistaken. French troops would defeat Jurezs troops in a number of battles, to the point where by the end of 1865 French troops occupied and controlled a good part of Mexicos territory. But what the French found was that wherever they defeated the republican armies and moved on, the republican resisters returned, engaging them in guerrilla warfare.31 To discourage these continual uprisings against the French, Maximilian determined to treat the guerrilla fighters as outlaws or bandits, and he ordered, with his Decree of October 3, 1865, that Mexican republican soldiers and officers who were captured be executed (Fuentes Mares, 9296). It was only at the end of the U.S. Civil War that Secretary Seward sent word to Napoleon III, noting that the United States could not accept the imposition of a European monarchy in Mexico. Once aware that Maximilian had ordered the execution of republicans resisting the empire, Seward again made his objections known, basing them on a violation of international military laws.
200
But before then, even when Jurez had been pushed all the way back to Paso del Norte, now Ciudad Jurez, no matter how desperately Romero tried in Washington to get loans and arms for the republican army, it had all been to no avail. Anxious that France not recognize the Confederacy, the United States had failed to invoke the Monroe Doctrine and instead stopped the sale of arms and munitions to Mexico, placing as well an embargo on arms obtained in Canada, while contradictorily at the same time selling the French provisions, beasts of burden, and wagons. All this made Washingtons disposition towards Jurez quite evident.32 Still, Jurez was at least glad that the United States had not granted formal recognition to Maximilian and the empire.33 By 1866 Jurez had reason to be convinced that whatever was to be won would come from Mexican efforts alone.34 Nevertheless, Jurez harbored hopes that U.S. pressure would lead Napoleon to pull out his troops. In April 1866, Jurez learned that the French population was no longer supportive of the presence of French troops in Mexico and that, in fact, there had been protests, with the populace asking that French troops be taken out of Mexico. With forty thousand French troops in Mexico, twenty thousand in Rome, and eighty thousand in Algeria, as well as imminent problems at home with Prussian expansionism, by 1866 Napoleons Grand Design was too costly a drain on French resources, leading him to withdraw from Mexico. With the removal of French troops the liberal cause was sure of its success (Jurez, 648). Maximilian, however, chose not to leave with the French troops, joining two major conservative officers, Miramn and Meja, in 1867 at the Battle of Quertaro, where they were taken prisoners by the republicans. The three were sentenced to death and executed on June 19, 1867 (Jurez, 683). Despite her differences with the liberals, MARB shared with Jurez the view that France was the most advanced, enlightened country in the world. The French nation, however, was not the same as Bonapartism, and in 1870 Jurez celebrated the fall of Napoleon IIIs empire (Jurez, 799). The merits of French high culture notwithstanding, a French monarchy could not be seen as a viable substitute for a republican form of government for Mexico, Jurez argued (795).
201
For MARB, on the other hand, the defeat of Maximilian signaled the end of Mexican national sovereignty and foreshadowed what she saw as the inevitable imposition of brute Yankee force over Mexico: Con Maximiliano muri nuestra nacionalidad, all pereci la ltima esperanza de Mxico, y ahora los Yankies slo esperan la hora que mejor les convenga para enterrarla para siempre y pisotear bien la tierra encima y barrer todo vestigio desagradable despus . . . est muy bien. En esta era de ilustracin la fuerza bruta manda, y tenemos que someternos. (8-26-67). For all her later critiques of Senator William M. Gwin with respect to the railroad monopoly, MARBs words on the demise of Maximilians experiment in Mexico were uncannily similar to those of Gwin, who in 1864 was involved in a Confederate plan for the colonization of Sonora and other states of northern Mexico with Napoleon III: The Liberals are rejoicing at the prospect of the speedy appearance of the Yankees to exterminate the Empire and restore them to power. Poor, miserable fools! What kind of deliverers will they find then? If ever they do overrun this empire they will make helots of the whole population, and to that extent they will do some good, for a more indolent set of devils does not exist.35 MARBs blindspots, here as elsewhere, particularly her failure to note the Confederacys expansionist plans for Mexico, are evident in her first novel.
Blindspots: slavery and Mexico/U.S. policies

MARB did not take up in any significant fashion the issue of slavery in the United States, as previously noted, in her letters or in her fiction. What she did rail against was that a nation ostensibly opposed to slavery was willing to enslave those south of the border and to sub-
202
ject its own people to the mandates of railroad monopolies. Despite her critical eye and her rejection of hypocritical altruistic discourses, she failed to see the connection between slavery and imperialism. The interest of the slave states in Mexico, a country that had eliminated slavery with independence in 1821, was nothing new. As early as 1806, Aaron Burr had conspired to invade Mexico in order to establish an independent government there and perhaps, it was said, to foment a secessionist movement in the West and South to join in forming a Mexican empire.36 This interest in Mexico continued up until the outbreak of the Civil War, when the Confederacy began to consider expanding south, even as it sought to secure the support of France in their war for independence. MARB appears to have been oblivious to Confederate annexationist plans for northern Mexico, which were much like those of the Yankees that she detested. With the 1862 European aggression against Mexico, the Yankees had, as expected, seen the opportunity to intervene in Mexico with two ulterior motives: land acquisition and relocation of former slaves. Corwin, the U.S. minister in Mexico, had tried to procure a loan for Mexico, using Mexican public lands as collateral. This plan also called for the colonization of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec with freed slaves. The plan promised to solve two sticky problems for Lincoln. The freed slavesgood, patient workers who would find the Central American climate favorablecould transform the agricultural area and ensure U.S. access to the isthmus. In proposing to remove free slaves, Corwin here was following plans already in process. In April of 1862 Lincoln had soughtand receivedfunding of a project for the colonization abroad of freed blacks, for he held the opinion that the two races could never coexist in peace.37 Corwin found Lincolns proposal before Congress excellent and saw Mexico as an ideal site for implementation of this relocation policy in light of its already mixed racial composition.38 The United States had in place, after all, a removal policy for the Indians when it wanted to take over their lands; now it sought to resolve the Negro question by relocating them to an area that the U.S. wanted to control in Mexico for a planned railroad line that would facilitate Atlantic-Pacific transportation. The Mexican govern-
203
ment was not, however, interested in placing Mexican sovereignty further in jeopardy and rejected the Corwin proposal.
Gwins Dukedom of Sonora

Like U.S. filibusterers, French colonization promoters and filibusterers had long been interested in establishing a colony in Sonora, where mineral riches were said to be lying dormant. As previously indicated in chapter 3, Count Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon, supported by the banking house of Jecker, Torre and Company, had ventured there for such a purpose before being captured and executed. Napoleon IIIs minister to Mexico, Montholon, was also interested in initiating such an enterprise and hoped to gain concessions of all unclaimed mining sites in Sonora (Hanna and Hanna, 169). These French interests in acquisition and colonization of the northern states of Mexico were ripe for manipulation by Confederates. During the last two years of the U.S. Civil War (186465) exSenator William M. Gwin, of California and formerly of Mississippi, organized a projectdisparagingly called Gwins Dukedom of Sonora by the New York pressfor the colonization of Sonora and other states of northern Mexico. Secessionists were interested in expanding the Confederacy into Mexico to form an entity greater than that of the North.39 The Confederacys plans were to be carried out by either of two (by then) successful strategies: armed invasion, as had occurred in the case of the U.S.-Mexican War of 1846, or by colonization, to be followed by independence and annexation, as in the case of Texas. Since the Confederacy was involved in a war that already required concentration of men and arms against the North, the second approach was deemed more feasible. In Washington, MARBs close relations with Romero undoubtedly made her privy to news on these matters. Romero was well aware of Gwins 1863 trip to Paris, where he joined John Slidell and John Mason, Confederate plenipotentiaries sent to Europe to promote British and French recognition of the Confederacy.40 While there, Gwin met with Napoleon III and his minister of foreign affairs to draw up a plan for the colonization of the northern provinces of Mexico with U.S. immigrants; these plans were
204
approved by the emperor and subsequently by Maximilian, before the latters departure for Mexico. After Maximilians and Carlotas arrival in Mexico in the summer of 1864, Gwin traveled to Mexico with a letter from Napoleon III for General Bazaine, directing him to furnish the proper military aid in executing the projected colonization (Gwin, 498), but met with failure. Once in Mexico, neither Maximilian nor Bazaine showed enthusiasm for the project, despite Gwins reports on the rich mineral resources available in Sonora and Chihuahua and the need for only a small military force to protect the mining and agricultural settlements from Indian raids (Gwin, 501). In the meantime, Gwins agents in California began promoting the Sonora enterprise and, according to the New York Herald, prospective settlers were ready to travel south until they were stopped by General Irving McDowell (Hanna and Hanna, 177). Gwin, too, was well aware of Romeros ongoing attempts in Washington to obtain U.S. military support for Jurez, a plan that would have put an end to Gwins and his sponsors colonization and mining project. In what was a vain attempt to gain support for his colonization project from Maximilian and his wife, the empress Carlota,41 he warned of the adverse consequences if ex-Civil War soldiers joined Jurez in the northern Mexican states instead, but with no result (Gwin, 509).42 Finding no support for his colonization plans in Mexico, Gwin returned to France, where he presented directly to Napoleon III a detailed report on Sonora, its mineral wealth, his desire to extend the plan to Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua, his plans to invite capitalists to invest in the project, and the obstacles he faced in carrying out his colonization project. Gwin buttressed his appeal with typical Anglo-Saxon representations of Mexicans as inert and indolent43 and in need of an injection of a hardy, vigorous, and energetic race of men, who could not only work the mines and cultivate the soil but defend the country against any hostile invasion or Indian44 depredations (Gwin, 518). Gwins persistence resulted in a new agreement with Napoleon III, bringing him back to Mexico in May of 1865, only to be met with news of Lees surrender, Lincolns assassination in April, and talk of Yankee plans for the conquest of the North American continent (Gwin, 593).
205
In the meantime, U.S. intelligence operating within Mexico discovered dispatches on plans to colonize Sonora with veteran Confederates (Gwin, 598). Discovery of these compromising documents ultimately resulted in Maximilians government distancing itself from the Gwin project.45 Given her close contacts with the Mexican Legation, it is hard to believe that MARB was unaware of Gwins annexationist project and U.S. press coverage of Gwins colonization plans.
Confederate colonies in Mexico

MARB knew well that colonization projects were merely another euphemism for annexation, as she would say twelve years later to Vallejo: Por ac siguen los rumores de intervencin y Protectorado bajo el disfraz de inmigracin (5-9-77). Back in 1865, Maximilian withdrew his support for Gwins northern Mexico colonization scheme, while supporting other proposals for colonization. Willing to place a number of foreigners in important positions, the emperor named as his adviser on issues of colonization, an ex-Confederate, Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury.46 Another office, dealing with land concessions and colonization projects, was to be headed by exConfederate General Magruder (Fuentes, 64). Confederates thus felt welcome by Maximilians government, although France never officially recognized the Confederacy. Under Maurys guidance, the Junta de Colonizacin worked out plans for the establishment of a New Virginia and called for opening Mexico up to immigrants of all nations. In deference to Mexicos abolition of slavery, the plan also made provisions for the immigration of former slaves, who were to come as indentured servants; they would be paid wages but remain bonded to employers for from five to ten years, unable to change employers without consent, and to be returned if they ran away. This information was published in the official journal El Diario del Imperio, in September and October of 1865 (Hanna and Hanna, 230). Advertising in newspapers in the U.S. South, Missouri and California served to attract Confederates to Mexico. Rumors also began to spread in the U.S. that ex-Confederates were joining Gwin in Sonora and transporting war equipment, horses, and mules into Mexico (Hanna and Hanna, 224). Lieutenant Gen-
206
eral U.S. Grant took those widely circulating rumors seriously and was especially concerned about a possible invasion of California by Gwin and his supporters, as he indicates in a letter to Major General I. McDowell.47 It was Gwin, after all, who earlier in the 50s had wanted to divide California in two, with the southern part coming into the Union as a slave state. After the war some ex-Confederate soldiers did, in fact, travel to Mexico, some to join up with Jurezs troops, but the majority offered their services to Maximilian, who encouraged his General Bazaine to place them in the Foreign Legion or use them as counter-guerrillas (Hanna and Hanna, 226). Other ex-Confederates and their families were allowed to establish colonies in Mexico. Fearful of possible plans to annex these colonies to the United States at a later date, Maximilian would not allow the Southerners to settle near the northern boundary, nor on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, an area of special interest to Napoleon III. Disillusion, however, met most Confederates and their families at their arrival in Mexico, as they found that no plans had been made to receive them nor projects put in place for their settlement. Discredited and disillusioned, the adviser for colonization, the ex-Confederate Maury, left first for England, later returning to the United States, as Gwin did also. In the meantime, Maximilian abolished Maurys position in the Junta de Colonizacin. Nevertheless, a number of ex-Confederate colonies were eventually established in Mexico immediately after the U.S. Civil War.48 The first and best-known of Maurys colonies was Carlota, named after the empress and established seventy miles west of Veracruz on the railroad route to Mexico City. Parmer describes the settlers as mostly notables of the Confederacygenerals, colonels, governors, judges, and senatorswho left the South at the close of the Rebellion,49 not exactly the type of hardy settlers that the colonization project required. Like the Mahoneys, Parmer describes a colonization plan bereft of support from Maximilian and Bazaine that soon came to be hated and opposed by the Mexicans, as the settlers put on the role of superiority of race and squatted on privately held lands, all of which provoked raids and ended in an order requiring them to leave the country (Parmer, 492).50
207
Closer to home: MARB and the Baja Leese Concession

Maximilian and the Confederates were not alone in making plans for immigration and colonization of Mexico. The liberal Jurez government was likewise interested in a variety of colonization projects as a means of securing funding for the war effort. In 1864 Jurez signed a contract with Jacob P. Leese (M. G. Vallejos brother-in-law) and his associates in the Lower California Colonization Company to colonize from the 31st degree latitude, south, to the 24th degree, covering some forty-seven thousand square miles.51 Additional deals also gave the company the right to colonize some lands in Sonora and on La Frontera. The company, which was to colonize all vacant lands, had the right to exploit mineral resources, with allowances made for the importation of goods and tools; no one was to possess more than three sitios, and at least two hundred families were to settle in the demarcated area within five years. Within twenty days of the signing of the contract the company was to pay an initial sum of a hundred thousand pesos to the Jurez government, care of the Mexican Consul in San Francisco (Valads, 188190). Only desperation and a need for arms would lead the liberals to this signing away of Mexican land, which the angry bajacalifornios considered a sale and a step in the direction of a Yankee takeover of the peninsula again, with a repetition of the Texas model of appropriation. The plan for colonization attracted numerous investors in San Francisco and later in New York, when it was sold to a New York consortium. One of the legal counsels for this company was Samuel Latham Mitchill Barlow, with whom MARB corresponded. The Lower California Company is, in fact, a topic of several of her letters to Barlow (see, for example, 9-9-72). Saxton points out that among the trustees of the Lower California Company were many of the wealthiest capitalists on the East Coast: The trustees comprised a Whos Who of eastern Democratic wealth.52 Also involved in this colonization project was J. Ross Browne, who conducted a survey of the peninsula for the Lower California Company. The arrival of Browne on the peninsula concerned MARB, and in 1867 she writes Moreno asking about Brownes findings, for rumors were circulating back
208
East about important mineral discoveries (3-9-67). Findings of Brownes survey team, which indicated the region was not fit for settlement unless there were substantial previous preparations made, were not included in the companys brochure, however. The company also considered the introduction of Chinese immigrants to work the land (Saxton, 216-217). MARBs letters indicate that she shared the companys view and that she, too, had considered the importation of Chinese workers to her Ensenada lands (10-4-69); in the end, nothing came of either MARBs or the Lower California Companys immigrant labor projects. Suffice it to say that the companys settlement of the area was a complete failure, except for a brief exploitation of orchilla, a lichen used for dyes, found near the Magdalena Bay. The short stay of the workers, which at one point included up to four hundred eighty men, was used by the company to justify the two hundred families that it had contracted to establish in the area (Valads, 194195). The company continued to promote the project and the attractiveness of the region, but there were few interested once they saw it; as soon as the orchilla was harvested, the workers also left. Finally, in 1871, the Mexican government rescinded its contract with the Lower California Colonization Company for its failure to meet the stipulated conditions, and by 1872, all that remained of the original Leese Concession was The Lower California Companys right to continue to exploit the lichen for a period of six years. Historians and Mexicans of the period severely criticized Jurez for this colonization project that opened the doors to foreign settlers, potentially setting the groundwork for the annexation of Baja California by the United States. A few years later, however, similar policies led to concessions to several colonization companies, most of them foreign, this time by Porfirio Daz (through his hand-picked successor President Manuel Gonzlez). The largest contract was with one foreign company, The International Company of Mexico, which targeted lands claimed by MARB in Ensenada, leading, as we shall see in the next chapter, to her greatest legal challenges in both the courts of Mexico and the U.S. press.
209
Much as it was in President Domingo Sarmientos Argentina, immigration and colonization of Mexico were part of Mexican government policies during the nineteenth century. Among those most avidly promoting colonization, investment, and immigration to Mexico53 was Matas Romero, who with MARB, failed to see the political implications of economic control of his country. Romero, in fact, supported and interceded for the Baja California Company and the Jacob Leese-Ben Butler contract (Bernstein, 200). Towards the end of the Civil War, Romero and General Ulysses S. Grant also investigated the possibility of promising ex-Union and ex-Confederate soldiers land in Mexico in return for their service in the army. In fact, Romeros official correspondence reveals that he was privy to early discussions of a project that would persuade Davis to end the war in order that there might be a joint military campaign to throw Maximilian and Napoleon out of Mexico.54 Davis rejected the offer, and after his surrender, he voiced the opinion that he considered the Mexicans not capable of self-government; they must be cared for, and it belonged to America to protect them.55 Although Davis considered the flight of Confederate soldiers to Mexico not only a folly but an act of cowardice (Craven, 179), he did think that his people could and would colonize and reclaim the greater part of that country [Mexico], as it was only a natural process of growth (Craven, 181182). But for him, such an enterprise would require capital, and men with habits of industry willing to be pioneers, rather than angry exiled politicians, soldiers, and former slave owners. Davis ideas here are especially striking for the way that they anticipate Bryces in 1889, on natural growth, that is, natural expansion of U.S. dominion.
The course of natural Expansion

As early as 1880, several years before Frederick Jackson Turner commented in 1893 that the notion of the frontierthe availability of free land and the advance of American settlement westward was over, census surveyors had already noted its demise.56 What Turner failed to seebut what was to become amply evident to someone like MARB, viewing the developing relationship between the
210
United States and Mexicowas that expansion and development would continue to be driving forces in U.S. imperialism, not only westwardly still, toward Hawaii and the Philippines, but south as well, to Cuba and Latin America.57 This continued interest in expansion and annexation during the late 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s was taken up in James Bryces 1889 study of the United States, which is useful in charting the evolution of MARBs positions with respect to the United States during these three decades. The Oxford scholars widely acclaimed 1889 text The American Commonwealth58 promised to account for the more salient social and intellectual phenomena of contemporary America. This two-volume study, prepared by a British historian for European readers interested in coming to terms with the United Statess dynamic transformation across the nineteenth century, became a classic in the United States, with several subsequent revised and supplemented editions. Reviewers in the United States were quick to point to errors in Professor Bryces discussion of the operational particulars of Congress and the branches of government.59 Others, including Mexican Ambassador Matas Romero, took issue with Professor Bryces 1889 discussion of Foreign Policy and Territorial Extension (Bryce, Vol. II, 565-575). Bryce maintains that the United States, unlike its European counterparts, is not an expansionist nation, going on to review the two popular annexationist views current in the late nineteenth century with respect to Canada and/or Mexico, in the process stressing what he considers the countrys history of acquiring territory by purchase or voluntary union. Union with Canada, Bryce notes, will only come about at the wish and by the act of the Canadians themselves, not as the result of any external force (570). Turning South and West, Bryce sees the extension of the U.S. to the Pacific as the result of what he considers natural expansion (566), casting a blind eye to the 1846 military invasion, occupation, and absorption of half of the Mexican territory, which, to an impartial reader, contradict his assessment of the natural U.S. expansion. Disregarding the ongoing military actions against Native American populations, and likewise unable to foresee the U.S.s imminent engagement of Spain in the Pacific and the Caribbean, Bryce incredibly finds
211
the country free from militarism of spirit and policy (568), unwilling to incorporate any community not anxious to be one with them and thoroughly in harmony with their own body (571). While MARB was equally unconcerned, as Bryce, about aggression against Native American populations and lands, she was, given the circles in which she moved, and in view of Romeros responses, probably not unaware of Bryces prognostications with respect to Mexico. Bryces narrative of natural expansion synthesizes views that had been dominant in the United States since the Mexican War. Following this ideology, Bryce foresees annexation of additional Mexican territory, noting that in 1889, the mining regions of Chihuahua and Sonora are already half American, for the capital is theirs, communications are worked by them, their language spreads, their influence becomes permanent.60 Echoing the imperialist and racist rhetoric of a weak race necessarily falling under the control of a more enterprising race, he notes that annexation of the Northern Mexican territory is to be expected, if not ordained.61 Again, Bryce draws on the widely held common sense that this expansionism would come not out of any deliberate purposes of aggression but by the working of natural causes (89). This naturalizing of expansionist policies, in tandem with fears of absorbing a racially different people unfit and ill prepared to govern itself, were dominant discourses in late nineteenth century, despite reviewer Brooks assertion that the long-dreaded colossus has been discovered to be a loyal friend instead of a greedy ogre and that Mexico is in no danger from us (Brooks, 92).62 Brooks assurances of the United States as a good neighbor notwithstanding, Ambassador Romero, aware in 1889 of continuing annexationist rumors (and conscious, too, of the fact that at home, in Mexico, the press had sometimes labeled him a traitor and an annexationist),63 considered it imperative to make public his repudiation of U.S. expansionism, despite sharing with the Argentinean Sarmiento what MARB early on (8-26-67) and Mart later termed Latin Americas yankimana, that is, their blind admiration for the United States.64 Romero, long branded by his contemporaries and subsequent historians alike as having favored U.S. military intervention during the French occupation of Mexico, and, later, as Ministro de Hacienda,
212
under both Jurez and Daz, of having facilitated economic penetration by U.S. and European investors,65 was eager to distance himself from such allegations.66 In his 1889 response to Bryces study published in The North American Review, Romero is clearly intent on addressing both a U.S. and a Mexican audience, diplomatically seeking to appease both. Like Bryce, who described the United States as a unique nation, free of all taint of expansionism and imperialism, Ambassador Romero agrees that the United States is not a conquering country, only to deconstruct the faade by arguing that for this reason, in the case of the War with Mexico in 1846, the United States had preferred to give it the appearance of a purchase by paying some consideration for the conquered territory. By 1889 even Romero had to see the contradiction in terms: if the United States was not an expansionist nation how could it have wage[d] a war of conquest against a neighboring republic in 184647 to obtain over one-half of her territory? (Romero, 528). The principal culprit for Romero, however, as for Bryce,67 was the pro-slavery South, which, along with the Democratic Party, had sought through the acquisition of Mexican territory to increase the number of slave-holding states. Romero found it hard to view the Yankee North as expansionist. After the Civil War, however, with the question of slavery no longer an issue, continued rumors of annexation could no longer be pinned only on the South. Romero had to recognize that the acquisition of territory responded to other than regional interests. But unwilling to recognize publicly the imperialist designs of the United States, Romero sought to dissuade the U.S. public from pursuing further expansionist projects. The Bryce publication, as well as increased and continued voicing of territorial interest in Cuba, Central America, Sonora, Sinaloa, and Baja California, led Romero to make use of Bryces own cautionary remarks as ammunition to counter annexationist policies. Yes, Romero agrees, the United States little needs to compound existing problems with its black population by adding to the mix yet another race: The new territory [i.e. Mexico] is already inhabited by a people of a different race, speaking a different language, and having different habits (Romero, 529). Wielding racist
213
discourses as a foil to thwart U.S. expansionist plans, Romero repeats the arguments used in the past to recommend against annexation of Mexico by noting that the twelve million Mexicans were a nationality of almost insuperable assimilation, especially the Indians who, he goes on to warn his readership, make up two-thirds of the population; he adds that the pure-blooded Indians, although docile, peaceful, and law-abiding, are, on the whole, ignorant and will, beyond all doubt, present the same social and political problems that are now offered by the colored race of the South (530). Romero further deploys the discourse of factionalism and the threat of racial strife, warning that the United States already had enough territory (as much territory as any other free country ever had) and embraced different elements, with different and antagonistic interests (529), which could threaten national unity: The patriotism, talent, prudence, wisdom, and ingenuity of its best men will be heavily taxed during the next century to keep together the bonds of union which now happily exist, and prevent their disruption. (530) Acknowledging that the United States had the military and economic might to annex Mexico forcibly if it so desired (I am willing to assume that the conquest of Mexico could be accomplished), Romero uses two additional arguments against the consolidation of the two nation-states; first, he notes, the enfranchisement of the conquered population would tip the scales in favor of the new electorate and their representatives. Using his last card, Romero invokes public sentiment against the immigration of Chinese and other foreign cheap labor; he says that with the annexation of Mexico, the U.S. would find itself inundated by cheap Mexican labor, and further argues that military subjugation of twelve million brave people, proud of their nationality, and ready to fight to the last extremity to preserve it (532) was difficult and costly and therefore unwise. Both Romeros argument and rhetoric warrant at-length discussion in that they allow a grasp of dominant discourses and counter-discourses in the second half of the nineteenth century, and they show the context in which
214
MARBs opinions are formed, bringing to light issues, perceptions, and manipulations of discourses. But if Romero feared territorial annexation and wished simultaneously to dissuade U.S. readers from that policy and to assure his Mexican audience that he opposed U.S. territorial designs, he, like MARB, did not see the implications of economic dependence. Unlike Mart, who came to discern the dangers of economic penetration (Whoever says economic union says political union. and A countrys excessive influence over the commerce of another becomes political influence.68), Romero, by contrast, sought to enlarge the political, social, and commercial relations between the two Republics . . . so as to make annexation useless and even dangerous (Romero, 535). Involved in several enterprises promoting U.S. investment in railroad, mining, and colonization projects in Mexico, Romero did not fear U.S. economic intervention; far from it, he promoted it.69 Romero was clearly no Mart as well in terms of skepticism regarding U.S.-Latin-American relations.70 In the course of his fourteen-year stay in the U.S., Mart was incensed at the way the U.S. press treated Latin-American nations like trivial little nations lacking in transcendence, as farcical nations, as petty republics without knowledge or ability, as nations with unsteady legs, as Mexico was described by Charles Dudley Warner in Harpers Monthly Magazine:71 The dregs of a degenerate civilization, with neither virility nor purpose (Mart, 330). To Warners remarks, Mart responded: Civilization in Mexico, as everywhere in our America, is not decaying; it is beginning (330). Mart, like MARB much earlier (2-15-69), also lamented the tendency of Latin-American leaders to admire the colossus uncritically. For this reason, he was ever ready to warn the Latin-American republics of the dangers of economic domination72 and annexation by their powerful and ambitious neighbor, the U.S. (Mart, 340).73 As he noted in his letter to Gonzalo de Quesada, the Argentinean delegate to the Pan-American Congress, the proposed Union would principally serve U.S. interests.74 With plans for a canal in Central America, Mart was right in predicting that Central America would be sliced in half,75 with Colombia losing its claim to the Isthmus by 1903. Echoing MARBs position, Mart, too, remarked
215
that the French had been brought to Mexico as a means of warding off the Anglo-Saxon threat (trado acaso por el deseo de levantarle valla al poder sajn en el equilibrio descompuesto del mundo [Congreso Internacional de Washington, 148]), and noted that the U.S.s neutrality policy vis-a-vis the French invasion of Mexico came from a feared alliance of the Southern states with France.76
MARB: responses to encroachment, or forgiving not our trespassers?

It is against this nineteenth-century discursive backdrop that one must view the ideas expressed in MARBs letters and the direction taken by her vis-a-vis the United States. While on the East Coast and after her return to California in 1870, MARB continued to be engaged in these debates; the success or failure of her various projects hinged on the direction and tenor of policies coming from Washington and Mexico, and while having no quarrel with foreign investment in Mexicothe development of her project for Baja was predicated on it she became increasingly skeptical of the uneven relationship being set in motion between Latin America and the United States. Projects and attempts to infringe upon Mexican sovereignty were standard fare in the United States press in the second half of the nineteenth century, some instances of which have already been discussed in chapter III, and these indelibly colored MARBs thinking on relations between the United States and Mexico. The threat of new invasions and occupation was as real a fear for MARB as for Matas Romeroand clearly later, for Mart, too, who feared back-to-back imperialisms for his native Cuba. MARB saw the United States as a predatory nation, a nation of wolves, hawks, sharks, ready to attack a poor, defenseless Mexico (8-26-67). And, as she adds in an 1867 letter to Vallejo, she was willing to face the consequences for her opinions and love of Mexico: Est bueno. Si Ud. quiere dejar de ser mi amigo porque quiero tanto a Mxico y porque no adoro a los Titanes que la van a devorar, est bueno. (8-26-67). As for the argument that to the U.S. fell the civilizing burden, MARB turned this on its head by casting the United States as a predatory nation sans culture. What incensed her even more was, as she explained to Vallejo, that some
216
Mexicans were willing to open the door to U.S. interventionMexicans, who like moths, were attracted and blinded by the light: Pero a pesar de una verdad tan evidente, los mexicanos son atrados como las maripositas a la candela, a morir, a perecer (2-15-69), emasculating themselves before the men of America: Veo que se me enoja Ud. y me dice que su admiracin por los Yankis no es crnica pero que ellos son los hombres de Amrica. Por supuesto que s lo son, si an los ms ilustrados mexicanos les doblan la rodilla . . . Por supuesto que s lo son, cuando los mismos mexicanos se apresuran a remover todo obstculo y barrer todo impedimento para que su marcha triunfal siga sin interrupcin. (8-26-67) It is interesting to note further that two years later, again in a letter to Vallejo, she rejects out of hand the various and sundry proposals for dividing Mexico and annexing part of it to the United States, in words that anticipate the most strident critiques of Mart: Convengo con Ud. que Mxico est completamente desquiciado . . . pero no lo creo muriendo- . . . Est muy enfermo, s, y en sus ratos de delirio puede suicidarse, pero si no se suicida, vivir! . . . Y sabe Ud. qu clase de suicidio hay ms riesgo que cometa? El peor, el ms feo que es ahorcndose, ahorcndose con la cuerdita que su Sister Republic le ha regalado, cuya cuerdita Manifest Destiny, con su propia mano nos hizo el honor de tejer, l mismo . . . Qu gloria para los mexicanos que adoran prosternados en el polvo el Coloso del Norte! . . . Y Ud. ve, amigo que quererme convertir a las ideas de Ud. sobre esta cuestin es intil. Yo no veo ninguna causa y razn vlida, porque la raza latina haya decado de tal manera que slo pueda vivir apoyada del Anglo Sajn . . . La historia no miente y la historia nos dice cun gloriosa ha sido la carrera de la raza Latina, pero . . . la raza Latina bajo un gobierno y leyes congeniales adaptadas a ella . . . All est todo el secreto, digan lo que dijeren . . . (9-14-69)
217
Sounding much like Montesquieu,77 and very much in line with the prevailing nineteenth-century bent for rationalizing social and economic developmental processes, MARB posits the notion of a harmonious relation between race, culture, and form of government, an argument meant to counter unrestrained admiration (like that of Vallejo for the United States) and the fawning pose of Mexican diplomats (like Romeros) before the Colossus of the North. Rumors of reactivating the failed 1849-1853 filibustering plans for the creation of the Repblica de la Sierra Madre78which would include seven northern Mexican states and now involved her friend General Plcido Vegawere still circulating in the 1860s,79 and MARB was well aware of them while in New York. In her letter to Vallejo (9-14-69), for example, she rejects the idea of a new republic: As pues, perdneme si no veo que la Repblica de Sierra Madre pueda ser otra cosa que una cuenta aadida al triste Rosario de las mierables Repblicas Hispano Americanas de este continente; una especie de domingo siete sin gloria ni chiste que el Yankie se engullir rindose de ella. (9-14-69) And so, in coming to reject setting up the United States as a model for Latin-American nations to emulate, as proposed by various LatinAmerican leaders, as the single road to follow towards modernization, MARB also rejects the notion that Mexico needs U.S. republican ideas. Republicanism is, in fact, a utopian idea for her, much as it was for Herbert Spencer, who argued, The republican form of government is the highest form of government; but because of this it requires the highest type of human naturea type nowhere at present existing.80 Her novel Who Would Have Thought It? would construct MARBs disillusionment with republican democracy in the United States, and it is in this light that, after Maximilians execution and the difficulties faced by the reestablished liberal government in Mexico, she begins to consider that a constitutional monarchy might have had better results. In a letter to Vallejo she reiterates:
218
As pues, sigamos siendo buenos amigos tal como somos, Ud. con su admiracin por las repblicas y por los americanos y yo con mi conviccin que repblicas son todava y sern por aos imposibilidades quimricas, y que los americanos son y sern siempre los enemigos mortales de mi raza, de mi Mxico. (8-26-67). The U.S. republic, as constructed in Who Would Have Thought It?, is seen to be governed not by the people, as rhetorically manifested, nor even by its best men, but by petty opportunistic types who fail to respect their own laws, as she would set down in a key letter to Vallejo: . . . declamar tanto del respeto de las leyes y despus pisotearlas! Pero as es la hipocresa de la chusma, siempre soez, siempre baja, grosera, descarada (2-27-68). Like Vega and other disillusioned liberals, MARB came to question the viability of the republican model of governance; she increasingly saw Jurez operating as despotically as any king, although he manipulated well the discourses of liberty and progress, commenting sarcastically: El proto-libertador, primer hombre del estado, Jurez es el que ha violado ms (as dicen hoy los liberales) la Constitucin que pretende sostener! (9-14-69) Events in Mexico only served to reaffirm MARBs increasingly negative outlook on republics: Cunto ha progresado el mundo bajo el impulso de prcticas republicanas! Antes se oprima en nombre del Rey, y hoy en nombre de la libertad . . . gran progreso han hecho los polticos ciertamente . . . Ciertamente que vale la pena . . . [8-26-67]) Adopting an ever more conservative bent and favoring government by an elite, MARB posits to Vallejo that republics opened the door to new and potentially bloody despotisms:
219
Que se metan a exigir repblicas y ya ver Ud., los monstruos de Robespierre, Marat, y Danton le brotarn por todos lados. Y qu le parece a Ud. el experimento en Espaa? Bah! qu farsa! (9-14-69) Arguing that each nation needed to have a form of government suited to ita similar notion was later expressed by MartMARB, in her discussion, reveals not only her monarchist views but a certain racial/cultural essentialism, following the ideas of Chevalier, and also a geographic and climatological essentialism, a la Montesquieu,81 the tenets of which she explained to Vallejo: Desde mi rinconcito triste y solitario veo lo que est pasando en el mundo y leo lo que ha pasado, y de todo eso, slo puedo deducir la misma conclusin que ya tanto le he repetido hablando sobre esta materiaque las formas de gobierno deben adaptarse a las naciones, y no las naciones tener que adptarse a las formas no ms porque sean de moda en los Estados Unidos . . . Mr. Draper dice ms (en su Intellectual Development of Europe) dice que las formas de gobierno deben adaptarse a los climas! . . . porque los climas modifican y afectan el carcter de las razas . . . y el gobierno que har la felicidad de una nacin ser una maldicin para otra de diferente genio, qu tal? Me alegro que Draper apoye mi teora, mi firme fe y conviccin. (9-14-69). MARB shared with Vallejo Montesquieu-via-Drapers ideas on climate. Vallejo, in a letter to her commenting on her ideas on race, on la raza latina and la raza anglo-sajona, had expressed that the perceived differences could be explained not only culturally but on the basis of climate: Los climas en que se han desarrollado naturalmente han producido efectos contrarios: en una la actividad, en los otros la molicie. No piensa Ud. lo mismo? (Vallejo undated 1859? 1867? letter). Both Vallejos and MARBs notions of race and culture undoubtedly sought to explain what required an economic and political analysis.
220
Compromised and compromising positions, or awkward accommodations

Although we have stressed that there is much that is insightful and critical in MARBs political ideas, anticipating some of the best in Latin-American political thought, vacillation and contradiction at the political level are also very much in evidence throughout her correspondence. All of her comments must be seen as contingent and ambivalent. Her strong defense of Mexicos national sovereignty, for example, is belied by her unspoken consent to the U.S. invasion of Baja California in 1847; she left with the traitors in 1848, her age and her interest in the commander of the U.S. troops notwithstanding. Later, her position as a liberal and her strong support for Jurez and the Mexican republican diplomatic corps in Washington between 1860 and 1865, were countered by her deploring the fall of the French imperial experiment and the death of Maximilian in 1867. Her strong indictment of Manifest Destiny and annexationism gives way to accommodation when it comes to considering that the U.S. purchase of Baja California might help her land interests in La Frontera. Her steadfast defense of the Latin race and its need to stand up to AngloSaxon aggression, together with her questioning of racial intermarriage (Las razas mixtas son a veces muy bellas y buenas . . . Adelante, que siga la bola, y nuestra nacionalidad muera pisoteada bajo el pie del Sajn [8-26-67]) as a practice undermining of the Latin race and as an opening for Anglo-Saxon domination, are at best suspect, given her own personal history. As a Latina who would marry an Anglo-Saxon and assume an Anglo-Latin identity, often signing her letters with her husbands name (Mara A. Burton or even Mrs. General H. S. Burton), she wouldin her fiction at leastargue for such inter-ethnic marriages in Who Would Have Thought It? and The Squatter and the Don. Her letters play out for us, then, the discomfiture and accommodations required of MARB as she uneasily straddles two distinct spheres. In this light MARBs Anglo-Latin positioning was aporetic, much like that of the Anglo-Irish Jonathan Swift, caught between mutually interfering codes, that an unequivocal order might be upheld. Eagleton spells it out as the natural mode of a schizoid social class, caught
221
between conflicting cultural norms, whose whole existence is a barely tolerable in-betweenness, (Eagleton, 160-161). There is here, as Eagleton reminds us, what Raymond Williams has called a negative identification(159)on the one hand with undeveloped Mexico, this symbol of nature that she so wanted to cultivate, and, on the other, with that exemplar of progress and modernity that was the United States. As we shall see in what follows, MARB maintained an ongoing correspondence with numerous individuals, Vallejo, Barlow, Morse, Moreno, etc., each of which allowed for different facets of her multiple experience and changing perspectives to come out in relation to the impact of the circles in which she moved while on the East Coast.
M. G. Vallejo
Of all of MARBs correspondents, her exchanges with Vallejo are the most extensive and detailed, allowing for a tracing of their views on the U.S., and the increasing plight of the californios, providing us a glimpse into the character and evolution of their relationship and friendship-at-a-distance. The eighteen-sixties, which MARB spent on the East Coast, would find Vallejolike MARBcaught up in business undertakings and involved in several legal battles to save his lands. While the courts in 1857 had confirmed his title to the 66,622acre Petaluma Rancho, part of which he had needed to sell immediately to underwrite legal costs, his claim for the Soscol Rancho would be denied. In 1863, his son-in-law Frisbie traveled to Washington as Vallejos agent to find a lawyer to appeal the claim before the Supreme Court. MARB recriminated Vallejo for not writing and for not coming East himself to look after his affairs (3-18-63). Like so many other californios, Vallejos financial troubles began to multiply, and he lost the Soscol Rancho and finally had to sell or mortgage everything he had. MARB was ever insistent in her letters that Vallejo had to travel to the East Coast to know the United States fully. It would not be until 1865 that he would travel to New York via the Panama isthmus and then to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and Niagara Falls. In New York he met with MARB, Gibert, and Romero, visits that MARB would recall in her subsequent letters to him (6-20-68). Vallejo
222
was in New York City when Lincoln was assassinated. In 1869, Vallejo again traveled east with the Frisbies on the newly completed transcontinental railroad, but went only as far as Chicago, a fact that disappointed MARB, who was in New York at the time. She indicates in her letter that she was anxious to see him again to talk about politics, literature, religion, and authors (10-11-69). For his part, Vallejo equally upbraided her for not meeting him in Chicago and mocked her by calling her his former friend (amiga de otro tiempo); in response, she called the phrase cruel and reiterated her friendship for him: Ya le he dicho que fuera de mi familia, que Ud. y Flix son los dos amigos que ms quiero; mi amistad por ambos es tan pura y sincera, cuanto es llena de afecto y tambin entusiasmo y tierno cario (11-23/24-69). MARBs letters to Vallejo are striking for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the range and variety of tones expressed. At times they are like letters between two old friends and partners, who enjoy bickering and contradicting each other. Their differences and political discussions on Maximilian, Jurez, and republicanism, for example, have already been alluded to above. Their correspondence was always sporadic and contentious; she complained when months went by without a letter and called him to task for his lack of faith in her friendship (5-21-68). Yet it is clear that he, too, became as engaged in the exchanges with MARB as she; MARB boasted to her friends that Vallejo would write her sixteen-page letters (9-14-69). MARB also appealed to Vallejo for aid on several occasions, as in the case of her Baja land documents, which were left by her husband in San Francisco with George C. Johnson, who, after Burtons death, never returned them to her. Once Vallejo had intervened to obtain her documents from Johnson, she next requested that he help her, by contacting Morse in San Diego, who had failed to answer her letters. She was desperate for information on the status of her pending claims and lawsuits; for a time she had no idea who was representing her in her legal fight for Jamul after she had dismissed the previous lawyer Hancock and asked Morse to find a new attorney (11-23-69). More impor-
223
tantly, she confided to Vallejo that she was having problems in getting Po Pico to give her a deed to the Jamul lands (11-23/24-69), as Pico had promised to do in New York before several witnesses; here again, Vallejo interceded and Pico ultimately produced the title. As can be seen from the letters, these requests followed a similar pattern: insistence, followed by a profusion of thanks and apologies for imposing upon their friendship. After 1869, especially, the widowed MARB made use of all her contacts to ensure survival and pursue sources of potential income. Both MARB and Vallejo were in desperate need of money after 1870. In 1890, Vallejo died nearly penniless, while MARB lived until 1895, and she was always in search of new prospects and revenue.
Capitalizing on potential: faith and credit

There are various ways to amass capital (hoarding, piracy, thievery, usury, exploitation of labor, etc.), but the nineteenth century opened up new venues, like speculation (purchase of commodities or stock as an investment for resale) and an increase in the circulation of fictive capital (capital to be realized, as through stocks, shares, promissory notes, etc. representing an anticipated surplus-value82). In their own small way, the Burtons accessed this world of speculation by putting MARBs Baja California properties on the market for purposes of acquiring venture capital to fuel mining and development projects in Baja. Let us recall that the decade of the 1860s marked the period in which the Burtons gained official certification from Jurez of her property rights to the Ensenada and the San Antonio mines. This recertification meant that the Burtons joined the class of what today would be termed venture capitalists, and as would-be entrepreneurs, organized a consortium in 1865 for the exploitation of silver and copper at the San Antonio mines in Lower California (see prospectus in chapter VI). How much stock was issued and sold in the company is not clear, but in several letters to Vallejo, MARB complains about political strife in La Frontera interfering with the willingness of stockholders to invest in the San Antonio mines. Through her correspondence with Vallejo, we also get a sense of her intricate legal entanglements and her many financial maneuver-
224
ings. In 1868, as previously indicated, MARB asked Vallejo to go by George C. Johnsons office with an enclosed letter from Henry S. Burton to pick up the Baja documents as well as a power of attorney that she had given her husband (6-20-68 and 9-12-68). In the interim, MARB had found out that married women could not legally grant power of attorney to anyone, making Burtons transference of her power of attorney to Johnson nonbinding. Johnson, as their agent, was to have made the necessary arrangements to establish a company to work the mines in her Baja lands, but as she explains to Vallejo, in six years he had done nothing. MARB, the letter suggests, was not in full agreement with her husbands actions, and, although Burton had promised to retrieve the documents, he had failed to do so.
Mssrs. Barlow and Moreno

One of the trustees of The Lower California Mining Company, formed in New York in 1865, was Samuel L. M. Barlowa successful New York lawyer who was also involved in the Leese Concession in Baja in the early 1860s, as previously notedand who, as counsel for company stockholders, made MARB a loan using her Ensenada lands and stocks as collateral, to be repaid when company stock was sold. Interestingly, Barlow had made his early fame settling a number of californio claims after the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, but he was best known for a settlement of nine million dollars against Jay Gould for mismanagement of the Erie Railroad.83 Barlow and the Burtons had met personally, and apparently, he had been taken by Nellie Burtons beauty (she was then eighteen years old) and struck by MARBs attractiveness as well. Capitalizing on this attraction, past promises, and potential future earnings of the Lower California Mining Company on her properties in Baja, MARB repeatedly asked Barlow for monies to underwrite living expenses while living on the East Coast. For example, as cited in one letter, she wanted to buy a carriage to use while they were in Rhode Island. She also incessantly urged that the company begin developing the lands in Baja, now that the war against the French was over, so that the delay would not be misconstrued by Mexican officials as a projected act of filibustering and not one of investment and development (3-27-69).
225
In a subsequent letter, we learn that on the basis of that loan, Barlow comes to consider that he and the stockholders he represents own half of the Ensenada lands, retaining MARBs titles to those lands as security. When Barlow proposes sending the titles to California and having someone inspect the lands, she urges him not to send the original documents and not to send anyone until he has the capital to begin exploiting the mines (3-14-69). At this point, she does not question, as she will later on, that his loan to her entitles him to half the property. A few days later, having reflected further and increasingly distrustful, MARB writes Barlow asking him for five minutes of his timein personso that he can provide her with a signed list of all the documents that he is holding for her. Barlows dismissal of the urgency in her letters as strictly feminine irritates MARB, who wishes to make it clear that she is still in desperate need of money for a carriage. Her daughter Nellie adds a postscript to propitiate Barlow to be forthcoming with the funds (3-31-69). Failing to convey the urgency of action by the Lower California Mining Company in San Antonio, MARB, with no income to speak of, writes Barlow a few months after H. S. Burtons death, again to stress Southern Californias potential growthespecially given the plans for a San Diego railroad terminus, all of which is further stimulating interest in La Frontera. If their Mining Company does not act now, she insists, those lands will be considered vacant public lands and serve as an open invitation for encroachment by squatters. At the same time, she is also interested in learning what plans are in the works for the Leese Concession holdings, now controlled by a New York-based consortium of which Barlow is part (8-19-69 and 10-17-69). Almost from the start of MARBs stay on the East Coast, these Baja mines had been the subject of several letters to fellow bajacalifornio Moreno, in which she asks him to go to San Antonio to have samples from the mines transferred by wagon to the port of Ensenada. (From there, they could be shipped to San Francisco for an assay.) MARB was also counting on her husband, then on leave in California, to send someone knowledgeable to Ensenada to look over the samples before shipping them out (12-24-61). MARBs growing sense of frustration at not being able to carry out her project and at her husbands
226
inability to further their plans for the mining project (7-7-62) becomes painfully clear, and as her impatience grows, so does her demanding tone, finally provoking Morenos silence. Ever trying to forestall claims and cover all possible avenues, she also asks Morenoif La Frontera authorities call for a denuncia for the landsto allow her brother Federico, or some other friend, to claim the lands in her name (1-8-62). This mining project, she insists, if carried to fruition, would benefit the entire border area, and she is distressed by Morenos lack of enthusiasm for the project (4-9-62). MARBs insistence did not go unrewarded: Moreno subsequently lent his support by providing MARB with a report on the Ensenada lands and on transport possibilities, as is clear from the prospectus for the Lower California Mining Company (see prospectus, chapter VI). In subsequent letters, MARB learns that Moreno has followed up on her requests, and to insure against any possible competing claims, has made a denuncia of the lands for her himself; she then sends a letter thanking him and expressing her appreciation for his friendship (92-63). Operating from the East Coast, MARB blamed her gender and her lack of capital for her inability to carry out her plans, as she wrote Vallejo (8-17-69); these were constantly two powerful obstacles especially, she felt, after her husbands death. Later MARB made several attempts to have a mineralogist visit the mines. In 1863 she writes Vallejo that surveyor Charles L. Krafft will travel to California to see about an expedition to Ensenada to inspect the mines (3-18-63). It is doubtful that Krafft ever made it South, because later that year (9-2-63) she writes Moreno that another agent, Eduardo Koppish, will travel to San Diego and then to Baja to inspect the mines. Clearly, all this information was vital for the production of the brochure and the incorporation of the Lower California Mining Company in 1865 (see chapter VI). Her letters to Moreno not only deal with business and political matters but also with his family problems, particularly the death of his children (7-7-62). She also offers to transmit his ideas as subjefe poltico of the Northern District to the Mexican Legation in Washington, and to see about possible East Coast buyers for his Frontera lands, if he is still interested in selling (9-28-64). As she tells him repeatedly, he and Flix Gibert are the only paisanos willing to help her. Morenos resignation as subprefecto and his many financial difficul-
227
ties afterwards took him away from San Diego; consequently, there are no letters for Moreno for about three years, but in 1867 the two connect again when Edward (Ned) Williston, MARBs brother-in-law, runs into Moreno in San Francisco, and he asks for her address. By then she, too, had moved from place to placeespecially during the warand the two lost contact for a time. In 1867, she again writes Moreno saying that she is interested in the J. Ross Browne expedition (3-9-67). No additional letters were sent to Moreno after that, but in 1869 she writes Vallejo about his trip South and the reconciliation between daughter (Prudenciana) and father (Vallejo), commenting, too, on Morenos expected recovery (9-14-69). Moreno died about two and a half months later (Nov. 30, 1869).
E. W. Morse
MARBs ongoing concern over her affairs in San Diego is also evident in her series of letters to Ephraim W. Morse, who in 1850 settled in San Diego, where he set up a store with partner Levi Slack in New Town; later, when the new settlement failed, they moved to Old Town. Morse also engaged in farming, became active in local politics, filled a number of public offices, and in 1856, practiced law. His store sold goods on credit to the army (5-9-59) and made small loans, as much to the Burtons as to Ned (Edward) Williston, (see WillistonMorse 18591860 letters). Morse was an important figure in local San Diego economic and political history; two months before his death, H. S. Burton entrusted his local affairs to Morse, and MARB forwarded money to her mother through Morse (2-1-69).
The Widow Burton

Henry S. Burton died on April 4, 1869 in Rhode Island and was buried with military honors at West Point (see army medical report in chapter VI). MARB and her daughter, Nellie, subsequently moved to New York, where they lived on Staten Island while her son, Harry, attended Columbia College. Two weeks after H. S. Burtons death, MARB wrote Morse (4-2669) in connection to a bill presented to her by Abel Stearns, one of the wealthiest California pioneers in Southern California,84 who appar-
228
ently also had loaned her husband money. With Burtons death, a slew of bills hailed down around MARB; one was from Francis Hinton, for about four thousand dollars with interest, for a total of $5631 and one was from J. S. Manassee, for $739.65 with accrued interest, for a total of $1377.94. These bills had originally been presented in 1859 when the Burtons left San Diego.85 Unable to return to San Diego at the time, in May 1869 MARB sent Morse a power of attorney so that he could act in her behalf on several fronts: the squatters that had encroached on the Jamul Ranch lands, the suits from creditors, and the legal battle for Jamul, which H. S. Burton had entrusted to the lawyer Henry Hancock, who had failed to move on the issue. Burton had also bought a number of railroad shares during the decade of the 1850s, and now the possible congressional action on the proposal of the Southern Pacific might make those more valuable; for this reasonand the fact that she was always expecting a windfall from one of her various projectsMARB expressed to Morse her reluctance to part with them in 1869 to pay on these accounts. With the move to Staten Island, MARB feared that Morses letters were getting lost in the mail (7-18-59). Never one to wait patiently, MARB, in her letters to Morse, notes her failure to receive mail from him; and as debts piled up, MARB is increasingly frantic in New York. When Morse finally replied (August 1869), he sent a form on which MARB was to indicate what capital could be counted on for payment of her debts; the form includes the railroad shares, but excludes Jamul, as Morse was sure that the ranch had been lost (8-28-69). MARB, however, had by then consulted other lawyers and felt that she still could win the court battle for the Jamul Ranch, or at least use the property as leverage. She also wished to have the creditors give her a little more time to pay on the debts. As her agent, Morse was also asked to look into the matter of the Po Pico title to Jamul, by having County Clerk Pendleton look in his archives for copies of the title. By then, MARB had met with Pico in New York and had a verbal agreement from him on getting a document transferring the property to her. She also began to see the need for a new lawyer, since Hancock was not cooperating (8-30-69). Again, Morse was so slow in responding that MARB had to get her brother, Federico Ruiz, to con-
229
tact Morse urging his response (9-15-69). Still failing to receive a reply, MARB wrote letters ever more stridentstressing her points with long underlined passagesrepeating the same concerns and asking him to look into getting a new lawyer and suggesting either Chapman or Seplveda of Los Angeles (9-29-69). Her sense of gender constraints is particularly painful now, as she feels dismissed by Morse and her lawyers for being merely a woman, one already sufficiently constrained by her own culture as she reminds Vallejo: Acurdese que soy mujer . . . y mexicana . . . con el alma encerrada en una jaula de fierro, pues as nos encierra la sociedad luego que nacemos, como los chinos los pies de sus mujeres. (8-12-69) By October of that same year she was marshaling Vallejos assistance, asking him to be the addressee to receive mail from Morse to ensure that Morse was tending to her requests (10-11-69). The very next day she wrote Morse to ask that he send any urgent communication for her via Vallejo (10-12-69). From afar, MARB worked to mobilize others in her behalf, succeeding only part of the time, and her letters betray her anxiousness. It seems clear that Morses loyalties were compromised; he had no intention of helping her to retain the Jamul Ranch, for in November 1870, he was writing lawyers in Washington to support the squatters appeal, indicating that many settlers will be ruined if appeal is dismissed.86 Seeing Morses unwillingness to help, MARB again wrote Vallejo for help; she indicated that her brother Federico was not capable of managing matters; by then, her friend Moreno was gravely ill (11-23-69). Vallejo wrote Morse (11-30-69) and served as intermediary to transmit a letter from a lawyer in Maryland (11-29-69). In the meantime, MARB continued to be concerned at Morses lack of attention to her matters, and also feeling that she was imposing on Vallejo (12-2-69). Things were not going well for MARB. She began looking into her military widows pension and considered returning to the West Coast to look after her affairs personally. Circumstances dictated that her presence was needed in California if her affairs were not to be neglected further. Nevertheless, she had clearly made friends with other Latinos in New York, people like Federico Prieto (7-29-69), who hand-delivered her mail sent to his address in New York (8-17-69), and she was often visited by Californians trav-
230
eling to the East Coast (like Po Pico, Captain Johnson, and his wife Estefana Alvarado). The issue of the lawyer for the Jamul Ranch case was still up in the air. Morse wrote to her that he had little time to attend to those matters (12-16-69), indicating that the time for appealing the Jamul claim rejection had passed (12-31-69). With news from Federico and Vallejo that the squatters were surveying the land to make their claims, MARB panicked further (1-10-70) and began to make plans to return to California. In January of 1870 she wrote Vallejo giving him a summary of matters and urging him to meet her train in Sacramento, where she was arriving (1-5-70), and a few days later, she wrote that she could not leave then, and sent Vallejo a power of attorney (1-10-70). She also wrote Po Pico to remind him of his promise and to let him know that Vallejo was contacting him (1-10-70). Afraid of her insistence offending Pico (1-15-70), she trusted that Vallejo would speak to him in person if she did not arrive soon. In the interimthat is, early 1870she decided to go to Washington, D.C., where she appeared before the clerk of the Supreme Court to request her military widows pension (see petition in chapter VI). Upon her return to New York, she wrote Morse, asking that he help her brother Federico write up an affidavit indicating that he and her mother, Isabel Ruiz, had resided on the Jamul Ranch since the Burtons left in 1859 and that he ask other San Diegans who knew them to do the same (1-31-70 and 2-2-70). This documentation was crucial in establishing her claim on Jamul. In March of 1870 she was still in New York, trying to keep Hinton and his lawyers from taking her railroad shares (3-8-70) and engaging Cleveland to fight the case in court (2-2-70). She also wrote a couple of letters to her friend Flix Gibert, sent through Vallejo (3-27-70). By April she was despondent about her affairs; nothing seemed to be going well (4-21-70), and in May she went to Washington, D.C., again for a week, no doubt to begin building support for her claim to the Jamul lands, to visit the Mexican Legation about her Baja affairs, and to see again about securing a position or an appointment to a military academy for her son Harry, as we shall see in Chapter V. By the end of May 1870, MARB was leaving New York to return to California to certify her rights to the Jamul property, fight the squat-
231
ters that had encroached on her land, gain the full title from Po Pico (1-10-70), and, more importantly, to begin seeing about securing yet another loan to engage in these various legal entanglements.

MARB to Matas Moreno. 5 September 1859, New York Estimado Don Matas, Hoy hace diez das que volvimos de nuestro paseo por el norte y esperamos salir a fines de este mes para Fort Monroe. No le escrib luego que llegamos a esta ciudadantes de salir para el norteporque estaba bastante enferma y slo nos detuvimos aqu una semana para descansar un poco de la fatiga del viaje.Casi toda esa semana me la pas o acostada en el sof o mirando pasar la gente desde la ventana, pero estaba tan exhausta y fatigada que no sal a la calle ms que dos o tres veces. No piense pues, con su propensin sospechosa (y para conmigo injusta) que no le haba escrito por slo indiferencia o falta de voluntad, ste es el primer vapor que sale para California desde que volvimos. Dgale a Da. Prudenciana que le escribir por el otro vapor, que le escribo a Ud. primero por que s que ella me dispensar una poquita de dilacin sin atribuirla a falta de cario, pero que Ud. luego, luego me pondr en la lista de los inconstantes y malagradecidos; sin orme y sin apelacinPaz sea entre nosotrosAmn. Y ahora, qu le dir? Le contar las maravillas que mis pobres ojos han visto y que casi han dislocado mis quijadas a fuerza de hacerme abrir la boca? Como Ud. ya fue a la Ciudad de Mxico y vino despercudido-no creo que se asombrara de ninguna cosa que yo le pueda decir, pero siempre le dir algo de nuestro viaje porque tengo la vanidad de pensar que le interesar saber cmo la hemos pasado desde que salimos de ese antdoto contra toda creencia en el paraso . . . S. Diego.
232
Ya Eduardo les habr dicho que slo nos detuvimos en S. Francisco diez das y despus de haber visto la celebracin del 4 de julio con los fuegos artificiales, etc., el da 6 nos embarcamos en el Golden Gate. Llegamos a Panam el 15, pasamos el istmo en tres horas y la maana siguiente salimos de Aspinwall y llegamos a Nueva York el da 27 de julio a las 7 de la maana. El viaje fue bastante feliz por que no tuvimos ninguna enfermedad ni desgracia abordo y desde S. Francisco hasta Nueva York slo hicimos 21 da de viaje, pero el calor fue tan excesivo desde que llegamos a la latitud de Manzanillo que nos hizo sufrir muchsimo, y de este lado fue peor. Tampoco me gust tener que pasar tan cerca de la isla de Cuba y no tocar a la Habana, pero por temor de las fiebres nos pasamos de largo. A Cayo Hueso sobre la costa de Florida no ms tocamos en este lado, estuvimos en tierra cosa de cuatro horas, y de all, medio asados, hasta Nueva York. Yo creo que le debo decir algo sobre mi primera impresin al sentirme arrastrada sobre los carriles por ese monstruo infernal echando chispas y bufidos, aullando de rabia al verse domado por un . . . hombre . . . y rabiando por precipitarnos a todos en uno de los abismos por donde pasbamos volando. Pero tal impresin no se puede describir, espero que Ud. la experimentar muy prontoQuiero decir que espero que Ud. viajar por los ferrocarriles pronto; no vaya Ud. a pensar que yo digo que Ud. va a experimentar literalmente, ser llevado por un monstruo furioso, no, las plegarias de Da. Prudenciana y las mas tambin, espero lo librarn de esoEs muy hermoso el pas por donde corre el camino en Panam, nosotros lo pasamos en la noche y la luz de la luna parece que aada sublimidad a la escena. Tambin el pas entre aqu y Norwich toda la Nueva Inglaterraes muy hermoso. Qu contraste tan brillante con el pobre S. Diego! Toda la naturaleza parece animada, las verduras y la fruta se apuran a crecer pronto, los rboles son lo ms verde que pueden; todo lo animado o inanimado parece que quiere hacer caber en un corto nmero de das la vida de muchos aos, y para completar el gran
233
movimiento, uno vuela en pocas horas la distancia de cien millas! Ah! Mxico, Mxico, quin te viera prosperar as! No quiero ser envidiosa Don Matas, pero estas muestras de prosperidad que por dondequiera veo aqu, me hacen sentir ms vivamente las desgracias que nos tienen en ese estado de moral, mental estancacin, con todos los inmensos recursos de nuestro pas inutilizados. Espero, Don Matas, que me escribir pronto y me dar todas las noticias de S. Diego. Si hay algunas noticias de la Baja California y la Frontera, no olvide comunicarlas. Tambin dgame si espera Ud. salir de S. D. ahora pronto. Yo creo que la semana que entra iremos a Washington y despus volveremos aqu para de aqu tomar el vapor a Baltimore y de all en pocas horas llegaremos a Fort Monroe. Si me es posible le escribir de Washington o si no, luego que lleguemos a Fort Monroe. Dele miles de cariosas expresiones a Da. Prudenciana, Da. Margarita y los dems de casa, besitos a los chiquitos y saludes a todos los conocidosEnrique les manda a Ud.y a su esposa muy cariosos recuerdos.Dirija sus cartas a Fort MonroeVirginiaY si desde esta distancia le puedo ser til, crame con gusto le servir como su mejor amiga que lo aprecia muy sinceramente. M.A. de Burton E. B. Williston to E. W. Morse. 23 September 1859, San Diego, California My dear Mr. Morse, I never realized what hard fate was until the last six months of my life and I am very nearly discouraged on account of the misfortune which is unrelentingly pursuing me, Vallejo is false; he has deceived Henry and myselfDont say anything about this. I am consequently obliged to tell you that I see no possibility of securing the sum I owe you by the time you need it. You cannot think how this declaration pains me for if a per-
234
son ever showed themselves friendly, you did and I feel my inability deeply. I have a gun, revolver, and 3 saddle horses and if you please I will turn over enough to pay you; all I have is at your disposal. God knows, Morse, that this is all I can do and I am very sorry. Do come and see me. Send me word if you will take the horses and I will send them to you or try to sell them here. Yours, E. B. Williston MARB to Matas Moreno. 21 February 1860, Georgetown Mi siempre estimado Don Matas, Al fin he tenido el gusto de recibir carta de Ud., cuando ya empezaba a temer que me haba dado un furioso y eterno carpetazo y me haba sepultado entre los olvidados. As, pues si es posible hacer a un lado su incredulidadUd. podr imaginarse el gusto que he tenido en leer su carta y ver por ella que no slo no me ha olvidado, sino que todava retiene con cario mi memoria, y que (aun haciendo a un lado la hiprbole de su riesgo de ser mandado a Stockton) Ud. ley con placer mi carta que le escrib de New York. Por supuesto, no me sorprenden los tres o cuatro tiritos que me despacha en ella, al contrario, pues as la carta es ms natural, ms de Don Matas y por eso bienvenidos sean, y yo slo repito en retiradaPaz tecumAmn!es buen Latn? Pocos das despus de recibir esa carta, recib un billetito que Ud. me escribi en 22 de Nov. el cual haba estado durmiendo con todas las cartas que Eduardo y Federico nos han escrito desde octubre y que dirigieron a Fort Monroe. En ese billetito Ud. me da la tristsima noticia de la muerte de Carmelita, pues como no lo recib hasta ahora, quien primero me dio esa dolorosa nueva fue George Woods. La carta de Ud. en donde me da una razn ms en por menor y me dice lo triste que est Da. Prudenciana me ha removido el sentimiento de su prdida causndome mucho deseo de ver a
235
Ud. y Da. Prudenciana, como si con verlos pudiera aliviarlos! Qu triste fatalidad parece haber en mis preferencias, hace aos que observo ese triste efecto de mi amor. De los hijos de Manuela mi hermana los dos que eran mis preferidos la muerte los llev, la hijita de Vallejo a quien yo prefera lo mismo, y Carmelita tambin! Parece que mi amor es como la sombra de la higuera, mata a los que lo reciben, es decir, si son nios, pues cambia de carcter si son de edad, y esa fatalidad letal se convierte en negra ingratitud en los crecidos. no es mi amor cual la sombra de la higuera? S, mucho peor, pues yo sufro ms que ellos. Le agradezco las noticias que me da de S. Diego etc. y espero que cada vez que me escriba no omitir cosa alguna de inters, en particular de la Frontera y del resto de la Baja California con sus luchas, sus desgracias y su poca esperanza. No importa en dnde ni que tan lejos yo me halle, siempre sentir el mismo inters por mi pobre pas natal. Las noticias de Vera Cruz las recibimos aqu dos veces al mes y podemos saber lo que pasa en Mxico, pero casi nunca se oye una palabra de la Paz ni mucho menos de la Frontera. As es que los planes de anexacin sugeridos por mal whisky a la cabeza embrutecida de Castro y las maromas de ese miserable macaco de Esparza, slo de casualidad los supimos pues las cartas de Ned estaban en Fort Monroe y de otro modo sera casi imposible saber lo que pasa en la Frontera. Yo creo que no sera malo que Ud. me dijera cualquier cosa de inters que Ud. quisiera hacer saber al gobierno constitucional. Yo veo al Sr. Mata con frecuencia y puedo decirle a l lo que sea. Tambin le escribo al Sr. Lerdo y se lo podra escribir a l a Veracruz. Hace pocos das que nos dijo el Sr. Mata que Lasspas ha ido de Veracruz a la Habana a tomar el vapor que sali de N. York ayer para pasar de Aspinwall a California y que lleva algn empleo a la Baja California; pero el Sr. Mata no saba si iba a la Paz o la Frontera y yo espero que sea a la ltima que es donde por ahora se necesita quien la ordene.
236
Muy a principios del mes que entra esperan aqu al Sr. Ocampo (padre de la Sra. de Mata) quien viene como ministro extraordinario a este gobierno y a verse con Lord Lyons (el ministro ingls) sobre eso de si Inglaterra reconocer el gobierno constitucional o no. Despus pasar a Inglaterra como Ministro por el gobierno liberal. Las otras noticias de Mxico ya Ud. las habr recibido. Por las ltimas que recibimos aqu el da 15 supimos que otra vez Miramn intentaba un ataque contra Veracruz. Maana se espera el otro correo y entonces sabremos la verdad. Parece que hay algunos que esperan que la venida del Sr. Ocampo acelere la ratificacin del tratado. Quiz esperan que les sobe la mano a los black republicans, y han perdido la esperanza de hacer que el Sr. Mata afloje porque no parece dispuesto a levantar casas cadas. Los black republicans se oponen al tratado ostensiblemente por que da al presidente el poder de mandar tropas sobre Mxico, pero en realidad por oponerse a Mr. Buchanan y porque la legacin mexicana no les ha sobado la mano. Si no fuera porque es cosa que veo con demasiado inters para burlarme, me divertira de ver esta gente, este congreso Americano, jugando al estira y afloja con el tratado. He ido algunas veces al Capitolio a ver el Congreso en sesin y tambin recorr todo el palacio hasta que me cans. Fui a la Cmara de los representativos a orles sus arengas y a la de los Senadores a or las suyas, Pero la verdad ninguno de ellos me hizo pensar en Demstenes. El capitolio es digno de verse, pero el tal congreso es para tapar orejas. Tambin he tenido el honor de haber sido presentada al Sr. Buchanan quien me recibi con mucho cario con su pequeo chueco y su ojo apagado. De veras Don Matas que el rgano de veneracin en mi cabeza debe ser pequeo. Al ver aqu tantos copetones me ha dado ms ganas de rer que respeto. La mitad de todo es humbug y la otra mitad? ay, Seor! ni me la miente. Cuando estbamos en New York tuvimos el gusto de hacer el conocimiento del Sr. Lerdo de Tejada. Fuimos a West Point juntos y durante el viaje me divert yo haciendo cartillas en el aire para Mxico y l rindose y ayudndome a hacerlos. El
237
me pregunt por Ud. y si lo conoca, y yo le dije que s, que Ud. es un amigo mo, entonces los dos hicimos muy buenas ausencias de Ud. Yo creo que el Sr. Lerdo es uno de los hombres ms capaces que Mxico ha tenido y tiene. Ojal que l sea el presidente despus de Jurez. Viernes23 de febrero No le quise acabar sta anteayer para contarle cmo pas la inauguracin de la estatua de Washington, pero como la funcin se les agu no tuvo todo el esplendor que se anticipaba. Sin embargo como salieron el presidente con el cuerpo diplomtico, los oficiales del ejrcito y marina y de los diferentes departamentos y varios regimientos de la milicia, entre ellos el celebrado 7 de New Yorkla cosa pas as, asEl Sr. Bocock [congresista de Virginia] pronunci una arenga, el presidente otra, la chusma grit, la estatua fue descubierta y saludada con la salva nacionaly se acab la fiestay todo era zoquete. El lunes prximo se va a empezar en el senado la discusin sobre el tratado con Mxico; las sesiones sern secretas y as no podremos or a los oradores, pero cada noche se sabe lo que ha pasado en el da. Parece que ahora hay mucha certeza o probabilidad de que pase porque hay en Washington unos cuantos con dinero que se van a empear para que se ratifique. Ahora volvamos a la Frontera y S. Diego. Segn s, Vidal anda otra vez con sus trcalas por S. Antonio y como es tan pcaro no hay cosa que l no sea capaz de hacer. As pues, don Matas, le voy a pedir a Ud. que me haga el favor de informarme bien de las pretensiones de Vidal y en qu las funda, y escribrmelo todo. Tambin espero de Ud.-como de un amigo mo-que si en alguna manera le es posible contrariar las picardas de Vidal que sern en mi perjuicio, que lo haga seguro que se lo agradecer mucho. Si ve Ud. a Loreto Ranc dgale que al salir de San Diego la busqu para darle el dinero que le debo pero que no la pude hallar; que el capitn sale de aqu en una semana y que luego que ella sepa que est en S. Diego que vaya a verlo para que se lo d. Cualquiera
238
otra noticia que Ud. crea puede interesarme espero no la omitir. Dele mis ms cariosas expresiones a Da. Prudenciana, a Da. Margarita y dems de casaCon Enrique les mandar el retrato de la nia. Nada me dice Ud. de si les entreg Eduardo el retrato nuestro, o si les gusta o no. A Reyes le mand otro y a Eulalia otro pero creo que se habrn extraviado. Enrique los saluda tambin.Creo que ahora s ya no se detendr ms pues yo ya estoy mejor y los nios tambin. Besitos a los chiquitos y los ms finos recuerdos de su poco afortunada pero buena amiga. M.A. de Burton E. B. Williston to Mr. Ames. 27 February 1860, Jamul, California Mr. Ames Dear Sir, I will be very much obliged to you if you will please let Salgado have one sack of flour. I take such constant advantage of your friendship that at times I feel you will get out of patience with me, but as you are aware of the way in which I am situated. I trust you will excuse me. Your friend, E. B. Williston E. B. Williston to Mr. Ames. 3 March 1860, Jamul, California Rancho Jamul, 3 March 1860 Mr. Ames Dear Sir, I am again obliged to request you to favor me by letting Federico have one sack of flour. If Henry dont come next steamer I shall in all human probability have the money to pay youif he does, then I shall have the real pleasure of paying all we owe you.
239
We had a very severe shock of an earthquake at 7:30 a.m., the most severe one I have yet felt in California. I shall be in on the fifth. Your friend, E. B. Williston MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 March 1860, Washington Estimado Don Guadalupe, Esperaba haber recibido carta de Ud. mucho antes de hoy, pero me enga. Por qu no me ha escrito? Es porque tiene que darme malas noticias y le da pena hacerlo? Sea lo que fuere lo que tenga que decirme, debe escribirme, y no dejarme creer que es poca gana. Cuando me escriba, dirija sus cartas a Fort MonroeOld Point ConfortVa.- Anteayer vi a Natalia y Mr. Frisbie; me dijeron que saldran pronto para California otra vez, lo que siento mucho porque casi se puede decir que no los he visto, tan de prisa, no me gusta, me da tristeza. Bueno, la inauguracin de Mr. Lincoln ha pasado sin novedad, y ha dado su primera public reception sin que lo hayan asesinado como amenazaban. El estado del pas contina en agitacin y el peligro de guerra todava hace temblar a las infelices que, como yo, tanto tendran que arriesgar. Nunca he deseado tanto que Enrique pudiera salir del ejrcito, pero no se puede, y as, paciencia como siempre! Natalia me dijo que Ud. dice que vendr en este ao a Estados Unidos. Si viene en el verano espero que no dejar de venir a Fort Monroe. Es un lugar muy agradable y muy concurrido en el verano por las Srtas. y caballeros que van a los baos. No deje de venir, y yo quiero tener el placer de presentarlo a Mr. y Mrs. Lincoln. Ella y yo somos muy buenas amigas y yo s muy bien que si yo lo presento ser muy bien recibido.Venga pronto. He visto varias veces a Mr. Arrington, el joven a quien Ud. le vendi el terreno de su via, y en una conversacin que tuvimos, sobre vias, y clima y frutas de California, yo le dije que
240
Ud. me ha prometido 12 acres de tierra en el Valle de Sonoma y l me ofreci encargarse de ellases decircercarlos y cuidar de que los Squatters no se los tomen, etc., etc. As pues, voy a hacer a Mr. Arrington mi agente y apoderarlo a recibir en mi nombre el terreno, y espero que Ud. no me har quedar mal (quedando mal Ud. mismo) sino que no me contar ms cuentos alegres hacindome creer en el tecolote. Luego que Mr. Arrington me escriba que ha recibido el ttulo de los 12 acres, yo procurar que sean cercados y via y rboles plantados. Algn da, cuando la suerte deje de perseguirnos algo, espero que se me realizar mi esperanza de hacer una casita en Sonoma y vivir all rodeada de rboles y flores. En el interim, paciencia, paciencia. Tengo que concluir sta. La sala est llena de gente y casi ni s lo que escribo. Anoche fuimos a la reception de Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln y de all a un baile y no vinimos sino hasta despus de las tres, de modo que ahora no me siento muy brillante. Tambin tengo que concluirla para que salga en correo de hoy. Enrique no est aqu, yo vine a hacer una visita y vuelvo a Fort Monroe pasado maana. Dele mil amores a mi prima y las muchachas y muchachosEscrbame luego y dgame como le va con el pleito de Petaluma,Cmo le va de todo. Mr. Frisbie me dice que han suspendido el camino de fierro. Lo siento muchsimo y espero que pronto seguirn adelante. Adis . . . Si no me escribe pronto ya no le vuelvo a escribir ms, y me sentir mucho. Su muy afa. amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 23 June 1860, Norwich, Vermont Cuntos cambios en el corto espacio de un solo ao Una sola vuelta alrededor del sol y es tan penosa la vista retrospectiva, que no quiero mirarla! Qu mentira es esa de llamar memoria feliz la facultad de no olvidar a pesar de uno mismo! Hoy hace un ao que sal de Jamul, pobre Jamul, cun grabado est en mi memoria! Con sus lomitas pedregosas, sus
241
tristes, oscuros, encinos; Y la casa con mi jardincito enfrente de la ventana a donde yo me sentaba a leer o escribir. Varias veces le escrib a Ud. de all, dnde estn ahora esas cartas, Don Guadalupe? las ha rompido [sic]Ud.? Yo estuve leyendo hoy las que Ud. me escribi cuando yo estaba en Jamul y su lectura me hizo decidirme a escribirle sta. No parece natural, ni verosmil que toda la sincera amistad y buen cario en ella expresados hayan sido del todo falsos, no, Qu inters podra haber Ud. tenido en parecer buen amigo sin serlo de corazn? Yo no tengo ni riqueza ni poder, que es lo que atrae a los que noms pretenden buena voluntad. As pues, me dije a m misma, Escribir hoy mismo a Don Guadalupe y le pedir que si en ese desgraciado negocio recomendado a l a nuestra salida de San Francisco lo puedo yo culpar, que me lo diga con su franqueza natural para perdonarlo. Bastante tiempo ha transcurrido para que el disappointment no sea tan penoso. Pero si nada hay que perdonar y todo puede aun ser explicado satisfactoriamente, entonces, con cuanto placer volver a pensar en uno de mis mejores amigos, y la nube que vino a oscurecer el horizonte de nuestra amistad, ser no ms una de esas nubes de verano que viniera a purificar la atmsfera y cuando se descargan dejan el aire ms puro, la naturaleza ms risuea.Luego que form esta resolucin, tom la pluma para escribirle sta, antes que pase este impulso, antes que la duda, la desconfianza vengan otra vez a interponerse sugirindome todo lo ms triste que en ese mal hallado negocio se puede pensar. Ud. recibir esta carta (no hay riesgo de extravo) y luego que la reciba tome la pluma y escrbame con franqueza, no importa retrica ni composicin, slo quiero franqueza, saber que ni Ud. ni mi prima ni los muchachos y muchachas no me han olvidado del todo, que todava retienen mi memoria con el antiguo cario, esto no ms quiero saber. Yo me acuerdo mucho de todos Uds. y me he acordado desde que sal de California, particularmente en el invierno pasado en Washington, mucho habra yo querido que Ud.
242
hubiera estado all. Fui a varias de las receptions del presidente, y M[rs]. Linc[oln], algunas de las esposas de Senadores y miembros del gabinete. Tambin fui al Capitolio a or los discursos de los Sres. Davis, Hughes, Sumner, Hammond, etc., etc. No puedo decir que la elocuencia me hizo imaginar que estaba oyendo a Demstenes cuando Philip amenazaba a Atenas, not a bit of it, pero como llevaba mi opera glass, me divert mirando la concurrencia en las galeras. Ahora Washington est muy solitome escriben de alldesde que el Congreso adjourned. Yo ya va para un mes que sal de all, me detuve dos semanas en New York y hace cosa de dos semanas que estoy aqu donde pienso estar hasta que mi esposo vuelva de California. Durante el verano el campo es mucho ms agradable para vivir que las ciudades, y casi la mitad de la gente se viene a los campos a vivir. Este pueblito es muy bonito en el verano. Est rodeado de rboles, situado junto al ro Connecticut a la margen del cual yo me siento casi todas las tardes a soar despierta. Yo creo que estoy enamorada del ro y si fuera en tiempos mitolgicos no hay duda que el Dios del Connecticut respondera mis suspiros. Pero ya pasaron esos tiempos felices en donde uno poda agarrar a los Dioses de los cabellos. En estos tiempos de railroads y magnetic telegraphs no hay esperanza de volverse uno ninfa ms que uno se enamore de los ros, ms fcil sera volverse rana, yo creo, y tal vez desaparecer en las muelas de algn francs. Yo creo que pasar aqu todo el verano porque no es probable que mi esposo pueda venir tan pronto como creamos. En consecuencia de los alborotos en la frontera nos ser necesario suspender operaciones all, hasta saber aqu que aquello est ms quieto. Todo est listo para comenzar la empresa de que habl a Ud.(cuando me dijo que tena el alma atravesada) y slo los desrdenes de Esparza nos detienen ahora. El gobierno liberal nos ha concedido usar el puerto de la Ensenada como puerto de entrada y tambin importar libres de
243
impuestos todo lo necesario para el laborio de minas y exportar (libres tambin) todos los metales que saquemos de las minas en San Antonio. Tenemos hecha una contrata con una Compaa en Baltimore para trabajar esas minas y ahora nos vemos obligados a esperar porque esos bribones de la Frontera siguen con sus estpidas picardas. Ah! que no haya un solo hombre capaz de mirar ms all de donde est parado y con 30 hombres hacerse dueo de ese pas que slo necesita brazos fuertes, guiados por una cabeza clara y previsora, para convertir esa aridez en jardines, esos pedregales en oro! Pero no lo hay, la anarqua los ha enerciado a todos, y Uds. los californios del Alta, miran con aptica indiferencia el pas que antes llamaron suyo, y nadie se mueve. No slo porque se retarda un negocio que para nosotros sera tan lucrativo, siento yo que la Frontera se halle en ese estado de anarqua, lo siento tambin por que nunca ella habr tenido una oportunidad mejor que sta, de mejor[ar] su miserable condicin. Todos los que tenemos propiedad all seramos beneficiados si capital e industria se introdujesen en el pas, y slo por un puado de estpidos, abyectos, bribones, todos tenemos que esperar, Ay!, y quin sabe si la buena ocasin pase pues no es probable que estos Sres. quieran detener ese capital y quin sabe hasta cundo esos alborotos cesarn. Yo s bien que sera muy fcil manejarlo todo en la Frontera con slo el hecho de ir all con capital, y la misma fuerza necesaria para el laborio de las minas, impondra suficiente respeto para impedir atentados violentos. De una vez comenzado el trabajo todo ira bien pues tenemos el apoyo del gobierno liberal y el del territorio tambin. No es esto bastante hacer que le enoje un tanto, que teniendo todas estas ventajas no ms el temor de esos miserables tontos detienen una empresa tan bien proyectada? As es, los Sres. en Baltimore han odo que en la Frontera un hombre ha levantado tropas y est fusilando y confiriendo propiedades a troche moche, y creen que para poder comenzar a trabajar las minas sera necesario mantener una fuerza armada.
244
La distancia magnifica los hechos de tal manera que Esparza con un puado de hambrientos es representado aqu como un hombre que puede con sus tropas oponerse con facilidad al gobierno, pero no saben que slo es fuerte porque nadie le hace caso. Con el hecho de abrir el puerto de la Ensenada para importar y exportar por all lo de nuestra compaa, ya la Frontera se podra considerar con un puerto de entrada, y no slo para nosotros sera provechoso, aunque s tenemos el privilegio de importar y exportar sin pagar impuestos. Hay en Baltimore una compaa que trabaja los metales de cobre que est lista a comprar todos los que le mandramos, pero todo tiene que suspenderse por esos alborotosPero Ud. quiz ya sabe todo lo que he estado refirindole, pues a la hora de sta mi esposo ya estar en San Francisco y espero que ya Ud. lo habr visto, y l le habr contado todo esto. Ahora que ya he llenado 6 pginas hablando de m y mis negocios, espero podr preguntar por los de Ud. Nada he odo de su proyecto de traer el camino de fierro a Vallejo. Lo ha suspendido o abandonado? Cmo le ha ido con sus vias? Y cmo por fin, le fue con el Baron Mornier, consigui buen ttulo del terreno que le compr? Cmo le va a los Frisbies? Escrbame largo y dgamelo todo, Cmo est mi prima y los muchachos? qu ha hecho de Platn? si lo va a poner en el colegio o ya acab sus estudios. Dgale a Natalia que si se quiere venir a pasear que se venga con mi esposo a su vuelta, yo har las veces de madre cuando llegue aqu. Ud. tambin es necesario que se venga a dar una paseada, que pase un invierno en Washington, y vea qu gran humbug es esta Yankie nation. Un humbug tan sistemado [sic] y bien sostenido que aun ellos mismos casi lo creen. Mucho hay que ver en E. U. y mucho que hace pensar, particularmente si uno empieza a hacer comparaciones. Realmente para apreciar bien una cosa es necesario mirar bien otra. Creo que lo mejor que yo puedo hacer es escribir un libro. Qu tal? No lo leera? No quiere que lo haga uno de mis hroes? Las esce-
245
nas deben ser en California, el contexto y diferencias de las dos razas es un gran tema. Si no quiere que lo ponga en mi libro dgamelo con tiempo, o si no, hay [sic] se ver, plantado en un lugar prominente cuando menos lo piense.Dele muy cariosos saludos por m a mi prima y los muchachas y muchachos. Dgame, recibi Ud. una carta que le escrib en el mes de agosto pasado? Hasta ahora no he tenido ms carta de Ud. que un billetito que escribi el mismo da que salimos de S. Francisco, el cual recib en el mes de diciembre, seis meses despus de escrito. Esta circunstancia me ha hecho pensar que tal vez Ud. me ha escrito despus y la carta anda extraviada, o que tal vez la ma se perdi. Ahora saldr de dudas, pues sta no se extraviar. Ya lleg a la esquinita. Adis, ojal que no sea para siempre. Yo espero que no, sino que en 18 meses nos veremos otra vez. M.A. de Burton Su mejor amiga se qued en el tintero, ya ir en otra cuando Ud. me conteste. E. B. Williston to E. W. Morse. 19 November 1860, San Diego, California San Diego, 19 November 1860 Friend Morse, Yours of November 14th was duly received and I can assure you that I shall not go away without paying you, for you need the money and I feel myself under great obligations to you for your kindness. Last steamer I received a letter from Henry in which he says that he will send the money next boat but if he dont I have made arrangements with Mr. Hinton and he will pay if it comes to the worst. I shant go until next boat which probably wont come until December. I remain as ever, your friend, E. Bancroft Williston
246
E. B. Williston to E. W. Morse. 2 January 1861, San Francisco, California San Francisco, California 2 February 1861 Mr. Morse My Dear Sir, Yours of January 11th reached me in Sacramento where I had gone hoping to find some employment but in which I failed. God knows how anxious I am to pay you but I cannot borrow the money here now for never perhaps has money been so hard to get owing to this infernal secession movement. I know you needed the money but not that you had been paying interest. I havent got 10 dollars in the world, but believe me that the first money I can get hold of shall go to you. I feel this more than words can express and I hope you will have a little patience for my delay is in no way caused by my own fault. I havent received any money from the East but I hope Henry will soon make some arrangements to pay what he owes, for many reasons. This debt I feel personally bound to pay although it really is his as the money was expended on his account. Rest assured I will do everything in my power and send you the money the moment I can raise it. That you can judge of money matters I would say that Paymasters refuse to cash U.S. Treasury Drafts and money has been loaned at 5% per month. Yours sincerely, E. B. Williston E. B. Williston to E. W. Morse. 4 January 1861, San Francisco, California San Francisco, California 4 January 1861 My Dear Friend, I never took my pen to write to anyone with such a feeling of shame and sorrow as I do now to you and for the reason
247
that I feel deeply your kindness to me and am so sorry that it is out of my power to return the compliment. I stayed in San Diego as long as I could and I knew that my remaining there was of no use. The sum I owed you and still owe has caused me the greatest unhappiness because, lent to me as it was, I consider it not only a just debt but one of honor and would almost have given my eye to have paid it. It is really a debt of the Captains, contracted for him and he promised me the money, but anyway, as soon as I can raise the sum no matter where I am I shall send it to you. If you knew how I feel about this subject you would not blame me. I have not resided in California long enough to be able to owe money and feel at ease, and hardly anyone under the circumstances could feel otherwise than I do. Please have a little patience and believe me that on my word of honor as a gentleman you shall lose not one cent but shall be paid the moment I can raise the money. Yours sincerely, E. B. Williston E. B. Williston to E. W. Morse. 29 September 1861, San Francisco, California Mr. Morse, I have received a commission in the 2nd artillery US Army and been ordered East. I have endeavored to raise the money but the danger of being killed has prevented me. Major Burton will pay you if possible and I will so soon as I can raise the money East or take it from my pay if he dont for I feel bound in all honor to pay you although I am really not the one upon whom the debt falls. Allow me to express my shame that I have been perfectly unable to send it before. Yours truly, E. B. Williston
248
E. B. Williston to E. W. Morse. 7 October 1861, San Francisco, California Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Harbor, 7 October 1861 Mr. E. W. Morse Dear Sir, Your note addressed to Major Burton of September 27th came duly to hand and as I have not as yet started for the Eastern States as you have been informed, being temporarily assigned to this post for duty, he gave the note to me. I can only say as I did in my previous letter to you that I am very sorry that I have heretofore been unable to pay the amount you so kindly loaned to me in August 1859 but circumstances beyond have prevented it. I shall in the course of a day or two place with R.C. Raimond my pay account for November next ensuing. They will amount to $108.00 more or less. If I can even pay you a fair rate of interest on the amount also this I will do so. This account falls due on December 1st. Please give my note to Mr. Pendleton or better to myself. Trusting that you will be satisfied with this arrangement and forgive my involuntary delay, I remain, yours truly, Edward B. Williston M. G. Vallejo to MARB. 11 October 1861, San Francisco Doa Amparo, Sin embargo de su silencio, an quiero, sin temor de disgustarla, dirigirle mis letras para decirle que le suplico, mal dije, la conjuro en nombre de . . . Ud., suspenda ese juicio con respecto al asunto que Ud. sabe. Si Ud. me escribe otra vez hgalo pronto en nombre del cielo, dndome la direccin de sus cartas. S que Ud. se halla buena con sus familiares en Washington que goza del favor del Presidente etc. etc. lo que me llena de orgullo. Alf. Green me ha hecho, desde que Ud. se fue, una persecucin a muerte y hoy o maana espero la decisin de Petaluma, despus de 18 meses!
249
El portavoz de cita es D. Thomas Madden, muy buen sujeto, su objeto, entre otros es acercarse al gobierno y desmisar el caso de Soscol, que tambin ha costado mil surprises el poder detenerlo, batiendo a los squatters, a los abogados y al maldito attorney general, Mr. Black. Si llega el caso de que Mr. Madden le hable sobre esto, le suplico no echar en olvido que somos amigosArlington nada hizo y yo tengo an posesin de [unos] solares en Sonoma. Qu hago con ellos? Cmo va de guerra? Qu hacen Uds. en Washington? Mi familia est buena y esperando que la suya tambin lo est, quedo como siempre de Ud. su atentsimo SS. EE. etc etc. M.G.Vallejo P.D. El Pony no cuesta mucho, escrbame por l y yo har lo mismo. Fortuna! Ud. est en Washington rodeado de amigos nuevos. E. B. Williston to E. W. Morse. 21 October 1861, San Francisco, California Island, 21 October 1861 My Dear Sir, I send by E. Vanvalkingburg my pay accounts for November next ensuing amounting to $115.00 payable to your order. Allow me to say that I have done this as the only means in my power to liquidate my indebtedness to you and I repeat I am very grateful to you for your kindness. Please send my note to Major Burton. Im off to Washington in ten minutes, the boats coming. Yours very truly, Edward B. Williston MARB to Matas Moreno. 24 December 1861, Baltimore Estimado Don Matas, No ha sido falta de gratitud la que me ha hecho posponer darle mis ms sinceras gracias (que ahora le reitero) por su
250
bondad en mandarme el informe, el cual recib en octubre. Pero no le haba escrito otra vez esperando poder decirle algo ms favorable con respecto a nuestro plan minero. La desgraciada guerra civil ha venido a trastornarlo todo, y de este modo todos los negocios estn o paralizados o entorpecidos, y el nuestro no ha sido exceptuado. Sin embargo, si conseguimos una cantidad bastante considerable de metales creo que podramos seguir adelante a pesar de todas estas adversas circunstancias. Con este objeto, yo quiero Don Matas, que Ud. me haga otro favor ms, (si no es pedirle demasiado a su amistad) aadiendo otra obligacin a las muchas de que le soy deudora. Quiero que Ud. me diga cuntas toneladas de metales Ud. calcula que habr sacadas de las minas, y qu clase de metales son. Aunque Ud. no es mineralogista, yo creo que podr describir bien el carcter de los metales que estn amontonados afuera de las minas, y tambin la cantidad de toneladas que se pudieran juntar. Ud. me dice en su ltima carta que le diga yo qu es lo que yo preferira que Ud. dijera en su informe y por eso ahora me tomo la libertad de pedirle esto. Ojal que Ud. hubiera hecho mencin en su informe de esos metales ya sacados, eso habra sido muy favorable como tambin decir algo ms del carcter mineral del terreno. No crea porque digo esto que no estoy satisfecha. Al contrario, y le aseguro que nunca olvidar su cario. Cuando Ud. haya visto los metales ya sacados y abandonados en S. Antonio, espero que me escriba luego luego, lo ms pronto posible dndome su opinin sobre ellos. Tambin dgame si (en caso que valgan la pena) se podr hallar alguna persona en la Frontera o en San Diego que pueda llevarlos a la Ensenada o Sauzal de Camacho, y siendo as, cunto pedir por cada tonelada. Creo que aunque sea despacio y haciendo un solo viaje (al da de ida y venida) se podran acarrear con carretas de bueyes y pagando un precio justo me parece debe encontrarse alguno que quisiera acarrearlos. Le hago este encargo, bajo la suposicin de que las leyes sabias y justas (?) de minera no me prohibirn disponer de
251
metales dejados en mi propiedad. Pero si las leyes de minera requieren que dichos metales con sus correspondientes minas sean denunciadas, entonces espero que Ud. le permita a Federico o a Salgado hacer la denuncia por m, y para el efecto le ruego me haga el favor de escribirle a Federico qu es lo que se debe hacer, [para] ser favorecido y no oprimido por la ley. Es de suma importancia traer una cantidad bastante grande de metales aqu, todos los que podamos. En tal caso, creo que s podramos emprender ventajosamente el laborio de las minas. Ud. no slo como mi buen amigo, sino en compasin a la Frontera, debe ayudarme todo lo que pueda, y s que lo har y por eso no me detengo en hacerles todos estos encargos. Con esta misma fecha le escribir a Enrique sobre esto y Ud. comunquele a l luego, luego (y a m tambin) el resultado de su inspeccin. Entonces(despus que Ud. haya dicho cuantas toneladas puede haber; si es que se podrn llevar al embarcadero; a qu precio; y qu clase, qu ley, parecen tener etc. etc.) tendremos que pagarle a alguien para que toque al embarcadero por los metales o si no, llevarlos a San Francisco y de all traerlos aqu. Esto sin embargo, consistir en la cantidad que fuesen. Tambin es de muchsima importancia no embarcar metales de una ley muy inferior, pues eso no slo nos causara perder todo el dinero empleado en su transportacin, sino que tambin desacreditara a las minas todas, y nadie querra emprender su laborio. Siento que por la distancia tengamos que perder tanto tiempo antes de siquiera recibir una respuesta. Pero si la informacin que Ud. nos pueda dar con respecto a la cantidad y ley de los metales; y de si puedo yo tomarlos como duea del terreno o como denunciante; y de si hay quien los acarree a la playa, etc. Si puede todo esto ser favorable yo le dir a Enrique que nos lo avise por telgrafo; para de este modo salvar algn tiempo. Siento Don Matas que no me haya escrito en tanto tiempo. Enrique tambin se queja que Ud. no le escribe. Espero
252
que la soledad no lo ha[ya] hecho tan misntropo que ya ni escribir quiera a sus amigos. Cuidado que puede ser que yo vuelva pronto a California y entonces seguro que me peleo con Ud.; porque no me escribe ahora. No se me ha olvidado an la petulancia que tuvimos con respecto a correspondencias epistolares. Se acuerda? Qu injusto fue Ud. siempre conmigo. Pero ya lo he perdonado todo, porque creo que a pesar de todo, siempre ha sido mi fiel amigo. Escrbame luego que reciba sta y dgame cmo est Da. Prudenciana y los chiquitos. Piensa UD. estar algn tiempo en la frontera? Las noticias de Mxico son bien tristes. Ayer recib una carta del Sr. Mata (fue ministro aqu en tiempo de Buchanan) y otra de Mr. Plumb, uno de los secretarios de Mr. Corwine. Los dos dicen que las cosas pblicas se empeoran cada da. [El] Sr. Mata habla de otra vez dejar el hogar para ir a romperse la cabeza con los hijos de Pelayo. Es una invasin tan injusta como lo fue la americana. Se necesita tener mucha fe para no desesperar a veces de la justicia divina. Pero Dios tiene el destino de las naciones en sus manos. Paciencia! Saldeme con mucho cario a Da. Prudenciana y a Da. Margarita y dems conocidas. Besos a las nias. Espero Don Matas que me escribir pronto dicindome lo que podremos hacer o no. Adis por ahora.Su fiel amiga. M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 8 January 1862, Baltimore Mi siempre estimado Don Matas, Por temor de que mi anterior se vaya a extraviar, le escribo sta para repetirle lo que en la otra le pido. Es de suma importancia que le explique lo que le digo antes, y as espero que excuse si lo repito aqu. Quiero, Don Matas, que me haga el favor de facilitar en todo lo que est en su poder el embarque de los metales que hay sacados y abandonados junto a las
253
minas. Si consigo que esos metales sean trados aqu y rinden siquiera un quince por ciento, entonces creo que no habr duda ni dificultad en emprender el laborio de las minas inmediatamente. A Ud. no se le puede escapar lo ventajoso que ser para toda la Frontera que algn capital y comercio sea introducido, y a esto, unido al inters que espero Ud. se tomar en m, como en una amiga y paisana, no puedo menos de esperar que Ud. se esforzar en cooperar con nosotros para hacer que todos los mejores metales sacados, sean embarcados de mi cuenta. Ya le digo en mi anterior, que si para poder tomar o denunciar algunas de las minas, que espero que Ud. le permitir a Federico mi hermano, o a Salgado u otro amigo de confianza que haga la denuncia por m, en mi nombre. Escrbale a mi esposo inmediatamente las dificultades que sea necesario vencer y todo lo que sea necesario hacerse. Mi esposo mandar de S. Francisco un hombre competente para examinar esos metales y decir si valdrn la pena y gasto de hacerlos traer para hacer el ensayo de su ley, o calidad aqu, y entonces proseguir con el laborio. Le hablo a Ud. con toda la confianza en un buen amigo que creo me servir con toda voluntad y por eso antes de recibir su respuesta, y slo confiando en los ofrecimientos que me ha hecho antes, he dicho a los capitalistas (o a su agente) que van a emprender el laborio (despus que los metales sean examinados) que Ud. es un amigo mo que cooperar con nosotros de buena voluntad y nos ayudar en todo lo que le sea posible. He hecho bien en confiar as? [margin:] La principal razn porque es de tanta importancia tan gran nmero de toneladas como sea posible juntarse y exportarse es porque mientras ms metales se ponen a prueba, mejor se podr juzgar de la riqueza de la mina, y la empresa parecer ms segura y los metales ayudan a pagar los gastos. Enrique le escribir tambin a Ud. y espero que entre los dos harn que esos metales sean embarcados sin prdida de tiempo. Yo creo que Ud. podr mejor que ningn otro hallar una persona que se comprometa a acarrearlos al embarcadero,
254
y Enrique mandar de S. Francisco un hombre que los examine antes de acarrearlos. Yo creo que aunque despacio, se podrn acarrear con carretas de bueyes, aunque no hagan ms que un viaje de ida y venida al da poniendo dos o tres carretas a acarrearlas, en poco tiempo los podrn llevar todos. En mi anterior ya le digo y repito lo muy agradecida que estoy por el informe que dio sobre mi propiedad y espero que algn da podr probarle mi reconocimiento. Muy cariosas expresiones a Da. Prudenciana y dems de familia. Adis por ahora. Su afa. y agradecida amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 9 April 1862, Baltimore Estimado Don Matas, Esta es la tercera carta que le he escrito desde el mes de enero pero hasta ahora no he recibido contestacin a las otras. No s qu pensar de su silencio pues es ya bastante tiempo para que pudiera haber recibido respuesta. Espero que luego, luego que reciba sta me la conteste, pues urge mucho su contestacin. Dgame tan pronto como sea posible si ser practicable el mandar por los pocos metales que hay sacados y abandonados junto a las minas en San Antonio, para hacer un ensayo en escala ms grande y en caso de un resultado bastante favorable formar inmediatamente una compaa para el laborio. Aprese a ayudarle a Enrique a mandarme esos metales. Estamos esperndolos con mucha ansia pues de ese ensayo todo depende. Me desespero al ver la tibieza con que Ud. recibe mis urgentes splicas, sin al parecer importarle ni mis ruegos ni la prdida de un tiempo precioso y una oportunidad que tal vez nunca se me presentar otra vez. As pues si es Ud. un verdadero amigo mo, y si quiere volver a verme en California, apresrese a mandar esos metales.. Si los manda y su resultado es bastante favorable, creo que yo misma ir a California.
255
Si no fuera por esperar esos metales tal vez me habra ido en este mes. Pero si me voy antes que lleguen y sean examinados, tal vez todo ser abandonado pues nadie toma el inters que yo en llevar a cabo la empresa. Escrbame lo ms pronto posible y dgame el estado de la Frontera y toda la Baja California, etc. En mis anteriores yo le expliqu para qu y de qu modo quiero que nos mande los metales que Ud. pueda juntar de las minas de San Antonio. Es decir, los mejores metales, pues no queremos pagar para que nos traigan piedras desde esa distancia. Ahora le escribo sta para urgirle lo importante que es el que se apresure a hacerme ese favor sicomo ya dije quiere volverme a ver. Mil amores a Da. Prudenciana y los nios. Saludes a los amigos y amigasEscrbame pronto; estoy muy de prisa. Su afa. amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 30 June 1862 and 7 July 1862, Baltimore Mi muy apreciado Don Matas, Anteayerel 28 de juniorecib la muy grata de Ud. fechada22 de diciembre de 1861!Esta es la nica que he recibido de Ud. desde el mes de julio pasado, ya casi un ao! Por supuesto no creo que sta haya sido la nica que Ud. me haya escrito, pero es probable que las otras se han extraviado o quiz las recibir despus, como ahora parece que se van a regular mejor los correos entre aqu y San Francisco. Las noticias tristes que me da de su familia las haba ya recibido por cartas de Federico pero aunque no me era nuevo su dolor, me caus mucha pena ver por su carta como lo ha afectado a Ud.La soledad que lo rodea da pbulo a su tristeza. Si Ud. tuviera necesidad de ocupar todas las facultades de su nimo en alguna empresa que requiriera toda su energa y la concentracin de todo su poder intelectual, entonces su alma ha-
256
llara un desahogo apropiado a s misma. Muy triste es tener el alma ms grande que la esfera a que est destinada a limitarse! La mujer muchas veces se ve as condenada, y de cuando en cuando algn hombre desgraciado. Pero el hombre, casi siempre tienede un modo u otrosu destino en su propia mano, y Ud. an en ese miserable rincn, puede crearse para s un destinoun lugar en la memoria de sus conciudadanos. No desespere ni pierda la paciencia. Ojal que yo hubiera recibido su carta antes, yo misma habra escrito al Sr. Mata a Mxico o al Sr. Romero en Washington. Pero an no es tarde (si es que Ud. no se ha ido de la Frontera). Luego que llegue aqu el mayor ir con l a Washington y le preguntar a Romero qu es lo que l puede hacer por la pobre Frontera. Este Sr. Romero es el Ministro de Mxico en Washington y es un joven de talento y excelentes cualidades. El era secretario de la Legacin cuando mi compadre Mata era el Ministro, pero ahora Romero ha sido nombrado Ministro. Yo lo conozco muy bien y siempre conversamos los dos con franqueza como buenos paisanos, y ahora le instar a que haga representaciones al gobierno para habitar la Ensenada. Ojal que yo supiera lo que Ud. desea que el gobierno le conceda a la Frontera pues entonces podra argir con ms certeza. Tambin podra hacer que el mayor le escribiera al Sr. Jurez, sobre eso mismo, pues como l conoce a Jurez personalmente y como interesado en la prosperidad de la Frontera (siendo mi esposo y teniendo yo propiedad all) l podra demostrar a Jurez la justicia y lo ventajoso que ser conceder algo de libertad y privilegios a esa parte del pas. Escrbame largo luego, luego que reciba sta. Mande su carta al Mayor Ringgold a San Francisco y l me la despachar a mi. Escrbame largo dicindome qu es lo Ud. quisiera que el gobierno conceda a la Frontera. Si le parece bien, escrbale a Romero tambin y mndeme a m la carta; yo se la entregar a l. Dentro de uno o dos das creo que Enrique llegar aqu. Entonces inmediatamente iremos a Washington y yo le dir a Romero que espere carta de Ud., que yo le he aconsejado a Ud. que le
257
escriba porque la comunicacin a veces es ms segura por Panam, y tambin porque creo que l (Romero) se interesar por la pobre Frontera y le ayudar a Ud. con su influjo a conseguir algunas concesiones en favor de ese infeliz pas. Como la carta de Ud. es de una fecha tan atrasada (seis meses) no s si a la fecha ya Ud. habr cambiado sus planes, y quiz dejado la Frontera. Espero que no, pues si Ud. sale de all, no habr esperanza de la ms pequea reforma por muchos aos. Ojal que Ud. hubiera estado all en 1859 y 1860 antes que la guerra civil comenzara en este pas. Entonces creo que mis malhadados planes mineros no se habran demorado cual ahora. Sin embargo y a pesar de la guerra, creo que podramos haber hecho algn comienzo si hubiera yo conseguido que todos los metales abandonados en S. Antonio me los hubiera Ud. mandadocomo yo le dije antespara hacer un examen de todos ellos en una escala bastante grande para tomar una idea algo correcta de la calidad y ley de todos los descubiertos. Pero parece que an las hadas estn en contra ma; pues aunque le escrib al mayor en enero que mandar por esos metales y le escribiera a Ud. pidiendo su ayuda y cooperacin, hasta ahora no he tenido contestacin alguna ni de Ud. ni del mayor. As pues, no se queje Ud. de m de que no haya procurado ayudarle a dar a la pobre Frontera algn impulso de vida. Ese ha sido mi constante deseo, pero me es imposible hacer cosa alguna sin cooperacin de otros. Cuando llegue Enrique sabr cul fue la razn que se frustrara mi plan de hacer traer los metales que se hallan all (en San Antonio) abandonados. No creo que Ud. se opondra(?) a que los embarcaran, porque como ya le dije en mis anteriores, yo le daba a Federico o Salgado el poder de hacer denuncia (de las minas a que los metales perteneciesen) en mi nombre, es decir, si Ud. deca que tal denuncia era necesaria. Todos estos 5 meses he permanecido yo aqu como los nios del Limbo, muy inocente y a obscuras, esperando saber si los tales metales vendran o no. Enrique me dice en una de sus
258
ltimas cartas que l cree que las cartas a Ud. han sido interceptadas porque no reciba contestacin alguna de Ud. Si esto es as, a eso quiz dbese atribuir el que ninguna respuesta sobre ese particular haya llegado a mis manos. Pero no es tarde aun, si puedo conseguir establecer comunicacin regular con Ud.-Creo que lo podremos hacer por medio del Mayor Ringgold en San Francisco o el Capitn Winder (el mismo que Ud. conoce, que se interes en las minas de San Isidro) quien est estacionado en la Fortaleza de la Isla de Alcatraz, en la baha de San Francisco. Si mis cartas le llegan a Ud. con regularidad y sus respuestas a m de la misma manera, creo que todava podremos hacer algo por la Frontera. Luego que reciba sta, dgame todo con respecto a lo que quiere que el gobierno haga por la Fronteratodo en pormenor. En la misma fecha me dice tambin si podr disponer de los metales esos abandonados, y si Ud. est dispuesto a cooperar conmigo para llevar adelante esa infeliz empresa minera ma. Si yo llevo a cabo, o mejor, si siquiera comenzramos nuestra empresa, podr yo, bajo el nombre del mayor dirigirme a Jurez en persona, para hablarle en favor de la Frontera. Tengo varios conocidos en Washington que son amigos de Mr. Corwin, y tal vez ese influjo no estara de ms tampoco. Digo bajo el nombre de mi esposo, porque o sera bajo su sancin o l mismo como representando mi inters. Y as, mientras ms inters tenga yo en la Frontera ms derecho parecer asistirme en hacer cualquiera representacin al Sr. Jurez en favor de la Frontera. No s si me habr explicado, pero creo que Ud. comprender mi idea. En cuanto al artculo que me incluye con respecto a Cave Couts, como ya han pasado seis meses desde que Ud. lo escribi, no s si todava Ud. quiere que se lo traduzca. Mi opinin es, que sera mejor que Ud. le ridiculizara de una manera tan picante que hiciera rer a todo el mundo y rabiar al bribn asesino. Personas como Couts se alegran de entrar en cualquiera polmica con un caballero, porque aunque salgan pateados nunca pierden nada y siempre les orgullece el
259
honor de haber tenido por adversario a un hombre de honor. Se me viene ahora a la memoria una especie de farsa o sainete que vi representar hace pocos meses. Creo que se titulaba El abogado de Pueblo. El hroe era un abogado muy entremetido que siempre andaba comprando pleitos y queriendo meterse en enredos con gente de calidad. Cuando nada poda entracalarles deca algo para hacerlos enojar y luego que deca alguna cosa se levantaba las faldas de la levita listo a recibir cuantos latigazos quisieran darle. Cuando no le pegaban deca que eran unos miserables que no queran gastar la pequea suma que el pedira de damagesperjuiciospor la suma que estaba listo a sufrir, etc. En consecuencia, dentro de poco todo el mundo saba que poda azotarlo pero lo despreciaban tanto que ni azotarlo queran, porque habra sido una vergenza para el que lo azotara y una honra para el abogado. Hay veces que la bajeza de una persona llega a ser su mejor proteccin. As pues, me parece que publicar aqu tal carta tan lejos y despus de haber pasado tanto tiempo, sera darle a Couts una celebridad que aunque para otros sea desagradable y oprobiosa, para l sera muy honrosa y a ms ya sabe Ud. que su mana de l es salir en los papeles pblicos, pues ama en extremo la notoriedad. Sin embargo de todo, si todava Ud. quiere que le haga la traduccin de cualquier carta o artculo, lo har con placer, y puede Ud. mandarlos a San Francisco al mayor Ringgold o Winder y ellos me los remitirn con seguridad. 7 de julio de 1862 Suspend sta porque escrib a Romero a Washington sobre ese negocio de la habilitacin del puerto de la Ensenada, y no recib su respuesta hasta despus que el correo haba salido. Romero dice que l est seguro de la disposicin del gobierno a hacer amplias concesiones a la Frontera. Yo s que uno puede fiarse a ojos cerrados en lo que Romero diga, y creo que si Ud. hace representaciones al gobierno y las manda aqu para que Romero las despache adelante, sern atendidas. No se puede Ud. figurar lo que siento no haber recibido su carta
260
antes, o haber recibido alguna otra, etc. en donde Ud. me explique ms sucintamente qu es lo que quiere que el gobierno conceda a la Frontera.No piensa Ud. que sera bien que yo como duea (de 3/4 partes) hiciera representacin y Ud. como subjefe la recomendara? Si le parece a Ud. bien, hgame un borrador de mi solicitud y haga su recomendacin y mndemelos y yo me encargar de su despacho. Al mismo tiempo puede Ud. escribirle al Sr. Romero sobre cualquiera otro negocio de la Frontera que quiera se interese en allanar o conseguir del Supremo Gobierno. Me parece que se ser un medio seguro de que Ud. consiga se habilite la Ensenada. Pero le encargo que nada les deje saber a la ta Salvadora y sus lindos yernos porque se pondrn a soar en un Potos y comenzarn con pleitos conmigo. No los temo pero no quiero esa molestia intil. Y ahora, adis, es necesario que le d fin a sta pues ya estar Ud. cansado de leerla. Dele mis ms cariosos recuerdos a Doa Prudenciana, Da. Margarita y dems conocidos que no me hayan olvidado. Espero en Dios que sta lo hallar ms reconciliado con sus dolores y con ms quietud en su nimo. Tenga un poco de paciencia y si es que con habilitar la Ensenada se remedie algo la Frontera, est Ud. seguro que los esfuerzos concentrados de muchas personas de influencia se reunirn para conseguirlo. Escrbame como le digo. Ya le avisar yo a Ringgold. Mndele a l sus cartas. Adis. Su afa. y fiel amiga. M.A. de Burton No deje de escribirme inmediatamente dicindome si los metales que fueron dejados abandonados en mi terreno estn all an. Dgame tambin la cantidad que Ud. cree puede ser, y si podr yo mandar por ellos para hacer un examen de ellos. Mientras no pueda yo conseguir que se traigan esos metales es imposible comenzar el laborio de las minas, imposible. [ in margin sideways]
261
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 March 1863, New Castle, Delaware Muy estimado Don Guadalupe, Una carta largusima que le escrib anteayer, yace a mi lado triste y desairada porque no va. No la mando porque acabo de saber que Frisbie ha estado en Washington y yo no he recibido carta de Ud. Por qu es eso? Qu es posible que Ud. no me haya escrito con l? No lo quiero creer, pero si as fuese, cunteme cualquier cuento y hgame creer lo contrario, cualquiera cosa, menos que no escribi. Y ahora tomando por sentado el que s me escribi, pero la carta se olvid entre Sonoma y Cambringas, pasemos a Frisbie y su objeto en Washington, el cual (me han dicho) es comprar del gobierno los terrenos que le han robado. Es as? Don Guadalupe, si Ud. tiene la mitad de la sagacidad que yo siempre le he supuesto, Ud. debe saber que yo soy su amiga de todo corazn, y debe creerme, cuando le aconsejo que haga alguna cosa, que mi consejo es de buena voluntad. Pues bien, le aconsejo que venga Ud., Ud. mismo a Washington. Esta no es una insinuacin contra Frisbie, pero yo conozco mejor que l la gente de Washington y s que Ud. hara mucho si Ud. estuviera en W. durante la sesin del Congreso. Para manejar ese negocio se necesita ms de un diplomtico que de un politician y le aseguro a Ud., que tiene su influjo moral de hablar personalmente con Senadores que dentro de media hora van a votar en contra o en favor de Ud. sabiendo que Ud. est sentado en la galera oyndolos. Todava creo que si Ud. hubiera seguido mi consejo y venido a Washington en 60 o 61, otro habra sido el resultado de este negocio. Pero Ud. es hombre y no me crey con la suficiente seguridad para [seguir] mi buen consejo. Si lo que Ud. ahora pretende ser decidido por el voto del Congreso, no hay duda que Ud. debe venir, y si es por The Court of Claimstambin. Haba yo pensado escribirle a Mr. Frisbie, pero como no vivo ahora en Washington y slo voy all de cuando en cuan-
262
do, cre que tal vez Mr. F. no creera que yo le podra ayudar en ningn modo, y me juzgara de intrusa. Particularmente como Ud. no me escribi que F. vena, y de veras no s claramente qu es (o mejor) cmo es que l va a conducir su negocio, ni quines son las personas que tendrn influjo en el xito. S que esta carta no se extraviar y as, si no me la contesta me pondr muy sentida con Ud. Se la mando con el Sr. Charles L. Krafft, a quien quiero recomendar a Ud., a su buen aprecio y hospitalidad. El Sr. Krafft va con el objeto de procurar un buen mineralogista para llevarlo a la Frontera a hacer un examen de las vetas minerales en mis terrenos all. Si Ud. conoce alguno que sea competente y hombre de bien, espero que se lo nombrar al Sr. Krafft y lo asistir en procurarlo. Estando seguro que cualquiera servicio hecho en este particular al Sr. Krafft, se lo agradecer yo muchsimo. Si ese examen tiene buen xito, Entonces, la suerte de la Frontera cambiar, habr un rayo de luz en su oscuro horizonte. Pobre Frontera! Se acuerda cuando me dijo que tena yo el alma atravesada? [sic] Ah, si Ud. hubiera arrojado a la Frontera una dcima parte del dinero que le bot a los Yankies, la Pobre Baja California se podra soar rica ahora. Ojal que yo hubiera sido su hermana de Ud. Me parece que yo habra tenido buen influjo sobre Ud. Pero, quin sabe! Ud. es tan zaragate! Aqu llegu a mi rinconcito. Su amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 2 September 1863, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania Mi muy estimado Don Matas, Acabo de recibir una carta de Flix en donde me dice que Ud. le dijo a l que haba tomado parte en las denuncias hechas de minas en S. Antonio con la mira de proteger mi inters. Espero, Don Matas, que Ud. me har la justicia de creer lo mucho que siempre le agradecer ese favor. Hasta ahora Felix haba sido el nico de mis parientes o paisanos
263
que me haba prestado la ms pequea ayuda, y ya me haba yo casi persuadido de que jams otro mexicano o ms bien californioiba a sentir por m el inters suficiente para hacerme ni siquiera un favor que no costara trabajo otorgar. Me alegro mucho si he estado equivocada, pues me ser mucho ms grato tener que estarle a Ud. reconocida que no a otro quien no fuese ni mi compatriota ni mi antiguo amigo. Espero que el hecho de haber Ud. amparado las minas denunciadas (o parte de ellas) me evitar a m estorbos, dilaciones o litigios, pero como he tenido tantos atrasos en llevar a cabo el laborio de esas minas, no puedo menos de temer nuevos obstculos an. Sin embargo, ahora que s que Ud. es el que ha hecho las denuncias, y con el objeto de favorecerme a m, me esforzar otra vez para seguir adelante con la empresa esperando que Ud. me ayudar all en todo lo necesario; en cuanto ocurrencias que no pueda yo atender desde esta distancia demanden pronta decisin o cuidado. Felix tambin me dice que Ud. me escribir pronto noticindome lo que Ud. ha hecho con respecto a las minas. Tengo mucho deseo de recibir su carta y espero que Ud. la escribi luego. Si no fuera por el estado infeliz de la Repblica, ya habra arreglado mi propiedad de manera que estuviera para siempre a salvo de denunciantes. Pero la suerte de Lerdo de Tejada, seguida de los peores trastornos que jams haya sufrido nuestra desgraciada patria, han sido causa de que mi propiedad se halle hoy como est. Pero, paciencia. La perseverancia an en una mujer a veces vence obstculos. No deje de escribirme luego que reciba sta y decirme todo lo que hay, todo, lo que ha pasado con respecto a las minas, quin las ha denunciado, quin las trabaja, con cunto capital, etc. Muchsimo me alegro que Ud. trabaje con nosotros, y no en contra. Pronto le escribir largo. Ahora quiero mandar sta luego para que Ud. no tarde en recibirla y responderme lueguito. Deme noticias de todos los amigos y amigas. Qu hace Doa Prudenciana, cuntos hijos tienen? Cmo est Da. Margarita,
264
Don Jos Ma. Estudillo y Reyes? Escrbame largo una de sus cartas de Ud. que son tan agradables como uno de los libros de Vctor Hugo.-A propos, ha ledo Ud. Les miserables? Qu deseos tengo de platicar con Ud! Ser posible que nunca lo vuelva a ver? No, s lo ver. Si las minas salen bien, es necesario que se venga Ud. a dar una paseada a New York a donde esperamos ir pronto porque ahora Enrique es Coronel del 5th artillery y ese regimiento est estacionado [sic] en Fort Hamilton (baha de NY). Muchsimo amor a Da. Prudenciana y los chiquillos. De parte de Enrique lo mismo a toda su familia de Ud. Si Ud. ve a Federico dgale que me escriba , que pronto le escribir. Le repito, Don Matas, que me escriba lo ms pronto posible y me considere como siempre su afa. y sincera amiga. M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 28 September 1864, 27 W. 18th Street, New York Mi siempre estimado Don Matas, Yo no s por que razn Ud. ya no me escribe pero como no creo que sea por pura inconstancia.. con su mejor amiga, voy a escribirle sta. Desde que recib la ltima de Ud. le he escrito tres, dirigidas a San Francisco, pero a ninguna he recibido contestacin. Esta se la voy a mandar por Don Eduardo Koppish a Federico, para que si Ud. estuviese en San Diego se la d, o si en San Francisco se la mande. As pues, no hay temor de que se extrave, y si no me la contesta es porque ha recado en su antigua antipata hacia toda correspondencia epistolar y ha resuelto darle carpetazo a la ma. Pero me acuerdo que Ud. haca excepcin de correspondencia que tuviera por objeto hablar de negocios. As pues, de negocios hablaremos y de ese modo estar ms segura que mi carta sea aceptable. En primer lugar quiero preguntarle si recibi dos cartas que le escrib en el mes de mayo dicindole que me dijese si todava quera vender sus terrenos en la Frontera y que me dijera el precio y me diera instrucciones y un
265
poder transferible para hacer la venta si haba buena oportunidad. Por supuesto la venta sera completa slo hasta que Ud. la aprobara. Una de estas cartas se la escrib de Baltimore y la otra de aqu de New York. Hasta ahora ni una sola palabra he recibido en contestacin y de consiguiente nada he hecho en el particular. Dgame de que opinin se halla Ud. ahora y si an quiere vender y por cunto. Puede Ud. estar seguro que yo le ayudar en cuanto me fuere posible. Con respecto [a] los planes mineros mos, no los he abandonado un momento, pero la fortuna me ha sido adversa. Primero Castro y Esparza me derribaron mi fbrica construida con tanta labor y pena, y despus cuando ya la haba reconstruido nos encontramos con que otros haban ocupado las minas y se hallaban en posesin de San Antonio. Este slo hecho desprestigi y desacredit de tal maneraen la opinin de capitalistastoda empresa o proyecto de minera en la Frontera que por algn tiempo era intil an el hablar de tal cosa. As pues, tuve que armarme de paciencia y esperar. Ahora otra vez vamos a hacer otro nuevo esfuerzo y espero que Ud. y otros amigos mos que me quieran hacer un bien a m y an mayor a la Frontera, nos ayudarn en lo que fuere posible. En Ud. y en Flix yo pongo mi confianza para que me ayuden en el comienzo de mi dilatada empresa. Toda la dificultad est en comenzar. Si las autoridades de la Frontera tienen el buen sentido de ver que al cooperar con nosotros se hacen a s mismos un gran beneficio, entonces todo ir bien. Pero si olvidando las decisiones del pasado quieren meterse a denunciantes y se ponen a disputar la validez de mis ttulos, entonces por tercera vez mi edificio caer al suelo y ellos quedarn en la misma miseria de la cual yo quisiera sacarlos a pesar de ellos mismos. Tiempo vendr en que tendrn que confesar que he querido hacerles un gran beneficio y que no lo he hecho por los obstculos que o las autoridades de la Frontera o una equivocada legislacin me han puesto de por medio.
266
Pero como ya he dicho, espero que esta vez sea yo ms afortunada y que con la ayuda de Ud. y de Felix pueda vencer los obstculos que se nos pusieren de por mediosi es que se pusierenlo que no esperoen la Frontera. Tambin espero que no permita (si le es posible evitarlo) que denuncien ninguna mina en mis terrenos. Las denuncias en que Ud. tom parte y que pens me seran de algn beneficio, slo agravaron mis trabajos y dificultades. As pues, lejos de resultarme en bien fue en mal para m. Por otro lado si personas ( y Ud. dgaselos) [sic] quieren denunciar minas en mi terreno con la mira de hacer que se las compremos, se equivocan pues trabajaremos otras (que hay muchas) hasta que ellos pierdan en derecho a las que ocuparan. As es que ser mucho mejor y ms juicioso el no hacer tales denuncias que de nada les servirn y que slo harn un dao a la Frontera retardando la benfica accin de una compaa con el capital suficiente para desarrollar los recursos del pas, y la que atraer otros capitales si es que prospere y su ejemplo anime a otras a venir al pas. Si yo supiera que Ud. est en San Diego, habra empezado sta presentndole al Sr. Don Eduardo Koppish, que es el que la lleva y el que va a la Frontera de nuestra parte a hacer con un mineralogista un examen preliminar, etc. Sin embargo dir que si acaso sucediere que an est Ud. en ese delicioso pueblo, que espero asista Ud. al Sr. Koppish en lo que Ud. pudiese estando seguro que no olvidar su favor como no he olvidado otros. Y si sucediese que tenga la fortuna de un buen xito en nuestra empresa, Ud. puede estar seguro que no olvidar lo que aqu le digo. La ciudad de New York tiene el honor de ofrecer un asilo a muchos de nuestros liberales (mis muy amados liberales, aunque Ud. dice que soy monarquista) y yo he tenido el gusto de ver algunos. La familia del Sr. Jurez debe de llegar de New Orleans muy pronto. Romero me dice que ya ha tomado casa para ella. Qu dicen Uds. los de Baja California? qu piensan, qu sienten? con respecto al imperio Mi teora es que
267
ahora es cuando los liberales deben solidar su preponderancia. Pero no lo podrn hacer si dejan la sustancia por correr tras la sombra. Escrbame largo y muy pronto, si todava me quiere como mi buen paisanito y amigo. Mi amor a Da. P. y los nios y crame como siempre su afa. amiga y paisana que sinceramente lo aprecia. M.A. de Burton Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 18 March 18??, Jamul, California Dear Sir, Salgado informed me that he owes you the sum of $10.25as he has at present no way of paying it I beg you to place it to my account. Tomorrow I start to the Cajn where I have an engagement to sell some horses so that I shall be able to settle sooner than I expected to. I wish to know if you can sell some steers of the Ward brand-there are a couple here that I would like to buy. With great respect, I remain, yours truly, F. M. Ruiz Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 23 October 1864, Jamul, California E. W. Morse, Esq. Sir, Please send me by the bearer of this one hundred lbs. of flour, and fifty of beans. I could not get any cash the last time I was in, but by the seventh I am going to receive some and my debt to you shall and will be punctually paid. Even if I have to borrow. Remember me to our Union friends and believe me, ever yours, F. M. Ruiz
268
MARB to Plcido Vega. 1 June 1865, Staten Island, New York Muy estimado Sr. Vega, Gracias, miles de sinceras gracias por su bondad en mandarme su retrato, pero por qu vino solito sin que lo acompaara ninguna letra de Ud? Qu, a caso no recibi Ud. mi carta, o slo es que no tuvo deseo de volver a escribirme? S que no tengo razn para ello, pero desde que le escrib he credo que Ud. me volvera a escribir y siento mucho que me he engaado. Nuestro buen amigo el Sr. Vallejo le dir cunto apreci su carta y cunto inters siento en Ud. y su buen xito. Tambin l le dir miles de otras cosas y de cun buenas ausencias hacamos de Ud. . . . Ciertamente el Sr. Vallejo es un bueno y fiel amigo de Ud. y lo quiere a Ud. mucho. Se acaba de ir, y lo siento mucho, mucho, pero no debo ser egosta y desear que se quede ms tiempo cuando mi prima y toda su familia desear tanto que vuelva. Ya el Sr. Vallejo le dar mejor todas las noticias que yo podra escribirle en sta. Pero le prometo que si me escribe Ud. luego, le escribir largamente (si no lo disgustan las cartas largas) y le dar todas las noticias que yo crea le sean a Ud. interesantes. En el nterin, me repito de Ud. su afectsima paisana que mucho desea verlo y servirle y que se lo dice de corazn. M.A. de Burton MARB to Matas Moreno. 9 March 1867, Fortress Monroe Mi siempre estimado amigo, Por una carta que acabo de recibir de Eduardo, s que Ud. se halla an en San Diego. Yo pensaba que se haba ido a San Francisco a vivir, y como no saba su direccin no le haba escrito. La ltima carta que le escrib, Ud. no me la contest, y esto me hizo creer que Ud. se haba al fin ido de San Diego.
269
Eduardo dice que Ud. le pidi mi direccin para escribirme. Pero ya Ud. ve que no espero a que Ud. escriba para escribirle. Correspndame pues, y no me haga esperardos aos por la respuesta. Escrbame largo y muy largo y dgame todo, todo lo que Ud. sabe me interesa. Como est su familia y la ma, todo, todo, nada me omita. Tengo mucha ansia de saber de mi mam y Federico. Ya dos veces le he pedido a Ud. me d raznsucintade ellos, pero ni siquiera me contest mis cartas. Mucho mucho sent su silencio y no s a qu atribuirlo. Dgame ahora cul fue la causa. Tambin dgame cmo van las cosas en la Baja California. Quiero saber qu hace Ross Browne, quien fue a deslindar los terrenos concedidos a Leese. Por aqu se dice que l ha hecho descubrimientos importantes pero yo no s cual sea su naturaleza. Mucho tengo que decirle y luego que me conteste sta, le prometo que le escribir largo. Si la expedicin sa, de Ross Browne tiene buen xito, escrbamelo y dgame si quiere que otra vez procure hallar compradores para sus terrenos. Las cosas de Mxico son las que han impedido el desarrollo de la Baja California. Todo haba comenzado bien cuando se crea aqu que Maximiliano establecera su gobierno, Pero luego que el gobierno de EU declar su oposicin, todo cambi y me dijeron claramente que mientras no haya un gobierno en Mxico que nada espere para la Baja California a no ser que los E. U. la compre! . . . Qu esperanza! Esos deslindes de Mr. Browne quiz harn mucho bien, al menos sabremos mejor a qu atenernos. Hace pocos das que regres de Washington a donde pas cinco semanas en casa del Sr. Romero quien ahora tiene su familia (madre y hermana) con l. Tuve el gusto de ver a varios de nuestros paisanos que de contado siempre ocurren [acuden] a la legacin y tambin saba las noticias de Mxico luego luego. Ud. ya las sabr. Romero me [dice] que se ha organizado en Philadelphia una compaa para trabajar la mina del Triunfo, lo saba Ud? Tambin he sabido que Winder no tuvo buen xito en su empresa mineraria. Dnde
270
tiene su mina?-en San Antonio o en San Ysidro? Ahora debo concluir sta, la que escribo de prisa. Respndame todas mis preguntas, en particular con respecto a mam y Fred. No deje de decirme tambin lo que sepa de los deslindamientos del Mr. Brown y los laborios de Winder. Enrique le manda muchas saludes. Las mas a Da. Prudenciana y dems amigas y crame como siempre, su fiel y sincera amiga. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 26 August 1867, Colombia, South Carolina Hiere, pero escuchadijo Temistocles. As digo yo. Qu torrente!, qu tempestad! qu borrasca! qu tormenta! qu delirio! qu cataclismo! . . . y por qu? . . . porque al quererle hacer un cumplido lo ofend. Mi gran pecado fue decir que Ross Browne lo hace histrico. El decir eso no es decir que no lo haya Ud. sido 30 aos ha. No sea Ud. tan orgulloso, Seor mo, Ross Browne es un escritor de una reputacin muy buena, no tenga Ud. a desdoro que Ross Browne lo tome por tema histrico. Pobre de m! Si as me revuelca Ud. a Mr. Browne, qu paliza no llevara yo si llevada de una sincera admiracin me atreviera a escribir de Ud.? Y sabe Ud.? (le voy a hacer esta confesin porque s cunto le gusta absolver), cree Ud. que yo he tenido la demencia, el audaz pensamiento, el atrevido deseo de querer escribir su biografa? Pero le aseguro a Ud. que estoy completamente curada de esa locura. No, Seor, no pretender llevar mi carro tan cerca al Sol que sus rayos me hagan cenizas . . . Si Mr. Browne no es digno de ser su historiador, siendo un autor bien conocido y un republicano, qu locura que una oscura, ignorada monarquista lo sea. As pues, perdn . . . y le prometo jams volver a caer en esa tentacin. S es verdad que es muy bonita la raza Yanqui y Mexicana, y lindsima la de una Belga y un Mexicano y ms chulsima la
271
de una protestante y un catlico. Apostlico . . . californio . . . (De dnde es la Sra. Bh . . . Ud. pngale la h al nombre. de dnde es ella?) S es verdad. Las razas mixtas son a veces muy bellas y buenas . . . Adelante que siga la bola, y nuestra nacionalidad muera pisoteada bajo el pie del sajn. Ya ve Ud. cmo me resigno y qu bien me ha Ud. amansado? . . . Con Maximiliano muri nuestra nacionalidad, all pereci la ltima esperanza de Mxico . . . y ahora los Yankies slo esperan la hora que mejor les convenga para enterrarla para siempre, y pisotear bien la tierra encima y barrer todo vestigio desagradable despus . . . est muy bien. En esta era de ilustracin la fuerza bruta manda, y tenemos que someternos. Cunto ha progresado el mundo bajo el impulso de prcticas republicanas! Antes se oprima en nombre del Rey, y hoy en nombre de la libertad . . . gran progreso han hecho los polticos ciertamente . . . Ciertamente que vale la pena . . . Veo que se me enoja Ud. y me dice que su admiracin por los Yankies no es crnica pero que ellos son los hombres de Amrica. Por supuesto que s lo son, si an los ms ilustrados mexicanos les doblan la rodilla. Por supuesto que s lo son, cuando los mismos mexicanos se apresuran a remover todo obstculo y barrer todo impedimento para que su marcha triunfal siga sin interrupcin. Lo nico que la habra impedido habra sido una monarqua en Mxico. Ellos lo previeron y de all naci el amor repentino por la Sister Republic . . . Pero para qu hablar ms de esto? Ni Ud. ni yo cambiaremos de opinin. As pues, sigamos siendo buenos amigos tal como somos. Ud. con su admiracin por las repblicas y por los Americanos y yo con mi conviccin que repblicas son todava y sern por aos imposibilidades quimricas, y que los Americanos son y sern siempre los enemigos mortales de mi raza, de mi Mxico. No digo esto con odio; ellos no hacen mas que seguir la ley de su ser. Las naciones, los individuos, los animales, todos hacen lo mismo. Sin odio, los tiburones se comen las sardi-
272
nas; Sin rencor los lobos se comen los borregos; Sin clera los gavilanes se llevan los pollos. Todos, todos siguen la ley de su ser. En buena hora, pero ni los tiburones, ni los lobos, ni los gavilanes deben esperar ser amados de sus vctimas . . . y la filosofa poltica de Ud. es muy brillante pero tiene el brillo del hielo. Se conoce que Ud. no quiere a Mxico con el corazn . . . ah! yo no, yo confieso que no puedo remontarme a tal altura que me sienta helada y deje de sentir por ponerme a pensar . . . Adis, no le escribo ms por ahora porque la herida est muy fresca an y al escribirle a Ud. se abre y llora sangre . . . Cun infeliz es Mxico! Cun infeliz es Mxico . . . me digo mil veces al da . . . y estoy muy triste. Por qu me dice Ud. se burla del que fue su amigo? Qu he hecho yo para que Ud. deje de serlo? Porque tengo el atrevimiento de mantener opiniones opuestas a las de Ud.? . . . S, lo creo. Esa es una ilustracin de la mucha libertad que los republicanos conceden al pensamiento que se les opone, Libertad! S, libertad para ellos, pero rigor, intolerancia y persecucin para los adversarios . . . Libertad, Libertad! Cuntos crmenes se cometen en tu nombre! . . . dijo la pobrecita de Mdme. Roland cuando la llevaron a la guillotina . . . Est bueno. Si Ud. quiere dejar de ser mi amigo porque quiero tanto a Mxico y porque no adoro a los Titanes que la van a devorar, est bueno, Ud. ciertamente tiene el derecho de otorgar su amistad a quien le plazca. Mucho he sufrido por mis opiniones (que le diga Flix por qu salimos de Fortress Monroe) y as no me sorprende que Ud. me quiera castigar tambin. Eso es muy a la Americana radical . . . Si para cuando reciba sta se ha apaciguado, espero que la lea con ojos ms benignos. Pronto tendr Ud. el gusto de ver a Flix. Enrique, Nellie y Harry lo saludan. Amores a la familia y Ud. Crame como siempre su afa. amiga que mucho lo aprecia. M.A. de Burton
273
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 February 1868, Richmond, Virginia Mi estimado amigo, Qu le ha sucedido, o que he hecho yo que no me escribe ya? Algunas veces hasta temo que se haya muerto o est muy enfermo. La ltima cartita que recib de Ud. fue una muy cortita en donde me deca que [se] senta mal, con fiebre, y como no he vuelto a recibir otra no s qu pensar, qu temer . . . Como tengo de costumbre el avisarle siempre que cambiamos de lugar de residencia, me apresuro a noticiarle otro cambio (el tercero desde que Ud. se fue) en nuestra vida errante. Por motivo a que el clima de Colombia (de Carolina del Sur) le era muy nocivo a Enrique, los mdicos dijeron que era preciso que se fuera ms al Norte y as aqu nos tiene Ud. (por ahora) en Richmond, Va. Cunto quisiera que se viniera Ud. a dar otra paseadita por ac y que viniera a visitarnos! Pero, para qu desear imposibles? No? Qu le parece a Ud. del pleito de gatos del Congreso y el Presidente? LindsimoI supposepuesto que todo es chulsimo si slo es en un gobierno republicano, no? . . . Qu vergenza . . . si la tuvierandeclamar tanto del respeto a las leyes y despus pisotearlas! Pero as es la hipocresa de la chusma, siempre soez, siempre baja, grosera, descarada . . . y su justicia? Cual es? . . . La del tribunal de Pilatos . . . La que obtuvo Maximiliano . . . Y todo en nombre de lo ms sublime del pensamiento humano . . . La libertad! . . . Qu blasfemia! horroriza . . . y la mejor prueba que esos Apstoles de republicanismo no son capaces [de] apreciar las sublimes teoras que insultan al repetirlas cual papagayo es que . . . pero para que acalorarme ni escribirle a Ud. ms sobre esto. Los dos ya somos demasiado viejos para cambiar. Es imposible que yo pueda aprobar de tales repblicas . . . que cada da ms y ms se alejan de los principios que profesan. Yo amo a la verdad demasiado para verla insultada de un modo tan cruel y grosero y no sentirlo. Yo no digo que el despotismo no
274
sea til, necesario, eficaz, ni tampoco que no se adopte a veces, pero en nombre de la verdad, para qu llamar al despotismo Libertad y a la tirana justiciaopriman, tiranicen, pero no mientan . . . La mentira es lo que ms choca, me disgusta, me repugna. Y lo que la hace ms odiosa es que es tan innecesaria. De modo que el fraude y la mentira slo son adoptadas por placer, por gusto. Por esto amigo mo, no creo en repblicas, es decir, no las creo posibles todava . . . Cuando sean posibles, ya habrn dejado de ser necesarias, puesto que los hombres sern ya tan cerca a la perfeccin que las leyes civiles sern superfluas, las leyes morales sern suficientes y entonces . . . el milenio . . . Mil amores a mi prima y las muchachas y muchachos. Enrique y Nellie tambin mandan sus saludos. Escriba pronto y largo y dgame qu le duele. Dirija sus cartas a Richmond, Va. y crame como siempre su invariable amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 May 1868, Richmond, Virginia Mi querido Don Guadalupe, Al fin recibo carta de Ud.! Si no fuera porque el placer de recibirla me quita la disposicin a enojarme, qu regaada le dara por su prolongado silencio! Pero no. En tiempos de regocijo no se castiga! se perdona. Tampoco quiero renovar la polmica sobre Ross Browne y la infortunada ocurrencia de haberse atrevido a mencionar su nombre de Ud. en su libro. Ya no digo nada sobre eso. Ya le expliqu cun inocente fue mi intencin, etc. Y como sin embargo Ud. dice-Por la carta de Ud. y la contestacin cre que habamos cerrado nuestra correspondencia epistolar, etc. Pero, qu es eso? qu, acaso una amistad de tantos aos, una preferencia tan constante se echa al basurero tan fcilmente? . . . Y es Ud., el mismo Vallejo, quien me dice eso! . . . Qu desengao tan cruel leerlo cuando yo pensaba que slo la muerte podra cortar el lazo de
275
nuestra pura y constante amistad! . . . Por eso al ver que tantos meses transcurran sin recibir carta de Ud., seriamente empec a temer que Ud. o estaba muy enfermo, o . . . que ya no exista. Y cuando yo senta todos estos temores, qu es lo que Ud. se deca? Que quiz nuestra correspondencia haba terminado! . . . Pero tal vez no debo hacer este paralelo porque Ud. tal vez dir que lo estoy regaando . . . Pobre de m! Verdaderamente no se me podr llamar afortunada. Ud. me dice que si le escribo luego que recibiere su carta que entonces Ud. me escribir muy pronto y muy largo. As pues, Seor mo, cumpla su palabra y escrbame luego luego, y muy largo, y regae (porque Ud. tambin lo hace a maravilla) cuanto guste. Yo, si regao, al menos tengo ms liberalidad que Ud. puesto que no le niego el privilegio de hacer otro tanto si quiere, o mantener cualquiera idea poltica que le plazca no importa cuan absurda me parezca a m! Ud. al contrario, luego me llama regaona si rechazo opiniones que no apruebo o si mantengo las mas con firmeza . . . 20 de junio de 1868 Hace un mes que le empec sta, y slo se la mando para que vea que luego que recib la suya me puse a escribirle pero que no pude continuarla. Enfermedades me lo impidieron. Primeramente ese da que le estaba escribiendo Enrique sufra tanto con la neuralgia en el hombro izquierdo, que me dijo llamara al mdico, quien luego vino y le ech inyecciones de morfina en el brazo izquierdo. Esto lo alivi algo pero siempre sigui enfermo. Despus, yo me enferm de los ojos, o ms bien me empeor, pues ya los tena enfermos, y por un mes no he podido leer ni coser, y slo escribir unos cuantos renglones a la vez, pero no una carta larga pues luego que hace un ratito que estoy escribiendo me empiezan a doler los ojos de tal modo que me es imposible continuar y tengo que acostarme y poner paos mojados sobre la frente. Ya s que despus que concluya esta, tendr que hacer eso mismo pero aunque sea as, no quiero dejar que pase ms tiempo sin
276
escribirle para ganar la carta larga que me promete llena de cosas interesantes de Mxico. Tambin dgame como van las cosas del Pacific Railroad. Veo por los peridicos que el trmino del Central ser en Oakland. Qu lstima que no sea Vallejo! Y el camino de Ud. qu no lo lleva a cabo? Y cmo influir su xito al que sea Oakland el terminus? Ya Ud. sabe que todo en lo que Ud. tenga inters me es a m interesante. As pues cunteme todo. Se acuerda, Don Guadalupe, que en New York le habl a Ud. de un tal Sr. Johnson que es o era Cnsul de Suiza en San Francisco en 1861-62? Yo no lo conozco personalmente (slo s, por una circunstancia bastante desagradable para m) pero Enrique lo conoce bien, y dej con l unos papeles mos y mi Poder (en 1862) cuyos papeles y poder quiero yo recoger ahora antes que sea ms tarde. Si este seor (George C. Johnson) est an en San Francisco, hgame Ud. el favor de decrmelo luego que reciba Ud. sta, y si Ud. me lo permite, le mandar yo a Ud. una orden (firmada por Enrique) que lo autorice a Ud. a exigir del Sr. Johnson esos papeles. El Poder se lo transfiri Enrique (quien tena uno mo) para autorizarlo a formar una compaa para trabajar las minas en mis terrenos de la Frontera. Como han transcurrido ms de seis aos y Johnson nada ha hecho para explotar las minas, quiero retirar el poder, lo que siento no haber hecho mucho antes y slo no [lo] hice porque Enrique me prometi hacerlo l mismo. Espero Don Guadalupe que no olvide este encarguito pues me interesa mucho recoger esos documentos. No le diga Ud. a nadie que yo le he escrito sobre esto, pero luego se informe donde est Johnson, muy silencito me lo dice. Ya ver Ud. por los peridicos que nuestro amigo Romero ha venido a los E. U. de visita. Recib una carta suya esta maana y me dice se regresa a Mxico a mediados de julio. Se dice que se va a casar en Philadelphia pero no s si es cierto. Lo que s es cierto es que est fabricando una casa muy elegante en la Ciudad de Mxico.
277
Nuestro querido Flix est aun en la Capital. Acabo de recibir carta de l. Tambin del Sr. Balcrcel, quien Ud. se acordar fue con nosotros a la pera en San Francisco en julio de 1859 cuando fuimos all a embarcarnos para los EE. UU.! Se acuerda, que Ud. fue con nosotros y vinimos al hotel a tomar fresas heladas y champaa que yo les prepar? El Sr. Balcrcel se acuerda bien aunque hace ya 9 aos! Enrique est ahora de paseo en Pennsylvania a causa de su quebrantada salud. Harry no vendr de vacacin hasta el 1 de julio. Nellie y yo estamos solitas. Mucho gusto tendramos de verlo qu es posible que no vuelva ya? . . . No me hable Ud. de volver a California y olvidar el pasado! . . . Amores mil a mi prima y dems de familia y Ud. crame como siempre . . . su mejor amiga que lo quiere de corazn y aprecia mucho. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 September 1868, Richmond, Virginia Mi querido amigo, Al fin le mando la carta de Enrique para Mr. George C. Johnson, la que espero me haga Ud. el favor de presentrsela en persona y pedir los documentos y remitrmelos por exprs. Dgale Ud. de mi parte al Sr. Johnson que me ha sido muy perjudicial el carecer por tan largo tiempo de esos documentos y que espero me haga el favor de no detenerlos por ms tiempo. Dgale tambin que fue sin que yo lo supiera, sin mi consentimiento, que Enrique dej as mis papeles, y que cuando lo supe, lo desaprob y siempre le he estado pidiendo que mandara por ellos y tengo derecho a reclamarlos. No creo que el Sr. Johnson me haga la injusticia de negrmelos y retenerlos contra mi voluntad, siendo mos, mi propiedad y no la de Enrique. Un abogado en Washington me dijo que mujeres casadas no pueden legalmente dar poderes ni an a sus maridos. As es, el poder que yo le di a Enrique fue de muy dudosa legali-
278
dad, y no creo que l haya tenido el derecho de dejar mis ttulos sin mi consentimiento. Los documentos mos que el Sr. Johnson tiene son 1. Patente de ratificacin del ttulo de la Ensenada 2. Patente de ratificacin del ttulo de San Antonio 3. Concesin para trabajar minas y exportar libre de derechos los metales, etc. e importar materiales para laborio de minas tambin libre, etc. Documento autorizndome a poseer propiedad en Mxico notificando que mis titulos haban sido confirmados. Puede ser que haya dejado algun otro documento que por ahora no recuerdo. Pregntele Ud. al Sr. Johnson y dgale que yo le doy autoridad de recogerlos todos. Le escribo muy de prisa porque como he perdido tanto tiempo esperando que Enrique escribiera a Johnson ahora tengo que apurarme para alcanzar este correo. Pronto le escribir otra vez y le mandar mi fotografa. Dgale a mi prima que se la mando a ella para que vea cun vieja estoy. Dgale tambin que con mucho gusto ir hasta San Luis Missouri o ms all por tener el gusto de verla y a Ud. tambin. Luego que reciba sta avseme pleasey no pierda tiempo de ver a Johnson y de mandarme los papeles tan luego como sea posible. Es asombroso el pensar la magnitud de las empresas del da, y la ms grandiosa de todas el Pacific Railroad! Y qu bien me hace Ud. realizar su importancia! Cmo quisiera platicar con Ud. de esto y oirlocomo dicen en inglsto hear your original remarks. Me sorprendi ver que el Carril de Vallejo City haya llegado hasta Davis y tan luego llegar a Sacramento. Pero Ud. no me dice si an tiene parte en la empresa. Dgame y entonces sentir ms inters en ella. El discurso de Mr. Frisbie est muy bueno. No saba yo que era tan bueno en la tribuna, dgale. Nuestra manzana de discordiael Sr. Browne ya habr llegado a China, supongo. Qu le parece a Ud. de las nuevas relaciones Yancunas [sic] con los Celestiales de cola larga? Y dgame, qu se dice por all de la proyectada emigracin de
279
China a las posesiones de J. P. Leese? Cuando me escriba dgame lo que oiga con respecto a ello. Pronto le escribir amores a la familiay crame como siempre su fiel amiga. M.A. de Burton MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 January 1869, New York Dear Sir, Enclosed please find a check for one hundred and fifty dollars $150 which I beg you will do me the favor to give to my mother, Doa Isabel Ruiz, now living in Jamul. Please do not send the money to her but send her word that you have it to deliver to her in person. Then I think she will come to you for it. I hope, Mr. Morse, you do not think I am taking a great liberty in asking you this favor and believe me, I shall be very happy to return it to you if you require my services on this side of the continent, at any time. Let me know, please, if you delivered the money in person to her, or how, and believe, I shall remain very grateful to you. M.A. de Burton Henry S. Burton to E. W. Morse. 1 February 1869, New York City Dear Sir, I send you enclosed a note from Mrs. Burton, which will explain the accompanying bill of exchange. I am most anxious to have some one in San Diego upon whom I can rely, who will act as my agent as well as Mrs. Burtons. I think of no one I know whom I was more willing to confide our interests [to] than to you. If you are willing to accept this agency. By so doing you will confer a great favor. Please advise me. Yours very truly, H. S. Burton.
280
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 February 1869, New York Mi siempre estimado amigo, No s por qu no he tenido carta de Ud. por tanto tiempo, qu habr estado enfermo? La ltima suya (y que luego contest!) trajo fecha de 6 de octubre de 68! y [ni?] una sola desde entonces. En ella me dice que espera recibir los papeles mos que tiene Mr. George C. Johnson pero hasta ahora no los he visto. Al hijo de Mr. Johnson quien estuvo aqu en Octubre, tambin le habl con respecto a esos papeles y me prometi su cooperacin para recobrarlos. Tal vez ser bien que Ud. lo vea sobre ello. Cmo me entusiasma Ud. con su entusiasmo, al hablar del progreso de California! . . . Pero despus recaigo en mi desaliento y digo, ah!, si yo fuera hombre! . . . Qu miserable cosa es una mujer! . . . Decididamente la providencia debe recompensarme de alguna manera por haberme hecho mujer! . . . y fea . . . y pobre! . . . va! Como si ser mujer no fuera suficiente calamidad sin aadir otras. No. Es necesario que yo no me entusiasme por el progreso del continente. Para qu? Ni mi raza ni mi sexo van a sacar mejora alguna, as pues yo mirar no ms al no-ismo [?]; es decir a las ventajas [dotadas] que me puedan venir. As pues, a propos, dnde estn mis doce acres de tierra? Cree Ud. que ya me voy a contentar con que me diga que se los dio a su hijo porque se cas? No amigo mo, si Ud. me quit mis doce acres (a lo indio) es necesario que me los pague. Pguemelos con lots en Vallejo City, o siquiera procreme que compre unos cuantos muy baratos. Hgame Ud. esa buena partida y yo tambin se la corresponder cuando comencemos nuestra empresa en la Ensenada. Cundo viene Ud. por ac? O qu son no ms puados de gusto que me da cuando me dice que va a venir? Y qu son esas indirectas que echa Ud. con respecto a la Baja Cal., Vega y el Manifest Destiny. Tres cosas para m muy incngruas porque amo mucho a California, siento mucho inters y simpata por el Sr. Vega, y un verdadero odio y desprecio (como
281
buena mexicana) por el tal Manifest Destiny . . . De todas las malvenidas frases inventadas para hacer robos, no hay una ms odiosa para m que sa, la ms ofensiva, la ms insultante; se me sube la sangre a la mollera cuando la oigo, y veo como en fotografa en un instante, todo lo que los Yankies nos han hecho sufrir a los mexicanosel robo de Tejas, la guerra; el robo de California; la muerte de Maximiliano! . . . Si yo pudiera creer en el Manifest Destiny dejara de creer en la justicia o la sabidura divina. No, amigo mo, el Manifest Destiny no es otra cosa que Manifest Yankie trick como sus wooden hams and wooden nutmegs del Connecticut. Pero por desgracia los mexicanos estn ciegos, atarantados, no s qu tienen, y la verdad, desde la muerte del Emperador, yo tambin no s qu esperar. Con l, se fue mi esperanza de cortar la malfica influencia de este pas sobre el mo, influencia como la sombra del rbol Ripas [?] que mata todo lo que no es de su propia especie . . . Pero a pesar de una verdad tan evidente, los mexicanos son atrados como las maripositas a la candela, a morir, a perecer . . . ah! los liberales, los liberales, que como el deslumbrado pastor, mat la ovejita que debera ser la ms querida, as ellos, los locos, los ciegos. Ya la posteridad los juzgar como merecen y les dar gracias con el pie del sajn sobre el cuello . . . As como lo dice el Manifest Destiny . . . Pero es necesario que no hable yo de esto porque entonces no s cundo acabar. Ud. no siente ya por Mxico como yo. Qu lstima que no hubiera sido yo hombre para . . . No ms tonteras . . . Adis . . . Escrbame, no sea Ud. ingrato con tan fiel amiga. De todas sus amigas no hay una que lo aprecie y quiera tanto como yo. Dgaselo a mi prima puesto que por medio de ella [tendr] mi afecto. Le mando a mi prima las fotografas de mis dos pollitos. La ma mandar despus. El General los saluda con mucho cario. Ya est mejor desde que nos vinimos al norte. Mi amor a mi prima y Ud. tambin. M.A. de Burton
282
MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 14 March 1869, New York Dear Mr. Barlow, Since I received your note of the 8th inst. I have been expecting to see you and now as we go to New Port on Thursday, I must ask you to come as soon as possible, and to come in the evening when I shall be sure to be at home. Meantime, I must insist, Mr. Barlow, upon your not sending my titles to California on no consideration whatever. I do not think I am obliged to give up my titles because I have sold half of the land. You may send facsimiles certified by the Mexican Consul and they will do quite as well as the originals, but the originals must not be exposed to be lost in the manner you propose. I would have written to you this immediately upon receiving your note, but I expected to see you and thought it was better to speak with you about the matter. As for your sending someone to my landsas you mentioned to meyou can do as you please, but if you take good advice, send no one until you have the capital necessary to begin. If you send somone new before you are ready, you will only awaken to wrangling and opposition and blackmailing a set of men always to be found in the frontier waiting for capitalists who may at last go there to develop the vast resources of that unknown country. Therefore, take my advice and keep quiet until you are ready with sufficient capital. But if you wish to send there in order that upon the reports you get you may raise the capital, I can assure you that the reports you will get will be similar to those we have had. Then I do not see why you should wish to incur a useless expense and lose time besides, when you have plenty of reports to tell you what sort of property it is. Let me hear from you soon, please. If you wish, you can send to California to record the deed I signed, but as my titles are already recorded, I do not think it necessary to record
283
them again. But if you do, then let me repeat not to send the originals, but send facsimiles. I shall be most happy to see Mrs. Barlow and Mrs. Crawford and I hope they will call before Thursday. Hoping to see you soon I remain yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 27 March 1869, Fort Adams, Rhode Island My dear Mr. Barlow, I have lived in hopes of hearing from you the good news of the Companys determination to do something now that you heard favorably from Mexico. But not a word. In the meantime, my lame knee has been getting worse and worse until now I feel obliged to remind you of the promise you made me the last time I saw you, for I must have a carriage to go out of these walls or be a prisoner inside of them. It is impossible for me to get in and out of the small boats used here to go to town, without hurting my knee so that it pains me for days after and keeps me awake at nights. Therefore, my dear Mr. Barlow, a carriage to me is a necessity, not a luxury, and I hope your kind heart will feel the truth of my statement and sympathize with my misfortune! Isnt this pathetic! There is a gentleman here who goes to Europe in a few days and he wishes to sell a very good pair of horses and carriage for $1200 which are worth more. A friend of ours has promised to get this gentleman to wait a few days before he disposes of his carriage and horses. I asked for this delay of a few days in hopes of hearing from you favorable news in the meantime. He will wait for a while yet, but not long after the 1st of this month as he leaves early in April. What does Mr. Travers (and the other trustees) say now about the disposal of stock, or of making some sort of a beginning? . . . Not only on account of my pecuniary circumstances I am anxious that the Co. should commence in some
284
way or another, but more because it will have a good effect in Mexico if you do, and a very, very injurious one if you do not. I can see by my last letters from Mexico City that they begin to think it doubtful if you are in earnest and that you are delaying unnecessarily. Mark my words, if something is not done by May of a beginning, soon, it will not be long before doubts are ripened into distrust, and your delayed enterprise will be regarded as a covert intent towards filibustering; a sort of disguised annexation lurking about, wrapped in a sarape up to the eyes. You can anticipate what will be the result. Please let me hear from you soon. Make what arrangement you deem proper for the security of your twelve hundred dollars if you have the kindness to send that soon to me and which of course, I wish you to reimburse as soon as any stock is sold. Nellie sends her kind regards. Accept mine and believe me yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 31 March 1869, NewportFort Adams, Rhode Island My dear Mr. Barlow, Enclosed please, you will find a list of the papers left with you for safe keeping which you told me you will sign. Also I send a list of the other papers (not so important) which you can sign or not, as you please, or send me back the papers if handy or you dont have to lose any time looking for them. Else it will do till you return. I cannot help thinking that if you but knew how much depended on your granting my request you would have found a little time to help me. I would, to serve you. If possible, give me five minutes before you leave and tell me something more definite about what is intended to be done with the stock. Remember, I am not in the secrets of the Trustees, and therefore in entire ignorance of their plans.
285
I do not understand of what do you say I can write to Mr. Travers, if in regard to the prospects of the stock or the request I made to you.-Not because I am a woman, I am thus urgent and seem so inquisitive; but because I am lame, and I wish to have a carriage to go to church and to take some exercise, as I cant walk. And now, AdisI hope you will have a delightful time and come back all safe and happy. I trust you did not forget to say to Mrs. Barlow that I did not know she had left her card until the day she left New York. Yours truly, M.A. de Burton P.S. Where is the loveliness of Newport? I dont see it. You were free [when you] saw it. [sic] I am a prisoner as I can neither fly nor swim and have no carriage to ride. Yours. Nellie Burton. MARB to E.W. Morse. 26 April 1869, Fort Adams, Rhode Island Mr. E. W. Morse: Yours of the 6th inst. addressed to my husband arrived this morning, as it is urgent it should be answered, I hasten to do so. You probably know that my beloved and best of husbands is no more and now upon me devolves the necessity of attending to the matter you mention in your letter. Therefore I sent this day the telegram you will I hope receive in time to assist [with] Mr. [Abel] Stearns suit until you write to me telling me the amount of the sum due him and everything else connected with the matter, for I know nothing whatever about it. Can no compromise be effected with Mr. Stearns to at least give us time to endeavor to raise the money without having to sacrifice the RR stock? Could not some money be raised (to make a partial payment at least) by a mortgage on the shares or on part of the Jamul rancho?
286
You will be the best judge of what is best to be done. This is the first I ever heard of the Generals indebtedness to Mr. Stearns. The newspaper you say you sent has not come yet and may be is lost, consequently I know nothing about the case. But I hope you will explain it to me, and I hope you may be able to prevail on Mr. Stearns to grant us a bit more time. I thank you for your kindness in so promptly and so well executing my request. Also for accepting the request of my husband for you to act as his agent. I hope Mr. Morse, that not because he is taken away from me you will withdraw your given consent, but that you will do for his widow and his two orphans what you would do for him and be our agent as you would have been his. In a few days I shall leave this place for some other in the vicinity of New York City. Then I shall make the inquiries you request about the fortification and River and Harbor improvements in San Diego, etc. and anything I may learn I will communicate to you immediately. I remain yours very gratefully, M.A. de Burton P.S. Address it to me care of Mr. Fred. R. Prieto, No. 401/2 Pine Street, New York City, N. Y. MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 May 1869, New York My dear Mr. Morse: I have been expecting to hear from you for nearly three weeks. I thought you might telegraph to me in regard to Mr. Stearns case, but as you have not done so, I trust that my telegram was received by you safely but did not require another in answer. Still, I hope you have written to me explaining Mr. Stearns suit, etc., etc. As you see, I sent you my power of attorney as soon as I could. I hope it will meet your approval. Let my brother Fred know you have it so that if squatters trouble him, he may come to consult with you as to the best way to manage them;
287
get rid of them, or compromise with them. I will write to my brother letting him know I sent you the power. I enclose also a letter for Mr. Henry Hancock of Los Angeles. He is the lawyer in charge of the Jamul case and I wish to know if the title has been satisfied or not. I think it was well for you to write to him also, inquiring about it for it may be very necessary that you know how the case stands at present. If the case had to be referred to Washington, the sooner it is sent the better as I have friends who will attend to it here. I fear that Mr. Hancock has not taken very great interest in Jamul, else, it seems to me, the case could have been decided before this. Please see to it, Mr. Morse, and perhaps when Mr. Hancock sees that we will urge him, his interest might revive a little more. Please, Mr. Morse have the kindness to explain to me all about those railroad shares you wrote to the General about, for I knew nothing in regard to them. When I understand all that there is to know about them, I will not trouble you with silly inquiries. Before I close this, I must again ask you to explain to me also all about Mr. Stearns suit. I hope you will be able to effect some sort of compromise with him by which he may give us some more time, at least until next winter when by the action of Congress in regard to Southern Pacific Railroad those shares may be more valuable and we be able to pay him without sacrificing all. Some times an injudicious creditor might ruin a debtor without benefiting himself in proportion to the mischief he may make with the fortunes of others and you, I hope, will prevail upon Mr. Stearns not to be impatient. I have but little doubt of the success of the Southern Pacific next winter. Senator Cole told me he is going to do all he can to have it done next session. I think you can count upon that as sure. Please let me hear from you soon. I remain, yours very kindly, M.A. de Burton
288
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 July 1869, Staten Island Hoy es da cuatro de julio, Don Guadalupe, y me trae a la memoria una cartita que Ud. me escribi en tal da en 1866 a bordo del vapor yendo para San Francisco, Se acuerda? Por qu no me ha escrito? Qu es posible que no sabe que perd a mi queridsimo y hoy soy una infeliz mujer, una viuda? Ah, quin me dijera que habra yo de escribir tales palabras! Cuando est algo ms acostumbrada a mi nueva miseria le escribir. Por ahora no puedo an; estoy tan sumamente infeliz . . . Ud. s escrbame luego. Dirija sus carta a Staten IslandStapleton, P. O. He tomado una casita aqu por un ao, para despus Dios proveer. He visto algunos de los conocidos de Ud. La Sra. Appleton me pregunt por Ud. AdisNo puedo ms por ahora. Este mismo da 4, hace tres meses que se me fue mi amadsimoel da 4 de abril! Adis. Amores a la familia, lo mismo de la ma. Su mejor amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to E. W. Morse. 18 July 1869, Staten Island (Stapleton P. O.) Letter has black border Mr. E. W. Morse Dear Sir, In the month of April I wrote to you from Fort Adams R. I. and again in May, from New York City. This last time I enclosed my power of attorney which you have received. I fear that you have written to me and your letter was lost, but as I gave you Mr. Prietos address (Box 5745 New York) I do not know to what to attribute your silence. Please, have the kindness to write to me immediately upon receiving this and let me know whether you have received my letters and if you are willing to accept my power of attorney. You know that my husband asked you to be his agent and for that reason I sent you the power.
289
Please let me know also what further action Mr. Stearns has taken. As I have not heard from you and the newspaper you sent (with the notice of Mr. Stearns suit) was lost, I am in complete ignorance of the whole matter. Have the kindness to give me all the information you can about the case, for I am very anxious to understand it. Any further news, respecting Jamul, the prospects of San Diego, etc. will be thankfully received, as I feel interested in the progress of Southern California. It takes very little over a week now, for a letter to come from San Diego over land, so I hope I shall hear from you very soon. Address [it] to me to Staten IslandStapleton P.O. Very truly yours. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 29 July 1869, Staten Island Mi querido Don Guadalupe, Acabo de recibir la cartita de Ud. dicindome que ya tiene los papeles retenidos tan largo tiempo por Johnson. Me apresuro a darle mis ms sinceras gracias, mi buen amigo, por su bondad en hacerme este nuevo favor, miles y miles de gracias. No entiendo qu es lo que tuvo Ud. que pagar, dgamelo, explquemelo bien para no equivocarme. En cuanto a dejarlos depositados en la casa esa de seguros, no lo creo necesario. Si Ud. me los manda por Fargos Express, dirigidos al cuidado de Don Federico R. Prieto No. 701/2 Pine St. N. York los recibir sin falta. Prieto me los mandar o traer l mismo. Ya le escrib el da 4 de julio y a la fecha ya tendr Ud. mi carta. Fue cortita porque a ms de estar tan triste y abatida, no puedo escribir largo porque me duelen los ojos mucho, mucho. No puedo ni leer ni escribir largo tiempo sin que los ojos me empiecen a doler. Esta es la razn porque no le escribo ms largo. ahora. El mes que entra, s, espero estar algo aliviada, cuando pase el calor.
290
Ahora que es tan fcil venir de California, por qu no nos viene a ver? Traiga a mi prima tambin. Es necesario acabar esto. Ya mis ojos me estn doliendo mucho. Amores a la familia y a Ud. tambin de parte de Nellie y Harry, como tambin de su ms afectsima amiga que lo quiere mucho. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 August 1869, Staten Island Mi siempre querido amigo, Sus dos muy cortitas cartas de julio 30 y 1 de agosto las recib anteayer, y la del 4 de agosto (ms cortita an) ayer. Gracias, miles de (no fingidas) gracias por su simpata. Todas las expresiones de cario de parte de mis amigos, me son ahora doblemente gratas. S, dice Ud. bien, no debo dejar que me abrume el dolor. Lo s, pues yo soy ahora padre y madre de mis dos hijos; estoy rodeada de dificultades, con slo Dios por apoyo, y aunque Dios es bueno y poderoso, el corazn humano siempre busca y anhela algn otro sostn aqu en la tierra. Yo no lo tengo, ni lo espero, y an sin embargo, es preciso que vivamos. Eso de dejarse llevar por este torrente sera una cobarda de la que debera avergonzarme yo y mis amigos tambin. As pues, procurar aceptar mi destino con toda la firmeza que pueda, cuando me parece a veces que un cataclismo horroroso se desborda en mi corazn . . . Si me faltasen las fuerzas . . . entonces le suplico de antemano no me juzgue con severidad. Acurdese que soy mujer . . . y mexicana . . . con el alma encerrada en una jaula de fierro, pues as nos encierra la sociedad luego que nacemos, como los chinos los pies de sus mujeres. Escriba con frecuencia pero no me mande cartitas tan lacnicas. Se equivoca Ud. en pensar que porque estoy triste me enfadara de cartas largas. Al contrario, me divierten y las de Ud. ya sabe, me son con preferencia muy gratas. Escrbame y dgame todo lo que se le venga a la cabeza. Qu
291
hay del Sr. Vega? qu del camino de fierro a Vallejo, est Ud. interesado en l? qu noticias de la Baja California y qu de la Frontera? En cuanto a los papeles mos, ya le escrib a Ud. que me los mande por exprs y los dirija al cuidado de Don Federico R. Prieto, No. 701/2 Pine Street, N. York. No le escribo ms largo ahora porque ya mis ojos no me dejan. Luego que los uso un poco me empiezan a punzar que parece se van a saltar y por esto tengo que usarlos con mucha precaucin. Cuando se me alivien le escribir ms largo. Tengo mucho que decirle. Ojal que pudiera verlo, que viniera ahora que estamos en Staten Island Qu planes tiene por ahora? qu va Ud. a hacer que no viene a pasearse por el Pacific railroad? O est Ud. esperando el famoso Avitor para venir por las nubes? . . . Piensa Ud. que eso tendr buen suceso? Qu magnfico sera ese modo olmpico de viajar, no? . . . Ya ve Ud. como procuro tomar inters en todo? Voy caminando as la senda de la vida. Como los presos que van y hacen su tarea con una cadena y bola atada al pie, as lleva mi alma su dolor atado a sus alas . . . Adis mi bueno y fiel amigo a quien quiero mucho. Amores muchos a mi prima y dems familia pasa [de parte] de mis dos chicos, y el corazn de su triste prima y amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to E. W. Morse. 12 August 1869, Staten Island Mr. E. W. Morse Dear Sir, I have written to you three times before and as I know you received the power of attorney I sent you (I have your receipt given to the Post Office) I do not know why you do not write. Your silence is causing me to lose time, as I have decided on doing nothing until I hear from you, and now knowing this to be the case, I hope you will have the kindness to let me know, at least, whether you have accepted my power of attor-
292
ney or not. If you have not, I must then try to find some one else, but if you do, I trust that you will have the kindness to write to me in regard to Mr. Stearns suit and to let me know whether you have written to Mr. Hancock in regard to the revalidation of the Jamul title, etc. Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain, respectfully yours, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 August 1869, Staten Island Don Guadalupe, Ya ver por el estado del sobre que le incluyo en qu condicin lleg su carta del 21 de junio, la que recib anoche despus de haber ido hasta St. Albans, Vermont, a lo que parece. Pero lleg a mis manos y ahora eso es lo que importa. Ya le he dicho en mis dos ltimas cmo mandarme mis papelesal cuidado de Don Federico R. Prieto, No. 701/2 Pine St., N. Y.o si no, al Box 5745 que es el del mismo seor. As pues, creo que ya tiene Ud. suficientes direcciones para que los papeles no se pierdan. Dele mis gracias al Seor Alfaro por su bondadoso recado y asegrele que siempre tengo mucho placer en saber que mis compatriotas expresen sentimientos de simpata por sta su desterrada y casi olvidada paisana, tambin dgale que tendr mucho gusto de verlo si viniere por estas tierras. En sta tambin contesto la de Ud. de 6 de agosto (que lleg anteayer). Me dice Ud. que como mis tierras estn cerca de San Diego no debo perder de vista mi inters all. No, amigo mo, de vista no pierdo mi inters. Mis pobres ojos estn muy fijos en ese punto, pero qu hacer? Qu hacer una mujer sin capital? y . . . mujer!! . . . Lo nico que por ahora se proporciona es adoptar the policy of a-masterly inactivityComo hacen los Great men (?) de Estados Unidos cuando no saben cmo salir de apuros. Ojal que
293
Rosecrans y (su amigo de Ud.) Fremont tengan buen xito y el Southern Pacific railroad se construya luego. Ya veo que todo depende de eso; tambin veo que debo tener alguien por all que se interese en m lo suficiente para siquiera aconsejarme qu debo hacer. Como mi amigo, Ud. me podr aconsejar, pero qu har para [tener] un agente? Es verdad que all est Federico mi hermano, pero aunque el muchacho no es tonto, siempre no s si l tiene suficiente aptitud y experiencia en negocios para que pueda ser un agente capaz de habrselas con los Yankies que son agujas puntiagudas. En el mes de mayo le mand mi poder a Mr. Morse de San Diego pero hasta ahora no he tenido razn de l, de modo que no s si deber retirarle el poder o todava perder ms tiempo esperando carta de l. Dgame cuando me escriba (no lo olvide) si Peachy el ci-devant compaero de Halleck est an en San Francisco y si practica su profesin. Deme razn de algn otro abogado (de los menos bribones) para que si se me ofreciere pueda encargarles mis negocios por all. Quiero estar preparada y no se asuste si me ve Ud. una maana llegar a Lachrima Montis con una maletita a hacerle una visita. Se alegrara Ud. de verme y mi prima? Tambin avseme si se remueve algo por all sobre especulaciones en tierras por San Diego o la Frontera. Slo Dios sabe hasta cundo llegar la hora en que esa pobre Frontera despierte. Tal vez no sea hasta despus que yo me haya ido a dormir mi sueo eterno . . . Adis. Estoy muy triste. Escrbame muy seguido. No se le olvide lo que le digo de darme razn de uno o dos buenos abogados, para lo que pudiere ocurrir. Saludes a mi prima, su mejor amiga, M.A. de Burton No olvide decirme cmo va Don Matas Moreno. Saldemelo y dgale que luego que est mejorcita le escribir. Mucho amor a Da. Prudenciana. Vyala a ver. Como su amiga se lo suplico . . .
294
MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 19 August 1869, Staten Island Mr. S. L. M. Barlow, Dear Sir, As I do not know the time you will return, you must excuse me for sending you this in the midst of your pleasure trip. I think it is important to let you know that something ought to be done to cover San Antonio, that is to say, to comply with the law (which again has been published in the Frontier) requiring lands to be occupied or else be regarded as denunciables. Heretofore as the Frontier has been almost an unknown land, there was no danger of any one coveting the uncultivated lands or denouncing them as vacant. But nowmy friends tell me from Californiawith the talk of a railroad to have its terminus at San Diego, there is a good deal of talk and excitement about lands in Southern Cal. and inquiries about the good lands on the Frontier near the boundary line. My friends write also that there is danger of some adventurers (so plenty in California) going as squatters to settle in the San Antonio as on vacant land, with a view to sell the land immediately after. Their suggestion is very good, and for that reason I thought I ought to write you this. San Antonio is too valuable to neglect when there is every prospect of the lands in Southern Cal. being brought into notice. I think it very necessary to occupy the place even if it be by putting there only a couple of men with a few head of cattle or of sheep or to start a small garden, etc., etc. This will occupy the land and secure it from squatters and subsequent litigations. Afterwards you can see whether it suits your views to enlarge upon this small beginning. Of one thing, however, you can be surevizthat whether the Lower Cal. Co. will do anything or not, the lands on the Frontier will increase in value on account of the Southern Pacific railroad and the emigration spreading southwards.
295
A propos of the Lower California Company, what is it doing? and is there any prospect of its doing any thing this coming winter? Please have the kindness to answer me at your earliest convenience. Remember, if squatters go to San Antonio and give us trouble, I shall have done all I can to prevent it. Hoping to hear from you by return of mail, I remain yours respectfully, M.A. de Burton MARB to E. W. Morse. 28 August 1869, Staten Island Dear Mr. Morse Yours of the 12 inst. by Wells Fargo, arrived last night. This is the first letter from you which has ever come to my hands. The others you mention were lost, I suppose, for I never received one, so that I concluded you did not wish to take charge of my affairs over there. I am very glad however that such is not the case, for I do not know of any one in whom I would place more confidence than in yourself. I will go to New York this morning just as soon as I finish this letter and will sign the petition. There is an observation I would have made and [it] is that in the petition it is stated that I do not know of any other property belonging to General Burton but those R.R. shares. Do you exclude Jamul because it is landed property, or because it is considered government land? If for the first reason, you of course know what to do in the matter, but if for the second reason then I would say to you that I am by no means sure that we have lost Jamul. The lawyer who advised the squatters to settle in Jamul I supposed did so relying on the decision of Judge Ogier who decided that the title of Jamul is not good because Po Pico as governor, gave that land to Po Pico as citizenI have
296
consulted one of the most prominent lawyers of Washington, and he says that Judge Ogiers decision was not sound. So we may yet get Jamul back. You can use this information or not, just as you think it will serve or not our interests. I thank you sincerely for the kind interest you have taken in my behalf and I approve of what you have done and what you suggest. If I understand you right, the lawyer who has agreed to take charge of the matter of Hinton and Stearns, etc. wants 10 percent of the amount saved out of the R.R. shares. Mr. Hintons amount must be pending for more than ten years and why had he not seized upon those shares? You say that the statute of limitation (they argue) does not reach those debts because the General was out of the state. But the property of the shares, were not and if they can seize them now why couldnt they do so ten years ago and not [let] any interest accumulate to such a large amount. You tell Mr. Hinton for my part, that if he will withdraw his suit, I will pay him the original $3000-(that is, if he gives a little time) but that I cannot tell what interest I will be able to pay perhaps none at all, for I do not know what I can do in the future; it is too dark for me yet to see any thing clear in it. But if he will continue his suit then I think we ought to fight the suit and I hope you may succeed in overthrowing it for I think it will be too hard to pay so much interest. The other claims I am sure are, if not spurious, exaggerated. Try to compromise with them and let me know what they agree to accept. Tell me too please how much I must pay in advance, you say, and what the costs of the court, etc. Explain it all well to me, remember that women cant vote yet and we are very ignorant individuals. I shall write soon again. I am in haste now. Yours very gratefully, M.A. de Burton
297
MARB to E. W. Morse. 30 August 1869, Staten Island, New York Dear Mr. Morse I sent to you the petition by Wells Fargo expresssigned. I also told you to employ as you suggested, the gentleman who offered to take charge of the matter of settling with Hinton, Stearns, etc. for the 10 per cent of what [can] be saved from the shares. I told you also to see Mr. Hinton (if you deem it advisable) and say to him that if he will withdraw his suit and give me a little time I will pay him $3000. If he sees that you can overthrow his suit, he may accept this offer. As those other people took everything from Jamul as soon as we left, I dont feel very grateful to them and I hope you will be able to get rid of them before they take the very little that we might realize out of those shares. I wrote to you very hurriedly day before yesterday and I think I called your attention to the fact that in the petition it is stated that there is no other property in San Diego belonging to General Burton but those shares, and I asked you whether you left out Jamul because it is property in land, or because it is considered by squatters as rejected and not ours? I made the observation because I do not know the bearing that [it] would have my acknowledging (as it were) that I recognize no other property there as belonging to my husband, which is not the case. So, if my statement in the petition includes real estate as well as personal property, then I do not think that such petition ought to be presented for I know that Jamul belongs to my husbands heirs. Write to me soon and let me knowif you pleaseabout this matter, and if you on purpose left out Jamul, and if so, why? because it is not personal property? or because it is considered rejected?it is very important to understand this. In regard to this matter of Jamul, I have a favor to ask of you, which I hope you will have the kindness and do just as soon as possible after you get this letter. I want you to have
298
the kindness to get Mr. Pendleton and ask him to let you see, or he search with you, in the archives for the record of the title of Jamul which was given to Don Po Pico by General (or Governor) Don Manuel Victoria in 1830. There might be a record too of the renewal of this title by Don Po Pico, who gave a title to himself because the one given by Victoria was destroyed when the Indians burnt his house in Jamul. Look well in the archives, please, and let me know what you find. I had a long talk with Don Po Pico myself yesterday and he told me he will be very happy to give his evidence to these facts-viz-of the rancho of Jamul-four leagues in extension-having been granted to him by Victoria etc. I do not think Mr. Hancock has been very diligent and in the least attentive to the Jamul case and as he has not even taken the trouble to answer my letters, I want to take the matter entirely from his hands and give it to some other trustworthy lawyer. I trust Mr. Morse that you will give your attention to this matter. Do not pay any attention to what squatters may say. The Jamul title is good and unless we suffer a gross injustice, we will yet get it. But you keep the matter quiet until our way is clearer. As matters stand now, all is in confusion because Mr. Hancock does nothing. Now tell me what is best to be done to get someone else instead of Hancock? I have no confidence in him; I am sure he has neglected our interests. This, of course, I tell it to you in confidence. If we only could succeed in having the case referred to Washington, all would be better for I have friends there who would take charge of it and would not neglect it. As soon as you get this and see the archives (for the record of the title given by Victoria to Po Pico) then you find out what Hancock has done and what he has omitted to do; that is, how the case now stands, whether we can appeal or whether the time is passed, or what, for Mr. Hancock says nothing and then write all to me, immediately. When General Burton bought Jamul he bought it of Don Juan Foster, acting
299
for Don Po Pico, with the understanding that as soon as Don Po returned from Sonora he would give the title to my husband. This has not been done yet, but Don Po is ready to do it at any time. So, I told him yesterday, that I would write to you today requesting you to see about the record in the Archives; to see about his giving his testimony; (if necessary) as to the fact of his having given the title to himself, because the original title was burned by the Indians) and about his giving the title agreed upon when my husband bought Jamul. Therefore, as soon as you hear that Don Po Pico has arrived at Los Angeles, you write him saying that I requested you to write to him in regard to the title of Jamul, which it was agreed between Don Juan Foster and General Burton, that he would give. Then, when he gives the title, he can (if you require it) give his testimony about the first title by Victoria and why he gave it to himself when the first was destroyed. I think it is very important that this matter should be attended to at once. So please do not delay any time in getting the required title from Don Po Pico. He is ready to give it immediately. Let me hear from you soon. Yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 14 September 1869, Staten Island, New York Cun bueno es Ud. Don Guadalupe en escribirme tan agradables cartas! La de agosto 30 lleg a su tiempo y le habra escrito antes si no hubiera estado enferma en cama de un constipado maligno que me ha agarrado de la garganta con las dos manos por diez das. Hoy es el primer da que me siento mejor ycomo lo veme pongo a escribirle aunque me tiembla la mano bastante. El Sr. Prieto mismo me trajo su carta y la abr delante de l para jactarme orgullosa de que se ocupe Ud. de m en diez y seis pginas. Ya ve Ud. que soy humilde y agradecida. Si Ud.
300
no hubiera [anotado] estas dos virtudes en el catlogo de mis mritos, hgame el favor de apuntarlas, puesto que no tengo de sobra...Hay tanto en su carta que quisiera responder! pero responder haciendo comentarios de viva voce con Ud. en sus ratos brillantes, cuando se siente inspirado y se le suelta la lengua como por mquina elctrica. S, me acuerdo bien de todo lo que me recuerda, todo. Pero Ud. olvid del mulita [General Jess] Gonzlez Ortega la sublime verbosidad con que lo tena a Ud. mudo, azorado, pestaeando, con labios comprimidos, mirndole de hito en hito, con el codo sobre la chimenea y la cabeza sobre la mano, se acuerda? Y yo tambin lo miraba, senta que jams iba ya yo a sentir deseo de hablar una sola palabra pues pareca que el hombre iba a dejar ese da para siempre exhausta la lengua castellana. Pobre Ortega. El es un vivo ejemplo de la buena fe de las repblicas y lo mucho que uno se debe fiar en su honor y justicia, su respeto por las leyes y la sinceridad de sus pretensiosas doctrinas. Bah! da bascas . . . El proto-libertador, primer hombre del Estado, Jurez, es el que ha violado ms (as dicen hoy los liberales) la Constitucin que pretende sostener! . . . Ay, cuando los hombres se jactan de haber alcanzado una civilizacin que slo hallan con pezuas de toros, de borregos y de burros, hoy seor mo, en medio de esa civilizacin eclatant y ruidosa, hoy es cuando ms que nunca la fuerza brutal es la que slo tiene poder para hacerse respetar! Quin respeta la fe pactada, el derecho, la justicia . . . Los Estados Unidos? Jurez? . . . S, lo mismo que los respeta Luis Napolen! . . . S, amigo mo, no lo negar, no, todava lloro por la herida que me caus el asesinato de Maximiliano . . . o mejor dicho, el asesinato de nuestra nacionalidad . . . Sintiendo as, ya Ud. imaginar cmo debo ver el proyecto atrevido del Sr. Vega. Para qu dividir a Mxico? para darle la mejor parte a los Yanquies? Si al cabo se la han de agarrar, para qu drsela! Y si no es para drsela, qu bien sobrevendr a los mexicanos en
301
cortar la Repblica, como quien corta a un cientopies que siempre no deja de ser cientopies aunque con un poco de menos fuerza? No, Don Guadalupe, [la] divisin no curar a Mxico, cuando su nico remedio es la Unin. En cuanto a lo que me dice de la Baja California, yo lo veo y lo he visto por aos. Cuando Ud. descubri que yo tengo el alma atravesada ya yo pensaba de esto, pero no por eso deja de serme menos repugnante. Convengo con Ud. que Mxico est completamente desquiciado . . . pero no lo creo muriendo . . . Est muy enfermo, s, y en sus ratos de delirio puede suicidarse, pero si no se suicida, vivir! . . . Y sabe Ud. qu clase de suicidio hay ms riesgo que cometa? El peor, el ms feo que es ahorcndose, ahorcndose con la cuerdita que su Sister Republic le ha regalado, cuya cuerdita Manifest Destiny, con su propia mano nos hizo el honor de tejer, l mismo . . . Qu gloria para los mexicanos que adoran prosternados en el polvo al Coloso del Norte! . . . Y Ud. ve, amigo que quererme convertir a las ideas de Ud. sobre esta cuestin es intil. Yo no veo ninguna causa y razn vlida, porque la raza latina haya decado de tal manera que slo pueda vivir apoyada del Anglo Sajn . . . La historia no miente y la historia nos dice cuan gloriosa ha sido la carrera de la raza Latina, pero . . . la raza Latina bajo un gobierno y leyes congeniales adaptadas a ella . . . All est todo el secreto digan lo que dijeren . . . De las naciones latinas, cul es la nica que progresa? La Francia . . . Por qu? porque es la nica que adoptando todos los adelantes del siglo . . . en ideas y materialmenteha conservado un gobierno que es el nico capaz de manejar a los franceses. Que se metan a exigir repblicas y ya ver Ud. los monstruos de Robespierre, Marat y Danton le brotarn por todos lados. Y qu le parece a Ud. el experimento en Espaa! Bah! qu farsa! Desde mi rinconcito triste y solitario veo lo que est pasando en el mundo y leo lo que ha pasado, y de todo eso, slo puedo deducir la misma conclusin que ya tanto le he repeti-
302
do hablando sobre esta materiaque las formas de gobierno deben adaptarse a las naciones, y no las naciones tener que adaptares a las formas no ms porque sean de moda en los Estados Unidos . . . Mr. Draper dice ms (en su Intellectual Development of Europe), dice que las formas de gobierno deben adaptarse a los climas! . . . porque los climas modifican y afectan el carcter de las razas . . . y el gobierno que har la felicidad de una nacin ser una maldicin para otra de diferente genio . . . qu tal? Me alegro que Draper apoye mi teora, mi firme fe y conviccin. As pues, perdneme si no veo que la Repblica de Sierra Madre pueda ser otra cosa que una cuenta aadida al triste Rosario de las miserables Repblicas Hispano Americanas de este continente; una especie de domingo siete sin gloria ni chiste que el Yankie se engullir rindose de ella. No se enoje conmigo porque le digo esto. Se enojar? Ya no dir ms, me callar o mejor hablaremos de otras cosas. Dgale a mi prima que con Estefana Alvarado (esposa del Capt. Geo. H. Johnson de San Diego y sobrina de Don Po Pico) le mand la fotografaen imperialde Nellie y que en este otoo espero que le enviar la ma y que quiero que me mande las de las muchachas todas, casadas o no, desde Fanie hasta la bebita. En diez aos que no los veo ya considero que habrn cambiado mucho. Cun triste es mirar en retrospecto! . . . pero, y el futuro? qu me promete a m, a esta infeliz mujer . . . sin patria y sin amor . . . la tumba . . . un atad . . . pero no, no hablar as porque Ud. me dice que no; que lo entristece. Vamos, me callar! o mejor dicho cambiar de materia . . . Bien hecho de ir a ver a Da. Prudenciana, es lo que deba Ud. haber hecho treinta aos ha! . . . No se horroriza al pensar que le rob por tantos aos todo ese afecto que por derecho natural le perteneca? . . . No le quiero echar un sermn, pero de veras, de todos sus pecados, hijo mo, ste es el ms gordo que yo le conozco . . . pero vale ms tarde que nunca . . . y como ella seguramente lo ha perdonado, espero que Dios tambin lo
303
perdonar! . . . Mucho me conmovi esa parte de su carta y yo tambin llor con Uds. aunque tan lejos. Dele mil amores de mi parte, tambin a Don Matas y dgale que ahora cuando vamos a tener un carril a San Diego que despertar al sooliento pueblo, es necesario que l sane y se interese en todos los adelantos de ese pas que debieran influir a la Frontera . . . Si Ud. me manda mis papeles por Wells Fargo y dirigido al cuidado de Prieto, creo que vendrn seguros. Mndemelos luego. Desde que empec sta he tenido una recada con mi catarro tan porfiado. La empec anteayer pero no pude continuar y ayer pas el da en cama. Hoy estoy algo mejor. Debo estarlo, siendo Diez y seis de septiembre . . . Cuntos recuerdos me trae siempre este da que siempre yo amar aunque me trae tambin memorias tan tristes! . . . Escrbame luego y largo. No se detenga porque no tenga que decirme, porque eso es imposible. Tome la pluma y le fluir. Aunque no crea yo que sea bueno para los mexicanos dividir la Repblica, no por eso vaya a creer que me intereso menos en sus progresos que haga ese movimiento de Vega, y le suplico a Ud. que no deje de decirme cmo sigue esa fiesta y qu xito parece prometer. Si la cosa no tiene remedio y esos locos se encaprichan en descuartizar a la pobre Mxico despus de haberla apualado por tantos aos, entonces, seor mo, no le negar que su filosofa de Ud. y la del nufrago corpulento es la nica alternativa que le queda a uno. El infeliz aforismo que lgrimas con pan, etc., etc. Por los papeles de ayer y hoy veo que se ha noticiado por telgrafo que Rosecrans sali ayer para San Diego a inaugurar el carril de ese punto al Gila. Creo es buena noticia para m. Dgame si se habla por San Francisco [de] los terrenos de la Frontera cerca a la lnea divisoria. Algunos de los terrenos de la Frontera son mejores que los que hay cerca de San Diego pero tienen la maldicin de estar al otro lado de una lnea imaginaria que los Yanquies respetarn hasta que se les d su gana y nada ms.
304
Me alegro que Vallejo progrese, pero lo que me hizo preguntarle fue ms por saber si Ud. tiene inters en el RR se como tena antes. Nada me dice cmo va o si ya concluy la cuestin sa de sus terrenos. Hace mucho que no oigo de eso. Supongo que Mr. Frisbie se cogi la mejor tajada . . . Espero que Lachrima Montis le quedar bien asegurada a mi prima. Eso es lo que Ud. debe asegurar para que si por desgracia Ud. le faltase que no se quede sola sin recursos. Es verdad que tiene hijos que la cuiden pero siempre . . . asegrele independencia . . . Viuda! Oh, cun triste es esa palabra. Pero no, no quiero ponerlo triste, Adis. Escrbame seguido, seguido y largo. Sus cartas me divierten y me reaniman. Ojal que Ud. venga. Est tan cerca ahora, comparativamente. Espero que Flix venga en el invierno. Vendr por San Francisco y Ud. lo ver primero. Vengan juntos, qu gusto tendra yo de verlos! Amor a mi prima. Su amiga, M.A. de Burton Le escribo una pgina ms que Ud. escribi. Dgame a dnde debo dirigirle mis cartas, si a Sonoma o San Francisco. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 15 September 1869, Jamul Dear Sir, Yesterday I received a letter from my sister, with the enclosed which I now send you. In it she tells me that she has sent you a Power of Attorney to represent her in the case of this [Jamul] ranch. I am naturally interested in knowing your decision in regard to it. I shall expect to hear from you by Bearer. If there is anything in which I can be [of any use] I hope that you will let me [know]. Federico Ruiz Maytorena
305
MARB to E. W. Morse. 29 September 1869, Staten Island, New York Dear Mr. Morse A month ago I sent back to you my petition to the court as you advised signed before a commissioner. I suppose you received it, but I would like very much to know that it is so. I mentioned to you then (and wrote a letter after on the same subject) that I did not consider the R.R. Shares as the only property owned there by General Burton, that Jamul is also his property, and I left to you to present the petition or not, as you saw proper. I repeat this again to you in case you should not have received the other letter. But the object of this now is to consult you about employing some other lawyer to take charge of the Jamul case and take the matter off Hancocks hands. He has not answered any of my letters, and of course as he gives no answer and neglects the case, I have the right to put it in charge of some one who will. I have been advised to employ either a Mr. Chapman or a Mr. Seplveda, both of Los Angeles; but as you tell me that squatters had employed a lawyer in the same case, I do not know but what one of these gentlemen might happen to be the same lawyer. To prevent my making the awkward mistake of employing the squatters lawyer, I think I had better leave to you the choice as I am confident you will judge correctly. If Mr. Chapman is not of the oppositions side, then you write to him as soon as you can get this and send him the enclosed. You will see that I leave the name in blank so that if Mr. Chapman is for the squatters you may send my letter to Mr. Seplveda or some other good lawyer in whom you place confidence. In which case you put the name of the man you have employed and notify me immediately who he is. I will send in this also a letter for Mr. Hancock telling him I have decided to employ some one else and to deliver to the person you designate all the papers, etc. he may have in his possession relating to Jamul, etc.
306
I will send both letters open that you may see better what I wish. Then, Mr. Morse, please write to me immediately and tell me what you have done in the matter. Please lose no time; it will be very advantageous to get this Jamul matter in shape that if it is necessary to bring it to Washington it may be done in December next. For this reason I am so anxious to put it in better hands early in October. I am anxious also to hear again from you in regard to Mr. Hinton, etc. I authorized you to offer to the lawyer you mentioned the ten per cent as he said. As the San Diego and Gila R.R. seems to be bearing up? I hope it will be well worth his while to serve as much as possible. Let me know how matters stand about every thing. If we save Jamul and the R.R. stock I know you shall not have taken all this trouble for me in vain. Hoping to hear from you soon. I remain yours very grateful. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 October 1869, Staten Island, New York Mi querido amigo, Gracias, millones y millones de gracias. Los papeles llegaron sin novedad. Vlgame Dios cunto dinero le debo! No me cobre inters hijo mo, porque entonces no s cuando le pague a no ser que su chino, el rico de los mil millones, se compadezca de m y me traiga de China el suficiente nmero de coludos que trabajen en mis terrenos de la Frontera. Cmo quiere Ud. que mire yo la cuestin de emigracin china cuando tengo esperanza de llevar unos cuantos a la Ensenada? En cuanto al punto de vista poltico . . . qu dira el nufrago corpulento? Se lo figura Ud? . . . pues as digo yo . . . Ya por esto ver Ud. que su filosofa no ha cado enteramente en pedregal y espinas. Ya entre Ud. y Vctor Hugo me van educando . . . ya voy haciendo el nimo a contemplar el batiboleo de la chusma como el gran desideratum de la humanidad . . .
307
Ya ve Ud. cunto quiero hacer no ms que por complacerlo? No s por qu se sorprende Ud. de lo que le pasa al Sr. Vega con sus ci-devantamigos los liberales. Qu diablos tiene esa gente? exclama Ud. con su natural naivet. Tiene el diablo de republicanismo que es el diablo de tropela; diablo de vejaciones; diablo de robos; diablo de insolencia; diablo de asesinatos . . . esos y otros, son los diablos que tiene esa gente . . . Pero no se me enoje por mis recadas. Perdnelas y ya procurar yo ver esas cosas como Ud. las ve! Si no puedo, entonces o comenzaremos la polmica o me callar, no? particularmente si las profecas que Ud. oscuramente me deja entrever se realizan . . . De veras, Don Guadalupe, quisiera poder pensar diferentemente sobre todas estas cuestiones que se agitan a mi rededor. Pero no puedo. O digo mentiras, o sigo cantando mi Domingo Siete . . . fatalidad! No puedo escribirle ms largo ahora pues slo escribo sta para avisarle la llegada de los documentos. Luego le escribir ms. Ud. tambin. Quin es esa compatriota ma de tanto talento? No me haga misterio de su nombre. Tal vez sea mi pariente. Casi toda la gente decente de ambas Californias es mi pariente. Ha visto Ud. a Don Po Pico desde que regres de por ac? Le incluyo una carta para mi hermana, la esposa de Don Pablo de la Toba. Hgame favor de remitir a La Paz por va segura. Si Ud. podr remitirle unas fotografas con seguridad, dgamelo y se las despachar para que Ud. me haga el favor de remitrselas a Manuela. Qu dice mi prima, le gusta la que le mand con Estefana? En este mes o temprano en Noviembre bien puede ser que vea Ud. a Flix Gibertcreo que ya se fue de Mxico para La Paz. Cmo est Don Matas y Da. Prudenciana? Adis por hoy. Luego escribir otra vezAmores a la familia. Su amiga, M.A. de Burton
308
P.D. Con el apuro en que escribo ya iba dejando lo ms importante en el tinteroEn cuanto a lo que me dice de remitirle una nota prometiendo pago a Johnson dir que en primer lugar la deuda fue de Enrique y no s ni la cantidad que es. Tampoco no quiero obligarme yo a pagarle porque no s hasta cundo podr realizar algo de mi propiedad en la frontera. Si el Sr. Johnson (y dgaselo de mi parte) no hubiera detenido esos papeles tan injustamente yo habra podido hacer un buen negocio en 1864 cuando hubo tanto alboroto en N. Y. por minas en el Colorado, etc. El Sr. J. rehus entregar esos papeles a Krafft, y por no tenerlos yo aqu mis manos estaban amarradas y nada pude hacer. Tanto fue el perjuicio que eso me atrajo que un abogado me dijo que yo poda muy bien poner demanda contra J. y recobrar damages, pues J. saba bien que la propiedad era ma y no de mi esposo. Pero yo por respeto a Enrique nada quise hacer y perd esa buena oportunidad. As pues como el Sr. J. me ha hecho tanto perjuicio, es pedir muy poco decirle que me espere y luego que pueda le pagar lo que mi esposo le haya debidoexcepto inters exorbitante. Dgame Ud. si Ud. est comprometido, cmo etc. etc. Adis. Dgame si le debo dirigir mis cartas a San Francisco o a Sonoma. No s a dnde. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 October 1869, Staten Island, New York Estimado amigo, Si a los ojos de Ud. soy un ngel, me alegro de saberlo, pero le confieso que a pesar de eso, no habra podido volar hasta Chicago en el espacio de dos das. Mis anglicas alas slo pueden llevarme en espritu mientras que mi infeliz humanidad, que pesa 165 libras, se queda aqu muy triste, disappointed. Pero de veras que es una picarda de Ud. venir hasta Chicago y no llegar a New York! Es un pecado. Un crimen contra la amistad.
309
Y mi prima, vino tambin para devolverse de la mitad del camino? Cundo la trae hasta ac? . . . Ojal que pudiera yo responderle una cosa que me dice en su carta pero no puedo! Dgale a mi prima que lo traiga. Ud. slo, no viene . . . qu humbug! . . . estar diciendo que va a venir y el resuello se le acaba al llegar a Chicago! . . . Qu mal[abarismo] ha Ud. hecho, pero qu magnfico showman. Qu bien habra explicado las asombrosas maravillas de la fantasmagora! . . . Pero yo no quiero ilusiones pticas! Preferira verlos( a Ud. y mi prima) con mis propios ojos y no con imaginario telescopio desde aqu a Chicago! Tampoco quiero verlo de prisa. No, seor. Quiero que nos sentemos en paz, muy quietos y sin apuro, y comencemos nuestras antiguas plticas pasando en revista todo. Hombres, mujeres, cuentos, hechos, cosas, teoras, libros, autores, poltica, religin, etc., etc. y a propos de todo esto, qu piensa Ud. del pronunciamiento de Pre Hyacinthe contra el Papa? . . . y ha ledo Ud. el ltimo [chacher?] poltico de Vctor Hugo titulado LHomme que rit qu le parece?y a propos de libroscmo va el de Ud., su historia de California? Hace mucho que no me dice qu progreso hace . . . Ahorita, ahorita la otra carta de Ud. fechada en Sherman House Chicago, acaba de llegar! fue la que Ud. escribi primero. En cuanto al aviso por telgrafo, se s, no lo he recibido, ni creo que lo recibir ya tan tarde. Siento mucho que si por verme a m (como Ud. dice) se haya Ud. tomado la molestia de venir tan lejos. Pero no se lo creo. No creo que haya sido por m. No soy tan vanidosa para figurarme eso. Sin embargo, mucho, muchsimo hubiera sido mi placer en volver a verlo, y le aseguro que si salgo de aqu no me vuelvo de la mitad del camino, no parar hasta llegar bajo su naranjo de Lachrima Montis. Si Ud. dirigi su telegrama a New York y no a Staten Island, esa debe ser la razn que no lo he recibido. Es necesario decir Vanderbilt Landing y mejor an, si aade Centre St. y como no hay otra Mrs. General H. S. Burton en Centre St. estara segura de recibirlo.
310
Ya que hablamos de telegramas, y habindole explicado el modo de dirigrmelo, le voy a pedir que me haga Ud. otro favor si fuere de necesidad me lo har? . . . Suponiendo que no es Ud. capaz de decirme que no, sigo adelante. Esccheme atentamente. Hay en San Diego un Seor(Mr. E. W. Morse) a quien le he encargado algunos negocitos mos por all y [le] voy a escribir por este correo que [si] hubiese necesidad de comunicarme alguna cosa con prontitud, que se lo diga [a] Ud. para que Ud. me la avise por telgrafo. Lo har as? Me da Ud. permiso? Hace muchos aos que un abogado (un tal Hancock de Los Angeles) ha estado encargado del ttulo de Jamul, pero como no ha hecho ningn caso de l, los squatters se han metido en el rancho y slo Dios sabe si jams los echaremos fuera. Ahora ya le escrib a Mr. Morse de emplear a otro abogado para que se encargue de conseguir la ratificacin de Jamul y sobre esto tal vez sea necesario comunicarme con Morse por telgrafo. As, pues, amigo mo, no se sorprenda si recibe despacho moen inglsdicindolediga Ud. esto, o el otro a Morseya Ud. sabe lo que quiero. Tambin Morse est encargado de otras cosas por all. Es una lstima que no hay telgrafo de San Francisco a San Diego. Luego que reciba Ud. sta contsteme con respecto a esto de mis telegramas. En el entendido que slo le dar [a] Ud. esta molestia en caso de grande urgencia y necesaria prontitud, de lo contrario, no. Los papeles llegaron perfectamente bien. As ya se lo avis dndole mis sinceras gracias.En cuanto a nuestra cuentecita espero que la arreglemos luego. Si no, entonces la fortuna es ms feroz y ms encarnizada que lo que yo creo. Espero que me escriba luego que llegue Ud. a San Francisco. Esperaba Ud. alguna cosa especial en el Vapor de Mxico? Si no, por qu esa precipitacin para encontrar el vapor? Parece que el Sr. Vega sigue en status quo. Los papeles por ac dicen que Lpez no quiere entrar en sus planes, es ver-
311
dad? . . . En el nterin Jurez sigue su marcha triunfal sobre el cuello de los patriotas mexicanos . . . Cun civilizado est el mundo! Tiranizar con el nombre de Rey, es horrible, pero tiranizar de Presidente es tan lindo!, tan dulce! huele a rosas . . . Adis . . . acabo sta para contenerme. Escrbame luego y seguido, y largo; tengo tanto placer en leer sus cartas. Amores a mi prima. Su afa. amiga siempre fiel. M.A. de Burton MARB to E. W. Morse. 12 October 1869, Staten Island, New York Mr. E. W. Morse Dear Mr. Morse, It is more than six weeks since I sent you back the petition with my signature and as yet I do not know whether you received it and if so, whether you presented it or not. I am uncertain of this as I told you before, because, there is the Jamul rancho besides the R.R. shares which were alone mentioned in the petition. I explained this to you in several letters and asked your advice but I have not heard from you. A few days ago, I sent you a letter to Mr. Hancock telling him I wish to employ some other lawyer to take charge of the ratification of Jamul as he has not even answered my letter and has evidently neglected the case. I also sent you a letter (leaving the name in blank) requesting another lawyer (which name I requested you to choose for me) to take charge of the Jamul case. Have you received those letters? Please let me know. It is very important that I know immediately who is the lawyer now in charge of the case, because there are many things necessary for him to know that I cannot tell until I know to whom I must write them. If you write to me immediately I will not have to trouble you so much, for I can then communicate with the lawyer directly. In the meantime you must excuse my troubling you.
312
If there should be any thing that you think it is important for me to know quickly, please communicate it to General M. G. Vallejo at San Francisco and he will telegraph to me. I have told him you might do so and he will be prepared to transmit to me any message from you. Do not forget this, please. I shall feel much relieved in mind when I hear from you. How is RR stock now? What the value of shares? Who is the lawyer you tell me will see to the matter with Hinton and the others? I hope you will enlighten me a little, Mr. Morse. I am at present in the darkest limbo imaginable and you alone can throw any light upon this tantalizing gloom. So please, be merciful with me, and let me hear from you soon. Yours very truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to Barlow. 17 October 1869, Staten Island, New York [sent to Barlow in London] My dear Mr. Barlow, Your letter came duly. I am glad you are coming soon. But if for some unforeseen occurrence you should be obliged to delay, then please write to Mr. Travers yourself. For my part, I must decline doing so as it was entirely useless. The excitement in Southern California has increased since General Rosecrans went down with the railroad party and the mania now is lands. I have again received letters urging me not to lose time to cover San Antonio, alleging that what leaves San Antonio peculiarly exposed to squatters is the fact that, if not occupied by us, it can be denounced as Real de Minas now or held by squatters [with] a view of making a Real de Minas as soon as they can do so advantageously. I mention this to you now because I do not remember having done so in my last.
313
Please think of what I have said to you in regard to the advantage of making some sort of beginning to establish a foundation for your stock. Else, who will buy it? Nobody. Since to hold San Antonio it will be necessary to occupy it, why not with a small additional expense make a beginning which might be a nucleus for larger operations? If San Antonio and the Ensenada are made valuable now with the terminus of the R.R. so near, it will be the interest of the Co. to purchase or consolidate interests. But should they not, there will be enough material in the two places for a separate large enterprise. And to my mind a separate one is far preferable when so much apathy is manifested. After making some sort of a start then it will be the time to speak of selling stock. Now, however, the important point is, to protect San Antonio from the squatters. For the rest, your mind is too clear not to perceive the truth of what I suggest. Please let me know immediately your arrival for I have many important things to communicate to you. I remain yours respectfully. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 20 October 1869, Staten Island, New York Mi querido amigo, Estoy casi desesperada y hasta medio enferma de ansiedad que tengo por mis negocios, por la dificultad con que recibo noticias de San Diego. Morse es mi agente pero tiene una calma y una apata que me estn matando. Figrese Ud. que en seis meses una sola carta he recibido de l. Desde fines de agosto, le escrib una carta (con otros documentos) de cuya carta me es importantsimo tener respuesta y saber a qu atenerme y aqu ya casi pasan tres meses y ni una palabra. Por estas razones y ya casi sofocndome, le escrib dicindole que me noticiara por telgrafo cmo van mis negocios; quin es el
314
abogado encargado del ttulo de Jamul (para su ratificacin), etc., etc. y le dije que le mande a Ud. el despacho para que Ud. tenga la bondad de transmitrmela. Ya le dije a Ud. esto en mi anterior, por eso no le hago ms escenas y pido ms soluciones. Me siento tan acosada por mis desgracias, tan atribulada que no tengo corazn de ocuparme en cumplidos. Pero Ud. es mi amigo y con eso se dice todo. Si no fuera porque temo dejar a mis hijos solos, y an ms porque el viaje es tan costoso, yo me ira a San Diego a ver qu hace esa gente aptica . . . Si el Presidente o Superintendente del camino se enloquecieran y me dieran free ticket, entonces me iba la semana entrante. Para lo que le escribo sta es para decirle que creo que si Ud. mismo le escribe a Morse dicindole que yo le he pedido me mande cualquier despacho que l (Mr. Morse) tenga que enviarme, entonces creo que eso lo despertar algo. Si l sabe que hay una persona de la posicin de Ud. tan cerca de l, interesada en favorecerme, estoy segura que se apurar un poco siquiera. As pues, amigo mo, luego que reciba esta escrbale y dgale que le diga a Ud. quin es el encargado del ttulo de Jamul y tambin me diga algo sobre los otros negocios mos en su cargo. Nada s, puesto que no he recibido carta de l desde el 21 de agosto, y ya estoy casi loca de ansiedad. Escrbame luego. Estoy tan triste que me compadezco de m misma. Sus cartas me consuelan. Cundo viene? No le sorprenda si me ve por all. Quiere que le avise por telgrafo para que me venga a encontrar en el camino? Dgame y si voy le pongo despacho al salir. El despacho de Ud. no ha venido anni vendr. Adis. No le escribo ms porque estoy tan abatida. Me duele el corazn y me siento como exhausta. Amores a mi prima. Su afa. y fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton
315
P.D. Le incluyo una carta que le escribo a Morse para que al remitrsela Ud., sea ocasin de decirle lo que le pido. Ya no s de qu Santo valerme. En el nterin, el RR a San Diego el Gila va a empezar y al ver el mapa me parece que no pasar lejos de Jamul. Ya ver Ud. si no urge el que sea confirmado. MARB to E. W. Morse. 20 October 1869, Staten Island, New York Dear Mr. Morse, Here we are in the middle of October (or after) and not one word from you yet to my letters written when I sent the petition, and after. I am more anxious than I can express to you, to know whether you presented the petition after my observation to you in regard to Jamul being also property of the General besides the R.R. Shares. Please have the kindness to answer me this. I am afraid to annoy you but your silence leaves me no alternative than to repeat my letters. So soon as I know who is [in] charge of Jamul (the title of it) and so soon as I know how the other matters are, I assure you I will not trouble you with my letters so often. A few days ago I received a letter from Fred Ruiz my brother, and he tells me you said you had written to me explaining your doubts as to the confirmation of Jamul. Your letter I have not received and I fear it is miscarried. This is a very unfortunate occurrence, for I would like to know why you have such doubts. Please write to me again if by the date of your letter you think it is lost. Direct to Stapleton P. O. In two or three of my previous letters I have said to you a good deal about Jamul and why I consider the title of it perfectly good. I begged you also to see Don Po Pico in regard to it. If you write to him that it is necessary that he be in person at San Diego to attend to this matter of the Jamul title, he
316
will certainly go for he promised it to me to do so, and will not fail. He is the best evidence of the legality of the title, as Victoria gave it to him and he possessed it and afterwards renewed the title to himself. But I explained all this to you before. If you have not written to me by the time you receive this telling me who is the lawyer in charge of the Jamul case, please send a note to Gen. Vallejo at San Francisco enclosing a telegram for me and in that telegram do tell me who the lawyer may be. You can only say. Mr.____ has Jamul case. Also please tell me something about Hintons affair, if you can and who is the person you engaged to see [to] it. What about RR stock? You see by all these questions how ignorant I am. Please write. It is now two months and a half since I sent back the petition and it only requires ten days for a letter from you to reach me. This shows why I am so anxious to hear from you. Yours respectfully, M.A. de Burton P.S. I shall send this to General Vallejo and to him then you can send your despatch for me, if you have not done so before. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 23 October 1869, Jamul, California Sir, I wish to know the decision of the Probate Court in regard to the Administration of the Generals estate. As I am interested, I address myself to you, to obtain the requisite information. As you are aware, Ive put in a Bill and wish to know whether it can be paid or not; so that I may take the measures I may deem convenient. Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain, your obedient servant, F. M. Ruiz
317
Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 29 October 1869, Jamul, California Sir, On the 23rd ltimo I wrote to you by Mr. Riley; but he did not bring me an answer as I expected. I am desirous to know the decision of the Probate Court in the matter of the Estate of General Burton. As you are Agent, as well as Administrator, I now address myself to you, in order to [obtain] the information I stand in need of, and beg an explicit answer. Whether my Bill is to be paid or not; I think that my having kept possession of this Rancho entitles me to be paid, if not, at least to be answered. I am very sorry to trespass on your time but as you are Mrs. Burtons Agent, I naturally look to you for information on the subject. I hope, Sir, that you may have time to answer me; the Bearer will call at your office. With great respect, I remain, yours, F. M. Ruiz MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 23 November and 24 November 1869, Staten Island, New York [18-page letter] Mi muy querido amigo, Si Ud. hubiera visto cmo me temblaban las manos al abrir su carta, me creera que la haba esperado con mucha ansiedad. Tema mucho que estuviera enfermo pues no crea que sin una razn justa y grave sera Ud. capaz de dejar de escribirme por tan largo tiempo. Pero as es. Y esto slo prueba que jams puede uno estar seguro que conoce bien a nadie! Cuando yo he esperado de da en da cartas de Ud. y porque no las reciba me imaginaba no s cuntas desgracias, ahora veo que su silencio slo era causado por un enojo injusto . . . Please, regeme pero no deje de escribirme, ese es un castigo mucho ms cruel que yo pueda jams merecer . . .
318
Pero por qu est Ud. tan enojado? Vamos a ver. Dizque porque no le cre que hubiera venido a Chicago a verme! Vea Ud. cun injusto es Ud. No parece ms lgico pensar que si realmente as hubiera sido que Ud. no me habra prevenido en tiempo, o que ya que se haba tomado esa gran molestia que habra continuado hasta New York cuando no me hall en Chicago? As es como yo pens, y por eso cre que Ud. haba venido con algunos amigos parte del camino para acompaarlos. Pero si yo hubiera sabido que se iba Ud. a enojar y para castigarme no escribirme por un mes, no habra tenido la sinceridad de decrselo y habra noms ddole mis gracias por una prueba de gran bondad hacia m. Esto gano con ser sincera y siempre decir la verdad! . . . Esto gano; que ni siquiera me responda mis cartas. Y qu cartas? Cartas llenas de ansiedad al verme tan sola y desamparada . . . Por qu no me dice nada de lo que le escrib incluyendo una para Mr. Morse? Se la despach el da 28 de Oct. Hace un mes y 3 das, que es tiempo suficiente para que me llegara contestacin. No s qu hacer. Casi me vuelvo loca de ansia porque no puedo conseguir que Morse me diga una sola palabra de quin es el abogado encargado del ttulo de Jamul y de otros asuntos que le tengo encargado. Desde el da 12 de agosto no me escribe, ya ver Ud. si el hombre tiene cachaza. No s a quin volver los ojos ni quin tome algn inters en m para que siquiera me d alguna noticia. Don Matas est enfermo, Federico (mi hermano) es un muchacho sin experiencia, y Ud., que es el nico de quien yo podra valerme, est enojado! . . . Y qu, ser posible que est tan enojado que no? . . . Voy a leer su carta otra vez . . . S, seor, no hay duda de que est muy enojado, pero como a pesar de eso siempre me dice que lo crea, que desea serme til, lo voy a tomar al pie de la letra y pedirle que se tome una gran molestia por m y me haga un gran favor. Le aseguro que lo pido
319
con muchsima timidez, pero como me dice que ahora es tan fcil viajar y como tal vez estar yendo a San Diego desde que Ud. y Da. Prudenciana se entienden como deben entenderse, pensando todo esto me animo a decirle mi idea . . . Qu prembulo, no? Y con qu objeto? lo adivina? . . . Para hacerle la atrevida splica que vaya a visitar a Da. Prudenciana y le haga a Mr. E. W. Morse una visitita por m . . . Si es cierto que vino hasta Chicago a verme, no es posible que se niegue a ir a una distancia tan corta para hacerme un servicio de tanta importancia y salvarme de tanta ansiedad, de una demencia casi. Si la estacin no estuviera ya tan avanzada, yo misma ira pero me parece una temeridad ir ahora cuando con una carta que me escriba Morse explicndome cmo van mis negocios sera lo suficiente para que yo sepa qu debo hacer. No ms quiero saber quin es el abogado que tiene a su cargo el negocio de sacar la ratificacin de Jamul y no ms porque a Morse no se le da su gana de decrmelo, nada s ni puedo averiguar si se va a hacer apelacin a Washington, o si la corte del distrito es la que decidir o qu. Dios mo, qu? . . . A veces, Don Guadalupe parece que me ahogo tanto, me late el corazn al contemplar mi desamparo, mi impotencia infeliz, que ni siquiera tengo un amigo a quien yo le interese lo suficiente para hacer que ese hombre me escriba y me diga lo que tengo derecho de saber. Si Ud. quiere sacarme esta espina del corazn y darme por piedad alguna noticia, se lo agradecer con todo el poder de mi corazn que jams ha sido malagradecido. Luego que pase el invierno est Ud. seguro que ir a despachar a Mr. Morse muy enhoramala, pero por ahora tengo que sufrir y pasar las horas tristes de la noche deseando morirme y pensando cuanto mejor habra sido para m si el mundo jams hubiera salido del caos, ese caos que no puede haber sido ms negro que la desolacin que me rodea. Qu es posible, Dios mo, qu es posible (me digo a m misma) que sea tan miserable que no tenga un solo amigo de quin valerme? que no haya una sola persona en California que vaya a ver qu ha hecho Morse de mis negocios? . . . Y el eco responde no . . .
320
Federico est enojado conmigo porque nombr a Morse mi agente y para desquitarse no me escribe, y as no puedo saber una sola palabra desde que escrib quitando de manos de Hancock el ttulo de Jamul y diciendo a Morse que empleara otro abogado. Eso fue el 28 de agosto. Ya casi tres meses. Me parece que he esperado lo suficientetres mesescuando una carta llega en ocho das. Luego que reciba sta, escrbame, y si se resuelve a ir a San Diego dgame por telgrafo Salgo tal da para San Diego y con toda mi alma le bendecir desde aqu como mi ngel consolador. Si me manda alguna vez telegrama, mndeselo como ya le dije a Prieto quien (dir de paso) no es mi agente sino mi amigo, y un joven de bastante talento pero que no le criticar sus cartas puesto que nunca las leer. No ms le ense el nmero de pginas pero no lo que Ud. deca. Si Ud. le manda el despacho telegrfico para m, l me lo transmitir ms luego y con ms seguridad que si Ud. lo dirige a Staten Island. La prueba es que el que Ud. me mand de Sacramento al salir nunca lo recib. Tengo ya los ojos muy hinchados pues he estado llorando desde que le empec a escribir sta; maana se la concluir. Como de costumbre, el llanto me ha enfermado. Buenas noches. Mircoles, 24 de Noviembre de 1869 Antes de continuar sta, le la de Ud. por la tercera vez. Lo primero que debo decirle es que me perdone mi incredulidad, puesto que bajo su palabra de honor dice que vino hasta Chicago a verme. Si tuviera yo ms vanidad, quiz lo habra credo desde luego, pero no la tengo, y por eso Ud. debe perdonarme. Tambin veo en su carta una frase muy corta y tan cruel, que no la comprendo y tengo que preguntarle a Ud. su significacin, qu quiere decir con llamarme amiga de otro tiempo? Cuidado, Don Guadalupe! Una amistad como la ma no se debe estropear as no ms, llevado de un momento de irritacin injusta. Yo soy, he sido y ser siempre su amiga. Ya le he dicho que afuera de mi familia, que Ud. y Flix son los dos amigos que ms quiero; mi amistad por ambos es tan
321
pura y sincera, cuanto es llena de afecto y tambin entusiasmo y tierno cario. Me acuerdo ahora que ya una vez antes Ud. hizo una alusin muy marcada hacia un cambio en nuestra amistad. Jams habra yo hecho tal cosa. Me habra parecido como un atentado sacrlego contra un objeto sagrado. Cuando yo siento amor o amistad, siento con tanta intensidad que hasta yo misma en lo ms recndito de mi corazn experimento un respeto, una veneracin por mis propios sentimientos que me impedira hablar con ligereza de ellos. Reflexione y ver que tengo razn, y que como aprecio en tan alto grado su amistad, y tambin respeto la ma hacia Ud., que es una crueldad de Ud. de ponerse a hablar de esa amistad como si fuera un mueble viejo que se quebr y debe arrumbarse entre las telaraas de un olvidado rincn. No, seor. De las alhajas de oro, hasta los pedacitos se conservan, y de los diamantes hasta el polvo . . . La verdadera amistad, los sentimientos puros, elevados y generosos son ms preciosos que el oro y diamantes. As pues, mientras que sienta Ud. que todava conserva en su corazn un polvito de amistad por m, no hable de ella como una cosa del pasado, no la sobaje Ud. mismo hacia la tierra, no le falte al respeto. La amistad merece y debe tener su culto separado prodigado a ella por los poqusimos capaces de conocerla . . . Dudar de ella es hereja que se debe abjurar con contricin . . . La corriente del tiempo se ha llevado tanto que era precioso para m! . . . No quiero que caiga nada ms en ese despiadado torrente . . . Pero si mi destino todava quiere continuar en su ferocidad, entonces no puedo ms. Me someter consolndome con el pensamiento que la vida es corta . . . Me dice en su carta que est tan aburrido y no tiene gusto en nada, Por qu est as? qu le ha sucedido? qu nueva ingratitud lo ha lastimado? Dgame, dgame todo. Cuanto siento que no vino despus de caminar hasta Chicago. Tengo tanto que decirle y tanto que preguntarle! De formalidad, pienso ir a California en el mes de abril a ms tardar, puesto que no tengo en San Diego de quin
322
fiarme. Si Mr. Morse se portara como debe, no tendra yo esa necesidad. Como nada me dice, no s en qu estado est el ttulo de Jamul y tal vez estoy perdiendo mi tiempo precioso y esta dilacin haciendo perjuicio a mis pobres hijitos que no tienen ms que Jamul. Por eso es, que a gritos le pido me d alguna noticia, y si es posible, si no es pedirle demasiado, que vaya Ud. mismo a verse con Morse. Tambin quiero decirle otra cosa que no s si la dije antes. Puede ser que s, pero no me acuerdo. Cuando Enrique (el General) compr Jamul (en 1858) de Don Juan Forster como agente de Don Po Pico, fue con la condicin que luego que regresara Don Po de Sonora que l extendera el ttulo de venta. Este ttulo Don Po no ha dado an pero me dice que est listo a darlo luego que vea al abogado que tiene los papeles de Jamul. Yo s bien que no se puede tener confianza en ese abogado y si Don Po se atiene a la puntualidad, no s hasta cundo se pospondr el extenderse de ese ttulo. Yo no tengo la ms pequea duda de las buenas intenciones de Don Po, pero Ud. ya conoce la indolencia de nuestra raza, y como siempre dejamos para maana lo que podemos hacer hoy. Qu har? qu me aconseja? Yo no quiero importunar a Don Po, y al mismo tiempo veo temblando la urgencia que verdaderamente hay en que no se pierda ms tiempo. Qu dice, no sera bueno que con pretexto de decirle que yo le he pedido a Ud. me comunique si l ya se ha visto con Hancock, (el que tena los papeles) y si ya ha extendido el prometido ttulo, que Ud. le escriba a el preguntndoselo? No s por qu Don Po cree necesario ver ningn papel si el convenio fue que l dara titulo luego que regresara. As me lo dijo l mismo. No crea, Don Guadalupe, que lo voy a estar importunando con mis encargos de este modo por largo tiempo. Lo hago ahora porque no tengo otra alternativa en mi triste situacin. Pero como ya dije, antes que sufrir estas congojas, luego que me sea posible ir yo misma en persona, y en persona tambin espero darle mis gracias por sus bondades, tantas tantas. Con respecto a Johnson ya le dije a Ud. que le pagar luego que pueda realizar alguna cosa ya de mis terrenos o de la
323
venta de Jamul. Esto es todo lo que le puedo decir, y es decirle mucho, cuando a causa de no querer entregar esos papeles me ha hecho un dao irreparable impidindome en 1863, 64, el que vendiera con ventaja estos terrenos. Slo Dios sabe que lo que con ms ardor anhelaba mi corazn es pagar hasta el ltimo maraved que haya debido Enrique. Cramelo . . . Recib ayer tambin la tira del Recorder que me mand. Me alegra que Vallejo progrese, y espero que ese progreso resulte en beneficio de Ud. Por qu ya no me dice nada de sus negocios? Cmo le va sobre eso, sobre sus terrenos, sobre sus vias, etc. Qu Fannie y Frisbie estn por ac? Quisiera mucho ver a Fannie y si s cuando est en New York y en qu Hotel, la ir a visitar. Escrbale y me avisa dnde hallarla. Ya ve Ud. qu carta tan larga le he escrito y esto cuando la de Ud. es tan corta y tan injusta . . . Pero no digo esto con el espritu de los Fariseos de propia glorificacin. Lo digo para que imite mi ejemplo y me escriba lueguito que reciba sta y muy largo. De da en da voy a estar esperando contestacin a la que le escrib el 21 de octubre (incluyendo la de Morse). Me da mala espina que no me haya dicho Ud. nada por telgrafo. Cun triste es esperar y esperar sin esperanza! Dgale a mi prima que con Estefana Alvarado, la esposa del Capitn Johnson del ro Colorado, fue que le mand el retrato. Saldemela, y dgale que quiz pronto la ver, que ya ni me ha de conocer de vieja y arrugada que estoy. Adis, por ahora, hasta que reciba otra de Ud. Siempre la misma amiga fiel, M.A. de Burton Robert J. Brent to E. W. Morse. 29 November 1869, Baltimore, Maryland E. W. Morse Esq. Dear Sir, As the friend and legal adviser of Mrs. M.A. Burton I address you at her request. She feels great solicitude at the
324
contents of your letter of Aug. 12, especially as she has heard nothing since. She and her two children are much in need of all they can secure. Surely if General Burton was in California when these debts fell due, they would be barred by limitations which never stops when it begins to run 1. But to secure this plea, the letters should at once be taken from Hinton if possible.Please let me know how this stands at once. 2. Have you entrusted the Jamul claim to anyone since she wrote to you and what is its condition and prospect and when will it come to Washington for the action of Supreme Court? This is most important. 3. Have you written to Po Pico for the deed he was to give on his return from Sonora in 1853? These matters are very important and I hope you will reply at your earliest convenience and oblige Mrs. Burton as well as Your obt. servant, Robert Brent, Baltimore, Md. Robert J. Brent, Esq. Md. Nov. 29, 1869 and Dec. 29, 1869 M. G. Vallejo to E. W. Morse. 30 November 1869, San Francisco, California E. W. Morris, Esq., San Diego Muy seor mo: La Sra. Doa Amparo de Burton me suplica remita a Ud. la adjunta carta por la va ms segura lo que verifico, con gusto, suplicndole a Ud. tambin, de mi parte, se sirva remitirme las que le dirija a la dicha Sra. para que las reciba con prontitud y seguridad. La Sra. Burton est muy inquieta por saber si ha recibido Ud. sus cartas del mes de agosto, en las que le inclua tres documentos importantes: tambin desea saber cmo van los negocios y quiere que se lo diga, si es posible por la va de
325
telgrafo; as como saber quin es el abogado encargado del ttulo de Jamul, y de los otros negocios que a ella pertenecen en S. Diego, etc. Ya por escrito o sea por el telgrafo, recibir su correspondencia para remitir a la Sra. Burton. Su atento servidor, M. G. Vallejo Nov. 30 and Dec. 11 [?] MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 December 1869, Staten Island, New York Mi estimado amigo, No he vuelto a recibir carta de Ud. aunque esperaba una en esta semana. Supongo que todava sigue enojado conmigo. Tal es mi suerte! Sin embargo, le perdono la injusticia y le escribo sta pidindole me dispense el haberle suplicado de que si iba a San Diego viera por mi a Mr. Morse. No se puede negar que tal request le puede haber parecido atrevido, quiz descabellado. Pero amigo mo, a qu no podr impeler la desesperacin! Y le aseguro que me he visto muy afligida y acosadapor las dificultades que me rodean, que me abruman. Mis negocios van mal en San Diego pero siquiera (despus de esperar tres meses) he recibido una carta de Mr. Morse, aunque poco satisfactoria puesto que no me dice an, quin es el encargado de la confirmacin de Jamul. Espero que como ya Ud. le debe haber escrito y remitido mi carta que quiz dentro de pocos das me sacar de esa penosa duda. Escrbame Ud. Mire que si no lo hace, se va Ud. a arrepentir de su injusticia. qu, acaso tengo yo la culpa que . . . ? Vaya, no acabar la frase, no sea que [se] me enoje Ud. ms. Tengo mucho que decirle pero no se lo digo hasta que Ud. me responda mi larga carta del da 24 de Nov., la que le remit al cuidado de Mr. Brooks, para ms seguridad.
326
Como puede ser que est Ud. cansado de mis cartas y como me debe muchas, concluyo sta. Adishasta la vista. Su fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton Siempre amor a mi prima. Se me olvid en mi anterior responderle sus preguntas sobre el Sr. Prieto. Dispense. Ahora lo har. El Sr. Prieto es espaol pero su madre es mexicana y tiene muchos amigos y parientes en Mxico. Es un joven de bastante talento, muy caballero, muy fino y muy buen amigo. Espero que como Ud. lo anticipa, algn da se conozcan. Creo que simpatizaran. Acabo de recibir una carta de l que me dan ganas de mandrsela a Ud. Pero quiz es mejor que no, hasta que no le pase el terrible spleenazo que ahora tiene. [on top: contestada da 21 de dic. 1869] MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 December 1869, Staten Island, New York Jueves, a las siete de la noche Muy estimado amigo, En este momento me acaba de mandar Prieto la de Ud. del 6 y la del 30 ltimo; lleg hace dos das. Como ya ve Ud., esta ltima (la del 6) vino en diez das. Cunto se lo agradezco! pero como sera largo hablar de eso, y como nos hemos de ver antes de morirnos, dejar para entonces decirle cun bueno es Ud. conmigo, cun bondadoso y cmo lo quiero porque es tan bueno. S, amigo, por abril o a ms tardar a principios de mayo, creo que nos veremos. Tiene Ud. mucha razn en decirme que mis negocios en San Diego necesitan mi atencin personal, as es, y lo [re]conozco, pero sera largo decirle por qu, a pesar de esto, no me voy inmediatamente como quisiera. En el nterin, no me queda ms recurso que atenerme a escribir, y Ud. es el nico que me ha dado una respuesta satisfactoria. Como le he escrito tanto no s cunto le habr
327
dicho con respecto a Jamul. Espero que haya sido todo para que me entienda en lo sucesivo. La razn porque Don Po no me dio el ttulo aqu, fue porque me dijo que quera ver los papeles que tena el abogado encargado del asunto (que era Mr. Henry Hancock of Los ngeles) pero que luego que llegara a Los ngeles que lo extendera. Despus le escrib y me respondi que no haba podido encontrar a Hancock todava. Hay la circunstancia que este Hancock haba estado encargado de obtener la confirmacin de Jamul hace ya no s qu tantos aos y como no me contestaba mis cartas y no me deca en qu estado estaba ese negocio, le escrib a Mr. Morse que empleara a otro abogado (designndole a Chapman o a Seplveda de Los ngeles) y mandando una carta autorizando el que pidiera los papeles (de Jamul) a Mr. Hancock, y a ste otra carta dicindole que los entregara. Esto amigo mo fue el ultimo de Sept. o principios de octubre y en tres meses y medio no he recibido noticia si Chapman acepta el encargo del asunto o si Hancock ha entregado los papeles o no. La nica carta que he recibido fue una de Morse (fecha 17 de Nov.) donde me habla de otros negocios y me dice que todava no haba recibido contestacin de Mr. Chapman. Tampoco a m no me ha contestado Mr. Chapman dicindome si se encargar o no, y aqu estoy esperando, esperando, sin esperanza... Debo decir en justicia que (aunque me alegro saber lo que Ud. me dice) Don Po Pico fue el que me dijo que tena l la obligacin de darme ttulo porque el convenio entre mi esposo y Sr. Forster fue preliminar y con la condicin entendida de que Don Po dara el ttulo. Pero Don Po me lo dijo delante del capitn Johnson, Mrs. Johnson y Federico Prieto y no s cmo pueda desdecirse. Sin embargo le volver a escribir sobre esto a ver qu me dice. No piensa Ud. que ser bueno que espere este mes a ver si recibo carta de Chapman (diciendo si se encarga o no de Jamul) y si no recibo, entonces mandarle a Ud. un poder para que emplee otro abogado y para que exija de Hancock que le
328
entregue los documentos de Jamul que tiene en su posesin? Voy a consultar con un abogado aqu, a ver qu me aconseja. Estoy en ascuas, pues si es necesario que el asunto de Jamul sea referido a Washington, ahora es cuando debe hacerse. Mientras tanto, que para no perder del todo tanto tiempo, no sera bueno que Ud. le escribiera a Mr. A. B. Chapman preguntndole si se va a encargar de Jamul o no y si Hancock le ha entregado los documentos? que yo le he suplicado a Ud. que me mande su respuesta por telgrafo? Le incluir en esta cartita dicindole que yo le he pedido a Ud. me avise por telgrafo. Yo le escribir luego. Ahora se va el correo luego. Adis. Su amiga fiel. M.A. de Burton MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 December 1869, Staten Island, New York Dear Mr. Morse, I have at last heard from you. Yours of November 17 arrived on the 30th. So, as you see, I have allowed two weeks to elapse before I wrote to you again, that you may see I do not wish to be troublesome. To Mr. Chapman and Mr. Cleveland, I wrote soon after, and I suppose Mr. Cleveland will have told you what I said to him in regard to the Hinton business. I have not heard from Mr. Chapman yet, and as you said in yours that you were expecting to hear from him, I presume you sent him my letter which he has had ample time to answer. Therefore, when you get this, Mr. Morse, have the kindness to write to me a few lines telling me whether Mr. Chapman is or not to take charge of the Jamul case. I beg of you not to keep me wasting another three months until my turn comes around, and I pledge you my word that when I once am able to hear from Messrs. Chapman and Cleveland direct, I will not give you so much trouble. I am truly sorry to have to trouble you with my affairs when you say you have so much to do, but until I can get them in a better shape, I see no alternative.
329
It is very important to know as soon as possible whether Mr. Hancock has delivered to Mr. Chapman the documents he had in regard to Jamul; 2nd, if Mr. C. is to take charge of the case; 3rd, if it is to be referred to Washington. Should this be the necessary step, then the more urgent it becomes to avoid loss to time. But if I am to wait another 3 months again, then the present session of Congress will be nearly over and no time to work at all. These are my reasons for again begging you to send me an answer immediately. I explained to Mr. Churchland why I did not sign the petition for allowance [?] I wish to see Hintons inventory first and I hope Mr. C. will send a copy immediately. I wish to know, also, on what grounds my petition was refused. I am afraid that Justice is as difficult to obtain now in San Diego as it was ten years ago. Let me again ask you to write to me immediately and repeat myself, Yours truly, M.A. de Burton [Dec. 16 and Jan. 3] MARB to E.W. Morse. 31 December 1869, Staten Island, New York Dear Sir, Your letter of the 6th inst. came day before yesterday. I am truly sorry you have not received mine with more regularity, for this delay in hearing from you at first has, I fear, done great harm. I have repeatedly asked you to let me know the amount of Mr. Hintons claimincluding principal and interestbut as yet you have not told me. Please on receipt of thishave the kindness to tell me. I think it has escaped your notice before because by the time you answer my letters you have forgotten what I asked you. If you will answer this immediately, I think you will be less apt to forget it. I want to know very much
330
why and how Mr. Hinton intends to absorb the greater part of those shares. The original amount was $3000, how much does he add to it as interest? Please dont forget to tell me this. I told you before why I had not signed the petition for allowance. I also wrote to Mr. Cleveland and asked for the inventory (or a copy) of the property presented by Mr. Hinton; and also to tell me on what grounds the Court refused to grant my petition. Mr. Cleveland has not answered yet and his delay might cause mischief. It seems to me I am particularly unfortunate in these delays of letters. I wrote to Mr. C. on the 4th inst. and he has had time to answer. I hope he has done so. About Jamul, I trust the lawyers are mistaken as to the time for appeal being past. Let them think so, and then they perhaps might keep their squatter clients quiet and out of mischief. But the statue of limitations is dated the 18th of April 1867, isnt it? So the time will not have elapsed until 72 when the five years which the statue allows to appeal, will expire. I regret very much what you tell me about Don Po Pico. I for my part had perfect faith in his word. He promised me before three witnesses to give me the Govt. claim as soon as he arrived at Los Angeles. Now I have just received a letter from Mr. Chapman (in answer to mine of Sept. 29th) declining to take charge of the Jamul case because Don Po is one of his permanent clients. What do you think of that? And Mr. Chapmanvery naivelydates his letter the 15th of December. So, it took him well over two months to make up his mind to decline. He certainly gained time for his permanent client if nothing else, and did so in the innocence of his heart I suppose. Let me know what is going on about R.R. stocks. I suppose Mr. Hinton will not take everything right off, will he? I trust that you and Mr. Churchland will look out for me. Do not fail to urge upon Mr. Cleveland to write at once if he has not done so already.
331
You [had best] write soon, Mr. Morse, before you forget what I tell you here and believe me very gratefully and truly yours, M.A. de Burton P.S. As Mr. Chapman declined, I told Mr. Brent (my legal adviser here) to employ Mr. Seplveda (Don Ignacio) of Los Angeles to take charge of the Jamul case. So, if you should know anything about it that might [be] of interest to us, communicate it to Mr. Seplveda. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 5 January 1870, Staten Island, New York Querido amigo de todo mi aprecio, Mucho se va Ud. a sorprender al leer sta. All voy amigo mo, pero no se lo diga a nadie. Pocos das despus que reciba Ud. sta, saldr de aqu, pero por si alguna cosa imprevista me detuviese, escrbame Ud. lueguito si tiene algo que comunicarme que quiera que yo sepa antes de salir. Creo que saldr el da 20 del presente, es decir, dentro de 15 das. No s si podr arreglar mis cosas por ac en este corto tiempo, pero creo que s. Ya le avisar por telgrafo de Chicago si no se lo aviso desde aqu. La razn porque le pido no le diga a nadie [de] mi viaje es porque creo que es mejor que tome de sorpresa a Hancock, y tal vez al otro seor, al paisano nuestro, no le parece? Cuando nos veamos ya platicaremos de esto. Su muy apreciada de Ud. del 21 la recib el 31 (en diez das) y en la misma noche se la contest dicindole que le incluira una carta poder para que fuera por m a Los ngeles. Pero mientras que la escriba mi abogado y me la mandaba para yo firmarla ante un notario pblico, recib tres otras que al fin me decidieron a seguir el consejo de Ud. de ir yo misma a California. Estas tres (o mejor dicho cuatro)cartas son una de Chapman, una de Hancock, una de Federico incluyndome otra que Don Po le escribi.
332
Chapman rehusa encargarse por m de Jamul porque Don Po es su cliente permanente y Hancock le ha dicho que Don Po tiene un reclamo sobre Jamul. Hancock dice que hasta ahora no ha podido conseguir que Don Po le d un Quit Claim, el cual es necesario para seguir adelante con la demanda. Y Federico incluye una carta de Don Po donde este seor dice que Don Juan Forster es quien tiene que arreglar el negocio de Jamul, etc. etc. Ya ver Ud. si el negocio no se complica ms y ms cada da. Adase tambin que Hancock rehusa entregar los documentos relativos a Jamul y de este modo nadie atiende a nuestro inters. Como parece haber una disposicin evidente a engaarnos y perjudicarnos, me resolv a ir yo misma a ver si me es posible salvar algo. Pero le aseguro que voy con bastante timidez por estar la estacin ya tan avanzada. Est muy lejos Sacramento de Sonoma? Si no est o si Ud. tuviese alguna cosa a que atender al tiempo que yo llegue tendr mucho gusto en que me venga a encontrar a Sacramento. Voy enteramente solita, es decir nadie me acompaa. Ojal y no fuera una imprudenciavaya, no digo ms. Si Flix est en San Francisco dgale que o Ud. o l tienen que cuidarme. Ya le escribir otra antes de salir. Esta es slo para noticiarle mi atrevida resolucin y decirle cunto agradezco sus bondades. Pero eso ltimo no le podra decir como quisiera ni en una resma de papel. Lo reservar para cuando nos veamos, quedando en el nterincon amores a mi primasu afectuosa fiel y agradecida amiga, que lo quiere mucho, mucho, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 January 1870, Staten Island, New York Mi muy estimado amigo, Acabo de recibir una carta de Federico mi hermano donde me dice que en noviembre le escribi a Ud. dicindole me
333
avisara por telgrafo que los squatters haban hecho peticin al Surveyor General para que se les midan los terrenos que se han apropiado en Jamul y que en febrero se les medirn 160 acres a cada uno! . . . Como Ud. no me ha avisado tal cosa, supongo que la carta de Federico se extravi. Qu fatalidad parece perseguirme! Si recibe Ud. sta antes del veinte y hay alguna cosa de importancia me la puede avisar por telgrafo, pero para el 22 creo quesi Dios me lo permiteya me habr puesto en camino. El poder que escrib para mandarle a Ud. aqu est. No lo despach porque hice al nimo de ir yo misma. Ya hablaremos de esto cuando nos veamos. Tambin me dice Federico que ha sabido que Hancock se viene a Washington pronto. Sentir mucho que lo pase en el camino: Eso s que podra ser fatal a nuestro inters puesto que no creo tenemos ningn tiempo que perder. Como Hancock no le ha hecho caso al asunto ese de Jamul, lo que es de temerse ahora es que el tiempo de apelar contra la decisin de Ogier haya caducado. Esto es ms de temerse que no el que Don Po no me quiera dar el ttulo. Se equivoca Ud. en decir que yo no le expliqu antes que Hancock es abogado. Se lo repet varias veces desde el principio. Pero tal es mi suerte que todo se tuerce luego que yo lo toco. Ahoracomo Chapman [se] rehus por ser abogado de Don Pole hemos escrito (Mr. Brent y yo) a Don Ygnacio Seplveda que se encargue del asunto de Jamul asociado con Hancock. Si por alguna desgracia imprevista yo no puedo ir, le mandar el poder. Si Hancock no ha salido de California cuando Ud. reciba sta, hgame favorse lo pido por mucha amistad tan pura y de tantos aoshgame favor de urgirlo a que le d su pronta atencin a Jamul y procure impedir que se repartan esos terrenos a los squatters. Ya tambin yo se lo dije pero como jams hace aprecio alguno de mis cartas dudo que le importe un pito que se pierda todo Jamul. Si eso sucede, ser solamente porque H. no ha hecho su deber y ha dejado
334
que caduque el tiempo de apelacin. Adis por ahora. Ya le escribir antes de salir o le avisar por telgrafo. Su fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton P.D. No deje de noticiarme por el telgrafo si ha salido Hancock. [The following power of attorney and letter to Po Pico accompany the 15 January 1870 letter to M.G. Vallejo.] Power of attorney. Jan. 10, 1870. Know all men by these present that I, Maria A. Burton, widow of the late General Henry S. Burton, do hereby authorize Don M. Guadalupe Vallejo as my attorney to demand of any person or persons whatever, the possession of any and all papers relating to the Claim or title of my said husband to a tract of land called Jamul; or to see and take copies thereof at his election; and particularly to receive from Don Po Pico a quit claim or title of said Jamul, which title Don Po Pico has agreed and promised to deliver at my demand; and to ascertain from Don Po Pico what claim if any he has on or to said tract of land. Witness my hand this 10th day of January 1870. Mara A. Burton. In presence of Mr. H. Clarkson State and City of New York to wit. This is to certify that on this 10th day of January 1870 the above named grantor signed sealed and acknowledged the above letter of attorney as his act and deed before witness my and official seal. [2nd doc.]__________ State and City of New York. City and County of New York Be it remembered that on this 14th day of January A. D. 1870 before me, the subscribed and Commissioner of Deeds duly appointed by the Governor of California for the State of New York, personally appeared Maria A. Burton, formerly
335
known to me to be the individual described in and who executed the within Instrumentas a party thereto who acknowledged to me that she had executed the same freely and voluntarily and for the use and purpose therein mentioned. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my official seal. Charles Nettleson. Commissioner for California in New York. MARB to Po Pico. 10 January 1870, Staten Island, New York Estimado Don Po, No recibo todava su contestacin a mi ltima, pero me veo obligada a no esperarla porque segn parece por cartas que acabo de recibir de California no tengo tiempo que perder. Mr. Chapman ha rehusado encargarse del asunto de Jamul porque Ud. es su cliente y Hancock le ha dicho que Ud. tiene reclamo sobre Jamul. No me parece que esto pueda ser as, y espero que Ud. tenga la bondad de explicrmelo. Por otro lado Mr. Hancock me dice que no puede seguir adelante con el negocio de Jamul porque Ud. no le da un Quit Claim o ttulo absoluto, que es necesario que Ud. nos d inmediatamente. En vista de esto, es necesario que no perdamos ms tiempo, y espero que sin ms dilaciones me haga Ud. el favor de darme el ttulo que me prometi bajo su palabra de honor y ante tres testigos (el Sr. Prieto, el Sr y Sra. Johnson). Al Sr. Vallejo le he pedido se encargue de recibir de Ud. ese ttulo para que lo guarde a mis rdenes o lo ponga al servicio del abogado que se encargue de Jamul. Hasta ahora no puedo creer que Ud. a sabiendas pueda o quiera perjudicarme, y as, le suplico como amiga, que no haga ms tardanza, y como amiga tambin me firmo de Ud. muy afa. M.A. de Burton
336
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 January 1870, Staten Island, New York Mi muy estimado amigo, Le mando al fin el poder que no haba podido ir a firmar sino hasta ayer. Ponga bien cuidado en lo que le voy a decir. Si Ud. tiene alguna razn para pensar que es necesario presentar mi carta y el poder a Don Po, hgalo as. Pero como yo estar en California pocos das despus que Ud. reciba esto, si no fuere absolutamente necesario obrar con mucha prontitud, entonces quiz sea mejor esperar hasta que yo llegue. Siempre casi es mejor hablar que escribir y como Don Po puede ofenderse o hacerse el ofendido porque le exijo de ese modo, por tercera persona el cumplimiento de su promesa, no podr tener pretexto de sentirse si yo misma me le presento y pido el ttulo, no le parece a Ud. as? El da 23, o a ms tardar el 24, saldr de aqu para tomar en Omaha el Hotel Train el da 27 y por esta fecha Ud. podr calcular el da que llegar a Sacramento y a San Francisco. Si puede y le es agradable y conveniente, vngame a encontrar a Sacramento, y le encargo que me tome un cuarto en un hotel bueno que le guste a Ud. Es esto darle mucha molestia a mi buen amigo Don Guadalupe? Si puede, escrbame dirigindome su carta a Omaha a Cassens Hotel dicindome si me encontrar y a dnde me ha tomado mi cuarto. Si no, al llegar no sabr si tengo ya dnde ir o si yo misma tengo que buscar mi hotel . . . Como los operarios del telgrafo estn on the strike no s si podr avisarle de Chicago o de Omaha que estoy en camino. Si puedo, lo har, pero si no, que sta le baste para aviso, pues slo que una calamidad imprevista me detenga, saldr de aqu en tiempo para llegar a Omaha el 27 y salir de all el mismo da. As pues, amigo muy, muy estimado, ya pronto nos veremos si Dios quiere. Amor a mi prima, su fiel y agradecida amiga, M.A. de Burton
337
P.S. Le escrib a Don Ygnacio Seplveda encargndole el negocio de Jamul y a ms de eso a Mr. Peachy dicindole que si Sr. Seplveda rehusa, que l (Mr. P.) se encargue de ello. Pregntele a Peachy si recibi mi carta, y si se ha comunicado con Seplveda. No se enfade con tanta molestia. Acurdese que soy su amiga, su paisana, su prima y que estoy tan solita, tan desamparada y tan llena de dificultades, difciles de vencer. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 31 January 1870, Staten Island, New York Muy estimado amigo . . . Como ya Ud. ve, no he salido an aunque as lo haba propuesto. Me resolv ir a Washington primero, y creo que hice bien en ello y en consecuencia tengo ahora que esperar hasta que cierta comunicacin llegue de California. Entonces espero emprender mi viaje sin ms tardanza. Ya se lo avisar en tiempo. Acabo de recibir una carta de Don Po donde me dice que el Sr. Forster es quien tiene que dar el ttulo y que cuando l (Don Po) se vea con Forster entonces firmar el traspaso . . . En vista de esto tal vez ser mejor que no le presente Ud. mi carta poder puesto que lo referir a Forster. Si algo aconteciere para hacerme pensar de otra manera, se lo avisar luego. La cuestin ahora parece ms complicada por la conducta de Hancock quien ni entrega los documentos ni prosigue con la causa. Y mientras que l duerme los squatters estn haciendo destrozos con los encinales de Jamul, cortando los rboles para lea, etc., etc. arruinando el rancho. Como es tan incierto el da de mi salida, ni s si debo decirle que me escriba despus de recibir sta. Sin embargo, creo que s, por si acaso sucediere algo que me detenga. Escrbame lueguito todas las noticias que tenga. Cmo van RR Stocks por San Francisco? tiene la de Memphis and El Paso algn valor? No se olvide decirme. Le incluyo una carta para que se la
338
despache a Flix en primera oportunidad. Escrbale Ud. tambin. El est en Mazatln ahora con alguna empresa de minas, yo creo. En Washington vi a Frisbie de quien supe que tiene toda su familia en Albany y piensa permanecer por ac algn tiempo. Y Ud. cundo viene? Cuando reciba sta, vaya a ver a Mr. Peachy le suplico, y dgale de mi parte que no sal como esperaba y que deseo mucho me conteste mi carta para saber si fue necesario que l se encargara del asunto de Jamul, o si Seor Seplveda lo ha hecho. Es terrible estar en esta incertidumbre en un Limbo de dudas y ansias. No deje de escribirme lueguito. Muchos amores a mi prima y a Ud. de parte de mis chicos. Hasta la vista, su af. amiga, M.A. de Burton P.D. Acabo de ver en el Heraldo que se ha descubierto oro (gold discoveries) en la Baja California. Si es as y la localidad fuere por la frontera, avsemelo por telgrafo. Si esta noticia es cierta y Ud. no me la avisa en telegrama, me voy a sentir mucho con Ud. pues en tal omisin ver una prueba cierta de falta de inters. MARB to E. W. Morse. 31 January 1870, Staten Island, New York Dear Mr. Morse, With this date I write to my brother to send me a sworn affidavit signed by him and by my mother as to the fact of their having occupied our rancho Jamul for us constantly since our departure and also as to the fact of the General having made improvements on it after purchasing it. I told Fred to consult with you in this matter that you may tell him what [he] is to do to have these affidavits properly drawn and witnessed. I would be very much obliged to you, Mr. Morse, if you yourself send me your own affidavit, as you know that the
339
General occupied the rancho before he left California and on leaving, my mother and brother remained there. You know this to be true, else, I would not ask you to testify to it. Ask Mr. Geo. Pendleton for me, to send me also his affidavit to the same facts, and also any other of my old San Diego friends who knew we have always held possession of Jamul since the General bought [it from] Don Juan Foster as agent of Don Po Pico. In this you will do me a favor for which I shall be grateful to you. Most truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to E. W. Morse. 2 February 1870, Staten Island, New York Mr dear Mr. Morse, Yours of the 19th ltimo has this moment come, and as you see, I hasten to answer it. I will go to New York tomorrow morning to sign the petition and will send it with this to Mr. Cleveland. I told you before that the reason why I did not sign it before was because I was afraid that Mr. Hinton then was authorized to sacrifice the stock in order to raise funds to pay the allowance. I did not know that in 11 months Mr. Hinton might close the estate. Cant it be postponed at our request? I ask this because (in my ignorance of the law) I am afraid that Mr. Hinton will then sell out the stock for next to nothing. Also I think of going to California myself. What do you think about it? Would it not be better if I went? This delay of letters is too trying and too dangerous and I fancy that if I went, things could be managed better. Through Mr. Hancocks negligence and carelessness I fear we lost the benefit of the statute of limitations, but Mr. Brent thinks that as we have kept the possession of it we can save the rancho under the law of 66 by paying the $1.25 per acre. Last night I wrote to you asking to do me the favor of sending me a sworn affidavit.
340
1st, of the fact that you have lived in San Diego since we left California and that you know that my mother and brother have lived in Jamul. 2. Also that in your opinion based upon the current price of lands about San Diego, that with a good title Jamul being so near the RR was worth about $___ so much ___ stating price. Please do me this favor, Mr. Morse, and I shall be more than ever grateful to you. With this affidavit I think I shall be able to raise the necessary funds to pay the government the $1.25 per acre. If you can get Mr. Pendleton or any of our old San Diego friends to send their affidavits with yours it will of course make the statement stronger. I told Fred to send his affidavit also, but though this was of use to prove the constant possession, still, for the purpose of raising funds would not be as good as yours. So please send it immediately, directed to Mr. R. J. Brent, Baltimore. I will again make inquiries about the Memphis and El Paso R. R. stock. It is not in market though sales of it might be made in private, which I dont know. It is not quoted and it may not be until Congress shows a little more justice in the matter and does a little to help the road. At any moment we might hear that Congress has at last done something and then I suppose the stock would be saleable. As now it is not we must do what we can to prevent Mr. Hinton from sacrificing the little we have. Please do not fail to send the affidavits promptly. I remain Yours truly, M.A. de Burton P.S. I opened this to say to you that a very prominent and very smart gentleman told me that you the citizens of Southern California and particularly those of San Diego ought make a petition to Congress asking that some of the favor shown to the other routes, be granted also to the Southern Pacific or Memphis and El Paso RR. He s[ays] that such memorial should be sent to Sen. Cole or Cassedy to be presented to Congress. I give you his idea that perhaps [is] not so
341
well worded. I think the idea is excellent and you, the San Diego people, ought to act on the suggestion. MARB to E. W. Morse. 8 March 1870, Staten Island, New York Dear Mr. Morse, I have received a letter from Messrs. Cleveland in which they propose I pay them immediately one thousand dollars or half of the stock. How is this? I have your letter before me of August 12, 1869 in which you tell me that the lawyer you had consulted (meaning I think Mr. Daniel Cleveland) would take charge of the case for me for one half of the amount collected or saved as 10 percent if I paid the half of this (10 per cent) in advance, and estimating the stock at $10,000 in value. You did not say what was your estimate of what was collected as saved, but I thought that what you meant by saved was the residue left after the claims were paid. Then calculating that this residue might be $5,000 I would have to give the Clevelands the half at the end of the suit, or 10 percent if I paid the half of it in advance. 10 percent on $5000 residue was $500, then I would have to pay $250 cash and the balance when the suit ended. Or the half of all I would get saved out of $10,000. Was not this your idea? I have your letter and I copied and sent to the Clevelands what you said then. But I think it will be better if you in person see them and remind them of the original agreement? It is true I have not made the cash payment, but I thought that as the stock instead of $21,000 is now $24k or 22, that perhaps they intended receiving the matter of the cash in advance and proposed the 10 per cent of the stock I may now get. Which I was willing to give, and which is more than double of what they at first agreed to take. If the increased stock is not agreeable to them, all I can do is to propose they take the $350 out of the allowance. Please see them about this. I have written you twice asking you to do me the favor of send-
342
ing me affidavits (sworn) of the fact that we have held possession of Jamul. Please do not delay them. They are of importance to me. It is more than a month since I asked you for them. I trust you have no objection to giving them as I only wish you to state the truth. Hoping to hear from you very soon, I remain, Yours sincerely, M.A. de Burton P.S. What about the gold discoveries the Herald tells of being near San Diego? I hear encouraging reports of the railroad. What news have you? Please let me know. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 March 1870, Staten Island, New York Mi muy estimado amigo, Al fin vuelvo a ver su letra! La de Ud. del 16 lleg anoche ya tarde. Supongo que Prieto la recibi en la maana. Cunto siento haber sido causaaunque inocentede tanta molestia! An, sin embargo, cmo que me alegro un poquito pues creo que no estoy tan solita en el mundo cuando hay una persona del mrito de Ud. que se toma todo ese trabajo por m. Le aseguro que se lo agradezco de todo corazn. Ya le expliqu la razn porque me decid a no ir. Pienso que en el mes de mayo s, de seguro ir. Es decir, si Don Po quiere, puesto que despus de Dios, de su voluntad depende que perdamos a Jamul o no. Le agradezco mucho que haya Ud. visto a Mr. Peachy por m, pero ahora ya es tarde. Ya puse al Sr. Seplveda de los ngeles asociado con Hancock. Hasta ahora nadie ha hecho nada, pero el Sr. Seplveda quiz no ha tenido an tiempo. En el mes pasado le mand a Ud. poder legal para que le pidiera el ttulo a Don Po. Pero como l me ha escrito que est dispuesto a darlo pero que Forster tiene que dar otro documento, quiz ser complicar el negocio si Ud. se presenta pidindole el ttulo cuando el Sr. Seplveda y Hancock estn encargados
343
del asunto, y quiz cuando Ud. vaya a San Diego a ver a Da. Prudencia (si no es molestia) podr detenerse en Los ngeles a verse con el Sr. Seplveda y decirme qu hay por all! Tambin dgame qu se dice de las minas, si ser cosa permanente o transitoria. Por qu rumbo estn? Yo la verdad creo que estoy errada en la direccin de Sta. Ysabel. Qu hay del camino de fierro de S. Francisco a encontrar el del Paso y del que Rosecrans es Presidente? Qu se dice en San Francisco?, se har? Yo tengo mucho inters en el buen suceso [sic] del Southern Pacific R.R.o mejor dicho, el Memphis and El Paso RR del cual Rosecrans es presidente. Pasa por [una] esquinita de la casa en Jamul, y si se lleva a cabo har el rancho muy valuable[sic]. Pero hace mucho que nada oigo decir, ni veo que el Congreso haya hecho nada tampoco. Avseme todo lo que sepa sobre eso. Vi a Frisbie en Washington y me dijo que Fansita y los chicos estn en Albany. Voy a ver si le puedo escribir a Flix, pues en la otra carta le digo que estar en San Francisco por marzo y abril. Ahora tendr que decirle por mayo o junio. Estoy muy triste hoy. El tiempo est muy borrascoso y quiz eso influye algo. Llor mucho esta maana y cuando lloro ahora siempre me enfermo, me siento sin fuerza. Adis, escrbame lueguito. Yo tambin le escribir luego. Cuando no sienta tanta tristeza a pesar que eso es bien raro y difcil. Ya se acerca el aniversario de mi horrible desgracia. Amor a mi prima y Ud. crame soy y siempre ser su mejor amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to E. W. Morse. 19 April 1870, Staten Island, New York Dear Mr. Morse, I am very much obliged to you for sending the certificates (or affidavits), I have not seen them yet but Mr. Brent wrote
344
to me that they will do very well when the time comes for using them. I have been in daily hope of hearing from you again or from Mr. Cleveland in regard to the matter of their fee. Did you get my letter on that subject? I wrote to you about it. Please let me know what is your opinion and if I understood you right. I enclose a letter for my brother for you to do me the favor to forward it to him. I have not received a single one from him for three months and I am very anxious to hear what has caused his silence. If there is any news about him and mother I wish you would have the kindness to write to me about it at once. Perhaps Ill see you this summer, I am inclined to think that it will be better for me to go and see about the Jamul title. Please write to me soon or else I may be away when your letter arrives. I remain very truly yours, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 April 1870, Staten Island, New York Mi ms estimado amigo, La de Ud. del 10 lleg anoche (en diez das!) y me apresuro a respondrsela. Si mi carta era fra lo fue porque la escrib en una de mis horas de abatimiento cuando siento mis desgracias con renovada acerbidad. Estoy muy, muy triste, cramelo, y hay veces que se me acaban las fuerzas para sufrir, y me siento desfallecer, siento como una lasitud moral, un acobardamiento mental que son horribles, pero que no puedo describir. S bien que tengo que beber mi cliz hasta las heces, gota a gota y mi alma suda sangre, amigo mo, sangre que yo sola veo. En esas horas de angustia, en esos das de terror espantoso que me son inevitables, aunque les hago una guerra perpetua, con todas las fuerzas de mi alma, entonces tal vez escriba con aparente frialdad. Pero slo es porque me siento abrumada,
345
atontada, y por miedo de escribirle una carta triste, y desagradable, le escribo una carta estpida que le parece fra. Esta es la pura verdad. No, no lo engaar. De veras voy, a principios de mayoes decir, sta es mi resolucin. Dentro de 10 das voy a Washington por cosa de una semanaquiz menosy regreso para salir de aqu a California.As pues, creo salir de aqu antes del 15 de mayo, quiz entre el da 10 o 12. De Washington le escribir dicindole ms y con ms certeza. Como voy tan luego a California ser mejor tal vez que nos conozcamos personalmente la paisana y yo. Uno puede decir tanto de palabra en una media hora de conversacin. Dgale que espero verla luego que llegue. Le agradezco las noticias que me da de San Diego. Segn la tira del peridico que me incluye me parece que el viaje de San Francisco al sur no debe ser ni agradable ni barato. Yo quiero ir a los ngeles luego que llegue a San Francisco. Ser necesario arreglar el pasaje de antemano para asegurar buen camarote? Hgame favor de preguntar, y si as fuese, cuando yo le escriba el da que voy, Ud. podr calcular en qu vapor tengo que ir y apartarme un buen camarote. Me mareo bastante, a veces, y necesito alguna comodidad. Cun bueno es Ud. de haber ido a encontrarme. Espero la primera persona que vea yo al llegar a Sacramento sea Ud. All lo espero. Le avisar con tiempo mi salida, y sin falta lo espero. Las cosas de Mxico segn veo van de mal en peor siempreQu vitalidad tiene esa infeliz nacin para vivir muriendo por tantos aos! veo tambin que el Sr. Vega ha tenido mal xito. Esa es prueba convincente que el hombre tena buena intencin. Ojal que venga Flix a San Francisco cuando yo est all. Cmo le va a Da. Prudenciana de Moreno? Saldemela con amor. Lo mismo a mi prima. Dgale que luego que llegue a San Francisco, le espero me venga a ver. Nellie le manda muy cari-
346
osos saludos, tambin Harryy ms muchos ms su afa. amiga, M.A. de Burton Dgame luego que reciba sta si podr ir a encontrarme a Sacramento. Dirija sus cartas a Sr. Prieto y l me las remitir donde yo estuviere. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 May 1870, Washington, D.C. Estimado amigo, Creo que habr recibido mi ltima donde le digo que le escribira de esta ciudad avisndole el da que yo saldr de New York para California.Que me voy, creo que es cierto (si vivo) pero el da, no puedo decir slo s que ser entre el 15 y el 20 del presente mes, de modo que para el 1 de junio ya habr tenido el gusto de platicar con Ud. y ver a mi prima. Cuando llegue a Chicago le avisar por telgrafo, o si no, se lo avisar de Omaha. Siento que no me haya Ud. dicho a dnde dirigirle mi telegrama, si a San Francisco, o a Sonoma, y temo que se extrave. Si fuere posible y de necesidad, avseme (care of Mr. Prieto) luego que reciba sta, a dnde dirigirle mi despacho. Espero que me venga a encontrar siquiera a Sacramento. Tengo muchos deseos de verlo y platicar, platicar hasta que San Juan baje el dedo. Si me fuese posible, saldr antes del 20, y si no, en ese da o, a ms tardar, el 21. Es ms probable que sea el 18 o 19 veremos. Saludes a mi prima. Au revoir. Su mejor amiga, M.A. de Burton
Notes
B. Willistons letter supporting the candidacy of Henry S. Burton, his stepson, to West Point indicates that when Major Oliver George Burton died in 1821, Mrs. Almira Burton was left a widow with two children. 2Jos Mara Mata had served and figured in Baja politics in the 1830s. See Martnez, A History of Lower California, 318. 3Melchor Ocampo was President Benito Jurezs foreign relations secretary. 4Matas Romero, Diario personal, 18551865. Edicin, prlogo y notas de Emma Coso Villegas (Mexico: El Colegio de Mxico, 1960). 5See Piera Ramrez, Prlogo, a Lasspas, Historia de la colonizacin de la Baja California y decreto del 10 de marzo de 1857 , 22. 6Howard Zinn, A Peoples History of the United States (New York: Harpers, 1980), 251. 7Though the joint-stock company began to appear in the sixteenth century, it was not until the nineteenth century that it finally became dominant. See Ernest Mandel, Marxist Economic Theory, Vol I (New York: Monthly Review, 1971), 229. 8See Vzquez and Meyer, The United States and Mexico, 64. 9Marcela Terrazas Basante, Los intereses norteamericanos en el noroeste de Mexico (Mexico: UNAM, 1990), 14. 10Using the problem of the Indian raids, as well as Mexicos needs for funds, and the argument that U.S. demographic growth would inevitably take settlers into that area anyway, Forsythe proposed to pay for the border area on condition of securing the right to build a railroad across the Isthmus. 11The conservatives, who also faced a disastrous financial situation, worked out a loan from a Swiss banker, J. B. Jeckers, who loaned
347
1E.
348
them one and a half million dollars, half of this was liquid and the other half bonds and goods. (Terrazas, 27) The famous Jecker bonds would become an issue when the French invaded a few years later. 12President Buchanan, it should be recalled, had been Secretary of State under President James K. Polk and the U.S. minister to Great Britain in 1854, when he and the U.S. ministers to France and Spain met at Ostend, Belgium, to extend their Ostend Manifesto, urging the U.S. to seize Cuba if Spain refused to sell the island. (A year earlier, the U.S. minister to Spain Pierre Soul had tried and failed to secure the purchase of Cuba.) This territorial expansion, which was also a desire to extend slave territory, was said to stem from fear of a slave revolt in Cuba similar to that in Haiti, which might have an inflammatory effect on slaves in the U.S. Support from the South ensured Buchanans Democratic nomination in 1856 and his election over Republican John C. Fremont and Millard Fillmore (Moyano Pahissa, 16). 13In a speech before the nation in December of 1859, President Buchanan indicated the willingness of the U.S. to intervene militarily in Mexico to restore order, before another country did. 14Letter of President Lincoln to Simon Cameron. From Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. IV, ed. by Roy P. Basler. Rutgers U. Press, 1953, p. 392. Special thanks to Jos Aranda who brought this letter to our attention. The editor of the Collected Works indicates that the promotion of Capt. Burton to major, sent to the Senate Dec. 6, 1861, was back-dated to May 14; in July of 1863 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and in August of the same year, to colonel. Two years later he was brevetted brigadier general of the U.S. army for gallant and meritorious services at the capture of Petersburg, Virginia. 15These issues are the subject of another work in progress. 16See Matas Romero, Diario personal 18551865. 17Georgetown was then the site of a Jesuit school, which a number of Mexican children attended (Bernstein, 49) and where Romeros friend Degollado worked. MARBs children probably attended this school as well. 18Teresa was the daughter of Mara Amparos sister, Manuela, married to Pablo de la Toba. Flix Gibert, born in Baja in 1834 was about Amparos age and the son of Gernimo Gibert and Josefa de la Toba. Pablo and Josefa were brother and sister. Gernimo Gibert
349
was a Frenchman and one of the early settlers of San Antonio in Lower California. 19As the new jefe poltico, Gibert asked the territorial Assembly to decide what its position should be vis-a-vis a communiqu asking Baja to declare its allegiance to the Empire. The communiqu was delivered by Commissioner Rafael Espinosa whom Gibert, owing to past friendship, received at his house (Valads, 135136). The Assembly was divided, with the majority declaring that they were in no condition to resist a major French assault, and the minority insisting that they were better prepared then than they had been in 1847, when they resisted the U.S. invasion (Valads, 119). With news that Jurez had left Mexico and gone to El Paso and that the French army was in control of most of the country, the Assembly in La Paz, feeling vulnerable and despite its republican views, voted to submit to Maximilian. 20See Halleck, The Mexican War in Baja California, 73. 21As the press in Baja noted (La Baja California, No. 11, 27 de abril de 1867), El seor Gibert, por ser californio, dej de ser mexicano; y esto no deben reprochrselo sus paisanos, en nuestra opinin, aunque es posible que no seamos del todo imparciales a consecuencia de la simpata que tenemos por el seor Gibert personalmente. (Valads, 139). 22In time, other liberals in Mexico would also turn their backs on Jurez, or even rise up in arms against him, including, of course, Porfirio Daz, who would head an insurrection against Jurez in Oaxaca in 1871. 23Pamphlet cited extensively in Alfred Jackson Hanna and Kathryn Abbey Hanna. Napoleon III and Mexico. American Triumph over Monarchy (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1871), 6166. 24Michel Chevalier, Mexico antiguo y moderno (Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Econmica, 1983). 25In one draft of a speech, Coronel criticizes the military despotism of the U.S. in regard to the South, the enslavement of Southern Whites, and the radical congressional program for reconstruction in the South, concluding by attacking Republican policies against Chinese immigration. See the Antonio F. Coronel documents (A. 110. 58249) at the Seaver Center for Western History Research, Los Angeles, California.
350
26Mrs.
Varina [Jefferson] Davis, Jefferson Davis. Ex-President of the Confederate States. A Memoir by His Wife. Vol. II (New York: Belford Co., 1890), 763. 27Mrs. Jefferson Davis at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, edited by Arthur Marvin Shaw, in The Journal of Southern History, Vol. XVI, No. 1 (Feb., 1950), 7576. 28Cited in Terrazas Basante, 64. 29William H. Seward, American and European Interests in Mexico, in The Annals, Vol. 9, 327. 30Fuentes Mares, Jurez y el imperio (Mexico: Editorial Jus, S.A., 1963), 2930. 31The Commander of French troops in Mexico wrote Napoleon III that they were unable to locate and pin down the guerrilla fighters, casting them as dehumanized rodents while admitting their frustrated efforts against them: El guerrillero es un roedor que pertenece a esta parte del Nuevo Mundo (Fuentes Mares, 80). As Jurez would note after the war: To fight mean[t] to fight with small squads of fifteen to thirty men that [could] strike like lightning and move easily from one site to another. Thats how it was done in Mexico: Esa es, como used sabe, toda la historia de la liberacin de Mxico. See Benito Jurez, Epistolario (Mxico: Fondo de Cultura Econmica, 1957), 796. Like the Vietnamese in the 1960s and early 70s, the Mexican guerrillas would strike, retreat, and strike again. As Bazaine noted, Los rebeldes se multiplican en tal forma, que parecen salir del fondo de la tierra. (Fuentes Mares, 155). Unless the French had legions in place to occupy all of Mexico, it soon appeared to be an unwinnable war (Fuentes Mares, 130). 32Despite accusations from all sides, Jurez, in his letters, assures his correspondents that he was not willing to mortgage or sell part of the national territory to gain support (Jurez, 477). 33Early on, in the U.S. Civil War, the North had requested permission to cross over Sonora with troops, and the Mexican Congress, noting its danger of being invaded by the Confederates, had decided to accede. But when Juarez needed assistance, none was forthcoming. Romero was also reporting rumors in Washington that the South was planning to form a new confederation with Mexican states. When the Confederate envoy to Mxico, John T. Pickett, learned of the permission granted to Union troops, he threatened that the South would take over Tamaulipas unless Mexico voided the agreement
351
(Terrazas, 55). The Confederates would subsequently send a new envoy, James Reilly, to speak with the governors of the northern Mexican states. They wanted Sonora and Chihuahua to rescind the agreement made by Jurez allowing Union troop movements in Mexico as this would permit CSA troops to be attacked from behind. Reilly also wanted permission for CSA troops to cross the border in pursuit of Indian raiders and to obtain provisions. Reillys observations, in letters to Confederate Attorney General John H. Reagan of Texas provide additional corroboration that the Northern Mexican states were the prize to be gained for the Confederacy. Once gained, Baja California was next, it was felt (Terrazas, 87). This period of Civil War in the U.S. would also encourage Spain in 1861 to again take over the Dominican Republic, which had earlier won its independence in 1844. Two years later, in 1863, insurgents within the Dominican Republic defeated the Spanish troops. In Per the Spanish fleet also took advantage of the conflict and occupied the Chinchas Islands, on the pretext of complaints by Spanish subjects, and it would require a treaty that Peruvians considered humiliating to get them out. Jurez hoped that with the defeat of the Confederacy, there would be a change in policy in Washington and a renewal of the Monroe doctrine. As Jurez notes, Mucho celebrar que los hechos vengan a confirmar esas predicciones, pues ya va siendo de imperiosa necesidad para la Amrica un cambio de poltica en el Gabinete de Washington. Lo que est pasando en Mxico, lo que pasa en Santo Domingo, lo que acaba de suceder en el Per manifiesta bien a las claras cules son las miras de las potencias europeas respecto de las repblicas hispano-americanas y slo Dios puede saber hasta dnde se extiendan los proyectos agresivos del viejo mundo, si los Estados Unidos permanecen, como hasta aqu, indiferentes a la doctrina Monroe. (Jurez, 442443). 34Jurezs words: Los mexicanos en vez de quejarse [because no help is coming from the rich], deben redoblar sus esfuerzos para librarse de sus tiranos. As sern dignos de ser libres y respetables porque as debern su gloria a sus propios esfuerzos y no estarn atenidos como miserables esclavos a que otro piense, hable y trabaje por ellos. Podr suceder que alguna vez los poderosos se convengan en levantar la mano sobre un pueblo pobre, oprimido, pero eso lo harn por su inters y conveniencia. (Jurez 576577).
352
35William
M. Gwin, Senator Gwins Plan for the Colonization of Sonora. Edited by Evan J. Coleman in The Overland Monthly, Vol. XVII-Second Series (JanuaryJune, 1891), 593. 36Arrested, tried for treason, and acquitted, Burr traveled to Europe in 1808 to enlist the help of Napoleon in a plan to conquer Florida. Burrs plan failed but with the U.S. acquisition of Louisiana from France in 1803 and Florida from Spain in 1819, followed by the U.S. invasion and occupation of the Mexican Southwest in 1846, France again entered the picture. 37This plan was approved, with Congress allotting $100,000 for the colonization abroad of freed Negroes of the District of Columbia. When visited by a committee of Northern Black leaders to hear his views on Black emigration, Lincoln explained that the best thing was for a voluntary colonization of freed slaves in Central America, noting: But for your race among us there could not be war. It is better for us both, therefore to be separated. Blacks on Long Island subsequently submitted a response rejecting Lincolns calls for colonization in other lands, stressing that this was their native country, to which they were attached; they also noted that they were, for the most part, of mixed race and attached to the whites with whom our blood has been commingling from the earliest days of this our country. They reminded Lincoln that their labor had built this country. In anticipation of what would be demands carried into the late 20th century, the Colored Citizens of Queens County pointed to the Declaration of Independence which recognized that all men are born free and equal with certain inalienable rights, and assured him that they were ready to shed their blood for this country if allowed. Lincolns relocation proposal was countered with a better plan of their own: Why not let them colonize the Rebel states, their native states, they asked; that was a policy that all Blacks would favor. See Negro Opposition to Lincolns Offer of Colonization, in The Annals, Vol. 9, 18581865, pp. 363365. 38Corwin stated: There does not exist in this continent, and perhaps not in the world, a white or a mixed race so completely destitute of all prejudice against the black man as the people of Mexico. His political status is in all respects equal to that of the white man and his social also. There is ample space in the Tierra Caliente bordering the Pacific and Gulf Coast, for the colonization of five million of our negroes (quoted in Terrazas, 84).
39And
353
France, let us recall Chevaliers words, wanted a buffer between the U.S. and Maximilians empire. 40In a letter to the Minister of Foreign Relations, after describing the capture of the Confederates James M. Mason and John Slidell, on their way to England and France aboard the British ship Trent as it sailed out of Havana, Romero mentions Gwin: When the goleta San Francisco arrived in New York, it carried former Democratic California Senator William M. Gwin, whose sympathies favor secession. In San Francisco he took passage on the steamer for Panama. Before arriving there, he was arrested by General [Edwin V.] Sumner, who came aboard the steamer with five hundred men of the U.S. regular army. Upon arriving at the isthmus, Gwin petitioned the Panamanian authorities to free him because the U.S. forces could not exercise jurisdiction in foreign territory. However, General Sumner refused to turn the prisoner over, disembarking his force in a hostile array and carrying Gwin to New York, where this government ordered his imprisonment in Fort Lafayette (Romero, 55). Gwin was freed shortly thereafter. 41Gwin was quite supportive of the Emperor and Empress: They gave up the most delightful position in Europe to enter on the thorny path of regenerating this people, and deserve the sympathy and support of every good man and woman in the world (Gwin, 515). 42Gwin foresaw thousands of discharged soldiers, inured to hardship and camp life, overrunning Mexico, subduing the Indians, and holding it against any force Mexico could bring into the field to expel them (Gwin, 504). To avoid this filibustering, Gwin argued, it was necessary for Maximilian to prepare the terrain in Chihuahua and Sonora for the arrival and absorption of these ex-soldiers (Gwin, 519). 43These are Gwins comments on the traitor General Almonte, who has ignored him: The idea that an Indian, who considered it a great favor to be invited to meet ladies and gentlemen at my table in Washington, should think that I cared for his association here, I did not intend to let pass without expressing by my manner my contempt for him and his courtesies. He is nothing but an upper servant in the Palace, and I treated him as such (Gwin, 514). 44Gwins plans for the Indians were dual: the Yaqui and Mayo and other indians would be civilized and used as labor, but the Apaches, the most savage and ferocious tribe of Indians on the American
354
Continent, described as natural robbers and murderers he proposed to eliminate: A war against them must be a war of extermination, as they can never be civilized or reduced to subjection (Gwin, 517). 45Gwins letters to his family and friends in Paris and the U.S. were intercepted by U.S. agents and provoked a reaction from the U.S. before the French Minister, all of which led to an article in the Mexican empires press with a disclaimer, indicating Gwin had acted without the authorization of Maximilian (Gwin, 593594). Once Gwins plan was made public and ridiculed, he had no recourse but to leave Mexico, but not before trying to publish a response to the false reports (Gwin, 59697). Gwin abandoned the project on July 1, 1865, traveled north to Texas, where he was arrested and imprisoned at Fort Jackson, Louisiana, for 8 months; he was released on parole; no charges were ever made (Gwin, 607). 46Maury, an oceanographer, was also to head a planned observatory for Chapultepec in Mexico City. 47Letter from Grant to McDowell reprinted in A Threatened Invasion of California, in California Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. XIII, No. 1, March 1934, 3842. 48In their study of Mexico and the Confederacy, the Mahoneys indicate that the flow of Confederate immigrants to Mexico virtually ceased by mid-1866. Harry Thayer Mahoney and Marjorie Locke Mahoney, Mexico and the Confederacy 18601867 (San Francisco: Austin and Winfield, 1998), 155. 49Enrique Parmer, The American Colony at Carlota, in The Overland Monthly, Vol. II-Second Series (July-December, 1883), 488. 50The Carlota colony itself was marked by division and clannishness, all of which contributed to the colonys disintegration, until all the exiles/settlers had returned to the U.S. (Parmer, 489490). Several other colonies were established, attracting gullible settlers and inexperienced misfits (Mahoney and Mahoney, 156, 158) at Cordoba, Orizaba, Omealco, and Tuxpan. Many of these settlers too returned to the U.S. after the fall of Maximilian and others were forced out by the Juaristas (Mahoney and Mahoney, 161). Only two colonies were successful: one directed by General Shelby on the Tuxpan River close to the Gulf of Mexico and the other by Eustace Barron on the Santiago River near the Pacific Ocean. These two colonies, according to [Ford C.] Barksdale [the pro-American owner of the Mexican Times], had small populations without per-
355
nicious problems, a local navigable river to the healthy highlands, cheap transportation, and little or no Mexican government interference. (Mahoney and Mahoney, 130131) 51Valads reproduces the entire contract which indicates the latitude as follows: hemos convenido en las clusulas siguientes para colonizar los terrenos baldos de aquella pennsula, desde el grado 31 de latitud norte en direccin al sur, hasta los 24 grados y 20 minutos de latitud. (Valads, 188) 52Alexander Saxton, George Wilkes: Mutations of Artisan Radicalism, in Saxtons The Rise and Fall of the White Republic. Class Politics and Mass Culture in Nineteenth-Century America (London: Verso, 1996), 215216. 53Bernstein, Matas Romero 18371898, 265, 302. 54Matas Romero, A Mexican View of America in the 1860s. A Foreign Diplomat Describes the Civil War and Reconstruction. Translated and edited by Thomas Schoonover (Toronto: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1991), 182183. 55John J. Craven, Prison Life of Jefferson Davis (New York: G.W. Dillingham Co., 1905), 96. 56With the end of the frontier, Turner noted, had closed the first period of American history (478). Frederick Jackson Turner, The Significance of the Frontier in American History, in The Annals, Vol. 11, 462. 57In Hawaii U.S. troops with the blessing of President Benjamin Harrison triggered the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani, a revolt against the Hawaiian monarchy supported by U.S. capitalists on the islands who favored annexation to the U.S. Pres. Harrison recognized the provisional government that was proclaimed by a so-called Committee of Safety, and sent a treaty of annexation to the Senate for ratification. But as Pres. Grover Cleveland, who succeeded him, noted when he withdrew the treaty from deliberation, nothing would have occurred without the conspiracy of the U.S. minister to Hawaii, who upon false pretexts respecting the danger to life and property had requested the landing of U.S. forces, and created a Committee of Safety, which President Cleveland said should be called the Committee of Annexation. See Controversy Over Hawaii, in The Annals, Vol. 11, 479482.
356
58James
Bryce, The American Commonwealth, Vols. I and II (N.Y.: The Macmillan Co, 1889). For purposes of citation the 1923 edition will be used. Romeros comments are in response to the 1889 edition. 59In his review Congressman General Lloyd S. Bryce notes particular errors related to motions, votes, etc. on the floor of the House. Lloyd S. Bryce, Errors in Prof. Bryces Commonwealth, in The North American Review, Vol. CXLVIII (1889), 344354. It is, however, curious to note the reaction elicited by James Bryces failure to note the class structure and the plutocracy operating in the U.S.: because a man has no patent of nobility distinguishing him as belonging to a particular class, Mr. Bryce endeavors to make out that we have no classes. But the few already have the essential elements that constitute class distinctionpower and wealth. (350) While some, like the Congressman, would note his tendency to idealize, other critics found Bryces fair criticism and his willingness to give equal time to various perspectives, admirable. Theodore Roosevelt, for his part, praises Bryces work, saying No one can help admiring the depth of your insight into our peculiar conditions, and the absolute fairness of your criticisms. (in The Annals, Vol. 11, 189) and concurs, for example, with Bryces comments on nativist prejudice against immigrants in the U.S. (Bryce, II, 476), surprisingly agreeing that they too often served as scapegoats, blamed for any of the countrys ills. Theodore Roosevelt, The Americanization of Immigrants, in The Annals, Vol. 11, 189. 601889 Bryce edition cited in Henry S. Brooks, The Annexation of Mexico, in The Overland Monthly, Vol. XIV-Second Series (1889), 89. 61Bryce comments on the matter as follows: It is far from improbable that the American settlers, as their numbers grow, will be tempted to establish order for themselves and perhaps at last some sort of government. In fact, the process by which Texas was severed from Mexico and brought into the Union may conceivably be repeated in a more peaceful way. It is all but impossible for a feeble state, full of natural wealth which her people do not use, not to crumble under the impact of a stronger and more enterprising race. All experience points to the detachment of province after province from Mexico and its absorption into the American Union; nor when the process has once begun need it stop till, in a time to be measured rather by decades than by centuries, the petty republics of Central America
357
have been also swallowed up, and the predominant influence, if not the territorial frontier, of the United States has advanced to the Isthmus of Panama (1889 Bryce edition cited in Brooks, 89). 62In the 1921 edition, however, Bryce too modifies his perspective and considers that given the striking contrast (572) between the U.S. and Mexico, in terms of race, culture, religion and the Americans capacity for self-government (573) in contrast to the Mexicans unfitness for the exercise of political power (574), annexation of Mexico is not likely. 63In an 1882 letter to Mariscal, Romero stresses his loyalty to Mexico: algunos miembros del gabinete, no usted ni el Presidente, creen que soy muy afecto a Estados Unidos, o que no tengo la suficiente integridad para mantener y defender los derechos de Mxico, o que carezco de buen sentido para tratar a este gobierno si es que no van ms all, y me creen un anexionista, traidor a mi pas, desleal al gobierno que me deposita su confianza. Cited in Bernstein, 271. 64Jos Mart, The Washington Pan-American Congress, in Inside the Monster: Writings on the United States and American Imperialism, 364. 65See Bernstein, 236237. Instead of protecting the incipient Mexican textile industry, Minister Romero had concentrated on increasing the importing of foreign goods by reducing tariffs, thus allowing for government gain in customs (ingresos aduanales). 66Already in 1885 Romero had written a letter to the editor of the The North American Review, in which he refuted the New York Tribunes allegation that Mexican President Daz had sent a telegram in which he made known his willingness to sell to the United States six of the northern states of Mexico in order to salvage its financial situation. Romero in his letter reiterated the falsity of such reports and quoted Dazs own words repudiating the alleged disposition to sell any Mexican territory. (Matas Romero, Letter to the Editor, The North American Review, Vol. CXLL (1885), 509). Jurez, who died in 1871 was succeeded by Sebastin Lerdo de Tejada, who was able to put down a revolt organized by Porfirio Daz. In 1876 Porfirio Daz rebelled again, and this time came to power with the Tuxtepec rebellion. Recognition for Daz came in 1878, 18 months after Daz became president (Vzquez and Meyer, 72, 83). Rumors of annexation had of course not died with the defeat of the Confederacy or the execution of Maximilian. In 1877 the New York Herald had pub-
358
lished a map showing the areas in northern Mexico that should be annexed (Vzquez and Meyer, 62). Border problems, including bandits, cattle rustling, Indian raids and incursions of U.S. troops into Mexico in pursuit of particular individuals, had also continued. 67War with Mexico was the work of the slave-holding oligarchy and opposed to the general sentiment of the people (Bryce, 566). 68Jos Mart, The Monetary Congress of the American Republics, in Inside the Monster, 372, 373. 69As the Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores Ignacio Mariscal, Romeros former assistant in Washington, noted in 1883, Romero had become la piedra angular de las inversiones norteamericanas en Mxico ( Bernstein, 270). 70Romero could not likewise have been unaware of the impact of U.S. protectionist policies, yet at the 1889 International Meeting of American States he favored reciprocity and, being from a silver-producing country, was inclined to support bimetalism, unlike Mart, who in 1891 would write a report noting that bimetallism and the equalization of gold and silver could only profit the largest producers of silver, and not the Latin American republics. (See Mart, The Washington Pan-American Congress [371] and The Monetary Congress of the American Republics, in Inside the Monster, 374.) The U.S. already favored closing its borders to foreign products produced domestically, as in the case of Mexican lead and Chilean copper, as noted by Mart (349350). It would take Romero, who altogether spent twenty-two years in the United States as Mexican Legation Secretary and later as Mexican Ambassador, another ten years to recognize, as expressed in a letter to Mexican Ministro of Hacienda Jos Yves Limantour, that Mexican commercial concessions had not brought comparable concessions from the U.S. (cited in Bernstein, 328). In 1889 Romero also favored the establishment of a Pan American Union, unlike Mart, who, unwilling to submit to the passing of the contemptible juggernaut, questioned whether the Latin-American nations should surrender their sovereignty to the aggressive nation, a nation which was beginning to regard freedomthe perennial and universal hope of mankindas its right, and to invoke it for purposes of depriving other nations of it. (Mart, The Washington Pan-American Congress, in Inside the Monster, 351). Here Mart sounds much like MARB, who, twenty-
359
four years earlier, argued that in the name of freedom and liberty, the many were oppressed (8-26-67). 71Mart, The Argentine Republic as Viewed from the United States, in Inside the Monster, 329, 330. See Foners footnote 1 on p. 329. 72In The Washington Pan-American Congress, Mart recalls for his readers that the U.S. fought a war for a neighboring country and cut a coveted region out of living flesh and that its Manifest Destiny policies led it to covet Cuba as well as all the land from the Rio Grande to the Isthmus of Panama, and even on to the Straits of Magellan to attain continental unification (343). 73Mart was only too aware of U.S. interest in annexing more of Mexico and of its willingness to use a variety of strategies to do so. In Marts essay Mxico y Estados Unidos, dealing with Colonel Francis Cuttings arrest in Chihuahua for slander, we learn that this arrest served in 1886 as a pretext for calling for the U.S. invasion of Mexico, with the approval of Secretary of State Bayard, whose misrepresentation of events before Congress led to a rejection of the interventionist bill (Mart, Mexico y Estados Unidos, Cuba, Nuestra Amrica, Los Estados Unidos, (Mexico: Siglo Veintuno Editores, 1973, pp. 183188), even as along the Texas border, volunteers were gathering for the invasion. In 1887 in The United States View of Mexico, Mart returned to Cuttings intrigue and document, other press reports on ongoing discussions of proposals for the annexation of Mexico, including Cuttings American Annexation Leagues support of the Company for the Occupation and Development of Northern Mexico. (Mart, The United States View of Mexico, in Inside the Monster, 325328.) The Company, made up primarily of Southerners, was especially interested in acquiring Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Baja California, and Cutting, in a talk before a League convention, alleged that Mexicans in Northern Mexico were ready to support the invaders (Mart, 328). 74Creo, en redondo, peligroso para nuestra America o por lo menos intil, el Congreso Internacional. See Jos Mart, Cartas a Gonzalo de Quesada, Cuba, Nuestra America, los Estados Unidos, 152. 75Will the free nations sweep the Isthmus clear of obstacles to the juggernautthose free nations that dwell there and will climb into its car as did the Mexicans in Texas? (Mart, Inside the Monster, 363). 76Mart, Congreso Internacional de Washington, in Cuba, Nuestra Amrica, Los Estados Unidos, 148.
360
77See
Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws. Translated and edited by Anne M. Cohler, Basia Carolyn Miller and Harold Samuel Stone (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989). 78Moyano Pahissa, Frontera, 8392. 79From Vallejos letters of the period she also learned that her friend General Plcido Vega, who was Jurezs envoy to obtain a loan and arms during the French invasion, and who was also one of her correspondents (6-1-65), had by 1869 joined the number of dissatisfied Liberals who, with local armies at their disposal, were rising up against the Jurez government. On February 8, 1870, Vega issued a call for insurrection to the citizens of the state of Sinaloa arguing against the Liberal governments neglect of the needs of its citizens, lamenting the lack of national unity, and protesting the governments confiscation of state resources, misuse of funds, and other political ills. (See Vega Document in the Special Collection Section of the UCSD Library). Vega had numerous contacts in the U.S. (among them Vallejo and other californios who had provided money for the Liberal cause and received Mexican certificates and promises of lands on the Gulf of California in return), and he too flirted with the idea of dividing the Mexican nation, with Sinaloa and Sonora as the center of a northern republic, an idea that MARB totally rejected, although she did ask that Vallejo keep her informed on Vegas progress (9-14-69). See also Jurez 1871 letter on Hay que vigilar a Plcido Vega (Jurez, 521). Vegas failure is noted by MARB (4-21-70). 80A quote from Herbert Spencers The Americans, reprinted in The Annals, Vol. 10, 260. 81See Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws. 82Karl Marx, Capital, Vol III (New York: International Publishers, 1967), 466467. 83A collector of books, historical works, manuscripts and letters, Barlow left an important collection now housed in the Lenox Library of New York and the Boston Public Library. See Donald C. Dickinson, Dictionary of American Book Collectors (New York: Greenwood Press, 1986), 29. 84Abel Stearns came to California in 1829. A native of Massachusetts, he was a strong supporter of the californios, a merchant, public servant and the largest owner of land and cattle in southern California.
361
Married to Arcadia Bandini, he died in 1871. See H. H. Bancroft, California Pioneer Register and Index 15421848 (Baltimore: Regional Publishing Co., 1964), 340341. 85See reports of suits in The San Diego Herald, July 30, 1859, p. 3, col. 1. 86November 7, 1870, Letter from E. W. Morse to Mr. Tucker and Mr. Alvord in Washington, D.C. in Morse file at San Diego Historical Society Library.
Chapter V
Illustrations
Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton (Graves Family Collection)
Henry S. Burton (Seaver Center for Western History Research)
Nellie Burton de Pedrorena (San Diego Historical Society Photo Collection)
Henry (Harry) Halleck Burton (San Diego Historical Society Photo Collection)
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (Seaver Center for Western History Research)
Miguel de Pedrorena (San Diego Historical Society Photo Collection)
Violet Burton Dickson (Graves Family Collection)
George Davidson (The Bancroft Library)
Prudenciana Moreno (San Diego Historical Society Photo Collection)
Jos Matas Moreno, (San Diego Historical Society Photo Collection)
View of San Diego from Florence Hotel (San Diego Historical Society Photo Collection)
Rancho Jamul Cement Plant Ruins (San Diego Historical Society Photo Collection)
Handwritten letter by MARB, February 27, 1868 (Huntington Library; and Santa Barbara Mission Archives)
Chapter VI
Later San Diego: 18711895

A. Commentary
On May 28, 1870, MARB returned to California a widow, the head of her household, with two unmarried children to support (Nellie, then nineteen and Harry, seventeen years old). She was no longer legally bound by her status as a wife, but constrained still by legal and social obstacles placed before women in nineteenth-century society, and, more importantly, without any visible means of support except for the $30-a-month widows pension, which she was yet to receive. Yet it was after 1870 that she produced her two novels, published her play, and wrote her articles. She had already given indication of entrepreneurial ambitions before 1870, but it was after she was widowed that MARB became, by all indications, the mainstay of the familys welfare. This new relocation placed her back in California, now transfigured by massive migration and modernization, closer to La Frontera, to her family in La Paz, Baja California, and to San Diego, close also to the sites that though legally in limbo, held the promise of gain in the future, if her legal battles were successful, but far from the eastern centers of power where her children might have fared better.
Reversals of Fortune
Sustaining her children in school back East and surviving would call for astuteness and a clever manipulation of both the law and men.
373
374
Her financial affairs, frankly, were a tangled mess: MARB claimed title to Jamul, a ranch for which her husband had paid only a thousand dollars and on which, if the deal was valid and went according to plan, she still owed another thousand dollars, money that she didnt have. She had neither title from Po Pico nor a recognition of the title from the Land Commission; in fact, the board had turned down Picos claim to the property, saying his title was not valid. She had her mother and brother residing at the Jamul ranch, as well as several squatters, who, for their part, saw Jamul as public land and were in the process of shooting her cattle, making their claims, and having the land surveyed. Although she seemingly had no real assetssince titles to what she claimed were nebulous, encumbered, or tied up in litigation MARB had, however, many pots on the fire, so to speak: in addition to Jamul and stock holdings, she also claimed two extensive tracts of land in the northern district of Baja California: Ensenada and San Antonio. In theory, both these tracts had been legally recognized by Mexican President Jurez, but both were claimed by others as well. Ownership required settlement on the land and improvement of the land, all of which required capital, the one thing that she did not have. Her husband and she had formed a Lower California Mining Company, but except for the sale of some shares, which the Burtons had used to support themselves back East, they had only the interest of a few stockholders, represented by Barlow, who were unwilling to invest further in a dubious enterprise. The various tracts of land represented what might be termed virtual capital, as they offered a potential for profit but nothing solid on which she could count. MARB also had a manuscript, a novel that she had written while back East, and she would try to get it published. Perhaps with the upswing in interest in romances, it would bring in some cash, if she could only find a press willing to publish it. As she put it, Qu hacer, una mujer sin capital? y . . . mujer! (8-17-69). As a woman head of household without capital, she had to put what she did have to work, and what she did have was intelligence, a network of friends and acquaintances, energy, cunning, chutzpah, and a willingness to do whatever it took to milk this potential capital for all it was worth. And, from all indications, it did give forth, at least enough for MARB and her family to live off faith and credit.
375
Returning to San Diego via San Francisco

If MARBs 1859 trip east opened unknown and unimagined worlds to her, her return in 1870 confronted her with a transformed California. Upon her return by train to the Southwest, MARB found many changes, especially in San Francisco, which was by then a major city and port of the Pacific. She stayed at one of the best hotels, the Grand Hotel, and met with friends and lawyers. She did not, however, request a transfer of her pension until November 1872, because she was unsure whether she would remain in California or return to the East Coast. One of the first people she saw was, of course, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, who would be of crucial help in changing Picos mind about her claim to Jamul (see chapter VI, section B). Her profuse appreciation is evident in her (7-10-70) letter, in which it becomes clear that she is also aware that such effusive demonstrations of affection might be misunderstood. Another friend often mentioned when she travels to San Francisco is Gabriela Soberanes, widow of Henri Cambuston, from Monterey. One of Doa Gabrielas cousins (Mariano Soberanes) would marry one of Vallejos sisters (Mara Isidora) and thus figured as a distant Vallejo relative. The three often met to talk (7-3-70), sometimes with Po Pico (7-1-71), or else MARB and Vallejo met alone. Vallejos children, Jovita, Fani, and Lulu (7-21-70), also visited MARB, who stayed much involved in local californio activities and celebrations (10-10-75) while in San Francisco. Yet clearly, the city represented a temporary site of residence, a fluid space for contacts and business arrangements. MARBs and Vallejos friendship was further cemented after 1870, although apparently in view of Vallejos increasing financial difficulties, he was not often in a good mood (7-21-70). Equally suffering from losses and in need of loans was Po Pico (7-25-70), as were most of the older californios, who were in the process of losing their lands to creditors and lawyers, and with the demographic shift taking place, now largely displaced into the margins of power and privilege. The major topic discussed in MARBs letters to Vallejo is their shared misery, as Vallejo, during this period, was going through a series of financial reverses, disillusionments, and losses of all sorts, including the death of his brother Salvador Vallejo in 1876 and of a
376
daughter, Jovita Haraszthy, in 1878 (5-15-78). His daughter, Prudenciana de Moreno, living in Baja, was equally in dire need (11-8-78). Yet, despite their problems, the bantering, sharing of information, and expressions of friendship between MARB and Vallejo are constant throughout their correspondence, which nevertheless suffers spells of silence, whether over political differences or personal disagreements (although, admittedly, not all her letters to Vallejo have been conserved). In one particular case, it is clear that Vallejo deeply offends MARB by reporting some derogatory comment made about her daughter, Nellie, probably by a relative or someone close to him, about a month before her marriage to Miguel de Pedrorena, Jr. (11-6-75). Other pressing matters and financial disasters intervened, likewise producing periods of silence, such as the 1876 crash of the Vallejo Savings and Commercial Bank, run by Frisbie. Those losses, in view of Frisbies speculation with so-called bonanza stocks, which deteriorated in value (Emparn, 138), wiped out all of Vallejos savings. As early as the 1870s, his losses triggered periods of depression and cynicism (12-15-70), which concerned MARB (8-5-72). Other events also curtailed the number of letters MARB received from Vallejo, like his trip in 1877 to Mexico with Frisbie (7-8-77), where the latter, representing U.S. capitalists, sought to propose railroad and other commercial enterprises. This time it was Vallejo, who was desperate for five hundred dollars cash to make the trip and, although MARB was unable to help him, she wrote, noting that Doa Gabriela was trying to find funds for him (4-15-77). MARBs friend Flix Gibert was serving in the Mexican Congress at the time of Vallejos trip, and both he and Vallejo met to recall better times when the three had been in New York together (7-8-77). MARBs continual demands and Vallejos friends dismissal of her claims also led to a souring of the relationship. After 1878 Vallejo pointedly requested that MARB not write him unless he had answered her previous letter (11-8-78). Their correspondence, however, was apparently renewed after 1884. MARB spent many months in San Francisco, not only in 1870 although she made a two-week trip to San Diego upon arrival (6-2370)but later as well, for San Francisco was by then a financial cen-
377
ter, linked to the world and especially to the East Coast by railroad, where her son, Harry, had recently entered the Columbia School of Mines. MARB would be able to afford his tuition for only two years. Through her contacts in Washington, D.C., and her acquaintance with President Ulysses Grant, she tried to secure Harry a position or an appointment to a military or naval academy, before leaving the East Coast, as is clear from the following memorandum triggered by President Grant:1 Calendar: February 14, 1870. 1870, Feb. 14. Horace Porter to Moses H. Grinnell, collector of customs, New York City. I am directed by the President to say that he would be pleased to have Harry Burton of Staten Island appointed to some position in the Custom House, if you can find a vacancy. Young Burton is the son of the late Gen. Burton and the President desires to appoint him to either the Military or Naval Academy next year, and would be glad if he can have some position under you where he can support himself in the mean time. MARBs Washington connections did not, however, produce the appointments she desired, perhaps because she was not there to attend to matters. Even twelve years later she was still trying to get her son a government appointment, by contacting California Lieutenant Governor Pacheco and U.S. Senator from California John F. Miller, but all to no avail (8-16-82). If the war and the decade of the 1860s had provided a life of geographical and social mobility, her life after 1870 lacked stability and was marked by a sense of tenuousness. By the time she arrived in California in the summer of 1870, survival and meeting everyday expenses were critical concerns. She first attempted to get an allowance from the Burton estate in order to be able to support herself and her children, who would join her in California six months later (1-23-71). The Probate Court in San Diego noted that this allowance could come only, at that moment, from the sale of some of Burtons railroad stock in the San Diego and Gila, Southern Pacific and Atlantic Railroad
378
Company. She requested three thousand dollars and was given seventy shares valued at that amount for the support of herself and family for one year; the sale of this stock was to provide her with eleven hundred dollars, but not immediately; by November 1870, she had yet to receive any of this money (11-25-70). Every petition, even the request for an allowance, required engaging the services of a lawyer, and whatever money MARB was able to come into, she quickly exhausted in legal fees and in payment of debts. She also needed to take the squatters on the Jamul property to court in order to eject them from the ranch. That suit (against William Robinson, Joseph Riley, G. W. Sites, Henry Doughtery, and several others) went on throughout the decade of the 1870s. In order to mount this legal fight, as well as appeals to the courts for validation of the Jamul title, she was in dire need of a substantial loan. In 1870, MARB borrowed two thousand dollars from Maurice Dore in San Francisco, and, in 1871, she borrowed an additional two thousand. By 1872, another loan for six thousand dollars, to include accrued and accruing interest, required that she secure the loan with collateral. For this reason, the Burton heirs (MARB, Nellie, and Harry) offered the Jamul ranch as security. By then the loan to the three Burtons totaled ten thousand dollars and was due within a year at ten-percent interest. Additional information on the battle for the ranch will be provided subsequently in the Jamul section in this chapter. As indicated in Chapter II, the Burtons had purchased Jamul from parties who had a conditional deed to the ranch offered by Po Picos agent and brotherin-law, John Forster. Establishing their legal rights to Jamul was a lengthy process, but, in the meantime, the Burtons used Jamul as security even while their claim to the ranch was still up in the air. South of the border, MARBs problems were equally frustrating. Her titles to San Antonio were not secure; the conveyance to MARB from Loreto Ranc was missing among the documents held by Barlow, that he had sent to a lawyer (Doyle) in San Francisco. In addition to retrieving the lost document, MARB wanted assurances from Barlow that as soon as she delivered to Doyle the stock and money that she owed him, he would release all her documents (7-25-72). Understandablyin light of the circumstances under which she believed
379
herself owner of la Ensenadashe wished to be in control of the entire property as sole owner (9-9-72). The Ensenada lands too had been encroached upon by squatters, further complicating her ability, she said, to sell part of San Antonio or part of Ensenada, or to secure a loan with those properties as collateral in order to pay Barlow what she owed him (2-17-71), although in 1859, before leaving for the East Coast, the Burtons had already secured a loan for three thousand dollars from Hinton, using the Baja lands as collateral (8-30-69). The lost Ranc document could be replaced by requesting a copy of the San Antonio conveyeance from La Paz, but that would take time. Unable to pay Barlow the loan, MARB tried on several occasions both to get Barlow to invest further in the Baja lands by acting as if he were a partner, not a creditor, and to have him agree to release the lien on the property once she paid off the loan. MARBs ability to speculate with these lands also depended on the market that during the so-called Gilded Age (following Twains lead) saw recurring periods of economic expansion followed by depression.2 She was especially concerned with the relative success or failure of the Lower California Colonization Company (the company with the Leese Concession) in the same general area. Knowing that Barlow had also invested in this company, she continually tried to get inside information from him, although she knew that reports of the aridness of the land were scaring off both prospective immigrants and investors to the peninsula. The MARB who had in the 1860s spoken bitterly in letters to Vallejo and Moreno against any attempt to invade or appropriate part of Mexico, sang an apparently different tune to Barlow: Nothing less than the purchase of the peninsula by the United States would restore to that unhappy country some of its lost credit. Or a well-organized emigration backed by capital and begun in a less barren portion of the peninsula (3-16-72). MARB was ready to say what she thought would garner her any advantage, in this case, eliciting insider information, and who better than a wealthy lawyer who moved in diplomatic and political circles and defended corporate giants to know the latest information when it came to U.S. foreign policy? While the Burtons (Nellie and MARB) resided in San Francisco and Harry continued his studies back East, with frequent visits out
380
West (3-10-72), Nellie spent a couple of months visiting in Sacramento with Mrs. Jane Stanford, wife of ex-governor and president of the Central Pacific Railroad monopoly, Leland Stanford (3-16-72). Clearly, in California MARB also moved in important social circles, which gave her access to some of the key political figures and the wealthiest men, contacts that later enabled her to construct her incisive portrayal of these players in The Squatter and the Don. Her San Francisco stay also allowed her to connect with a number of californios and to work for the election of Romualdo Pacheco (Vallejos nephew by marriage) as lieutenant governor. In an 1871 letter she encourages Vallejo to do the same, reminding him that voting for Pacheco was both a matter of loyalty to ones race and a matter of power, as it had become important to have someone in office who could represent the views and aspirations of the californios (7-21-71). MARBs cultural identity as a Latina and political affiliation as a native Californian were never at issue throughout her life, notwithstanding all her transcultural interaction and all her frustrations with what she deemed the californios passivity. But even while advocating solidarity and lamenting divisions among her paisanos, she herself found some californios harbored ill will towards her; as she said to Vallejo, there were those among them that did not wish her well (pero quin sabe si la gente envidiosa me quiera hacer la mala obra [12-22-73]); these feelings were accentuated in later years, especially when it came to the Ensenada affair.
Trials and tribulations

The rest of MARBs life was characterized by class dislocation, as she oscillated between her self-construction as a woman of property and her condition as a woman with no liquid assets, faced with a series of financial difficulties exacerbated by bouts of depression, as she battled creditors to keep from losing what she would gain through other legal ruses. Mobile and articulate, she met with lawyers, creditors, bankers and businessmen and traveled back and forth between San Diego and San Francisco. In 1875, while in San Francisco, she wrote one of her typical letters of distress to Professor Davidson:
381
As usual [...] I fret and suffer and toil and pass weary days and sleepless nights in dreary longing to go home and be with my sweet children! But oh! all this torment does not help me one bit and I remain here chained down to my cold hard rock, all the same, and with a sigh, coil myself and lay down to wait for the hand of fate to drag me anywhere over this cold earth (12-4-75). Yet MARB somehow managed to keep her head above water, living off the loans and mortgages that she worked out by sundry means with various individuals, always in expectation of the windfall that would finally put behind her all financial worries. As she herself assured Davidson: Even now surrounded by difficulties and discouragements of all sorts, I persevere and fight the fearful odds against me (12-4-75). Living in San Francisco required that MARB manage her affairs through Morse in San Diego or Manuel Clemente Rojo, Morenos friend, who was now subjefe poltico of the northern Baja district (1868-1872). However, relocating to San Diego was not easy, for the Jamul adobe was no longer habitable. In late August 1872, the Burtons again visited San Diego, but only for a few days, enough to make her comment on the pleasant climate and yearn for a house with a sea view (8-29-72). In January 1874, again in San Diego, she stayed at the Horton House, and began to plan their return to the Jamul ranch, even as she looked for investors interested in developing Jamul, who could produce a source of income for the family (1-7-74). She found the people of San Diego dispirited, hopes gone with the end of their railroad aspirations.
San Diego: boom to bust

The San Diego of the 1870s, unlike that of the 1850s, seemed to be thriving. When the Burtons had left in 1859, almost the entire pop-
382
ulation lived in Old Town; mail came once a week, brought by stage from Los Angeles, and a steamer came once a month. A fire in Old Town, however, had destroyed most of the business section, a disaster that favored the new settlement in Hortons Addition or South San Diego, as it was then called.3 The decline of Old Town coincided with the loss of old friends. By 1870, Matas Moreno had died and his wife, Prudenciana, often resided at their Rancho Guadalupe in northern Baja, but the two friends continued to be in contact, with MARB, who had acted as an intermediary for the reconciliation between Prudenciana and her father, Vallejo, still serving as a conduit for messages between father and daughter (1-27-74; 8-14-77; 11-8-78). There were a few other friends there as well, in what still naturally seemed a mere back-country village to someone who had lived in New York City and Washington, D.C.; but the 1860s had brought a number of important changes, and more were to come in the 1870s as the town, like MARB herself, went through major ups and downs. In 1867 Alonzo E. Horton, a Yankee from Connecticut, had come to San Diego, resolved to build a town; he bought 880 acres of land near the bay at auction. Hortons Addition, as it was called, was the second start of New San Diego. As building commenced and additional investors bought land in New Town, the town grew with incoming settlers and additional enterprises, including the opening of telegraphic communication. Although 1870 also brought the collapse of the Memphis, El Paso & Pacific railroad project, dashing the hopes of many, by 1871 San Diego had a population of more than two thousand and a daily newspaper, the San Diego Union; there were six hundred buildings near the bay, busy streets, and well-stocked stores.4 Although San Diego had potential and resources, Smith notes that a local paper in 1871 was still calling San Diego a brush patch, where the rabbit and the squirrel made their home and safe retreat.5 San Diego was also becoming more ethnically diverse, with the addition of a large Chinese community, in the early 1870s. The Chinese then made up the service workers in hotels, laundries, and homes, as servants and cooks.6 By 1880 even MARB had a Chinese cook, a celestial, she called him: now at least I have a cook, a Chinaman, a celestial truly, for he is heavenly to me doing the cooking in this hot weather (7-15-80).
383
The next year (1872) brought additional growth to San Diego, including new wharves7 and buildings, a major hotel, the Horton House (where MARB often stayed), a bank housed in a brick building, a two-story brick county courthouse, four Protestant churches, in addition to the Catholic Church, and a school. With a population of some 2500, the city still pinned its hopes on becoming the terminus of the Texas and Pacific Railway.8 And the town was proud of its deep harbor capacity, confirmed in 1871 by George Davidson, assistant U.S. coast surveyor, in charge of the Pacific Coast, when he visited the San Diego Survey Station at La Playa. Davidson, who was one of MARBs friends, had previously visited San Diego in 1851 and 1857, and it was perhaps then that MARB met him for the first time, although Davidson also served in the Union army with Burton. His expert opinion at the time was that next to that of San Francisco, no harbor on the Pacific Coast of the United States approximates in excellence to the Bay of San Diego. It is readily distinguished, easily approached, and a depth of 22 feet can be carried over the bay. This finding, published in the Coast Survey Charts, continued to be true, he noted in 1871, upon being asked by the San Diego Chamber of Commerce to give his expert opinion as to the character and capacity of the harbor of San Diego. Founding University of California Professor Davidson9 was one of MARBs central correspondents. As we shall see, friendship with Davidson meant for MARB having access not only to expert opinion on metereological and geological issues but also to newsworthy reports that he came across in his worldwide travels; in addition to sharing gossip and the latest news, their letters were also an opportunity to catch up on personal and family news. Davison also assisted MARB in more than one financial crisis; clearly, the Davidsons and MARB were close friends, and she often met the couple socially when she was in San Francisco. Davidson recognized her talent and often encouraged her to write; he also found it easy to write to her about his plans, work, problems, and health, even asking her to translate meteorological and scientific documents in Spanish for him (1-2-86) while he was working on magnetic variations off the coast of California and Mexico observed in the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries by Spanish navigators.10
384
With the failure of the railroad plans, however, the population of San Diego began to dwindle, and the city sank into discouragement and apathy, notes Smith (147). By 1875 only fifteen hundred people remained in San Diego. Interspersed with romantic interludes between Mercedes and Clarence, it is this towns desperate hope for the railroadand the wheeling and dealing by corrupt railroad giants like Huntington, Stanford and Crocker, to ensure the demise of this projectthat MARB reconstructs in her 1885 historical romance The Squatter and the Don.
San Diego gets railroaded

As we have seen, the dream of making San Diego a railroad terminus had emerged in the 1850s, when residents of Old Town began planning for the construction of a railroad in San Diego, even as Congress considered the construction of a rail line along the 32nd degree parallel, one that would connect San Diego with Texas. The Civil War put an end to the activity, and after the war, with the loss of power of the South, the southern route lost favor in Congress. After the establishment of the Horton Addition, the city again began planning to bring the railroad to San Diego. Hope was rekindled in 1871 when the Texas and Pacific Railway was chartered by Col. Thomas A. Scott of the Pennsylvania Railroad and others. Once again, fueled by this project, the city began organizing to bring the railroad to San Diego, and again speculation took off: there was a boom in the sale of lots along what was presumed would be the railroad route, and there was a good bit of construction. In the summer of 1872, Scott and a large party of senators, businessmen, governors, and researchers arrived in San Diego by steamer; the party was treated to a banquet, and negotiations with the city began. (This event, too, is recorded in MARBs The Squatter and the Don.) The famous failure of Jay Cooke and Company in December of 1873, however, wiped out funds slated for the construction of the new railroad. Scott subsequently made an appeal to Congress for a federal subsidy, but his petition met the powerful counter efforts of Huntington and associates, who bribed and bought their way to the defeat of the Texas and Pacific funding, as was later evident.11 One of his principal agents was ex-
385
Senator Gwin, whose participation is also traced in The Squatter and the Don. Through her many contacts back East, MARB was fully informed as to who was behind the demise of the San Diego railroad effort, as she tells Davidson in 1875: And what do you think are the chances of the Texas Pacific? Is Tom Scott to succeed? Gov. Stanford will do all he can to prevent it. What a terribly strong willed man is the governor. His will is a perfect juggernaut car. He has formed a plan in his brain for a certain R. Road system of his own and he will crush San Diego and all of us if he fancies we are in his way. [. . .] I wish the Governor would take a fancy to make a pet of San Diego, but he wont and so we must suffer if the pitying angels dont help us (12-4-75). Thus ended the pipe dream of a western terminus in San Diego for the Texas and Pacific railroad. Unlike MARB, not all those disillusioned with the demise of the railroad project blamed the Big Four, however. In 1875 Huntington and Crocker visited San Diego. Giving a description at odds with MARBs, E. W. Morse, local businessman, lawyer, and once agent for MARB, recalls: I dont believe Huntington ever showed a spirit of vindictiveness toward San Diego, as has been reported. In all the correspondence which I have seen, he was very friendly. Mrs. Burton, widow of General H. S. Burton, was once dining with him and said to him she did wish he would build a railroad into San Diego, that she had some property there which would increase in value and it would make her a rich woman. Well, he said, it is not to our interests to build in there at present. He talked very pleasantly about it and gave as one of their reasons for not building that if they should touch the coast of San Diego, they would come in competition with water transportation. I think they were influenced largely by the consideration of getting the long haul clear into San Francisco, which they get now, while if they had built in here, they
386
would have had to divide with a steamship company at this point. This party was entertained at the Horton House and was treated well.12 This personal contact with Stanford and Huntington enabled MARB to portray them in fine detail in her scathing critique of the railroad monopoly in The Squatter and the Don. What is especially noteworthy is that, despite her constant efforts to gain the support of the well-to-do and powerful, MARB did not recoil from making critical remarks, condemning the corruption of the powerful, irrespective of the cost to her personally. Though moribund, the dream of bringing the railroad to San Diego, however, was not entirely dead in 1874, when MARB returned to San Diego to stay. But she had more immediate problems, however: a need to find lodgings and a long legal fight ahead for Jamul. Now it finally appeared as if she might be localized in one place, but even this proved problematic, for the adobe house in Jamul was in great need of repair; it was nothing but a hut, a casucha miserable that she was ashamed to offer Vallejo, who was at the time ailing in San Francisco, having caught cold in the rain after visiting her, as she tells him in a letter (1-15-74). She also had the Ensenada battle looming ahead, and, to make things worse, of the two paisanos who previously had helped her, Moreno by then had died and MARB no longer had the support of the other, her best friend, Flix Gibert, in that venture (1-15-74).
Jamul under seize

More than a homethe Burtons would only reside there for short periods of time after 1874Jamul represented potential capital. Logically, MARBs first concern upon arriving in California was to secure title to the Jamul property, which, as previously indicated, she would gain from Pico (see chapter VI, section B) as of June, 1870, thanks to the intervention of Peachy, one of Henry Hallecks13 former law partners, and Vallejo. In September 1870, MARB and her two children (Nellie and Henry H. Burton) asked to have their names susbstituted for that of Po Pico in the Land Commision appeal for confirmation of
387
title to Jamul. The Land Act of 1851 required that all these californio land titles be reviewed for confirmation or rejection, but instead of appealing the Pico title rejection, MARB petitioned the District Court to set aside its previous negative decision, alleging that the true owner of Jamul was H. S. Burton, whose service in the war had not permitted his prosecuting his claim with diligence, as MARB made it a point to argue. In the meantime, MARB was fighting the squatters through the courts with the help of the Clevelands (her lawyers).14 By 1871 she began to suspect that Cleveland was supporting the squatters and hired a new lawyer, Chalmers Scott (11-1-71). One of the squatters was particularly problematic, Squatter Robinson, who was mentally unstable. The disturbed actions of this squatter, as well as the assault upon her home by new claimants who would trespass on the property and throw all her furniture and belongings out of the house in Jamul, served as the basis for her portrayal of the squatter Mathews and his cohorts in The Squatter and the Don.
Burton patent to Jamul confirmed, 1872

Finally, in 1872, the District Court reversed its previous decision and recognized the Burtons claim to Jamul; that decision was, however, further appealed by the squatters and later by her creditors. Since the legal details of the matter will be discussed elsewhere, suffice it to say that in 1876, after many appeals, the U.S. government by order of President GrantH. S. Burtons fellow army officerrecognized the Burtons right to the Jamul ranch: Now, know ye, that the United States of America, in consideration of the premises, and pursuant to the provisions of the Act of Congress aforesaid, of third March, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty one, and the legislation supplemental thereto, Have given and granted and by these Presents to give and grant unto the said Mara A. Burton, Nellie Burton and Henry H. Burton, widow and heirs of H.S. Burton, deceased, and to their heirs and assigns, the tract of
388
land embraced and described in the foregoing survey, but with the stipulation that in virtue of the fifteenth section of said Act, neither the confirmation of this said claim nor this patent shall affect the interests of third persons. To have and to hold the said tract with the appurtenances unto the said Mara A. Burton, Nellie Burton and Henry H. Burton, widow and heirs of Henry S. Burton, deceased, and to their heirs and assigns forever, with the stipulations aforesaid. In testimony whereof, I, Ulysses Grant, President of the United States, have caused these Letters to be made Patent, and the seal of the General Land Office to be hereunto affixed. (Seal) Given under my hand at the City of Washington this twenty sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy six, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and first. U. S. Grant. By the President By D.D. Done, Secretary15 Somewhat ironically, when the government decreed that Mara A. Burton, Nellie Burton, and Henry H. Burton had a good and valid claim to Jamul, and thereby confirmed the title, the Burtons in effect had their claim to this Mexican grant recognized as if they had been the original grantees, when, in fact, the ranch was purchased. In other words, it was not Picos title that was confirmed, but the Burtons. MARBs maneuvering and personal appeals speak volumes about her astute legal and business sense. This battle for recognition of their title, however, was only the tip of the legal iceberg. The squatters on Jamul, for example, did not leave the ranch until 1879, and by then she had filed several suits against them. Moreover, the heavily mortgaged Jamul during this and the following decades would be the subject and object of many court suits.
389
Gaining time, dodging debts, or paying neither Peter nor Paul

MARBs legal battle for Jamul will not be entered into in full detail here. Aside from her other creditors, MARB would be sued by her principal mortgagee, Maurice Dore, who, we should recall, had refinanced the December 1874 loan, which, by 1880 amounted to $18,883.86. Her problems with this loan required frequent trips to San Francisco (4-4-74 and 8-27-74), until finally the courts ordered that the San Diego sheriff force a sale of the Jamul ranch. In December 1880, Jamul was bought by Henry Ingraham, who in turn sold it to Wallace Leach, who in turn took out a loan from John Capron, James McCoy, and George Baylay to purchase the ranch. To forestall foreclosure, by which Leach and company would claim the land, the Burtons moved to have the ranch declared part of the Burton estate. Possession could not be taken until, as the state ruled, debts were paid, and here two debts, one to J. S. Manassee and one to Francis Hintonthe latter ostensibly already paid offreappeared, or were made to reappear by the Burtons. This strategy delayed further action, and the Burtons were accused in court of conspiracy by their plaintiffs. The suit was prolonged and went through several appeals, all of which served to sharpen MARBs legal skills, to the point where she wrote a legal brief (see chapter VI) when her lawyer unexpectedly withdrew from the case. As time went by and legal expenses increased dramatically, MARB asked that she be awarded a homestead from that estate. She filed a petition for this homestead in September 1879, and finally in June 1889, the courts granted her 968 acres on the Jamul ranch, although the objector, Maggie Leach, widow of Wallace Leach, did not allow her on the premises until July 1889. In effect, after 1882, the Burtons no longer resided at Jamul. In 1886 MARB further petitioned the court for an allowance from the estate and she was granted a temporary allowance of one hundred and fifty dollars per month. By 1890 she had received eight hundred and ninety-two dollars in addition to the eleven hundred dollars she originally received in 1870. The courts further ordered that the allowance be continued and augmented to two hundred and fifty dol-
390
lars a month, until the entire matter of the estate was settled; this order, too, was appealed. In the meantime, H. S. Burtons other heirs, the grandchildren of his first wife (Elizabeth Lull Cochrane and Richard Swann Lull), appeared on the scene and filed suit, claiming their part of the H. S. Burton estate as well. Suits and counter-suits continued; by this time the Burtons wanted the ranch sold, as it was now worth much more than was owed anybody, and would remedy all their financial worries, but the Leach party wanted the property issue settled in their favor, arguing that the Burtons had mortgaged the ranch as individuals, because they, and not the estate, were the owners. Ironically, then, MARB shifted positionality repeatedly with regard to the Jamul property, assuming before the courts the role (1) of californio grantee, seeking to have her title confirmed, (2) as a squatter, or settler and wife, claiming a homestead, and (3) as an outright purchaser of the ranch with her husband (in a community property state).
Legal convolutions continue, or mortgaged to the hilt

In 1891, the Burtons (for all intents and purposes) finally lost the ranch, with the exception of MARBs homestead, which included the adobe home. Living in town, she later mortgaged nine hundred acres to obtain cash, not only to pay attorneys fees but to return to Mexico for her other legal battle, even while the Burtons began a new enterprise on a portion of the property that they still retained: the production of cement. In the meantime, the estate administratorsincluding H. H. Burton and otherscontinued to appeal the distribution of estate assets for a few more years, but the matter for MARB was essentially dead by the time of her own death in 1895. Still, this ranch, only half paid for in 1853, provided the means for economic survival for several years, although barely, and situated her in the position of a californio ranchero, whose land was invaded by squatters and who fought tooth and nail in the courts till all her resources were exhausted. The experience of an embattled californio family was the subject of her novel The Squatter and the Don. The end results of the fight for Jamul were still off in the distance when the Burtons (MARB, Nellie, and Harry) returned to Jamul in 1874. The property was not only in desperate need of upkeep, but they
391
also had to devise means of making the place productive. By March they were beginning to plow the land, as MARB tells Davidson, and they wanted to get tenant farmers who were willing to cultivate the land on shares (3-6-74). Yet the growing problems were also taking their toll on MARBs health and spirit; as she tells Vallejo in a letter she was beginning to feel, as she said, numb: Me siento como si tuviese el alma entumida, en un fro, muy fro, estupor (9-4-74). This new fissure was not strictly cultural, racial, or national, but rather more specifically material. She disidentified with her socioeconomic conditions, accustomed as she had become to a certain level of comfort back East, despite their indebtedness, as the wife of Colonel Burton. She felt split, one part of her dying and the other active. Yet despite reversals, she remained active the rest of her life. One of her plans had to do with building a reservoir on the Jamul property to provide not only water for San Diego but an income for her family. As the population had increased in San Diego, the town had begun to see the need for a larger water supply, beyond the wells and small reservoir that had sustained it (1-7-74). In 1875, a new reservoir was built, with water being pumped from the San Diego River. It was not until 1889, however, that mountain water was brought to San Diego, not from a Jamul reservoir, as MARB had envisioned, but from the Cuyamaca basin.16 Long before the Cuyamaca water system, MARB had dreamed of developing a Jamul Waterworks, as we can see in letters to Davidson and Vallejo. Already in 1873, while still residing in San Francisco, MARB had begun to think of the possibilities of building a dam on her Jamul lands, undeniably inspired by the Sonoma Water Works, which Vallejo had established. She began to try to contact William Carlisle, who had joined Vallejo, his wife, and James Forsyth in a project to bring water from the Lachryma Montis spring to the growing town of Sonoma (12-16-73). She felt that with Carlisles technical expertise, she too could similarly develop a Jamul Water Works, but she also sought out the expertise of Professor Davidson, of the U.S. Geological Survey, who had been actively involved in the astronomical and geodetic work of the Pacific since 1850, and who could provide her with all the relevant information about the volume of water
392
that could be dammed in the Valley of Jamul, the rainfall, the service capacity, the elevation of Jamul, in comparison to that of San Diego, etc. (12-18-73). On the basis of information Davidson made available to her, in 1874 MARB published Irrigation in Jamul Valley, in the San Diego Union (December 16, 1874) on the prospects of using Jamul as the zone for a reservoir (see chapter VI, section B). She foresaw possibilities for irrigating farms, increasing the number of orchards in the county, and having the government claim as public lands the areas through which the main pipes would run (8-27-74 and 9-4-74). The county was also building a road from Jamul to Fort Yuma and this, together with the reservoir, wouldnot coincidentallyhave meant great benefits for her Jamul Rancho. But the project stalled, much as she encouraged Vallejo to get Carlisle to move on the plan (8-27-74). It was not easy in 1874, in the midst of an economic depression, to get the necessary capital for such a ventureperhaps one hundred and twenty thousand dollarsand neither was there support in San Diego, for, as she said, the San Diegans were poor and without hope (sin dinero y sin fe [1-7-74]). MARBs article does, however, point to her enterprising spirit, her ability to tap the expertise and collaboration of others, like Professor Davidson, in making her plans, and her willingness and ability to use the pen to formulate her plans before the public. Her plans for the reservoir were briefly revived in 1882 when the prospects of bringing the railroad to San Diego again rose. MARB writes Davidson to let him know that a man from the Atchison & Topeka Company has been by and recognizes that without water the town will not be able to attract new settlers (8-16-82). Her reservoir plans, however, like so many others, would die for lack of capital. But MARB was not one to give up easily; she had other plans for Jamul. In 1874 she began to cultivate castor beans. She again wrote an article for the San Diego Union (10-9-74) in which she notified readers of the prospects and advantages of castor beans as an important cash crop that was beginning to be used not only in medicine but as a lubricant and an ingredient in pomades, fancy soaps and lamp oil.17 In her articlewritten in third person and praising herself for her energy and courageshe stresses the feasibility of its cultivation (see
393
chapter VI, section B). This article also provides insights into her willingness to launch new projects, as well as into her self-promotional skills. About a month later there was a new notice in the San Diego Union (11-15-74), indicating the results of that cultivation: The castor bean crop at Mrs. Burtons ranch in Jamul Valley has now all been gathered. Mrs. Burton proposes to plant two hundred acres next season. She has lately received a letter from a party in San Francisco who proposes the establishment of oilworks on the ranch. This project, too, was laid aside as the ranch continued under litigation and she fought to get her title recognized. In the midst of all these projects, MARB had her Baja troubles to contend with, as well as mounting personal problems. Her daughter, Nellie, married Miguel de Pedrorena in December 1875, and in 1877 MARB was frantic with worry since Nellie was about to have a baby while MARB was still detained in San Francisco by financial and legal problems (5-9-77). By June she reported to Vallejo that she had made it back in time and that her granddaughter Eileen had been born on May 24, 1877 (7-2-77). The family was then living in San Diego, as the legal fight for the Jamul ranch continued. By 1880, however, the family could no longer afford to live in town, and when Nellie came down with a bad case of the flu that left her incapacitated, MARB finally persuaded them all that it was necessary to return to Jamul, where, as she put it in a letter to Davidson, at least they didnt pay rent or buy their water (7-15-80). Unused as she undoubtedly was to being without a maid, MARB had to do all the chores and play nurse, as well as cook for the family, until they were finally able to get a Chinese cook. Yet she tried to write something interesting about the colorful vegetation and mountains to encourage her friend Davidson, who was then feeling depressed himself and longed to be out in the field again. Always aware that letters from a woman to a male friend might be misunderstood, in her letter MARB expresses her warm regard for Davidson, noting that one of the advantages of old age is that a woman can speak more freely of her affections: This is as it ought to be. Old age ought to have some compensation (7-15-80).
394
The rest of that year was equally gloomy for MARB as her sister Manuela Maytorena de la Toba died in La Paz, Baja California, in August 1880. There are no letters after July 1880, until March 1881, although surely she wrote her friend Vallejo about her loss. The following year there was a new disaster: Miguel de Pedrorena, Jr., Nellies husband, died in 1882, and except for comments to Barlow about Nellies being despondent (5-13-83), nothing is said about Pedrorena in extant letters to Vallejo or Davidson.
Struggling and striving: new aspirations and failures

In time, and given the multiple debts that the Burtons faced, the Jamul ranch, as previously noted, was lost, except for the homestead that MARB requested in 1879. But even this allocation of a homestead was challenged and went through a series of appeals (7-10-86). It is on this still-encumbered land that in 1882 the Burtons decide to embark on a new enterprise: the production of cement, one that Henry S. Burton had tried on a tentative and small scale in the 1850s before leaving for the East Coast. These new plans, which MARB began pursuing in 1882, as is clear from her letter to Davidson (8-16-82), must be seen in relation to other activities taking place in San Diego during the 1880s. The decade of the 1880s at long last brought the Santa Fe railway to the city of San Diego, connecting it through Temecula Canyon to the Southern Railroad in 1883. This line was washed out in the winter of 1883-84, and a new railway was built from Los Angeles to San Diego, creating a boom for the town that brought a growing number of settlers from the Midwest and East Coast; by 1887 the county had grown dramatically, with about thirty thousand people (Black, 149). This growth brought speculation and inflation but also new industries, gambling, sidewalks, new wharf facilities, new hotels, a sewer system, roads, graded streets, and new water systems. The boomlet collapsed in 1888, and again was followed by a rapid decrease in the population, stoppage of public and private works, and financial ruin for many. Several years of stagnation ensued, but San Diego now had a larger permanent population, and its growth spurt had, as one resident said, put it twenty years in advance of what it would have been without it (Black, 159).
395
It is at the beginning of this period that MARB and her son Harry envision this new undertaking; and, as ever, she was the mover and shaker, for as she said to Davidson, she wanted to find her son a good position, without relying on her political friends who she complained had shamefully treated her son (9-16-82). All they had been able to provide for him was a brief appointment as postmaster of San Diego in 1881 and a low-level appointment as inspector in the customs service at the Port of San Diego (1882-87), when she had asked them to at least name him deputy collector under Captain Johnson. An old friend of MARBs, Johnson, who had visited her with his wife in New York, explained his appointment of another man as deputy by saying that the Burtons were not well thought of in town, particularly Harry, as a result of their legal battle against Leach and Nougues (9-16-82). Further complicating matters, that year, 1882, Harry had married Minnie Wilbur, and he was willing to accept any position he could get. In 1882, MARB wrote Professor Davidson to ask for his assistance in testing the hydraulic lime for the cement works. She wanted to send about a ton of the lime to Davidsons assistant, Professor Price, and she did not hesitate to ask them both to come down to inspect the site itself. If the lime were deemed to be of sufficient quality, then she wanted to follow up with a request for their help in forming a company that would advance the money for the enterprise and provide her with ten thousand dollars up front in order to fight J. M. Nougues and his lawyer Leach in court to clear their ranch of all remaining litigation (9-16-82).18 Her letters to Davidson point to an increasingly despairing MARB, who is demanding and sorely tries her friends patience. Neither he nor Price responds (9-5-82; 9-16-82; 9-16-82); six months later she sends the lime, but without assurances that Price will perform the calcination tests. Price, on the other hand, is unwilling to do anything unless ordered to do so by Prof. Davidson (4-13-83). Within that time period, she and her lawyer J. Wade McDonald contact Price and speak to him personally, whereupon he assures her that Davidson and he are not interested in entering into the cement business with her, but consents to test the lime, but only if Davidson agrees (4-13-83). By April of 1883, MARB had her court-awarded homestead and could use it to finance this new endeavor since the deposit fell within
396
the boundary lines (5-24-83). Now all she needed was to interest investors. In May 1883, she wrote Davidson again to tell him about the homestead and to ask once more that Price report on the right point of calcination (5-24-83); in her next letter she again invited him to come to the site to determine the extent of the deposit (6-5-83). Having informed herself on the particulars of the project, she had a series of ideas on what could be done, where to get fuel, who could do the boring, etc., but she had no expert like Davidson to put things into motion. Finally, she also began to sense that she had antagonized Davidson to such an extreme that he would no longer write her; upon learning later from her lawyer McDonald that Davidson was still friendly towards her, she did not hesitate to importune Davidson to see Congressman General Rosecrans about an increase in her army widows pension, while staying in Washington, D.C. (6-7-84).
The Jamul Portland Cement Company

Throughout the 1880s, Jamul continued in litigation, with the homestead decision being overturned and reappealed by MARB (6-9-84) and the cement project still in the planning stages. Finally in 1889, with her homestead title clear and after consulting a Los Angeles cement chemist and engineer, Carl Leonardt, and experimenting with the cement, Harry and MARB formed the Jamul Portland Cement Company with Leonardt and two additional investors.19 MARB conveyed to the company about 68 acres on the ranch from her homestead, which included the site of the limestone and a site for the cement plant. The next task was to buy a kiln and cement mixer from Germany and begin constructing the plant (7-7-90). They purchased a Schlegel kiln by 1891, but, without specific instructions nor an expert in the area, were unable to use it properly. MARBs letters to Davidson again asked repeatedly for help in finding a skilled person who knew how to burn cement in this type of kiln (2-22-91). Davidson tried to help (5-14-91) by recommending someone who knew about kilns but not the Schlegel kiln (5-14-91). With his training in engineering, Harry eventually managed to get the kiln working and began producing cement. MARB, who owned one fourth of the stock, soon had to sell part of it, as her financial situation was, as usual, one of near penury (5-14-91). Tapped out,
397
and needing desperately to return to Mexico, MARB that same year sought a loan of fifteen thousand dollars, financed by mortgaging her homestead (5-28-91). It is the last letter that we have from MARB, although surely not the last one she wrote. The Jamul Portland Cement Company was unable to produce at a high enough capacity; it was also unable to compete with the betterquality California Portland Cement Company product. By October 1891, the plant, near bankruptcy, ceased operation, and the company was sued for nonpayment of its debts (Burkenroad, 280). The failure of the Jamul Cement Company occured even as MARB was engaged on another front: her fight for the Ensenada lands.
Continued machinations: Baja and Ensenada

The 1870s saw continued political strife in La Paz and poverty in the north, an area that without trade with the south, continued to be dependent on San Diego for provisions. By the end of 1872, the Leese Concession in northern Baja had been cancelled, although the Lower California Colonization Company still had the right to work the orchilla harvest for another six years. Unhappy with the cancellation, the company and its agent General Benjamin Butler attempted to sue the Mexican government in U.S. courts for breach of contract, expulsion of its colonists, and seizure of its interests, but the U.S. government rejected the suit (Martnez, 394). Hearing from Flix Gibert of the final outcome of the Leese Concession, MARB feared that the Lower California Colonization Companys failure might have repercussions on her own claims to lands there, as she reports to Vallejo (10-75). The death of Jurez in 1872 brought Lerdo de Tejada, MARBs friend, to the Mexican presidency, and with him, new reforms and a call for Baja authorities to establish a new map of holdings and properties and require all property owners to present their titles before the courts. In 1871 MARB had spent more than $1100 to have La Ensenada surveyed, and when, in 1874, the government required a new survey, she did not hesitate to ask for help from Barlow, who represented interests in the property on the basis of a loan that had been made to her. In her letter she insists that Barlow collaborate by underwriting the new survey, unless he wants to see them
398
lose the property; she again offers explanations as to why she hasnt been able to pay him or sell the land (2-28-74). In 1874, hoping to get her deed back from Barlow, MARB inquired whether Doyle, Barlows lawyer in California, would return the documents upon payment of five thousand dollars plus interest on the outstanding debt (11-30-74). She was interested in selling some grazing land and could not afford to wait four months to retrieve the papers (11-30-74). In her letters to Barlow, especially, one gets the sense of a woman under numerous constraints, unable to deal decisively with those properties for lack of those documents, but, in reality, by 1871, MARB was making plans for the sale of fractions of Ensenada. The San Diego Union (2-8-71) reported the following: At the Ensenada a town site is being laid out under the supervision of Mr. O. P. Calloway, formerly of this city, who is in the employ of a San Francisco company, which has recently purchased a large tract of land from Mrs. General Burton. Ensenada is the seaport for the miners at San Rafael, and it is expected that a town of some importance will spring up there. That same year she was involved in establishing a warehouse in Ensenada, and she was having problems with the local authorities. The San Diego Union (12-7-71) reported that there had been a series of complaints of seizures of goods and impositions upon the foreign population in the new mining area of San Rafael and its adjacent port, Ensenada. Customs officers were reportedly seizing property: When in addition to the ordinary vicissitudes of trade, a merchant is compelled to feed rapacious officials, it becomes rather uphill work. Another outrage, for by no other name can it be called, is the closure of the warehouse recently constructed at Ensenada for the accommodation of goods freighted from this port. The warehouse is owned jointly by Mrs. Burton, on whose land it is built, and Captain Wentworth, formerly of San Diego. No definite reason is given for closing
399
the house, and the only one that can be conjectured is that it does not allow the present deputy collector the same facilities for doing business in the manner he was accustomed to some time since. Since the establishment of the warehouse at Ensenada, all the annoyances suffered by the merchants previous to its erection have ceased. These annoyances consisted in a systematic pilfering from every invoice of goods received from San Diego, the necessity of leaving them exposed being favorable to the thieves. We hope our neighbors will see the advantage of doing things on the square, and will not stand in the way of their own advancement. As early as 1872, MARB had tried to sell half of Ensenada to Barlow et al. (9-9-72), but, already holding her assets thereand title documentsas collateral for their loan, they had expressed little interest. In 1875 she tells Barlow she is considering selling all of Ensenada, especially since he and his associates are unwilling to help her defray the expenses of surveying the land (6-30-75). By this time her debt to Barlow, with interest, had increased to $7000, and she again pressured him to send the deed to her, as sale of the Ensenada seemed to be now the only means for settling her ever-growing indebtedness.
Not the best of times

That whole year (1875) she tried to sell half of the Ensenada lands to establish a settlement colony, but the areas distance from San Diego did not attract any buyers, especially after the 1872 Lower California Companys fiasco. It is this financial quagmire that begins to make annexation of Baja territory by the United States figure differently in her mind, especially when she considers that her lands are more likely to attract buyers in that event: Because the property is 85 miles sourth of San Diego in Mexico! no one has faith in it. When the news that the U.S. was to annex Lower California and some of the border States
400
got here last week, there was some interest shown in the property, but the rumor passed and now the brainless speculators are as indifferent as ever (12-4-75). MARBs political convictions clearly took a back seat to economic plans and financial distress. The annexation she had passionately rejected only a few years before, now seemed to fit into her plans. Upon Professor Davidsons return from a trip to England, which took him through Washington, she plied him with requests for more recent reports on annexationist plans (12-4-75), since Mexicos financial difficulties were again giving rise to rumors of its need to sell off some of its territories. MARB, too, at this juncture, thought it probable, although she was against the cession of a large tract of land (12-4-75). Mexicos internal politics continued to be a constant concern, primarily because political upheaval and policy changes there were having repercussions on her own interests.20 General Dazs coup against Lerdo de Tejada in 1876 led to the latters exile in the United States, where he began working to prevent U.S. recognition of the new regime, while Mata (MARBs compadre) was sent to gain official recognition for Daz (7-8-77). MARB and others speculated whether the United States would intervene, helping Lerdo incite a counterrebellion (4-30-77). In the meantime there were problems along the Mexican border, as troops from the U.S. were making incursions into Mexican territory to pursue bandits and Indians, retrieve stolen property (cattle, especially), and assist those apprehended by Mexican authorities.21 When President Hayes ignored Mexican protests and ordered General Ord to continue incursions into Mexico in May 1877, the exiled Lerdo and Jos Mara Iglesias22 were the first to protest the aggression, and Daz ordered any incursion to be repelled by force. As political talks ensued between the two countries on these border disputes, U.S. press releases on annexation continued (Vzquez and Meyer, 82-83), further complicating relations between the two countries. MARB made it her business to stay informed, even as her views became ever more conflicted and contradictory, torn between opposition to further invasion or annexation of Mexican territory and accom-
401
modation to plans for annexation of at least parts of Mexico, if this move proved personally beneficial. MARB was not alone in her interest in affairs in Mexico. Before Dazs recognition and in the midst of the political turmoil in Mexico, Frisbie and Vallejo had gone to Mexico to check out possibilities for investments. Before Vallejo left, MARB wrote to wish him well, reminding him that Flix Gibert was now a Mexican congressman in Mexico City, and expressing her hopes for a diplomatic appointment for Vallejo (5-4-77), resenting, as she noted, that the conquered race had received no gesture of good feeling ever from this the most egoistic of nations (5-4-77). Frisbie was then back East meeting with potential U.S. investors and floating the idea that Mexico become a U.S. protectorate (5-4-77). MARB advised that the approach was wrong, that no Mexican would want to be under the protection of a foreign power. Let it be called an alliance or a reciprocal treaty, she suggested to Vallejo, but the idea of a protectorate was out of the question (5-4-77). Upon receiving a card from Vallejo, who was on his way to Washington, she replied that the idea of a concerted immigration policy to Mexico was a better plan, as that would take emigrants from the United States who would go as Lerdo supporters into Mexico and would also promote foreign investment in Mexico (5-9-77). Any plan that would not be insulting to Mexicos honor was preferred. By now, however, she diagnosed Mexicos condition in clinical terms, in line with many other nineteenth-century Latin-American writers (for example, Peruvian Manuel Gonzlez Prada), who wrote about their countries suffering from social diseases: Hay enfermos que aunque estn a la muerte, todava se creen con salud y a esos es necesario darles las medicinas con engaos, dicindoles que no son medicinas, solamente tnicos. As es Mxico. Se est muriendo pero se cree insultado si se le ofrecen remedios, de modo que es necesario curarlo sin decirle que est tomando medicinas (7-8-77) But, as she noted, U.S. diplomats did not see the situation clearly; they were not willing to offer remedies but rather to amputate the
402
country: Ellos ms quieren curar con amputaciones a tantazos, pero se no es el modo (7-8-77). She felt, on the other hand, that Vallejo, being of the same race, could serve as an intermediary and offer a remedy, one that would not be repugnant but rather serve to restore the country to health. And here, having once spoken against mixing the races, she now followed Sarmiento and others in proposing that an infusion of immigrants with the right stuff would do the trick, although she acknowledged that this solution was grotesque and required viewing Mexico as the damsel in distress to be saved not by a prince but by the monster, the terrible Yankee giant (7-8-77). Already in 1877, MARB began planning a visit to Mexico, a trip that she hoped would take place while Vallejo and Gibert or other friends, like Matas Romero (then secretary of the treasury), were still there, a trip, however, that would not take place until ten years later. Although previously (in May 1877) she had said she was a Lerdo supporter, MARB was never slow in picking up the latest dominant political current. By July she hoped that Mexican envoy Matas trip to Washington would lead to official recognition for Daz and harmony between the two nations, as that augured well for her interests (7-8-77). She also knew that this recognition was also Frisbies wish, as well as that of all her friends (Mata, Romero, etc.) who were now behind Daz. U.S. railroad and industrial interests in Mexican investment and development generated the necessary lobbying power, and finally on April 18, 1878, Daz was officially recognized by the U.S. government. Especially interested in this recognition was Frisbie, who had met Daz, lobbied for his recognition, and in 1878 left with his whole family for Mexico as a representative of the Huntington-Stanford Railway, while also involved in various mining industries in Mexico (Emparn, 274276).
Thinking big, or El que mucho abarca, poco aprieta

The new Daz regime sent yet another Land Commission to Baja to inspect all titles; these Porfiristas, said MARB, were interested in reversing all that had been established by the previous Jurez and Lerdo administrations, much to her distress (6-2-77). Even more problematic was a declaration by surveyor William Denton23 raising
403
questions as to the extent and validity of her claim in Ensenada, which she argued followed the strict delimitations set out in the original 1804 grant to her grandfather (6-13-77). Denton, she countered, was interested himself in making claims on her lands (7-8-77). In effect, the head of the commission, Trevio, disputed that MARB was entitled to five sitios in Ensenada, since the original Spanish grant to Don Jos Manuel Ruiz had been for two sitios, or 8,673 acres. MARB argued that Governor Arrillaga had a right to give that much land, and that the grant had been ratified by Jurez in 1859. Flix Gibert and Secretary of the Interior Balcrcel, another of MARBs friends and correspondents, questioned the accuracy of her claim as well (6-13-77); in fact, in her court battle with the International Colonization Company, it was said that sheor someonehad altered the original document, inserting a five (5) where there should have been a two (2). In the meantime, Commissioner Trevio was not well disposed to having the land surveyed, given the exaggerated claim, as noted by Gibert (6-13-77; 7-8-77). By the middle of 1875, MARB had begun to sense that Vallejo, ever her friend and ally, thought her Ensenada claims extravagant. She mentions having seen and heard him dismiss the extent of her claim and begins to suspect that he is influenced by those around him that do not support her grandiose claims (7-15-75). In 1877 when Vallejo met with Gibert in Mexico, MARB wrote to ask that they support her in her claim and that they try to influence the naming of the Northern District judge, making sure that it was someone well disposed towards her (7-8-77). She also expected both Vallejo and Gibert to see President Daz, appealing to him in her name to recognize her survey and map prepared by a previous surveyor (6-13-77). She reminded Vallejo of his promises to help her, intimating that he could bring to bear his substantial influence to her benefit. What is most interesting about this letter (6-13-77) is her justification for having the patent read five sitios, saying: Estoy segura que podr hacerle un memorial que justifique al President en darme la patente. Particularmente cuando uno dice lo que ha de llevarse el moro que se lo lleve el cristiano. (6-13-77)
404
Relying on the notion that one should make hay when the sun shineth, clearly MARB was not overly concerned with the alteration of the document as, in the last instance, she saw those lands as up for grabs. Rather than have these lands end up in foreigners hands, she reasoned that they might as well end up in hers, or, as she would later propose in her plans for a Mexican syndicate to develop Baja, in the hands of other Mexicans (8-11-87). In a letter to Barlow, she voiced a similar less-than-principled argument: instead of extending their claim for land only to the foot of the Sierra, she suggests extending the boundary to the summit, since no correct map existed: My opinion is, that as we have to get a Patent anyway, why not try to get to the summit, provided that the additional expense will not be great and when the additional amount of timber land will be so very much? (5-13-83) Seen even in the most generous of lights, MARB had adopted a squatters mentality by the 1880s; the Baja lands were vacant and could be claimed by anyone, so why not by her, who had direct blood ties to the original grantee, Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, of adjacent lands? Why shouldnt she do her best to keep as much of it as she could? Why allow a foreign company to take over these lands? That, at least, appears to have been the specious rationale for her opportunistic rendering of the grant title. The fact is that if she had only claimed two sitios, she would have had very little land there of her own to claim, since the Gastelum family was already occupying a good portion of the Ensenada grant.
That most ironic of terms: profiteer, or sin todas las de la ley

The battle for La Ensenada was, in the 1870s, just gaining momentum; it would literally be one to the deathhers. By 1881 MARB had somehow arranged to have Barlow reconvey his interest in the Ensenada property to her by placing it in escrow until she paid
405
him for his loan and interest (3-30-81). She hoped to be able to pay him as soon as she found a suitable buyer for all or part of the property. When Barlow now expressed interest in buying, she asked that he pay her a hundred thousand dollars in installments for the half she held, as it obviously could be worth millions once a railroad was built along the Pacific. In this letter it becomes clear that his loan to her was for five thousand dollars, and it is for this amount that he held a lien on property that MARB at least considered to be worth two hundred thousand dollars minimally (6-29-81). In the 1880s, MARB again contacted her friend Matas Romero, who was then returning to the United States as ambassador, and she had him check on her title before leaving Mexico for Washington, D.C. (5-13-83). He reported to her that the ministry noted that she had refused to accept their survey. What Romero failed to understandor what MARB intentionally misrepresentedwas that the government was willing to recognize two sitios, but not five. In the meantime, Romero was off to Europe; MARB realized she needed to go to Mexico herself to fight for her title, but she did not have the funds. Nellie was now widowed, with a small child to support, and she, too, was having problems with the Pedrorena family (three sisters and their husbands) in her efforts to claim part of her husbands estate. MARB then pressured Barlow to take a more direct and personal interest in Ensenada and with his associates start a colony in Baja (5-13-83) or sell the lands to either a German or English company (9-5-83); she sent him a map and an abstract, which she insisted on getting back four years later (2-4-87). Throughout this period she had suggested that Barlow provide her with the money to travel to Mexico to get her title settled, especially when squatters had encroached on the San Antonio lands, contending that they were vacant (9-5-83). MARB also obtained information about talc deposits that were known to contain specks of gold; someone, she urged, needed to go down to Baja to inspect the the talc mines at San Antonio (9-5-83). Never lacking projects, MARB had numerous ideas on what could be done in Baja, but, as always, what she lacked most was capital.
406
No white knight to bail her out, or where is Clarence when we need him?
By 1887, MARB, facing a greater challenge to her title to the Ensenada, began dealing differently with Barlow, who was now threatening to sell his part to a third party. MARB was not intimidated; with her heightened sense of financial and legal stratagems, she reminded him that all he had was a lien on her property and that was only for the amount of money he had loaned her years before; this constituted no right on his part to half of her property. Contradictorily, as was her wont, when she had wanted him to invest in the development of Ensenada, she had allowed his making reference to his right to half of her lands. But now that she had consulted other lawyers, she spelled out for him what he already knew; he was too good a lawyer not to know that all she owed him was five thousand dollars plus interest, which by 1887 amounted to $10,000 (2-4-87). She did not really expect a lawsuit, as Barlow was known for his reluctance to resort to litigation if another avenue of redress could be found.24 But he continued in his letters to threaten to sell the land (3-28-88).
Previews of coming battles

The problem with Barlow was small-scale in comparison with what proved to be MARBs major battle with the International Company of Mexico, a U.S.-based colonization company that received a major concession of land in northern Baja from the Daz-Gonzlez government and claimed her Ensenada de Todos Santos. Despite the Leese Concession fiasco in the 1870s and the heated attacks on Jurez for this concession to a foreign company, in late 1883 a new Law of Colonization had been passed to promote colonization and to attract immigrant settlers. It was part of Dazs plan to bring in massive infusions of foreign capital for the development of Mexico. Again, foreign companies were allowed to survey Mexican land and claim a third of what had been mapped, as well as the right to work the natural resources of the area being settled. Among the thirty-some-odd concessions made on the Baja Peninsula (Martnez, 406), the biggest one was made to Luis Hller and his company in 1884, granting him the
407
area from the border to the 29th degree parallel. Hller (a Mexican citizen) and his associate George H. Sisson (a U.S. citizen) formed the International Company of Mexico, with stockholders in London, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, and Mexico. Threatening to undercut whatever plans MARB might have, this company, backed with capital of some twenty million dollars, began to survey and sell vacant lands in 1886, producing brochures and gaining press support to spread the word about the sale of bountiful lands in Baja California, with excellent potential for agriculture, mining and stockraising, superior climate and good prices. To understand the daunting proportions of this new threat to MARBs plans, let us recall how MARB had obtained the title to La Ensenada. In 1853 she had convinced her mother and aunts to convey the lands to her, under questionable circumstances, as we previously indicated; this title she first presented to Northern Baja political officials, for two sitios reconfirmed, and later to the Liberal Mexican Government for confirmation, now for a five-leagues tract; in the years after the Mexican wars, she asked to have this 1859 title for five sitios reconfirmed and Jurez did so in 1868 (5-13-83). In the 1880s, as expressed in her letter to Barlow, she decided to get recognition of her rights to lands that extended fully to the summit of the Sierra, by altering the words in the original grant, changing hacia [towards] to hasta [to], all changes that led to her being attacked in the press and in the courts in the 1890s. In 1860, she had also seen to it that she was granted the privilege to hold in fee all the property she then owned or might acquire within the limits of the Mexican Republic, despite the fact that she was no longer a resident nor citizen of that country. In the meantime, her cousin by marriage, Pedro Gastelum, also claimed and occupied part of the Ensenada that her grandfather Jos Manuel Ruiz had conveyed to Francisco Gastelum (married to one of MARBs aunts, Salvadora). Gastelum and MARB worked out an agreement recognizing his right to one-and-one-quarter leagues of land, known as the El Aguajito and El Gallo Ranchos, which he and his sons had worked for years. This agreement between Gastelum and MARB was signed before the Mexican courts in 1871 (8-4-87). But in 1886, Gastelum, acting as sole owner, moved to sell all of the Ense-
408
nada, excluding El Aguajito and El Gallo, to Maximiliano Bernstein, who in turn sold it to the International Company. It was this sale to which the International Company pointed to justify its claim to all of the Ensenada. MARBs legal battles for her claims to Baja were fought not only in the Mexican courts but in the U.S. and Mexican press. At the end of 1886 and early 1887, when The Sun, a local San Diego paper, began publishing articles submitted by the Mexican associate of the International Company Luis Hller, MARB responded in print to these false accusations (calumnias) (1-7-87). Although MARB had previously written historical-cultural articles for this newspaper (see chapter VI, section B), they were isolated and miniscule projects in comparison to what the battle for Ensenada generated. The battle extended to another San Diego newspaper, and there, the editor of the San Diego Bee played a major role in the dissemination of MARBs arguments and the presentation of her documents for title confirmation (8-17-87). A key figure in this battle was Clara Foltz.
Conduct unbecoming women: Clara Foltz and MARB

The first woman to practice law in California was Clara Shortridge Foltz. Before 1878, women were proscribed from practicing law in California; it took a bill, written by Foltz, to amend the California civil code, enabling her to become the first woman lawyer in California that same year.25 Her successful suit against the Hastings College of Law, which denied admission to women, also enabled women to enter that and other law colleges (Polos, 188). A suffragist, she also worked with the movement for womens suffrage in California, practiced law in San Francisco, and became a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles. An important public figure in California well into the 1930s, she was also the mother of five children. Between 1887 and 1889, Foltz lived in San Diego, where she practiced law, and, as one of the editors of the San Diego Bee, she was a key figure in making space in her newspaper for publishing MARBs letters, documents, and her side of the Ensenada story. The San Diego Bees strong critique of the San Diego Unions unwavering and outright support of the International Company pro-
409
voked a vicious response from the Union against women journalists in general and specifically against Foltz, editor of the Bee, for providing a forum for MARB to publish her perspective on claims to the Ensenada. A special issue of the Bee (Bee Supplement) dedicated to a publication of MARBs documents included a translation of Jos Manuel Ruizs Spanish grant (a translation that MARB herself did, had copied by Vallejo, famous for his calligraphy [1-12-86], and confirmed as a true copy by officials at the Mexican consulate), and articles explaining her claims. This issue sold out immediately, and a second edition was published (7-17-87). The International Company replied in print, attempting to discredit MARB, calling her a childish old lady, but, as Foltz notes, this same childish old lady had the mammoth syndicate scared (S.D. Bee, 6-13-87). In her editorials Foltz stressed that what the Bee had attempted was the following: We have simply endeavored to give voice to one who is comparatively helpless and poor, without even so much as a single editorial comment. We did our duty and fulfilled the high function for which the press may honestly claim the right to exist in a country of liberty. We now offer to publish the title papers of the International Company side by side with those of Mrs. Burton. Will the men of honor, etc. furnish the manuscript? (Bee, 6-13-87). The interest generated in San Diego by this debate can be gauged by the fact that the Bee sold more than 4,000 copies of the special issue in which MARB published a series of articles on her rights to the Ensenada grant (8-4-87). Although newsboys were pressured not to sell the Bee, the Foltz newspaper held firm, successfully printing MARBs side of the story. The Union criticized the Bee as an irresponsible publication, while the Bee and other San Diego newspapers criticized the Union for its blatant support for and publication of the International Companys position. The Union (6-29-87) answered in an angry page-long column, saying that it was not connected financially with the International Company and directing a personal attack against Foltz, went so
410
far as to suggest that she was an intellectual harlot, a blackmailer, and as a female journalist, one of those women who seem to be at loggerheads with all the world because they are not men (Union, 6-29-87). It was clear that strong, intelligent, and persistent women did not sit well with the local San Diego newspaper industry.26
The ever more convoluted Ensenada labyrinth

The International Company had many powerful supporters in California, among them H. H. Bancroft, who, in his History of the North Mexican States and Texas (Vol. II, pp. 730-736) presented the project as laudable, as one run by benefactors, men of large wealth, far-seeing intelligence and irresistible energy (734). Others saw the International Company as opening doors for other concessions and investment possibilities. Among those interested in forming colonies and attracting settlers/buyers of lots were Walt William Palmer and Vallejo, who made contact with several Englishmen interested in buying lands in the Ensenada area (7-10-86). In these endeavors Vallejo had the support of Mexican Consul Ricardo de Emparn, who had married one of Vallejos daughters, Luisa, in 1882.27 As a Daz appointee, Emparns interest in granting land concessions to foreign companies clashed directly with that of MARB, and he did not support her claim (7-10-86); for this reason, MARB cautioned Vallejo not to speak to others about what she said; on the other hand, her letters reveal that she wanted to know all about the English investors who had met with Palmer and Vallejo, the asking price for their lots, and the total cost of the whole tract (7-10-86). This conflict of interest between friends did not deter MARB from making a series of inquiries, but neither did her own personal interests blind her to the fact that what was happening to her was not an isolated case. She saw herself as one of several victims of the International Company that, she said, was out to dispossess all the bajacalifornios: La compaa quiere despojar a todos los californios bajo el pretexto que todos hemos faltado al cumplimiento de las leyes y hemos perdido nuestros derechos. Casi todos los rancheros de la Frontera estn armados, listos a resistir si intentan desalojarlos. Yo espero que la Compaa vea el error de querer
411
despojar esa gente pacfica que ha vivido all por generaciones desde el tiempo del Rey. Gente buena, pero que defender sus hogares con la vida (1-7-87). It was a battlefront, and the border rancheros were ready to fight, for good reason. As Piera Ramrez notes, during the Porfiriato, a good part of the Baja Peninsula was in the hands of foreign colonization companies.28 Other Mexicans opposed to what they perceived as a scandalous government policy of concessions of land to foreign companies also participated in her legal struggle, as it offered an opportunity to denounce government policies that opened the doors to foreign capital.29 Separate attacks against the company were carried out by Mexicans like M. Snchez Facio, whose examination of the companys policies and actual implementation led to a published denunciation of the International Company, The Truth about Lower California (San Francisco, 1889). Predictably, Facio was attacked by the local San Diego press (Daily Sun, 12-27-88), which solidly supported the International Company, and by Mexicans30 who supported the colonization company and sought to discredit Facio by calling him an advocate of filibustering efforts.31 MARBs nationalist interestsher wishes for Mexican rather than foreign buyers of her land (7-17-87), for examplemust be recognized for what they were: all too often mere strategies that served her personal interests; clearly, she would have sold her land to any foreigner with the capital and willingness to buy it, as her letters to Barlow demonstrate. Her letters, also indicate that she envisaged contacting English capitalists directly (7-10-86). Attempts to turn her claim on the Ensenada to cash, did not, in the end, work out entirely, although she was able to speculate with the lands and get loans using the property as collateral. But in the face of this major battle with the International Company, she found herself out-gunned and out-maneuvered; she saw her claims dismissed not only by Mexican Consul Emparn, but by Mexican officials from the Ministry of the Interior, who found her tone abrasive and chose to ignore all that Jurez had authorized when it came to her titles (5-18-87). To resort to the courts, she knew, was to place her title in the hands of those very Mexican judges who had failed to follow executive orders, neglecting to survey
412
the land in order to legally establish her boundaries (5-18-87). Her only hope was that the executive, President Daz, would rule in her favor (8-4-87). With the Jamul ranch lawsuits still up in the air and MARB desperate to make her fight for the Ensenada, she finally traveled to Mexico in late 1887. To finance her trip she formed a corporation in San Diego that provided the funding (11-16-87). MARBs stay in Mexico was full of meetings and litigation. Although Matas Romero was back in Washington, D.C., there were others in the Mexican capital that she knew from her years on the East Coast, as well as her friend Flix Gibert and Vallejos daughter, Fanie Frisbie, and her family. She found the city beautiful (me parece el lugar ms lindo que yo haya visto en toda mi vida [11-19-87]) and the valley enchanting (11-16-87), and thus could not understand Vallejos description of Mexico City as dirty, foul-smelling, and full of Indians (6-4-77; 8-30-77). Challenging the colonialist argument of civilizing Latin America, MARB, after her trip to Mexico, offers a counter opinion to Davidson, whom she encourages to travel south, noting, You will be surprised to find much civilization amongst the much-abused Mexicans (7-7-90). Her first trip lasted several months; she returned to San Diego in April of 1888, with new hope in the shape of an executive order from the President of Mexico reversing a prior decree giving the International Company exclusive rights to the Ensenada lands. This reversal was highly publicized in the San Diego newspapers, appearing as well in The New York Times (2-27-88: 1:2; see chapter VI, section B). The International Company, however, continued to hold these lands and continued selling lots. The matter, the government said, would be decided in the courts. In 1889 MARB brought suit against the International Company and Pedro Gastelum, and when the court ruled against her in 1890, she appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Justice in Mexico City, and returned to the city for the second time. Although we will not discuss the complex legal case that ensued,32 the suit she brought in Mexican courts against the International Company lasted about five years, and she lost the case in appeal after appeal, in Tijuana as well as in Mexico City. By 1889 the International Company had sold its concession to an English company, the Mexican Land and Coloniza-
413
tion Company Limited, which continued its activities in northern Baja and its battle against MARB.33 When MARB left for Mexico City again in 1892, her mother, Isabel Ruiz de Maytorenawhether on her own or at others instigationbrought a legal action against MARB in San Diego Superior Court over the Ensenada lands, alleging that MARB had deceived her and her sisters about the document they had signed back in 1853 conveying the Ensenada to her (see chapter VI, section B). A year later, in 1893, Isabel Ruiz died in San Diego, in extreme poverty, according to the local press releases that went on to insinuate that MARB had severely neglected her mother. A day later, in a subsequent article, MARBs children rebutted the assertion. In 1894, while MARB was still in Mexico, pursuing the legal imbroglio, her brother, Federico Maytorena Ruiz died in San Diego; he too, apparently, lived his last years in near destitution.
Meanwhile, back at the (Jamul) ranch

While MARB was in Mexico, the suits against the Burtons for possession of Jamul continued. In 1889 the administrator for the Burton estate, Henry H. Burton, and his lawyer, Harry Titus, petitioned to sell part of the property in order to pay administration costs; at that point the two provided a list of heirs, which included MARB, Nellie, Harry, and Burtons two grandchildren, Elizabeth Lull Cochran and Richard Swan Lull, from his previous marriage (see chapter I). The new tactic further complicated the case, as it took months to locate the two heirs and get their depositions. The projected sale of part of the Jamul Ranch was, of course, immediately contested by the widow Leach, who claimed title to the ranch; this new delaying tactic also brought on new suits; this time would-be-owner Maggie Leach was joined by Burtons grandchildren, who claimed, as heirs, part of the estate and questioned the right of Harry Burton, as administrator of the H. S. Burton estate, to sell the ranch to J. Wade McDonald to pay off debts and costs of administration. MARB remained in Mexico City for three years, and, after losing her final appeal in the highest Mexican court in 1894, she opted for a change in strategy, deciding to take her case to Washington, an idea that she had contemplated back in 1890 in a letter to Davidson when
414
she was faced with being swindled by the International Company. In sheer despair I am going to address a memorial to Mr. Blaine asking mediation and protection of this government (7-7-90). We have no letters from this period, only newspaper and legal accounts. By then Vallejo had died (January 1890). Davidson was still alive, but having problems of his own with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Office (he died in 1911), and he clearly had no leverage in Mexico. In 1895 MARB traveled from Mexico City to Chicago, taking lodging at the Sherman House, where Vallejo had stayed many years before. Her plans were to continue the fight for La Ensenada, by presenting her case before some international commission in Washington. During her six-month stay in Chicago, she consulted a young lawyer, Harry B. Lind, who became interested in the case. While at the Sherman House, MARB, then sixty-four, became ill, suffering from gastric fever, and died on August 12, 1895. Her death was reported locally, in San Diego; statewide, in San Francisco and Sacramento newspapers; and nationally, in The New York Times (see chapter VI, section B)
Coda: and the suits go on

After MARBs death, attorney Lind continued to be interested in the Ensenada case, spending his vacation time in San Diego, where he met Nellie and gained her authorization to continue pursuing the case. In subsequent summers, he did extensive research on the Ensenada grant in Mexico City as well as in the border area. Year by year, he accumulated data and documents, interviewed people, and consulted experts on inter-American affairs, a lifelong engagement that led to winning the case. That was many years later, after he had retired as a lawyer in California and was himself an old manand after he had obtained the right to fight the case from Henry H. Burton, Nellies sole heir after she died in 1910, and after the death of Harry (Henry H.) himself in 1933. How he won and what he did will be dealt with in another work. Suffice it to say that in 1942, forty-seven years after MARBs death, Lind won a claim before the American-Mexican Claims Commission for damages based on the wrongful deprivation by the Mexican government of MARBs title to the Ensenada lands, partially vindicating her suspect, but relentlessly pursued, claim.
415

MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 June 1870, San Francisco, California a las 5 de la tarde Acabo de recibir la de Ud. Yo tambin dudo. Vi a Mr. Peachy y me dijo que quera ver el documento antes que lo firme Don Po. As pues, si es posible hago que Mr. Peachy lo vea pero como ya es tan tarde (las 5), todo lo temo, y quiz es mejor obtener la firma de Don Po de todos modos aunque Mr. Peachy no vea el documento. Venga Ud. lueguito que pueda. Mr. Peachy vendr a las 7 me dijo. Su afa. M.A. de Burton MARB to E. W. Morse. 23 June 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Dear Mr. Morse, I hope you did not think I left San Diego forgetting to thank you for your kindness to me and asking you what compensation should I make for your valuable and timely services. I should have stopped at your office on my way to the Steamer, but I had assumed that you would be on board yourself. I could see you there. I sent to look for you & I myself waited up to the last moment, but I did not see you. Capt. Johnson also looked for you in vain. However, I think it is more than probable that you will see me in San Diego before long. There is no doubt of our getting the confirmation of Jamul and this may make it necessary to return. I dont think there is any doubt either of the passing of the Southern R.R. bill this session. We will soon have positive intelligence on this subject. Write to me please by return of mail. I think I will remain here yet a few days. I remain very truly yours, M.A. de Burton
416
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 3 July 1870, San Francisco, California [incomplete] Acabo de recibir su carta. Venga, no se vaya sin que lo vea. Venga entre las 11 y 12. Despus que Da. Gabriela almuercey platicamosde los negocios que indica. Mire que mal escribo. Estoy con fiebre yo creo. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 July 1870, San Francisco, California Don Guadalupe, mi buen amigo, Qu le dir? Por la primera vez desde el principio de nuestra larga y pura amistad, no puedo decirle todo lo que siento. Me esperar hasta que lo vea para decirle cuanto aprecio su bondad. Ahorita no puedo. Tengo el corazn como hinchado de tantas emociones; tantas y tan tristes. Pero por Ud., late con alivio, aunque s al recibir su cartita hasta me doli, pero fue de gratitud, cramelo. No voy a San Diego. No pude ir. Cuando venga le dir por qu no fui. Ir el 17 quiz, pero tambin no es de cierto. No tengo tiempo para escribirle ms ahora porque es tarde y quiero que vaya esta noche a ver si Ud. la recibe maana. Cundo viene? Si no viene luego, escrbame, y crame su mejor amiga. M.A. de Burton Qu carta tan inspida y estpida le he escrito! y sabe por qu? Porque le quisiera decir tanto que tuve miedo empezar, porque si por desgracia sta se extraviase y fuese leda por otros, por los que ni saben ni entenderan como pueden mis sentimientos por Ud. ser tan puros y . . . en fin, les pareceran o exagerados, o impropios. Venga luego que pueda, hace ya tanto que no platicamos.
417
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July, 1870, San Francisco, California Espero que no se vaya. Estoy enferma, creo. No s que tengo, no pude dormir anoche, y como estaba solita tena miedo morirme sin quien siquiera les dijera a mis hijos que mor porque tanto, tanto los quiero. Venga a las 10. Su amiga fiel, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July 1870, San Francisco, California Mi ms estimado amigo, En este momento acabo de recibir la de Ud. con el despacho de Lulu incluso. Espero que no haya sucedido nada de desgraciado [?] y que Ud. vuelva luego, particularmente habindose ido anoche sintiendo como dice que yo me qued an ms triste y pas una de mis noches de agonizante insomnio. Es en verdad terrible que haya ningn misunderstanding entre dos amigos como Ud. y yo, que han conservado por aos una amistad que hasta ahora ha sido tan pura como excepcional, y la cual yo, de mi parte, prometo conservar en toda su pureza y raro mrito. No debemos jams incomodarnos, uno contra el otro. Las circunstancias externas que nos rodean con encarnizada hostilidad son suficiente calamidad sin que creemos ms sinsabores por slo mal humor o un capricho indigno de ambos. Crame, anoche yo estaba del mejor humor, aunque siempre llena de ansiedadesy con todo mi corazn habra querido conversar con Ud. como siempre, sobre cualquiera cosa, con franqueza. Pero me lastim mucho su obstinacin en no querer hablar de nada y como eso me dola y mortificaba era muy natural que al verlo a Ud. rerse de ver que yo lo senta, me sintiera ms.
418
Me pareci muy injusto que porque hay hombres que lo han engaado y portdose mal con Ud., que yo sufriera en consecuencia. Yo quien siente por Ud. tanto, tanto, como su amiga y su compatriota! Pero eso de hacer injusticia a los que nos quieren ms, es me parece, una de las maldiciones que acompaan ciertas desgracias. No es que uno quiera hacer esas injusticias, pero parece que un Genio infernal lo impele a uno a causar pena cuando sera felicidad slo lo que uno dara. No es as? Creo que s y creo que lo comprendo bien aunque Ud. me dice que nadie lo comprende. Para qu me dice eso? Era mejor que lo hubiera omitido. Venga luego, y en el nterin escrbale a su mejor amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 25 July 1870, San Francisco, California Siempre estimado amigo, Tengo a la vista la de Ud. del 23 que lleg esta tarde, no s cmo contestrsela. Pero como me dice que le escriba, quiero hacerlo pues Ud. sabe bien cunto gusto tengo siempre en complacerlo. Es verdad que los dos sufrimos y nadie mejor que yo puede comprender a Ud. (aunque Ud. dice y piensa lo contrario) y simpatizar con Ud. Pero lo que s no poda comprender la otra nochey me parece extrao anes, cmo o por qu haca recaer en m su mejor y ms leal amigael peso de su resentimiento contra los hombres malvados que lo han injuriado? Me pareca eso tan injusto que mi alma toda pareca protestar contra tal injusticia. Que Ud. hubiera prorrumpido en amargas expresiones contra sus enemigos o traidores amigos, yo habra podido comprender, pero que de a propsito adoptara la manera que adopt me pareciperdneme que se lo diga me pareci indigna de Ud. hacia m. No es generoso vengarse
419
sobre los inocentes y Ud. se rea como si realmente estuviera gozando mucho el ver que me haca sufrir con su risa y su obstinado silencio. Quiz Ud. ya ha olvidado esa escena extraa y triste (inspirada yo creo por Mefistfeles) si no Ud. [no] me culpara en lo ms mnimo. Ud. est all comiendo brevas y uvas muy dulces y encuentra ms agradable pensar as . . . es natural y no crea que lo digo por entrar en polmica, ni por culparlo, no antes mejor por disculparlo. Siento que Mara no est buena y espero que Ud. vendr luego que ella sane. Escrbame luego que reciba sta y dgame cundo viene y que sea luego, espera su mejor amiga, M.A. de Burton P.D. -a las 9 p.m. Hay aqu personas que estoy casi segura le prestarn a Don Po ese dinero que quiere. Venga Ud. y hgale ese negocio. Ud. lo puede hacer muy bien con slo ser el intrprete y dar los pasos preliminares. Dgame si no viene pero yo quiero mucho que Ud. venga luego que reciba sta y le ayude a don Po.Yo no lo he visto hace ya muchos das. El nmero de mi cuarto ahora es 46 y quiz l me fue a buscar al otro nmero. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 July 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Mi estimado Don Guadalupe, Creo que no me entendi! Slo le quise decir que viniera para que le fuera Ud. a llevar mi recado a Don Po, y si l quera entrar en negociacin, entonces Ud. podra serle intrprete (si l quisiere) entre l y los prestadores del dinero. Pero no le dije a Ud. que le propusiera a nadie nada. Ni siquiera mienta o haga mencin alguna del nombre de Don Po.
420
Ya yo lo vi. Dgale al amigo que al 11/4 no se puede, o alguna otra cosaMuy de prisa escribo sta.Adis, hasta que venga, lo que espero sea luego. Mil amores a las muchachas todas. Dgale a Jovita que ayer la fuimos a ver Mrs. M. Coppin y yo y nos dijeron que estaba ausente. Buenas tardes. Su amiga, M.A. de Burton P.D.-Miles miles de gracias, el cajoncito acaba de llegar y s que debe traer brevas. Yo tambin las comer a su salud.Ojal que Ud. estuviera aqu para que las gozramos juntos.Como se dice en ingls. MARB to C. Scott. 1 November 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California My dear Mr. Scott, The Squatters have commenced near and their counsel Mr. Carpentierhas ordered a transcript of the Jamul Case. This I tell you privately. Dont let on that we know what they are about. They have made a petition to the District Attorney also, telling lot of lies, and your friend Mr. Robinson (Hon. member of Congress [William N. Robinson 1869-70member of Calif. Assembly]) is the leader. They state in their petition that Jamul has not been occupied since 1836, that some of the Settlers(the polite term for Squatter) have been in Jamul for 8 years and they utterly ignore the part of our ever having had possession of the place at all. Be careful, please, not to mention a word about all this. I have good reasons for asking it. Mr. William thinks you had better not bring any suit yet, for a little while, but tell them at once, in writing, not to cut any more trees and if they still keep cutting them then stronger measures to make them stop.
421
I wish you could find out who drew up their petition. The writing looks like that of Mr. Daniel Cleveland or a little [like] that of Judge H[ayes?] and I am sure it is one of the two. Let me hear from you soon. Yours truly, M.A. de Burton [To:] Mr. Chalmers Scott, San Diego. MARB to E. W. Morse. 25 November 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Mr. E. W. Morse, My dear Mr. Morse, Yours of the 18th inst. came duly. You can say to Mr. Riley and the others that I do not know what sort of a compromise we can make, that they must make any proposition to me and Ill see what I can do. But I cannot sell any land because my children are minors. I can lease but not sell. I did not in the least mean to imply any doubt in the honesty of the Clevelands, quite the contrary. Only I think they have not given much attention to my business, else matters would now be different. For instance they have not sent me the portion of the stock set aside for my allowance neither have they sent me the permission to sell privately the part of the stock. Will you ask him to attend to that at once please? I have some ladies visiting me and I have not the time to write to Mr. Cleveland, but it will be the same thing by writing to you and you please tell him what I say and do, Mr. Morse, I beg of you, see that he does attend to my business. I dont know why I dont get the allowance. Please write to me or make Mr. Cleveland write to me about it and believe me your sincere friend, M.A. de Burton
422
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 24 December 1870, San Francisco, California Don Guadalupe, Venga lueguito que reciba sta. Ahorita me acaba de decir Da. Gabriela que Ud. est en San Francisco. Por qu no ha venido? Su sincera amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 25 December 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Don Guadalupe, Ayer vino Da. Gabriela y me dijo que Ud. la haba ido a ver. Sent mucho que estando yo tan cerca y ella tan lejos, que Ud. hubiera preferido verla a ella y no a m. Pero cuando ella me dijo que Ud. est muy triste y enfermo, entonces le perdon ese como desaire, y le escrib al Russ House llamndolo, pero me devolvieron la carta diciendo que ya Ud. se haba ido, lo que no creo. Hoy vino otra vez Da. Gabriela y me ense su carta, la que le aseguro me dio mucha tristeza leer porque creo que Ud. sufre. Qu tiene? Dgamelo, qu, es posible que la amistad de veinte aos termine as? No ser culpa ma si as fuere, pues no creo que Ud. jams tuvo ni tendr amiga tan fiel como yo. Venga lueguito que pueda. Qu dirn los amigos que saben cunto nos hemos apreciado si ven que Ud. sin causa ha cambiado? No le digo ms ahora pero lo espero muy luego y entonces platicaremos como antes en otros tiempos felices! . . . Su mejor amiga, M.A. de Burton Da. Gabriela lo saluda y dice venga lueguito, que hoy rez mucho por Ud. y ofreci la misa [de hoy] por su intencin de Ud. Pronto le escribir.
423
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 26 December 1870, San Francisco, California Doa Gabriela dice que le haga favor de venir ac, est aqu conmigo. Ahorita me acaba de decir el Sr. De Kay que Ud. est en San Francisco cuando lo creamos en Sonoma. All le mand una carta ayer. Lo esperamos que venga luego que reciba sta. Su afa. y fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. dated lunes, a.m., San Francisco, California Tengo un montn de cartas que escribir y slo tres das de plazo. Quiero escribirle largo pero no puedo hasta que no despache mi correspondencia. As pues, venga pues en media hora, se puede decir ms que en resmas de papel. Me voy creo la semana entrante lueguito que despache mis cartas. Resulvase a ir a ver a Da. P., ella tendr tanto gusto. Cmo esta mi prima? Saldemela y Ud. venga luego. Qu piensa Ud. de la orchilla? Dice Sr. Puch que hay ms de un milln de toneladas en la Magdalena y vale en Londres a $300 la tonelada! El que se saca lumbre est en status quo, no s si le saldran chispas pero creo que el cnsul Rivas le sac algunas. Adis. Nellie y Harry lo saludan. Su amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to E. W. Morse. 23 January 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco Dear Mr. Morse, As you have been always a good friend of mine, now when I need some trustworthy person who will be willing to do me a service, naturally, I think of you. I want very much to have the accompanying letters forwarded to the Frontera without
424
delay. If my brother is in town and can go soon, very soon, please send for him and let him know what I want. I prefer to have him go to any one else, but he must not lose time. I send you $50 which you will please give to him if he will go. If not, use that money to procure some one to take the letters if necessary. But if you can send them by some good person who will take them safely, then of course do so or in that case give the $ to my brother for he will have to go to the Frontier either now or in a few days. I hope I have explained myself clearly, but I dont know in writing in such haste. Please say to Mr. Cleveland that I did send him the $200 he received by express but I did not write to him because I have been very sick and only went to the express office to send the money and then came back and went to bed again. I will write to him by next steamer inst. Congratulate me, my children came from New York on the 15th. Tell my mother so, please and that I will write to her by next steamer. Now I feel tired and weak for I have been writing long and I am not strong yet. Let me hear from you and believe me, ever grateful and sincere friend, M.A. de Burton [on margin: M.A. Burton, January 23, 1871 with $50.00] MARB to E. W. Morse. 5 February 1871, San Francisco, California My dear Mr. Morse, Please forward the enclosed as soon as possible to the Frontier. Mr. Tobbin said he would call for it and would take it for me. As Mr. Robinson must have returned before you could have sent my letters, I suppose you did not have to hire anyone to take them. If so, please give the $50 to my mother. In great haste, your sincere friend, M.A. de Burton
425
E. W. Morse to MARB. 7 February 1871, San Diego, California Mrs. M. A. Burton, Dear Madam: Your letter of January 23rd came duly to hand with the accompanying documents. On the same day of their arrival I sent a note to your brother requesting him to come if possible and take them below, but before he came in I learned that Mr. Robinson was on his road up and as one of the letters was for him I delayed a day till he arrived, and Mr. Robinson, after reading his letter, said I need not hurry or be at any expense to send the documents down as they related to his business and haste would be of no particular importance. I was also expecting every day Don A. L. Sosa, the acting Jefe Poltico (and as it is now said he will be here tomorrow) and no safe conveyance appearing, I have thought it best for your interests not to uselessly expend the $50.00 by sending a special messenger down to Santo Tomas. The San Rafael Mines have received new life by the discovery of two very rich ledges of gold quartz, from one of which in two days over two thousand dollars was taken. Old miners say the ledges are well defined and look like permanent veins. They are certainly exceedingly rich, and will help the Frontier very much. Allow me to congratulate you on the safe arrival of your children from the East, and that you are enjoying the pleasure of their society again. I remain. yours truly, E. W. Morse MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 17 February 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California My dear Mr. Barlow, I have come to a standstill, with a very heavy load of difficulties on my shoulders, with no room to turn around, and
426
you looming up threateningly before my weary gaze. I suppose Mr. Doyle told you that a portion of the San Antonio title is wanting, and a very important portion too. Nothing less than the conveyance of Loreto Ranc to me. Of course, while this document is missing I myself cannot convey to others and have come to a dead halt. But this is not all. The parties with whom I had made arrangements to furnish the money to pay you, sent a gentleman to see the property and report upon it. This gentlemen has returned and says that on the Ensenada property there are four or five squatters who have set up claims to the best lands. Thus I cannot use either one of these properties at present. Not the San Antonio because I cannot convey it; not the Ensenada because a few scamps claim it. It may take me more than a month or six weeks to go to the Frontier to endeavor to clear the Ensenada of that canaille, but should I not succeed, then I may even have to go to Mexico City. In either case, I shall require more time than you have given me. I hope I may not have to go to Mexico and you can rest assured that whether I go or not I shall try to get the money for you as soon (at least) as you find the missing portion of the San Antonio title, or I can send to have a certified copy forwarded to me from the archives of La Paz. Let me hear from you please, without delay, that I may know what to do. Nellie says that ever so many mornings she was up bright & early looking her prettiest with her swell wrapper on and awaiting your promised visit but you never came! Best regards to Mrs. Barlow and believe me yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to E. W. Morse. 18 February 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California My dear Mr. Morse, It is of the greatest importance that I see Sr. Rojo, the Subjefe of the Frontier. I hear that he is now at la Mesasome-
427
where near Tijuana. Do you think you could send to him the enclosed immediately and ascertain yourself whether he is likely to come to San Diego soon? If you happen to know that he is coming to your town, please let me know it, and if he is to come soon, telegraph it to me please. I got your letter; you did right about not sending the message, but if no one person is going now to where Mr. Rojo is, then hire someone to take the enclosed to him rather than wait many days. I hope you will write to me soon and tell me something about the Clevelands. The prospects of the S.D.R.R. are looking up and I suppose you are quite cheerful down there. What about rain? Have you had sufficient? And how has it been in Low. Calif.? I may see you very soon as I have some idea of going down before long. Your friend sincerely, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 March 1871, San Francisco, California Estimado Don Guadalupe, Su cartita de hoy acaba de llegar y tambin los cuatro renglones que me escribi al salir. Gracias por la buena noticia que me da Ula. Pregntele muchas preguntas. Dnde est la orchilla? Si a la orilla del mar, o en las piedras? O arbustos? En qu localidad con respecto a la baha? A qu distancia? Cmo? muy tupida o noms de distancia en distancia? etc. etc. Pregunte esto y mucho ms y escrbamelo si no viene luego, pero es mejor que venga pronto para que me lo diga verbalmente. Su afa., M.A. de Burton
428
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Estimado Don Guadalupe, Hace unos cuantos das que Jovita estuvo aqu y me dijo que Ud. sigue convaleciendo bien. Quiero sin embargo tener noticia de Ud. directamente, y si se siente bastante bien para escribir, escrbame. Cunto quisiera que se sintiera ya bueno y pudiera venir para el da 4 de este mes! Don Po y Doa Gabriela estuvieron aqu esta maana y los tres hicimos muchos recuerdos de Ud. y de cmo estuvimos aqu har un ao. De la paseada de Ud. y Don Po por la procesin y despus la ida a ver los fuegos artificiales. Cunto gusto tendramos en que Ud. viniera para pasar juntos ese da, y con Nellie tambin que es su da de cumpleaos. No pudiera venir? Venga si puede sin que le haga dao. Venga pues slo Dios sabe a dnde estaremos el ao que viene. Las tristezas que me caen como nieves de plomo sobre el corazn no pueden menos que gastar la fuerza de mi nimo y poco a poco consumirlo todo. As pues, no creo que deba contar con muchos aos de vida, y quiz otro ao haya apagado el ltimo destelloPero mientras que pueda, ya Ud. sabe que luchar enrgicamente con mis dificultades. Eso es tambin lo que Ud. hace, ya lo s, y simpatizo con Ud. y mi prima de toda mi alma y corazn. Con una simpata triste, penosa por que es tan estril, tan intil!No s si no ser prudente escribirle an. Dgamelo, no lo s, pero lo deseo tan restablecido, que no slo pueda leer mis cartas tontas o tristes, sino que tambin pueda venir para el martes. Venga si es posible para que vayamos a tomar lunch juntos con Nellie, y veamos la procesin y los fuegos artificiales. Esperando tener el gusto de verlo, quedo como siempre, Su afa. amiga, M.A. de Burton Amores a mi prima y para Ud. de Nellie.
429
Poema de Vallejo-July 1, 1871 Siento que por mis venas corre el fuego Del fino amor con que feliz te adoro No hay en el mundo para m tesoro Como el or tu voz angelical. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 5 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Acabo de recibir su carta de ayer, Don Guadalupe, y ni Ud. mismo se podr imaginar el gusto que me dio el ver su letra. Me alegro mucho que ya est tan recobrado. Venga a vernos antes de irnos. El martes prximo (de hoy en seis das) nos vamos para San Diego otra vez. Mucho me acord de Ud. ayer, y lo mismo Da. Gabriela. Don Po no vino, qued mal faltando a su promesa como buen mexicano. Le escribo sta muy de prisa para que vaya esta misma tarde. Esperando verlo muy lueguito, quedo como siempre su amiga, M.A. de Burton Saludes a la familia y amor a mi prima. Estoy en cama algo indispuesta pero creo estar bien maana. Adis, hasta lueguito. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Estimado Don Guadalupe, Supongo que Ud. me cree por San Diego. No nos fuimos a causa de haberme enfermado yo de mucha gravedad. Hoy es la primera vez que he salido desde que me enferm. Todava no me siento muy bien, pero, en fin, convaleciendo, y como en su ltima carta Ud. se queja que no le contest todo lo que me dice en la otra, me apresuro a decirle que no lo hice as por dos razones: Porque estaba en cama y apenas poda escribir, y porque cre que Ud. viniera y entonces contestarle oralmente todo. Ya ve Ud. que no tiene razn de quejarse. Su carta
430
la tengo aun y as que Ud. venga la contestar. Yo creo que tal vez no iremos a San Diego sino hasta septiembre a no ser que ocurra algo que me haga ir antes. Y Ud., cundo viene por ac? Es necesario que venga y tome parte en la eleccin y trabaje por Pacheco. A mi modo de ver las cosas, es el sagrado deber de todos los hijos del pas de interesarse en que Romualdo tenga buen xito. No importa cules sean las preferencias polticas. La cuestin aqu se eleva ms arriba, ya toca a la nacionalidad, y es sostener de todo corazn la pobre raza que expira agobiada de dificultades, abrumada de desdenes, agravios y vejaciones. Si los californios hubieran tenido ms unidad y desde el principio hubieran sostenido a los hombres del pas ms capaces de representacin el gobierno no se habra atrevido a cargarnos con el peso de esa legislacin odiosa que nos va dejando de da en da a un pan pedir. Ahora los californios, como tales, no tienen voz ante el gobierno y sufren todo, callados, y por qu? por su desidia en no sostener a esos de entre los suyos que son capaces de representarlos y defender nuestros derechos. Ahora antes de bajar el ltimo escaln es preciso hacer esfuerzos, si no, no nos quedar ms alternativa que besar el suelo. As pues, Ud. que es hombre bien conocido, no se duerma en esa apata fatal que ha sido la misma del californio. Despierte y haga que otros despierten. Aydele a Pacheco quien a ms de su gran mrito personal, tiene el sagradsimo de pertenecer a nuestra raza, nuestra vilipendiada nacionalidad. El ser un leal defensor de los californios siempre que pueda y cuando no pueda ayudarles a sus compatriotas directamente lo har con la fuerza de su influjo en lo posible. Luego que reciba sta venga si puede. Yo he estado y estoy an enferma pero espero mejorarme. Mucho me alegr lo que me dijo Ud. del desmemoriado, por cuanto a Ud. mismoy no ms Adis, Amores a la familia y los mejores deseos de que prosperen. Su afa. como siempre, M.A. de Burton
431
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 March 1872, San Francisco, California Domingo, 10 de marzo 72 Sabe dnde estoy escribindole sta? (con una pluma infernal) en el cuarto de Da. Gabriela! Me fue a traer a comer con ella, y mientras que ella se compone y mientras viene la comida yo le escribo esta cartita que hace das he querido escribirle. Ahorita me dijo Da. G. si estuviera aqu Don Guadalupe, dnde lo pusiramos en este cuartito tan chiquito? Y yo luego eleg el campito donde lo sentaramos que es junto a donde yo estoy escribiendo sta. S, ojal que estuviera aqu porque tengo deseos de verlo aunque es de temerse que Ud. no sienta el mismo deseo hacia m. No entend bien su ltima cartita y sent mucho que se fuera sin verme. Ya Ud. sabe bien la idea que yo tengo de nuestra amistad y es intil repetrselo. As pues, no es necesario decirle ms, que quiero mucho verlo pronto, porque tal vez me vaya muy luego a Washington y entonces slo Dios sabe cundo nos veamos. Venga pues. Cuando personas se quieren y se estiman no deben abandonarse as no ms, por una leve razn. Jovita y Fani me dijeron que acaba Ud. de alcanzar cuarenta aos de casado. Lo congratulo y dgale as a mi prima, y que espero alcancen muchos otros, muy felices. Adis, tengo mucho que decirle pero no se lo puedo decir por escrito. Venga y se lo dir con mis labios. Tambin me dijeron las muchachas que Ud. ha estado enfermo. Escrbame luego que reciba sta y dgame como est, y lueguito que pueda venga Ud. mismo. Harry est aqu por unos cuantos das, pero Nellie no vendr de Sacramento sino hasta despus del 20. La pluma sta es horribleadis y dispense los borrones y venga luego que lo quiero ver, su fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton
432
MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 16 March 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California My dear Mr. Barlow, I have been living in the hope of hearing or seeing in the newspapers that your L.C. Co. is to have their charter renewed. But thus far I have hoped in vain. When de Kay left, he told me he intended to go to Mexico to have the charter renewed, or if not, that the Co. would bring a claim against Mexico for the interruption in sending emigrants on account of the interference of the Mexican Consul. Do you intend doing either? I wish you would have the kindness to tell me. It is not out of feminine curiosity that I ask. You know I am interested in your success, particularly now that the failure of your enterprise has made it more difficult to interest anyone in property in that country. You cannot mention any lands or property in Lower California that the reply is not The Lower California Co. tried to colonize that country but they did not find a single acre that was not full of rocks and cactus and never could find water, etc., etc. So that, really, if before it was difficult to dispose of property in that peninsula, now it is next to impossible. If de Kay had succeeded, I could easily have made the arrangement I expected by which I intended to buy back my property. But now I do not know when I can accomplish it. Nothing less than the purchase of the peninsula by the United States would restore to that unhappy country some of its lost credit. Or a well organized emigration backed by capital and begun in a less barren portion of the peninsula. If you mean to try to have the charter renewed, please tell me, or if you will present a claim before the mixed Commission. A very tender and perhaps foolish sentiment of patriotic love, prevents me from bringing a claim for the outrages of the authorities on the frontier. I have documents and numerous witnesses to substantiate my complaint, but I forbear because it is Mexico. Still, I think
433
(& think rightly) that if you send anyone to the City of Mexico or if you present a claim, what I could say on the subject, in view of what has happened in my case, would greatly assert yours. This is all I can or dare say to you in writing. But dont you disregard my words. I may go East this spring if I can. I have a land claim I would like to attend to in Washington & will try to go if possible. Nellie, I have no doubt, would send her kind regards if she were here, but at present is at Sacramento on a two month visit to Mrs. Leland Stanford. Write to me soon please and think of what I say to you & let me know your plans. Yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 25 July 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Mr. S. L. M. Barlow My dear Mr. Barlow, Please notify Mr. Doyle that he is to let me have those deeds upon my delivering to him the stock and money. I have suffered too many disappointments to be very sanguine, Still I hope that this time I will succeed. And if I am disappointed in effecting a sale, at least I hope to make some arrangement to put sheep in the land. In order to avoid delay which might be fatal to my negotiation, I write you this early about my present expectation, to comply with your desire that [I] should advise you before you write to Mr. Doyle. It will take two weeks from today for your letter to reach him. So please write to him soon. I also have to ask you to give me as long a time as possible, not less than six months, as we might have to write to England & wait for an answer. Did you get my book? And did you send the copies to the newspapers requesting them to give me a puff? I do not
434
know whether or not I read human nature right in sending you my book after you got provoked at me. But I sent it because, in [the] first place, I thought you have too much gallantry to treasure up against a lady a feeling of anger; and in second place, because, I thought that after you had promised and pledged your word to have the book favorably noticed, that you would certainly not fail only because you felt some little irritation at something I said on a very hot day when I was very unsupportable mentally and physically. Was I mistaken? And did I misjudge your character? As I have not seen any notice of the book I really do not know what to think. Tell me frankly whether you forgot your promise to have it noticed, or you deemed the book too poor to be honored with your favor. Please let me hear from you soon. Direct to San Diego for I hope to go there shortly. Yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1 August 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Jueves, agosto 1 Mucho le quiero decir pero no con la pluma. Gracias por obedecer mi splica y procurar olvidar el pasado que slo trae agona al pensamiento. Nadie mejor que yo sabe lo que Ud. ha sufrido. Nadie es capaz de realizar esa agona mental de aos que habra matado y enloquecido a millones. Es necesario tener un alma titnica para no morir, fenecer exhausto, Yo comprendo bien, bien. Comprndame Ud. a m de la misma manera y seamos amigos, fieles en este mundo y en el eterno, amigos, amigos que se respetan porque se comprendenMe entiende? No digo ms, no hable de lo que slo trae a la memoria noches y das de amargura. As lo pide su fiel amiga, [no] es necesario ni an hacer alusiones tan penosas.
435
Cundo se levanta? qu, todava sigue enfermo? Le divirti el libro? Siento no verlo. Su fiel amiga. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 5 August 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Gracias, miles de gracias! Ya sabe que se las doy. Sabe que se las estoy dando; mandndoselas por corrientes magnticas, Ud. lo sabe bien. Si no lo supiera, no habra sentido el irresistible impulso de mandarme su querido diccionario. Eso de regalar uno su libro favorito es casi, casi regalar un ojo de la cara. Ojal que tuviera yo uno de igual mrito. Me da vergenza mandarle mi Cartoniana pero si Ud. supiera cuanto quiero yo ese libro, Ud. vera que lo considero de gran valor. No se reir de mi pobre regalito que parecer como el domingo siete al lado del de Ud. Acptelo por el sentimiento de amistad pura que lo acompaa y como una leve y muy chiquitita prueba de lo mucho que agradezco su finura. Tanto, tanto que es intil querrsela expresar aqu. Cuando lo vea quiz podr decirle verbalmente algo de ese avalanche de pensamientos y recuerdos que se agolparon al ver ese diccionario, arrastrndome a la misma conclusin de siempre..que la suerte ha sido muy cruel, mucho, mucho, brutal en su ferocidad implacable . . . Y sin querer yo ser egosta no, no dejo de aplicarme a m misma esas reflexiones! . . .Y el corazn se oprime y es mejor no pensar en el pasado, sino dar toda nuestra atencin al presente y cuidar esa plantita raqutica y amarillenta que se llama esperanza del desgraciado, no es verdad? Cundo viene? Yo todava no s cundo podr salir. Ya Ud. sabe lo que esto quiere decirunsuccessful thus far. Tengo esperanza aun de salir el da 17, pero quin sabe! Escrbame si no viene maana, y dgame cmo le va del pie. Saldeme a mi prima y las muchachas y Ula. Y repitin-
436
dole miles de miles de gracias, me repito como siempre he sido, soy y sersiempresu fiel y sincera amiga que lo quiere mucho, mucho. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 29 August 1872, Horton House, San Diego, California Siempre estimado amigo, Noms porque me dijo que le escribiera y porque creo que tiene gusto en recibir mis cartas, le escribo esta. En cuanto a eso de noticias ya lo habr ledo en los peridicos, y en cuanto a eso de volverme a ver, creo ser muy pronto, pues espero salir de aqu el da 1 o 2 de septiembre. As pues, dejar para nuestra visita los business y railroad news, puesto que espero estar en San Francisco para el da 6 de septiembre. Se alegra? Le iba a escribir porque Da. Prudenciana me dijo que vena hoy a verme y quera mandarle un recado. La pobrecita est bastante afligida por la mala f y picardas de los judos que la estn aniquilando y yo creo que el yerno vale un comino. Le tengo mucha simpata a la pobrecita. Ella le escribir pronto, as me dijo y que haba recibido los dulces que V. le mand. Cmo le va de negocios? Los mos parece que marchan bien, pero es necesario esperar todava! Sin embargo, de sufrir esta tardanza me consuelo pensando el camino tiene que pasar por Jamul, anyhow. Qu, es posible que no me va[ya] Ud. a escribir antes que me vuelva? Todos los das he esperado ver su letra pero hasta ahora nada he recibido. No quiero quejarme pero acurdese que todava no se me quita el sentimiento por la carta que no me contest. Cuan lindo est el da! Qu clima tan delicioso es este! Ojal que tuviera yo una casita aqu rodeada de rboles justo [junto] al mar para escribir all mi libro con la tinta encarnada del corazn! Sabe?
437
Adis! Le escribo sta no ms para que vea que lo tengo siempre presente y que soy su ms sincera y fiel amiga. Siempre, siempre, M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 9 September 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California My dear Mr. Barlow, I did not get your letter of August 3rd until now, it having gone to San Diego and returned here. I thank you for your kind disposition to help me in the matter of the sale, or if you can influence the other parties, I have no doubt but that they will give me the necessary time. I am trying my best to buy that property back. The reason of my wishing to sell that half to you, was, as you know, the hope of your beginning operations at the Ensenada. This having failed, I want back the property whole. We are all sufferers on account of the failure of the Lower California Co., & for this reason I trust you all will wait for me all you can. This too I ask of you, that should there be any purchasers for that half, that you let me know it, for in that case, even at a great sacrifice I must endeavor to prevent you from putting out of my power to buy it back again. Do you think those gentlemen would accept payments in installments of $1000 or $1500? If they would it would be easier for me to begin to pay. Please let me know. I explained to Mr. Lippincott that I wished four copies of my book to be sent to you & that you would send them to the World, Herald, Times and Tribune. Now I receive a letter from Mr. Walter Lippincott saying that the books were sent to those four newspapers. I am truly disappointed and vexed at this. What shall I do? Is it too late for you to make good your kind promise? I think not. I will write today to Mr. Lippincott telling him to send you a copy, and then you must really do all
438
you can for me. I do hope you will read it yourself (for my sake). I would like so much to know what you think of it; you must tell me. The title of it is Who Would Have Thought It? I hope you will give me all the benefit of your influence with the New York Press, for I would like to make the venture a little bit profitable. I did not write for glory.Nellie sends her best regards. Mine to Mrs. Barlow and believe yours most kindly, M.A. de Burton As Who Would Have Thought It speaks of the existence of diamonds and rubies, etc., etc. in those regions where they have been lately discovered, and as you are interested in said discovery, I hope that will be a sort of claim of my poor little book upon your kind patronage. At all events, my imagination must have taken a prophetic flight, I trust you will make the most of the strange coincidence. I wrote the book three years ago and the diamonds have now come to light. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Martes a.m. Don Guadalupe, Si no me dice algo de Mr. Carlisle para maana, me ahogo. Un seor me dijo que la poblacin de San Diego son 3,000. He hecho varias preguntas y en consecuencia algunos descubrimientos sobre la materia. Trigame a Mr. Carlisle, aunque sea en una jaula, esta semana. Lo espero el jueves o [a] ms tardar el viernes. Avseme por telgrafo cuando van a venir. Aprese si me quiere bien, pues tanto, tanto, depende de buen o mal xito! Anoche so que no haba ido el lunes; que me haba engaado y no haba salido de aqu y despert llorando. Como tengo que ir tan pronto como fuese posible a San Diego
439
quiero ver a Mr. Carlisle y hablar con l unos cuantos das antes de salir. Ayer le mand copia del mapa. La entrada de Jamul es muy angosta y all se juntan todos los arroyitos, de modo que no poda ser mejor para hacer all una gran presa de ms de milla de largo, con cerros por ambos lados, y con slo el gasto de una sola pared a travs de la caada. Si Mr. Carlisle no puede venir, avseme donde podr yo verlo para ir yo all!. La cosa es no perder tiempo. Su amiga fiel y atribulada. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Jueves a las 12 de la noche Don Guadalupe, Cunto siento que se haya Ud. enfermado! y me culpo tanto, por mi egosmo en dejarlo ir cuando el tiempo est tan lluvioso. En mi disculpa djeme recordarle que yo le propuse que escribiramos a Mr. Carlisle y Ud. crey que sera mejor ir a verlo. Espero en Dios que se alivie Ud. luego y que venga con Mr. Carlisle. Sentir tanto si no viene y me culpar con mucho pesar. Le agradezco ms de lo que le puedo expresar, el empeo que se ha tomado en ayudarme en esta empresa. Creo que las esperanzas son bastante bien fundadas pues las apariencias son muy favorables. El profesor Davidson hizo el clculo de la lluvia que cae en el Valle de Jamul y lo creer?, lleva la misma proporcin a la que cae en San Francisco. Es decir,Las Spring Valley Water Worksrecogen el agua de un rea de 7 millas no ms y el Valle de Jamul de 28 a 30 millas (tomando la lnea de las montaas rodendolo). De modo que aunque en San Francisco cae cuatro tantos de lluvia, el resultado es casi lo
440
mismo porque el rea de Jamul es cuatro veces mayor. As es que se puede recoger en Jamul cosa de 3.763 58/4000 galones de agua y en Spring Valley cosa de un milln ms, aunque la capacidad de sus presas es para ms de cinco mil millones. Parece tambin que el declive de Jamul a San Diego es bastante para que el agua corra muy bien. La poblacin es de ms de 3000. Mr. Horton dice que es de 3,500 pero como l quiere pintarlo con colores brillantes tal vez no sea as. El dice tambin que hay ms de 1000 casas. Si Mr. Carlisle quiere emprender el negocio, ser magnfico para los dos, y prefiero que sea as y no hacer compaa de muchos. Al menos no por ahora, Tal vez ms tarde s, vendiendo la mitad por una buena suma. No parece que hay la ms pequea duda de que Jamul puede dar agua para una ciudad de 100,000 habitantes haciendo no ms presa de bastante capacidad. Tengo mucho ms que decirle pero ya es muy noche y me siento muy solita y me duele mucho el corazn. Saludes a mi prima, las muchachas, y los muchachos. Dgale a Lul que le agradezco el inters en mi buen xito y espero que nos vendr a visitar y ver The Jamul Water Works. Buenas noches, mi muy estimado amigo. Que se alivie lueguito y se venga bueno y sano, le desea su fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 20 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Don Guadalupe, Crame que siento su enfermedad en el alma, porque soy la causa inocente de ella y porque es Ud. mi buen amigo. Cudese bien, no haga imprudencias. Aunque se sienta muy aliviado, no vaya a hacer nada que le acarree una recada. Aunque tengo mucho gusto en recibir sus cartas, prefiero que no me escriba si es que sufre al escribir. Tambin puede resfriarse sentndose para escribir. Escrbame acostado, al bien
441
que yo leo su letra como si fuera de imprenta. Escrbame con lpiz acostado lo ms cmodo que pueda para que no sufra. Gracias por la cartita para Carlisle. Creo que ser mejor que yo le escriba sobre el negocio y le incluya la de Ud. dicindole que Ud. me habl de cmo iba l a llevar el agua a Sonoma, etc. no? Si yo voy puede ser que no lo halle y es tiempo y viaje perdido. Si me responde mi carta indicando que podra entrar en el negocio creo que vendra l mismo, y si no lo emprende, entonces no vale la pena de irlo a buscar. As pues, le escribir esta misma noche, pues me voy el da 30, si Dios quiere. Creo que Ud. tiene razn en pensar que el negocio ese de Jamul Water Works ser bueno, es decir, lo ser en proporcin al tamao de la poblacin. Por ahora slo hay de 3,000 a 3,500 habitantes, lo que slo podra dar unos $1000 al mes pero no hay duda que San Diego ha crecido y est creciendo muy a prisa y que se puede calcular que dentro de pocos aos ser ese un buen negocio puesto que podremos represar bastante agua para una poblacin de 100,000 habitantes. Y esto lo digo bajo la autoridad del Profesor Davidson que hizo el clculo. Para el martes sabremos por telgrafo la altura de Jamul sobre San Diego para calcular la corriente del agua. Ya se lo noticiar si Ud. no est bastante restablecido para venir. Qu lstima que San Diego no tenga siquiera 10,000 habitantes, no? Pero ya los habr bye & bye. La Compaa de las Spring Valley Water Works tiene su capital de 8,000,000 (de stock) divided into 80,000 shares at $100 each. En Jamul hay la misma aguapero en San Diego no hay la misma poblacin voil tout. Dgale a Lul que lo cuide bien, que no lo deje resfriarse que le cubra bien la espalda cuando se siente a escribir, o mejor que haga que escriba acostado. Ya tena convidada a Da. Gabriela para que con Ud. y yo tomramos chocolate y tamales maana! Qu lstima que lo dej ir! Qu egosta fui, y cunto me pesa!
442
Perdneme, Saldeme a la familia & believe me always yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 22 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California Pocas cosas en este mundo me han pesado tanto como el no haber insistido en que le escribiera primero a Mr. Carlisle y despus de que le contestara, entonces que hubiera ido Ud. a verlo. Ahora todos mis regrets son en vano, slo no ms para castigarme por mi egosmo. Pero perdneme. No pens que iba a llover, ni mucho menos que Ud. se mojara aunque lloviese. Ayer le escrib a Mr. Carlisle pero no le mand la carta hasta no recibir un telegrama que esperaba hoy dicindome la altura de Jamul sobre San Diego. La altura es 530 pies, y el punto ms alto en el camino es slo 300. De modo que siempre hay una cada de 230 pies sobre el punto ms alto. Es casi un torrente, no? y el agua puede llevarse 500 pies arriba de las casas de San Diego. As que hasta ahora todo parece muy favorable, pero quien sabe si la gente envidiosa me quiera hacer la mala obra. Por este temor es necesario tener todo esto muy secreto. No le diga Ud. a nadie ni una palabra pues tal vez se sepa de algn modo por las meras personas que no quiero lo sepan. Maana conseguir de Harry F. Williams uno de los folletos que me dice. Su carta lleg demasiado tarde para obtener uno hoy. Tal vez es mejor que lea primero el folleto y hable con Williams antes de escribirle a Carlisle. Quiz Williams me dir de qu modo comunicar con Carlisle, y si no, le mandar a Ud. mi carta para que se la despache. Ojal que se la pudiera mandar por mensajero especial, dicindole que se venga a ver conmigo antes del 29 pues yo salgo el 30. Si no lo veo ahora no ser sino hasta por febrero o marzo, y si quiere tomar esa empresa debe ser luego, puesto que la presa se debe hacer lo ms pronto posible para aprovechar las lluvias de este ao.
443
Me alegro que est Ud. mejorcito. Cudese para que no recaiga. Tengo esperanzas de verlo antes de irme pero si no sana bien y el tiempo no est bien claro, no venga, pues si viene tal vez se vuelva a enfermar. Espero volver a fines de febrero o principios de marzo de modo que si no lo veo ahora lo ver entonces. Yo tambin estoy un poquito enferma de un dolorcito en la espalda. Espero que pase luego. Memorias a la familia y crame siempre su amiga, Truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 January 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California Don Guadalupe, Cramelo que el mismo da que llegu aqu le empec a escribir, pero fueron tantas las interrupciones y el entrar y salir a donde estaba escribiendo, que quise que no quise tuve que sucumbir a posponerlo. Desde entoncesya van cinco dashe estado tan ocupada (y ayer todo el da en cama con un horrible dolor de cabeza) que no he tenido ni una sola media hora para escribirle. Pero no piense que por eso ha estado Ud. fuera de mi memoria. No s cuantas veces me acuerdo de Ud. a cada hora, y con cuanta ansiedad porque s que est enfermo, y enfermo por hacerme un servicio! a m! eso me repito y vuelvo a repetir en ese lenguaje silencioso de los corazones agradecidos que es tan elocuente! . . . Siento que Ud. haya esperado recibir carta ma para escribirme. Llegu con la esperanza de que en pocos das recibira una de Ud. Espero en Dios que su silencio no sea causado por recada. Escrbame lueguito que reciba esta y dgame cmo est. A Da. Prudenciana no la he visto porque est en Guadalupe. Por la primera oportunidad le mandar los retratos. Ahora a otra cosa. Recib una cartita de Mr. Carlisle hace dos das. No se la he contestado por mis muchsimas ocupaciones que tengo con
444
la cosa de empezar con el rancho. Empezar rodeada de dificultades y con tan poquito Dinero! Poquito dinero y muchos gastos teniendo que comprar todo. As es que me afano todo el da y pienso casi toda la noche. Es muy triste, mucho, mucho. Pero tengo que ser fuerte y lo soy hasta donde ms no puedo, y espero que mis hijos de mi alma lograrn el fruto de mis afanes. En cuanto al proyecto del agua se ha quedado as, as, porque no he tenido tiempo de agitarlo mucho. No creo que deber contar con mucha ayuda de la gente de aqu porque est muy sin dinero y sin fe. Si Mr. Carlisle puede hallar quien tome con l ese negocio (si l no puede solo) entonces estoy segura que habra aqu muchos que tomaran parte. Pero estn tan desanimados ahorita que en nada tienen fe y no son capaces de creer que nadie traiga el agua a la poblacin hasta que no la vean corriendo por las calles. Si Tom Scott resucita el S.P.R.R. entonces ser diferente, pero entonces habr otros proyectos que rivalicen. En el nterin escribir a Mr. Carlisle y Ud. procure verlo y animarlo para que tome la empresa de poner el caero que yo me encargar de hallar quien haga el reservoir. Ahorita, ahorita creo que lo realizaran cosa de $2000 al mes, y es muy natural que al concluirse la obra se pueda contar con ms. Ya Ud. ver que $2000 son buen inters sobre $160,000 y el negocio no puede costar ms que $100,000 o 120,000. Y qu magnfico sera el resultado. Ojal yo pudiera emprenderlo. Escrbame luego y saludndome a la familia, I remain always, yours truly, M.A. de Burton [note on margin: Recibida el 12 y contestada el 15] MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 January 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California Con cunto placer volv a ver su letra! Ya me imaginaba que haba recado y no me poda escribir cuando su carta del da 8 lleg. Pero el gusto se me volvi pesar al leer en ella que
445
todava sufre tanto. Jams me perdonar mi culpa inocente de causar esa enfermedad. Ojal, una y mil veces, ojal que jams le hubiera permitido irse. Cunto lo siento, en el alma, en el alma! Y me vine sin verlo! Cuanto quisiera tener la casa en Jamul que tenamos antes para decirle que se viniera a pasar el resto del invierno con nosotros en este clima tan lindo, bajo este sol tan benigno y vivificador. Pero la suerte fatal nos persigue a los dos y me priva del gusto de decirle que se venga porque la casucha miserable que tenemos ahora, no sirve para nada sin que la compongamos primero. Si pudiera yo gastar en su compostura $200 o 300, ahorita, entonces s, lo llamara, pues le aadira un buen cuarto para Ud. y lo amueblara bien y Ud. estara muy cmodo. Pero ah! . . . nada ms le digo . . . Me duele el corazn del tumulto que se me viene de a golpe pensando en mis tristes circunstancias, de verme con las manos atadas encorbada mi alma bajo un peso tan grande, tan grande. Ah!, qu cruel fue Flix, mi queridsimo Flix, mi beau ideal. l no me quiso creer, me cerr su corazn no dejndolo dar ni un slo latido de simpata por m. Cun desgraciada soy! todos los que quiero me pagan con crueldad! Soy muy infeliz. Pero perdneme que me queje. Quiero consolarlo en vez de aumentarle sus males hablndole de los mos. El Coronel Castro deca bien. El clima del Sausal de Camacho es lindsimo, el de toda la Ensenada. Si Ud. quiere irse all le dar todo el terreno que quiera para una buena finca. Pero est eso muy solito y Ud. no podra vivir all. Aqu en San Diego s, por que hay ms gente y con los vapores est en comunicacin con San Francisco. Pero si la Frontera se poblara, entonces s, sera bonito vivir en la Ensenada. En el nterin, no pierdo la esperanza de que nos haga visitas muy largas en Jamul. Si puedo componer la casita bastante bien para convidarlo que nos venga a visitar, luego luego se lo
446
dir. Pero si las fuerzas no me alcanzan, entonces no hay ms que someterme y privarnos de ese gusto. El proyecto del agua est en status quo hasta no tener contestacin a la que le escrib a Mr. Carlisle. Si l emprende el negocio, no hay duda que habr quien se interese con l y tambin que le comprarn el agua. Pero es necesario que alguien d principio; otros seguirn. Hace pocos das que le escrib. Ya habr recibido mi carta. Buenas noches. Cudese bien se lo suplica mucho, su afa. M.A. de Burton Memorias a toda la familia. Tambin de Nellie y Harry. [on margin: Contestada el 23] MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 27 January 1874, San Diego, California Estimada Doa Prudenciana, No piense que me he olvidado de sus papeles, ni de lo que me encarg le noticiara pero todo ha salido tan mal, que casi ni hay que decirle. A fines de diciembre recib una carta de Mr. Thomas Savage dicindome que Mr. Bancroft est dispuesto a pagarle a Ud. alguna cosa por sus papeles en caso de que contengan materias que pueda utilizar en su historia, pero que de esto no se podr cerciorar hasta no ver los documentos. Al mismo tiempo Mr. Savage aade que l estuvo aqu en San Diego el ao pasado, y que Ud. le permiti examinar varios documentos y cartas, y tomar notas de ellos, y que si estos papeles no contienen materias ms importantes, o de inters pblico, que en ese caso no le sern tiles a Mr. Bancroft. Luego que recib esa carta de Mr. Savage, le pregunt al Sr. Rojo si l pensaba que estos papeles que Ud. me dej son los mismos que examin Mr. Savage, y me dijo que s, que son los mismos. As es que yo he dejado de escogerlos, puesto que eso sera superfluo ahora, y aqu estn para enviarlos a donde Ud. me diga.
447
Si el Sr. Rojo se ha equivocado, y Mr. Savage no ha visto estos papeles, y a ms de esto, si son papeles que tratan de negocios pblicos, entonces avseme y yo les dar otra revisadita para ver si hallo algunos que puedan ser tiles. No he recibido ni una sola letra del General Vallejo. Lo siento por Ud. y tambin por l, porque su silencio es prueba que se halla muy afligido. Cmo les va por all de aguas? Por ac ha llovido bastante y parece que el ao ser muy bueno. Dgale a Matas que cultive mucha tierra y plante muchos rboles para que si despus yo me voy al Maneadero, ya tener finca buena a donde ir. Escrbame y dgame cmo le va, y cmo van las cosas de la Frontera. Tambin dgame como le va de su reumatismo. Cudese bien y crame que le deseo felicidad, de todo corazn. M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 28 February 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California My dear Mr. Barlow, A Mexican land Commission which comes to revise all land titles in Lower California, is expected to arrive here very shortly on its way to the Frontier. All land owners will have to present their titles for revision and will be obliged to have their lands re-surveyed. This, of course, will involve some outlay of money. As I spent over $1100 in the winter of 71 in the Survey of La Ensenada, and as I have not the funds now for further expenditure, I think it is your turn to defray the expenses this time. There is no alternative between losing the land or spending the money to secure it. Unless we could find a purchaser very shortly. I will try again to see whether some one of those sheep owners who want grazing land will buy. But you must be prepared to reconvey. So, write to me at once whether you will
448
send the proper conveyance as soon as you are notified that the money due and the stock are deposited in a San Francisco or a New York Bank to your order; or how many days after you are notified you can reconvey. I might fail again (I tell you frankly) for it is almost impossible to find a purchaser for land in Lower California, such is the prejudice against that country. If I fail, I repeat, you must help me to defray the expenses of the necessary surveys, etc., etc. or we will lose the land! Such is the law. I will see also whether it is possible to induce some families to settle in La Ensenada, but I am not sanguine of success, and moreover, to do this requires time, and we have very little now before we must sell or incur the expenses of revision, etc., etc. Let me hear from you soon please and what you will do. Nellie would send you a message, I know, if she were here, but she is on a visit in San Francisco. Hoping that you will be happier and richer every day, I remain yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 6 March 1874, Jamul, California My dear Professor, Your very kind and much welcome letter of Feb. 18th reached me the day before I left San Diego and being in the midst of my work of packing, etc., etc. I had no time to write you then. After my arrival here, we have been made prisoners by the incessant rains so that I have not been able to send to town my letters, and in fact, knowing that I could not send them I deemed useless to write. Tomorrow, however, I am going to send a man to carry and bring our mail on horseback. And I hasten to avail myself of this first opportunity to thank
449
you for your most kind letter. Indeed far from regarding it as intrusion that you should write to me or inquire about our farming, I feel grateful that you should remember me so kindly. Thus far, we have made but slow progress with our plowing. The excessive rains have made the ground so very boggy that the horses sink deep in the many bogs all over the valley & as the ground is so soft they cant pull the plow. But this delay does not discourage me for I see that with so much rain we have to be more than usually unlikely to lose our crop. I wish I had the means of putting under cultivation a thousand acres of our fine valley land. Any crop would do well I know. If you come across any one wishing to farm on shares, or by taking a lease on very moderate termsyou just send such person down to Jamul and he will make money farming this year. But whether we will make any, that is another thing. If persevering and endeavoring were only necessary to succeed, I would have no fears. Unfortunately capital and experience are more important and we have little of either. Still, we will try! What has discouraged me more than anything else lately was that Judge Seplveda should have allowed the Squatter Robinson to remain here in our property only because his lawyer said that the trial of the suit of ejectment might cause him to have a relapse and become insane again. So then, as the man has been crazy and might be so again if excited we cannot have our property because if he is ejected he will be excited. What do you think of such justice? . . . In all probability I will go to San Francisco in two or three weeks when I hope to have the pleasure of seeing you and Mrs. Davidson often. Meantime give her my love and believe me your sincere friend, M.A. de Burton
450
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 March 1874, Jamul, California Aqu me tiene Ud. again en Jamul escribindole a Don G. Vallejo como all en el remoto 1856 y 1857! History repeats itself! La ltima de Ud. la recib un da antes de salir de San Diego cuando me era imposible escribirle por lo muy ocupada que estaba empacando, etc. y desde que llegamos aqu ha estado lloviendo tanto que no haba podido mandar a San Diego ni mucho menos ir yo. Quiz las lluvias me tengan prisionera aqu por muchos das lo que sentir mucho porque quiero estar en San Francisco a fines de este mes [o] muy a principios de abril. Ya no tengo tiempo de escribirle porque el mozo dice que es tardeLuego le escribir largo. Ud. haga lo mismo. Adis. Yours truly always, M.A. de Burton Qu noticias me da de Mr. Carlisle? [on margin: contestada el 15] MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 April 1874, San Diego, California Qu estar pensando de m, Ud. mi estimado Don Guadalupe! Tal vez estar diciendo que he olvidado los sagrados y gratos deberes de la amistad, porque no le he escrito en tantos das. Pero si Ud. supiera los innumerables quehaceres y cuidados que me ocupan, que me agobian, que me abruman todo el tiempo, yo s bien que en vez de culparme se pondr lueguito a escribirme cartas consoladoras, reanimadoras. Ya cuando lo vea le contar cmo paso mi tiempo en Jamul y ver cmo es casi imposible poder ocupar ni una sola hora en leer o escribir. He comenzado tres veces a escribirle desde que recib sus dos ltimas cartas, pero las continuas interrupciones, el cansancio, la falta de comodidades, etc., etc., todo conspira a impedir que me ocupe de ninguna cosa que no sea
451
de la ms urgente necesidad. Pero esto no durar mucho tiempo. Yo espero que despus de este otoo ya tendremos ms desahogo. Tambin espero tengamos una casita a donde recibirlo cuando nos venga a visitar. En el nterin, nos veremos, yo espero. Debo estar en San Francisco para el 24 de este mes para mi demanda contra Donnelly (se acuerda?) y yo por ver a Flix procurar llegar antes del 20. Si pudiera me ira ahora en el vapor del 9 pero no puedo porque la demanda contra Robinson el Squatter est puesta para el da 13 en Los ngeles. De modo que tendr que salir de aqu en el vapor del da 9 o 10, estar en Los ngeles el 13 y salir de all lo ms pronto posible para llegar a San Francisco todo lo ms temprano que pueda antes del 20 para ver a Flix. Espero que Ud. lo habr visto, y tambin espero que procure persuadirlo a que se quede un poco de ms tiempo con nosotros. Como espero tener el gusto de verlo muy luego y como hoy he andado mucho y estoy muy cansada y algo enferma tambin, dispnseme que le escriba una carta cortita. Me voy a acostar para descansar y cuando le vea platicaremos mucho, muchsimo. Amores a la familia y tambin de Nellie y Harry y Ud. crame como siempre, Yours truly, M.A. de Burton [on margin: Recibida el da 11 de marzoEl timbre del Express, San Diego, May 1, Cal.] MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 August 1874, Jamul, California Don Guadalupe, Recib su cartita en San Diego anteayer pero me fue imposible contestrsela de all por las muchas interrupciones y ocupaciones que me lo impidieron. Dgale a Mr. Carlisle que yo estoy en lo dicho y mejor disposicin de darle el privilegio de hacer la presa y tomar el
452
agua de Jamul, pero que l por su parte debe despertar un poquito y no dejar que llegue el invierno y lo halle durmiendo. Hay otras personas que tal vez se interesarn en la empresa si Mr. Carlisle no la toma; pero hasta ahora yo no estoy comprometida a darle mi preferencia a nadie. Dgale tambin a Mr. Carlisle (si me hace el favor) que mientras ms luego se pudiese dar principio a los trabajos mejor ser, para recoger el agua del invierno entrante. No es necesario esperar que San Diego sea una poblacin populosa para que esa empresa sea lucrativa. Mi idea es sta: si se hace un gran receptculo de agua ahora se podr usar para regar plantos de rboles (como son naranjos, nogales, almendras, higueras, etc., etc.) y vias que se pueden plantar en los terrenos que hay entre Jamul y San Diego y en la mesa de San Diego. Por tres y [o] cuatro aos los rboles necesitarn ms agua que despus, de modo que si despus fuese de ms importancia llevar el agua a San Diego se llevara dejando ya los rboles creciendo. Las vias en particular que no necesitan mucho riego. Estoy segura que todas las personas que tienen tierras por donde el agua pasar, darn la mitad de sus terrenos por el privilegio de regar la otra mitad. A ms de esto, yo s que hay bastante terreno baldo que se podr tomar en pre-emption claims, y creo que el gobierno lo dar para ayudar a una empresa que tendr por objeto nada menos que fecundizar un desierto, puesto que si este experimento tiene buen xito (como lo tendr) la empresa se podr hacer an ms grandiosa tomando las aguas de otros arroyos. Pero lo que por ahora importa es la presa en Jamul. Mr. Carlisle debe venir a examinar el local y formar l su propia idea, y tambin debe decirme si de veras cree entrar en la empresa. De lo contrario tal vez entre yo en algn arreglo con los otros. Saldeme a mi prima y a las muchachas. No fui a ver a Jovita porque mis ocupaciones no me permitieron ir a ver a ninguna de mis amigas. Me vine con ese sentimiento. Todo el
453
tiempo lo pas en ansiedades, disgustos y zozobras y disappointments! . . . Tambin hgame el favor de saludarme al Sr. Cerruti y decirle que parece yo soy ahora quien debo quejarme de ser olvidada . . . As es el mundo . . . Y cun apacible es el campo con su silenciosa soledad! . . . Los ltimos rayos del sol van dorando la sierra de los leones y despus se sonroja de su lujo y los rboles con sus mantos verdes, la admiran silenciosos? Hay en eso una leccin piensa Ud.? Adis. Lo aprecia M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 September 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California Por la inclusa carta ver Ud. que respond la suya luego que me fue posible. Desgraciadamente no pude mandarla porque los quehaceres del rancho absolutamente no lo permitieron. Hoy vine yo misma con Harry y traje mi contestacin para remitrsela a Ud. y explicarle la causa de mi tardanza en responder, que me fue inevitable. Espero que mi respuesta agrade a Mr. Carlisle. Dgale que cada vez que paso por ese lomero extenso y sin cultivo pienso de los jardines que se podran hacer all con el agua de Jamul. Dentro de poco tiempo esperan componer el camino entre Jamul y el Fuerte Yuma para que el correo vaya por all y de ese modo acortar la distancia cosa de 16 millas. Se pondr una posta en Jamul y como la diligencia con el correo va a Fort Yuma tres veces por semana y repasa tambin tres veces por semana, pasar una diligencia cada da por Jamul lo que ser muy conveniente. Si a esto se pudiera agregar el traer el agua, acrecentara [el] valor del rancho bastante. Aprele a Mr. Carlisle para que haga algo o diga siquiera que no va a hacer nada. Dice Ud. bien que su carta es muy fra. No me sorprendi. Nada que Ud. haga contra m me sorprender ya, despus de las burlas que tan sin merecerlas me hizo. No digo esto por que-
454
jarme, no crea Ud. Ya me hice el nimo a someterme a todos los golpes que quisiera darme . . . la Fortuna o el hado, o el destino o . . . quien quiera que sea el poder que rige la suerte de los mortales infelices! . . . Me siento como si tuviese el alma entumida, en un fro, muy fro, estupor. Parece que una parte de mi ser ha muerto o est muriendo lentamente a fuerza de sufrir en secreto y no decirle ni a Dios que estoy sufriendo . . . Hace algunos aos que le una novelita escrita por Wendel Holmes que describe a la herona Elsie murindose porque tena sangre de vbora a causa de haber sido su madre de ella mordida de una vbora cinco o seis meses antes que ella (Elsie) naciera. A mi madre no mordi vbora [alguna] antes que yo naciera, pero lo que es peor, a m misma me han mordido el alma hasta que me la han dejado emponzoada . . . murindose lentamente . . . como Elsie . . . mientras que la otra parte del ser est en todo su vigor y llena de vida y lozana . . . Como quien ha recibido una herida que necesita amputacin . . . Solamente que mis heridas son tantas, que sera necesario despedazar el corazn y el alma . . . Dispnseme que le escriba una carta tan triste. Adis, Su afa. servidora, M.A. de Burton Maana le escribir al Sr. CerrutiDele mis saludesy a la familia [on margin: Recibida el 12 octubre-contestada el 20] MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 28 October 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California Mr. S. L. M. Barlow My dear Mr. Barlow, A year ago this month you wrote me thus Whenever Mr. Doyle writes or telegraphs me that $500 [sic] have been paid and the stock returned, I will send to him the deed to be delivered on payment of the remainder in installments in a year, etc., etc.
455
Notwithstanding my failure in the last years negotiation, I am going to try again to dispose of some of that land for grazing sheep, and I would like to know whether Mr. Doyle is still authorized to act as your proxy in this business. I will greatly facilitate any negotiation, if we can arrange with Mr. Doyle without having to wait until we hear from you. Three times now I have had a fair prospect of negotiating the sale of part of the land and it failed because I could not make a deed until I wrote you and waited your answer. For this reason, I hope you will authorize Mr. Doyle to act for you giving him your instructions and terms. Trusting you will accede to my reasonable request, I remain as ever most truly, etc., M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 November 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California My dear Mr. Barlow, Yours of the 14th inst. I have just received. Believe me, my dear Mr. Barlow, it will not do to write you for a release or reconveyance four months in advance. You dont know what distrustful people one has to deal with in San Francisco. Please have the necessary document made and deposited with Mr. Doyle (or any one else you please) to be delivered to me upon payment of the money in the manner you stated before. I assure you that unless I can be ready to make a satisfactory conveyance, they will not even agree to purchase. I have told them you will deed back to me the property and their answer is that you might change your mind, and they will go to no expense to examine titles and the land, etc., unless I can make a conveyance as owner of the whole. So Mr. Barlow, you will do me an injury if you do not put it in my power to make the repurchase at any time now immediately.
456
There are difficulties enough in my way without this and (so called) drawbacks to the property. Therefore, I beg you will grant my request, as I ask it, else you may cause me to fail in the pending negotiation. Hoping to hear from you very soon, I remain yours truly, M.A. Burton. P.S. Nellie says she does not believe your adamantine heart could even be warmed by the mild light of her eyes; that it is a sarcastic metaphor to speak of burning a hole into a granite slab covered with asbestos but nevertheless, she likes you very much and sends her kindest regards to you. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 June 1875, Jamul, California Al fin vuelvo a ver su letra, Don Guadalupe, y escribo este nombre. No le doy otro, como Ud. me dice, y es muy injusto al acusarme de que se me sea odioso. Ah! en su corazn Ud. sabe bien que jams ha tenido amiga ms fiel que yo, y Ud. me ha dicho que mi espritu es el ms congenial entre todos sus amigos y amigas. Y con todo, cmo pudo Ud. obedecer ese impulso cruel y desnaturalizado que lo impeli a burlarse de m? Todava hasta ahora no comprendo. No me parece que era Ud. o que pudiese serlo! . . . Pero yo lo vi, y lo o! y no hay duda ni disculpa atenuante. As pues, al perdonarlo, lo perdono en obsequio de la amistad de tantos aos, y porque lo quiero (aunque con tristeza) con sinceridad, con simpata y lealtad constante, y Ud. lo sabe. Yo tambin me acord de Ud. el da 4 de julio. Lo pasamos muy quietas aqu en el rancho. Al da siguiente llev a Nellie a San Diego (a visitar una amiga que acaba de llegar de Staten Island) y ahora ella est en Peasquitos. No haba vuelto a San Diego por eso no haba recibido su carta ms luego. Y Ud. nada me dice de las ltimas dos que yo le escrib y a las cuales no he recibido contestacin. Su silencio me hizo pensar que involuntariamente lo haba ofendido, y no s qu podra ser, ms que en la ltima entre otras cosas dije era
457
necesario que en su libro diga Ud. cuanto pueda en favor de nuestra raza infortunada que est muriendo de una atrofia mental que la consume de da en da. Pero no veo cmo esto pueda haberlo ofendido, y no s qu fue. Tengo mucho que decirle o ms bien, que en otro tiempo le habra dicho, pero ahora, Ud. est muy cambiado. Estoy segura que hay alrededor de Ud. influencias que me son enemigas, que me hostilizan y aunque Ud. no lo diga yo lo s! Cuando lo vea le dir todo. Cerca de m, no tiene Ud. ms que amigos, as pues, nadie oscurece su memoria. Adis, escrbame. Yo tambin le escribir aunque nada interesante tengo que decirle en el aislamiento en que vivo. Saludes a los de la familia que hagan buenas ausencias de m, a los que no, no les mencione el nombre de su fiel amiga, Yours truly M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 June 1875, Jamul, San Diego County, California Again, my dear Mr. Barlow, We must talk about that unlucky Ensenada. As you say in your letter of March 10th, that your friends are unwilling to help me to defray the expenses of surveying, getting patent, etc, etc. but will be willing to reconvey to me without delay; and as I am not able to defray the expenses all alone, I have been trying to find a purchaser. This is a more difficult task with the title in its present condition and the property getting filled with squatters, but only by agreeing to sell at very low price, can I find anyone to buy. But when the alternative is to lose the whole, even a low price is better. Taking this into consideration I have accepted a very low offer which after I pay you $7000 will only leave me $5000. So, Mr. Barlow, I hope you will make your terms as mild as possible, and send the reconveyance at once to Mr. Doyle or a Bank to be delivered on payment of the money and stock. Remember, if you delay,
458
you might make me lose the chance to sell, and both you and I lose the whole. I consider this price entirely too low, and really think you ought to help me to pay the expenses of the sale. I have to make the survey out of the price money, which with the other expenses will go over $2000. This however I leave to you to do as you think best, but do not delay in sending the deed to be in escrow with Mr. Doyle or a Bank, and thus avoid distrust on the part of the purchasers, as before. Hoping to hear from you at your earliest convenience I remain, yours truly, M.A. de Burton P.S. Nellie sends her regards and wants you to tell her whether the hole burned in your heart years ago! has been filled with cobwebs of indifference, or the burn has been healed by washing it with oblivions waters. Answer requested. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 October 1875 [?], Hotel Occidental, San Francisco, California Don Guadalupe, Recib sus esquelitas de anteayer y ayer. Respondiendo la primera dir que yo tambin tengo mucho deseo de verlo, y que es necesario por fuerza que venga a verme aunque no sea ms que por un da. No puedo absolutamente decirle por carta lo que quiero decirle de palabra. As pues, venga luego en obsequio de la amistad! . . . En respuesta de su segunda dir que con mucho gusto escribir una relacin del efecto que la proclama esa tuvo sobre los californios y cmo influy su destino. Pero dgame Ud. hasta qu nmero de pginas deber llenar. Es mejor que venga y me diga en qu forma y si es para incorporarlo junto o separado. Espero que al escribir de la poca en que Enrique fue ordenado a la Baja que lo mencione Ud. como lo merece. Hasta ahora nadie le ha hecho justicia. El nico que le prodig un
459
justo elogio fue el Senador Carpenter en un discurso que hizo en West Point, cuando entre otras cosas dijo que el General Burton era el beau ideal de un soldado; noble en su presencia y maneras y noble en su proceder; digno de ser imitado de los hombres y querido de las mujeres, etc. Venga y trigame esas proclamas, quiero verlas. Quiero ver a Ud. tambin y espero que lo ver en esta semana misma. Yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. n.d. [October, 1875?] San Francisco, California Qu tiene, Don Guadalupe?, qu le sucede?, por qu no viene? Doa Gabriela y yo queremos que venga esta semana de la Feria Catlica porque ella y yo y Julia nos hemos interesado mucho en que la mesa espaola tenga un xito eclatante y yo temo sea lo contrario. Vendr Ud? Me voy a fines de este mes para San Diego, qu le digo a Da. Prudenciana? Ella le mand muchos recados a Ud. los cuales no he entregado porque no lo he visto desde que regres de Sto. Toms. Quiz tendr que ir otra vez a la Frontera y quisiera poderle decir alguna cosa a esa pobrecita que tanto lo quiere y a quien Ud. debe querer, pero a quien Ud. no corresponde como debe. No se enoje conmigo. Yo soy su amiga de Ud. pero tambin lo soy de ella y hasta me hizo llorar hablndome de Ud. Qu no le da lstima? Cmo le va con el desmemoriado? Ayer recib una carta muy larga de Flix. Se va al Congreso el 25 de Octubre. La Compaa Leese perdi su concesin quedndose con 500 sitios no ms. Creo que de all crecer un mitote y temo que mis terrenos entren en la bola. Ya veremos. Venga, tengo mucho que platicarle. Da. Gabriela est pasando esta semana conmigo. Ella lo saluda mucho.De mi parte a mi primaSu mejor amiga, M.A. de Burton
460
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 6 November 1875, Occidental Hotel, San Francisco, California Don Guadalupe, Acabo de recibir su cartita del 5, y como ve, me apresuro a contestarla. Me alegr mucho de ver su bien conocida letra, pero me dio tristeza ver, cmo la concluye! Ciertamente, parece que un genio maligno ha venido a emponzoar el ambiente que nos rodea! Qu he hecho yo? Nada ms que sentir como madre por una hija inocente y pura. Yo no lo culpo a Ud; nadie tiene obligacin de ser un Brutus Romano y sentenciar sin piedad. Pero hay su medio entre los extremos. Sin ser un Brutus se puede bien hacer justicia y no sacrificar una amistad leal de tantos aos, [seor.] [no es as?] Como ya le dije, tendr mucho placer en obsequiar sus deseos y escribir lo mejor que pueda todo lo que me dice, pero ahorita no porque sera casi imposible. Estoy tan ocupada y tan acosada de dificultades, de enemigos, de obstculos, que ni tengo tiempo ni mi mente, ni mi nimo estn en condicin de escribir sobre ningn asunto, y lo que yo escribira ahora no sera digno de publicarse en su historia. As pues, tengo por fuerza que pedirle me espere hasta que regrese a Jamul o que est algo ms desocupada. Entonces har de mi parte lo que pudiere. En el nterin, [I have written to Harry] he escrito a Harry que me mande los libros sos de que habl a Ud. luego. Quiz no tengan nada de suficiente importancia para la historia, pero tal cual sean, Ud. los ver y juzgar. Adis. Est ya muy oscuro para escribir ms. Tambin yo digo Que Dios guarde a Ud. muchos aos pero (con la lealtad de mi constante y verdadera amistad) me repito como siempre, Yours truly, M.A. de Burton
461
MARB to George Davidson. 4 December 1875, Occidental Hotel, San Francisco, California My dear Professor, Your kind letter of Nov. 11, came to me yesterday, having first gone to San Diego and thence sent here. You know how glad I am to receive it and to think you will soon be with us again all safe and sound. But it will not be soon enough to suit me for I shall be at San Diego before you get here if you are not to start until after the holidays. I have been here since the 21st of September (just think of it, over two months) when I thought I would remain only two weeks! As usual, however, I have met with a series of disappointments which oblige me to remain and I fret and suffer and toil and pass weary days and sleepless nights in dreary longing to go home and be with my sweet children! But oh! all this torment does not help me one bit and I remain here chained down to my cold hard rock, all the same, and with a sigh, coil myself and lay down to wait for the hand of fate to drag me anywhere over this cold earth. But I dont give up the contest with hard fortune yet. Dont be afraid my dear friend that I may not merit your kind praise if perseverance is to make me worthy of it. Even now surrounded by difficulties and discouragements of all sorts, I persevere and fight the fearful odds against me. I wish you could have been better informed about my property when you were in England or that you were here now. I have been trying to sell the half of the All Saints Bay tract to raise funds to start a colony, but all in vain. There is not a man of means with brains enough to see what magnificent enterprise it would be to found a flourishing colony which would open to the world the immense mineral wealth of that region. Because the property is 85 miles south of San Diego in Mexico! no one has faith in it. When the news that the U.S. was to annex Lower California and some of the border States got here last week, there was some interest shown
462
in the property, but the rumor passed and now the brainless speculators are as indifferent as ever. I wish you would find out and tell me whether there is any rumor in government circles of any probability of Lower California being annexed; or how the question of claims and raids on the Rio Grande is to be settled. As Mexico has no money to pay, it would be a farce to pay only $300,000 per year; it seems probable that she might cede territory but I dont believe (and dont want it) that she will cede so much as the newspapers say. Whatever may be on the tapis that you know, I wish you would tell me and you may rest assured I would not tell you said it to me. I would like to know it, not out of idle curiosity, but because it would be so important to my interests. If there is any probability of Lower California being annexed but it is not told in the Presidents Message, I wish you even telegraph it to me, saying the L.C. will be. If nothing more is said this winter about acquisition of territory, I fear I shall have to sacrifice my property and it will be a great pity for it can be made worth hundreds of millions. Some of the mines assay (the surface ores) $200 and 400 to the ton of silver with $50 x 60 of gold and plenty of it. And what do you think are the chances of the Texas Pacific? Is Tom Scott to succeed? Gov. Stanford will do all he can to prevent it. What a terribly strong willed man is the governor. His will is a perfect juggernaut car. He has formed a plan in his brain for a certain R. Road system of his own and he will crush San Diego and all of us if he fancies we are in his way. He says that Tom Scott is interfering with him, and he wants Tom [to] step aside and leave San Diego in the cold, and all Southern California to wait years for the crumbs that may fall from San Franciscos table. I wish the Gov. would take a fancy to make a pet of San Diego, but he wont and so we must suffer if the pitying angels dont help us. Write to me soon, wont you? and send your letter under cover to General Schofield so that if I am here he will bring it to me and if I have gone to San Diego he will forward it there.
463
I wish you were here and could go to San Diego to visit All Saints Bay now, at the present time. But so it is always with me. All comes wrong. Please give my best love to Mrs. D and the boys, and believe me I am, and always wish to be your affectionate and devoted friend, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 December 1876, San Francisco, California Don Guadalupe, Hgame el favor de decirme a dnde hallar su fulano Williams, el de los terrenos. Me parece que Ud. me dijo que saba donde es su oficina pero no me acuerdo. Dgamelo luego que reciba sta. No hay en la Chronic nada sobre el suicidio de Cerruti. Dgame Ud. algo de eso, quiero saber qu fue lo que le desesper de tal modo que prefiriera arrojarse al oscuro, incierto abismo de la eternidad! El tena mucho a Bancroft en su pensamiento y me repiti que si l viera a Bancroft que lo salvara. Pobrecito de Cerruti, qu lstima le tengo. Anoche lo so nadando en un mar inmenso! Cundo viene? Espero que sea luego, quedando siempre su afa. amiga, M.A. Burton. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 April 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California Porque lo he estado esperando no le haba contestado su cartita del da 9. Lo esperaba porque Da. Gabriela me dijo que Anita le haba dicho que si su padre no le enviaba a Ud. los $500, que ella los buscara. De modo que de da en da esperaba verlo aqu. Yo pienso irme el mircoles o jueves prximo,
464
qu ser posible que se vaya Ud. a Mxico sin que yo lo vea y tengamos una buena pltica de despedida? Si es posible, si Ud. puede sin sacrificio y sin molestia venir, venga aunque sea por un da. Venga el martes. Quiero verlo antes de irme, y a ms, creo que si Ud. viene los $500 susodichos se conseguirn. Estoy segura que si Ud. le habla o le escribe a Anita sobre eso que se har. Cmo le parece a Ud. que yo le hablara a ella sobre eso? Dgame. Yo nada he hecho desde la salida de Da. Gabriela porque ya Ud. sabe que las relaciones no son cordiales entre ella y yo. Pero por Ud. har a un lado el punto y le hablar a Anita. De todos modos venga, ms que sea por un da. Magnfico sera que fuese a Mxico de Ministro! Sera justo, equitativo, en regla, decente, becoming y deben siquiera concederle esa poquita de justicia. Ojal! Cunto gusto me dara! Escrbame lo que sucediere de nuevo, pero si es posible venga, venga antes del jueves porque estoy con el pie en el estribo y slo que algo inesperado sucediese salgo para ese da . . . Lo espero luego, y quedo como siempre yours truly, M.A. de Burton Todava conserva su aroma el ramito. Sabe Ud. que eso es alegrico? MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 30 April 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California Segurito que Ud. me cree en San Diego donde debo estar pero la suerte infame, cochina, rabiosa, aqu me tiene. No he podido irme, tengo mi bal listo hace ya dos semanas, y que estoy atada a mi roca como por rabia de los dioses. Qu hay de noticias dgame? Yo he odo cierto rumorcito que quisiera comunicarle pero no se puede sobre el papel. Dgame sin mentar nombres si Ud. tiene ms certeza de que Lerdo acepte ayuda de este gobierno.
465
Creo que sin falta salgo el da 7 (de hoy en ocho das). Si fuese posible venga por un da. Quiero saber lo que Ud. sabe, y que Ud. sepa lo que yo s. Si puede venir o no, dgamelo lueguito, hoy mismo.Suya como siempre amiga fiel, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 May 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California Me gusta lo que le dice Frisbie pero estoy ciertsima que no hay en Washington un hombre que sienta y piense con el fervor necesario para darle buen xito a la cuestin de Protectorado. Los hombres que pudieran lanzarse sobre esa arena son muy egostas, o muy sin fe y no entienden el carcter verdaderamente de los mexicanos. Con el nombre de Protectorado echaron a perder todo, pues heriran el amor propio nacional mexicano con demasiada profundidad, y con herida muy irritante. Que le llamen Tratado de reciprocidad o de Alianza y entonces la cosa es ms manejable. Entonces s, se podra reinstalar Lerdo, diciendo a los mexicanos que la cosa es de concesiones mtuas! Por ms que se quiera negar, no hay duda que la Sister Republic tiene en teora similares instituciones pero tanto los estadistas mexicanos como americanos miraran al principio una cuestin de Protectorado como antpodas en poltica. Y por esta razn siempre ha parecido imposible un protectorado. Pero si los americanos no ms se toman la molestia de ser un poco menos jactanciosos y sus peridicos ms decentes, entonces podr conseguir esto. Quisiera hablar ms de esto pero no tengo tiempo. Me voy y mis cosas estn todava sin empacar. Cuando llegue a San Diego le escribir largo; y Ud. haga lo mismo, y an ms, puesto que Ud. tiene ms que decir que yo. Flix Gibert es el diputado por la Baja California, de modo que estamos seguros de un amigo fiel en la capital.
466
Adis! Ojal, ojal, ojal que consiga su nombramiento. Es justo, es decente, es equitativo que se lo den. Jams nos han dado a los del pas ninguna cosita que demuestre el ms pequeo deseo de mostrar good feeling hacia la raza conquistada. Qu egosmo tan brutal de esta gente que a gritos se alaba todos los das a todas horas! Buenas nochesNo tengo tiempo para ms. Su fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 9 May 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California Sbado a las once a.m. Cunto le agradezco sus finos recuerdos! Las Postal Cards (cuatro) me atestiguan que se acuerda de m, y confo que no me olvidar. Hoy deber Ud. llegar a Washington y yo salgo maana para el pobrecito de San Diego. All dirjame sus cartas y no deje de escribirme lueguito y muy largo dicindome todo, todo. Por ac siguen los rumores de intervencin y Protectorado bajo el disfraz de inmigracin. Me parece buena la idea, porque as se salva el amor propio nacional evitando que se diga estar en tutelaje, puesto que los emigrados ya dentro de la Repblica pueden bien sostener a Lerdo muy constitucionalmente como ciudadanos mexicanos. De la misma manera se podrn hacer arreglos para concesiones mtuasde reciprocidad y de all se comenzara a establecer prestigio y crdito para empresas que atrajeran capital a Mxico. Con mucha ansia esperar su primera carta de Washington dicindome lo que se proyecta. Tambin esperar no se olvide cumplirme su promesa en cuanto a negocios. Ya Ud. sabe cuan importante es que yo pueda ir a Mxico y atender en persona a esos ttulos, y ya tambin Ud. sabe la razn porque no voy. Un grito a tiempo vale mucho y nadie lo sabe mejor que Ud.
467
Dios nos conceda que le vaya bien a Ud. Lo ruego con todo mi corazn y de la misma manera, ruego que el cielo al fin le premie tantos aos de inaudito sufrir. Su fiel amiga, etc. Cope Whelan [?] & Co. Safe Deposit Building San Francisco Estoy muy triste. No pude negociar lo que le dije esta maana, y no s qu hacer porque se me parte el corazn por irme a ver a mi hija de mi alma. Soy muy desgraciada. Adis Qu Dios lo bendiga y lo lleve con felicidad! Escrbame lueguito. Dirjame su carta aqu puesto que no s cundo salir! Cun infeliz es su fiel amiga. M.A. de Burton Creo que me muero si no voy a ver a Nellie. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 June 1877, San Diego, California Hace ya ms de diez das que Ud. lleg a Washington y yo no he recibido una sola letra. Temo que Ud. est enfermo porque no creo que haya olvidado su promesa de escribirme lueguito. Un da antes de salir de San Francisco le escrib que me vena de modo que Ud. ya sabe a dnde dirigirse. Los rumores de Anexacin siguen adelante, pero por ac nadie los cree. Qu hay? Avsemelo por el amor de Dios! Le aseguro que jams la cuestin entre Mxico y los Estados Unidos se ha presentado ante mis pobres cansados ojos bajo el aspecto terrible que hoy tiene. La Comisin de Terrenos para la Baja California ha llegado, y no solamente est compuesta de Porfiristas que se complacen en deshacer todo lo que haya sido hecho por Lerdistas, sino que por mi desgracia vienen muy presumidos contra m y contra mi ttulo. As pues, no hay ni la ms pequea duda que de stos nada ms que nuevas persecuciones tengo que esperar. En tal aprieto ya Ud. imaginar si no vuelvo mis ojos hacia Mxico, hacia los que me puedan ayudar, hacia Ud., y espero con ansias que me d noticias de lo que pasa y de lo que se espera.
468
El da 22 de mayo llegu aqu, el da 24 Nellie dio a luz una niita, la cosa ms linda que puede haber. As pues, como ya le dije, soy abuela, congratleme o condulame, como Ud. gustare, pero lo cierto es que quiero a la monita con toda mi alma. No he visto a Da. Prudenciana pero he odo que est por ahora en San Rafael y que va a venir por ac. Luego que venga le dar su recado. Si Ud. va a Mxico no se olvide de m, y dgame antes de ir los planes. No se firme y si quiere le devuelvo la carta o una parte de ella para que vea que fue destruida. Slo le escribo esta para decirle que no he odo de Ud. y que su silencio tiene muy ansiosa a su amiga sincera y fiel que verdaderamente se suscribe, Yours truly M.A. de Burton M. G. Vallejo to MARB. 4 June 1877, Hotel Iturbide, Mexico City, Mexico Doa Amparo, Por fin me tiene Ud. en la capital de la repblica mexicana hace ya 9 das. La primera impresin que me caus fue de mal agero apoderndose de m la melancola que hasta hoy comienzo a vencer por un esfuerzo supremo y una resolucin necesaria. El aspecto general de la ciudad, triste, reunido al de los habitantes en las calles, siniestro. Ninguna analoga con nuestros hbitos y costumbres, el contraste ms completo que se puede pedir. Los primeros seis das estuve muy enfermo: este aire no se puede aspirar, ahoga; los miasmas que despiden las evaporaciones de las atarjeas son realmente insoportables . . . la vista de tanto indio, indias y sus hijos en un estado de dilapidacin, andrajoso, burros cargados de miserables cargas de zacate verde (carsinos), de carbn, frutas, ollitas de barro, estorbando las calles; todo de un aspecto miserable.
469
Por otro lado la catedral y el sagrario obras estupendas verdaderamente grandiosas; por dentro su ornato y por fuera su construccin verdaderamente suntuosas, dignos de los hombres que la fundaron y edificaron . . . Mas da lstima el concurso en los inmensos enlozados, en sus naves dilatadsimas entre las masivas columnas y riqusimos altares aqu y all discriminar las gentes oyendo misa acostada en el suelo, sirviendo de contraste una msica gloriosa estupenda que arroba y estara digna de otra civilizacin. Esta ciudad fue sin duda un sol radiante [a la] que los embates del tiempo han quitado la luz, convirtindola en una luna menguante y plida. Visit Chapultepec, el Alczar de Moctesuma, monumento del primitivo indio y el recuerdo de otros dos emperadores. El primero matado de un picotazo y los dos ltimos [fusilados] como [Iturbide] en Padilla y otro en el Cerro de la Campana. Los acueductos de Gueguetoca que surten la ciudad son obra magna construidos por los espaoles. Chapultepec o el antiguo alczar de los emperadores, un romntico bosque con unos gigantescos rboles seculares, casi iguales a los de Yosemite en California, su gruta y fortaleza es una cosa maravillosa. Cuntos recuerdos! Y yo solo los admiro. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 13 June 1877, San Diego, California De pura chiripa he odo que Ud. ya se fue para Mxico, pues ni una sola letra he recibido suya desde que lleg a Washington. Estoy segura que ya me ha escrito pero como no s a dnde me haya dirigido sus cartas ni s a dnde preguntar por ellas. De mi parte no he dejado de escribirle y espero que las que le dirig a Washington se las hayan despachado. Los rumores que Ud. ya sabe, siguen adelante pero como nada oigo de su letra de Ud. yo no s con qu mano me debo persignar. Escrbame y dgame todo, si no, Ud. ser la causa que me d apopleja.
470
Nuestro querido Flix ya Ud. habr visto. Hoy mismo le escribo y mando con sta su carta al ministro americano. El objeto de mi carta a Flix es que me haga el favor de desmaraar un enmarao que parece Denton enmara, y por el cual mis dificultades en la Frontera se me han multiplicado. Espero que Ud. como mi buen amigo, se esmere tambin en hacer lo que pudiese para ayudarle a Flix. El enredo nuevo es que Denton ha dicho que yo pretendo tomar ms terreno del que me pertenece en la Ensenada. Esto le dijo al Sr. Balcrcel y a Flix, y ambos lo creyeron sin detenerse a pensar que en todas mis peticiones y protestas y todas [las] otras comunicaciones, slo he pretendido se hagan los deslindes en estricta conformidad con el ttulo original; que se respeten las mojoneras que se sealaron entonces, cuando se dio la posesin al Sr. Ruiz. Despus de todas mis quebraderos de cabeza con esa mulada de la Frontera, ahora me sale el Sr. Trevio (jefe de la Comisin) que Arrillaga no tena derecho de dar tanto terreno al Sr. Ruiz! . . . y que el Gobierno no sabe lo que hace; y la ratificacin no sirve. Esto se llama barrer con escoba nueva. De modo que en la opinin del Sr. Trevio no hay tal ttulo de la Ensenada puesto que ni Arrillaga tuvo derecho de concederlo ni Jurez de ratificarlo. Y aade el gran Trevio que Don Flix Gibert le dijo que mis pretensiones son exageradas . . . y de all no sale porqueEse macho es mi mula! Hasta ahora no he presentado an mis ttulos oficialmente por que no se ha instalado la Comisin. El Sr. Trevio los vio extra-oficialmente, y aunque me dijo muy clarito que no me dar el deslinde me instruy en mi obligacin de presentarlos. Y yo como soy tan obediente lo har! Pero antes que tal suceda, querida ma, hemos de ver . . . y ahora es cuando Ud. y Flix me deben y pueden ayudar. As pues, lueguito que reciba sta you go to work a ver si no
471
podrn influir al Presidente para que en vista de todas las persecuciones que he sufrido por las autoridades arbitrarias de la Frontera, me apruebe el deslinde y mapas hechos por Wheeler de conformidad con los ttulos originales, y cuyo mapa Chacn se neg a reconocer porque quera que se midiera el terreno en tringulo. Si yo no [me] hubiera encontrado con tantas injusticias en la Frontera, y si las autoridades no hubieran desobedecido y atropellado las rdenes del mismo Presidente, parecera innecesario que el Presidente diera una patente sobre el mapa de Wheeler. Pero todo lo que ha pasado forma muy buena base para apoyar una disposicin particular en mi favor. As pues, que Flix en mi representacin haga una peticin al Presidente, o si les parece mejor, la har yo misma exponiendo todo lo que he sufrido por las arbitrariedades de las autoridades de la Frontera, omitiendo (si Ud. y Flix as opinan) lo que me dijo Trevio; o si les parece mejor, tambin decirlo. Si piensa Ud. que ser bien que yo haga mi peticin (es decir, si Uds. me pueden conseguir la patente; avsemelo lueguito, por telgrafo. Cinco palabras (menos) tres palabrasno ms digaMande los papeles y yo ya s lo que quiere decir. Yo creo que Ud. deber tener influjo en Mxico y si as es, espero que no se olvide que me prometi trabajar por m. Estoy segura que podr hacerle un memorial que justifique al Presidente en darme la patente. Particularmente cuando uno dice lo que ha de llevarse el moro que se lo lleve el Cristiano . . . Pero yo estoy andando a tientas puesto que nada s y Ud. no me dice nada! Me desespero cuando me pongo a pensar que Ud. est en Mxico y Flix tambin y que los dos me deberan ayudar tanto, tanto! y tal vez se descuidarn de m! . . . Ser posible? Adis! Dgame que le mande mi ocurso al Presidente o que lo haga a Flix, y entonces ms que nunca me firmar, your true friend, always, Yours truly, M.A. de Burton [on margin: Recibida el da 8 de julio-1877 (en Mxico)]
472
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 July 1877, San Diego, California Don Guadalupe, Hace pocas horas no ms que recib su muy apreciada y grfica de 19 de junio, la nica que me ha llegado de Ud. de Mxico. La otra a que Ud. alude no la he recibido. sta sola me ha venido y con ella tantas reflexiones, tantas impresiones, tantos anhelos! Pobre Mxico! Pobre Patria infortunada! Y qu van a hacer Uds. por all? Que no proponen algn proyecto por el cual se adopte algn remedio a tanto mal? Eso de anexacin as a las claras, sin disfraz, me parece tan difcil que casi es imposible, pero ms garantas tan amplias que sean capaces de inspirar confianza, eso s sera lo mejor. Hay enfermos que aunque estn a la muerte, todava se creen con salud y a esos es necesario darles las medicinas con engaos, dicindoles que no son medicinas, solamente tnicos. As es Mxico. Se est ya muriendo pero se cree insultado si le ofrecen remedios, de modo que es necesario curarlo sin decirle que est tomando medicinas. Esto por desgracia los Diplomticos Americanos no harn. Ellos ms quieren curar con amputaciones a tantazos, pero ese no es el modo. Creo que Ud. siendo de la misma raza podra mejor ser quien sugiera un remedio. Un remedio que no d bascas al enfermo, sino que le d fuerzas primero y despus lo cure. Y fuerzas le dara la inmigracin. La infusin de otros nimos, otras ideas, otras ambiciones, otros objetos de aspiracin. Y para obtener esa infusin es necesario que Mxico cierre los ojos y como la bonita encantada se deje llevar en los brazos del terrible gigante por que esos brazos eran los que solamente la salvaran. Por qu no me dice sus planes y esperanzas, que a caso ya no merezco su confianza? Tampoco me indica cunto tiempo piensa permanecer en Mxico y Ud. ya sabe (si no ha olvidado nuestra ltima conversacin) que no quiero saberlo, puesto que quiero que Ud. est all cuando yo vaya, y tengo esperanzas de ir! As pues, lueguito que reciba sta, tome una
473
pluma y papel, y sin amanuenses, dgame lo siguiente. Estar Ud. en Mxico por Octubre y despus? Estar Flix entonces; o cundo? Estar el Congreso en sesin en el otoo e invierno; en qu meses? Quines son los amigos con quin Ud. cuenta para que le ayuden? Ha visto Ud. a Romero y lo visita? Dgame si Pepe Rincn Gallardo, o Pedro su hermano, estn de Diputados. Tambin dgame si Ud. y Flix tienen influjo en el Ministerio de Fomento. Y en fin, dgame todo lo que Ud. vea puede influir en favor o contra de mis intereses que Ud. ya conoce bien. Si fuese posible, hagan Ud. y Flix que si nombran Juez para la Frontera, que venga dispuesto en mi favor. La Comisin de Terrenos est ya instalada en la Frontera pero por desgracia Trevio vino ya predispuesto contra m, de modo que para neutralizar su mala disposicin es absolutamente indispensable que el Juez est mejor dispuesto. Lo que me duele ms es que la mala disposicin de Trevio fue causada en gran parte por Flix quien mal informado de Denton dijo (Trevio as dice) que mis pretensiones son exageradas y pido demasiado terreno. De modo que ya con esa idea en la cabeza no hay quien se la quite al Sr. Trevio. Tambin he sabido que cuando estuvo Denton en Mxico le dijo las mismas mentiras al Sr. Balcrcel, de modo que este Seor que ha sido mi buen amigo, ahora tiene la errnea impresin que yo estoy pretendiendo con falsos o mal fundados derechos ms tierra [de la] que debo pedir. Denton hizo esto porque l quiere hacer denuncias en mis terrenos y se interesa en que se reporten de como baldos. Hgame favor de visitar al Sr. Balcrcel en mi nombre y (si viene bien) dgale que yo he sabido los malos y falsos informes que Denton le dio de m, y dgale los motivos de Denton al hacer tal ruindad. Dgale a Flix todo tambin. Lo espero de Ud. si Ud. es mi amigo. Acurdese que yo hara por Ud. la misma cosa si alguno acusara a Ud. as con tanta traicin y falsedad, a espaldas. Ahora que Ud. est en Mxico podr bien calcular lo que me podra costar el ir yo para arreglar ese negocio de mis te-
474
rrenos. Cree Ud. que seran bastantes $3000? Cun bueno ser Ud. si me da sus ideas sobre esto! Yo creo que ser buen tiempo ir en octubre. Quiero ir cuando el Congreso est en sesin, no se le olvide eso. Para mis negocios creo es muy esencial que yo est en la Capital cuando el Congreso se halle en sesin, y para mi satisfaccin, que Ud. y Flix se hallen all. Con los dos para acompaarme qu buenas paseadas nos daramos. Su carta de Ud. me ha transportado en espritu a ese pas tan hermoso y tan infeliz, que con los ojos del alma veo todo lo que Ud. me ha pintado con pincel maestro. Pobres mexicanos! gente desgraciada que no acata, no ve que en su propia mano tiene su remedio. Qu se dice por all tocante a la misin del Sr. Mata a Washington? Por las ltimas noticias parece que se hablaba de reconocer el gobierno de Daz pero nada se dice con cules condiciones. Sin querer ser egosta y sin salir de mi esfera humilde, yo veo los giros en esas altas jerarquas con mucha ansia porque la suerte de la pobrecita de m, est interesada en ello. La armona entre las dos naciones me traera a m la paz del alma y el descanso que he deseado por tantos aos. As pues dgame todo lo que Ud. sepa de proyectos diplomticos. Como el Sr. Mata es un buen amigo mo, yo creo que l y Romero y Flix me ayudarn para conseguir justicia, que es lo que pido. Qu piensa Ud? Escrbame lueguito. Dgame todo lo que le pregunto. No olvide nada. Espero su carta en respuesta para a mediados de agosto. Yo voy a ver si salgo para el 20 de septiembre por all asestar unos cuantos das en Washington y llegar a Mxico a fines de octubre. Qu tal le parece este plan? Con ansia quedo esperando sus cartas y como siempre cariosa y fielmente, Yours truly, M.A. de Burton Pregntele a Flix si recibi mi carta. [on margin: Recibida el da 2 de agosto a las 9 de la noche en el cuarto no. 75 (Iturbide Hotel) estando presentes Don Flix Gibert y Ricardo Zabo]
475
MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 14 August 1877, San Diego, California Mi querida Da. Prudenciana, Su esquelita me lleg al tiempo que estoy empacando para salir. As slo tengo tiempo de contestarle muy de prisa. El recado mencionado me fue encargado muy especialmente, y por eso slo le dir que esa persona dice a Ud. no consienta Ud. en dar papeles o documentos importantes a nadie bajo ningn pretexto, slo que l se lo aconseje, que l sabe por qu dice eso. Con esto ya Ud. sacar por consecuencia lo dems. Supongo que ya saba Ud. que el General Vallejo y Frisbie estn en la Ciudad de Mxico. En la ltima carta del General Vallejo fechada 9 de julio, 77me dice que piensa regresar luego, de modo que quiz ya venga de regreso. Flix Gibert tambin me escribe con la misma fecha y dice que va a venir con Don Guadalupe. Ojal. En el vapor de maana me voy para tomar el tren del ferrocarril en Los ngeles para San Francisco. Creo permanecer all dos o tres semanas, no ms, y quiz para cuando vuelva Ud. venga por ac y nos veamos. Entonces le dir ms. Por ahora adis, y crame siempre le deseo felicidad, como su afa. amiga, M.A. de Burton P.D. No creo que sera de suficiente importancia para que Ud. viniera slo por ese recado; si hubiera sido, la habra llamado. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 January 1878, Lick House, San Francisco, California Jueves, a.m. Don Guadalupe, Por qu no ha venido? Desde que regres lo he estado esperando, y el da de ao nuevo cre todo el da que vendra a verme, pero se pas ese da y otro, y otro y otro etc., etc. y Ud. que no aparece. Quiero mucho platicar con Ud. y tambin
476
lo necesito para otra cosa que le dir cuando venga. As pues, lueguito que reciba sta, vngase. Si es posible venga el domingo por la maana. Lo voy a esperar. Sera bueno que me dijera por telgrafo si viene el domingo. En fin, dgame algo, que este silencio es de hacerla a una reventar. Tal vez me voy lueguito para San Diego, de modo que es necesario venga lueguito que reciba staComo siempre Yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 May 1878, San Diego, California Don Guadalupe, y es esto posible! . . . No lo poda creer! Su carta me dio una sorpresa terrible! Ni una palabra haba odo, y decirme as repentinamente que Jovita haba muerto me pareca increble, y le y rele su carta no s qu tantas veces! Y la criatura que esperaba la salvaron? Escrbame luego que esta nueva herida en el corazn se lo permita, y deme particulares de ese triste acontecimiento pues no s ms que lo poco que Ud. me dice en su corta y triste cartita. Excusado es que yo le diga una sola palabra de lo mucho que siento por Ud. y con Ud. La antigedad de nuestra amistad hace superfluas las expresiones de condolencia. El silencio tal vez dice ms! Pero ay! cmo quisiera consolarlo, al mismo tiempo que s cun inconsolable debe ser un sentimiento tal! Mi pobrecito amigo a quien tanto aprecio! cmo siento por Ud! Crame, lo tengo presente todo el tiempo desde que recib su carta, y mi corazn repite de continuo pobrecito de Don Guadalupe! qu golpe tan cruel! Cmo tendr el corazn de adolorido, etc., etc. Pobre madre tambin! Ah! Cun triste es la vida! Los que se van, son los dichosos!
477
Y la celeste armona Pesa cual cruda irona Sobre este tumulto humano! Y por ms negro que est el corazn de dolor, y el alma toda enlutada tambin, los rboles tan verdes, y las flores tan brillantes! . . . Y el cielo tan azul, y el sol y la brisa y las estrellas siguen su marcha luminosa como jactndose de su insensible inmortalidad! . . . de su falta de simpata por los mismos mortales! . . . As reflexionaba yo cuando Enrique muri! y s bien que Ud. tambin mi pobre amigo, ha de estar sintiendo y pensando as. Si le causa pena escribir, me esperar pero sicomo a veces suele sucederle sirve de desahogo a su dolor escribirle a una amiga fiel que siente tanto con Ud. y desea consolarlo, entonces escrbame largo y dgame todo, mucho, mucho . . . Por qu no me haba escrito? El 11 de marzo sal de San Francisco y el 11 de mayo me escribe Ud. por la primera vez! . . . Dos meses! Eso es mucho olvidar a su amiga que Ud. sabe lo aprecia de corazn. M.A. de Burton [on margin: Recibida el 23-contestada el 25] MARB to H. H. Bancroft. 15 July 1878, San Diego, California My dear Mr. Bancroft, The fates are against my being able to contribute much to your most valuable work. Today my mother will sail from San Francisco on the Newborn for La Paz, and with her goes the source of information regarding those old times. She left here on the 8th and up to the last moment she held herself in readiness to impart all she knows and remembers having heard from the old people born more than a century ago. But as I received no answer from you, I concluded that what I sent was
478
what you desired, and I made no further inquiries. Of course, I plead guilty to remissness, though I have the excuse of really not being sure that she would go until within a few days of her departure. Now all I can do [to] atone for having neglected what I consider a sacred duty to the memory of my noble grandfather (Don Jos Manuel Ruiz), who certainly was a most superior man, is to write to La Paz to my cousin Sr. Gibert and ask him to try to collect all the papers and any oral information he can from old people of intelligence. Meantime, I shall look to see what I find among my husbands papers in reference to his occupation of La Paz, etc., etc. As for my getting any papers from the Argello family or from Mrs. Moreno, I fear it is rather difficult. No one seems to care about historic good name, and yet they are very sensitive on the subject & very jealous of any credit given to others. This I mean not only of these families, but of all the Californians in general. The fact of it is (and a very serious fact which you as a conscientious historian must not omit) that the natives with the loss of their property and their prestige, have also lost all ambitions. Without their realizing the fact, or analyzing the cause, they languidly surrender to the effect, and without struggling, or even protesting they allow themselves to be swept away to oblivion by the furious avalanche let loose upon them by the hand of the Anglo-Americans, the pitiless Anglo-Americans! . . . So, we must not blame the disheartened Californians if they do not rise to the importance of appreciating your work, and you, without resentment for their unambitious indifference, which is the result of their misfortune, must speak kindly of them. You can afford it. And being an American you can say many things that the American people would perhaps not accept from a foreigner. I cannot now say how soon I will be able to send you any more notes, but rest assured that I will do what I can and will be very proud if what I send you consider of any value. Always yours very sincerely, M.A. de Burton
479
MARB to H. H. Bancroft. 5 August 1878, San Diego, California My dear Mr. Bancroft, Amongst my papers I found an old letter, or report, of my grandfather to Governor Arrillaga, and as it has an account of the flight of the Santo Toms Indians and mentions that an American frigate anchored at San Quintn and left in a suspicious manner, I thought that this might be a connecting link in some historical claim, and I made a copy for you which I enclose herein. It may more likely be valueless, but as the Geologist sees hidden beauties in very ugly pebbles, I thought you might find it interesting to know (as a historian and philosopher) how those barbarians revolted allured with the hope of having each one a charmer to himself. Which goes to prove that even the savage breast longs for companionship and affection. I suppose you have plenty of documents regarding the system followed by the Spanish Priests in the old Missions, but perhaps this might not be entirely useless. If it is, do not hesitate to tell me, for I want to send you what might be of use, and your suggestions will guide me. In a few days (if we have nothing to prevent it) I hope to begin looking up those other papers belonging to General Burton. Remaining yours truly, etc. M.A. de Burton [see chapter I, part B, for MARBs contributions to Bancroft on her grandfather, Governor Ruiz] MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 November 1878, San Diego, California Don Guadalupe, En este mismo momento se fue Doa Prudenciana. Vino a suplicarme que le escriba a Ud. Ya lo haba pedido antes, pero yo me he excusado dicindole que no le escriba yo hasta que
480
Ud. no me escribiera, que as me lo haba Ud. indicado. Pero la pobrecita est tan afligida que no le pude negar tan pequeito servicio, si es que le ha de servir algo de un poquitito de consuelo. Ella dice que siquiera le diga Ud. si ha recibido o no sus dos ltimas cartas y el telegrama que le envi, y que si Ud. est enfermo que siquiera que alguno escriba un rengln dicindoselo. Esto me parece bastante fcil y no creo que Ud. tendr el corazn de negrselo! En cuanto a las necesidades de esa pobre seora son terribles! Ella vino hace tres meses para curarse, pero no hallando los recursos que esperaba, se ha quedado aqu enferma y sin los medios de curarse o irse a su pobre casa. Si ella pudiera ponerse en cama y tener la propia y debida asistencia, tal vez luego sanara, pero obligada a trabajar cuando apenas puede andar, quiz jams sanar. As es, Don Guadalupe, que si Ud. puede ayudarle aunque sea en lo poquito ya que no en lo grande, aydele. Acurdese que la infeliz tiene derechos tan sagrados como otros! Ud. lo sabe, no se enoje conmigo por que se lo digo. Me da mucha lstima Doa Prudenciana, y como Ud. sabe que por eso le escribo, dispnseme. Lo ltimo que me dijo fue, que por ltimo recurso empe en el Banco de San Diego unas alhajitas que le quedaban. Las empe por $100 por sesenta das, con la esperanza que Ud. le ayude a sacarlas. De no ayudarle se perdern porque ella no tiene de dnde ni espera sacar ese dinero. Don Guadalupe, contsteme sta, se lo suplico, y no le digo ms para que vea que no quiero enfadarlo. Pero siempre soy y ser su fiel amiga que lo quiere y aprecia, M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 18 July 1879 [?], San Diego, California My dear Mr. Barlow, I hope I am sufficiently green in your memory to be excused for giving you a little trouble. If so, please send the
481
enclosed to DeKay by a city messenger, or by one of your clerks. And should DeKay be out of town, do ascertain his address, and let me know it please, at once. I hope he is yet in the land of the living. How are you and family? Well, I hope, and happy, no doubt, since you are prosperous. The All Saints Bay matter is still in abeyance, much to my disappointment, but if [you] will be half as patient as you have been, and as I am persevering, I may yet succeed and reward your patience. Meantime, I shall continue to work all I can, remaining always kindly and sincerely yours, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 15 July 1880, Jamul, California My dear Professor, Your most welcome letters of the 3rd inst. (my birth day!) came two days ago. I was glad to see the envelope even, for I well knew whose writing it was. How could you for one moment imagine that I would visit San Francisco and not let you know it? And your saying that I out of sheer vexation did so perhaps, makes me fear that you did receive the letter I wrote you in February but [you] did not answer me. It was to thank you for the little brochure you sent methe speech before the Chit Chat Cluband to tell you that I was to leave San Diego to come to the rancho again. We ought to have come in December, but a lot of foolish unruly children are worse to guide than a herd of mulas broncas. So, after a great deal of opposition, all came to the conclusion that I was right and the best thing we could do would be to come to Jamul whereat leastwe dont pay house rent and dont buy water! I must do Harry the justice to say that he was the first to concede that I was right. Then Nellie was persuaded, and at last, when there was no alternative, Miguel yielded
482
with very bad grace. It was high time, for I believe my Nellie might now be in her grave if I had not taken her away. She is improving slowly now, but she has been very ill indeed since the 17th of February. Words cannot express the misery of those four months when she could not even take food by her own hand, and I did not know but what my beloved child might die or be a cripple for life! We brought her here on the 25th of March, she had to be carried in and out of the carriage; she cannot stand up yet but as she is much better, I hope that in a few weeks she might be able to walk. It was all brought about by her getting out of bed in her bare feet and taking a fearful cold, and this after being sick, weak, greatly depressed, for months before. I know that if she had not undermined her constitution by fretting and brooding over adverse circumstances, she would not have been so utterly prostrated by the shock she received when she took that violent cold. Thus, you see my dear friend, how those who have forced adverse circumstances upon us, keep on, bringing still more misfortunes by a natural sequence and result of their atrocious, inhuman rapacity. I do not wish any other revenge but that they may drink of as bitter a chalice as I have drunk to the dregs. That is all. But I am not going to write you a selfish blue letter. Instead of that I, on the contrary, wish to say to you that if you hold to your friends with enduring constancy, so do I, and none, not one, has so warm a place in my heart as you have. I am proud of your regard for me, but I feel that if affectionate, sincere gratitude, can make me deserving of it, I do deserve it, and warmly I do reciprocate it. Indeed I know that at my age, I can speak more freely of my affections without being misunderstood. This is as it ought to be. Old age ought to have some compensations! July 26th, 1880 I thought I would commence another letter, but after mature deliberation, I came to the conclusion that I would
483
send you this, so you may see I did write you sooner than you might think by the delay in receiving it. A thousand interruptions would have prevented my writing, so I wisely waited until I had some little leisure. For you must know my dear friend that I am a very busy woman. At first, for six weeks after coming here I did not even have a cook! I had to be nurse night and day, and cook and everything else besides. And finances! Oh! the sick finances! How they did sicken me! They aint any healthier, but now at least I have a cook, a Chinaman, a celestial truly, for he is heavenly to me doing the cooking in this hot weather. So, though my hands are black yet and rough, I dont have to get up at six a.m. to cook breakfast after being up all night taking care of my sick darling. I am very busy yet, but I can take some rest and look at the lovely tints on the hills around this little valley and think of you. Truly so. I told Nellie several times that whenever I look at the lovely stars or mountains I always think of you and the descriptions you have given me of the glorious mountain scenery you have seen in your surveys. We do not have very high mountains in view, but those that we do have, clothe themselves in such lovely shades of purple, pink, lavender, lilac, blue and gold, that they make up in beauty of tints what they lack in grandeur of height. I think they are dear little mountains, always so busy changing their dresses, sometimes all wrapt up in gauzy veils, then in purple and gold, or in common gray calico, just as they fancy to appear. I wish you could see them. Maybe you would laugh at me for thinking them so beautiful, but no matter, I would still find their beauty never tiring, always varying; a beauty that you have to study, to see day after day, before you can fully appreciate. Perhaps some of these days when you have some little leisure, and when we are better fixed, you can come to see our little, low, unpretending mountains. Now I would not, for the world, wish you to come. I would be ashamed to have you come and see this poor cottage so badly furnished, so stripped
484
of the things that ladies and gentlemen must have. But I hope, must hope, that after a while, hard fate will relent and then I may be able to have the pleasure of seeing my friends, here, in this little bit of a valley, with its amphitheatre of low hills behind which rise a second tier, then a third, and last the higher tier of the mountains with lilac dresses and gauze veils. And now my dear friend I must close this, it is late. But before I say good night I want to ask you why is it that you are or have been so depressed in spirits? Has your health been bad? Why is it? I wish I could have a good long talk with you. It would do me good, I know, for I am sure you would give me your kind sympathy, and you may rest assured that you should have mine if you feel sadly. But I hope you feel better now that you are in the field, at work in the fresh air. Only take care the heat does not make you sick. Dont expose yourself so much. Uncle Sam dont deserve it. You must not think laziness prevented me from writing for the Californian. I began a story, and my notes got to be so many, that I found myself spinning out quite a long yarn. Then I thought I would write a story that would run for several months, and there it rests, for I got sick and disheartened, then Nellie got sick, and then we moved to the rancho. I may try again some of these days, and I shall rely on your assistance. I did not want to take another sheet, but I find that I have not yet asked you to tell me something more about the baby, and indeed I must do so, and you must do so. Does she talk plain? Is she like you in disposition as she is in looks? And what about the boys, is George to be with you, study with you? I want always to hear all about your family. I suppose Mrs. Davidson is perfectly wrapt up with the baby. That is the way of the mamas! Now I must bid you good night! and thank you for thinking of me so kindly. Please, always let me know your whereabouts so that my letters to you may not be lost. Did you get the one I wrote you in March? It was a long while since I had heard from you. The lawsuits I told you of are still hanging
485
over my head, like the famous Damocles sword. But I manage to exist nevertheless, and as I dont lose flesh I suppose they aint going to kill me. But might as well. Dont forget me and believe me always, yours affectionately, M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 March 1881, Jamul, California My dear Mr. Barlow, Your letter of the 15th inst. came duly. It must have been owing to some misunderstanding that anyone could have made an appreciation to you to sell your interest in the Ensenada or San Antonio. Whenever I have tried to utilize those properties, I always explained to everyone that you have already madeaccording to agreement, a reconveyance of those interests; that said reconveyance is now in escrow ready to be delivered to me immediately upon my returning the money (with interest) and stock which you paid to me. So, this pact is well known and should not now be ignored or misconstrued by anyone. I have relied and will rely, upon you to verify this statement whenever I ask of you to do so. I shall of course be very grateful to you if you will assist me in disposing of either of those properties advantageously, and I hope you will communicate to me without delay what in your opinionmight be done in the matter. The stock I hold yet subject to your order, hoping that though I have never been able to realize even one quarter of the value at which you paid it to me, that you may possibly do something with it. I think that now perhaps the L.C. Co. might renew its rights if a judicious effort is made opportunely in Mexico. My daughter thanks you for your kind inquiries and sends her best wishes and regards to you. Please accept mine also and believe me yours truly most kindly, M.A. de Burton
486
MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 29 June 1881, San Diego, California My deal Mr. Barlow, Yours of May 31st came duly, but I have been too busy with a most vexatious law suit to find time to reply. Regarding the Ensenada, I told you, I will sell. If you will give me for the half I hold $100,000, I will make you at once an absolute deed of it. You can then form a syndicate and put the entire grant in the market and sell it for a million. As a branch of the S.P.RR. is being built to the Ysabel on the Gulf, opposite to the Ensenada on the Pacific, this proximity must be of some value and can be insured to account. Mr. Jay Gould ought to build a branch of the Texas Pacific to the Ensenada and head off the Port Isabel branch as well as that of the Atchison & Topeka to San Diego. This last Co. [is] now trying to get permission from the Mexican Government to build a branch to the Ensenada and San Rafael valley. This I know. In answer to your proposition to buy from you, I will answer by reminding you that the price you agreed to pay me was $200,000, and as yet you have only paid me $5,000. The balance of the $200,000 I have not received, for you cannot seriously think that your stock certificate could be sold for money approximating the sum it represents. Therefore, you have not yet paid me the consideration agreed upon. It is true that the conveyance I made only recites $25,000 but I can prove that the agreement was for more and that you have paid me less; only $5,000. So there is a large balance due me by you if you will withdraw your reconveyance and not allow me to return the $5,000. The statue of limitation cannot bar my right to full payment as by buying the reconveyance in escrow until now, the transaction was not closed, only in abeyance. You have received a lien, a mortgage for $5,000 (& interest) on the property as I had the right to take it back by paying you the $5,000 according to agreement.
487
This I know is the view that Mexican courts would take of the case if brought before them. Butas I said beforeI do not wish to lawsuit with you, though I think you ought not to withdraw your reconveyance now when for the first time there seemed to be a chance of my selling. In equity you should let me carry out our bargain and return you the $5,000 and the stock. In equity you have no right to be benefited by the increased value of the property when you have rejected to give your assistance. You have paid so little attention to this matter, that you had even forgotten whether your reconveyance was still in escrow! While I have been at work for years trying to perfect the title, a most vexatious work! Still, I will sell to you and be done with the matter, but if you will be with me only as fair and 1/3 as fair as I am willing to be with you, we can soon agree. As I cannot at present buy back for $5000 your half, let me make the following proposition as clearly as you desire: 1st 1. You to buy my 1/2 for $100,000 2. To make a first payment, immediately, of $20,000 3. The balance in installments to suit your convenience or when you have negotiated the entire property. 2nd 4. For the half you claim but is not yet paid in full, I to receive ten percent of the sums you may realize out of it; or twenty-five cents (25 cts.) on the dollar of the par value of the stock you paid me. These to be paid from the money you receive in payment for the property. This seems to me a very liberal proposition for I feel sure that the Ensenada if properly handled can be made a very valuable property. Please write to me soon and say whether you accept my proposition. Or make an offer. Whatever you do, please do it at once. Respectfully yours, M.A. de Burton
488
MARB to George Davidson. 16 August 1882, Jamul, California My dear Professor, The Sundry Bill having passed, I suppose you will soon be in San Francisco. I wrote you again at Washington, but perhaps my letter did not reach you. Miller did nothing for Harry. Pacheco wrote to Johnson to give Harry the Deputyship, but as he (or Johnson) will have to please his bondsmen, it is doubtful that he will be able to do anything, excepting perhaps to give an Inspectorship! This is too much of a come down, so you may imagine how heavy my heart is! . . . Therefore, I have been thinking very steadily, and, naturally, my thoughts have gone to you often. And now. I have this to say to you, viz.that if you can and will do what I am going to propose that you will get me out of my troubles and help yourself too besides. The plan is this: 1st. I will send to you (or Prof. Price) 20 bags (about one ton) of the hydraulic lime to make the desired testimmediately. 2nd. If the result is satisfactory, you or Prof. Price (or both) to come and examine the deposit of the lime; the facilities for operations, hauling to shipping, wood, water, roads, etc., etc. 3rd. If the deposit is of such extent & every thing else favorable, enough to justify an undertaking in a large scale, then in getting the necessary capital for the operation, to get ten thousand dollars ($10,000) besides to be advanced to me and to be paid out of the first money coming to us as our share in the business! The reason for my requiring this sum is, that in the event of our law suits having the appearance of being protracted much longer after next October, we may be able to effect a compromise and stop litigation. I feel confident we can do so, as LeachNougues lawyersaid a few days ago that if Mrs. Burton would offer
489
to compromise now she could do so for less money than last year. They see we have the advantage and chances of winning entirely on our side. But they annoy us and keep us in litigation for a long time. So then, if that lime deposit is large enough to justify being developed in a large scale, isnt [it] better to pay $10,000 and have Jamul free, able to be utilized? Now it is tied up, useless, when in a few months after the lime working was underway the $10,000 would be paid off easily. I hope I have explained myself well. I mean that the $10,000 be advanced only in the event of the lime and its quantity being satisfactory. Meantime, please explain to Prof. Price that he is to keep the whole matter very quiet, because it would be disastrous for us to have it known; it might defeat the entire negotiation. Judge Heydenfeldt advises our keeping the matter quiet also, and for that reason I have not sent the lime before. But after thinking about it for many months, I have come to the conclusion that if you and Professor Price and those you may associate with you will be careful and not mention names, there can be no danger of Nougues hearing a word until the money is offered to him and this might be done through Judge Heydenfeldt very easily. Please write to me immediately so that no more time be lost in sending the ton of lime. At the same time I will send you the refusal. You had better tell me how you want it drawn up and for how long a time, etc., etc. If you and Prof. Price like my plan I can send the lime by the end of this month or 1st of Sept. Explain to Prof. Price that the money shall be put in some bank subject to Judge Haydenfeldts order and to be paid only on condition of the rancho being perfectly free and with a clear title, so that any arrangement about the lime will be perfectly valid; only on condition of all litigation being ended.Thus there can be no risk in the undertaking as everything will be examined beforehand to your satisfaction.
490
But, unless there be an agreement to make the necessary advance of money to stop the lawsuits, I dont think it would be judicious to move in the matter at all. Let me know what you think. As soon as I can, I will send you the little specimen of foliated talc I mentioned in my last letter. You can tell Prof. Price that there is an abundance of it in my land in Lower California. It is much valued in China and Japan where it brings $300 per ton I am told. My dear Professor, do try to help my plan, I think it is very fair. I leave the terms to you for I know you will be just to me and always believe me your true and affectionate friend, M.A. de Burton P.S. I suppose I might as well tell you now, and not make it the subject of another letter, that I should not be surprised if after all these long years of waiting, the water supply of the Jamul rancho might be appreciated. That is to say, if the Bostonians of our brooked railroad have some more sense than they have thus far displayed. The fact of the matter is, that their R.R. is from nowhere to nowhere and has nothing to carry and nobody to bring! About the 1st of this month the Atchison & Topeka R.R. man sent a Mr. Robinson to look after the R.R. matters in San Diego and report. This Mr. Robinson seemed to have eyes in his head and he saw things in their true and painful light, and among other things he saw that the R.R. Co., has about 50 to 60,000 acres of dry land which cant be sold at $3 per acre but that would sell at $50 and at $100 if there was water to irrigate it. He went to Riverside and saw that the success of that colony is all owing to having water to irrigate. Putting all these things together with a few remarks he made to me, I am inclined to think that he will recommend the Jamul Water Supply, which though it is not a river, it is all that their lands can have to make them salable at all. Of course I am supposing that those Bostonians will not be more stupid than they have been but will at last recognize the fact that they must
491
make business for their road; and that to do that they must bring people to their lands; and that people must drink water; and that vegetation also requires water! I am very curious (not to say anxious) to hear what will be your opinion upon this subject after you see Jamul. When you come to see the lime-beds you will pass through the narrow gorge where the big reservoir ought to be. But I will not bother you any more now. Ill let you rest. Only please bear in mind that I am anxious to get your reply to my proposition. And this I cannot but hope it will be acceptable because the promise to make the money advance, etc., will be [made] only provided that the quantity as well as quality of the lime and everything else be satisfactory. Yours affectionate, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 5 September 1882, Jamul, California My dear Professor, I wrote you on the 16th of August, did you get my letter? As it was about that hydraulic lime business, it is very important to me, and I am anxious to get your answer. Please write to me, I am afraid you are sick, else you would have written. If you cant write, tell Mr. Lawson to do so for you, but I hope you are not sick. Your affectionate friend, M.A. Burton MARB to J. S. Lawson. 16 September 1882, San Diego, California My dear Mr. Lawson, Please, do me the favor to forward the enclosed to the Professor, if he is still absent. And, do, write to me by return of mail letting me know when he will be in San Francisco.
492
I fear you forgot your promise to write to me and let me know what Mr. Dore said to you. I hope you will accept this as a reminder and kindly excuse my sending it. My love to Mrs. Lawson, and you both believe me your sincere friend keeping in kind remembrance my sincere regard, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 16 September 1882, San Diego, California My dear Professor, On the 16th of August I wrote you a long letter regarding the matter of the hydraulic lime, and on the 5th of this month wrote again! Where are you? I will send this to Mr. Lawson to forward it, and please do not delay answering me for I am sick with anxiety. My boy has been so shamefully treated, that to think of it sends a knife through my heart, So I want to try to get him something to do independent of political friends. Moreover, if you can make a success of that lime business we might then get rid of the hateful law suits. With all these things in view, I wrote you that I will send you or Prof. Price the ton of lime he wants for testing it; with this understanding, viz. that if the test is satisfactory, you, or he, or both will come to examine the deposit (or ledge) and if this examination is sufficiently satisfactory for you both to undertake the business, that then in procuring the necessary capital, you will get $10,000 besides to be advanced to me to compromise our lawsuit and clear the rancho of all litigation. This advance of $10,000 to be paid out of the first monies that might come to us as our share in the enterprise. You see, I ask for this advance only in the event of every thing being satisfactory, so that there will be no risk in making it.
493
Do answer me, at once, I will lose no time in sending 20 sacks of the lime for Prof. Price to try. Harry, after all, was cheated out of every thing, leaving him nothing but the choice of being Boarding Master or inspector, and as he is poor and married he feels that bitter as the cup is, [he] must gulp it down. Senators Miller and Pacheco both promised that he should be Deputy to Capt. Johnson, who is made the Collector, but now the Capt. has appointed a man named Shepherd, who keeps a book store. The excuse Johnson gives is the unkindest thing of all, being that as Harry has been so bitterly attacked it would not please the community to have him for Deputy. So my son must be hunted down because a lot of hounds want to bark and bite him. Are you going to Valparaso to observe the transit of Venus? If you are, then there is an additional reason to hasten the examination of the lime so that the business may be underway before you go. Do write to me immediately for I am nearly at the end of my strength with my load of anxiety. Ever your sincere friend, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 13 April 1883, San Diego, California My dear Professor, Why is it that you will not write to me any more? What have I done? Are you angry with me? I am not conscious of having done anything to deserve your displeasure. If it has fallen upon me it is entirely unawares. Still, hoping that this time you will send a reply, I willonce morewrite you about the lime I sent to Mr. Price; but mind (please) do not think I want to tease you into having any interest in the matter other than what has become absolutely necessary in as much as Prof. Price will do nothing (so Mr. McDonald says)
494
unless you request it, and I am very anxious about calcinating the lime. If Prof. Price will not try to make any further experiments unless you ask him to do so, it is clear that I am thus absolutely obliged to trouble you with the matter, for it is of too much importance to me to give it up. Prof. Price told me in person, that if I sent him a ton of the lime he would make all the necessary tests in burning it, etc. Afterwards, when you told him you would have nothing more to do with the matter, he said to Mr. McDonald that although he was not to be interested either that if I sent the ton of lime he wanted, he would nevertheless make careful experiments, and would wait for his compensation until I made some negotiation which enabled me to pay him. This seemed to me very kind and fair, and so I sent him 15 bags of the lime(2100 lbs.)I would have sent it many months sooner, but I waited for legal developments. Now things are changed. The Supreme Court has given me my homestead, and Judge McNealy at last malgre lui has appointed appraisers to go to the rancho and set it out for me. They will go next Monday (the 16th) and then, it does not seem clear how there can be any more delay in allowing me my rights, or why the opponents should interfere. So then, I hope you will not object to do me the favor of seeing Prof. Price at once and ask him to make the experiments now. By the time ( or before) these tests are made, the appraisers will have sent in their reports, and as my homestead will not be interfered with, we will be at liberty to work the lime as we please. Mr. McDonald told me that he showed you (in the map you have of Jamul) where the Sec. line is that, if followed by the appraisers, will leave the line inside my homestead. They must do so, and truly, they ought to give me much more land, as by the law governing the case, I ought to have my homestead appraised according to the value the land had in 1869, when the General died. The Judge says in his
495
instructions that they must make the appraisement according to Sec. 1465 C.C.P. which makes that rule. Taking all these things into consideration I do not see why you should have any fear that we cannot work the lime. Still, (as I said) even if you yourself do not wish to have any interest in the matter, at least, in my behalf, ask Prof. Price to make those tests in calcination, and speak to persons of your acquaintance who might wish to take some interest. I would also thank you with all my heart if you give me your advise (sic) in the matter. Mr. Manson said that there will be no difficulty in finding market for all the cement we could make if good. So, it seems to me the first thing to be done now is for the Prof. to find out how it is best to burn the lime, and then how to make the cement. At all events, I trust you will write to me some answer. Prof. Price has not condescended as yet to answer the letter I sent when the 15 bags of lime went, so all I know is, that he will do nothing unless you wish it. This being the case I hope you will write to me for I am very, very anxious. Remaining always yours sincerely, M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 13 May 1883, San Diego, California My dear Mr. Barlow, Your two last letters of April 21st and 24th are before me. I know only too well, by sad experience, that the title will have to be perfected. If I had had money to go to Mexico to obtain another patent, I would long ago have been able to sell or colonize that property and return to you the sum due you. But because to go to Mexico has been more expensive than I can afford, I have been obliged to let that fine property remain useless. I have done all that can be accomplished by letter. Now personal representation is, I know, absolutely necessary,
496
and convinced of this, I am willing to go to Mexico and get the Patent myself if you will share the expenses with me. More than this I cannot do, though I would with pleasure. In the arbitration sent you by Mr. Rogersyou can see among the decrees issued through the Dept. of the Interior (Ministerio de Fomento) one dated July 68 in which the President of Mexico recognizes as included in the ratification of 1859 (upon which the Patent for five sitios was issued) all the land within the original boundaries. By this decree, the Government of Mexico is committed, pledged, to respect and protect my title to the entire tract. This important fact makes [it] easier for us to obtain the Patent. Still, some one will have to attend to it personally, and properly, for there are plenty of people ready to jump at the land so soon as they see we are not going to get it. Before this is done, we must decide definitely as to the choice of boundary. My opinion is, that as we have to get a Patent anyway, why not try to get to the summit, provided that the additional expense will not be great and when the additional amount of timber land will be so very much? To proceed rightly upon this point we must first make a statement of facts to the Government explaining why no correct map has been made. And no corrected Patent having been issued yet, I am of [the] opinion that we might get the entire tract as easily as to the foot of the Sierra. You must first decide upon the choice of boundaries before I write to Sr. Romero. In the last letter I received from him he says that (when he was about to leave Mexico) he went in person to speak to the Ministro de Fomento about my land matters and was told that I had refused to accept the Government survey and consequently no Patent had been issued. This of course is erroneous, but I can easily explain why I did not accept the survey offered to me. I did explain it before but it is forgotten. Since my good friend Sr. Balcrcel is no longer Minister of Fomento, I find [it] much more difficult to be heard. The new Ministers do not understand the case and no
497
one interested being there to explain it for us, it is neglected in some pigeon hole. I can write to Romero when he returns from Europe, but it would be better to talk to him and ask him to give me letters for the President and the Minister of Fomento. This is the best plan, but it is for you to say what we must do. Your suggestion about raising the small loan is very kind but impracticable at present. You are the only person that might make such negotiation when you are in possession of facts to show a fair prospect of placing the property in the market with a recognized value. Hoping that you had made further progress I wrote about the loan. It is indeedas you saysurprising that so many far less advantageous enterprises are undertaken while this property remains undeveloped. It is all owingI am sureto the obvious perversity of mankind; because natural depravity must assert itself. Why are so many good and beautiful women unfortunate, married to worthless men, while hideous females have splendid husbands and live in the lap of wealth? Quin sabe! I feel confident that if you persevere you will succeed. I wish I were in New York now to help you. If I could have gone with my letters, I could have been of assistance to you by speaking to Romero about getting the Patent. But as I cant go inside of a letter, and as I cant walk nor fly to New York, here I remain. This is sad indeed for all this wear and tear of mind has at last broken my health somewhat. Still, my principal anxiety is for Nellie. She is entirely too desponding. She will write to you soon she says. She sends you her best wishes and begs you to try your best to succeed for her sake as well as your own. I see so many people trying to buy land in Mexico for colonies. Could you not try to organize a colony easier than to sell the property? The English people are buying lands for colonies too, and even the Turks are establishing colonies in Fresno County, California, and other places on the coast.
498
By the by, do you know a Mr. O. Wheeler, N. York broker, who is establishing mining operations at San Isidro south of Ensenada? His mines are no better than those at our San Antonio! Write soon please something encouraging. Yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 24 May 1883, San Diego, California My dear Professor At last! you can speak to your friends about developing the lime deposit. By the appraisement just made, it is inside of the lines of my homestead, and I write you at once that you may go to work immediately. Do not blame me for hurrying you. Besides the powerful reasons you know that urge me so very cruelly, there is another one in the fact that it will make a great difference in the disposition I make of my homestead if the lime is worked or not. I mean this; that if the lime is worked, I can get a much better rent for the place, and there are already four applicants for it though no one knows about the lime. So you can see how anxious I am to hear whether you can succeed in interesting anyone and how soon theyll begin. As Prof. Price has plenty of the lime, he can make his experiments in calcination now that we are sure not to be interfered with. When are you coming down and are you coming [for] sure? I suppose the first thing to be done will be to prospect to find out the extent of the deposit. A man here has a boring apparatus, and I suppose you can get him to bore in a few places to ascertain the depth. Please write to me soon just as soon as you have seen your friends. Remember how anxious I am. It is in you now that I place my hopes. I feel very confident that the enterprise can be successful if managed properly, because the lime has been proved to be so very good many years ago. It seems to me that
499
so good a material must be desired by the many companies making artificial stone. I write in great hurry as soon as I heard that the lime is inside the homestead. When you come I will tell you how I worked for it. I shall expect a letter from you in 8 days from now. That gives you four days to feel the pulse of your friends and send this one a good medicine for heartache. Ever the same affectionate, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 5 June 1883, San Diego, California My dear Professor, I wrote you on the 14th of last month, did you get my letter? As nearly two weeks have elapsed, I fear you have not been successful or perhaps too busy with other matters to attend to mine. In either case, please have the kindness [to] let me know. It is superfluous to repeat how anxious I am. You know it only too well! Perhaps Mr. Manson might help you to find the proper persons to take hold of that enterprise. Shall I write to him, or will you speak to him? I say nothing to Prof. Price as he will do only what you say. Perhaps when you tell him that all the legal obstructions are now removed and the lime deposit is inside of my homestead, he will view the matter more favorably. If I am not mistaken, it appears that what is to be ascertained next is the right point of calcination and the extent of the depositThis lime used to be burned years ago very successfully by very ignorant Californians who had no scientific training but years of practice to guide them, and by mixing the lime with sand from the arroyos, made cement that no water could dissolve.As for the extent of the deposits we can guess at the surface of it, but as we have never made deep excavations we cant tell the depth. Would it cost much to
500
bore in some different places to find out how deep it might be? There is a man here who has an apparatus for boring artesian wells and as he is not busy now I think he would perhaps bargain to make the examination at a reasonable figure. Then the next thing to consider will be the cost of production There is wood & water near, I am sure it would be better to bring coal by the ship load from Oregon or Puget Sound which costs, put on the wharf here, Harry says, $6 per ton. The additional cost of hauling to the rancho would not be heavy as the same teams that would bring in the lime, could take the coal on their return trip. So, I think it will be far better to burn the lime right near where it is found, than to bring it here even if you have to take the coal there. For Mercys sake, when are you coming? Only think how long I have been working and waiting and suffering to have that cement put in market and you forget me entirely! I saw in the newspapers that Col. R. Savage is in a company that makes artificial stone pavements, etc. Why not speak to him about our lime? That is to say, if your friends decline. By the 9th or 10th of this month, I hope to get a letter from you, that is, if you care for my peace of mind, my bodily comfort and my life in the hereafter! Let me see how much you care for your sincere friend, M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 5 September 1883, San Diego, California My dear Mr. Barlow, I have done as you say and tried to get the patent by writing to Mexico, but I assure you, it cannot be done unless someone is specially in charge of the matter. My friends will assist meas they have done beforewith their good word and influential advocacy, but I cannot expect that they will take the trouble to do all that seems to be necessary.
501
If I were in Washington, I think I could get Mr. Romero to help me, but I would have to talk to him. Writing wont do. I think, my dear Mr. Barlow, that you will have to make up your mind to spend a little money (not much) before we can get that patent. It appears to me that the Mexicans now have an idea that they ought to imitate the Americans and make it as difficult as possible for poor people to get their land titles fixed. However, if I could go to Mexico myself, I feel very confident I could succeed, but I told you the reason why I cannot go. We have not spoken about San Antonio. The reason I have not, is because it is occupied by a woman who says I have abandoned it. This I have never intended to do, but as the President of the Comisin de BaldosSr. Canalizosaid I must have other copies of the title than those I presented, and as yet I have not been able to obtain others, all I could do is, remain quiet until I am able to have my rights properly represented in Mexico City. I believe however, that you who have plenty of money would do well to have some of the mines at San Antonio looked into for they are undoubtedly very rich, principally in silver and copper. Many have been prospected but abandoned for want of capital to work. There is one of those abandoned mines now worked for the talc in it. It was found out lately that this talc is superior to that which in China and Japan is sold for $300 per ton, so two menRyerson and M. Coronichave gone to work to get the talc which is mixed with the copper. It is called foliated talc and used for ornamenting cabinets, boxes, fans, etc. It looks like enameling, or mother of pearl. It makes also beautiful wall paper. I will send you a small specimen for you to see. A friend of mine who was interested in a mine there many years ago, told me a few days since, that he had some of that San Antonio Copper ore, found mixed with talc assayed, and besides the per cent of silver it contained $20 of gold to the ton. But because he did not know that talc carried gold he thought that the gold got mixed with the ore in the assayers
502
office and did not believe it was in the talc. But now it has been discovered that talc is often rich in gold, and no doubt those talc mines at San Antonio are rich in gold besides their silver and copper. If you think I may be mistaken or misinformed, please, I beg of you, do send some one you can trust to examine those mines. There are several and you can have your choice. One only will more than repay you all your outlay. Moreover, if you start some work there, it will give value to both tracts of land. I am sorry you do not take more interest in those properties. If I had one tenth of your money, I would make them yield millions very soon. But I fear that all I can say will not give you any faith. And yet, I do not ask you to believe me without first examining the facts yourself. Then again, as people are more disposed now to go into speculations in Mexico, I am sure you can (if you wish) get some of your friends to join you in working some of those San Antonio mines. Send your man to examine them. Ill see that they are properly located and you can start to work at once. I do not advise you to go to the expense of creating costly hoisting works, mills, etc. You can begin and work on economically until the outtake justifies further expenditures. I will send you a better opinion of the talc afterwards. This I send now is from the surface and one of the pieces is of the talc after [it has] been washed. The other is mixed with the green carbonate of copper. The ledge is wide and over a mile long. There [are] others which might be richer. All are inside of the San Antonio boundaries. I hope you will have something encouraging to tell me about your man in Germany. Try the English, they are making purchases of land in Mexico. What price did you ask for the Ensenada without San Antonio? And supposing I could sell the property, what is the lowest you would take for your interest?
503
I am so weary of waiting for so many sad years that nearly I am ready to accept any reasonable terms. My ambition is not so soaring as it used to be. My health is, I fear, giving way under the pressure of so much trouble, so if I am kept in this state of anxiety much longer I am sure I shall not have the health to bear it. My years of usefulness will be over. So please, I beg that you do not delay in trying to utilize those lands. They are truly valuable. If you will help me to get the Patent we can do so, but I alone, I cannot. Remember all I have done alone. All will be as much for your benefit as for mine. Why then will you not now do your share. It is fair. I ask of you only what I think is just. Nellie sends her best regards. She is a little better, but those nerves of hers are very rebellious and still refuse obedience. If I could take her away from this even temperature for a few months, it would be very beneficial. So please let us try to effect something with those lands or the mines, that I may have the means to take my Nellie to a colder climate for a while. She has been very sick, the poor child. Let me hear from you soon and believe me always kindly yours, etc. M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 9 June 1884, San Diego, California My deal Professor, Mr. McDonald has just returned from San Francisco and tells me you have gone to Washington. As he tells me also, that you are as friendly towards me as ever, I venture to write this with a request, an earnest request, though made with a faint heart. You will, I suppose, have business in Congress and will be in contact with influential legislators; my dear friend, try to get my widows pension increased from $30 to 50 per month! That is little enough, God knows!
504
I see that several widows of Army officers, whose husbands were not in the least more meritorious than mine, or had more rank than he had, have obtained from Congress a pension of $50 per month, and some, an additional allowance of $5,000 at once. So here you have enough precedents. Moreover my husband died from the effects of sickness contracted during the war, as it was, shown when my pension was allowed to me in 70. If you will exert yourself for me a little bit, I think you can succeed in getting Senator Millers help, which if he wished he can make very effective. The same can be said of General Rosecrans. Please speak to both. There is no use in my writing to them. I am too unimportant for them to do anymore than throw my epistle in the waste-basket. Particularly the Senator. I wrote to the General a few days ago about the allowance of 3 months extra pay approved by Congress for services in the Mexican War, and which the disbursing officers of the Treasury Dept. have obstinately refused to pay. They have fought against the poor disheartened beneficiaries for over 38 years, and now the matter went through the Court of Claims and is appealed to the Supreme Court, and it is contended that the little pittance must be shaved down more than half! If Congress wishes, the agony might be stopped at any day, as the pretext of the Controllers and Auditors of the Treasury is that Congress meant to say what it didnt. So, if Congress will have the kindness to say to the Treasury gentlemen, that it does speak English and it meant what it said then we might get our pittance. If Gen. Rosecrans will do me the kindness to bring the matter before Congress it could be arranged at once. Please see him. Tell him that I asked and begged you to beg him not to disregard my request. I suppose he got my letter. You can get an introduction to Senator Harley and Mr. Tally, who is from this district. Speak to them about the increase of my pension to $50 per month. It can be done if they will.
505
The Court here has made such a sweeping decision in our case, that it has swept away my homestead and every acre of our land. The man has no more sense of justice or idea of honor than a sorrel mule. I feel desperate, as you may suppose. I have been writing a book, so I hope you wont scold me for being indolent. I dont know whether I shall publish it under my own name, so I want to keep the matter quiet yet. Only two or three friends know I am writing it. I want to publish it this fall, in September. This is an additional reason for my wishing to get my 3 months extra pay, and my pension increased, to have this much to help me with the publication. Will you try to help me? Please do so. If I am able to pay for the stenotype plates I will make something; if not, all the profit will go the pocket of the publishers and book-sellers. I would like to be ready in August, so you try to see what can be done to get me that little money in July. Will you, please? Write to me and tell me when you will return . . . I think I shall be in San Francisco in August, that is, I shall try. Hoping to hear from you soon and that you are well and happy, I remain always your faithful and sincere friend, M.A. de Burton As soon as you have seen those gentlemen write to me what they say, please. [on margin: Received June 21 84 and answered June 22] MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 December 1884, San Francisco, California [fragments] . . . que el enviado de Mr. Easton traiga buenos informes del terreno. Escrbame lo que hizo, o dijo a Ud. sobre el negocio. Yo tambin le escribir si oigo decir algo. Pero mejor quisiera decrselo de palabra, as es que espero verlo muy luego, y que traiga a mi prima.
506
De veras Don Guadalupe que Uds. los dos deben tener el dinero suficiente para vivir descansados en su vejez. Yo no le aconsejara que venda todo su terreno, pero s, lo suficiente . . . . . . difcil hallar quin compre toda la propiedad, pero que si Ud. la pone en el mercado y vende unos cuantos blocks para atraer gente, que entonces se vender mucho mejor que con slo ponerla de venta que ya le da un crdito comercial y hace que la gente la considere sobre una base de utilidad negociable; dice tambin que l en lugar de Ud., negociara un prstamo con algn banco por tres o cuatro aos, con el privilegio de . . . . . . mndele algn recadito a Mr. Easton porque l me dijo que lo esperaba. Ayer le mand la circular de aviso anunciando el libro. La recibi? Acurdese que hace ya mucho tiempo que no me escribe, qu, ser posible que est Ud. muy enfermo? Si as fuere, avsemelo por telgrafo. Dgame alguna cosa, ya esto es mucho silencio. Su fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California [fragments] . . . para atender a sus negocios. Pero estoy tan atareada y tan acongojada que no s qu hacer. Todos han quedado bastante mal conmigo. No le digo ms para reservarlo para cuando Ud. venga. Basta decirle que nadie me ha cumplido una sola promesa y anoche me escribi el impresor dicindome que necesita $100 ahora para seguir con la impresin! Ya Ud. comprender como estar de acosada. Ojal que Ud. estuviera aqu para . . . Esperando verlo el viernes o sbado a ms tardar. Creo que tambin Ud. debe venir a ver eso de los spoils; O decir hoy
507
que Pedro Carrillo est aqu procurando conseguir un empleo de $4000 al ao. No se duerma. Nadie tiene mayor derecho que Ud. a ser bien colocado, pero acurdese que a quien no habla nadie oye. Deseando verlo muy luego, soy siempre su fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California [fragments] . . . venderse mejor etc. etc. Cuando Ud. venga le explicar mejor todo lo que me dijo sobre el particular. Tambin dijo que ser bueno comenzar a advertise it ahora luego pero no apurarse a vender de prisa y mejor esperar hasta el mes de mayo o junio para hacer ventas. Sus ideas me parecen muy buenas y convenientes a Ud. Y creo tambin (aunque l no lo dijo) que quiz l le ayudar a Ud. a negociar un prstamo . . . . . . primero para decirle todo lo que me dijo. El libro ya sali a luz. Pobre hijito feto mo! Como ya Mr. Easton vio el inventario no s [si] Ud. querr que lo traduzca, si as fuere lo har con gusto. Estoy muy ocupada porque tengo que cambiarme de esta casa para el da 3 y no s todava donde me alojar. Me disgusta tanto empacar mis tiliches. Buenas noches. Venga luego que pueda. Su fiel amiga. M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California [fragments] . . . plan que quiere comunicarle; creo que es poner de venta unos 20 o 30 acres a precio ms bajo primero y despus ir subiendo el precio de modo que al fin sale lo mismo que si
508
hubiera puesto un precio igual por todo el terreno, y de este modo se hacen ventas ms luego. Dgame cuando viene o si mi prima sigue enferma. Tengo mucho que contarle [en] cuanto a las suscripciones de mis paisanos. No quiero . . . MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California [fragments] . . . poder ir yo en persona a ver qu le suceda. No se queden tan solitos, Ud. y mi prima. Entre tantos hijos y nietos es fuerza de obligacin que alguno venga a acompaarlos. Exjalo Ud. y le obedecern. Es preciso que sea Ud. un poquito egosta, mi buen amigo, y que piense ms en su propio bienestar, y menos en el bienestar de otros. Que Ud. y mi prima estn bien cmodos es lo ms importante. No hay ni la ms . . . MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California [fragments] . . . Venga, venga, es necesario, Cramelo . . . . . . luego tropezando bajan a prisita a la tumba. As pues, mi buen amigo, le suplico que se cuide a s mismo y cuide a mi prima con esmero porque es necesario que los dos no tengan trabajos ni fsicos ni mentales. Ojal que yo pudiera evitar los mos que me acosan sin cesar. Lueguito que me sea dable, me voy a descansar. Mientras tanto, sigo adelante con mi carga que es ciertamente demasiado pesada para mis hombros. No quiero decirle aqu . . . . . . Que Dios me ayude. S an lo que me van a criticar. En fin. Qu lluevan espadas. Yo slo digo verdades. Mr. Easton lo est esperando, qu le digo? l dice que cuando las lluvias comiencen ser ms difcil andar el negocio si no se le ha dado un principio.
509
Escrbame si puede; mas que sea una lnea dicindome cmo est y cundo viene. Cudese bien. Su fiel amiga como siempre, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 December 1885, Commercial Hotel, San Francisco or Oakland, California [fragments] . . . y le contar todo. Tambin aqu tengo un libro que una Sra. le regala y me lo encarg para drselo a Ud. Su afa. amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. December 1885 [?], San Francisco, California [fragments] . . . me fue necesario ir a Oakland y no pude regresar ms luego. Estoy muy de prisa. No le digo que venga ms temprano maana por que tal vez le sea molesto y yo tambin tengo que estar fuera como una media hora a las diez. Lo espero sin falta. Su fiel amiga siempre, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 2 January 1886, San Francisco, California My dear Professor I did what I could but not having a dictionary of any language whatever I have to translate by guesswork. So I did not know how to translate Mercometegrafo and the word study I only imagined it must be that for I could not make it out and it looked to me like estudio.
510
You ought to know, as it is you who sent them the machine. I am sorry you are sick, so am I. This terrible exile from home is killing me slowly, but sureDead or alive I am your faithful and much misunderstood sincere friend. M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 10 January 1886, San Francisco, California My dear Professor, Please try to send me the map tomorrow (Monday) if you can, or next day if it is not finished now. I am sorry to trouble you about itand I hope you will excuse me. Yours always truly, M.A. de Burton [at bottom: The Florence, Corner of Powell and Ellis, Jan. 10th, 1886Sunday, p.m.] MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 January 1886, San Francisco, California Don Guadalupe, Acabo de recibir su muy grata de ayer. Miles y miles de sinceras gracias por su bondad de copiar mis papeles. No creo que debamos omitir ni un slo papel, puesto que para el apeo y deslinde la copia del ttulo tiene que ser facsmile. As pues, perdneme que le suplique de no dejar fuera nada, sino copiarlos en orden cronolgico as como se lo expliqu. La venta esa en ingls, fue hecha por mi mam y mis tas, y debe seguir el ttulo de mi abuelito, es decir, la posesin dada por Salgado. No cambie nada, hgame favor de slo cambiar lo que le dije y lo dems djelo como est. Ya Ud. ver, despus de la venta en ingls siguen la Patente, y los documentos o decretos del Gobierno ratificando mi ttulo.
511
Este orden cronolgico me parece mejor que poner apndices para evitar confusin (in the American mind) al leer tanto documento. As pues, hgame el favor de seguir adelante tal como estn los papeles. Y venga luego que pueda, y (si puede), trigame la copia ya hecha pues quiero remitirla lo ms pronto posible para que Federico pida la posesin. Eso de que se la den, es otra cosa . . . Me han dicho que Hller debe de estar aqu de un da a otro de vuelta de la Capital. Ya vendi 20,000 acres (al oeste de Guadalupe) a 25 cts. per acre. Pobre suelo mexicano! Cunto te menosprecian! Espero verlo muy luego y quedo como siempre su fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 5 February 1886, San Francisco, California My dear Professor, Once again I come to you to ask a favor, most disagreeable to both. But I hope it will be the last (of the kind) I shall have to ask. Please lend me twenty five dollars today, and if possible, send them with the messenger (or with your man). I shall now get my homestead very soon, and as Harry writes me that I can sell it well or get a loan, I will have some money as soon as the papers can be made out. But it will take nearly a month before I can have any money, so I hope you do not think I am imposing on [your] good nature to trouble you. Believe me I am obliged to do so. I send a list of the sums you have loaned me, all of which I will return with pleasure very soon now. Again my dear friend, let me repeat to you that I would not bother you if I were not so disagreeably situated today. I will tell you more when I see you. Your faithful friend, M.A. de Burton
512
P.S. What about the Antonito, will the Prof. make the assay? Sums: $20 20 60 25 $100 30 for the book 25 5
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 July 1886, San Diego, California Don Guadalupe, Por qu no me escribe? Supongo que su negociacin con Mr. McCulloch no tuvo efecto, pero sa no es razn para que nuestra amistad se acabe y Ud. no me escriba ya jams. Como Ud. me prometi escribirme avisndome el resultado de sus esfuerzos, yo he estado esperando su carta, hace ms de dos meses, con mucha paciencia y buena voluntad. As pues, ahora en premio de esa paciencia y esa buena voluntad, espero que Ud. me cumpla su promesa de decirme los nombres y direccin en Inglaterra de esos Seores (todos los que Ud. pueda obtener) para mi gobierno. Bien podr ser que me sirva mucho saber quines son los que tal vez podrn interesarse en comprar mis terrenos. Y para que Ud. vea que sta no es una conjetura infundada, le dir (en lo reservado) y como a mi amigo que creo siempre fiel, la razn que tengo para querer saber quines sean esos Seores. Est ahora en la Ensenada examinando los terrenos, su situacin, etc., etc. un Seor que vino de Europa con el objeto de comprar un terreno grande para plantar all una colonia. Yo no s si este Seor pueda o no estar en conexin con los otros de Ud. pero si Ud. me har el favor de decirme sus nombres, muy luego lo sabr. El baj a la Ensenada en el Newborn el da 8, y creo que estar aqu en cosa de diez o doce das. As pues, le suplico a Ud. que no pierda tiempo en contestarme sta, y decirme esos nombres. Dgame tambin cul fue la suma de dinero que Uds. pidieron para yo arreglar mi pre-
513
cio, ms o menos, por el que Uds. dijeron, para que no diga l que yo cambio el precio de mi terreno cada rato. Me parece que Ud. me dijo que Uds. pidieron a doce reales por acre, y despus me dijo que pidieron $500,000 por todo, pero como Ud. no me quiso hablar con franqueza (quiz por temor de ofender a Mr. Palmer) yo no s de fijo qu tanto fue lo que Uds. pidieron. Dgamelo ahora, Don Guadalupe, puesto que ahora Mr. Palmer en nada puede perjudicarse y a m el saberlo tal vez ser til. Dgame todo, todo lo que haya ocurrido sobre este particular, y crame que no olvidar tan buen servicio y lo corresponder como su buena amiga. Acurdese tambin que en negrmelo de nada le sirve a Ud. Es probable que de todos modos yo haga la venta, as es que al ayudarme con sus buenas observaciones quiz me har un buen servicio sin daar a nadie. Por supuesto que tal vez no vender a este Seor, pero a juzgar por apariencias, parece que s. l trae cartas de recomendacin para m y est muy empeado en comprar un terreno grande, eso es todo lo seguro por ahora. Hgame el favor, Don Guadalupe, de no decirle a nadie lo que aqu le comunico. Ya Ud. sabe, mejor que yo, que algunos de su familia son mis enemigos, y as Emparn tendra gusto en escribir a Mxico alguna cosa para hacerme un dao. Ya l ha hecho contra m todo lo que ha podido (como Ud. sabe) y habra hecho ms si Ud. no hubiera interpuesto su buena influencia, y si l no hubiera visto que estando Ud. interesado podra daarlo a Ud. Realmente todava est Ud. interesado, y mi prima tambin, pues no me olvido de mis promesas, pero esto Emparn no sabe, no lo creera si lo supiera; ya Ud. recordar lo que l ha dicho en contra de mis ttulos. Si no concluyo esta venta, entonces puede ser que escriba a Inglaterra (si Ud. me da esos nombres). En ese caso se lo avisar en tiempo. Dgame, no me dijo Ud. que el Duque de Sutherland era uno de los interesados o miembros del Syndicate a quien Capt. McCulloch y Mr. Sutherland (the lawyer) pensaban vender la Ensenada? Dgamelo todo, no me calle nada, puesto que de nada le servir a Ud. ocultarme ninguna circunstancia en esta materia.
514
Desde que llegu he estado bastante enferma. Fue buena fortuna que no me enfermara as antes de llegar a mi casa. En cuanto a nuestra litigacin, nada ha querido decidir el Juez McNealy. Se re l de la Corte Suprema, y con el pretexto que est enfermo, ni siquiera me ha dado mi homestead. Ya ve Ud. cmo yo tena razn de sentirme desesperada al or que la Corte Suprema haba enviado la causa aqu para que este Juez tan malvado y de alma tan negra la decida. El dice que est enfermo, pero para otros asuntos est bastante bueno. Ahora est en vacacin y otro Juez est en su lugar, pero para que nosotros no pudiramos ser odos de este Juez, el infame McNealy puso nuestra causa para fines de julio, y de este modo impedirnos de obtener justicia durante su ausencia. Cuando vuelva har lo mismo que antes, y slo Dios sabe hasta cundo ese Juez malvado y vil nos har sufrir. Todos estos sinsabores me tienen enferma, as espero que en lo que fuere de Ud. hacer, que lo har, y que no me negar el favor que aqu le pido, que ser tan fcil concederme y que tal vez me ser muy til. Saldeme a mi prima. Tambin Nellie y Harry le mandan a Ud. muchas saludes. Escrbame muy lueguito para que su carta est aqu antes que llegue el comprador. Si tengo buen xito me acordar de Ud., cramelo, y ver que soy siempre su fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 January 1887, San Diego, California Feliz Ao Nuevo. Muchas gracias por los papeles de Mxico que me mand, y espero que se acordar de m siempre que reciba los que traen cosas sobre terrenos o ttulos coloniales. Ya le envi copia del peridico Sun con la controversia ocasionada por la calumnia de Hller. Pero por temor de que ese papel se haya extraviado, cort otro y le incluyo todos los
515
artculos con la excepcin del 1, que fue la traduccin del dicho comunicado de Hller, el cual no tengo porque ya no haba ms ejemplares. He estado esperando su carta porque me la prometi. Cumpla su promesa. Yo no le haba escrito porque he estado, y estoy, muy ocupadsima. Este es el primer da, por ms de un mes, que haya tenido una media hora para escribirle. Y antespor meses pasadosno le haba escrito porque (como Ud. sabe) no me contest mi carta largusima que escrib en el verano. Esto me caus mucho sentimiento. Cre, y creo an, que Ud. me debera haber dicho el bueno o mal xito de su negociacin. Cuando le escrib, estaba actualmente en la Ensenada un Mr. Nol que quera llevar colonias all pero se desanim porque la Compaa Internacional lo tena todo invadido. Y as va el enredo. La compaa quiere despojar a todos los californios bajo el pretexto que todos hemos faltado al cumplimiento de las leyes y hemos perdido nuestros derechos. Casi todos los rancheros de la Frontera estn armados, listos a resistir si intentan desalojarlos. Yo espero que la Compaa vea el error de querer despojar [a] esa gente pacfica que ha vivido all por generaciones desde el tiempo del Rey. Gente buena, pero que defender sus hogares con la vida. La causa de Jamul ha sido pospuesta hasta el 15 de febrero! No le parece ahora que tena yo razn en sentir tanto, que la decisin de la Corte no fue ms terminante? Ya prevea en mi corazn que bamos a sufrir estas dilaciones. Escrbame y dgame lo que piensa de mis escritos. Y dgame, no tiene Ud. entre sus libros (escapados del fuego) uno que trate de los ttulos de terrenos dados en tiempo del Rey? Si tiene, prstemelo. Se lo cuidar mucho y devolver luego. Flix Gibert me ha escrito y le enva a Ud. muchas saludes. Luego, luego, escrbame. Su amiga fiel como siempre, M.A. de Burton
516
MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 4 February, 1887, San Diego, California My dear Mr. Barlow, Yours of January 18th came duly, but I had not written sooner because I have not been well for several days. I will of course try to pay back the money and stock as quickly as possible, but I do not see why you tell me that you will sell next month to other parties, unless you mean that you will transfer or assign your lien for your money-claim. You are too good a lawyer not to know that this moneyclaim is all the right which truly and justly you have in the property. This fact I know also, having consulted the best authorities in the United States. So, then, with this clear understanding of our relative positions, why do you say that you own in fee simple one half of the property? By so saying, you clearly imply that you would take a property so valuable by paying only $5,000 when the price agreed upon and expected, was $200,000 with additional advantages which were never obtained. I do not think you would be so unfair even if you could. But you are too good a lawyer not to be aware that you cannot. You might give me the trouble of a lawsuit and harass me cruelly, but I am too well informed regarding my rights in the matter not to know that you can only claim the money and stock. In regard to the 7% interest, I have only quoted you and Mr. Doyle. When you sent your reconveyance to him in 71, he wrote to me a note saying that the 7% would begin to run from the 11th of January 1871, until I paid you the $5,000 & stock. You wrote me the same thing; I have both letters on my table now. If you say that your claim, with the accumulated interest, amounts to $10,000, I suppose it must be so, and I shall pay you so soon as possible, whatever you may be entitled to, according to our agreement. The International Company is not willing to buy the Ensenada as they prefer to take it without paying for it, relying on the
517
hope that the Government of Mexico will perpetrate the outrage of despoiling me of my property on the pretext that I have not surveyed or cultivated it, and that I claim too much land. I do not see how you could do me any good in Mexico, as you can only act on the basis of a money claim against me. This certainly would be no help to me, but might do me much harm. If you had helped me when I asked you, then your assistance would have been most efficacious. Now it is too late. You are mistaken in thinking you have any right to my abstract and map. You forget that the way you came to get them was, because I wrote to Mr. F.L. Rogers of Boston in 1883 to send them to you (14 years after our agreement) because I hoped you could sell the property well. If I had thought you would keep them, I certainly would not have told Mr. Rogers to deliver them to you. But I relied on you in full confidence that you would return them whenever I asked you. Please write to Mr. Beaty to deliver them to me [the] originals, immediately, I need them. You tell me you are very friendly, disposed to treat me liberally, and do more than what is right. If so, prove it to me with your actions and let us have peace. I will send you the money and stock as soon as possible. Do not try to sell your claim. Nobody will give you any more than it is worth excepting myself. With kindest wishes, yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 May 1887, San Diego, California Don Guadalupe, Su muy grata del 14 lleg anoche y me apresuro a responderla, dndole mis ms sinceros agradecimientos por esta nueva prueba de su finsima y fiel amistad. El Sr. Fernndez o est equivocado o se le han olvidado algunos puntos de la cuestin esa de Todos Santos. La
518
razn porque yo le dirig a l mi ocurso fue porque l fue quien me respondi el que yo le haba dirigido al Ministro de Fomento. Por esta razn me pareci que sera como si yo lo quisiera ignorar a l, si le hubiera dirigido mi ocurso al Ministro directamente. Era necesario que yo hablara en defensa de mis derechos, pero jams he faltado a la cortesa que una Seora debe observar, ni al respeto que merece un caballero fino y pulcro como el Sr. Fernndez. El me hace mucha injusticia en creer [que] yo quise escribir en trminos inconvenientes, y si no fuera porque todo el Ministerio est contra m, tal vez no me juzgara con tanta severidad. Y por qu estn contra m? Porque no quiero que injustamente me quiten mis terrenos, y lo defiendo, y defender. Veo bien por los escritos del Sr. Fernndez y un Sr. Francisco Maza (quien escribi al Sr. Romero sobre esa cuestin) que el Sr. Pacheco y (quiz) el Sr. Daz quieren despojar mi ttulo de todo lo que le da fuerza y valor. Si uno va a juzgarlo llevndose de lo que dicen el Sr. Fernndez y el Sr. Maza, nadie, ninguno, ha tenido autoridad legal en la materia ms que este Presidente y este Ministro de Fomento, los dems fueron sombras. Pero como yo no me siento amedrentada veo bien el error, y veo que aunque quieran menospreciar el poder del Rey, y la autoridad de Arrillaga, y las fidedignas recomendaciones de los Padres mexicanos, y la revalidacin del benemrito Jurez, no podrn hacerlo legalmente. Podrn quiz hacer un despojo, que sera vergonzoso a todo Mxico, quitndome mis terrenos para drselos a la Compaa Internacional, pero sera nada ms que una tropela abusando del poder, y yo tengo fe en los mexicanos y creo que ellos no aprobarn tal cosa. Tiene Ud. mucha razn en pensar que sera bueno ir a Mxico. Ojal que se pudiera, pero la falta de recursos todo lo paraliza. Es muy triste y muy duro, dursimo, ver que esos hombres extraos sin mrito alguno, sin que hayan hecho servicios a Mxico se han metido a ni terreno y lo estn vendiendo y enriquecindose de lo mo, y yo no tengo ni siquiera
519
los medios para ir a Mxico y ver al Sr. Daz, o emplear algn abogado mexicano eminente que me defienda! El Sr. [Jos Mara] Yglesias desgraciadamente ya muri, pero quedan el Sr. Vallarta, el Sr. Daz Gonzlez y otros brillantsimos hombres que estoy segura me defenderan bien. Ya veremos. Por ahora no hay ms que tener paciencia puesto que, como dice el Sr. Fernndez, y como el Sr. Daz tambin lo ha dicho, la cuestin tiene que versarse en los tribunales; qu error! La cuestin es enteramente de la incumbencia del Ejecutivo. Todo lo que hay es, que el Ministro de Fomento dio repetidas rdenes, desde 68 hasta 72 a los jueces de la Frontera para que hicieran el apeo y deslinde de la Ensenada de Todos Santos, y los jueces desobedecieron, y as esas rdenes han quedado sin ser ejecutadas. Esto es todo. Cmo pus me presentar a los tribunales? Quejndome de los Jueces? Y porque el Ejecutivo no los compele a obedecer? Es realmente una injusticia obligarme a ocurrir a ningn tribunal ms que a la autoridad del Ejecutivo pero lo har si as me obligan. El Sr. Fernndez se equivoca. Yo no soy quien haya complicado la cuestin; ellos son, queriendo considerar la Ensenada como un baldo y queriendo ignorar las leyes que me favorecen. La misma ley del 22 de julio 63 en su Art. 6 me favorece, pero no lo conceden y dicen que slo puedo reclamar dos sitios. Es decir, La Cabida, y sta cuando los lmites son bien definidos. Veo bien, y con tristeza, que mis enemigos son muy poderosos pero s bien, que mi causa es justa y que slo violando las leyes de Mxico me quitarn mis terrenos. Escrbame otra vez y aconsjeme. Por qu no me ha enviado peridicos mexicanos? Nellie y Harry le mandan muy cariosos recuerdos. Los mos a mi prima desendole mil felicidades con Ud. y dems de familia. Siempre amiga fiel, M.A. de Burton
520
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 July 1887, San Diego, California Don Guadalupe, Su muy apreciada del da 13 con incluso borrador, lleg anoche, y hoy me apresuro a responder. No le haba contestado sus otras igualmente estimadas, por lo muy ocupada que estoy escribiendo cartas y artculos para los peridicos, sobre la materia de la Ensenada. Me estn haciendo una guerra cruel para quitarme la Ensenada, pero no creo que Sisson se saldr con la suya. Uno de los resultados que temo ms y que ms me duele es, que quiz me ver obligada a dar la mitad de esa propiedad para obtener los medios de compeler a la Compaa a que haga restitucin. No sera pues mucho mejor que mexicanos aprovecharan eso? Varias veces he pensado escribirle al Sr. Romero en Washington sugirindole que le dijera algo sobre esto a los Sres. Pacheco y Romero-Rubio por medio del Sr. Fernndez Leal, pero he temido que se ofenderan por que les parecera era una especie de soborno lo que yo propona, y yo no estoy all para explicarles mi idea. Y as no les he dicho nada a mis compatriotas, y sern tal vez los extranjeros no ms, los que se lleven el hallazgo. Si yo hubiera podido, habra ido a Mxico a explicarle yo misma al Sr. Daz cmo est todo este enredo. Entonces l vera que las cosas no van como la Compaa y otros enemigos mos le han representado, causando bastante indisposicin contra m. Todo esto, todo lo que ha pasado y est pasando en esta lucha desigual con la Compaa, lo siento mucho, muchsimo pero mi conciencia no me acusa en nada, puesto que he procurado y he estado dispuesta a entrar en algn arreglo con la Compaa por el cual se reconocieran mis derechos sin interrumpir el progreso de la empresa. Les he ofrecido darle a la Compaa la mitad de toda la concesin de la Ensenada, pero no la aceptaron. La quieren toda sin pagar por ella. Ya Ud. habr visto la publicacin del Mayor Sisson de lo que el llama el ttulo de la Compaa. Dgame lo que piensa
521
de todas esas tonteras. Espero que habr recibido los papeles que le he mandado de la Bee. All va todo. Si no los recibe avseme. Me gusta la idea del borrador incluso. Ojal que tuviera algn efecto, pero temo que no. Estoy muy ocupada. Lueguito que me desocupe tantito le escribir. S, no dude que me acordar de Ud. cuando alcance una poca de justicia y mi suerte cambie. No s si morir sin tener descanso, pero si lo tengo, Ud. tambin lo tendr, y mi prima, en lo que yo les pueda ayudar. Saldemela y los dos cranme siempre, Su fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton Dgame si recibi el Supplement con mi ttulo por entero. (al margen: contestada el 30 de julio) MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 August 1887, San Diego, California Don Guadalupe, mi buen amigo, Cun bondadoso es Ud. en tomar tanto inters en ayudarme! Crame que se lo agradezco de corazn. Sus cartas del 30 y 31 de julio llegaron anoche, y veo con gusto lo que me dice, y seguir sus consejos tanto como pueda. No le mand luego el peridico Bee con mi carta a los directores, porque cre que lo habran enviado a Ud. de la oficina, puesto que tienen orden de enviarle a Ud. los ejemplares que tengan artculos concernientes a la Ensenada. Me alegro mucho que Ud. apruebe el que yo haya hecho esa propuesta a los directores, y deseo mucho que ellos la acepten. Si la rechazan, me ver obligada a seguir la guerra, pero ser con el consuelo de que hice de mi parte lo posible para traer la paz. Hoy le mando mi ttulo en folleto, y tambin el remedo de ttulo publicado por Sisson. Es una desvergunza que ese hombre siga con su porfa de que yo no tengo ttulo alguno,
522
ni jams lo he tenido, pero que la Ca., s lo tiene, por haberle comprado su derecho a Pedro Gastelum. El hecho que all mismo, en el archivo de la Ensenada, consta que ese mismo Gastelum me haba traspasado y cedido a m todo su derecho 15 aos antes, ese hecho, Sisson absolutamente ignora y pasa en silencio. Y sigue adelante con su tema que tiene un buen ttulo porque se lo compr a Pedro. Ya Ud. ver que Sisson dice haber vendido $1,800,000 de terrenos. Ese derecho muestra no slo la impudencia de ese hombre, sino la confianza que tiene en que me robar pblicamente con impunidad, y que las leyes de mi pas no me protegern. Veremos. Si los Directores rehusan un arreglo honorable, entonces se ver si no hay justicia para m en Mxico. Si como Ud. piensa, no hay en el Gobierno una predisposicin contra m, al fin ser oda a pesar de los millones de la Compaa. Esos millones servirn para que mis defensores vindiquen mis derechos. No me he dirigido al Sr. Esteva todava porque en realidad el Gobierno, hasta ahora, no ha dicho pblicamente ni una sola palabra contra mi derecho a la Ensenada. El Mayor Sisson se jacta en los peridicos que el Gobierno cancelara mi ttulo y le dara uno a la Compaa. El Gobierno ni les ha dado ttulo a la Ensenada ni tampoco ha anulado el mo. As pues, he pensado no decir nada todava por la prensa de Mxico, puesto que yo no tengo una prueba pblica, oficial, de que el Gobierno haya atropellado mis derechos despojndome de mi propiedad. El Gobierno podr tener simpatas hacia la Compaa pero no por eso tengo yo derecho de quejarme en pblico de que el Gobierno me va a quitar lo mo. El Gobierno podra decirme, de qu te quejas, cuando nada hemos hecho contra ti? Despus, si el Gobierno me quita mis terrenos, entonces s, me quejar, y no slo Mxico sino tambin los Estados Unidos, sabrn las buenas razones que tengo para quejarme, puesto que las explicar bien y claramente
523
para que no recaiga ninguna culpa sobre los mexicanos sino solamente sobre el que tenga la culpa. As pues, quedo esperando, y al mismo tiempo procurando prepararme para el caso de no haber transaccin. Le agradezco mucho que me haya dado esa lista de nombres de esos abogados distinguidos. Era eso lo que puntualsimamente yo deseaba conseguir. Un buen ngel le dio a Ud. esa inspiracin. Dgame (pregntele a Emparn) quin es ese Sr. Eugenio Chavero? Supongo ser de influencia. Me alegro mucho que el Sr. Yglesias vive an, me haban dicho que muri, lo que yo haba sentido realmente. Si tengo transaccin con la Compaa, luego lo dir por la prensa mexicana, para que los mexicanos lo sepan todo, y si no la tengo entonces con ms razn lo dir a mis paisanos, y creo que simpatizarn con una mexicana a quien una banda de ladrones extranjeros estn robando valindose del pretexto que el Gobierno del Sr. Daz los protege en su latrocinio. No solamente como interesada en defender mis derechos, sino tambin como mexicana de nacimiento, debo defender el buen nombre de Mxico, y decir al pblico que es una falsedad lo que dice el Mayor Sisson de que el Gobierno garantizar las ventas que la Compaa haga de los terrenos de la Ensenada. Lo repetir que el Gobierno no aprueba el robo ni protege el latrocinio, y es una calumnia decir que el Seor Daz haya autorizado a la Compaa para que venda terrenos de la Ensenada, o de otros dueos de otros ranchos en la Frontera. Escrbame y deme sus buenos consejos.. y buenas sugestiones [sic]. Se las agradezco mucho. Creo que para el da 10, los Directores debern responder. Si no lo hacen, sigue la guerra, aunque me duela el corazn al retardar el progreso de la Ensenada. Su fiel amiga, siempre, M.A. de Burton
524
MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 August 1887, San Diego, California Don Guadalupe, Su apreciadsima carta del da 8 acaba de llegar. No se lo aviso por telgrafo porque no tengo a quien mandar a la oficina. Si me espero hasta maana ya luego despus le llegar sta. Mucho le agradezco sus buenos consejos y los seguir al pie de la letra si me es posible. Pero temo mucho que la Compaa est inspirada de mala fe y no quiere una transaccin. Ellos aqu se jactan en alta voz que los Seores Romero Rubio, Carlos Pacheco y Porfirio Daz los sostienen y sostendrn en la Ensenada, y que yo nunca podr establecer mi ttulo. No s qu pensar ni qu creer. No me parece probable que el Sr. Daz anule mi ttulo puesto que eso sera ilegal. Pasado maana le escribir al Sr. [Jos Mara] Yglesias aunque sera mejor poder decirle algo ms definido. Si fuese verdad que el Sr. Daz quiere quitarme la Ensenada preferira que me lo dijeran. Ojal que conociera yo a esos Seores que Ud. nombra, no pudiera el Sr. Emparn escribirles? Creo que tendr necesidad de formar mi Syndicate para pelear con la Compaa y en ese caso, por qu no formarlo de mexicanos? Lo que ha de llevarse el Moro que se lo lleve el Cristiano. Pero todava no s cmo empezar. Ya se lo dir. Por ahora no s qu hacer puesto que la Compaa no me responde mi proposicin, y tal vez ni caso har, puesto que se fan en el apoyo del Gobierno. Ya le envi los peridicos y mi ttulo en folleto, registrado; avseme si los recibe, y dgame qu piensa del ttulo de Sisson. Voy a concluir sta porque estoy cansadsima. Todo el da he escrito y hasta me duele el pecho. Estoy muy triste tambin. Esta lucha tan desigual me agobia el espritu porque Harry est enfermo y el pobre muchacho debe salir de esa oficina y descansar; pero no puede por no dejar el sueldo! Mire, Ud., no ms! Cul deber ser el sentimiento de mi
525
alma! Mientras que sufrimos todas estas congojas, la Compaa ha ya vendido dos millones de pesos de terrenos de la Ensenada! Y la cuestin de Jamul, todava en litigio! Cun desgraciada soy! Su sincera y fiel amiga, M.A. de Burton Saldeme a mi prima y dems de familia con mucho cario. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 November 1887, Mexico City, Mexico Don Guadalupe, Su carta de Oct. 17 la acabo de recibir, con siete otras de San Diego que me enviaron al cuidado de Don Pedro Rincn Gallardo, quien est en Nueva York. As, mis cartas estuvieron detenidas cerca de 3 semanas hasta que el Sr. Rincn regres. Ya me volva loca de ansiedad pues no saba por qu no reciba yo cartas de mis hijos. Esto le explicar a Ud. por qu no le haba contestado. Y de paso djeme decirle que le habra escrito al salir de San Diego pero esto fue tan de prisa, que hasta dej olvidados papeles y otras cosas de mucha importancia. Tambin no debo omitir que no recib respuesta a las dos ltimas cartas que le escrib en Septiembre, dndole las ltimas noticias. Respecto a lo que me dice Ud. tocante a la proposicin del Sr. Hidalgo, no me es posible aceptarla porque (como ya le dije en mi ltima carta) tengo ya hecho un convenio con un sindicato en San Diego que me impide entrar en ninguna negociacin sin su cooperacin. Sin embargo, si Ud. lo creyere oportuno escrbale que me venga a ver, para que [no] crea que Ud. olvid su promesa de escribirme, y el me dir lo que podr hacer interesndolo. Pero temo no sea mucho segn veo las cosas por ac. Cunto me he acordado de Ud.! Ms bien debo decir nos hemos acordado, puesto que Flix y yo a cada paso hacemos
526
recuerdos de Ud. Hoy mismo viniendo de Chapultepec no s cuntos recados me dijo le diera. Siento que se va muy luego y me quedar sin su compaa. Pero, Don Guadalupe, cmo puede ser que a Ud. no le gust ese precioso Mxico? Yo no comprendo que Ud. no haya quedado encantado con este delicioso valle, y con la ciudad clsica de Amrica y que le guste tanto San Francisco! Para [ese] San Francisco envuelto en neblina, sin ningn paisaje excepto el Monte Diablo (nombre a propsito) y Tamalpais! Vaya! Acurdese de este glorioso Valle del Dios que hizo todas las cosas bellas! Sbado-Nov. 19 de 1887 No me haba sido posible escribirle ms y como quiero decirle tanto, no cerr mi carta. A quin piensa que vi esta tarde? A Fanie Frisbie, su hija de Ud. La encontr en casa de una amiga y me dijo que no haba venido a verme por que no le haba mandado mi tarjeta, pero que ahora s vendr luego. Vive cerca de este hotel de modo que espero verla con frecuencia. Est muy buena, muy joven y bonita, y quiere mucho volver a California, lo que no le apruebo porque Mxico me parece el lugar ms lindo que yo haya visto en toda mi vida. No s como me tratarn mis compatriotas, ya eso se ver; en el nterin, si no los mexicanos, Mxico tiene mi admiracin y amor. Ya le escribir luego. Amor a mi prima con el sincero cario de su amiga, M.A. de Burton MARB to S. L. M Barlow. 28 March 1888, Hotel San Carlos, Mexico City, Mexico My dear Mr. Barlow, Your letter of Jan. 5th has this moment come, forwarded to me from San Diego. It was advertised on Feb. 21st, but my son did not see it for a month, not thinking any of our letters
527
would be advertised as we have a letter box. This mix-up accounts for my not having replied sooner. You know full well, my dear Mr. Barlow, that I will return to you the Stock and money as soon as possible, but, as I said to you before, I do not recognize that you have any rights to sell the land. You can sell (I suppose) your money interest but not the land, and by so doing, you will only bring upon me more trouble. I come to this city to have my title again recognized by the Government. The falsehood disseminated in the interest of the International Company made this step necessary, as they publicly maintained that they had the title to my land. Thus they have done me great injury, but they cannot legally sell my property. I shall soon bring suit in ejectment and it will be seen who has the title. But you see, this is not the time to force me with another lawsuit by your selling my land. Think well and you will not do anything so unkind. Next week I think I will start for home, and so soon as I get there, I will try to raise the money for you. Remaining always, with best wishes, Yours truly, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 7 July 1890, San Diego, California My dear Professor, Your letter and book came this morning and were a most delightful surprise to me, for I did not hope ever to hear from you again this side of Spiritland. Thanks sincerely for both, and will this evening and many other evenings take a good look at what you say. I am sure all will be most interesting to me. Did I ever tell you that I have had for a long time a great desire to write a little book myself upon the same subject? Of course it will not be a scientific book, but one that will tell of the beautiful character of those true heroes, martyr-saints,
528
who came to Lower California. I suppose it will have to be in the form of a novel to make it a little more interesting, but my great desire is to tell the people of California how much they owe to Father Salvatierra and those who worked with him. I think the place to find abundance of material for such [a] book and many others, is the City of Mexico. In the National library, which used to be the Church of St. Augustin, there are 200,000 volumes of old books in Latin, Greek and Spanish, and 1/4 of them are about the discoveries of America and California, and conquest of Mexico, so Mr. Vigil, the librarian, told me. My heart ached at having to come away without having seen more of those curious books. You ought to see them. Next trip you take for recreation go to the City of Mexico. You will be surprised to find so much civilization amongst the much abused Mexicans. Mexico is truly a lovely city in the clouds. I am sorry I cannot speak so enthusiastically of its Government. I have been treated shamefully in the matter of the much coveted Ensenada, so I am very sore and sensitive on the subject of my paisanitos and their behavior to me. It would fill many pages to tell you all they and the International Company have done to swindle me out of the Ensenada, until now, in sheer despair I am going to address a Memorial to Mr. Blaine asking the mediation and protection of this Government. I hope Mr. Daz will pay more attention to my rights with such intercessors confronting him in my behalf. I had not heard of your trip to Europe, I am real glad it improved your health. But I dont feel very sure that to pass the summer sitting on a bank of snow 2000 feet high will be so good for neuralgia. What do you think? Mrs. Proctor thinks that our San Miguel mountains (?) will make a splendid site for the Proctor Memorial Observatory because it is free from snow, and its climate is so very mild and its temperature so even. You remember San Miguel Mountain, dont you? East of San Diego, in the direction of Jamul. By the by, I must not omit telling you about The Jamul Portland Cement which seems as if it might be a success. Thus far the experiments have shown a cement better than any
529
which is imported, but we dont know how it will be manufactured in a large scale, the largest amount made to try it, was 25 or 26 barrels; Harry thought this was enough for a fair test and organized a company to get the necessary capital, and he is now at Jamul busy attending to [setting up] the plant. He hopes to get a good cement maker from Germany and begin manufacturing by the last of August or early in September. Well see! Give my best regards to Mrs. Davidson and that girl. She will be a great comfort to you in your old age, I mean, not very soon though, but in years to come. Nellies little girl too (born the same year) has grown to be a big girl now, and is a great comfort, a necessity to our lives now. Nellies neuralgia has not left her. I wish I could take her away for a while. She suffers continuously. I am at the end of the paper, so I must close this wishing you all happiness, remaining always sincerely your friend as ever, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 22 February 1891, San Diego, California Dear Professor, Would it be possible (and not too much trouble) for you to find some good cement burner who would be willing to come in that capacity to our Jamul Cement Works? I am writing this to you (very confidentially) on my own authority, because I know that the two cement burners who were to come, have failed to do so, and now, as Harry is the Superintendent, upon him falls the responsibility of trying to do without the skilled laborers. As far as the mixing of the cement goes, they have made a success but now comes the question of burning. They have a Schlegel Kiln, and Schlegel himself promised to come, and alreadymonths agoreceived the money for his traveling expenses, but he does not come, and, I think, [doesnt] mean to come. Another cement burner also backed out, and so
530
Harry is trying to solve the problem guided only by theoretical knowledge, all alone. I did not tell him I was going to write this to you, but as the rain has been pouring for three days and seems as if it will pour for ever, I have had no news from Jamul and dont know how Harry is getting along. So, I concluded I would ask you to get us the much needed burner if possible. Perhaps Professor Price might know of someone who understands cement burning and can tell you. Or those persons who have tried making cement at Santa Cruz and Niles, and Benicia, might know just such man as we want. At all events, I hope you will try to find him and excuse my giving you this trouble, which I give you because I think you are in position to know that kind of skilled labor, employing so many workers, as you do. Please let me hear from you as soon as you can, the sooner the better. And please, forgive the bother. With best regards to you all, I remain always faithful friend, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 12 May 1891, San Diego, California My dear Professor, Your very kind note of the 5th inst. came duly, with the enclosed list. Wonders never cease! Though we spoke of the admirable diplomacy of the lady at the right of the President and we noticed how she handled the church influence, yet I never told you all I might have said. Well, such genius deserves to be rewarded. The very husband she was fooling, she was, at the same time, using for her purpose, and the clergy and the most pious ladies were her best tools. Aint that genius? Certainly it is! I got your letter about the Cement burner some time ago and I meant to write you my thanks for the trouble you were taking to find one, but as Harry was struggling to conquer the
531
difficulties in his way, I thought I would wait a while to see whether he met with any success. It seems he haswe hope soand he has two men who help him and he thinks he will try to get along with them, so as not to be so dependent upon finding such a rare artiste. By dint of persevering and insisting, and watching and observing he has been making very good cement. But not in the large quantities that he would have made if the Schlegel kiln had been what it was represented to be, which [it] is not, and Harry made up his mind to use the kiln as a shaft kiln and not as the continuous kiln, which was expected to burn continuously, without letting the fire go out at all. Should you at last happen to find a cement burner, please ask him if he knows how to burn cement in a Schlegel Kiln, said to burn continuously feeding it from the top and drawing the clinkers from the bottom. I wish you could find a burner who has had experience with that kind of kiln, for that is the man we want. If you do, please let me know it. Give my love to Mrs. Davidson and the Baby, and the Boys, I hope they are all well, and you also. How are you now, with neuralgia still? My Nellie is still a martyr to it; so I tell her she is the old lady and I am the young one. Always a faithful and affectionate friend, M.A. de Burton MARB to George Davidson. 14 May 1891, San Diego, California My dear Professor, Many thanks indeed for finding us the cement burner. Your letter with Mr. Evans card came last evening and this morning I went to the office to notify them. Mr. Warren Wilson (the President of our Co.) was at the office and he telephoned to Harry at the Works (at Jamul) about it, and both say that they will gladly employ Mr. Cross if he knows how to burn the cement in the Schlegel Kiln (of Theodor Schlegel of Dus-
532
seldorf-Germany). This is the kind of kiln they have at the Jamul Works and unless a burner has practical knowledge and personal experience of how to manage it, he could not burn the cement in it by any other plan. Therefore, if not too much trouble for you, please send for the man and question him about having had personal experience in burning cement in the Schlegel Kiln. If you think his statement is reliable, and he does understand that kiln, then please let him, or Mr. Evans, write to Mr. H. H. Burton about the matter so that there be no mistake made before he starts to come down. If he has not had any experience in using the Schlegel Kiln, and he himself has not burned cement in it sufficient number of times to feel sure that he understands it perfectly well, then it would be useless for him to come. I hope he does understand this kiln, and we will be only too glad to have him come if he should. I wrote you about the same thing day before yesterday, and I suppose you will get my letter tomorrow. I do wish so much I could talk to you about these matters for I know you always felt an interest in the success of this enterprise. Although our kiln has thus far given us so much bother, still, I am sure this is only a temporary trouble, and we ought to be satisfied, because the quality and quantity of the deposit is very good. The quality is better than the imported Cement and the quantity has been calculated to yield 200 barrels per day for over 25 years. I had 1/4 of it, but being in need of money I have had to sacrifice my stock, so that now I hardly have 1/5 (viz. 1000) shares, as the entire stock is only 5000 shares. Still, if I manage to save this, [it] will not be so bad. Well see. Ill do my best. Repeating my sincere thanks for your kindnessof years and yearsI am always the same faithful and affectionate, M.A. Burton.
533
P.S. Do you know Mr. James Phealan (the rich Phealan) owner of the Phealan Building? If so, tell me about it and Ill tell you why I ask you. MARB to George Davidson. 28 May 1891, San Diego, California My dear Professor, I regret I have had to delay answering about the cement matter. I will enclose here what our Board of Directors say. You see, it is not a question of fuel (as Mr. Cross seems to think) but it is entirely a question of the construction of the Schlegel Kiln. Im sorry this kiln was adopted instead of the Hoffman. Schlegel himself seems to have made the mistake of directing that the cement should be stirred up when in the process of burning. To stir it up breaks up the clinkers into powder before they are half burnt and spoils everything. Please send to Mr. Cross, or Evans the enclosed that they may know why our board cannot wait. Already we are very crowded with inquiries about cement so we must hurry the burning all possibly. I have a horrible pen to write this and I cant find another. We have just moved here (1037 Fir St.) and everything is yet in such confusion that I could not find my writing materials. Regarding the matter about Mr. Phealan was this; that I want to negotiate a loan of $15,000 and when he was here I spoke to him about it and he promised to go to Jamul and see my homestead and the Cement Works, but he got sick and went home without seeing the land or the works. My homestead is of 900 acres (segregated from the 9000 belonging to the Jamul rancho) and besides these 900 acres, I offered Mr. Phealan 500 shares of the Jamul Portland Cement stock-viz.Works and deposit etc., etc. He told me he did not think I was giving him enough margin, so I am willing to give him 1000 shares, instead of 500, as additional security to the 900 acres. This 1000 shares represent one fifth 1/5th of the cement
534
deposit and works, etc., etc. The entire number of shares is only 5,000, so my 1000 is 1/5th of the entire stock. Now, would it be giving you more trouble than you would now care to take for me if I ask you to speak to Mr. Phealan about this matter? Perhaps it would be better to speak to his son as you might meet him at the Club. But if you would dislike to do this, then you send the letter to his father. As I offer most excellent security you need not have any fear of advocating this loan. I know that Mr. Phealan made some very heavy loans here on securities not half as good as this. Oh! I hope you might succeed! It seems to me that when you know so many business men in San Francisco you might find some broker, or banker or investor who might make this loan! I will pay good interest. Will you try to help me? If you only knew how distressed I am about this loan I am sure you would try to help me. The time I have is so short! I have tried faithfully but all in vain. Money is so scarce here. The Banks will not loan so large a sum of money to one person. So I fear I shall lose my stock if I dont get this loan. That will be terrible to me as in a few months the stock will pay good dividends which would give me a good living and rest after working so hard for so long! Try my dear friend and you will be a benefactor to me. Yours faithful, M.A. de Burton 1037 Fir St. Write to me soon, please.
Notes
The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, Vol. 20 (Nov. 1, 1869Oct. 31, 1870). Ed. by John Y. Simon (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1967). Copy, DLC-USG, II, 1. 2Eric Foner. A Short History of Reconstruction 18631877 (New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1990), 203, 217. 3William Smythe, History of San Diego (San Diego: The History Co., 1907), 81. 4San Diego had several stores: a drugstore, a grocery story, a drygoods store, a general store, vegetable stands and three hotels. Ads in the San Diego Union indicate that there were tailors, retail and wholesale stores, furniture stories, cigar stores and an undertaker. 5Walter G. Smith, The Story of San Diego (San Diego Printing Company, 1892), 145. 6Smythe, The History of San Diego, p. 383. 7Five miles south was National City on the National Rancho owned by the Kimball Brothers, with a wharf of its own. 8From the San Diego Daily Union, June 2, 1871, 28. 9As Chief of the Pacific Division of the U.S. Coast Survey, Davidson was precluded from receiving salary as a Professor of Astronomy and Geology at the University of California, but he rendered his teaching services without salary. 10Davidsons work would be published in the Bulletin of the California Academy of Sciences, November 1886; and January 1887. See An Examination of Some of the Early Voyages of Discovery and Exploration on the NW Coast of America, From 1539 to 1603, Appendix No. 7, 1886. 11The famous Colton Suit against the Big Four, a trial that lasted for eight years, wouldthrough Huntingtons letters to David Colton
1From:
535
536
reveal the monopolys fraud and bribery of congressmen to defeat the Texas Pacific Railroad. 12See Black, History of San Diego, 170. This work offers a compilation of data taken from the San Diego Union, reference books, work by Smythe, Edgar H. Howe, Wilbur Jay Hall and others. Originally in Smythes The History of San Diego, p. 365. 13Halleck, who served as Lincolns chief of staff and for two years as commander-in-chief of the Union army, was by then commanding the Division of the South after serving as commander of the Department of the Pacific (186569). He died in 1872, three years after H. S. Burton. 14These legal battles will not be discussed here, except summarily, as they are the subject of a work in progress. 15S.W. Clark, Recorder of the General Land Office. Recorded Vol. 10, pp. 201 to 217 inclusive. (Court Case #4082.) 16Clarence Alan McGrew, City of San Diego and San Diego County, Vol. I (Chicago: The American Historical Society, 1922), 128. 17Information from Daily Alta Californian, Nov. 24, 1885, article on Castor Beans. A Profitable and Easy Crop for California Farmers to grow. p. 4Twenty years ago about the only use of the [castor] oil was in medicine. Since that time it has grown into use for lubricating slow-moving machinery, wagons, carriages and buggies. It has nearly superseded fish and meats foot oil in dressing leather of all descriptions, and proves far better than the animal oils which it has nearly superseded. The firm above spoken of [A. L. Baker & Co. in N. Y.] purifies the oil and deodorizes it for toilet pomades and fancy soaps, and for use in lamps where sperm and other oils have been used, in all of which it has been found equal, if not superior, to them. 18We must recall that Ingraham had initially bought the ranch when the Court ordered foreclosure for failure of the Burtons to pay their loan to Dore, but the land would be reconveyed several times and Leach now claimed the ranch. Both Leach and Ingraham were local San Diego lawyers, it should be noted. 19David Burkenroad in his Jamul Cement: Speculation in the San Diego Hinterland, (in The Journal of San Diego History, Vol. XXV, No. 4, Fall, 1979, 275) indicates that the investors were C.W. Lyke and Benjamin Macready.
20In
537
1876 General Porfirio Daz and General Manuel Gonzlez began organizing a rebellion against President Lerdo de Tejada. By September of 1876 Daz had called for the cancellation of concessions to foreigners and the recognition of the Tuxtepec Plan, which banned the re-election of a Mexican President. After defeating Lerdo de Tejadas troops, Daz had himself declared Provisional President. Within a short time Daz would of course reverse himself on both of these issues and not only become a long-reigning dictator, but also open the doors to all forms of foreign investment in Mexico. 21See Vzquez and Meyer, 7681. 22Iglesias was president of the Supreme Court of Justice and he declared himself President of Mexico when Lerdo de Tejada was reelected. He also accompanied Guillermo Prieto on his 1877 trip to the U.S. 23William Denton, a civil engineer and graduate of Oxford College, England, married Elena Cano of La Paz and moved to San Diego in 1874 to educate his children in English. He became a surveyor for colonization companies and northern rancheros. Born in 1828 he died in 1907. 24Barlow, Samuel Latham Mitchill, in Dictionary of American Biography (New York: Charles Scribners & Sons, 1957), 613614. 25Nicolas C. Polos, San Diegos Portia of the Pacific: Californias First Woman Lawyer, in The Journal of San Diego History, Vol. XXVI, No. 3, Summer 1980, 187. 26Her willingness to provide the minority opinion in the heated Ensenada claim case was telling and presaged her engagement with other battles. Foltz went on to make state history, as a successful woman lawyer, suffragist and public official. 27Emparn was the son of the former Secretary of the Interior, who had co-signed Jurezs title confirmation of the Ensenada to MARB. In 1882 he had been the Mexican Consul in San Diego and after a three-year stay in Mexico, the Emparn couple returned to California, with Emparn serving as Consul in San Francisco. 28David Piera Ramrez, Orgenes de Ensenada y poltica nacional de colonizacin (Tijuana: UABC, 1991), 84. 29See Juan B. Uribe, Estudio sobre la colonizacin en la Baja California, in Piera Ramrez, 139148.
538
30Some
border Mexicans supported the International Colonization Company, like the new military commandant in the Northern District in the 1880s, Major George Ryerson, a Texan who became a Mexican citizen and lived most of his life in Baja California and who, unlike Moreno, did not support Ruiz de Burtons claim to Ensenada. 31Piera Ramrez indicates that there is not enough evidence one way or another to determine whether Facio Snchez was a promotor of filibustering or not (Piera Ramrez, 9899). 32It is the subject of a work in progress. 33This second company lost a great deal of credibility when it was discovered in 1890 that its head, Major Buchanan Scott, was linked to a new filibustering action that set out from San Diego to establish the Republic of Baja California (Piera Ramrez, 106). Scott left and the company continued to operate, with its operations dwindling until the companys contract was finally cancelled in 1916.
Chapter VII
Narratives of Negative Identification

A. Commentary
MARBs writing provides us with a case study of an individual who emerged from the lot of a conquered people with a clear, if fissured, racial memory, that is, with a consciousness of latinidad regarding what she perceived as Anglo cultural, political, and economic hegemony. An emigr who perceived the constructed nature of social reality, to borrow Eagletons assessment of Wilde (Eagleton, 335), MARB wrote to disarticulate the faades of this construction, in the process reconstructing the major dilemmas of her period, her race, and her class, as much in her novels as in her other writings, including her letters. We would argue that it is this unmasking of the periods dominant constructs of democracy, freedom, the rule of law, and justice, through the prism of her own contradictory discourses, that makes her work, despite its problematic racialized constructs, a site for contestation. Conquest and migration gave MARB a ringside seat, so to speak, from which to view two national storms, enabling her contact with major players on the United States, California, and Mexican political stages, and dialogue on key polemical political and economic issues of the latter half of the nineteenth century. Physically and socially linked to both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border and
539
540
acutely aware of the uneven power relations that constantly placed Mexico on the losing side, MARB created a site of representation from which she could voice her anti-imperialist stance, even if later, when it suited her interest, she adopted an accommodationist position to U.S. intervention. In dismantling dominant constructs, she came to learn that constructedness was a good part of every game; constructions and figuration were, in fact, useful strategies that not only served the powerful but were available as well to even those in liminal or marginal spaces who acquired the skills and thereby could exert some leverage and create some apertures. She found she could be a player in the game of representation, as we saw in the preceding chapters, ambivalently assuming different poses and identities, by accessing, as an insider, the very legal structures that she critiques in her writing, as well as the cultures ideological discourses, literary structures and strategies, even when assuming all the while the stance of a skeptical outsider.
Inside/out: counter travel narratives

Notwithstanding this appropriation of hegemonic discourses that allowed her to function as a writer with an inside track, (that is, as an insider, however marginalized, who knows the system), MARB was also an outsider. It was this dual status that generated disidentification and conflicts of interest. Positioned in that contradictory, liminal space, she participated in producing what might be termed a countertravel narrative, one that presented a critical, rather than an obsequious, view of the foreign that was near, when the foreign was modern Western society. The travel narrative is an established genre generally written from a male Eurocentric perspectivethat is, it is the European or Western or American traveler that is followed through the narrative into the land of the Other, the exotic land of the savage. The threestage analysis proposed by de Certeau (the outbound journey, the depiction of savage society, and the return voyage)1 in his reading of Montaignes Of Cannibals, finds the space of the text juxtaposing two socio-spatial dimensions, one of which is constructed as
541
strange. The European voyager, limited by his own frames of reference, can only frame the cannibalistic community, that is, what is exterior to the European world, what is different or alien, in terms of what is interior to Western society, that is, what is local. Nevertheless, upon his return, the traveler is empowered to transmit the Others heroic faithfulness to speech (de Certeau, 76), an endeavor made possible through the voyagers own heroic discourses. The Other as Europes mirror mediates the voyagers auto-critique and self-construction, authorizing at the same time a critique of European society (for example, of social injustice as evident in the savages surprise at the fact that half of the population in Europe goes hungry while the other half wallows in wealth [de Certeau, 78]); in the process of reconstructing the foreign, the traveler also relocates a medieval model disappearing in his own world. In effect, at one level, the traveler-narrator never leaves his own shores, as he is limited by his own presuppositions and discourses, while at another, the foreign locale is divested of its difference in figuration as it enters into a global (i.e. Western) schema of representation. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the United States was also constructed as an exotic space by those Europeans who traveled to see what strange society was being carved out in this part of North America. Among the most famous narratives are undoubtedly those of Alexis de Tocqueville (Journey to America)2 and the essays and novel of Gustave de Beaumont, who accompanied him.3 Travel and brief residence in the United States would also lead to works like that of Frances Trollope, whose Domestic Manners of the Americans (1832) provided a caustic critique of life in the United States, rejecting in particular the coarse familiarity of the poor in their interaction with the highest and most refined, concluding that strong, indeed, must be the love of equality in an English breast if it can survive a tour through the Union.4 It was clearly this experiment with democracy that intrigued European travelers in the United States, leading some to conflate the lack of a monarchy or an aristocracy with the lack of a class structure, which by the nineteenth century was firmly entrenched, as we noted in our earlier comments on Bryce. But following de Certeaus analysis, it would have to be said that what was rejected in
542
the United States was possibly what the travelers intuited and feared might develop or already was developing in their own countries. Travelers from the United States going into Latin America assumed a perspective similar to that of the European. Framing the foreign in terms of the near does not, however, automatically lead to the fashioning of a critique of ones own country through a construction of the Other. What was observed in Mexico or Central America and narrated upon their return by U.S. travelers, whether soldiers, entrepreneurs, or politicians, often affirmed and served to justify the imperial project advocated at home. Thus, Gwins trip to Mexico and his findings of Mexicans as indolent and lethargic were meant to underscore the heroic narrative of the Anglo-Saxon as civilizer and to justify invasion, filibustering, or immigration to Mexico that would lead to either annexation or the formation of a new Anglo-dominated republic. Mexico meant the possibility of continuing the frontier paradigm, as an ongoing process that would, eventually and ineluctably, take the U.S. to Tierra del Fuego. What is less often analyzed within the study of the travel genre is the narrative of a traveler that is not European. What happens when the colonized, the barbarians, the savages, visit Europe or the United States? The narration of this reverse trip in the nineteenth century already assumes that the savage is a Caliban who has acquired Prsperos language and talent for writing, or a criollo/mestizo, that is, the colonized of European origin (criollo) or of mixed European-Indian origin (mestizo), whose gaze and language are already transcultural but might reveal an anti-colonialist perception. This reverse voyage can engender either the contestations of a counter-travel narrative or a fawning panegyric.5 Examples of counter-travel narratives are the work of the Cuban Mart, writing from the belly of the monster, that is, from the United States; the testimonials of the Chilean miners who left California after the Gold Rush; and, to a certain extent, the novels and letters of MARB, who traveled through this country for over forty-six years. Despite varying periods of residence in the metropolis, the sense of being an outsider, with roots in other localities, is constant and the perception is critical, countering the adulatory discourses of other travelers.
543
Travel to the metropolis from the colonies or pre-modern nations puts exiles/political refugees, adventurers, workers, and the wealthy in contact with the strange and unfamiliar as well: the modern. They, too, initially frame what they see in terms of their own discursive frameworks. Contact with hegemonic discourses, however, inevitably alters or restructures the travelers framework according to class and cultural conditioning. In the case of the elite of the colony or pre-modern society visiting the metropolis, the travelers frame of reference and viewpoint is often already transcultural, in view of previous travel and education, as is the case with Mexican politician, poet, and fiction writer Guillermo Prieto,6 who visits New Orleans in 1858 and Texas in 1865, before his 1877 trip to the United States with a party accompanying exiled Jos Mara Iglesias. On this trip the traveler again finds his own world, Mexico, co-existing alongside the new world of modernity, for though he moves spatially through libraries, museums, banks, schools, government offices, ports, hotels, hospitals, restaurants, and stores of all types, he not only travels as part of a Mexican group but he engages primarily with Latinos in the United States, whether in San Francisco, New Orleans, or New York. Prietos impressions of life and manners in the United States are figured through sketches, his own and those said to be related by anonymous or well-known Latinos that he meets (including Vallejo in San Francisco); poetry (his own and that of other Latinos) within the United States; and dialogues with members of the Latino colonies. The differences that he constructs are always already mediated by the reactions of Latinos around him, whose opinions serve in his narrative to reaffirm his own, especially when these individuals provide a negative assessment of cultural norms. Prietos narrative is written from the perspective of a Mexican who admires modernization and wants to introduce a number of social, political, economic, and technological changes in his country, without being called ayankado (Yankified) (I, 304), without sounding overly obsequious like Lorenzo de Zavala in his 1834 travel narrative. He must, therefore, praise measuredly and underscore characteristics like equality, which he feels explain this countrys exceptional development, while at the same time pointing, in pass-
544
ing, to reports of racism against Mexicans (I, 466), practices that he never personally experiences, as he describes being wined and dined wherever he goes. In particular, he resisted seeing womens independence spread in his own country, noting repeatedly that the United States had gone too far when it came to womens admittance into the labor force, their ability to gain divorce easily, and their participation in the public sphere, which he finds makes women masculine (II-428). His disdain for the Chinese not only follows anti-Chinese sentiment in this country (I, 305) but it recalls and transposes racism in Mexico against the indigenous populations. As a tourist, unlike Trollope, who lived and worked in the United States for a little more than two years (December 1827 to March 1830), Prieto can only provide schematic comments of all he sees in his seven-month (January 25August 6, 1877) sojourn in the United States. While not a counter-travel narrative, Prietos touristic survey does, however, call attention briefly to newspaper notices of labor unrest, workers low wages, and the speedups to which workers are subjected by tyrannical companies, while at the same time decrying unions, strikes, and violence, undoubtedly fearing what modernization and socialist tendencies might bring to Mexico. Prietos voyage is thus that of a tourist who travels within a Latino cocoon, admiring the modernization that he sees, yet aware of the need to criticize the food, manners, and customs in order to maintain a sense of cultural specificity and superiority. Much more telling, however, are those narratives of outsiders who remain for an extended period of time within the belly of the monster as residents and workers. In these cases, narratives built upon first impressions are subject to change. Thus, Marts journalistic reports to Latin America on the United States after 1887 are strikingly different from previous ones. While at first writing admiringly of all he sees, Mart comes to see things critically, noting not only the entrenched class structure and racism in this society but its imperialist project as well.7 Also critical are the writings of the Chileans, like those of Vicente Prez Rosales and others, who came to California attracted by the Gold Rush in California, by then part of the great democracy. Their voyage ends with their return home after experi-
545
encing virulent xenophobia in San Francisco and the mining camps and finding their illusions regarding the United States destroyed.8 In this sense, MARBs narratives likewise construct the observed foreign community, the United States, from the perspective of an outsider positioned within and disaffected with her new home. The contradictions and disjunctions evident in the work of MARB, Mart and the Chileans must be viewed in the context of the multiple engagements and encounters that take place when an outsider relocates to the metropolis and engages intimately with its structures. It is in the generated interplay between hegemonic and counterhegemonic discourses available to them as natives of Latin America and residents of the United States that their critiques are produced. In the particular case of MARB, the Mexican/californio outsider vantage point (the Ruiz optic) is in constant dialogue with the insider familiarizing perspective (the Burton gaze). In this period after invasion and conquest, with shifts in political borders, the sense of being foreign comes with the flux and with exclusion, even if, as in the case of californios and texano-mexicanos, the foreigners are nominally citizens of the land.9 The foreign traveler in these narratives, whether novels, testimonials or essays, faces myriad obstacles in the United States, gains incisive insights into the United States social formation, and encounters multiple and unexpected differences, which counter readers expectations, molded as they are by nineteenth-century Latin-American press reports idealizing the Colossus to the North, set up as the political and economic model to follow, as MARB knew only too well (2-15-69). Mart, too, noted in his 1894 essay on The Truth About the United States, that it was important to begin publishing newspaper articles that demonstrated two useful truths to our America: the crude, uneven, and decadent character of the United States, and the continuous existence there of all the violence, discord, immorality, and disorder blamed upon the peoples of Spanish America.10 It is this sense of critical assessment and exposition that countered dominant notions about the inferiority of the Latin race. As Mart noted, Both Latins and Saxons are equally capable of having virtues and defects; what does vary is the peculiar outcome of the different historical groups (49).
546
Nuestra Amrica in the context of theirs

The nineteenth-century voyager from Latin America feels a need to mark differences between nuestra Amrica and the United States, at the level of political and labor practices and policies, and even in relation to the physical aspect of the country and climate, which Mart, like MARB, thought shaped a nations political structure and principles.11 Mart wantedat one levelto deny substantive differences among races (There are no races; there are only the various modifications of man in details of form and habits, according to the conditions of climate and history in which he lives, which do not alter the identical and the essential [49]). Nevertheless, he continued to make cultural-ethnic comparisons between Latinos and Saxons (50) and between the North American character and the Spanish American character (53), comparisons which, even at the risk of essentialism, not only point to the racialization of ethnicity throughout the nineteenth century, but also to a need to establish distance and differences between nations that might enable an alternative course of development. These racializing discourses are prominent in the novels and correspondence of MARB, as we have seen, in whose work the tension between accommodation and disidentification is never resolved. Her writing, in effect, becomes a space for movement between various social and national discourses and for representation of this outsider/insider dichotomy, serving not only as a site for construction of the collectivity, but as a forum for voicing the concerns of la raza. Writing, for MARB, meant representing the disenfranchised, those whose claims and rights were ignored, representing, not merely in the sense of figuration, but in the sense of speaking on behalf of, much like an elected ethnic minority legislator or congressman. For that reason, for example, she had urged Vallejo to work for the election of Romualdo Pacheco, as lieutenant governor, for he was a member of nuestra raza, nuestra vilipendiada nacionalidad: A mi modo de ver las cosas, es el sagrado deber de todos los hijos del pas de interesarse en que Romualdo tenga buen
547
xito. No importa cules sean las preferencias polticas. La cuestin aqu se eleva ms arriba, ya toca a la nacionalidad, y es sostener de todo corazn la pobre raza que expira agobiada de dificultades, abrumada de desdenes, agravios y vejaciones. (7-21-71) The californios, she felt, were outsiders because they had failed to assess duly the consequences of not having a voice to lobby or advocate for them by not uniting behind a candidate that might have represented them and defended them against that odious legislation that was leading to their dispossession: Ahora los californios, como tales, no tienen voz ante el gobierno y sufren todo, callados, y por qu? por su desidia en no sostener a sos de entre los suyos que son capaces de representarlos y defender nuestros derechos. (7-21-71) Stepping into the political void would, of course, become the goal of twentieth-century Chicanos/as, also faced with the insider/outsider duality, echoing MARBs assertion in the 1870s of the need for leal defensores of la raza.
Discourses of Gender
Equally salient in MARBs work was the discourse of gender. The status of women in this country was not encouraging, and, in her observations, often emitted in pained utterances in her letters, MARB makes clear that she was not blind to institutionally structured, gendered subordination, even if admitting it was not as rigorously enforced as in Latin-American countries. As one of Prietos Latino interlocutors noted, the education of women in the United States left a great deal to be desired, for if their intellect was being developed, they were not being prepared to be housewives and mothers or to subordinate themselves to a superior will,12 as, of course, they were at home in Mexico. Thus, as a woman of Mexican origin, born in Baja California, MARB was, within her culture, not expected to become
548
anything but a wife and mother. In the United States not much more was expected of middle-class women either, except that a fewSusan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stantonwere beginning to challenge the gender status quo and to advocate womens rights, especially the right to vote. Working-class women, on the other hand, countered traditional notions of domesticity, participating as they did in factory work throughout a nineteenth century marked by an increase in industrialization and an intensified need for unskilled labor.13 MARB, who often laments her gender status in her letters, never joined the suffragist movement, nor had a fundamental quarrel with patriarchy, although it is clear from her two novels, that she does advocate for greater legal rights for women and increased opportunities that would take women out of the domestic domain. She also expresses disdain for women in collusion with their own subordination and marginalization. Her contact with individuals like Clara Foltz must have confirmed her belief in womens capacities and potential. She did, on the other hand, enter the public domain as a speculator, farmer, and published writer, joining the growing number of women writers of the nineteenth century, although, even here, her work differed. While most women writers of the period produced sentimental literature, a body of work that Tompkins sees as a political enterprise, halfway between sermon and social theory, that both codifies and attempts to mold the values of its time,14 MARB, while adhering to the precepts of the romance genre, did take on major political issues of the period in her fiction. MARBs literature, while sharing some sentimental traits, goes beyond codifying family and social values; in fact, her work seeks to decodify those values as she surveys society critically, exposing not only the limitations of a male view of culture, but of a U.S.-dominant view of society and Latin America. To do this, she goes beyond the domestic sphere, bringing the readers to sites like the White House, Congress, battlefields, military prisons, hospitals, the Southwest desert and other male-centered areas that are seldom the focus of nineteenth-century womens literature. And she takes on a variety of polemical issues as well: democracy, republicanism, monopoly capitalism, and political and corporate corruption. Yet, like other senti-
549
mental novelists, her work also deals with the domestic sphere, but here the confines of the home reveal allegorically all that she sees wrong with nineteenth-century U.S. society, particularly the legal structures manipulated to dispossess the subaltern (the hamstrung californios), and the social-legal strictures operating to constrain women.
American literature?
MARBs novels are increasingly being seen as part of what is called American literature within American Studies, which in recent years has expanded to include texts that emerge directly from an alternative U.S. experience, in this case, from the experience of a californio woman in the United States, disenfranchised as a female citizen, marginalized as a member of a conquered and disempowered group subject to dispossession, and provoked by the ongoing rhetoric of U.S. imperialism. Her work is, however, also American in the larger sense, in the trans-American sense, that is, in Marts sense of nuestra Amrica, for her work, like her life, was inscribed in a transnational sphere. As a transnational and transcultural writer, MARB gives the perspective of a fissured subject countering a hegemonic national and by definition masculinist perspective. In anticipation, perhaps, of what we today call Chicano/a literature, her writings reconstructat an early stagethe impact of modernization on a non-Anglo citizen of the U.S. MARB was, understandably, a woman marked by ressentiment a deep resentment against those whose actions brought misfortune upon her and hers because of their atrocious, inhuman, rapacity, and, as she put it, she wished them no other revenge but that they may drink of as bitter a chalice as I have drunk to the dregs. Thats all (7-15-80). Her resentment and multiple frustrations, like those of Vallejo and so many other californios, foreshadowed the twentiethcentury resentment felt by Chicanos/as, who see themselves as second-class citizens in the United States, powerless before the law, subject to societys oppressions, and with a circumscribed access to strategies for survival.
550
The narrative perspectives in MARBs works undoubtedly arise out of a historical as well as personal context. As a woman of aristocratic airs who lived comparatively well for someone continually on the brink of poverty, an intellectual who was well read in European history and literature, especially in British, Spanish, French, Greek and American literature, and trilingual (Spanish, English, and French), although she never attended a university, MARB had access to multiple experiences and discourses that fueled her writing. She moved in the social circles of the politically and economically powerful, both in the United States and Mexico, on the basis of her personal charisma, her attractive demeanor, her status as the wife of a West Point officer, and her capacity to construct herself as a landowner in both California and Baja California. Her social standing was constantly belied by her penury, her debts, and her lamentations of poverty to her correspondents; yet, she somehow managed to stay at the best hotels in San Francisco (the Grand Hotel, the Lick House, the Occidental Hotel) and elsewhere. By collateralizing and mortgaging her would-be holdings, both in Upper and Lower California, and other arrangements, she managed to keep up a certain faade and enjoy some comforts, at times, while at others she was in such straits that she had to borrow five dollars or ten dollars or even one hundred dollars from Professor Davidson. Her lack of capital led her to try scheme upon scheme and to wheel and deal, but opportunism was a survival strategy and only part of her makeup. A truly contradictory individual, with split allegiances and shifting positionalities, MARB, in her work and letters, reveals an emerging ethnic consciousness as a woman of Mexican origin in the United States, who felt called upon to defend la raza, even while disdaining the lower classes (of any racial/ethnic composition), the chusma, as she called them (10-469), and racially denigrating the Indians, as she does in her article Bygone San Diego and in her novel The Squatter and the Don. MARB is, for all these reasons, a highly problematic figure, even while she forces us to recognize that she was ambitious, industrious, and productive, a bright and strong-minded woman. It is as an intellectual who lived through a certain critical period of border and U.S. history, as a U. S. citizen who lived through two
551
wars and an atmosphere of U.S. expansionism and racism towards Mexicans, that we have engaged MARBs life. Hers was a fissured, even fractured, existence, as weve noted, for her political loyalties were in large part with Mexico, a country that she continually rediscovered, although she never reneged on her U.S. citizenship, as she found it strategically valuable. But, even more importantly, she was a woman intellectual, a strong-willed, opinionated woman, one not above using womanly wiles or las tretas del dbil to gain leverage, capable of playing the shrewthe pushy, aggressive and abrasive woman, if need bealways conscious of and frustrated by the social and cultural constraints placed on women. She was, for good reason, called La Generala in San Diego.15 MARB was also the first person of Mexican origin to write fiction in English and to have her work published. She is, in this sense, at least, a forerunner of Chicana/o writers.16 In her writing MARB, an insatiable reader of literature and history, is much aware of the need both to distance herself from hegemonic discursive spaces, if she is to rebut dominant representations of californios and Latinos, and yet stay within hegemonic frameworks as well, if she is to have access to a reading public. MARBs counter-discourses are thus produced within traditional genres: the novel, drama, essay, and journalism. She was also, as we have seen, an avid correspondent. It is our loss that we have only a fraction of the numerous letters she wrote during her lifetime, letters that serve to recreate a period and to situate her and other californios within it. In what follows we will briefly review several of her literary endeavors.
The Bancroft project, or, to the victor go the archives

Much as the californios might have harbored illusions of making their own history known, they were increasingly without the wherewithal to undertake such a project. In the 1870s, Hubert Howe Bancroft initiated his historiographic project in order to write a history of California. The wealthy bookdealer wanted to start his historical account before 1846, the date most U.S. historians used as the birth of California, and he also planned to include information on the indigenous population, as well as on the Spanish and Mexican periods.17 As
552
part of his research, he asked Spanish-speaking assistants Thomas Savage and Enrique Cerruti to collect documents and materials from the missions and Alta California town and assembly records, and he also had them do field research, interviewing californios and early Anglo pioneers of California. One of their principal interviewees was Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, who first harbored suspicions about the project and declined to participate, but later agreed to be interviewed by the Latino Cerruti, who had come to the Americas from Italy. Once on board, Vallejo dictated a five-volume testimonial, and then tried to get his friends, including MARB, to participate. Some, like Prudenciana Moreno, faced with straitened finances, hoped to be paid for their documents or testimonial, and in a few cases Bancroft was forced to do so. For the most part, he only paid with dinner, drink, or candy, which Cerruti felt was indispensable to get informants to give of their time and effort.18 MARB was the only woman mentioned in Vallejos acknowledgments, and it is clear from her letters that she often offered words of support and advice. In one she urged Vallejo to speak out in behalf of their race (que en su libro diga cuanto pueda en favor de nuestra raza infortunada que est muriendo de una atrofia mental que la consume de da en da), that she saw dying a slow death (7-15-75). In 1875 Vallejo also asked MARB to collaborate in Bancrofts historical project by writing up an account of the impact that Burtons Proclamation upon his troops invasion of the Baja Peninsula had on the residents of La Paz (10-10-75). Always attentive to foregrounding her own interests, in her response, MARB expresses her willingness to contribute to Bancrofts project and makes a request of her own: that in the larger historical rendering of events, her husband Enrique (Henry S. Burton) be given his due recognition. In November of 1875, however, she expresses an inability to write at the moment given her difficulties: Estoy tan ocupada y tan acosada de dificultades, de enemigos, de obstculos, que ni tengo tiempo ni mi mente, ni mi nimo estn en condicin de escribir sobre ningn asunto, y lo que yo escribira ahora no sera digno de publicarse en su historia (11-6-75).
553
Whether she eventually submitted an account of the invasion is not clear, since we have not been able to locate it. The Bancroft Library does, however, have Lieutenant Colonel Burtons diary of his trip to California from New York on the Susan Drew and his proclamations, memoranda, and letters written as commander and temporary governor of Baja California, in all likelihood provided to Bancroft by MARB. But MARB did eventually contribute to the Bancroft project, providing a report on her marriage to Burton, a short biographical sketch of her grandfather, and a translation of one of her grandfathers letters (8-5-78) (see chapter I, section B). In her correspondence with Bancroft, her concern with the perspective of his history is evident, as she reminds him that he, as an American, can say many things that the American people would perhaps not accept from a foreigner, for the californios, the natives, with the loss of their property and their prestige had also lost the desire to protest and were allowing themselves to be swept away to oblivion by the furious avalanche let loose upon them by the hand of the Anglo-Americans, the pitiless Anglo-Americans! (7-15-78). MARB was only too aware of the political implications of a distorted history, and she hoped that Bancrofts account of the history of Baja and Alta California, if fair and unbiased, would serve as a counterbalance to dominant readings and renderings of pre1848 California history. Documents such as those held by Matas Moreno (who died in 1869) obviously interested Bancroft, too. As we have noted elsewhere, his wife, Prudenciana de Moreno, whose financial situation was also critical, hoped to be paid something for her husbands papers. But apparently Savage had already seen them, as confirmed by Rojo, and did not consider them valuable to the Bancroft project, as MARB painfully reported to her (1-27-74). In 1877 MARB received word that Doa Prudenciana was not to give Bancroft any documents, advice that probably came from Vallejo (8-14-77).19 Fortunately, Morenos documents were not lost and are housed today at the Huntington Library. Countering dominant discourses by producing their own writings and testimonials proved to be only the first step; preserving those works when the californios did not own or control the archives was an equally frustrating struggle.
554
Drama
As we have seen in chapter III, MARB brought some measure of entertainment to the dull village of San Diego with the theatrical performances she organized with the soldiers at the San Diego Mission, where her husband, then Captain Burton, was commander of the army garrison. Residents of Old Town, as well as the soldiers, attended these performances (Jacobs, 26). One of the plays performed in the Mission theatre around 1856 was a comedic play that MARB herself had written. The play Don Quixote de la Mancha: A Comedy, in Five Acts, Taken from Cervantes Novel of That Name, by Mrs. H. S. Burton, was not published until 1876, although it was copyrighted in 1875 by the author. The published play, printed by John H. Carmany & Co., in San Francisco, has the dedication: To Mrs. George A. Johnson, this drama is affectionately inscribed by her cousin the Author. Mrs. Johnson, as we should recall, was Estefana Alvarado, daughter of Francisco Mara Alvarado, who together with MARBs great uncle, Francisco Mara Ruiz,20 were the grantees of Los Peasquitos ranch in San Diego and probably cousins themselves. Bancroft in his Early California Literature chapter mentions several early plays produced in California, among them Mrs. H. S. Burtons Don Quixote, noting: Mrs. Burton reveals her innate Spanish taste in the five-act comedy of Don Quixote.21 The Bancroft Library has a copy of the Don Quixote play dedicated by the author: [to] Mr. Hubert H. Bancroft, A Souvenir from the author, March 6, 76. The play, Don Quixote, written in five acts, reproduces several of Cervantes most well-known episodes, including the battle with the rams and the windmills, the Maritornes episode at the inn, the freeing of the galley-slaves, the braying of the judge-asses, the cave of Montesinos, the dukes castle, and many others. Like her novels, this comedic play especially excoriates lawyers and signals what would be a lifelong skepticism and disdain for the travesties of jurisprudence.
555
Apparently, MARB wrote a second play, The Vril-ya in the Big Bonanza, which we have not been able to locate. The Library of Congress has no copy of the work, although it has a record of the play being copyrighted in 1876, the same year that she published Don Quixote de la Mancha. Mention of this second play is made in the San Francisco Daily Alta California (May 27, 1876; 2), which lists it under Amusements: THE VRIL-YA IN THE BIG BONANZA. This is the title of a new comedy-written and copy-righted by Mrs. General Burton, who has already achieved a dramatic reputation by her Don Quijote. It is a well directed and keen satire indirectly pointed at the money-getting people of San Francisco. The play is comprehensive in scopefor who is not, and who would not bemoney-getting? but the epigrammatic dart is steadily aimed at our wealthiest men and women. Its production on our stage might have a salutary effect. It is well, occasionally, to hold the mirror up to nature and look at ourselves fully in the face. It will doubtless cause a ripple on the surface of society. The notice is a bit ambiguous, but it apparently introduces a play yet to be put on the stage, although the short notice appears with other announcements of plays, concerts, opera performances, etc., that are then being staged. The note about its being well-directed can easily lead one to believe that it has already been staged, but the notice indicates that its production on our stage might have a salutary effect, suggesting that such a staging would be desirable. We found no further mention of this play in California newspapers of the period.
Novels
MARB wrote two novels: Who Would Have Thought It?, published anonymously by J. B. Lippincott & Company in 1872; and The Squatter and the Don, published by Samuel Carson & Company under the pseudonym C. Loyal in 1885. Both novels have been reis-
556
sued by Arte Pblico Press as part of its Recovering the Literary Heritage Project, the first in 1995,22 and the second in 1992,23 respectively, with introductions by Snchez and Pita. A second edition of The Squatter and the Don appeared in 1997. The extensive introductions to the two novels in the Arte Pblico editions address some of the key issues around which these texts revolve. Consequently, except to point to mention of the novels in MARBs correspondence and in newspaper reviews of the works that follow this section, those will not be dealt with in detail here. We know from a letter written to Vallejo in 1860 (6-23-60), for example, that MARB was early on planning to write a novel in which she wished to compare life in Mexico with life in the United States. Crucial to that novel, she said, would be a character drawn on the figure of Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo: Mucho hay que ver en E. U. y mucho que hace pensar, particularmente si uno empieza a hacer comparaciones. Realmente para apreciar bien una cosa es necesario mirar bien otra. Creo que lo mejor que yo puedo hacer es escribir un libro. Qu tal? No lo leera? No quiere que lo haga uno de mis hroes? Las escenas deben ser en California; el contexto y diferencias de las dos razas es un gran tema. Si no quiere que lo ponga en mi libro dgamelo con tiempo, o si no, hay [ah] se ver plantado en un lugar prominente cuando menos lo piense. (6-23-60) In effect, her plan would give rise to two books, one providing a critical review of democracy in the United States and one focusing on the dispossession and disenfranchisement of the californios, the latter a novel that focused on one major character: Don Mariano Alamar, modeled after Vallejo. As indicated in an 1872 letter to Barlow asking for his help in placing and promoting the novel, MARB wrote Who Would Have Thought It? in 1869 or 1870, in the hopes of making some money; from California she writes: I hope you will give me all the benefit of
557
your influence with the New York Press, for I would like to make the venture a little bit profitable. I did not write for glory (9-9-72). She was especially adamant about having Barlow intercede in having her book reviewed in New York newspapers, as he had promised. Already in the summer of 1872 she had looked for notices of the book, without any luck, and she longed for a review (7-25-72). She sent the novel to Vallejo that summer as well (8-1-72). The ever-persistent MARB wrote Barlow again in September 1872, letting him know that she had asked the publisher, Lippincott, to send copies of her book to New York newspapers and to him as well. No doubt fishing for compliments, she asks for his opinion of her book, going on to say that her description of diamonds and rubies (then being discovered in Arizona) had been presaged in her novel: I wrote the book three years ago and the diamonds have now come to light (9-9-72). The Alta California provided a review of the novel, which is included here in section B. The reviewer provides biographical information on the Native Californian authoress who published the work anonymously and notes her hesitancy in having it known that English is not her native language. The reviewer, after praising the authors beauty, concludes that Mrs. Burton has talent, descriptive and narrative power and a critical though perhaps too cynical habit of observation (Alta California, 9-15-72). Several years later, around 1880, MARB began to think of writing a short story, but the yarn got a bit long, as she explains to Professor Davidson, who had encouraged her to submit something to the journal The Californian: You must not think laziness prevented me from writing for the Californian. I began a story, and my notes got to be so many, that I found myself spinning out quite a long yarn. Then I thought I would write a story that would run for several months, and there it rests, for I got sick and disheartened, then Nellie got sick, and then we moved to the rancho. I may try again some of these days and I shall rely on your assistance (7-15-80).
558
Faced with all of her legal and financial problems, or as she put it, her fretting and brooding over adverse circumstances (7-15-80), it took a while before she could get back to that story, but by 1884 she reported to Davidson that she was working on her second novel: I have been writing a book, so I hope you wont scold me for being indolent. I dont know whether I shall publish it under my own name, so I want to keep the matter quiet yet. Only two or three friends know I am writing it. I want to publish it this fall, in September. This is an additional reason for my wishing to get my 3 months extra pay, and my pension increased, to have this much; to help me with the publication. Will you try to help me? Please do so. If I am able to pay for the stenotype plates I will make something; if not, all the profit will go to the pockets of the publishers and book-sellers (6-7-84). By December 1884, she was in San Francisco writing Vallejo about the flyer advertising the publication of The Squatter and the Don (12-11-84), complaining about having to pay extra to the printer ($100 more), and noting that nothing was working out as it was supposed to. MARB did not get the increase in her widows stipend, but Davidson came through with some small loans, as is clear from a listing of her debts to him as late as 1886 (5-5-86). Vallejo was by then in no position to help; moreover, he suffered a bad fall, leading MARB to advise him to take better care of himself [fragment 1884]. A few days later, she was finally able to announce the books publication: El libro ya sali a luz. Pobre hijito feto mo! [fragment 1884]. As we know, MARB had the novel typeset and copyrighted; that edition underwent a few changesmore than likely to avoid libel chargesin the subsequent 1885 Carson & Co. edition.24 Several reviews of The Squatter and the Don appeared in California newspapers, stressing the books readability and calling into question its criticism of the reigning railroad monopoly (Daily Alta, 1-27-85). The book was seen as didactic, with a clear purpose; the fact that it set out to expose certain social and political evils led reviewers to assume
559
that the author had a grievance that is very deep and very sore; yet even this reviewer finds the novel a very pleasant and readable tale (The Examiner, 2-2-85). The San Francisco Chronicle review finds the novel to be a strong presentation of the influence of two evils which have done much to retard the growth of the State and to harass honest settlers. The author shows a great deal of dramatic power in the arrangement of scenes and the management of the dialogue (n.d.). What is also significant in the reviews that are reprinted here in section B is that they were clippings kept by the author herself and inserted in her personal copy of the novel, with her notations as to date in her own hand. These were made available to us by William Graves, husband of Burtons great-granddaughter. Considering her books frontal attack on San Diego affairs, no one should be surprised by the reaction generated in San Diego by the publication of The Squatter and the Don. The city opened its public library25 in 1883, and by 1885 it was involved in its first censorship crisis revolving around MARBs The Squatter and the Don. The San Diego Sun (April 11, 1885) reported the following: When we printed somewhat at random yesterday the San Francisco Chronicles allusion to the Squatter and the Don written by a San Diego lady, alleging that the city librarian had excluded it from the public library, we had no idea that it had attained any special importance. There is, however, considerable feeling on the subject. With that we have nothing to do, but will merely state Librarian Woosters position. When the book was first brought into the library, he inspected it, in the line of his duty, and found that several pages had been removed, and others inserted, mutilating the book in such a manner as to destroy the sense of the story. As a conscientious official, he reported the matter to the Library Trustees, and some of them read the book for the first time. Some thought it would not be advisable to retain such a book in the library, which caricatured some of the best citizens, as well as some that were not so good. A meeting of the Trustees was called to decide the question, only two out of the five attending. By
560
an unanimous vote, they decided to admit it, and the librarian had no option but to follow orders.26 The old San Diegans interviewed by Winifred Davidson in the 1930s recalled that The Squatter and the Don had satirized certain townsmen and unmercifully lambasted others who had not understood this Spanish [sic] lady exuberantly, vociferously fighting for her own and her childrens legal rights. W. Davidson, who provided a romanticized account of the marriage between MARB and H.S. Burton in her Enemy Lovers article published in the Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine,27 also wrote a column for the San Diego Union on the couple.28 MARB probably would have written a good deal more if she had not spent most of her time and energies in litigation. In 1890 she expressed an interest in writing a little book on the early Jesuit colonization of Baja California, one focusing on the beautiful character of those true heroes, martyr-saints, who came to Lower California (7-7-90) and she imagined that it would have to be a novel. As she notes in a letter to Professor Davidson, her visit to Mexico City had enabled her to see all the material available in the archives at the National Library and had given her an idea for this projected book (7-7-90).
Newspaper articles
MARB also wrote a number of newspaper articles on her claims to the Ensenada lands. We provide only one sample of that work here: a letter to the editor of the San Diego Daily Bee, A Convincing Review of the Ensenada Land Question, signed Fair Play. In these articles MARB often assumes third-person narration and deals with events that she herself is generating. Two other articles, Irrigation in Jamul Valley and Cultivation of Castor Beans, deal with her projects and dreams for Jamul and San Diego County. The fourth article, Bygone San Diego, which is the only one signed by the author, taps into the emerging romantic California pastoral narrative extolling the mission padres at the expense of the Indians. The article, drawing on the work of friar Francisco Palou, offers a brief review of early San
561
Diego history, starting with the 1769 arrival of the Franciscan friars to establish the first mission in Alta California. This article, as previously indicated, is also marked by racist (i.e. culturalist) remarks against the Indians, specifically the noncivilized Colorado River Indians.29 A writer who critically attacks the dispossession and mistreatment of the californios in this same article, MARB was nevertheless blind to the Indians rights to these same landsas she was blind too to the rights of blacks and the issue of slaveryproviding in this article the worn-out argument of civilization vs. barbarism, which was already standard in Latin-American literature. These four articles are included in section B.
Legal brief
Given MARBs numerous lawsuits, which are the subject of another work, it is not surprising that she became quite adept in matters of the law, so much so that in 1883 when her lawyer failed to present her application for a homestead before the Supreme Court of the State of California, MARB herself prepared the brief. She, as the respondent, provides the following annotation: Respondents Brief. [My Attorney, Mr. A. B. Hotchkiss, having withdrawn from the attendance of this case, unexpectedly, notifying it to me by telegraph at the last moment, I am compelled to answer in my own behalf, appellants Brief, as I have no counsel to represent me.] The briefs conclusion is worthy of recalling, for its description of the action of Leach and his partner Capron, who had forcibly (with axes) broken down the doors to her Jamul ranch house, entered her home, and had her furniture dragged out, anticipates very similar acts, described as happening to the Mechlin family, in The Squatter and the Don: Appellants have for more than three years held unlawful possession of our rancho, repeatedly perpetrating acts of trespass and violence against our family; these acts culminating
562
in the breaking into my house, hereinbefore mentioned, and by violence taking possession of my homestead, which was granted to me in January by this Court. (P.C.L.J., vol. x, 678.) In view of all these facts, I ask the Honorable Court to dismiss this appeal, and order that my homestead be restored to me. Mara A. Burton, Petitioner for a Widows Homestead. There is some irony in the fact that if MARB had had access to university training, she, like Foltz, might have joined the ranks of that caste that she came to detest: lawyers. Lawyers, and the malleability of the law, came in for piercing and sarcastic critiques, not only in her novels and play but in her letters, as she realized that the marginal women generally, but especially widowed womenwere neither seen nor heard, despite their claims and complaints.
Business prospectus
MARB produced two prospectii, the first for The Lower California Mining Company, which she and her husband formed in New York in 1865. In this brochure (see part B) she describes the Ensenada and San Antonio properties, their mining potential, and provides copies of her titles, with certification from President Jurez and letters of confirmation from the Ministry of Colonization and Industry. There is also a letter from Matas Moreno on the bay of Ensenada and its port potential for shipping out minerals; a letter from the Mexican ambassador, Matas Romero, confirming Mexican support for their endeavor; and a letter from Edward L. Plumb, who had served in the U.S. embassy in Mexico (he had been closely involved in her procuring these titles, and he assures potential investors that the peninsula is rich in minerals, signing as president of the Mexican Pacific Company). The second brochure published through the San Diego Daily Bee offers a history of her titles, provides copies of her grandfathers title, a letter from the governor of California, Arrillaga, the document conveying the land to her from her mother and aunts, the agreement signed with fellow Ensenada claimant Gastelum on the division of the
563
lands, and other letters of confirmation. This document, which is extensive, is not included here.
Letters
As previously indicated, the letters included in this volume are those that we were able to locate in several California libraries, especially the Huntington Library, the Bancroft Library, the San Diego Historical Society Library, and the State Library in Sacramento. But we also know that MARB wrote to many other people, many of whom are mentioned in these letters. Attending to her correspondence, in fact, took up a good deal of her time in her daily activities, as she notes in several letters to Vallejo. MARB was, overall, a writer whose correspondence, as we have pointed out, enables a broader reconstruction of the period and its problematics, from a Mexican/native Californian womans perspective. In recent years, studies of the correspondence of women and the importance of letters written by women to female friends have begun to attract the attention of feminist critics. In this regard, what is unusual about MARBs correspondence is that it was largely addressed to men, important men, all of whom held key political, academic, or business positions. The most extensive correspondence is that with Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and Flix Gibert, her two best friends, but, unfortunately, the only letters accessible to us are a good number of those addressed to Vallejo. Even here, several are lost, or perhaps not yet found, and some are available only in fragments. This corpus of letters offers keen insights into her fissured soul, to use Vallejos term (6-23-60), her political contradictions, her battles with creditors, lawyers, judges, sheriffs, her accommodation to a system that part of her detested, her scheming and struggle for survival, and her opportunism. Like William Darrell in The Squatter and the Don, who was characterized by a streak of perversity, MARB was a conflicted woman, with a streak of unseemly and unwomanly ambitions, and the mettle and intelligence to tackle the obstacles before her. It is her very complexity and the contradictory character of her life that make MARB a modern latina and a worthy object of study.
564
B. Documents
In what follows we include: 1. Book reviews 2. Articles 3. Lower California Mining Company Brochure 4. Obituaries 5. MARBs petition as heir of H. S. Burton, her pension request, and other documents 6. Po Picos Deed to the Jamul Ranch 7. Isabel Ruiz de Maytorenas suit against MARB 8. New York Times article on Ensenada
1. Book Reviews
From the Daily Examiner, February 2, 1885. THE SQUATTER AND THE DON. A Novel, Descriptive of Contemporary Occurrences in California. By C. Loyal San Francisco: Published for the Author. This is a book with a purpose, and that purpose is the exposure of certain social and political evils by narrating a story of every-day life, the action of which is made up with and hinges upon the conditions complained of. The latter may be classed in three divisions: First The injustice done to those who had acquired property in California before the negotiation of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, by the operation of the Act of Congress requiring the Spanish settlers to prove up the validity of their titles, making the United States a general claimant. Thus the well-known principle of the common law, that the plaintiff or claimant should recover on the strength of his own title, and not on the weakness of his adversarys, was ignored, and the reverse of that sound proposition made the rule. The United States, under the treaty, made a general claim, saying this land is mine, now prove that it isnt, thus compelling the adversary to establish a negative. However, after thirty-three years of litigation, under that statute,
565
it is somewhat late in the day to discuss its justice or expediency. There it is, and it now forms the basis for a very large portion, both as regards quantity and value of the real estate of California. But while argument may thus be out of place, the statement or narrative of an imaginary case in a tale may be made useful and entertaining, as it seems to show that after all might is not right, and if lawmakers and those who gain the advantage of the formers labors would put themselves in the other fellows place for a time, they might not be so well satisfied of the justice or propriety of their proceedings. The second and third portions into which the motifs, to use a musical phrase, of the book may be separated, are illustrations of the injury which San Diego and the lower coast counties suffered by the absorption of the Texas Pacific into the Southern Pacific, and the general demoralizationsocial, legislative and judicialcaused by the introduction of the railroad monopoly as a factor in the political affairs of this State and Coast. Without pretending to espouse, or even to defend, all that the author of the Squatter and the Don says, it is easy to see that, in accordance with the old maxim, He is always in earnest who is hurt, the author is very much in earnest, and also that, he or she, whichever, C. Loyal may be, has a grievance, that is very deep and very sore. Now, people with grievances are not usually popular, as frequently they are wearisome. But this failing cannot be laid to the charge of the author of the Squatter and the Don. Though written, no doubt, with the express purpose of recounting the losses caused to the second by the first and the injuries endured by both through the agency of the railroad, the author has managed to combine instances of all these sins of omission and commission in a very pleasant and readable tale, which is the more interesting as it brings in as members of its dramatis personae several well-known personages by actual name and others under the guise of certain imaginary characters. The war between the late Tom Scott of the Texas Pacific and the Central Pacific people is dealt with and described in vigorous terms, while the diversion of the western terminus of the Texas Pacific from San Diego is denounced equally energetically. Altogether it is a book which will repay the reader for the time occupied in its perusal, for two reasons, one of which is that it touch-
566
es affairs in which all residents on this Coast have a present living interest. The other is because those matters are handled in a sprightly and entertaining style, showing literary ability of no mean order. In conclusion, it may be remarked that the publication of a work which denounces the subjects it does and the feeling it exhibits shows that deep down in the popular heart is a feeling of injury and bitter resentment which bodes ill for those who continue to add fuel to that flame. Of this the railroad people had better follow Captain Cuttles advice and make a note so soon as convenient. From the Daily Alta, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 1885 Recent Publications THE SQUATTER AND THE DON. By C. Loyal; 12mo; 420 pp. Price, $2. Published and for sale by Carson & Co. The Squatter and the Don, by C. Loyal is a California novel just out, very strongly written, with an earnest sincerity and dramatic power, well worthy of cultivation. It has the rare quality or originality, as the old conflict of the two races to which the Squatter and the Don belonged, was never before presented to the reading public in the pleasing form of an interesting fiction. The characters are well drawn and lifelikethe good people, being very attractive and the bad utterly repulsive. The dialogue is sprightly, natural and well managed. As a literary production this novel is a creditable contribution to our incipient literature of the Pacific Coast. But the bookthough graphically presenting some very touching love scenes between Clarence and Mercedesit is less a love story than an impassioned protest against adverse laws; against legislation, which obliged the native Californians, of Spanish descent, to submit their land titles to the action of retroactive laws. Pending legal proceedings, the native Spaniard had to pay heavy taxes for the invading Squatter, as well as for himself, and thus through unjust and protracted litigation the native Californians were impoverished. Another grievance for Southern California was the No fence law, which had the effect of depriv-
567
ing San Diego county of its principal industrythat of cattle raisingleaving its broad pasture lands idle and useless. But the fervid eloquence of the author is reserved to depict the baleful effect which the non construction of the Texas Pacific Railroad has had upon Southern California. On a few occasions C. Loyal seems to speak more like a Custos morum reasoning a priori, than as a novelist-telling a story. The interview of Don Mariano and his two friends with Governor Stanford is rather exceptional. To introduce living personages with their real names is, we think, not a usual practice in the realm of fiction. But as evidently no reproach was meant by this little bit of a poetical license, the interview was, presumably, an expedient for the working of the machinery of fiction, so as to enable the author to say, at a certain time, some truths in behalf of San Diego, and also expound some pet views regarding what ought to be the morality of business. In support of these views no lesser authorities than Herbert Spencer, Thomas Carlyle and Waldo Emerson are quoted. But of all the complex objects with which this singular book seems to be bristling, the chief one, doubtless, is to make the railroad corporation of California responsible for the financial collapse of luckless San Diego. In our opinion this is hardly a fair deduction, however much distress might have befallen upon the victims of reckless speculation. And to say that San Diego is at the bottom of a bag, the mouth of which Mr. Huntington has closed and drawn the string tight, is certainly an exaggeration. The book, however, is more than readable. It is interesting, but for that reason we warn the reader not to take all its statements or its views as unbiased. In the conclusion, the quotations from Channing are, to say the least, more than the occasion calls for. If the French nation descended to abjectedness under Napoleon, that is no reason we should. So we think it is an exaggerated climax to a high-pitched peroration to say that if Congress and our State Legislature do not forthwith do something to check the power of the railroad monopoly, that we will have to kiss the foot that tramples us, and that anguish of spirit which Channing lamented, pray for a redeemer who will emancipate the white slaves of California. The volume is bound in good style.
568
From The San Francisco Chronicle, April, 1885. Sitting Down on a Book: A story comes down from San Diego to the effect that the recent anti-monopoly novel, The Squatter and the Don, has been sat down upon by the librarian of the Free Library of that city. It appears that two or three copies were purchased when the book first made its appearance, and they were naturally in great demand, because the characters were commonly supposed to be caricatures of living San Diegans. Very soon, however, the curious were denied the privilege of reading the books, and it was ascertained upon inquiry that the librarian had, out of a too tender regard for the feelings of the caricatured, exercised the function of censor and suppressed the book on the ground that it was unfit reading. This raised a miniature tempest, which the librarian fearing that it might become a genuine storm, concluded to allay by restoring the ostracized book to the shelves of the library. And now the people of San Diego who have not money enough to buy the book, in which some of their fellow-citizens are cleverly ridiculed, can read it in the public library. From The San Francisco Chronicle, n.d. THE SQUATTER AND THE DON A novel of California life, which will interest any one who takes it up, is The Squatter and the Don, by an author who conceals her identity under the pseudonym of C. Loyal. It is a novel with a purpose. Like the story, Driven From Sea to Sea, recently reviewed in these columns, it attempts to paint in realistic style the grip which the railroad monopoly has got on the State, and like Mrs. Jacksons Ramona, it is an eloquent and impassioned plea for the holders of Spanish grants, whose patrimony was filched from them, acre by acre, by squatters, who dubbed the real owners of the land Greasers, and added indignity and insult to the work of spoliation. William Darrell is a representative of the squatter class and Don Mariano of the Spanish Californian landowner. Darrell is sketched evidently from life. He is an honest, hardworking man, but his mania is to acquire land and he has started out
569
in California by squatting on an old Mexican land grant in Sonoma County. Dispossessed from that, after years of litigation, he settles in Alameda County, but is seduced into going down to San Diego by the glowing accounts of some friends who have taken up a section of the old Alamar rancho, in the southern county. They represent that the land is open to settlement and Darrell takes their word, without investigating the matter. The fact is that the title to the ranch is before the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the squatters swoop down on the Dons possessions like so many buzzards; they slaughter his cattle because the animals break into their unfenced grain fields; they refuse to pay him for stock or lands, and, finally, they force him to drive all his cattle into the mountains, where a sudden snowstorm finishes the worldly wealth of the Don; he dies worn out with the constant persecution of the ingenious squatters; his family is scattered and one of his sons is so sorely reduced that, gentleman as he is by birth and breeding, he is forced to the labor of carrying a hod on one of the palaces built on Nob hill by a member of the nouveaux riches. The downfall of the Dons fortunes is hastened by the killing of the Texas Pacific Railroad by the Southern Pacific lobby and the consequent death of the great expectations of San Diego as the southern metropolis of California. Interwoven with this somber story are several bright love episodes, the chief being the tender affection which springs up between the son of the squatter and the favorite daughter of the Don. There is more love at first sight in this story than one usually finds in real life, but this may be attributed to the effect of the semi-tropical climate. As a whole, the novel is a strong presentation of the influence of two evils which have done much to retard the growth of the State and to harass honest settlers. The author shows a great deal of dramatic power in the arrangement of scenes and the management of the dialogue. From San Francisco Daily Alta California, September 15, 1872 WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT? A Native Californian, AuthoressA Literary Incognito Lost in an InterviewA new Sensation for the Public.
570
Who Would Have Thought It? is the title of a new book lately published by J. B. Lippincott & Co., of Philadelphia. The title page, after intimating that the work is a novel, stops short and leaves no clue to its authorship. A number of copies were received in this city, but they were quickly disposed of. More are soon expected, when the public will be able to test its merits by reading its contents. The secret of its origin, however, was learned by chance and is now to be made known to the world. Our special correspondent, while accompanying the Texas Pacific Railway party in San Diego, met Mrs. H. S. Burton, a passenger on the steamer California. The conversation drifted away from railroads and harbors to the more entertaining subject of literature. Mrs. Burton, said our correspondent, have you read the new bookWho Would Have Thought It? Read it? No! Yes! Why, of course I have! The manner of the answer and a little attendant embarrassment caused the bachelor to look at the charming widow with some surprise and awakened a feeling of curiosity. Excuse me for repeating your words, Mrs. Burton; he cautiously ventured to remark; but of course I have seems to imply that you have some particular interest in the work. He was rather rude in his scrutinizing way of looking and speaking. The ruse, however, succeeded. Why! thats my book! no! Well, there, now, I didnt mean to tell you; but you know it now. Those black and lustrous eyes (but they were fascinating to be sure) evidenced a little fire and a little vexation, and at the same time were not without a certain look of pride and satisfaction. Mrs. Burton is a native Californian. Her beauty is of the pure Castilian type, graceful, non-chalant and easy. Judging from her present appearance, her form and features, and the bright glance of her eyes, so well preserved, what she must have been at sweet sixteen is a thought too bewildering for a youthful and susceptible bachelor to contemplate. She was born in Loreto, Lower California, an old mission established on the shores of the Gulf of California by the Jesuit Padres. Her grandfather Don Manuel Ruiz, was Governor of the Territory. His uncle, Don Juan Ruiz de Apodaca, was Vice Roy of [New]
571
Spain, prior to the establishment of the Mexican Republic. While only six months old, she was taken by her parents to La Paz, where she grew up and developed into blooming girlhood. In 1848 she came North and resided with one of her parientes, Don Pablo de la Toba, at Monterey. Here she first met [sic] General H. S. Burton, then a popular young and promising officer in the United States Army, stationed at the post. In 1850 [sic] their nuptials were celebrated. After she had attained her twentieth birthday, Mrs. Burton commenced the study of the English language. This she mastered in the most thorough mannera feat rarely accomplished by one of Spanish descent. The melodious and sweet words of the Castilian tongue generally possess attraction for them which discourage any very earnest attention to our more complicated and less pleasing idiom. Her associations were, however, in the best society, and with cultivated and intelligent people. She has lived in our largest Eastern cities, and added much to the social attractions of our National Capital, gaining for herself a large experience among noted men and women, and laying the foundation for future critical and extensive knowledge of men and manners, diverse notions and popular isms. During the late civil war, General Burton distinguished himself for gallantry in the Union army, but in the service he contracted a disease that proved fatal. Since then Mrs. Burton has lived alternately in California and in the Eastern States. Her life would be a lonely one were it not for the companionship of her son and daughter and the associations that naturally gather about a person whose social position has been high and whose talents afford a fascinating entertainment in society. She has had occasion to know of a truth that eternal vigilance is the priceof land. Her claim to the Jamul Ranch in San Diego County, after long litigation, has been confirmed to her and very recently she has obtained recantation of her rights by the Mexican Government to a large tract of land on Todos Santos Bay, Lower California. Last Spring she conceived the idea of writing a book, and Who Would Have Thought It? Having ascertained the secret, our bachelor correspondent was very importunate in demanding permission to make known the name of the author to the public. This is the first instance we have to note of
572
a native Californian authoress, and as such, together with the peculiar history of the lady, she is worthy of more than a passing notice. The intimation of doing this was enough to alarm her. No! said she, I dont want anybody to know that I wrote the book. Why not? asked the impressible bachelor. Becausewhy, because everybody would then criticize the work, and they would think that they discovered defects which otherwise they would not notice. Oh, no; dont give my name; for they know that English is not my native language; and they would say that my expressions partake of the Spanish idiom and that my English is not goodand then, you know, I may do better with my next book. I only wrote this to see how I saw it in print. It was no use, however, to thus attempt to cheat the public of interesting news. The conversation ended after a while, leaving our correspondent with some vague impressions of his rights and duties which warranted him in his own opinion in making the fact public. And so he has done it. A perusal of the book is sufficient to satisfy the reader that Mrs. Burton has talent, descriptive and narrative power, and a critical though perhaps too cynical habit of observation. The plot of the story is new and original, and is worked up in strong, vigorous language, somewhat exaggerated in particular illustrations of character, somewhat coarse in idea at times, but as a whole it is very readable and suggestive of thought. It is no mere idle story, but is a satire directed against certain exhibitions of hypocrisy, shoddy, codfish aristocracy and demagogueism. It is remarkable for its French frankness and detail of narrative and its total disregard for the common denouement of novelscharacteristics that are developed with sensational effect. It is a singular coincidence of fact that it should start out by making the discovery of diamonds, and emeralds in Arizona, a leading feature in the work, even having done so before the late excitement in that respect had been aroused. The book will be read with pleasure on this Coast at least, even though the sentiments contained therein may be considered contrary to received opinions.
573
2. Articles
MARB wrote a number of articles for The Sun and The San Diego Bee, but most of these were not signed. In some cases she assumed a pseudonym or initial. In the following examples, only one, the article on the Missions, is signed by her. From: San Diego Union, October 9, 1874, p. 3: 1. Cultivation of Castor Beans Allusions have several times been made in The Union to the enterprise of raising castor beans in the Jamul Valley. A visit there a few days ago put me in possession of some facts that may be of interest to your readers. Last Spring Mrs. M. A. Burton, who is a woman of rare energy and business capacity, decided to put in cultivation about one hundred acres of land on the Jamul Ranch. It was too late to plant grain, the land was not fenced, and there was no chance for irrigation. So, it was decided to attempt the culture of castor beans. The land was plowed and laid off as for corn, and the beans dropped in furrows and covered with a plow. It required 250 lbs. to plant the 100 acres. When the plants came up they were [thinned] out leaving only one to each fill about five feet apart one way and three the other. The land was cultivated once, but not irrigated and needed no fencing, as no stock will touch the plants. About August the beans began to ripen, and picking commenced. They grow in the shape of spikes, from eight to fifteen inches long containing a large number of pods, each of which contains three beans. The variety cultivated is different from the tree kind grown as an ornamental shrub; it forms a plant about six feet high and is an annual. The peculiarity rendering it profitable to cultivate is that when ripe the pod busts open with such violence that the beans are thrown out to a distance of several feet. The method of gathering and preparing for market is as follows: Every day the ripe spikes are gathered by hand, put in sacks and hauled to the popping ground which is a space of about an acre, made smooth and hard like an old fashioned buckwheat threshing
574
ground. Here the spikes are spread and during the day they pop open from the heat of the sun, throwing out the beans. Each morning the straw is raked off, the beans shoveled up, cleaned in a fanning mill and sacked ready for market. By the time the field is once picked over it is ready for another picking, like cotton, and the season, commencing in August, is not yet over. From eight to ten men have been employed picking on one hundred acres. The yield is estimated at 1500 lbs. per acre, worth four cents per pound, or a gross yield of $60 per acre. The expense of cultivation, etc., is estimated this year at one-half this amount, but is greater than it probably will be another season, owing to inexperience and preparing new land. There is probably no crop so easily raised that will yield so large a return. Mrs. Burton is also making arrangements to do what many others can do in this county very profitably, viz.: to erect dams across ravines so as to secure reservoirs of water to irrigate with. At small expense this can be done in a great many places and save the rainfall of the Winter for Summer use. If more of our farmers had the courage and energy possessed by this lady we should soon make a still better showing in our exports. - F. From The Daily San Diego Union. December 16, 1874. The following article was undoubtedly written by MARB, as is suggested by the reporters switching midstream from third-person to first-person narration. The article is an additional proof of MARBs intelligence, enterprising spirit, and interest in exploring a variety of venues for investment. Her friendship with Davidsonand his willingness to comment on the prospects of using Jamul as the zone for a reservoirprovide the scientific validation to a report MARB hoped would generate San Diego support in the project and willingness to invest. Irrigation in Jamul Valley A correspondent of the San Francisco Alta, writing from Jamul Valley in this county, says:
575
At the Jamul Rancho (about twenty miles east of San Diego) is the only place, as far as I know, where the topography of a hilly country is being utilized. There they have commenced the first of a series of dams they are going to build in the ravines, which, beginning quite narrow at the foot of the Sierras, widen as they open into the Jamul Valley. Observing that in years of abundant rainfall the brooks in the ravines ran full for five or six months, and that even when there is scarcity of rain they will run for several weeks, Mrs. Burton (the owner of Jamul) thought that by building reservoirs in succession at the most convenient places on those ravines, sufficient water could be saved yearly to irrigate all the tillable land of the rancho in years when insufficiency of rain would render it necessary to secure their crops. The Jamul Valley being lower than the ravines, can all be put under irrigation at a comparatively small outlay; and I am of [the] opinion that the same can be said of other ranchos in San Diego county. But Mrs. Burton wished to utilize the topography of Jamul to a greater extent. So, last year, observing that the Jamul is a perfect basin, with a circumference of more than thirty miles, and a single narrow outlet for the water-shed of all this area, she requested Professor George Davidson of the Coast Survey to make an estimate of the rain-fall and catchment, or water-shed, of the Jamul basin, with a view to bring the water to San Diego or the immediate country. The Professor did so, and in his statement he mentions that according to the records of the Smithsonian Institute the average rain-fall at Fort San Diego, for many years, is a trifle over nine inches; the lowest record, seven inches. The Professor estimates that nearly thrice as much falls on the western flanks of the mountains, where the clouds bank up and precipitate their moisture more freely. This same law, with a different ratio, exhibits itself along the western flank of the range of mountains forming the peninsula of San Francisco, and along the west slope of the Sierra Nevada, as well as the southern extremity of Lower California. The Professor adds: I feel safe, therefore, in assuming that an average of fifteen inches of rain falls about the Jamul mountains, and in dry seasons, ten inches, etc. After speaking of the favorable character of the topography of Jamul for reservoirs, etc., he says: Over an area of 30 square miles, the rain-fall of 15 inches will give
576
7,840,800,000 gallons. And if we suppose one-half (a large estimate) to be lost by evaporation, supply to vegetation and running to waste, there will remain a yearly supply of 3,920,400,000 gallons, or nearly seven million daily. If we suppose an usually dry season, and that only 71/2 inches of rain falls in the mountains, and that half is lost as before, there will remain a yearly supply of 1,960,200,000 or over five million of [sic] gallons daily. This supply compares favorably with the present supply of San Francisco, where the area of catchment is but one-fourth of that of the Jamul basin; but the average rain-fall is nearly four times that of Jamul. With this proportion Jamul should supply as much water as is now supplied to San Francisco. Bygone San Diego The following article on the Missions is attributed to MARB. The conquest of California, as the peaceable planting of missions in both Californias has been designated, was most successfully accomplished by the heroic fathers of the Catholic Church. In this pious work they were warmly encouraged by benevolent Spaniards, who testified their approval by contributing liberal donations to defray all necessary expenses. The Marquis of Villapuente and the Duchess of Ganda were the leading patrons of this philanthropic undertaking, having contributed nearly $500,000 for the missions in Lower California alone. This peaceful conquest began in the Peninsula of Lower California on the Gulf side, in 1697, by the Jesuit Fathers [Juan Mara de] Salvatierra and [Juan de] Ugarte, who formed first the missions of Loreto and La Paz. These were afterwards followed by those of Muleg, San Ignacio, San Javier, San Borja, Santa Gertrudis, Guadalupe, La Pursima and San Fernando. Here in San Diego the beneficent work was [also] recommended. It had been decided by the King of Spain to apportion to the different religious orders of priests the different missions already founded and those to be planted in Upper California in the immediate future. In 1767 the Jesuit Fathers, after toiling faithfully and incessantly for nearly 100 years in the service of the Church, King and humanity, were ordered by Charles III to leave the Peninsula of California, their
577
beloved field of arduous work, rewarded only by the knowledge of having performed their duty faithfully and having done good to mankind. The Jesuit Fathers were succeeded by the Franciscans, who soon after were followed by the Dominicans, that were to remain in Lower California. San Diego was considered by its heroic founders as the parent mission and a most important base of supplies for all the other missions yet to come, but at that date only in prospect and enthusiastically expected by the earnest workers. Thus San Diego occupied the important position of pioneer to all the missions and other settlements of Upper California which soon followed. The founding of the Mission and Presidio of San Diego was not devoid of historical episodes, full of interest to the historian, the philosopher, the student of humanity. It was touching to see those priests undergoing all sorts of privations, sacrifices and discomforts for the sake of humanizing those barbarians who, even now, it seems at times doubtful whether they will ever deserve all the trouble they have cost. The California Indians, with few exceptions, did not show much natural depravity, But the Indians of the Colorado river were different. They never would learn anything good. They were so perverse naturally that they rejected anything that might approach civilization, and have remained so to this day. These Indians were the ones who would make raids on the whites, as well as Christian Indians. At their instigation, Father Luis Jayme and others were murdered at the Mission of San Diego. This tragic incident is related by Father Palou and Father Junpero [Serra]. Father Palou says: Soon after the feast [of] our seraphic Father, Saint Francis, on the eve of whose day sixty gentiles were baptized, two Indians, who had been Christians for a long time, ran away from the mission, nobody knowing their reason or motive. The Sergeant of the Presidio, with a party of soldiers went in search of them, but could not find them and all that would be learned of the fugitives was that they had gone towards the Sierras between San Diego and the Colorado river. No
578
one could guess then what was the apostates object in so doing, but afterwards, it was learned that they had gone from ranchera to ranchera of the gentile Indians, inviting them to get together and fall upon the Presidio and Mission of San Diego and kill all the soldiers because they defended the priests and kill all the priests because they were trying to exterminate the gentiles by making Christians of them. This argument succeeded so well that in a few days the two apostates with their gentile followers marched unsuspected and well-armed, determined to kill all the soldiers and priests. It was on the 4th of November, 1775 at midnight that the barbarians, numbering 800, fell upon the mission. There they found everybody asleep, totally unprepared for defense. The plan of the Indians was that half of their force would march upon the mission and the other half upon the Presidio; that no attack should be made upon the mission, until the flames of burning buildings at the Presidio would be the signal that they must immediately fall upon the mission and kill the priests. But as their natural instincts of cruelty and love of murder were now fully aroused, afraid that something might cause them to lose the satisfaction of killing, prompted them to hasten the holocaust. Without waiting for the preconcerted signal of the burning of the Presidio, the ferocious fiends cunningly secured all the cottages of the Christian Indians to prevent them from rendering any assistance. Then they went into the church and sacristy and took all the gold vases and valuables they could find, breaking open boxes and chests, carrying off all they found. Then they fired all the building, and going into the sleeping rooms of the priests, called to them to rise and come out and be murdered. By this time the guards awoke, and seeing the building burning began to fire their muskets at the Indians, who had completely surrounded them. Father Vicente, half blinded by smoke, followed the noise of the muskets and carabines and succeeded in reaching the guards, thus escaping death. Not so Father Luis Jayme. He died the death of a martyr, pierced by hundreds of arrows and dragged down to a ravine, where he was tortured to death. Here he was found covered with blood. In the meantime the Indians, who had attacked the Presidio, before they had had time to arrive there, saw the burning building of
579
the mission and concluded that the people at the Presidio also must have seen the flames and would be ready to repel their attack. They were afraid to go on, and retreated to the mission in great haste, supposing that the soldiers, having seen the mission all on fire, would surely hasten to the rescue. They were so fully convinced of this that when they reached the still burning mission, they were almost in a panic, and telling their companions to fly because the soldiers were pursuing, all ran as fast as possible, and when daylight dawned there was not one to be seen. The people at the Presidio were so sound asleep that they did not see the burning buildings nor hear the shots, though both, the Presidio and mission, were in plain view of each other. The walls of the mission church and part of the outbuildings are still to be seen, but as there has been so little interest shown to preserve these historical relics they are fast disappearing. The church was already roofless in 1855, eighty years after the incident just mentioned, when General Burton, then in command of the garrison, had the church walls repaired, and roof put on them. But there was no vestige of the altar or sacristy or windows or doors, nothing but the bare, crumbling walls. After the garrison was removed and the property again abandoned by the government of the United States, the work of decay resumed its sway. But as the church property has been restored to the church, it is to be hoped that those old walls might be preserved. The walls of the Presidio have almost disappeared, only a few mounds of crumbled adobes are left of the once important bulwark of dawning civilization. At the foot of the hill where the commandants quarters stood, a solitary date tree stands now, rather disheveled but erect as a standing protest against the indifference of the present incumbent race, which is so forgetful of those who conferred such lasting benefits upon them, the fortunate who without an hours toil, have come to possess and enjoy the fruit of the arduous labor of those heroic philanthropists. No, the Americans of California give no thanks; no, not even a thought, to the self-denying Spaniards who came here to show us that this magnificent land, a fine harbor, and heavenly climate were here. No, no thanks to the Spanish people, but
580
rather plenty of sneers and contempt because they are not a moneymaking race, and stand or shrink irresolute and let the Americans take the lead and make the money. Father Palou says the first white man to [set] foot upon the shore of San Diego bay was Father Juan Crespi, in 1769. Father Crespi came north with the first section of the expedition of discovery sent to upper California by direction of Bucareli, Viceroy of Mexico. This expedition came from Lower California overland, intending to meet at San Diego the section coming by sea, to proceed to Monterey and San Francisco. This was the plan ordered by His Majesty Charles the Third of Spain, after he decreed the expulsion of the Jesuit fathers. That part of the expedition coming by sea was delayed, so Father Crespi and his pious companions lost no time in waiting but went to work immediately and began their crusade against barbarism by building a brush shade in which mass could be said. Besides the officers and soldiers of the escort they had brought several Christian Indians, natives of Lower California, who now proved to be most valuable and efficient assistants in the conversion of San Diego Indians. In a few days fifteen Indians from the ranchera del Rincn were baptized. This incident was hailed by the priests and their followers as a good omen and sure promise that their missionary labors in Upper California would be successful. Afterward, when the expedition overland proceeded to Monterey, as the fathers passed by the Rincn ranchera, they had the pleasing surprise of seeing their fifteen neophytes come to meet them to say good-bye. As soon as the fathers came near, the simple hearted Indians knelt across the road and began singing a hymn of Thanks to Our Merciful Lord, which they had just learned. This scene was so touching in its childlike simplicity, says Father Laton, that it brought tears to our eyes to think that these poor Indians, now praising God with so much devotion, but a little while ago had no idea that there is a God. The Rincn ranchera was in that portion of the little plain opposite the race track, thus it must have been near or about the place where the railroads separate now (one going north and the other to Pacific Beach) that the neophytes met the fathers to say good-bye.
581
From that day San Diego has seen many changes, although she has experienced long lapses of discouragement because the world cared nothing for the treasure of health and well being she can give to anyone who will only come and take it, by living in this salubrious atmosphere. After the subjugation of the Indians, who so brutally murdered Father Luis Jayme on the 4th of November, 1775, there was no other successful attempt of the barbarians. The officer in command of the Presidio, Don Francisco Ortega, doubtless profited by that terrible experience, and so did his successors, for never after that was the garrison found with sentinels asleep, though the Colorado Indians made several unsuccessful attempts, hiding in the thick woods between the Presidio and La Playa. For it must be understood that a thick wood, a broad space covered with oak and pine and sycamore and willow trees, lay in the flat between Old Town and Roseville. It seems incredible now, but it is nevertheless true. It would take more space than can now be given to this subject were it to be followed chronologically to the present day. After Seor Ortega, other commandants came and followed each other in quick succession, until near the end of the last century, about 1780, Don Francisco Ruiz came to take command of the Presidio of San Diego, while his brother Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, was in command of the frontier of Lower California. Don Francisco Ruiz was commandant of San Diego for about forty years. He was occupying this important position all during the war of independence between Mexico and Spain. Much could be said upon this subject that would be of interest to the historian, but limited space and shortness of time forbid saying more than a passing notice. After the war of Mexican independence the incident of more general interest was the war with the United States. Now the Spanish officers must give way to the Americans. After peace was declared between the United States and Mexico, the first officers to garrison San Diego were General Heintzelman and Magruder, stationed at the mission. General Burton succeeded General Magruder and remained in command until 1859.
582
[From a collection of newspaper articles on San Diego. These articles were published in the San Diego Sun, December 24, 1891. These articles are bound together in a small volume called Scrap Album, available at the UCSD Librarys Special Collections section.] A Suppressed Letter A Convincing Review of the Ensenada Land Question During her fight to keep the Ensenada lands, Burton wrote a number of articles on her claims and on the legal status of her title. Although the Ensenada legal struggle will be dealt with in another work, we offer the following as a sample of MARBs journalistic writing, supported by Clara Foltz, the editor of The Daily Bee, who incurred the wrath of the citys business community for printing Burtons allegations but who also attracted readers from all over the state of California. The Mexican document included here was translated by MARB herself. From the Daily Bee, June 14, 1887. Clara Foltz, editor. A Suppressed Letter A Convincing Review of the Ensenada Land Question The following letter was refused publication in the San Diegan of Saturday: Editors SAN DIEGAN: I wish to call your attention to the fact that Mrs. Burton is not responsible for dragging the question of Ensenada titles before the public. It was not until after she had been attacked more than once, and her claim to the property denied and pronounced absurd, that she was forced to notice the matter. Again, in last evenings SUN, Mr. Sisson pronounced her title worthless. As he has never examined the papers in her possession his assertion is of little importance, and would not be noticed but for the fact that there are many persons who think of investing their money in Ensenada lands. It is therefore only a matter of simple jus-
583
tice to such persons that they may look before they leap; and if they look, they must be perfectly satisfied that Mrs. Burtons title is the only true one to that property. With us, a patent for lands issued by the Department, and signed by the President, is considered as conveying a perfect title, and it is claimed that such is the case in Mexico. Therefore, unless the President de facto, has the power, by the scratch of his pen, to arbitrarily, and without the aid of law, wipe out and annul the acts of his predecessors, Mrs. Burtons title to the Ensenada is perfect. If the President of Mexico is possessed of this power, it behooves all persons wishing to invest their money in Mexican lands, to look well to what they are about before they leap, for the very next President may conclude to annul their titles, since they have no security. The copy of the patent issued to Mrs. Burton, hereunto enclosed is recorded at the Ensenada. It is one of about thirty documents, showing her title. The originals are all here, and can be seen by those interested. No. 201, Registered on Page 34 of the respective book Cervattos. MEXICAN REPUBLICCOLONIZATION OF LOWER CALIFORNIA. The citizen Benito Jurez, Constitutional President, ad interim of the Mexican United States, to all whom these present letters may see, be it known: That in conformity with the instruction which for the benefit of the new settlers of California, was issued on the 12th of August, 1787, in the Real de Santa Ana of that Peninsula by the Visitor and Royal Commissioner, the Count Don Jos de Glvez, and according to the law of 18th of August, 1824, relating to colonization, decreed by the Sovereign Constituent General Congress, and its supreme orders and regulations for the Territories of the Republic, enacted on the 21st of November, 1828, I have deemed proper, in the name of the Nation, and using the powers which the law confers upon me, to approve and ratify the concession made on the 10th of July 1804, by the Governor Don Jos Joaqun de Arrillaga, of five leagues of land named La Ensenada, situated in the Municipality of Santo Toms, and actually possessed by Doa Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton, who on obtaining this confirmation of her title, in accordance with the tenor of the decree of the 10th of March, 1857, remains obligated to the fulfillment of the provisions of the law aforesaid relating to this matter.
584
Given in the Palace of the National Government in the Heroic City of Vera Cruz on the 31st of December, 1859. The President <signature> BENITO JUREZ The Minister of Fomento Colonization and Industry <signature> JOS DE EMPARN If Mr. Sisson had examined these papers, I am sure that he would have accorded her that justice he claims to have shown others, for he must have been satisfied that her title was better than any of those he did purchase. I am led to this belief from the tenor of the closing paragraph of his article which says, It would not pay us to do so, aside from moral considerations. In forming his opinion as to the value of Mrs. Burtons title, I am of the opinion that he must have been influenced by the statements of such men as Ryerson, whom he gives as authority. If this be the only authority upon this point, it is weak indeed. The obligation to be complied with, mentioned in the patent, is that of keeping an agent on the property. That she had such agent is admitted by Mr. Sisson, when he mentions the fact that her agent bought six thousand [acres] of land from the company. His (the agents) purchaser was, I think, his father-in-law, or his father, who was placed there by the original owner. I will here venture the assertion that Gastelum, the agent mentioned, never paid one dollar to the company for land, the six thousand acres referred to covers the league, a fraction that he held through Mrs. Burton. That deed from the company to him may have been the price of his treason. He was probably frightened into the belief that he would lose the land unless he got such deed. Be this as it may, the written evidence of his agency is here. Although the official evidence of Mrs. Burtons application to be placed in possession is here, there was no absolute necessity for such proceeding, for we have the original document giving possession fully and describing the manner in which possession was given. Mr. Sisson says that the company paid all of those who held evidence of titles, and as he refused to examine Mrs. Burtons titles, he could not, with truth, make this statement, she being the widow of a gallant soldier, whose services in the late war cost him his life, was presumed to be
585
without means and without friends. Therefore it was not necessary even to examine her claim. But my belief is, that it is a duty of the government of the United States to protect all citizens and in proper time friends will be found to attend to this matter if it becomes necessary. For if proper legal and authentic papers are good for anything, she certainly has them, and if such are not respected in Mexico, it is well for every one to understand it. As an acknowledgment of her title the Government demanded and received a large amount of money for the five leagues mentioned in the patent. Subsequent to the issuance of the patent, President Jurez issued a decree confirming all of the land mentioned in the concession granted by the King of Spain, and I have at command properly authenticated documents of all the papers, from the original application down to the receipt for the money paid for the land, which can be seen by any persons who are interested. It may prove to be a good thing for all persons who may think of investing in Ensenada property to look well into this matter before doing so. A thorough examination will do no harm to anyone, the Company not excepted, as I cannot believe they wish to receive money without giving an equivalent. The records in the United States Surveyor Generals office in San Francisco will show the original documents, should anyone be curious to ascertain the validity of Mrs. Burtons title. And if such papers are meaningless in Mexico, or if any de facto President has the power, in himself, without authority of law, to annul the acts of his predecessors, it should be known to all persons. If it is true that it would not pay to wrong the lady, aside from the moral consideration, would it not be advisable for Mr. Sisson to have such examination of the documents in Mrs. Burtons possession by some competent and unbiased legal authority, so that he may know what rights Mrs. Burton has, and thus facilitate an amicable arrangement of the whole matterone great object of the latter being to aid in the development of the lands in question and the prosperity of the frontier. [signed] FAIR PLAY.
586
3. Lower California Mining Company Brochure

source: Huntington Library file RB 1349 (32 pp. booklet) Prospectus The Lower California Mining Company 2 Maps of Burton Grant at All Saints Bay/Ensenada Property of Lower California Mining Co. Grants and Concession from Mexico Documents and Reports dated: 1865, New York The Stockholder Print, 72 William Street Capital: $2,000,000 40,000 shares of $50 each. Directors: Henry S. Burton, Colonel Fifth Reg. U.S. Artillery Henry Cardose, Esq. of Rivera, Cardose & Co., of New York Stewart Van Vliet, Brig.-Gen. U.S. Army Dr. Issac Hayes, of Philadelphia Adolph Hugal, Esq. of Philadelphia Henry R. Morgan, Esq., New York De Grasse Livingston, Esq., New York Officers of the Company for 1865 President, Henry S. Burton Vice-President, De Grasse Livingston Treasurer, Henry Cardoze Secretary, F. Longchamp Counsel of the Company, Joseph N. Balestier Office of the Company No. 65 William Street, New York Object of the Company. Description of Property This company is formed under the laws of the State of New York for the purpose of prosecuting mining operations upon mines of copper, silver and gold, situated in Lower California, Mexico. The property, which has been conveyed for the benefit of the company, together with the privileges and concessions obtained from the
587
Mexican Government, consists of two tracts of land, one called Ensenada and the other known by the name of San Antonio. These tracts of land adjoin each other and lie upon the Pacific coast, in the northern part of Lower California, about seventy miles south of the southern boundary of the State of California. The Ensenada, which contains about forty-five square miles, lies along and back of the bay of Todos Santos, (All Saints Bay), one of the safest and largest harbors of the Pacific Ocean, and it constitutes by itself alone, on account of its commanding situation, one of the most valuable properties ever brought into a company. The San Antonio, a tract of about nine square miles, contains a number of mines, mostly of copper and copper and silver mixed, over fifty veins of different ores having been already discovered upon it, some of them equaling in richness the most favorably known of the State of California. Vessels returning home in ballast from San Francisco can stop at the Ensenada as they pass by, and take, on their way home, cargoes of ores at a trifling expense. As may be seen in the annexed documents, the title to Ensenada came by inheritance to the party who transferred it to the company, and that of San Antonio by purchase. Both were confirmed, in 1859, by President Jurez and there is no question as to their validity. (See Docs., Nos., 1,2,9, and 10.) It will be seen also by referring to those documents, that the Company has the right to export ores free from duty, and to import, also free of duty, all the machinery and other materials necessary for the working of the mines. These concessions will very greatly facilitate the operations of the Company. Seor Moreno, Jefe Poltico, (See Doc. No. 8,) states that the chief mineral found on the two above-named estates is copper mixed with silver. All mineralogists and geologists, who have examined that portion of Lower California, agree in opinion, that it rivals in richness the famous copper region in Chili [sic]; and it may be easily perceived how valuable will prove really rich copper and silver mines located near the sea. As for the fertility of the country, its capacity of sustaining a large mining population, the cheapness of labor, etc., we refer to the report of the same competent official, Seor Moreno.
588
Capital StockProgramme of Operations

The capital, to consist of and be represented by the above described property, with all the concessions and privileges attached to it, is fixed at $2,000,000, divided into 40,000 shares of $50 each, par value. One half of the capital stock constitutes a working capital, large enough to render certain the prompt development of the mineral territory owned by the Company, and consequently early returns for the stockholders. It is proposed to call $25 per share, $10 to be paid on subscribing, and $15 on delivery of the certificate of stock. The stock to be issued will be a full paid stock, not subject to further call or assignment. While prosecuting mining operations upon such mines as will be selected for that purpose, the Company will turn its attention to another source of profit. The property they own is so large, that portions of it will have to be sold to other companies; the lease of the farming lands and also the sale of town lots along the bay of All Saints, so evidently marked out for the location of a great city and commercial emporium, will form another item of profitable return, if the present enterprise is properly conducted. Upper California has been the wonder of the world these fifteen years. By common assent, Lower California is recognized to-day to be equal in minerals to her sister, while it is favored with a healthy climate. The time seems to have come, therefore, when capital and enterprise must unite to develop an interesting portion of our continent, and open to the world new sources of wealth.
Document No. 1 [translation]

REPUBLIC OF MEXICO COLONIZATION OF THE TERRITORY OF LOWER CALIFORNIA TITLE OF PROPRIETORSHIP The Citizen Benito Jurez, Constitutional President, ad interim of the United Mexican States, to all to whom these presents may come. Know ye that in conformity with the instruction, which, for the benefit of the new settlers of California, was issued on the 12th of
589
August, 1768, in the Real of Santa Anna of that peninsula by the Visitor and Royal Commissioner Count Don Jos de Glvez, and according to the law of the 18th of August 1824, relative to the Colonization decreed by the Sovereign Constituent General Congress, and its supreme regulations for the Territories of the Republic, enacted on the 21st of November, 1828; I have thought proper in the name of the Nation, and in conformity with the powers which the laws confer upon me, to approve and ratify the concession made on the 10th of July, 1804, by the Governor Don Jos Joaqun de Arrillaga, of five grazing farms, named La Ensenada, and situated in the municipality of Santo Tomas, and actually possessed by Doa Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton, who, on obtaining this confirmation of her title according to the tenor of the Decree of the 10th of March 1857, remains obligated to the fulfillment of the provision of the laws aforesaid relating to this matter. Given in the Palace of the National Government in the Heroic City of Vera Cruz, on the 31st of December, 1859. The President, <signature> BENITO JUREZ The Minister of Fomento, Colonization and Industry <signature> MELCHOR OCAMPO Copy of the original title of confirmation which was given to the lady aforesaid for the lands named. All of which I certify, Mexico, July 20th 1861 <signature> MANL. OROSCO The Undersigned, Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, certifies that the above signature is apparently that of Don Manuel Orosco, and is the same which he uses in the documents which he authorizes as Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Fomento. Mexico July 22nd, 1861. <signature> LUCAS DE PALACIO Y MAYAROLA LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES City of Mexico, July 23rd, 1861
590
I, the undersigned, Secretary of the Legation of the United States, at the City of Mexico, hereby certify that the foregoing signature is that known to me as the signature of Lucas de Palacio y Mayarola, who was, at the time of subscribing the same, Chief Clerk of the Department of Foreign Relations of the Mexican Republic and that all his official acts are entitled to the full faith and credit as such. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of this Legation, the day and year first before written. <signature> WM. H. CORWIN U.S. Secretary of Legation at Mexico
Document No. 2
REPUBLIC OF MEXICO COLONIZATION OF THE TERRITORY OF LOWER CALIFORNIA TITLE OF PROPRIETORSHIP The Citizen Benito Jurez, Constitutional President, ad interim of the United Mexican States, to all to whom these presents may come. Know ye that in conformity with the instruction, which, for the benefit of the new settlers of California, was issued on the 12th of August, 1768, in the Real of Santa Anna of that peninsula by the Visitor and Royal Commissioner Count Don Jos de Glvez, and according to the law of the 18th of August 1824, relative to the Colonization decreed by the Sovereign Constituent General Congress, and its supreme regulations for the Territories of the Republic, enacted on the 21st of November, 1828; I have thought proper in the name of the Nation, and in conformity with the powers which the laws confer upon me, to approve, and ratify the concession made on the 7th of May, 1834, by the Political Chief of said Territory Don Jose Mariano Monverde, of a grazing farm. named San Antonio, situated in the municipality of Santo Tomas, and actually possessed by Doa Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton, who, on obtaining this confirmation of her title according to the tenor of the Decree of the 10th of March 1857, remains obligated to the fulfillment of the provision of the laws aforesaid relating to this matter. Given in the Palace of the National Government in the Heroic City of Vera Cruz, on the 31st of December, 1859.
591
The President, <signature> BENITO JUREZ The Minister of Fomento, Colonization and Industry <signature> MELCHOR OCAMPO Copy of the original title of confirmation which was given to the lady aforesaid for the lands named. All of which I certify, Mexico, July 20th 1861 <signature> MANL. OROSCO The Undersigned, Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, certifies that the above signature is apparently that of Don Manuel Orosco, and is the same which he uses in the documents which he authorizes as Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Fomento. <signature> Mexico July 22nd, 1861. LUCAS DE PALACIO Y MAYAROLA LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES City of Mexico, July 23rd, 1861 I, the undersigned, Secretary of the Legation of the United States, at the City of Mexico, hereby certify that the foregoing signature is that known to me as the signature of Lucas de Palacio y Mayarola, who was, at the time of subscribing the same, Chief Clerk of the Department of Foreign Relations of the Mexican Republic and that all his official acts are entitled to the full faith and credit as such. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of this Legation, the day and year first before written. <signature> WM. H. CORWIN U.S. Secretary of Legation at Mexico
Document No. 3 [Translation]

Translation Ministry of State, Office of Fomento, Colonization and Industry Having presented to his Excellency the Constitutional President, ad interim, your petition of the 20th of September 1859, and the
592
accompanying documents upon the extension of the land which you inherited from your grandfather Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, in Lower California, his Excellency directed me to say to you, as I now do, that your petition is now unnecessary, because, on the 31st of December 1959, the title of ratification of the property granted to your grandfather, was issued. The Seor Don Gernimo Amador, Jefe Poltico of Lower California, recently nominated by the Constitutional Government, carried with him said title, together with those of other landowners in that Territory in order to give all rightful possession. God and Liberty. H. Vera Cruz, April 30th, 1860 [Signed] EMPARN Seora Doa Mara A. Ruiz de Burton, New York

Ministry of State, Office of Fomento, Colonization and Industry Having presented to his Excellency the Constitutional President, ad interim, your petition of the 3rd of October 1859, addressed to him in consequence of being informed that the circumstance of being married to a foreigner would render it necessary you have a special permission from the Supreme Government to possess the property which you have acquired in Lower California, his Excellency has resolved that this Ministry recommend to the Jefe Poltico of that Territory, as I accordingly do in the official document adjoining, that he extend to your husband and yourself, the protection necessary for foreigners acquiring landed property in the Republic God and Liberty. H. Vera Cruz, April 30th, 1860 [Signed] EMPARN Seora Doa Mara A. Ruiz de Burton, New York
593

Ministry of State, Office of Fomento, Colonization and Industry By order of his Excellency the Constitutional President ad interim, in virtue of a petition by Seora Doa Mara A. Ruiz de Burton, I recommend to you most earnestly, to extend in accordance with the laws that qualify foreigners to possess landed property in the Republic, the protection that in consequence is due to the property that the aforesaid lady and her husband possess or may hereafter acquire in that Territory. God and Liberty. H. Vera Cruz, April 30th, 1860 [Signed] EMPARN To the Jefe Poltico of Lower California, La Paz

Ministry of State, Office of Fomento, Colonization and Industry Having presented to his Excellency the Constitutional President, ad interim, your petition for the possession of the mines existing in a tract of land belonging to you, called San Antonio, situated in the northern frontier of Lower California, he has, after a careful examination of the subject, deemed expedient that the undersigned strongly recommend, as in compliance I do in the adjoining note to the Jefe Poltico of that territory, that he extend all the protection that the Company formed by you and your husband may require, and the mining laws now in force permit, for the working of mines in the abovenamed tract of land. The Supreme Constitutional Government would have wished to accede to all your petition, desiring to protect useful labor and give encouragement to large enterprises, but it cannot be done without overstepping, in violation of duty, the actual laws of the Republic.
594
In virtue of the desire above indicated, of encouraging the working of mines herein spoken of, his Excellency has resolved to grant also the following: To the company formed by the husband of Doa Mara A. Ruiz de Burton for the purpose of working copper mines in Lower California, permission is granted to export through the Bay of Todos Santos, the ores extracted from these mines free of all duties; and the said Company is authorized to import through the same point, also free of duties, the machinery and other materials necessary for the working of the mines. The Company, to do this, having to conform with the dispositions that to prevent fraud may be dictated by the Administrator of Customs of La Paz, to whom the Company will give due notice of the objects they intend to import in virtue of this concession. The preceding paragraph has been transcribed under this date to the Ministers of Hacienda for the government of the Administrator of Customs of La Paz and consequent ends. God and Liberty. H. Vera Cruz, April 30th, 1860 [Signed] EMPARAN

Ministry of State, Office of Fomento, Colonization and Industry Knowing that heretofore Doa Mara A. Ruiz de Burton, owner of the tract of land called San Antonio, or her husband, has been prevented from denouncing mines, his Excellency the Constitutional President ad interim directs that not only such an act of opposition be not permitted, but that the Jefatura will extend the greatest protection possible to a Company formed by the husband of the same lady with the object of working copper mines in that part of the Republic. This protection is not only favorable to the direct or indirect development of the wealth of the country, but it is also proper, inasmuch as the Ordenanzas de Minera prescribe in article 2d of title 11th, which as you know, speaks of mining in Companies in the following manner: Although by these Ordenanzas I prohibit any indi-
595
vidual working in the usual terms to denounce two adjoining mines upon the same vein this notwithstanding, I grant to those who may work in Companiesalthough they may not be the discoverers, and without prejudice to the right that by this title they may have in case they should bethat they may denounce four new pertenencias or of mines before worked and abandoned, although they may be adjoining and in the same direction. His Excellency the President has deemed proper to grant to the aforesaid Company permission to export ores and import machinery and other materials for the working of the mines, through the Bay of Todos Santos, of which the Administrator of Customs of La Paz is notified in order that he may prevent any occasion of fraud. The Supreme Government expects you to give all the protection necessary and possible to the aforesaid enterprise. And I repeat to you the assurances of my regard and esteem. God and Liberty. H. Vera Cruz, April 30th, 1860 [Signed] EMPARN To the Jefe Poltico of Lower California, La Paz

Report on the lands of Ensenada de Todos Santos, and mineral lands of San Antonio, situated near the Frontier of Lower California in the Republic of Mexico, and belonging to Mrs. Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton. The Bay of Todos Santos is sixteen leagues long by eight leagues wide and has three points or landings, namely El Sausal de Camacho, La Punta Banda, and La Ensenada. The latter is the best of the above three; but all can be used for loading and unloading without any difficulty, and vessels can remain at anchor in the Bay with safety when the wind is from west to north. The Ensenada de Todos Santos comprises the farms or places called El Maneadero, El Aguajito, El Gallo, and that properly called La Ensenada, which places contain water and pasturage for raising cattle. The climate is spring-like the greater part of the year. It has woods and chaparral in several places. These lands were granted
596
in the year 1805 to Lieutenant Don Manuel Ruiz, by the Governor of California, Don Joaquin de Arillaga, residing at the time in the presidio of Loreto in Lower California, to the amount of two sitios or cattle ranches. Judicial possession was given in the same year by Judge Salgado. On the 31st December 1859, a patent for these lands was issued in behalf of Mrs. Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton by his Excellency the Constitutional President ad interim, of the Mexican Republic, Citizen Benito Jurez, whilst at Vera Cruz, and countersigned by his Excellency Minister Emparn, and extended to five cattle ranches. There are in these lands two copper mines with gold veins, which were worked in 1845, 1846, and 1847. They are distant from the landing some five or six miles by a good level cart-road. They also contain some good agricultural lands. Sugar-cane can be cultivated perfectly, as we have seen done this year. The mineral lands of San Antonio constitute a cattle ranch granted in 1834 at La Paz to the Indian Simon Rana [Ranc] by the Civil Governor (Jefe Poltico) of this district, Don Jos Mariano Monterde, and the judicial possession was given by the Judge of the Frontier, Don Ignacio de Arce, in the same year. On the 31st December, 1859, his Excellency the Constitutional President ad interim, of the Mexican Republic, Citizen Benito Jurez, issued a patent for the lands of San Antonio in favor of Mrs. Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton, countersigned by his Excellency Minister Emparn. This place has an abundance of water from natural springs, as well as that deposited by the rains, also in several wells of little depth., On account of its food pastures there is every facility for raising cattle. There are woods of fine oaks, cottonwood, ash, poplar, and willow, and chaparrals and at a short distance any quantity of pine trees. This property abounds in mineral veins, about seventy-four veins having already been discovered the greater part of which are copper and a few silver. In 1857, some foreigners commenced work on these mines, but having no capital, they were obliged to desist before six months. During the few weeks in which they worked, they exported over eighty tons of ore, which assayed from eighteen to sixty percent, as per documentary evidence, The distance from these mines to the nearest landing, the Sausal de Camacho, is six miles, over an excellent wagon-road. Mining in this country is easy and of little cost to the managers if they are intelligent men.
597
Laborers can be found among the natives of the neighborhood; but if they are not sufficient, they could easily be brought from the southern part of this Territory, where intelligent mining hands can be found; also from the neighboring States of Sonora and Sinaloa. The facilities for lessening the labor and transporting the ores from the mines to the coast, and of bringing materials, tools, etc., to the mines would depend on the managers. The distance from the mines to the coast is six miles; so that by constructing a railroad, the ore could be sent to the ships in the bay in a few minutes. It is proper to state that there will be no difficulty in obtaining mules and horses for the working of the mines in the several branches thereof, as they can be readily got in the southern part of the Peninsula, especially mules, which can be bought for a moderate price and ordered to be brought to the mines by land; for although there is a large desert which divides the northern from the southern part of the Peninsula, the crossing of it by these animals is both easy and rapid. The horses it will be better to buy in Upper California, where they can be bought very cheap and easily transported to the mines. The same would be the case with the cattle which might be required for the use of the miners, and which have for some time been very cheap. Given under my hand and seal at Guadalupe, in the frontier of Lower California, this 27th day of June, 1861. [Signed] Jos Matas Moreno State of California, }ss. County of San Diego I, George A. Pendleton, Clerk of the District County of the first Judicial District in and for San Diego County, State of California, do hereby certify that Jos Matas Moreno, Sub-Prefect and Commissioner of the Mexican Government for the Frontier of Lower California, whose name is subscribed to the foregoing document, (purporting to be certain information respecting lands lying and being in Lower California, and owned and possessed by Doa Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton,) signed the same in my presence, and that his signature thereto is genuine; that the said Jos Matas Moreno is personally known to me, and that full faith and credit are due to all his acts.
598
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said District Court this 10th day of July, A.D. 1861. [Signed] George A. Pendleton, Clerk Certificate of the Mexican Consul: Being requested, I certify that I know that Don Jos Matas Moreno has been legally and officially performing the duties of ViceGovernor in the Northern part of Lower California since the middle of last March. San Francisco, California, 20th July, 1861. [Signed] J.M. Mugarrieta No. 77
Document No. 9
Letter from Seor D. Matas Romero, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Mexico, to the President of the Lower California Company. Brevoort House, New York July 1864 Sir: Your letter of yesterday has been received. I am not sufficiently conversant with Colonel and Mrs. Burtons grant of lands in Lower California, Mexico, to give you a satisfactory reply; but I do know enough of that grant to inform you that according to the laws of Mexico, Colonel and Mrs. Burton have the right to dispose of the property they own there, unless that right was denied to them in their concessions, which is not the case. All Lower California is very rich in minerals, and Colonel and Mrs. Burtons lands being near the sea, is more suitable, I should think, for mining purposes. The grant that Colonel and Mrs. Burton hold from the Mexican Government being a lawful ones, will be recognized by the Government of that Republic as long as the grantees fulfill their obligation imposed on them by the concessions. I am, sir, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, M. Romero
599
Document No. 10
Office of the Mexican Pacific Company Tontine Building, 88 Wall Street New York, July 27th, 1864 Dear Sir: I have received your favor of the 25th instant, making inquiries with reference to the grants of land in Lower California held by Mrs. Colonel H.S. Burton. In reply I beg to state: That while connected with the United States Legation in Mexico in 1861, I was instrumental in procuring from the Mexican Government for Mrs. Burton certain title papers which completed her title to the lands referred to, and from my knowledge of the circumstances connected therewith, I have no hesitation in saying that, in my judgment, her titles are perfect in all respects. There had also been previous action by the Mexican Government, when located at Vera Cruz, with reference to grants of land in Lower California, revising and confirming such grants, which places titles in that Territory in a peculiarly clear and favorable positions. The peninsula of Lower California is well known to be very rich in minerals and its position renders it peculiarly accessible; and from what I have heard of the particular locality where Mrs. Burtons grants are located, I should judge the point to be eminently favorable and promising for mining operations. In conclusion I would remark that there is no probability that any valid title will ever be questioned by any Government that may be in power in Mexico. I am, sir, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, E. L. Plumb
Document No. 11
ASSAYS Assays of specimens of ores from Mrs. Mara A. R. de Burtons lands in California GREEN CARBONATE NO, 1 Metallic Copper...............................30.25%
600
GREEN CARBONATE WITH IRON MATRIX Metallic Copper...............................21.50% Locust Point Copper Works, Sept. 12th, 1861 Eug. Gaussoin, Superintendent Extracts from a General Report on Lower California and the Companys Mines Presented to the Trustees New York, August 5th 1864 This valuable property, secured by a grant from the Mexican Government, is situated in Lower California, in the Republic of Mexico, on the peninsula between the thirty first and thirty-third degrees of north latitude and the one hundred and fifteenth (115) and one hundred and sixteenth (116) degrees west longitude, and very near the Pacific coast. Heretofore but little has been known of the geology of this district. It is found that the mountains which traverse Lower California belong to a system coval with the Sierra Madre of Mexico and also the Sierra Nevada of California. The materials that make up these mountains are syenite quartzite and granite upheaved by volcanic action during the Mesozoic and Tertiary periods. No evidence of Cambrian, Silurian or Devonian formations is found. The topography indicates extensive metamorphic action. The upheaved strata are inclined at angles varying from twenty to forty-five degrees. In the minerals, Lower California differs from California very widely. The outcrops generally are a saccharoid and decomposed quartz, and chiefly impregnated with cubical iron and arsenical pyrites and carbonates of copper. At a greater depth sulphurets make their appearance, especially after passing the water-line. The ore known in that country by the Mexicans as Azogue is a quicksilver ore which has been extensively worked by them since 1778. It is an ore lying near the surface, not deeper than one hundred feet. In a country where such extreme metamorphic changes have transpired, no well defined crystallizations need be looked for. The chief metallic elements found here are gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, tin, argile, mete-
601
oric and magnetic iron. The method of mining heretofore has been that of the Mexicans. Mozos are employed to carry the refuse material, water, and ores to the surface in rawhide sacks. Ladders and trap doors were not known in their mines, and the mozo, with his load secured to his back by a strap passing round his forehead, made his way up and down by means of rude steps or niches cut in the side of the shaft. The daily wages of the mozos never exceeded twenty five cents in our money. Since the working of the mines by Europeans and Americans, extensive reduction works and machinery have been brought into use. The tract of land belonging now to the Lower California Company was formerly bounded by the Mission San Toms at the South, and by the Mission San Miguel at the northern extremity. The Jesuit fathers describe the terrain in which they labored as highly valuable for its mineral resources. Among the oldest mines worked (chiefly for copper) are the Plumosa, which is a carbonaceous quartz ore, producing from fifteen to twenty-five percent copper. La Encantada is described as an important vein, being between seven and eight feet wide at a depth of fifty feet. The ore is equally rich in copper, with an alloy of silver. La Serena, Jess Mara, Esmeralda, Azul and other veins, are also very rich. Regular steam communication being established between San Francisco and Lower California, the monthly departures afford the best conveyance. Sailing vessels are extensively employed in carrying ores, machinery, utensils, etc. The Carmen Island Salt Mines at present export all the salt now used in California and the other Pacific States. The pearl fisheries are an interesting branch of industry on that coast. The Bay of Todos Santos is an excellent and beautiful harbor, with sufficient depth of soundings to admit large vessels and the anchorage is secure within. It opens to the Pacific Ocean and lies nears the grounds here described. Its distance from San Francisco is about five hundred miles, and is generally made by steamers in two or three days, and sailing vessels in one or two weeks. The valleys of Lower California, especially those which intersect the San Antonio district, are susceptible of the highest cultivation.
602
It is doubtful if any mining districts either in California or Nevada Territory can furnish better results or richer gold, silver, and copperbearing leads. Such at least is the evidence of tradition. The existence of wealth in that country is corroborated by the relics of the immense and massive church property that have escaped the ravages of Indian barbaritysuch as vases, chalices, basins, images, etc., some of which are massive gold and silver, dating from the year 1775, evidently the design and work of Jesuit fathers, laymen and Indian artisans. The climate is one that has been extolled by every visitor and explorer, the heat seldom exceeding 90 Fahrenheit. The constant breezes from the sea and the trade-winds from the Gulf of California temper the climate so that the heat is hardly felt to be uncomfortable. There are really but two seasons, the wet and the dry. From October to February or March is the wet or rainy season, and the other months comprise the dry season. In this, however, there are occasional showers of rain, and there are fogs and mists at times setting in from the northwest. It is by far the most propitious climate on the coast for any kind of pursuit. With reference to the encouragement of foreigners of foreign corporations acquiring property for agricultural and mining purposes, the Mexican Government have [sic] heretofore, as well as at this time, held out the most liberal encouragement. The new dynasty of Maximilian have [sic] not signified any intention adverse to this policy.
Upper and Lower California Coinage of Mexico from 15211856

Considering, say the authors of the New American Cyclopaedia, the length of time during which this region (Upper California) has been known and partially occupied, the discovery of this great national wealth (gold) is remarkable. So late as the year 1836 the Penny Cyclopaedia thus briefly disposed of its mineral resources, In minerals, Upper California is not rich, etc. Eleven years later Upper California was known as one of the most auriferous countries in the worldthe entire gold product of California, since the first discovery of the precious metal being not less than $600,000,000. The same future may be confidently predicted for Lower California, as soon as American enterprise has developed the valuable mines that abound in
603
that part of the Peninsula. Gold, silver, cinnabar, and nearly all other minerals, are found in Lower California, and only await labor and capital to make it as prosperous as Upper California. Respecting the fabulous mineral wealth of Mexico, some statistics will be found highly interesting. The following statement of the coinage of Mexico from 1521 to 1856 is from official data, furnished by the Ministerio de Fomento: [statistics by mint and geographical area of silver, gold, copper] The yearly coinage of the mints of Mexico steadily increased from the time of the establishment of the first mint up to the year 1805, when the highest amount was reached, being for that year $27,000,000. The total coinage of the mint of Mexico from the War of Independence to 1856 is as follow: [statistics by year] The following is the coinage of the different mints of Mexico in the years 1855 and 1856: [statistics by mint and geographical area] The amount of silver alone in circulation notwithstanding large annual exportations exceeds $100,000,000, according to the best data. The prosperity of mining operations has hardly been checked by the revolutions which have almost constantly prevailed and the richness of the mines of Mexicocopper, gold, and silveris a fact so well established that European capitalists are now largely investing in mining enterprises there. Numerous companies have been recently formed in France, England, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, to develop the mineral wealth which seems truly inexhaustible in Mexico.
Index
Page Objects of the CompanyDescription of Property . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Capital StockProgramme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Documents
Doc. No. 1., Title of Proprietorship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Doc. No. 2., Title of Proprietorship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
604
Doc. No. 3., Letter from the Ministry of Colonization and Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doc. No. 4., Letter from the Ministry of Colonization and Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doc. No. 5., Letter from the Ministry of Colonization and Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doc. No. 6., Letter from the Ministry of Colonization and Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doc. No. 7., Letter from the Ministry of Colonization and Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doc. No. 8., Report on the Lands of Ensenada and San Antonio Doc. No. 9., Letter from the Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doc. No. 10, Letter from the Edw. L. Plumb, President Mexican Pacific Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doc. No. 11, Assays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Report on Lower California and the Companys Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Upper and Lower California - Coinage of Mexico from 15211856 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16 17 18 19 20 21 24 25 26 27 30
4. Obituaries (HSB, MARB, Isabel, Federico, Harry, Nellie, grandson)

From: New York Times, 14 August 1895 Death of General Burtons Widow She Was Heiress to a Valuable Estate in Old Mexico Chicago, August 13,Seora Mara de Burton, claimant to an immense estate in Mexico, which had been granted to her grandfather by the King of Spain for valiant services, died yesterday. For nearly a year she had lived in Chicago, carrying on negotiations for the sale of her heritage, which she valued at $5,000,000. The property in question, called the Ensenada Grant, comprises nearly 500,000 acres. General Henry S. Burton, during the Mexican war in Lower California, captured Tedos [sic] Santos, the town in which she was living,
605
fell in love with the heiress, and carried her away with the regiment. Six months later they were married. She was a beautiful Spanish girl, and had little knowledge of the English language, but entered a convent and gained a complete education. For twelve years after she had completed her education, General and Mrs. Burton lived happily in New York City. In 1879 [sic] her husband died, and she removed to San Diego, Cal., where she has since lived. Mrs. Burton was fifty-five [sic] years old, and was the mother of two childrenHenry S. Burton, Jr. [sic] and Mrs. Nellie Burton de Pedrosena [sic]. Both live in San Diego. It is probable that the son will carry out the negotiations for the sale of the estate, and finish the business begun by his mother. From: San Diego Union, 13 August 1895 Mrs. Burton Dead Her Life Ends at Chicago After an Eventful Career The many friends of Mrs. Mara R. de Burton, widow of the late Gen. Henry S. Burton, will be pained to learn of her death at Chicago yesterday. Mrs. Burton was a woman of rare ability and personal charm. She was a native of La Paz, Lower California. Late in the forties Gen. Burton, then Lieutenant Colonel of Stevensons New York volunteer regiment, went to La Paz as military governor, and there met his future wife, Mara Amparo Ruiz. They were married early in the fifties at Monterey, Cal., under the chaperonage of Gen. and Mrs. Canby. In 1859 Gen. Burton was ordered east, and there Mrs. Burtons beauty and estimable qualities won the highest regard of many friends. Gen. Burton dying in 1869, Mrs. Burton returned to California, making her home in San Diego, where she has since resided, until the last three years, when she went to the City of Mexico and later Chicago on business. Mrs. Burton came into late prominence some years ago through her bitterly-contested suit against the International Company of Mexico for the lands comprised in the Ensenada grant, on the peninsula. Though repeatedly meeting reverses, she fought the case to the last, taking it to the City of Mexico and enlisting on her behalf the ablest lawyers of that republic. She claimed the title through her
606
grandfather, who was said to have received the grant from the king of Spain for valuable services. Mrs. Burton died at the age of 60 years. She leaves two children, Mrs. Nellie Burton de Pedrorena and Henry H. Burton, both residents of San Diego. The funeral arrangements have not yet been made. From: San Francisco Call, 13 August 1895, p. 4, col. 5 Mrs. Burton Dead Passed Away while Stopping at a Chicago Hotel San Diego, California, August 12.News was received today of the death of Mrs. H. S. Burton, wife of General Burton, which occurred this morning at the Sherman House, Chicago. She was Mara Amparo Ruiz, daughter of a noted family at La Paz, Lower California, and met General Burton; the letter was military Governor of La Paz during the Mexican War. They were married at Monterey in early 1850 [sic]. Mrs. Burton was a beautiful woman, a leader in society and a brilliant writer and when General Burton was ordered east in 1859 she returned to California, living in San Diego. Her name became prominent some years ago in the famous suit against the International Company of Mexico for possession of the Ensenada land grant in Lower California, comprising over 20 thousand acres. She fought this to the bitter end, living for the past three years in the City of Mexico, where the case had been carried. She leaves two children, Mrs. Nellie Burton de Pedrorena and Henry H. Burton, both of San Diego. From The Bee, Sacramento, California, 13 August 1895, p. 2, col. 6 Mrs. Burtons Death A Woman Distinguished for Her Beauty and Her Intelligence Special to The Bee. San Diego, Aug. 13.Mrs. Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton, widow of the late General Henry S. Burton, died at the Sherman House, Chicago, yesterday, at the age of 60 years [sic]. She was a native of La Paz, Lower California, and met General Burton there in the late forties. He was then Lieutenant-Colonel of Stevensons New York Volunteer Regiment. They were married at
607
Monterey, early in the fifties, under the chaperonage of General and Mrs. Canby. Mrs. Burton was a woman of remarkable beauty and intellectual brilliancy, and at the height of her career was noted both East and West. She had made her home here since 1869, when General Burton died. Her name became prominent some years ago through the stubbornly fought suit against the International Company of Mexico for the Ensenada Grant, in Lower California, which she claimed as coming from her grandfather, who received it from the king of Spain. The land is now immensely valuable, and Mrs. Burton, in spite of numerous reverses, fought the case to the last, carrying it to the City of Mexico, where she had been for the last three years up to a few months ago. From: San Diego Union, 14 August 1895, p. 5 To Be Buried Here Body of Mrs. Burton Sent from Chicago Yesterday. A telegram from Chicago announced that the body of Mrs. Mara A. Ruiz de Burton was embalmed and forwarded to this city yesterday afternoon. The funeral and interment will take place here. Mrs. Burton died of gastric fever at the Sherman house, where she had been staying for six months past. She was in Chicago on business connected with her famous suit for possession of the Ensenada land grant, though the supreme court of Mexico decided that the grant was owned by the Mexican Land and Colonization company, successor to the International Company. From: San Diego Union, 19 August 1895 Mrs. Burton Laid Away Prominent Men Act as Pall-BearersImpressive Services. There was a large attendance yesterday afternoon at the funeral services held in St. Josephs church over the remains of the late Mrs. Mara R. de Burton, a lady whose admirable qualities and long residence here had endeared her to a host of friends. The service, in charge of Rev. Father Ubach, was chanted throughout, and was impressive, being followed at the grave in the Catholic cemetery with
608
services by Father Murphy. The handsome casket was covered with numerous and beautiful floral offerings. The pall-bearers were Judge J. Wade McDonald, Judge W. L. Pierce, H. L. Titus, J. W. Thompson, Dr. H. G. Burton, U.S.A., and Maj. Henry Sweeney, U.S.A. From: San Diego Union, 7 February 1910 Deaths DE PEDRORENAIn this city, February 5, 1910, Mrs. Nellie de Pedrorena, sister of H. H. Burton of Los Angeles; a native of California: age 58 years. [sic]. Friends are invited to attend the funeral services at Johnson & Connells Chapel, D and Seventh streets, at 3 oclock p.m. today, Rev. C. L. Barnes officiating. Interment at Mt. Hope cemetery. Eulogy From The San Francisco Alta California, 6 October 1869 The Late General Henry S. Burton The following eulogy to the memory of the late General Henry S. Burton was adopted at the meeting of the Society of California Pioneers on Monday evening. WHEREAS In the providence of God, we have lost in this life our much esteemed and dearly beloved brother, Henry S. Burton; and, whereas, his death is a great affliction and sorrow to his family, to this Society, and to California, his adopted State, and to his country, which he has served long and faithfully; now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Society of California Pioneers receive with grief the news of the death of Brigadier General Henry S. Burton, of the United States Army, and honorary member of this Society: that we extend to his afflicted family our sympathy and condolence; that these resolutions and the accompanying memoranda of his services be presented by this Society to his bereaved widow and mother, and that the usual badge of mourning be worn by the members and displayed in the halls of this
609
Society for the period of thirty days, and that these proceedings be published in the daily papers of San Francisco. The military records of the army show that Brevet Brigadier General Henry S. Burton graduated at West Point Military Academy and was appointed Second Lieutenant, Third Artillery July 1st 1839; First Lieutenant, Nov. 11, 1839 Assistant Instructor of Infantry Tactics Military Academy . . . [etc. as presented in Army report summarized in chapter I] Thus it will be seen that General Burton dated his California residence from before its conquest. He accompanied the First Regiment of New York Volunteers (well known as Stevensons Regiment) as its Lieutenant Colonel, to these shores in 1847. Participating in the privations and hardships of a new and comparatively unexplored country, and in those bold exploits for which his regiment was distinguished, he in no small manner shared the fame of that gallant army whose victories ultimately resulted in the acquisition of this country. Serving for a long period as Military and Civil Governor in Southern California, he became endeared to the natives of the country, who were quick to recognize those qualities of justice and mercy which so marked his official life, and to appreciate that courteous bearing to all for which his social life was so distinguished. Gen Burton married in the country a daughter of the country, thus linking his own fortunes with those he so zealously and faithfully guarded, and paving the way to an amelioration of those asperities incident to a new invasion. Inheriting from his father, Major Burton, a distinguished officer, and from his mothers family those qualities which distinguish a soldier, he was ever prompt in performance of duty and strict in his ideas of military honor and integrity. He loved his whole country, the Union, and the flag, and was distinguished during the late rebellion as a faithful and gallant officer. To us General Burton was especially endeared by the love he bore this State. He seemed to be cognizant of her brilliant future, and gloried in the part he had performed in her early history. He looked up to her as the founder of his fortunes and happiness, and regarded her with the deepest affection and respect.
610
Announcement of H. S. Burtons death
611
Official Cause of Death In an official letter to the Adjutant General of the U.S. Army, sent on April 5th, 1869, Captain F. L. Guenther reports the following: General: I have the honor respectfully to inform you, with deep affliction, of the death of Brevt. General Henry S. Burton, Colonel 5th Artillery, at this Post on Tuesday, April the 4th at 10 oclock a.m. General Burton was struck by apoplexy on the evening of the 3rd and remained unconscious up to the time of his death. (See MARBs Pension request for more details on HSBs death.) Announcement of Funeral for Henry H. Burton, MARBs son, who died in 1933. HENRY BURTON FUNERAL TODAY Funeral services will be held today for Henry H. Burton, 80, retired civil engineer, who was in charge of construction of the Los Angeles Harbor breakwater. The rites will be conducted in the chapel of Adair & Payne, 817 Venice Boulevard, at 10 a.m. Cremation will follow. Burton, son of the late Gen. Henry H. [sic] Burton of Civil War fame, died Monday of a heart ailment at his home, 3818 Dunn Drive, Culver City. His career as an engineer was marked by the construction of many important projects. The survivors are his son, Henry H. Burton, Jr., and his daughter Mrs. Carroll C. Dickson. (L.A. Times, Oct. 18, 1933)
612
Obituary for Henry H. Burton San Diego First-Borns Rites Today Henry H. Burton Funeral to Be Conducted From Adair & Payne Mortuary Funeral services for Henry H. Burton, said to have been the first white [sic] child born at San Diego, who died last Monday at the family residence, 1818 Dunn Drive, Culver City, will be conducted at 10 a.m. today at the Adair & Payne mortuary. Rev. A. A. Snesrud, pastor of Our Saviors Lutheran Church will officiate. Cremation will follow. Mr. Burton, who was 80 years of age, was the United States engineer in charge of the building of the San Pedro breakwater and also supervised the construction of the fortifications at Fort Rosecrans. He was the son of Henry Halleck [sic] Burton of Civil War fame, and Mara Ruiz Burton, whose book, The Squatter and the Dons [sic], is well known to students of California literature. Educated at Columbia University, Mr. Burton returned to San Diego and married Minnie Wilbur, who died about four years ago. Mr. Burton leaves his son, Henry H. Burton, of Bakersfield; a daughter, Mrs. Carroll Dickson of Culver City, and a grand-daughter, Carol Dickson. Oct. 18, 1933 clipping from Graves family collection, source unknown. Son of General Who Built Fort Rosecrans Dies Henry H. Burton, 80, who died yesterday at the family residence in Culver City, according to an Associated Press Press dispatch, was a son of Gen. Henry S. Burton, once stationed at San Diego and one of the builders of Fort Rosecrans. Funeral services will be held today. Burtons father, who became famous in the Civil War, was stationed on the Pacific coast in his youth. At La Paz, Baja California, he met the lovely Amparo Ruiz, a girl in her early teens. He sent her and her mother to Monterey where the girl was educated and then he married her. Soon afterward the couple came to San Diego where the hus-
613
band was an engineer in charge of constructing the San Diego breakwater and building the fort. The mother later became a famous social leader in the east but returned to California. She had a claim upon the land where Ensenada now is situated and engaged in a legal battle over the title for many years. She wrote the book The Squatter and the Don, familiar to students of California literature. San Diego Union, Oct. 18, 1933. 5. MARBs petition as heir of H. S. Burton, her pension request, and other documents a. MARBs petition as heir of H. S. Burton estate and her pension request Amparo and her children were residing in Staten Island, New York, on August 28th, 1869, when they petitioned the Court to be declared the heirs of the deceased Henry S. Burton. Amparo was then 37, Harry was 16 and Nellie was 19 years old. On January 22, 1870 she petitioned the U.S. Pension Agency for an Army widows pension. The petition would require Army reports on the death of her husband, H. S. Burton. IN THE PROBATE COURT OF THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO STATE OF CALIFORNIA In the Matter of the Estate Petition of Surviving of Henry S. Burton, Deceased. Wife for Letters of Administration The petition of Mara A. Burton of Staten Island in the State of New York respectfully shows: That Henry S. Burton died on or about the fourth day of April, A.D. 1869, in Fort Adams, R.I. Rhode Island******* That said deceased, at the time of his death was a non resident of the State of California, residing in the State of ________ That said deceased left estate in the County of San Diego in the State of California That the next of kin of said deceased and whom your Petitioner is advised and believes, and therefore alleges, to be the heirs at law of
614
said deceased, are your Petitioner aged thirty-seven residing at Staten Island as aforesaid, and Nellie Burton aged 19 and Henry H. Burton, aged 16, both of whom are now residing on Staten Island, State of New York, the children of said deceased and your petitioner****** Dated: New York, August 28, A.D. 1869 That your petitioner is the surviving wife of said deceased Mara A. Burton State of New York City and County of New York Mara A. Burton, being duly sworn, says, that she is the petitioner named in above petition, that she has read the said petition and knows the contents thereof, and that the same is true of her own knowledge Mara A. Burton Subscribed and sworn to before me this 28th day of August A.D. 1869 as witness my hand and official seal. Charles Nettleton Commission for California in New York (SEAL) Petition of Mara A. Burton, Widow of Henry S. Burton
b. Report of Surgeon at Fort Adams Hospital

Submitted to Brig. General J. M. Cuyler, U.S.A. Medical Director, D.E., New York Hospital, Ft. Adams, R. I. April 6th, 1870. General,
615
In compliance with the request of the Commissioner of Pensions, transmitted by you and received today, I have the honor to state that Colonel Henry S. Burton, of the 5th U.S. Artillery died at this post on April 4th, 1869, of cerebral hemorrhage which was probably caused by fatty degeneration of capillary vessels of the brain. A full special report of the case and autopsy has been forwarded to the Surgeon General. I am, Sir, Very respectfully Yours, J. F. Head, Surgeon, U.S.A.
c. Special Report
Fort Adams, R. I. March 15, 1870 Special Report in the case of Brevet. Brig. General Henry S. Burton, Col. 5th U.S. Artillery who died April 4, 1869. Henry S. Burton, Col. 5. Arty. Brev. Brig. Genl. U.S.A. Married, Age 51 years, Fort Adams, R. I. Has been in military service nearly 30 years, lately stationed at Fort Jefferson, Tortugas, and previously in Virginia. Is understood to have been a small eater. Habitually used spirits. Some months since at Richmond, Va., is reported to have had very severe haematemesis, and of late has had frequent epistaxis. Complexion decidedly sallowhe has had occasional uneasy sensations referred to hepatic region. On meeting him 13 days ago, for the first time in several years, I was struck by a certain slowness of expression and thought, bordering on hebetude which was different from his manner in former years and officers who have been much with him state that they have observed a failure of his mental process. His family say he never complained of dizziness or numbnessbut since his death a gentleman resident in Newport has informed me that a day or two before the fatal attack Gen. Burton said to him that he feared a return of rheumatism, from which he had formerly suf-
616
feredthat the fingers of one hand were stiffand added, I could stick a pin into that hand without feeling it. On April 3, 1869 patient was in usual healthvisited Newport in a boat, and remarked that he never felt better in his life. Returning from the City, dined on chicken at 61/2 p.m., rather more heartily than usual. After dinner, seemed drowsy. Later in evening, complained of itching between scapulas, and retired to his sleeping apartment, where, at about 91/2 p.m., a servant entering found him standing by the bed partially undressed with his trousers in his hand; and on apologizing for the intrusion, saw that he was partially or entirely unconscious. Says that on being touched he opened his mouth as if to speak. Is positive that there was no distortion of features. Immediately afterward, patients wife entered the room, thinks he recognized her and made a movement as if to seat himself in a chair which she placed behind him, and into which he immediately sank helplessly. From this moment until his death, he seems to have been profoundly comatose. When seen at 11 p.m. was reclining in a large arm-chairrespiration stertorous and gaspingas if spasmodicNo deviation of features. Pupils equally and rather strongly contracted, and quite insensible to light. Pulse 70, soft, moderately full, but varying in this respect, and occasionally intermittent. Hearing and general sensibility abolished. Reflex sensibility not tested. Limbs all equally flaccid. On being placed in bed in horizontal position, the stertor seemed aggravatedwas raised to semi recumbent posture, cold applied to head and large sinapisms to feet and legs. Power of swallowing was lost; and the above treatment was adopted almost solely for the satisfaction of the bystanders in an evidently helpless case. Symptoms continued much the samepulse fast becoming more rapid and weaker. At about 2 a.m. it was 140. In morning throat and larynx became filled with fluidapparently from epistaxis. At 101/2 a.m. on the 4th, or about 12 hours from attack, he quietly ceased breathing.
Comments
Deceased so far as can be ascertained, had never complained of any symptoms indicating urinary troublethis fact taken in connec-
617
tion with the extensive disorganization found could seem to indicate that the kidney disease was of comparatively recent origin. It is superfluous to point out the connection of the maematemesis months before, the epistaxis etc. with the cirrhosis. The case seems one of those described by Lionel Beale in Kidney Diseases, Urinary Deposits, etc. pp. 61, 62 [3d Edit. Lindsay & Blakeston(Apparently printed in English)] Art. Fatty contracting Kidney. For connection with Hepatic disorder vide, p. 65 bottom. The patient may fairly be placed in the class among whom the lesions found are most common. How far his residence in Malarious regions may have contributed to produce or aggravated the disease of liver, may be doubtful. The only writer known to me who assigns such cause to cirrhosis, is Aiken (Sci. & Pract of Med. Am Edition, Vol. II, p. 872). I have not felt at liberty to certify that death in this case resulted from disease caused by exposure in the line of duty. (signed) J. T. Head, Surgeon USA
d. Pension Request
District of Colombia County of Washington On this twenty-second day of January A.D. 1870 personally appeared before me, Return J. Meigs, clerk of the Supreme Court of the District of Colombia, a duly authorized officer of a Court of record in and for the County and District, aforesaid Mara A. Burton, aged thirty-seven years, who being duly sworn according to law, makes the following declaration in order to obtain the pension provided by the Act of Congress granting pensions to widows; that she is the widow of Henry S. Burton, who was commissioned in the Army of the United States under the name of Henry S. Burton at West Point on the day of July A.D. 1839 as Second Lieutenant in the Third Regiment of United States Artillery and who was in the war of the Rebellion, and who died of apoplexy at Fort Adams near Newport in the State of Rhode Island on the 4th day of April A.D. 1869; who bore at the time of his death the rank of Colonel of the Fifth Regiment of Artillery in
618
the Army of the United States; that she was married under the name of Mara A. Ruiz to said Henry S. Burton on the 9th day of July A.D. 1849 by the Rev. Samuel H. Willey at Monterey in the State of California, there being no legal barrier to such marriage; that she had not been previously married and that her husband said Henry S. Burton had been previously married but that his first or former wife died in the year 1841 or 1842; that she the said Mara A. Burton has to the present date remained the widow of said Henry S. Burton; that he the said Henry S. Burton left surviving no minor child or children by his said first or former wife, and that the said Henry S. Burton left surviving no child or children by herself the said Mara A. Burton who are now under sixteen years of age; that she has not in any manner been engaged in or aided or abetted the Rebellion in the United States; that no prior application has been filed either by her husband or herself; that her residence is in Center Street in the village of Edgewater on Staten Island in the State of New York and that her Post Office address is Stapleton, Staten Island, New York. [Signed] Mara A. Burton Also personally appeared Nathaniel Wilson residing at No. 912, 17th Street in the City of Washington D.C. and L. P. Williams, residing at No _____, in ______ Street in the City of Washington D.C., persons whom I certify to be respectable and entitled to credit, and who, being by me duly sworn, say, they were present and saw the said Mara A. Burton the claimant sign her name to the foregoing declaration; that they have every reason to believe, from the appearance of said claimant and their acquaintance with her, that she is the identical person she represents herself to be and that they have no interest in the prosecution of this claim. [Signed by Wilson and Williams] Sworn to and subscribed before me this 24th of January 1870, and I certify that I have no interest in said claim. R. J. Meigs, Clerk, Superior Court of D.C. Sworn to and subscribed before me, this twenty-fourth day of January, A.D. 1870, and I hereby certify that the contents of the above declaration, and statement, were fully made known and explained to
619
the applicant and witnesses before swearing and that I have no interest direct or indirect in the prosecution of this claim. R. J. Meigs, Clerk
e. Application for a Transfer

State of California, County of San Francisco, ss: On this 20 day of November 1872, before me, a U.S. Pension Agent, personally appeared Mara A. Burton, widow of Henry S. Burton, late a Colonel of 5th Regiment U.S. Artillery, now a PERMANENT resident of the County of San Francisco, in the State of California, who, being duly sworn, declareth that she is the same person whose name was placed, on the 20 day of April, 1870, upon the list of Army pensions, at the rate of thirty dollars [no] cents per month, from the 5 day of April, 1869. That said Mara A. Burton was last paid at the Pension Agency of New York City to the 4 day of June, 1872 but now desires and applies for the payment of said pension at, and the transfer of her name to the roll of, the Pension Agency at San Francisco, Cal., as she intends to reside in that state in future. Post Office address is Grand Hotel, San Francisco, Cal. Signed by Pensioner: Mara A. Burton Sworn and subscribed to before me the day and year aforesaid: [signed} H. C. Bennett, Pension Agent Evidence of Identity State of California, County of San Francisco, ss: I, Henry C. Bennett, in the County above named, do hereby certify that I have the most satisfactory evidence, viz: Pension Certificate No. 142,161 and personal knowledge of the applicant, that Mara A. Burton, who has this day appeared before me to take the oath of identity is the identical person named in the pension certificate, which she has exhibited before me numbered 142,161, and bearing date at the
620
Department of the Interior the 20 day of April, 1870, and signed by W. T. Otto, acting Secretary of the Interior. Given under my hand at San Francisco this 20 day of November, 1872. [signed] H. C. Bennett, Pension Agent
f. Pensioner Dropped
(Stamped: U.S. Pension Agency, Nov. 1895, San Francisco Cal.) U.S. Pension Agency. Commissioner of Pensions Sir: I hereby report that the name of Mara A. Burton, widow of Henry S., who was a pensioner on the rolls of this Agency, under Certificate No. 142161, and who was last paid at $30 to 4 June, 1895, has been dropped because of Death. Very respectfully, Patrick F. Walsh, Pension Agent. 6. Po Picos Deed to the Jamul Ranch Deed Po Pico to Mara A. Burton Know all even by these Presents: that I, Po Pico, a resident of City of Los Angeles in the county of Los Angeles in the State of California, in consideration of the sum of ten dollars lawful currency to use in hand paid by Mara A. Burton, widow of the late General Henry S. Burtonof the Army of the United States, have granted, bargained, sold, and conveyed, and do by these presents grant, bargain, sell, and convey unto the said Mara A. Burtonall by right, title, interest and estate in and to the following described tract or parcel of land, lying, being and situated in the County of San Diego in the State of California, that is to say, all that rancho named Jamul containing two square leagues and little more or less which was granted to use, the said Po Pico by the Governor of the Department of California on the 23rd day of December in the year 1845, said grant being approved by the
621
Departmental Assembly of said Department on the 22nd May, in the year 1846, as part of said land having been previously granted to use, the said Po Pico, provisionally by Victoria, Superior Political Chief of the Territory of Alta California on the 20th May in the year 1831. To Have and to Hold unto her the said Mara A. Burtonher heirs and assigns forever, to and for her and their benefit and for none other. In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affirmed my seal this twenty-fourth day of June, A.D., one thousand eight hundred and seventy. In presence of M.G. Vallejo. Signed by Po Pico. Notarized on the 24th of June 1870 7. Isabel Ruiz Maytorenas suit against MARB In the Superior Court of the County of San Diego, State of California Isabel Ruiz Maytorena vs. Mara A. de Burton et als. Complaint No. 6966, Dept. No. 3 Isabel Ruiz Maytorena, Plaintiff v. Mara Amparo de Burton Francisca Ramrez, Juan Ramrez, Luisa Gastelum and Pedro Gastelum, Defendants } } } } }
Complaint
The plaintiff above named complains of the defendants above, and for cause of action herein alleges: I. That on the tenth day of May in the year A.D. 1853 the plaintiff and her sisters Mara Encarnacin Ruiz Cota and Mara Antonia Ruiz Salgado were each seized in fee simple as daughters and heirs at law of Don Jos Manuel Ruiz, deceased, of one undivided fourth part of all that certain tract of land known as the Ensenada de Todos Santos, containing five leagues, more or less, situated in Lower California, Republic of Mexico.
622
II. That on or about said day, in the County of San Diego, State of California, the defendant, Mara Amparo de Burton, who is the daughter of plaintiff, and in whom plaintiff and her said sisters reposed special trust and confidence, and whose guests they, the plaintiff and her said sisters, then and there were, procured and induced them, the plaintiffs and said sisters, in the absence, and without the knowledge or consent, of the husbands of plaintiff and the said Mara Antonia, or either of them, both of whom were then living, to execute and deliver to her, the said Mara Amparo de Burton, a deed of all their right, title and interest in and to said premises, conveying the same to said defendant in fee, by representing to them, as she then and there did, that said deed of conveyance was a mere Power of Attorney authorizing her in their names and behalf, and for their use and benefit, to apply for and obtain a Patent for said land from the Government of Mexico. III. That plaintiff could not, nor could her said sisters or either of them, read English, or understand it when spoken; that said deed was written in that language, and was not read or translated, nor were the contents thereof explained or made known, to them, or either or any of them, before or at the time they executed the same; and plaintiff did not, nor did her said sisters, or either of them, know or understand the nature or contents thereof; that the said defendant Mara Amparo de Burton made said representations knowing them to be false and with the intent to deceive the plaintiff and her said sisters and to induce them to make said deed; that they and each of them relied upon said representations and were induced solely thereby to, and did, execute and deliver the said deed of conveyance, without any consideration, as and for, believing it to be such Power of Attorney, and for no other purpose whatever. IV. That afterwards, by virtue of said deed and of a certain concession of said land made and granted in the year 1804 to plaintiffs said father by the king of Spain through Governor Don Jos Joaqun de Arrillaga, the defendant Mara Amparo de Burton procured to be issued to herself and in her own name by the Government of Mexico a Patent for said premises, approving and ratifying said concession; and she now claims to be the owner of the same under and by virtue of said deed and Patent, and she refuses to surrender or reconvey the same, or any part thereof, or interest therein, to plaintiff.
623
V. That the said defendant, Mara Amparo de Burton has received large sums of money, the amount of which plaintiff does not know and has no means of ascertaining, as and for rents, profits and proceeds of said land, exceeding, as plaintiff is informed and believes, and of information alleges, the sum of Twenty thousand dollars, and she has paid no part thereof to the plaintiff. VI. That the plaintiff did not discover until within a period of three years past, that the said intended Power of Attorney was, in fact, a deed of conveyance, and that the defendant, Mara Amparo de Burton claimed to be the owner of said land, in her own right, by virtue of said deed and Patent. VII. That the plaintiff and said defendant Mara Amparo de Burton reside in the County of San Diego, State of California. VIII. That the said Mara Encarnacin Ruiz Cota and Mara Antonia Ruiz Salgado have departed this life, leaving surviving them as their sole heirs at law the plaintiff, who is succeeded by inheritance to one-half interest in said land, and the defendants Francisca Ramrez and Luisa Gastelum, who have succeeded by inheritance to the remaining one-half of their interest in said land; and that the defendant Juan Ramrez is the husband of said Francisca; and that the defendant Pedro Gastelum is the husband of defendant Luisa Gastelum. Wherefore the plaintiff prays judgment: 1. That the said deed be declared void and that the defendant Mara Amparo de Burton convey to the plaintiff one undivided half of said land. 2. That the defendant Mara Amparo de Burton account for and pay to the plaintiff her proper portion of the rent, profits and proceeds of said land since the execution of the said deed, and that the amount thereof be ascertained by the Court. 3. That in the event of the said defendant Mara Amparo de Burton refusing or failing to comply to make such reconveyance, the same be made by special commissioner to be appointed for that purpose by the Court. 4. For the costs of this action. 5. For such other and further relief as to the Court shall seem meet and agreeable to equity.
624
Signed: J. B. Mannix Attorney for Plaintiff State of California, ] ss. County of San Diego ] Isabel Ruiz Maytorena being duly sworn says she is the Plaintiff in the above entitled action, that she has heard and read and translated the foregoing Complaint and knows the contents thereof; that the same is true of her own knowledge, except as to the matters which are therein stated on her information and belief, and that as to those matters she believes it to be true. Signed: Ysabel Ruiz de Maytorena Subscribed and Sworn to before me on this 31st day of August 1892 Thomas H. Bush, Notary Public 8. New York Times article on Ensenada From: New York Times, 27 February 1888 Millions Involved Mrs. Burtons Claim to Lower California Lands. San Diego, Cal., Feb. 26Great excitement in real estate and business circles has existed here to-day as a result of two telegrams received from the City of Mexico. The International Land Company of Mexico was incorporated in Hartford, Conn., for the purpose of selling and developing lands in Lower California. Edgar I. Welles of New York is President of the Company. Through the companys offices here, lands have been bought in Ensenada, San Carlos, Punta Buena [sic], and other Lower California towns to the extent of $7,000,000. The land was purchased largely by small settlers and emigrants. Recently there has been a controversy over the title of the lands sold. The contestant is Mrs. Burton, who derives her title from her mother, Ysabel Ruisee [sic]. The lands were conveyed to Don Jos Manuel Ruisee [sic] by the King of Spain in 1834. In December 1859, Mrs. Burtons title was
625
approved by the Mexican Government. On April 4, 1887, Carlos Pacheco, Secretary of Public Works, issued an order giving new titles to the lands in question, in which it is stated that new titles of ownership be issued to the Mexican International Colonization Company of Hartford, Conn., said lands being situated in Lower California, between the thirty-first and thirty-second degree of northern latitude and constituting the rustic property known under the name of the Ranch Ensenada de Todos Santos. Mrs. Burton, who is now an old woman, has labored for 18 years to regain possession of this property. She found no transfer records in the city of Mexico, but recently presented to the Mexican Government the original deeds and claims, and on the strengths of these President Daz has revoked the order of April 4, 1887, which fact was made known today by the receipt of two telegrams from Mrs. Burtons attorneys in Mexico. The tract of land to which Mrs. Burton has made claim, and which is known as the Ensenada de Todos Santos comprises about 300,000 acres on which are several large towns. The company has already received to date about $2,000,000 in cash for lands. The largest single purchase was that of a lady who put $40,000 in the investment. The other purchasers ranged from $500 to $5,000. The company has sold upward of $7,000,000 worth of land on the installment plan. If Mrs. Burtons claims are allowed, all of the titles issued by the International Company will be null and void, and thousands of small settlers and investors will be ruined. Mrs. Mara Burton is the widow of General Henry S. Burton of the United States Army. He was a fellow cadet with Halleck and Ord. He came to California with Stevensons Regiment in 1847. Mrs. Burton herself is still a handsome woman of commanding presence. She is as well known in Washington as in San Francisco. In both cities she and her dashing daughter, Nellie, made a sensation in social circles. She wrote a romance of Spanish California called The Squatter and the Don, in which she bitterly satirized some of her enemies. She is also the reputed author of the novel Democracy, descriptive of Washington political life.
Notes
1Michel
de Certeau, Heterologies. Discourse on the Other (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1986), 69. 2Alexis de Tocqueville, Journey to America. Translated by George Lawrence. (New York: Doubleday/Anchor Books, 1971). de Tocquevilles Democracy in America provided his analysis of U.S. institutions on the basis of interviews, texts, and first-hand observations during this nine-month tour. See also his Introduction and letter to Eugene Soffels in Alexis de Tocqueville, About Democracy in America, in The Annals of America, 6, 205214. 3Gustave de Beaumont, Marie or slavery in the United States. A Novel of Jacksonian America. Translated by Barbara Chapman. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1958). Translation of his novel Marie ou LEsclavage aux Etats-Unis, Paris, 1835. 4Frances Trollope, Domestic Manners of the Americans, London, 1832. With an Introduction by Herbert Van Thal (London: The Folio Society, 1974), 100. 5Lorenzo de Zavalas panegyric of the U.S., written in 1834, is of course not a counter-narrative. See Lorenzo de Zavala, Journey to the United States of North America, Translated from the Spanish by Wallace Woolsey (Austin: Shoal Creek Publishers, Inc., 1980). 6Guillermo Prieto, Viaje a los Estados-Unidos (Mexico: Imprenta del Comercio, de Dublan y Chvez, 1877). 7See Jos Mart, Inside the Monster. Writings on the United States and American Imperialism. 8See Vicente Prez Rosales, Recuerdos del pasado (18141860) and We Were 49ers! Chilean Accounts of the California Gold Rush. 9The same could still be said today as Latinos/as continue being perceived as foreign even though they are often native to the U.S.
626
10Jos
627
Mart, The Truth About the United States, in Inside the Monster. Writings on the United States and American Imperialism, 54. See also Jos Mart, La verdad sobre los Estados Unidos, en Cuba, Nuestra Amrica, Los Estados Unidos. Prlogo, y seleccin de R. Fernndez Retamar (Mexico: Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 1973), 318. 11See Montesquieu on climate and forms of government in Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, I. 3, 9 and 14.1, 231. 12His actual words are the following: la parte delicada de esta educacin es que, en mi juicio, no se le inculca bastante la idea de que se tiene que educar para madre de familia, es decir, con aspiraciones adecuadas, con la subordinacin a una voluntad superior. See Prieto, Viaje a los Estados Unidos, I, 151. 13See Philip S. Foner, Women and the American Labor Movement (New York: The Free Press, 1982). 14Jane Tompkins, Sensational Designs. The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 17901860 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), 126. 15One of several comments by old San Diegans on Ruiz de Burton. Interviewed by Winifred Davidson and available in Old Town Manuscript, at San Diego Historical Society Library. 16That our first writer of fiction in English after 1848 should have been a woman is in itself an impressive fact, since today it is Chicana women who are the outstanding writers within the field of Chicano/a literature. 17See R. Snchez, Telling Identities, 149. 18Cerrutis importance to the californios was recognized by MARB, for she knew he was meeting with Vallejo on a daily basis (8-27-74 and 9-4-74). Cerrrutis suicide would stun her as well; she was then in San Francisco and had recently spoken with Cerruti (12-10-76). 19It may well be that, two years after Vallejo had completed his fivevolume history for Bancroft, he was disillusioned with the project and regretting his participation. This was specially the case in 1885 when Bancrofts History of California was published. Vallejo was furious after seeing how his words on the 1846 Junta had been dismissed. 20Lieutenant Francisco Mara Ruiz was named comandante at San Diego in 1806, promoted to captain in 1820, and retired from active service in 1827. Before coming to San Diego he served as sergeant
628
of the Santa Barbara company (1795), and was promoted to ensign and then lieutenant in 1805. He received a grant of the Peasquitos rancho and died in 1839, at the age of about 85. 21H. H. Bancroft, Essays and Miscellany ( San Francisco: The History Company, 1890), 638. 22Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton, Who Would Have Thought It? Edited and introduced by Rosaura Snchez and Beatrice Pita (Houston: Arte Pblico Press, 1995). 23Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton, The Squatter and the Don. Edited and introduced by Rosaura Snchez and Beatrice Pita (Houston: Arte Pblico Press, 1992). 24See Sanchez and Pita Introduction to The Squatter and the Don. 25Clara E. Breed, Turning the Pages. Introduction by Lawrence Clark Powell (San Diego: Friends of the San Diego Public Library), 16. Although not the first Reading Room in the city, the S.D. Public Library began lending books in Sept. of 1883. 26Cited as well in Breed, 159160. 27Winifred Davidson, Enemy Lovers. The story back of an old-time romance, in the Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine (Oct. 16, 1932), 5. 28Winifred Davidson, Old Tales of the Southwest: They Blessed this Seorita, San Diego Union (March 17, 1935), 3. 29What MARB fails to recognize is that the only Indians that survived the period of missionization, and thus escaped extermination from disease, overwork, and abuse, were the gentiles, as these nonChristianized, non-mission Indians were called.
Unpublished References: Letters, Documents and Manuscripts

1. Letters from Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton Letters from Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, 1850 to 1887. (Huntington Library, Manuscripts.) (Also housed at Santa Brbara Mission Archive Library). Letters from Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton to George Davidson (BANC MSS C-B 490). Letter from MARB to Po Pico (Jan. 10, 1870) (Huntington Library, FAC 667 [1136]). Letter from MARB to Chalmers Scott (Nov. 1, 1870) (Huntington Library, CT 147). Letter from Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton to Platn Vallejo. Vallejo family papers (BANC MSS C-B 441). Letters from Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton to S.L.M. Barlow. (Huntington Library, BW Box 69 (31), Box 73 (33), Box 79 (5), Box 90 (4), Box 97 (5), Box 125 (29), Box 141 (52), Box 156 (32), Box 180 (14), Box 188 (38)). Letters from Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton to Matas Moreno and Prudenciana Moreno (1853-1877) (Huntington Library, Manuscripts, uncatalogued). Letters from MARB to Jos de Castro (1857). (Huntington Library, MSS, Uncatalogued). Letter from Henry S. Burton to Jos Antonio Aguirre (Huntington Library, MSS, Uncatalogued). Letters from Edward Williston to E.W. Morse (California State Library at Sacramento, MSS). Letters from Federico Maitorena Ruiz to E. W. Morse (California State Library at Sacramento, MSS.
629
630
2. Other Documents Henry S. Burton Veterans Records. (National Archives, File N105 CB 1869). Henry S. Burton, West Point Records. (West Point, U.S. Military Academy, Department of the Army, National Archives and Records Administration, Microfilm Publication 688). Moreno, Matas. Letters to Prudenciana Vallejo de Moreno (Huntington Library MSS). Recording of Marriage of Henry S. Burton and Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton (Boronda Adobe History Center County Records). Ruiz de Maitorena, Isabel. Will and Testament. Superior Court of the County of San Diego, California (San Diego County Records Office). Ruiz de Maitorena, Isabel vs. Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton et al. Superior Court of San Diego (San Diego County Records, Case #6966). The Lower California Mining Company Prospectus (New York: The Stockholder Print, 1865). (Huntington Library, RB 1349). 3. Other Manuscripts Ames, J. and E. B. Pendleton, Letters to William Heath Davis (San Diego City Library, California Room MSS). Davidson, Winifred, Old Town Manuscript (San Diego Historical Society MSS). Hayes, Benjamin. Emigrant Notes (BANC MSS C-E 62 Phot.) Ruiz de Burton, Mara Amparo. Biographical Statement on Don Jos Manuel Ruiz and Translation of Ruizs Letter to Governor Arrillaga (BANC MSS) Morse, E. W. Letter to Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton. San Diego Historical Society Library. Pico, Po. Deed of Jamul, conveyed to MARB (San Diego Historical Society Library, MSS). Ruiz de Burton, Mara Amparo. Records, papers: 1869-1873 (San Diego Historical Society Library, MSS). Speech by Antonio F. Coronel. (Seaver Center for Western History Research, A.110.58-249). Vallejo, Mariano Guadalupe. Fragments of Letters to MARB (BANC MSS 76/79C).
Index Letters by Date

1. Henry S. Burton to H. M. Naglee. 20 July 1848. La Paz, Baja California 2. Matas Moreno to R. Espinosa. 29 November 1851. San Diego 3. Matas Moreno to J. L. Espinosa. 7 December 1851. San Diego 4. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 30 November 1851, Monterey, California 5. M. G.Vallejo to MARB. 6 December 1851, Sonoma, California 6. MARB to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. 24 April 1852, Monterey, California 7. M. G.Vallejo to MARB. 10 May 1852, Sonoma, California 8. MARB to Jos Castro. 23 April 1857, San Diego, California 9. MARB to Jos Castro. 2 May 1857, San Diego, California 10. Henry S. Burton to Jos Antonio Aguirre. May 1857, Fort Yuma, California 11. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 1 September 1857, Jamul, California 12. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 6 December 1857, Jamul, California 13. MARB to Matas Moreno. 22 December 1857, Jamul, California 14. MARB to Matas Moreno. 2 January 1858, Jamul, California 15. MARB to Matas Moreno. 16 May 1858, Jamul, California 16. MARB to Matas Moreno. 4 June 1858, Jamul, California 17. MARB to Matas Moreno. 23 August 1858, Jamul, California 18. MARB to Matas Moreno. 18 September 1858, Jamul, California 19. MARB to Matas Moreno. 18 December 1858, San Francisco, California 20. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 22 December 1858, Metropolitan Hotel, San Francisco, California 21. MARB to Matas Moreno. 20 February 1859, Jamul, California 22. MARB to Matas Moreno. 27 February 1859, Jamul, California 23. MARB to Platn Vallejo. 23 April 1859, Jamul, California 24. Vallejo to MARB. [undated] 25. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 7 May 1859, Jamul, California 26. Henry S. Burton to E. W. Morse. May 9, 1859, Fort Yuma, California 27. MARB to Matas Moreno. 5 September 1859, New York 28. Williston to E. W. Morse. 23 September 1859, San Diego, California 29. MARB to Matas Moreno. 21 February 1860, Georgetown, District of Columbia 30. Williston to Mr. Ames. 27 February 1860, Jamul, California 31. Williston to Mr. Ames. 3 March 1860, Jamul, California 32. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 March 1860, Washington, D.C.
631
632
33. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 23 June 1860, Norwich, Vermont 34. Williston to E. W. Morse. 19 November 1860, San Diego, California 35. Williston to E. W. Morse. 2 January 1861, San Francisco, California 36. Williston to E. W. Morse. 4 January 1861, San Francisco, California 37. Williston to E. W. Morse. 29 September 1861, San Francisco, California 38. Williston to E. W. Morse. 7 October 1861, San Francisco, California 39. Vallejo to MARB. 11 October 1861, San Francisco, California 40. Williston to E. W. Morse. 21 October 1861, San Francisco, California 41. MARB to Matas Moreno. 24 December 1861, Baltimore, Maryland 42. MARB to Matas Moreno. 8 January 1862, Baltimore , Maryland 43. MARB to Matas Moreno. 9 April 1862, Baltimore, Maryland 44. MARB to Matas Moreno. 30 June 1862 and 7 July 1862, Baltimore, Maryland 45. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 March 1863, New Castle, Delaware 46. MARB to Matas Moreno. 2 September 1863, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania 47. MARB to Matas Moreno, 28 September 1864, 27 W. 18th Street, New York, New York 48. Federico Ruiz Mayorena to E. W. Morse. 18 March 18??, Jamul, California 49. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 23 October 1864, Jamul, California 50. MARB to Plcido Vega. 1 June 1865, Staten Island, New York 51. MARB to Matas Moreno. 9 March 1867, Fortress Monroe, Virginia 52. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 26 August 1867, Colombia, South Carolina 53. MARB to M.G. Vallejo, 27 February 1868, Richmond, Virginia 54. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 May 1868, Richmond Virginia 55. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 September 1868, Richmond, Virginia 56. MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 January 1869, New York 57. Henry S. Burton to E. W. Morse. 1 February 1869, New York City 58. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 February 1869, New York 59. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 14 March 1869, New York 60. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 27 March 1869, Fort Adams, Rhode Island 61. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 31 March 1869, Newport-Fort Adams 62. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 15 September 1869, Jamul, California 63. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 23 October 1869, Jamul, California 64. MARB to E.W. Morse. 26 April 1869, Fort Adams, Rhode Island 65. MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 May 1869, New York 66. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 July 1869, Staten Island, New York 67. MARB to E. W. Morse, 18 July 1869, Staten Island (Stapleton P. O.), New York 68. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 29 July 1869, Staten Island, New York 69. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 70. MARB to E. W. Morse. 12 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 71. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 72. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 19 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 73. MARB to E. W. Morse. 28 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 74. MARB to E. W. Morse. 30 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 75. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 14 September 1869, Staten Island, New York 76. Federico Maytorena Ruiz to E. W. Morse. 15 September 1869, Jamul, California 77. MARB to E. W. Morse. 29 September 1869, Staten Island, New York
633
78. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 79. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 80. MARB to E. W. Morse. 12 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 81. MARB to Barlow. 17 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 82. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 20 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 83. MARB to E. W. Morse. 20 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 84. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 29 October 1869, Jamul, California 85. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 23 November and 24 November 1869, Staten Island, New York 86. Robert J. Brent to E. W. Morse. 29 November 1869, Baltimore, Maryland 87. Vallejo to E. W. Morse. 30 November 1869, San Francisco, California 88. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 89. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 90. MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 91. MARB to E. W. Morse. 31 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 92. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 5 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 93. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 94. MARB to Po Pico. 10 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 95. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 January 1879, Staten Island, New York 96. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 31 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 97. MARB to E. W. Morse. 31 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 98. MARB to E. W. Morse. 2 February 1870, Staten Island, New York 99. MARB to E. W. Morse. 8 March 1870, Staten Island, New York 100. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 March 1870, Staten Island, New York 101. MARB to E. W. Morse. 19 April 1970, Staten Island, New York 102. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 April 1870, Staten Island, New York 103. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 May 1870, Washington, D.C. 104. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 June 1870, San Francisco, California 105. MARB to E. W. Morse. 23 June, 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 106. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 3 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 107. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 108. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 109. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 110. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 25 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 111. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 July, 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 112. MARB to C. Scott. 1 November 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 113. MARB to E. W. Morse. 25 November 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 114. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 24 December 1870, San Francisco, California 115. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 25 December 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 116. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 26 December 1870, San Francisco, California 117. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. dated lunes, a.m., San Francisco, California 118. MARB to E. W. Morse. 23 January 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 119. MARB to E. W. Morse. 5 February 1871, San Francisco, California 120. Morse to MARB. 7 February 1871, San Diego, California 121. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 17 February 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 122. MARB to E. W. Morse. 18 February 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California
634
123. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 March 1871, San Francisco, California 124. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 125. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 5 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 126. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 127. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 March 1872, San Francisco, California 128. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 16 March 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 129. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 25 July 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 130. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1 August 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 131. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 5 August 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 132. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 29 August 1872, Horton House, San Diego, California 133. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 9 September 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 134. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 135. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 136. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 20 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 137. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 22 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 138. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 January 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 139. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 January 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 140. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 27 January 1874, San Diego, California 141. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 28 February 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 142. MARB to George Davidson. 6 March 1874, Jamul, California 143. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 March 1874, Jamul, California 144. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 April 1874, San Diego, California 145. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 August 1874, Jamul, California 146. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 September 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 147. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 28 October 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 148. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 November 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 149. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 June, 1875, Jamul, California 150. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 June 1875, Jamul, San Diego County, California 151. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 October 1875 [?], Hotel Occidental, San Francisco, California 152. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. n.d. [October, 1875?] San Francisco, California 153. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 6 November 1875, Occidental Hotel, San Francisco, California 154. MARB to George Davidson. 4 December 1875, Occidental Hotel, San Francisco, California 155. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 December 1876, San Francisco, California 156. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 April 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 157. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 30 April 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 158. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 May 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 159. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 9 May 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 160. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 June 1877, San Diego, California 161. Vallejo to MARB. 4 June 1877, Hotel Iturbide, Mexico City, Mexico 162. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 13 June 1877, San Diego, California 163. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 July 1877, San Diego, California 164. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 14 August 1877, San Diego, California 165. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 January 1878, Lick House, San Francisco, California 166. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 May 1878, San Diego, California 167. MARB to H. H. Bancroft. 15 July 1878, San Diego, California
635
168. MARB to H. H. Bancroft. 5 August 1878, San Diego, California 169. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 November 1878, San Diego, California 170. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 18 July 1879 [?], San Diego, California 171. MARB to George Davidson. 15 July 1880, Jamul, California 172. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 March 1881, Jamul, California 173. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 29 June 1881, San Diego, California 174. MARB to George Davidson. 16 August 1882, Jamul, California 175. MARB to George Davidson. 5 September 1882, Jamul, California 176. MARB to J. S. Lawson. 16 September 1882, San Diego, California 177. MARB to George Davidson. 16 September 1882, San Diego, California 178. MARB to George Davidson. 13 April 1883, San Diego, California 179. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 13 May 1883, San Diego, California 180. MARB to George Davidson. 24 May 1883, San Diego, California 181. MARB to George Davidson. 5 June 1883, San Diego, California 182. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 5 September 1883, San Diego, California 183. MARB to George Davidson. 7 June 1884, San Diego, California 184. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 December 1884, San Francisco, California 185. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 186. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 187. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 188. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 189. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 190. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 December 1885, Commercial Hotel, San Francisco, California 191. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. December 1885 [?] San Francisco, California 192. MARB to George Davidson. 2 January 1886, San Francisco, California 193. MARB to George Davidson. 10 January 1886, San Francisco, California 194. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 January 1886, San Francisco, California 195. MARB to George Davidson. 5 February 1886, San Francisco, California 196. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 July 1886, San Diego, California 197. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 January 1887, San Diego, California 198. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 4 February, 1887, San Diego, California 199. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 May 1887, San Diego, California 200. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 July 1887, San Diego, California 201. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 August 1887, San Diego, California 202. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 August 1887, San Diego, California 203. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 November 1887, Mexico City, Mexico 204. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 28 March 1888, Hotel San Carlos, Mexico City, Mexico 205. MARB to George Davidson. 7 July 1890, San Diego, California 206. MARB to George Davidson. 22 February 1891, San Diego, California 207. MARB to George Davidson. 12 May 1891, San Diego, California 208. MARB to George Davidson. 14 May 1891, San Diego, California 209. MARB to George Davidson. 28 May 1891, San Diego, California
Index Letters by Chapter

Chapter I
1. Henry S. Burton to H. M. Naglee. 20 July 1848. La Paz, Baja California
Chapter II
1. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 30 November 1851, Monterey, California 2. M. G.Vallejo to MARB. 6 December 1851, Sonoma, California 3. MARB to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. 24 April 1852, Monterey, California 4. M. G.Vallejo to MARB. 10 May 1852, Sonoma, California
Chapter III
1. Matas Moreno to R. Espinosa. 29 November 1851. San Diego, California 2. Matas Moreno to J. L. Espinosa. 7 December 1851. San Diego, California 3. MARB to Jos Castro. 23 April 1857, San Diego, California 4. MARB to Jos Castro. 2 May 1857, San Diego, California 5. Henry S. Burton to Jos Antonio Aguirre. May 1857, Fort Yuma, California 6. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 1 September 1857, Jamul, California 7. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 6 December 1857, Jamul, California 8. MARB to Matas Moreno. 22 December 1857, Jamul, California 9. MARB to Matas Moreno. 2 January 1858, Jamul, California 10. MARB to Matas Moreno. 16 May 1858, Jamul, California 11. MARB to Matas Moreno. 4 June 1858, Jamul, California 12. MARB to Matas Moreno. 23 August 1858, Jamul, California 13. MARB to Matas Moreno. 18 September 1858, Jamul, California 14. MARB to Matas Moreno. 18 December 1858, San Francisco, California 15. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 22 December 1858, Metropolitan Hotel, San Francisco, California 16. MARB to Matas Moreno. 20 February 1859, Jamul, California 17. MARB to Matas Moreno. 27 February 1859, Jamul, California 18. MARB to Platn Vallejo. 23 April 1859, Jamul, California
636
19. M.G. Vallejo to MARB. [undated] 20. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 7 May 1859, Jamul, California 21. Henry S. Burton to E. W. Morse. May 9, 1859, Fort Yuma, California
637
Chapter IV
1. MARB to Matas Moreno. 5 September 1859, New York 2. Williston to E. W. Morse. 23 September 1859, San Diego, California 3. MARB to Matas Moreno. 21 February 1860, Georgetown, District of Columbia 4. Williston to Mr. Ames. 27 February 1860, Jamul, California 5. Williston to Mr. Ames. 3 March 1860, Jamul, California 6. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 March 1860, Washington, D.C. 7. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 23 June 1860, Norwich, Vermont 8. Williston to E. W. Morse. 19 November 1860, San Diego, California 9. Williston to E. W. Morse. 2 January 1861, San Francisco, California 10. Williston to E. W. Morse. 4 January 1861, San Francisco, California 11. Williston to E. W. Morse. 29 September 1861, San Francisco, California 12. Williston to E. W. Morse. 7 October 1861, San Francisco, California 13. M.G. Vallejo to MARB. 11 October 1861, San Francisco, California 14. Williston to E. W. Morse. 21 October 1861, San Francisco, California 15. MARB to Matas Moreno, 24 December 1861, Baltimore, Maryland 16. MARB to Matas Moreno, 8 January 1862, Baltimore , Maryland 17. MARB to Matas Moreno. 9 April 1862, Baltimore, Maryland 18. MARB to Matas Moreno. 30 June 1862 and 7 July 1862, Baltimore, Maryland 19. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 March 1863, New Castle, Delaware 20. MARB to Matas Moreno. 2 September 1863, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania 21. MARB to Matas Moreno. 28 September 1864, 27 W. 18th Street, New York, New York 22. Federico Ruiz Mayorena to E. W. Morse. 18 March 18??, Jamul, California 23. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 23 October 1864, Jamul, California 24. MARB to Plcido Vega. 1 June 1865, Staten Island, New York 25. MARB to Matas Moreno. 9 March 1867, Fortress Monroe, Virginia 26. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 26 August 1867, Colombia, South Carolina 27. MARB to M.G. Vallejo, 27 February 1868, Richmond, Virginia 28. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 May 1868, Richmond, Virginia 29. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 September 1868, Richmond, Virginia 30. MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 January 1869, New York 31. Henry S. Burton to E. W. Morse. 1 February 1869, New York City 32. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 February 1869, New York 33. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 14 March 1869, New York 34. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 27 March 1869, Fort Adams, Rhode Island 35. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 31 March 1869, Newport-Fort Adams, Rhode Island 36. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 15 September 1869, Jamul, California 37. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 23 October 1869, Jamul, California 38. MARB to E. W. Morse. 26 April 1869, Fort Adams, Rhode Island 39. MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 May 1869, New York, New York
638
40. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 July 1869, Staten Island, New York 41. MARB to E. W. Morse. 18 July 1869, Staten Island (Stapleton P. O.), New York 42. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 29 July 1869, Staten Island, New York 43. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 44. MARB to E. W. Morse. 12 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 45. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 46. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 19 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 47. MARB to E. W. Morse. 28 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 48. MARB to E. W. Morse. 30 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 49. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 14 September 1869, Staten Island, New York 50. Federico Maytorena Ruiz to E. W. Morse. 15 September 1869, Jamul, California 51. MARB to E. W. Morse. 29 September 1869, Staten Island, New York 52. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 53. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 54. MARB to E. W. Morse. 12 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 55. MARB to Barlow. 17 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 56. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 20 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 57. MARB to E. W. Morse. 20 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 58. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 29 October 1869, Jamul, California 59. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 23 November and 24 November 1869, Staten Island, New York 60. Robert J. Brent to E. W. Morse. 29 November 1869, Baltimore, Maryland 61. M.G. Vallejo to E. W. Morse. 30 November 1869, San Francisco, California 62. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 63. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 64. MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 65. MARB to E. W. Morse, 31 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 66. MARB to M. G. Vallejo, 5 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 67. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 68. MARB to Po Pico. 10 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 69. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 January 1879, Staten Island, New York 70. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 31 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 71. MARB to E. W. Morse. 31 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 72. MARB to E. W. Morse. 2 February 1870, Staten Island, New York 73. MARB to E. W. Morse. 8 March 1870, Staten Island, New York 74. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 March 1970, Staten Island, New York 75. MARB to E. W. Morse. 19 April 1970, Staten Island, New York 76. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 April 1870, Staten Island, New York 77. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 May 1870, Washington, D.C.
Chapter VI
1. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 June 1870, San Francisco, California 2. MARB to E. W. Morse. 23 June, 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 3. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 3 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 4. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. (10 July, 1870), San Francisco, California
639
5. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 6. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 7. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 25 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 8. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 July, 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 9. MARB to C. Scott. 1 November 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 10. MARB to E. W. Morse. 25 November 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 11. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 24 December 1870, San Francisco, California 12. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 25 December 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 13. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 26 December 1870, San Francisco, California 14. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. dated lunes, a.m., San Francisco, California 15. MARB to E. W. Morse. 23 January 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco 16. MARB to E. W. Morse. 5 February 1871, San Francisco, California 17. E.W. Morse to MARB. 7 February 1871, San Diego, California 18. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 17 February 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, 19. MARB to E. W. Morse. 18 February 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 20. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 March 1871, San Francisco, California 21. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 22. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 5 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 23. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 24. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 March 1872, San Francisco, California 25. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 16 March 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 26. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 25 July 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 27. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1 August 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 28. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 5 August 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 29. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 29 August 1872, Horton House, San Diego, California 30. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 9 September 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 31. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 32. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 33. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 20 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 34. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 22 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 35. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 January 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 36. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 January 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 37. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 27 January 1874, San Diego, California 38. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 28 February 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 39. MARB to George Davidson. 6 March 1874, Jamul, California 40. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 March 1874, Jamul, California 41. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 April 1874, San Diego, California 42. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 August 1874, Jamul, California 43. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 September 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 44. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 28 October 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 45. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 November 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 46. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 June, 1875, Jamul, California 47. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 June 1875, Jamul, San Diego County, California 48. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 October 1875 [?], Hotel Occidental, San Francisco, California 49. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. n.d. [October, 1875?] San Francisco, California 50. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 6 November 1875, Occidental Hotel, San Francisco, California
640
51. MARB to George Davidson. 4 December 1875, Occidental Hotel, San Francisco, California 52. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 December 1876, San Francisco, California 53. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 April 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 54. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 30 April 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 55. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 May 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 56. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 9 May 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 57. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 June 1877, San Diego, California 58. M. G. Vallejo to MARB. 4 June 1877, Hotel Iturbide, Mexico City, Mexico 59. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 13 June 1877, San Diego, California 60. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 July 1877, San Diego, California 61. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 14 August 1877, San Diego, California 62. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 January 1878, Lick House, San Francisco, California 63. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 May 1878, San Diego, California 64. MARB to H. H. Bancroft. 15 July 1878, San Diego, California 65. MARB to H. H. Bancroft. 5 August 1878, San Diego, California 66. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 November 1878, San Diego, California 67. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 18 July 1879 [?], San Diego, California 68. MARB to George Davidson. 15 July 1880, Jamul, California 69. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 March 1881, Jamul, California 70. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 29 June 1881, San Diego, California 71. MARB to George Davidson. 16 August 1882, Jamul, California 72. MARB to George Davidson. 5 September 1882, Jamul, California 73. MARB to J. S. Lawson. 16 September 1882, San Diego, California 74. MARB to George Davidson. 16 September 1882, San Diego, California 75. MARB to George Davidson. 13 April 1883, San Diego, California 76. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 13 May 1883, San Diego, California 77. MARB to George Davidson. 24 May 1883, San Diego, California 78. MARB to George Davidson. 5 June 1883, San Diego, California 79. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 5 September 1883, San Diego, California 80. MARB to George Davidson. 7 June 1884, San Diego, California 81. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 December 1884, San Francisco, California 82. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 83. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 84. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 85. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 86. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 87. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 December 1885, Commercial Hotel, San Francisco, CA 88. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. December 1885 [?] San Francisco, California 89. MARB to George Davidson. 2 January 1886, San Francisco, California 90. MARB to George Davidson. 10 January 1886, San Francisco, California 91. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 January 1886, San Francisco, California 92. MARB to George Davidson. 5 February 1886, San Francisco, California 93. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 July 1886, San Diego, California 94. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 January 1887, San Diego, California 95. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 4 February, 1887, San Diego, California
96. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 May 1887, San Diego, California 97. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 July 1887, San Diego, California 98. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 August 1887, San Diego, California 99. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 August 1887, San Diego, California 100. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 November 1887, Mexico City, Mexico 101. MARB to S. L. M Barlow. 28 March 1888, Hotel San Carlos, Mexico City, Mexico 102. MARB to George Davidson. 7 July 1890, San Diego, California 103. MARB to George Davidson. 22 February 1891, San Diego, California 104. MARB to George Davidson. 12 May 1891, San Diego, California 105. MARB to George Davidson. 14 May 1891, San Diego, California 106. MARB to George Davidson. 28 May 1891, San Diego, California
641
Index Letters by Addressee/Sender

1. MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 May 1869, New York 2. MARB to E. W. Morse. 18 July 1869, Staten Island (Stapleton P. O.), New York 3. MARB to E. W. Morse. 28 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 4. MARB to E. W. Morse. 2 February 1870, Staten Island, New York 5. MARB to E. W. Morse. 5 February 1871, San Francisco, California 6. MARB to E. W. Morse. 8 March 1870, Staten Island, New York 7. MARB to E. W. Morse. 12 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 8. MARB to E. W. Morse. 12 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 9. MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 10. MARB to E. W. Morse. 16 January 1869, New York 11. MARB to E. W. Morse. 18 February 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 12. MARB to E. W. Morse. 19 April 1970, Staten Island, New York 13. MARB to E. W. Morse. 20 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 14. MARB to E. W. Morse. 23 January 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 15. MARB to E. W. Morse. 23 June 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 16. MARB to E. W. Morse. 25 November 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 17. MARB to E. W. Morse. 29 September 1869, Staten Island, New York 18. MARB to E. W. Morse. 30 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 19. MARB to E. W. Morse. 31 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 20. MARB to E. W. Morse. 26 April 1869, Fort Adams, Rhode Island 21. MARB to E. W. Morse. 31 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 1. MARB to George Davidson. 2 January 1886, San Francisco, California 2. MARB to George Davidson. 4 December 1875, Occidental Hotel, San Francisco, CA 3. MARB to George Davidson. 5 February 1886, San Francisco, California 4. MARB to George Davidson. 5 June 1883, San Diego, California 5. MARB to George Davidson. 5 September 1882, Jamul, California 6. MARB to George Davidson. 6 March 1874, Jamul, California 7. MARB to George Davidson. 7 July 1890, San Diego, California 8. MARB to George Davidson. 7 June 1884, San Diego, California
642
9. MARB to George Davidson. 10 January 1886, San Francisco, California 10. MARB to George Davidson. 12 May 1891, San Diego, California 11. MARB to George Davidson. 13 April 1883, San Diego, California 12. MARB to George Davidson. 14 May 1891, San Diego, California 13. MARB to George Davidson. 15 July 1880, Jamul, California 14. MARB to George Davidson. 16 August 1882, Jamul, California 15. MARB to George Davidson. 16 September 1882, San Diego, California 16. MARB to George Davidson. 22 February 1891, San Diego, California 17. MARB to George Davidson. 24 May 1883, San Diego, California 18. MARB to George Davidson. 28 May 1891, San Diego, California 1. MARB to H. H. Bancroft. 5 August 1878, San Diego, California 2. MARB to H. H. Bancroft. 15 July 1878, San Diego, California 1. MARB to J. S. Lawson. 16 September 1882, San Diego, California 1. MARB to C. Scott. 1 November 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 1. MARB to Jos Castro. 2 May 1857, San Diego, California 2. MARB to Jos Castro. 23 April 1857, San Diego, California
643
1. MARB to M. G. Vallejo, 5 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 2. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 July 1870, San Francisco, California 3. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1 August 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 4. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 5. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 6. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 June 1870, San Francisco, California 7. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 2 June 1877, San Diego, California 8. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 3 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 9. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 April 1874, San Diego, California 10. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 August 1887, San Diego, California 11. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 July 1869, Staten Island, New York 12. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 May 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 13. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 14. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 4 September 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 15. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 5 August 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 16. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 5 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 17. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 6 November 1875, Occidental Hotel, San Francisco, California 18. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 January 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 19. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 January 1887, San Diego, California 20. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 March 1874, Jamul, California 21. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 7 May 1870, Washington, D.C. 22. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 July 1877, San Diego, California 23. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 March 1860, Washington, D.C. 24. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 8 November 1878, San Diego, California
644
25. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 9 May 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 26. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 December 1876, San Francisco, California 27. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 28. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 July 1886, San Diego, California 29. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 March 1872, San Francisco, California 30. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 10 October 1875 [?], Hotel Occidental, San Francisco, CA 31. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 August 1887, San Diego, California 32. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 December 1884, San Francisco, California 33. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 January 1878, Lick House, San Francisco, California 34. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 11 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 35. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 36. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 January 1886, San Francisco, California 37. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 12 September 1868, Richmond, Virginia 38. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 13 June 1877, San Diego, California 39. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 14 September 1869, Staten Island, New York 40. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 April 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 41. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 February 1869, New York 42. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 January 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 43. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 January 1879, Staten Island, New York 44. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 June, 1875, Jamul, California 45. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 15 May 1878, San Diego, California 46. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 December 1869, Staten Island, New York 47. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 48. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 March 1871, San Francisco, California 49. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 16 November 1887, Mexico City, Mexico 50. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 51. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 December 1885, Commercial Hotel, San Francisco, California 52. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 17 July 1887, San Diego, California 53. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 54. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 March 1863, New Castle, Delaware 55. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 18 May 1887, San Diego, California 56. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 20 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 57. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 20 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 58. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 April 1870, Staten Island, New York 59. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 60. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 61. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 July, 1870, San Francisco, California 62. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 21 May 1868, Richmond Virginia 63. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 22 December 1858, Metropolitan Hotel, San Francisco, California 64. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 22 December 1873, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 65. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 23 June 1860, Norwich, Vermont 66. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 23 November and 24 November 1869, Staten Island, New York 67. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 24 December 1870, San Francisco, California 68. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 25 December 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 69. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 25 July, 1870, San Francisco, California
70. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 26 August 1867, Colombia, South Carolina 71. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 26 December 1870, San Francisco, California 72. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 August 1874, Jamul, California 73. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 July, 1870, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 74. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 March 1970, Staten Island, New York 75. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 29 August 1872, Horton House, San Diego, California 76. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 29 July 1869, Staten Island, New York 77. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 30 April 1877, Lick House, San Francisco, California 78. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 30 November 1851, Monterey, California 79. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 31 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 80. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 81. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 82. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 83. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 84. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 1884 [?], San Francisco, California 85. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. dated lunes, a.m., San Francisco, California 86. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. December 1885 [?] San Francisco, California 87. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. n.d. [October, 1875?] San Francisco, California 88. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 27 February 1868, Richmond, Virginia 89. MARB to M. G. Vallejo. 24 April 1852, Monterey, California 1. Vallejo to MARB. 6 December 1851, Sonoma, California 2. Vallejo to MARB. 10 May 1852, Sonoma, California 3. Vallejo to MARB. 11 October 1861, San Francisco, California 4. Vallejo to MARB. 4 June 1877, Hotel Iturbide, Mexico City, Mexico 5. Vallejo to MARB. [undated] 1. M.G. Vallejo to E. W. Morse. 30 November 1869, San Francisco, California 1. MARB to Matas Moreno. 8 January 1862, Baltimore, Maryland 2. MARB to Matas Moreno. 24 December 1861, Baltimore, Maryland 3. MARB to Matas Moreno. 28 September 1864, 27 W. 18th Street, New York 4. MARB to Matas Moreno. 2 January 1858, Jamul, California 5. MARB to Matas Moreno. 2 September 1863, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania 6. MARB to Matas Moreno. 4 June 1858, Jamul, California 7. MARB to Matas Moreno. 5 September 1859, New York 8. MARB to Matas Moreno. 9 April 1862, Baltimore, Maryland 9. MARB to Matas Moreno. 9 March 1867, Fortress Monroe, Virginia 10. MARB to Matas Moreno. 16 May 1858, Jamul, California 11. MARB to Matas Moreno. 18 December 1858, San Francisco, California 12. MARB to Matas Moreno. 18 September 1858, Jamul, California 13. MARB to Matas Moreno. 20 February 1859, Jamul, California 14. MARB to Matas Moreno. 21 February 1860, Georgetown, District of Columbia 15. MARB to Matas Moreno. 22 December 1857, Jamul, California 16. MARB to Matas Moreno. 23 August 1858, Jamul, California
645
646
17. MARB to Matas Moreno. 27 February 1859, Jamul, California 18. MARB to Matas Moreno. 30 June 1862 and 7 July 1862, Baltimore, Maryland 1. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 1 September 1857, Jamul, California 2. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 6 December 1857, Jamul, California 3. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 7 May 1859, Jamul, California 4. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 14 August 1877, San Diego, California 5. MARB to Prudenciana Moreno. 27 January 1874, San Diego, California 1. MARB to Po Pico. 10 January 1870, Staten Island, New York 1. MARB to Plcido Vega. 1 June 1865, Staten Island, New York 1. MARB to Platn Vallejo. 23 April 1859, Jamul, California 1. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 28 March 1888, Hotel San Carlos, Mexico City, Mexico 2. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 19 August 1869, Staten Island, New York 3. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 4 February, 1887, San Diego, California 4. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 5 September 1883, San Diego, California 5. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 9 September 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 6. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 13 May 1883, San Diego, California 7. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 14 March 1869, New York 8. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 16 March 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 9. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 17 February 1871, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 10. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 18 July 1879 [?], San Diego, California 11. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 25 July 1872, Grand Hotel, San Francisco, California 12. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 27 March 1869, Fort Adams, Rhode Island 13. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 17 October 1869, Staten Island, New York 14. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 28 February 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 15. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 28 October 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 16. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 29 June 1881, San Diego, California 17. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 June 1875, Jamul, San Diego County, California 18. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 March 1881, Jamul, California 19. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 30 November 1874, Horton House, San Diego, California 20. MARB to S. L. M. Barlow. 31 March 1869, Newport-Fort Adams, Rhode Island 1. Williston to E. W. Morse. 2 January 1861, San Francisco, California 2. Williston to E. W. Morse. 4 January 1861, San Francisco, California 3. Williston to E. W. Morse. 7 October 1861, San Francisco, California 4. Williston to E. W. Morse. 19 November 1860, San Diego, California 5. Williston to E. W. Morse. 21 October 1861, San Francisco, California 6. Williston to E. W. Morse. 23 September 1859, San Diego, California 7. Williston to E. W. Morse. 29 September 1861, San Francisco, California
1. E.W. Morse to MARB. 7 February 1871, San Diego, California 1. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 15 September 1869, Jamul, California 2. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 18 March 18??, Jamul, California 3. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 15 September 1869, Jamul, California 4. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 23 October 1864, Jamul, California 5. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 23 October 1869, Jamul, California 6. Federico Ruiz Maytorena to E. W. Morse. 29 October 1869, Jamul, California 1. Henry S. Burton to E. W. Morse. May 9, 1859, Fort Yuma, California 2. Henry S. Burton to E. W. Morse. 1 February 1989, New York City, New York 1. Robert J. Brent to E. W. Morse. 29 November 1869, Baltimore, Maryland 1. Williston to Mr. Ames. 3 March 1860, Jamul, California 2. Williston to Mr. Ames. 27 February 1860, Jamul, California 1. Henry S. Burton to Jos Antonio Aguirre. May 1857, Fort Yuma, Califonia 1. Henry S. Burton to H. M. Naglee. 20 July 1848. La Paz, Baja California 1. Matas Moreno to R. Espinosa. 29 November 1851. San Diego, California 2. Matas Moreno to J. L. Espinosa. 7 December 1851. San Diego, California
647

Conflicts of Interest The Letters of Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Авторское право

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Conflicts of Interest The Letters of Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Conflicts of Interest

The Letters of Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage

Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage

Arte Pblico Press Houston, Texas

To Tatiana, Victoria, Andrew and Aaron

539 564 573 586 604 613 620 621 624

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

In the beginning there was La Paz

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Family and social stratification

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Ties that bind: Marriage under changing flags

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

A fait accompli: an old marriage tactic in a new context

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Treason or regional loyalty?

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

The Burton connection

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

B. Letters and Documents: Baja and Family Background

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

2. MARBs transcription of Don Jos Manuels Letter43

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

3. Last Will and Testament of Ysabel Ruiz de Maitorena A. Summary

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

4. H. S. Burtons 1848 Letter to H. M. Naglee

5. Family Trees for Ruiz, Carrillo, and Burton Families

Carrillo-Millar-Ruiz-Maytorena-de la Toba-Gibert Line

Notes to Genealogical Lines

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

From Baja to Monterey

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Settlement patterns in the hinterlands

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

The ever quaint and charming Monterey

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Into the breach

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Enter Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Diagnosis: un alma atravesada

B. Letters and Documents (18481852)

Mara Amparo Ruiz de Burton