doc241 - Schoenherr Home Page in Sunny Chula Vista

to stop, the narrow defiles affording innumerable hiding places for Indians and giving
them an advantage over the approaching enemy. Had the Californians attempted to advance
on foot they would have met with certain death, for the Indians swarmed in force,
knew the region intimately, and would have picked the troops off one by one. The two
brothers Ybarra, however, urged on by desire to rescue their sisters, advanced further
into the mountains than the rest of the company, actually saw the girls in the midst of
the savages, and got within a short distance of them, but were so badly wounded by the
arrows showered upon them that they were compelled to return. After that, up to the
time Miss Estudillo left San Diego in 1842, nothing further was heard of the two girls.
"Opposite the house where she was living with her aunt was the residence of
Ybarra's two sons and their families. Doña Juana, the mother, lived with them in San
Diego up to the time of her death, which occurred about a year after her husband was
murdered; this terrible occurrence and the loss of her daughters also, proving too great
a blow for her. . During this time she never ceased to lament their sad fate. It was heart-
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rending to listen to her expressions of grief, weeping and wailing for the loss of her husband
and children, like Rachel refusing to be comforted. Her distress often made the
people weep who heard her lamentations."
Prior to this occurrence, the hostile Indians had made several attacks upon San
Diego for plunder and the capture of women, but without success. They now began to
grow still bolder, and to plan their enterprises upon a large scale, and soon after formed
a plan for the reduction of the settlement. Again the clearest account is contained in
Davis's book:
"One of the daughters of the Alvarado family married Captain Snook. After her
marriage two of her younger sisters resided with her a part of the time. One of them had
acquired considerable knowledge of the Indian language. Several of these families had
Indian men for cooks. One evening after supper, the young lady just mentioned, Doña
Guadalupe Alvarado, overheard the cooks in earnest conversation in the Indian language.
As soon as the words were caught by her ear she was startled and surprised,
and drawing nearer heard all that was said. She discovered that the Indian cooks from
the different families had gathered in the kitchen of the house and were discussing a
plan of attack upon the town by members of their tribe. It appeared that arrangements
had been completed for the capture of the town the following night, and that the cooks
in the several families were to lend their aid.
"In the council of the cooks, it came out that each on the following night was to
communicate with a spy from the main body of the Indians, and take stations for this
purpose on top of the hill overlooking the town, where the old Presidio and first garrison
quarters of the Spaniards in California formerly stood. They were to inform the spies of
the condition of each family, whether or not it was sufficiently off guard at the time to
warrant an attack. There happened to be present in the house Don Pio Pico and Don
Andrés Pico, who were making a friendly call on the family. They were a good deal startled
at the statement made by the young lady, and represented that they would give the
conspiracy immediate attention. The people of San Diego at that period had their
houses well supplied with arms and were always on the watch for Indian movements.
Accordingly, during the night they organized a company of citizens and arranged that at
daylight each house should be visited and the cook secured. This was successfully ac-