doc241 - Schoenherr Home Page in Sunny Chula Vista

more liberal interpretation upon his instructions. He proclaimed the laws and published
lists of resident Spaniards required to take the oath, but does not appear to have used
his power to persecute those who refused. Some of the missionaries surreptitiously fled
the country, and others demanded passports and left openly, rather than submit. It appears
that Echeandía regarded the presence of these stubborn missionaries as undesirable,
and even went so far as to ship Father Martinez, of San Luis Obispo, out of the
country, after a council of war, on a charge of having given aid and comfort to the rebels
in the Solis insurrection. He was also desirous of carrying out the wishes of his superiors
with regard to the secularization of the missions, and discussed plans to that end,
but no definite steps were taken during his administration. He did, however, issue a decree
of partial emancipation of the neophytes, permitting such as had been Christians
from childhood or for fifteen years, who were married or at least not minors, and who
had some means of livelihood, to leave the missions.
Trade was brisk on the coast during Echeandia's administration, for it was a time
when the hide and tallow business was rapidly growing in importance. In 1828, the
revenue collected at San Diego was $34,000--nearly six times that at San Francisco. In
July of that year, Captain John Bradshaw, of the Franklin, anchored in San Diego Bay
after doing considerable trading on the Lower California coast. A warning had come
from Loreto, and he was accused of having been engaged in smuggling, and other offenses,
although his supercargo, Rufus Perkins, had been allowed to travel overland
from mission to mission. Bradshaw was ordered to deposit his cargo in the warehouse
and await the investigation of these charges. He promised compliance, but returned to
his ship and, once on board, refused to obey any orders given him and changed his anchorage
to a point near the harbor entrance. The governor prepared to place a guard on
the ship and applied to a French captain then in the port, Duhaut-Cilly, for the loan of a
boat. The boat was loaned, but Bradshaw was also warned, and on the morning of the
16th of July he cut his cable and ran out of the harbor, passing the fort, although a
shower of cannon balls was hurled after him. The Frenchman met Captain Bradshaw,
later, at the Islands, where he learned that his hull had been perforated, rigging damaged,
and the gallant captain himself wounded.
The Hawaiian brig Karimoko was also in trouble at San Diego, late in the fall. The
records seem to make it clear that she was engaged in contraband trade, having a rendezvous
off Catalina Island. Her sails were seized and Santiago Argüello was sent to
the island to investigate and bring over the goods.
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[The Aguirre House, Old Town]
In the same year, an American named Lang, with two sailors and two Kanakas,
was arrested in a boat near Todos Santos. The prisoners told a story about coming from
the Sandwich Islands to settle in California; but as Lang's efforts included a barrel-organ
and two trunks of drygoods, they were confiscated and sold. Lang had previously been
at San Diego and confided to a countryman that he was engaged in smuggling. These
and other irregularities led to the closing of the way ports to foreign vessels and caused
considerable inconvenience to legitimate trading ships.
In December, 1830, the rule of Echeandía ended with the arrival of Colonel
Manuel Victoria, the newly-appointed Governor, at San Diego. Victoria proceeded north,