 The Romance of the Ranchos Cawinga 1845 American's Aid and Defeat of Mitchell Terana Chino 1846 Americans captured by revolting Californians Los Angeles 1849 First Mayor of Los Angeles elected The Title Insurance and Trust Company of Los Angeles presents the Romance of the Ranchos A weekly dramatization of the mannered events which make up the fascinating history of Southern California Each week our wandering Vicaro Frank Graham returns to the microphone to narrate another exciting chapter in the story of our Southland For 48 years, Title Insurance and Trust Company of Los Angeles has served the citizens of Los Angeles County During that nearly half a century, the company has searched out transcribed and segregated information about every change of ownership of every parcel of land in the entire county from the original grant down to the present day Also during that time, the company has built up an organization of trained title experts who keep the voluminous files up to date by making hundreds of new entries every day and who use these records to examine titles and issue policies of Title Insurance The net result of all this activity through the years is the Title Insurance and Trust Company which issues more policies of Title Insurance than any other company in the world is able to provide this service promptly and accurately and to do so at rates well below the average cost of similar protection elsewhere in the United States Now here is our wandering Vicaro Frank Graham to tell us the story Buenos noches, señoras y señores Tonight we present the second half of a life story of the great American pioneer of California Benjamin David Wilson whom the Californians called Don Benito and who is closely connected with the history of Pasadena, Alhambra and the surrounding area as well as Riverside, Westwood Hills and Los Angeles For those of you who missed the story, interrupted last week and the rebroadcast arranged for last Sunday we traced the adventurous Wilson life as an Indian trader in New Mexico his coming to California and his ultimate decision to stay here after he was elected Alcalde of the Mexican Pueblo of Los Angeles Tonight we are to hear of the large party played in the momentous events of 1845 to 1849 which left California a part of the United States Here is another vivid adventure in the romance of the Ranchos Early in the year 1845, Don Benito Wilson was living at his Rancho Purupa near the present site of Riverside He was acting as Alcalde of the district and it was in this capacity that he received an order from high-ranking citizens to summon every man in your district capable of bearing arms bring them to Los Angeles and pick up any others you may find along the way We need every man to help us stop the rabble of Mitchell Terena Mitchell Terena, the name spelt villainy to all respectable citizens of the Southland For Mitchell Terena was the governor of California who had brought with him from Mexico a ragged army most of which had been recruited from the jails of Mexico City for months they had made themselves obnoxious to the citizens of California and now revolt had flared up Wilson learned the particulars on his arrival with a band of volunteers in Los Angeles Well, the town is certainly in an uproar Why not? Mitchell Terena's army at the very gates of the city They're camped at Encino in San Fernando Valley not one day's march Why hasn't Castro stopped them before? Oh, they've tried, but Mitchell Terena has too many men Castro had a retreat before him, hoping to pick up enough men here If he can't stop them here, he'll have to fall back to San Diego Don't worry, we'll stop them here, the whole town's behind Castro Of course, the Department of Assembly is meeting right now to proclaim a new governor, Bolton Pio Pico Good, and we'll make it stick too Just imagine me, Bill, taking part in an organized revolution against constituted authority I never would have believed I know, Ben, but this time every respectable citizen is on that side With your 20 men, we have almost 50 American volunteers Ben, Ben Wilson Oh, say, it is John Rowland Here, John Oh, I'm glad you're here, Ben Your provision's an ammunition already So you'd better get your men outfitted right away, tonight Because we're gonna march out to meet Mitchell Terena We leave early tomorrow morning That means we're probably going to battle about noon Yes, by this time tomorrow night it'll be decided one way or the other If we lose, God help Los Angeles Out through Cahuenga Pass March the Army of the Californians Headed by General José Castro Andres Pico And the newly proclaimed Governor Pio Pico By noon they sighted the forces of Mitchell Terena Coming down the valley On the banks of the Los Angeles River The two armies deployed and set up their artillery In the moment the battle was on A battle momentous in giving the Californians Greater freedom of government from Mexico One of the reasons perhaps that there were no casualties Was due to an action of the Americans Among the outnumbered followers of Castro's army As the artillery duel got underway Don Benito Wilson and William Workman Who commanded the Americans received word See, Senators, the Americanos on the other side Are commanded by Captain Brandt and Major Brandt Well, I know those men Yes, so do I, they're good men Of course I can't imagine them being mixed up with Mitchell Terena And his cutthroats Well, they probably don't understand the real situation They've been fed a lot of false stories Only we could speak with them I know men like that would see reason Yes, I think they would see it I have an idea Now, here, give me that powder sack What are you doing, Ben? Hold this long stick, will you? Now, you'll see in just a minute I'm gonna tie this bag onto this stick I see It's a white flag Right Sergeant, where did you say the other Americanos were? They're at the head of this ravine Some 500 yards away You intend to go to them under this white flag? Well, yeah, why not? Now, if I can just talk to Brandt Well, it's dangerous They might fire on you Now, be alert to some of the adventures we've had You think they're gonna scare me? Besides, they won't fire on a white flag Come on, now, get busy Now, who do you want to send with me? Well, James McKinley will go And you'd better take a scout to send back for help Never mind the scout McKinley and I'll manage And we'll see to it those Americans will not fire a shot from Micho Charena We're almost there Now, keep undercover I want them to spot our movements until they can see the white flag All right, here Give me your hand This is rough going Here you are Let me carry the flag for a while Don't play that They fired on us They had that cannon loaded with a grape shot Are you all right? Sure, fine Is this fine enough? Yes, I think so We'll let them come out to us here All right, raise the flag All right You think they can see that? Yeah, a little bit higher Clear the bushes there Now, all we can do is just wait for them to come up And that's Brandt Leedon Good, now, he's a man I can talk to You don't think they'd trick us Under the white flag? No, James They are men of honor Even though they do fight for Micho Charena I hope you're right We'll know in a minute Here they are Step out and identify yourselves Well, hello, Captain Brandt It's Benjamin Wilson Wilson, say I'd find you here Well, it is a strange place to meet, Captain But I am glad it is you I know that you're a man of reason And I can ask you simply Why do you fight for such a man as Micho Charena? Then I might ask the same of you Why do you fight for Pico And against the legally appointed governor? Because that is the side of right This rabble of Micho Charena Is to run friendly to any decent respectable humanity And to Americans in particular If they hold their own in this country There'll be a constant menace to our security That may be true But would your governor Pico Be less hostile to Americans? These people whose cause we've supported Have always treated us kindly They're our friends We have no reason to expect anything But fair and friendly dealing from them We've heard a different story in the north But I shouldn't put it past Micho Charena To falsify any of his favor Now, Ben, let's put our cards on the table Well, I, of course Now, please do The young men I command Are fearful of what may happen Many of them have been promised land by Micho Charena Many, in fact, have received deeds from the governor They wish to protect them Well, of course That's only natural But how then would Pico regard their lands Or the chances of their getting any? Well, I've talked to Pico myself about this And he said that it could easily be arranged Yes, but And furthermore, I can reach Don Pio now And have him join us here in just a few minutes To see him Well, that'd be perfect Will you send for him, Wilson? Right away These men want assurances That their deeds to the land will be respected Gentlemen, are any of you citizens of Mexico? No, we're not Any title deeds which Micho Charena gave you Are not worthy paper they are written on And he knew it well when he gave them to you That's right, gentlemen According to the laws of Mexico But if you will abandon the Micho Charena cause I will protect you in your quiet And peaceful possession of the land you now have If you will take these steps necessary To become citizens of Mexico I will issue you the proper titles But suppose we do not wish to become citizens of Mexico Then I cannot give you an invulnerable title I will not disturb your peaceful possession As long as I may be governor I promise you that But I should advise citizenship It is no need to hurry But as long as this is a province of Mexico That is your only chance For a completely safe title to the land I can do no more For I too must obey the law Don't peel By that statement you've shown yourself to be A more honorable man than Micho Charena I for one would rather trust the fate of my land to you Whom I know to be an honorable man I feel sure that my men will agree Therefore we shall accept your promise Your excellency That's fine Muchas gracias, señores I am sure you will have no cause to regret it And now You will quit the fight? Quit the fight, yes But since we're in a position of having march down With Micho Charena I'd rather we were not asked to fight on the other side Of course, señores You shall not be asked Well then you can be assured We'll not fire a shot Good And you can be assured gentlemen That Micho Charena is serving his last day As governor of California The insecurity and uncertainty of titles To land prior to the American occupation of California Is clearly illustrated in the episode You have just heard in tonight's story Notwithstanding the grants which had been made To Americans by Micho Charena Doubt existed as Don P. O'Pico pointed out Whether the deeds conveyed any title Unless the grantees were Mexican citizens Such doubts as to ownership were to continue Until later dispelled by the United States Land Commission Today, uncertainty is to land ownership Is eliminated by the modern system of title insurance Protection against defective titles Due to such causes as invalid grants Forgeries, deeds or other instruments Executed by minors or incompetence Undisclosed heirs and many other matters Is provided by disinsurance When you buy real estate Or accept it as security for loans Follow the example of banks Building and loan companies and other financial institutions And insist on misprotection Benjamin D. Wilson's coup In persuading the Americans to desert Micho Charena's forces Was largely responsible for saving bloodshed At the Battle of Cahuenga And for Micho Charena's surrender The next day Once again, California was peaceful And Wilson retired to his ranch life But it was not to be for long For in 1846 Workman and Don Felipe Lugo came with the news It's war, Don Benito The United States is at war with Mexico The Americaners will soon try to occupy California And no one knows what it will mean And so, Don Benito, the governor has asked me To pay his respects to you And to submit this communication As you are uncalled near this district He requests your active cooperation In raising forces to repel the invading army Of Americanos Don Felipe, I hardly know what to say You must realize that this puts me In an impossible position It means simply that you must make a choice Senor But that choice is not easy to make I've received nothing but kindness And consideration from you, my friend Today I believe I am almost a Californiano Even when your country is seeking To take what is not theirs By ruthless conquests Even if that were so Senor, I cannot understand how you Who may thought to be a fine, generous man Don Felipe You must have seen this coming You must realize that if it were not my country Some other country would annex California For years, the governing of California Has been wretched May cause left us to shift for ourselves As best we could And the great provinces Potentially valuable as this Cannot be thrown away by any nation Without another nation Seeking to take it over And promote its resources And I, for one, believe that The Americano government May be the best dancer for California So, that is how you feel? See, an idea I say There are many of you Californianos Who feel the same way Perhaps they do not matter For we are determined to resist, Senor This is our home, too And we will defend our lands To the last drop of blood Ah, now that is foolish, Lugo The Americanos do not want to take away your lands I am sure that all of you Would be just as prosperous And happy as before Ha! I am not so sure, Senor But there is no use arguing All I require is your answer To the governor I think you have made it plain What the answer will be Tell Governor Pito That I respectfully decline his request Since I am not a citizen of Mexico Nor a military man Senor, I cannot say What the governor's answer to this will be But I do not believe a person Hostile to our country Shall be allowed to remain at large You would arrest me, Lugo? Well, perhaps I deserve that However, please remember I am not hostile to your country And this has been a very difficult decision to make Now that I have made it I am prepared to defend my position How do you mean? If he will allow me to remain Quietly here in my ranch room I pledge that I will take No action hostile to the country But if he's sure to temp my arrest You may be sure that I'll put up a fight Don Benito's pledge Was good enough for Governor Pico And he was not molested He stayed on his ranch and waited Then, word came that Camaro Stockton's squadron Arrived in San Pedro Bay And with it came a private note From the governor requesting Wilson to call upon him Shadows hung heavy over Los Anglos As Don Benito rode into the town Stockton was at San Pedro General Castro was believed To be preparing to do battle And prevent his entering Los Anglos But as Don Benito was ushered Into the governor's presence He found a different vision of affairs And oh, mi amigo My time here as governor is very short But Castro is preparing to fight I hold no stock in Castro's assertions That he will attempt to repel Stockton's advance No, Don Benito, I'm leaving tomorrow Leaving, but where are you going? To Mexico It will probably do no good But I feel that as long as I am governor I must do my duty So I shall go to Mexico Try to get help for us To fight with it It might be better off if you just stayed here And surrendered Now, if you go to Mexico They mean I'll let you come back That would be tragedy, see But that is a chance I must take I admire your courage And devotion, Don Benito Oh, enough of this I called you here, mi amigo Because I have not much time left You've always been my friend You are married to the daughter Of one of my best friends So what can I do for you? Do for me? See, is there no land You want no rancho? Tell me now While I still have the power to grant Oh, but don't you I'm not a citizen of Mexico I can't I have forgot Everyone thinks you are Whether you are or not But, well then Isn't there anything I can do for you? No Except take the best care of yourself And return to us as soon as you can I will, mi amigo And you will do something for me No, anything in my power, Your Excellency Go tomorrow to Stockton Give him my best wishes Tell him of my intention to leave the country Express my prayer That he will not ill-treat my people I will do so, Your Excellency Very well then, mi amigo Hasta la vista May we meet again in peace And happiness Your message from Governor Pico He is Commodore Staten The way is clear for your entrance Into Los Angeles Very well I shall ride with you, Mr. Wilson My marines can follow at their own time And may the future course of events Be as smooth and peaceful as this Commodore, a week has passed And it's all quiet I've done all I can for you I'm going back to my rancher, Urupa Good, Don Benito But before you go Please accept this commission from me I appoint you a captain In the forces of the United States Ah, the Commodore I'm not a military man I can't accept Ah, nonsense I need someone on the frontier I can't be sure that Castro's really gone to Mexico You can gather a squad of men And watch the frontier near your rancho Commodore, I can't take up arms against my friends There's no need for that Just keep watch Wilson, I need you For I have no one else I can trust Very well, Commodore I will accept you For a time, life was quiet in Los Angeles And Commodore stopped and left the city In the hands of young lieutenant Gillespie And a small force But soon the inexperienced young officers' actions Had caused great resentment of the city And one day in September 1846 Has Don Benito returned from a hunting trip Word came It's a general revolt The Californians have started a revolt Gillespie's small forces besieged in Los Angeles And the Californians intend to drive out all Americans They'll be after us too, Ben We'll have to prepare for it But we have very little ammunition We'll have to get the Los Angeles to Gillespie Give me, run from them Or we can handle a hundred Californians Of what we have here Or we have to do a stand-up toenail run Gentlemen, gentlemen It would be a mistake to underrate the courage Or the fighting ability of the Californians It wouldn't be that we've overrated Your courage, would it, Wilson? I have never lacked courage, my friend But I try to use good judgment too Well, I say we can stand off any crowd Of them fellows they send I say we ought to meet them face to face All right, all right, if that's your decision It's all right with me But we are making a mistake Look, look, there they are Riding up across the plains Holy smokes, there's a lot of them Yes, my friend And they have plenty of ammunition This is our last chance to make a run for it Oh, no, we ain't afraid of them Let them come All right, all right, you're asking for it Come on, men, into the range house We'll make our stand there Come on All right, now, men Get your guns ready They're about to charge Don't waste any shot Hold your fire And do the most good Ready Here they come Look, they shot something out of the roof Hey, it's on fire Let's set the roof on fire No, no, we won't We can fall back on the patio If they're going to smoke us out then You might as well give it up right now You're right We'd better surrender right now Now, maybe you gentlemen will revise your ideas About Californians fighting abilities Wilson's party surrendered Weeks went by as the men languished in prison Some of the Californians visited them Brought them food and clothing And comfort But they received no hope of release Until word came that Stockton was marching up from San Diego Reinforced by the army of General Carney And that Colonel Framund was closing in from the north And on the 6th of January, 1847 Their cell door was open Seniors Don Andres Tito Si, Don Benito, mi amigo All right, bring you here, Hina, now What's going on? All our troops march tomorrow To meet Commodore Stockton and General Carney Who are near Santa Ana and coming here Oh, you're going to fight him Mi amigo I'm sorry I hope that you'll be all right I hope so, mi amigo But now it's for you and your men We have no one left to guard you And so for your own protection from the rabble here in Los Angeles I'm going to ask for your parole You're going to let us go? Si, if you will agree not to join the fight You have my word, Don Andres Very well It is especially important for you and Senior Roland To our well-known as Americano leaders To get away For I have two of my best horses outside for you Make haste and get out of Los Angeles The others can disperse more easily Gracias, my friend I hope that all this is finally settled For your benefit as well as ours I hope so, mi amigo But now? How about yours? No Hasta la vista We shall meet again soon Under happier conditions On the horse belonging to Don Andres Pico Don Benito Wilson sped the safety and to his family Then on January 8th He rode out to a hill overlooking the river San Gabriel And watched his countrymen defeat the Californians In the battle of San Gabriel With that battle the fate of California was sealed Resistance was broken And within a few days word came to Los Angeles Of Andres Pico's capitulation to Colonel Fremont At Cahuenga Now at last the war was over for California But the status of the Californians was still undecided So a few days later When Don Benito Wilson heard that Andres Pico Was seen in Los Angeles He rushed to find his old friend Don Andres! Don Andres! Mi amigo Don Benito, Buenos dias Ah, it's good to see you I can't tell you how happy I am that all is well It's all well, but it's all well, senor I'm living in expectation of a rest at any minute It's horrible Well, have you not seen Commodore Stockton yet? No, for I fear he should arrest me for breaking parole Nonsense, mi amigo! Come, come with me Pico, I have come Commodore Stockton to throw myself on your mercy Well, you realize, of course, that you violated your parole Also, you surrendered your men to a subordinate officer Instead of the commander-in-chief Or a military man general, you should know better I'm sorry, Commodore I did not realize that I was committing a breach of military Never mind, general My parole is rightly with Fremont and not with you It is not my wish to show any ill-feeling toward anyone And certainly not toward you native Californians Gracias You're kind If you come in good faith to surrender yourself and your men I assure you that there will be no punishment for past acts All of us Californians and Americans must live here together As common citizens of a great country It is my hope that we shall live happily and prosperously together With your help we will do it Commodore, you may depend upon my help And the help of my people This is indeed a happy ending And so the American conquest was completed Once again, Don Vinnito Wilson returned to his beloved Lake Vineyard Ranch At San Marino But such a public-spirited citizen could not remain long out of the limelight He was called to take active part in the First State Convention To serve as county clerk and as Indian agent for the United States government But the citizens of Los Angeles, both American and Californian United in honoring him as their first citizen For when the city was first incorporated The results of the first election Oh, it is me, amigo Don Vinnito Wilson He is the first mayor of Los Angeles A fitting triumph for an adventurous and worthwhile career Don Vinnito Wilson, a little Tennessee boy Who came west to fight the Indians and build a new land Was the first mayor of what was to become one of the world's great cities Such is the romance of the ranchers In just a moment, Frank Graham will tell you about the story he has planned for next week Which will be on Christmas Eve Benjamin D. Wilson, Don Vinnito Earned a love and respect to his contemporaries And his high place in the memories of the Southern Californians of today By his energy, ability and character He was one of many such men To whom we all are forever indebted For the development of our South land Into the wonderful place to live that it is today Title insurance and trust company of Los Angeles As one of the beneficiaries of this great heritage Feels it a privilege to bring to its listeners The inspiration of these true stories And all their original drama, excitement and color And now watch the story for next week, Frank Next week, romance of the ranchers comes to you on Christmas Eve And we plan to bring you a recreation of an early Christmas In connection with the mission San Gabriel The founding of which will also be dramatized Be with us, won't you? And so until then, this is your Wandering Bacchero, Frank Graham Saying Hasta la vista, señoras y señores The romance of the ranchers A presentation of the title insurance and trust company of Los Angeles Featuring Frank Graham as the Wandering Bacchero Is dramatized by John Donkel And produced by Ted Bliss With special music arranged by Irwin Yell Bob LeMond speaking This is the Columbia Broadcasting System