The name of the governor thus driven away was Fonseca. Knowing
well that success alone could have justified his conduct, he did not
attempt to return to Mexico, but meeting with some pirates, at that time
ravaging the coasts in the neighbourhood of Guatimala, he joined them,
and, excited by revenge and cupidity, he conceived the idea of
conquering California for himself. He succeeded in enlisting into his
service some 150 vagabonds from all parts of the earth--runaway sailors,
escaped criminals, and, among the number, some forty Sandwich
Islanders, brave and desperate fellows, who were allured with the hopes
of plunder.
I may as well here mention, that there is a great number of these
Sandwich Islanders swarming all along the coast of California, between
which and the Sandwich Islands a very smart trade is carried on by the
natives and the Americans. The vessels employed to perform the voyage
are always double manned, and once on the shores of California, usually
half of the crew deserts. Accustomed to a warm climate and to a life of
indolence, they find themselves perfectly comfortable and happy in the
new country. They engage themselves now and then as journeymen, to fold
the hides, and, with their earnings, they pass a life of inebriety
singularly contrasting with the well-known abstemiousness of the
Spaniards.
Pages:
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190