beach that night and next morning when the Commodore's boat landed he gave his message to Stockton.

Colton, who was the Alcalde of Monterey at that time notes Flaco's arrival there and says in his "Three Years in California" that he (Brown) "rode the whole distance from Los Angeles to Monterey, 460 miles, in fifty-two hours, during which time he had not slept. His intelligence was for Commodore Stockton, and in the nature of the case was not committed to paper, except a few words rolled in a cigar fastened in his hair. But the Commodore had sailed for San Francisco and it was necessary he should go 140 miles further. He was quite exhausted and was allowed to sleep three hours. Before day he was up and away on his journey."

Colton and Gillespie both made the distance from Los Angeles to San Francisco 600 miles. The actual distance by the coast route -the one taken by Flaco-is about 500 miles. Counting the detours Flaco made from the direct road to avoid hostile parties of Californians and the deviation from the trail to procure fresh horses he doubtless rode 600 miles.

The trail over which Flaco made his wonderful ride was not like the road from Winchester town, "a good broad highway leading down." It was what the Spaniards call a camino de herradura— a bridle path-now winding up through rocky cañons, skirting along the edge of precipitous cliffs, then zigzagging down the step sides of the chaparral-covered mountains, now over the sands of the sea beach and again across long stretches of brown mesa; winding through narrow valleys and across rolling foothills, a trail as nature made it, unchanged by the hand of man-such was the highway over which Flaco's steeds "stretched away with utmost speed.”

Take it all in all, Flaco's ride has no parallel in history for speed, distance and endurance. To paraphrase Whittier's "Skipper Ireson's Ride"

"Of all the rides since the birth of time,

Told in story or sung in rhyme,

The fleetest ride that ever was sped"

Was Juan Flaco's ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Longfellow has immortalized the ride of Paul Revere, Robert Browning tells in beautiful verse of the riders who brought the good news from Ghent to Aix, and Buchanan Read thrills us with the heroic measures of Sheridan's Ride. No poet has sung of Juan Flaco's wonderful ride fleeter, longer and more perilous than any of these. Flaco rode 600 miles over mountain and plain through an enemy's country to bring aid to a besieged garrison, while Revere and Sheridan were in the country of their friends or protected by an army in front.

Once entered on his perilous ride there was no stop, no stay for Flaco. To halt for rest might bring his pursuers upon him and capture meant an ignominious death at the end of a riata. To push on might be to ride into his enemies in front. To the fleetness of his steeds and to his intimate knowledge of the country Flaco owed his escape from capture and death.

It is disappointing to know that Flaco's perilous ride was made in vain. On the receipt of his message Commodore Stockton set about sending relief immediately. Captain William Mervine, commanding the frigate Savannah, was ordered to prepare to go to sea at once. The vessel set sail and ran down the bay with a fine breeze. "The Captain," says Gillespie, "happening to think of some frivolous thing he wanted from Sausalito, cast anchor and went ashore. Before he was ready to sail again, a dense fog set in and detained the vessel three days."

In the meantime Gillespie's men were bravely holding the hill, but were worn out with constantly watching and guarding against an assault.

The obstinate resistance of the Americans enraged the Californians. If Gillespie continued to hold the town his obstinacy might bring down their vengeance not only upon him and his men but upon many of the American residents of the south who had become Mexican citizens by naturalization, but who sympathized with the Americans and favored them whenever an opportunity offered.

Finally, General Flores, after several attempts to negotiate terms of surrender issued his ultimatum to Captain Gillespie-evacuate the town within twenty-four hours, march to San Pedro, there to take ship and leave the country, or risk the consequences of an onslaught which might result in the massacre of the garrison. Gillespie fearing that Flaco had been killed or captured, and despairing of assistance, his supplies exhausted and his men worn out by seven days and nights of constant guarding against attack, accepted the terms of capitulation offered by Flores.

On the 30th of September he and his riflemen marched out of the town with all the honors of war, drums beating, colors flying and two of the old iron cannons mounted on the axle-trees of Mexican carts and drawn by oxen. They arrived at San Pedro without molestation and camped there till the 3rd of October, when Flores having cut off their supply of water they were forced to embark on the merchant ship Vandalia, which Gillespie had detained to cover his retreat. Gillespie before going aboard spiked the cannon he had brought with him and rolled them into the bay.

On the 7th of October (1846) Captain Mervine in command of the man-of-war Savannah arrived in the bay of San Pedro and on

FORT HILL-Where Captain Gillespie was beseiged and from which Juan Flaco began his perilous ride. THE CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS-As it appeared in 1846. The church was remodeled in 1861. A shingled roof was substituted for the flat asphalum roof shown in the picture. Fort Moore, constructed in 1847, was located on the top of the hill directly back of the church.

the morning of the 8th the combined forces of Mervine and Gillespie numbering 300 men landed at San Pedro and took up their line of march to capture the rebellious Pueblo. Mervine had neither cavalry nor artillery. At Dominguez rancho, fifteen miles from Los Angeles he encountered a body of the enemy's cavalry numbering about 120 men. The Americans bivouacked and prepared for battle. The Californians were commanded by Jose Antonio Carrillo, one of their ablest officers. During the night they received reinforcements of forty men with one piece of artillery. Hostilities began on the morning of the 9th with a shot from the cannon. Mervine formed his men in a hollow square to resist a cavalry charge and advanced upon the enemy. The riflemen made repeated sallies to capture the cannon, but failed. The Californians with their gun loaded would await the approach of the column and when it was within easy range fire. If the ball missed a man in the front rank of the square it might strike one in the rear.

The gun discharged, the Californians with one end of their riatas fastened to the pole and axle-trees of the gun carriage and the other twisted around their saddle-bows would gallop away with their cannon to a convenient distance, load and await the advance of the column, fire and again fall back. After a running fight of several miles Mervine finding that he was losing men and inflicting no injury on the enemy, ordered a retreat. The Californians, after giving him a parting shot retreated to Los Angeles and the singular spectacle was witnessed in this anomalous battle of both victor and vanquished in full retreat at the same time.

Never before or since in American warfare was a victory won with such crude armament. The principal weapons of the Californians were home-made lances the blades beaten out of files and rasps by a blacksmith and inserted in the ends of willow poles eight feet long. A few horse pistols, flint-lock muskets, shot guns and blunderbusses completed their motley collection of arms.

The piece of artillery that did such deadly excution on the Americans was the famous "Old Woman's gun.' It was a bronze four-pounder that for a number of years had stood on the plaza in front of the parish church of Los Angeles and was used for firing salutes on feast days and other public occasions. When, on the approach of Stockton's and Fremont's forces, Castro abandoned his artillery and fled, an old lady, Dona Clara Cota de Reyes, declared the Gringos (Americans) should not have the church's gun. So with the assistance of her daughter she buried it in a cane patch near her residence. When the Californians revolted against Gillespie's rule they unearthed the gun and used it against him.

Before the battle of Dominguez the old gun had been mounted on