70 HISTORY OF PASADENA. 



San Gabriel, in his zeal to make it a great success, till he had fallen into a 

 state of exploitive monomania ; for he was then negotiating for an enormous 

 purchase of iron to build iron fences around the gardens and orchards of the 

 Mission — a preposterous and crazy project.* These were reasons enough for 

 his removal, without imagining "jealousy," as Bancroft and other writers 

 have done.f 



At San Juan Capistrano he prepared a deed for three and a half square 

 leagues of land to Eulalia Perez de Guillen and sent it to Father Sanchez, 

 his friend and successor at San Gabriel. The Mexican government having 

 become independent of Spain in 1822, had already twice passed decrees for 

 secularizing the Missions ; and although these decrees were not enforced, 

 the work of disintegration and gradual breaking up had commenced — and 

 these two priests wished to provide for this faithful and devoted woman in 

 her old age, for her life had been " full of good works." Zalvidea had ver- 

 bally promised or given her the ranch some time before, but no deed of it 

 was made out until after he went to San Juan Capistrano. Then he sent it 

 to Padre Sanchez, who accordingly [as the story goes] on Easter Day ("San 

 Pasqual" in Spanish), 1826, J confirmed and ratified at San Gabriel the deed 

 to Eulalia Perez de Guillen, of the body of land thenceforth known as 

 " Rancho San Pasqual." This was in due accord with Spanish and Mexi- 

 can law at the time, and was thus a valid title as far as it zvent ; but Eulalia 

 was old, and had no skill or knowledge in matters of law and had no one to 

 act for her who knew any more as to what further steps were necessary on 

 her part than she did herself; and the result was that her deed was never 

 entered on the civil records. Likewise the law required certain buildings to 

 be erected on such land grants, and a prescribed amount of horses, sheep 

 and cattle to be maintained there, etc., in order to complete the title ;§ but 

 she and her family failed to fulfill these conditions, and consequently of 

 course her claim became forfeited. I did not succeed in finding this original 

 deed nor any copy of it, but I did find and talk with people who had 

 seen it while it was preserved in the family, for her death did not occur un- 

 til June 8, 1878, at San Gabriel. Her grandson, Theodore Eopez, told me 



*" He purchased large quantities of iron with the intention of railing in all of the vineyards and 

 gardens." — Hugo Heid. 



t"Two aged missionary friars resided here [San Juan Capistrano, April, 1S29], Padre Geroninio Bos- 

 caua, and Padre _/oi^ Maria Zalvidea — the latter though at this time secluded and apparentlj' weak in 

 mind, once took an active and laborious part in the management of the Missions." — Robinson's "Life in 

 Cah/ornia," p. z8. 



Boscana was afterward sent to San Gabriel, and died there Julys, 1831. Padre Zalvidea was still 

 living in 1840-41, in active service among the Mission Indians of San Juan Capistrano and vicinity. He 

 died at San Luis Rev early in 1846, while still on duty as a missionary to the Indians, especially those of 

 Snn Pasqual village. 



IZalvidea was transferred in March, only two or three weeks before Easter Sunday, and he sent 

 the deed up to San Gabriel in time to have it officially ratified by Sanchez on that day, 1826 (1827, in 

 top line of page 62, is a misprintl. 



{i At thai lime Monterey was the capital, and the deed would have to be taken there for record, a 

 transaction which of course would involve considerable expense ; and she was very poor, besides being 

 then already verv old. Also, she had no money to buy stock for the ranch, nor to build a house and live 

 there. This explains how it happened that she failed to complete her title and hold the ranch. 



