DIVISION ONE — PRK-PASADKNIAN. 87 



beyond the reach of the Americans.* While awaiting events here, Stock- 

 ton learned that Gen. S. W. Kearny was marching overland from Santa 

 Fe. 



THK BATTLK OF SAN PASOUAI,. 



On December 6, 1846, Gen. Kearny had reached the Indian village of 

 San Pasqual in San Diego county, f with 160 men and three cannon; and here 

 he attacked a force of eighty Mexicans who had no cannon, under Don Andres 

 Pico, another of the Spaniards whom Gillespie had unwarrantably arrested 

 and locked up in his guard house at lyos Angeles on September 17. A hot 

 battle was fought, in which Kearny himself was wounded, and also I^ieut. 

 Gillespie who had been .sent by Stockton to join him. Dr. John S. Griffin 

 of Pasadena fame, was surgeon on Gen. Kearny's .staff; and in his journal 

 he reported the American loss as eighteen killed, three mortally wounded, 

 sixteen wounded who recovered, one missing and never accounted for. In 

 addition to this, three were taken prisoners by the Mexicans, and they also 

 captured one brass cannon. The Mexicans had none killed, but eleven were 

 slightly wounded, and one of them had to have a leg amputated .j; One of 

 their men was taken prisoner. Commodore Stockton got word of the affair 

 the next day, and immediately dispatched a force of 200 men to Kearny's 

 relief. By this aid Kearny arrived at San Diego December 12, with his 

 wounded and the remnant of his command. The San Diego residence of 

 Don Juan Bandini was Commodore Stockton's headquarters, and that of 

 Bandini's brother-in-law, Santiago E. Arguello, was used for a hospital. ^5 

 Dr. Griffin of course had charge of the wounded in their improvised hos- 

 pitals at San Diego. Another man in the battle was Kit Carson, whose 

 son afterward figured in Pasadena, and whose cousins and a nephew reside 

 here yet. 



Bandini was a man of superior intelligence and culture. He had be- 

 come heartily tired of the continual revolutions and changes of government 

 in Mexico and California ; he had always been friendly to Americans as 

 traders here ; he believed the United States could give them a stable gov- 



*"Rancheros must at once remove their live stock from the coast beyond reach of the naval forces ; 

 whoever refuses is a traitor." — Order of Gov.-Gen. Flores, October 77, 1S46. 



t" San Pasqual of battle memory is thirty-four miles northeast from the city of San Diego, close to 

 the foot of the mountains." — Tourists' Giiide to S. Cat., p. 61. 



|In his report to the Secretary of War, Gen. Kearny said ; " The enemy succeeded in carrying off 

 all their dead except six " This was such a brazen and ludicrous false pretense on his part that the sol- 

 diers dubbed him ' BJxcept-Six Kearny" — aud this uickuame stuck to him through life. Sergeant Falls, 

 who was in the battle, spoke at a meeting of Mexican War Veterans at San Francisco in June, 1885, and 

 said the Mexicans captured the cannon by lassoing its lead horses ; but Kearuj' had tried to belittle the 

 prowess of the Mexicans b5' claiming that his artillery horses merely took fright and ran away iuto the 

 enemy's lines. I have learned that the man who did that historic job of lassoing was Manuel Kubio of 

 San Gabriel, uncle to our Jesus Rubio ; aud Manuel's uncle Casimiro was wounded at the same time, as 

 mentioned by Bancroft. Then Manuel's brother, Francisco Rubio, was fatally wouuded in the battle at 

 I<aguna ranch, was hauled home from the battle field in a cart by his nephew, Jesus Rubio of ubio can- 

 yon fame, aud died the next day at San Gabriel. 



fiStockton had taken Bandini's house for army use. His headquarters mess was there, aud the 

 band from his flag-ship " Congress " ; and the commodore would often invite the Bandini family and oth- 

 ers to dine with him, and would have the band play during the dinner hour. See Davis' " .Sixty Years 

 in Cal.," p. 418. This Davis's wife was niece to Bandini's first wife, aud cousin to Mrs. Col. Baker of Los 

 Angeles, owner of the Baker block, the Laguna ranch, and other great properties. 



