1781. > HISTORICAL. <1881. 
“TO-DAY Till. SOON T>K YKSTKRPAY.” 
The hi.tory of the city of Lo* Angelo* 
properly belongs to three period*, namely, 
iK m period of Mission role, when the edicts 
of tbc Friars were law Bml ewrj thing 
subservient U> their will; the period of 
Spanish rule alter the iridepanden#* of 
Mexico and the downfall of the Mission 
power; the period of American occupation 
and the progress which has resulted in 
building a beautiful, prospermia city. Each 
period bad its separate and distinct work 
tn perform, and that each did it* work well 
is evident when the instrument* and advan¬ 
tage! of the different period* are properly 
oonsideri'd. With the Friars from Mexico 
oarne a body of Mexican regulars to ant ns 
guards to these zealous missionaries and to 
perforin suoh other duties as needed their 
services. This band of regulars wax divid¬ 
ed among tbs many Missions established 
along the coast, and as their term of service 
expired, most of them being married and 
having families, their next move was a very 
important one to them, it was one of the 
conditions of founding the Missions that a 
white man could not settle upon the land 
claimed bv the oburch. consequently, to 
accommodate the retiring soldiers, who bad 
become enamored of the country 
necessary to establish pueblos or colonic, 
beyond the precincts of those sacred con¬ 
fines. 
Every settlement of this kind that was 
made in conformity with a decree uf the 
home government received certain aid and 
emoluments which enabled it to begin 
under very favorable auspices. Each retir¬ 
ing soldier having a family received his 
regular pay and rations for three years; 
•'‘■sides two oxen, two mares, two mules, 
two goals, two sheep, two cows without* 
calf, onu ling and a donkey were given to 
each settler, to be paid fur in small install¬ 
ments. In order to secure these advantages 
a number of soldiers at the Mission San 
Gabriel, whose term of service had expired, 
petitioned the home government to set 
arid* • portion of land for their use. 
‘i hih wi» done bv the then Governor of 
California, Don Felipe de Neve, who, on the 
2nth of August, 1781, issued an order that 
the pueblo of Los Angeles shruld be 
founded, which wus done on the 3th of 
September of the aunts ).-ar, under the 
name of Pueblo de Nucalra Sr flora de Lo* 
Angeles. 
The soldiers, twelve in number, with 
tlicir families, making in all forty-six per - 
aun* of bulb sexes, began the settlement by 
mying out a public square in the foim of a 
parallelogram one hundred varaa long by 
•everity-five wide. ()u three sides of this 
square and fronting it were located twelve 
resident lots, one-half of the remaining 
Short Side was given In niiRli,. 
and the other half 
lien des this, at a 
to public buildings 
a left 
an open apace, 
uiort distance from the 
SKMJ-TROPIV CALIFORNIA* 
public square, and upon the rich soil near 
the river, where the waters of the river 
could be used for irrigating purposes, they 
laid out thirty fields for general cultivation.. 
These fields contained forty thousand 
square varus each and were mostly laid out 
in the form of a square and separated from 
each other by narrow lanes- They wore 
devoted to vineyards, orchard*, corn, barley 
and wheat raising, together with certain 
kinds of vegetables, but the principal occu¬ 
pation of the settlers was raising cattle and 
horses, for the grazing of which they pnjuV 
cd the entire surrounding country. Tin 
m-i tiers, however, at that time, could not 
acquire a title to their lands and held them 
only by virtue of the general law of posses¬ 
sion; still justice was in store for them, 
though somewhat tardy, In 1821 Men 
declared her freedom from Spain, and Vt 
radical changes in the general laws were at 
once instituted, and in 1833 the gratitiugof 
titles tn land came into practical operation, 
The government of the settlement was a 
inpound of political and military. The 
chief ufticer, the Alcalde, was appointed by 
the Governor, before whom all grievances 
were tried. In their easy going way the 
want* of the settlers were few and easily 
pplied. They had little or no intercourse 
with the outside world until 1820, when 
foreign vessels, principally American, be¬ 
gan to call at San redm anil exchange 
goods for hides and tallow. Some ten years 
later trade with Arizona, New Mexico and 
wa * Sonora wa* brought about through the 
enterprise uf American hunters and trap¬ 
pers, Thus briefly have wn glanced over 
the first fifty years. We began with forty- 
six souls and a virgin soil, and at the dole 
of the first half century tvu find u city of 
six nr eight hundred inhabitants, with a 
goodly number of productive orchards am! 
vineyards, and largo bands of cattle and 
horses roaming over the commons belong¬ 
ing to the settlement. The subsequent 
history of Los Angeles is too recent and 
familiar to the eeneral reader to require 
uny-thing more than a passing notice here. 
General intercourse with the outside world 
wrought an entire change over the former 
tranquility of the settlement. Internal 
commotion, strife, and often bloodshed, 
marked tbo way up to and through the 
Moxican war times, and even after that 
period history points us to some very dark, 
bloodthirsty deeds, in most of which for- 
eigners—that is, other nationalities than 
Mexicans and Spaniards—were the principal 
actor*. Since the dose of the war of 1M10- 
1865 the growth of Los Angeles lias been 
rapid and permanent. Some of the busincM 
blocks would do justice eveuto New York 
lioston and other Eastern cities. From the 
hiiu back of town where Fremont's canons 
dictated terms to the city in J84o n beauti¬ 
ful panorama meets tl.o view. Among the 
hills, at their feet and beyond, iiea a city 
of twelve thousand inhabitants. Orchard* 
vineyards, and beautiful homes atretoh 
away oil into the hazy distance. Five lines 
of railroad with their bu«y life center at 
feet, telegraph lines reach out to every 
quarter of the globe, indeed the transfer- 
mation is complete, and we are lost in con¬ 
templating tlm changes that another hun¬ 
dred years will bring. 
SANTA ANA AND TUSTIN. 
The southern end of Los Angeles county 
ba* made most gratifying progress during 
the past year. This section ibipenda upon 
its own merits, and has not had the liberal 
advertising which other portions of Califor¬ 
nia have au freely indulged in, but every 
settler, during the past two years, seems to 
have appointed himself u committee of one 
to bring nut ns many of hia friends and 
relations m possible to settle in the beau¬ 
tiful semi-tropic valley. It is a fact that 
shrewd business men, and not a few of 
them either, after traveling over nil portions 
of the Pacific Coast have purchased homes 
ncur Santa Ana, and since spent thousands 
of dollars in improvements. 
I'UtsKNT STATUS OF SANTA ANA. 
Santa Ana is located thirty-four mile* 
from Los Angeles, six miles from Anaheim 
and about tcii miles from the ocean. It is 
connected with Los Atigolcs, San Francisco 
and the East by the Southern Pacific Rail¬ 
road, which has its southern terminus in the 
flourishing littJo town. Outside of the 
county Beats no town in Southern Califor- 
a larger trade or a more hopeful 
future. 
FACTS ABOUT FRUIT. 
In the immediate vicinity of Santa Ana 
fruit growing will, probably, bo the princi¬ 
pal industry. The orange, lemon and lime 
grow to perfection, and there is seldom 
frost enough to injure even the tender 
banana. The soil is, principally, a light 
sandy loam, easily worked and very pro¬ 
ductive. Nearly every where in this portion 
of the Santa Aua Valley irrigation, after 
the first year of setting out an orchard is 
not only not essential, but is held by many 
experienced fruit growers to bo injurious. 
Still some fine and productive orchards nre 
regularly irrigated, and a positive rule can¬ 
not be luid down, as different grades of 
soil require different treatment. 
winter IHNKUTlON. 
When the winter rains are insufficient, 
winter irrigation is certainly very advan¬ 
tageous. A thorough soaking at this time 
will frequently assure cropB which might 
otherwise bo uncertain, The fruit having 
the finest flavor is undoubtedly produced 
without irrigation; but irrigation increases 
the size. 
Tina season’s fruit enur. 
The fruit crop in the vicinity of Santa 
Aria has not boon quite up to the usual 
standard this year in quantity, although the 
quality has never been superior. This does 
not apply to the lust orange crop, which 
was very large and exceedingly line. 
Nearly every enterprising farmer put out a 
vineyard last Spring, mid the oldest vine¬ 
yards in bcuring will have n fuir average 
crop the present season. 
Tit It RAIIIIIT PEST. 
The greatest pests with which vine- 
jrardists in Los Angeles county, who reside 
