60 
SCENES IN THE PACIFIC 
men became thoroughly impressed that he bore in his own 
person the combined powers of the American Republic and 
the British Empire. Clothed, therefore, with authority so 
potent, he took measures for the relief of the prisoners. 
But, before entering upon the narration of these measures, 
it will be proper to give a history of the events which led to 
the imprisonment of these men, and their intended immolation. 
In 1836, a Mexican General by the name of Echuandra 
was the Commandant General of Upper California. Some 
years previous, as will be particularly shown in another 
place, he had come up from Mexico, with a band of fellow- 
myrmidons, and having received the submission of the coun¬ 
try to the authorities of that Republic, commenced robbing 
the Government for which he acted, and the several inte¬ 
rests which he had been sent to protect. Nothing escaped 
his mercenary clutches. The people, the missions, and 
* the revenue were robbed indiscriminately, as opportunity 
offered. A few of the white population of the country par¬ 
ticipated in these acts. But generally the Californians were 
the sufferers; and, as is always the case with unhonored 
rogues, raised a perpetual storm of indignation about the 
dishonest deeds of those whom they desired to supplant, for 
the purpose of enacting the same things. An occurrence of 
this kind was the immediate cause of the Revolution in 1836. 
A vessel had cast anchor in the harbor of Monterey. Gen¬ 
eral Echuandra, not having that honorable confidence in the 
immaculate integrity of the custom-house officers, which 
thieves are accustomed to have in one another, placed a guard 
on board the craft, to prevent them from receiving bribes for 
their own exclusive benefit. To this the officers demurred; 
and in order to free their territory from the creatures of one 
whose conscience would compel him to receive bribes for his 
own pocket instead of theirs, they sent their own clerk, a 
young rascal of the country, by the name of Juan Baptiste 
Alvarado, to inform the general that it was improper to sug¬ 
gest, by putting a guard on board, that the officers of the ship 
