comisario was in sympathy with any movement against the governor. We are told by Osio, Vallejo, Alvarado, and others that he was the prime mover in the revolt, Solis being merely a tool in his hands. I think this view of the case an exaggeration, and that Herrera, like several others perhaps who were never directly implicated, was willing to wait, and even aid so far as he could in safety. However this may have been, the troops counted on him to a certain extent,[1] and he at the least dictated the plan, which was written at his house by Petronilo Rios, and completed in the evening of November 15th. It was read aloud to a group of foreigners, including Hartnell, Spence, Cooper, Stearns, Anderson, McCulloch, and others who happened to be present, and who more or less approved the document, 'from motives of courtesy;' as David Spence afterward testified. It was read to the soldiers and approved by them the same night. Many claimed later not to have been pleased with the paper, since it was a plan of revolution, and not a petition for redress of grievances; but this was an afterthought in most cases.
The plan was made to embody the grievances of Herrera, as well as of the troops, and was directed against Echeandía as the author of all territorial evils.[2] The avowed object was to put the territory
- ↑ There are several vague allusions in the testimony to two brazos fuertes, on whom dependence was placed. One was supposed to be Herrera, and the other perhaps Capt. Gonzalez, or Lieut. Lobato, or Francisco Pacheco. Solis claimed to have acted in many things on H.'s advice after he had taken the command. H. in his testimony said he first knew of the trouble when in the night of the 12th he heard a noise in Jimeno's room next to his own, and rushed out sword in hand to defend him. Next day he was offered the comisaría, but declined, and advised the rebels to await the arrival of Osio, who already had the appointment from Echeandía. He again declined the office when offered by Solis. He was asked for advice, and gave it in the interest of good order. He subsequently agreed to dictate the plan on condition that the officers should be set at liberty, and with a view to secure respect for the authorities, to prevent outrages on persons and property; in fact, to control for the good of the territory so far as possible a revolution which he was powerless to prevent. Dept. St. Pap., MS., lxxii. 71-4. It is fair to state that this defence was at least plausible, and that there is really no evidence of any weight against its accuracy, except the statements of persons liable to be influenced by prejudice.
- ↑ Solis, Manifiesto al Público, ó sea Plan de Revolucion, 1829, MS. It was signed by Solis, Peguero, Leon, Rios, and Gabriel de la Torre. In substance,
