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Jose Panto, Captian of the Indian Pueblo of San Pascual (15 pages)
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Page: of 15
JOSE PANTO 155
of peace and friendship between the United
States . . . and the captains and headmen of the
nation of Dieguino [sic] Indians’? (Wozencraft
1857:130-133). Panto, as captain of San Pascual, heads the list of 22 “‘headmen’’ of the
Dieguefio Indians (Wozencraft 1857:132).
In 1854, there was a period of power manipulation on the part of the whites in which
Panto was to replace Tomas, nominally captain
general of the Diegueflos. On March 18, 1854,
the San Diego Herald suggested that Cave
Couts, the Indian agent, replace Tomas with
Panto, but Tomas refused to acquiesce to this
arrangement (Phillips 1975:138). On May 7,
1854, Panto is again mentioned in a letter from
Cave J. Couts to B. D. Wilson:
I only sought the appt. of the San Luis
Indians, and never meddled with the Dieguinos
[sic] until the most prominent Rancherros [sic]
in their midst Call [sic] twice, requesting the
removal of Tomas and appt. of Panto [Caughey
1952:132].
On January 17, 1856, Panto met with U. S.
Army Captain H. S. Burton, commander of the
Mission San Diego garrison at Rancho San
Bernardo, and
during a long conversation with him he urged
most forcibly the right to protection from our
government against the encroachments of
squatters upon the lands legally granted to his
people.
The letter from Don José J. Orteja [sic],
accompanying my previous report, and the letter
I now send you from Don Santiago Arguello . .
. Will give the reasons why Panto is so urgent in
his wishes for protection against some five or
six squatters, who are taking possession of the
best lands granted to his people. It appears to
me, that this is a very just and proper occasion
for the personal interference of the superintendent of Indian affairs.
The Indians of San Pascual are friendly and
are anxious to remain so, but if their lands are
taken from them without scruple, they must retire to the mountains, naturally discontented, and
ready to join in any depredations upon the
whites [Burton 1856:117].
Don Santiago Arguello’s (1856:117) letter is
well worth quoting at length:
The undersigned [Arguello] certifies, on
honor, that the ‘‘pueblo’’ of San Pascual, in San
Diego county, was founded by order of the superior government of Upper California, in consequence of the secularization law of the missions, for which reason the parcel of land named
San Pascual was granted to these same Indian
families from the mission of San Diego, according to the regulation or order given by the
government. At the same time were founded
San Dieguito, Las Flores &c. [sic], all by the
same order; and the documents ought to exist in
the archives, because those orders were sent to
the undersigned, being then the authority of San
Diego and its jurisdiction. In confirmation of
the abovesaid, I will mention that, in the year
1846 [sic], Dr. [Don] Bonafacio Lopez made a
petition for this same land, and the government
(declared) decreed ‘‘that the land could not be
given because it belonged to the Indians of San
Pascual’’; therefore it seems unjust to deprive
them of their lands with the pretext that they
have no titles, when it is so well known that, in
foundations of this kind, they only report to the
government, and place all the documents in the
archives. ...
In the 1860 U. S. Census, Panto is still
listed as captain of the San Pasqual Indians and
his age is given as 50. Also listed in his
household are Maria, 50, female; Juan, 30,
male, alcalde; and Maria de Jesus, 28, female.
Whether these latter three were actually related
to Panto is uncertain. In this same census there
is a special section concerned with ‘‘Production
of Agriculture’’ in the state of California. José
Panto is listed as captain of both the San Pascual village and the Mesa Grande village. The
San Pascual village of the time is shown to have
a population of 134, 100 acres of improved
land, a cash value of $1,000, $200 worth of
farm tools, 50 horses, 14 milch cows, 15 working oxen, 50 ‘‘other cattle,’’ and 160 sheep, for
a livestock value of $2,000. In addition, there
were about 10 acres in peas and beans. At
Mesa Grande the population was 122. There