Pauma massacre

The Pauma Massacre occurred in December 1846, north of Escondido, California. Luiseño Indians killed eleven Mexicans, Californio lancers who had stolen horses from them. The action was related to a series of regional conflicts during the Mexican-American War and followed the defeat of United States forces by the Mexicans at the Battle of San Pasqual in California.

Background

After the Battle of San Pasqual, the Californio lancers, a Mexican military force, broke up into different groups. A group of eleven men traveled to Rancho Pauma, owned by Jose Antonio Serrano. Along the way, the men stole a herd of fine horses belonging to the Pauma band of the Luiseño and retreated to the rancho.

Serrano, his fourteen-year-old son Jesus, and his brother-in-law Jose Aguilar had gone to Pala, where Serrano's wife and other children were staying. Before leaving, Serrano was said to overhear two Luiseño women discussing a plot to capture the Californios.

The events

In the evening Chief Manuelito Cota (also called Chief Manuel) took a group of the Pauma band with him to Rancho Pauma. The chief knocked on the door and introduced himself. The Californios knew the chief and had peaceful relations with him. When the Californios opened the door, the chief and his men captured the lancers.

They took eleven prisoners to El Potrero, an Indian rancherias, for the night. The next day the party traveled to Aqua Caliente (Warm Springs, now known as Warner Springs). Chief Manuel called the area bands together for a tribal council to decide the fate of the horse thieves. Most tribal chiefs believed the prisoners should be scared and then released. William Marshall, a local American, entered the debate. He swayed the vote in favor of executing the prisoners.*(See Notes below.)

The tribal leaders decided the Californios should undergo ritual torture and execution for their crimes against the Pauma band. After the Californios witnessed the first execution, the men wept and begged for their lives. Santos Alipas, thirteen years old, stood up and reportedly said, "What's the use of crying? We can only die once; let us die like brave men." Impressed with Alipas' bravery, the Luiseños gave him a choice on how he wanted to die. The boy asked to be shot. He was immediately shot through the forehead.

Killed in the Pauma Massacre

1. Manuel Serrano

2. Ramon Aguilar

3. Francisco Basualdo

4. José María Alvarado

5. Mariano Dominguez

6. Santiago Osuna

7. Jose Lopez

8. Estaquio Ruiz

9. Juan de la Cruz

10. Unnamed New Mexican

11. Santos Alipas

Aftermath

When word of the massacre reached Mexican forces in Los Angeles, General José Mariá Flores designated José del Carmen Lugo of San Bernardino to lead a group of soldiers to avenge the lancers' deaths. The soldiers carried out their mission with the aid of allied Cahuilla Indians. They killed an estimated 33-40 Luiseño warriors, including the leaders who had authorized the earlier attack on the Californios. The action was called the Temecula Massacre.

Notes

• According to Herbert Lockwood, Bill Marshall at one time was in love with Senorita Osuna. She told Marshall to leave her alone, as she planned to marry José María Alvarado. Marshall was heartbroken and angry. He moved to Warner's ranch where he was hired as a foreman. He married a Cupeno woman and was accepted as an unofficial member of her tribe. When he saw Alvarado among the Californio prisoners, he saw an opportunity to take his revenge.
• Some historians believe that Marshall had no part in the Pauma Massacre.

References

• Skeleton's Closet Revisited. A Light Look at San Diego History Vl. 2, by Herbert Lockwood
• The Indian Cemetery at Old Temecula, by Kevin Hallaran, Allene Archibald, Lowell J. Bean, and Sylvia B. Vane
• The Historic Valley of Temecula. The Temecula Massacre, by Horace Parker