Page:History of California, Volume 3 (Bancroft).djvu/457

Rh was accompanied, not only by his mistress Doña Cruz, but by her friend Doña Ildefonsa Herrera, who had been liberated for the occasion. There was much indignation and excitement at the appearance of this notorious pair in the place of honor, and some ladies left the room in disgust. Then Alcalde Ramon Estrada, who felt that his authority as a judge had been insulted by Ildefonsa's presence, was induced to release Castañares from the jail and give him a prominent seat at the show, from which he is said to have ostentatiously saluted his paramour at the governor's side. Chico was beside himself with rage, and perhaps had hot words with Estrada on the spot. At any rate, next day he marched with a military escort to the hall of the ayuntamiento, took away from Estrada his alcalde's vara, and subsequently placed him under arrest in his own house — some authorities speaking even of his being locked up in jail, of an attack on his house, and of insults to his aged father. Don Mariano.

The exact date of the quarrel with Estrada is not known, though his arrest would seem to have been on June 27th; nor is it possible to determine the chronologic order of succeeding events. The popular excitement was great. Teodoro Gonzalez, the regidor, took the position of alcalde, and seems to have incited the citizens to resist Chico's encroachments on the rights of the municipal authorities. The military force at Monterey was small, and most of the soldiers were in sympathy with Chico's enemies. The governor feared that not only his authority but his life was in danger. The cannon at the castillo were kept loaded and manned; and Chico remained for the most part