Page:History of California, Volume 3 (Bancroft).djvu/469

Rh the diputacion, was the leading spirit in this movement. He was at this time twenty-seven years of age, and employed as vista, or inspector, in the custom-house. His public life had begun in 1827, when he was made secretary of the diputacion, holding the place until 1834. His father, Sergeant José Francisco Alvarado, died in 1809, three months after the birth of his only son, and his mother, María Josefa, daughter of Sergeant Ignacio Vallejo, subsequently married Ramon Estrada. Juan Bautista learned from his mother and from the soldier-schoolmasters of Monterey to read, write, and to cipher more or less, besides his doctrina and the art of singing in the choir at mass. Governor Sola took an interest in the boy, and gave him a chance in his office to improve his penmanship and acquire some knowledge. He was observant and quick to learn. He and his companions, José Castro and Guadalupe Vallejo, were fond of reading, especially when they could get contraband books and elude the vigilance of the friars. He learned much by his association with foreigners, besides acquiring a smattering of English. He aided Padre Menendez, the chaplain, as secretary for a time, and was employed as clerk and collector by different foreign traders, who gave him a good reputation for intelligence and honesty.

In 1836 Alvarado was a young man of much practical ability, of good character, of tolerably steady habits, though rapidly acquiring too great a fondness for strong drink, and of eat popularity and influence with all classes, though he had been one of the first to resent Mexican insults to his countrymen, and had consequently been involved in personal difficulties with Rodrigo del Pliego and others de la otra banda. He was perhaps better qualified than any other of the younger Californians to become a popular and successful leader. He was not so dignified nor so rich as Vallejo, and was perhaps not the superior of José