Page:History of California, Volume 3 (Bancroft).djvu/568

550 Castañeda, in obedience to his orders from Portilla, left San Buenaventura probably, March 17th, and took a position with his force in sight of Santa Bárbara, demanding the immediate surrender of the place. Comandante Villavicencio, though his force was small, had two or three small cannon so placed as to defend the approaches. He refused to surrender, and despatched a courier in all haste to the north for reënforcements, while Captain Guerra and Padre Duran went out to parley with the besiegers. I have no means of knowing exactly what arguments these venerable diplomatists used, but such was their force that Castañeda did none of the brilliant things expected of him by the Angelinos. The captain most assuredly disobeyed in a disgraceful manner the orders of his chiefs Carrillo and Portilla, which with his force of over one hundred men he might easily have executed. Whether his course was inspired by fear of Villavicencio's guns, or was the result of deliberate treachery to Carrillo, as Botello intimates, or of an agreement with Guerra afterward broken by Castro, as Pio Pico seems to think, I do not know; but after remaining three or four days, perhaps at the Cerro del Voluntario, he retired to San Buenaventura.