Show DON PIO PICO during the closing days of july 1847 the mormon battalion members who left los loa angeles angelea upon their disbandment ban dment on the to bearch arch for the place which the utah pioneer bad selected as an a home camped near the ranch of general andreas pico the general had been a mexican officer and in his hie velna veins mingled the blood of the spaniard and native american and ana upon california becoming united states territory he decided to transfer bin bi allegiance to this country thus it was that he remained on bib hi possessions where he provided tho the battalion boys boy with fruit antwins and wine wins an and d became quite friendly with them what gave ad additional dit ional interest to bi his personality wa was the fact that he was the brother and had been the warm supporter of governor pic pico the last lart mexican governor of Cad california fornia who had been I 1 just deposed by the united states authorities and who was burled buried at los LOB angeles california yesterday yeat yest erday erda sept 18 an stated in the telegrams from there don plo pio pico was over 98 93 years ot of age at the time of his demise gabrieli bavin having been born may 5 1801 at san gabriel mission alta california as it was wail known then he was in turn an assistant assi Atut priest a ranchero saloonkeeper and politician and in 1884 k be came governor of upper and low lower california in which utah was theft included but with which the officiate officials had bad no immediate association althis as this part of the continent COMI DARt was wholly given over to wild india 1 tribes gover or pico established the capital at los angeles when the rush of americans to california began he was averse to them and favored the english plotting plot tings to secure the country he openly advocated the british side and it was he be whom old general val lelo fairly bearded in the santa barbara conference in 1846 by declaring that californians were republicans and would not submit to a monarchy but would cast their fortunes with the united stated governor pico raised an army but on the approach of the Amor icam forces he saw aw the hopelessness of cause and tied fled to southern cutitar from where be h returned TO y yrtl rp stir WK to claim his bis poes irk in the united states state taking up his hi abode with his brother his sores at land were numbered by and at one time he owned two thirds of los LOB angeles Ao gelef and might have bare become a multimillion multi million lire aire but bat through prodigal hospitality he fell in the tolls toils of moneylenders money lenders lenden and mortgages mort gaKes until his bis vast fosses slone alone slipped away from him and he be was pauperized the death of don plo pio aloo removes one of the few remaining persons persona whose presence is a reminder that the western part of the united states once was mexican soil oil and would have become a british colony but for the prompt work of that army of which the mormon battalion was a part and whose unparalleled march across the continent was an important aid in giving to the union a vast area of the richest country on the globe |