In late 1828, the commandant of the San Francisco presidio, Ygnacio Martinez, dispatched Antonio Soto, an experienced Indian fighter, to bring in the fugitives for punishment. Taking only a small expedition, Soto and his men were goaded by Indian insults into a thicket. Taking full advantage of their treacherous hiding place and thick underbrush, the invisible Indian warriors killed several soldiers and seriously wounded others, including Soto, who was shot in the eye and died a few days later after retreating to San Jose. Antonio Maria Osio, who fought against Estanislao and much later recorded his experience in his Historia de California, recalled that the jubilant Indians celebrated their triumph with dances and by ‘putting on exhibit the corpses of the soldiers who had been killed so that the neighboring tribes, who had been invited, might admire their great valor and bravery.’

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As news of the Indian victory spread, more Yokuts and perhaps some Miwoks from the Sierra Nevada foothills joined the rebels. By early 1829, Estanislao had assembled at his fortress an army of 500 to 1000 neophytes and gentile (unconverted) warriors, certainly one of the largest Indian forces ever to fight against whites in California. As members of a dozen tribes and more Christian fugitives joined his ranks, Estanislao intensified his raids on the livestock of Bay area missions and ranches.

Despite poor discipline, unreliable weapons and troops prone to mutiny and conflicts with soldiers from other presidios, Mexican Californios primarily from the San Francisco presidio were sent under the command of Jose A. Sanchez to crush the rebel forces. However, Sanchez’s party, which included 70 Indian auxiliaries as guides and soldiers, was also too small and unequal to the task. Sanchez tried to negotiate with his adversaries rather than militarily engage them at the outset. However, according to Sanchez’s later report, Estanislao and followers would rather fight than return to the missions, The rebel leader shouted that he ‘had to defend himself and he would not hesitate to die in the underbrush.’

After a fierce battle of about three hours, Sanchez had lost enough soldiers to order a retreat to Mission San Jose. In his memoirs, Juan Bojorges, who had participated in the battle, recalled that as the soldiers withdrew, Estanislao emerged from his fortified thicket fired a parting gunshot and hurled insults in Spanish at the ill-fated expedition.

This article was written by Richard Patterson and originally appeared in the December 2000 issue of Wild West.

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