WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.580 Picture this. You are driving through the Inland 00:00:03.580 --> 00:00:06.080 Empire in Southern California. Like right on 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:08.939 that stretch between Beaumont and Redlands. Exactly. 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:11.019 You're on that commute. Maybe you have the AC 00:00:11.019 --> 00:00:14.240 blasting, and you look out your window. And you 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.800 know, you just see what looks like totally unassuming 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.140 canyon scenery. Right, just dirt and scrub grass. 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:22.260 Sun -baked foothills. It's the kind of landscape 00:00:22.260 --> 00:00:26.100 you might not even glance at twice. What if I 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:29.059 told you that underneath that very dirt lay an 00:00:29.059 --> 00:00:31.899 entire prehistoric ecosystem? We are waiting 00:00:31.899 --> 00:00:34.280 there. Right. Over a million years of ancient 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:36.820 history, just buried in the dust. And what if 00:00:36.820 --> 00:00:39.979 I told you the quiet air outside your car window 00:00:39.979 --> 00:00:43.219 was once like filled with the sounds of a Wild 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:45.920 West shootout involving a legally sanctioned 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:47.799 Native American posse? I mean, it completely 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:49.899 shatters that illusion of the empty landscape, 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:52.000 doesn't it? It really does. We tend to look at 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:55.039 the spaces between modern cities, those stretches 00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:57.500 of highway scrub, and we just assume nothing 00:00:57.500 --> 00:01:00.000 of consequence ever happened there. but usually 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:03.799 the exact opposite is true. Oh, 100%. And that 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:07.219 is exactly the topic of our deep dive today. 00:01:07.579 --> 00:01:10.120 We're looking at Santa Mateo Canyon. It's such 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:12.659 a fascinating spot. It really is. And to guide 00:01:12.659 --> 00:01:15.540 us, we are relying on a really comprehensive 00:01:15.540 --> 00:01:18.640 historical and geographical overview of the area. 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:21.299 Which is packed with just incredible details. 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:24.230 Right. So our mission today is simple. but it's 00:01:24.230 --> 00:01:26.730 a big one. We're going to peel back the layers 00:01:26.730 --> 00:01:30.189 of this single, seemingly unassuming geographic 00:01:30.189 --> 00:01:33.090 location. We want to show you just how deep and 00:01:33.090 --> 00:01:36.439 complex and Frankly, wild history can run right 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:38.420 in our own backyards. Oh, yeah. We're taking 00:01:38.420 --> 00:01:41.239 you all the way from the Pleistocene Epoch straight 00:01:41.239 --> 00:01:43.420 through to modern highway planning. OK, let's 00:01:43.420 --> 00:01:45.640 unpack this, because before we even get to the 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:47.560 human drama, we really have to look at the map. 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:49.620 Yeah, the geography sets the stage for everything. 00:01:49.700 --> 00:01:51.560 It does. If you look at the Inland Empire, you 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:55.879 have this River Valley Canyon in the far northwestern 00:01:55.879 --> 00:01:57.760 foothills of the Santa Cinta Mountains. Which 00:01:57.760 --> 00:01:59.900 basically acts as a bridge, right? Exactly. It 00:01:59.900 --> 00:02:02.359 runs northwest from Beaumont in Riverside County 00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:05.420 all the way up to the area west of Redlands in 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:07.680 San Bernardino County. That is the perfect way 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:09.780 to visualize it. I mean, it's a natural corridor. 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:12.639 Yeah. And the architect of this entire landscape, 00:02:12.939 --> 00:02:15.099 like the force that carved that corridor, is 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:17.740 Santa Mateo Creek. Right. The water is everything. 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:19.819 It really is. The creek flows straight through 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:22.620 it, draining the water divide of the San Gorgonio 00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:25.250 Pass. and then it gathers from all the surrounding 00:02:25.250 --> 00:02:28.210 mountain watersheds and flows right into the 00:02:28.210 --> 00:02:31.289 Santa Ana River. So you basically have this perfect 00:02:31.289 --> 00:02:34.849 geographic funnel created by water over just 00:02:34.849 --> 00:02:37.610 countless millennia. Exactly. And that water 00:02:37.610 --> 00:02:40.270 is the key. Because before we even talk about, 00:02:40.270 --> 00:02:42.909 you know, Spanish missions or outlaws, we have 00:02:42.909 --> 00:02:45.770 to start at the literal bedrock. Right, because 00:02:45.770 --> 00:02:49.289 this geography didn't just carve a path, it essentially 00:02:49.289 --> 00:02:51.669 created the ultimate time capsule. Which brings 00:02:51.669 --> 00:02:54.669 us to a massive, just completely accidental discovery 00:02:54.669 --> 00:02:56.909 in 2010. Oh, this is my favorite part. It was 00:02:56.909 --> 00:02:59.789 such a paradigm shifting moment. Totally accidental. 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:01.870 So construction crews were out there working 00:03:01.870 --> 00:03:03.830 on the El Casco South Station. Just doing regular 00:03:03.830 --> 00:03:05.949 infrastructure stuff? Right, exactly. They're 00:03:05.949 --> 00:03:08.590 just trying to build modern electrical infrastructure. 00:03:08.650 --> 00:03:11.349 So they're digging trenches, moving dirt, and 00:03:11.349 --> 00:03:15.069 suddenly... they stumble upon this massive natural 00:03:15.069 --> 00:03:19.810 cache of what researchers call Irvingtonian fossils. 00:03:20.389 --> 00:03:21.949 OK, wait, let's translate that for a second. 00:03:22.189 --> 00:03:24.830 The Irvingtonian is basically a specific era 00:03:24.830 --> 00:03:27.469 in North America, right? Yeah, it's roughly a 00:03:27.469 --> 00:03:29.550 million to a million and a half years ago. OK, 00:03:29.669 --> 00:03:31.530 wow. Right, it's when some of our most famous 00:03:31.530 --> 00:03:34.759 Ice Age mammals first appeared. And we are talking 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:38.659 about nearly 1 ,500 bone fragments dating back 00:03:38.659 --> 00:03:42.439 1 .4 million years. That is just wild. It's honestly 00:03:42.439 --> 00:03:44.560 like digging a hole for a modern electrical pole 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:46.300 in your backyard and accidentally unearthing 00:03:46.300 --> 00:03:49.000 a prehistoric zoo. What's fascinating here is 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:51.300 the sheer variety of what that zoo contained. 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.060 because it tells us so much about how the environment 00:03:54.060 --> 00:03:56.139 actually functioned back then. Because it wasn't 00:03:56.139 --> 00:03:58.139 just a few scattered bones that washed down a 00:03:58.139 --> 00:04:00.039 river. No, not at all. This was a beautifully 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:02.719 preserved window into the early Pleistocene and 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:04.979 Pliocene eras. Which are just the geological 00:04:04.979 --> 00:04:07.560 terms for those epochs spanning from, what, a 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:10.520 few million to about 10 ,000 years ago? Exactly. 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:13.639 The eras characterized by repeated glaciations 00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:16.720 and drastically different climates. So the crews 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:19.519 uncovered two different species of saber -toothed 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:23.290 cats. Oh, wow. Right. and they found ground sloths. 00:04:23.790 --> 00:04:27.569 But you have to erase the image of the little 00:04:27.569 --> 00:04:30.009 slow -moving tree sloths we have today. Oh, I 00:04:30.009 --> 00:04:31.750 know. These things were massive, weren't they? 00:04:31.829 --> 00:04:34.850 Huge. These are ground sloths the size of modern 00:04:34.850 --> 00:04:37.009 grizzly bears. Just casually roaming around Southern 00:04:37.009 --> 00:04:38.730 California. I mean, I love trying to picture 00:04:38.730 --> 00:04:41.430 that while sitting in modern traffic on the I 00:04:41.430 --> 00:04:44.110 -10. It's quite an image. And along with those 00:04:44.110 --> 00:04:47.449 giant sloths, they found two types of camels. 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:51.060 Wait, camels in California? Yeah, camels. And 00:04:51.060 --> 00:04:54.319 over 1 ,200 bones from small rodents. Now, the 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:56.660 rodents might sound, you know, less exciting 00:04:56.660 --> 00:04:58.839 than a saber -toothed cat. I mean, a little bit. 00:04:59.019 --> 00:05:01.920 Fair. But they are actually incredible for understanding 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:05.040 the microenvironment, because rodents are highly 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:07.079 sensitive to changes in their habitats. That 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:09.279 makes sense. They're like little ecological barometers. 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:11.579 Exactly. And beyond that, the deposit contained 00:05:11.579 --> 00:05:14.420 entirely new species of deer, new species of 00:05:14.420 --> 00:05:17.769 horses, and possibly even llamas. Which completely 00:05:17.769 --> 00:05:20.589 changes how you view the modern landscape. Like 00:05:20.589 --> 00:05:22.870 you look out the window now and you see dry dirt 00:05:22.870 --> 00:05:25.769 and scrub. Yeah, mostly dry brush. But the density 00:05:25.769 --> 00:05:28.529 of those fossils paints a radically different 00:05:28.529 --> 00:05:31.189 picture of Southern California's ancient ecosystem. 00:05:31.949 --> 00:05:34.689 It really does. It tells us that 1 .4 million 00:05:34.689 --> 00:05:37.990 years ago, this canyon wasn't just some dry transit 00:05:37.990 --> 00:05:42.790 corridor. It was incredibly lush. resource rich 00:05:42.790 --> 00:05:47.329 and wet enough to support a massive diverse array 00:05:47.329 --> 00:05:50.209 of mega fauna. Because the water from the creek 00:05:50.209 --> 00:05:53.709 and the local geology created an oasis that basically 00:05:53.709 --> 00:05:56.509 trapped and preserved this history over time. 00:05:56.730 --> 00:05:58.850 Right, and it makes total sense that this same 00:05:58.850 --> 00:06:01.870 hospitable environment eventually drew the canyon's 00:06:01.870 --> 00:06:03.850 first human inhabitants. Because you have the 00:06:03.850 --> 00:06:06.290 steady water from Santa Mateo Creek, plus there 00:06:06.290 --> 00:06:08.350 are natural hot springs bubbling up in the area. 00:06:08.389 --> 00:06:10.569 Yeah, the natural resources made it an absolutely 00:06:10.569 --> 00:06:13.329 ideal location. So for thousands of years, long 00:06:13.329 --> 00:06:16.269 before any European contact, Santa Mateo Canyon 00:06:16.269 --> 00:06:18.310 served as the winter homeland for the people. 00:06:18.490 --> 00:06:20.589 Because they could utilize the canyon's natural 00:06:20.589 --> 00:06:23.230 wind protection. Exactly. The wind protection, 00:06:23.730 --> 00:06:25.949 the reliable water flow, and those hot springs. 00:06:26.350 --> 00:06:28.589 They used all of that to sustain their communities 00:06:28.589 --> 00:06:30.889 generation after generation. It sounds like a 00:06:30.889 --> 00:06:33.649 perfectly balanced stable part of their seasonal 00:06:33.649 --> 00:06:37.459 migration. It was, but then... The timeline suddenly 00:06:37.459 --> 00:06:39.620 accelerates in a way that almost gives you historical 00:06:39.620 --> 00:06:42.199 whiplash. Oh, definitely. We go from thousands 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:45.560 of years of relative stability to this rapid 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:48.579 series of massive landscape altering shifts. 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:52.480 Because in 1819, the Spanish mission era reaches 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:55.560 the canyon. Yes, 1819 marks the establishment 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:57.779 of the San Bernardino, the San Constancia. Which 00:06:57.779 --> 00:07:00.279 was basically a ranch outpost, right? For mission 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:03.500 San Gabriel Archangel. Exactly. Now, initially, 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:05.699 the primary purpose was just to graze cattle. 00:07:05.870 --> 00:07:08.490 using the labor of mission Indians. But it quickly 00:07:08.490 --> 00:07:11.050 grew into a really significant industrial and 00:07:11.050 --> 00:07:12.889 religious hub. Yeah, we aren't just talking about 00:07:12.889 --> 00:07:15.290 a few cows out in a pasture. No, the original 00:07:15.290 --> 00:07:17.990 footprint expanded to include a chapel, a tile 00:07:17.990 --> 00:07:20.589 kiln, a line kiln, and a gristmill for grinding 00:07:20.589 --> 00:07:22.629 grain. So they are essentially industrializing 00:07:22.629 --> 00:07:24.589 the canyon at this point. They absolutely are. 00:07:24.790 --> 00:07:28.139 But it doesn't stop there. Because by 1842, the 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:31.439 flag changes again. Alta California is now under 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:34.060 Mexican rule. Right. And the governor, Juan B. 00:07:34.180 --> 00:07:36.939 Alvarado, grants this land to a private group 00:07:36.939 --> 00:07:39.480 of wealthy ranchers. The Lugo Brothers and Diego 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:41.680 Spolvera. Right, exactly. Becomes known as Rancho 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.040 San Bernardino. And I want... pause here and 00:07:44.040 --> 00:07:46.680 really look at this, because the mechanics of 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:50.279 the shift are just staggering to me. It's a massive 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:52.980 transition in a very short time. Right. You have 00:07:52.980 --> 00:07:55.620 a landscape that served as a sustainable wintering 00:07:55.620 --> 00:07:57.800 ground for indigenous people for thousands of 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:01.300 years. Then it's turned into this industrialized 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:04.060 Spanish mission outpost with kilns and mills. 00:08:04.139 --> 00:08:06.560 And then barely two decades after that, it's 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:09.259 carved up into a privately owned Mexican rancho. 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:11.420 I have to imagine that turning a sustainable 00:08:11.420 --> 00:08:14.319 valley into a mass commercial meat and hide factory 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:17.360 fundamentally changes the local ecosystem. Oh, 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:20.240 without a doubt. So how does the sudden concentration 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:22.899 of private wealth set the stage for the conflict 00:08:22.899 --> 00:08:25.319 that was about to explode? That is the crucial 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:27.399 question. Because when you introduce a Mexican 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:29.980 land grant of that scale, you aren't just changing 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:32.269 a name on a map. You're bringing in resources. 00:08:32.690 --> 00:08:35.750 Immense resources. You're introducing tens of 00:08:35.750 --> 00:08:38.070 thousands of cattle, which completely dominates 00:08:38.070 --> 00:08:40.649 the water supply and the grazing land. Wow, tens 00:08:40.649 --> 00:08:42.909 of thousands. Yeah, and you're consolidating 00:08:42.909 --> 00:08:46.789 immense material wealth horses, livestock, silver 00:08:46.789 --> 00:08:50.450 supplies into one centralized, isolated location. 00:08:50.610 --> 00:08:52.909 So when you have a private rancho holding that 00:08:52.909 --> 00:08:56.379 much property, surrounded by a vast relatively 00:08:56.379 --> 00:08:59.580 unpoliced frontier, it becomes a beacon, a magnet 00:08:59.580 --> 00:09:02.100 for opportunists. Exactly. It made the canyon 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:05.200 a highly lucrative target, which leads us directly 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:07.779 into one most violent and honestly surprising 00:09:07.779 --> 00:09:10.529 events in the canyon's history. Enter the outlaws, 00:09:11.049 --> 00:09:13.330 specifically John Red Irving and his gang. A 00:09:13.330 --> 00:09:15.830 very notorious group. Very. This was a heavily 00:09:15.830 --> 00:09:18.110 armed group of outlaws originating from San Francisco 00:09:18.110 --> 00:09:21.129 and Sydney, Australia. And in May of 1851, they 00:09:21.129 --> 00:09:23.549 were just terrorizing the San Bernardino Valley. 00:09:23.809 --> 00:09:26.169 Raiding, robbing people, stealing property all 00:09:26.169 --> 00:09:28.210 over the place. Right. And this included hitting 00:09:28.210 --> 00:09:30.889 the Rancho San Bernardino. Now, living right 00:09:30.889 --> 00:09:32.929 there on the rancho was the Mount Coahuila Band 00:09:32.929 --> 00:09:35.669 at a village called Palatana. Led by their chief, 00:09:35.950 --> 00:09:39.350 Juan Antonio. Yes. And the situation comes to 00:09:39.350 --> 00:09:43.230 a violent head on May 27th, 1851. And the climax 00:09:43.230 --> 00:09:45.549 is straight out of a movie. It really is, but 00:09:45.549 --> 00:09:47.730 it flips everything you think you know about 00:09:47.730 --> 00:09:50.950 the era. So the Irving game is actively robbing 00:09:50.950 --> 00:09:53.789 the Rancho San Bernardino home. And Juan Antonio 00:09:53.789 --> 00:09:56.509 and a group of his mountain Coahuila tribesmen 00:09:56.509 --> 00:09:59.389 intervene. Right. They pursue the heavily armed 00:09:59.389 --> 00:10:02.769 gang right into Santa Mateo Canyon, because again, 00:10:02.830 --> 00:10:04.710 it's a geographic funnel. There's nowhere else 00:10:04.710 --> 00:10:07.850 for them to go. Exactly. There is a standoff. 00:10:07.970 --> 00:10:11.070 The outlaws refuse to surrender. And what follows 00:10:11.070 --> 00:10:13.870 is this brutal running fight through the canyon. 00:10:14.029 --> 00:10:16.990 And Juan Antonio and his men end up killing 11 00:10:16.990 --> 00:10:19.590 of the 12 outlaws. Which is just a staggering 00:10:19.590 --> 00:10:21.929 outcome. But if we connect this to the bigger 00:10:21.929 --> 00:10:24.450 picture... It is absolutely vital to understand 00:10:24.450 --> 00:10:27.350 the why behind Juan Antonio's actions here. Because 00:10:27.350 --> 00:10:29.450 it's very easy for a modern audience to hear 00:10:29.450 --> 00:10:31.669 that story and assume it was some kind of chaotic 00:10:31.669 --> 00:10:34.690 frontier vigilante justice. Right. But it wasn't. 00:10:34.690 --> 00:10:38.360 At all. The Mancoile were acting on the direct 00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:41.039 legal orders of the local Justice of the Peace. 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:43.179 Wait, really? This was an official law enforcement 00:10:43.179 --> 00:10:45.820 action? Absolutely. It was completely sanctioned. 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:48.120 The Justice of the Peace at the time was also 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:50.580 the California owner of the Rancho. The very 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:53.039 estate the Irving Gang was in the middle of robbing. 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:55.960 Exactly. And this wasn't some desperate spur 00:10:55.960 --> 00:10:58.740 -of -the -moment deputization. There were decades 00:10:58.740 --> 00:11:01.059 of established legal precedent for this. Oh, 00:11:01.059 --> 00:11:03.259 interesting. Yeah, during the Mexican rule of 00:11:03.259 --> 00:11:06.679 Alta California, which lasted from roughly 1822 00:11:06.679 --> 00:11:11.279 to 1846, local ranchos frequently and legally 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:14.740 requested the Mountain Cahuilla to track down 00:11:14.740 --> 00:11:18.200 bandits and raiders. So it was a contracted formal 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:21.259 service. Yes. So when the justice of the peace 00:11:21.259 --> 00:11:24.759 gave the order in 1851, Juan Antonio's band was 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:27.379 fully authorized to carry out local law enforcement. 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:29.460 Even though they were now technically operating 00:11:29.460 --> 00:11:31.360 within the one year old United States state of 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:33.279 California. Right. The overlapping jurisdictions 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:35.360 are fascinating. Here's where it gets really 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:37.639 interesting. Think about how this completely 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:40.580 upends the traditional Hollywood Wild West scenario. 00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:44.840 We are always fed this image of like the lone 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:48.559 white sheriff defending the dusty town. But here 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:51.480 you have a legally authorized Native American 00:11:51.480 --> 00:11:54.860 posse actively hunting down a gang of white outlaws 00:11:54.860 --> 00:11:57.559 from San Francisco and Australia. On behalf of 00:11:57.559 --> 00:11:59.980 a California ranch owner. Right. Acting under 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:02.480 the authority of a brand new United States government. 00:12:02.860 --> 00:12:05.059 It's like trying to run three completely different 00:12:05.059 --> 00:12:07.159 operating systems on the same computer at the 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:09.240 exact same time. That is a brilliant way to put 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:12.559 it. You have indigenous alliances, the remnants 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:15.860 of Mexican land -grant law, and brand new American 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:18.100 state law all crashing into each other in this 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:20.419 one canyon. It's a perfect snapshot of a region 00:12:20.419 --> 00:12:23.460 in massive turbulent transition. It is. All these 00:12:23.460 --> 00:12:25.460 overlapping legal systems and cultures were trying 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:27.580 to function simultaneously. But unfortunately, 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:29.639 because of the rapidly shifting demographics 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:32.399 of 1850s California... Things went wrong. Very 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:35.659 wrong. This legally sanctioned shootout immediately 00:12:35.659 --> 00:12:38.500 ignited a massive, incredibly dangerous cultural 00:12:38.500 --> 00:12:41.100 misunderstanding. Right, because I want you, 00:12:41.220 --> 00:12:43.840 the listener, to imagine being one of the newly 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:46.059 arrived American settlers in Southern California 00:12:46.059 --> 00:12:50.049 at this exact moment. You have no idea about 00:12:50.049 --> 00:12:52.950 decades of Mexican legal precedent. None at all. 00:12:53.029 --> 00:12:55.610 Yeah. You don't know that ranchos can track Native 00:12:55.610 --> 00:12:58.710 bands for security. Precisely. They lacked all 00:12:58.710 --> 00:13:01.250 of that historical context. So all they heard 00:13:01.250 --> 00:13:04.289 through the frontier grapevine was a Native American 00:13:04.289 --> 00:13:06.970 war party just killed a dozen white men in the 00:13:06.970 --> 00:13:09.649 canyon. Oh, wow. So they completely misread the 00:13:09.649 --> 00:13:12.049 situation. And the panic button is smashed. Panic 00:13:12.049 --> 00:13:14.850 set in immediately. The settlers assumed a massive 00:13:14.850 --> 00:13:17.389 coordinated mission Indian uprising had just 00:13:17.389 --> 00:13:20.370 begun. So what happens? In response, a company 00:13:20.370 --> 00:13:22.889 of American militia was dispatched from the Presidio 00:13:22.889 --> 00:13:25.830 of San Diego. Keep in mind, at this time, present 00:13:25.830 --> 00:13:28.070 day San Bernardino and Riverside counties were 00:13:28.070 --> 00:13:30.529 still part of a massively sprawling San Diego 00:13:30.529 --> 00:13:32.490 county. Right. So these troops marched north, 00:13:33.009 --> 00:13:35.429 fully intending to put down a violent rebellion. 00:13:35.590 --> 00:13:37.549 I have to push back here on the logistics of 00:13:37.549 --> 00:13:41.149 this, though. If Juan Antonio and his posse were 00:13:41.149 --> 00:13:43.429 legally contracted by the justice of the peace 00:13:43.429 --> 00:13:46.330 and official of the court, why did the American 00:13:46.330 --> 00:13:49.360 militia just immediately march out to attack 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:51.320 them? That's a great question. Shouldn't there 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:53.919 have been a paper trail protecting them? Like 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:56.759 a dispatch sent to San Diego saying, hey, we 00:13:56.759 --> 00:13:58.779 handled the outlaws. Everything is fine. Well, 00:13:58.779 --> 00:14:01.759 in a modern functioning state, yes. But you have 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:03.759 to remember how terrible frontier communication 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:06.659 actually was. Oh, right. No telegraph yet. Exactly. 00:14:06.899 --> 00:14:10.360 No reliable postal service across these expanses. 00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:13.080 Information moved at the speed of a horse and 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:16.240 Frankly, rumor moved much faster than official 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:19.419 documentation. It's like a deadly game of telephone. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:21.740 It really was. By the time a legally binding 00:14:21.740 --> 00:14:23.679 piece of paper could reach the military command 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:26.320 in San Diego, the settlers' panic had already 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:28.740 mobilized the militia. Which forced Juan Antonio 00:14:28.740 --> 00:14:30.840 and his people to abandon their homes. Yeah, 00:14:30.860 --> 00:14:32.659 they had to flee their village of Paulatana. 00:14:32.830 --> 00:14:35.830 And they retreated deep into their homelands 00:14:35.830 --> 00:14:38.690 in the San Jacinto mountains, simply to avoid 00:14:38.690 --> 00:14:40.950 being slaughtered by the very government they 00:14:40.950 --> 00:14:43.049 had just successfully enforced the laws for. 00:14:43.149 --> 00:14:45.590 It was incredibly precarious. I mean, the survival 00:14:45.590 --> 00:14:48.350 of their entire community hung by a thread. That's 00:14:48.350 --> 00:14:51.190 terrifying. It was. But fortunately, the American 00:14:51.190 --> 00:14:53.769 leader of the militia, Major General Joshua Bean, 00:14:54.149 --> 00:14:56.370 was one of the rare officers who actually took 00:14:56.370 --> 00:14:58.750 the time to investigate before engaging. Thank 00:14:58.750 --> 00:15:01.889 goodness. Right. He rode ahead. interviewed the 00:15:01.889 --> 00:15:04.110 locals and discovered the truth about the Irving 00:15:04.110 --> 00:15:06.470 gang and the legal orders from the Justice of 00:15:06.470 --> 00:15:09.590 the Peace. So he was able to stop it? Barely. 00:15:10.049 --> 00:15:12.210 Bean had to work with great difficulty to restrain 00:15:12.210 --> 00:15:14.750 his own troops, who were really primed for a 00:15:14.750 --> 00:15:17.809 fight. but he managed to prevent a battle and 00:15:17.809 --> 00:15:19.870 a massacre. It really forces you to consider 00:15:19.870 --> 00:15:23.070 how terrifyingly fragile justice is when no one 00:15:23.070 --> 00:15:25.230 shares a common history. Oh, absolutely. The 00:15:25.230 --> 00:15:27.809 survival of an entire people depended entirely 00:15:27.809 --> 00:15:30.929 on one single military officer bothering to ask 00:15:30.929 --> 00:15:33.370 a few questions before giving the order to open 00:15:33.370 --> 00:15:36.460 fire. It highlights the extreme fragility of 00:15:36.460 --> 00:15:38.840 life during that transitional period. And, you 00:15:38.840 --> 00:15:40.779 know, the political maneuvering didn't stop there. 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:42.960 You know. No, because closely following this 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:46.340 near miss, Juan Antonio and his people realize 00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:48.820 the Rancho was no longer safe. Which makes sense. 00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:51.840 So they moved eastward and settled in a new valley 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:55.659 branching off north from Sant Mateo Canyon, establishing 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:58.750 a village called Saharpa. And he actually had 00:15:58.750 --> 00:16:00.830 to prove his allegiance to the Americans again 00:16:00.830 --> 00:16:03.490 later that very same year, right? In a way that 00:16:03.490 --> 00:16:06.409 really shows his political savvy. Yes, he did. 00:16:06.570 --> 00:16:10.070 Because later in 1851, the region was engulfed 00:16:10.070 --> 00:16:12.230 in the Garra Revolt. Right, which was part of 00:16:12.230 --> 00:16:14.909 the wider Yuma War. Exactly. This was a broader 00:16:14.909 --> 00:16:17.809 regional conflict where a Cupeno leader named 00:16:17.809 --> 00:16:21.269 Antonio Garra tried to organize a massive indigenous 00:16:21.269 --> 00:16:23.889 independence revolt to push the Americans out 00:16:23.889 --> 00:16:26.340 of Southern California. And Gaara actively attempted 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:29.059 to recruit various groups, including Juan Antonio's 00:16:29.059 --> 00:16:31.659 mountain Cahuilla, into the fight. But Juan Antonio, 00:16:32.039 --> 00:16:33.919 clearly navigating this incredibly dangerous 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:36.879 political landscape, says no. In fact, he goes 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:40.139 a step further. He arrests Antonio Gaara himself. 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:43.000 and hands him over directly to the American authorities. 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:46.039 He was the leader trying to ensure the survival 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:49.120 of his people through incredibly turbulent times. 00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:52.100 He had to be so strategic. He did. He understood 00:16:52.100 --> 00:16:54.100 that another war would devastate his community. 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:57.820 So he utilized his alliances and the legal frameworks 00:16:57.820 --> 00:17:00.620 available to him to basically shut down the revolt 00:17:00.620 --> 00:17:03.399 and solidify his position as an ally to the new 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:05.839 government. It's just an incredible story of 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:08.579 survival and political maneuvering. Truly. But 00:17:08.579 --> 00:17:11.240 you know, just as the canyon weathered the violent 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:13.900 shifting cultures of the 1850s, it soon found 00:17:13.900 --> 00:17:16.099 itself staring down an entirely different kind 00:17:16.099 --> 00:17:19.000 of force. The march of modernity. Yes, the relentless 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:21.779 engine of American industrial and infrastructural 00:17:21.779 --> 00:17:24.700 expansion. The geography that funneled the outlaws 00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:27.480 was about to funnel the modern world. Exactly. 00:17:27.900 --> 00:17:29.819 And before we get into the heavy machinery, I 00:17:29.819 --> 00:17:31.579 have to drop a surprising piece of trivia here. 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:33.900 Oh, please do. Just to show how many different 00:17:33.900 --> 00:17:36.940 lives this canyon has lived. Yeah. From 1864 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:40.079 to 1868, one of the canyon's most famous residents 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:43.160 was actually a teenager named Wyatt Earp. Wait, 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:46.500 Wyatt Earp lived in Santa Mateo Canyon? He did. 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:49.359 His family lived right there in the canyon farming 00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:52.319 and driving stagecoaches long before he ever 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:55.079 went to Tombstone. That is wild. It's such a 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:58.210 fun historical footnote. firmly connecting this 00:17:58.210 --> 00:18:01.490 specific canyon to the broader lore of the American 00:18:01.490 --> 00:18:05.269 West. It really does. But the real physical shift 00:18:05.269 --> 00:18:07.890 towards modernity began about a decade later. 00:18:08.029 --> 00:18:12.430 The railroads. The railroads. By 1877, the Southern 00:18:12.430 --> 00:18:15.369 Pacific Railroad identified the canyon as the 00:18:15.369 --> 00:18:18.170 perfect geographic path for its new southern 00:18:18.170 --> 00:18:20.960 transcontinental route. Which was a massive engineering 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:24.099 undertaking. Huge. It laid the steel tracks that 00:18:24.099 --> 00:18:26.519 finally connected the eastern United States directly 00:18:26.519 --> 00:18:29.319 into Los Angeles Basin, and it ran right through 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:31.420 the heart of the canyon. So the canyon goes from 00:18:31.420 --> 00:18:33.819 a Native American wintering ground to an outlaw 00:18:33.819 --> 00:18:36.720 shootout site to a major artery of transcontinental 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:38.900 commerce. All within a few decades. And it almost 00:18:38.900 --> 00:18:41.700 became something even more disruptive. Because 00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:44.359 in the mid -1950s, the planners of the brand 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:47.039 new interstate highway system were looking for 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:48.960 a route for Interstate 10. Right, they needed 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:51.880 to move millions of cars. And Santa Mateo Canyon 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:54.579 was considered as one of three possible alignments. 00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:56.640 Which makes complete sense from an engineering 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:59.539 perspective. I mean, highway planners often follow 00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:02.240 the routes of old railroads. Which followed the 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:04.180 wagon trails. Which followed the paths originally 00:19:04.180 --> 00:19:06.839 carved by the water. The creek had already done 00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:08.680 the hardest work of grading a path through the 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:10.680 mountains. It's the path of least resistance. 00:19:10.859 --> 00:19:14.400 Exactly. But ultimately, after much debate, the 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:17.559 planners selected the central route through Redlands 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:20.779 instead. So what does this all mean? It is the 00:19:20.779 --> 00:19:24.079 ultimate irony. Oh, totally. Losing out on a 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:27.500 massive, lucrative interstate highway contract 00:19:27.500 --> 00:19:30.259 was actually the absolute best thing that could 00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:33.079 have ever happened to Santa Mateo Canyon. Because 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:35.740 by being bypassed by the engineers of Interstate 00:19:35.740 --> 00:19:38.960 10, the canyon was spared from being completely 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:41.700 paved over by eight lanes of concrete. Right. 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:43.920 That bureaucratic decision is what allowed the 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:46.920 canyon to survive relatively untouched. It paved 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:49.930 the way pun into modern preservation efforts 00:19:49.930 --> 00:19:52.450 to eventually take hold. It was preserved by 00:19:52.450 --> 00:19:54.829 omission, essentially. Because it was ignored 00:19:54.829 --> 00:19:57.309 by the highway, it survived for the historians 00:19:57.309 --> 00:19:59.970 and conservationists. And that preservation became 00:19:59.970 --> 00:20:03.309 official in 2001, right? Yes. Through the dedicated 00:20:03.309 --> 00:20:05.369 efforts of the Riverside Land Conservancy and 00:20:05.369 --> 00:20:08.230 other local groups, a significant portion of 00:20:08.230 --> 00:20:11.410 the canyon was legally protected. Which is fantastic! 00:20:11.589 --> 00:20:13.490 It came under the management of the California 00:20:13.490 --> 00:20:16.069 State Parks Department to be developed into Santa 00:20:16.069 --> 00:20:18.869 Mateo Canyon State Park. And while the park is 00:20:18.869 --> 00:20:20.910 still in development for full public access, 00:20:21.390 --> 00:20:24.930 the long -term plan is to provide some much -needed 00:20:24.930 --> 00:20:27.849 public open space for the fast -growing Inland 00:20:27.849 --> 00:20:30.190 Empire. Yeah, it'll feature trails for hiking 00:20:30.190 --> 00:20:32.529 and horseback riding, which is vital for protecting 00:20:32.529 --> 00:20:35.450 the native flora and fauna across the canyon's 00:20:35.450 --> 00:20:37.549 varied habitats. But just as importantly, it 00:20:37.549 --> 00:20:39.470 protects the historical landmarks that still 00:20:39.470 --> 00:20:42.009 stand there. Most notably the Santa Mateo Canyon 00:20:42.009 --> 00:20:44.529 Schoolhouse. Which is a marvel in itself, built 00:20:44.529 --> 00:20:47.279 in 1883 and it's operated by the Riverside County 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:50.180 Parks Department. Acquired in 1993, I believe. 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:52.700 Right. And it was officially added to the National 00:20:52.700 --> 00:20:56.140 Register of Historic Places in 2001. And finally, 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:59.279 after a massive, painstaking five -year restoration 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:02.440 that ended sometime after 2007, it was open to 00:21:02.440 --> 00:21:05.420 the public. It stands there today as a tangible, 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:08.119 physical reminder of the canyon's pioneer era. 00:21:08.279 --> 00:21:10.900 It provides a necessary anchor, I think. It does. 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:13.779 When you have a landscape that has seen so much 00:21:13.779 --> 00:21:17.079 transient history, you know, nomadic tribes following 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:20.119 the seasons, massive herds of moving cattle, 00:21:20.619 --> 00:21:22.759 fleeing outlaws, passing trains. Yeah, it's a 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:25.079 lot of movement. Having a beautifully preserved 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:28.559 structure like that 1883 schoolhouse gives people 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:30.940 a physical place to stand, touch the wood and 00:21:30.940 --> 00:21:33.019 just process the weight of that history. When 00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:35.670 you synthesize this entire journey. It is almost 00:21:35.670 --> 00:21:37.089 hard to wrap your head around. It's a lot for 00:21:37.089 --> 00:21:39.650 one canyon. A single unassuming canyon holds 00:21:39.650 --> 00:21:42.329 layers upon layers of history. You have ground 00:21:42.329 --> 00:21:44.789 sloths the size of grizzly bears resting just 00:21:44.789 --> 00:21:46.789 below the earth. You have the echoes of indigenous 00:21:46.789 --> 00:21:48.990 winter homes that thrived along the high springs 00:21:48.990 --> 00:21:51.190 for thousands of years. You have the phantom 00:21:51.190 --> 00:21:53.730 gun smoke of wild west shootouts with Native 00:21:53.730 --> 00:21:56.490 American processes enforcing the law. And you 00:21:56.490 --> 00:21:59.630 have the near miss of a massive highway development 00:21:59.630 --> 00:22:02.250 that inadvertently saved it all. It is a vital 00:22:02.250 --> 00:22:05.170 reminder to you listening right now that history 00:22:05.170 --> 00:22:08.190 isn't just something trapped in dry, dusty textbooks. 00:22:08.390 --> 00:22:11.829 It is a living thing, layered literally beneath 00:22:11.829 --> 00:22:14.430 the commuter routes you drive every single day. 00:22:14.529 --> 00:22:17.470 This raises an important question, I think. How 00:22:17.470 --> 00:22:20.450 often do we look at the empty spaces between 00:22:20.450 --> 00:22:23.190 our modern cities and assume they are just blank 00:22:23.190 --> 00:22:26.609 slates? All the time. Right. Santa Mateo Canyon 00:22:26.609 --> 00:22:28.670 proves that these overlooked spaces are often 00:22:28.670 --> 00:22:31.700 where the most intense foundational history happened, 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:34.140 precisely because they were the geographic paths 00:22:34.140 --> 00:22:36.579 of least resistance. The water carved the canyon, 00:22:36.900 --> 00:22:39.380 the prehistoric animals followed the water, the 00:22:39.380 --> 00:22:41.259 humans followed the animals, the outlaws followed 00:22:41.259 --> 00:22:43.319 the wealth, and the railroads followed the flat 00:22:43.319 --> 00:22:46.240 ground. The land dictates the history. The land 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:48.839 dictates the history. I love that. And it leaves 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:51.599 us with one final provocative thought to mull 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:54.440 over today. Oh. We talked earlier about how a 00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:56.940 completely routine construction project for a 00:22:56.940 --> 00:22:59.759 local power substation out in the canyon accidentally 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:03.400 uncovered 1 .4 million years of hidden prehistoric 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:06.240 life. A million and a half years of history just 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:08.319 waiting there. Exactly. So I want you to think 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:12.329 about this. If that much history Entire lost 00:23:12.329 --> 00:23:15.410 ecosystems can be hiding just inches beneath 00:23:15.410 --> 00:23:18.990 a patch of dirt in the Inland Empire. What entirely 00:23:18.990 --> 00:23:21.529 unknown chapters of the past might be resting 00:23:21.529 --> 00:23:23.910 quietly beneath the foundation of your own home 00:23:23.910 --> 00:23:26.630 right now? That's a wild thought. The next time 00:23:26.630 --> 00:23:28.349 you were driving down that unassuming stretch 00:23:28.349 --> 00:23:30.450 of road, looking out at the dirt and the scrub 00:23:30.450 --> 00:23:32.990 brush, maybe sitting in traffic, remember, you 00:23:32.990 --> 00:23:34.970 never really know what kind of wild history is 00:23:34.970 --> 00:23:36.150 buried right under your tires.