12 Juana de Dios Machado de Ridington’s Interview
This is Thomas Savages’s interview of Juana de Dios Machado de Ridington of California in 1878. The first part has her childhood memories of Mexican independence. The second part is about her experiences in the U.S.-Mexico War.
“I Juana de Diós Machado was born in the old presidio of San Diego. I do not remember the day, the month, or the year, but I believe I am about sixty-four years old. My father, José Manuel Machado, was a corporal in the San Diego company. My mother, María Serafina Valdés, was born in Santa Bárbara. I believe that my father was born in Los Ángeles, because his father was also a soldier. I knew my paternal grandfather.
I was married to Dámaso Alipás for five years. My marriage to Dámaso Alipás took place in the presidio on August 22, 1829. Father Antonio Menéndez married us. I had been widowed for four or five years when I married Mr. Thomas Ridington, a native of Massachusetts.
My father was one of the founders of Pala, Las Flores, and Temécula. He also served at San Luis Rey. When I was young, it was customary for the commander of San Diego to assign a sergeant, a corporal, and ten soldiers to Mission San Luis Rey each year. After those troops had served there for a year, they would be relieved by another similar group. After Lieutenant Colonel Echeandía came to govern the country, the mission guard was reduced to a corporal and five soldiers. That same number of troops maintained order at each of the missions from San Gabriel on down.
Later, during General Figueroa’s administration, military headquarters were established at San Gabriel. Lieutenant Colonel Nicolás Gutiérrez was in command at San Gabriel. I was probably about eight to ten years old at that time and still at the old presidio.
When married soldiers like my father served in the mission guard, they would take their families with them. When my dear mother would be far along in a pregnancy and close to giving birth, she would give herself enough time to go to the presidio and stay at the home of Alférez Ignacio Martínez. He was married to Doña María Martina Arellanes. They were my godparents. I was baptized in the same old presidio, where one can still see the ruins of the buildings.
When I was eight or ten years old, my father left to command an expedition of twenty-five men. At that time, he was in charge of the Rancho de la Nación, which belonged to the presidio of San Diego. The purpose of the expedition was to go in pursuit of Indian horse thieves. At that time, three Indian criminals were famous for their offenses. Their names were Martín, Cartucho, and Agustín. Martín and Agustín were most likelt runaway Christian Indians. I do not know about Cartucho. They all came by way of Jacum.
The expedition went as far as the entrance to the Cañón de Jacum, which is a very narrow place. Indian allies of the runaways were on the two hills. However, only the three leaders had been involved in stealing the herd of horse