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1829, ABEL STEARNS EMIGRATED TO CALIFORNIA in search of a new life rich in promise. In contrast, his early years on the east coast were marred by personal tragedies. Orphaned before his teenage years, a widower by his mid-twenties, Stearns left his native Massachusetts to seek tranquility at sea as a merchant and trader. The oceans and trade winds led him on a tour of the Pacific routes, a visit to Mexico, and eventually on to California. He thus became a central figure in the early migration of Yankee expatriates, rising to prominence in Mexican southern California, and best remembered as "the richest" man of his era.1

STORY OF FRONTIER AND SETTLEMENT has a unique attraction as an abstract subject. Yet, the ambiguities that have fascinated a wide audience have also blurred the truth. The unending task of separating fact from fiction, therefore, becomes integral to understanding the American West. A nostalgia emerged with the closing of the frontier in 1890. The popular view of the pioneer then embraced an epic lifestyle of ' 'larger-than-life, semi-mythical heroes/'1 In short, the westward movement captured America's sense of an indigenous past, stretched the nation's imagination toward a romantic heritage; meanwhile, historians, those resolute overseers of such hyperbole, have been tempering that imagination ever since. Certainly, the persona of Frederick Jackson Turner is important to the centennial of the frontier's passing. His thesis focused on the frontier as a legitimate subject for academic inquiry. Turner's impact is well-documented, and suffice to note that he identified the frontier as a place and as a process. In short, Turner saw a unique relationship between past and present and a pioneer model that posed interesting possibilities for its application to the ongoing development of the West. With success came controversy, and the Turner thesis evoked a sharp response that often overshadowed research of the frontier itself. Critics argued for more precise language, particularly for distinctions between the westward settlements and the wilderness phase. One scholar summarized this ambivalence as "a warping of the study of the American West."2 Even Turner's defenders conceded that ambiguities existed "between science and poetry in Turner's language."3

"Crime and Punishment" fittingly describes Los Angeles County in the early 1850s. Lawlessness was an important concern of the community during the formative years of statehood. More importantly, crime represented a loss of local control, ineffective government, and the inability of the community to establish a stable social order. This atmosphere of discontent with the legal system led to increased involvement by the local citizenry. Public dissatisfaction was also an expression of Anglo prejudice. Many considered the Indian a primary reason for the community's plight. The belief that Indians were responsible for crime precipitated the use of severe legal measures against them. In many cases Indian treatment bordered on outright harassment. Frontier justice in Los Angeles County involved more than citizen response to criminal activity. The courts and legislative bodies attempted to curb lawlessness. Increased prosecutions in court and the funding of a citizens' police force were specific responses to the problem of crime in Los Angeles. In addition, crime and citizen reaction forced government to re-examine its effectiveness in meeting the needs of the local populace. Educational reform and the internal improvement of county operation were specific measures designed to enhance the function of local government. Criminal control was the important motivation behind any reform, either on the part of the government or the citizen. Thus, the friction within Los Angeles society not only stemmed from the criminal's presence, but from the methods needed for combating violence within the community. The problem of crime in Los Angeles can first be traced to the varied economic and social changes that occurred in the early 1850s. It was a period of transition from a Mexican to a predominately Anglo-American community. More importantly, law

DECLINE OF THE RANCHO marked a sad passage in southern California history. It seemed an idyllic era filled with wealthy land barons, gala fandangos, and skillful vaqueros of the range. Such nostalgic symbols endure on today's landscape in the names of streets and cities, or the adobe style architecture of suburban homes and businesses. Surely this commercial phenomenon has a sentimental origin and, perhaps is best explained through the historical treatment of the Mexican-American past.