The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Summer 1972, Volume 18, Number 3
James E Moss, Editor
Main Articles
San Diego Looks at the Maderista Revolution in Mexico 1910-1911
By Margaret A. Secor
The Location of the Indian Village of Temecula
By Leland E. Bibb
San Diego’s Opera Unit of the WPA Federal Music Project
By Peter Mebren
X-Rays and Artifacts at the San Diego Presidio Excavations
By Ellen Gooley Lennert
Book Reviews
Anza Conquers the Desert: the Anza Expeditions from Mexico to California and the Founding of San Francisco: 1774-1776
By Richard Pourade
Catholic Footprints in California
By Reverend Francis J. Weber
Gold Mines of California: An Illustrated History of the Most Productive Mines With Descriptions of the Interesting People Who Owned And Operated Them
By Jack R. Wagner
Towns of Baja California, A 1918 Report by David Goldbaum
Translated and Edited by William O. Hendricks
History of the Jews of Los Angeles
By Max Vorspan and Lloyd P. Gartner
Ryan, the Aviator, Being the Adventures And Ventures of Pioneer Airman And Businessman T. Claude Ryan
By William Wagner in collaboration with Lee Dye
Alpine: History of A Mountain Settlement
By Beatrice La Force
Ghost Towns of the West
Text and photographs by William Carter
Book Notes
California Heritage: An Anthology of History and Literature
By John and LeRee Caughey
The California Indians: A Source Book
Edited by Robert F. Heizer and M. A. Whipple
Index to the 1850 Census of California
Compiled by Alan P. Bowman
Sketches of Early California: A Collection of Personal Adventures
Compiled by Donald de Nevi
Pueblo Architecture of the Southwest: A Photographic Essay
Photographs by William Current. Text by Vincent Scully.
Tree of Hate: Propaganda and Prejudices Affecting United States Relations With the Hispanic World
By Philip Wayne Powell
From Peregrine Press and Ballantine Books
On the Cover
The Indian
On the grounds of the original San Diego Presidio in Presidio Park stands an imposing, nine-foot statue depicting one of the aboriginal inhabitants of the North American continent. Although somewhat fanciful in its rendering, the statue is representative of the California Indians in general. It was executed in bronze, between 1904 and 1911 at E. W. Scripps’ Miramar ranch. Today the Indian stands on a concrete pedestal, casting a stoic glance to one side, as he keeps a silent, lonely vigil over his ancient home of Cosoy.
While in San Francisco at the turn of the century, Edward Wyllis Scripps, San Diego newspaperman, saw some pieces of sculpture by a young man named Arthur Putnam. He was impressed by what he saw, and in 1901 invited Putnam to visit his estate at Miramar, near San Diego. In the next decade, Scripps was to be Putnam’s foremost patron.
Scripps had been contemplating a project for some time, in which he would commission a series of large statues to depict California history. It was Putnam’s free, forthright, and realistic style which impressed Scripps. As a result, the artist was given a shed back of the house at Miramar in which to work. He was to create a series of five bronze figures representing the different peoples who had played an important role in our history. The first was to be the Indian, the first inhabitant of the area. The second figure was to be a “Spanish Padre,” representative of the initial explorations and settlements. This was also done, as was the third of the series, a “Mexican Ranchero on Horseback.” The fourth, a military person, was never started. “The Ploughman” was the last of the series, and is soon to be erected under a Torrey Pine, in front of the Director’s Office at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
In 1933, Robert P. Scripps arranged for several of the statues to be moved from Miramar so that they might be viewed by the public. Through the courtesy of the Scripps Foundation, both the Indian and the Padre now grace the lawns of the Serra Museum in Presidio Park. They remain today, a tribute to the artistry of Arthur Putnam.
Cover Photo By: MICHAEL J. SCHAER
This issue of the The Journal of San Diego History was scanned and proofread by volunteer Bill Parsons.
