My great grand uncle Reginaldo O. Pryor of the Boca del la Playa rancho was ten years old when his father, Pablo, was poisoned with strychnine and died in 1878. It's likely as a young boy, Pablo would have taken Reginaldo on cattle drives up from the southern ranchs to de la Playa and brother-in-law Marcos Forster's Santa Margarita. Reginaldo obviously was a born rider and won numerous long distance (30 mile) races in Capistrano and Los Angeles.
By 1885, Reginaldo was the town constable for San Juan Capistrano and continued on and off until at least 1899. Reginaldo was a deputy sheriff and later town watchman for small towns and the railroad.
On February 10, 1910, as the newspaper account reveals, deputy Reginaldo O. Pryor (misnamed as "R. C. Pryor) shot a fleeing yegg (1910 slang for a safe cracker) in pursuit after they robbed the Oceanside post office (and possibly a bank).
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