LOS GATOS
Los Gatos (the cats), is the rather unpoetic name of a very pretty town in Santa Clara County, ten miles southwest of San José. From its location at the mouth of a canyon in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the inference may be drawn that it was named in reference to the wild-cats which even at this day infest that region. John Charles Fremont, in his Memoirs, says: “The valley is openly wooded with groves of oak, free from under-brush, and after the spring rains covered with grass. On the west it is protected from the chilling influence of the northwest winds by the Cuesta de los Gatos (wild-cat ridge), which separates it from the coast.”
“It seems to have been known as early as 1831 as La Cuesta de los Gatos. That there were troublous times about there in other matters besides wild-cats is evidenced by the story of a lively fight that took place in 1831 against a band of Indians under a chief named Yoscol. This chief was eventually captured by the Santa Clara authorities and beheaded, his head being exposed in front of the mission as a warning to others.”—(W. Drummond Norie, of Los Gatos.)