A memorial and biographical history of the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future; with full-page steel portraits of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day, Part 4

Author: Storke, Yda Addis
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 738

USA > California > San Luis Obispo County > A memorial and biographical history of the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future; with full-page steel portraits of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 4
USA > California > Santa Barbara County > A memorial and biographical history of the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future; with full-page steel portraits of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 4
USA > California > Ventura County > A memorial and biographical history of the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future; with full-page steel portraits of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 4

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

PRE-AMERICAN HISTORY OF

the sand, at a spot that they could not re- locate. Their idea may have been one of pecuniary profit, or they may have designed to use the piece in a possible uprising against American rule. Be that as it may, no less than three streets of Santa Barbara still bear tlie names of men in commemoration of this event :- Mason, Quinientos [Five Hundred], and Cañon Perdido [Lost Canon ] streets.

Not only in the nomenclatures of streets did the Barbareños indicate the impres- sion left by this affair: the first seal of the city had emblazoned in its center the picture of a cannon encircled by the words " Vale quinientos pesos "- it is worth $500. This seal was used from 1851 to 1860, when a new one was devised, leaving out this emblem.

The military governor of California in 1850 returned to the prefect of this district the $500, with instructions to employ it in the construction of a jail. The city anthor- ities endeavored to obtain the money from its depository, and place it in the city treasury; but the prefect stated that, as he held the money in trust for a specific purpose, and was ready to pay it over when, but not before, the city was ready to build the jail. The city attorney was instructed to begin a suit against the prefect to recover the money, and he accordingly did so. As the District Judge was a family connection of the defendant in the action, the case could not be tried here, and so was transferred to San Francisco. The papers relating to the matter were un- accountably lost, the trustee of the fund died, and as no new snit was instituted against his estate the fund was never recovered for the city.

In the year 1858, a heavy rain caused the pent-up waters of the Estero to cut through the sand-bank separating it from the ocean, and the mystery of the lost cannon's whereabouts was solved as it was now discovered protrud-

ing from one of the banks of this new chan- nel. Some of the native Californians com- pleted its disinterment, and hauled it in triumph up State street to de la Guerra. It was uninjured, clean, and bright. It was sold for $80 to a Jew, who sent it to San Francisco and sold it at a large profit for old brass. Thus Santa Barbara displayed no little inconsistency, in failing to retain and preserve here a relic of such memorable im- portance in local history.

DRESS AND MANNERS.

For fifteen or twenty years before Ameri- can occupation, the general conditions were much the same, save in a political sense, as they were for fifteen or twenty years after that period; as the reader and the traveler of the present day find those conditions full of picturesqueness and romance, it is desirable to give herein some account of the manners, customs, and usages of those times.

At this period, Santa Barbara was, next to Monterey, the most important town in the territory. Here, as a general thing, paused en route for Monterey the governors sent up hither from Mexico, to rest and to learn something of the duties of their office. These and other visiting magnates usually were guests of the de la Guerras, the Carrillos, or the Ortegas, these being the principal families.

Here was the center of trade for a hundred miles around, and hither tended all roads and all riders.

The houses were generally built in the shape of a parallelogram, sometimes of adobe walls only, sometimes a framework of tim- bers, filled in with adobe. The simplest form was a habitation of one room, with bare walls and clay floors. Houses of the better class had a species of piazza on one or more sides. Thatch roof were sometimes used,

THE SANTA BARBARA REGION.

although tiling was the preferred material; not seldom the rafters were crossed by rods or tules, covered with a layer of mud or of as- phaltum. Generally the door, window-frames and rafters constituted the only wood about the structure. The walls often were white- washed. The best of the houses were built after the Spanish, fashion around a patio or court, containing plants and sometimes a fountain. The floors were sometimes boarded, but more frequently were of earth. Some of the wealthier inhabitants had glass to their windows, but a grating was the more general rule. The kitchen was apart, in a separate shed or hut. The houses liad no fire-places.

In the poorer houses, the only furniture would be a handmill or a metall for grinding corn, and a few pieces of pottery or ironware for cooking purposes, the beds being com- posed of rawhides spread on the ground, and perhaps a hammock. Sometimes there was a table, and stools or benches. Joints of a whale's vertebræ were often used for chairs, Some had beds of poplar, lined with leather, and fitted with pillows, sheets, and blankets. Where there was linen, the slips were fre- quently used over silk, and enriched with drawn-work. After 1824, some of the richer families had rather handsome furniture- mirrors, bureaus, and tables inlaid with shell, etc., brought from Peru or China.

Up to 1834 the chief features of men's costumes were: Short and wide breeches, fastened at the knee above deerskin. boots, made like gaiters or leggings, and held up by gaily-embroidered garters or by bunches of ribbons; a wide and loose waist-coat, usually blue, open at the lower part to show the silken sash, generally crimson, or indeed, the two or three sashes with which the men often swathed themselves; over this a blue jacket, trimmed with big metal buttons. A silk handkerchief was knotted about the throat,

another on the head; and the hat was wide- brimmed, low-crowned, and fastened by a string or loop passing under the chin. The hair was in a queue.

Women of the middle class wore chemises with short sleeves, richly embroidered and trimmed with lace, a muslin petticoat flounced and belted with scarlet, shoes of velvet or satin, a cotton rebozo or headscarf, pearl neck- lace and earrings, and the hair hanging down the back in one or two braids. Others, of the higher class, dressed in the English style, wearing, instead of the rebozos, rich and costly shawls of silk, satin, or Chinese crape. The skirts were so narrow as to impede freedom of step in walking.

When the Hijar-Padres colony arrived, they brought new fashions. The breeches were replaced by calzoneras, a kind of trousers, whose outside seams were left unjoined, to be closed by means of buttons and button-holes. The hair was ent short in the back, but left quite long in the front.

The women now exchanged their narrow skirts for more ample draperies, and coiled their braids on the crown of the head, around a comb. All women of means and position wore hose, as it was deemed immod- est to let more than the face and hands re- main uncovered. The poorer women, and old women in general, wore no gown over the petticoat, and on the waist a chemise with sleeves falling below the elbow. The neck and breast were covered by a black kerchief, of silk or cotton, doubled cornerwise, the corner being fastened at the back, the two points passing over the shoulders, and cross- ing, being fastened at the waist by pins. The more humble women retained and wore con- tinually the rebozo. Shoes had points turned up at both toe and heel.

The dress of the Barbareños is described as having consisted of " a broad-brimmed hat,

PRE-AMERICAN HISTORY OF

usually black, with a gilt or figured band around the crown, and lined with silk; a short jacket of silk or figured calico, the European skirted body-coat never being worn; a shirt usually open at the neck; a waistcoat, when worn, always of rich quality ; the trousers wide, straight, and long, usually of velvet, velveteen, or broadcloth; occasionally knee-breeches are worn with white stockings; shoes of deerskin are used; they are of a dark brown color, and being made by the Indians, are commonly much ornamented; braces are never worn, the indispensable sash twisted around the waist serving all their purposes; the sash is usually red, and varies in quality according to the means of the wearer; if to this is added the never-failing cloak, the dress of the Californian is complete. The latter article of dress, however, is a never-failing criterion of the rank or wealth of its owner. The caballero. or gentleman aristocrat, wears a cloak of black or dark blue broadcloth, with as much velvet and trimming on it as it is possible to put there; from this, the cloaks gradually descend through all grades until the primitive blanket of the Indian is reached. The middle class wear a species of cloak very much resembling a table-cloth, with a large hole in the center for the head to go through; this is often as coarse as a blanket, but it is generally beautifully woven with various col- ors, and has a showy appearance at a distance. There is no working class amongst the Span- iards, the Indians doing all the hard work; thus a rich man looks and dresses like a grandee, whilst even a miserably poor indi- vidual has the appearance of a broken-down gentleman; it is not, therefore, by any means uncommon to see a man with a fine figure and courteous manner, dressed in broadcloth or velvet, and mounted on a noble horse, completely covered with trappings, who perhaps has not a real in his pocket.

and may even be suffering from absolute hunger."

There was one feature peculiar to the women of Santa Barbara, all of whom wore a camorra -a black silk kerchief, folded into a band about two inches wide, tied around the fore- head and into a knot under the nape of the neck.

Wealthy women wore diamond rings, pearl or golden necklaces, and ear-hoops or rings and other jewelry.

At this time, almost the only means of communication between ranchos or settle- ments was by horse; and no race in the world, perhaps the Pedonins not excepted, were better riders than the Californians. Horses were constantly kept standing saddled at the doors of stores and dwellings, and walking was a means of progression in great disfavor, even for the shortest distances. Tailing the bull, lasso-throwing, and many other feats of strength and skill were practiced by the young Californians. They were great lovers of sport and amusements, and races, dances, etc., were improvised upon the slightest in- duccment. The guitar was almost the only musical instrument, although a few harps were introduced during the last few years be- fore American occupation.

The arrivals of the trading ships were events among these people. The vessels had a cabin fitted up as a shop or salesroom, and thither flocked the honsewives, to buy domes- tic utensils, trinkets, and fabrics, often of the very finest, to be paid for by the head of the house in hides and tallow. As payment on a cash basis hardly even entered into the transaction, the rancheros keeping a running account with the traders, these latter practi- cally had the simple-hearted provincials at their mercy, all the more that the price of wares was rarely asked before or at the time of purchase.

THIE SANTA BARBARA REGION.

Perhaps the most graphic description of the country and its people is that given by Richard Henry Dana, in his "Two Years Before the Mast," which is an account of his voyage to, and sojourn on, the coast of Cali- fornia, in a trading vessel, 1836-'38. Ac- cordingly some extracts are given.

DANA ON SANTA BARBARA.

The bay, as it was commonly called, the canal Ichan nel] of Santa Barbara, is very large, being formed by the main land on one side [between Point Concepcion on the north and Point San Buenaventura on the south], which here bends like a crescent, and by three large islands opposite to it and at a distance of some twenty miles.

These points are just sufficient to give it the name of a bay, while at the same time it is so large and so much exposed to the southeast and northwest winds that it is little better than an open roadstead; and the whole swell of the Pacific Ocean rolls in here before & southeaster, and breaks with so heavy a surf in the shallow waters that it is highly dangerous to lie in near to the shore during the southeaster season, that ia, between the months of November and April.

Two points run out as the horns of the cresent, one of which, that to the westward, is low and sandy, and that to which vessels are obliged to give a wide berth when running out for a southeaster; the other is high, bold, and well-wooded.

In the middle of this crescent, directly opposite the anchoring ground, lies the Mission and town of Santa Barbara, on a low plain, but little above the level of the sea, covered with grass, though entirely without trees, and surrounded on three sides by an amphi- theater of mountains, which start off to a distance of fifteen to twenty miles. The Mission stands a little back of the town, and is a large building, or rather collection of buildings, in the center of which is a high tower with a belfry of five bells. The town lies a little nearer to the beach-about half a mile from it -. and is composed of one-story houses, built of sun-baked clay or adobe, some of them whitewashed, with red tiles on the roofs. I should judge that there were about a hundred of them; and in the midst of them stands the presidio, or fort, built of the same material and appar- ently but little stronger. The town is finely situated, with a bay in front and amphitheater of hills behind. The only thing that diminishes its beauty is that the hills have no large trees upon them, they having been all burnt by a great fire which swept them off about a dozen years ago, and they have not grown again. The

fire was described to me by an iuhabitant as having been a very terrible and magnificent sight. The air of the valley was so heated that the people were obliged to leave town and take up their quarters for several days upon the beach. * * * We lay at a distance of three miles from the beach, and the town was nearly a mile farther, so that we saw little or nothing of it. * * * We were pulled ashore in the boat, and took our way for the town. There everything wore the appear- ance of a holiday. The people were dressed in their best, the men riding about among the houses, and the women sitting on carpets before the doors. Under the piazza of a pulperia two !men were seated, decked out with knots of ribbons and bouquets, and playing the violin aud the Spanish guitar. These are the only in- struments, with the exception of the drums and trumpets at Monterey, that I ever heard in California, and I suspect they play upon no others, for at a great fandango, at which I was afterward present, and where they mustered all the music they could find, there were three violins and two guitars aud no other in- struments.

Inquiring for an American who, we had been told, had married in the place, and kept a shop, we were directed to a long, low building, at the end of which was a door with a sign over it, in Spanish. Entering the shop we found no one in it, and the whole had an empty, deserted air. In a few minutes the man made his appearance and apologized for having nothing to entertain us with, saying that he had had a fandango at his house the night before, and the people had eaten and drank up everything. "O, yes!" said I, " Easter holidays!" "No," said he, with a singular expression on his face, "I had a little daughter die the other day,and that's the custom of the country." At this I felt some- what awkwardly, not knowing what to say, and wheth- er to offer consolation or not, and was beginning to retire, when he opened a side door, and told us to walk in. Here I was no less astonished for I found a large room, filled with young girls, from three or four years old up to fifteen or sixteen, dressed all in white, with wreaths of flowers on their heads, and bouquets in their hands. Following our conductor among these girls, who were playing about in high spirits, we came to a table at the end of the room, covered with a white cloth, on which lay a coffin about three feet long, with the body of his child. The coffin was covered with white cloth and lined with white satin, and was strewn with flowers.

Through an open door we saw in another room a few elderly people in common dress, while the benches and tables, thrown up in a corner, and the stained walls, gave evidences of the last night's "high go." Feeling like Garrick, between tragedy and comedy, an uncertainty of purpose, I asked the man when the

PRE-AMERICAN HISTORY OF

funeral would take place; and, being told that it would move toward the Mission in about an hour, took my leave. To pass away the time, we took horses and rode to the beach. * * * From the beach we re- turned to the town, and finding that the funeral pro cession had moved, rode on and overtook it, about half way up to the Mission. Here was as peculiar a sight as we had seen before in the house, the one looking as much like a funeral procession as the other did like a house of mourning. The little coffin was borne by eight girls who were continually relieved by others running forward from the procession and taking their places. Behind it came a straggling company of girls, dressed, as before, in white and flowers, and including, I should judge by their numbers, all the girls between five and fifteen in the place. They played along the way, frequently stopping and running altogether to talk to some one, or to pick up a flower, and then run- ning on again to overtake the coffin. There were a few elderly women in common colors, and a herd of young men and boys, some on foot and others mount- ed, following them, or rode or walked by their side, frequently interrupting them by jokes and questions. But the most singular thing of all was that two men walked, one on each side of the coffin, carrying muskets in their hands, which they continually loaded and fired into the air. Whether this was to keep off the evil spirits or no I do not know. It was the only interpretation that I could put upon it. As we drew near the Mission, we saw the great gate thrown open, and the padre standing on the steps with a crucifix in his hand. The Mission is a large and deserted-look- ing place, the out-buildings going to ruin, and every- thing giving one the impression of decayed grandeur. A large stone fountain threw out pure water from four mouths into a basin before the church door; and we were on the point of riding up to let our horses drink when it occurred to us that it might be conse- crated, and we forbore. Just at this moment the bells set up their harsh, discordant clangor, and the pro- cession moved into the court. I wished to follow and see the ceremony, but the horse of one of my compan ions had become frightened and was tearing off toward the town, * * and I was obliged to leave the ceremony and ride after him.

A very apposite phase is illustrated by the following description :

Great preparationa were now being made on shore for the marriage of our agent, who was to marry Doña Anita de la Guerra y Noriega y Carrillo, youngest daughter of Don Antonio Noriega, the grandee of the place, and the head of the first family in California. Our steward was ashore three days making pastry and cake, and some of the best of our stores were aent

off with him. On the day appointed for the wedding we took the Captain ashore in a gig, and had orders to come for him at night, with leave to go up to the house and see the fandango.

At 10 o'clock the bride went up with her sister to the confessional, dressed in black. Nearly an hour intervened when the great doors of the Mission church opened, the bells rang out a loud discordant peal, and the bride, dressed in complete white, came out of the church with the bridegroom, followed by a long pro- cession. Just as she stepped from the church door, a small white cloud issued from the bows of our ship, which was full in sight, the loud report echoed among the hills and over the bay, and instantly the ship was dressed in flags and pennants from stem to stern. Twenty-three guns followed in regular succession, with intervals of fifteen seconds between, when the cloud blew off and our ship lay dressed in colors all day. At sundown another salute of the same number of guns was fired, and all the flags run down.

The bride's father's house was the principal one in the place, with a large court in front upon which a tent was built, capable of containing several hundred people. Going in, we found nearly all the people of the town-men, women and children-collected and crowded together, leaving barely room for the danc- era; for on these occasions no invitations are given, but everyone is expected to come, though there ia always a private entertainment within the house for particular friends. The old women sat down in rows, clapping their hands to the music, and applauding the young ones.

The music was lively, and among the tunes we rec- ognized several of our popular airs, which we, no doubt, have taken from the Spanish. In the dancing I was much disappointed. The women stood upright with their hands down by their sides, their eyes fixed upon the ground before them, and slid about without any perceptible means of motion; for their feet were invisible, the bem of their dresses forming a circle about them, reaching to the ground. They looked as grave as if going through some religious ceremony, their faces as little excited as their limbs, and, on the whole, instead of the spirited, fascinating Spanish dancea which I had expected, I found the California fandango, on the part of the women at least, a lifeless affair. The men did better. They danced with grace and spirit, moving in circles around their nearly sta- tionary partners, and showing their figures to advan- tage. A great deal was said about our friend Don Juan Bandini, and when he did appear, which was toward the close of the evening, he certainly gave us the most graceful dancing that I had ever seen. He was dressed in white pantaloons, neatly made, a short jacket of dark silk, gaily figured, white stockings and

THE SANTA BARBARA REGION.

thin morocco slippers upon his very small feet. His slight and graceful figure was well adapted to danc- ing, and he moved about with the grace and dainti- ness of a young fawn. He was loudly applauded, and danced frequently toward the close of the evening. After the supper the waltzing began, which was con- fined to a very few of the "gente de razon," and was considered a high accomplishment and a mark of aristocracy. Here, too, Don Juan figured greatly, waltzing with the sister of the bride?(Doña Angustias, a handsome woman and a general favorite) in a vari- ety of beautiful figures, which lasted as much as half an hour, no one else taking the floor. They were re- peatedly and loudly applauded, the old men and women jumping off their seats in admiration, and the young people waving their hats and handkerchiefs.

The great amusement of the evening-owing to its being the carnival-was the breaking of eggs filled with cologne or other essences upon the heads of the company. The women bring a great number of these secretly about them, and the amusement is to break one secretly upon the head of a gentleman when his back is turned. He is bound in gallantry to find out the lady and return the compliment, though it must not be done if the person sees you. A tall, stately Don, with immense gray whiskers, and a look of great importance, was standing before me, when I felt a hand upon my shoulder, and, turning round, saw Doña Angustias (whom we all knew, as she had been up to Monterey and down again in the Alert). with her finger upon her lip, motioning me gently aside. I stepped back a little, when she went up be- hind the Don and with one hand knocked off his huge sombrero and at the same instant with the other broke the egg upon his head, and, springing behind me, was out of sight in a moment. The Don turned slowly around, the cologne running down his face and over his clothes and a loud laugh breaking out from every quarter. A great many such tricks were played, and many a war of sharp manœuvering was carried on between couples of the younger people, and at every successfui exploit a general laugh was raised.

Another of their games I was for some time at a lo-s about. A pretty young girl was dancing, named -after what would appear to us an almost sacrilegious custom of the country-Espiritu Santo, when a young man went behind her and placed his hat directly upon her head, letting it fall down over her eyes, and sprang back among the crowd. She danced for some time with the hat on, when she threw it off, which called forth a general shout, and the young man was obliged to go out upon the floor and pick it up. I soon began to suspect the meaning of the thing, and was after- ward told that it was a compliment, and an offer to become the lady's gallant for the rest of the evening, and to wait upon her home

These fandangos generally lasted three days. The next day two of us were sent up town and took care to come back by way of Señor Noriega's and take a look into the booth. The musicians were again there upon their platform, scraping and twanging away, and a few people, apparently of the lower classes, were dancing. The dancing is kept up at intervals throughout the day, but the crowd, the spirit, and the elite, come at night. The next night, which was the last, we went ashore in the same manner, until we got almost tired of the monotonous twang of the instru- ments, the drawling sounds which the women kept up as an accompaniment, and the slapping of the hands in time with the music in place of castanets.

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Author: Storke, Yda Addis Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 738

Author: Storke, Yda Addis
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 738