USA > California > San Diego County > San Diego > City of San Diego and San Diego County : the birthplace of California, Volume I > Part 10
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In the early days of the industry in tallow and hides, when the American commercial firms, notably that of Mannasse & Schiller, marketed the products of the ranchos for the less business-like Cali- fornian rancheros, the semi-annual collection days of the store keepers added another picturesque feature to San Diego life.
Mannasse & Schiller practiced a liberal policy of credit toward the rancheros, selling large bills of goods and allowing payment to be made in cattle, twice a year.
The collectors of those days were different in type from the tactful talkers who collect bills today. They were vaqueros, riding about in charge of a foreman from the San Diego store to each of the ranchos which had been charged with bills of goods. At each rancho the foreman would present the store's bill, bargain with the ranchero on the number of cattle to be sent in, and the vaqueros would "cut out" the required number of cattle and drive them away. When a
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large enough herd had been taken in this way, it was put in charge of two of the riders and sent in to San Diego.
Sometimes the semi-annual collection for Mannasse & Schiller alone would require two or three weeks, and the droves of cattle would be herded each day into the corrals especially built by the merchants just east of their store. The advent of the wild cattle from the ranchos, with the horsemanship and striking garb of the vaqueros, made these events and other similar ones interesting to all the people of the little town.
Although at the time-the middle period of San Diego's history -the colorful costume of the Spanish period was being somewhat sobered by contact with the less picturesque American garb, the ranchmen, their vaqueros and the prominent Spanish people of San Diego still dressed in the Spanish fashion, and this fashion was the ceremonial dress of the Californians at any considerable social event, and was worn, with modifications, by some of the Americans.
William Heath Davis, in his invaluable work, "Sixty Years in California," describes in detail the dress of one of the Californian rancheros :
"When the rancheros thus rode about, during the leisure season, which was between the marking time and the matanza or killing time, and from the end of the matanza to the spring time again, the more wealthy of them were generally dressed in a good deal of style, with short breeches extending to the knee, ornamented with gold or silver lace at the bottom, with botas (leggings) below, made of fine soft deer skin, well tanned and finished, richly colored, and stamped with beautiful devices (these articles having been imported from Mexico, where they were manufactured), and tied at the knee with a silk cord, two or three times wound around the leg, with heavy gold or silver tassels hanging below the knee. They wore long vests, with filagree buttons of gold or silver, while those of more ordinary means had them of brass. They wore no long coats, but a kind of jacket of good length, most generally of dark blue cloth, also adorned with filagree buttons. Over that was the long serape or poncho. made in Mexico and imported from there, costing from $20 to $100, accord- ing to the quality of the cloth and the richness of the ornamentation. The serape and the poncho were made in the same way as to size and cut of the garments, but the former was of coarser texture than the latter. and of a variety of colors and patterns, while the poncho was of dark blue or black cloth, of finer quality, generally broad- cloth. The serape was always plain, while the poncho was heavily trimmed with gold or silver fringe around the edges, and a little below the collars around the shoulders. They wore hats imported from Mexico and Peru, generally stiff. the finer quality of softer material-becuna, a kind of heavy beaver skin obtained in those countries. Their saddles were silver-mounted, embroidered with silver or gold. the bridle heavily mounted with silver. and the reins made of the most select hair of the horse's mane, and at a distance of every foot or so there was a link of silver connecting the different parts together. The tree of the saddle was similar to that now in use by the Spaniards, and covered with the mochila, which was of
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leather. It extended beyond the saddle to the shoulders of the horse in front and back to the flank, and downwards on either side, half way between the rider's knee and foot. This was plainly made, some- times stamped with ornamental figures on the side and sometimes without stamping. Over this was the coraza, a leather covering of finer texture, a little larger and extending beyond the mochila all around, so as to completely cover it. It was elaborately stamped with handsome ornamental devices. Behind the saddle, and attached thereto, was the anquera, of leather, of half-moon shape, covering the top of the hindquarters of the horse, but not reaching to the tail ; which was also elaborately stamped with figures and lined with sheep skin, the wool side next to the horse. This was an ornament, and also a convenience in case the rider chose to take a person behind him on the horse. Frequently some gallant young man would take a lady on the horse with him, putting her in the saddle in front and himself riding on the anquera behind. The stirrups were cut out of a solid block of wood, about two and a half inches in thickness. They were very large and heavy. The straps were passed through two holes near the top to attach it to the stirrup; so that when the foot was placed in the stirrup the tapadera was in front, concealed it, and protected the foot of the rider from the brush and brambles in going through the woods.
"This was the saddle for everyday use of the rancheros and vaqueros, that of the former being somewhat nicer and better finished. The reins for everyday use were made of deer or calfskin or other soft leather, cut in thin strips and nicely braided and twisted together, and at the end of the reins was attached an extra piece of the same with a ring, which was used as a whip. Their spurs were inlaid with gold or silver, and the straps of the spurs worked with silver and gold thread.
"When thus mounted and fully equipped, these men presented a magnificent appearance, especially on the feast days of the saints, which were celebrated at the Missions. Then they were arrayed in their finest and most costly habiliments and their horses in their gayest and most expensive trappings. They were usually large, well de- veloped men, and presented an imposing aspect. The outfit of a ranchero and his horse. thus equipped, I have known to cost several thousand dollars."
This was the costume which, although less common than formerly on the streets of Old San Diego, added brilliance to the fiesta days and color to the spectacles of bull fight and baile. Angelo Smith, to whom reference has already been made, described this typical Cali- fornian costume recently in detail, adding that it was a common type of clothing in his boyhood days.
The dress of the women were often extremely handsome, the brilliant colors in which they delighted being tempered by the rich- ness of the materials available to the wealthy families.
In the early days of the American occupation, the houses of Jose Antonio Aguirre and Miguel Pedrorena still imported rich silks and other fabrics from the Philippines which were very popular with women of the richer class. It is related that the two merchants
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brought back their silks in camphor trunks, selling the trunks, with contents, for $250 apiece.
Much has been written about the beauty and attractiveness of the women of old California-qualities which seem to have been striking to most of the pioneer Americans who have left records of their im- pressions of the people of that time. A few paragraphs of Mr. Davis' account may be of interest :
"During my long and intimate acquaintance with Californians, I have found the women as a class much brighter, quicker in their per- ception, and generally smarter than the men. Their husbands often times looked to them for advice and directions in their general busi- ness affairs. The people had but limited opportunities for edu- cation. As a rule they were not much educated ; but they had abundant instinct and native talent, and the women were full of natural dignity and self-possession ; they talked well and intelligently, and appeared to much better advantage than might have been sup- posed from their meagre educational facilities. The families of the wealthier classes had more or less education; their contact with the foreign population was an advantage to them in this respect.
"The women were exceedingly clean and neat in their houses and persons and in all their domestic arrangements. One of their peculiarities was the excellence and neatness of their beds and bedding, which were often elegant in appearance, highly and taste- fully ornamented, the coverlids and pillow cases being sometimes of satin and trimmed with beautiful and costly lace. The women were plainly and becomingly attired, were not such devotees of fashion as at the present day, and did not indulge in jewelry to excess.
"The Mexican as well as the California ladies were noted for their small feet and hands, which is a characteristic of the Spanish race. The Mexican ladies when smoking were in the habit of holding the cigarito between the thumb and finger ; the rich using a gold or silver holder, to prevent staining the fingers with the tobacco, and the poorer classes a holder made of gamuza, or fine deer skin-with two little pockets, into which they slipped the thumb and finger. Holding up the cigarito, as they placed it in the mouth or removed it, they displayed their little hands to advantage, the fingers extended with an air of coquetry, all very graceful and becoming, and quite captivating to the observer.
"I was astonished at the endurance of the California women in holding out, night after night, in dancing, of which they never seemed to weary, but kept on with an appearance of freshness and elasticity that was as charming as surprising. Their actions, movements and bearing were as full of life and animation after several nights of danc- ing as at the beginning, while the men, on the other hand, became wearied, showing that their powers of endurance were not equal to those of the ladies. I have frequently heard the latter ridiculing the gentlemen for not holding out unfatigued to the end of a festival of this kind.
"Notions of propriety and morality were so strict among the people that young people engaged to be married were permitted little associa- tion by themselves. They were scarcely allowed to see each other or
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to converse together, except in the presence of their parents. This was my own experience in an engagement of over two years. The courtship was usually arranged by the mother of the young lady, or sometimes a favorite aunt was sought and first consulted by the young gentleman who desired the daughter or niece in marriage. If the suitor was considered a worthy person by the father, the young lady was communicated with, after which a request in writing came from the young man to the father. If the application was deemed satis- factory he sent a written reply. Time, however, was taken for con- sideration, and no haste displayed. It would be an excellent thing if, in this respect, the old Spanish custom, having so much of simplicity and purity, prevailed today. Although the young ladies were not so highly educated as at the present time, yet on going into a family one could see at a glance that artlessness, affection and modesty were the characteristics of the feminine portion thereof, and these merits in my estimation transcend all others."
Of amusements there were many. As a frontier post and the center of a large area of "new" territory, old San Diego provided entertainment for hundreds who did not live within the borders of the town. Old San Diego brought guests and performers to it on the occasion of each of the numerous feast days or fiesta seasons, while for the more private festivities provided by one of the prominent families, it was not uncommon for guests to come a hundred miles to take part.
The ordinary amusement resorts of a frontier town were, of course, not lacking in early San Diego. Although the Californians are described by Davis, Alfred Robinson and others of the early settlers among them as a very temperate people, there were several saloons, in the '50s and '60s which did a good business. Congress Hall was one of them. The building still stands, just north of the northeast corner of the plaza. and is now used as a residence.
The "Jolly House," which was later used as a chapel and is now used as a kindergarten, was one of the most famous. It is still stand- ing near the new schoolhouse. It is an adobe building, but is some- what changed in form from its early plan and has been entirely enclosed in a wooden sheath. It is now pointed out as a former church, and at its west end is the frame on which the last of the famous mission bells once hung.
Connected with the "Jolly House," as with several other of the early places of amusement, was a ten-pin alley. It was housed in adobe structure which has been totally destroyed, and provided a sport which seems to have been popular with both Californian and American residents.
Horse-racing was very popular, and was indulged in during all holiday seasons. There was a half mile course laid out along the road which is now a paved highway, and some of the present citizens of Old Town recall the exciting races which once were held there. The horses used were usually brought in from the ranchos-some- times ridden by the ranch owner himself-and were the cause of warm rivalry between relatives of the rancheros represented and the em- ployes of the rival establishments.
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A good deal of money was wagered on these contests. An ac- quaintance of Pio Pico, at one time governor of the state and finally a political exile in Mexico, described in later years how she once saw him riding a horse to the races, carrying with him two panniers slung on either side of his animal. The panniers were loaded with silver, according to the account, which is reproduced in Smythe's history, which Don Pico was taking to bet on his horse. The Californians were fond of gambling in any form.
Cockfighting was also popular, as it is with the Mexicans of today, and provided still more opportunities for wagering. Bull- baiting with dogs was sometimes on the fiesta program, and in the earlier days bull-and-bear fights were staged in the plaza.
The bull fights in the old San Diego plaza were usually, it ap- pears, exhibition events rather than actual battles between the bull and a staff of toreadoros, as in Spain or Old Mexico. Often the horsemen of the ranchos would enter the bull ring to show their skill in riding around an infuriated animal.
Again Angelo Smith's recollections are of value, for he remem- bers distinctly. one event of this character at which the hero was Jose Antonio Serrano. Serrano's son, Luis, born in 1846, is still living in Old Town. Jose Antonio was a veteran of the battle of San Pasqual, and famous as a horseman.
"In this fiesta," says Smith, "Jose Antonio Serrano came to the plaza with his very best horse, a splendid animal. The horse's saddle was inlaid with silver-it was of the very best-and there were bright colored ribbons tied to it and to the horse's mane and tail. A bull was brought into the plaza, and other riders tormented it with bright serapes until it was very angry, then rode away from it. When the bull charged, they would gallop away, then wheel suddenly. Everybody clapped and threw money into the ring. Then Don Jose Antonio rode in-rode up close to the bull. When it shook its head and charged, Serrano would make his horse stand up on its hind legs and turn suddenly out of the way. Sometimes he would make his horse sidestep quickly, so as to avoid the bull.
"Once the bull came so close that its horns ripped off a piece of ribbon. Then the crowd cheered, and began to throw more money into the ring. Don Jose Antonio rode around the bull for a little more, and then they drove the bull out of the ring into a corral. Don Jose Antonio's men picked up the money from the ground. and people threw still more. Most of the coins were silver dollars."
On the occasion of a bullfight in the plaza, barriers were thrown up around its borders, and special benches were built in convenient places. The verandas of the houses about the plaza were reserved for the wealthy spectators. Old prints of the Estudillo house- "Ramona's Marriage Place"-show a cupola just above the main entrance. On either side of that cupola a platform was built for spectators, on fiesta days. It was no doubt a gay and colorful sight when the crowds gathered for an exhibition in the plaza.
More popular, however, than bull fighting, or any other spectacle of skill or courage, was the pastime of dancing. The Spanish people
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were noted, of course, for their graceful dancing of the old folk- dances and for their love of music, and both were made apparent on every possible occasion. A marriage, a christening-even, in the early days, a death-was made the excuse for a "baile" at the home of the family involved, and the American San Diegans readily fell in with this custom.
There is not space to describe the dances of old Spain, which were at first the only dances of the Old Town fiestas. There were many quaint customs of the baile, too, which gradually fell into disuse except in family dances of the Spanish residents, but for many years after the American conquest the dance continued to be the feature of each holiday or occasion of rejoicing. To these dances came not only the invited guests, American and Californian-to the big events came guests from ranchos scores of miles away-but each ball was the occasion of a general assemblage of the population of the village, old and young, rich and poor. There were amusements for all, and those who could not dance in the ballroom or the pavilion erected for the occasion, danced on the hard earth of the courtyard, or in the street.
Sometimes a great ball would last for several days. This was the case in the celebrations of the numerous religious holidays ob- served by the Californians, and the evidence shows that the Americans entered into the spirit of these occasions. Smythe reproduces two articles in the old Herald, each reporting that the town of San Diego was deserted for a week, the citizens being absent at a fiesta in San Luis Rey. On the second occasion mentioned August 28, 1858, the Herald reports that 3.000 persons attended the fiesta.
A solid week of dancing at the old Gila house featured a fiesta held there to celebrate the marriage of Capt. George Johnson and Estefena Alvarado there, in 1868. Angelo Smith, then a lad of eighteen years, was a witness of the week's festivities. Guests, ac- cording to Mr. Smith, came and went with absolute freedom. Each guest had carte blanche at the Gila house during the week of celebra- tion, took meals there, slept there-in the case of those who had come from a distance-and took part in the dances every evening.
It is related that Captain Johnson, who was a wealthy shipping inan of the early days, brought a ship loaded with eatables and decora- tions to San Diego, in order to provide abundant supplies for the week of celebration. On the ship, also, according to Angelo Smith, was a staff of colored servants who waited on table at the Gila house during the affair. Smith recalls watching the "dark-colored men" hurrying back and forth between the dining rooms and the kitchens, which, as has been stated, were a little to the west of the main structure.
Guests at a baile in one of the "big houses" would often assemble at their host's home for dinner at noon, dance a little and visit for an hour or so after the meal, adjourn to their own homes for a siesta, and then return in the evening for another meal and a dance lasting well into the morning hours.
The "all-night dance" was a social institution at Old Town long after the American occupation had become history, and was the finale of every occasion of rejoicing. Smythe thus describes the picnics of the early days :
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"The married ladies rode on their own saddles, while the young women were carried on horseback by the young men. This service was considered a post of honor, and discharged in the most polite and gallant manner possible. A bride was often carried to church in this manner. Sometimes the picnickers would ride in wagons drawn by oxen, and, if one of their number could play, there would be both instrumental and vocal music, going and coming. At the picnic grounds, mats were spread and a feast held, after which games were played. In the evening, after the return, the day would be finished with the inevitable dancing."
Music was an accomplishment for which the Californians seemed to have a natural bent. The instruments used were principally the guitar, the flute and the French accordeon. The first piano in San Diego is said to have been that brought by Cave J. Couts to the old Guajome ranch in 1851, as a present to his bride.
There is no record of any music teacher, in the modern sense, in old San Diego. Music was learned entirely by ear, and the old Spanish serenades were the popular songs of the early time. An interesting work in the preservation of these plaintive songs has been done by Charles F. Lummis, and as a result of his efforts several hundred phonograph records are now preserved in museums-each record having been made by a Spanish or Mexican singer to whom the old songs had been handed down by the generations that are now gone.
Two of the sons of. Sgt. Richard Kerren, a member of the first American garrison quartered at the Mission San Diego de Alcala, were famous musicians of San Diego in the '60s, and they were widely sought after. With a harpist from Los Angeles, the Kerren boys "played the dances" through a territory including Los Angeles, Yuma and ranchos south of Ensenada in Lower California.
Occasionally there were amusements of various kinds from the outside world. Thus, the late Mrs. E. W. Morse recorded the visit of a Spanish circus in San Diego in 1865. Her description, reproduced by Smythe, follows :
"A Spanish circus visited San Diego soon after my arrival. It exhibited in the evening in a corral with high adobe walls, the com- pany having no tents. The place was lighted by strips of cloth laid in cans of lard and then set on fire. The primitive lanterns were set on high posts, and at best furnished a poor light. The spectators in- cluded nearly all of the population of the town who could pay the admittance fee of fifty cents. I think the Indians were admitted at half price. The Americans and Spanish occupied one side of the corral, and the Indians squatted on the ground on the other. The performances on the trapeze and tight rope looked especially wierd and fantastic in the smoky light of those primitive lanterns."
Other amusements of course there were, and as the town lost its Spanish character these amusements became more and more those of an ordinary American frontier town. But by the time San Diego was distinctly American in character. Old Town was no longer San Diego,
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but lay drowsing in the silence which is broken today only by the passing of trains along the Santa Fe tracks and the constant stream of traffic on the boulevard which passes through the suburb.
Many of the buildings of old San Diego still remain-the Estu- dillo house, the Bandini house, with the additions which Seeley made when he used it as the hotel terminal of his stage line, the old Con- gress Hall, the converted "Jolly House," and many others. The remains of pretentious adobe residences can be traced on many blocks which are now vacant and grass-grown.
CHAPTER VIII
UNDER THE AMERICAN FLAG
The battle of San Gabriel on Jan. 9, 1847, ended the Mexican war in California, and from that date San Diego has been an Amer- ican settlement. It is fitting therefore that at this point there should be given an account of the celebration which was held on the plaza at Old Town on July 29, 1906, to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the day when Fremont hoisted the nation's flag on the staff at Old Town.
Some 4,000 persons gathered at the Old Town plaza to participate in and view the ceremony. One who took part in the exercise was Miss Fremont, daughter of the pathfinder. The address of the day was made by William E. Smythe, part of whose remarks is given herewith :
"One of the first and most difficult problems forced upon the people of San Diego by the declaration of war in 1846 was the ques- tion of which flag should be chosen by the native born Americans who had been so fortunate as to marry daughters of Spain. It is a hard thing to ask a man to choose between his country and his wife. But in this case the choice was made easy by the action of the women themselves. In every instance those Spanish women had their hus- bands follow the Stars and Stripes, and in every instance the women followed their husbands. Blood is thicker than water, as is the love which those Americans bore their native land and which those women bore their husbands.
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