USA > California > San Diego County > San Diego > History of San Diego, 1542-1908 : an account of the rise and progress of the pioneer settlement on the Pacific coast of the United States, Volume I > Part 12
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The governor, for some reason, chose to regard the unfor- tunate men with suspicion and disfavor. He accused them of be- ing Spanish spies, tore up their passport, and ordered them to
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prison. They were quite willing to die resisting this indignant treatment, but they were disarmed, carefully guarded, and locked up in separate eells, so that there was never an opportunity to attempt an escape. The elder Pattie died within a month, and if the account of the son is to be believed, they were all fed on insufficient and nauseating food and subjected to continual taunts and insults. It is clear that he totally misunderstood the character of the Californians, and in the printed accounts ean- not sufficiently express his scorn and contempt for the supposed cowardice and treachery of his eaptors. Through the grated door of his prison he could see the governor at his residence in the center of the Presidio, and the sight filled him with bitterness. " Ah," he exclaims, "that I had had but my trusty rifle well charged to my face! Could I have had the pleasure of that single shot, I think I would have been willing to have purchased it with my life." And again : "How earnestly I wished that he and I had been together in the wild woods, and I armed with my rifle !"
But Echeandía's mood was not always inflexible. Within a month he allowed young Pattie, who had picked up a little Spanish in New Mexico, to leave the prison for the purpose of acting as interpreter during the trial of Captain Bradshaw, of the Franklin. The governor also employed Pattie as an inter- preter and made friendly overtures to him, which the young man regarded from the first as "vile and deceitful lies." He took advantage of the opportunity to plead his cause and debate questions of international law, as well as to endeavor to secure permission to return to the Colorado and recover the buried traps and furs. He even carried the matter, in his own words, to the extent of "teasing him with importunities." But when he re- fused to translate any more letters, Echeandía lost patience. struck him on the head with the flat of his sword, and had him returned to prison.
In the following September the governor released the prisoners and proposed a plan by which the buried traps and furs might be recovered. A military escort was to be provided, greatly to the delight of the prisoners, who at once formed the resolution to overpower the guard and escape at the first opportunity. Pattie's vindietiveness shows itself in his instant resolution to "rise upon them, take their horses for our own riding, flea (flay) some of their skins to show that we knew how to infliet torture, and send the rest back to the general on foot." At the last moment, however, the shrewd old general spoiled the whole plan by refusing to send any horses and by keeping the young fire- eater himself as a hostage for the safe return of the party. "At this horrible sentence." he declares, "breaking upon us in the
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THE GOVERNOR'S ATTITUDE
sanguine rapture of confidence, we all gazed at each other in the consternation of despair."
The expedition returned in the latter part of September and reported that the furs had been spoiled by a rise of the river and the traps had to be sold to pay mule-hire. While his comrades were gone, Pattie seems to have had a stormy time of it in his prison cell, where he lay under constant expectation of a violent death. He had some consolations, however; Captain Bradshaw had been kind to him. and W. H. Cunningham, A. W. Williams, and Seth Rogers are named as captains of American vessels who befriended and gave him money. He also had a guardian angel in a Spanish young lady whom he calls Miss Peaks, but whom Bancroft says was Miss Pico. His ungovernable tongue seems to have been largely responsible for most of his troubles, as he would not leave off from importuning and disputing with the governor. There is no doubt his conduct and language greatly exasperated the proud old Spaniard.
There is nothing to show that the six men who went after the outfit were incarcerated after their return. The final release of the whole party was due to an epidemic of smallpox which broke out in the northern missions. It chanced that Pattie had a small quantity of vaccine matter with him, and he resolved to use it as a means of obtaining their liberty. As he tells the story, he now became master of the situation and dictated terms, re- fusing to be set at liberty or to vaccinate the governor or even Miss Pico, unless his demands were granted. In return for the liberty of himself and men, he would undertake to vaccinate everybody in Upper California. The stories of Pattie and others do not agree about this and many other matters. He would have it that vaccination was a mystery to the Californians and Russians, which is not correct. It seems strange, too, that if he had this vaccine matter among his effects, the Californians should possess neither the intelligence nor the power to find it for themselves. After his release he vaccinated everybody at the Presidio and Mission and on his arrival at San Francisco, in June. 1829. he claimed to have operated on 22,000 persons.
The truth of the matter probably is that Echeandía was tired of the whole business, perhaps convinced that the men were harmless, and anxious to find an excuse for releasing them, and that Pattie's threats and violent tongue did him more harm than good. At any rate, the governor seems to have seen in Pattie's possession of the vaccine virus and ability to use it, an opportu- nity to get rid of his unwelcome visitors and to do something for the public health at the same time.
The principal points in this story, as related above, are in accordance with Pattie's Narrative. Considerable doubt has been thrown upon Pattie's veracity, however, and the present
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writer cannot vouch for it all. Indeed. it seems highly prob- able that the party was not badly treated at San Diego, at all. Pryor, Laughlin, and Ferguson remained in California and lived in Los Angeles, and the stories they told differed materially from young Pattie's. It seems that young Pattie (or, more probably. the man who wrote his Narrative, had an unreason- ing hatred of Catholics and Spaniards, and the whole book is colored by it. For instance, he entirely suppressed the fact, which is well authenticated, that the elder Pattie became a Catholic before his death and was buried in consecrated ground on Presidio Hill, although the picture of "The Burial of Mr. Pattie," in his Narrative, itself betrays the fact that the inter- ment took place on the hill.
From 1830 onward, the town grew rapidly and was soon, for the time and country, an important commercial and social center. When William Heath Davis first came, in 1831. he found it quite a lively town.
Captain J. C. Bogart was in charge of the Pacific Mail Steam- ship Company's coal hulk, Clarissa Andrews, for many years. His reminiscences of the country at that period relate chiefly to trees, agriculture, and live stock. He says: "In 1834 it was good to see the hills about San Diego. Wild oats grew upon them to a height which reached above the head of a man on horse- back. Cattle were abundant and rolling in fat. Whenever any of the crew of the Black Warrior wished to use a horse, the animal was furnished by the native Californians for a whole day for a dollar. It made no difference if the rider pressed the horse to death, so he packed the saddle back. Horses were too plentiful to be a matter of any consequence."
The next visitor, in order of time, was the well known Richard Henry Dana. who was here in 1836. and whose story has already been drawn upon in earlier pages.
In 1838, there were nine foreigners in San Diego, among whom were Thomas Russell and Peter Weldon, who were concerned in a search for treasure supposed to be buried at the Mission.
In the early part of 1839, a Mr. Spencer came here as one of the crew of the Boston ship Sophia. In 1873 he revisited San Diego, and in his recollections given at that time recalled the San Diego of his earlier visit as "a few miserable huts." Ile may have had a disagreeable experience here which influenced his opinion of the place. During their stay, they purchased 6800 hides of very fat cattle. "San Diego." he said, "was at that time a beautiful picture of fertility. A luxuriant vege- tation graced the mesa. Chaparral and mesquite grew abun- dantly and countless herds of cattle pastured around the edge of the bay."
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WILLIAM HEATH DAVIS
The decline of San Diego began about 1836 and continued steadily until the Mexican War. In 1840, the population was the smallest for fifty years. De Mofras estimated it at one hundred and Baneroft thinks it was about 150. Late in 1841 the newly appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Upper California, García Diego, came with the intention of making San Diego his residence. Ile abandoned the idea, however, and located at Santa Barbara, instead, chiefly on account of the poverty of the Mission and town of San Diego. In 1844-6, in an effort to raise troops for the defense of the country in the pending Amer- ican invasion, there were only about seventy men capable of bearing arms.
The foreign settlers living in San Diego in 1845, according to Crosthwaite's recollection, were: Himself, Henry D. Fitch, Don Juan Warner. Abel Stearns, John Forster, Captain John S. Barker, Thomas Wrightington, Jolin Post, Peter Wilder, John C. Stewart, Thomas Russell. Caesar Walker, Captain Edward Stokes, an English carpenter known as "Chips," Enos A. Wall, Albert B. Smith, and two negroes named Allen B. Dight and Richard Freeman.
Frequent reference has been made to Alfred Robinson and William Heath Davis. Robinson was a native of Massachusetts who came here in 1829 as clerk of the ship Brookline. IIe was baptised as José María Alfredo before 1833, and early in 1836 married at Santa Barbara, Ana María, daughter of Captain José de la Guerra y Noriega. This wedding is the one described in Dana's book. The following year he and his wife went to Boston. He returned in the Alert in 1840, and remained two years. His employment in these days was as clerk and super- cargo of different ships. In 1849 he returned to California as agent for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and in later years was engaged in some real estate transactions in San Fran- cisco. His Life in California is a standard work and one of the best of its kind. They had eight children. Mr. Robinson, al- though of a somewhat reserved disposition, was a competent man and his standing in California was good. He deserves to be remembered among the pioneers who saw clearly, and judged with common sense.
William Heath Davis was born at Honolulu in 1821, and came to California as a boy on the Louisa, in 1831. In Novem- ber. 1847, he married María de Jésus Estudillo, daughter of José Joaquin Estudillo. His wife lived in San Diego when young, and Mr. Davis's book is full of information about the life here in early days. For many years he was one of the most prominent merchants in San Francisco, and engaged in some of the largest trading ventures on the coast. He took little part in public affairs, but was a thorough and successful business
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man. He resided at San Diego for a short time and part of his account of his life here is used in the following chapter. He was one of the founders of New San Diego, and built the first wharf there in 1850, a circumstance of which he was always proud, although the venture was not a financial suecess. In 1889 he published his Sixty Years in California, which is one of the most interesting and informative books ever written about Cal- ifornia. In this book, like Alfred Robinson, he stands up man- fully in defense of the Californians-that is, of the better families, such as that into which he married.
He is still living in Oakland, California, and has a new set of reminiscenees written and ready for publication.
.
A DANCE IN OLD SAN DIEGO
It is on the bough-roofed dancing-floor, 'Way back in the brave days now no more: It is among the cavaliers, A-tripping with the lissome dears That bared those famous ankles, . down
In gay old San Diego town. The viols strike up and the guitar,
And yonder, as comes the evening star,
Her filmy skirt a little lifted- A curling cloud atioat, wind-shifted. Blown now to the left, and now to right- Glides Josefita into sight.
Yon rider, he to every dear The boldest, gayest cavalier, Is rocking, rocking in his seat,
Keeping the motion of her feet.
He turns his horse, he runs him round
The circuit of the dancing-ground.
The earth is heaving like an ocean, Witched with Josefita's motion. He comes again, he comes a-riding, And comes, too. Josefita gliding. The bamba! Brighter shines the star;
He claps his spurs, he leaps the bar. Dancing! Sweet heavens, look on her now!
Not so light are the leaves that dance on the bough. The brimming glass upon her head
Dreams like a lily upon its bed! See! Something she whispers in his ear
That you would give the world to hear. Aha! Somebody will come down, Tonight, in San Diego town; But where's the shape that he would fear, He, Josefita's cavalier!
- John Vance Cheney.
CHAPTER V
PLEASANT MEMORIES OF SOCIAL LIFE
HATEVER was lacking in Old San Diego, the W social life was rich and beautiful. This is the testimony of all visitors and all the old residents who have lived to tell the tale. People did not take life too seriously in those days. They made the most of their oppor- tunities for happiness, and collected large dividends of content, whether they had any other sort or not. The echo of their laughter still rings down the pathway of the years, and suggests to the nervous Americans of today that there might be some pleasant compromise between the extremes of energy and indolence which would result in forms of life peculiarly suited to the rare environment of this southern land.
The different elasses of society were quite distinet in the early time, the division running on lines of birth. Natives of Spain or direet descendants of such natives, constituted the upper class and prided themselves upon the purity of their blood. Aside from this, they had other and better claims to consider- ation, for they were usually well educated and always possessed of considerable culture. In a society accustomed to caste, they naturally assumed a position of leadership. Some of them were gentlemen in reduced circumstances who had taken to soldiering in the hope of retrieving their fortunes. Others were men of good families who had seeured official appointments. All of them were proud and dignified in bearing, even when they hap- pened to be very poor.
The lower elasses consisted, first, of Mexicans with more or less Aztec and Indian blood, and, last of all, the native Indian. Most of the Mexicans were soldiers, some of whom brought their wives, while others married Indian women after coming here. They were a class corresponding to the Spanish peasantry and furnished the labor of the country.
The social customs which flourished in the midst of these conditions were so deeply marked with the spirit of common kindness that one can hardly escape the thought that something has been lost, as well as gained, in our present-day struggle to get ahead, as individuals and communities. Take, for instance,
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SPANISH HOSPITALITY
the matter of hospitality to strangers. To offer to pay for enter- tainment was an affront. The traveler was supplied with a fresh horse at every stage of his journey, and had no care or expense in the matter of returning them to their owners. On a table beside his bed he found a quantity of silver, to which he was expected to help himself, according to his needs, and no questions were asked. If a man needed a bullock, he might send a vaquero to lasso one from the herd of his wealthy neighbor, and pay for it when convenient-and if it did not become convenient, it was no matter. If a horse were borrowed and not returned, it was of no consequence-there were plenty more. The average of wealth among the cattle owners was large and their bounty was as free as air.
Incivility was absolutely unknown. Even the poorest peasant saluted you politely and was prepared to carry a message or do any little courtesy without charge and with an air of cheer- fulness and good humor. The kindness of the people was gen- uine and unaffected. It was the eustom to eall all persons by their Christian names, with an easy familiarity. Older men re- eeived the prefix of Don or Sonor Don, and ladies of Dona or Senorita Dona, if unmarried, and Senora Dona, if married. It was also quite usual to playfully nickname one's intimate friends in a humorous manner to which the Spanish language lends it- self most happily. For instance, Wm. A. Gale was known as Quatro Ojos (four eyes), on account of his wearing glasses. He was also called Tormenta (gale), and Cambalache (barter), both for obvious reasons.
One of the most remarkable characteristics of the Californians was the very great respect shown to parents by their children. This deferenee was not abandoned with the passing years, but even a grown man coming into the presence of his father or mother always removed his hat and remained standing until invited to sit. No man, whatever his age, ever smoked in the presence of his father or mother. If a young man met an elder in the street, he would throw away his eigar and lift his hat, whether to his parents or a stranger. Servants showed the same deference to their employers. One scarcely knows what to say about the current stories of old men chastising their grown sons, and the latter, although themselves the fathers of families, kneeling meekly to receive the punishment. They may be true, and do seem fairly well authenticated.
The better elass of Californians were temperate, with few ex- eeptions. They were fond of smoking, however, and the habit was almost universal with them. The Mexican ladies were also fond of tobacco. and brought the custom of smoking cigaritos to California.
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Notions of propriety were striet and young people, even .when engaged, were not left to themselves. Conrtships were usually arranged by the mother or aunt of the young lady. This was followed by a written proposal for the young lady's hand, from the suitor to her father, and the reply was also given in writing. Weddings were made the occasion of much social gaiety. Davis says that at a wedding which he attended in 1838, he was met on the road by a brother of the groom, gorgeously attired and splendidly mounted. Horses were lassoed for the wedding cavalcade. He had brought his own saddle, according to the custom, even though a guest. There were two cavalcades for the use of the party, one of red roan horses and the other of twenty- five blacks. On returning from the Mission and approaching the house of the groom's father. the old gentleman fired a salute with a brass cannon which he kept in the plaza in front of the dwelling.
It was customary for the Californians to marry young. One reason for this was in order that the young men might thereby escape being drafted into the army. It was not uncommon for boys of sixteen, or seventeen, and girls of fifteen or sixteen, to marry. Balls given at the celebration of the nuptials usually lasted three days. Arbors were carefully prepared, with beaten earthen floors, and lined with sheets and other articles to exclude the wind. The feasting and dancing did not cease. night or day.
One of the best descriptions of the wedding customs is that contained in Dana's Two Years Before the Mast, wherein he describes the wedding of Alfred Robinson and Señorita de la Guerra y Noriega, at Santa Barbara in 1836. He says :
At ten o'clock the bride went up with her sister to the con- fessional, dressed in deep black. Nearly an hour intervened, when the great doors of the mission-church opened, the bells rang out a loud, discordant peal, a private signal was run up for ns by the captain ashore, the bride. dressed in complete white, came out of the church with the bridegroom, followed by a long procession. Just as she stepped from the church door, a small' white cloud issued from the bows of our ship, which was in full sight, a lond report echoed among the surrounding 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 snecession, with an interval of fifteen seconds between each. when the cloud cleared away, and the ship lay dressed in her colors all day. At sundown another salute of the same number of guns was fired, and all the flags run down.
After supper we rowed ashore, dressed in our uniforms, beached the boat, and went up to the fandango. As we drew near we heard the accustomed sound of violins and guitars, and saw a great motion of the people within. Going in, we found nearly all the people of the town-men, women, and children-collected and crowded together, leaving barely room for the daneers;
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A TYPICAL WEDDING
for on these occasions no invitations are given, but every one is expected to come, though there is always a private entertain- ment within the house for partienlar friends. The old women sat down in rows, clapping their hands to the music, and applauding the young ones. After the supper the waltzing be- gan, which was confined to a very few of the gente de razon and was considered a high accomplishment and a mark of aristoc- racy. The great amusement of the evening-which I suppose was owing to its being carnival-was the breaking of eggs filled with cologne, or other essences, npon the heads of the eom- pany. One end of the egg is broken and the inside taken out, then it is partly filled with cologne, and the hole sealed up. The women bring a great number of these secretly about them, and the amusement is, to break one upon the head of a gentle- man when his baek 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 grey whiskers and a look of great importance, was standing before me, when I felt a light hand on my shoulder, and turning round saw Doña Augustia (whom we all knew, as she had been up to Monterey and down again in the Alert), with her finger on her lip, motioning me gently aside. I stepped back a little, when she went up behind the don, and with one hand knoeked 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 round, the cologne running down his face and over his clothes, and a loud laugh breaking ont from every quarter. He looked round in vain for some time, until the direction of so many laughing eyes showed him the fair of- fender. She was his niece, and a great favorite with him, so old Domingo had to join in the laugh. A great many such tricks were played, and many a war of sharp manœuvering was carried on between the couples of the younger people; and at every successful exploit a general laugh was raised.
The next day two of ns were sent up to the town, and took care to come back by the way of Captain Noriega's. The musicians were still there, seraping and twanging away, and a few people, apparently of the lower elasses, were dancing. The dancing is kept up at intervals throughout the day, but the crowd, the spirit, and the élite come in at night.
A more intimate view is given by Robinson himself, in his account of the wedding of his wife's sister, a little earlier. both the contracting parties, in this case, being Spanish :
On the marriage eve, the bride went with her father to the Mission, dressed in her usnal church costume, which was deep black; where the joining of hands took place towards morning, and, at a later hour, the church ceremonies were per- formed. Breakfast was served with considerable taste, a task to which the worthy friar was fully competent. At its conclu- sion the bride and bridegroom were escorted to the house of her father. Padre Antonio had made his Indians happy by distributing presents among them; and many of the younger ones, well attired for the occasion, joined in the procession. They approached the town without any regular order, until
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arriving almost within its precincts; when, under the direc- tion of the friar, they formed and marched in the following manner. First came the military band, consisting of about twenty performers, who were dressed in a new uniform of red jackets trimmed with yellow cord, white pantaloons made after the Turkish fashion, and red caps of the Polish order. Then followed the bride and bridegroom, in an open English barouche, accompanied by the sister of the former. After these, in a close carriage, came Don José and Father Antonio; in another the Madrina [godmother] and cousin; and lastly, num- bers of men and women on horseback. Guns were fired, alter- nately, at the Mission and in the Presidio, until their arrival at the house, to the fiesta de boda [nuptial feast]. At one o'clock a large number of invited guests sat down at a long table, to partake of an excellent dinner. The married
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