USA > California > San Luis Obispo County > History of San Luis Obispo County, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 12
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16. Those who have been emancipated shall be obliged -
to join in such labors of community as are indispensable, in the opinion of the political chief, in the cultivation of the vineyards, gardens, and fields, which for the present remain unapportioned, until the Supreme Government shall determine.
17. Emancipated persons shall render the minister such services as may be necessary for his person.
RESTRICTIONS.
18. They shall not sell, mortgage, nor dispose of the lands granted to them, neither shall they sell their cattle. Contracts made in contravention of these prohibitions shall be of no effect, and the Government shall seize the property as belonging to the nation, and the purchasers shall forfeit their money.
19. Lands, the proprietors of which die without heirs, shall revert to the nation.
GENERAL REGULATIONS.
20. The political chief shall name the commissioners he may deem necessary for carrying out this system and its incidents.
21. The political chief is authorized to determine any doubt or matter involved in the execution of this regulation.
22. Whilst this regulation is being carried into oper- ation, the missionaries are forbidden to kill cattle in any large number, except so far as is usually required for the subsistence of the neophytes (converted Indians) without waste.
23. The unliquidated debts of the mission shall be paid, in preference, from the common fund, at the places and upon the terms which the political chief may deter- mine.
PROVISIONAL REGULATION FOR THE SECULARIZATION OF THE MISSIONS.
That the fulfillment of this law may be perfect, the following rules will be observed :-
Ist. The commissioners, so soon as they shall receive their appointment and orders, shall present themselves at the respective missions, and commence the execution of the plan, being governed in all things by its tenor and these regulations. They shall present their credentials respectively to the priest under whose care the mission is, with whom they shall agree, preserving harmony and proper respect.
2d. The priest shall immediately hand over, and the commissioners receive the books of account and other documents relating to property claims, liquidated and unliquidated ; afterwards, general inventories shall be made out, in accordance with the 13th article of this regulation, of all property-such as houses, churches, workshops, and other local things-stating what belongs to each shop, that is to say, utensils, furniture, and imple- ments; then what belongs to the homestead, after which shall follow those of the field, that is to say, property that grows, such as vines and vegetables, with an enumeration of the shrubs, if possible, mills, etc .; after that the cattle and whatever appertains to them ; but as it will be diffi- cult to count them, as well on account of their numbers, as for the want of horses, they shall be estimated by two persons of intelligence and probity, who shall calculate, as nearly as may be, the number of each species to be inserted in the inventory. Everything shall be in regular form in making the inventory, which shall be kept from the knowledge of the priests, and under the charge of the commissioner or steward, but there shall be no change in the order of the work and services, until experience shall show that it is necessary, except in such matters as are commonly changed whenever it suits.
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HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
3d. The commissioner, with the steward, shall dispense with all superfluous expense, establishing rigid economy in all things that require reform.
4th. Before he takes an inventory of articles belonging to the field, the commissioner will inform the natives, explaining to them with mildness and patience, that the missions are to be changed into villages, which will only be under the government of the priests, so far as relates to spiritual matters; that the lands and property for which each one labors, are to belong to himself, and to be maintained and controlled by himself, without depend- ing on any one else: that the houses in which they live are to be their own, for which they are to submit to what is ordered in these regulations, which are to be explained to them in the best possible manner. The lots will be given to them immediately to be worked by them as the 5th article of these regulations provides. The commis- sioner, the priests, and the steward, shall choose the location, selecting the best and most convenient to the population, and shall give to each the quantity of ground which he can cultivate, according to his fitness and the size of his family, without exceeding the maximun estab- lished. Each one shall mark his land in such manner as may be most agreeable to him.
5th. The claims that are liquidated shall be paid from the mass of property, but neither the commissioner nor the steward shall settle them without the express order of the Government, which will inform itself on the matter, and according to its judgment determine the number of cattle to be assigned to the neophytes, that it may be done, as heretofore, in conformity with what is provided in the 6th article.
6th. The necessary effects and implements for labor shall be assigned in the quantities expressed by the 7th article, either individually or in common, as the commissioners and priests may agree upon. The seeds will remain undivided, and shall be given to the neo- phytes in the usual quantities.
7th. What is called the " priesthood" shall immediately cease, female children whom they have in charge being handed over to their fathers, explaining to them the care they should take of them, and pointing out their obliga- tions as parents. The same shall be done with the male children.
Sth. The commissioner, according to the knowledge and information which he shall acquire, shall name to the Government, as soon as possible, one or several individ- uals, who may appear to him suitable and honorable, as stewards, according to the provisions of the 8th article, either from among those who now serve in the missions, or others. He shall also fix the pay which should be as- signed to them, according to the labor of each mission.
9th. The settlements which are at a distance from the mission, and consist of more than twenty-five families, and which would desire to form a separate community, shall be gratified, and appropriation of the funds and other property shall be made them as to the rest. The settlements which do not contain twenty-five families, provided they be permanently settled where they now live, shall form a suburb, and shall be attached to the nearest village.
roth. The commissioner shall state the number of souls which each village contains, in order to designate the number of municipal officers and cause the elections to be held, in which they will proceed conformably, as far as possible, to the law of June 12, 1830.
rith. The commissioner shall adopt all executive measures which the condition of things demands, giving an account to the Government, and shall consult the same upon all grave and doubtful matters.
12th. In everything that remains, the. commissioners,
the priests, stewards, and natives will proceed according to the provisions of the regulation. JOSÉ FIGUEROA. AUGUSTIN V. ZAMORANO, Secretary.
Monterey, August 9, 1834.
The missionaries had but little to comfort them. The laymen, or secular part of the community, had out-talked them, out-worked them. What was called the
PIOUS FUND
Had previously been confiscated. This fund, produc- ing about $50,000 a year, had been set apart as a fund for the propagation of the true faith, but the Mexican Con- gress had encroached upon it several times, but had hardly dared to appropriate it in toto; but when Santa Ana vaulted into power, he absorbed it without a pang of remorse. Still the immense flocks and crops of grain would have served the purposes of the poor Franciscan friars very well, but these were now to go. It is said the padres hoped for a providential interference, for a coun- ter revolution, for anything that would stay the spoiler, but no help came. Mexico was far away, and the clamor for the spoliation of the missions was stronger there than in California.
THE HIJAR COLONY.
In 1834 a colony, composed of both men and women, under the leadership of Jose Maria Hijar, was dis- patched for Upper California, with full authority to take possession of all the missions, including the stock, agri- cultural machinery, also directions to General Figueroa to surrender the administration of the Government to him on his arrival. Of all the schemes for the spolia- tion of the missions, this seems to have been the most reprehensible. The expenses of the expedition, which were advanced by the Mexican Government, were to have been repaid in tallow. In fact, the whole organiza- tion was for speculative purposes; a steal in which the Government was to share! Little wonder that the Cal- ifornians had no respect for the parental Government.
The party landed at San Diego, and disembarked a part of the colony; the rest proceeded to Monterey, where a storm threw them on the coast.
When Hijar presented his water-soaked credentials for the surrender of the keys of power to him, he was met by a later paper.
SANTA ANA'S REVOLUTION.
President Farias, the patron of Hijar, had been de- throned, and Santa Ana had vaulted into power. Gen- eral Figueroa was ordered to continue as Governor, and the disappointed Hijar and his companions went to swell the ranks of the rabble, hungry for the mission spoils. It is said that they were, of all who had ever come to California, the most unfitted for usefulness. Goldsmiths, where jewelry was unknown; carpenters, where the houses were made of adobe; blacksmiths, where rawhide was used instead of iron; painters, musi- cians, and artists, shoemakers and tailors, but never a farmer, composed the crowd. They were loud in their complaints, and finally became so importunate that the most disaffected were sent back to Mexico.
D.D. BLACKBURN J. H. BLACKBURN D.W. JAMES
EL PASO DE ROBLES MINERAL SPRINGS, SAN LUIS OBISPO CO. MI ACUMISMI_ MANA
45
THE MISSIONS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.
LAND GRANTS.
During these years of trouble, large quantities of the land had been alienated from the church or missions. The condition, in the application for a grant, was that the land was not needed for the cattle and herds of the missions. The fathers were not in a condition, with so many malcontents around them, to refuse their assent to this condition, and so the lands were allotted to the influential families in vast quantities. Having lands, it was no great affair to stock them from the herds which fed thereon, and thus a new set of proprietors came into power.
SECULARIZATION COMPLETED.
Hemmed in on all sides, abandoned by the Mexican Government, and plundered by the Californians, the fathers saw that ruin was inevitable, and commenced to realize on their property. Cattle were slaughtered by the thousand, the flesh being thrown away. Hitherto cattle and sheep were only killed as the meat was wanted, but anything now to save something from the wreck. One-half the hides were given for killing and skinning, and the plains were strewn with the rotting carcasses.
In the meantime the machinery for disposing of the mission property had been set in motion by the Govern- ment. Administrators of the mission property were appointed. There was but little to administer upon, and when they left there was nothing! The destruction of the missions was complete. Happily, land cannot well be destroyed; cattle soon multiplied, and in a few years the ranches were as well stocked as ever. The Indians who had homes at the missions, who had learned to consider the property as theirs, were relegated to barbarism, and kept up a predatory warfare on the herds until the coming of the Americans. The well-stocked ranches of the coast were a prey to all. Bands from the Mojave, the San Joaquin plains, and even from more distant quarters, would raid the cattle ranches, driving off for food, by preference, the horses. Oregon Indians also joined in the plunder, and, in one instance at least, a band came from the Rocky Mountains. " Peg-leg " Smith, a noted mountaineer and scout, led a band of Indians, about 1840, from Bear River into California, and drove off 1,700 head of horses.
Many well-informed Mexicans are of the opinion that but for the conquest by the Americans, the destruction of the cattle ranches by the Indians was inevitable, and only a matter of time. The reader will recollect that Sonora, in Mexico, was nearly depopulated by the rav- ages of the Apaches.
DEATH OF GOVERNOR FIGUEROA.
He was probably the most able and honorable man ever at the head of California affairs. The tide of de- struction swept over the country in spite of all his efforts to establish order. Disgusted with the rapacity of the people, and perplexed beyond measure with the gen- eral dishonesty of the officials, he sickened and died September 29, 1835, aged forty-three. The "Most Excellent Deputation," in session at Monterey, with that
universal ability to recognize the merit of a country- man after he is dead, hastened to pass resolutions of appreciation and respect, extolling him as the "Father of his country." His remains were carried in an Amer- ican vessel to Santa Barbara and deposited in a vault of the mission with military honors.
THE MISSIONS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA.
The following list presents the name, date of found- ing, and locality of each and all of the missions of Alta California :-
San Diego de Meala, July 16, 1769, San Diego River, five miles from bay, San Diego County.
San Carlos de Monterey (Carmel Mission), June 3, 1770, Monterey, and subsequently removed to the Carmel River, Monterey County.
San Antonio de Padna, July 14, 1771, sixty miles southeast of Monterey, and thirty-six northwest from San Miguel, Monterey County.
San Gabriel de los Temblores, September 8, 1771, on San Gabriel River, eleven miles southeasterly from Los Angeles, but removed to present site, nine miles east of the city, Los Angeles County.
SAN LUIS OBISPO DE TOLOSO, September 1, 1772, on northwest bank of San Luis Creek, in present city of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County.
Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (San Francisco), October 9, 1776, on San Francisco Bay, now in the city of San Francisco.
San Juan Capistrano, November 1, 1776, about mid- way between Los Angeles and San Diego, Los Angeles County.
Santa Clara, January 18, 1777, town of Santa Clara, Santa Clara County.
San Buenaventura, March 31, 1782, town of San Buenaventura, Ventura County.
Santa Barbara, December 4, 1786, town of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County.
La Purissima Concepcion, December 8, 1787, Mission Viejo (or old mission) on south side of Santa Ynez River; Mission Nueva on north side, three miles from first, near Lompoc, Santa Barbara County.
Santa Cruz, August 28, 1791, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County.
La Soledad, October 9, 1791, on Salinas River, Mon- terey County.
San Jose, June II, 1797, fourteen miles northeast of San Jose and twenty-nine southeast of Oakland, Alameda County.
San Juan Bautista, June 24, 1797, on the Pajaro River, San Benito County.
SAN MIGUEL ARCHANGEL, July 25, 1797, on Salinas River, thirty-four miles north of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County.
San Fernando del Rey, September 8, 1797, valley of San Fernando, twenty miles northwest of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County.
San Luis Rey de Francia, June 13, 1798, forty-five miles northwest of San Diego, San Diego County.
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HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
Santa Ynez, September 17, 1804, Santa Ynez River, Santa Barbara County.
San Rafael, December 14, 1819, San Rafael, Marin County.
San Francisco de Solano, August 25, 1823, Sonoma, Sonoma County.
WEALTH AND POPULATION.
In 1802, when Baron Humboldt visited California, he estimated the population as follows: Converted Indians, 15,562; whites and mulattoes, 1,300; total, 16,862. The wild Indians were numerous, but being regarded as bestias (beasts), they were thought unworthy of notice, and not counted. At San Luis Obispo were 374 males and 325 females; total, 699. At San Miguel were 309 males and 305 females; total, 614.
Mr. Alexander Forbes, in his work on California, gives the population, amount of grain produced, and number of live stock owned by the missions in 1835 as follows :-
San Luis Obispo-211 men, 103 women, 7 girls, 8 boys; total population, 329. San Miguel-349 men, 292 women, 61 girls, 46 boys; total population, 748.
San Luis Obispo-(grain) wheat, 875 bushels; corn, 150 bushels; beans, 50 bushels; barley, 50 bushels. San Miguel-wheat, 1,498 bushels; corn, 90 bushels; beans, 23 bushels; barley, 142 bushels.
San Luis Obispo-stock, 2,000; horses, 800; mules, 200; asses, 50; sheep, 1,200; swine, 24. San Miguel -- stock, 3,762; horses, 950; mules, 106; asses, 28; sheep, 8,999; swine, 60.
In 1835 the total population of California was 23,025; of this number only 4,342 were of the free race, the balance, 18,683, Indians subject to the missions.
VARYING STATEMENTS.
Mr. Forbes says the count from which his figures were obtained was made in 1831, but he thought it would hold good for 1835, the date of writing his book. There is a wide difference between his figures and those com- monly reported. This difference is unsatisfactorily accounted for by saying that the fathers, to avoid per- mitting their wealth to be known to the secular authori- ties, would have their stock driven away from the missions and to secluded places when the officers came to make the periodical counts and estimates of their property.
Another statement was published by Rev. Walter Colton, in his book entitled "Three Years in California," published in 1850. This gentleman was Chaplain in the United States Navy, and was appointed Alcalde of Monterey by Com. Robert F. Stockton, in 1846. He says :-
The mission of San Luis Obispo, when under the charge of Father Luis Martinez, had 87,000 cattle, 2,000 tame horses, 3,500 mares, 3,700 mules, and 72,000 sheep. This careful business manager took $100,000 with him when he left for Spain, in 1828.
The San Miguel Mission in 1821 had 91,000 cattle, 1, 100 tame horses, 3,000 mares, 2,000 mules, 170 yoke of oxen, and 47,000 sheep.
All the other missions were equally rich in live stock; while the specie in the coffers of the fathers, and value of
the gold and silver ornaments of the churches, exceeded half a million dollars. The total number of horned cattle aggregated upwards of 700,000 head.
The many years of occupancy and control by the priests, the unlimited extent of their grazing grounds, and the supplies furnished them from the " Pious Fund" in Mexico, would justify the expectation of great wealth, and the area covered by the remains of their buildings, particularly at San Miguel, indicate the presence of a large population.
CHAPTER VI.
THE MISSIONARIES.
The Wealth of the New World-The Primitive Races-An Omen -- The Tribes of California-Their Food and Customs-A Great Cemetery- Indian Boats- Early Missionaries-The California Missions -- A Mission Described-Mission Govern- ment-Daily Customs-The Rich Missions -The Seculariza- tion-Eras of Progress-The Work of the Century -- The Dark Ages-The Ideal Elements-The Good Work of the Monks-California Explorers -Tribute to the Pioneers- Apostrophe to the Missionaries.
HE Establishment of the Missions in California and a Review of the Missionary Fathers, was the subject of an address delivered by the Hon. Charles H. Johnson, before the San Luis Obispo Library Associa- tion, September 1, 1872, on the occasion of the centen- nial of the mission :---
The settlement of California by the Franciscan Fathers and the results flowing from this great event, which happened about a century ago, are surrounded by the memories of what may be termed the patriarchal age of California, and over which hovers the glow of poetic feeling, inspired by the sight of ruins which speak to us in the inaudible language of the dead past, breathing symphonies which float down the stream of time, recount- ing in musical tones the unrecorded deeds of the heroes of the romantic period in California's history.
THE WEALTH OF THE NEW WORLD.
The part of North America which formerly acknowl- edged the authority of Spain, was the richest and most highly prized of all the dependencies of that vast Empire, which at one period of its existence controlled the destiny of one-half of Europe, and held within its grasp the most valuable parts of North and South America, and rich possessions in both the Indies. Every variety of soil and climate, inexhaustible deposits of mineral wealth, together with the peculiar civilization of the ancient inhabitants of Mexico, or New Spain, made it one of the most interesting portions of the globe.
THE PRIMITIVE RACES.
Of the primitive races which inhabited this country, the most notable were the Toltecs, who advanced from the north and northwest, and entered the valley of Mex- ico about the middle of the seventh century. They are known to us only through the legends of the races that followed them. These legends inform us that the Toltecs were acquainted with agriculture and many of the arts, and invented the system of marking the progress of time, used by the Aztecs who supplanted them. The ruins of their edifices may still be seen in various parts of Mexico, and the shadowy architectural remains recently
47
THE MISSIONARIES.
discovered near the banks of the Colorado have likewise been attributed to them. After the lapse of three or four centuries the Toltecs disappeared, and were succeeded by the Chichemers, a barbarous tribe that also came from the northwest. They in their turn were speedily sup- planted by the more civilized tribes of Aztecs, or Mexicans, and the Acolhuans, who entered Mexico from the remote regions of the north, and, settling in the valley of Mexico, erected their cities on the borders of the lake.
AN OMEN.
The Mexicans selected a place which they called Tcnochitlans from a singular omen, which indicated to them the spot whereon to build their capital. On one occasion during their wanderings, they halted on the south side of the principal lake, about the year 1325. They there saw an eagle with a serpent in its talons, perched upon the stem of a prickly pear, which grew from the crevice of a rock. The broad wings of the eagle, which was of great size, were spread out to the morning sun. They hailed this as an auspicious omen, and pro- ceeded to lay the foundation of the city. The device of the eagle and the cactus still forms the national arms of Mexico. The Acolhuans were known later by the name of Tezcucans, from their capital, erected on the eastern borders of the same lake. Whether California was a part of the far north, from whence issued these different races which we have had under review, will always remain an open question. We find a few indis- tinct architectural remains near the Gila and Colorado Rivers, but nothing north of these to indicate that this portion of the country was ever occupied, by even semi- barbarous races.
THE TRIBES OF CALIFORNIA.
The Indians that roamed over the great coast valleys, from Santa Clara to San Diego, were divided into num- erous tribes or nations, speaking different languages or dialects. Grammars were compiled by the missionaries in the languages of some of the tribes south of the mis- sion of San Juan, which served as a key to the more northern languages. The Olchones and Mutseer languages, spoken by tribes of the same names, occupy- ing the country between San Francisco and the mission of San Juan, were studied and understood by the mission- aries.
Beechy visited this coast in 1826, and observes of the Indians, " That the Olchones worship the sun and believe in the existence of a beneficent and an evil spirit, whom they occasionally attempt to propitiate. Their ideas of a future state are very confined. When a person dies they adorn the corpse with feathers, flowers, and beads, and place with it a bow and arrows; they then extend it upon a pile of wood and burn it amid the shouts of the spectators, who wish the soul a pleasant journey in the direction of the setting sun."
It is a remarkable coincidence that the religious belief of this rude tribe corresponded so nearly with that of the enlightened ancient Persian, who adored the sun, and believed in the existence of Ormunzd and Ahriman, representing the good and evil principles of the universe.
THEIR FOOD AND CUSTOMS.
The Indians of California fared well. As food was abundant in every part of the country, they feasted on deer, antelope, hare, rabbit, quail, and many varieties of fish, together with grasshoppers, acorns, and a variety of seeds and roots. The interior tribes made yearly excur- sions to the sea-shore, bringing with them vast stores of acorns and other seeds, with which they made bread, by pounding them first in stone mortars. They would
remain for months, perched on some high bluff near the sea, feasting on fish. The abalone, a large shell-fish, and mussels, were highly prized by them. Their universal remedy for all diseases was their peculiar sweating proc- ess in the temescal, a large oven of sticks and earth, erected on the banks of a stream. Several persons at a time would enter this oven, quite naked, and build a fire at the entrance; they would remain inside, humming a monotonous chant, as long as they could bear the heat. After perspiring profusely they would scrape their bodies with bones, and then plunge suddenly into the water of the stream.
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