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 14
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HE happy days of the ranchero period-from the missions to the gold discovery-is the theme upon which the Californian who lived in that time loves to dwell. They were the elysian days of this pleasant land, around which romance, aided by sweet memory, has thrown an enchanting glamour that at the present date rises to an absorbing interest. Those whose mem- ories reach into that delightful era of the past see it in their imagination as it was to them thirty, and forty, and fifty years ago, when they were children thoughtless of the morrow; when they were joyous youths without the responsible cares of life, seeking the pleasures and ani- mated by the buoyant spirit given them by the healthful climate and the manly exercise incident to the rancho; when they were in their stalwart prime with simple wants easily supplied; an abundance for all according to the customs of the country; positions in society established without envy, jealousy, or contention; politeness, hospi- tality and fraternity on every hand, and when all were intent on enjoying the present with an abiding confidence in the welfare of the future. If these were old people scheming for wealth, planning with the officers of the Government to extend their broad leagues and swell their vast herds, or to get, at low rates of duty through the custom house, their silks, and satins, and velvets, and prunella, and laces, and pretty slippers, and gingling but- tons, and snowy linens, and stylish sombreros, and the many other fancy things they loved for dress; or plan- ning again to overthrow the Government, and place them- selves or friends in power; we know not of them now, they have gone to their dust, or remember only the pleas- ures, the comforts, the ease, and the loved ones of their early life. Now is remembered the broad, open country, the prolific herds of cattle which afforded food and rev- enue with but little labor, the great bands of prancing horses, the skillful and dashing horseman, the fancy and graceful costume, the richly and gaily caparisoned steed, the pleasant fandango, the musical Spanish tongue, the dolce far niente of Spanish times, the days of youth and long ago.
PROSPEROUS RANCHEROS.
From the bay of San Francisco to San Diego was the California of that period. About and north of the great bay the Americans were settling in threatening numbers, but south the predominating power was Spanish, and all
CALIFORNIA UNDER MEXICO.
FRANCISCO PUELIG UBRARY
strangers, being of the male sex, had so assimilated with the natives that they had become of them, marrying into their families, speaking their language, professing their religion, adopting their customs, and naturalizing as citi- zens. This region may therefor be regarded as purely Spanish. That portion now organized as San Luis Obispo County, was most sparsely settled of all the coast, there being but the families and a few dependents on the great ranchos and at the missions, the Danas, Sparks, Price, Villavicencio, and Branch in the southern part; Avila, Wilson, Pico, Cantua, Estrada, Linares, Stenner, Gaxiola, Villa, Gonzales, Feliz, Mckinley, Pujol, Quin- tana, Herrera, Bonilla, and Padre Gomez, near the mission and on the coast; Estrada, Rios, and a few others east of the Santa Lucia, and we have about all the principal resi- dents of the ante-American time.
GENEROUS HOSPITALITY.
The roads from rancho to rancho were but trails, the traveling being by horseback, the wheeled vehicles (caretas) seldom venturing far from the rancho where made. Hospitality was unbounded, and the wayfarer was always welcomed as at home. Particularly was the welcome kind to the American, who, says Mr. Price, the veteran of Pismo, "were looked up to as gods; there was nothing too good for them; but that was before the gold discov- ery; since then the native Californians have been treated so badly that they don't think so much of the Yankees as they used to." There were no hotels, but every house and mission was open to all to the utmost capacity it could entertain, and, instead of expecting pay, whenever circumstances would justify, money was delicately ten- dered to the visitor by leaving it at his bedside to help himself if he chose. With a saddle and bridle of his own he could, and was expected to catch a fresh horse every morning, turning it loose when exhausted or at the journey's end. If such a stranger as to have no riding equipments, they were supplied, and an attache of the rancho sent as guide, and to bring back the animals.
There were none so poor as not to willingly tender all the hospitality their home afforded, and in man- ner and politeness becoming a courtier of royalty. Politeness was instinctive to the people. The elder peo- ple were polite to each other, and the children knew no other customs. Their manners were as graceful as polite, thus giving a charm to their society that proved the unyielding attraction that bound many rovers to the land, becoming willing life prisoners to the fair Doñas. The hunters and trappers who came by land to the Cali- fornia coast, and the shipmasters and sailors who landed upon it froni the sea were thus received, converted from the faith of their fathers, and made citizens of the country. Safely may it be said that none ever regretted their capture.
1
CALIFORNIANS IN 1835.
A description of the people of California was written in 1835 by Richard H. Dana, a cousin of the late Capt. W. G. Dana, of Nipomo, and published in his delightful book entitled "Two Years Before the Mast." This description will be interesting at this date, although the
scenes he describes occurred either at Monterey or Santa Barbara, some of the people he mentions were citizens or closely connected with citizens of San Luis Obispo :-
GENERAL STYLE OF DRESS OF THE PEOPLE.
The dress of the men was as I have before described it. The women wore gowns of various texture-silks, crape, calicoes, etc .- made after the European style, ex- cept that the sleeves were short, leaving the arms bare, and that they were loose about the waist, corsets not being in use. They wore shoes of kid or satin, sashes or belts of bright colors, and almost always a necklace and ear-rings. Bonnets, they had none. I only saw one on the coast, and that belonged to the wife of an American sea cap- tain, who had settled in San Diego, and had imported the chaotic mass of straw and ribbon, as a choice present to his new wife. They wear their hair (which is almost in- varibly black, or a very dark brown) long in their necks,. sometimes loose, and sometimes in long braids, though the married women often do it up on a high comb. Their only protection against the sun and weather is a large mantle which they put over their heads, drawing it close round their faces, when they go out of doors, which is generally only in pleasant weather. When in the house, or sitting out in front of it, which they often do in fine weather, they usually wear a small scarf or neckerchief of a rich pattern. A band, also, about the top of the head, with a cross, star, or other ornament in front is common.
PURE AND MIXED BLOOD.
Their complexions are various, depending-as well as their dress and manner-upon the amount of Spanish blood they can lay claim to, which also settles their social rank. Those who are of pure Spanish blood, having never intermarried with the aborigines, have clear bru- nette complexions, and sometimes even as fair as those of English women. There are but few of these fami- lies in California, being mostly those in official stations, or who, on the expiration of their terms of office, have settled here upon property they have acquired, and others who have been banished for State offenses. These form the upper class, intermarrying and keeping up an exclu- sive system in every respect. They can be distinguished, not only by their complexion, dress, and manners, but also by their speech; for, calling themselves Castilians, they are very ambitious of speaking the pure Castilian, while all Spanish is spoken in a somewhat corrupted dia- lect by the lower classes. From this upper class they go down by regular shades, growing more and more dark and muddy, until you come to the pure Indian, who runs about with nothing upon him but a small piece of cloth, kept up by a wide leather strap drawn around his waist.
Generally speaking, each person's caste is decided by the quality of the blood, which shows itself, too plainly to be concealed, at first sight. Yet the least drop of Spanish blood, if it be only of quadroon or octoroon, is sufficient to raise one from the position of a serf, and en- title him to wear a suit of clothes, boots, hat, cloak, spurs, long knife, all complete, though coarse and dirty as may be, and to call himeslf Español, and to hold property, if he can get any. The fondness for dress among women is excessive, and is sometimes their ruin. A present of a fine mantle, or necklace, or pair of ear-rings gains the favor of the greater part. Nothing is more common than to see a woman living in a house of only two rooms, with the ground for a floor, dressed in spangled satin shoes, silk gown, high comb, and gilt, if not gold earrings and necklace. If their husbands do not dress them well, they will soon receive presents from others. They used to spend whole days on board our vessel, examining the fine clothes and ornaments, and frequently making pur-
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HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
chases at a rate which would have made a seamstress or waiting maid in Boston open her eyes.
FINE VOICES.
Next to the love of dress, I was most struck with the fineness of the voices and beauty of the intonations of both sexes. Every common ruffian-looking fellow, with a slouched hat, blanket cloak, dirty underdress, and soiled leather leggins, appeared to me to be speaking elegant Spanish. It was a pleasure to listen simply to the sound of the language before I could attach any meaning to it. They have a good deal of the Creole drawl, but it is varied by an occasional extreme rapidity of utterance in which they seem to skip from consonant to consonant, until, lighting upon a broad open vowel, they rest upon that to restore the balance of sound. The women carry this peculiarity of speaking to a much greater extreme than the men, who have more evenness and stateliness of ut- terance. A common bullock-driver on horseback, de- livering a message, seemed to speak like an embassador at a royal audience. In fact, they sometimes appeared to me to be a people on whom a curse had fallen, and stripped them of everything but their pride, their manners, and their voices.
CALIFORNIA MONEY.
Another thing that surprised me was the quantity of silver in circulation. The truth is they have no credit system, no banks, and no way of investing money but in cattle. Besides silver, they have no circu- lating medium but hides, which the sailors call "Cali- fornia bank notes." Everything that they buy must be paid for by one or the other of these means. The hides they bring down dried and doubled, in clumsy ox-carts, or upon mules' backs, and the money they carry tied up in handkerchiefs, fifty or a hundred dollars and half-dol- lars.
METHODS OF TRAVEL.
The men appeared to me to be always on horseback. Horses are as abundant out here as dogs and chickens were in Juan Fernandez. There are no stables to keep them in, but they are allowed to run wild and graze wherever they please, being branded, and having Iong leather ropes, called lassoes, attached to their necks and dragging along behind them, by which they can be easily taken.
The men usually catch one in the morning, throw a saddle and bridle upon him, and use him for the day, and let him go at night, catching another the next day. When they go on long journeys, they ride one horse down, and catch another, throw the saddle and bridle upon him, and after riding him down, take a third and so on to the end of the journey. There are probably no better riders in the world. They are put upon a horse when only four or five years old, their legs not long enough to come half-way over his sides, and may almost be said to keep on him until they have grown to him.
The stirrups are covered, or boxed up in front, to pre- vent their catching when riding through the woods; and the saddles are large and heavy, strapped very tight upon the horse, and have large pommels, or loggerheads, in front, around which the lasso is coiled when not in use. They can hardly go from one house to another without mounting a horse, there being generally several standing tied to the door-posts of the little cottages. When they wish to show their activity they make no use of their stirrups in mounting, but, striking the horse, spring into the saddle as he starts, and, sticking their long spurs into him, go off on the full run. Their spurs are cruel things, having four or five rowels, each an inch in length, dull and rusty.
The flanks of the horses are often sore from them, and I have seen men come in from chasing bullocks, with their horses' hind legs and quarters covered with blood. They frequently give exhibitions of their horsemanship in races, bull-baitings, etc.
CALIFORNIANS' EASTER SUNDAY.
Liberty was allowed us on Easter Sunday and we were permitted to go ashore and misspend the day. Suppos- ing that the whole day would be too long a time to spend ashore, as there was no place to which we could take a ride, we remained quietly on board until after din- ner. We were then pulled ashore in the stern of the boat-for it is a point with liberty-men to be pulled off and back as passengers by their ship-mates-and, with orders to be taken on the beach at sundown, we took our way for the town. There everything wore the ap- pearance 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 and the Spanish guitar. These are the only instru- ments, 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, and no other instruments. As it was now too near the middle of the day to see any dancing, and hear- ing that a bull was expected down from the country to be baited in the presidio square, in the course of an hour or two, we took a stroll among the houses.
SINGULAR FUNERAL.
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 appear- ance 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 somewhat awk- wardly, not knowing what to say, and whether 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 of age up to fifteen and sixteen, dressed all in white, with wreaths of flowers on their heads, and bouquets in their hands. Fol- lowing 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 cof- fin, 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 evidence of the last night's " high go." Feeling, like Gar- rick between tragedy and comedy, an uncertainty of purpose, I asked the man when the funeral would take place, and being told that it would move toward the mis- sion in about an hour, took my leave. To pass away the time we hired horses and rode to the beach, and there saw three or four Italian sailors, mounted, and
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CALIFORNIA UNDER MEXICO.
riding up and down the hard sand at a furious rate. We joined them and found it fine sport. The beach gave us a stretch of a mile or more, and the horses flew over the smooth, hard sand, apparently invigorated and excited by the salt sea-breeze and by the continual roar and dash- ing of the breakers.
From the beach we returned to the town, and, finding that the funeral procession had moved, rode on and over- took 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 suppose by their number, nearly all the girls between five and fifteen in the place. They played along on the way, frequently stopping and running altogether to talk to some one, or to pick up a flower, and then running on again to over- take the coffin.
There were a few elderly women in common colors, and a herd of young men and boys, some on foot and others mounted, followed them, or walked or rode 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-looking place, the out-buildings going to ruin, and everything 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 it to let our horses drink, when it occurred to us that it might be con- secrated and we forebore. Just at this moment the bells set up their harsh, discordant clangor, and the procession moved into the court. I wished to follow and see the ceremony, but the horse of one of my companions had become frightened and was tearing off toward the town, and, having thrown his rider, and got one of his hoofs caught in the tackling of the saddle, which had slipped, was fast dragging and ripping it to pieces. Knowing that my shipmate could not speak a word of Spanish, and fearing that he might get into difficulty, I was obliged to leave the ceremony and ride after him.
I soon overtook him trudging along, swearing at the horse, and carrying the remains of the saddle, which he had picked up on the road. Going to the owner of the horse, we made a settlement with him and found him surprisingly liberal. All parts of the saddle were brought back, and being capable of repair, he was satisfied with six reals. We thought it would have been a few dollars. We pointed to the horse, which was now half-way up one of the mountains, but he shook his head, saying, "No im- porte," and giving us to understand that he had plenty more.
COCK FIGHTING.
Having returned to the town, we saw a crowd collected in the square before the principal pulperia, and, riding up, found that all these people-men, women, and chil- dren, had been drawn together by a couple of bantam cocks. The cocks were in full tilt, springing into one an- other, and the people were as eager, laughing and shout- ing, as though the combatants had been men.
There had been a disappointment about the bull; he had broken his bail and taken himself off, and it was too late to get another, so the people were obliged to put up with a cock fight. One of the bantams having been knocked in the head and having an eye put out, gave in, and two monstrous prize cocks were brought on. These were the objects of the whole affair, the bantams having been merely served up as a first course to collect the people together. Two fellows came into the ring holding the cocks in their arms and stroking them, and running about on all fours, encouraging and setting them on. Bets ran high, and like most other contests, it remained for some time undecided. Both cocks showed great pluck, and fought probably better and longer than their masters would have done. Whether in the end it was the white or red that beat I do not recollect, but whichever it was he strutted off with the true veni-vidi-vici look, leaving the other panting on his beam ends.
A HORSE RACE.
This matter having been settled, we heard some talk about "caballos" and "carrera," and seeing the people streaming off in one direction, we followed, and came upon a level piece of ground just out of the town, which was used as a race-course. Here the crowd soon became thick again, the ground was marked off, the judges sta- tioned, and the horses led up to one end. Two fine- looking old gentlemen-Don Carlos and Don Domingo, so-called-held the stakes, and all was now ready. We waited some time, during which we could just see the horses, twisting round and turning, until, at length, there was a shout along the line., and on they came, heads stretched out and eyes starting, working all over, both man and beast. The steeds came by us like a couple of chain shot, neck and neck, and now we could see nothing of them but their backs and their hind hoofs flying in the air. As fast as the horses passed, the crowd broke up behind them and ran to the goal. When we got there we found the horses returning on a slow walk, having run far beyond the mark, and heard that the long bony one had come in head and shoulders before the other. The riders were light-built men, had handkerchiefs tied around their heads, and were bare-armed and bare-legged. The horses were noble-looking beasts, not so sleek and combed as our Boston stable horses, but with fine limbs and spirited eyes. After this had been settled and fully talked over, the crowd scattered again, and flocked back to the town.
DANCING.
Returning to the large pulperia, we heard the violin and guitar screaming and twanging away, under the piazza where they had been all day.
As it was now sundown, there began to be some danc- ing. The Italian sailors danced, and one of our crew exhibited himself in a sort of West India shuffle, much to the amusement of the bystanders, who cried out. "Bravo!" "Otra Vez!" and "Vivian los Marineros." but the dancing did not become general, as the women and the gente de razon had not yet made their appearance. We wished very much to stay and see the style of danc- ing, but, although we had our own way during the day, yet we were after all but fore-mast jacks, and, having been ordered to be on the beach by sunset, did not venture to be more than an hour behind time, so we took our way down.
C
DESCRIPTION OF A FESTIVAL, JANUARY 10, 1836.
Great preparations were now being made on shore for the marriage of our agent,* who was to marry Doña Anita de la Guerra de Noriega y Carrillo, youngest daughter of
*Alfred Robinson, of Boston.
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HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
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 sent off with him. On the day appointed for the wedding, we took the Captain ashore in the gig, and had orders to come for him at night, with leave to go up to the house and see the fandango. Returning on board we found preparations making for a salute. Our guns were loaded and run out, men appointed to each, cartridges served out, matches lighted, and all the flags ready to be run up. I took my place at the starboard after gun, and we all waited for the signal from on shore. At ten 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 discord- ant peal, the private signal for us was run up by the Cap- tain 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 full in sight, the loud report echoed among the hills and over the bay, and instantly the ship was dressed in flags and penants from stem to stern. Twenty-three guns fol- lowed in regular succession, with an interval of fifteen seconds between each, when the cloud blew off and our 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.
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