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 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99
THE JESUITS IN CALIFORNIA.
In the preceding century, in 1697, license was granted to the Society of the Order of Jesus, the Jesuits, to enter the peninsula of California. The special warrants empowered the Fathers Kino and Salva-Tierra to enter California subject to these conditions: that they waste nothing belonging to the King, nor draw upon the Gov- ernment treasury without express orders from His Majesty; that they take possession of the country and hold it in the name of the King of Spain. The powers given
included the ecclesiastic, military, and civil Government of the country.
On the Ioth of October, 1697, Father Salva-Tierra, accompanied by Father Ugarte, five soldiers, Esteban Rodriguez Lorenzo, Bartolemè de Robles Figueroa, Juan Caravana, Nicolas Marques and Juan, with their com- mander, Don Luis de Torres Tortolero, embarked for the scene of their future labors, the physical and spiritual conquest of California, arriving safely and taking formal possession of the country on the 25th of the month. The Lady of Loreto was selected as the patroness of the conquest, and the place upon which they established themselves was called Loreto.
FATHER KINO.
Father Francis Kühn, or Eusebio Francisco Kino, as he was called by the Spaniards, was a German by birth, but spent the greater part of his life in the service of the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church as a missionary among the Indians of Mexico. He was a most devout, able, and energetic priest, and many noble deeds and long years of well-performed duties are recorded of him in histories of Mexico and Lower California. His prin- cipal field was in Sonora, where he spent many years in building up and caring for the mission of Primera. He was a coadjutor of Salva-Tierra, and assisted in the support of the mission at Loreto. In the year 1700 he made the journey from Sonora- to California by land, crossing the Colorado River near the junction of the Gila, being the first white man to cross, and thus proved the extent of the peninsula. He was forced, however, for the sake of a sick priest, to return without reaching his destination at Loreto. He died in 1710 and was buried near his loved mission at Primera. His grave is lost among the driving sands of that desolate region, but his good deeds will live forever.
FATHER SALVA-TIERRA.
Juan Maria Salva-Tierra was a native of Milan, born of noble parentage and Spanish ancestry, in 1644. Having completed his education at Parma, he joined the order of Jesuits, and went as a missionary to Mexico in 1675. He was robust in health, exceedingly handsome in person, resolute of will, highly talented, and full of religious zeal. For several years he conducted the missions of Sonora successfully, when he was recalled to Mexico in consequence of his great ability and singular virtues, and was employed in the chief offices of the provinces. Having obtained from the Viceroy permis- sion to occupy the peninsula of California under the conditions previously stated, he went upon his mission to Loreto, having as his associate Father Juan Ugarte, a native of Honduras. After encountering a disastrous storm, suffering partial shipwreck, and touching at several points on the coast, they came to San Dionysio, where they found a fine watering-place in a deep and fruitful glen which they selected as their future scene of labor. This place is situated on the eastern shore of the penin- sula, in latitude 25° 35' north, and may be considered the Plymouth of the Pacific Coast. This historic and
SAN FRANCISCO
PUBL
THE MISSION SAN LUIS OBISPO.
1883.
.
EARLIEST HISTORY.
17
memorable expedition consisted of only two galliots and nine men, being a corporal, five private soldiers, three Indians, the captain of the vessel, and the two fathers.
On the 19th of October, 1697, the little party of adventurers went ashore at Loreto, and were kindly received by about fifty natives, who were induced to kneel down and kiss the crucifix.
After twenty years of earnest labor, privation, danger, and spiritual success, Father Salva-Tierra was recalled to Mexico by the new Viceroy, for consultation. He was then seventy years old; and, notwithstanding his age and infirmities, he set out on horseback from San Blas for Tepic; but, having fainted by the way, he was carried on a litter by the Indians to Guadalajara, where he died July 17, 1717, and was buried, with appropriate ceremo- nies, behind the altar in the chapel of Our Lady of Loreto.
METHODS OF CONVERSION.
It is said of Father Ugarte that he was a man of powerful frame. When he first celebrated the ceremo- nials of the church before the natives they were inclined to jeer and laugh over solemnities. On one occasion a huge Indian was causing considerable disturbance, and was demoralizing the other Indians with his mimicry and childish fun. Father Ugarte caught him by his long hair, swung him around a few times, threw him in a heap on the floor, and proceeded with the rites. This argu- ment had a converting effect, as he never rebelled again. As the conversion of the natives was the main object of the settlement, and a matter of the greatest importance, to the natives at least, no means were spared to effect it. When the natives around the mission had been Chris- tianized, expeditions inland were undertaken to capture more material for converts. Sometimes many lives were taken, but they generally succeeded in gathering in from fifty to a hundred women and children, the men after- wards following. Two or three days' exhortation (con- finement and starvation) was generally sufficient to effect a change of heart, after which the convert was clothed, fed, and put to work. Father Ugarte worked with them, teaching them to plant, sow, reap, and thresh, and they were soon good Christians.
The imposing ceremonies and visible symbols of the Catholic Church are well calculated to strike the igno- rant savage with awe. Striking results were often attained with pictures. When moving from one mis- sion to another, and especially when meeting strange Indians, the priests exhibited a picture of the Virgin Mary on one side of a canvas, and Satan roasting in flames on the other side. They were offered a choice, to become subjects of the Holy Mother, or roast in the flames with Satan, and generally accepted the former, especially as it was accompanied with food. .
EXPULSION OF THE JESUITS.
Charles III., the King of Spain, desiring to extend the power of his dominions and increase their commercial prosperity, proposed in 1767 to rediscover and occupy the important harbors of Alta California that had been so graphically described by Vizcayno, in 1603. The system
of colonizing in that day was by first sending mission- aries into the country, taming and converting the Indians, and thus open the way to settlement by civilized people. The church was all-powerful throughout Spain and her possessions, the ecclesiastical power controlling the Gov- ernment, dominating its policy, and even holding the King in subjection. The Jesuits were regarded as the most ambitious for political power in connection with the church, and this order Charles determined to sup- press, and therefore on the 2d of April, 1767, issued a decree ordering their expulsion from all parts of his dominions. The Jesuits had established the missions of Lower California and continued in their possession for a period of seventy years. In order to carry out his new policy it was necessary to supplant the Jesuits with other orders of the church, and the missions of Lower California were transferred to the Order of Dominicans; the Franciscans to take charge of those to be founded in Alta California. The execution of this decree was com- mitted to Don Gaspar de Portala, the Governor of the province. Having assembled the fathers of Loreto on the eve of the nativity, December 24th, he acquainted them with the heart-breaking news. Whatever may have been the faults of the Jesuits in Europe, they certainly had been models of devoted Christians in the New World. They braved the dangers of hostile savages, exposed themselves to the malarious fevers incident to new countries, and had taken up their residences far from the centers of civilization and thought, so dear to men of cultivated minds, to devote themselves, soul and body, to the salvation of the natives, that all civilized nations seem bent on exterminating. It is probable that the simple-minded son of the forest understood little of the mysteries of theology; and his change of heart was more a change of habit than the adoption of any saving religious dogma. They abandoned many of their filthy habits and learned to respect the family ties. They were taught to cultivate the soil, to build comfortable houses, and to cover their nakedness with garments. They had learned to love and revere the fathers, who were ever kind to them.
MIDNIGHT PARTING.
After seventy years of devoted attention to the sav- ages, after building pleasant homes in the wilderness, and surrounding themselves with loving and devoted friends, they received the order to depart. They took their leave on the night of February 3, 1768, amidst the outcries and lamentations of the people, who, in spite of the soldiers, who could not keep them back, rushed upon the departing fathers, kissing their hands, and clinging convulsively to them. The leave-taking was brief, but affecting. "Adieu, my dear children! Adieu, land of our adoption! Adieu, California! It is the will of God!'' And then, amid the sobs and lamentations, heard all along the shore, they turned away, reciting the litany of the Blessed Mother of God, and were seen no more.
On the expulsion of the Jesuits from Lower California, the property of the missions, consisting of extensive houses, flocks, pasture lands, cultivated fields, orchards,
3
18
HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
and vineyards, was intrusted to the College of San Fernando in Mexico, for the benefit of the Order of St. Francis de Assisi. The zealous scholar, Father Junipero Serra, was appointed to the charge of all the missions of Lower California.
FATHER JUNIPERO SERRA.
Father Junipero, as he was called, was born of humble parents in the island of Majorca, on the 24th of Novem- ber, 1713, his childhood name being Miguel Josè Serra. Like the prophet Samuel, he was dedicated to the priest- hood from his infancy, and having completed his studies in the Convent of San Bernardino, he conceived the idea of devoting himself to the immediate service of God, and went from thence to Palma, the capital of the province, to acquire the higher learning necessary for the priesthood. At his earnest request, he was received into the Order of San Francisco at the age of sixteen, and, at the end of one year's probation, made his religious pro- fession, September 15, 1731. Having finished his studies in philosophy and theology, he soon acquired a high reputation as a writer and orator, and his services were sought for in every direction; but, while enjoying these distinctions at home, his heart was set on his long- projected mission to the heathen of the New World. He sailed from Cadiz for America, August 28, 1749, and landed at Vera Cruz, whence he went to the City of Mexico, joined the College of San Fernando, and was made President of the missions of Cerra Gorda and San Saba. On his appointment to the missions of California, he immediately entered upon active duties, and pro- ceeded to carry out his grand design of the civilization of the Pacific Coast. The success with which he prose- cuted his great labors are more fully related in other parts of this volume.
At length, having founded and successfully established nine missions, and gathered into his fold many thousand wild people of the mountains and plains, the heroic Junipero began to feel that his end was drawing near. He was then seventy years old; fifty-three of these years he had spent in the active service of his Master in the New World. Having fought the good fight and finished his illustrious course, the broken old man retired to the mission of San Carlos at Monterey, gave the few remain- ing days of his life to a closer communion with God, received the last rites of the religion which he had advocated and illustrated so well, and on the 29th of August, 1784, gently passed away.
THE MISSION OF LORETO.
Governor Portala immediately took possession of Loreto which afterwards became the headquarters of the movement to establish missions in Alta California.
The historic village of Loreto, the ancient capital of California, is situated on the margin of the gulf, in the center of St. Dyonissius' Cove. The church, built in 1742, is still in tolerable preservation, and, among the vestiges of its former richness, has eighty-six oil paintings, some of them by Murillo and other celebrated masters, which, though more than a hundred years old, are still in
a good condition; also, some fine silver work, valued at $6,000. A great storm in 1827 destroyed many of the buildings of the mission. Those remaining are in a state of decay. It was the former custom of the pearl- divers to dedicate the products of certain days to Our Lady of Loreto; and, on one occasion, there fell to the lot of the Virgin a magnificent pearl, as large as a pigeon's egg, of wonderful purity and brilliancy. The fathers thought proper to change its destination, and pre- sented it to the Queen of Spain, who gratefully and piously sent Our Lady of Loreto a magnificent new gown. Some people were unkind enough to think the Queen had the better of the transaction.
CHAPTER II.
THE ABORIGINES.
Archæological Investigations-The Indians in Earliest History --- As Seen by Cabrillo-Their Degraded Condition-Writings of Hugh Reid-"Orpheus and Eurydice"-Indolent and Weak --- The Indians of San Luis Obispo-Their Religion-Treatment of the Indians -- Indian Relics and Graves-Indian Implements and Their Uses-Painted Rocks-The Great Natural Temple of Carrisa-Indian Remains in Santa Barbara-Painted Cave -- From Cabrillo's Time to the Missionary Period-No Archi- tectural Remains-Recent Explorations -- Museums of Arch- æology -- The Graves at Port Harford.
HE years, the centuries, the ages that man has dwelt in the land of California can only be told by the record of the rocks, or by the study of the groves and such evidences as the deep research of the patient and learned archæologist may bring to light. Science has many devotees engaged in her service, and there is hope that the people of the future will be more enlight- ened upon the matter than the people of the present.
Primitive man will always be a subject of great interest to the student, although through countless ages of his existence he did nothing for posterity except the propaga- tion of the species. He has lived and made some marks on the rocks, has caught fish and left the shells, made a few utensils of stone and bone which endure, if of other substances they have decayed and left no trace, and his graves and mounds of refuse indicate the number; that there were many. Throughout the coast are thousands of sites of their villages and cemeteries, with deep layers of debris that had required many years for its accumula- tion.
THE INDIANS IN EARLIEST HISTORY.
As the earliest civilized visitor to this coast was Cabrillo, to him we turn for any written account of the native inhabitants to whom the general appellation, "Indians," has been given. He reported great numbers, saying: "for all the coast is very populous."
As the ships approached the shore the women would be frightened and run away, but the men would make friendly signs and ask them to come on shore. At times the Indians would go on board the vessels and would be given presents of beads and other trinkets for which they manifested a desire. The different localities
19
THE ABORIGINES.
appear to have been occupied by quite different classes of savages, as some are said to dwell in cabins and clothed themselves with the skins of animals, while others have but stone and stick corrals, others sleep on the ground and go naked. If the Indians, generally, in any locality, were clad in skins, they were in advance of the Indians found in the gold-mining regions and the Sacramento Valley by the immigrants of 1849, as then stark nakedness was the universal rule of the males and all children in their wild state. The same conditions existed upon the coming of the missionaries, from which we may infer that those clothed in skins in Cabrillo's time were exceptional; possibly a remnant of some incur- sive tribe of a more developed people. From general reports of early and modern times the Indians of the South were of a superior character to those of the North, the parallel of 35° appearing to have been about the dividing line.
AS SEEN BY CABRILLO.
Upon the condition of the Indians of this coast when first known, we can do no better than to appropriate some notes by Dr. L. M. Dimmick, of Santa Barbara, from Cabrillo's narrative, prepared for the history of that county. "On the 10th of October, 1542, they approached the main-land, probably of the Santa Clara Valley, where there was an Indian village near the sea, and the houses large, in the manner of those of New Spain. They anchored in front of a large valley. To the ships came many good canoes, which held in each one twelve or thirteen Indians. They go covered with skins of animals ; they are fishers, and eat the fish raw; they also eat agaves. The country within is a very beautiful valley, and they made signs that there was in that valley much maize and much food. 'There appears within this valley some sierras, very high, and the land is very rugged.' The Indians call the village Xucu. They sailed from this place on the 13th, up the coast, on which they saw many cabins and trees, and the next day they anchored opposite a valley, very beautiful and very populous, the land being level, with many trees. The natives came with fish in their canoes; they remained great friends. On the 15th they held on their voyage along the coast, and there were always many canoes, and many Indians were continually coming aboard the ships, and they pointed out to us the villages, and named them by their names. All these villages are in a good country, with very good plains, and many trees and cabins; they go clothed with skins; they said that inland there were many towns, and much maize at three days' distance. They passed this day along the shore of a large island (Santa Rosa), and they said it was very populous. On the even- ing of the 16th, they anchored opposite two villages (Dos Pueblos). The next day they proceeded three leagues, and there were with the ships from daybreak many canoes, and the captain continually gave them many presents, and all the coast where they passed was very populous. They brought them a large quantity of fresh sardines, very good.
"They say that inland there are many villages and much food; these did not eat any maize; they went
clothed with skins, and wear their hair very long, and tied up with cords very long and placed within the hair, and these strings have many small daggers attached, of flint and wood and bone."
On the 18th they went running up the coast, and saw all the coast populous, but because a fresh wind sprung up, the canoes did not come. They came near a point which forms a cape, which they named Cabo de Galera (Point Concepcion). Thence they sailed to two islands, the smaller of which they called La Passession (San Miguel), and the larger, San Lucas (Santa Rosa). They found both of these islands inhabited. They departed from these islands intending to sail up the coast, but meeting with rough weather they sought the shelter of Point Concepcion, and cast anchor in front of a large town called by the natives Xexo. But because wood did not appear abundant, they sailed back down the coast to Pueblo de las Sardinas (Goleta or Patara). Here they remained three days, taking in wood and water, and the natives aided them, and brought wood and water to the ships.
" They call the village Cieacut, and gave us the names of sixteen more villages extending up to Cabo de Galera. An old Indian woman is princess of these villages. Cieacut appeared to be the capi al of the other villages, as they came from the other villages at the call of that princess. They have their houses round, and covered well down to the ground; they go covered with the skins of animals; they eat acorns and a grain which is as large as maize, and is white, of which they make dumplings; it is good food. They say that inland there is much maize."
Between this place and Xucu, where they first landed, the historian gives the names of twenty-five villages. On November 6th they sailed up the coast, but as there was little wind, they did not reach the cape until the fourth day. During this time the Indians came to them with water and fish, and showed much good disposition.
" They have in their villages large public squares, and an inclosure like a circle, and around the inclosure they have many blocks of stone fastened in the ground, which issue about three palms, and in the middle of the inclosure they have many sticks of timber driven in the ground like masts and very thick, and they have many pictures on these posts, and we believe that they worship them, for when they dance, they go dancing around the inclosure."
The history of the expedition records the names of two villages on San Miguel Island, three on Santa Rosa, and eight on Santa Cruz Island, and states that the Indians of these islands are very poor.
" They are fishermen; they eat nothing but fish; they sleep on the ground. In each house they say there are fifty souls. They live very swinishly. They go naked."
THEIR DEGRADED CONDITION.
The old navigator, who died and was buried on one of the islands he had described, relates the cold facts of his observation, devoid of the fanciful painting of the imagi- nation so common with the most popular writers of all
20
HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
ages. His record accords with the facts as they have appeared to all in recent times. The aboriginal inhabit- ants were savages in almost the extreme sense, with their powers of mind developed but a degree above the beasts, with few arts, with no system of Government or religion that can be appreciated as such. In a limited sense they exercised a concert of action which may be regarded as the first step in Government, and beyond that their sys- tem was but the instinctive methods of gaining subsist- ence and living in common.
WRITINGS OF HUGH REID.
Some writers have accorded them high powers of reflection and reason, notably Mr. Hugo (Anglice-Hugh) Reid, of Los Angeles, who, as early as 1850, made his home with the Indians, learned their language, studied their customs and traditions, their laws and religion, and in 1852 published the result of his observations. Mr. Reid was an educated and respected gentleman, a mem- ber of the Constitutional Convention of 1849, and his writings have been treated with consideration as of good authority. He ascribes to the Indians a knowledge, or theories, of creation, of astronomy, and history; possessing an extended and complete system of Government; of marriage laws and customs indicating great purity of morals; of inheritance of property and authority; of beautiful and poetical legends; of traditional fables of fairies and goddesses and much other romance that we must believe had their origin only in his imaginative brain. What Mr. Reid wrote and has been called his- tory must have really been intended solely for a pleasing, sensational tale.
As an example we will transcribe the Indian version, according to Mr. Reid, of the story of
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE.
A great pestilence had destroyed the people, only an old woman and two children, a boy and girl, remained. When they grew up the man proved himself a great hunter, and the girl, who possessed remarkable beauty and a lovely disposition, an adept in all household arts. In time they married, and now the old woman, fancying herself neglected, plotted against the life of her foster daughter. Twice she failed in her attempt, but the young wife, aware of her design, apprised her husband, and told him that, should she be slain in his absence, her soul would notify him of the fact by dropping a tear upon his shoulder. One day, while hunting, he received the fatal sign, and hurried home, but ere he could execute vengeance on the hag, she transformed herself into a gopher, and burrowed in the earth, where she had con- cealed her victim.
For three days and three nights he lay upon the grave, lamenting the loss of his love, nor tasted he of food or drink throughout the weary vigil. At last he perceived a small whirlwind arise from the grave and disappear. Soon a second whirlwind arose and moved toward the south, gradually augmenting in size as it progressed. This he followed, and passing over a sandy plain, per- ceived that it left footprints; then knew he that it was indeed his wife. Redoubling now his efforts, he gained upon the apparition, and addressing it was repaid by hearing the voice of his love reply: " Return, O my husband, for where I go thither thou canst not come. Thou art of the earth, but I am dead to the world!" Never-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.