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 78
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San Luis Obispo was soon aroused, and Price and Branch headed a party in pursuit. The deserters fled rapidly, but their trail was easily followed, and for a num- ber of days the chase continued. By the sea-coast at Carpenteria, beyond Santa Barbara, the murderers were overtaken and a desperate battle ensued. The guilty sailors knew that it was a life and death struggle for them, but the vigor of the attack of the avenging party left them no hope or chance of escape. One of the Californians was killed and others wounded, but all the murderers were slain. One of them rushed into the
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ocean in his panic of fear, as if he could swim out to sea and thus escape the dread avengers of his terrible crime. He was fired upon as he swam, and sank to rise no more. The bodies of the others were left where they fell, as food for the vultures and coyotes. The family of Read and the band of murderers were extinct, closing the first of the great criminal tragedies of San Luis Obispo.
SOCIETY IN SAN LUIS OBISPO.
Upon this subject we quote the language of Mr. C. H. Johnson, whose long residence in the county has made him familiar with its people and events :--
Society in the southern coast of California was in a very unsettled state for many years subsequent to the close of the war, arising mainly from the change of government, and the feeling of enmity that the war had engendered between the Mexicans and the native Cali- fornians and the Americans, or what was here termed the foreign element of the population. Law was nowhere respected. Life and property were constantly exposed to enormous risks. Indeed every man had to depend upon his own ability to defend successfully the one as well as the other. All the great highways were infested with banditti, who adopted the pirates' maxim that "dead men tell no tales." San Luis Obispo, being a central point in this section, was the headquarters of the differ- ent bands of robbers that held successively almost un- disputed possession of the place for a series of years. A bandit once rode through Monterey Street, with the ears of his victims tied like scalps to his saddle-bow. There were no means of public conveyance between this place A supposed or so-called and the rest of California.
monthly mail was dispatched on horseback, at intervals of five or six weeks, to Santa Barbara, thence to take the chances of meeting with a sailing vessel or steamer bound for San Francisco. The return mail from San Francisco by the way of Santa Barbara would reach here in six weeks or two months. Merchants closed their stores when leaving for San Francisco for new supplies, traveling by night over mountain trails as far as Soledad, to avoid, as far as possible, the danger of being robbed or murdered. If they arrived safely, they purchased supplies for six or eight months, and shipped them in chartered vessels. It would happen at times during their absence that flour, sugar, coffee, and other staples could not be obtained at any price.
INDIAN RAIDS.
To add still more to this chaotic condition of society, the Tulare Indians made frequent incursions into this section, driving off from the ranchos bands of horses, which they killed for their flesh, upon which they mainly subsisted, preferring it to that of other animals. The horses that at different times escaped from them became wild and roamed over the San Joaquin plains in great droves. The Indians, when upon these raids, traveled at night, and were hiding during the day in the mount- ains. Some would be perched upon the highest peaks in order to discover the locality where a caballada (band of horses) might be grazing. When night came they descended and drove off the band. The rancheros occasionally started in pursuit of the Indians to recover the horses, but with indifferent success generally as they were deprived of the means of overtaking them, in the loss of their best horses. Upon one occasion, however, a party under Governor Pacheco succeeded in coming up with them. A fight ensued, in which one of Pache- co's men was killed and several wounded; but the horses were recovered from the Indians.
JOAQUIN MURIATTA.
In 1852-53 a band of robbers and murderers ranged through the State under the leadership of Joaquin Muriatta, which became a terror to the people. The principal scenes of their depredations were in the mining regions of the North, but they occasionally paid visits to other sections. The Legislature, in 1853, authorized the enlisting of a company of rangers to hunt down the bandit, and set a price upon his head. The rangers were commanded by Captain Harry Love, and Joaquin was slain and his head carried on exhibition through the State. In the spring of 1853, the then dreaded bandit, Joaquin Muriatta, with his followers, arrived in the neighborhood of San Luis Obispo. He sent one of his Lieutenants to notify the people that he proposed to remain in the place a few days to rest his men and horses before starting to Mexico, and warned them that should any attempt be made to molest himself or any of his party the town would be sacked. On the following day the ban- dits entered the town and encamped in the Priest's garden. They were a desperate-looking, swarthy set, dressed in buckskin suits, some having coats or jackets dyed green. All were well armed. The leader was symmetrically formed, with regular features, an open countenance, but with a gloomy expression. There were but five or six American residents. They were in a state of constant dread during Muriatta's stay, on account of his known enmity to their race. They went abroad but little during the day, and at night all slept together with arms by them in Pollard's, now Sinsheimer's, store. The robbers, however, harmed no one but a gambler, whom they despoiled of his ill-gotten hoards, and then left.
PURSUIT AND EXECUTION OF MURDERERS.
In October, 1853, a robber band of eight or ten men accompanied by several women, arrived from the North, and camped in the suburbs of San Luis Obispo. They made preparations to plunder a store then situated on the site of the Lasar building, as it was known to them that a large amount of money was deposited there. A Mexican resident informing the proprietor, who was an Italian, of the proposed robbery, arrangements were made to prevent it. Several men with guns were stationed in the corridor of the building opposite, adjoining the church, and five others on the roof of the store, also three or four on the inside. The night was very dark, and as the robbers were approaching to carry out their purpose, the premature discharge of a gun in the hands of one of the defenders of the store, caused the bandits to retreat. The day after this occurrence they stole a number of horses from the adjoining ranchos. This act aroused the ire of the rancheros, as horse-stealing was considered by them a crime as atrocious, if not even more so, than murder itself. This, indeed, was the general sense of the people of California, at that period, and an expres- sion of it was given in an Act of the first Legislature, making horse-stealing a capital offense. It was known here that this band of robbers had murdered a family at Soledad, and a peddler near there, and had taken several hundred dollars' worth of goods he had with him. The
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murders were atrocious, but did not arouse the people to action, and no attempt was made to arrest them for this crime, although Messrs. J. J. Simmler and J. J. Scheiffarley, then of the very few "foreign" residents of the town, endeavored to form a party to do so. But when the bandits had gone and taken the horses of the natives with them, Simmler and Scheiffarley gathered their party and went in pursuit. The band was followed as far as Los Angeles; one was killed before reaching there, and the others were captured, probably one or two escaping. Three were put on board a steamer to be returned to San Luis Obispo. They were met at the landing by the people, welcomed by stout ropes and a short shrift, and buried on the beach at Avila.
The others started up by land with their captors. One in attempting to escape was killed, but the others were released at Santa Barbara through the intercession of Jack Powers and the influence of the De la Guerra y Noriegas, who seemed to act in fear of Powers and his companions, who then made Santa Barbara their head- quarters.
JOHN, ALIAS JACK, POWERS.
Some of the deeds of Powers are related in the Vigi- lance Committee of 1858. This bloody-handed villain escaped all punishment for his countless crimes in Cali- fornia. He was a criminal and gambler in San Fran- cisco in 1849, and pursued the same course of life during his stay in the State. About 1862 or 1863 he was in Sonora, and while disputing with some Yaqui Indians in his service whom he had wronged, was lassoed by them, and dragged to death, and his body left as food for coyotes.
MURDER OF WALL AND WILLIAMSON.
In November, 1855, Hon. Isaac B. Wall, Collector of the port of Monterey, and ex-Speaker of the California Assembly, accompanied by T. S. Williamson, an officer of Monterey County, were on their way to San Luis Obispo, but on the "dark and bloody ground" of the Nacimiento, were waylayed and murdered by a band of murderers. This, of course, created a sensation through- out the State, but the murderers were unknown, and went unpunished, at least at that time and for that crime.
A REMINISCENCE OF 1849.
The following picture of life in San Luis Obispo in 1849 was drawn by the famous traveler and writer, J. Ross Browne, and published in Harpers' Magazine some years after, under the title of "A Dangerons Journey." The story is interestingly descriptive of the route trav- eled by the writer from San Francisco to his destination, and of an interview he had with a band of robbers on the Salinas, whom he describes as the "Colonel," "Jack," and "Griff," the latter of whom saved him from being murdered by the others; but these, not strictly belonging to this county, are omitted. Griff, Mr. Browne after- wards meets in San Luis Obispo.
In the summer of 1849, I had occasion to visit San Luis Obispo, a small town about 250 miles south of San Francisco. At that time no steamers touched at the
embarcadéro, and but little dependence could be placed upon the small sailing craft that occasionally visited that isolated part of the coast. The trail through the Salinas and Santa Margarita Valleys was considered the only reliable route, though even that was not altogether as safe as could be desired. A portion of the country lying between the old mission of Soledad and San Miguel was infested by roving bands of Sonorans (peo- ple from Sonora, Mexico), and lawless native Califor- nians. Several drovers who had started from San Fran- cisco by this route to purchase cattle on the southern ranches, had never reached their destination, and it was generally believed they had been murdered on the way. Indeed, in two instances this fact was established by the discovery of the mutilated remains of the murdered men. No clue could be obtained to the perpetrators of the deed; nor do I know that any legal measures were taken to find them. At that period the only laws exist- ing were those administered by the Alcaldes, under the Mexican system, which had been temporarily adopted in connection with the provisional government established by General Riley. The people generally were too deeply interested in the development of the gold regions to give themselves much concern about the condition of other parts of the country; and the chances of bringing criminals to punishment in the southern districts were very remote.
My business was connected with the revenue service. A vessel laden with foreign goods had been wrecked on the coast within a short distance of San Luis. It was necessary that immediate official inquiry should be made into the circumstances, with a view of securing payment upon the cargo. I was also charged with a commission to establish a line of post-offices upon the land route to Los Angeles, and enter into contracts for the carrying of the mails.
By the advice of some friends in San Francisco, I purchased a fine-looking mnle, recently from the Colo- rado. The owner, a Texan gentleman, assured me he had never mounted a better animal; and, so far as I was capable of judging, the recommendation seemed to be justly merited. I willingly paid him his price-$300. Next day, having provided myself with a good pair of blankets, a few pounds of coffee, sugar, and hard bread, and a hunting knife, and tin cup, I bade adieu to my friends and set out on my journey.
A tedious voyage of six months around Cape Horn had given me a peculiar relish for shore life. There was something very pleasant in the novelty of the scenery and the inspiring freshness of the air. The rush of emi- grants from all parts of the world; the amusing scenes along the road; the free, social, and hopeful spirit which prevailed among all classes; the clear, bright sky, and wonderful richness of coloring that characterized the at- mosphere,-all contributed to produce the most agreeable sensations. It was a long and hazardons journey I had undertaken, and would doubtless be very lonesome after passing San José; but the idea of depending solely on my own resources, and becoming, in some sort, an ad- venturer in an almost unknown country, had in it some- thing irresistibly captivating to one of my roving disposi- tion. I had traveled through Texas under nearly similar circumstances, and enjoyed many pleasant recollections of the trip. There is a charm about this wild sort of life, the entire freedom from restraint, the luxury of fresh air, the camp under the trees with a canopy of stars overhead, that, once experienced, can never be forgotten.
A few days after my arrival. in San Luis I went, in company with Jackson, my American friend, to a fan- dango given by the native Californians. The invitation, as usual in such cases, was general, and the company not very select. Every person within a circle of twenty
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miles, and with money enough to pay for "refreshments," was expected to be present. The entertainment was held in a large adobe building, formerly used for mis- sionary purposes, the lower part having been occupied as a store-house. A large loft overhead, with a step-ladder reaching to it from the outside, formed the dancing sa- loon. In the yard, which was encircled by a mud wall, were several chapadens [jacals, probably,] in which gin, whisky, aguardiente, and the like necessaries of exist- ence, were for sale to ladies and gentlemen at "two bits a drink." A low rabble of Mexican greasers, chiefly So- norans, hung around the premises in every direction, among whom I recognized several belonging to the gang in whose hands I had fallen on my way from Santa Mar- garita. Their dirty serapes, machillas, and spurs lay scattered about just as they had dismounted from their mustangs. The animals were picketed around an open space, and kept up a continual confusion by kicking at every straggler who approached. Such of the rabble as could pay the admission fee of dos reales, were sitting in groups in the yard, smoking cigaritos and playing at monte. A few of the better class of rancheros had brought women with them, mounted in front of their saddles, and were making their way up the step-ladder as we approached.
I followed the crowd, in company with my friend, and was admitted into the saloon on payment of half a dol- lar. This fund was to defray the expense of lights and music.
On passing through the hall-way I was forcibly im- pressed with the novelty of the scene. Some fifty or sixty couples were dancing to the most horrible scraping of fiddles I had ever heard-marking the time by snap- ping their fingers, whistling, and clapping their hands. The fiddles were accompanied by a dreadful twanging of guitars, and an Indian in one corner added to the din by beating with all his might upon a bass drum. There was an odor of steaming flesh, cigaritos, garlic, and cologne in the hot, reeking atmosphere, that was almost stifling; and the floor swayed under the heavy tramp of the dancers, as if every turn of the waltz might be the last. The assemblage was of a very mixed character, as may well be supposed, consisting of native Californians, So- norans, Americans, Frenchmen, Germans, and half-breed Indians.
Most of the Mexicans were rancheros and vaqueros from the neighboring ranches, dressed in the prevailing style of Caballeros del Campaña, with black or green velvet jackets, richly embroidered; wide pantaloons, open at the sides, ornamented with rows of silver buttons; a red sash around their waists and a great profusion of gold filagree on their vests. These were the fast young fel- lows who had been successful in jockeying away their horses, or gambling at monte. Others of a darker and lower grade, such as the Sonorans, wore their hats and botas (leggings) just as they had come in from camp, for
it
was one of the privileges of the fandango that
every man could dress or undress as he pleased. A very desperate and ill-favored set these were-perfect speci- mens of Mexican outlaws.
The Americans were chiefly a party of Texans, who had recently crossed through Chihuahua, and compared not unfavorably with the Sonorans in point of costume and savage appearance. Some wore broadcloth coats, ragged and defaced from the wear and tear of travel; some wore red flannel shirts, without any coats, their pantaloons thrust in their boots, in a loose, swaggering style. All wore revolvers and bowie-knives swinging from their belts. A more reckless, devil-may-care looking set it would be impossible to find in a century. Take them altogether, with their uncouth costumes, bearded faces, and lean and brawny forms, fierce, savage eyes, and
swaggering manners, they were a fit assemblage for a frolic or a fight. Every word they spoke was accom- panied with an oath. The presence of the females im- posed no restraint upon the subject or style of the con- versation, which was disgusting to the last degree. I felt ashamed to think that habit should so brutalize peo- ple of my own flesh and blood.
Many of the señoritas were pretty, and those who had no great pretensions to beauty in other respects were at least gifted with fine eyes and teeth, rich, brunette com- plexions, and forms of wonderful pliancy and grace. All, or nearly all, were luminous with jewelry, and wore dresses of the most flashy colors, in which flowers, lace, and glittering tinsel combined to set off their dusky charms. I saw some among them who would not have compared unfavorably with the ladies of Cadiz-perhaps in more respects than one. They danced easily and naturally; and, considering the limited opportunity for culture they had enjoyed in this remote region, it was wonderful how free and graceful they were in their manners.
The belle of the occasion was a dark-eyed, fierce-look- ing woman, of about six-and-twenty, a half-breed, from Santa Barbara. Her features were far from comely, be- ing sharp and uneven; her skin was scarred with fire or small-pox; and her form, though not destitute of a certain grace of style, was too lithe, wiry and acrobatic to con- vey any idea of voluptuous attraction. Every nerve, every motion seemed the incarnation of suppressed vigor. Every glance of her fierce, flashing eye was in- stinct with untamable passion. She was a mustang in human shape-one that I thought would kick or bite upon very slight provocation. In the matter of dress she was almost Oriental. The richest and most striking colors decorated her wild and singular physique; a gor- geous silk dress of bright orange, flounced to the waist; a white bodice, with blood-red ribbons on the shoulders; a green sash around the waist; an immense gold-cased breast-pin, with diamonds glittering in the center; the greatest profusion of rings on her fingers, and her ears loaded down with sparkling jewels, while her heavy black hair was gathered up in a knot behind and pinned through with a gold dagger-all being in strict keeping with her dashing, wild character, and bearing some re- mote affinity to a dangerous but royal game-bird. I thought of the Mexican chichilaca as I gazed at her. There was an intensity in the quick flash of her eye which produced a burning sensation wherever it fell. She cast a spell around her not unlike the fascination of a snake. The women shunned and feared her; the men absolutely worshiped at her shrine. Their infatuation was almost incredible. She seemed to have some super- natural capacity for arousing the fiercest passions of love, jealousy, and hatred. Of course there was a great rivalry to engage the hand of such a belle for the dance. Crowds of admirers were constantly urging their claims. It was impossible to look upon their excited faces and savage rivalry, knowing the desperate character of the men, without a foreboding of evil.
"Perhaps you will not be surprised," said Jackson, "to hear something strange and startling about that woman. She is a murderess. Not long since she stabbed to death another woman, also a half-breed, for trying to win the affections of her paramour. But worse than that, she is strangely suspected of having killed her own child a few months ago, in a fit of jealousy, caused by the supposed infidelity of its father, whose identity cannot, however, be fixed with any certainty. She is a strange, bad woman, a devil incarnate; yet you see what a spell she casts around her. Some of these men are madly in love with her! They will fight before the even- ing is over. Yet she is neither pretty nor amiable. I cannot account for it. Let me introduce you."
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As soon as there occurred a pause in the dance, I was introduced. The revolting history I had heard inspired me with a curiosity to know how such a human fiend could exercise such a powerful sway over every man in the room.
Although she spoke but little English, there was a peculiar sweetness in every word she uttered. I thought I could detect something of the secret of her powers in her magical voice, which was the softest and most mu- sical I had ever heard. There was a wild, sweet, almost unearthly cadence in it that vibrated upon the ear like the strains of an Æolian harp. Added to this there was a power of alternate ferocity and tenderness in her deep, passionate eyes that struck to the inmost core wherever she fixed her gaze. I could not determine for my life which she resembled most, the untamed mustang, the royal game-bird, or the rattlesnake. There were flitting hints of each in her, and yet the comparison is weak and inadequate. Sometimes she reminded me of Rachel, then the living, now the dead queen of tragedy. Had it not been for the horror of her repulsive crimes, it is hard to say how far her fascinating powers might have affected me. As it was I could only wonder whether she were most genius or devil. Not knowing how to dance, I could not offer my services in that way; and after a few remarks withdrew to a seat near the wall. The dance went on with great spirit. Absurd as it may seem, I could not keep my eyes off this woman. Which- ever way she looked there was a commotion, a shrinking back among the women, or the symptoms of jealous rage among the men. For her own sex she manifested an absolute scorn; for the other she had an inexhaustible fund of sweet glances, which cach admirer might take to himself.
At a subsequent period of the evening I observed, for the first time, a man of very conspicuous appearance, dressed in the picturesque style of a Texan ranger. There was something manly about his face and dress that attracted my attention. My astonishment was great when I recognized Griff, the man to whom I was indebted for my escape from the robbers, near Soledad. There could be no doubt to his identity, differently dressed though he was, and disfigured somewhat by a ghastly wound across the temple, yet bearing himself with the same air of determination mingled with deep sadness. It was evident that the Colonel had misinformed me as to his death. Perhaps, judging from the wound in his tem- ple, still unhealed, he might have been left for dead, and subsequently have made his escape. At all events he was now before me.
I was about to spring forward and grasp him by the hand when I was induced to desist for a moment by the character of the attentions which he seemed to be paying to the Mexican woman before mentioned. Her face he was regarding with an interest more intense than that evinced by any other of her admirers. He was certainly calculated to make an impression upon such a woman; yet strange to say, he seemed to be the only man in the room to whom she evinced a spirit of decided hostility. Several times he approached her and solicited a dance. Whether from caprice or a more potent cause, she invaria- bly repulsed him, once with a degree of asperity that indicated far more than a casual acquaintance. It was in vain he attempted to cajole her. She was evidently bitter and unrelenting in her hostility. At length, incensed at his pertinacity, she turned sharply upon him, and, lean- ing her head close to his ear, whispered something. the effect of which was magical. He staggered back as if stunned, and, gazing at her with an expression of horror, turned away and walked out of the room. The woman's face was a shade paler, but regaining her equanimity, she soon resumed her former gay appearance.
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