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 97
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As if by mutual consent each gradually ceased strug- gling, to regain breath, and as much as five minutes must have elapsed while they were locked in their motionless but terrible embrace. Suddenly the bull, by one desper- ate effort, wrenched his head from the grasp of his adver- sary, and retreated a few steps. The bear stood up to receive him. I now watched with breathless interest, for it was evident that each animal had staked his life upon the issue of the conflict. The cattle from the surround- ing plains had crowded in, and stood moaning and bellowing around the contestants; but, as if withheld by terror, none seemed disposed to interfere. Rendered furious by his wounds, the bull now gathered up all his energies, and charged with such impetuous force and ferocity that the bear, despite the most terrific blows with his paws, rolled over in the dust, vainly struggling to defend himself. The lunges and thrusts of the former were perfectly furious. At length, by a sudden and well- directed motion of his head, he got one of his horns under the bear's belly, and gave it a rip that brought out a clotted mass of entrails. It was apparent that the battle must now end. Both were grievously wounded and neither could last much longer. The ground was torn up and covered with blood for some distance around, and the panting of the struggling animals became each moment quicker and heavier. Maimed and gory they fought with the desperate certainty of death-the bear rolling over and over vainly striking out to avoid the fatal horns of his adversary-the bull ripping, tearing and thrusting with irresistible ferocity.
At length, as if determined to end the conflict, the bull drew back, lowered his head, and made one tremendous charge; but blinded by the blood that trickled down his forehead, he missed his mark, and
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rolled headlong on the ground. In an instant the bear whirled and was upon him. Thoroughly invigorated by the prospect of a speedy victory, he tore the flesh in huge masses from the 'ribs of his prostrate foe. The two rolled over and over in the terrible death struggle; nothing was now to be seen save a heaving, gory mass, dimly perceptible through the dust. A few moments would certainly have terminated the bloody strife, as far as my favorite was concerned, when, to my astonishment, I saw the bear relax his efforts, roll over from the body of his prostrate foe, and drag himself feebly a few yards from the spot. His entrails had burst entirely through the wound in his belly, and now lay in long strings upon the ground. The next moment the bull was upon his legs, erect and fierce as ever. Shaking the blood from his eyes, he looked around, and seeing the reeking mass before him, lowered his head for the final and most des- perate charge. In the struggle that ensued both animals seemed animated by supernatural strength. The grizzly struck out wildly, but with such destructive energy that the bull, upon drawing back his head, presented a horri- ble and ghastly spectacle; his tongue, a mingled mass of shreds, hanging from his mouth, his eyes torn completely from their sockets, and his face stripped to the bone. Here it was that indomitable courage prevailed; for blinded and maimed as he was, the bull, after a moment- ary pause to regain his wind, dashed wildly at his adver- sary again, determined to be victorious even in death. A terrific roar escaped from the dying grizzly. With a last frantic effort he sought to make his escape, scrambling over and over in the dust. But his strength was gone. A few more thrusts from the savage victor and he lay stretched upon the sand his muscles quivering convul- sively, his body a resistless mass. A clutching motion of the claws, a groan, a gurgle in the throat and he was dead.
The bull now raised his bloody crest, uttered a deep bellowing sound, shook his horns triumphantly, and slowly walked off, turning his head every few steps to renew the struggle if necessary. But his last battle was fought. As the blood streamed from his wounds a death-chill came over him. He stood for some time, unyielding to the last, bracing himself up, his legs apart, his head gradually drooping, then dropped on his knees and lay down; soon his head rested on the ground; his body became motionless; a groan, a few convulsive respi- rations, and he too, the noble victor, was dead.
During this strange and sanguinary struggle, the cattle, as I stated before, had gathered around the combatants. The most daring, as if drawn to the spot by the smell of blood or some strange fascination, formed a circle within twenty or thirty yards, and gazed at the work that was going on with startled and terror-stricken eyes; but none dared to join in the defense of their champion. No sooner was the battle ended and the victor and vanquished stretched dead upon the ground, than a panic seized upon the excited multitude, and by one accord they set up a wild bellowing, switched their tails in the air, and started off at full speed for the plains.
CHAPTER XLVII. OBITUARIES.
AND while we strive to do our country honor- Our Golden State, the proudest of her peers- May it not be that with our blessings on her Are mingled those of long-gone pioneers.
-O' Connell.
N closing the history of San Luis Obispo County, a brief notice is due to those who have lived in our midst, loved and honored by their fellow-men, labor- ing for the common weal, and leaving friends who would wish to preserve their memory. Many of the former residents have been noticed in the preceding pages, and the records of others are unfortunately lost, but in the columns of contemporary papers. have been found mention of some which are here collated.
OBITUARY OF JAMES VAN NESS.
Life is indeed an impenetrable secret. We see it in all its ontward phases, with its hum and noise and unrest, and even in its contemplative mood, ever wandering on the extreme and slippery edge of a prec- ipice, beetling over the dark, unfathomable gulf of death. It pursues its course utterly heedless of the manifold dangers with which it is momentarily environed, until it hears the splash and death wail, which seems for an instant only to arrest its attention, and to cause it to reflect upon the slight and gossamer-like tenure of its existence.
The subject of the present article, who but a few days ago walked among us in the full enjoyment of all his faculties, is now no more. He died in San Luis Obispo on the 28th day of December, 1872, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. He was born in Vermont, of which State his father was Governor, and afterwards, under the administrations of Madison and Monroe, United States Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain.
James Van Ness entered Yale at an early age, and graduated when he was only nineteen. After leaving college, he emigrated South, and attended, during two sessions, the law school of the celebrated Judge Tucker, at Winchester, Virginia. Among his fellow-students were J. M. Mason, Henry A. Wise, Chas. J. Falkner, and Uriah Wright. He was admitted to the Bar of Virginia in 1828, and during the same year went to Georgia, and engaged in the practice of law. He sub- sequently practiced at Montgomery, Alabama, whence he removed to New Orleans, where he was engaged in editing the Picayune.
In 1849 he came to California, and settled in San Francisco. In 1854 he was elected Supervisor from the Eighth Ward, when he introduced the celebrated Ordi- nance which bears his name. And in 1856, his friends, recognizing his eminent administrative capacity, gave him the nomination for Mayor of San Francisco, to which office he was elected. In 1861 he came to this county, to pass, as he observed to his friends, the remainder of his days in the quiet, nnostentatious retire- ment of a country life, but at their earnest solicitation, in 1871, he consented to enter the canvass for the unex- pired Senatorial term of Lieutenant-Governor Pacheco, and was elected State Senator from this district by an unprecedented majority.
There is an awful sublimity about death which almost hallows it in the eyes of mankind. It commands the respect and awe of the entire world. Let its victim be of high or low degree, we can never feel indifferent,
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never wholly withdraw our attention from the most noticeable, if not the most momentous, epoch in the life of man. It is the scene in the drama of life which we contemplate with greatest interest, as being the point reached whence to mortal eyes there is no beyond. Hence it is that during the life of an individual we bestow, generally, only passing glances at his career, but when he disappears forever we then revert back, and are apt to review his past life through all the changeful periods of his existence with a more critical eye, and to consider it as a whole, in short, as a completed work, with its acts and scenes systematically arranged.
James Van Ness had almost reached man's allotted time. He died, we may say full of years, honored by his friends and respected by his foes.
He performed well his part in life, and has left the impress of his genius in his writings, and in the legisla- tion which he accomplished, whether for San Francisco, this county, or the State at large.
Previous to the passing of the Van Ness Ordinance, the question in regard to the proper disposition, by the city of San Francisco, of its pueblo, or outside lands, gave rise to much debate and great acrimony of feeling. Some of the settlers upon these lands claimed pre-emp- tion rights; others again contested the validity of such claims, so that these disputes often led to acts of vio- lence and bloodshed amongst themselves, and at times they were even arrayed in hostile attitude against the authorities. At this juncture the Van Ness Ordinance was introduced, which regulated the disposition, by the city, of the pueblo lands, and also recognized the equi- table rights of the actual settlers then upon them.
The principles laid down in the Ordinance by its author were subsequently admitted tobe correct by the action of the Legislature of the State, and also received the approval of the Congress of the United States.
He possessed an original but an eminently practical mind, and the perspicuity of his reasoning upon difficult questions was remarkable. Unhappily, his views of human nature were too often directed to its dark side, which frequently led him into serions errors of judg- ment, in spite of his fine discriminative qualities, which he so clearly exhibited in his delineations of character when he gave his mind its full scope. He had strong preju- dices, but was a man of high and generous spirit. And admitting, as we must do, that his attachments were few, they were remarkably lasting. Nay, even to his declared enemies, he was not vindictive. And if we cannot con- cede to him in its full measure the virtue to forgive, nevertheless he frequently treated his bitterest opponents with great magnanimity. Doubtless the clearest view of his character was obtained by observing the natural play of his mind in the ordinary walks of life. Possessing unaffected felicity of expression, his brilliant description of men and things of his time, his clear comprehension of universal truths, the acuteness and refinement of his reasoning, the keen shafts he would playfully throw out at intervals, gave to his conversation a peculiar charm. He was without vanity, and the principles of charity and kindness were deeply imbedded in his nature, and were frequently manifested in his general intercourse with society, and more particularly with his inferiors. To the assemblage of so many natural gifts in one mind, it might have been reasonably expected that ambition would have entered. But such was not the case. He seemed to have been entirely devoid of the desire for distinction, as the public offices which he filled with so much credit were thrust upon him by the persistive importunity of his friends. He rejoiced when their terms expired, and returned to the shades of private life, which he loved so well.
his own selection, and he passed away from earth quietly and apparently without the sensation of pain.
Don Ricardo Durazo died in San Luis Obispo of heart disease, August 6, 1869, aged thirty-nine years. He was a native of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, came to Califor- nia in 1849, and was a resident of this county since 1854. Señor Durazo was known as an upright, industrious and honorable citizen, and was highly respected by all classes of people.
Mrs. James Mathews died at her residence near Cambria August 6, 1869, aged sixty-eight years. This lady was one of the pioneer settlers of that region, and was much esteemed by all who knew her.
After a long illness, caused by child-birth, Josefa Amesquita de Bosquiz, wife of Don Jose Amesquita de Bosquiz, and mother of twenty-one children, died Jan- uary 5, 1869. Both she and her husband were good and estimable people.
On February 23, 1869, Dr. J. W. Frame died of diphtheria. Dr. Frame was a native of Scotland. He was a thoroughly educated professional man, and a resi- dent and practicing physician in the town of Cambria, from which place he was known as the correspondent of the San Luis Obispo Pioneer. He had many warm friends who sincerely regretted his untimely end.
James Mathers died of old age on the 6th of April, 1870, at his rancho near Cambria. The deceased was an old pioneer of California, and was a twelve-year resi- dent of San Luis Obispo County. He was born on March 15, 1790, emigrated from the State of New York in 1819, and settled in Elkhart County, Indiana; thence re- moved to Will County, Illinois, in 1832, and from thence came to California in 1846, settling in Santa Clara County, whence he removed to this county in 1858. Mr. Mathers was an honest man, a good neighbor, and an excellent citizen.
At the Cayucos on the 21st of April, Dona Serafina Es- pinosa de Villavicencio died, aged eighty-nine years. This old lady was the mother of Mrs. Pico, Rafael Villa, Jose Antonio Villa, Isador Villa, Joso Maria Villa, of the Cor- ral de Piedra. Her children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren would form a sufficient number to popu- late a village. She was born at the Mission Dolores in 1781. The cause of her death was old age, and she passed away quietly and suddenly, without pain and without fears. She was a good woman.
In December, 1873, James Wilks Gaylord died. He was a member of San Simeon Lodge, which placed on re- cord expressions of appreciation of his many virtues, de- ploring the loss of a beloved brother with feelings of sincere regret, softened only by the confident hope that his spirit departed from its earthly tabernacle to the mys- tic lights of the Grand Lodge above, to participate in the companionship of those who, having fought the good fight here below, are enjoying their reward. In token of esteem, the lodge was draped in mourning for thirty days.
In San Luis Obispo on February 10th of consumption, José de la Guerra died, aged eighty-six years. The deceased had been ailing for many years, and was an old man of pleasing and affable demeanor and of good feeling. We do not believe that he had a single enemy in the county. He was formerly Sheriff of the county of Santa Barbara. Few men of his age left a larger circle of sincere friends to mourn his loss.
On the 12th of February, 1872, Mrs. Mary Rector died at Old Creek, aged ninety-two years. The subject of the above notice was born in the county of Marion. State of Virginia, in the year 1780. She came to California in 1857. During a life of nearly one hundred years, she enjoyed uninterrupted good health, having had no sick-
The evening of his life was reached in the place of _ ness of any consequence during that long period.
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She was the mother of W. Rector, a resident of this county, and the grandmother of the wife of a fellow- townsman, Henry Francis. She is the mother of nine children. Her life was not terminated by sickness, but nature had become worn out, and the old lady passed away as quietly as if she were falling asleep. The friends of the deceased returned their sincere thanks to the Rev. A. B. Spoons for his kind and faithful services and at- tendance during the funeral.
At Morro Creek, in San Luis Obispo County, of old age, on the 3d day of March, 1872, Filomena Valenzuela, a native of Santa Barbara, died, aged over eighty years. The deceased outlived successively two husbands, by the second having become the mother of Josse Antonio, Jose Ramon, Vicente and Nicolas Feliz, beside others living near the Morro. She has been a resident of San Luis Obispo County for more than twenty years.
In San Luis Obispo, March 17, 1872, of consumption, Mrs. Ramona Tomaso Pico, daughter of Don Jose de Jesus Pico, died, aged twenty-eight years. This young lady was well-known and appreciated in this community for her many good qualities. She was amiable and re- fined in her manners. She leaves a gap in the interest- ing family of which she was a member, which will never be filled, and her untimely demise in the freshness of youth with her life yet unfilled, leaves behind it, upon all who knew her, a sadness which time only can heal.
Mr. Whiting R. Humfreville died in San Luis Obispo, June 18, 1873. He was one of the I. O. O. F., the lodge tendering their sympathy to the family of the deceased, and assuming the usual mourning for thirty days.
In San Luis Obispo, Edward H. Smith, a native of New York, died August 21, 1870, of heart disease, aged thirty-six years. He was a beloved member of the I. O. O. F.
Ex-Sheriff De la Guerra, familiarly known as El "Chato," died at his residence in this county, October 23, 1874, of diabetis. His sickness had been lingering, resulting from a fall from his horse, which happened late in 1871. This gentleman was the son of J. H. la Guerra y Carrillo, of the Alamos Rancho, Santa Bar- bara County, also lately deceased, and was a nephew of Don Pablo, the late District Judge. He filled the office of Sheriff of this county from March, 1866, to March, 1871. He had lived in San Luis Obispo County since 1853; was married to the eldest daughter of the late Don Miguel Avila, and was always a prominent man among the native Californians. He was a man of natural good heart, a sincere friend, and of frank and generous im- pulse. His relatives and compatriots all mourned his loss, and Americans as well. Those who were opposed to him in politics, as those who profited by his adherence to their party, felt that a friend had gone whom they would not willingly have lost.
Wallace Jerome, a native of New Jersey, aged forty- one years, died in San Luis Obispo, October 15, 1874. He was an industrious, useful, and honest man, and was buried under the auspices of King David's Lodge, F. and A. M.
October 26, 1874, at the Arroyo Grande, in San Luis Obispo County, died of pneumonia, Mrs. Irene Musick, wife of L. T. Musick, Esq., aged sixty-four years. Mrs. Musick was of good, old stock. Her maiden name was Middleton, and her mother was the niece of Daniel Boone, the great pioneer hunter of Kentucky. She came to this State with her husband from Moniteau County, Missouri, in 1862. She was an exemplary wife, mother, and neighbor, and all who knew her speak of her in the highest praise.
On Torro Creek, San Luis Obispo County, November 6, 1874, Juan Gelbez died, at the age of forty-eight years. Mr. Gelbez was a native of Chile, and had been a resi-
dent of this county for twenty years. He was a kind, obliging neighbor, and a loyal citizen. He was buried under the auspices of the Catholic Church.
William Henry Francis died in San Bernardino, Cali- fornia, February 21, 1876, of consumption, in the forty- third year of his age. Deceased was born in Troy, Oak- land County, Michigan, July 27, 1833. He came to California in 1850. He was candidate for Sheriff in San Luis Obispo County in 1872. Mr. Francis married a daughter of William Rector, a pioneer of 1846, after whom is named Rector Cañon.
In San Luis Obispo, on the 10th of June, 1876, Dona Encarnacion Carrillo died, widow of Capt. Thomas M. Robbins, of Santa Barbara, a pioneer of .1823. Mrs. Robbins was born in the year 1814, and was the daughter of Don Carlos Antonio Carrillo, at one time Governor of the Department of California, under the Mexican regime. The presidio of Santa Barbara was at that time a military post, under the reign of Carlos Septimi, King of Spain, at which place she was born. It was fitting that her last hours should pass away under the roof of the old mission, now a century old. As she had lived she died, a Christian mother.
Died, in San Luis Obispo, June 21, 1876, Benjamin Grable, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. Mr. Grable was associated with King David's Lodge during its ex- perience as a lodge. The church of which he was a de- voted worshiper loses a pillar of strength, and Masonry a bright examplar.
Mr. L. T. Musick died at his home on the Huasna, in San Luis Obispo County, October 1, 1876, of apoplexy. Mr. Musick was a well-known character in the commu- nity, being of so kindly a disposition that he was endeared to every one who knew him. His remains were followed to their last resting-place by a large concourse of sincere mourners.
J. P. Lewelling, in the city of San Luis Obispo, died, November 13, 1876, at the age of forty-five years. Mr. Lewelling was born in Indiana in 1831; came to Califor- nia in 1850, and to San Luis Obispo in 1856, where he re- sided until his death. He held several important offices in the community, covering a term altogether of seven years.
At Las Tablas, San Luis Obispo County, March 10, 1877, W. J. Cocke died. The funeral rites were con- ducted by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, mem- bers of Laguna Lodge, of which deceased was a member, joining with Chorro Lodge in paying the last tribute of respect to their departed brother.
In San Luis Obispo, December 27, 1878, Harvey B. Blake died, aged forty-seven years. Mr. Blake was born in Massachusetts in the year 1831, came to California in 1849, and was married in 1854. He first stopped at Santa Barbara, where he filled different offices of trust. In 1860 he moved to the Temetate Cañon, on the Santa Maria Rancho, where he remained until 1862, when he removed to Santa Ynez, where he engaged in farming and stock-raising. In 1863, he went to the Reese River mines with many others, and his, investments there prov- ing a failure, he was compelled to return home after having remained there four years. During his stay in the mines he filled the office of Notary Public to the satisfaction of the miners. In 1868 he was traveling agent for a San Francisco house, and in 1869 he returned to Santa Barbara. Soon after, he wrote a book entitled "Southern California," and went East with a view of publishing the same. On his way home, and while at Chicago, he lost his trunk, manuscript, clothing, and in fact everything he had, by the memorable fire which laid Chicago in ashes. The loss he sustained at this time so discouraged him that he never undertook to rewrite his book, and for years after he gave up all active business
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pursuits. He returned to Santa Barbara, and with his family removed to Newsom's White Sulphur Springs in San Luis Obispo County, and in seven months after settling there lost everything he had by fire. From the springs he moved to San Luis Obispo, where he remained until the time of his death. Mr. Blake was a man of a marked degree of ability, and had it not been for the repeated losses sustained by fires in different por- tions of the country, would have left to the world evi- dence of that fact. As it is, he was well and widely known; was respected by all for his integrity and truly honorable character. Those who knew him most inti- mately are those who mourn his loss most deeply.
Laxane Landeker was assassinated by a clerk in his store, at Ukiah City, Mendocino County, California, on the third day of April, 1879, aged thirty-seven years. Mr. Landeker was a native of Louisiana, but a resident of San Luis Obispo for many years. His remains were brought by steamer to Port Harford, and from thence by railroad, under the escort of committees from the Masons, Odd Fellows, Jews, and fire companies. The several lodges and companies were formed in procession in front of the City Hall, and took up their march under the command of Mr. P. A. Forrester. The procession was over half a mile in length, there being nearly one thou- sand people on foot, followed by a long line of carriages. Two bands of Mexicans had positions in the procession, and played alternately during the march. Burial cere- monies were performed at the grave by the Jewish and Masonic fraternities. San Luis Obispo had never before seen so large a turn-out of fraternal societies, and the large attendance at the burial showed in what universal respect Mr. Landeker was held.
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