History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 23

Author: Mason, Jesse D; Thompson & West. 4n
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Cal., Thompson & West
Number of Pages: 758

USA > California > Santa Barbara County > History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 23

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BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN P. STEARNS.

Notwithstanding the new wharf was a great im- provement on the old one, and, of course, a great benefit to the town, the project was opposed by many citizens who had property in the old wharf, but the advantages of landing directly from vessels gradually drew away the greater part of the trade. Mr. Stearns finally obtained possession of the major- ity of the shores and shut it up. No repairs being made, the teredo soon gnawed the piles so that every storm carried away more or less, and now but few are left to point out the former locality. The opposition to the Stearns Wharf was even carried into the City Council, and an ordinance was passed, requiring a license for carrying on the landing busi. ness. Mr. Stearns positively refused to pay any license, alleging that the enterprise was one that needed encouragement; that the prices of landing goods must be increased if a license were exacted. While the matter was under consideration a storm drove one vessel through the wharf and dashed another one in pieces against it. Mr. Stearns posi- tively refused to repair the break until the onerous license tax was abandoned, after which the wharf was repaired, and business again flowed in its usual channels.

From his boyhood he has ever taken a deep inter- est in educational affairs, having served some fifteen years as a trustee of the public schools of the State. He was one of the most liberal benefactors to the Santa Barbara College, his donations amounting to seven or eight thousand dollars. He has also taken a deep interest in all public improvements. Twice he has visited New York and St. Louis in his efforts to bring the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad through this county. He early espoused the cause of the Repub- lican party, and has ever taken a lively interest in its affairs; has repeatedly served as Secretary and Chairman of its County Committee; has been a mem- ber of its Congressional Committee and of the State Central Committee; has eight times attended the State Convention, as a delegate, at Sacramento, and was elected an Alternate Delegate to the National Convention at Chicago in 1880, when Garfield was nominated for the Presidency. In the late State Republican Convention he received 141 votes, being second in the race for Lieutenant Governor.

He was married in Santa Cruz County October 15th, 1862, to Martha Turner, a native of Dorsettshire, England. She is a daughter of Samuel Turner, her mother's maiden name being Jane Membrey, a mem- ber of the Membrey family owning the large landed

estate of that name in Dorsettshire. She has the benefit of a good education, being a graduate of the Albany State Normal School of New York, of the class which graduated January 31, 1856.

They have one child, a daughter, Leonora Electa, born in Santa Cruz County, December 6, 1863, now a member of the Senior Class of Mills' Seminary.

John P. Stearns is a man of marked ability and character. Possessed of an indomitable will, unflinch- ing courage, and a tenacity of purpose that never yields while there is a possibility of success, with a love for contest and strife, and the ability to take as well as give hard blows, he is a man that makes himself a force in every community. He is warm in his friendships as well as in his enmities, and is the kind of man that Dr. Johnson so profoundly admired -a good hater. Whether in a political convention or in a commercial negotiation, he carries the air of conscious strength in every movement. He despises humbug, finesse, and clap-trap, and solves every dif- ficulty by meeting it fairly and squarely. As a military man he would have been another Blucher; as a magistrate or ruler he would have been a Peter Stuyvesant, the famous Dutch Governor of New York, whom he much resembles in personal appear- ance. Like all men of such positive traits, he is feared and respected as well as hated and loved, but trusted by all for his straightforward and unflinching integrity.

He has a good library of works on law, science, and literature, where, in the intervals of business, he nourishes the spiritual man, that it falls not into the narrow groove of mere money-getting. Here, in the midst of books, surrounded by his family and friends, we may see the man in his best mood, and learn that beneath the stern visage, incident to business and politics, there beats a warm heart, amenable to the calls of society, hospitality and benevolence.

Soon after Mr. Johnson ceased to be editor of the Press, the paper fell under the control of Mr. Stearns, and was run according to his directions. He occa- sionally wrote an editorial, which was sharp and to the point, and bore the marks of the positive and aggressive character of the man. Mr. Glancey was acting as editor for Mr. Stearns when he was assas- sinated by Clarence Gray for articles appearing in the paper. It is said the conspiracy, or plan of assassination, involved him as well as the editor; indeed, it was well understood in certain circles that Stearns was the one to be sacrificed.

THE LOST WOMAN.

July, 1853. My crew consisted of Charles Brown, one Irishman and four Mission Indians. This time I went with the intention of making a thorough search for the missing woman. We arrived off the island in the early part of the day and anchored opposite the middle on the northeast side about 10 A. M. Brown and I went on shore to see where the otter lay and to select a suitable camping place. We left two of our Indians in charge of the boat. We then kept along near the shore without finding any signs of the Indian woman, until we reached the head of the island. Here I sat down to rest while Brown went around the head and down some distance on the other side. When he returned he told me he had seen fresh tracks of the Indian woman and had followed them from the beach up over the bank, but on the side of the ridge which formed the head of the island he had lost them, the ground being covered with moss. I was at first disposed to think that our men from the schooner had gone over there, but a moment's reflection convinced me that it would be impossible for them to get in advance of us, and, besides, Brown said the tracks were too small to have been made by either of our men. It was now getting late and we returned on board with the determination of making the next day a thorough exploration of the upper portion of the island. Accordingly, after breakfast the next morning we started with all of our men excepting the cook. Reaching the low, sandy flat, before mentioned, Brown and the four men stretched out in a line and crossed to the other side of the island, while I continued along near the shore, on the same side I had come, towards the head of the island. Brown and his men made no discov- eries in passing over the island. He then sent the men back to search along the borders of the sandy flat, and among the bushes where the basket had been found. He went up towards the head on that side until he struck the track he had seen the night before. He followed it up again until it was lost in the moss, and then continued up the side of the ridge until he found a short piece of drift-wood. From this he concluded that she had been down to the beach for fire-wood, and had dropped this piece on her way up. From this point he saw further up the ridge three huts. Upon reaching them he found them made of whale ribs, covered with brush, although they were now open on all sides. The grass was quite high within them, showing that no one had occupied them for some time. He was now on one of the highest parts of the ridge, and he began to look about in all directions. The sandy flat was in plain sight and he could see most of the men. At last his eye caught sight of a small, black object a long distance off that seemed to be moving. It looked at first very much like a crow. Walking toward it he soon saw that it was the Indian woman. She was seated in an inclosure similar to those already described, so that her head and shoulders were

barely visible above it. As he approached her two or three dogs, like those we had seen before, that were close to her, began growling. Without looking in the direction of Brown, she gave a yell and the dogs disappeared. Brown had halted within a few yards of her, and at once began to signal to the men by placing a hat on the ramrod of his gun and raising and lowering it. He soon succeeded in attracting their attention and they came towards him. In the meantime Brown had an opportunity of observing the woman. She was seated cross-legged on some grass that covered the ground within the inclosure, and which no doubt served as a bed. IFer only dress was a kind of gown, leaving her neck and shoulders bare, and long enough, when she stood up, to reach her ankles. It was made of shag skins cut in squares and sewed together, the feathers pointing down- wards. Her head had no cover save a thick mass of matted hair of a yellowish-brown color, probably from exposure to sun and weather, and which looked as if it had rotted off. She was engaged in stripping the blubber from a piece of seal skin, which she held across one knee, using in the operation a rude knife made of a piece of iron hoop. Within the inclosure was a smouldering fire, and without a large pile of ashes and another of bones, which would indicate that this had been her abode for a long time. From the time Brown first arrived within hearing distance she kept up a continual talking to herself, occasion- ally shading her eyes with her hand and gazing steadily at the men who were seen walking around on the flat below. She was evidently much interested in their movements. As the men came near, Brown motioned them to spread out so as to prevent her escape if she was so disposed. Just before the men reached her camp, Brown, who had not yet been seen by her, came around in front.

UNEXPECTED WELCOME.

To his great surprise she received him with much dignity and politeness, bowing and smiling with ease and self-possession. As fast as the men came up she greeted them in the same way. The men seated themselves on the ground around, the woman all the time talking, although not a word of hers could be understood, although our Indians spoke several dia- lects. From a sack or bag made of grass she took some roots, known among the Californians as the carcomites, and another root whose name I did not learn, and placed them in the fire. When they were roasted she offered them to us to cat. We found them very palatable, indeed. We were now desir- ous of taking her on board the schooner. Wo did not apprehend that she would attempt to escape, as she seemed much pleased with our company. We commeneed making signs for her to go with us, but she seemed unable to comprehend them until we intimated that she must gather up all her food, when she set about the work with the greatest alacrity, and commenced putting them in a large basket, such

HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.

as is in general use among the Indians of this coast. She had considerable dried blubber of the seal and sea elephant. This was all carefully collected. There was al-o a seal's head, in such a decayed condition that the brains were oozing out. At her desire this was also taken along. She seemed desirious of pre- serving everything that would sustain life, thus indi- cating the sad experiences of her eighteen years of solitude. When all was ready she took a burning stick in one hand and left her camp. Each of us had a portion of her household goods in our hands or on our shoulders. She trotted merrily along, and led us to a spring of good water, which came out under a shelving rock near the beach. Here we found a store of bones in the clefts of the rocks. It would seem that in time of scarcity she would come here and suck the bones as long as any nutriment could be obtained from them. Here, also, were pieces of dried blubber hung on stakes, above the reach of the foxes and dogs which inhabited the island. We gained the woman's confidence by tak- ing care to preserve all these articles. On the way to the schooner she led us past another spring, which she seemed to have used for bathing, as she stopped and washed her hands and face. This spring was not far from the landing. When we reached the boat we made motions for her to step in, which she did, kneeling down in the bow, holding to the sides with her hands. When we got on the vessel she sought the vicinity of the stove, keeping as near to it as possible, which act indicated more of her bitter experience on the island. We offered her some of our food, which she ate with relish; in fact, from this time she appeared to prefer our style of food to her own. Brown went to work that afternoon and made her a skirt or petticoat out of some bed-ticking, with which she was much pleased, continually calling our attention to it. This skirt, with a man's shirt and neck-tie, constituted her new wardrobe. While Brown was sewing she made signs that she wished to sew, and Brown gave her a needle and thread. She did not know how to put the thread through the eye. After this was done by one of us she knew how to use it. I gave her an old cloak or heavy cape, which was much torn and dilapidated. She very patiently sewed up all the rents, and made it quite serviceable in the cold, windy weather, which prevailed occasionally. In sewing she thrust the needle into the cloth with her right hand and pulled it through, drawing the thread tight with her left hand.

IN THE HUNTER'S CAMP.

The following day we moved on shore, and made a camp on a narrow piece of ground between the beach and the rocks, and made a shelter by leaning some poles against the rocks and covering them with sail cloth. We made a similar shelter for her at a short distance, covering it with brush. We remained on the island hunting otter about a month. During

this time she evinced no disposition to leave, but was generally talking, singing, and wandering about the island. She assisted in the camp work, bringing wood and water when it was needed. Her vessels for carrying water were quite unique. They were woven of grass, shaped somewhat like a demijohn, except they had wider mouths, and were lined with a thin coating of asphaltum. The process of lining them was rather ingenious. She put several pieces of the asphaltum, which is found in great quantity along the beach, in the bottom of the basket, and then on the top of them some hot pebbles. When the asphaltum was melted, by a quick, rotary motion, she would cover the inside of the basket with an even coating. after which the surplus, with the rocks, was thrown out. These baskets were water-tight, and would last a long time. She had several of these baskets in process of construction when we found her. She would work at one a few minutes, abandon it, and try another. I am not aware that she ever completed one when with us. When we killed otters we usually, after skinning them, threw the bodies into the sea. One day we killed a large female which was with young. When about to cast it into the sea, as usual, she, in her mute way, protested. The young one, which was nearly grown and covered with fur, was taken out and the skin stuffed by one of the party and made to look quite natural. She took a great fancy to the young otter, and suspending it to a pole of her shelter would swing it backwards and forwards for hours, talking to it in a kind of sing-song tone. The carcass of the mother seal becoming putrid in a day, she made no objections to its removal.

REMOVAL TO SANTA BARBARA.

After hunting successfully for about a month, we put everything on the schooner and sailed for Santa Barbara. Not long after sailing, a furious gale arose; which threatened to engulf the little vessel. She made signs that she could allay the wind, and kneel- ing down, facing the quarter from whence the wind blew, she commenced making incantations or prayers, which she continued for some time, and at intervals during the storm. When the wind abated, she pointed in triumph to the patch of clear sky, as much as to say, "See what I did!" We approached the shore early in the morning. It was evident that she had never seen it before, or any of the ordinary sights of a settlement. An ox-team, with a Spanish cart, passed on the sand. It is doubtful whether pleasure or wonder predominated in her mind. The yoke which tied the animals to each other and to the cart; the uncouth wheels, with their rotary motion, which she imitated with curious gestures, were inexpressibly wonderful, delightful, and ludi- crous. She laughed, talked, and gesticulated all at once. After landing, a horseman, among others, came to the beach. This was a new creature, but she had the courage to examine it, touching horse

OPERATIONS OF THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT.

and man in succession. She turned to her friends, for so may be considered her captors, and straddled the first two fingers of her right hand over her left thumb, and imitating the galloping of a horse with her fingers, gave a shout of delight. She was taken to Nidever's house and cared for by his wife.

GENERAL INTEREST IN THE WOMAN.

The story soon spread that the lost woman of the San Nicolas was found. The possibility of there being a woman living alone on a desert island in the ocean, with only wild animals for companions, had been discussed in many house- holds, and with such warm-hearted people was a subject of intense interest. As the years had passed, and nothing was heard of her, the general conclusion was that she had perished, probably devoured by the wild dogs. The fathers of the mission had exerted themselves in the matter, and had offered a reward of $200 for information that would lead to her recov- ery. When Nidever reported finding tracks on the island, and other evidences of life, Father Gonzales had confidently asserted she was alive, and the inter- est in the matter became intense.

Hundreds flocked to Nidever's house. Among others came Fathers Gonzales, Sanchez, and Jimeno. Though familiar with all the dialects of the coast. not a word of her language could they understand. Indians from Santa Ynez, Los Angeles, and other places, were brought, with no better success; not one of them understood a word of her language. She soon became very expert in conversing by signs, however, and continued to tell portions of her story, so that but little uncertainty attended the narrative. She relates that when she went back after her child she wandered a long time without finding it; that when she concluded that the dogs had eaten the child, she lay down and cried a long time and became sick, could not eat anything, and got so weak that she could not walk; that she recovered so she could get around, and began to eat. She had often seen vessels on the sea, but none of them ever came to take her away. She finally became reconciled to her fate, and commenced the routine of life which was to be varied only by hunger, thirst, cold, and fear of wild ani- mals for near a score of years.

A SUBJECT OF KINDNESS.

She was received with the utmost kindness. Almost every one made her a present of money, clothing, or trinkets, which, however, she would immediately give to her friends, or to the children who came to see her. In those days the Panama steamers used to touch at Santa Barbara, and all the passengers were desirous of seeing the lost woman. She would often put on her finest dress of feathers and go through some movements which the people termed dancing, though it had little resemblance to the graceful movements of a ball-room. She became very much attached to the family, which, however,

was mutual, for Mr. Nidever several times refused large sums which were offered him to have her exhibited to the public at San Francisco.

She was estimated to be about fifty years old at the time she was recovered. As near as could be made out from her signs, she had, at the time of her being left on the island, two children, one of which was a nursing babe, the other some years older, though in the opinion of some, the elder child had died some time previons. She had a smooth face, though the skin on her body and limbs was much wrinkled. It was but a short time before her death that they succeeded in making her understand their desire to have some words of her own language. The following are about all that were learned of it: A hide she called "tocah;" man, "nache;" the sky, "toygwah;" the body, "puoo-chay."

HER DEATH.

She was like a child in every respect, with no con -- trol over her appetite. She was excessively fond of fruit, which she would eat at all hazards. It pro- duced a dysentery, which, in spite of careful nursing and attendance, terminated fatally in about four weeks. During her sickness it was thought that a diet of seal's meat, such as she had been accus- tomed to, would relieve her. Some was procured and roasted, but she shook her head and laughed, and rubbed her finger along her worn-out teeth, sig- nifying that they were too old. She was buried by the fathers, and the most of her trinkets, includ- ing the best feather dress, taken to Rome.

The thoughtful reader will be apt to make a men- tal inquiry as to the secret of her having kept her heart warm through the long solitude, for that she had the warm love, gratitude, and affection of a child, none who knew her will deny. They will also ask why the other dress ? Was it made and kept for eighteen years in readiness for the visit of the man who never came? The answer may possibly be found in the ever mysterious realms of woman's nature.

The story of the lost woman will be a subject of wonder and romance as long as history is read.

CHAPTER XVIII.

OPERATIONS OF THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT.

Operations of the County Government-Qualifications for Office -Conscious Greatness-Court at La Graciosa-Lawless Element Among the Americans-County Jail-Roads- First Board of Supervisors-Establishment of the First Newspaper-The Gazette-Military Company-Discovery of Gold Mines-Notice-City Government-Indian Affairs- Big Storm-School Matters in 1856-Delinquent Taxes- County Treasurer in Trouble-Trouble for the Gozette- Problem in Ethnology- Funny Jury-Banditti-Light- House-City Improvements Called For.

THE whole American policy of jurisprudence rests on the supposition that the masses of the people are, to some extent at least, acquainted not only with the

HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.

spirit but the form of the law. Substantial justice may be done without the forms of law, and great outrages on the rights of persons and property are sometimes perpetrated under legal pretensions. Pri- vate quarrels and difficulties among the natives were often settled by a resort to arms or physical strength. The office of Alcalde was, to a great extent, advisory. When an offense of great magnitude had been com- mitted, public opinion, led by the principal families, who were almost hereditary arbitrators, would mete out wholesome punishment, and thus prevent a repeti- tion of the crime. A jury trial was as far from the policy of the Spanish Government as an ecclesiastical trial for a criminal offense would be in the United States. When put on either a grand or trial jury, the average Mexican had little idea of the law, con- sequently his oath to decide according to the law and evidence was an unmeaning ceremony. A few men among them, taught by the constant responsi- bility of maintaining law and order, were fitted for exercising judicial functions. Of this number we may reckon Pablo de la Guerra and Joaquin Carrillo, both of whom, though unacquainted with the Amer- ican forms of law, and one not even acquainted with the language in which the laws were written, exe- euted impartial justice, and gradually taught their countrymen the importance of trusting the settle- ment of the rights of persons and property with a higher tribunal than private vengeance. Sometimes, in the beginning of this system, a jury would aequit even a notorious criminal, thinking that the pun- ishment was properly a right of the friends of the vietim. As an instance in kind, the case of Ordaz may be mentioned. He was said to be the son of a priest, and, of course, illegitimate, inheriting the eurse of violated moral laws in a double degree. It was said that he was a member of Solomon Pico's gang, and so heartlessly eruel that he was not consid- ered respectable enough for membership in a band of highway robbers and was expelled. On one occa- sion, when practicing some kind of triek in horse- manship in Santa Barbara, he was so badly beaten as to get the laugh on him. A few minutes after- wards he obtained a weapon, and without further or other canse for offense, he instantly killed his suc- cessful rival. It was done in the presence of a multitude of persons. yet he was acquitted by a jury.

When murder was so cheap an offense, and likely to be committed on slight provocation, the necessity of self-defense often compelled persons who were far from being murderers to take life; and instances of this kind occurred where a slight misstatement of facts, or want of knowledge of the circumstances, would make the matter look bad. Of this kind was the affair, which occurred about October 1, 1851, between John Scollan and George Heavey, who acted for some time as Deputy Sheriff. Heavey had threatened Seollan's life, and the parties met in a lonely gorge between Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Ranch, the difficulty being about the owner-

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History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 23

Author: Mason, Jesse D; Thompson & West. 4n Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Oakland, Cal., Thompson & West Number of Pages: 758

Author: Mason, Jesse D; Thompson & West. 4n
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Cal., Thompson & West
Number of Pages: 758