USA > California > Santa Barbara County > History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 31
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The assessment roll of 1863 showed over 200,000 cattle in Santa Barbara. It is likely that this did not include more than two-thirds of the real number. When the grass started in the winter of 1864-65, less than 5,000 head were alive to be benefited by it! The great herds were gone, and the Shepherd Kings were kings no more, for their places were mortgaged beyond redemption, and within the next five years,
17
126
HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.
passed entirely out of their hands, scarcely one retaining his patrimonial estate. It is not pleasant to dwell upon the subject. The Castilian politeness and dignity remain, but the means to play the hos- pitable host are gone, for hospitality without the means to practice it, is as a soldier without weapons, or a knight withont a horse.
NO SUFFERING AMONG THE PEOPLE.
Some writer, wishing to make a sensation, sent to the San Francisco papers a lively and exaggerated account of the matter, and asserted that many of the people were reduced to the necessity of living on the flesh of cattle that had died from starvation, and that a famine was imminent. The people of San Francisco, ever alive to such calls, raised $3,000 immediately for the relief of the needy, and a first installment of delicacies for the feeble and debilitated was for- warded by steamer. The fact was, that there was plenty of food. A hundred tons of beans were stored awaiting a market. As soon as possible the stream of charity was turned back as unnecessary, though of course, the kindness of the people of San Francisco was duly appreciated. There was some destitution among both American and Spanish, but not more than the people were able to relieve.
ELECTION RETURNS FOR 1864.
Notwithstanding the Democratic character of Santa Barbara as far as county politics were concerned, the county was almost unanimous in favor of the Union. The whole number of votes cast was 429. Of this number 343 were cast for the Republican electors and eighty-one for the Democratic. This overwhelming vote in favor of the Union was owing to the influ- ence of a few leading families, like the de la Guerras and Carrillos.
NATIVE CAVALRY .*
One of the former families, Antonio Maria de la Guerra, raised a company of native cavalry, of about 100 troops, for service on the frontier, where they did excellent service as scouts and escorts, though they did not reach the line of the most serious fighting. Being expert horsemen, they were eminently adapted to this kind of work in such a rough country as New Mexico and Arizona, where they were stationed. Their friends were anxious that they should have the privilege of going to the front as they desired when they enlisted, believing that they would prove them- selves superior to any cavalry in the army. Captain de la Guerra returned with broken health incident to the exposure in the service.
OIL SPRINGS AND MINING.
The flowing springs of petroleum early attracted the attention of the settlers. The oil was flowing from the earth in hundreds of places, sometimes forming large pools into which cattle, sheep, and
horses, as well as wild animals, would venture and get caught, leaving their bones as a warning of dan- ger for future visitors. Sometimes it flowed into the streams and would float away for miles before it evaporated. There were hundreds of acres, perhaps thousands, covered with the residuum left after the evaporation of the lighter parts. Springs of it also occur in the Santa Barbara Channel, and the first navigators had fears of the near vicinity of a hot place, from the villainous smell that pervaded the atmosphere where the oil was floating on the ocean.
WILLIAMSON'S REPORT.
Col. James Williamson, who was engaged in 1852 in the preliminary survey for a transcontinental railway, noticed these oil springs on the Ojai Haci- enda as follows :-
"No. 1 is a well thirty feet in diameter, full of tarry oil boiling with the escape of marsh gas. It is situated in the midst of a gentle slope, forming a part of a terrace or plain, elevated at least 1,000 feet above the sea. This plain, which is about one and a quarter miles long by three-quarters of a mile wide, appears to have been formed by the long accu- mulation of asphaltum, from the evaporation of the overflow of this great oil spring. The depth of this great mass of asphaltum is, of course, a matter of conjecture, as no explorations have been made upon it; but it is safe to estimate its contents on a mile square at one yard in depth, which would give over 3,000,000 cubic yards of fuel, from which a good coke is readily prepared, or which is capable, by distillation, of yielding a large return of oil. There are several minor points of flow over the area, but we consider the whole as one great oil spring. The present contents of the spring are foul with the decomposition of numerous cattle mired and drowned in the petroleum-an acci- dent of freqnent occurence in the dry season, when the half-famished and thirsty animals wander to browse, or drink the sulphurous water along the margins of these dangerous places. When once in- volved they never escape."
He also noticed large quantities of iron, copper, cinnabar, lead, sulphur, salt, and coal, in the vicinity, which he thought would be future sources of wealth. The coal is probably a myth, as others of considera- ble standing as miners, have been misled into believ- ing the asphaltum to be genuine coal. A few more notes will be appended, because the descriptions are brief and comprehensive, and the subsequent excite- ment about the oil wells will be partly explained by reading his testimony regarding them.
At "Station 286" he makes this note :-
"A rich vein of mineral bitumen, resembling the famous coal of Nova Scotia (called Albert) burning as well, and of a superior quality. We used it as fuel."
"Station 516. On a dry stream a semi-bituminous coal, something like the Cannel, cropping out on the edge of the run."
"Station 576. At the bottom of a range of hills or lomas a large number of pits, dug by the Indians for the oily substance which runs from the crevices of the rocks and hills, are still visible, and contain a
*The editor of this work intended to publish a full account of the services of the company, having made arrangements with the Orderly Sergeant for the roster and other facts connected with their history, but the material arrived too late to be of use.
127
STATISTICS OF SANTA BARBARA.
large quantity of the fatty substance in the bottom of the hollows, which the natives used for fuel."
"Station 1,200. There is a constant escapement of gas, which, on the application of a light, instantly ignited, and continued to burn until blown out by a gust of wind."
"Station 476. On this mud flat, near a creek, bub- bles up in various places an oily, fluid substance, which runs down the stream and suddenly spreads out on the surface of the water into a thin film of beautiful colors, and floats down in this form with the current. About 500 feet farther it bubbles up and forms small hills or cones. At these places, I think, will be found a large bed of oil."
"Station 973. Is a beautiful hill. Half way up a fine vein of copper ore is seen; it is well charged with copper. A piece dug out with a hatchet, weighing two pounds, yielded seventy-nine per cent. of pure copper."
Numbers of other places, rich in indications, were mentioned. He also speaks of an amber or wax- colored substance (parafine), seen in several places. All these stations are on the Ojai Rancho. The indications are as good, and in some instances better, for a hundred miles in either direction, being seen as far north as Santa Cruz, and south towards the Mex- ican line.
As California was the land of wonders at the time the survey was made, no account was made of these petroleum indications at the time. As the Pennsyl- vania regions were worked, making numerous mil- lionaires in a short time, attention was turned to these springs.
FIRST OPERATOR.
George S. Gilbert was the first to attempt the utilization of the oil. He put up a refinery on a small scale on the Ojai Ranch, at a place since known as Well No. 1, and he also had a similar establishment at the Mupu Cañon, or, as it is better known at pres- ent, the Santa Paula Canon, a few miles from the town of that name. He commenced operations in 1861, and though he succeeded in making a good quality of illuminating and lubricating oil, owing to the high price of labor and proper machinery, diffi- culties of transportation, and other causes, it was not a financial success, and he abandoned the effort in 1862, after having manufactured about 400 bar- rels of oil.
While Gilbert was operating, other parties-W. D. Hobson, Brown, Chaffee, Gilbert, Burbanks, Crane, Hankerson-formed a mining district, with Hobson for Recorder, after the manner prevailing in mining regions. It does not appear that they made any money except by selling claims or prospects. A site in the Wheeler Canon was sold to Hayward & Co. for $4,000.
PROFESSOR SILLIMAN'S REPORT.
Professor Silliman had examined the oil indica- cations on Oil Creek, in Pennsylvania, and, acting
under his advice, the capitalists had explored the ground and found immense quantities of oil, and acquired large fortunes. He was on this coast in 1864, and hearing of the existence of oil in quantity in Santa Barbara, he made the place a visit, and was directed to Mr. Gilbert for information as to its local- ity, quality, etc. The natural outflow, as compared with the area being astonishing, he immediately wrote to some of the capitalists of New York and Phil- adelphia, advising the purchase of the Ojai property.
"The property covers an area of 18,000 acres in one body, on which are at present at least twenty natural oil wells, some of them of the largest size. The oil is struggling to the surface at every available point, and is running away down the rivers for miles and miles. Artesian wells will be fruitful along a double line of thirteen miles, say for at least twenty- five miles in linear extent. The ranch is an old Spanish grant of four leagues of land lately confirmed and of perfect title. It has, as I have said, abont 18,000 acres in it of the finest land, watered by four rivers, and measuring in a right line in all near thirteen miles. As a ranch it is a splendid estate, but its value is its almost fabulous wealth in the best of oil."
ORGANIZATION OF OIL COMPANIES.
The result was the formation of the " California Petroleum Co.," with a capital stock of $10,000,000, Thomas A. Scott, who afterwards was such an active manipulator of Pacific Coast affairs, being one of the company. They purchased not only the Ojai Rancho, but the Cañada Larga, Collonia, Caleguas, Simi, and Las Posas. The two latter were purchased under foreclosure of mortgage for $30,000 .*
Soon after this nearly the same parties organized another company called the Penn. and C. Petroleum Co., so as to operate in two different places, making the additional purchase of the San Francisco Rancho, and also some others, the latter company being under the management of Dr. J. L. Letterman, for- merly of the Army of the Potomac, assisted by J. De Barth Shorb, of Los Angeles. The Ojai property was under the management of W. H. Stone, of New York, assisted by Thomas R. Bard, who soon after was made sole manager of the Ojai and all the ranches purchased.
The companies immediately sent out from New York a large equipment of tools, comprising three engines, a refinery. furnace and retort, drills, pumps, piping materials, tanks, and everthing that was nec- cssary to operate a mine in first-class style; even boarding-houses and machines came ready to put together. Some of the heavy machinery was lost in the heavy surf in landing it from the vessels, there being no wharf, and the only means of landing being by lighters.
OPERATIONS COMMENCED JUNE, 1865.
Well No. 1 was started in what is called the Ventura Cañon, seven miles from the town of San
*See assessment roll for 1863, and actions of Supervisors on the Oreña mortgage for 1864.
128
HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.
Buenaventura, near a large bed of tar. It was sunk 500 feet without getting any further indications of oil. It was then concluded that the shaft was im- properly located, and another was tried with about the same success. Several wells having been sunk without obtaining a desirable supply of oil, the Pres- ident of the company, with some experts in oil min- ing came out from the East, and some more experi- ments resulted in a like result, although a " spouter'* was struck, which sent off a quantity of gas and oil for a few minutes, with a noise that could be heard for miles, but in a short time the spouter gave no signs of life. Several tunnels were run, but, though the flow was somewhat larger than from the natural springs, it did not equal the expectations of the com- pany, and four years later the works were abandoned at a loss, as far as mining was concerned, of about $200,000. A tunnel, which the company run about 300 feet, discharged ten barrels of oil a day for sev- eral years, without decrease of supply, being allowed to run to waste until it was estimated that 25,000 barrels had been lost.
SAN FRANCISCO CAPITALISTS.
About the same time the Pennsylvania and New York companies commenced operations, Leland Stanford, A. P. Stanford, William T. Coleman, Levi Parsons, and others commenced operations on the south side of the Sulphur Mountain, in Wheeler Cañon, Coche Cañon, and at other points. In the Wheeler Canon a tunnel yielded fifteen barrels of light oil daily. The results were not satisfactory, and work stopped about the same time as with the others.
OTHER OPERATIONS.
When such men as Thomas Scott, Leland Stan- ford, Alvinza Hayward, William T. Coleman, and dozens of others that might be named, rushed into the oil business, it was the signal for hundreds of others who did not have the faculty, Midas like, of turning everything to gold, to do likewise. Where- ever the black stuff was found oozing out, which was in hundreds of places, claims were staked off, or the land bonded. It ran out of Ortega Hill, and the Ortega Oil Company was formed, and it is said their prospect was considered worth a half a million. At the Rincon, at More's Landing, on the top of the Santa Barbara Mountains, everywhere, fortunes were made on paper in the oil business. There was an " oil boom " just as a " copper boom " was raging in the northern part of the State. Men, without seeing the ground, or without any knowledge of mining matters to form a sound opinion if they did see it, invested in oil mining. Sharpers took the field of course, and it is said bled freely many companies for assessments, by digging holes, and pouring into them a few barrels of green oil purchased for this purpose; in short, all the tricks of mining sharpers were
played for the robbery of the credulous. The oil sharp was known by the tar sticking to his clothes; it was prima facia evidence that he had "struck ile."
EFFECT ON THE COUNTRY.
The breaking up of the great ranches by the drought of 1863-64, and the discovery, or rather the explorations for oil, caused a great immigration to Santa Barbara, the building up of the town, the cul- tivation of wheat, and, in fine, a thorough revolution in its political, social, agricultural, and financial con- dition, which will be described in other chapters, as well as the revival of the oil business and its operations on an economical basis, after failure and disaster had convinced the visionary of the necessity of exercising prudence and judgment in its search.
PURCHASE OF A COUNTY SAFE.
The Board of Supervisors deemed a safe necessary for the better keeping of the public funds and valu- able papers, and appropriated $250 for that purpose, and purchased one which had been used by T. Wal- lace More. There being no wharf, the safe, which was quite a large one, had to be lightered ashore from the steamer by means of a boat, and as the boat drew considerable water, a cart was run out into the water to bring it to dry land. A huge wave buried both cart and safe so that the latter got a wetting from which it never recovered. Ever after papers kept in it grew mouldy, and soon decayed. The safe passed from one owner to another, ever at a decreasing price, until it rested with C. E. Huse at the value of $25.00. Goods, as well as passengers, were landed in this way previous to the erection of a wharf.
STATISTICS FOR 1865.
The assessment roll of 1865 showed many changes and revolutions. New names came in, and others, who had been prominent as large tax-payers, were seen no more.
ACRES. VALUE.
TOTAL.
Arrellanes, Luis, Laguna
8,800
1,760 2,968
Abadie, Guillermo
9,948
Briggs, S. G., Santa Paula 17,760 15,260 17,923
Burton, Lewis T., Jesus Maria_ 30,000 6,000
.6 Part of Ospe 5,778 1,155 20,624 5,675
Brinkerhoff, S. B.
Cota, Ma de Jesus Olivera,
Santa Rosa 48,400 12,100 12,500
Camarillo, Juan, Jonata 13,200 1,100
יו Caleguas (in
part)
900
450
Camarillo, Juan, Santa Clara ..
2,200
1,100 18,404
Cooper, Hollister & Dibblee Lompoc
40,000 10,000 10,500
Cohen, R., Arroy del Burro 310
585
5,487
Den, N. A., Dos Pueblos
4,440
1,100
Tequepis
4,440
538
66 San Marcos
8,880
888
66 Orchard
800
*A spouter is a well that throws oil and gas above the surface, named from the resemblance to the spouting of a whale.
RESIDENCE & RANCH OF JOHN S. BELL, LOS ALAMOS, SANTA BARRARA CO. CAL.
STATISTICS OF SANTA BARBARA.
129
ACRES. VALUE. TOTAL ..
Den, N. A., House
800 10,187
Dubbers, Henry, Santa Ana
13,200 6,600 8,014
de la Guerra, Pablo, Santa Clara.
2,222
1,111 2,422
de la Guerra, José Antonio,
Los Alamos
44,000 10,000 12,284
Noriega, estate, San Julian 48,884 12,221
Conejo
24,442
6,110
Hope, Thomas, Positas
3,600
1,800
3,794
Hollister & Cooper, personal
5,365
Hartnell, heirs of, Todos Santos 17,760 4,444 4,664
Hill, Daniel, Patera & Goleta .. 3,500
Huse, C. E., Jonata
13,200
3.675
Į Conejo
9,999 2,497 12,378
Jones, Estate, Purissima
26,400
6.600 10,730
Letterman, Dr. J., Las Posas . - 26,600 6.650
Simi
92,341 23,085
San Fran-
cisco
7,600 3,800 38,411
Loureyro Bros., Nojaqui.
8,000 1,600 6,685
Maguire, J. F., personal
5,250
Massini, Pedro,
4,796
Moore, Capt. T. W., Purifica- tion.
13,200
2,640 4,321
More Brothers, Santa Rosa. 60,000 10,000
San Cuyetano
5,000 23,586
Oreña, Gaspar, Saca
9,000 2,250 8,095
Sparks, J. J., city lots and per- sonal property
16,288
Sparks, Sally, city lots and per- sonal property 3,910
Shaw, J. B. & Co., part of Ortega
1,119
559
Shaw, J. B. & Co., Island of Santa Cruz.
60,000 10.000 28,186
Sprague, Thomas, part of Del Refugio
2,960 740 5,053
Schiappapietra, A., Santa Clara 12,500
9,375 18,285
Stanford, A. P., Sisquoc. 34,000
8.500 8,500
Scott, Thomas A., Caleguas
10,000
Cañada
Larga
12,000
Scott, Thomas A., Santa Clara
20,000
Najalayegua
1,000 48,500
Vassault, F., ex-Mission San Buenaventura
53,328 26.664 26,664
Ward, F. J., Guadalupe
26,664
7.999
=
Casmali
4,444 1.111
Cojo
11,110 2,777 13,797
Yorba Ysbell, Laguna
48,400 9,680 11,580
Total assessments, Personal 8227,594
Real 520,591
$748.185
This was near $300,000 less than in 1860.
MORE DIGNIFIED CONDUCT OF THE SUPERVISORS.
January 8, 1866, the Supervisors took under con- sideration a report of the Grand Jury, wherein they condemned the jail in use and recommended the building of a new one. The result of their delibera- tions was spread upon the records in Spanish, and is too long to be inserted here. They commenced in true Spanish style, by passing high compliments upon the intelligence and character of the Grand Jury as a body, and regretted very much that they should have given so much of their valuable time to n matter so much beneath their attention as a public jail. The Supervisors were, and had long been, aware of the unfitness of the jail for the purposes required; that they relied more on the watchfulness and vigilance of the jailers to prevent escapes than any obstruc- tions the walls of the building might offer; were sorry that the public funds of the county were so inconsiderable, notwithstanding the high taxes, that the project of building a new jail could not be enter- tained by the Board, and much more of the same sort.
May 30, 1866. Tax rates established as follows :- State, 81.10; Militia, 5 cents; Insane Asylum, 3 cents; County (General Fund), 80 cents; School, 35 cents; Hospital, 5 cents; Roads, 5 cents.
NEW ELECTION LAW.
This went into operation in 1866. The method of election in vogue, previous to this year, admitted of a great many irregularities, and was justly the source of much dissatisfaction. Any cluster of persons num- bering thirty could get up a precinct at an hour's notice. No practicable or reasonable test of citizen- ship was required. One of the laws regulating elec- tions specified that after the applicant for voting had sworn that he was a citizen he should not be ques- tioned further. The word "citizen" had no particular limitation in practice, and many persons voted who never were, and never intended to become, citizens, or to take oath of allegiance. Men would go from one precinct to another, voting at each one, some- times without even a change of name. A poll hst could be made out of hundreds of votes that were never voted, with ballots in the box to correspond. In one instance a Panama steamer passenger list was copied entire, and a precinct which was known to have less than twenty votes made a return of 160. In one instance a tribe of Indians was voted. These excesses were bringing the election laws into con- tempt, and were mostly remedied by the new law, which provided that every voter should have his name put on the "Great Register," with such par- ticulars of his birth or naturalization, age, residence. and business as should fully indentify him; and it was further provided that he should have the privi- lege of voting only at his own precinct. The most of the small precincts were abolished, so that many sources of fraud and error were avoided.
Cattle
1,500 4,500 28,370
3,500
5,125
130
HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.
PRECINCTS ESTABLISHED.
Township No. 1, First District-Rio de Santa Clara. Secretary, Francisco Menchaca; Judges, Wm. Harris, Ramon Gonzales; Alternates, Warren Bur- bank, Pacifico Sanchez, H. P. Flint, Guadalupe El- well, Francisco de la Guerra.
Second District-Village of San Buenaventura. Secretary, Tadeo Sanchez; Judges, Angel G. Es- candon, W. S. Chaffee; Alternates, Juan Camarillo, Frank Bixby, Fernando Tico, Ysidro Obiols, Alberto Chateauneuf.
Third District-Secretary, Vicente Moraga; Judges, José Moraga, D. W. Pierpont; Alternates, W. D. Hobson, Manuel Gonzales, Manuel Morales, Pohuino Ayala, Ramon Valdez.
Township No. 2, First District-Secretary, Ramon Hill; Judges, Juan Pedro Olivera, James McCaffey; Alternates, José Maria Hill, A. C. Scull, José Antonio Ortega, Thomas W. Moore, Samuel Shoup.
Second District-City of Santa Barbara. Secre- tary, W. W. Haynes; Judges, Gaspar Oreña, James L. Ord; Alternates, Antonio Maria de la Guerra, W. H. Sparks, William Benn, Ygnacio Ortega, Thomas Denis.
Third District-Secretary, Russel Heath; Judges, Ylario Ornelas, John Nidever; Alternates, S. H. Olmstead, Juan Rodriguez, R. King, Charles Bixby, Henry Lewis.
Township No. 3, First District-Los Alimos. Sec- retary, Miguel Smith; Judges, Wm. de la Guerra, Juan de Jesus Alizalde; Alternates, Ramon de la Guerra, Marcus Alizalde, José A. de la Guerra.
Second District-Secretary, Thomas B. Dibblee; Judges, Juan E. Hartnell, Wmn. Foxen; Alternates, Wm. Ballard, Frederic Wickenden, Santiago Burke, Antonio Arrellanes, José Maria Yndart.
TROUBLE WITH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
The Supervisors did not generally work in har- mony with the other county officers. Sometimes it was the Sheriff and sometimes the Treasurer who did not conduct business to suit them. The District Attorney now fell under their displeasure. They had at a former meeting cited him to appear to show cause why he had not collected the delinquent taxes of Gaspar Oreña. He produced a letter from the authorities in San Francisco to show that the neces- gary papers had been accidentally displaced, so that the suit could not be prosecuted. The reader will recollect that Sturgeon was the officer who advised the Supervisors that the assessment on the $50,000 mortgage should be reduced from a currency basis to a gold one. This act, with other things, had dis- pleased the Supervisors, and accordingly they laid a heavy hand upon him. He was required to file new bonds for the collection of the delinquent taxes, the bonds being for a sum larger by $10,000 than the old ones. On his refusal they declared the office vacant. The case was taken to the County Court, under
the title of State of California Ex Relator S. R. J. Sturgeon vs. José de Arnaz, José Maria Loureyro, and T. W. Moore, Board of Supervisors, by a writ of certiorari. The matter having been decided against them, the Board proceeded to review the decision of the County Court and annul it. The District Attor- ney then filed a protest as follows :-
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