USA > California > Santa Barbara County > History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 4
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20
HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.
express his meaning. He put some flies under the water until they appeared to be dead, and then exposed them to the rays of the sun, when they revived. The Indians cried out in astonishment, " I bimuhueite ! I bimuhueite !" which the father under- stood as " they have come to life," the expression he wanted, and applied it to the resurrection of the Redeemer.
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No substantial success was, however, achieved until about 1675. Then appeared the heroic apostle of California civilization, Father John Salva Tierra, of the Society of Jesus, commonly called Jesuits.
Father Tierra, the founder and afterwards visita- dore of the missions of California, was a native of Milan, born of noble parentage and Spanish anees- try, in 1644. Having completed his education at Parma, he joined the order of Jesuits, and went as a missionary to Mexico in 1675. He was robust in health, exceedingly handsome in person, resolute of will, highly talented, and full of religious zeal. For several years he conducted the missions of Sonora successfully, when he was recalled to Mexico in con- sequence of his great ability and singular virtues, and was employed in the chief offices of the prov- inces. After ten years of ineffectual solicitation, he obtained permission of the Viceroy to go to Califor- nia, for the purpose of converting the inhabitants, on condition that the possession of land should be taken in the name of the King of Spain, without his being called on to contribute anything towards the expenses of the expedition. Tierra associated with himself the Jesuit father, Juan Ugarte, a native of Honduras. On the 10th of October, 1697, they sailed from the, port of Yaqui, in Sonora, for Lower California, and, after encountering a disastrous storm, and suffering partial shipwreck on the gulf, landed on the 19th of that month at San Bruno, at Saint Dennis Bay. Not finding that place suitable for their purpose, the fathers removed to St. Dyonissius, afterwards named Loreto, and there set up the sign of civilization and Christianity on its lonely shore. Thus Loreto, on the east side of the peninsula, in latitude 25° 35 north of the equator, may be consid- ered the Plymouth Rock of the Pacific Coast. This historic and memorable expedition consisted of only two ships and nine men, being a corporal, five private soldiers, three Indians, the captain of the vessel, and the two fathers.
On the 19th of October, 1697, the little party of adventures went ashore at Loreto, and were kindly received by about fifty natives, who were induced to kneel down and kiss the crucifix.
METHODS OF CONVERSION.
It is said of Father Ugarte that he was a man of powerful frame. When he first celebrated the cere- monials of the church before the natives they were inclined to jeer and laugh over solemnities. On one occasion a huge Indian was causing considerable dis- turbance, and was demoralizing the other Indians
with his mimicry and childish fun. Father Ugarte caught him by his long hair, swung him around a few times, threw him in a heap on the floor, and proceeded with the rites. This argument had a converting effect, as he never rebelled again. As the conversion of the natives was the main object of the settlement, and a matter of the greatest impor- tance, to the natives at least, no means were spared to effect it. When the natives around the mission had been Christianized, expeditions inland were undertaken to capture more material for converts. Sometimes many lives were taken, but they generally succeeded in gathering in from fifty to a hundred women and children, the men afterwards following. Two or three days' exhortation (confinement and starvation) was generally sufficient to effect a change of heart, after which the convert was clothed, fed, and put to work. Father Ugarte worked with them, teaching them to plant, sow, reap, and thresh, and they were soon good Christians.
The imposing ceremonies and visible symbols of the Catholic Church are well calculated to strike the ignorant savage with awe. Striking results were often attained with pictures. When moving from one mission to another, and especially when meeting strange Indians, the priests exhibited a picture of the Virgin Mary on one side of a canvas, and Satan roasting in flames on the other side. They were offered a choice, to become subjects of the Holy Mother, or roast in the flames with Satan, and gen- erally accepted the former, especially as it was accom- panied with food.
DEATH OF TIERRA.
After twenty years of earnest labor, privation, danger, and spiritual success, Father Tierra was recalled to Mexico by the new Viceroy, for consulta- tion. He was then seventy years old; and, notwith- standing his age and infirmities, he set out on horse- back from San Blas for Tepic; but, having fainted by the way, he was carried on a litter by the Indians to Guadalajara, where he died July 17, 1717, and was buried, with appropriate ceremonies, behind the altar in the chapel of Our Lady of Loreto.
The historic village of Loreto, the ancient capital of California, is situated on the margin of the gulf, in the center of St. Dyonissius' Cove. The church, built in 1742, is still in tolerable preservation, and, among the vestiges of its former richness," has eighty- six oil paintings, some of them by Murillo, and other celebrated masters, which, though more than a hun- dred years old, are still in a good condition; also, some fine silver work, valued at 86,000. A great storm in 1827 destroyed many of the buildings of the mission. Those remaining are in a state of decay. It was the former custom of the pearl-divers to dedi- cate the products of certain days to Our Lady of Loreto; and, on one occasion, there fell to the lot of the Virgin a magnificent pearl, as large as a pigeon's egg, of wonderful purity and brilliancy.
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WILLIAM WELLS HOLLISTER.
WHO does not know Colonel Hollister, the man with the big soul, broad charities, and immense bus- iness capacity, whose face wins the respect of men. the admiration of women, and the love and confi- dence of children ? When a railroad is to be built. Colonel Hollister is consulted. When an agricultural colony is to be organized, Colonel Hollister's good sense is sure to show a way through every difficulty. If a large charity or benevolence is contemplated, Colonel Hollister is sure to respond with a liberal donation. If an agricultural experiment is to be tried, Colonel Hollister is the man to stand the expense. When a visitor to this coast wishes to see some of the productions which have rendered Cali- fornia so famous, he is referred to Colonel Hollister's place; in short he is the representative man of South- ern California, with an almost world-wide fame for his wealth, virtues, and hospitalities.
He comes of a family famous for its sturdy and manly virtues for centuries, the coat of arms indicat- ing the ancient vigor of the race being preserved as a curiosity.
In 1802 John Hollister, the father of the Colonel, removed to Licking County, Ohio, where in the then unsettled state of the country, he had ample oppor- tunity to practice those rugged virtues for which the family were famous. Indeed, Ohio received at that time that infusion of New England blood, which has since made it the leading State in political and moral reforms, and sent such men into the world as Chase Wells, and hundreds who might be named. The Hollister and Wells families intermarried, the blood of both flowing in the Colonel's veins, Gideon Wells, the late Secretary of the Navy, being a near relative. The elder Hollister, like the son, had a commanding presence, the result of strong moral convictions, keen intellect, and a perfect physical development, qualities which are well calculated to win success in a wild country as Ohio was eighty years and Califor- nia thirty years ago. William Wells, the second son and fifth child of John and Philena Hubbard Hol- lister, was born in Licking County, Ohio, January 12, 1818. After getting such education as the schools in his vicinity afforded, he was sent to Kenyon Col- lege, where his natural talents for mathematics and natural science had opportunity for development. A severe attack of inflammation of the eyes, induced by over study, compelled him to forego the contemplated college course, and he returned to his home to take charge of the farm left without a manager by the death of the elder Hollister. The estate contained abont 1,000 acres of land; to this the son, by industry and good management soon added another thousand, thus early giving evidence of the business capacity which afterwards made him the leading farmer of Southern California. He also engaged in merchan- dising in connection with farming, which he carried on with varying success.
In 1852 he joined the immense throng of emi- grants who were making their way to California by way of the plains, and after the usual fatigues, acci- dents, and mishaps, he reached San Jose October 3, 1852.
After a look over the country, he saw the oppor- tunity to exchange with profit the coarse-wooled, inferior native sheep for the breed with fine wool and delicate flesh of Ohio, and the spring of 1853 found him on the way to California with 6,000 graded sheep and a company of fifty men. The enterprise of driving sheep across sandy plains, destitute of water and grass, and also beset by tribes of hostile Indians, seemed desperate, but the promise of the future, in case he should succeed, seemed to justify the attempt. He was accompanied by his brother, J. H. Hollister, of San Luis Obispo, and his sister, Mrs. S. A. Brown. There were deep rivers to swim, wild animals, as well as the still wilder Indians, to contend with, but his former trip had given him a thorough knowledge of the necessities, and enabled him to disappoint all that had predicted disaster and destruction. The route lay from St. Joseph to Salt Lake, thence to San Bernardino by the old Mormon trail. When he began the descent into California, at San Bernardino, less than a fourth of the sheep had survived the hardships of the trip, and the feeble remnant, wending their weary way along the cactus hills and plains, gave little promise of the future. The grass which was growing fresh and green at Los Angeles, soon restored strength to the animals, which easily reached San Juan in Monterey County, not only without further loss, but with the addition of 1,000 lambs born on the way. It will be seen that the enterprise required nearly a year, and that the long drive involved the necessity of arriving at the time that grass should be growing, hence the choice of the Southern route, which should admit of crossing the Sierra Nevada in the winter season.
At San Juan he became associated with Flint, Bixby, and Company. The first land purchase was that of the famous San Justo Ranch. Other pur- chases soon followed, until the firm became perhaps the largest land-holders on the Pacific Coast, hold- ing at one time so much land as to offer the right of way for a railroad for eighty miles.
Although a great land-holder, he was the pioneer in breaking up the large land-holdings to facilitate settlement. The San Justo Ranch was subdivided and sold to a colony of settlers for some $25,000 less than was offered by a speculator. The colony of Lompoc was also formed through his influence and liberality. When a hard season reduced the colonists to a condition of embarrassment, the Colonel came forward and relieved them, by throwing off principal and interest to the extent of some $25,000, thus enabling them to tide over the hard times.
Colonel Hollister was married in San Francisco, June 18, 1862, to Miss Annie, daughter of Samuel L. and Jane L. James, Thomas Starr King performing the marriage ceremony. They have five children who bid fair to become as illustrious as their parents. Mrs. Hollister is a refined and accomplished woman, and attends personally to the education of the chil- dren until they are of suitable age to receive the benefits of the higher institutions of learning.
Soon after the sale of the San Justo Ranch, he made Santa Barbara his home, to which place he
BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM WELLS HOLLISTER.
since has given most of his time and attention, hav- ing expended nearly half a million of dollars in and around the city. Every commendable enterprise has had the benefit of his purse and judgment. The Arlington House was raised principally through his enterprise. The Santa Barbara College was also greatly indebted to him, as was also the Odd Fellow's Building and Odd Fellow's Free Library, now merged into the public library. On the occasion of dedicating the library to public use, the Rev. Dr. Hough, perhaps the most eloquent speaker that ever made Santa Barbara his home, made some very felicitous remarks which deserve to be preserved in a form more substantial than that of a newspaper.
[Santa Barbara Press, September 17, 1875.]
" LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I have the honor of presenting to your acquaintance this portrait of Col- onel Hollister (here the veil was removed). If ever I was called upon to perform what our Catholic friends call a work of superogation, it is in being asked to introduce Colonel Hollister to the people of Santa Barbara. There is not a Spanish muchacho in our streets; there is not a sheep-herder between this place and Point Concepcion who would not instantly recognize in that picture the representative man of California, the man who holds the plow or the pen with equal facility, the man who is equally at home in planting an almond orchard at Dos Pueblos, man- aging a rancho at San Julian, assisting to found a colony at Lompoc, or aiding to rear an Odd Fellow's Hall and Public Library at Santa Barbara * * *
I have entertained the idea that in the earlydays of the order there occurred, somehow, a mistake in the name, and that it was intended they should be known to the world not as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but as the Independent Order of Good Fel- lows. I do not know whether Colonel Hollister is an Odd Fellow or not. I know that he has sometimes been named, quite against his own taste, a Pastoral Prince, but I am sure that neither he nor you will quarrel with me, if I combine the two, after the fashion that suits me best, and call him the Prince of Good Fellows."
Colonel Hollister's home place is called Glen Anne in honor of his wife, and contains 2,750 acres of land composed of plain, rolling hills, long sunny slopes, and secluded, sheltered valleys. In one of these, which, though named a glen, is clevated enough to overlook the sea for a great distance, he has built an extensive cottage some 60x100 feet, with wide ve- randas overlooking a plantation of 2,000 or more orange and lemon trees in bearing. On this farm he has 30,000 almond trees, 1,200 oranges. 1,000 lemons, 500 limes, 350 plums, 200 peaches, besides other fruits, foreign and domestic in variety. Roads wind- ing under great oaks, around rolling hills, across rustic bridges, over deep glens, now coming in view of a farm-house for his workmen, or a fanciful barn for his stock, showing here a glimpse of the spark- ling sea, now a field of grain, and now portions of his orchard, are among the attractions of the place.
In company with T. B. Dibblee he is the owner of the San Julian Rancho, situated in the western part of Santa Barbara County, which is as fine a piece of property as a prince might wish to own. It is com- posed of the ranches San Julian, Salsipuedes, Espada, Santa Anita, Gaviota, and Las Cruces, containing in all about 100,000 acres of land classed as follows: valley, 17,000; rolling hills, 50,000, most of which can be cultivated; strictly pasturage, 35,000. It carries from 50,000 to 75,000 head of sheep and 500 cattle. The sheep are pure merino, and the cattle
thoroughbred. The annual sales are from $125,000 to $150,000, the expenses being from $25,000 to $30,000. The Gaviota Wharf is part of the property, though much produce is shipped from the Santa Ynez Valley by this wharf. It will be seen that the prop- erty pays an interest on at least $1,000,000. It is the intention of the proprietors to subdivide and sell it when it shall become worth more for agricultural purposes than for grazing.
Col. Hollister has inaugurated some very extensive reforms. What is called the trespass law was en- acted mainly through his exertions. In early days cattle were allowed to run at large, compelling every person to fence who wished to cultivate the ground. Though a stock-raiser himself, he insisted on not only the justice, but the policy of compelling every man to herd his stock under pains and penalties of trespass if they did damage. Public opinion was much divided on the matter, but one county after another came into the arrangement, until the justice and expediency of the "Trespass Law " is now gen- erally conceded.
The subject of Chinese labor is still under consid- eration. Whether the public will come to his way of thinking is doubtful. He wields a vigorous pen, and is evidently sincere and carnest. He is a great believer in the value of labor, and enforces his belief by being about the hardest worker in the State. As a public speaker he is to the point and lucid, never attempting to be ornate or poetical, but is often humorous and sometimes sarcastic, though it requires great provocation to bring out the latter quality. In politics he is a Republican, carnest, but not rabid. A few extracts from his writings will give a better idea of his style than any description.
"PRODUCTION BEFORE COMMERCE.
" Antecedent to all trade is labor. England grows rich, not because she is smarter than other nations, but more industrious. France lives and thrives, and pays the frightful war indemnity because her citi- zens work. Did she care for the millions of coin paid out, and fear that thereafter she would have no measurers of value left inside her dominion ? Not at all. She went to work, and so brought them back from all nations with whom she had commercial relations.
" LABOR, MORALITY, AND CIVILIZATION MARCH ABREAST. "Labor is the sum total. Go to work and grow rich. If the nation continues idle, nothing can save it. If idle, it will be immoral. Poverty and crime go together. If you would have a moral community, make it prosperous. You can only do that by unflag- ging industry.
" Labor is the penalty we pay for civilization. If there is an American who does not wish to work, let him don the scant apparcl suited to the climate, go to the tropics, be a savage, and nature will feed him from a tree. If he wants the comforts and luxuries of a better life, let him take off his coat and go to work.
" Without work there is no wealth. There is not a dollar added to the wealth of the nation without labor. Congress may make a promise, but it cannot create a dollar. The labor of the people alone can do that. When the Government issued its grecn- backs, it simply promised to the world that the American people would create by labor a dollar's worth of property for every dollar of paper issued. That promise we must fulfill. When we have done that, greenbacks will be as good as gold, and not an hour before.
21
PERMANENT OCCUPATION OF CALIFORNIA.
The fathers thought proper to change its destina- tion, and presented it to the Queen of Spain, who gratefully and piously sent Our Lady of Loreto a magnificent new gown. Some people were unkind enough to think the Queen had the better of the transaction.
ARREST OF THE JESUITS.
The Jesuits continued their missionary work in Lower California for seventy years. On the second day of April, 1797, all of the Order throughout the Spanish dominions, at home and abroad, were ar- rested by order of Charles III., and thrown into prison, on the charge of conspiring against the State and the life of the King. Nearly 6,000 were subjected to this decree, which also directed their expulsion from California, as well as all other colonial depend- encies of Spain. The execution of the despotie order was intrusted to Don Gaspar Portala, the Governor of the province. Having assembled the Fathers of Loreto on the eve of the nativity, December 24th, he acquainted them with the heart-breaking news. Whatever may have been the faults of the Jesuits in Europe, they certainly had been models of devoted Christians in the new world. They braved the dan- gers of hostile savages, exposed themselves to the malarious fevers incident to new countries, and had taken up their residences far from the centers of civilization and thought, so dear to men of cultivated minds, to devote themselves, soul and body, to the salvation of the natives, that all civilized nations seemed bent on exterminating. It is probable that the simple-minded son of the forest understood little of the mysteries of theology; and his change of heart was more a change of habit than the adoption of any saving religious dogma. They abandoned many of their filthy habits, and learned to respect the family ties. They were taught to cultivate the soil, to build comfortable houses, and to cover their naked- ness with garments. They had learned to love and revere the fathers, who were ever kind to them.
MIDNIGHT PARTING.
After seventy years of devoted attention to the savages, after building pleasant homes in the wilder- ness, and surrounding themselves with loving and devoted friends, they received the order to depart. They took their leave on the night of February 3, 1768, amidst the outcries and -lamentations of the people, who, in spite of the soldiers, who could not keep them back, rnshed upon the departing fathers, kissing their hands, and clinging convulsively to them. The leave-taking was brief, but affecting: " Adieu, my dear children ! Adieu, land of our adop- tion ! Adieu, California ! It is the will of God !" And then, amid the sobs and lamentations, heard all along the shore, they turned away, reciting the litany of the Blessed Mother of God, and were seen no more.
For 160 years after the discovery of California, it remained comparatively unknown. It is true that many expeditions were fitted ont to explore it for
gold and precious stones. The first was fast locked in the mountains of the Sierras, which were ocenpied by bands of hostile and warlike Indians; and the last have not yet been found. The circumstances attend- ing the discovery of the great bay will always be of interest, and deserve a place in every record; for up to 1769, no navigator ever turned the prow of his vessel into the narrow entrance of the Golden Gate.
On the expulsion of the Jesuits from Lower Cali- fornia, the property of the missions, consisting of extensive houses, flocks, pasture lands, cultivated fields, orchards, and vineyards, was intrusted to the College of San Francisco in Mexico, for the benefit of the Order of St. Francis. The zealous scholar, Father Junipero Serra, was appointed to the charge of all the missions of Lower California.
FATHER JUNIPERO, as he was called, was born of humble parents in the island of Majorca, on the 24th of November, 1713. Like the prophet Samuel, he was dedicated to the priesthood from his infancy, and having completed his studies in the Convent of San Bernardino, he conceived the idea of devoting himself to the immediate service of God; and went from thence to Palma. the capital of the province, to acquire the higher learning necessary for the priesthood. At his earnest request, he was received into the Order of St. Francis, at the age of sixteen; and, at the end of one year's probation, made his religions profession. September 15, 1731. Having finished his studies in philosophy and theology, he soon acquired a high reputation as a writer and orator, and his services were sought for in every direction; but, while enjoying these distinctions at home, his heart was set on his long-projected mission to the heathen of the New World. He sailed from Cadiz for America, August 28, 1749, and landed at Vera Cruz, whence he went to the city of Mexico, joined the College of San Fernando, and was made President of the missions of Cerra Gorda and San Saba. On his appointment to the missions of Cali- fornia, he immediately entered upon active duties, and proceeded to carry out his grand design of the civilization of the Pacific Coast. Acting under the instructions of the Viceroy of Mexico, two expedi- tions were fi. ted ont to explore and colonize Upper or Northern California, of which little or nothing was known, one of which was to proceed by sea, and the other by land; one to carry the heavy sup- plies, the other to drive the flocks and herds. The first ship, the San Carlos, left Cape St. Lucas, in Lower California, January 9, 1769, and was followed by the San Antonio on the 15th of the same month. A third vessel, the San Jose, was dispatched from Loreto on the 16th of June. After much suffering, these real pioneers of California civilization reached San Diego; the San Carlos, on the 1st of May; the San Antonio, on the 11th of April, 1769, the crews having been well-nigh exhausted by scurvy, thirst, and starvation. After leaving Loreto, the San Jose was never heard of more.
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