USA > California > Santa Barbara County > History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 9
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Charles Fernald was born in North Berwiek, Maine, May 28, 1830. At a suitable age he com- menced attending the common schools of his native town, and continued therein until he was twelve years of age, when he went to the High School at Great Falls, New Hampshire, taught by Professor Hobart. He was subsequently fitted for college at Dorchester, Massachusetts, but was obliged to aban- don the collegiate course in consequence of financial reverses. When the discovery of gold opened a new field for the energetic, he turned his course toward California, making the passage around the Horn, and arriving in San Francisco June 25, 1849, when every- thing, social, moral, political and financial, was in the most chaotic condition. Wishing to see for himself the source of the excitement which was causing such waves of commotion in the financial world, he made a visit to various parts of the mines, returning to San Francisco in the following autumn.
During his high-school years he had mingled the study of the history of the common law with his studies, with a purpose of acquiring general infor- mation rather than the expectation of making the law a profession; but meeting with favorable induce- ments he pursued in earnest the study of law at San
BIOGRAPHY OF HON. CHARLES FERNALD.
Franeiseo from 1850 to 1852, alternating with his study the praetiee of a law reporter for the Morning Post and other papers. In the great fire of 1851 he lost his law library of 2,000 volumes, which had been forwarded from the East. This was an irreparable loss and necessitated a still longer editorial eareer. In 1852 he was again burned out, losing office, clothing, and what few books he had been able to accumulate. This was so discouraging that he seriously enter- tained the idea of abandoning California; but desiring to view the southern portion of the State, he visited Santa Barbara, arriving July 1, 1852. Here he found A. F. Hinchman, Edward S. Hoar, and Charles E. Huse in the practice of the law, and also met with Abel Stearns, a pioneer and leading eitizen of Los Angeles; also the Dens, Captain Thompson, and mem- bers of the leading Spanish families, who made such representations of the prospects of Santa Barbara and the southern counties as induced him to stay and east his lot with them.
At this time (1852) the feeling between the Span- ish and the American population was not the most eordial, as may have been discovered by reading the former part of our history, but the personal appear- anee and reputation of Mr. Fernald was such as to win the confidence of all parties, and prepare the way for the preferments afterwards bestowed upon him. He was appointed Sheriff and afterwards Dis- triet Attorney by the Court of Sessions, and, subse- quently, County Judge by the Governor of the State, John Bigler, to which office he was afterwards eleeted
three consecutive terms. In 1860 he received per- mission, by aet of the Legislature, to have leave ot absence for six months. The Hon. Pablo de la Guerra introdueed the resolution by the unanimous consent of the Senate, explaining its purport, and informing the Senate that the person asking leave of absenee was appointed in 1853, and served the " publie so well that he had been almost unanimously ehosen at every judicial eleetion sinee; that a leave of absence was only an aet of justice to au offieer who had so long and ably performed his duties. The resolution passed without opposition.
In 1855 he was admitted to practice in the Su- preme Court, and subsequently in the Supreme Court of the United States; earried to a successful ter- mination the important suit of Jones vs. Thompson, involving the island of Santa Rosa and a vast amount of stock in its consequences. The suit was termi- nated in favor of his client by an able exposition of the laws of partnership and agency, and resulted in a restitution of several hundred thousand dollars' worth of property to its rightful owner. From this time his practice has been of a high order, involving large interests and important principles. Judge Fer- nald has little liking for criminal law, and never bas assisted or aided in any way the turning- of criminals. loose to prey upon society.
He is now mayor of Santa Barbara, having been elected April, 1881, by all the votes cast at the muni eipal election exeept eleven.
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River into California, and drove off over 1.700 head of horses .*
Many well-informed Mexicans are of the opinion that but for the conquest by the Americans, the de- struction of the cattle ranches by the Indians was inevitable, and only a matter of time. The reader will recollect that Sonora, in Mexico, was nearly depopn- lated by the ravages of the Apaches.
DEATH OF GOVERNOR FIGUEROA.
He was probably the most able and honorable man ever at the head of California affairs. The tide of destruction swept over the country in spite of all his efforts to establish order. Disgusted with the rapacity of the people, and perplexed beyond meas- ure with the general dishonesty of the officials, he sickened and died September 29, 1835, aged forty- three. The " Most Excellent Deputation," in session at Monterey, with that universal ability to recognize the merit of a countryman after he is dead, hastened to pass resolutions of appreciation and respect, ex- tolling him as the "Father of his country." His remains were carried in an American vessel to Santa Barbara and deposited in a vault of the mission with military honors.
CHAPTER VIII. UNDER THE COLONIAL SYSTEM.
Under the Colonial System-Refugio Ranch-José Chapman- After Secularization-Alvarado's Rebellion-A Pronunciamento -Advance of the Grand Army towards Santa Barbara-Farn- ham's Account.
MANY causes indneed people to seek the Pacific Coast for homes. The grassy plains and rolling hills which would sustain vast numbers of cattle; the fer- tile soil that would produce a hundred fold with scarcely any culture; the mild climate that formed such a contrast to the Atlantic seaboard, all formed so many inducements for the settlement of the coun- try. Every mission and presidio had more or less soldiers. who, after a certain period of service, were discharged and permitted to seek their own pros- perity. As early as 1874 it was ordered by the home Government that discharged soldiers be permitted to marry native women, and that lands should be allot- ted them on which to live. This was a concession rendered somewhat necessary by the fact that serious punishments did not prevent marriages de facto, but were rather productive of infanticide to cover up an implied crime. The padre of the San Gabriel Mission reported serious irregularities of this kind, notwith- standing the utmost watchfulness on the part of the fathers. This was a beginning of colonization. In addition to this, many of the officers had wives; these formed a nucleus of society and still further settle- ment, until within fifty years the colonists began to crowd the missions and set in motion the complaints
which eventually resulted in the laws for the secular- ization of the Christian institutions, which had ac- complished such wonderful results in civilizing the Indians and accumulating wealth. The families which since have made so prominent a part in the history of California, commenced migrating to this coast with the formation of the mission at Loreto, Lower California. José Noriega came to California in 1801. being appointed ensign to a company sta- tioned at Monterey. Arguello had preceded Noriega by some years (1775) as a lientenant in the army. One of the Ortegas was sent at a still earlier period by the Viceroy of Mexico to explore the coast of California.
We have before ns a certificate in fine script, giving the dates of Anastacio Carrillo's services as private and commander of a company, com- mencing April 16, 1806, and terminating with the American occupation, 1846, a period of over forty years. It appears, also, that Antonio Maria Lugo had been discharged in 1810, after seventeen years' service at Santa Barbara. This would carry the beginning of his acting as a soldier as far back as 1793. Many bearing the names of De la Guerra, Carrillo, Ruiz, Vallejo, Cota, as well as English names, are his descendants through his four daugh- ters. He was born in 1765, and was the youngest son of Francisco Lugo, who came to this coast in 1771. The younger Lugo died at Los Angeles in 1859, aged eighty-five.
Though nearly all of these early settlers eventually became proprietors, it was not until the time of the secularization of the missions that the bulk of the land was granted to the colonists. The afterwards proprietors generally were satisfied with some posi- tion around the presidios; furthermore, it had been the custom of the Government to grant land for colonies only when such land was not needed for the herds of the missions.
The following list of property of the missions as late as 1828 will show to what extent the grazing ground was utilized in Santa Barbara County :-
NAMES OF MISSIONS. CATTLE.
HORSES.
SHEKI.
WORKING OXEN. 160
Santa Barbara
40,000
3,000
20,000
San Buenaventura
37,000
1,900
300
400
La Purissima
40,000
6.600
30,000
600
Santa Ynez had property estimated at 8800,000.
When we take into consideration that the monks could hardly resist the temptation to drive off the cattle when the enumerator came along, which he did once a year to enable the Government to appor- tion the expense of keeping up the presidios, we may safely say that the totals would be much greater. We may judge from these numbers that the pastur- age was generally utilized. Some of the ranches, like the Refugio, were established at an early day. Thus we learn that as early as 1818 the Refugio was a place rich enough in cattle to provoke the attacks of' a privateer, or pirate, as it was called, which
*The writer heard this from his own mouth in 1850.
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HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.
landed some men at the cañada, and burned and plundercd the country, until a party of men, com- manded by Lugo of Los Angeles, assisted by others under Anastacio Carrillo, drove them back and made several prisoners.
There is a tradition connected with this affair which is told on the authority of S. C. Foster, who writes of it as follows in the Los Angeles Evening Express :-
JOSE CHAPMAN.
One day in the year 1818, a vessel was seen ap- proaching the town of Monterey. As. she came nearer she was seen to be armed, her decks swarm- ing with men, and she flew some unknown flag. Arriving within gunshot she opened fire on the town, and her fire was answered from the battery, while the lancers stood ready to repel a landing, if it should be attempted, or cover the retreat of the families in case their effort at repulse should be un- successful, for Spain was at peace with every mari- time nation, and the traditions of the atrocities committed by the Buccaneers at the end of the seventeenth century, on the Spanish main, were familiar to the people. After some firing the strange vessel appeared to be injured by the fire from the battery, and bore away and disappeared. The alarm spread along the coast as fast as swift riders could carry it, and all the troops at every point were ordered to be on the alert. The strange craft next appeared off the Ortega Ranch, situated on the sea- shore above Santa Barbara, and landed some men, who, while plundering the ranch, were surprised by some soldiers from Santa Barbara, and before they could regain their boats some four or five were cap- tured. She next appeared off San Juan Capistrano, landed and plundered the mission, and sailed away, and never was heard of more. All that is known of her is that she was a Buenos Ayrean privateer, and that her captain was a Frenchman named Bouchard.
As to those of her crew she left behind, the circum- stances under which they were captured might have justified severe measures, but the commandante was a kind-hearted man, and he ordered that if any one would be responsible for their presentation when called for, they should be set at liberty until orders should be received from Mexico as to what disposi- tion should be made of them.
When the alarm was given, Corporal Antonio Maria Lugo, who, after seventeen years of service in the company of Santa Barbara, had received his discharge and settled with his family in Los Angeles, in 1810, received orders to proceed to Santa Barbara with all the force the little town could spare. He was the youngest son of Private Francisco Lugo, who came to California 105 years ago, and who, besides those of his own surname, as appears from his will dated at Santa Barbara in the year 1801, and still in the possession of some of his grandsons in this country, was the ancestor, through his four daughters, of the numerous families of the Vallejos, Carrillos, de la Guerras, Cotas, Ruizes, besides numer- ous others of Spanish and English surnames. He was the venerable old man whose striking form was so familiar to our older residents, and who, seventeen years ago, at the ripe age of eighty-five years, died in this place, honored and respected by all.
Some two weeks afterwards Doña Dolores Lugo, who with other wives was anxiously waiting, as she stood at nightfall in the door of her house, which still stands on the street now known as Negro Alley,
heard the welcome sound of cavalry and the jingle of their spurs as they defiled along the path north of Fort Hill. They proceeded to the guard-house, which then stood on the north side of the plaza, across Upper Main Street. The old church was not yet built. She heard the orders given, for the citizens still kept watch and ward, and presently she saw two horsemen mounted on one horse advancing across the plaza towards the house, and heard the stern but welcome greeting, " Ave Maria Purissima," upon which the children hurried to the door, and, kneeling with clasped hands, uttered their childish welcome and received their father's benediction. The two men dismounted. The one who rode the saddle was a man fully six feet high, of a spare but sinewy form, which indicated great strength and activity. He was then forty-three years of age. His black hair, sprinkled with gray and bound with a black handkerchief, reached to his shoulders. The square- cut features of his closely-shaven face indicated char- aeter and decision, and their natural stern expression was relieved by an appearance of grim humor-a purely Spanish face. He was in the uniform of a cavalry soldier of that time, the cuera blanca, a loosely-fitting surtont reaching to below the knees, made of buckskin doubled and quilted, so as to be arrow-proof; on his left arm he carried an adarga, an oval shield of bull's hide, and his right hand held a lance, while a high-crowned heavy vicuña hat sur- mounted his head. Suspended from his saddle was a carbine and a long, straight sword. The other was a man about twenty-five years of age, perhaps a trifle taller than the first. His light hair and blue eyes indicated a different race, and he wore the garb of a sailor.
The señora politely addressed the stranger, who replied in an unknown tongue. Her curiosity made her forget her feelings of hospitality, and she turned to her husband for an explanation.
" Whom have you here, old man ?"
" He is a prisoner whom we took from that buc- caneer-may the devil sink her-scaring the whole coast and taking honest men away from their homes and business. I have gone his security."
" And what is his name and country ?"
" None of us understand his lingo, and he don't understand onrs. All I can find ont is, his name is . José, and he speaks a language they call English. We took a negro among them, but he was the only one of the rogues that showed fight, and so Corporal Ruiz lassoed him and brought him head over heels, sword and all. I left him in Santa Barbara to repair damages. He is English, too."
" Is he a Christian or a heretic ?"
" I neither know nor care. He is a man and a prisoner in my charge, and I have given the word of a Spaniard and a soldier to my old commandante for his safe keeping and his good treatment. I have brought him fifty leagues on the crupper behind me, for he can't ride without something to hold to. He knows no more about a horse than I do about a ship, and be sure you give him the softest bed. He has the face of an honest man, if we did catch him among a set of thieves, and he is a likely-look- ing young fellow. If he bchaves himself, we will look him up a wife among our pretty girls, and then, as to his religion, the good padre will settle all that. And now, good wife, I have told you all I know, for you women must know everything; but we have had nothing to eat since morning, so hurry up and give us the best you have."
Lugo's judgment turned out to be correct, and a
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UNDER THE COLONIAL SYSTEM.
few days afterwards, the Yankee privateersman might have been seen in the mountains, in what is known among the Californians as the "Church Canon," ax in hand, helping Lugo to get out timbers for the construction of the church, a work which the excitement caused by his arrival had interrupted. The church was not finished till four years after- wards, for they did not build in Los Angeles, in those days, as fast as now. t'hapman conducted himself well, always ready and willing to turn his hand to anything, and a year afterward he had learned enough Spanish to make himself understood, and could ride a horse without the risk of tumbling off, and he guessed he liked the country and the people well enough to settle down. and look around for a wife. So he and Lugo started off to Santa Barbara on a matrimonial expedition. Why they went to Santa Barbara for that purpose, I do not know, but this much I do know, that in former times the Angele- nos always yielded the point that the Barbarenos had the largest portion of pretty women.
In those days the courtship was always done by the elders, and the only privilege of the fair one, was the choice of saying " yes " or "no." Lugo ex- erted himself, vouched for the good character of the suitor, and soon succeeded in making a match. The wedding came off in due time, and Lugo gave the bride away, and as soon as the feast was over. the three started back to Los Angeles. One fashion of riding in those days was the following: A heavy silk sash, then worn by the men, was looped over the pommel of the saddle, so as to form a stirrup, and the lady rode in the saddle, while her escort mounted behind. the stirrups being shifted back to suit his new posi- tion, and in this style Chapman once more set out on the long road from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. for the second time, again a prisoner. But now in the saddle before him, instead of the grim old sol- dier, armed with targe and lance, rode the new-made bride, armed with bright eyes and raven tresses; for the Señorita Guadalupa Ortega, daughter of old Sergeant Ortega, the girl who one short year before had fled in terror from the wild rovers of the sea, as pistol and cutlass in hand, they rushed on her father's house, and who had first seen her husband a pinioned prisoner, had bravely dared to vow to love, honor, and obey the fair gringo. And years after, when the country was opened to foreign intercourse, on the establishment of Mexican independence in 1822, and the first American adventurers, trappers, and mariners, found their way to California, they found José Chapman at the Mission of San Gabriel, fair-haired children playing around him, carpenter, millwright, and general factotum of good old Father Sanchez; and among the vaqueros of old Lugo, they also found Tom Fisher swinging his riata among the wild cattle, as he once swung his cutlass when he fought the Spanish lancers on the beach at the Ortega Ranch.
Chapman died about the year 1849, and his de- seendants now live in the neighboring county of Ventura. I saw Fisher in September. 1848, when f met him in the Monte. The news of gold had just reached here, and he was on his way to the placers to make his fortune, and he has never been heard from since.
To my readers of Castihan descent, I would say that I have not used the prefix of Don, for I pre- ferred to designate them by the rank that stands opposite to their forefather's names on the old muster roles of their companies, now in the Spanish archives of California.
And in conclusion of my humble contribution to the Centennial history of Los Angeles, I have only to say, which I do without fear of contradiction, that the first American pioneers of Los Angeles, and, as far as history and tradition goes, of all California, were José el Ing'es, Joseph, the Englishman, alias Joe Chapman, a native of New England. and El Negro Fisar, alias Tom Fisher. S. C. F.
AFTER SECULARIZATION.
. " Man never is, but always to be, blest."- Pope.
The monopoly of the missions having been abol- ished. the presumption would be that the people would go on getting rich, and leave pronunciamentos to the winds. But the angel of discord had not de- parted. Intrigues, jealousies, and finally revolution came in their order. Some had obtained more of the spoils, land, and cattle, than perhaps, they were en- titled to, and territorial lines often induced trouble. Santa Barbara and Los Angeles were anxious to have the provincial capital. A little breeze in the custom house at Monterey came near plunging the territory into a war. In 1836, after the death of Figueroa, José Castro was appointed Governor, but held this position but a short time when he was succeeded by Mariano Chico, and he by Nicholas Gutierrez, all in the space of one year.
ALVARADO'S REBELLION.
While the latter was Governor, the chief Clerk in the custom house at Monterey, was Juan B. Alvarado a good-looking and popular young man who had been educated at the missions and understood several languages. Governor Gutierrez, according to the chronicles of the time, suspected him of taking bribes of the commanders of vessels and allowing goods to pass ashore without the payment of duties; others relate that Gutierrez knew of his taking bribes, but was dissatisfied because he did not have the lion's share; at any rate, the Governor insisted upon placing guards around the vessel ostensibly to see that no goods were smuggled ashore, Alvarado pro- tested that such a course was an insult to the com- mauder of the vessels, and, waxing wroth, he uttered language that was considered seditious, and Governor Gutierrez ordered him under arrest. Alvarado fled and took refuge with Isaac Graham of Santa Cruz. This man destined to play so prominent a part in the petty insurrections of this coast was one of those characters who are found along the frontiers. who rely upon their own courage and power, rather than the law, to secure their rights of person or prop- erty. Though large hearted enough when appealed to for assistance, their notions of right and wrong would hardly square with the rules of courts. He was a man of inflexible courage and immense physi- ical strength. When Alvarado appealed to him for aid in getting up a revolution, Graham saw nothing unworthy in the project. particularly as Alvarado promised him and the other Americans large tracts of land if successful. Graham in a few days raised fifty
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HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.
riflemen and joined a company of one hundred Cali- fornians under José Castro, and the revolution was inaugurated by entering Monterey at night and tak- ing possession of the town. In the morning they called upon the Governor to surrender. Gutierrez commenced parleying in high-toned, diplomatic lan- guage, but a solid shot through the tiled roof, rattling the fragments down on the table, around which the Governor and his council were sitting, brought Gutierrez to terms and the revolution was accom- plished.
A PRONUNCIAMENTO made Alvarado Governor, Don Mariana Gaudalupe Vallejo head of the military de- partment, or commandante of the Republic of Upper California, which was to become an independent State. The religion was to be Roman Catholic with- out admitting the exercise of any other, though no one was to be molested for non-conformity. The Mexi- can Governor and officers were banished from the country.
The missions were again plundered to pay the ex- . penses of the government, for to tax the citizens who now owned nearly all the land and cattle, would en- danger the stability of the new government. The northern part of the territory being the home of Vallejo, submitted quietly to the new rule. In the south some opposition was manifested. Don Carlos Carrillo, though the new Governor was his nephew, de- clared in favor of allegiance to Mexico, which was at this time in a state of revolution, but which manifested energy enough to fulminate a series of high sounding proclamations, which did not mend or disturb the existing relations. Don Carlos Carrillo was appointed Governor as a reward for his patriotic conduct.
ADVANCE OF THE GRAND ARMY TOWARD SANTA BARBARA.
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