History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 4

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846-
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1928

USA > California > Santa Clara County > History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 4

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Such was the happy and prosperous condi- tion of the country under missionary rule. What resulted after the transfer of power to the secular authorities was disastrous. In 1834 at the time of the secularization of the missions there were 1,800 Indians belonging

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

to the Mission of Santa Clara. In 1842 the number had been reduced to four hundred.

Life on the Early Ranchos

Prior to the American occupation of Cali- fornia the natives were a half-caste race, be- tween the half Castilian and the native Indian, very few of the families retaining the pure blood of old Castile. They were of all shades of color and developed into a handsome and vigorous race. Their wants were few and easily supplied; they were contented and happy : the women were virtuous and devoted to their church and religion, while the men, in normal condition, were kind and hospit- able, but when excited became rash, fearless, even cruel, with no dread of knife or pistol. Their generosity was great, everything they had being at the disposal of friend or strang- er. Socially they loved pleasure, spending most of their time in music and dancing ; in- deed such was their passion for the latter that their horses were trained to curvet in time to the tunes of the guitar. When not sleeping. eating or dancing the men spent much time in the saddle and naturally became expert eques- trians. Horse racing was with them almost a daily occurrence, not from the gain it might bring but from the amusement to be derived therefrom. To throw a dollar upon the ground, ride by at a full gallop and pick it up was a feat that most of them could perform.

Horses and cattle gave them their chief occupation. They could use the riata or lasso with the utmost dexterity ; whenever thrown at a bullock, horseman or bear, it rarely miss- ed its mark. 'The riata in the hands of a Californian was a more dangerous weapon than gun or pistol, while to catch a wild cow with it, throw and tie her, without dismount- ing, was most common, and to go through the same performance with a bear was not considered extraordinary. Their only articles of export were hides and tallow, the value of the former being a dollar and a half in cash and two dollars in goods and the latter three cents per pound in barter. Young heifers, two years old, for breeding purposes were worth three dollars; a fat steer delivered in the Pueblo San Jose brought fifty cents more, while it was neither trespass nor larceny to kill a beeve, use the flesh and hang the hide with tallow on a tree, secure from coyotes, where it could be found by the owner.

Lands outside of the town were valuable only for grazing purposes. For this use every citizen of good character having cattle, could, for the asking, and by paying a fec to the offi- cials and a tax upon the written paper, get a grant upon a grazing tract of from one to eleven square leagues of land. These domains

were called ranchos, the only improvements on them being a house and a corral. They were never inclosed, they were never survey- ed, but extended from one well defined land- mark to another, and whether they contained two or three leagues more or less, was re- garded as a matter of no consequence, for the land itself was of no value to the government.

It was not necessary for a man to keep cat- tle on his own land. They were ear-marked and these marks established the ownership. The stock roamed at will, the rancher some- times finding his animals fifty or sixty miles away from his grounds. About the middle of March the rodeo season opened, the time was fixed in advance by the ranchero who would send notice to his neighbors for leagues around. All these ranchers with their va- queros, would attend and participate. It was the gathering in one locality of all the cattle on the rancho. When this task was accomplished, the next operation was for each ranchero present to part out from the general herd all animals having his brand and ear- mark and drive them off to his own rancho. In doing this they were allowed to take all calves that followed their mothers. What was left in the rodeo belonged to the owner of the rancho, who then marked them as his property. On some of the ranchos the num- ber of calves branded and marked each year was enormous, Joaquin Bernal, who owned the Santa Teresa Rancho, eight miles south of San Jose, having been in the habit of brand- ing not less than 5,000 head yearly. In this work a great many horses were employed. Fifty head was a small number for a ranchero to own.

By the time the rodeo season was over- about the middle of May-the matanza or killing season commenced. The number of cattle killed each year was commensurate with the number of calves marked and the amount of herbage for the year, for it was the rule that no more should be kept alive than the pasture on the rancho could support. After the butchering the hides were taken off and dried, the fattest portions of the flesh were made into soap, while some of the best portions of the meat were cut, pulled into thin shreds and dried in the sun. The residue was thrown away to be eaten by the buzzards and the dogs. Young dogs were never destroyed and it was no infrequent occurrence to see a ranchero ride into town with a string of dogs at his horse's heels.

The habitations of these people were mark- ed by simplicity. The walls were fashioned of sun dried bricks, made of that black loam known to settlers as adobe soil. The adobe

DON BRUNO BERNAL

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

was mixed with straw, each brick, about eighteen inches square, three inches thick, be- ing cemented with mud and whitewashed when finished. The rafters and joists were of rough timber, with the bark simply peeled off, and placed in the required position. The thatch was of rushes or chapparal fastened down with thongs of bullocks' hide. When completed these dwellings were capable of standing the brunt and wear and tear of many decades, as can be evidenced by the number now standing in the Valley. The furniture consisted of a few cooking utensils, a rude bench or two, sometimes a table and the never-failing camphor-wood trunk. This trunk, or chest, contained the extra clothes of the women-the men wore theirs on their backs-and if a visit abroad of more than a few days' duration was made the box was taken along. The women were cleanly in their persons and clothing, the common dress being a calico gown of plain colors, blue grounds with small figures being those most fancied. The fashionable ball dress of the young lady was a scarlet flannel petticoat covered with a white lawn skirt. Bonnets there were none, the head-dress consisting of a long, narrow shawl or scarf.

The dress of the men was a cotton shirt, cotton drawers, calzonazos, sash, serape and hat. The calzonazos took the place of panta- loons, but differed from these by being open down the side, or rather the seams on the sides were not sewed up as in pantaloons but were laced together from the waist band to the hips by means of a ribbon run through eyelets and fastened with large silver bell-but- tons. In wearing them they were left open from the knee down. The best of these gar- ments were made of broadcloth, the inside and outside seams being faced with cotton velvet. The serape was a blanket with a hole through its center, through which the head was inserted. These cloaks were invariably of brilliant colors and varied in price from four to one hundred and fifty dollars. The calzonazos were held in place by a pink sash worn around the waist; while the serape served as a coat by day and a covering by night.

The courtship of these people was peculiar. No flirting or love-making was permitted. When a young man of marriageable age saw a girl that suited his eye, he had first to make his wishes known to his own father, in whose house the eligibility of the selected one was gravely discussed. If the son's wish was re- garded with favor, the father addressed a letter to the father of the girl asking for his daughter in marriage for his son. The matter

was then freely discussed between the parents of the girl and if an adverse decision was ar- rived at, the father of the young man was by letter so informed and the matter was at an end. But if the decision of the parents was favorable to the young man then the girl's in- clinations were consulted and her decision, if favorable, was communicated in the same manner and the affair of the engagement be- came a matter of public notoriety. The girl might then visit the young man to be re- ceived as a member of the family, and when the time for the marriage came there ensued feasting and dancing, the celebration continu- ing for three or four days. When there was a refusal of marriage the girl was said to have given her lover the pumpkin-se dio la cabala.

The principal articles of food were beef and beans, in the cooking and preparing of which they were unsurpassed, though they cultivated to a certain extent maize, melons and pumpkins. The bread used was the tortilla, a wafer in the shape of Jewish un- leavened bread, made generally with wheat, but sometimes with corn. When prepared it was first boiled in a weak lye made of wood ashes and then by hand ground between two stones into a paste. This process completed, a small portion of the dough was taken out and by dexterous throwing from the back of one hand to the back of the other the shape was formed. Then it was placed upon a flat iron and baked over the fire.

The mill in which the grain was ground was made of two stones as nearly round as possible, of about thirty inches in diameter, each being dressed on one side to a smooth surface. One was set upon a frame about two feet high with the smooth face upward; the other was placed on this with the even facet downward while through an inch hole in the center the wheat was fed by hand. Two holes drilled partly through each stone admitted an iron bolt, to which a long pole was attached. To its end was harnessed a horse, mule or donkey and the animal being driven around in a circle caused the stone to revolve. These mills were capable of grinding a bushel of wheat in about twelve hours.

The vehicles and agricultural implements were quite as primitive, the cart in common use being formed in the following manner : the two wheels were sections of a log with a hole drilled or bored in the center, the axle a pole sharpened at each end for spindles, with a pin to prevent the wheels from slipping off. Another pole fastened to the middle of the axle served as a tongue. Upon this frame- work was fastened a kind of wicker-work framed of sticks bound together with strips of

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

hide. The beasts of burden were oxen. They were yoked with a stick across the forehead. The stick was notched and crooked so as to fit the head closely and the whole was tied with rawhide. The plow was a still more quaint affair. It consisted of a long piece of timber which served the purpose of a beam. To the end was fastened a handle. A mortise was next chiseled in order to admit the plow which was a short stick with a natural crook, with a small piece of iron fastened to the end of it. With this crude implement was the soil upturned, while the branch of a tree served as a harrow. There were no fences to protect the crops. To take their place ditches were dug, the top of the soil being covered with branches of trees to keep away the numerous bands of cattle and horses. When the crops were ripe they were cut with a sickle or any other convenient utensil. Next came the threshing. The floor of the corral in which the cattle and horses were penned had become hardened. Into this enclosure the grain would be piled and upon it the mares would be turned loose to tramp out the seed. The wildest of these animals, many of them colts that had never been branded, would tackle the grain. They were urged to the work by the yelling of vaqueros and the cracking of whips until nothing was left but the grain and the chaff. The difficult part was the separat. ing of the two. Owing to the length of the dry season there was no haste to effect this. Therefore when the wind was high enough the trampled mass would be tossed into the air with large wooden forks. The wind would carry away the chaff, leaving the heavier grain on the ground. With a favorable breeze sev- eral bushels of wheat could be winnowed in a day. Strange as it may appear it is claimed that grain so sifted was much cleaner than is the wheat of today.

Early Government

The government of the native Californian was as primitive as the people. There were neither law books nor lawyers, while laws were mostly to be found in the traditions of the people. The head officer in each village or town was the alcalde, in whom was vested the judical function. On the enactment of a new law a manuscript copy, called the bando, was sent around by a person beating a snare drum. This was the signal for the assembling of the people at the alcalde's office where the act was read and forthwith had the force of law. When a native had cause for action against another he went to the alcalde, stated his case and asked that the defendant be sum- moned. On making his appearance the de- fendant was asked what he had to say about

the complaint. This brought about a wordy altercation between the two parties during which the alcalde was able to arrive at the facts. Sometimes judgment was immediately rendered. the trial not ocupying more than two hours. In important cases three "good men" would be called in to act as co-justices. A learned American judge has said that the native Californians were, in the presence of courts, eminently truthful. They were all Roman Catholics, and their priests were of the Franciscan order. They were great church-goers, yet Sunday was not the only day set apart for their devotions. Nearly every day in the calendar was devoted to the memory of some saint. Those dedicated to the principal ones were observed as holidays. The front door of their churches was always open and every person passing, whether on foot or on horseback, doffed his hat. Not to have done this was regarded as almost a crime. During the holding of services with- in the church it was customary to station a number of men without, who at appointed in- tervals interrupted the services by the ringing of bells and firing of pistols, creating a noise resembling the irregular fire of a company of infantry.

In every church was kept a number of pic- tures of the saints and a triumphal arch pro- fusely decorated with artificial flowers, while on a holiday devoted to some particular saint, after the performance of the mass, a picture of the saint deposited in the arch would be carried out of the church on the shoulders of four men, followed by the whole congregation in double file with a priest at the head, book in hand. The procession would march all around town and at every few rods the par- ticipants would kneel on the ground while the priest read a prayer or performed some religious ceremony. After the circuit of the town had been made, the procession returned to the church. With the termination of these ceremonies the natives gave themselves over to pleasure, engaging in horse racing, cock- fighting, dancing and other forms of merry- making. A favorite amusement of these fes- tivals was for thirty or forty men on horse- back, generally two and sometimes three on one horse, with their guitars, to parade the town, their horses capering and keeping time to the music which was accompanied with songs. Residences and places of business were visited and it wos considered no breach of decorum for the mounted men to ride into stores and dwellings.

Some of the religious ceremonies were gro- tesque and amusing, the personification of "The Wise Men of the East" being of this

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

character. At the date agreed upon for the an- niversary of the visit of the Wise Men to Beth- lehem, seven or eight men would be found dressed in most fantastic styles and on their way to find the infant Savior. They went from house to house and were always accom- panied by one representing the devil and garbed like a Franciscan friar. He carried a rosary of beads and a cross and a long rawhide whip and woe to the man who came within reach of that whip-it was far from fun for him but very amusing to the rest of the company. The chief of these ceremonies was the punishment of Judas for the betrayal of his Master. On the reputed anniversary of this event, after the people had retired to rest a company would go out and prepare for the ceremonies. A cart was procured and placed in the public square in front of the church. Against the cart was placed an effigy of Judas made by stuffing an old suit of clothes with straw. The houses were then visited and a collection of pots, pans, kettles, dishes and farming implements was assembled and piled around the effigy to represent Judas' worldly effects. Then the last will and testament of Judas had to be prepared, the work being given to the best scribe and the greatest wit in the community. Every article of property had to be disposed of and something like an equal distribution made, each request being accompanied by some very pointed and witty reason for the donation. Among a more sen- sitive people some of these reasons would be regarded as libelous. The will, when com- pleted and properly attested, was posted on a bulletin board near the effigy and the night's work was over. As soon as it was sufficiently light the entire population, men, women and children, congregated to see Judas and . his wealth and to hear, read and discuss the merits of the will and the appropriateness of its provisions. Nothing else was talked of, nothing else was thought of until the church bell summoned them to mass, after which a wild, unbroken mare was procured, on the back of which Judas was firmly strapped. A string of firecrackers was then tied to her tail, they were lighted, the animal was turned loose and the ultimate fate of the figurative Judas was not unlike that of his perfidious prototype.

The native Californians were a temperate people, intoxication being almost unknown, but there was one vice common to all, namely the passion of gambling. Their favorite game was monte, probably the first of all banking games. So passionately were they addicted to this that on a Sunday about the church, while the women were inside and the priest at the

altar, crowds of men would have their blan- kets spread upon the ground with their cards and money, playing monte. They seemed to have no idea that gambling was a sin. This predilection was early discovered by the Americans, who soon established banks and carried on games. The passion soon became so developed that the natives would bet and lose their horses and cattle, while to procure money to gratify this urge they would bor- row from the Americans, paying twelve and one half per cent interest per day ; and they would mortgage and sell land and stock, sometimes their wives' clothing, to obtain the wherewithal to play.

Before leaving these people mention should be made of their bull and bear fights. Sunday or some prominent holiday was generally chosen for the holding of these exhibitions, to prepare for which a large corral was erect- ed in the plaza in front of the church. In the afternoon after divine service, two or three good bulls (if a bull fight was in order) would be caught and driven into the enclos- tre. If there is anything that will make a bull furious it is the sight of a red blanket. Sur- rounded by the entire population, the fighters would enter the arena, each with a red blan- ket in one hand and a knife in the other. They would flaunt the blankets before the infuriat- ed beasts, with knives ready for defense or as- sault. A bull would dash at its enemy, who with a dexterons side spring would evade the onslaught, allowing the animal to strike the blanket and permit a quick slash with the knife. Whoever by his quickness could stick a knife into a bull's neck, severing the spinal cord, received the plaudits of the admiring throng. The interest taken in these exhibi- tions was intense. The killing or wounding of a bull-fighter only added zest to the sport.

When a grizzly bear could be procured the fight was then between bull and bear. Both were taken into the corral, each being made fast to the opposite end of a rope of sufficient length to permit free action and then left alone. The first move was usually made by the bull in an attempt to part company with the bear, who, as a result, received the first "knock down." On finding that he could not get clear of bruin, the bull then charged, but was met half-way. The fight was intensely interesting to the spectators, and was kept up until one or the other was killed, or both refused to continue the combat. As a rule the bull was victorious. This custom of bull and bear fighting was continued until 1854 when the Legislature interposed by an "Act to prevent noisy and barbarous amusements on the Sabbath."

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

The late Judge R. F. Peckham, one of the pioneer lawyers of Santa Clara County, often narrated the following incident in regard to this Legislative act. Shortly after it became a law great preparations were made for having a bull-fight, on the Sabbath as usual, at the old Mission of San Juan Bautista at the southern end of the Santa Clara Valley. The promot- ers were notified by the officers of the exis- tence of the new law and told that they must desist from the undertaking. Dr. Wiggins, a mission pioneer of 1842, was then residing at San Juan. He spoke Spanish fluently and was looked upon by the native Californians as a good friend. He never smiled nor appeared to jest, yet he was one of the greatest of the tale-tellers, jokers and punsters on the Pacific slope. In their perplexity over the new law, the Californians took counsel with the Doctor. He examined the title of the act with great seriousness and wisdom. "Go on with your fight," was the Doctor's advice, "they can do nothing with you. This is an Act to prevent noisy and barbarous amusements on the Sab- bath. If they arrest you there will be a trial by jury of Americans. To convict, the pro- secution must find three things, first that a bull fight is noisy. This they will find against you. Second, that it is barbarous. This also they will find against you, but an American jury will never find that it is an amusement of Christ's time. Go on with your bull fights." They did go on and were arrested to find that the Doctor had been jesting. They were sentenced, each to pay a fine, and this was the last of the bull-fights in Cali- fornia.

First American Settlers

The first enumeration of the inhabitants of the pueblo of San Jose was taken in 1831 and showed 166 men, 145 women, 103 boys and 110 girls, making a total of 524. Overland travel to California did not commence until the forties. The first foreigner to locate in this valley was John Gilroy, who was a sailor on board a vessel belonging to the Hudson Bay Company that touched at Monterey in 1814. He was a Scotchman and the causes for his abandoning his ship are differently stated. One report was that he had a quarrel with one of the officers and deserted, while it is just as positively stated that he had a severe attack of scurvy and was left on shore to be cured. However that might have been it is well authenticated that in the same year, he tound his way into the Santa Clara Valley, locating at San Ysidro, afterward named Gilroy. He was hospitably entertained and finally married into the wealthy family of the Ortegas. He

was a man of great force of character and accumulated a large property in lands and cattle but died poor in 1869.

In 1818 there came to San Jose a man whose name is historic in this community, Don Antonio Sunol. He was a native of Bar- celona, Spain, but had served in the French navy under the First Empire. He was an officer of distinction and was present when Napoleon surrendered after Waterloo. He then sought the New World and settled in Santa Clara Valley where he achieved dis- tinction, wealth and respect. He died in San Jose in 1865.

The first citizen of the United States to set- tle in Santa Clara Valley was Philip Doak. He was a block and tackle maker employed on whaling vessel.

a Leaving salt water a Monterey in 1822 he journeyed northward to settle near Gilroy. His home was on the ranch of Mariano Castro, one of whose daughters he afterward married. Matthew Fellom came to the valley the same year and located near San Ysidro, or old Gilroy as it was afterward called. Fellom was a Dane and like Doak was a whaler. He left his vessel at one of the northern ports and made his way overland to the Santa Clara Valley. He died in 1873.

These are the only foreigners, of which there is record, who were living in the valley up to 1830, if William Willis, an Englishman, is excepted. He was known to be in the pueblo in 1828, but his subsequent history is not known. It has been estimated that in 1830 there were not more than 100 foreigners in the whole of California. John Burton came to San Jose in 1830. He was afterward al- calde of the pueblo. Harry Bee, who died in San Jose in 1897 as the oldest pioneer in the county, came to the Valley in 1833. He had been in the state seven years, having landed at Monterey as an English sailor in 1827. He was born in 1808 and during the Mexican War acted as scout and courier for Commo- dore Sloat. In the same year came William Gulnac, James Alexander Forbes, James Weekes, Nicolas Dodero, John Price, William Smith, George Ferguson, Thomas Pepper, a man called "Blind Tom." William Welsh, Charles Brown and "Moche Dan." Thomas Brown and William Daily came in 1834. Of these several were prominent either in the early days or in the later history of California. Gulnac was for many years major domo at the Mission of San Jose in Alameda County. He married a daughter of the Cesenas. Forbes was vice-consul for Great Britain. Weekes served as Alcalde in 1847. In 1838 Henry Woods and Lawrence Carmichael arrived.

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History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 4

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846- Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1928

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846-
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1928