USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > The Herald's history of Los Angeles City > Part 10
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Cosme Pena, who served as prefect of the southern district of California during part of the administration of Alvarado, introduced a new variation of the name. He had a great deal of trouble with the residents of the city, who were at that time in a condition of chron- ic tumult. In his letters to the governor Pena was accustomed to write the name "Los Di- ablos" instead of Los Angeles.
The period from 1830 to 1840 does not show as rapid a growth of population as the two pre- ceding decades, but there was material im- provement in a commercial way, and a prom- ise of future growth in the arrival of active, enterprising men from the country east of the Rockies. In 1833 it was estimated that there were in all about 200 families living in the pueblo. An approximate census for the whole district now included in Los Angeles county, taken in 1833, gives 1675 white and 553 In- dians. In 1836 there were said to be 40 for- eigners living in the region, of whom 30 were Americans. Thus it will be seen that while the Americans were prominent as a class through their individual activity they did not,
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as yet, contribute much to the increase of pop- ulation. There was no longer any coloniza- tion from Spain or Mexico, although extensive schemes were broached at times for immigra- tion from the latter country. The elimination of the missions as an industrial factor de- creased the local capacity for self-support, and that probably affected the increase of popula- tion.
The new-coming Americans seem to have been brought under the same spell of fascina- tion that affects visitors to Southern Califor- nia even to this day, making residents of those that thought to be merely sojourners. In spite of their isolated position in the world, and the foreign language and customs which they met here, the first Americans in California seem to have been well satisfied with their lot, and to have readily accustomed themselves to the sur- roundings. Almost without exception they married women of the Spanish-American fam- ilies, and the marriages proved to be happy for both parties. The California women dis- covered that the foreigners-particularly those from the republic-made good husbands. It is generally conceded by those that study and compare national characteristics that the American man possesses a fair allowance of what may be called the domestic virtues. He enjoys his home, and wants it to be livable. He takes pride in his wife and children, and sees to it that they have the best his income will provide.
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Local Events of Mexican Rule.
While the original Spanish settlers had been, many of them, men of force and indus- try, a new generation was growing up that had enjoyed little opportunity for education, and whose ideas of life had been demoralized by the ease with which a fair competence could be obtained through the labor of the Indians. Instead of devoting their energies to the im- provement of their estates-for so the great ranches of the older families may be termed- they wasted their time in frivolous pursuits, and in trifling political intrigues. Amiable, polite and superficially unselfish, they made delightful companions, but for the serious, practical affairs of life-of which matrimony is certainly one-they were not to be com- pared with the Americans; and the young women of the best families made this discov- ery early, and took it to heart.
The newcomers were required to swear al- legiance to Mexico, and, if they proposed to marry into a California family, to accept Catholicism. These demands were usually fulfilled with cheerful alacrity. The Mexican government was a shadowy affair, which the Americans believed would in time fade away entirely, and be succeeded by the solid reality of their own republic. As for the religion, by the time a man had made his way to this far- off corner of the world, all churches seemed very much alike to him; and it was the Cath- olic church or none, for no other existed. As a rule, the California fathers and mothers were
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glad enough to secure American husbands for their daughters, and objection seldom had to be overcome. One interesting, and rather ro- mantic, exception was the case of Henry Fitch and Dona Josefa, daughter of Joaquin Carrillo of San Diego, which, as it has a bear- ing on the history of the Church of Our Lady at the plaza, may be briefly told here.
Fitch was a dashing young American sailor, who came to California in 1826, and in 1827 became engaged to Dona Josefa. Her parents seem to have been in doubt as to the wisdom of the alliance, but, after two years of waiting, a reluctant consent was granted, and preparations were made for the wedding. At the last moment the uncle of the bride re- fused to serve as a witness, and interposed such vigorous objection that the offciating padre was afraid to proceed. He showed a very human sympathy for the pair, how- ever, and suggested that there were other countries where no such difficulty would be met. An elopement was planned, in which Pio Pico, a cousin of the bride, assisted. The marriage was performed in South America, and the couple returned to the coast a little more than a year later, accompanied by a third party, to wit, an infant son. An ecclesi- astical court was summoned to meet at San Gabriel, and Don Enrique was tried for vio- lating the laws of the church and the terri- tory; and the question of whether he was legally married or not was passed upon. The
MISSION OF SANTA CRUZ-'From an Old Painting)
Photo by Putnam & Valentine
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Local Events of Mexican Rule.
case awakened a great deal of interest, as may be imagined, and the international mar- riage question was discussed in every household. The court finally decided that the marriage was valid, but, "con- sidering the great scandal which .Don Enrique has caused in this province," he was condemned "to give, as a penance and repara- tion, a bell of at least fifty pounds weight for the church at Los Angeles, which now has barely a borrowed one." And that is how
the church on the plaza secured its first bell.
During the last half of the decade-after
the year 1835-Los Angeles enjoyed the empty honor of being the capital of the terri- tory. This was accomplished by Jose An- tonio Carrillo, an active citizen of Los An- geles, and an indefatigable plotter, who was serving in the Mexican congress at that time. The announcement of the proposed change brought out a fierce protest from the people of Monterey, in which some very pointed re- marks were made. Among other things, it was declared that Monterey was a larger city than Los Angeles-which was certainly not true -- and that its people were more moral and better cultured. It was asserted that Monterey had the better climate, and that its soil was more fertile; and in proof of Mon- terey's general superiority over Los Angeles, it was said that at the former place "women, plants and useful animals are more produc- tive." A much more effective argument than
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any comparison of the merits of the two cities lay in the fact that Monterey was provided with suitable buildings for the use of the gov- ernment, whereas Los Angeles had nothing of the kind. On one or two occasions, when a governor had visited the pueblo, great diffi- culty was experienced in finding a place for him to stay, while he transacted public busi- ness. And now, as often as the Los Angeles ayuntamiento demanded to know why the order of the Mexican congress was not obeyed, and the seat of government removed, the territorial authorities always responded with a polite inquiry as to whether Los An- geles had provided the necessary public build- ings. With this retort the discussion usually came to an abrupt end, for there were no philanthropists in the pueblo in those days, and the territorial treasury being always empty of funds, the dilemma seemed a hope- less one.
It was not until 1826 that San Pedro was recognized as a port, and provision made for the collection of revenue. Prior to that time all business done between Los Angeles and the ocean was practically smuggling. Even after the port was established, as the collector lived at Los Angeles, more than twenty miles away from the water front, the temptation to evade the payment of duties was very strong. During the years from 1826 to the American occupation, Catalina was a favorite resort for smugglers, and some of the most prominent
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Local Events of Mexican Rule.
citizens of Los Angeles were believed to take part in the contraband trade. Don Abel Stearns built a large warehouse at San Pedro in the early thirties, and when his political , enemies could find no other convenient method to annoy him, they would bring in a charge of smuggling and demand that the warehouse be torn down. Don Abel managed to hold his own against them, however, and invariably escaped with a verdict of "not proved."
The coming of numerous bands of trappers through by the southwestern route finally re- sulted in the opening of trade between Los Angeles and Arizona and New Mexico. The blankets made in New Mexico were of a su- perior quality and much in demand, not only for bedding, but also for personal wear. The serape was the overcoat of the period. The California horses and mules were superior to those raised further east; and the exchange of blankets for stock was advantageous both ways. Presently the Arizonans found it cheaper to steal the stock than to trade for it, and in 1835 the ayuntamiento of Los Angeles passed some resolutions calling upon the local alcaldes along the line between the pueblo and the border to require parties driving horses and mules out of the territory to show a bill of sale. By this method the stealing was diminished but not entirely broken up.
In 1836 the question of titles to town lots was agitated, chiefly for the reason that dis-
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putes as to ownership were becoming more common. Up to this time no written titles had been granted except those to the first few settlers, which were of doubtful value, by rea- son of their limitations. Anyone who wished a piece of land, either for building a house or for cultivation, applied to the ayuntamiento, and received oral permission to go ahead and do whatever he pleased, as long as he did not interfere with his neighbors. Boundaries were vague, and, if no fence or wall had been con- structed, were subject to constant dispute. In the year 1836 the ayuntamiento began the practice of giving written titles, and a notice was issued calling upon all who held land in the pueblo to file a claim describing the exact location, and have it accepted and endorsed by the authorities. As the city was thus far en- tirely without a plan, its streets being unde- fined, crooked and irregular, great difficulty was experienced in locating and describing the individual boundaries. The people, moreover, were indolent and neglectful, and, after re- peated calls, many had failed to respond.
The total of the yearly receipts of the mu- nicipality in these days was something under $1000, of which about half came from the tax on liquors, and the remainder from fines. The treasury was always empty, and there were continual complaints that the salary of the city's officers were unpaid. Practically no at- tempt was made at municipal improvement, except that the irrigation ditch was generally
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Local Events of Mexican Rule.
kept in order. Indians were punished for drunkenness by being put to work on the ditch, and the supply of malefactors of this kind was inexhaustible. There was no light- ing of streets at night, except that eaclı keeper of a tavern or wine-shop was required to hang a lantern in front of his place. In 1836 the filthiness of the city was so great that crows and other carrion birds were attracted to it in vast numbers, constituting a veritable pest. A voluntary contribution was called for by the ayuntamiento to pay for the expense of killing them off. In this same year a decree was passed that no man should keep more than two dogs, and that both of these should be securely tied. What to do with the super- fluous ones was a question. The treasury was as usual; but the second alcalde came for- ward-limping a little, perhaps-and offered to provide at his own expense the necessary poison.
In 1839 an incident took place which, though trivial in itself, added to the general unpopularity from which the town suffered throughout the territory. Don Cosme Pena had been appointed by Governor Alvarado prefect of the southern district, with head- quarters at Los Angeles. There being no other place offered for his use, he had an of- fice in the residence of Don Abel Stearns, and the flag of the Mexican republic fluttered from the top of a pole in front of the house. One Sunday, when Pena was out of the city, a
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party of fifteen young men pulled down this flag, and then, by way of added insult, slaugh- tered a calf at the flag pole. The explanation offered by the citizens of the affair was that Stearns was accustomed to use the pole as a hitching post for cattle that were presently to be slaughtered, and that the flag was removed and the calf killed as a mark of their dis- approval of Pena's choice of headquarters. In the territory generally it was taken as an in- sult to the national emblem. Pena resigned in anger, and the governor fined each member of the ayuntamiento $10, and compelled twenty citizens who had signed a letter to him on the subject to pay $5 apiece for their rashness.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE PASTORAL AGE IN CALIFORNIA.
HE EARLY Californian presents the most picturesque and distinctly unique type that appears in our na- tional history ; and his life, prior to its modification by contact with the peo- ple of the United States, is extraordinarily ro- mantic and interesting. It is quite probable that the modern American, if suddenly trans- planted into the California of 1830, would find much that was disagreeable, and perhaps also some things that would excite his horror and disgust. He would, on the other hand, find not a little to enjoy, and a great deal to won- der at and admire. At the root of it all he would discover a principle so radically differ- ent from that on which he endeavors to base his own life policy, that the whole scheme would seem to him an almost hopeless puzzle. Asking himself constantly the question: Why do these people do these foolish things? he would see no wisdom in the answer: Because it is the custom of the country, as it was for- merly the custom of our ancestors in Spain.
For example, nothing distressed the first American visitors more than to observe the way the Californians yoked the oxen for work in the fields, or for draft purposes on the road. Instead of the weight being put upon the neck
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and shoulders, it was thrown directly upon the horns. The poor creatures showed by their lifting and twisting of the head that they were suffering pain, and the limit of their strength and endurance was quickly reached ; they were by no means as efficient as they would have been if properly yoked. But when the visitor called attention to the cruelty and the wasted energy in this system, he received always the same answer: That it was so done in Spain.
This admiration of the Mexicans for the mother country, even after they had passed out from under its control, was almost without limit. Though not always expressed in words, it showed in their intense conservatism. They were totally ignorant of the change that had taken place in the relative position of Spain and other European countries, whereby it was no longer a great and powerful empire, but a tottering ruin. That country was to them still the Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella, of Charles V and Philip II. Those who could read were an insignificant fraction of the total, but even for the educated there were no books, news- papers or periodicals. We may go further, and say that had all the means been at hand for enlightenment, it would still have required many generations of knowledge to have re- moved the hereditary self-complacency-the innocent and almost modest pride, that is an essential part of the Spanish character.
Lacking a word to exactly correspond to our "civilized," the first Spaniards used the
DON ANTONIO F. CORONEL AND WIFE IN A CALIFORNIA DANCE
Photo by Randall
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phrase, "La gente de razon"-people who can reason-to distinguish them from the Indians, whom they regarded as little else than brutes. There were, at the time of the American occu- pation, about 4000 native Californians of this order, and about 1500 of these were in Los An- geles or its vicinity. A very small percentage were pure-blooded Spaniards, although few were ready to admit that they were anything else. Cases were rare in which whole families emigrated from Spain, or Spanish soldiers sent back for their wives or sweethearts to come over, and the extremely small number of wo- men from the mother country is the clearest evidence of the mixed character of the popula- tion. In the early history of Mexico many ne- groes were brought into that country, and, as we have seen, there was some element of negro blood among the first settlers of Los Angeles. As a rule, however, the mixture was Spanish and Indian in varying proportions. The com- bination was not a fortunate one, when to the haughtiness and conservatism of the Spaniard was added the ignorance and indolence of the Indian. That the results were no worse in the composite character is due partly to the favor- able influence of the Catholic church, and part- ly to the natural conditions of the country that made life simple and easy.
The higher class Californian, whose blood was nearly if not entirely Spanish, was gener- ally the owner of a huge ranch, tens of thou- sands of acres in extent, covered with cattle.
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The offices of the territory, and most of those of the municipalities, were filled from this class. Their characteristics were the same as we know them today among the few remain- ing representatives of the old order. They were elegant of manner, dignified, hospitable, generous to a fault, honorable and just, as far as their limited knowledge of the world admit- ted. It takes a wise man to be a just one. If, for example, at the time of the American oc- cupation, some of the Californians were guilty of questionable transactions in the matter of land titles and government claims, it was rath- er through their failure to understand the tech- nicalities of our law, and their desire to do as they thought the Americans did, than from any actual wish to defraud. But, on the other hand, the original Californians of the better class were not lacking in faults. They were seldom good business men-one might almost say never-they were utterly unprogressive, they were given to political plotting and scheming, they were vain of their personal ap- pearance, and too often were what in the south is called "trifling" and in New England "shiftless." The last characteristic was on so grand a scale as almost to be invested with a dignity of its own. From the beginning of the American invasion it was only too plainly evi- dent that this class would never be able to hold its own against the superior shrewdness and determination of the Anglo-Saxon.
The lower class Californian forms by no
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means so pleasing a picture. In numbers he exceeded the others more than ten to one. He had something of the dignity and the gen- erosity of his superior, but lacked his self-con- trol. Indolent, reckless, entirely without edu- cation, addicted to drink, and purposeless in his occupations, we can only wonder that his race continued through half a dozen genera- tions, down to its improved condition of the present day.
Although generated from a different set of causes, the conditions in California before the American occupation were not unlike those of the south before the war. The actual labor of the country was performed by the Indians, who were held in servitude, and may be com- pared to the negro slaves of the southern states. The upper class Spaniards may be compared in an industrial sense to the slave- holders of the south (although they regarded the institution of slavery with abhorrence) ; and, finally, the lower class Californians may be likened to the poor whites of the slave states, despising labor, as the latter did, and existing somehow on the overflow of the gen- eral prosperity. The comparison is hardly fair to the Californian, however, for the poor white was spiritless and weak, whereas the other was full of pride, and was not without energy in certain directions.
Life in California, during this period, is in- separably bound up with the horse. As soon as children could walk, they were taught to
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ride, and by the time they were grown they were at home not merely in the saddle, but all over the horse, whether he were saddled and bridled, or was naked and wild from the herd. Horses were so cheap as to be practically val- ueless. At times it was found necessary to kill them off in great numbers. No attempt was made to breed them to any points of excel- lence, nor were they trained with the skill and good judgment that horsemen now employ. The average Californian had so many animals at his disposal that he paid little attention to any one in particular. They rode their horses recklessly, and were thoughtless about matters of food and drink and care. Fine trappings for the horse were highly esteemed, and one of the few manual industries held in great regard in California, as it had been in Spain, was leather working, an industry that has been handed down in improved form to the present genera- tion.
The industrial pursuits of these people con- sisted of agriculture, on a very limited scale, of the manufacture of a few articles in com- mon use, and of the raising of cattle for hides and tallow. The latter was a business that largely took care of itself, and it was prac- ticed on a grand scale. Once a year there was a rodeo, or round-up, when the cattle of a dis- trict were gathered together by vaqueros, and new stock was branded with the mark of the owner. Special officers, called "jueces del campo," or judges of the plain, were present
OXEN HARNESSED BY THE HORNS
Photo by Pierce
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The Pastoral Age in California.
at these gatherings to decide all disputes of ownership. This office was continued for a time even under American rule. The rodeos usually took place in the spring or early sum- mer, and were occasions of great merry-mak- ing, large feeding and deep drinking, so that even the most indolent were willing to forego their habitual rest to take part and help. In the autumn of the year the annual killing took place. Hides brought an average of $2 apiece, and tallow sold at from 6 to 8 cents a pound. On a large ranch there would be perhaps 1000 cattle ready for the slaughter, which would bring the owner $10,000 to $15,000 in cash or trade-usually in trade, for coin was scarce. It has been estimated that when the pastoral system of California was at its height, there were I,200,000 cattle on the ranches. The an- nual exportations of hides and tallow averaged over $250,000. The cattle were of an inferior grade, lean, wild, and of little value for do- mestic purposes. Butter, cheese, and even milk, were rarities. The beef from these ani- mals was tough, stringy and tasteless.
The sheep were a "scrub" breed, with short, coarse wool, and their flesh was seldom used for food. Hogs were raised in small numbers, but the "gente de razon" disdained the use of pork, except in the form of lard for cooking, and the Indians regarded it with suspicion. The early Californians seem to have devoted very little thought or energy to the pleasures of the table. Travelers among them speak in
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the highest terms of their hospitality, but are chary of compliments on their cooking. In most places it was left to Indian women, who were everywhere the house servants, and their ideas on the culinary art were decidedly crude. In spite of the monotonous and indi- gestible fare, good health seems to have been the rule among the Californians, and sickness the exception-which was fortunate, because doctors were practically unknown.
California agriculture consisted in the rais- ing of wheat, corn and grapes-the latter for the making of wine and brandy. Enough grain was raised for local necessities, but none for export. The plow was a clumsy wooden affair, generally shod with a piece of iron. Wheat was threshed by driving mares over it, as it lay heaped upon the ground. The straw was then raked off, and the grains winnowed out by hand. There were good vineyards at the missions and in Los Angeles, but few any- where else. The missions also had fruit trees and vegetable gardens, but until the Ameri- cans came these were not to be found in the towns-to any extent-nor on the ranches.
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