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CALIFORNIA,

WITH

Illustrations and Biographical Sketches

OF ITS

PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS.

SAN FRANCISCO
PUBLIC LIBRARY

OAKLAND, CAL.

THOMPSON & WEST.
1883.

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PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING HOUSE,

PRINTERS,

STEREOTYPERS, AND BINDERS.

12TM AND CASTRO STREETS, OAKLAND, CAL,

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Introductory .

CHAPTER I.

EARLIEST HISTORY.

California's Genealogy — Spanish Possession of America — The
Name of California — Seeking the Fabled Land — The Dis-
covery — Further Explorations — Journey of Cabeza de Vaca —
The Voyage of Cabrillo — Coast of San Luis Obispo — The
Northern Coast — Death of Cabrillo — Voyage of Ferrelo —
Landing of Sir Francis Drake — Drake's Historian — Viscayno's
Expedition in 1602 — Bay of Monterey — Puerto Francisco —
Continued Voyage of Viscayno — Names on the California
Coast — One Hundred and Sixty-six Years Later — The Jesuits
in California — Father Kino — Father Salva-Tierra — Methods
of Conversion — Expulsion of the Jesuits — Midnight Parting
— Father Junipero Serra — The Mission of Loreto. . . . 12 — 18

CHAPTER II.

THE ABORIGINES.

Archaeological Investigations — The Indians in Earliest History —
As Seen by Cabrillo — Their Degraded Condition — Writings of
Hugh Reid — "Orpheus and Eurydice" — Indolent and Weak —
The Indians of San Luis Obispo — Their Religion — Treatment
of the Indians — Indian Relics and Graves — Indian Implements
and Their Uses — Painted Rocks — The Great Natural Temple
of Carrisa — Indian Remains in Santa Barbara — Painted Cave
— From Cabrillo's Time to the Missionary Period — No Archi-
tectural Remains — Recent Explorations — Museums of Arch-
aeology — The Graves at Port Harford 18 — 24

CHAPTER III.

FOUNDING OF THE MISSIONS.

Palou's Life of Junipero Serra — The Visitador-General — Expeditions
to California — Equipment of the San Carlos — Interesting Docu-
ments -The Expedition by Land — Governor Portali's Com-
mand— Father Junipero and the Muleteer — Arrival at San Diego
— Founding a Mission — Gathering the Indians — The Expedi-
tion to Monterey — Father Juan Crespi's Diary — The Expedi-
tion in this Region — The Earliest Footprints — Difficult .Travel-
ing — At the Bay of Monterey — Discovery of the Bay of San
Francisco — The Missions in 1786 — Second Expedition to Mon-
terey — Threatened Abandonment of California 24 — 32

CHAPTER IV.

THE MISSIONS OF SAN LUIS OBIPSO.

Mission of San Luis Obispo — Ceremonies of the Founding —
Attacked by Indians — The Administrative Power — Free
Entertainment — Great Wealth of the Mission — Angered
Priests — The Secularization — The Mission Repaired — The
Buildings Put to Many Uses — At the End of the First
Century — The Centennial of the Mission — San Luis Obispo
before 1828 — Mission of San Miguel — Rapid Growth — Fruit
Trees and Vines — Fruit Trees Destroyed — The Ruined Build-
ings — The Ancient Church — A Solid Structure — Father
Farrelly — Area of its Possessions — Ranchos Granted — The
- Mission Is Disputed Property — Historic Correspondence —
The Occupancy of the Mission — The Property Restored to
the Church — San Miguel in 1822 — Santa Margarita— A Relic
of Father Junipero 32 — 40

CHAPTER V.

SECULARIZATION AND DECAY.

Hidalgo's Insurrection — Mexican Independence — Native Civil
Service Reform — A Clerical Soldier — Independence in Cali-
fornia — Theory of the Missions — Government Interference —
Colonists against the Missions — Pacheco and Avila Killed —
Rival Governors — Arrival of Gen. Jos6 Figueroa in 1833 —
Decree of Secularization — Distribution of Property and Lands
— Political Government of the Villages — Restrictions — General
Regulations — Provisional Regulation for the Secularization of
the Missions — Pious F"und — The Hijar Colony — Santa Ana's
Revolution — Land Grants — Secularization Completed — Death
of Governor Figueroa — The Missions of Alta California —
Wealth and Population — Varying Statements 40 — 46

CHAPTER VI.

THE MISSIONARIES.

The Wealth of the New World — The Primitive Races — An Omen
— The Tribes of California — Their Food and Customs — A
Great Cemetery — Indian Boats — Early Missionaries — The
California Missions — A Mission Described — Mission Govern-
ment — Daily Customs — The Rich Missions— The Seculariza-
tion — Eras of Progress — The Work of the Century — The
Dark Ages — The Ideal Elements — The Good Work of the
Monks — California Explorers — Tribute to the Pioneers —
Apostrophe to the Missionaries 46 — 50

CHAPTER VII.

CALIFORNIA UNDER MEXICO.

Pleasant Memories — Prosperous Rancheros — Generous Hospitality
— Californians in 1835 — General Style of Dress of the People
— Pure and Mixed Blood — Fine Voices — California Money-
Methods of Travel — Californian's Easter Sunday — Singular
Funeral — Cock Fighting— A Horse Race — Dancing — Descrip-
tion of a Festival, January 10, 1836 — Curious Custom — Love's
Offering — Twenty-four Years Later — Captain John Wilson —
Reminiscences — Return Voyage — California Customs — The
Carreta — A Manly Race — Schools — Fecundity of the People—
Their Tables — The Family at Flome — W^eddings — The Ladies'
Costumes — Caballero's Dress — Funeral Customs — Postal Sys-
tem — Hospitable Californians — The Ranchos — The Rodeos —
A Changed Condition — Ecclesiastical or Monkish Government.
50-58

CHAPTER VIII.

EARLY GOVERNMENT OF CALIFORNIA.

Government under Spain — The Reglamento — Paternal and Arbitrary
Government — A Characteristic Order — Mexican Control — A
Republican Decree — Changes of Governors — Law of March
20, 1837 — Judicial Organization — The .Superior Tribunal —
Courts of First Instance — Alcaldes and Justices of the Peace —
Alvarado Governor — Exorbitant Tariff for Revenue — .Ameri-
cans aid Alvarado — The Provisional Government of 1837 —
Carrillo Appointed Governor — Campaign against Carrillo —
Customs in 1S40 — Appearance of Alvarado — Visit to the
Alcalde 5S— 63

IV

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.

BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN M. PRICE.

lolin Michael Price — Sails for the Pacific — Arrives in California —
Lands to Kill Sea Elephants — Runs from the Ship — Kind
'Preatment at Colima — An Opportunity to go to California —
Safe in .Monterey — Making Him 'Pheir Prisoner — 'I'he Graham
Insurrection — Sketch of Graham — Arrested by Alvarado — The
Prisoners Sent to San Bias — Alvarado's Cruelty — 'Phe Prison-
ers at Santa Barbara — Alvarado's Short-lived 'Priumph — Alva-
rado's Incentive — Justice Accorded the Prisoners — Fremont
Appears — Gold Mining — Public Services — A Celebrated Case
— Marriage and Family 63 — 69

CHAPTER X.

INSURRECTIONARY PERIOD.

Plissatisfaction with Alvarado— Infamous Decree of Santa Ana —
Micheltorena Appointed Governor — Commodore Jones takes
Monterey — Fatal Precautions 'Paken — Capt. John A. Sutter
— Charles M. Weber — Martin Murphy and Family — Arrest of
Weber — Campaign of 1845 — Capt. James McKinley — Sur-
render of Micheltorena — Articles of Capitulation — Close of the
Campaign — Pio Pico Governor — The First Conspiracy — Ex-
traordinary Convention Called — Fremont's Coining — Spicy
Correspondence — Fremont Recalled — Capture of Sonoma —
Proclamation of Judge Ide — State of War — Pio Pico and
Thomas O. Larkin — Reminiscence of General Vallejo — The
Famous Bear Flag — P'remont's Battalion — Last Mexican Flag
in the North — Important Correction of History — Spanish Gov-
ernors of California 69 — 79

CHAPTER XL

THE CONQUEST.

The Forecast of War — Instructions to Commodore Sloat — The
First Battles — The Flag Raised at Monterey — Proclamation —
Discretion of General Castro — Capture of Military Stores —
Sloat in a Quandary — ^Judicious Action of the Commodore
— Commodore .Sloat's Departure — Arrival of Commodore
Stockton — The News of War Declared — A Bright Prospect —
The Second Conquest — ^John Brown's Ride — The United
States Troops Expelled — Flores' Proclamation — Expedition to
the South — Repulse of Captain Mervine — The Campaign from
San Diego — Coming of General Kearny — Battle of San Pas-
qual — Orders to Kearny — Battles of San Gabriel and the
Mesa — Los Angeles Regained — Retreat of the Californians —
Articles of Capitulation — Fremont's Battalion — Battle of
Natividad — A Brave Indian F"eat — The Battalion on the
March — A Shocking Execution — Voracious Soldiers — Capture
of .San Luis Obispo — Pico Taken Prisoner — Rescued by Fair
Ladies — The Battalion in San Luis Obispo — A Picture of
Desolation — Gold against Sugar — Fremont's Strategy — Cross-
ing the Mountain — A Terrible Storm — The Californians in
the Campaign — Ira Van Gordon — Benjamin Franklin Mayfield
— George Stone — Elisha W. Howe 79 — 93

CHAPTER XII.

EARLY IMMIGRANTS.

Limited Knowledge of the Country — The Fur Trappers — Occupa-
tion of the Pacific Coast- Jedediah S. Smith — 'Phe First Over-
land Traveler— Smith's Troubles in California — The Fate of
Smith — Other Explorers — The Pludson Bay Company — ^J.
Alexander Forbes — Dr. John Marshe — The First Overland
Immigrants — Names of the Company — Immigrants in the
South in 1841— The Great Santa Fe Trail— Pioneer Over-
landers— Fremont in 1844 — Seeking the Buenaventura River —
Wandering in the Mountains — Consultation with the Indians
—The Struggle with the Snow — An Indian Warning— Reach-
ing the Summit — In the Sacramento Valley— A Favorable
Winter — Immigrants of 1844 — Captain Truckee — Notable
Families — The Donner Party — Other Immigrants — Mormon
Battalion — Stevenson's Regiment — Discovery of Gold — Capt.
Wm. G. Dana — His Birth and Ancestry— Youth and Early
1 ravels— Captain of the Brig UazKr/j — His Ancestral Estate
—Affectionate Correspondence — Inherits Property — Gold in
the Cargo— A Cargo to Sitka— Opposition to Americans in
California— Perplexing Laws— Clo.ses Business in Oahu— Let-
ter from his Agent— Captain Dana Builds a Schooner— Obtains
the Nipomo Grant— The Hospitalities of Nipomo— Engages in
Manufactures— Political Controversies— OHices Held— Busi-
ness Enterprises— Marriage and Family of Mrs. Dana— Remi-
niscence of Early History— The Family— Affliction and Death
—William Charles Dana— John Francis Dana. . . . 93—108

CHAPTER XIII.

MILITARY GOVERNMENT.

Commodore Sloat — Commodore Stockton Governor — Colonel P"re-
mont Appointed — Shu !)r!ck Commander-in-Chief — Arrival of
(jeneral Kearny — Circular — Procla nation to the People of Cal-
ifornia — Fremont's Great Ride — P^ndurance of California
Horses — A Cora nunal Government — Letter from General
Kearny — Richard B. Mason Governor — Treaty with Mexico
— Discovery of Gold — P'irst Repcn't Taken East — Great Ex-
citement in New York — Progress of the Excitement — A Vivid
Picture — P^ffects of the Discovery — An Olficial Statement —
Letter of Governor Mason — Mormon Diggings — The Governor
Visits Coloma — At Weber's Creelc — Instances of Good Luck
— A Business View — Easy Fortunes — Placers of San Fernando
— Quicksilver Mine of New Almaden — An Indian with Gold —
Persifer F. Smith Governor — 'Phe First Steamships Arrive —
Gen. Bennett Riley Governor — Constitutional Convention —
Homographic Chart of the Convention — 'Phe Constitution —
The Closing Act — Proclamation — Military Governors of Cal-
ifornia 108 — 118

CHAPTER XIV.

IMMIGRATION IN 1S49.

Preparation for Emigration — The Routes to California — The Pacific
Mail Steamship Company — The Expectant Argonaut — On the
Isthmus — A Lesson in Maritime Law — Sailing to San Fran-
cisco — Crossing the Plains — An Overland Journal — Arrivals
in 1S49 — PojDulation at the Close of 1849 — Domestic Habits
of the Pioneers — The Miner's Cabin — Housekeeping and
Cooking 118 — 126

CHAPTER XV.

ORGANIZATION OF STATE GOVERNMENT.

Election of .State Officers — Meeting of the Legislature — The Con-
test for Admission — Act of Admission Passed — Great Rejoicing
— Birthday of California — The Governmental Organization —
Dividing the State into Counties — Elections Ordered — Senate
and Assembly Districts — Judicial Districts 126 — 129

CHAPTER XV L

POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY.

San Luis Obispo a County — Addressed as a Pueblo — The First
Election — National Political Parties — California Democratic
— The Whig Policy — Politics in San Luis Obispo — County
Government Organized — Records of the Court of Sessions —
Extraordinary Authority Assumed — The First Sunday Law —
Election in 1850 — District Court — Judges of the Plains —
Board of Supervisors — Election in 1852 — Election in 1853 —
Aspirations of Broderick — Political Duels — The .Slavery Ques-
tion in California — Election in 1854 — A Stormy State Con-
vention—Conventions and Nominations — Campaign of 1855
— Native American Party — Efforts to Elect a Senator — Cam-
paign of 1856 — The Republicans — NominationsMade — Friend-
ship for Fremont — Election of Senators — Triumph of Brod-
erick 129 — 141

CHAPTER XVII.

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

Campaign of 1857 — The Democracy United — Democratic Combi-
nations — Contempt for the Republicans — State Conventions —
The Election — Henry M. Osgood — Campaign of 1858 — Douglas
Democrats — Republicans and Douglas Democrats — Election in
1858 — A Portentous Omen — The Legislature — Campaign of
1859 — Election Precincts — Political Doctrines — Election Re-
turns 1859 — Broderick and Terry Duel — .M. S. Latham
Elected Senator — Campaign of i860 — Threatening Aspect of
Parties — The Election — Lincoln President — J. A. McDougall
Senator — A Stormy Session — The Rebellion — Campaign of
1861 — Officers of Election — .Success of the Republicans —
Campaign of 1862 — Three Parties in the Field- -Abolition of
Slavery — John Conness Elected Senator — Constitutional
Amendments Adopted — Cajnpaign of 1863 — Democratic Song
— -Long Hairs and .Short Hairs — Election September, 1863 —
Judicial Election — Campaign of 1864 — Presidential Nomina-
tions — Election 1864 — Evidence of Patriotism 141 — 151

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVIII.

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

Campaign of 1865 — Death of Lincoln — Election in 1865 — Judicial
Election — The Legislature — Registry Law — Campaign of 1867
— Political Changes — Meeting of Conventions — Election Sep-
tember, 1867 — Election in October — The Legislature — Casserly
Senator — Presidential Campaign of 1868 — Republican Vic-
tory — Contested Election — Campaign of 1869 — Negro Suffrage
— The Election — Pacheco's Election Contested — The Legislature
— Judicial Election 1869 — Campaign of 1871 — The Election
- — Judicial Election 1871 — Pacheco Resigns as Senator — The
Legislature — Sargent Senator — Campaign of 1872 — Grant and
Greeley — The Election — Campaign of 1873 — County Conven-
tions — Election 1873 — Judicial Election — The Legislature —
Senators Elected — Murray Appointed District Judge — Pablo de
la Guerra — Laws Passed — Campaign of 1875 — Complicated
Parties — The Election — Death of Judge Murray — Judicial
Election 1875 — Election of Supervisors — Campaign of 1876 —
The Election 151— 159

CHAPTER XIX.

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

Campaign of 1877 — Election in 1877— Judicial Election — The
Legislature — James T. Farley Senator — Hon. Lew M. Warden
— Workingm' n's Party — Constitutional Convention — Cam-
paign of 1878 — Campaign of 1879 — Constitution Adopted —
Political Campaign — Thi Election — State Officers — C. mpaign
of 1880— The Election — The Legislature -Campaign of 18S2 —
Official Election Returns — Prohibition — Members of Congress
— The Legislature — County Government — Death of Judge
McMurtry — The Brooks-Steele Contest — Hon. George Steele.
159—166

CHAPTER XX.

FINANCIAL HISTORY.

Early Accounts — A Spanish Document — A Reminiscence — Assess-
ment of Taxes for 1850 — Assessment Books — Assessed Values
in 1851 — Indebtedness in 1851 — License Ordinanc s — Licen-
ses in 1852 — Salaries of Officials — Sundry Bills— A Spanish
Peculiarity — County Treasury in 1852 — Official Appointments —
Inauguration of the Supervisors — Teacher's Salary — Treasurer's
Report — Jail Building — Valuations in 1853 — Valuations in
1854 — Valuations in 1855 — Valuations in 1856 — Valuations for
1857 — Valuation for 1S58 — Board of Equalization — Valuation
for 1859 — Valuation for i860 — List of Property-Holders in
i860 — Valuations for 1861 — 1S62 — 1863 — 1864 — Salaries of
Officials — Detail of County Indebtedness — Warrants Redeemed.
166 — 174

C HAPTER XXI.

FINANCIAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

Illegal Assessments — Statistics for 1867 — Condition of County
Funds in 1867 — Assessments in 1869 — Statistics of 1870 —
Property in 1S71 — Financial Condition in 1871 — Bids for
County Buildings- -Property in 1871 — Figures in 1872 —
County Debt in 1872— License Tax Collections — Auditor's
Report in 1873-74 — Ta.xes in 1873 — Assessed Value in 1874-75
— Rate of Taxation in 1875 — Road Matters — Assessor's Sta-
tistics in 1876 — Tax Levy for 1S76 — Evidences of Growth —
Angus M. Hardie — Valuations for 1877 — Totals for I878 —
Statistics for 1879 — Assessment in 1880 — County Hospital —
Wharf License — Wharfage — Statistics for 1881 — State Statis-
tics — Surveyor-General's Report — Assessed Value of Property
for 1872 — Comparative Statements — Tax Levy for 1882-83 —
Condition of Finances in 1882 — Board of Supervisors — ^James
Cutter McFerson — ^James D. Fowler — R. M. Bean — The Pres-
ent State of the Finances 174 — 186

CHAPTER XXII.

FRATERNAL ORDERS.

A Masonic Poem — Fraternal Societies — The Order of Freemasonry
— Speculative Masonry — Masoniy on the Pacific Coast — Re-
markable Masonic Display — Grand Lodge of California —
Masonry in San Luis Obispo — .San Luis Obispo Lodge, JS'o.
148 — San Simeon Lodge, No. ig6 — King David Lodge, No.
209 — Masonic Celebration — Opening Address — Masonic Ora-
tion — Masonic Records — Royal Arch Masons — San Luis
Obispo Chapter, No. 62 186 — 194

CHAPTER XXIII.

FRATERNAL ORDERS CONTINUED.

Independent Order of Odd Fellows — Washington Lodge, No I —
The Order in 1878— Odd Fellowship in California— The Or-
der in San Luis Obispo — Chorro Lodge, No. 168 — Odd Fel-
lows' Celebration in 1871 — Odd Fellows' Hall Association —
Hall Secured — .Statistics of California in 1878 — Officers of
Chorro Lodge — Hesperian Lodge, No. 181 — Officers of the
Lodge — Arroyo Grande Lodge, No. 258 — Rebekah Degree
Lodges — Reports to the Grand Lodge 194 — 199

CHAPTER XXIV.

FRATERNAL ORDERS CONTINUED.

Order of Knights of Pythias — Washmgton Lodge, No. i — Knights
of Pythias in San Luis Obispo — -Park Lodge, No. 40 — Officers
of Park Lodge — Anniversary Celebration — Address by J. M.
Wilcoxon, P. C. — Endowment Rank K. of P. — Section No. 147
— Patrons of Husbandry — The First Grange — State Granges —
The Order of P. of H. in San Luis Obispo — Grangers' Reso-
lutions — Grange County Council — Officers in the Order —
Order of Good Samaritans — Sons of Temperance — Inde-
pendent Order of Good Templars — Corral de Piedra Lodge —
American Legion of Honor — Independent Order of Missou-
rian.s — List of Members — Agricultural Society — Constitution —
Officers Elected — Reorganization of the Society — Society of
Pioneers — Charter Members — Temperance and Life Insur-
ance — Order of Chosen Friends — Independent Order of Cho-
sen Friends — Irish Land League 199 — 210

CHAPTER XXV.

AGRICULTURE.

Early Efforts at Cultivation — Wheat in Southern California — A
Country all Sea Port — California Wheat from 1770 to 1825 —
Crops in Fifteen Mission Milpas — Growth of California Wheat
Interest — Ancient Cultivation — The Arada — Yoking the Oxen
— The Carreta — The Molino — Canada Mayor — The Ranchero
Period — Geography and Topography — Land Grants in San
Luis Obispo — Large Tracts Purchased — Francis Ziba Branch
— Becomes a Sailor — Joins a Party for New Mexico — Extends
his Journey to California — Marries and Settles — 'I'he Wild
Arroyo Grande — An Indian Raid — Adventures with Grizzlies
— Michael Daughhig — A Relic of The Long Ago — O'oituary —
Home of Branch — Jost5 Fred Branch — Isaac J. Sparks--Ad-
venlures on the Plains — Goes Trapping — Fighting Indians —
Arrive in California — Hunts the Sea Otter — Method of Hunt-
ing — The Last Expedition — Sparks a Merchant — His Ranchos
in San Luis Obispo — His Badge of Pioneership. . . . 210 — 222

CHAPTER XXVI.

AGRICULTURE CONTINUED.

The Drought of 1863-64— E. W. Steele Visits San Luis Obispo—
A Backward County — A Newspaper Established — Wheat Cult-
ure Advocated — Grist Mills — Statistics of Production — Expor-
tation of Wheat — Large Crops — Dairying — When the Cows
Come Home — A Newspaper's Notice of Dairying — Success in
Dairying — Excelsior Cheese Dairy — Dairy Cattle — Jersey
Stock — The Origin of the Jerseys — The Formation of the
Type — Early Excellence — Action of the Royal Jersey Agricult-
ural Society —Morgan Brians — P. O'Connor Bean Culture —
Fruit — Vegetable Products — .Silk Culture — The Interest in
San Luis Obispo — E. P. Bean — Large Land Holdings — Meas-
urement of Land — Hills in Area of an Acre 222 — 233

CHAPTER XXVII.

GEOLOGY.

Section from the Pacific to the Sierra Nevada — Salinas River
Valley — Santa Margarita Valley — Point Pinos Range and
Sien-a San Joa6 — Estrella River, Panza and Carriaa — Valley
of San Luis Obispo — Salinas Valley — Of the Quaternary
Period in California — Coast Mountains — Division 1 , Granite
— Division 2, Serpentine and Trachytic — Bitumen of San
Luis Valley — Bitumen of Nipomo Rancho 233 — 246

CHAPTER XXVIII.

MINES OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

Antiquity of Mining — The First Steps in Mining — Pre-American
Gold Discoveries — The Mineral Wealth of San Luis Obispo —

y<

VI

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

San Simeon Coal Mining Companj — Qiiiclcsilver Discoveries —
Great Mining Excitement in Camliria — 'I'lie Gold Mines of La
I'anza — Our Placer Mines — Gold Mines of San Luis Obispo —
Gold on the Beach — Mining History by P. A. Forrester — Quick-
silver-Cinnabar in San Luis Obispo — Pine Mountain Mines —
The San Jose Mines — The Chief of Quicksilver Mines — The
Oceanic Mining Compan) — New Bodies of Ore — Chromium
— Chromeca Reduction Works — Claims Bonded — Silica Pol-
ishing kock — The Pacific Mines — Asphaltum — Gold — Silver
— Lime — Iron — Copper — Gypsum— Alabaster — Onyx — Salt —
Beds of Asphaltum — A Rich Mine 246 — 254

CHAPTER XXIX.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Missionaries as Teachers — Going Abroad for Education — Schools
in the Last Century — School Regulations in 181 1 — Constitu-
tional Provisions for Schools — Public .Schools in San Luis
Obisi)o — Teachers and Superintendents — Schools from 1S50 to
1S60 — Tabulated History of the Schools — Report for the Years
Ending Oct. 31, 1S61, and Oct. 31, 1S63 — Census Statistifcs —
School Statistics — Financial Statistics — School Property — Mis-
cellaneous Statistics — School Census 1S82 — Apportionment of
Funds — School Directory — Review of .Statistics — The .Schools
in 1S82 — Arroyo Grande School — Ascension School — A
Mountain District — Branch School — Caiion School — Central
.School — Cienega School — Corral de Piedra .School — Cuesta
School — East Santa F6 School — Estero .School — Estrella
School — Excelsior School — Fair View School — Franklin
School — Harmony School — Hesperian School — Home School
— Hope School — Huasna School — Huer-Huero School — Jo-
sephine School--Laguna School — Lincoln School — Los Osos
School — Mammoth Rock School — Mission School — Mountain
View School — Oak Dale School — Oak Flat School — Oak
Grove School — Pacific School — Paso Robles School — Rincon-
ada School — Salinas School — Sand Hill School — San Jose
School — San Migxiel School — San Simeon .School — Santa
Manuela School — Santa Rosa School — Someo School — Spring
School — Stowe School — Summit School — Washington School
— Teachers' Institute — Academy of the Immaculate Heart —
Private Schools — Prof. C. H. Woods' School 254 — 269

CHAPTER XXX.

JOURNALISM.

Early Journalism in California — Record of the Pioneer Presses —
Legal Advertising — An Editor — The Pioneer — Rome G.
Vickers — The Tribune — Our Programme — Prospectus of the
San Luis Obispo Democrat — Valedictoiy — Daily Tribune —
H. S. Rembaugh — J. K. Tuley — G. B. Staniford — Charles
Maxwell — Myron Angel — Democratic Standard — The South
Coast — Charles L. Woods — Southern California Advocate —
San Luis Obispo Mirror — H. H. Doyle, J. H. Crenshaw — The
Republic 269 — 281

CHAPTER XXXI.

CHURCH, BENCH AND BAR.

Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. A. B. Spooner — Protestant Epis-
copal Church — Methodist Episcopal Church, South — Presbyte-
rian Church — The Present Condition — Rev. Rufus Deming —
The Bench and Bar— J. M. Bonilla— H. A. Teftt— An Ex-
citing Trial — Judge Joaquin Carrillo — Pablo de la Guerra —
Walter Murray — Obituary of Hon. Walter Murray — Tribute
by James O'Sullivan — ^Judge Murray's Family — Eugene Faw-
cett — Louis McMurtry — D. S. Gregory — The County Court —
W. J. Graves — O. M. Brown — Roniualdo Pacheco — JosS Maria
Munoz — Joseph M. Havens — William L. Beebee — McD. R.
Venable — District Attorneys — Parker H. French — Hubbard
C. M Ely— P. A. Forrester— James White— N. D, Witt— A.
A. Oglesby — Ernest Graves — F. Adams — Robert C. Bouldin —
R. M. Preston — Members of the Bar 281 — 293

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE.

A Chapter of Crime Unparalleled — Former Murders and Lynching
— Terrible Times in San Luis Obispo— The Murder of George
Fearless, in 1856— The Dark and Bloody Grounds— The Mur-
der of two Frenchmen, in December, 1857 — Light Dawning —
-■Vn Organized Gang of Murderers— One of the Murderers
Caught— He Escapes the CJallows — Causes of His Escape —
.-Vntagonism of the Native Californians and .Ainericans- The
Murder at San Juan Capistrano— Disposal of the Prisoners-
Return of the Two Servants — One of the Gang Discovered —

Hanged by the Citizens — Fruitless Pursuit of the Gang — The
Motto of Linares and Jack Powers — "Dead Men Tell no
Tales" — Capture of One of the "Five Joaquins" — Hanged by
the People in Broad Daylight — Murder of Jack Gilkey by the
Gang — Another of the Gang Caught and Hanged — Another
Arrest — His Confession — His Execution — Letter to His Mother
— Parties in Pursuit of Remaining Murderers — The Huero and
Jack Powers in Distress — Corraling Some of the Gang in a
Wood — Pio Linares Reorganized — Engagement with the Mur-
derers — The Dead Buried — Execution of Blanco and Grijalva
— How the Murderers' Account Stands — What Became of the
Huero — The Native Californians Rising — Pursuit by Pacheco's
Party after the Huero — Francisco Zuniga Discharged — The
Value of Native Californians in the Matter — Growing Strength
of the Vigilance Committee — Wholesome Result of the Move-
ment — Prosperity Prostrated by Crime — "There's a Good Time
Coming, " 293 — 300

C H A P T E R X X X 1 1 1 .

VIGILANCE COMMITTEE CONTINUED.

Anti-Vigilance Newspapers — Review of the Evidence — A Veteran
Bandit — The Case of Pio Linares — Defense of the Committee
— Desperate Acts of Linares — The Necessity of a Vigilance
Committee — The Criminal Element — The Vigilance Pledge —
Roll of Members — Vigilance Subscriptions — The Evidence —
Murder of the Basque Frenchmen 300 — 304

CHAPTER XXXIV.

CRIMES.

Murder of Read and Family — Society in ,San Luis Obispo — Indian
Raids — ^Joaquin Muriatta — Pursuit and Capture of Murderers —
Murder of Wall and Williamson — A Reminiscence of 1849 —
Killing of Bonifacio Manchego — .\ Barbarous Murder — A
Strange Murder — A Strange Verdict — Doc Stewart — Waylaid
and Killed — An Indian Murder — A Fiendish Crime — A Chinese
Assassination — Attempted Assassination — An Unknown Mur-
der — Order Prevails 304 — 31 1

CHAPTER XXXV.

MAILS, ROADS, AND RAILROADS.

The Ancient System — Regular .Mail — A Post-office — Alexander
Murray — Tri-Weekly Stage — Daily Stage — Coast Line .Stage
Company — Perils of the Flood — Upset in the Creek — A Noble
Red Man — The Flood Abates — Not an Unusual Event — San
Luis Obispo Post-office — J. J. Simmler — Postal Business —
Business in San Luis Obispo — Cambria Stage — Cayucos and
San Miguel Stage — Post-offices in San Luis Obispo County —
Wagon Roads — Railroads — Pacific Railroad Survey — .Southern
Pacific Railroad — Southern Pacific Branch Railroad Company
— San Luis Obispo Railroad Company — Opposition Wharves
and Steamers — San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria Valley Rail-
road — Pacific Coast Railway— 'J. M. Fillmore 311 — 322

CHAPTER XXXVI.

COAST OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

Coast Survey — Pismo Wharf — Bay of San Luis Obispo — North of
San Luis Obispo — Bay of San Simeon — The People's Wharf —
Rates of Wharfage — Petition for a Breakwater — In the Assem-
bly — San Luis Obispo a Port of Delivery — Wreck of the Har-
lech Castle 322—326

CHAPTER XXXVII.

METEOROLOGY.

December in San Luis Obispo — Climate — The .Seasons — The Wet
Season — Rain-fall at San Luis Obispo — Rain-fall at Paso de
Robles — The Dry Season — Temperature during 1874 and
1 87 5 — Earthquakes — Tidal Wave — Tornado — Effects of the
Climate— W. W. Hays, A. M., M. D 326—331

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

TOWNS AND LOCALITIES.

The Northern Coast Towns — San Simeon — The Wharf—Improved
Business — San Simeon Township — The Climate and Products —
Piedras Blancas Light-house— The Farmers — R.J. Hazard — A
Whaling Station — Fight with a Whale — Captain Clark's Whal-

ing Business — Luis Vori iZ

-^34

TABLE OF CONTENTS— ILLUSTRATIONS.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

TOWNS AND LOCALITIES CONTINUED.

Cambria — Increasing Population — Mining Excitement — The First -
School— John McCormick Whitaker— Mail Route Established
—Business Improving— The First Store— William H. DeNise
— Naming the Town — Excelsior Cheese Factory — Societies —
RailroadTalkedOf— Prosperity— Dairying— O. P. McFadden—
Jeffrey Phelan— John C. Hill— Frederick J. Peterson— Cam-
bria in iSSo — Santa Rosa ^^lUey — Mammoth Rock — Timothy
Murphy— Julian Estrada 334—341

CHAPTER XL.

TOWNS AND LOCALITIES CONTINUED.

Leffingwell's Wharf — Cayucos — Capt. James Cass— Cass' Wharf —
Jeremiah Francis Muir — Business at Cayucos — Town Laid Out
— Dairying Interest — Emil Royass Freeman — G. A. Freeman
— George T. Shipp — Joseph Muscio — Abramo Muscio — Ales-
sandro Tomasini — James Badasci — Charles Mabel — Thomas S.
Mabel — James Quincy Buffington — David C. Powell — Samuel
Kingery — Cayucos in 18S0 341 — 347

CHAPTER XL I.

TOWNS AND LOCALITIES CONTINUED.

Morro — Morro Rock — Morro Bay — Town Founded — Land Titles —
Business Men of Morro — William Langlois — John Greening —
Legend of Morro Castle — Avila — Don Miguel Avila — Port
Harford - 347—35°

CHAPTER XLII.

TOWNS AND LOCALITIES CONTINUED.

Arroyo Grande — William Henry Ryan — Progress of the Town —
Pismo Wharf — Railroad — Daniel Henry — Henry Hess — The
Vicinity — H. A. Vachell — Hasbrouck's Ranch 350 — 355

CHAPTER XLIII.

TOWNS AND LOCALITIES CONTINUED.

City of the Olive Tree — San Luis Obispo — Collecting Toll — Town
Survey — Pueblo of San Luis Obispo — Town Lands — Hon.

Charles H. Johnson — Town Organization — City Incorporated
— City Officers — City Finances — Town Improvements — Prog-
ress in 1S76 — Condition in 1SS3 — Goldtree Block — Bank of
San Luis Obispo — Water- Works — James G. Abbott — Francisco
Estevan Quintana — Pedro Quintana — .Stillman F. Breed —
Christjan Hansen Jespersen 355 — 363

CHAPTER XLIV.

TOWNS AND LOCALITIES CONTINUED.

East of the Santa Lucia — The Carrisa Plain — Valley of the San
Juan— San Jose Valley — Pozo— Owners and Farms in 1877-80 —
Naming the Post-office — Don Ynocente Garcia — Santa Margar-
ita — Seen by J. Ross Browne — Bear Catching — The Santa
Lucia Range — The Eastern Valleys — Eagle Rancho — A Gal-
lant Hunter — A Lovely Park — Falls of the Atascadfero — ^J.
Henry Baron von Schroder 363 — 369

CHAPTER XLV.

TOW^NS AND LOCALITIES, CONTINUED.

Valley of the Salinas— =-El Paso de Robles — Purchased by Black-
burn — The Improvements — The Main Spring — Chemical An-
alysis — The Mud Bath — Other Springs — Resident Physician —
Routes of Travel— D. D. Blackburn — J. H. Blackburn- D.
W. James ". 369—376

CHAPTER XLVI.

TOWNS AND LOCALITIES CONCLUDED.

San Miguel — George W. Proctor — Estrella — Las Tablas — t'.ho-
lome— Bull and Bear Fight 376 — 381

CHAPTER XLVII.

OBITUARIES.

Obituaries of Pioneers. 381 — 3S5

Glossary of Spanish Names 386

Patrons Directory 3S7 — 391

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Abbott, Austin Facing

Badasci, G "

Bean Bros — _ "

Blackburn, J. H _ "

Blackburn Bros, and James "

Branch, J. F ". . "

Breed, S.F "

Brians, Morgan . . _ . . _ "

Buffington, J. Q . _ . _ _ "

Cass, James _ . "

Court House "

Dana, John F "

Dana, W. C. - "

Danglada, J. M "

De Nise, W. H . . . . . "

Estrada, Mariano . "

Fink, Chas "

Fowler, J. D- - - "

Freeman, E. R "

Freeman, G. A "

Goldtree Bros "

Greening, John "

Hardie, A. M.. "

Hazard, R. J "

Henry, Daniel . - . "

Hess, Henry _ "

Hill, J. C - .. "

Hollister, J. H "

Howe, E. W_-. . "

Jespersen, C.H - "

Eangery, S "

Paa'e

120

108

184

96

44
220

364
229
112
341
9

105
104
120

336
88
96

128

343

344

68

349
180

332
356

353

136

48

93
80

332

Langlois, Wm - . . . Facing Page 348

Lee, Chas " " 136

Mabel Bros " " 345

Mayfield, B. F_ " " 128

McFaddin, O. P " " 340

McFerson, J. C " " 181

Mission San Luis Obispo ^ . " " 16

Mission San Miguel " " 24

Muir, J. F "" " 342

Murphy Timothy " " 181

Muscio, A ... " " 152

Muscio, G " " 144

Nelson, L... .-. .' " " 88

O'Connor,? " " 228

Paso Robles Hot Springs " " 44

Petersen, F. J " " 339

Phelan, Jeffry - " " 168

Pierce, B. B -- " " 160

Powell, D. C " " 56

Proctor, G. W " " 64

Price, John M " " 64

Quintana, Pedro- " " 361

Ryan, W.H " " 352

Shipp Mrs. Harriett --- " " 56

Tomasini, A " " 80

Tribune Building " " 12

Van Gordon, Ira-. ^ " " 91

Warden, H. M -.- .-. " " 72

Warden, Lew M " " 160

Whitaker, J. M " " 335

Yori, Lewis-- -- " " 335

Vlll

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHp:S— PORTRAITS.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

Abliott, James G .. .- 362

Angel, Myron .-...- . - 276

Avila, Don Miguel.-- -- 350

Badasci, James - - - . - — 345

Bean, R. P . 232

Bean, R. M - - - . - 183

lilackburn, 1). IJ - - 372

Blackburn, J. H , . - . . - - — . . 374

Bonilla, J. M - - 284

Branch, Francis Ziba - 216

Branch, J . F . - . - 219

Breed, S.F-- 362

Brians, Morgan — 229

Buffington, J. Q - -345

Cass, James - . - - - - 1 - - 341

Crenshaw, J. H - - 280

Dana, John F -. - . 107

Dana, W. C .. 107

Dana, W. G - - loi

DeNise, W. H- -- 336

Doyle, H. H - - 279

Estrada, Julian - 341

Fillmore, J. M. -.- 321

Finney, Porter S ^ 182

Fowler, J. D 183

Freeman, E. R - _ _ 343

Freeman, G. A 343

Goldtree Bros - 361

Greening, John . - -' 349

Hardie, A. M - 179

Hays, W. VV . - _ . . 330

Hazard, R. J 332

Henry, Daniel -- - . 353

Hess, Henry 353

HilU.C --. -...- 339

HoUister, J. H 48

Howe, E. W - - , 92

James, D. W _ 3^ c

J espersen, C. H -.. .. 363

Johnson, Chas. H . . . . . 357

Kingery, S - - 346

Langlois, Wm - 348

Mabel, Charles - - . 345

Mabel, Thos. S - - - 345

Maxwell, Chas - ._.....- 276

Mayfield, B. F- - - - - 92

McFaddin, O. P . . - .. -- 339

McFenson, J. C .. ... -- . 182

Muir, J. F . . - 342

Murphy, P. W- ... 32

Murphy, Timothy . _ - . 341

Muscio, A - - 344

Muscio, Joseph 344

O'Connor, P 229

Osgood, Henry M. ._ 142

Petersen, F. J _ 339

Phelan, Jeffry ..... . 339

Phillips, C. H 60

Powell, D. C 345

Proctor, G. W 377

Price, John M . . 63

Quintana, F. E . ... . 362

Quintana, Pedro . — . . 362

Ryan, W. H 351

Shipp, Geo. T . . 344

Simmler, J. J _ 314

Sparks, Isaac J ._..._ _ 220

Steele, E. W 40

Steele, Geo.. . ... 165

Stone, George — 92

Tomasini, A 344

Vachell, H. A 353

Van Gordon, Ira . .. 91

Warden, H. M ... 72

Warden, Lew M. _ 160

Whitaker, J. M 335

Yori, Lewis .- 333

PORTRAITS.

Branch, Francis Ziba Pacin

I )ana, W. G (i

Hollister, J. H. (steel) _ «

Murphy, P. W. (steel) "

Phillips, C. H. (steel) _ . »

Quintana, F'rancisco E "

g Page 216

32
60
84

Simmler, J. J Facing Page 313

Steele, E. W. (steel) " " 40

Stone, George (deceased) _ . '' " 92

Warden, H. M. (steel) _ " " 72

Warden, Lew M " " 160

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OF

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY. CALIFORNIA.

By NlYRON ANQEIv.

INTRODUCTORY.

APPY are the people," says " Montesquieu, "whose
stories are brief in the history books." Such were
the thoughts of a philosopher who regarded his-
tory as the record of but wars, battles, and sanguinary
strife; the contests of kings and the intrigues of royal
courts; the splendors and luxuries indulged byroyal tyrants;
the deeds of great generals who led to slaughter the servile
and obedient masses at the pleasure of the autocratic
power or to satisfy a personal ambition. The great
libraries of the world are filled with vast tomes whose
pages are crimsoned with the blood of the nations whose
history they relate. Bronze and marble and granite have
been molded and hewn and piled in monuments com-
memorative of oppressive rulers, licentious despots, and
successful warriors. All the energies of the past ages
have been devoted to the aggrandizement of the great, to
the exaltation of the few, and the ennoblement of crime
committed by power. The condition and deeds of the
simple people were left to the lyric poets, to the romancist
and the obscure story-teller, whose writings could not
bear the dignity of history. The people were ever the
sufferers; downtrodden and divested of all the rights of
manhood; of a voice in the Government; of the acquisi-
tion of property; of the choice of religion; of the attain-
ment of knowledge; and of the pursuit of happiness. To

them history was but a record of their misfortunes, and
well may it have been said, "happy was a people without
a history."

But with modern advancement the spirit of mankind
has changed. The people, as contradistinguished from
their rulers, have risen to an appreciation of their
strength and a knowledge of their rights, and other
institutions than dynasties and crowns; other classes
than titled nobility, and other individuals than kings and
conquerors fill the field and furnish themes for the his-
torian.

California, the fairest and happiest of lands, has a
history to pack volumes with the most pleasant, inter-
esting, instructive, and exciting details, yet thin would
be its pages and dull its reading were it confined to a
record of her wars and the tales of prowess of her military
chieftains. Her history bears the bright features of a
romance rather than the dark character of a tragedy.
A romance gave her the mellifluous name she bears, and
incited the conquistadores to her discovery. The first
explorations of the coast, whose records are lost amid
moldering archives, seem like voyages to fairy land, so
enveloped are they in the misty shadows of the distant
past. Her settlement by the mild-mannered missionaries
of the meek and lowly order of Franciscans creates a
sympathy for their self-imposed privations and an admi-
ration for the religious enthusiasm that led them to the

10

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

unknown land as the humble associates and instructors
of the savages. Around them is thrown a halo of a rever-
ential feeling as we observe their progress of develop-
ment; as we attempt to exhume their story; as we reflect
upon their simplicity, weakness, and devotion, the lovely
land in which they had located, their surroundings of
wild country, and dark-skinned children of nature, and
as we witness the crumbling ruins of their crude but
pretentious structures, in an architecture of a past age
and a strange people. We find a further romance in the
happy pastoral life of the ranchero period, when great
leagues and countless cattle made the wealth of the
landed proprietors, and the graceful caballero and their
fleet horses careered like centaurs over hill and plain,
when the dark-eyed senoras and senoritas delighted in
the dance, and maintained a society on the cahii Pacific
shore so different from the busy, ambitious world of the
distant East. These scenes are interrupted by a short
season of war, which, but for the imprudence of the
officers in command, would have been bloodless, and
California would have finished her course unmarred
by the hand of violence. The brief contest was but
an exciting episode in the story preparatory for a
greater surprise, which arises almost to a superstition,
and is the crowning fabric of the romance. California
becomes El Dorado, the land of gold, and from the civ-
ilization of the Middle Ages advances at a bound to the
front rank of enlightened States. To these events are
added the story of an excitement and movement of
people not witnessed since the crusades; a progress
and prosperity unequaled in the world, and all in a
climate so lovely as to inspire with enthusiasm whoever
mentions the subject.

To write of these is as if one were writing a romance
and still adhere to the rigid facts of history. Happily it
is a history in which the tales of war are not con-
spicuous. California, in the nature of her settlement
resources, and development, has played an important
part in the affairs of the world, and made more history
than many of the States that count double her years and
population. Her gold revolutionized the commerce of
the world, and her vast area of mining-land which she
opened to all mankind so exalted labor that the theories
of all governments were changed, and greater comfort
and liberties and civilization permeated to the lowest
stratum of society. The conditions of life were advanced
a century by her development. Manufactories were
stimulated, great fleets were set in motion, capital was
emboldened to the grandest enterprises, the financial
security of the nation was fixed, commerce enlivened,
and all countries of the world made to know each
other.

These encomiums are due to California in whole
and to every part. Our history is to be of San Luis
Obispo County, but the history of the county so blends
with the early history of the whole that to make it com-
plete we will first relate the principal events pertaining to
the entire country to the time when the State was created
and the county organized. Till then San Luis Obispo
was an undivided part of the whole, and the history of

California was her history. To this history we introduce
our readers.

The Illustrated History of San Luis Obispo
County is a work combining the labors of different per-
sons in their different parts under the general direction
of Thompson & West, the publishers. In its prepara-
tion every source of information has been sought to ren-
der it a complete and authentic history — the State and
.County archives, the files of newspapers and magazines,
all books and publications that could be obtained relating
to the subject, old letters and diaries, scrap-books, and
interviews with all who could or would relate the inci-
dents of the past and the facts of the present — all has
been gleaned that seemed possible, and from these and
with such aid as others have kindly given we have com-
piled and written the History.

Throughout the volume the writings and statements of
others will be found. To these we wish to make the
due acknowledgment. The writings and lectures of
Hon. Charles H. Johnson are familiar to the people of
San Luis Obispo, and from them we have drawn at
liberty. No person has paid greater attention to the
early history of this section than he, being a resident of
the county for upwards of a third of a century, and to
no one could we go for a more intelligent source or more
willing informant. Mr. Johnson is a student of a wide
range, a close observer, and careful writer, and willingly
imparts his accumulated knowledge to others. To this
veteran pioneer we render our thanks and express the
heartfelt wish that his declining years may pass as pleas-
antly as his past has been useful and honorable. To W.
W. Hays, A. M., M. D., we are under obligations for
much valuable assistance and many courtesies, whose
scientific attainments and careful observations have aided
us in the presentation of many facts of the geology,
meteorolog)', and archaeology of the county, and from
whose excellent library we have drawn much of interest
To the venerable John M. Price we express our thanks for
pleasant interviews and courteous hospitality. Mr. Price
is one of the remaining few of that brave and stalwart
body of English-speaking people, who, in manhood's
prime, cast their lot in this secluded quarter of the earth,
becoming as of the native born, and aiding in its strength
and development. He is still well and vigorous, a living
link uniting the era of the quiet past with the active
present. Facts obtained from those who took part in
the scenes of the distant past; saw the country as it
then existed, and familiar with its social condition and
political affairs, are doubly worth the statements and the
reflections of those who have not, and we regard it as an
important feature of this work that it has the opportunity
to record the evidence of a living witness, for soon the
last must pass from the stage of life. A biography of
Mr. Price and frequent mention of him will be found in
this volume. To Hon. Frederick Adams we are in-
debted for information upon land matters, resources,
area and ownership of the great ranches in the eastern
part of the county, and for his kindness in enabling us to
visit that extensive and interesting region, and for infor-
mation upon other important subjects. To Mr. E. W.

INTRODUCTORY.

11

Steele we shall in vain attempt to express the deep obliga-
tions we are under for attentions and assistance at all
times and in many ways. As one of the most energetic
and enterprising business men of the county he has
taken a warm interest in the history and liberally assisted
in its success. To Mr. C. H. Phillips we express our
grateful acknowledgments for much information fur-
nished and the earnest and important assistance ren-
dered. To Rev. R. W. Summers we are owing for light
thrown upon the history of the prehistoric races which
once occupied this land, whose careful researches among
ancient cemeteries have preserved much for the country
and added important knowledge to the world. To
Messrs. D. D. and J- H. Blackburn and D. VV. James
of Paso de Robles we are indebted for kind courtesies and
many items of interest of the early history of the county
of which they have so long been a prominent and con-
spicuous part. To Mrs. Marcus Harloe (nacio Flora
Sparks) we are happy to doff our sombrero in recom-
pense for important matters of history kindly related and
supplied. Mrs. Harloe is a daughter of Captain Isaac J.
Sparks, a pioneer of 1832, and to the manor born. We
will hope that her grand estate of the Huasna will during
a long life afford her a happy home. To Messrs.
Edward G., William, John, and Ramon Dana, of Nipomo,
we return our thanks for items and documents of inter-
est. To Hon. P. A. Forrester we are indebted for
information regarding the mineral resources and remi-
niscences of the mining excitement of 1863-4. To the
various county officers we return thanks for courtesies
extended, and to Hon. Nathan King, County Clerk, who
kindly allowed us the privileges of his office and aided
us in searching the records.

To the newspapers of the county we owe much.
The files of the San Luis Obispo Tribune during the
fourteen years of its existence are full of the history of
the county, and from its many volumes liberal extracts
have been made. The founder of the paper and its editor
for a number of years, Hon. Walter Murray, was peculiarly
qualified for the work, and by his writings did much in
preserving a great deal of valuable historical matter.
Being a resident of California from the date of the con-
quest, familiar with the Spanish language, a lawyer of
prominence as well aj a capable editor, he became con-
versant with many historical incidents which he took the
pleasure to record. The succeeding editors, Mr. O. F.
Thornton, and Mr. G. B. Staniford, have also added
their quota of interesting matter. To the people of San
Luis Obispo we feel under lasting obligations, and will
ever hold them in kind remembrance for their universal

courtesy. Coming as a stranger we were welcomed with
a hospitality characteristic of a noble and generous peo-
ple, and in our History we shall have but one thought
to do justice to all and to our subject and in our future
life to endeavor to reciprocate the favors so kindly
bestowed.

In the preparation of this History we have consulted
and drawn from many books and public documents, to
enumerate all of which would be tedious and useless-
The great . miss of mitter gathered and the many
histories published under the direction of Messrs.
Thompson & West have been carefully studied and
appropriate matter selected. The "Annals of San
Francisco;" Colton's " Three Years in California;" Dana's
" Two Years before the Mast;" Bryant's " What I Saw
in California;" Hall's " History of San Jose;" Farnum's
" Travels in California;" Fremont's " Explorations;" Lieu-
tenant Parke's "Reconnoissance of a Pacific Railroad
route in 1853-4;" Palou's "Life of Junipero Serra,"
and numerous other standard and not standard works
have been read for data, correction, and statistics, and
such extracts taken as necessary to make our history.
Many of the above-mentioned and others are referred
to as the work progresses.

With these authorities, the assistance given us by
those previously mentioned, and with the recollection of
some events, we write the History of San Luis Obispo
County. We do not aim at originality nor claim gran-
deur of style, but by faithful and diligent work in the
brief time allotted, we hope to have written and com-
piled a volume valuable to the county, and of confident
reference for the seeker of information and of statistics,
as well as a pleasure to the readers.

To our patrons we owe a double acknowledgment, as
without their aid no such history could be written, and
no such book could be published. Each and all are
worthy of public commendation. By their liberality and
enlightened enterprise they aid in the preservation of
important historical matter which would otherwise pass
into oblivion as the generation of pioneers passed away;
have preserved in lasting and elegant form the features
and biographies of the living, active men of the present;
the views of the homes and farms of the people; the
state of the finances of the county and city; the political
record of those chosen to office, the whole presenting a
faithful delineation of the condition of the county and
state of society contemporary with their lives. The
history may be imperfect and incomplete, but with its
object and its contents we believe it invaluable, and with
confidence present it to our patrons.

12

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

CHAPTER I.

EARLIEST HISTORY.

California's Genealogy — Spanish Possession of America — The
Name of California— Seeking the Fabled Land — The Dis-
covery—Further Explorations — Journey of Cabeza de Vaca —
'I'he Voyage of Cabrillo — Coast of San Luis Obispo — '1 he
Xorthern Coast — Death of Cabrillo — Voyage of Ferrelo —
Landing of Sir Francis Drake — Drake's Historian — Viscayno's
E.'cpedition in 1602 — Bay of Monterey — Puerto Francisco —
Continued Voyage of Viscayno — Names on the California
Coast — One Hundred and Si,\ty-si.\ Years Later — The Jesuits
in California — Father Kino — Father Salva-Tierra — Methods
of Conversion — E.Npulsion of the Jesuits — Midnight Parting
— Father Junipero Serra — The Mission of Loreto.

"C_.^v*3^-> —

ALIFORNIA traces her genealogy through centuries
^/ of great obscurity far back into the mediaeval period,
from the gold-hunters of 1849, to the conquest in
1846; to the patriarchal days of the great rancheros; to
the pious padres who gathered their neophytes within the
sound of their Mission bells; to the enthusiastic church-
men who propagated the faith in the wild regions of the
new world; to the period of Cortez; to Mexico; to Colum-
bus; to Spain, where the source is found. Over such a
route came the civilization and the Christianity that settled
upon this coast and redeemed it from the dark shadow
of savage life. Of the savage races of the prehistoric
per'od, whence they came, what changes were effected,
were there several distinct races and eras succeeding,
conquering, or replacing each other; their religion, inan-
ners, dress, and customs; their degrees of intelligence,
their methods of living, their means of warfare, the chase
and defense, we know but very little, learning that little
from their graves and the few marks and paintings found
upon the rocks. The learned and patient archseologist
digs and seeks among the graves, where he reads the
story told by the bones, the implements, the toys, and
the refuse which tell of their daily life. Great interest
is given to such history because of the skill and the
patient enduring required to decipher it.

Whether the ancient people came from the north and
Asia, or were of the fabled Atlantis, or of those who had
peopled and left their monuments in Yucatan and Central
America, or were of the Toltecs or Aztecs, or whether
they were, siii generis, native to the land and to the con-
tinent, are still questions for the theorists of the future.
They were the prior possessors of the land and entitled
to mention in its history. Rude paintings on the rocks
are evidence that at one period, how remote is not known,
a people occupied the land who were superior in mind
and thought and knowledge of art to those found by
the earliest civilized explorers. The paintings and the
remains will be further referred to in this work. The
aboriginal inhabitants, when first observed by the discov-
erers of the coast, were in great numbers, and represented
one of the primitive stages of the human race, of the
Stone Age, and as such they remained long after civiliza-
tion spread over the land, and fragmentary remnants still
exist. No development of the human race, to the Age
of Bronze, to Iron, or to any progressive step towards
civilization and enlightenment has been shown among

the aborigines of the Pacific Coast. As they were found
so they had existed through the long periods of man's
existence.

SPANISH POSSESSION OF AMERICA.

The discovery of America by Columbus in 1492 marks
the era of the Western Continent. Quickly were the
Islands of the West Indies occupied. Havana soon
becarne an important city, and hence, in 15 18, Hernando
Cortez sailed with a fleet and army for the invasion and
conquest of Mexico. His success and the great wealth
acquired aroused an unexampled spirit of enterprise and
adventure in the people of Spain, and further conquests
were made.

THE NAME OF CALIFORNIA.

The splendor of the great discovery, the grand advance
of Spain, the glowing descriptions written by Vespucci,
e.xcited the people to the utmost enthusiasm , and the
new world and its possibilities formed rich themes for
the literati of the old world, and tales of imaginary lands
and people were written. To one of these California
owes her name and her early discovery. The writer was
Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo. His work was entitled,
" Las Sergas del muy Esforzado Caballero Esplandian,
hijo del Eccelente rey Amadis de Gaula." * This
romance first appeared in 15 10, and was followed with
numerous editions. In it we find the following: —

" Know that on the right hand of the Indies, there is
an island called California, very near the Terrestrial
Paradise, which is peopled by black women, without any
men among them, because they are accustomed to live
after the manner of the Amazons. They are of strong
and hardened bodies, of ardent courage, and of great
force. The island is the strongest in the world, from its
steep rocks and great cliffs. Their arms are all of gold,
and so are the caparisons of the beasts which they ride."

Another passage reads :

"In the island called California are many griffins, on
account of the great savageness of the country and the
immense quantity of wild game to be found there."

Other references are made to California. These are
the first records of the name appearing in literature.
From whence he derived it or of what combinations
made, is not known, and having no other satisfactory
source, to Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo is given the
honor of the name. His romance, extravagant in the
extreme, was so vivid in its descriptions, realistic and
exciting in its details, that it became one of the most
popular of the times. It was read throughout Spain, and
the excitable youth of the land carried its influence to
the new world. New adventures were incited by it, and
the desire to discover the island of California was inspired.

SEEKING THE FABLED LAND.

Cortez having achieved the conquest of Mexico, had
been made the Viceroy by the King, Charles V., with per-

*The original romance — Amadis, de Gaula [Wales]— was written by Vasco de
Lobeira, a Portuguese, about 1402, and translated into Spanish by Montalvo be-
tween 1492 and 1504. At a later day Montalvo continued the story of Esplan-
dian, the son of Amadis and Oreana, under the above title. This succession of
romances was brought into ridicule by the *' Don Quixote " of Cervantes.

''^■5%

^■'^

EARLIEST HISTORY.

13

petual succession in his heirs. This, however, was after-
wards revoked, but he was given authority to conquer
any country he might discover northwest of Mexico.
After some years of a hfe of ease and luxury at his mag-
nificent home which he had erected in the pleasant valley
of Cuernavaca, he sighed for more adventure. The ex-
citing story of Montalvo was still vividly remembered,
and the hope probably lingered in the mind of the great
conquistador, to discover and conquer the land so " near
to the Terrestrial Paradise," peopled by women whose
dresses and arms and the caparisons of the beasts they
rode were of pure gold — California, the land of El Do-
rado. To find this fabled land he sent in 1535 an ex-
pedition commanded by Diego Bezerra de Mendoza and
Hernando Grijalva, and accompanied by a pilot named
Ximenes. The story of this expedition is told in a book
published in Spain in 1568, entitled " The True History
of the Conquest of Mexico,"* by Captain Bernal Diez
del Castillo, who styles himself " one of the conquerors."
Castillo was a distinguished officer of the Spanish army,
and accompanied Cortez on his expedition, writing a book
upon it, which is regarded, though rough in style, as full
of valuable information.

THE DISCOVERY.

The commander, Mendoza, and the pilot, Ximenes,
quarreled, and the latter slew the former and assumed
command of the ship. Ximenes continued the voyage
and discovered the island of Santa Cruz, which lies off
the coast of lower California. Landing upon this island,
Ximenes became involved in a difficulty with the natives
and lost his life, or was possibly slain by some of his own
men. The vessel then returned to Navidad, the port of
debarkation. Cortez was annoyed by this failure, and de-
termined to go himself, so with great labor he fitted out
an expedition of three vessels in the harbor of Tehuan-
tepec, and in 1536 sailed with a number of Spanish col-
onists on his voyage of discovery, going first to the island
of Santa Cruz, and from thence, says Castillo, " set sail
and fell in with the land of California." The land ap-
pears to have been named in advance of its discovery,
as it was the imaginary land of Montalvo they were in
search of, and coming upon so large a body as the penin-
sula, believed they had found the land they sought. So
Columbus, forty-four years preceding, in search of a new
route to the Indies, believed he had found them, and
gave the name of Indies — now called the West Indies —
to the islands, and of Indians to the people.

Thus we have again the euphonious name of Cali-
fornia, and now affixed to a permanent habitation and a
home, and thus is recorded the origin of the name,
the search for and the finding of the land that has since
borne the appellation. The land discovered by Cortez
was the peninsula, now called Lower California, and he
entered and named the bay of La Paz — the peaceful —
so called from the peaceful 'character of the inhabitants
of the country, in contrast with the violent people of Santa
Cruz, who the year before had killed Ximenes and twenty
of his companions.

* " Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de Nueva Espagna. "

FURTHER EXPLORATIONS.

Cortez explored the coast to some extent and returned
to Acapulco. In the following year, 15 38, he despatched
an expedition under Francisco de Ulloa to further survey
the coast. This commander continued his explorations,
and in 1539 ascended to the head of the gulf, and to the
mouth of the Colorado River, proving that California was
a peninsula, and not an island. But the belief in the
island as asserted by the novelist, seems to have been so
deeply founded that the report of a single navigator could
not dispel it, and for a century after the maps showed it
an island with the mythical "Straits of Anian " bounding
it on the north.

The gulf explored by Cortez for many years bore the
name of the " Sea of Cortez," and the name has so ap-
peared on maps of quite recent date. The name of " El
Mar Rojo," was also given it from the discoloration of
the waters in the northern part by the Rio Colorado, or
red river, whose waters are red with the soil they carry.

JOURNEV OF CABEZA DE VACA.

The head-waters of the gulf were reached about the
same time by Alvaro Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and his
three companions, who had made the most remarkable
journey recorded in history. In 1527, he had lost his
ship on the coast of Florida, when, with upwards of one
hundred men, he penetrated the wilderness in the desper,
ate undertaking to reach the Pacific Coast. After wander,
ing in the wilderness for a period of ten years, subsisting
upon game and clothing themselves with the skins of
animals, the four remaining men of the party, one a
negro, arrived at Culiacan near the head of the Gulf of
California. There he observed valuable pearls in the
possession of the savages, and gathering a large quantity,
made his way down the coast, and eventually arrived at
Mexico. Showing the pearls and relating his strange
story, Cabeza de Vaca created a furor for further dis-
coveries in the gulf, and the expedition of Francisco de
Ulloa was sent out, which resulted in ascertaining the
extent of that body of water, but brought unfavorable
reports of the value of the country.

THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO.

In 1542, the Viceroy of Mexico, Don Antonio de
Mendoza, despatched an expedition under Juan Rodri-
guez Cabrillo, a Portugese navigator, to explore the north-
west coast. In September of that year, he discovered
the bay of San Diego, which he named the Port of San
Miguel. If to Cortez belongs the honor of discovering
Lower California, to Cabrillo is due the honor of first
beholding the land of Upper Cahfornia.

COAST OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

Sailing northward he entered the bay of San Luis
Obispo, which he called the bay of Todas Santos, or All
Saint's Bay. This waS in the summer of 1542, just half
a century after the discovery of the islands of the West
Indies by Christopher Columbus, and is the first instance
of the appearance of civilized beings within the waters
of this county or on its soil. During the pleasant sum-
mer weather he had a fine opportunity to observe the

14

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

coast, and he appears to have enjoyed the work and per-
formed his duties thoroughly as far north as Monterey.

In the quiet waters south of Monterey he could send
his boats to the shore at almost every point, and he has
left us a chart of the coast and a record of his observa-
tions of exceeding great value. In his record he notes
the great number of savages seen at every poipt, and
shows that their manners, character, and dress were the
same as they were found when the missionaries came
two hundred and twenty-seven years later. Their num-
bers, however, had greatly diminished.

Sailing northward from Point San Luis, he discovered
a deep indentation, which he placed upon his chart as
"Los Esteros," and in the bay the high conical rock " El
Moro." There Cabrillo supplied his ships with wood and
fresh water. The northwest point of the bay he called
" Punta de los Esteros." Northwestward sailed the old
pioneer explorer and entered upon his chart the "Piedras
Blancas," and a bay which he called the " Bay of Sar-
dines," anchoring and landing there. This is now called
the Bay of San Simon, or, at least, is supposed to be the
one thus designated by Cabrillo.

THE NORTHERN COAST.

This brave old navigator is usually reported to have
explored the coast as far north as Cape Mendocino,
which he named in honor of Don Antonio de Mendoza,
the Viceroy of Mexico under whose authority he sailed,
but this is disputed by Professors Bache and Davidson,
of the United States Coast Survey, who contend that
the most northern point reached by Cabrillo was Punta
de los Reyes, to which he gave the name of El Cabo
Mendozino — Cape Mendocino.

DEATH OF CABRILLO.

From that point he returned to the island of San
Miguel, off the coast of Santa Barbara, for his winter
quarters. There he died January 5, 1543.* He had
directed his pilot, Bartolomo Ferrelo, to assume com-
mand of the expedition and to continue the exploration
north as far as possible. Ferrelo afterwards named the
island where his commander died Juan Rodriguez. It
is sometimes called San Bernardo, and the harbor in
1852 was surveyed and named Cuyler Harbor by the
United States Coast Survey, in honor of Lieutenant
Cuyler, United States Navy.

VOYAGE OF FERRELO.

Ferrelo, in obedience to the instructions given him by
Cabrillo, sailed to the north as far as the present Cape
Mendocino, which he discovered on the last of February,
1543, and named it Cabo de Fortunas (Cape of Perils).
In his voyage north he discovered the islands since
named the Farallones de las Frayles,t or at least he
made an examination and mention of them, as Cabrillo
had seen them on his voyage in 1542. Ferrelo appears
to have encountered very severe weather whenever in the

"Some historians coniend tViat Cabrillo died in San Simeon Harbor, and that
his bones still rest in the soil of San Luis Obispo County.

tAbout 1775 they received their present name. After the voyages of Bodega
and Manulle under the orders of Bailio Frayle Don Antonio BucaroUi y Visera.
~~U. S. Coast Survey,

vicinity of the bay of San Francisco, as on the northern
passage he spent five days in attempting to effect a land-
ing on the Farallones, which he was unable to make
owing to the strong southwest winds and a heavy sea.
In the March following, on his return toward the south,
he was swept onward in a storm and did not examine the
Golden Gate, although he marked a deep indentation in
that locality. The great bay of San Francisco remained
unknown for over two hundred years longer.

LANDING OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

The next footprint we find upon the coast was made
in July or August, 1579, by the semi-piratical expedition
of Sir Francis Drake. He was not a surveyor or explorer;
but was seeking plunder in the Spanish ports of South^^fl
_ America, and such Spanish merchantmen as he could inter-
cept at sea. When well loaded with booty he sought a
secluded point on the northwest coast to repair his ship,
the Golden Hind, preparatory to escape from the Pacific
and carry his precious cargo safely to England. He
landed on the coast, as his narrator says, in a "faire good
baye within thirty-eight degrees of the line." A later
report, entitled "The World Encompassed," published in
1630, compiled from notes by Francis Fletcher, the
chaplain of the expedition, gives the latitude at 38° 30',
and the landing as having been made on the 17th of
June, 1579. A biography of Drake says he sailed from
the coast after repairing his ship, on the 29th of Septem-
ber, 1579. The reports make his stay upon the coast
as less than fifty days, therefore there is a discrepancy
in the time of his arrival and departure. That he landed
on the coast there is no dispute, but the precise locality
is in doubt. Professors Bache and Davidson, of the
United States Coast Survey, locate the place where he
landed and effected his repairs as under Point Reyes,
now called Drake's Bay, but Dr. Stillman, in his book
entitled " Seeking the Golden Fleece," contends that he
entered the bay of San Francisco.

drake's HISTORIAN.

The narrator of the expedition, after telling how the
natives mistook them for gods, and worshiped them, and
offered sacrifices to them, much against their will, and
how Drake took possession of the country in the name of
Queen Elizabeth, says: " Our necessaire busines being
ended, our General with his companie travailed up into
the countrey to their villages, where we found heardes of
deere by 1,000 in a companie, being most fat and large
of bodie. W'e found the whole countrey to be a warren
of a strange kind of connies, their bodies in bigness as
be the Barbaric connies, their heads as the heads of ours,
the feet of a want (mole), and the taile of a rat, being of
great length. The people do eat their bodies and make
great accompt of their skinnes, for their king's coat was
made out of them. Our General called this country
Nova Albion, and that for two causes: the one in respect
of the white bankes and cliffes which lie toward the sea;
and the other because it might have some affinitie with
our country in name, which sometime was so called.

" There is no part of the earth here to be taken up.

EARLIEST HISTORY.

15

wherein there is not a reasonable quantitie of gold or
silver."

" Our General set up a monument of our being there,
as also of her Majesty's right and title to the same, viz.,
a plate nailed upon a faire great poste, whereupon was
engraven her Majesty's name, the day and yeare of our
arrival there, with the free giving up of the province and
people into her Majesty's hands, together with her high-
ness' picture and arms, in a piece of fivepence of current
English money under the plate, whereunder was also
written the name of our General."

The Connies seen in such great numbers were un-
doubtedly the ground squirrel of the present time, but
the description is faulty regarding the " taile," as instead,
the annoying little animal has the bushy tail of the squir-
rel, and not the long tail of the rat. The belief in the
gold and silver may have arisen from seeing the glistening
particles of mica in the sand; or otherwise it was of the
usual exaggeration of the writers of the period in their
reference to things in the New World.

VIZCAYNO'S EXPEDITION IN l6o2.

Don Gaspar de Zuniga, Count de Monterey, was
Viceroy of Mexico in 1602, and that year equipped a
fleet of two large vessels, the Capitania (flag-ship), the
Almiranta, and a frigate, and dispatched them on a
voyage of exploration along the Cahfornia coast, under
the command of Sebastian Vizcayno, as Captain-General,
and Toribio Gomez as Admiral. The fleet sailed from
Acapulco on the 5th day of May, 1602, and from its com-
plete equipment, size of ships, and the men accompany-
ing it, was a notable one for the age. Of these men
were three barefooted Carmelites, Father Andres de la
Assumpcion, Father Antonio de la Ascencion, and
Father Tomas de Aquino. Also Capt. Alonzo Estevan
Peguero, a person of great valor and long experience,
who had served in Flanders; Capt. Gaspar de Alorgon,
and Capt. Geronimo Martin, who went as cosmog-
rapher, in order to make drafts of the countries discov-
ered. The ships carried a suitable number of soldiers
and seamen, and were supplied with all necessaries for a
year. He sailed slowly northward, exploring and sur-
veying the coast of Lower California, and entered the
bay of San Diego on the loth of November, 1602. On
the 15 th of December he arrived at the

BAY OF MONTEREY.

In his voyage in 1542, Cabrillo had entered the bay
of Monterey, to which he had given the name of the
Bay of Pines. This was surveyed by Vizcayno and the
name changed to Monterey, in honor of the Viceroy
under whose patronage and orders he was sailing. On
the day following their arrival formal possession was
taken of the country, a cross was erected under a large
oak in a pleasant ravine near the shore of the bay, and
the fathers said mass. The place was described by Father
Andres as an excellent harbor, and secure against all
winds. "Near the shore are an infinite number of
very large pines, straight and smooth, fit for masts and
yards, likewise oaks of a prodigious size for building

ships. Here likewise are rose trees, white thorns, firs,
willows, and poplars; large clear lakes, fine pastures, and
arable lands," etc., etc. This glowing description was
given of the harbor and surrounding country for the
edification of the King, and as a guide to such explorers
as should come after them. No wonder need be ex-
pressed, therefore, at the failure of Gov. Gaspar de
Portala to recognize it when on his tour in search of
Monterey, one hundred and sixty-seven years afterwards.

PUERTO FRANCISCO.

Vizcayno remained at Monterey until the 3d of Jan-
uary, 1603. One of his ships he had sent home with the
news and with the sick, and with the others he continued
north. In the records kept by Father Andres de la
Assumpcion, as reported by Father Venegas, a reference
is made to the port of San Francisco (Puerto Francisco)
but showing that the port then referred to was not the
present bay of that name, and almost confirmatory of
the assertion that the great bay was then unknown as an
officially declared fact, and at least unknown to Vizcayno.
He says: " On the 12th, having a fair wind, we passed
the port of San Francisco, and losing sight of the other
ship, returned to the port to wait for her. Another rea-
son which induced the Capita7iia (flag-ship) to put into
Puerto Francisco was to take a survey of it and see if
anything was to be found of-the San Augustin, which, in
the year 1595 had, by order of his Majesty and the
Viceroy, been sent from the Philippines to survey the
coast of California, under the direction of Sebastian
Rodriguez Cermenon, a pilot of known abilities, but was
driven ashore in this harbor by the violence of the winds.
And among others on board the San Augustin was the
pilot Francisco Volanos, who was also chief pilot of this
squadron. He was acquainted with the country, and
affirmed that they had left ashore a great quantity of wax
and several chests of silk; and the General was desirous
of putting in here to see if there remained any vestiges
of the ship and cargo. The Capitania came to anchor
behind a point of land called La Punta de los Reyes."

This, the Spaniards have contended, was all that was
known of the bay of San Francisco until it was discov-
ered by Portala in 1769. Undoubtedly others had seen
it and given verbal descriptions of it, but no Government
vessel or oificial had entered its waters, and all knowledge
was in the form of rumors and unofficial reports.

CONTINUED VOYAGE OF VIZCAYNO.

Vizcayno, in the flag-ship Capitania, continued north
as far as Cape Mendocino, when the unpleasant weather
and the crew disabled by the scurvy caused him to turn
southward and seek the warm climate, and medical
relief, in Mexico. The companion ship, the frigate,
continued north as far as latitude 43°, near Cape BlancO)
and observed the mouth of a large river. Thus the whole
coast of California is passed, yet but little is known of
it. Even at that date the navigators were searching for
the straits of Anian, hoping to pass thus from the Pacific
to the Atlantic.

16

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

NAMES ON THE CALIFORNIA COAST.

There is much confusion regarding the names of the
chief landmarks and bodies of water on the coast, and
probably some names have been floated from point to
point. Vizcayno is believed to have named San Diego,
the Santa Barbara Islands and Channel, Monterey, and
Point Reyes, but still he refers to some of these as if
named before, and speaks of the Sierra de Santa Lucia as
a landmark for the ships from China; that is the galleons
from the Philippine Islands to Acapulco, which often
made the coast about the latitude of 36° or 40°, this
trade having been established soon after the conquest of
Mexico.

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX YEARS LATER.

A century and two-thirds of another elapse in the his-
tory of the world before a succeeding effort is made to
open to the world the land we live in. During that long
period many Kings of Spain had come, exercised their
brief period of tyranny, and passed away, each weaker
than the preceding; Mexico had poured into her lap the
corrupting influence of her vast mineral wealth; France
had sent its colonies into Canada; the English had settled
upon the Atlantic Coast, and powerful colonies fighting
for their independence had grown into existence; the
great valley of the lakes and of the Mississippi had been
explored, and while these important steps were taking
place in the history and progress of the New World, Cali-
fornia, the fairest land of all the earth, was allowed to
remain under the benighted rule of the poor savage man
but a degree removed from the soulless animals which
contended with him the right of occupancy. The voyage
of Vizcayno preceded by three years the first settlement
of Virginia by the colonists under Sir Walter Raleigh and
Capt. John Smith; eighteen years before the Puritans
landed on Plymouth Rock; twenty-one years before the
Dutch settled on Manhattan Island, New York, and
seventy-eight years before Penn made his celebrated
treaty with the Indians and laid the foundation of Phila-
delphia.

KING CHARLES III.

In 1759 there came to the throne of Spain the most
enlightened and able monarch since the great Charles V.
(I. of Spain), who was the ruler of the greater part of
Europe. This was Charles III., a man of energy, of
progress, and of liberal ideas, far in advance of the
Spanish' people whom he endeavored to elevate to the
plane of the other kingdoms of Europe.

THE JESUITS IN CALIFORNIA.

In the preceding century, in 1697, license was granted
to the Society of the Order of Jesus, the Jesuits, to enter
the peninsula of California. The special warrants
empowered the Fathers Kino and Salva-Tierra to enter
California subject to these conditions: that they waste
nothing belonging to the King, nor draw upon the Gov-
ernment treasury without express orders from His Majesty;
that they take possession of the country and hold it in
the name of the King of Spain. The powers given

included the ecclesiastic, military, and civil Government of
the country.

On the loth of October, 1697, Father Salva-Tierra,
accompanied by Father Ugarte, five soldiers, Esteban
Rodriguez Lorenzo, Bartolemfe de Robles Figueroa, Juan
Caravana, Nicolas Marques and Juan, with their com-
mander, Don Luis de Torres Tortolero, embarked for
the scene of their future labors, the physical and spiritual
conquest of California, arriving safely and taking formal
possession of the country on the 25 th of the month.
The Lady of Loreto was selected as the patroness of the
conquest, and the place upon which they established
themselves was called Loreto.

FATHER KINO.

Father Francis Kuhn, or Eusebio Francisco Kino, as
he was called by the Spaniards, was a German by birth,
but spent the greater part of his life in the service of the
Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church as a missionary
among the Indians of Mexico. He was a most devout,
able, and energetic priest, and many noble deeds and
long years of well-performed duties are recorded of him
in histories of Mexico and Lower Cahfornia. His prin-
cipal field was in Sonora, where he spent many year's in
building up and caring for the mission of Primera. He
was a coadjutor of Salva-Tierra, and assisted in the
support of the mission at Loreto. In the year 1700 he
made the journey from Sonora- to California by land,
crossing the Colorado River near the junction of the
Gila, being the first white man to cross, and thus proved
the extent of the peninsula. He was forced, however,
for the sake of a sick priest, to return without reaching
his destination at Loreto. He died in i7ioandwas
buried near his loved mission at Primera. His grave is
lost among the driving sands of that desolate region, but
his good deeds will live forever.

FATHER SALVA-TIERRA.

Juan Maria Salva-Tierra was a native of Milan, born of
noble parentage and Spanish ancestry, 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 consequence of his great ability and singular
virtues, and was employed in the chief offices of the
provinces. Having obtained from the Viceroy permis-
sion to occupy the peninsula of California under the
conditions previously stated, he went upon his mission to
Loreto, having as his associate Father Juan Ugarte, a
native of Honduras. After encountering a disastrous
storm, suffering partial shipwreck, and touching at several
points on the coast, they came to San Dionysio, where
they found a fine watering-place in a deep and fruitful
glen which they selected as their future scene of labor.
This place is situated on the eastern shore of the penin-
sula, in latitude 25° 35' north, and may be considered
the Plymouth of the Pacific Coast. This historic and

*^

EARLIEST HISTORY.

17

memorable expedition consisted of only two galliots 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
adventurers went ashore at Loreto, and were kindly
received by about fifty natives, who were induced to kneel
down and kiss the crucifix.

After twenty years of earnest labor, privation, danger,
and spiritual success, Father Salva-Tierra was recalled to
Mexico by the new Viceroy, for consultation. He was
then seventy years old; and, notwithstanding his age and
infirmities, he set out on horseback from San Bias for
Tepic; but, having fainted by the way, he was carried on
a litter by the Indians to Guadalajara, where he died
July 17, 1 7 17, and was buried, with appropriate ceremo-
nies, behind the altar in the chapel of Our Lady of
Loreto.

METHODS OF CONVERSION.

It is said of Father Ugarte that he was a man of
powerful frame. When he first celebrated the ceremo-
nials of the church before the natives they were inclined
to jeer and laugh over solemnities. On one occasion
a huge Indian was causing considerable disturbance, 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 argu-
ment 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 importance
to the natives at least, no means were spared to effect it.
When the natives around the mission had been Chris-
tianized, 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 after-
wards following. Two or three days' exhortation (con-
finement 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 igno-
rant savage with awe. Striking results were often
attained with pictures. When moving from one mis-
sion 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 generally accepted the former,
especially as it was accompanied with food. .

EXPULSION OF THE JESUITS.

Charles III., the King of Spain, desiring to extend the
power of his dominions and increase their commercial
prosperity, proposed in 1767 to rediscover and occupy
the important harbors of Alta California that had been so
graphically described by Vizcayno, in 1603. The system

of colonizing in that day was by first sending mission-
aries into the country, taming and converting the Indians,
and thus open the way to settlement by civilized people.
The church was all-powerful throughout Spain and her
possessions, the ecclesiastical power controlling the Gov-
ernment, dominating its policy, and even holding the
King in subjection. The Jesuits were regarded as the
most ambitious for political power in connection with
the church, and this order Charles determined to sup-
press, and therefore on the 2d of April, 1767, issued a
decree ordering their expulsion from all parts of his
dominions. The Jesuits had established the missions
of Lower California and continued in their possession
for a period of seventy years. In order to carry out his
new policy it was necessary to supplant the Jesuits with
other orders of the church, and the missions of Lower
California were transferred to the Order of Dominicans;
the Franciscans to take charge of those to be founded in
Alta California. The execution of this decree was com-
mitted to Don Caspar de 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 dangers 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 seem 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 nakedness 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 sav-
ages, after building pleasant homes in the wilderness,
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, rushed 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 adoption! 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.

On the expulsion of the Jesuits from Lower California,
the property of the missions, consisting of extensive
houses, flocks, pasture lands, cultivated fields, orchards,

18

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

and vineyards, was intrusted to the College of San
Fernando in Mexico, for the benefit of the Order of St.
Francis de Assisi. The zealous scholar, Father Junipero
Serra, was appointed to the charge of all the missions of
Lower California.

FATHER JUNIPERO SERRA.

Father Junipero, as he was called, was born of humble
parents in the island of Majorca, on the 24th of Novem-
ber, 1 7 13, his childhood name being Miguel Josfe Serra.
Like the prophet Samuel, he was dedicated to the priest-
hood 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 San Francisco at the age of sixteen, and, at
the end of one year's probation, made his religious pro-
fession, 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 California,
he immediately entered upon active duties, and pro-
ceeded to carry out his grand design of the civilization
of the Pacific Coast. The success with which he prose-
cuted his great labors are more fully related in other
parts of this volume.

At length, having founded and successfully established
nine missions, and gathered into his fold many thousand
wild people of the mountains and plains, the heroic
Junipero began to feel that his end was drawing near.
He was then seventy years old; fifty-three of these years
he had spent in the active service of his Master in the
New World. Having fought the good fight and finished
his illustrious course, the broken old man retired to the
mission of San Carlos at Monterey, gave the few remain-
ing days of his life to a closer communion with God,
received the last rites of the religion which he had
advocated and illustrated so well, and on the 2gth of
August, 1784, gently passed away.

THE MISSION OF LORETO.

Governor Portala immediately took possession of
Loreto which afterwards became the headquarters of the
movement to establish missions in Alta California.

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 Murilio and other celebrated masters,
which, though more than a hundred years old, are still in

*a good condition; also, some fine silver work, valued at
$6,000. 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 dedicate 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. The
fathers thought proper to change its destination, and pre-
sented 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.

CHAPTER IL

THE ABORIGINES.

ArchEEological Investigations — The Indians in Earliest History —
As Seen by Cabrillo — Their Degraded Condition — Writings of
Hugh Keid — "Orpheus and Eurydice" — Indolent and Weak —
The Indians of San Luis Obispo — Their Religion — Treatment
of the Indians — Indian Relics and Graves — Indian Implements
and Their Uses — Painted Rocks — The Great Natural Temple
of Carrisa — Indian Remains in Santa Barbara — Painted Cave
— From Cabrillo's Time to the Missionary Period — No Archi-
tectural Remains — Recent Explorations — Museums of Arch-
jeology — The Graves at Port Harford.

^^ C^v^^> —

tHE years, the centuries, the ages that man has dwelt
in the land of California can only be told by the
record of the rocks, or by the study of the groves
and such evidences as the deep research of the patient
and learned archseologist may bring to light. Science has
many devotees engaged in her service, and there is
hope that the people of the future will be more enlight-
ened upon the matter than the people of the present.

Primitive man will always be a subject of great interest
to the student, although through countless ages of his
existence he did nothing for posterity except the propaga-
tion of the species. He has lived and made some marks
on the rocks, has caught fish and left the shells, made a
few utensils of stone and bone which endure, if of other
substances they have decayed and left no trace, and his
graves and mounds of refuse indicate the number; that
there were many. Throughout the coast are thousands
of sites of their villages and cemeteries, with deep layers
of debris that had required many years for its accumula-
tion.

THE INDIANS IN EARLIEST HISTORY.

As the earliest civilized visitor to this coast was
Cabrillo, to him we turn for any written account of the
native inhabitants to whom the general appellation,
"Indians," has been given. He reported great numbers,
saying: '■'■for all the coast is very populous."

As the ships approached the shore the women would
be frightened and run away, but the men would make
friendly signs and ask them to come on shore. At
times the Indians would go on board the vessels and
would be given presents of beads and other trinkets for
which they manifested a desire. The different localities

THE ABORIGINES.

19

appear to have been occupied by quite different classes
of savages, as some are said to dwell in cabins and
clothed themselves with the skins of animals, while
others have but stone and stick corrals, others sleep on
the ground and go naked. If the Indians, generally, in
any locality, were clad in skins, they were in advance of
the Indians found in the gold-mining regions and the
Sacramento Valley by the immigrants of 1849, as then
stark nakedness was the universal rule of the males and
all children in their wild state. The same conditions
existed upon the coming of the missionaries, from which
we may infer that those clothed in skins in Cabrillo's
time were exceptional ; possibly a remnant of some incur-
sive tribe of a more developed people. From general
reports of early and modern times the Indians of the
South were of a superior character to those of the North,
the parallel of 35° appearing to have been about the
dividing line.

AS SEEN BY CABRILLO.

Upon the condition of the Indians of this coast when
first known, we can do no better than to appropriate
some notes by Dr. L. M. Dimmick, of Santa Barbara,
from Cabrillo's narrative, prepared for the history of that
county. "On the loth of October, 1542, they approached
the main-land, probably of the Santa Clara Valley, where
there was an Indian village near the sea, and the houses
large, in the manner of those of New Spain. They
anchored in front of a large valley. To the ships came
many good canoes, which held in each one twelve or
thirteen Indians. They go covered with skins of animals ;
they are fishers, and eat the fish raw; they also eat agaves.
The country within is a very beautiful valley, and
they made signs that there was in that valley much
maize and much food. 'There appears within this valley
some sierras, very high, and the land is very rugged.'
The Indians call the village Xucu. They sailed from
this place on the 13th, up the coast, on which they saw
many cabins and trees, and the next day they anchored
opposite a valley, very beautiful and very populous, the
land being level, with many trees. The natives came
with fish in their canoes; they remained great friends.
On the 15 th they held on their voyage along the coast,
and there were always many canoes, and many Indians
were continually coming aboard the ships, and they
pointed out to us the villages, and named them by their
names. All these villages are in a good country, with
very good plains, and many trees and cabins; they go
clothed with skins ; they said that inland there were many
towns, and much maize at three days' distance. They
passed this day along the shore of a large island (Santa
Rosa), and they said it was very populous. On the even-
ing of the 1 6th, they anchored opposite two villages
(Dos Pueblos). The next day they proceeded three
leagues, and there were with the ships from daybreak
many canoes, and the captain continually gave them
many presents, and all the coast where they passed was
very populous. They brought them a large quantity of
fresh sardines, very good.

" They say that inland there are many villages and
much food; these did not eat any maize; they went

clothed with skins, and wear their hair very long, and
tied up with cords very long and placed within the hair,
and these strings have many small daggers attached, of
flint and wood and bone."

On the i8th they went running up the coast, and saw
all the coast populous, but because a fresh wind sprung
up, the canoes did not come. They came near a point
which forms a cape, which they named Cabo de Galera
(Point Concepcion). Thence they sailed to two islands,
the smaller of which they called La Passession (San
Miguel), and the larger, San Lucas (Santa Rosa). They
found both of these islands inhabited. They departed
from these islands intending to sail up the coast, but
meeting with rough weather they sought the shelter of
Point Concepcion, and cast anchor in front of a large
town called by the natives Xexo. But because wood did
not appear abundant, they sailed back down the coast to
Pueblo de las Sardinas (Goleta or Patara). Here they
remained three days, taking in wood and water, and the
natives aided them, and brought wood and water to the
ships.

" They call the village Cieacut, and gave us the names
of sixteen more villages extending up to Cabo de Galera.
An old Indian woman is princess of these villages.
Cieacut appeared to be the capi al of the other villages,
as they came from the other villages at the call of that
princess. They have their houses round, and covered
well down to the ground; they go covered with the skins
of animals; they eat acorns and a grain which is as large
as maize, and is white, of which they make dumplings;
it is good food. They say that inland there is much
maize."

Between this place and Xucu, where they first landed,
the historian gives the names of twenty-five villages. On
November 6th they sailed up the coast, but as there was
little wind, they did not reach the cape until the fourth
day. During this time the Indians came to them with
water and fish, and showed much good disposition.

" They have in their villages large public squares, and
an inclosure like a circle, and around the inclosure they
have many blocks of stone fastened in the ground, which
issue about three palms, and in the middle of the inclosure
they have many sticks of timber driven in the ground
like masts and very thick, and they have many pictures
on these posts, and we believe that they worship them,
for when they dance, they go dancing around the
inclosure."

The history of the expedition records the names of
two villages on San Miguel Island, three on Santa Rosa,
and eight on Santa Cruz Island, and states that the
Indians of these islands are very poor.

" They are fishermen; they eat nothing but fish; they
sleep on the ground. In each house they say there are
fifty souls. They live very swinishly. They go naked.'

THEIR DEGRADED CONDITION.

The old navigator, who died and was buried on one of
the islands he had described, relates the cold facts of his
observation, devoid of the fanciful painting of the imagi-
nation so common with the most popular writers of all

20

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

ages. His record accords with thi facts as they have
appeared to all in recent times. The aboriginal inhabit-
ants were savages in almost the extreme sense, with their
powers of mind developed but a degree above the beasts,
with few arts, with no system of Government or religion
that can be appreciated as such. In a limited sense they
exercised a concert of action which may be regarded as
the first step in Government, and beyond that their sys-
tem was but the instinctive methods of gaining subsist-
ence and living in common.

WRITINGS OF HUGH REID.

Some writers have accorded them high powers of
reflection and reason, notably Mr. Hugo (Ang/ice-Ilugh)
Reid, of Los Angeles, who, as early as 1850, made his
home with the Indians, learned their language, studied
their customs and traditions, their laws and religion, and
in 1852 published the result of his observations. Mr.
Reid was an educated and respected gentleman, a mem-
ber of the Constitutional Convention of 1849, and his
writings have been treated with consideration as of good
authority. He ascribes to the Indians a know-ledge, or
theories, of creation, of astronomy, and history; possessing
an extended and complete system of Government; of
marriage laws and customs indicating great purity of
morals; of inheritance of property and authority; of
beautiful and poetical legends; of tradition il fables of
fairies and goddesses and much other romance that we
must believe had their origin only in his imaginative
brain. What Mr. Reid wrote and has been called his-
tory must have really been intended solely for a pleasing,
sensational tale.

As an example we will transcribe the Indian version,
according to Mr. Reid, of the story of

ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE.

A great pestilence had destroyed the people, only an
old woman and two children, a boy and girl, remained.
When they grew up the man proved himself a great
hunter, and the girl, who possessed remarkable beauty
and a lovely disposition, an adept in all household arts.
In time they married, and now the old woman, fancying
herself neglected, plotted against the life of her foster
daughter. Twice she failed in her attempt, but the
young wife, aware of her design, apprised her husband,
and told him that, should she be slain in his absence, her
soul would notify him of the fact by dropping a tear upon
his shoulder. One day, while hunting, he received the
fatal sign, and hurried home, but ere he could execute
vengeance on the hag, she transformed herself into a
gopher, and burrowed in the earth, where she had con-
cealed her victim.

For three days and three nights he lay upon the grave,
lamenting the loss of his love, nor tasted he of food or
drink throughout the weary vigil. At last he perceived
a small whirlwind arise from the grave and disappear.
Soon a second whirlwind arose and moved toward the
south, gradually augmenting in size as it progressed.
This he followed, and passing over a sandy plain, per-
ceived that it left footprints; then knew he that it was
indeed his wife. Redoubling now his efforts, he gained
upon the apparition, and addressing it was repaid by
hearing the voice of his love reply: ''Return, O mv
husband, for where I go thither thou canst not come. Thou
art of the earth, but I am dead to the world/" Never-

theless, impelled by his great love, he insisted on follow-
ing, even to the world of shades; and at last, moved by
his entreaties, she consented, but cautioned him: "Forget
not that no earthly eye may ever again see iisl"

They pased over a great sea, and entered the realm of
ghosts. He saw here no form, but heard myriads of
voices — sweet as the tones of zephyrs breathed lightly
o'er feolian strings — addressing his spirit guide : " What
hast thou here sister/ It smells of earth/"

She confessed that she had brought with her a mortal,
her husband, and begged that he might be permitted to
stay. She rehearsed his mighty deeds and admirable
qualities while on earth; but all in vain. Again were the
voices heard, still musical, but now stern and threaten-
ing in their tones. ''Take him away/" they said.
" Guided by love he comes, and love pleads his cause; love
is all-powerful 07i earth, but earthly love avails not in the
courts of Heaven/"

Abashed by the evident displeasure of these invisible
ones, still she braved their anger, and pleaded for her
love. She. dilated on his many virtues and his great skill,
until at last despite their assertion, " that love availed
not," the spirit-guard relented and he was allowed to
make exhibition of his acquirements, with a view to pos-
sible admission. He was required to bring a feather
from the top of a pole so high that the summit was
scarcely visible; to spht a hair of great fineness and ex-
ceeding length from end to end; to make a map of the
constellation known as the "Lesser Bear," and to indicate
the exact location of the North Star. Aided by his wife
he succeeded in accomplishing all these tasks to the sat-
isfaction of his examiners, but, in a trial of hunting, failed
utterly, the game being invisible. A second attempt re-
sulted as before, and he had become a laughing-stock
throughout the world of ghosts, when his wife advised him
to aim his arrows at the beetles which flew past him in
great numbers. Acting on her instruction, each beetle,
when hit, proved a fat deer, and so many did he slay that
the spirit voices commanded him to desist. They then
addressed his wife, who was yet to him invisible. "Sis-
ter/" they said, " Thou knowest 7ione who enter here return
again to earth. Tucupar {Heaven) knows not death/
Our brother-in-latv hath done full well, yet mo)-tal skill
may not avail to win a heavenly prize/ We award him
the guerdon, love! chiefest of earthly blessifigs, in thy person;
yet only on condition/ " Then addressing the husband
they said, " Take thou thy wife/ Yet remember, tliou
shall not speak to her, nor touch her until three suns have
passed. A punishment awaits thy disobedience/ "

They pass from the spirit-land and travel in silence
to the confines of matter. By day she is invisible to him,
but at night, by the flickering flame of his camp-fire, he
perceives her outline on the ground near by. Another
day he remains faithful to his instructions, and by the
evening blaze her form appears more plainly than before.
The third day has passed, and now, behold, the amorous
flame leaps forth to greet her — recumbent by his side,
radiant with beauty, and health, and restored, as he fondly
believes, to him and love!

But alas! one-half the lurid orb of day yet trembles,
poised on the western verge, as with passionate vehemence
he pronounces her name, and clasps to his faithful heart
not the form he loves, but only a fragment .of decayed
wood !

Heart-broken and despairing, he roamed the earth ever
afterward, until at last the spirits in mercy sent to him
their servant Death, who dissolved his mortal fetters, and
carried him, rejoicing, to the bosom of his love.

Many other pretty stories are told by Mr. Reid, but
belong more to the literature of fiction, of fairy tales,
than to history; and we must therefore conclude that

THE ABORIGINES.

21

such was the object of the writer, rather than a relation
of facts or the recording of any traditions or legends he
assumed to have from the Indians.

INDOLENT AND WEAK.

Of the poor beings now becoming so rare in this county,
we can have but feelings of pity. Never strong or
spirited enough to offer a serious obstacle to the settle-
ment of the country, they have not aroused the direful
enmity of the invading people as have the extremely
savage and bloodthirsty Indians of other sections of
America. They were debased to an extreme degree, pro-
fessing no knowledge of the mechanic arts save those of
making simple implements of the chase and of fishing
making baskets and pounding acorns and grass seed into
■.meal, and making a few articles of ornament. They had
no religious rites, ceremonies, or beliefs; seldom any
names for individuals, and only general names for geo-
graphical objects.

THE INDIANS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO

Were taken in charge by the missionaries shortly after
their arrival in 1772, and when Father Junipero Serra died
there had been baptized 616 at this mission. They were
then in large numbers, but evidently less than in former
times, and if increased at any time by collecting others
from a distance, rapidly decreased after the secularization
of the missions in 1833, until, as shown by the census of
1870, the number had dwindled to 137, and less
will be found at the present time. The mission of
San Miguel is reported to have counted 5,000 in its
service or vicinity at one time.

Of the appearance and manners of the Indians on the
first visit of the exploring party under Governor Portala,
we take the following extract from a lecture by Hon.
Charles H. Johnson, who has been an industrious student
of the early history of the county.

"The Indians, although numerous, gave no trouble to
this party of Europeans. They were divided into tribes
and rancherias; used apparently no shelter except stone
corrals simply as a protection against bears. The men
were naked, but the women and children went partially
clothed with deer or hare skins. When game was scarce
with them they had a novel way of eating dried meat.
A piece being attached to a cord was partially masticated
and then swallowed; after a short interval it was drawn
up into the mouth and again masticated. This operation
was repeated several times until the morsel was consumed.
At times they would squat on the ground forming a cir-
cle, and pass a piece of meat tied in the above manner
from one to the other, chewing and swallowing it by turns.

The tribes occupying the coast from San Francisco to
this place were called Olchones and Mutsers. They
spoke different languages and in their rancherias a variety
of dialects. Their numerals extended only to four. To
express five they extended a hand; six, one hand and one;
seven, one hand and two; eight, one hand and three;
nine, one hand and four; ten, both hands, twenty being
the extent of their arithmetical knowledge. They divi-
ded the year into six seasons, commencing in midsum-
mer.

THEIR RELIGION.

Their reUgious ideas were confused; some recognized
the existence of a Supreme Being only. The Olchones
adored the sun, and believed in the existence of a benefi-
cent and an evil spirit. When one of the tribe died,
they adorned the corpse with wild flowers, shell beads,
and feathers, and burned it amid the shouts of the spec-
tators, extending their hands in the direction of the setting
sun. Other tribes simply burn their dead with bows,
arrows, etc. Selecting, generally, some high cliff over-
looking the sea, as a place of sepulcher. The use of
the metals was unknown to them. Their domestic and
warlike instruments were made of flint and other stones,
also wood hardened by fire. Their marriages were
celebrated by an exchange of presents. Polygamy was
practiced only to a limited extent.

TREATMENT OF THE INDIANS.

The mission of San Luis Obispo de Toloso was estab-
lished September i, 1772, and soon became one of the
most prosperous in California. Extensive buildings
were erected, schools established, and the Indians were
instructed in the mechanical arts. Orchards and vine-
yards were planted, and the country stocked with horses,
sheep, and cattle. The missions were secularized by
decrees of the Mexican Congress of August 17th and
2ist of November, 1833, and their property turned over
to administradors, who were directed by the Govern-
ment to make provision for the support of the Indians
by distribution of cattle and horses, and by assigning
them sueretes — small patches of land — for cultivation.
But these orders were not obeyed in full. The repaiii-
mientos — distribution of stock — were made to the friends
of the administrador-, and the Indians driven off in large
numbers. Those that remained were kept as serfs, and,
becoming brutalized by neglect and ill-treatment, soon
disappeared.

INDIAN RELICS AND GRAVES.

In the Indian graves near the beach of San Luis
Obispo Bay, are found finely-worked spear and arrow
heads of obsidian and other hard stone; many mortars
and pestles of basalt, sandstone, and granite; pots or
stone kettles of steatite, or soapstone; beads made from
the claws of the crab and bear, and among other sub-
stances ornaments from abalone shells, sharks and
whales' teeth; stone hammers and weights; needles of
bone, and other utensils of stone in great variety and for
purposes that cannot be divined. Many of these relics
are of exceeding great interest to the archasologist, show-
ing the industry, the ingenuity, and skill, of the man of
the Stone Age, who was evidently superior in his art and
more Eesthetic in his tastes than the savage found on this
coast by the earliest pioneers of civilization. No metal
whatever has been found in the ancient graves of San
Luis Obispo.

Among the household implements recovered is a kettle
of steatite exhumed in 1882 by Rev. R. W. Summers,
Episcopal clergyman of San Luis Obispo, an enthusiastic
student of archseology. This is one of the largest ever

•2-2

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

found, being nearly a globe in form, of about eighteen
inches in diameter, hollowed to about one inch in thick-
ness, and with an openiug at the top of about ten inches
across. This kettle had been used on the fire, as the
outer surface still bore the blackened color given it by
the flame. As no steatite is found anywhere on the
southern coast but on Santa Rosa Island, off Santa
Barbara, it is presumed that from thence it was brought.
Many beads, shells, and trinkets were found in it, indi-
cating that it had been the property of a personage of
great wealth and importance, and had been consigned to
the tomb with the mortal remains of its owner. Such a
pot was undoubtedly of great value in its day of useful-
ness, the material brought from so great a distance and
wrought into shape with such artistic care. Probably
the property of some dying chieftain, it was filled with
his treasures and deposited in his grave to sustain his
bank account in the unknown world.

All the mjrtars, pastbs, sma'.ler kettles, and other
implements of use, symbols of authority, and weapons of
warfare and the chase, found in the grave were broken,
but the great one — the treasure safe — was whole. The
theory, as founded upon the acts of other Indians, is
that all implements are broken — or killed — in order to
release the spirit that the spirits of the things might
accompany the spirit, or soul, of the master to the spirit
land. In this is given the proof that the prehistoric man
of southern California had a belief in the immortality of
the soul, or a life in spirit beyond the grave; and proving
a state of mind, of thought, and of art far in advance of
the California savage of modern times.

INDIAN IMPLEMENTS AND THEIR USES.

Stone mortars and pestles are familiar to the people
of the Pacific Coast, as most have seen them, and in the
decade following the gold discovery they were seen in
constant use by the Indians in pounding to meal acorns
and grass seeds. In the Sierra Nevada, where the hard
granite or slate protruded through the soil, the food
material was pounded upon the bare rock, wearing little
basins in the surface, and thus making stationary mor-
tars. In the alluvial regions these were portable and of
varying size. Those found in San Luis Obispo are
from the size of a small teacup to that of a large wash-
bowl, going through all the gradations as the well-
arranged crockery supply of a modern household. The
uses for these can only be surmised. One has evidently
belonged to the toilet service of some belle — a small
pebble in which is worked a cavity but little larger than
a thimble. In this was found some toilet paint, the
evidence of its use. We can imagine the dusky lady of
that distant time, actuated and inspired by the desire
for beauty, decorating herself according to the arts and
fashions in vogue, preparing her paint with a skill that
has enabled it to retain its brilliant color and unchanged
condition through the intervening ages, and recording
the natural and unchangeable vanity of the sex. Others
showed that substances of which paint was maeje had
been triturated in them, and others of various uses.

Bitumen, or asphaltum, which is so common in this

county, was much used by the Indians, as shown in the
utensils that have been repaired by its aid. Pipes of
stone, resembling clay pipe-stems, drilled through from
end to end, were found in the graves, but whether they
were for smoking or other purposes, is not known.

Human skeletons were numerous, in some cemeteries
buried in a sitting posture, in others lying on their side,
but always with the knees bent and brought near the
chin. No regularity was ever observed in the direction
which they faced or were lain, whether to the north or
south, toward the sunrise or the sunset, but without
order.

PAINTED ROCKS.

Besides the graves and the implements found therein,
the disposition thereof, and the manner of burial which
make a record, partly obscure, but partly in unmistakable
language of arts and manners, the pre-historic man has
left another record of his existence, perhaps of his religion
or his history, which still awaits the student of archeology
to translate. These are the mysterious paintings found
on the rocks in various and numerous places throughout
the counties of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.
Northwest of the city of San Luis Obispo extends a series
of rocky peaks, and many of these bear the strange
figures.

THE GREAT NATURAL TEMPLE OF CARRISA.

In the eastern portion of the county is the great Carrisa
Plain, and on the rocks bordering it the most important
of these paintings appear.

On both the easterly and westerly sides of the plain
the mountains are composed of a light-colored sandstone,
generally looking as if ready to wash away as a sand bank_
But it evidently does not disintegrate so readily. In
many places on the rocks have been painted strange
characters and figures, evidently with careful design,
resembling the hyeroglyphs of Egypt or the picture
writings found in Mexico and Yucatan. Three colors
have been generally used, red, black, and white. In
various places on both sides of the plain have these
singular and mysterious paintings been found, and the
" oldest inhabitant " says that when the Spanish mission-
aries came a hundred years ago they found them as they
now are, and wondered at their origin and meaning. The
ignorant savages of modern times know nothing of them,
nor have they any traditions regarding them, always being
a subject of wonder.

All this eastern section of the county, embracing an
area of about half a million acres, is comparatively unoc-
cupied, being mostly held in large tracts of from 20,000
to 60,000 acres by single individuals, and reserved for
speculation or devoted to grazing. In the southwestern
part of the Carrisa Plain Mr. Chester R. Brumley and
family settled in 1865, having as a nearest neighbor the-
cattle rancho at La Panza, twenty-five miles distant north,
west. In this wilderness, about three miles south of Mr.
Brumley's residence, stands in the open plain an exceed-
ingly singular rock, made more interesting from the
paintings of which it constitutes a grand and unique
gallery. This bears the name of " The Painted Rock,"

THE ABORIGINES.

23

and is a most wonderful curiosity. From outward
appearance the rock is a cone of about 750 feet diameter
at the base, and 150 feet in height. On the east is an
opening about 20 feet wide leading into a great room 225
feet in length by 120 feet in width at the widest place,
the interior space being shaped like an egg, the point at
the entrance. The walls are irregular, in places slightly
overhanging, and in others slightly receding from the
perpendicular, the highest point being about 132 feet
above the inner base.*

The appearance is that of the crater of a volcano with
one side broken away, but the rock is coarse sandstone.
On the inner surface near the base, and at heights not
exceeding twelve feet, are great numbers of paintings
such as before described. Generally they are well pre-
served and the colors bright and distinct; but where most
exposed to the rain, winds, and animals, they have become
somewhat dimmed, but on the whole show a remarkable
preservation. This, to the ancient pagan having a glim-
mering idea of religious belief, would be a grand and awe-
inspiring temple made without hands, and even to the
highest civilization must ever be regarded as a most inter-
esting object. At present it is used as a corral, holding
4,000 sheep, closed by a short wall and set of bars at the
entrance.

INDIAN REMAINS IN SANTA BARBARA.

Mr. J. D. Mason, in Thompson & West's history of
Santa Barbara, writes as follows of the painted rocks of
that county: —

About eighty miles from Santa Barbara, near the boun-
dary line of the county, on a level piece of land near the
foot of the mountains, is one of the most singular and
important relics of the prehistorical races, perhaps, that
exists in CaUfornia. It appears to have been a stone
wigwam forty or fifty yards in diameter, built on a stone
floor of so compact a character as to much resemble a
natural stone. The center of the place, as in the paved
court before referred to, is of earth, as if to receive posts
or timbers. The roof has fallen in, and the place is much
dilapidated; all of the walls remaining are covered with
paintings of halos, circles, with radiations from the center,
like spokes, and in some instances, squares. Every
available space is occupied with figures of some sort.
A variety of colors is used, though blue seems to pre-
dominate. A cross, five feet in length, in white paint, on
the highest portion of the remaining walls, seems to have
been a work of some of the fathers at a recent date.

On the Cuyama River are found some rocks of a
lightish gray sandstone, also painted with figures differing
from the others. One of these is a representation of the
sun. Another figure represents a man with extended
arms, as if reaching for something. The Spanish popula-
tion named it El Sol. All of these works evidently
belong to another race than the swarthy Indian that
occupied California at the coming of the white man.

PAINTED CAVE.

Near the summit of the Santa Barbara Mountains, and
not far from the San Marcus Road, is one similar in
character, though other things than circles are introduced,
some of the paintings representing nondescript dragons
and snakes, monsters in fact. Every available inch of

* As measured by a spool of thread by Mrs. Brutnley and her daughter, Miss
Helen Brumley, who take great interest in this wonderful natural temple.

space is covered with paintings of some kind. The cave
is about sixteen feet in depth by twelve in width, and is
in a perpendicular rock some fifty feet or more in height,
the mouth being several feet above the base of the rock,
is a soft, friable sandstone, which is breaking away from
exposure to rains and weather. The face of the rock
gives indications of once having been also covered with
paintings. Five different colors are recognized in the
decorations, if they may be called such. They must
have been the work of many months of industry. Other
rocks in the vicinity are painted, but in a less pretentious
manner. There is no doubt but these figures are the
work of people living some hundreds of years since. Their
design and use may possibly be deciphered by Mexican
antiquarians.

FROM CABRILLO'S TIME TO THE MISSIONARY PERIOD.

Some extraordinary fatality must have overtaken the
Indians during the century which elapsed between the
discovery of the coast and islands by Cabrillo, and the
coming of the missionaries, for no such numbers as
Cabrillo mentions were found by Father Junipero Serra.
There are traditions of a terrible destruction of the island
Indians by the hunters of the otter from Alaska and the
Aleutian Islands. The gentle Aztec was no match in a
struggle for life with the fierce Shoshone of the interior.
Even the Spanish, with their fire-arms and superior
knowledge, often found their match when the Mokelkos
and Cosumnes swooped down upon their herds of cattle
and horses. What chance then had the comparatively
peaceful Aztec? There are many indications of a catas-
trophe among the island Indians. Numerous skeletons
have been unearthed, which showed fractures of the
skull. During a recent high wind fifty or more skeletons
were uncovered, all having the appearance of perishing
by violence. Those who study the type of the few
remaining Indians will have no difficulty in distinguishing
the mild, dignified, and intellectual face of the Aztec
from the swarthy, low-browed, square-built Shoshone,
who retreated into the mountains at the coming of the
white man, and kept up a predatory warfare until the
coming of the gold-hunters made a change of base
necessary.

NO ARCHITECTURAL REMAINS.

In Studying the relics of the prehistoric people of Cali-
fornia, the student fails to find any remains of architect-
ural structure. Aged and peculiar as the relics exhumed
from the graves appear, they show but the rude utensils,
weapons, and baubles of savage life. With the exception
of a few structures commonly, or poetically, called tem-
ples, though mere stone corrals, probably as a defense
against bears or other enemies, there are no evidences of
a prehistoric architecture existing in California. The
architecture of Palenque and Yucatan — possibly the
fabled Atlantis — in enduring stone and massive structure
appears to have antedated the shadowy arts that have left
their crude and dim traces on the painted rocks and in
the trifling toys found in the graves.

The hills, and mountains, and beds of streams were
filled with metal, in many places the shining gold glisten-
ing in the sunlight, yet for countless ages they remained
untouched and the native man roaming over them. The
working of mines leaves an indelible mark, but the sav-
ages made none. They used no metal and cut no Stone
but such as were broken by each other. Pieces of metal
have, in a few instances, been found in graves, but these

24

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

were probably obtained from ships visiting the coast and
of a comparatively recent period.

RECENT EXPLORATIONS.

Recently, vi^ithin the past ten years, scientific men have
made diligent study of the Indian graves and remains
found along and near the coast of this and the neighbor-
ing southern counties of California. Among these were
Le Compte Pierre de Cessiic, a highly learned gentleman
in the service of France; Doctor Schumacher, in the serv-
ice of the Smithsonian Institute ; and Doctors Yarrow and
Rothrock, of the United States Army, accompanying the
United States Geographical and Geological Survey under
Lieutenant Wheeler. All made extensive excavations
and gathered many tons of relics and fossils, which they
forwarded to their respective departments. These savans
can fix no estimate of the age of many of the antiqui-
ties, but think the people who made and used them con-
temporary with the mound-builders of the Mississippi
Valley. Their study is exceedingly interesting and im-
portant, Count de Cessac assuring the people that they
had in their midst antiquities which had begun to interest
the whole world. During the occupancy of the country
by the white race, until within recent years, these relics
and graves have been passed over unobserved save with an
indifferent notice as a passing curiosity, and now, while
many tons have been transported to distant parts of the
world, but few regard them of sufficient importance to
preserve. While great attractions in the museums ol
other countries, no museum has yet been established to
preserve them in California.

MUSEUMS OF ARCH.'EOLOGY.

Many tons of the relics found in the graves of San
Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara have been sent to the
East, enriching the museums of Boston, New York,
Washington, and other places. Upon this subject Rev.
Mr. Summers, of San Luis Obispo, writes: "While the
whole State is rich in the remains of a former race of
men, there is no field more interesting than our own
county presents. Great numbers of burial places have
been discovered along the coast, and tons of mortars,
pots, pestles, ornaments, weapons, etc., unearthed and
sent East, enriching their museums at the expense of
California — a fact which I, for one, greatly regret. I be-
lieve that each county should preserve its own relics until
such time when the State can erect a fire-proof building
for their reception, and appoint some competent person
to arrange, classify, and care for them. In the little ex-
perience I have had in digging into the old burial places
I find skeletons in every position, extended, sitting, etc.
head towards any point of the compass convenient.
With these, beside the stone mortars and pestles which
are so common, I have found in abundance ornaments of
stone, bone, and shell — gifts with which 'the last lament
was said.' Also two or three colors of the paints the
savage man loves to adorn his person with, placed in the
grave by loving hands that the departed warrior might
appear well in the happy spirit-land. Many of the inter-
ments are quite modern, dating from the time of the con-

quest to the present, and therefore contain articles of Euro-
pean manufacture. Others, however, such as those I
opened near Avila, contain no articles of a metallic nature
— no glass, wood, cloth, skins, or hair — indicating igno-
rance of metals, non-intercourse with Europeans or Asiat-
ics, and great age. Besides the graves proper, there are
scores of shell heaps all along the sea-shore, the remains
of thousands of dinners.

"In these heaps are the bones of many species of fish
of mammals, of birds, and of mollusks, showing that
they were bountiful livers, those early Californians, and
were not very particular what they had for dinner.

"These are the two sources from which the history of
the aboriginal inhabitants of our county and State is
gathered. No written characters or hieroglyphics have
ever been discovered in the graves as far as I have heard.
The nearest approach to meaning characters that I have
seen is upon a small flat stone which I picked up on Har-
ford Point. It is nothing more than a series of straight
lines, running diagonally across the stone."

THE GRAVES AT PORT HARFORD.

The San Luis Obispo Tribune of March 9, 1883, no-
tices some discoveries of relics in the old Indian cemetery
near Port Harford, through which the Pacific Coast Rail-
way Company was cutting a way for the road, as follows: —

"On Monday last a large stone mortar was found at a
depth of about fourteen feet from the surface. The mor-
tar is twenty inches in diameter at the top, eight inches
depth of bowl, and the stone is from two to three inches
in thickness. This was broken through the center
into two equal parts, but both parts were found. This,
with many other relics, will be preserved in the museum
of the railway company as evidence of the people once
occupying this country unknown years in the past, and of
whose history, manners, and modes of living only these
remain."

CHAPTER III.

FOUNDING OF THE MISSIONS.

Palou's Life of Junipero Serra — The Visitador-General — Expeditions
to California — Equipment of the San Carlos — Interesting Docu-
ments — The Expedition by Land — Governor Portali's Com-
mand — Father junipero and the Muleteer — Arrival at San Diego
— Founding a IMission — Gathering the Indians — The Expedi-
tion to Monterey — Father Juan Crespi's Diary — The Expedi-
tion in this Region — The Earliest Footprints — Difficult Travel-
ing — At the Bay of Monterey — Discovery of the Bay of San
Francisco — The Missions in 1786 — Second Expedition to Mon-
terey — Threatened Abandonment of California.

/fflNE of the most valuable of the old Spanish books pre-
"to served for the modern historian's study is that of
S Father Francisco Palou, published in Mexico in
1787. The interest and care taken by the pious father is
shown in the manner in which he preserved the records of
the founding of the missions of California, and his devo-
tion to the President of the missions, Father Junipero
Serra, whose life the book purports to relate. Father Palou
gives prominence to Junipero Serra, and the common be-

?<'/|>^

en

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00 —
77; tn

CS

en

c

THE ABORIGINES.

25

lief appears to be that to him, his enterprise, persever-
ance and abiUty is due the settlement of Alta California,
and the founding of the missions, but, not wishing to be
iconoclastic, we must say the chief credit should be
elsewhere bestowed.

THE VISITADOR-GENERAL.

The King and the ministry of Spain had sent Jose de
Galvez, who bore the title of "Visitador-General," to the
Pacific Coast of Mexico with orders to send expeditions
to rediscover and occupy the ports of San Diego and
Monterey in Alta California. Galvez was a man of great
ability and energy, and his power, as direct from the King,
was supreme. He appears to have conceived the idea of
occupying California by means of missions. To carry out
the plan, he selected Father Junipero Serra as chief mis-
sionary, who entered into the project with great enthu-
siasm and earnestness.

EXPEDITIONS TO CALIFORNIA.

Galvez had determined to found three missions, one at
San Diego, one at Monterey, to be called San Carlos, and
one midway between these to be called San Buenaven-
tura. Two expeditions were dispatched from La Paz, in
Lower California, one by sea and one by land, to San
Diego.

The Visitador-General labored hard to equip and dis-
patch these expeditions. Two vessels joined the sea-
going fleet, the Sn/i Carlos and the Sail Antonio^ upon
these Galvez had placed all kinds of household and
farming utensils, with material for repairs, every species of
seeds, not forgetting garden herbs, flowers, and flax, the
land being, he said, in his opinion, fertile for every-
thing, as it was in the same latitude with Spain. For
the same purpose, he determined that from the furthest
north of the missions of Lower California, the expedi-
tions by land should take two hundred head of cows and
bulls in order to stock the new country with large cattle,
to cultivate the land and provide something to eat.

Father Junipero blessed the vessels and the flags, and
Galvez made an impressive address, and the expedition
sailed from the port of La Paz on the 9th day of Jan-
uary, 1769. The whole enterprise was commended to
the patronage of the Most Holy Patriarch St. Joseph.
On the San Carlos sailed Don Vicente Villa, commander
to the maratime expedition; Don Pedro Fages, a Lieuten-
ant commanding a company of twenty-five soldiers of the
Catalonian volunteers; the engineer, Don Miguel Con-
stanzo; likewise Dr. Pedro Prat, a surgeon of the royal
navy, and all the necessary crew and officers. With them,
for their consolation, went the Father Friar Fernando
Parron.

The San Antonio sailed from Cape San Lucas on the
15th of February, 1769. The Captain was Don Juan
Perez. With him sailed two priests, Fathers Juan Viz-
cayno and Francisco Gomez. Much of this is taken
from the lecture of Hon. Edmund Randolph to the
California Pioneers in i860.

EQUIPMENT OF THE SAN CARLOS.

The archives of this State contain a paper of these

times which cannot but be read with interest. It is the
copy of the receipt of the Commander Vicente Villa, con-
taining a list of all the persons on board of the San Carlos
and an inventory of eight months' provisions. It reads
■thus: —

OFFICERS AND CREW, SOLDIERS, ETC., OF THE SAN CARLOS.

The two army officers, the father missionary,

the captain, pilot, and surgeon 6 persons

The company of soldiers, being one sergeant,

one corporal, and twenty-three men . 25 "

The officers of the ship and crew, including

two pages (cabin boys, doubtless) . - 25 "

The baker and two blacksmiths . 3 "

The cook and two tortilla makers 3 "

Total - — -- --62 persons

Dried meat, 187 arrobas (an arroba being 25 lbs.),

6 libras; fish, 77 arrobas, 8 libras; crackers (common),
267 arrobas, 3 libras; crackers (white), 47 arrobas, 7
libras; Indian corn, 760 fanegas; rice, 37 arrobas, 20
libras; peas, 37 arrobas, 20 libras; lard, 20 arrobas;
vinegar, 7 tinajas (jars); salt, 8 fanegas; panocha (domestic
sugar), 43 arrobas, 8 libras; cheese, 78 arrobas; brandy, 5
tinajas; wine, 6 tinajas; figs, 6 tinajas; raisins, 3 tinajas;
dates, 2 tinajas; sugar, 5 arrobas; chocolate, 77 arrobas;
hams, 70 arrobas; oil (table), 6 tinajas; oil (fish), 5 tinajas;
red pepper, 1 2 libras; black pepper, 7 libras; cinnamon,

7 libras; garlic, 5 libras; 25 smoked beef-tongues; 6 live
cattle; 70 tierces of flour, each of 25 arrobas, 20 libras;

15 sacks of bran; lentiles, 23 arrobas; beans, 19 arrobas,
20 libras; $1,000 in reals (coin) for any unexpected emer-
gency. Besides 32 arrobas of panocha (domestic sugars),
20 for the two missions of San Diego and Monterey,
one-half to each, and the remaining 12 arrobas for the
gratification of the Indians and to barter with them;

16 sacks of charcoal; i box of tallow candles of 4)^
arrobas; i pair of 16-pound scales; 2 pounds of lamp
wick.

INTERESTING DOCUMENTS.

The original of this simple and homely document,
but which enables us to realize so clearly these obscure
transactions, yet so full of interest for us, was given,
unquestionably, to Galvez, and this copy we may pre-
sume brought to California on this first voyage of the
San Carlos to serve as her manifest. It is dated the sth
of January, 1769. Of the same date we have the in-
structions of Galvez to Villa and Fages, addressed to
each of them separately — that is, the original is given to
Villa under the signature of Galvez, and a copy to Fages.
They are long and minute. The first article declares
that the first object of the expedition is to establish the
" Catholic religion among a numerous heathen people,
submerged in the obscure darkness of paganism, to
extend the dominion of the King our lord, and to pro-
tect this peninsula from the ambitious views of foreign
nations." He also recites that this project had been
entertained since 1606, when it was ordered to be
executed by Philip III., referring to orders which were
issued by that monarch in consequence of the report
made by Vizcayno, but which were never carried into
effect. He enjoins that no labor or fatigue be spared
now for the accomplishment of such just and holy ends.
San Diego, he says, will be found in latitude 33, as set
forth in the royal cedula of 1606 (163 years before),

26

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

and that it cannot fail to be recognized from the land-
marks mentioned by Vizcayno. At the conclusion, in
his own handwriting, we have the following: —

Note. — That to the fort or presidio that may be
constructed, and to the pueblo (village) of the mission
which may be established at Monterey, there shall be
given the glorious name of San Carlos de Monterey.

Josi"; DE Galvez. (With his rubric.)

When the Sa// Antonio sailed she seems to have car-
ried a letter from Galvez to Pedro Pages, who had gone
in advance on the San Carlos, for we have it now in the
archives. It is dated Cape San Lucas, February 14, 1769.
The body of the letter is in substance ; That the San
Antonio arrived at the bay (San Lucas) on the 25 th of
last month (January), that she was discharged and cleared
of barnacles; that he examined the vessel with his own
eyes, and found the keel thereof as sound as when it was
placed in the vessel; that the necessary repairs had been
made and her cargo again placed on board, and that to-
morrow, if the weather permit, she will sail, and that he
trusts in Providence she will come safely into Monterey
and find him (Pages) already in possession of the coun-
try.

So far it is in the handwriting of a clerk. He then
adds a postscript with his own hand, addressed as well to
Father Parron and the engineer, Constanzo, as to Pages.
"I read it," says Mr. Randolph, "for it is pleasant to have,
as it were, a personal acquaintance with the eminent per-
sonage who directed the foundation of Upper California,
and to find him a gentleman of such manifest abilities,
generous temper, and enthusiasm": —

Mv Friends: It appears that the Lord, to my confu-
sion, desires infinitely to reward the only virtue I possess,
which is my constant faith, for everything here goes on
prosperously, even to the mines abounding in metals.
Many people are collecting, with abundance of provisions.

I hope you will sing the Te Deum in Monterey, and in
order that we may repeat it here, you will not withhold the
notice of the same an instant longer than is necessary.

This is also for Reverend Father Parron.

Josi5 DE Galvez. (Rubrica.)

THE EXPEDITION BY LAND.

Just as active was he in getting off the land expedition.
The chief command was given to Don Caspar de Portala,
Captain of Dragoons, and then Governor of Lower Cali-
fornia; the second rank to Don Fernando Rivera y Mon-
cada, Captain of a company of foot soldiers who carried
leathern bucklers. And in imitation of Jacob, Galvez,
in view of the dangers of the route through savages and
an unknown country, divided the force into two parts, to
save one if the other were lost.

Rivera was to lead the first and the Governor to follow
after. Rivera sets out toward the north as early as Sep-
tember, 1768, collecting mules and muleteers, horses,
dried meat, grain, flour, biscuits, etc., among the missions;
encamps on the verge of the unexplored regions, and
sends word to the Visitador-General that he will be ready
to start for San Diego in all of March. Father Juan
Crespi then joins him, and on the 24th of March, which
was Good Friday, he begins the Journey. This party

consisted of the Captain, Rivera, Father Crespi, who
went to keep a diary, twenty-five foot soldiers with leath-
ern bucklers, three muleteers, and a band of Christian
Indians of Lower California to serve as pioneers, assist-
ants to the muleteers, and for anything else that might
be necessary, and who carried bows and arrows. They
spent fifty-two days in the journey, and on the 14th of
May arrived, without accident, at San Diego.

GOVERNOR PORTALa'S COMMAND.

Father Junipero Serra, President of the missions of
Lower California, and of those that were to be founded,
marched with Portala. The season of Lent, the disposi-
tions to be made for the regulation of the missions dur-
ing his absence, and the preparation (or the expedition
in its spiritual part, detained him, so that it was May be-
fore he joined Portala at the same encampment from
which Rivera had set out.

FATHER JUNIPERA AND THE MULETEER.

The reverend Father President came up in a very bad
condition. He was traveling with an escort of two sol-
diers, and hardly able to get on or off his mule. His
foot and leg were greatly inflamed, and the more that he
always wore sandals, and never used boots, shoes, or
stockings. His priests and the Governor tried to dissuade
bim from the undertaking, but he said he would rather
die on the road, yet he had faith the Lord would carry
him safely through. A letter was even sent to Galvez, but
he was a kindred spirit, and agreed with Father Junipero,
who, however, was far into the wilderness before the
answer was received.

On the second day out, his pain was so great that he
could neither sit nor stand nor sleep, and Portala being
still unable to induce him to return, gave orders for a lit-
ter to be made. Hearing this. Father Junipero was
greatly distressed on account of the Indians, who would
have to carry him. He prayed fervently, and then a
happy thought occurred to him. He called one of the
muleteers, and addressed him, so runs the story, in these
words: "Son, don't you know some remedy for the sore on
my foot and leg?"

But the muleteer answered: " Father, what remedy can
I know.? Am I a surgeon? I am a muleteer, and have
only cured the sore backs of beasts."

"Then consider me a beast," said the father, " and this
sore which has produced the swelling of my leg, and the
grievous pains I am suffering, and that neither let me
stand nor sleep, to be a sore back, and give me the same
treatment you would apply to a beast."

The muleteer, smiling, as did all the rest who heard
him, answered, "I will, father, to please you;" and, tak-
ing a small piece of tallow, mashed it between two stones,
mixing with it herbs, which he found growing close by,
and having heated it over the fire, anointed the foot and
leg, leaving a plaster of it on the sore.

God wrought in such a manner — for so wrote Father
Junipero himself from San Diego — that he slept all that
night until daybreak, and awoke so much relieved from
the pains that he got up and said matins and prime, and

THE ABORIGINES.

27

afterwards mass, as if he had never suffered such an acci-
dent; and to the astonishment of the Governor and the
troop at seeing the father in such health and spirit for the
journey, which was not delayed a moment on his ac-
count.

Such a man was Father Junipero Serra, and so he
journeyed when he went to conquer California.

ARRIV.4L AT SAN DIEGO.

On the first of July, 1769, they reached San Diego, all
well, in forty-six days after leaving the frontier. When
they came in sight of the port the troops began firing for
joy; those already there replied in the same manner. The
vessels at anchor joined in the salute, and so they kept up
the firing, until, all having arrived, they fell to embracing
one another, and to mutual congratulations at finding all
the expeditions united and already at their longed-for des-
tination.

Here, then, we have the officers and priests, soldiers
and sailors, and laborers, mules, oxen and cows, seeds,
tools, implements of husbandry, and vases, ornaments,
and utensils for the church, gotten together to begin the
work of settlement, conversion, and civilization _on the
soil of Californian. The year 1769 is our era. The ob-
scure events noticed must yet by us be classed among
its greatest occurrences, although it saw the birth of Na-
poleon and Wellington.

The number of souls then at San Diego should have
been about two hundred and fifty, but the &« Carlos
had had a very hard time at sea, not reaching San Diego
(which place she found with difficulty) until twenty days
after the arrival of the San Antonio, which ' sailed five
weeks later. She had, of the crew, but one sailor and
the cook left alive; all the rest had died of scurvy. The
first thing to be done was to found a mission, and to look
for Monterey, which from Vizcayno's time had been lost
to the world.

FOUNDING A MISSION.

For founding a mission this was the proceeding: —
Formal possession of the designated spot was taken in
the name of the King of Spain. A tent or arbor,
or whatever construction was most practicable, was
erected to serve as a temporary church, and adorned as
well as circumstances would permit; a father in his robes
blessed the place and the chapel, sprinkling them with
water, which also he had first blessed for the occasion,
and immediately the holy cross, having first been adored
by all, was mounted on a staff and planted in front of the
chapel. A saint was named as a patron of the mission,
and a father appointed as its minister. Mass was said
and a fervent discourse concerning the coming of the
Holy Ghost delivered. That service, celebrated with
such candles or other lights as they might have, being
over, the Veni Creator Spiritus — an invocation to the
Holy Ghost — was sung, whilst the continual firing of the
soldiers during the ceremony supphed the place of an or-
gan, and the smoke of the gunpowder that of incense, if
it was wanting.

GATHERING THE INDIANS.

The mission being founded, the next thing was to at-
tract the Indians. This was done in the simplest manner,
by presents of food and cloth to the older ones, and bits
of sugar to the younger ones. \Vhen they had learned
enough of their language to communicate with them,
they taught them the mysteries of the faith, and when they
were able to say a few prayers and make in some sort a
confession of faith, they were baptized and received into
the fold of the church. At the same time they were
drawn from a wandering life, collected in villages around
the mission church, and instructed in the habits and arts
of civilized life. To keep them in the practice of their
lessons, spiritual and secular, the father in charge of the
mission had over them the control of a master, and for
them the affection of a parent, and was supported in his
authority by the soldiers at the presidios, or an escort
stationed at the mission itself

This was the mode of accomplishing what Galvez in
his instructions declared to be the first object of the
enterprise. And in this manner Father Junipero began
the work at San Diego on the i6th day of July, 1769.

THE EXPEDITION TO .MONTEREY.

On the 14th day of July, 1769, the Governor Portala,
and a servant; Fathers Juan Crespi and Francisco Gomez;
Capt. Fernando Rivera y Moncada, the second in
command, with Serg. Don Jose Francisco de Ortega
and twenty-six soldiers of the leathern jackets; Lieut.
Pedro Fages and seven of his soldiers — the rest had
died on the San Carlos or were left at San Diego; Don
Miguel Constanzo, the engineer; seven muleteers, and
fifteen Christian Indians — sixty-five persons in all, with
a pack-train carrying a large supply of provisions, set out.
to rediscover Monterey. The mortality on board the
San Carlos prevented any attempt at that time by sea ;
that vessel having to be laid up at San Diego, whilst all
the efficient men were transferred to the San Antonio,
which was sent back with the news and for reinforcements,
and lost nine men before reaching San Bias, although
she made the voyage in twenty days. Such was naviga-
tion on this coast at that time.

A third vessel, the San Jose, had been dispatched
from Loreto on the i6th of June, 1769, but after leaving
the coast of Lower California was never seen again.

FATHER JUAN CRESPl'S DIARY.

The preceding particulars of the expedition to found
the missions in Alta California are from the "Life of
Father Junipero Serra," by Father Palou, which is made
up largely from the diary kept by Father Juan Crespi,
who, as has been stated, accompanied the party for the
purpose, and were first given to the public in a lecture
before the Society of Cahfornia Pioneers by Hon. Ed-
mund Randolph, September 10, i860. Father Crespi
continued his diary while journeying by land with Gov-
ernor Portala in search of the bay of Monterey and the
place where the priests of the Vizcayno expedition, in
1603, had set up the cross. Portala did not recognize
Monterey, but found and named the bay of San Francisco.

28

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

THE EXPEDITION IN THIS REGION.

That portion of the diary relating to the passage of
this pioneer exploring party across the territory now com-
prising San Luis Obispo County, has been translated for
this book by Mr. H. O. Lang, of Oakland.

The explorers halted on the evening of September i,
1769, by the borders of a lake to which the father, with
his partiality for names of a religious cast, entitled the
Laguna Grande de San Daniel. Here the latitude was
taken, and the party was found to be in latitude thirty-
four degrees, thirteen minutes. From this statement we
are inclined to give Father Crespi little credit for strict
accuracy in his astronomical observations, since, as we
see, he was in error nearly three-fourths of a degree; but
some of his subsequent determinations were strikingly
exact, if one takes into consideration the imperfection of
the instruments of that date.

We will now proceed with the diary from the time of
their departure from the Laguna de San Daniel: —

Saturday, the 2nd. — We set out from the laguna
at a quarter past eight, crossing the adjacent plain a
distance of two leagues; by the course that we followed;
being, toward the northwest, the remainder of our day's
journey lay over mesas (table-lands) until we came to
a watering-place, which was a large laguna, circular
in form, within a glade, some sand piles lying between
it and the sea; all this dale is covered with rushes and
'cat-tails,' and is very swampy and wet. It lies from
east to west. In the afternoon the soldiers went out to
hunt bears, of which they had seen signs, and succeeded
in shooting one, the animal measuring fourteen palms
from the bottom of his feet to his head; he might have
weighed more than fifteen arrobas (375 lbs.). We tried
the meat, and to me it seemed very palatable. Six gen-
tiles (Indians) came to visit us, who live in two ranche-
rias, which they say are not far distant. We gave to this
lake the names of La Laguna de los Santos Martires,
San Juan de Perugia, and San Pedro de Sacro Terrato.
Here Serg. Don Jose Francisco de Ortega fell sick of
what seemed to be flatulency {flato'), also several soldiers
complained of their legs.

Sunday, the 3D. — This day we rested to allow the
scouts to search out a pass by which we might cross the
Sierra that we had in sight, and that we supposed
extended down to the sea-shore. It seems to be the
same range that we have seen upon our right ever since
leaving San Diego; retiring in places, and again intruding
upon the shore, and now is so close thereto as to cut us
off from that course. Our stopping-place was called by
some of us Real de los Vivoras; others call it El Oso
Flaco (lean bear).

Monday, the 4TH. — At half-past six in the morning we
started out, taking the road to the west, and crossing the
sand-hills by the shortest route that our scouts were able
to discover, it being only half a league to the beach. We
came then to the shore, which we followed for about a
league to the northwest, turning then to the east and cross-
ing the sand-hills again at a narrow place, when we found
ourselves on firm ground. For a league further we trav-
eled, our course lying between two bodies of water. At the
right lay a lagoon of fresh water, which rests against the
sand-dunes, and is by them cut off from the sea; at the
left we have an estero which enters this plain, and obliges
us to make a detour to the northwest to pass it. Then
taking the road to the north we entered the sierra
through a glade covered with live-oaks, alders, willows,
and other trees, and halted near a running stream covered

with water-cress. In all our course of more than four
leagues we encountered but one little rancheria of Indians;
but near our stopping-place we found an Indian settle-
ment wliose people came to visit us, bringing presents of
fish and seeds, to which our Senor Commandante re-
sponded with some glass beads. The head man of this
rancheria had an immense tumor hanging from his neck,
at sight of which the soldiers dubbed him El Buchon,
the name extending also to the rancheria. The name
San Ladislao was given by me to the halting-place, that
he might be its patron and protector until its conversion.
I observed the latitude' and made it 35° 28'.

Tuesday, the 5TH — At half-past six we left camp,
following the valley (caiiada) until it turns to the north-
west, where we left it, taking to the high hills not far
from the shore, our course being rough and painful
with many ascents and descents, but happily the hills
were well covered with oaks, live-oaks, and willows. In
one day's travel of two leagues we saw no Indians. AVe
halted at night within a narrow valley encircled with
high hills, with running water in plenty and abundance
of grass for the animals. I named it La Canada de
Santa Elena, but it is known to the soldiers as La
Canada Augosta. It is 35° 30'.

Wednesday, the 6th. — This day was set apart for
rest and to give opportunity for the explorers to lay out
our future route.

Thursday, the 7Th. — We left at half-past six, pass-
ing over high hills for more than three leagues of our
road, until we came to another vale, spacious, with
many ponds of water, whose banks were so muddy as to
prevent our horses from approaching to drink. We saw
here troops of bears which have ploughed up the soil
and dug pits in their search for roots, which are their
food, as also the support of the Indians, who feast upon
such roots as are of good flavor. The soldiers went out
to hunt th^ bears and succeeded in killing one of them
by shooting, after gaining some experience as to the
animal's fierceness. Upon feeling themselves wounded
the animals rush to attack the hunter, who is only able
to escape by his horse's fleetness, the bear never sub-
mitting until he receives a shot in the head, or heart.
The one they killed received nine bullets before it fell,
only succumbing to one in ftie head. Other soldiers
had the recklessness to ride up to one of these bears
while mounted on poOr saddle mules; they then gave
him seven or eight shots and supposed he was dead; but
he arose and crippled two mules, whose riders only
escaped by a scratch. This canada was named by the
party de Los Osos, but I called it Caiiada de la Natividad
de Nuestra Senora.

Friday, the 8th. — This morning, after saying mass
on this great day of the Mother of our Lord's nativity, we
set out, following the same canada westward to the sea,
meeting on our way some impediments because of deep
water-courses whose banks it was necessary to cut down
to permit of our pack-train passing; after two leagues we
halted upon a hill within sight of the sea, and near a
rivulet of good water, upon which grew water-cress. It
is a pleasant locality, with many trees and good pastures.
Not far from our camp was a band of Indians who seemed
to be traveling, for we saw no house; there might have
been seventy souls who came to visit ns, presenting us
with a sort of pinole, made of parched seeds and resem-
bling almonds in its taste; to this the Governor responded
with beads, and they left very joyfully.

There enters in this Canada at its southern side an
estero of immense capacity, that seems to us to be a
port; its mouth is open toward the southwest, and we
observed that it was covered with reefs that occasioned
furious breakers; a httle distance further to the north we

THE ABORIGINES.

29

saw a great rock that has the shape of a dome, and that
at high water is isolated and separated from the coast
Httle less than a musket-shot. From the morro the shore
makes to the west and northwest as far as a point of
land which we made out cut off from the sea, and between
this and another point of the sierra that we left behind,
the coast forms a great bight, with shelter from the
winds of the south-southeast and west; but it is necessary
to examine the anchorage. We named the place La
Canada de San Adriano.

Saturd.w, the 9TH. — About six of the morning we
went out, taking the route toward the northwest, traveling
over mesas of fertile land, treeless but covered with grass,
and after four hours of journeying, during which we went
about three leagues and crossed eight rivulets (arroyos)
which run from the mountains to the sea, we halted at
the last of these within a glen of moderate breadth,
through which runs a stream which terminates in an
estero that enters the lower end of the valley or glen.
The hills which surround this valley reach to the sea on
the west, and prevent our progress along the shore, but
leave a free passage to the north and northwest. The
party named this halting-place El Estero de Santa Sera-
fina. I took the latitude and found it 36' exactly; but
Senor Constanzo made it 35° 47'.

Sunday, the ioth. — After having said mass and
hearing all the soldiers, we started out this pleasant
morning and took the north-northwest branch of the
Canada and traveled along it for the space of two hours
and a half, traveling two good leagues. We then left it,
as we saw that it turned to the north, where we discov-
ered a mountainous region covered with pines and
surrounding a caiion of great depth whose sides were
thickly clothed with willows, poplars, and other trees.
Pursuing our route we encountered a large creek, by
whose banks we made our halt for the night, high above
the Canada. There came to visit us some seventy
gentiles of a rancheria which was not far from'us. They
presented us with bowls of pinole, for which we returned
beads. They brought and offered to us a bear cub which
they had bred up; but we refused it. From this circum-
stance the soldiers took occasion to name our place del
Osito (of the little bear); I called it San Benvenuto.
Latitude 36° 2'. =.

Monday, the iith. — This morning, which dawned
very cloudy, Ave left our camping-place, and traveling down
to the sea-shore followed the beach to the northwest. We
traveled an hour and a half over an easy route, well
provided with streams of good water, then halting by a
steep rock in a small valley where runs a rivulet into the
sea, which rivulet I named El Arroyo de San Nicolas,
but the soldiers called it El Cantel. There is abundance
of grass and wood. I did not take the latitude, but
Senor Constanzo made it 35° 35'.

Tuesday, the i2TH. — At half-past six we started out,
following the sea-shore, for the higher lands were
extremely broken and rough. Our road abounded with
rivulets and creeks whose washed-out channels gave us
much trouble, as a great deal of labor had to be expended
in creating a passage for the beasts of burden. We
came to a point of land that extends into the sea, and
then leaving this to the left we entered a narrow gorge
opening from the sierra, and followed it toward the north-
northeast, traversing various valleys and streams during a
journey of three hours, in which we came two leagues,
encountering two watering-places on the way. We
halted on a hill beside a very deep canon where there is a
pool of water. Apart from us there was a rancheria of
Indians, six of whom came to visit us. I named the
stream in the canon after San Vincente. Taking the
latitude I found we were in 36^ 10'.

Wednesday, the 13TH. — We left camp at half-past
six in the morning, taking a course to the northwest,
part traveling by the Canada and part by the high table-
lands to the sea-shore, along which the remainder of our
two leagues of travel lay. W& halted between two
rivulets where there was plenty of grass and wood.
There came to visit us six of the inhabitants of a
rancheria Avhich was not far distant, and at midday they
regaled us with presents of /zVw/c in their bowls and some
good fresh fish, the Commandante responding, as usual,
with beads, to the joy of the natives. We had in front
of us the very high and rough sierra, thickly covered
with pines, that seems to be the Sierra de Pinos or
Sierra de Santa Lucia (a landmark by which they
expected to find the bay of Monterey), and its roughness
would seem to debar us from crossing the range; accord-
ingly our commander halted us for some days in this
place, in order to give opportunity for the scouts to
explore the surrounding region. I named this place
Los Arroyos de Santa Hunuliana.

THE EARLIEST FOOTPRINTS.

Thus we see the footprints of the first white people
ever within the limits of the county of San Luis Obispo,
excepting the earlier navigators under Cabrillo, who in
1542 sailed along the coast, making landings at several
points. The line of march so particularly described is
readily traced from the lagunas of Guadalupe, the sand
hills of the Arroyo Grande, the Canada de los Osos, the
Moro Rock and the Estero, and thus to the northern
line by the coast. They appear to have kept the sea in
view, trusting to its guidance rather than venture over
the coast mountains, until at last compelled to do so by
the determined approach to the ocean of the Santa
Lucia "Range. Keeping the coast so long as possible, to
about latitude 36, they entered the hills, and in a few
days of rather difficult traveling reached the head of a
small stream that led them to Carmello Bay.

DIFFICULT TRAVELING.

To show the route more clearly we continue the trans-
lation from the diary of Father Crespi: —

On the 13th of September, 1769, the expedition of
Portala halted at Los .Arroyos de Santa Hunuliana.
They remained there for the two following days, in
order to allow the explorer to discover a practicable
route over the mountain chain, which prevented their
passage to the north. On the r6th they proceeded
onward, entering a Canada surrounded with hills of such
steepness that not only men but deer and goats could
not ascend them. Further along this Canada divides,
one branch looking east-northeast, the other toward the
north. Declining somewhat to the northeast, we saw
a hill less steep than those of the Canada, by which we
decided to ascend, first opening a trail. We traveled a
league further, came to itS foot, and halted for the night.
This halting-place we named Pie de la Sierra de Santa
Lucia.

On the 17th they traveled a league, when, coming to
the spurs {cuchillas) of the hills that form the side of the
Canada that looks to the north, then went down another
hill, very large and high, and halted within a hole {/loya)
that has enough of water, wood, and pasture near by.
This place they named La Hoya de la Sierra de Santa
Lucia.

The 1 8th was spent in resting and opening a road for
their further advance. The 19th was similarly spent.

3

HISTORY OF- SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

On the 2oth they ascended a very high hill, near their
halting-place; then following by the side of a narrow
and deep canon which contained running water, they
descended to the stream after awhile, and traveled within
the canon, which began to widen. There they were
compelled to ascend its side again, coming soon to the
very highest elevation in the whole region, which seemed
to dominate the whole mountainous region, which extended
as far as the eye could reach in every direction. They
halted here after having traveled two leagues. Their
camp was pitched at the mouth of a little valley where
there was scarcely enough space to bestow their animals
and baggage. This place was named El Real de Los
Pinones.

On the 2ist they traveled a league toward the north,
following summit of the same range, coming then to their
halting-place, which was at an arroyo sufficiently capa-
cious, and whose beginning (iiaciiniento) was not far away.
It runs from east to west, very much inclosed with live-
oaks, alders, and poplars. This arroyo they named de los
Llagas.

The next day (2 2d) they traveled a league toward the
north, and remarked the existence of light, small white
hills upon their route. These being close together and
dome-shaped.

On the 26th they traveled three leagues, mostly down
hill, having started with the intention of reaching a
stream that the scouts called El Parmelo. Their stop-
ping-place for the night was in a very pleasant and fertile
locality which the leaders named La Canada 6 Rio de
San Elizario, but the soldiers, with their disregard of re-
ligious solemnities, called it El Real del Chocolate.

The following day they followed the river in its north-"
westward course, halting at El Real del Alamo, having
traveled four leagues during the day.

On the 28th day they also made four leagues, following
the course of the Carmel, and halting at El Real Blanco.

Their travels on the 29th covered three and one-half
leagues, keeping in sight of the river, and halting at El
Real de los Casalores.

AT THE B.\Y OF MONTEREY.

On the 30th they came to the sea, and the Point of
Pines.

They were at the bay of Monterey, the object of their
search, arid here their long march might have ended. A
cross was erected and the services of the church held.
But the locality did not fill the requirements expected
from the glowing description given by the historian of
Vizcayno's expedition, and Portala failed to recognize it.
Father Crespi remarks that he " supposed the bay had
been filled up, as they found a great many sand-hills."

DISCOVERY OF THE BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO.

Portala continued northward, hugging the coast, until
passing the locahty now known as Half Moon Bay; the
scouts, in exploring the hills, came in sight of the bay of
San Francisco, being the first finown discoverers of that
body of water. But Father Crespi says "they recognized
it at once by the description they had of it."

Who made the discovery of the bay of San Francisco has
been a puzzling question to historians. Who had given the
accurate description to which Father Crespi refers? The
Spaniards contend that the party of Portala were the dis-
coverers, but the English claim that Sir Francis Drake
entered it in the Golden Hind, and there repaired his
ship in July and August, 1579. He was on a legalized

piratical expedition, and while seeking richly laden ships
or defenseless seaport towns paid little attention to geo-
graphical descriptions, therefore he has left a doubt as to
the precise locality where he refitted in that eventful
cruise. His meager descriptions and some false state-
ments have deprived him of the honor of discovery, and
if he did enter the bay no good came of it to the world.
Lord Anson, another EngHsh navigator, in 1742, captured
a Spanish galleon en route from Manila, from which he
obtained a chart of the California coast, and in this is
laid down a large bay in latitude 38°, with a narrow en-
trance perfectly sheltered from all winds. Ferello had
seen the mouth of the bay as he was swept past it in a
gale, in March, 1543. An incorrect latitude had been
given for it if the bay really had been found, but report
of it undoubtedly had been made.

This is further proven by the instructions given by
Galvez to Father Junipero Serra, when designating the
names by which the missions should be called. The
father asked him: " But, sir, is there to be no mission for
our Father San Francisco ?" The Visitador-General replied:
" If San Francisco wants a mission, let him show us his
port, and we will put one there." The bay was then
named San Francisco, and a few years subsequently a
mission was established.

Governor Portala and his party returned from the bay
of San Francisco to San Diego, arriving on the 24th of
January, 1770, six months and ten days after his depart-
ure.

THE MISSIONS IN 1786.

The general story of the missions has been one of
fulsome praise of the fraternal love and fatherly care of
the Indian converts, but La Perouse, the eminent French
navigator, a Catholic, who visited the coast in 1786, gives
a different impression. Apart from the missions, he
states, there was not a white person in all New California.
The mission he refers to was at Monterey. He was re-
ceived into the church through a file of Indians, of both
sexes ; the edifice was adorned with pictures, copies of
Italian paintings, among which his attention was drawn
to one representing hell, in which were depicted scenes
well calculated to strike terror into the minds of the sav-
ages. The habitations of the Indians consisted of about
fifty huts, built of sticks and brush and covered with
earth. They were the most wretched that could be im-
agined, about six feet in diameter, and four feet in height;
into these were collected about seven hundred and fifty
Christians, including women and children.

The physical condition of these neophytes was in no
respect changed by the influence of the missionaries;
their filth was insufferable; and when this and the ver-
min rendered their habitations insupportable, they were
in the habit of setting them on fire, and building hew
ones. The house of the missionaries and the store-
houses were of brick and plastered.

He compared the establishment to a West Indian

plantation, in which fetters, the stocks, and whips were

not wanting to complete the picture. Men and women

were treated alike to these punishments, except that the

I women were whipped in a distant inclosure, that their

THE ABORIGINES..

31

cries might not be heard by the males, for fear of a revolt.
Neglect of the exercises of piety was punished with the
lash; and, he says: "Many sins which in Europe are left
to divine justice, are here punished by the irons and
the stocks. The moment an Indian is baptized, the
effect is the same as if he had pronounced a vow for
life. If he escapes, to reside with his relations in the
independent villages, he is summoned three times to
return, and, if he refuses, the missionaries apply to the
Governor, who sends the soldiers to seize him in the
midst of his family, and conduct him to the mission,
where he is condemned to receive a certain number of
lashes with the whip." There was no attempt made to
teach them the most common arts, and the grain was
ground by the women in the primitive Indian method of
rubbing it with a roller upon a stone. He presented to
the mission a hand-mill, which performed the labor of a
large number of women.*

SECOND EXPEDITION TO MONTEREY.

Governor Portala, as before stated, returned to San
Diego with the news of the discovery of the bay of San
Francisco, but declaring he had seen no bay of Monterey.
Of course he had been along its shores and had erected
a cross there, but it was so different from the bay of San
Diego — so broad an opening that he could not see the
northern shore — that he had not recognized it, or, as
some believe, had determined not to recognize it, in order
that he might continue his explorations to find the sup-
posed port of San Francisco. In the latter he succeeded,
and is therefore entitled to the honor of making it known
to the world.

THREATENED ABANDONMENT OF CALIFORNIA.

The San Atitonio, which in July had been sent to San
Bias for reinforcements and supplies, had not returned
during the winter, and, the stores becoming short, the
Governor decided that on the 20th of March he would
abandon the mission and the colony would return to
Lower California. But on the 19th, the day before the
contemplated abandonment, the Sati Antonio entered
the harbor, bringing a great quantity of provisions.
This made permanent the occupation of the country.
Portala, whether by orders received by the San Antonio
or by his own authority, immediately prepared another
expedition for Monterey by land and by sea,. he taking
command of the land expedition, and Father Junipero
sailing on the San Antonio. The land party arrived at
Monterey on the 23d of May, and the San Atitonio on
the 31st of the same month, 1770. Father Junipero
writes that he found the lovely port of Monterey the
same and unchanged in substance and in circumstance
as the expedition of Sebastian Vizcayno left it in 1603;
and that all the officers of sea and land, and all their
people assembled in the same glen and under the same
oak whc-e the fathers of Vizcayno's expedition had wor-
shiped, and there arranged their altar, hung up and rung
their bells, sung the Veni Creator, blessed the holy water,
set up and blessed the cross and the royal standards, con-

*" Seeking the Golden Fleece."— Stillman.

eluding with a Te Deum. And then the name of Christ was
again spoken for the first time after an interval of more than
167 years of silence. After the religious ceremonies were
over, the officers went through the act of taking possession
of the country "in the name of our lord, the King." When
this news was received at the City of Mexico it created a
profound impression, the bells were rung, and there was
general rejoicing throughout the country. Monterey
seems ever to have been the central point of the Mexi-
can idea of California; the chief port sought by the early
explorers, and as a port of refuge in which the Manila
gaUeons might find shelter; the location for the presi-
dency of the missions; the pride and capital of the coun-
try under Spanish rule, and until the great influx of .
Americans transferred the center of population and the
seat of government farther to the north.

BY THE CROSS OF .MONTEREY.
BY RICHARD F. WHITE.

Padre Junipero Serra,

When 'twas dying of the day,
Sat beneath the tall dark pine trees

By the cross of Monterey,
Listening as the simple red men

Of their joys and sorrows told,
And their stories of the missions,

And their legends quaint and old.

And they told him when Portala

Rested by the crescent bay,
Little dreaming he was gazing

On the wished-for Monterey,
That this cross on shore he planted

And the ground about it blessed.
And then he and his companions

Journeyed northward on their quest.

And the Indians told the padre

That Portala'b cross at night
Gleaming with a wondrous splendor,

Than the noon-sun was more bright;
And its mighty arms extended

East and westward, O so far!
And its topmost point seemed rising

Northward on the polar star.

And they told, when fear had vanished,

How they gathered all around,
And their spears and arrows buried

In the consecrated ground;
And they brought most fragrant blossoms,

And rare ocean shells in strings,
And they hung upon the cross arms

All their choicest offerings.

And the padre told the Indians:

"Ah, if rightly understood,
What you tell me of the cross here

Has a meaning deep and good —
For that light is emblematic

That the time is near at hand
When the faith of Christ the Saviour

Will illumine all the land.

• To the cross, cling, O my children 1

In the storm and in the night ,
When you wander, lost and weary.

It will he a guiding light;
Cling to it, and cares and sorrows

Very soon will all have passed,
And the palm and crown of glory

Will be given you at last."

Padre Junipero Serra

Thus unto the red men told
Of the emblem of salvation

And its story sweet and old,
Sitting by the crescent bay-side,

When 'twas dying of the day
At the foot of dark tall pine trees.

By the cross of Monterey.

32

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

CHAPTER IV.

THE MISSIONS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

Mission of San Luis Obispo — Ceremonies of the Founding —
Attacked by Indians — The Administrative Power — Free
Entertainment — Great Wealth of the iVIission — Angered
Priests — The Secularization — Tlie iVIission Repaired — The
Buildings Put to Many Uses — At the End of the First
Century — The Centennial of the Mission — San Luis Obispo
before 1 828 — Mission of San Miguel — Rapid Growth — Fruit
Trees and Vines — Fruit Trees Destroyed — The Ruined Build-
ings — The Ancient Church — A Solid Structure — Father
Farrelly — Area of its Possessions — Ranchos Granted — The
Mission is Disputed Property — Historic Correspondence —
The Occupancy of the Mission — The Property Restored to
the Church — San Miguel in 1822 — Santa Margarita — A Relic
of Father Junipero.

llHE mission of San Carlos having been established

at Monterey, it was shortly after removed to the

valley of the Cormello River, near the little bay of

same name. The mission of San Antonio was

established July 14, 177 1, and that of San Gabriel on

the 8th of September of the same year.

Of the founding of the

MISSION OF SAN LUIS OBISPO

We have the following, translated from " Father Palou's
Life of Padre Junipero Serra " for the San Luis Obispo
Trihune: —

The venerable father, seeing, from the letters received
from the captains of the ships, that they could not come
into Monterey, and from the want of mules it was
impossible to carry the freight by land, took the trouble
to go down to San Diego to communicate with the
sailors ; on the way down " to found the mission of
San Luis Obispo de Toloso, and on his return to found
that of San Buenaventura. He set out from Monterey
with the Commandante Don Pedro Pages, who went for
the same purpose, after he had dispatched the mail, and
on the road visited the mission of San Antonio. He
rejoiced to see how much the number of Christians had
increased, and took with him from there Fray Jose
Caballar to establish the mission of San Luis. They
traveled- twenty-nine leagues and arrived in sight of the
Canada de Los Osos (the Bears' Pass), where they ma'de
a slaughter of those animals to appease the hunger of the
Indians. Finding on that opportune place very fruitful
land and a crystal stream to fertilize it, they at once
erected a grand cross, and having decorated and adorned
it, they took possession of the country.

The founding of the mission was on the first day of
September, 1772. Our venerable father said mass under
a bush arbor, and, setting out on the following day, /. e.,
the 2d of September, proceeded on his journey to San
Diego. He left at the mission two California Indians,
to assist, and the Senor Commandante, one Corporal, and
four soldiers for protection (a guard), the padre promising
that on his return he would increase the number to ten
men, for he needed the men to take care of the drove of
cattle and the pack-train of provisions. Because of his
limited supply, he left for the padre the five soldiers and
the above-mentioned Indians, only two arrobas of flour
and three almudes of wheat, and to purchase seeds of the
Indians he left a box of brown sugar. Leaving the padre
very well contented with such a limited supply, placing
his confidence in God, he set off on his journey.

As soon as the travelers had set out on their journey,
the mission father had the foresight to cause the two
Indians to cut wood with whicJi to construct a small

chapel, which might also serve as shelter for the padre.
At the same time the soldiers made their own quarters
and constructed a stockade for their defense. Although
there had not been before at this place any rancheria
(village) of the wild Indians, nevertheless in a short time
one was formed. When they had held cominunication
for about three months with the soldiers, who had
slaughtered the bears, they gratefully thanked them for
having rid their country of such fierce animals, which had
killed so many Indians. Of those who were yet alive
not a few bore the marks of the terrible claws. They
therefore expressed themselves very well satisfied that we
had made our home in their country. They frequently
visited the mission, bringing the padre presents of venison
and wild seeds, and getting in exchange beads and brown
sugar. By means of this assistance from the wild Indians,
the Christians were enabled to inaintain themselves until
the arrival of the schooner which brought their provis-
ions.

In the year of the foundation there were twelve Chris-
tians, with four families of California Indians and some
unmarried neophytes. So that the mission increased in
a material as well as in a spiritual sense. So many of
the gentiles were converted that when the venerable
Padre Junipero Serra died there had been baptized 616.
The mission of San Luis Obispo de Toloso is situated
upon a hill at the skirts of which flows a stream of water
large enough to furnish water for drinking purposes and
to irrigate the surrounding land. It produces an abun-
dance of provisions, not only to maintain the Christians
and the garrison, but also to purchase clothes to clothe
the Indians. Such is the fertility of the soil that what-
ever seeds are sown yield abundant harvests.

It is situated in north latitude 35° 38', three leagues
distant from the sea, where there is a bay called Buchon,
to the west. A good road. At the playa (beach) the
neophyte Indians have their canoes. They catch fish of
various classes, some of which are very savory.

This mission is distant from Monterey fifty-seven
leagues to the southeast, and twenty-five leagues from
San Antonio. The intermediate country is inhabited by
wild Indians, whose reduction (conversion) would not be
easily accomplished unless other missions were estab-
lished betv;een them. For these natives do not go away

; from their own particular part of the country, and such
is the variety of their idioms that at every step a new one
is encountered. At present there are no two missions
which speak the same language.

San Luis Obispo has a very healthy climate, being cold
in winter and warm in summer, athough neither to excess.
The place is to a certain degree incommoded by winds on
account of its altitude.

The mission has been on three separate occasions set
fire to. The first time an Indian set fire to it with a
match, which he shot with his bow into the roof. That
being of thatch took fire easily and burned the greater

: part of the building down, causing considerable loss.

: The second time was on Christmas, when the padre was
saying the mass of the cock-crow. It took fire no one
knew how, but was soon put out by the people who were
assisting at the mass. The last was a fiercer fire, causing
more destruction of property. It was never discovered
whether it was caused by accident or malice. To pre-
vent similar dangers and calamities the idea occurred to
the padre to cover the roof with tiles, and as there was
no one who knew how to make them, he made them
himself After this they were free from fire. In imita-
tion of this mission all the other missions adopted the

tile roof

CEREMONIES OF THE FOUNDERS.

In an article prepared by Hon. C. H. Johnson for the
San Luis Obispo Tribune, that gentleman writes: —

I t ^

Gen. p. W. Murphy.

The history of the pioneers of California presents a
remarkable array of men of extraordinary enterprise and
courage ; of stalwart manhood and high-souled honor,
attended by brilliant successes in business and states-
manship, or untiring energy in the ordinary walks of life.
The family of Murphy was the first of the pioneers, and
are among the first in wealth and in social and political
influence. Their history runs far back into Ireland,
thence to Canada, and to the United States in Missouri,
and at. last to California when it was a Mexican depend-
ency, and to the present. The founder of the family in
California was Martin Murphy, Sr.,.vvho early in the
present century went with his family from Ireland to
Quebec, Lower Canada, as the agent of a body of col-
onists of that region. In 1840 he removed to Holt
County, Missouri, and there founded a colony at a place
called "Irish Grove." The locality was not a healthy
one, and the settlers were afflicted with malaria. In
their illness they were visited by the Priest of the Jesuit
Mission at Council Bluffs, Rev. Father Hoskins, who told
them in glowing terms of the beauties of the land by the
sunset sea, where malaria did not exist, and disease was
scarcely known. Father Hoskins had lived eight years
in California, and was so enthusiastic in its praise that he
instilled the desire in the stricken colonists to seek a
home in that fair and distant land. On the 24th of
May, 1844, the settlers of Irish Grove started on their
pilgrimage across the trackless wilderness to the land of
-their hopes and their future. Their journey was long
and toilsome, but fortune favored them, and late in the
fall of that year they arrived at the Eastern base of the
Sierra Nevada, near the shore of a beautiful lake, which
now bears the name of the unfortunate Donner, and
there the company halted for the winter. Cabins were
built and preparations made for the long period of isola-
tion and danger. A portion of the company, however.

concluded to push forward, and did so, entermg Califor-
nia by way of the Bear River and to Sutter's Fort. This
party gave the name to Truckee River in honor of a
faithful Indian guide who accompanied them. In the
chapter devoted to Early Immigrants this party is more
fully noticed.

Patrick Washington Murphy was one of that noted
band of pioneers, although then but a mere child. He
was born while his parents resided in Missouri, Septem-
ber II, 1840. His grandfather, Martin Murphy, Sr.,
was the commander and master spirit of the first party of
emigrants ever to cross the Sierra Nevada with wagons
and oxen to California. His father is Martin Mur-
phy, Jr., who was born in County Wexford, Ireland,
November 9, 1807. His mother's maiden name was
Mary Bulger, a native of the same county. They were
married in the cathedral at Quebec, July 18, 1831, and
fifty years later celebrated their golden wedding with
great eclat, and in the presence of a large assemblage at
their homestead at Mountain View, in Santa Clara
County.

In the pleasant Santa Clara P. W. Murphy grew to
manhood, there attending school and graduating at Santa
Clara College, receiving the degree of B. S. After leaving
college he removed to San Luis Obispo County to take
charge of the great landed property of his father, the
ranchos of Santa Margarita, Atascadero, and Assuncion,
comprising about 70,000 acres. At a later date he
became the owner of these ranchos, and also of the Cojo
Rancho, of 9,000 acres, near Lompoc in Santa Barbara
County. These are grand estates, and in monarchial
countries would ennoble the holder with lordly titles and
high distinction. The owner has many times borne the
title of Honorable, as the political history in this volume
shows him to have been three times elected to the office
of State Senator, and once to the Assembly of California.

GEN. P. W. MURPHY.

These positions he filled with distinction, and his frequent
re-elections indicate the satisfaction he gave his constit-
uency. He bears the tide of General, having been
appointed by Governor Irwin Brigadier-General of the
Second Brigade of the National Guard of California.

The Santa Margarita is the home rancho of General
Murphy. This is often mentioned in these pages, and is
one of the loveliest and most valuable in San Luis Obispo.
General Murphy's land is chiefly devoted to grazing, and
his cattle are numbered by thousands. In the business
of cattle-raising he has been eminendy successful, and
his property is valued at $1,200,000. The family have
been equally successful, and their fortune aggregates
$4,000,000, the result of energy, business ability, and the
opportunity of life in California. As a business man in
San Luis Obispo he has always borne a prominent part,
being first in all the great enterprises. He was one of
the originators of the San Luis Obispo Water Company,
and a large stock-holder, also an incorporator of the
Bank of San Luis Obispo, and one of the Directors.
In other enterprises he has been active, and in his char-
ities munificent, giving thousands of dollars where the
wants of the poor and suffering require it.

General Murphy was first elected to the Senate as an
Independent, but in politics he is a Democrat and exer-
cises a powerful influence in his party. His brothers are
politicians as well as capitalists. Burnard D. Murphy
has often been Mayor of San Jose, and State Senator,
and his youngest brother, James T. Murphy, was the
first Bank Commissioner appointed to that oflfice. His
sister, the late Mrs. Taffe, of San Francisco, was the first
American child born in California. Two other sisters
■are Mrs. Mary Carroll, wife of Richard T. Carroll, mer-
chant of San Francisco, and Mrs. Helen Argues, of San
Jose. His relatives in California are numerous and of
the most wealthy and prominent people.

He was married, February 23, 1870, to Miss Mary
Kate O'Brien, daughter of Dr. P. M. O'Brien, a well-
known gentleman of San Francisco, one of the founders
of the Hibernia Bank, and the author of its constitution
and by-laws. Mrs. Murphy was a native of Philadel-
phia, a lady of elegant accomplishments, and highly
esteemed. Shfe died in Santa Clara some years since,
deeply mourned by all who knew her, as an irreparable
loss to her husband and to society.

THE MISSIONS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

33

On the 19th of August, 1772, Father Serra arrived
here from Monterey, and, after making a thorough
examination of the surrounding country, selected the
site now occupied by this city as the most eligible for the
proposed new mission.

On the istof September, 1772, Father Serra, assisted
by Father Jose Caballar, blessed and put in place the
holy cross. They then suspended a bell to the branch
of a sycamore on the edge of San Luis Creek, and, after
ringing it some time to attract the attention of the In-
dians, one of the priests, advancing, cried out: '■'■Ea!
gentiles.' venidf 7'enid.' a la Sn/ita Iglesiaf venid! venid
a recibir la fe dc Jesii Crista!" "O! gentiles! come ye!
come ye! to the holy church! Come, come and receive
the faith of Jesus Christ." The Indians, understanding
not a word that was said, expressed by their looks and
gestures, however, the utmost astonishment. Mass was
then sung amid a vast concourse of Indians. Then was
founded the mission, or we might say the city of San Luis
Obispo de Toloso, which is its proper name, but, on
account of its great length, the last two words have been
dropped by custom.

The erection of buildings was commenced in the year
following the formal occupancy of the place.

ATTACKED BY INDIANS.

In 1775 the mission was attacked by a large band of
Indians that arrived on the coast from the Tulare country,
known at present as the San Joaquin. The attack was
made in the night. The Indians were repulsed, but not
before they had fired the buildings by shooting arrows
with lighted torches into the thatched roofs. To avoid a
similar calamity in the future, the new buildings and
those repaired were covered with tiles.

The mission soon became one of the most flourish-
ing in California; extensive buildings were erected;
schools established, and the Indians instructed in the
mechanical arts. Orchards and vineyards were planted;
the arable land cultivated, and the surrounding country
stocked with cattle, sheep, horses, and mules. The new
building was a quadrilateral, the church occupying one
of the wings. A dial was placed in front of the church,
fixed on a brick pillar. The fa9ade was ornamented by
a corridor, with a fine row of columns supporting the
roof The interior was formed by a court, having a gal-
lery, upon which opened the dormitories of the monks;
of the major-domos ; and of travelers ; and also the work-
shops, school-rooms, and store-rooms. The hospital was
situated in the most retired part of the mission. The
young Indian girls were kept in the hall called the nun-
nery. They were placed under the care of Indian
matrons who were deemed worthy of confidence, and
taught to make cloths of wool and flax, and were not
allowed to leave the nunnery until they were old enough
to be married. Among the pupils of the school, a cer-
tain number were instructed in music, vocal as well as
instrumental. Others were taught to work at carpentery,
blacksmithing, etc. Those who distinguished themselves
in these branches of skilled labor were appointed over-
seers.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE POWER

Consisted of two monks, of whom the elder had charge
of the interior and of the religious instruction, and the
younger the agricultural works. The small garrison,
consisting of a Corporal and five soldiers, served the
double purpose of keeping the refractory neophytes in
subjection, and of adding to the numerical strength of
the mission, by making occasional incursions with the
Christianas viejos — old Christian Indians — into the

Tulare country, to force the gentiles or heathen Indians
into the fold.

The Indians were divided into squads of laborers. At
sunrise the bell sounded the angelus, and every one set
out for church ; after mass, they breakfasted, and then
went to work. At eleven they dined, and this period of
repose extended to two o'clock, when they returned to
labor, until the evening Angelus — one hour before sunset.
After prayers and the Rosary, the Indians had supper,
and then amused themselves with dancing and other
sports. Their diet consisted of fresh or dried beef;
and also mutton, as much as they chose, together with
tortillas — thin cakes of flour or cornmeal — beans, peas
and vegetables; fruit was occasionally distributed to
them. For dress they wore a linen or cotton shirt,
pantaloons, and woolen blanket. But the overseers had
habits of cloth. The women received every year two
chemises, a gown, and a blanket. When the hides, tal-
low, grain, and wine were sold to ships from abroad,
the monks distributed handkerchiefs, wearing apparel,
tobacco, and trinkets among the Indians ; and devoted
the surplus to the embellishment of the church, the pur-
chase of musical instruments, pictures, sacerdotal orna-
ments, etc. Still, they were careful to keep a part of
their harvests in granaries, to provide for years of scar-
city.

FREE ENTERTAINMENT.

All travelers were hospitably entertained at the mis-
sion free of charge. Upon leaving, they were tendered
fresh horses ; also a flask of wine and a prepared luncheon
— para el camino — for the road.

The mass of the Indians were lodged in rows of
small houses of one story, situated near the north, east,
and west sides of the main building. They were built of
adobe — a large sun-dried brick — as were likewise the
main mission buildings, except the north and west walls,
which were of stone. The roofs were covered with tiles,
and the walls whitewashed. The church tower contained
a fine chime of bells, imported from Spain.

The mission, as a whole, presented a fine picture
when viewed from a distance from a commanding posi-
tion. The red-tiled roofs of the buildings with their
white walls; the silvery-green foliage of the olive mingling
with the deeper shades of that of the fig and other trees;
the water ditches winding through vineyards and gardens;
the mountain stream with its banks bordered with giant
sycamores and drooping willows, curving gracefully in
its course through the heart of the mission, the water
appearing at inteiT^als through the green foliage, reflecting
the rays of the sun with sparkling brilliancy, contrasting
most picturesquely with each other, and with the bold
features of the mountain scenery, and the perfect azure
of the sky.

GREAT WEALTH OF THE MISSION.

The mission rose to great wealth anterior to the secu-
larization, being regarded as one of the wealthiest, prob-
ably occupying the first rank of all the missions of Cali-
fornia. But it has undergone many changes since it
passed its zenith. Tradition says that a former Bishop

34

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

fled to Spain, taking with him $100,000 in. treasure,
ordered to do so by the church authorities in the mother
country.* By some it is said that a great part of this
treasure was obtained by mining, and that not many
years ago a priest came from Spain having tracings of a
map he had found among the archives of the California
missions, showing San Luis Obispo and a road to the
mine and to some smelting furnaces in the valley of the
Arroyo Grande. With the dethronement of Spanish
power in California, the mines were closed and all traces
of them obliterated as far as possible on the surface, and
none were found by the priest who had come so far in
search, there being no certainty that any ever existed.
However, the existence of ruined furnaces (Jos homos)
was well known to the early settlers. Branch, Price, and
otherSj but whether used for smelting silver ore or burn-
ing lime were questions of doubt. The missions were
deprived of some of their powers by the Mexican Gov-
ernment shortly after the acquisition of the independence
of the latter, but this so threatened their destruction that
the acts were rescinded. This was in 1825 and 1826.

ANGERED PRIESTS.

In 1833 the decrees of secularization were made.
Then commenced the most reprehensible acts of destruc-
tion by the angered priests. For over half a century
they had held absolute power in the country; established
and maintained by the aid of their home government until
they became self-supporting, then controlling all the re-
sources of the country, with the simple natives as obedi-
ent laborers without other pay than their necessary suste-
nance; with numerous and almost numberless flocks and
herds; lords of the manor and exempt from taxation,
occupying one of the pleasantest and most prolific coun-
tries of the earth, they easily became rich, their success
cultivating the spirit of cupidity until, with the greater
number, the desire for wealth and power became the pas-
sion exceeding their duties to the people they had come
to convert. The power they had established was more
apparent than the civilization they presumed to teach.
The civilization was of the rudest kind known to the
patriarchal times; faint glimmerings of the social state
of Europe of a thousand years preceding. The Indians
of the coast had been subdued, and the region of the
missions opened for settlement, but the Indian had not
been changed in his nature nor so instructed as to be able
to further progress or even maintain his position when
left alone. The priests and their converts occupied the
positions of absolute masters and abject slaves or de-
pendents, the property created to all intents and pur-
poses belonging to the former, although presumed to be
for the benefit of the latter. At an early day after the
establishing of the mission of San Luis Obispo, vines of
grapes, and orchards of olive, pear, fig, and other trees
were planted, all growing vigorously. These had been
growing near fifty years when the decrees of seculariza-
tion were issued, and, we are told, were grand and pro-

"Colton in his " Three Years in Californi.!," pubhshed in 1849, says: " In 1821
the m.ssion of San Luis Obispo had 78,600 cattle, 2,000 tame horses, 3,700 mules,
and 27,000 sheep. One of the fathers of this mission took $100,000 with him
when he left for Spain in 1828."

lific trees, but, with a few exceptions, they were destroyed
by order of the priests. Of the exceptions were two fig
trees standing west of the mission buildings, which con-
tinued to flourish until about 1880. These had attained
a growth of thirteen feet in circumference of trunk two
feet above the ground, and the spread of the limbs was
eighty feet in diameter.

THE SECULARIZATION

Has usually been alluded to as an act of despotic tyr-
anny, depriving a people of property they had created
or succeeded to according to law; but really it was only
recovering the public domain for the public use from
those who had been placed upon it for a great and good
purpose and for a period. But the reasonable period had
long expired; the Indians were still degraded and helpless,
and the church power excluded all other. To introduce
a self-sustaining, progressive people it was necessary to
deprive the church of its power, and therefore the decree
of secularization was an act of wise statesmanship.
While the act was a wise one, it was not carried out in
such a manner as to result in the many benefits intended.
There appears to have been a general scramble for the
property previously possessed by the missions. These
establishments, from the affluence and power they once
enjoyed, were reduced to extreme poverty. In 1 838, the
Rev. Father Sarria actually starved to death at the mis-
sion of La Soledad, after having labored there for thirty
years.*

The priests were not all so conscientious nor devoted
in their duties and their mission as Father Sarria. They
generally joined in the slaughter of the stock for the hides
and tallow obtained, and shared in the spoil where they
did not destroy. The great buildings, which had been
erected by the early fathers and the labor of the neo-
phytes, commenced their rapid decay. From 1833 to
1846, they remained under Mexican control, having been
sold in 1842 by order of Governor Micheltorena, but
subsequently restored. At the latter date, the missions
had sunk to their most degraded condition.

THE MISSION REPAIRED.

In 1847, the mission of San Luis Obispo was exten-
sively repaired, as under the change of Government there
appeared a prospect of its becoming valuable property,
either for Mr. Wilson who claimed its ownership as a
purchaser, or the parish priest, Father Gomez, who main-
tained possession of the chapel. Then also commenced
a series of improvments in the old mission gardens, re-
sulting in saving the land for the benefit of the Catholic
Church.

THE BUILDINGS PUT TO MANY USES.

Since the occupjj.ncy of the country by Americans the
old buildings have been used for many purposes; as
barracks for soldiers, Court House, jail, school house,
restaurant, saloon, and residence. Some of the occupants
were mere interlopers, taking possession as if it were pub-
lic property, but generally the title has been conceded as
in the Catholic Church, to which it was confirmed in the

*Gleeson's " History of the Catholic Church in California."

THE MISSIONS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

85

name of Bishop J. S. Alemany by the United States
Board of Commissioners, giving to that organization the
buildings and 52.72 acres of land. This land had been
inclosed in walls prior to the change of flags in 1846.
In 1874 that portion south of San Luis Creek in the
town of San Luis Obispo was laid out in town lots and
sold, and the city rapidly extended over it.

About the year 1880, the building underwent a
thorough system of renovation, removing the arcade
that had extended along the front, and putting in a frame
structure and a belfry where the adobe portion threatened
to fall into ruin, and as such it now stands. The modern
innovations, called improvements, have much detracted
from its romantic, mediaeval appearance, but it is still a
quaint structure, and will remain as long as it can be pre-
served, a quaint and very interesting object.

Since the eventful change of Government in 1846, the
mission has been under the charge of Reverend Fathers
Gomez, Sastre, Mora, Galera, and Roussell, the latter be-
ing the incumbent in 1883.

AT THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY.

A writer visiting San I^^uis Obispo in September, 187 1,
writes of the mission in the following enthusiastic man-
ner: —

Even Father Sastre, the Spanish priest in charge of the
old mission, seems to have taken the contagion from these
restless Americans who are building up San Luis Obispo,
and displays an amount of energy seldom met with in
one of his calling and country. Showing us through the
mission church and the grounds attached, we saw every-
where the fruits and effects of the good father's industry.
The mission which had lain idle and neglected for forty
years when the padre was sent to take charge of it, is
looking fresh and cheerful, as far as the padre's hand can
reach. The walls of the church are all the way from
three to nine (?) feet in thickness, and constructed of
adobe and rock mixed. Though unused and exposed for
such a length of time, nothing was ever taken from the
church; everything down to the little old-fashioned silver
censer and incense jar, is still there just as it was nearly
a hundred years ago. The ceiling and walls of the
church have been newly painted sky-blue and pink — at
good Father Sastre's suggestion. In the vestry-room
were the very basin and urn in which the padres, so many
years before, washed the sacred cloths pertaining to the
communion service; and richer and grander thaii any-
thing I had ever seen were the vestments and robes
which had lain in this same old chest of drawers
for over seventy-five years. Silk, brocaded witli gold and
silver flowers, and satin with raised arabesques running
through it; surely there is nothing manufactured in our
day like these vestments sent from wealthy, wicked old
Spain to flaunt in the faces of the gaping, worshiping
Indians.

To the remark of friend Murray, "That many a ship-
load of grain and beef-hides must have gone back to
Spain for these robes." Father Sastre replied in his native
tongue: "When you want fine bread you must send the
best of flour." And they could afford to "send the
best of flour," these old padres, when the mission was in
its prime. Are we not told of one father who returned
to his native land with $100,000 in gold from this very
church? The mission owned some 80,000 head of cat-
tle then, and over 70,000 head of sheep; not to mention
a small matter of 5,000 or 6,000 horses, and about an
equal number of mules. Then we followed the padre

into the belfry. He turned, good-naturedly, to warn us,
in his broken English, of the bumps we might encounter
from the irregularities of the ceiling over the uneven
adobe stairway. Of the five bells brought out from Spain,
and marked with the name and date of the San Luis
Obispo Mission, only one has lost the use of its tongue,
and sits by sullenly in one corner. From here we stepped
into the choir, where the instruments were kept on which
the mission Indians had once discoursed sweet strains.
A kind of base viol, some other stringed instruments, and
a near relative of our barrel-organ stood in the loft to-
gether; and these Father Sastre intends to have repaired
for the centennial celebration of the founding of the
mission, which takes place on the 19th of August, T872.

THE CENTENNIAL OF THE MISSION.

The centennial celebration was held on the day
named, the 19th of August, that being the day of the
arrival on the spot of Father Junipero Serra, and the
day of San Luis, although the ceremony of the founding
of the mission did not take place until September i, 1772.
The centennial celebration was attended by a large con-
course, people coming from Los Angeles, Santa Barbara,
Monterey, Santa Cruz, and other points to share in the
ceremonies. Rev. Father Codina, of Santa Barbara, de-
livered an address, sketching the life of Junipero Serra,
and Rev. Father Adam, of Santa Cruz, lectured on the
history of the missions of California.

SAN LUIS OBISPO BEFORE 1828.

There are but few records attainable of the past condi-
tion of the missions, unless we search the archives of
Spain. Going backward to the days of 1S46, we would
expect to find persons then living with knowledge and
memory sufficient to give correct information, or in pos-
session of statistics of value and reliability. Rev. Walter
Colton, in 1846, was Alcalde of Monterey; was familiar
with the language, and en rapport with the prominent men
of the country. He wrote a book entitled "Three Years
in California," in which he appears to have been very par-
ticular in statistical matters. He writes of the mission
of San Luis Obispo as follows: —

This mission stands thirteen leagues south of San
Miguel, and within three leagues of the coast. It has
always been considered one of the richest missions in
California. The presiding priest, Luis Martinez, was a
man of comprehensive purpose and indomitable force.
His mission grant covered an immense tract of the rich-
est lands on the sea-board. Every mountain stream was
made to subserve the purpose of irrigation. He planted
the cotton tree, the hme, and a grove of olives, which
still shower their abundant harvests on the tables of the
Californians. He built a launch that run to Santa Bar-
bara, trained his Indians to kill the otter, and often
received thirty and forty skins a week from his children of
the bow. His storehouse at Santa Margarita, with its
high adobe walls, was one hundred and ninety feet long,
and well stowed with grain. His table was loaded with
the choicest game and richest wines ; his apartments for
guests might have served the hospitable intentions of a
prince. He had 87,000 head of grown cattle, 2,000 tame
horses, 3,500 mares, 3,700 mules, eight sheep farms, aver-
aging 9,000 sheep to each farm, and the broad Tulare
Valley, in which his Indians could capture any number of
wild horses. The major-domo of this mission, in 1827,
scattered on the ground, without having first plowed it.

36

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

I20 bushels of wheat, and then scratched it in with things
called harrows, and harvested from the same over 7,000
bushels. This was a lazy experiment, but shows what the
land may yield when activity shall take the place of indo-
lence. Father Martinez returned to Spain, taking with
liim $100,000 as the fruits of his mission enterprise. On
the secularization of the missions in 1834, the property
fell a prey to State exigency and private rapacity. A
gloomy wreck of grandeur only remains.

MISSION OF SAN MIGUEL.

The mission of San Miguel Archangel was established
July 25, 1797, and is the sixteenth in the order in Alta
California. The locality is on the west bank of the Sa-
linas River, immediately below the junction of the Estrella
River, and is surrounded by many square leagues of graz-
ing land. Here the two rivers are in broad valleys
adorned with large oaks, and along the streams grow Cot-
tonwood, willow, sycamore, and other trees, and large
areas of land susceptible of successful cultivation.

The mission is thirty-four miles north of the city of
San Luis Obispo, and about four miles south of the line
dividing the county from Monterey. The site was well
selected as about midway between the mission of San
Luis Obispo de Toloso and the mission of San Antonio
de Padua, which is thirty-nine miles northwest, the found-
ing of the latter bearing date July 24, 1771, being the
third in age of the missions.

At the date of the establishing of San Miguel the re-
gion was thronged with Indians, those of the Tulare Val-
ley and of the Sierra Nevada often making incursions,
using the easy passes of the Monte Diablo range east of
the locality, the valley of the Estrella and the Paso de los
Robles on their way to the coast, where they often went
in their raids against the coast Indians, and for the pur-
poses of trading and fishing. The mission of La Soledad,
founded October 9, 1791, farther north on the east bank
of the Salinas, completed the chain of protecting and
converting establishments between San Luis Obispo and
Monterey.

RAPID GROVi'TH.

San Miguel rapidly grew into importance, becoming
one of the most prosperous and populous of the mis-
sions, though never so wealthy as that of San Luis Obispo:
The fathers soon discovered the adaptability, of the
region for sheep grazing, and brought to it large flocks of
these animals, which in course of time increased to many
thousands, it being reported that at one time the mission,
with its dependent ranches, was the owner of 91,000
cattle, 1,100 tame horses, 3,000 mares, 2,000 mules, 340
oxen, and 47,000 sheep. The population increased with
the material prosperity, and in the height of its power
it numbered among its dependents 6,000 Indians, besides
the .soldiers and civilized people {gente de razoti) neces-
sary to have about such an establishment.

The ranchos San Marcus and Paso de los Robles were
established as farms and stations belonging to, and part of
the mission, and other stations as were necessary through-
out the country under its control and grazed over by its
flocks and herds. The mission also cultivated much
land, continually having a large supply of wheat, corn.

and beans. The ranchos of San Marcus and Paso de
los Robles were the chief farming localities', and their
granaries were kept well filled.

FRUIT TREES AND VINES

Were planted at an early date at the mission and in
other localities under the control of the fathers. For a
long series of years the people of San Miguel feasted upon
the abundant fruit grown, and which arrived to such per-
fection in the warm and genial climate of the valley. A
few miles north, over the border of Monterey County, is
Vineyard Canon, where still flourish vines planted by the
authorities of the mission so many years ago that no one
tells the date.

Of the fruit trees none now remain. Upon the secu-
larization the priests in charge exerted their utmost to
destroy all fruit-bearing trees and vines. As such efforts
were made at all the missions, it is very probable they
were ordered so to do by distant powers. But a few
pear trees still remained at San Miguel. Doubtlessly the
conscience-stricken monk who had been ordered to
destroy them spared these; perhaps he had fed from
their luscious fruit or enjoyed their pleasant shade; or
their great beauty had so impressed him that he had
learned to love them; or in his benevolence he wished
that future generations should share their products; or
he would leave them as a reminder of the good things
his brothers had enjoyed; for these were left to live and
bear. For forty-six years longer they were allowed to
grow and beautify the spot, the bright, green, living
monuments amidst surrounding decay.

FRUIT TREES DESTROYED.

Their fate is told in the following letter to the editor
of the South Coast, published in San Luis Obispo in
1879:-

San Miguel, Feb. 16, 1879.

Editor South Coast: The mission of San Miguel
was created near 100 years ago, and about that time the
mission fathers caused to be planted, at the cost of
considerable trouble and necessarily quite an expense (at
that date), some pear trees; and among those that were
put out at that time there were a few that survived the
storms of winter and the droughts of summer for near a
hundred years and lived. Of course, standing as it
were as guardians keeping watch over the old church
buildings, and having such a history attached to them,
living monuments continually referring the spectator to
the past century, and seeming to say " that all works of
art constructed by the mission fathers may crumble, fall,
and pass away, but we, if you will permit us, will stand
here forever as an evidence of the good work of those
who placed us here!" And so the people loved them,
and called them a landmark of great value. In spring-
time, when in bloom, they were an ornament to the
place; delicious fragrance filled the air from their blos-
soms, and in summer they were laden with fruit. But
alas! the ax in the hands of a stranger laid them low, and
the lover of the sublime works of nature, and those who
can appreciate the value of these evidences of ancient
days when the good mission fathers were forced to
combat every hardship imaginable in order to plant the
first bud of civilization in our country, can only mourn
their loss.

They are gone, and with them the greatest attraction

THE MISSIONS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

37

of the church property at the Mission San Miguel. They
were cut down by a man who, upon being asked why he
did it, repHed that the present priest of this parish told
him to do so; and if he did, I do not know by what right
the priest ordered it done, or whether he had any right
at all; but I do know this deed is considered an assump-
tion of power, and be he priest or parishioner, this one
act is condemned by the whole community.

Such acts of vandalism have been common about all
the missions of California, generally through the malice
and vengeance of the ecclesiastical power, but none
appearing more malicious than the despoiling of the
impoverished mission of San Miguel. In some localities,
where cities have grown up around the old mission sites,
the necessities of business, or its greed, have been plead
in justification of the destruction of the monuments of
the earliest civilization and settlement of the land, and
now, at San Miguel and elsewhere, but the indestructible
walls and crumbling ruins remain.

THE RUINED BUILDINGS.

The church and the ruins at San Miguel vividly
impress the beholder with the great extent and impor-
tance of the' establishment in the days of its prime.
Over forty acres of ground these ruins extend, now
broken walls of adobe, stone, and tiles, with partl)'-
standing dwellings and store-houses, telling in silent tones
of the thousands of dark-skinned converts who once
dwelt in their precincts in quiet subservience to their
spiritual fathers, busy with their tasks or sports, and
attentive to the mysterious calls of the mission bells.
The sun-dried bricks remain, though slowly crumbling
to' the earth of which they are made; but the people are
scattered; have disappeared; have passed from the eartji.
not more able to encounter the fierce energy of a self-
sustaining, high civilization than are their adobe structures
to withstand the abraiding storms of time.

THE ANCIENT CHURCH.

But the church building appears indestructible. This
was erected early in the present century, and is one of the
largest and most solidly constructed of the old missions
of California. The building stands upon a plain three-
fourths of a mile west of the Salinas River and faces to
the east. A long, low wing extends to the south, orig-
inally 490 feet in length, about half of which is now in
ruins. An arcade extends from the church in front of
the wing 225 feet, of which 13 arches, supported by
pillars, still remain, with other broken pillars and founda-
tions, indicating that the arcade once occupied the whole
front. AVith the exception of one or two places where
repaired by shingles, the entire roof is covered with tiles
of semi-cj'linders of earthenware, each about two feet in
length, half an inch in thickness, six inches in diameter
at one end and five at the other, lapping into each other,
put on in two layers, the first with the concave surface up,
forming gutters, the latter with the reverse covering the
joints of the under layers. Substantial rafters of poles
and hewn timbers were used, across which a lattice of
smaller sticks were lashed with thongs of rawhide, and on
these the tiles were laid, holding themselves in position

by their own weight, and sometimes better secured by
cement.

Such was the universal method of constructing the
roofs of all buildings in California, adobes forming the
walls, prior to the introduction of frame and wooden
structures by the Americans after the discovery of gold
in the Sierra Nevada.

A SOLID STRUCTURE.

The Mission church, the central object of observation,
is a very substantial and capacious structure. The
dimensions are 230 feet in length by 44 feet in width on
the exterior; is 45 feet in height to the eaves, and the
walls are 7 feet in thickness. These are of adobe,
containing a mixture of cement, which is also in the
mortar in which they were laid, and appear as solid and
endurable as brick or stone. The floor is of brick, or hard-
burned tiling, as is a broad porch in front. The inner
walls are plastered and frescoed, the frescoing represent-
ing a gallery with pillars, and is as fresh, apparently, as
when painted. Through all the vicissitudes and despolia-
tions the venerable pile has undergone, the sacred orna-
ments of the church still remain. In the western end is
the altar. Over it stands its patron saint, Michael the
Archangel, in life size and very handsome, clad in gorgeous
apparel of gold and crimson, holding aloft his sword of
light. Above him is a broad banner, on which is embla-
zoned the all-seeing eye, with rays of light radiating from it.
On the right side of the altar, carved in wood and
brightly painted, is the statue of St. Joseph holding the
infant Jesus in one arm and bearing the shepherd's staff
in the other. Opposite is the statue of the founder of
the order, St. Francis de Assisi. By the side of the
altar is a painting representing St. John the Evangelist,
with one foot resting on a skull. There are other
paintings of various sacred objects, generally in brilliant
colors, and with the bright ornaments of the altar are
in vivid contrast with the ruin, decay and neglect seen
everywhere about the old mission. Around the walls
are hung many small pictures, dimly seen in the faint
light permitted to enter the great hall, which, from the
great thickness of the walls, ever contains a cellar-like,
chilly atmosphere. No seats were ever provided for
the congregation, and all devout worshipers were
required to kneel upon the hard and cold floor of tiles.
In this, however, an innovation has recently been made,
and a few pews have been constructed near the altar,
sufficient for the number who assemble at the fortnightly
service as held at the present time.

FATHER FARRELLY.

Since 1878 the mission has been under the charge of
Rev. Philip Farrelly, who is devoted to its preservation.
The many bishops and priests who have preceded
Father Farrelly have left no record of their ministry at
the old mission, but with their communicants have
passed away. •

AREA OF ITS POSSESSIONS.

The great area of land once occupied by the mission
was taken from its control at the time of the seculariza-

38

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

tion. Previous to that its authority extended through-
out the whole region of country comprising the northern
and eastern part of San Luis Obispo County, and over
all ranged its flocks and herds at will, and the fathers
gathered their Indian converts. Manufactories of woolen
blankets and cloths were established, crude and simple
they must have been, operated by the Indian neophytes,
the product used for the comfort of those dependent
upon the mission and supplying others. Trade was
carried on with other missions and with shipping on the
coast.

RANCHOS GRANTED.

After the secularization large grants were made of the
land formerly subject to San Miguel, the Asuncion
Rancho getting 39,224.81 acres; Atascadero, 4,348.23;
Cholame 13,919.82; Huer Huero, 15,684.95; Paso de
Robles, 25,993.18; Santa Ysabel, 17,774.12; and a vast
area remained unsought and unclaimed.

THE MISSION IS DISPUTED PROPERTY.

The mission, as a church, or individual, or corpora-
tion, no longer existed, no longer possessed property,
and finally, the buildings themselves were taken posses-
sion of as abandoned property, in some instances taken
for public purposes, and in others by private individuals.
They were converted into town halls, drinking saloons,
stores, lodging-places for travelers, and other base uses,
even prior to the occupation of the country by the
Americans in July, 1846. In several instances they
were entirely deserted and unoccupied at that date, after
which people took possession and claimed the buildings,
orchards, vineyards, and surrounding land as their own.
The Mission of San Luis Obispo had been transferred
to John Wilson, and Mr. Read took possession of the
buildings at San Miguel.

HISTORIC CORRESPONDENCE.

The following correspondence gives a glimmering idea
of the status of the mission property at the date given
as well as an original letter from one who has since borne
a conspicuous part in our national history: —

the occupancy of the mission.

State Department of the Territory of Cal., )
Monterey, September 15th, 1847. f

Sir; In reply to so much of your letter of the 4th
inst. as relates to the mission of San Miguel, the Gov-
ernor directs me to say that the question of title to the
lands of said mission cannot now be decided; and that
until the subject can be further investigated, the present
occupant, Mr. Read, will be left in possession. As a
difficulty seems to occur in determining what rooms in
the mission properly belong to the parish priest, the
Governor directs that you select three rooms in said
mission for the use of the priest, and put him in posses-
sion of such rooms; you will, however, in this selection
choose such rooms as will give the least inconvenience
to the family of Mr. Read.

Let both the priest and Mr. Read fully understand
that their possession is in no way to affect the validity
of existing titles.

With re-spect to the possession of the buildings, etc.,
at San Luis Obispo, as directed in my letter of the 24th

of August, I have now to remark that that order was not
intended in any way to affect the validity of existing
claims to said property. It was only temporary in its
character, and cannot affect any title or claim which Mr.
Wilson and others may have to the mission or mission
lands. You will therefore proceed to put the parish
priest in possession of such lands and tenements as in
your opinion properly belonged to the priest, on the 7th
of July, 1846. You must, however, let the priest and
other claimants perfectly understand that this posses-
sion gives them no title whatever, but is merely a tem-
porary arrangement for the mutual convenience of the
parties concerned, the question of title being left for
future decision. Very respectfully.

Your obedient servant,
To Don J. Mariano Bonilla, H. W. Halleck,
Alcalde of Sa?i Lieut, of Engijieers and

Luis Obispo, Cal. ' Sec. of State for Ter. of Cal.

THE property restored TO THE CHURCH.

Only occasional letters of the character of the pre-
ceding one are now to be found, but the few in exist-
ence are like the fossil remains in the rocks, showing the
footprints in the progress of time by which we may
trace our country's history. Mr. Read and his family
subsequently met a tragic fate, all being murdered, the
particulars of which will be found in the later pages of
this book.

For many years the title to the mission property was
a matter of doubt, having been alienated by order of
Governor Michiltorena in 1842, but the Commissioners,
appointed to settle California land cases accorded to the
Catholic Church the ownership of the buildings and such
ground as was inclosed and under the immediate charge
of the priest of the mission at the time of the change of
flag. Under this decision the mission of San Luis
Obispo became owner of about fifty-two acres of land,
known as the mission garden, and to San Miguel was
accorded thirty acres. Since the church has regained
exclusive ownership, portions of the building at San
Miguel have been devoted to various purposes, leased
by the church for hotel, saloon, shops, etc. A small
village is now built close by, and across the Salinas
surveyors have marked the station of San Miguel on the
Southern Pacific Railroad, yet to be built.

SAN MIGUEL IN 1822.

Rev. Walter Colton in 1849 wrote of this mission as
follows; —

This inland mission is situated sixteen leagues south-
east of San Antonio, on a barren elevation; but the lands
attached to it sweep a circuit of si.xty leagues, and em-
brace some of the finest tracts for agriculture. Of these
the Estrella Tract is one; its fertility is enough to make
a New England plow jump out of its rocks; and a hun-
dred emigrants will yet squat in its green bosom, and set
the wild Indians and their warwhoop at defiance. In
1822, this mission owned 91,000 head of cattle, 1,100
tame horses, 3,000 mares, 2,000 mules, 170 yoke of work-
ing oxen, and 47,000 sheep. The mules were used in
packing the products of the mission to Monterey, and
bringing back dry goods, groceries, and the implements
of husbandry. But now the Indian neophytes are gone,
the padres have departed, and the old church only re-
mains to interpret the past.

THE MISSIONS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

39

SANTA MARGARITA.

A third mission is often claimed for the county, as hav-
ing been estabhshed at a very early date at Santa Mar-
garita. A building was erected on the sightly bench of
land in the lovely valley northeast of the Santa Lucia
Range, about eight miles north of San Luis Obispo and
dedicated to its patroness, Santa Margarita, but it was
only a branch of the mission of San Luis Obispo de
Toloso, and under its management. The walls of rough
stone and cement, a coarse unartistic structure, still
stand, interesting as a reminiscence of the past and
picturesque as a ruin of one of the sacred edifices of
early California. Rev. \Valter Colton refers to this as
built for a granary to one of the ranchos cultivated by
the good Father Martinez, of San Luis Obispo, and that
it was usually well filled with grain. A great rancho
now embraces the old ruin, the rancho of Santa Mar-
garita, of 17,735 acres in extent, and the owner. Gen. P.
W. Murphy, exercises the protecting care over the pleas-
ant and romantic locality.

A RELIC OF FATHER JUNIPERO.

A writer to the San Francisco Bulletin, of a recent
date, relates the following of a discovery of an original
chronicle of the early settlement of California: —

In turning over some antiquated books and papers at the
mission of Santa Barbara, in 1864, the reverend father
in charge of that establishment found an old manuscript
memorial on the earliest times in California in the hand^vrit-
ing of Father Junipero Serra, which had been laid away
since the year 1773. How it got into the Santa Barbara
Mission, which was not founded till 1786, two years after
the old friar's death, is now unknown, but from the con-
tents, which freely set forth the arbitrary conduct of Pedro
Fages, who was Military Commandante and then Gov-
ernor of the colony from 1782 to 1790, there is no doubt
that the Mexican Government suppressed its publication
at the time Junipero's biography by Palou was printed
at Mexico in 1787. Indeed, on examination of this
biography, we find the matters pertaining to this
lost chronicle are very briefly and gingerly alluded to,
and consequently it is of real value in making clearer the
early history of California.

The memorial consists of twenty-three pages folio, and is
addressed to Don Antonio Bucarilli, Viceroy of Mexico.
It is dated by Father Junipero from the College of San
Fernando, in Mexico City, the 21st of May, 1773, and
it seems that it was written at the special request of the
Viceroy, who was an earnest friend of the Californian
missions and colonists, as is further set forth in numer-
ous papers still preserved in the archives of the country.

It appears from this paper, relating the principal events
between 1769 and the year 1773, when Father Junipero
returned to Mexico to report progress to the Govern-
ment and his college, and procure additional missionaries,
soldiers, and pecuniary supplies; that there were in 1773
not over forty soldiers in the following first established
foundations: Santa Maria de los Angeles and San Fer-
nando Villacita on the frontier in California (as the pen-
insula was still denominated); and San Diego, San Ga-
briel, San Luis Obispo, among the Tichos tribes, San
Antonio and Carmelo, termed then the Monterey estab-
lishments, for it was not until after 1790 that the Span-
iards began to designate this country separately as Alta
California. In consequence of the great numbers of
wild Indians, Junipero modestly asked for a force of 80

soldiers and two pieces of cannon to protect the infant
colonies, in place of 100 men, which had been pro-
posed; and it was not until the close of the century, when
the missions numbered eighteen, and the military posts,
or presidios, four, that more than 200 soldiers were sta-
tioned in the country extending from San Francisco to
San Diego.

The first missions were all built of stakes set upright
into the ground, and inclosed by a square of similar pali-
sades for defense against Indian surprises. The churches
and priests' houses were plastered over inside and out-
side with mud and whitewashed, and it was twenty years
afterwards before these estabhshments began to be con-
structed of unadulterated adobes. h}\ the present build-
ings remaining in 1865 were erected of new materials,
of stone and adobe, between 1810 and 1830, and none
of them occupy the original sites of the primary founda-
tions — a fact which has escaped the notice of nearly
every one of the chroniclers of California affairs.

The seven missions named were presented each 38
head of cattle, by order of the King, enumerated by
Junipero as 21 bulls, 9 cows, and 8 calves, and these 286
cattle were the progenitors of 300,000 head of cattle
owned by the missions at the secularization in 1833,
after deducting the thousands used for food and for hides
and tallow in the lapse of forty-three years after 1790.
Mention is made of hogs, horses, mules, goats, and sheep,
but in no book or account we have seen is the number
stated at their first introduction. All the animals, ex-
cept some cavalry horses from the presidio of Sonora,
were introduced from the defunct missions of the Jesuits
in Lower California, whence also were brought all the
principal grains, fruits, and vegetables which afterward
succeeded so admirably, and helped to preserve the
stock animals for augmentation on the overflowing past-
ures of the new settlements. These pastures of the con-
fines of the coast then maintained deer, elk, antelope, and
mountain sheep in droves of thousands, surpassing im-
mensely any portion of Mexico yet explored. For years
the principal clothing of the civilized Indians and sol-
diers was buckskin, or gamusso, and priests and people
reveled in fat venison.

The settlements of Carmelo, San Antonio, and San
Luis Obispo were easily established. The Indians were
found very docile, and submitted readily to the govern-
ment of the priests. San Diego was among a branch of
the fierce Yumas from the Colorado, and there a mis-
sionary was killed and the buildings burnt. San Gabriel,
210 miles from San Luis Obispo and 120 from San
Diego, was then the only city of refuge in all that im-
mense stretch of countr)'. It was commenced in 1771.
Junipero asserts this region to be the finest country he
had yet seen, and with soil, climate, wood, water, and
pasture capable of maintaining all the seven missions
established up to the date of his memorial; and subse-
quent history has proved the truthfulness of his assertion.

The padres were on the most friendly terms with the
Indians of San Gabriel, who were very numerous and
anxious to learn the ways of the new strangers and be-
come Christians. But Capt. Peter Fages, an over-
bearing Catalonian, then in command of the cavalry
force, thwarted the priests in every way he could within
the limits of his authority. He is to this day called by the
few old King's soldiers, who knew him before his death or
departure after 1795, "the old bear." They say he was
notorious in social life for his tyranny over his wife. Dona
Eulalia, which caused her for many years to separate
from him. This high-mettled old cavalier was not rec-
onciled to his lady Empress until after he had become
Governor of California, and then only after much diplo-
macy and the kind offices of Father De La Suen, the
President of the missions subsequent to Junipero's death

40

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

in 1784. Junipero relates in his memorial that the sol-
diers he left at San (jabriel were a bad, desperate, disso-
lute set, who obstructed his priests in every way, under
the excuse that Fages had so instructed them, and fre-
quently ill-treated the Indian women. At one time they
invaded a friendly rancheria near San Gabriel, and after
killing the chief, cut off his head, brought it into the
padre's presence and threw it down before the young son
of the murdered chief, who was then being instructed by
the priests at his parents' request. This high-handed
proceeding greatly troubled the pious fathers, who were
horror-struck at the impious example of their desperate
countrymen.

It was a repetition of the old story of the conquista-
dores, of Cortez, Alvarado, and Pizarro, who had as little
mercy on Indians, good or bad, as the wildest and most
desperate frontiermen of the Mississippi. If the priests
had not stood between these sons of lust and gold and
the natives, the aborigines of California and Mexico
would have gone to the sepulcher of extinct humanities
centuries before the epoch of gold. But they were spared
as peons; instead of being killed off, they were preserved
in a little better state than African slavery.

The venerable President brings his memorial . to a
close by a short account of the first settlement of San
Diego, when the Indians took the ships of Captain Perez,
who brought the first maritime expedition and mission- :
aries, for whales. The day of the arrival of these vessels
was the nth of April, 1769, when an eclipse of the sun ,
occurred in conjunction with the shock of an earth- !
quake, the first occurrence of the kind- mentioned in Cal-
ifornia annals. " So it seemed," says the Gld Venerable,
" that the insensible things of earth and heaven had in
this way manifested themselves in the new conquests as ,
heralds and advents to the benighted gentiles, to incline
their hearts to receive the truths of the gospel, proclaimed
by the ministers of the living God."

The founder of California, though an humble mis- ;
sionary friar, was a man of great experience in frontier
life, and a keen and sagacious observer of nature and of
men. He had an excellent education for his times — had :
served as a missionary several years in the Indian missioas
of the central Mexican mountains, had once been a col-
lege professor in Majorca, and his calligraphy and literary
composition were of a fine order and style. His zeal,
industry, and disinterestedness were extraordinary, and
he is one of the brightest examples in the Roman Cath-
olic history of the United States.

CHAPTER V.

SECULARIZATION AND DECAY.

Hidalgo's Insurrection — Mexican . Independence — Native Civil
Service Reform — A Clerical Soldier — Independence in Cali-
fornia — Theory of the Missions — Government Interference —
Colonists against the Missions — Pacheco and Avila Killed —
Rival Governors — Arrival of Gen. Jose- Figueroa in 1833 —
Decree of Secularization — Distribution of Property and Lands
— Political Government of the Villages — Restrictions — General
Regulations — Provisional Regulation for the Secularization of
the Missions — Pious Fund — The Hijar Colony — Santa Ana's
Revolution — Land Grants — Secularization Completed — Death
of^ Governor Figueroa — The Missions of Alta California —
Wealth and Population — Varying Statements.

' HILE the missions were moving on in the even
\f' tenor of their way, with a happy or a depressed peo-
ple, as the priests in charge were devoted to their
trusts, or hard and avaricious tyrants, changes and revo-
lutions were occurringinthecentralGovernmentof Mexico;

but the spreading wave of these disturbances did not
reach the distant outposts of California until many years
afterwards.

Father Hidalgo, a priest of Mexico, on the 15th of
September, 18 10, at the head of a small party, arose in
insurrection against the Government of Spain, and that is
the day since celebrated by the Mexican people as the
day of their independence, although it was not until 1822
that their independence was acknowledged. In 1824 a
Republican Constitution and form of Government was
adopted similar to that of the United States in its general
features. In this system California was regarded as a
Territory. Of this insurrection a native Californian
writes : —

For three hundred years the power of Spain had domi-
nated Mexico ; and during that long period no man had
arisen possessed of the necessary fortitude to combat
and reform the misgovernment of the European tyrants;
alone, without friends, resources, or arms, depending
solely on the grandeur of his enterprise, and taking
advantage of the unguarded security of the oppressors,
the Priest Hidalgo struck the first blow for independence,
on the 15th. of September, 1810, and in a few months
found himself at the head of a numerous and well disci-
plined army. It was, however, his fate to die in the cause.
He was taken prisoner, and ascended the scaffold — to
him a throne of glory — and cheerfully surrendered his
life for the regeneration of his country. The war which
he had inaugurated — cruel, fratricidal, horrible — con-
tinued for eleven years. The sacred blood of Hidalgo
was the fertilizer which brought forward a band of heroic
. martyrs — Morelos, AUende, Guerrero, Bravo, Abasolo,
Mina, Galeanar, Matamoras and Rayon ; all of whoin
offered up in a grand holocaust their lives on the sacred
altar of liberty. These sanctified and completed the
work begun by Hidalgo.

MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE.

The war of independence was long, and several severe
battles were fought, the Spanish commander, Don
Augustin de Iturbide, winning the battles of Valadolid
in 1813, and Puruaran in 18 14. The revolt seemed
crushed out, but in 1818 Iturbide espoused the cause of
Mexico, and through many changes at last declared for a
Mexican Empire, and was proclaimed Emperor by the
soldiers, May 18, 1822, under the title of Augustin I.
By his arrogance and disregard of constitutional restric-
tions he was forced to abdicate, and was banished in
March, 1823, Congress allowing him a pension of
$20,000 per annum in consideration of his services in
1820. He retired to Italy, but returned in 1824 to make
another effort for the crown, was recognized upon landing
at Soto la Marina, and was ordered by the Governor of
Tamaulipas to be shot, and was executed at Padilla, July
19, 1824.

Through the long War of Revolution, and the changes
of Government, California Remained undisturbed and the
Spanish Governors, Don Jose Joaquin de Arrillaga, Don
Jose Arguillo, and Don Pablo Vicente de Sola continued
in the peaceful occupation of their offices.

NATIVE CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.

The news of the execution of Iturbide set an example
to the Indians of San Diego, which they followed in a

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E- yV . Steele.

The development of the resources of California after
its acquisition by the United States opened a new field
for the energies of the young men of the East. The
State was not subject to the slow growth, the crowding of
time upon events, the doing of things as our fathers did;
but young men came with inborn intelligence and native
energy who at once took a stride forward to invent new
appliances for works new to them, and enlarge methods
in conducting those in which they had but slight expe-
rience. The mines were the first attraction; then, to
those who had the sagacity to forecast the future, the
fertile soil and genial climate drew the attention of the
agriculturist. Mr. Steele was one of those who, as a
young man, made California his home and entered the
agricultural list, and who by his unwavering enterprise,
unbounded energy, and great success has exemplified this
prelude. His name has become intimately connected
with the history of agriculture in this State, several coun-
ties having been the field of his operations, and all
advanced by his labors and well directed enterprise.
The small farms of the East were the primary schools
where he received his rudimentary lessons, fitting him
for the enlarged sphere which opened in the great State
of the Pacific Coast, and here he has expanded with the
true spirit of the Californian.

Edgar Willis Steele was born in the pleasant village of
Delhi, the county seat of Delaware County, New York,
March 4, 1830, being the son of Nathaniel and Damaris
Steele, his mother being the daughter of Silas Johnson,
Esq., of the same county. The family consisted of two
daughters and seven sons, the eldest, Emily E, becoming
the wife of Mr. Moore, for many years Sheriff of Dela-
ware County, and now living in Delhi ; Osman N., who,
as Under Sheriff, was killed by riotous "anti-renters"
while in discharge of his duty; Mrs. Anna Cordela
Howe, now of Boston, Massachusetts; the late Hon. John
B., an eminent lawyer of New York, and for several
terms Representative in Congress; Gen. Frederick
Steele, a distinguished officer of the army in the war
with Mexico, and during the Rebellion, now deceased ;
Isaac C, of San Mateo County ; Judge George Steele, of
San Luis Obispo; E. W., the subject of this sketch, and
William, who died when young. The father and mother
died in i860 and 1861, in Sonoma County, California.

In the days preceding the construction of railroads the
name of N. Steele & Co. became familiar to the people
of southeastern New York, being emblazoned on nearly
all the gaily painted stage coaches, that were then the
pride of the country, traversing that section of the Stale.
Nathaniel Steele was the proprietor of the great Ime of
stages from Catskill on the Hudson River, through Delhi,
to Ithaca, traversing the counties of Greene, Delaware,
Otsego, Chenango, Broome and Tompkins, being one
of the main thoroughfares of travel connecting the
metropolis with the West. He had as a "silent" part-
ner an astute and cunning lawyer, who is remembered as
Old Sam. Sherwood, who, being unscrupulous as well
as able, finally caused the ruin of Mr. Steele. Sherwood
was the agent of the granters to much of the land about
Delhi, and sold a large tract to Steele, who paid him for
it, and built saw-mills, and transported large quantities of
lumber by rafts on the Delaware River to the Philadel-
phia market. Sherwood never accounted for the money
paid, and Steele was compelled to pay a second time.
He besides became involved by indorsing notes for
others, debts accumulated against the stage company,
and in the financial revulsion of 1835 he failed in busi-
ness. Then in 1836 he removed with the younger chil-
dren of the family to the forests of Ohio, settling on the
"Western Reserve," and there proceeded to make a new
home. The location was upon a half acre of clearing,
and out of the abundant timber he went to work with
such tools as the pioneer possessed, to make a dwelling.
In such a manner were the farms of Ohio hewn out of
the woods.

There E. W. remained until thirteen years of age, when
he was invited by his uncle, Dr. Ebenezer Steele, a
prominent physician of Delhi, to return to his native
place, receive a thorough education, and learn the pro-
fession of doctor of medicine. Three elder brothers and
two sisters had remained East; John B. Steele was a
practicing lawyer in Otsego County, Osman Steele was
Under Sheriff of Delaware County, and Frederick Steele
was a cadet at the Military Academy. E. W. returned
to Delhi and passed the first winter in the office of his
brother Osman. He had attended school in Ohio,
where, by hard study, he had become proficient in arith-
metic, grammar and other elementary branches constitut-

BIOGRAPHY OF E. W. STEELE.

ing a fair education for that period at this age. When four-
teen years of age he entered the office of Dr. Steele, who,
as was then the custom of many country physicians, also
kept a drug store, and E. W. was clerk as well as
student. He nominally attended the Delhi Academy,
studying in the office, attending to his duties in the drug
store, and going to the academy to recite his lessons. In
this time he studied Latin under the instruction of Gen-
eral Root, who was for several terms Member of Congress
from the Delaware District. Dr. Steele had a partner in
the drug store who was a tyrannical and passionate man,
with whom the young student could not abide, and after
remaining in the office one and a half years he left and
resided with his sister, Mrs. Moore, and attended the
academy one year. There he finished his studies of
algebra, geometry, and surveying, standing at the head of
his class, where were a number of proficient scholars
striving for the position. Then in his seventeenth year
he returned to Ohio, and through the winter of 1847-48
was engaged as school teacher at a salary of $12.00 a
month. When the term of teaching was over, he, with
his brother George, went to Oberlin, to the college at that
place, his father and mother moving to the town to
board and care for the young students. He remained at
the Oberlin College one year, studying, among other
branches, Latin and Greek, having General Cox, after-
wards Governor of Ohio, for tutor, and among his class-
mates was L. N. Sheldon, now Governor of New Mexico.

When the year was past the family returned to the
farm, and E. AV. again engaged as school teacher through
the winter, receiving a salary of $16.00 a month, which
was then thought quite munificent.

Closing his school, in the spring of 1850 he took the
farms of his father and his brother Isaac to work on
shares, and also took a contract for clearing land. At
these he worked with all his power and energy, and in
the season of his lease, ending in the fall, had cleared
$150. He then resumed teaching through the winter,
and when spring came entered upon a new enterprise.
A system of teaching geography by outline maps had
been introduced, and Steele expended the greater part of
his capital in the purchase of maps, and went into the
southern part of the State to establish and teach the new
method. He went to several places and taught evening
schools, meeting with poor success, until all his means
were exhausted, having but one copper cent in his purse.
Then at Centerville he at last got a paying class and was
making five dollars each evening, when he was taken
with typhoid fever, which nearly cost him his life. Fif-
teen persons boarding at the same hotel were taken sick
at the same time, and all died but two. He was at last
taken to his parents' home but a wreck of his former
self Upon his recovery he again found a school on the
shore of Lake Erie. This was attended by young men
who were employed as sailors on the lake during sum-
mer and attended school during winter. The rough
manners of their sailor life they brought with them to the
temple of learning. Being accustomed to authority sup-
ported by physical force, they thought to override the
slight young teacher, and one of the bullies of the school

engaged him in pitch battle, in which the teacher came
out triumphant, when all acknowledged obedience, and
the school became remarkably orderly and successful.

Mr. Steele's ambition was for a high, classical, and
scientific education, and his early years were a struggle
under adverse circumstances to obtain the desired ob-
ject. With the little means accumulated he went to
Cleveland, and spent one year at the university. To
assist in bearing his expenses he rented a few acres of
land in the vicinity, and a room in which he could board
himself, and thus, by cultivating his ground, selling the
products, and by his economy he was enabled to pass
the term. He also attended a singing school, and be-
came so proficient that before leaving Cleveland he was
chosen as leader of the choir in the Presbyterian Church.
At that time the father's little farm on the Reserve was
hfeavily encumbered with debt, and E. W. returned to it
to aid in its redemption. That being accomplished the
desire arose to seek a brighter home in California. Gen.
Fred. Steele, then a Captain, had accompanied his old
commander. General Riley, the hero of Contreras, to
California, at the close of the Mexican War, and had
told his brothers, in glowing terms, of the beauties and
promises of the golden land, and in 1855 George and
his cousin, Rensaelur E. Steele, had migrated thither,
leading the way for the family.

In the middle of April, 1856, E. W. Steele, with his
father and mother, and Mrs. R. E. Steele and two chil-
dren, left New York on the steamer George Law for the
Isthmus and California. The passage of the Isthmus
was most eventful. As the great train of cars, crowded
with passengers, neared Panama it was learned that a
riot was in progress, and the train must return to Aspin-
wall. The locomotive could not be changed and the
train was backed. In crossing a deep, marshy stream
the bridge gave way and several cars plunged beneath
the water, with others piled a wreck upon them. Up-
wards of 200 people were drowned or killed by the acci-
dent, and many more injured. The details and extent
of this terrible disaster were carefully suppressed by the
railroad officials. The car in which were Mr. Steele and
family remained on the track and none in it were injured.

The steamer Golden Ac;e brought them to San Fran-
cisco on the day of the funeral of James King of Wm.,
and the passengers, in landing, witnessed the execution
of Casey and Cora by the Vigilance Committee. The city
was then in the possession of the Vigilance Committee,
and defying the State and national authorities. But there
was no occasion for the new-comers remaining, as George
and R. E. Steele, who had rented a farm near Petaluma,
were there to meet them and conduct them to their home.

In June, 1856, E. W. commenced his California ca-
reer, beginning by taking a contract to cut and bind a
field of oats at $2.50 an acre. The work was done with
cradles, E. W., in one day, binding eight acres, where the
yield was fifty bushels an acre. When harvesting was
done he bought five cows, paying for the same $75.00
per head, and comibenced making butter. Thus opened
the winter of 1857, and in addition to his dairy work he
leased some land for farming, and, becoming acquainted

BIOGRAPHY OF E. W. STEELE.

with the people of the neighborhood, organized a singing
school, which he taught one day each week, and realized
from it $40.00 a month, which seemed like showering
wealth upon him. During the winter he put in eighty
acres of grain and potatoes. George Steele was teach-
ing school in the meantime. In the spring Isaac C.
Steele joined the family, and then they purchased of
Tustin & Lewis twenty-five head of cows; and extended
their dairying business. Tustin & Lewis had been en-
gaged in dairying, and the brand of C. T, being the ini-
tials of Columbus Tustin, has been the cattle brand of
Steele Bros, ever since. Prosperity had attended their
work in California, and the brothers and cousin joined
together for work on a larger scale. Isaac and E. W., in
company with Lewis, went exploring for land suitable for
dairying purposes. They visited Point Reyes, on the
ocean coast, and at once Lewis ejaculated, "It is low
Heaven !" They decided to locate. There appeared an
abundance of rich bunch grass and clover, with many
springs of cold water, and the prevalent fogs gave encour-
agement of maintaining fresh feed. Some people dis-
couraged the enterprise, saying the cold fogs kept the
grass in such a condition that it would support only the
lank Spanish cattle, and that butter-making at Point
Reyes was utterly out of the question. A man named
Richards claimed the land, having derived title through
Dr. Randall, the supposed owner of the grant. Richards
willingly leased one and a half leagues of the land, grant-
ing the privilege of purchase at $3.00 an acre when he
obtained a patent, or at a rental of $25.00 a month for
the whole. The Steeles then took 125 head of cows
of Lewis, giving half the butter or cheese made and
one-sixth of the calves when weaned. They then had
155 cows, took possession of their land on the 4th of
July, 1857, being the first dairy at Point Reyes, or on
the coast of Marin County. Richards lost the land, and
therefore the Steeles had no rent to pay for their occu-
pancy. Shafter, Park, and Hydenfeldt, attorneys, be-
came the owners of the land. They would not sell, but
granted a lease of eight years on the terms of giving every
sixth calf The Steeles had then increased their num-
ber of cows to 355, and maintained three dairies. But-
ter and cheese were made, the cream being taken for the
first and the buttermilk returned to the cheese vats, add-
ing enough value to pay for all the hired help employed.
Butter was sold readily at $1.00 a pound, and cheese at
twenty-seven cents, the demand for them being greater
than they could supply. The wages of dairymen and
manufacturers then were the same as at present. One-
half the butter and cheese from 125 cows the first year
went to Lewis, who received $6,000 for same. At the
end of three years the Steeles had paid for all their im-
provements and had 400 head of cows of their own. In
1859 they bought 125 cows at $26.00 each, and started
two dairies independent of the Lewis stock. In 1861
their cows had increased to 600 head, besides some
young stock, all their improvements were paid for, and
they had $10,000 cash as the result of four years' dairying.
In 1862 they greatly extended their business by leas-
ing for ten years the Pescadero Rancho of 18,000 acres

in San Mateo County, paying a rental of $6,000 and
taxes, and having the privilege of purchasing 7,000 acres
at six dollars an acre, the rate to increase ten per cent, per
annum. This ranch they afterwards bought. Eleven
hundred head of cows were bought for the Pescadero at
an average of fifteen dollars per head. The cold fogs of
the ocean swept over Pescadero, and the same stories
were told of its inaptitude for a dairy farm as of Point
Reyes, but the Steele's believed it would prove as much
of a cow heaven as the other had. In the first year
$18,000 was paid out for improvements, and $17,000
cleared on the cheese made, besides the increase of stock.
The Point Reyes dairies were also yielding large profits.
The years 1863 and 1864 were the disastrously dry
years of California, but there was rain at Pescadero and
Point Reyes, and the business of the dairies went on.
The products were then in great demand, and the cheese
sold as fast as it could be made at twenty-five cents per
pound. During this long period, E. W. Steele performed
his daily task of milking twenty cows, as did the hired
men. He also made cheese, attended to the outside
business, and kept the books of the firm, working regu-
larly sixteen hours each day. At that time the State had
eleven dairies, including those at Pescadero and Point
Reyes, the first paying a net profit of $18,000, and the
latter $9,000 per annum.

In 1864, when the War of the Rebellion was at its
height, the Steele's made a monstrous cheese, weighing
3,850 pounds, and presented it to the "Sanitary Com-
mission." This mammoth cheese was the product of all
the dairies of the Pescadero Rancho for two days. A
gigantic hoop and press were made for the purpose, and
novel appliances were required to handle the great weight
and safely transport it to San Francisco, it being over
twenty feet in circumference and eighteen inches thick,
thoroughly made, and of the richest quality. When at
its destination, it was announced as the "Sanitary Cheese,"
and placed on exhibition at the Mechanics' Fair, where
it attracted great attention. While there, it was cut up
and sold, realizing $3,000 net for the "Sanitary Commis-
sion."

In 1864, Mr. Steele leased his dairies and went East on
a visit to his old home, and when the war closed in 1865
took a tour through the Southern States, spending two
years in travel. His excessive toil and many cares
through his eight years of California life had almost
broken him down, and he was compelled to take a rest,
but he had made a comfortable fortune, his property
bringing him an income of between $5,000 and $6,000
a year.

He returned to California in 1866. Then the lease of
the Point Reyes' property expired, and it was necessary
to find new land for the cows.

The drought of 1864 had destroyed the cattle of the
southern counties, and the great ranches were reported
for sale at low rates. He visited San Luis Obispo, and
took a ride over the Corral de Piedra, Pismo, Balsa de
Chemissal, and Arroyo Grande Ranches. He at once de-
clared, "This, too, is cow heaven," and at once decided
on the purchase. Forty-five thousand acres were offered

BIOGRAPHY OF E, W. STEELE.

him at one dollar and ten cents an acre, and with-
out haggling he bought, or contracted for the purchase,
and soon thereafter took possession, the firm of Steele
Brothers joining. There was afterwards found a defect
in the signature of one of the heirs to the Corral de
Piedra, although a complete understanding and payment
was proven, but the opportunity was given for a legal
sharp to extort money, and suit for the land was com-
menced. A man from New York was brought in to act
as plaintiff for the purpose of getting the case in the
United States Courts. Upon trial before the United
States District Court, the case was decided in favor of
the Steeles, Judge Hoffman delivering a long and able
opinion upon it, covering all the points and so plainly
showing the correctness and justice of the Steeles'
actions that there appeared no question of the validity
of their title. But the case was appealed to the United
States Supreme Court where the decision of Judge Hoff-
man was reversed, and they were compelled to pay others
for their property, costing them over $150,000, making
the land quite dear. This entailed debts and mortgages
at enormous rates of interest, and blocked the prospect
for the great fortune they would have otherwise secured.

When Steele came to San Puis Obispo in June, 1866,
there were no dairies in the county, and the country was
a wilderness. They stocked the ranchos with 600 cows,
employed 100 men, and during the first five years ex-
pended $20,000 a year in improvements, building fences,
dairy houses, etc. As it was necessary to raise feed for
their cattle, some of their land was devoted to farming,
and so a general extensive business was carried on.

In later years the great ranchos have been divided into
small farms and sold, and are now occupied by hundreds
of the most thrifty and prosperous farmers of the State.
The Steele's brought to San Luis Obispo $40,000 in
money besides their large stock of cattle, and have here
continually prospered, but by enterprises in other parts
of California have met with losses aggregating near half
a million dollars, besides interest on debts incurred in
their first unfortunate law suit and other embarrassments.
The fertile San Luis Obispo, however, with constant
labor, indomitable courage, unyielding energy, and great
financial ability, has carried them through their diflrculties
and left them with handsome fortunes.

In 187s, E. W. Steele bought the Knight Valley
Rancho, including the noted Kellogg watering-place in
Sonoma County, having as partners the notorious Stuart,
afterwards County Clerk of San Francisco, Elder, Kel-
logg, and Laird. Entering with the same partners into
quicksilver mining in Sonoma and Lake Counties, and
intrusting the management to Stuart, he soon became
involved and at last settled and retired from the concern
with a loss of about $300,000. He also attempted min-
ing for quicksilver in his own county, in company with

others, and expended $10,000 without any returns. In
many other enterprises in which he has been engaged he
has met with success. He was one of the incorporators
of the Bank of San Luis Obispo, and for a period was
its President, and was also one of the incorporators of
the San Luis Obispo Water Company, both of which
have proven remunerative and of great benefit to the
city and county. He is a prominent member of the Or-
der of Patrons of Husbandry, and is a Director of the
Grangers Business Association. He is also a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Chosen
Friends, and of the Knights of Honor. In society he
is the most genial and pleasant of men, and his hospi-
tality and generosity are unbounded.

Politically, he is a Republican, and has been invited
to become a candidate for the State Senate and As-
sembly, but his important business has always compelled
him to decline. But the business of the county and
locality in which he is so much interested demands and
receives his attention, and these he has served by acting
as Road Overseer and County Supervisor, being at pres-
ent President of the Board. In public matters he is
foremost, and in all questions of public interest always
takes a prominent part.

In 1866, he married Miss Julia P. Stanley, of Ohio,
daughter of General Stanley, of the United States Army,
and sister of Hon. H. Y. Stanley, of Arroyo Grande.
The marriage took place at Chattanooga, Tennessee,
where General Stanley was then in command. The lady
died the following year.

June 24, 1876, he married Miss Emma E. Smith, a
lady of culture and refinement. Mrs. Steele was born
in Lockport, New York, her father being Pratt Smith, a
well-known lumber merchant of western New York and
Canada. Her mother's maiden name was Hopkins, and
she was a granddaughter of Stephen Hopkins, one of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence. Mrs. Steele
received a superior education, graduating at the Buffalo
Female Academy, and adopted the profession of teacher.
She was invited to the position of teacher in the Santa
Barbara College, where she taught with great success
until her marriage in 1876. Of her profession and suc-
cess as teacher she is justly proud, and in the wealth
and comfort of her present life, refers to it with pleasure
as the evidence of ability, strength of character, and the
performance of noble duties. Mr. and Mrs. Steele have
one son, Edgar J., born August 26, 1878, a bright and
promising boy, and the hope of his happy and worthy
parents. Their home is on their grand farm of 2,000
acres of the choice of the Corral de Piedra, and in their
pleasant dwelling, surrounded by fruits and flowers, and
embowered by lofty trees, they welcome their many
friends.

THE MISSIONS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

41

very effective manner to produce the abdication of a bad
chief The Chief of the San Diego Indians was very
obnoxious to his subjects, so they held a great feast, and
in imitation of the gente de razo7i (civilized people) con-
demned him to death, and proceeded to execute him by
tying him and burning him alive. The feast continued
for eight days. When rebuked by the priests for having
acted so cruelly, they replied : " Have you not done the
same in Mexico ? You say your King was not good.
AA'ell, our Capitan was not good, and we burned him, and
if the new one shall be bad, we will burn him also."

So seldom, in civilized life, is the wicked official pun-
ished, that a commendable instance of it is thought
worthy of a place in history.

A CLERICAL SOLDIER.

There were a few other disturbances, one of which,
occurring at Santa Ynez, has been related by Mr. Stephen
C. Foster, an old resident of Los Angeles, as follows: —

The sight of the old mission of Santa Ynez recalled
to mind an incident that occurred there at the time of
the outbreak in 1822. When the Indians rose there
were two Spanish priests in the mission. One of them
fell into the hands of the Indians, and was put to death
under circumstances of the most atrocious cruelty. The
other, a powerful man, succeeded in breaking away, and
escaped to the guard-house where, as in all missions, a
guard of four soldiers, commanded by a Corporal, was
always kept as a sort of police force. The Indians were
destitute of fire-arms, but their overwhelming numbers
and the showers of arrows they directed against the port-
holes, had quite demoralized the garrison when the priest
appeared and took command. It must have been a
singular scene. The burly friar with shaven crown, and
sandalled, clad in the gray gown, girt with the cord of
St. Francis, wielding carnal weapons, now encouraging
the little garrison, now shouting defiance to the swarming
assailants.

" Ho father," cried a young Indian acolyte, " is that
the way to say mass ?"

"Yes, I am saying mass, my son. Here (holding up
his cartridge box) is the chalice; here (holding up his
carbine) is the crucifix, and here goes my benediction to

you, you ," using one of the foulest epithets the

Spanish language could supply, as he leveled his carbine
and laid the scoffer low.

A large force was finally collected from the different
towns; the Indian converts were followed into the Tulare
Valley and captured; the ring-leaders were shot, and the
others were brought back to the missions, when my
informant had occasion to go to Monterey, and on his
way, having occasion to call at San Luis Obispo, found
there the hero of Santa Ynez.

" Welcome, countryman," was his greeting. " The
same to you, father," was the reply; " but, father, they tell
me you are in trouble." " Yes, my son, the President of
the missions has suspended me from the exercise of
clerical functions for one year, on account of the uncleri-
cal language I used at that affair at Santa Ynez. The
old fool! he knew I was a soldier before I became a
priest, and when those accursed Indians drove me back
to my old trade, how could I help using my old lan-
guage?" Then taking a couple of decanters out of the
cupboard he continued, " Here, countryman, help your-
self Here is wine; here is aguardiente. The old fool
thinks he is punishing me. Behold, I have no mass to
say for a year, and nothing whatever to do but eat,
drink, and sleep."

INDEPENDENCE IN CALIFORNIA.

The independence of Mexico achieved, the people of
California adopted the new order of things, and made
declaration to the following effect: —

In the presidio of Monterey, on the ninth day of the
month of April, 1822: The SeiSor Military'and Political
Governor of this province. Col. Don Pablo Vicente
de Sola, the Senors, Captains Commandantes of the
presidios of San Francisco and Santa Barbara, Don Luis
Antonio de Arguello, and Don Jose Antonio de la
Guerra y Noriega, the Captains of the militia companies
of the battalion of Tepic and Mazatlan, Don Jose Antonio
Navarreth, and Don Pablo de la Portilla, the Lieut.
Don Jose Maria Estudillo for the presidial company of
San Diego, the Lieut. Don Jose Mariano Estrada for
the presidial company of Monterey, the Lieutenant of
Artillery, Don Manuel Gomez, and the reverend fathers.
Friar Mariano Payeras and Friar Vicento Francisco de
Sarria, the first as prelate of these missions, and the
second as substitute of the reverend father president
vicareo foraneo. Friar Jose Jenan, having assembled in
obedience to previous citations (convocatorias) in the
hall of the Government House, and being informed of the
establishment of the kingdom of the empire, and the
installation of the sovereign provisional gubernative junta
in the capital of Mexico, by the official communication
and other documents, which the said Governor caused to
be read in full assembly, said that, for themselves, and
in obedience to the orders intimated by the new Supreme
Government, recognizing, from this time, the province as
a dependent alone of the Government of the Empire of
Mexico, and independent of the dominion of Spain, as
well as of any other foreign power. In consideration of
which the proper oaths will be taken, in the manner
prescribed by the provisional regency, to which end the
superior military and political chief will give the necessary
orders, and the respective commandantes of presidios
and the ministers of the missions will cause the fulfillment
of the same to appear by means of certificates, which
will be transmitted, with a copy of this act, to the most
excellent minister, to whom it corresponds, and they
signed,

Pablo Vicente De Sola,

Jose de la Guerra y Noriega,

Luis Antonio Arguello,

Jose M. Estudillc,

Manuel Gomez,

Pablo de la Portilla,

Jose Mariano Estrada,

Fr. Mariano Payeras,

Fr. Vicente Francisco de Sarria,

Jose M. Estudillo.

One of the signers of this instrument, Don Pablo
Vicente de Sola, was at that time Governor under Spain,
and held over for a year as Governor still, under the
kingdom of the empire, as expressed in the declaration,
and two others are the chief of the ecclesiastical authori-
ties, the whole being either priests or soldiers.

theory of the missions.

Steps were soon taken by the new Government of
Mexico to advance the secular power over the ecclesias-
tical. The theory of the establishing of the missions is
clearly stated in the opinion rendered by Judge Felch,
of the Board of Land Commissioners, in deciding the
case of the Catholic Church, in the name of Bishop
Alemany, as claimant of the mission lands, as follows: —

6

42

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

The missions were intended, from the beginning, to be
temporary in their character. It was contemplated that
in ten years from their first foundation they should cease.
It was supposed that within that period of time the Indians
would be sufficiently instructed in Christianity, and the
arts of civilized Hfe, to assume the position and character
of citizens; that these mission settlements would then
become pueblos; and that the mission churches would
become parish churches, organized like the other estab-
lishments of an ecclesiastical character in other portions
of the nation where no missions had ever existed. The
whole missionary establishment was widely different from
the ordinary ecclesiastical organization of the nation. In
it the superintendence and charge was committed to
priests, who were devoted to the special work of mis-
sions, and not to the ordinary clergy. The monks of
the College of San Fernando and Zacatecas, in whose
charge they were, were to be succeeded by the secular
clergy of the national church; the missionary field was to
become a diocese; the President of the missions to give
place to a bishop; the mission churches to become
curacies: and the faithful in the vicinity of each parish to
become the parish worshipers.

GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE.

Acting on this theory the steps were taken to bring the
priests under control. Instead of ten years having
proven sufficient to civilize the Indians, fifty years had
elapsed, and he was still a helpless savage. Accordingly,
in 1824 and 1826, the Mexican Government passed laws
manumitting the Indians, and suspending the pay of the
priests. This action on the part of the Government
proved premature. Released from restraint the Indian
retrograded and took to the woods, and commenced a
series of robberies that threatened the existence of the
colonies. His education had taught him the vices ot
civilization, which took the place of the rude virtues which
characterized them in their natural state. Idle, dissi-
pated, and incapable of self-control, he became a nuisance
to the settlers, and stock, by hundreds, were run off into
the hills and canons A year later, the law, being disas-
trous in its effects, was repealed, and most of the Indians
returned to their ;Work, and things went on somewhat as
before.

COLONISTS AGAINST THE MISSIONS.

The breach was not healed but widened. The vicious
element which had come in with the discharged soldiers
of the war for liberty, sometimes carried things with a
high hand, ever inciting the Indians to insurrection.
Manuel Victoria, who was appointed to succeed Jose
Maria de Echeandia for the e.xpress purpose of reforming
these abuses and restraining the criminal element, was a
man of much ability, but had a military turn of mind
which could not brook insubordination, and a few cases
of summary punishment aroused the people into open
hostility. The outbreak commenced at San Diego, and
was headed by Jose Maria Avila. Victoria's friends,
however, put down the incipient insurrection, and kept
Avila in irons to await the Governor's pleasure. Gov-
ernor Victoria, hearing of the trouble, left Monterey with
a small escort, and reached San Fernando December 4,
1831.

PACHECO AND AVILA KILLED.

A party of the insurgents reached Los Angeles the same
evening, and induced a number of citizens to espouse
their side. Avila was released, and, placing himself at
the head of the dissatisfied, swore that he would kill Vic-
toria, or die in the attempt. The two parties met about
eight miles west of the city on the Santa Barbara road,
near the Cahuenga Pass, and both parties halted for a
parley, but Avila, putting spurs to his horse, rushed upon
Victoria, wounding him severely in the side. The thrust
was partially parried by Romualdo Pacheco, who, before
he could recover his guard, was run through by Avila.
While the lance was still quivering in Pacheco's body,
Victoria drew a pistol, and shot Avila dead, Pacheco and
Avila both faUing from their horses nearly at the same
moment. A sudden panic seized both parties at such a
prospect of civil war. Victoria and his party, who were
termed Mexicans, went to the Mission San Gabriel, car-
rying the wounded Governor with them, while Avila's
party, who termed themselves Californians, returned to
the town. Victoria resigned his position, and left for San
Bias on the ship Pocahontas, January 15, 1832. The
bodies of the slain were found as they fell, and were
taken to town the same evening. They were buried side
by side by mutual friends.

RIVAL GOVERNORS.

For some time after the expulsion of Victoria, there
was much confusion in regard to the matter of Governor
Avila's partisans pronounced for Echeandia, but finally ral-
lied around Pio Pico, who became Governor ad interim,
Los Angeles being the capital de facto. Echeandia re-
tired to the mission of San Juan Capistrano, and, organ-
izing a body of vagrant Indians, under the pretense of
maintaining law and order, commenced plundering all
in the surrounding country who would not recognize him
as Governor.

The northern part of the State adhered to Victoria,
notwithstanding his abdication, and set up, as his repre-
sentative, Capt. Augustin V. Zamorano. There was
little law and order until the

ARRIVAL OF GEN. JOsi FIGUEROA, IN 1833,

^Vho was a man of much executive ability, and suc-
ceeded in restoring something like security to life and
property.

In August, 1834, the Governor, whose title was Gefe
Politico (Political Chief), issued the following directions
for the enforcement of the law of August 17, 1833.

DECREE OF SECULARIZATION.

Article i. The political chief, according to the spirit
of the law of August 17, 1833, and in compliance with
instructions received from the Supreme Government,
jointly with the religious missionaries, will convert the
missions of this territory partially into villages — beginning
in the approaching month of August, 1835, with ten, and
the rest thereafter successively.

2. Religious missionaries shall be relieved from the
administration of temporalities, and shall only exercise
the duties of their ministry so far as they relate to spir-

THE MISSIONS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

43

itual matters, whilst the formal division of parishes is in
progress, and the Supreme Diocesan Government shall
provide parochial clergy.

3. The Territorial Government shall resume the admin-
istration of temporal concerns, as directed, upon the fol-
lowing foundations.

4. The approbation of this provisional regulation by
the Supreme Government shall be requested in the most
prompt manner.

DISTRIBUTION OF PROPERTY AND LANDS.

5. To each head of a family, and all who are more
than twenty years old, although without famiUes, will be
given from the lands of the mission, whether temporal
(lands dependent on the season) or watered, a lot of
ground not to contain more than 400 yards in length and
as many in breadth, nor less than 100. Sufficient land
for watering the cattle will be given in common. The
outlets or roads shall be marked out by each village, and
at the proper time the corporation lands shall be desig-
nated.

6. Among the said individuals will be distributed, rat-
ably and justly, according to the discretion of the po-
litical chief, the half of the movable property, taking as
a basis the last inventory which the missionaries have
presented of all descriptions of cattle.

7. One-half or less of the implements and seeds indis-
pensable for agriculture shall be allotted to them.

8. All the surplus lands, roots, movable securities, and
property of all classes, shall be under the charge and
responsibility of the steward or agent whom the political
chief may name, subject to the disposal of the Supreme
Federal Goverment.

9. From the common mass of this property, shall be
provided the subsistence of the missionary monks,
the pay of the steward and other servants, the expenses
of religious worship, schools, and other matters of clean-
liness or ornament.

10. The political chief, as the person charged with the
direction of temporal concerns, shall determine and
order beforehand the necessary qualifications, all the
charges to be distributed, as well to carry this plan into
execution as for the preservation and increase of the
property.

11. The missionary minister shall select the place
which suits him bes.t for his dwelling and that of his
attendants and servants ; he is also to be provided with
furniture and necessary utensils.

12. The library, holy vestment, and furniture of the
church shall be in charge of the missionary ministers,
under the responsibility of the person who officiates as
sexton (and whom the said father shall select), who shall
be paid a reasonable salary.

13. Inventories shall be made of all the property of
each mission, with a proper separation and explanation of
each description; of the books, charges and dates of all
sorts of papers; of the credits, liquidated and unliqui-
dated, with their respective remarks and explanations; of
which a return shall be made to the Supreme Govern-
ment.

POLITICAL GOVERNMENT OF THE VILLAGES.

14. The political government of the villages shall be
organized in accordance with existing laws. The political
chief shall take measures for the election and establish-
ment of Boards of Magistrates.

15. The internal police of the villages shall be under
the charge of the Board of Magistrates ; but as to the
administration of justice, in matters of dispute, these
shall be under the cognizance of inferior judges, estab-
lished constitutionally in the places nearest at hand.

16. Those who have been emancipated shall be obliged

to join in such labors of community as are indispensable,
in the opinion of the political chief, in the cultivation of
the vineyards, gardens, and fields, which for the present
remain unapportioned, until the Supreme Government
shall determine.

17. Emancipated persons shall render the minister
such services as may be necessary for his person.

RESTRICTIONS.

18. They shall not sell, mortgage, nor dispose of the
lands granted to them, neither shall they sell their catde.
Contracts made in contravention of these prohibitions
shall be of no effect, and the Government shall seize the
property as belonging to the nation, and the purchasers
shall forfeit their money.

19. Lands, the proprietors of which die without heirs,
shall revert to the nation.

GENERAL REGULATIONS.

20. The political chief shall name the commissioners
he may deem necessary for carrying out this system and
its incidents.

21. The political chief is authorized to determine
any doubt or matter involved in the execution of this
regulation.

22. Whilst this regulation is being carried into oper-
ation, the missionaries are forbidden to kill cattle in any
large number, except so far as is usually required for the
subsistence of the neophytes (converted Indians) without
waste.

23. The unliquidated debts of the mission shall be
paid, in preference, from the common fund, at the places
and upon the terms which the political chief may deter-
mine.

PROVISIONAL REGULATION FOR THE SECULARIZATION
OF THE MISSIONS.

That the fulfillment of this law may be perfect, the
following rules will be observed: —

I St. The commissioners, so soon as they shall receive
their appointment and orders, shall present themselves at
the respective missions, and commence the execution of
the plan, being governed in all things by its tenor and
these regulations. They shall present their credentials
respectively to the priest under whose care the mission is,
with whom they shall agree, preserving harmony and
proper respect.

2d. The priest shall immediately hand over, and the
commissioners receive the books of account and other
documents relating to property claims, liquidated and
unliquidated ; afterwards, general inventories shall be
made out, in accordance with the 13th article of this
regulation, of all property — such as houses, churches,
workshops, and other local things — stating what belongs
to each shop, that is to say, utensils, furniture, and imple-
ments; then what belongs to the homestead, after which
shall follow those of the field, that is to say, property that
grows, such as vines and vegetables, with an enumeration
of the shrubs, if possible, mills, etc.; after that the cattle
and whatever appertains to them ; but as it will be diffi-
cult to count them, as well on account of their numbers,
as for the want of horses, they shall be estimated by two
persons of intelligence and probity, who shall calculate,
as nearly as may be, the number of each species to be
inserted in the inventory. Everything shall be in regular
form in making the inventory, which shall be kept from
the knowledge of the priests, and under the charge of the
commissioner or steward, but there shall be no change in
the order of the work and services, until experience shall
show that it is necessary, except in such matters as are
commonly changed whenever it suits.

44

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

3d. The commissioner, with the sUwarJ, shall dispense
with all superfluous exjXMnse, establishing rigid economy
in all things that reiiuire reform.

4th. Before he takes an inventory of articles belonging
to the field, the commissioner will inform the natives,
explaining to them with mildness and patience, that the
missions are to be changed into villages, which will only
be under the government of the priests, so far as relates
to sjjiritual matters; that the lands and property for
which each one labors, are to belong to himself, and to
be maintained and controlled by himself, without depend-
ing on any one else: that the houses in which they live
are to be their own, for which they are to submit to what
is ordered in these regulations, which are to be explained
to them in the best possible manner. The lots will be
given to them immediately to be worked by them as the
5th article of these regulations provides. The commis-
sioner, the priests, and the steward, shall choose the
location, selecting the best and most convenient to the
poijulation, and shall give to each the quantity of ground
which he can cultivate, according to his fitness and the
size of his family, without exceeding the maximnn estab-
lished. Each one shall mark his land in such manner as
may be most agreeable to him.

5th. The claims that are liquidated shall be paid from
the mass of property, but neither the commissioner nor
the steward shall settle them without the express order
of the (jovernment, which will inform itself on the matter,
and according to its judgment determine the number of
cattle to be assigned to the neophytes, that it may be
done, as heretofore, in conformity with what is provided
in the 6th article.

6th. The necessary effects and implements for labor
shall be assigned in the quantities expressed by the
7th article, either individually or in common, as the
commissioners and priests may agree upon. The seeds
will remain undivided, and shall be given to the neo-
phytes in the usual quantities.

7th. What is called the " priesthood'' shall immediately
cease, female children whom they have in charge being
handed over to their fathers, explaining to them the care
they should take of them, and pointing out their obliga-
tions as parents. The same shall be done with the male
children.

8th. The commissioner, according to the knowledge
and information which he shall acquire, shall name to the
(iovernment, as soon as possible, one or several individ-
uals, who may appear to him suitable and honorable, as
stewards, according to the provisions of the 8th article,
either from among those who now serve in the missions,
or others. He shall also fix the pay which should be as-
signed to them, according to the labor of each mission.

9th. The settlements which are at a distance from the
mission, and consist of more than twenty-five families,
and which would desire to form a separate community,
shall be gratified, and appropriation of the funds and
other property shall be made them as to the rest. The
settlements which do not contain twenty-five families,
provided they be permanently setded where they now
live, shall form a suburb, and shall be attached to the
nearest village.

loth. The commissioner shall state the number of
souls which each village contains, in order to designate
the number of municipal officers and cause the elections
to be held, in which they will proceed conformably, as far
as possible, to the law of June 12, 1830.

nth. The commissioner shall adopt all executive
mea.sures which the condition of things demands, giving
an account to the (Government, and shall consult the
same upon all grave and doubtful matters.

I 2th. In everything that remains, the. commissioners.

the priests, stewards, and natives will proceed according
to the provisions of the regulation. Jose Figueroa.
Au(;usTiN V. Za.morano, Secretary.
Monterey, August g, 18^4.

The missionaries had but litde to comfort them. The
laymen, or secular part of the community, had out-talked
them, out-worked them. What was called the

PIOUS FUND

Had previously been confiscated. This fund, produc-
ing about $50,000 a year, had been set apart as a fund for
the propagation of the true faith, but the Mexican Con-
gress had encroached upon it several times, but had
hardly dared to appropriate it in toto; but when Santa
Ana vaulted into power, he absorbed it without a pang of
remorse. Still the immense flocks and crops of grain
would have served the purposes of the poor Franciscan
friars very well, but these were now to go. It is said the
padres hoped for a providential interference, for a coun-
ter revolution, for anything that would stay the spoiler,
but no help came. Mexico was far away, and the clamor
for the spoliation of the missions was stronger there than
in California.

THE HIJAR COLONY.

In 1834 a colony, composed of both men and women,
under the leadership of Jose Maria Hijar, was dis-
patched for Upper California, with full authority to take
possession of all the missions, including the stock, agri-
cultural machinery, also directions to General Figueroa
to surrender the administration of the Government to
him on his arrival. Of all the schemes for the spolia-
tion of the missions, this seems to have been the most
reprehensible. The expenses of the expedition, which
were advanced by the Mexican Government, were to
have been repaid in tallow. In fact, the whole organiza-
tion was for speculative purposes; a steal in which the
Government was to share! Little wonder that the Cal-
ifornians had no respect for the parental Government.

The party landed at San Diego, and disembarked a
part of the colony: the rest proceeded to Monterey,
where a storm threw them on the coast.

When Hijar presented his water-soaked credentials for
the surrender of the keys of power to him, he was met
by a later paper.

SANTA ana's revolution.

President Farias, the patron of Hijar, had been de-
throned, and Santa Ana had vaulted into power. Gen-
eral Figueroa was ordered to continue as Governor, and
the disappointed Hijar and his companions went to
swell the ranks of the rabble, hungry for the mission
spoils. It is said that they were, of all who had ever
come to California, the most unfitted for usefulness.
Goldsmiths, where jewelry was unknown; carpenters,
where the houses were made of adobe; blacksmiths,
where rawhide was used instead of iron; painters, musi-
cians, and artists, shoemakers and tailors, but never a
farmer, composed the crowd. They were loud in their
complaints, and finally became so importunate that the
most disaffected were sent back to Mexico.

THE MISSIONS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

45

LAND GRANTS.

During these years of trouble, large quantities of the land
had been alienated from the church or missions. The
condition, in the application for a grant, was that the
land was not needed for the cattle and herds of the
missions. The fathers were not in a condition, with so
many malcontents around them, to refuse their assent to
this condition, and so the lands were allotted to the
influential families in vast quantities. Having lands, it
was no great affair to stock them from the herds which
fed thereon, and thus a new set of proprietors came into
power.

SECULARIZATION COMPLETED.

Hemmed in on all sides, abandoned by the Mexican
Government, and plundered by the Californians, the
fathers saw that ruin was inevitable, and commenced to
realize on their property. Cattle were slaughtered by
th£ thousand, the flesh being thrown away. Hitherto
cattle and sheep were only killed as the meat was wanted,
but anything now to save something from the wreck.
One-half the hides were given for killing and skinning,
and the plains were strewn with the rotting carcasses.

In the meantime the machinery for disposing of the
mission property had been set in motion by the Govern-
ment. Administrators of the mission property were
appointed. There was but little to administer upon,
and when they left there was nothing! The destruction
of the missions was complete. Happily, land cannot
well be destroyed; cattle soon multiplied, and in a few
years the ranches were as well stocked as ever. The
Indians who had homes at the missions, who had learned
to consider the property as theirs, were relegated to
barbarism, and kept up a predatory warfare on the herds
until the coming of the Americans. The well-stocked
ranches of the coast were a prey to all. Bands from the
Mojave, the San Joaquin plains, and even from more
distant quarters, would raid the cattle ranches, driving
off for food, by preference, the horses. Oregon Indians
also joined in the plunder, and, in one instance at least,
a band came from the Rocky Mountains. " Peg-leg "
Smith, a noted mountaineer and scout, led a band of
Indians, about 1840, from Bear River into California,
and drove off 1,700 head of horses.

Many well-informed Mexicans are of the opinion that
but for the conquest by the Americans, the destruction
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 depopulated by the rav-
ages 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 de-
struction swept over the country in spite of all his efforts
to establish order. Disgusted with the rapacity of the
people, and perplexed beyond measure with the gen-
eral 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 country-
man after he is dead, hastened to pass resolutions of
appreciation and respect, extolling him as the " Father
of his country." His remains were carried in an Amer-
ican vessel to Santa Barbara and deposited in a vault of
the mission with military honors.

THE MISSIONS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA.

The following list presents the name, date of found-
ing, and locality of each and all of the missions of Alta
California: —

San Diego de Meala, July 16, 1769, San Diego River,
five miles from bay, San Diego County.

San Carlos de Monterey (Carmel Mission), June 3,
1770, Monterey, and subsequently removed to the Carmel
River, Monterey County.

San Antonio de Padna, July 14, 1771, sixty miles
southeast of Monterey, and thirty-six northwest from San
Miguel, Monterey County.

San Gabriel de los Temblores, September 8, 1771, on
San Gabriel River, eleven miles southeasterly from Los
Angeles, but removed to present site, nine miles east of
the city, Los Angeles County.

San Luis Obispo de Toloso, September i, 1772, on
northwest bank of San Luis Creek, in present city of
San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County.

Nuestra Sefiora de los Dolores (San Francisco),
October 9, 1776, on San Francisco Bay, now in the city
of San Francisco.

San Juan Capistrano, November i, 1776, about mid-
way between Los Angeles and San Diego, Los Angeles
County.

Santa Clara, January 18, 1777, town of Santa Clara,
Santa Clara County.

San Buenaventura, March 3_i, 1782, town of San
Buenaventura, Ventura County.

Santa Barbara, December 4, 1786, town of Santa
Barbara, Santa Barbara County.

La Purissima Concepcion, December 8, 1787, Mission
Viejo (or old mission) on south side of Santa Ynez
River; Mission Nueva on north side, three miles from
first, near Lompoc, Santa Barbara County.

Santa Cruz, August 28, 1791, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz
County.

La Soledad, October 9, 1791, on Salinas River, Mon-
terey County.

San Jose, June 11, 1797, fourteen miles northeast of
San Jose and twenty-nine southeast of Oakland, Alameda
County.

San Juan Bautista, June 24, 1797, on the Pajaro
River, San Benito County.

San Miguel Archangel, July 25, 1797, on Salinas
River, thirty-four miles north of San Luis Obispo, San
Luis Obispo County.

San Fernando del Rey, September 8, 1797, valley of
San Fernando, twenty miles northwest of Los Angeles,
Los Angeles County.

San Luis Rey de Francia, June 13, 1798, forty-five
miles northwest of San Diego, San Diego County.

46

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

Santa Ynez, September 17, 1804, Santa Ynez River,
Santa Barbara County.

San Rafael, December 14, 1819, San Rafael, Marin
County.

San Francisco de Solano, August 25, 1823, Sonoma,
Sonoma County.

WEALTH AND POPULATION.

In 1802, when Baron Humboldt visited California,
he estimated the population as follows: Converted
Indians, 15,562; whites and mulattoes, 1,300; total,
16,862. The wild Indians were numerous, but being
regarded as l>estias (beasts), they were thought unworthy
of notice, and not counted. At San Luis Obispo were
374 males and 325 females; total, 699. At San Miguel
were 309 males and 305 females; total, 614.

Mr. Alexander Forbes, in his work on California, gives
the population, amount of grain produced, and number
of live stock owned by the missions in 1835 as follows: —

San Luis Obispo — 211 men, 103 women, 7 girls, 8
boys; total population, 329. San Miguel — 349 men,
292 women, 61 girls, 46 boys; total population, 748.

San Luis Obispo — (grain) wheat, 875 bushels; corn,
150 bushels; beans, 50 bushels; barley, 50 bushels. San
Miguel — wheat, 1,498 bushels; corn, 90 bushels; beans,
23 bushels; barley, 142 bushels.

San Luis Obispo — stock, 2,000; horses, 800; mules,
200; asses, 50; sheep, 1,200; swine, 24. San Miguel —
stock, 3,762; horses, 950; mules, 106; asses, 28; sheep,
8,999; swine, 60.

In 1835 the total population of California was 23,025;
of this number only 4,342 were of the free race, the
balance, 18,683, Indians subject to the missions.

VARYING STATEMENTS.

Mr. Forbes says the count from which his figures were
obtained was made in 1831, but he thought it would
hold good for 1835, the date of writing his book. There
is a wide difference between his figures and those com-
monly reported. This difference is unsatisfactorily
accounted for by saying that the fathers, to avoid per-
mitting their wealth to be known to the secular authori-
ties, would have their stock driven away from the missions
and to secluded places when the officers came to make
the periodical counts and estimates of their property.

Another statement was published by Rev. Walter
Colton, in his book entitled "Three Years in California,"
published in 1850. This gentleman was Chaplain in the
United States Navy, and was appointed Alcalde of
Monterey by Com. Robert F. Stockton, in 1846. He
says: —

The mission of San Luis Obispo, when under the
charge of Father Luis Martinez, had 87,000 cattle, 2,000
tame horses, 3,500 mares, 3,700 mules, and 72,000
sheep. This careful business manager took $100,000
with him when he left for Spain, in 1828.

The San Miguel Mission in 182 1 had 91,000 cattle,
1,100 tame horses, 3,000 mares, 2,000 mules, 170 yoke
of o.xen, and 47,000 sheep.

All the other missions were equally rich in live stock;
while the s[)ccie in the coffers of the fathers, and value of

the gold and silver ornaments of the churches, exceeded
half a million dollars. The total number of horned
cattle aggregated upwards of 700,000 head.

The many years of occupancy and control by the
priests, the unlimited extent of their grazing grounds,
and the supplies furnished them from the "Pious Fund"
in Mexico, would justify the expectation of great wealth,
and the area covered by the remains of their buildings,
particularly at San Miguel, indicate the presence of a
large population.

CHAPTER VI.

THE MISSIONARIES.

The Wealth of the New World — The Primitive Races — An Omen
— The Tribes of California — Their Food and Customs — A
Great Cemetery — Indian Boats — Early Missionaries — The
California Missions — A Mission Described — Mission Govern-
ment — Daily Customs — The Rich Missions —The Seculariza-
tion — Eras of Progress — The Work of the Century — The
Dark Ages — The Ideal Elements — The Good Work of the
Monks — California Explorers — Tribute to the Pioneers —
Apostrophe to the Missionaries.

^'^'- HE EstabUshment of the Missions in California and
a Review of the Missionary Fathers, was the subject
of an address delivered by the Hon. Charles H.
Johnson, before the San Luis Obispo Library Associa-
tion, September i, 1872, on the occasion of the centen-
nial of the mission: —

The settlement of California by the Franciscan
Fathers and the results flowing from this great event,
which happened about a century ago, are surrounded by
the memories of what may be termed the patriarchal age
of California, and over which hovers the glow of poetic
feeling, inspired by the sight of ruins which speak to us
in the inaudible language of the dead past, breathing
symphonies which float down the stream of time, recount-
ing in musical tones the unrecorded deeds of the heroes
of the romantic period in CaUfornia's history.

THE WEALTH OF THE NEW WORLD.

The part of North America which formerly acknowl-
edged the authority of Spain, was the richest and most
highly prized of all the dependencies of that vast Einpire,
which at one period of its existence controlled the destiny
of one-half of Europe, and held within its grasp the
most valuable parts of North and South America, and
rich possessions in both the Indies. Every variety of
soil and climate, inexhaustible deposits of mineral wealth,
together with the peculiar civilization of the ancient
inhabitants of Mexico, or New Spain, made it one of the
most interesting portions of the globe.

THE PRIMITIVE RACES.

Of the primitive races which inhabited this country,
the most notable were the Toltecs, who advanced from
the north and northwest, and entered the valley of Mex^
ico about the middle of the seventh century. They
are known to us only through the legends of the races
that followed them. These legends inform us that the
Toltecs were acquainted with agriculture and many of the
arts, and invented the system of marking the progress of
time, used by the Aztecs who supplanted them. The
ruins of their edifices may still be seen in various parts of
Mexico, and the shadowy architectural remains recently

THE MISSIONARIES.

47

discovered near the banks of the Colorado have likewise
been attributed to them. After the lapse of three or four
centuries the Toltecs disappeared, and were succeeded
by the Chichemers, a barbarous tribe that also came from
the northwest. They in their turn were speedily sup-
planted by the more civilized tribes of Aztecs, or Mexicans,
and the Acolhuans, who entered Mexico from the remote
regions of the north, and, settling in the valley of Mexico,
erected their cities on the borders of the lake.

AN OMEN.

The Mexicans selected a place which they called
Tcnochitlans from a singular omen, which indicated to
them the spot whereon to build their capital. On one
occasion during their wanderings, they halted on the
south side of the principal lake, about the year 1325.
They there saw an eagle with a serpent in its talons,
perched upon the stem of a prickly pear, which grew from
the crevice of a rock. The broad wings of the eagle,
which was of great size, were spread out to the morning
sun. They hailed this as an auspicious omen, and pro-
ceeded to lay the foundation of the city. The device of
the eagle and the cactus still forms the national arms
of Mexico. The Acolhuans were known later by the
name of Tezcucans, from their capital, erected on the
eastern borders of the same lake. Whether California
was a part of the far north, from whence issued these
different races which we have had under review, will
always remain an open question. We find a few indis-
tinct architectural remains near the Gila and Colorado
Rivers, but nothing north of these to indicate that this
portion of the country was ever occupied, by even semi-
barbarous races.

THE TRIBES OF CALIFORNIA.

The Indians that roamed over the great coast valleys,
from Santa Clara to San Diego, were divided into num-
erous tribes or nations, speaking different languages or
dialects. Grammars were compiled by the missionaries
in the languages of some of the tribes south of the mis-
sion of San Juan, which served as a key to the more
northern languages. The Olchones and Mutseer
languages, spoken by tribes of the same names, occupy-
ing the country between San Francisco and the mission of
San Juan, were studied and understood by the mission-
aries.

Beechy visited this coast in 1826, and observes of the
Indians, " That the Olchones worship the sun and believe
in the existence of a beneficent and an evil spirit, whom
they occasionally attempt to propitiate. Their ideas of
a future state are very confined. When a person dies
they adorn the corpse with feathers, flowers, and beads,
and place with it a bow and arrows; they then extend it
upon a pile of wood and burn it amid the shouts of the
spectators, who wish the soul a pleasant journey in the
direction of the setting sun."

It is a remarkable coincidence that the religious belief
of this rude tribe corresponded so nearly with that of the
enlightened ancient Persian, who adored the sun, and
believed in the existence of Ormunzd and Ahriman,
representing the good and evil principles of the universe.

THEIR FOOD AND CUSTOMS.

The Indians of California fared well. As food was
abundant in every part of the country, they feasted on
deer, antelope, hare, rabbit, quail, and many varieties of
fish, together with grasshoppers, acorns, and a variety of
seeds and roots. The interior tribes made yearly excur-
sions to the sea-shore, bringing with them vast stores of
acorns and other seeds, with which they made bread,
by pounding them first in stone mortars. They would

remain for months, perched on some high bluff near the
sea, feasting on fish. The abalone, a large shell-fish, and
mussels, were highly prized by them. Their universal
remedy for all diseases was their peculiar sweating proc-
ess in the temescal, a large oven of sticks and earth,
erected on the banks of a stream. Several persons at a
time would enter this oven, quite naked, and build a fire
at the entrance; they would remain inside, humming a
monotonous chant, as long as they could bear the heat.
After perspiring profusely they would scrape their bodies
with bones, and then plunge suddenly into the water of
the stream.

A GREAT CEMETERY.

The tribes of California, with the exception of the
Olchones, buried their dead. In excavating for a road
some years since, on a bluff overlooking the San Luis
Obispo landing, an ancient Indian burying-place was
unearthed, showing skeletons packed closely together in
a squatting position, indicating that the dead had been
brought from some distance in large numbers, and their
remains were discovered situated from twenty to thirty
feet apart.

INDIAN BOATS.

Vancouver, speaking of the Indians, says that many
visited his ships in canoes of the country, which he
describes as being made of rushes — probably tule — and
dried grass, of a broad leaf, made into rolls of the entire
length of the canoe, and tapering to a point at each end.
They were lashed firmly together, and propelled by
double-bladed paddles, like those used by the Esquimaux.
The men went naked, but the women wore petticoats
made of rabbit and hare skins.

EARLY MISSIONARIES.

In the earliest ages of Christianity, it was usual for
Christians to go into distant lands to preach the gospel.
Gregory the Great sent St. Augustine with forty associ-
ates to preach the gospel to the Saxons of Britain. The .
principal missions of the Catholic Church in later times
were those to China, Japan, the East Indies, North and
South America, and some minor ones in Africa. In 18 12
a Catholic mission was sent to Thibet. A princess, whom
an Italian had converted to Christianity, appointed him
her first minister, and requested of the propaganda eighty
missionaries for the conversion of her subjects; several
were accordingly sent.

But the most singular in its effects was the Jesuit mis-
sion to Paraguay. Whatever poets and philosophers
have fabled of the golden age and the world of innocence,
the Jesuits, as Raynal says, realized in a distant zone.
The people of Paraguay had no civil nor criminal
laws. Their only laws were the precepts of the gospel.
There was no distinction of station, and it was the only
society on earth where men enjoyed perfect equality, and
where poverty, taxes, and lawsuits, those terrible scourges
which everywhere else afflict civilized man, were unknown.

THE CALIFORNIA MISSIONS

Were started on principles somewhat similar to those
adopted by the Jesuits in Paraguay; but they did not
meet with the same success, from a variety of causes not
necessary here to enumerate particularly, (lovernmental
interference and the measurable intelligence of the Cali-
fornia Indians, were great impediments. Some of the
California missions were more extensive than others, but
in design they were similar, and built of the same mate-
rial, the adobe, or mud-brick. In all were apartments for
store-houses, granaries, and for blacksmiths, carpenters,
soapmakers, and weavers. The churches were all con-
tiguous to the mission buildings. The Indians resided

48

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

some distance from the mission edifices, in long rows of
adobe huts, which were termed mncherias. A small gar-
rison of five soldiers and a Corporal was kept at each mis-
sion, which served the double purpose of keeping the re-
fractory neophytes in subjection, and of adding to the
numerical strength of the mission, by making occasional
raids with the Christia7ios viejos, old mission Indians, to
the Tulares, to induce the gentiles, or heathen Indians,
to come within the fold.

A MISSION DESCRIBED.

Duflot de Mofras, an attach^ of the French Legation
to Mexico, was directed in 1840 by Marshal Soult, then
French Minister of War, to make a reconnoisance of
California. He thus describes the mission of San Luis
Rey, near San Diego, in its full working order: "The
building is a quadrilateral; the church occupies one of
its wings; the fa9ade is ornamented with a gallery. The
interior is formed by a court; upon the gallery which runs
around it open dormitories of the monks, of the major-
domos, and of travelers; small workshops, school-rooms,
and store-rooms. The hospitals are situated in the most
quiet parts of the mission, where the schools are also
kept. The young Indian girls are kept in the halls called
the monastery, and they themselves are called nuns;
they are obliged to be secluded to be secured from out-
rage by the Indians, placed under the care of Indian
matrons, who are worthy of confidence. They learn to
make cloths of wool, cotton, and flax, and do not leave
the monastery until they are old enough to be married.
A certain number are chosen among the pupils who
display the most intelligence, to learn music, chanting,
the violin, the flute, the horn, the violincello, and other
instruments. Those who distinguished themselves in
the carpenter shop, at the forge, or in agricultural labors,
are appointed alcaldes, or overseers, and charged with the
direction of a squad of workmen.

MISSION GOVERNMENT.

"Before the civil power was substituted for the paternal
government of the missionaries, the administrative body
of each mission consisted of two monks, of whom the
elder had charge of the interior and of the religious in-
struction, and the younger of the agricultural works. To
maintain order in the missions they employed only so
many whites as were necessary, for they well knew that
their influence was wholly pernicious, and that an asso-
ciation with them only developed among the Indians the
habits of gambling and drunkenness, to which they are
unfortunately too much inclined.

D.\ILY CUSTOMS.

"The Indians were divided into squads of laborers. At
sunrise the bell sounded the angelus, and every one set
out for church; after mass they breakfasted, and then
went to work. At eleven they dined, and this period
of repose extended to two o'clock, when they returned to
labor until the evening angelus, one hour before sunset.
After prayers and the rosary the Indians had supper, and
then amused themselves with dancing and other sports.
Their diet consisted of fresh beef and mutton, as much
as they chose, of wheat and corn cakes and boiled pud-
dings. They also had peas, large or small beans, in afl
an almud, or the twelfth part of a fanega, a week. For
dress they wore a linen shirt, pantaloons, and a woolen
blanket, but the overseers and best workmen had habits
of cloth like the Spaniards. The women received every
year two chemises, a gown, and a blanket. When the
hides, tallow, grain, wine, and oil were sold at good
prices to ships from abroad, the monks distributed hand-
kerchiefs, wearing apparel, tobacco, chaplets, and trink-

ets among the Indians, and devoted the surplus to the
embellishment of the church, the purchase of musical
instruments, pictures, sacerdotal ornaments, etc. Still
they were careful to keep a part of their harvests in the
granaries, to provide for years of scarcity."

THE RICH MISSIONS.

Such was De Mofras' description of the discipline and
regulations of one of the richest of the California mis-
sions. The others were conducted on similar principles.
Santa Clara, San Luis Obispo, and San Luis Rey were
among the most prosperous. They possessed vast herds
of cattle, sheep, and horses, and large areas of land were
kept under cultivation; orchards comprising all the fruits
of the temperate zone, together with olive, lemon, and
orange groves, were found at the missions where the cli-
mate was propitious to the growth of these different va-
rieties of fruits.

THE SECULARIZATION.

The Mexican Congress passed an Act as early as 1833
to provide for the secularization of the missions of Upper
and Lower California. Hence, Governor Figueroa pub-
lished provisional regulations on the 19th of August,
1834, for the secularization in Upper California, in con-
formity with the aforesaid Act. The secularization was
not, however, fully carried out until as late as 1845, when
the Departmental Assembly at Monterey, on the 28th of
May of that year, declared that, agreeably to the provis-
ions of the Act of the Mexican Congress, passed in 1833,
some of the missions should be rented, and others con-
verted into pueblos.

ERAS OF PROGRESS.

A century has now elapsed since the founding of the
missions in California. A century, however, is but a
short period in the history of our country. In the world's
history it is comparatively but a watch in the night.
There are, nevertheless, certain periods, not even embrac-
ing so many years as a century, that are remarkable for
the extraordinary events and changes which have hap-
pened in them, and which have made them ever memo-
rable, standing out in bold relief against ages of apathetic
duflness. Such was the period of Athenian greatness,
which was almost as short as the life of an individual,
but of such dazzling brilliancy as to have eclipsed, prob-
ably, all others that preceded it.

THE WORK OF THE CENTURY.

The mission of San Luis Obispo was formally founded
on the ist of September, 1772. From the church rec-
ords it appears that the mission was built under the care
and protection of the Catholic King, Charles III. The
administrators of the Apostolic College of San Fernando,
Mexico, for the propagation of the Catholic faith, were
commissioned for this purpose. They were His High-
ness, Don Carlos Francisco de Croix, Viceroy and Gov-
ernor of New Spain; and Don Jose Galvez of the Royal
Council and Supreme Government of the Indies. Then
follows a certificate signed by Father Junipero Serra,
President. "Wherefore, the undersigned certifies, that
he arrived here on the 19th of August, 1772, and on the
I St of September following, assisted by Father Joseph
Caballar, blessed and put in its place the holy cross, and
the first mass was sung amidst a vast number of Indians."
Thus was inaugurated this Christian town.

Great events and mighty changes have taken place in
the last one hundred years, but nature presents the same
features to-day that she did upon the day of the arrival
here, one hundred years ago, of those earliest pioneers
of civilization on this coast, who, doubtless, admired the
violet summits of the surrounding hills as we admire

i^V.

Hon. John H. Hollister

Among the names conspicuous in the development of
ihe agricultural interests of California, that of Hollister

'';tands most prominent. Monterey, San Benito, San
'^uis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and other counties bear the
narks of the great intelligence and enterprise of mem-
)ers of this family. The history of agriculture in Cali-
ornia, in its various branches of improved stock, grain,
.nd fruits, would be barren without chief reference to
he works of the brothers, William Wells and Joseph
iubbard Hollister, the latter being the father of Hon.

Ifohn H. Hollister, of San Luis Obispo. This gentle-
nan is a native of the Buckeye State, born in Newark,
)hio, November 27, 1856, his parents being Joseph H.
.nd Ellen (Mossman) HoUister. When he was a child of
even years, the family removed to California, his father
laving crossed the plains with thoroughbred sheep many
ears before, and acquired large property in California.
In this State the young man grew to manhood,
cquiring an excellent education, and graduating at
he State University at Berkeley. Since 1866 San Luis
)bispo has been his home. His present residence is on
he beautiful rancho, El Chorro — the waterfall — five
niles northwest of San Luis Obispo, where upon his
,000 broad acres he conducts the business of dairyman
nd farmer. A view of the place is shown in. this book.
In 1879 he was elected Supervisor of the county,
irobably the youngest man ever chosen to so important
position, and the duties were performed in so intelli-
ent and faithful a manner as to draw commendation
rom all sides. Before the expiration of his term, as
upervisor, he was nominated by the Republicans as
:ieir candidate for the Assembly. The campaign of
882 was a noted one, resulting in the great Democratic

"boom," but not to the exclusion of Hollister, as he wa
triumphantly elected. He made the canvass of the
county, and his speeches were of marked ability, greatly
exceeding what his most admiring friends had expected.
All his pledges he kept.

The Assembly was largely Democratic, therefore a
Republican was not expected to exercise much power,
but Mr. Hollister was one of the foremost, notwithstand-
ing his being in the minority. The Anti-Oleomargarine
Law, the law to extirpate fruit tree pests, and to prevent
diseases in fruit trees, and other measures of great im-
portance to the agricultural interests, were introduced
by him and pushed through by his energy and manage-
ment.

Mr. Hollister was married April 12, 1880, to Miss
Flora May Stocking, a native of Bloomfield, Sonoma
County, California, and two children, a daughter and
son, have been born to them. Col. J. H. Hollister, his
father, died in San Luis Obispo January 5, 1873, and his
mother, September 3, 1867, both being buried in the
county of San Luis Obispo.

His three sisters, Mrs. Jack of San Luis Obispo, Mrs.
Stowe of Santa Barbara, and Mrs. Banning of Los
Angeles, are among the most elegant, accomplished,
and admired ladies of the Golden State. Mr. Hollister
is an active and respected member of the Patrons of
Husbandry, of the Masonic Order, and the Knights of
Pythias, and connects himself with all public matters in
an intelligent and progressive manner. Although yet
young, he has become prominent among his fellow-
citizens, who look with pride upon his advances and
success.

'■If}

^

THE MISSIONARIES.

49

them, and the Santa Margarita Range, with its deeply
furrowed sides, and the mantle of silvery mist which at
times it throws around its brow, when the bleak winds
from the ocean rush along the valleys, and scream through
its narrow gorges and wooded defiles.

THE DARK AGES.

It has ever been, and is even yet, a custom with the
thoughtless to attempt to undervalue the inestimable serv-
ices rendered to the world by the missionaries of Christ.
The migration of successive hordes of barbarians, issu-
ing from northern and central Asia, and spreading over
northern and western Europe, culminated in the fifth
century, in the destruction of the Western Roman Em-
pire; which great event marked the commencement of
what is known as the Dark Ages, and overwhelmed west-
ern Europe with a flood of ignorance and savagery un-
exampled in the history of mankind. Cities which had
withstood the storms of a thousand years, inclosing within
their walls the richest products of the civilization and
refinement of ages, were involved in the general ruin.
So terrible was the visitation, so incalculable the amount
of human suffering which ensued, that it was proclaimed,
and confidently believed, that the end of the world was
near at hand. But they were false prophets, those who
prophesied. All efforts of mere brute force are short-
lived, and at best produce but temporary anarchy and
confusion. It has been said, and it is an impregnable
truth, that the meek, silent light can mould, create, and
purify all nature; but the loud whirlwind, the products of
disunion, of weakness, passes and is forgotten,

No! it is not the rush of devastating armies, clothed
with all the vulgar pomp and circumstance of war, sweep-
ing over the face of the earth with sword and firebrand,
like fiends fresh from hell, that produce permanent effects
in human affairs. They are but physical appliances,
and of necessity, and in accordance with unvarying laws,
can leave no lasting impression upon the fortunes of the
human race.

THE IDEAL ELEMENTS

Alone are indestructible in their effects. The creative
energy of mind, faith, genius, truth — they shape the out-
ward man, and direct his course onward, and ever on-
ward, far into the realm of thought, where may be found
the grand intellectual powers that will give us the golden
key to knowledge, and with which we may even unlock
the portals of the depths of space, from whence we may
discover and understand the immutable laws which gov-
ern the universe, and hold systems of worlds within their
iron grasp. In the dark-night which followed the overthrow
of the Western Roman Empire, could be discovered the
light of the gospel of Christ shining through deep gloom,
which hung like a pall over the ruins of ancient civiliza-
tion and refinement. It was upheld by fearless, intrepid
men who braved all dangers in the interest of Him
whose purpose it was that wars should cease, and that
peace should reign on earth.

THE GOOD WORK OF THE MONKS.

Indeed, it were difficult to estimate the value of the
services rendered to mankind, during this period, by
the missionaries of the Christian Church. They threw
themselves fearlessly in the midst of the most appalling
dangers, armed only with the fervor of religious zeal;
and with spiritual weapons alone achieved triumphs, com-
pared with which the mightiest efforts of the genius of war
pale into utter insignificance. Modern civilization and
refinement may be traced directly to their efforts in be-
half of humanity. They went forth boldly to barbarian
Kings on the banks of the Rhine, the Danube, the Elbe,
and the more distant shores of the Baltic Sea; and suc-

ceeded in Christianizing and civilizing barbaric hordes,
whose fierceness was seldom equalled, never surpassed.
And during the same period they preserved the inestima-
ble remains of Athenian and Roman genius — all that was
left of the past eras of human civilization and refine-
ment. After laying deep the foundation of modern
European civilization, we see them still pushing outward
to the farthest extremities of the known world, despising
all dangers, enduring the most terrible privations, suffer-
ing hunger, thirst and martj'rdom, aggravated by the
most exquisite torture that savage cruelty could inflict.

But the places of those who fall are soon filled by
others, who lift again the banner of the cross and march
on; now piercing the frozen regions of the North, and
crossing mountain chains, where the fierce and wintry
blasts start the avalanche, hurling it headlong down the
steep declivities; now braving the deadly miasmas in the
wilds of fiery climes; ministering unto those who,
stricken down by pestilential disease, recline " beneath
the spreading tamarind, which shakes, fanned by the
breeze, its fever-cooling fruit."

Crossing the Indian Sea they came to the Moluccas,
thence to Japan, to China, in the heart of Asia, in the
Indies, in Ethiopia, in South Africa, among the warhke
Kaffirs; then, crossing the stormy Atlantic, they pierce
the heart of this continent; now in Canada among the
Hurons, now on the banks of the Mississippi, in Brazil,
in Paraguay, in the country of the Montezumas; and
loo years ago, as the sun was slowly sinking behind the
Islay hills, throwing lingering rays of light across the
valleys, like farewell smiles, tinging the rugged slopes of
the Santa Margarita with a purple hue, they arrived
here, weary, worn, and travel-stained, and rested beside
the limpid waters of the stream which flows past us,
almost at our feet.

Looking back through the dim vista of 300 years, we
find nothing in the history of the race that can compare
in true grandeur and sublimity, and in enduring effects,
with the achievements of these servants of Christ, who
went forth to preach his word to all nations, provided
with neither gold, nor silver, nor scrip, for their journey.
The Sesostrises, the Alexanders, the Hannibals, the
Scipios, the Csesars, the Napoleons, supported by veteran
armies, and backed by the resources of powerful States,
and encouraged by the applause of multitudes, astonished
mankind by the brilliancy of their deeds; iaut, meteor-
like, they followed each other rapidly, leaving tracks of
dazzling radiance, producing only temporary effects,
which were soon swept away, and disappeared forever in
the dark mists of time. But the deeds of those intrepid
soldiers of the cross are as indestructible as time itself,
for they are not based upon the spirit of murder and
wholesale slaughter, nor upon the tears of the widow and
the cries of the fatherless, but ujion the noblest principles,
faith, hope, charity, brotherly love, and appeal only to the
immortal part of our nature, pointing ever hea\enward,
and teaching us the value of that most wonderful of all
the known works of the Almighty — the human soul.

CALIFORNIA EXPLORERS.

In the year 1542 Cabrillo discovered California. The
coast was afterwards visited by Sir Francis Drake, and,
some years later, by Vizcayno. But it was not until the
year 1769 that the work of laying the foundation of the
Pacific Empire was fairly commenced by Father Junipero
Serra.

TRIBUTE TO THE PIONEERS.

And about the middle of this century the American
pioneers, starting from the far East, some spreading their
white sails upon the blue expanse of the ocean, others
fighting step by step their way through savage tribes.

50

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

across trackless plains and mountain ranges, and all
animated with the undying vigor and terrible energy of
the Anglo-American race, came to build the superstruct-
ure upon the foundation already prepared for them. It
is not yet completed, but in its still unfinished state, its
beauty, its symmetry, the exquisite harmony of its vast
proportions, strike mankind with mingled feelings of sur-
prise and awe. The choice spirits, the picked men of all
the nations of the earth, are flocking in upon us to help
in the great work of rearing an empire based upon the
indestructible elements of religion, courage, self-denial,
genius, moral freedom, and dauntless resolution and
enterprise. The mind is fairly bewildered when it even
attempts to picture the future glory, power, and influence
of a ]jolitical fabric based upon such elements as these,
placed in a position so commanding, and with surround
ings so magnificent, situated where there is no beyond;
on the shores of the grandest ocean facing the oldest,
richest, and most populous countries of the world, which
contains the hoarded treasures of the primeval dynasties,
and backed and supported on the east by the untiring,
restless energy of the master races of the earth, and
containing within itself resources so varied and illimitable
as to challenge the admiration and the wonder of
nations.

Let us, then, rise to noble conceptions of our splendid
destiny; let us feel that our work is not yet finished; that,
having aided in carrying freedom, knowledge, religion,
and a higher civilization across arid plains and deserts,
and over stormy seas, to the utmost verge of the conti-
nent; here in California, overlooking the white-crested
waves of the Pacific, and fronting the effete barbaric
despotisms of Asia, we are now erecting an empire which
in time may eclipse all the others of the earth. Still we
must remember that the great work will admit of no
pause; to stop, to wait, would be but to recede, to perish.

Let us keep our fire burning; let us feed its breath,
until it flashes afar over the broad Pacific, that other
nations besides the Japanese shall cry out: A gleam!
a gleam! not from Ida's but from California's heights.
And farther and farther it will spread, from shore to shore,
from cliff" to cliff", across Siberian wilds and China's fruitful
vales, to where the Tartar wheels his steed, till Himalaya's
snowy peaks herald the giant flame o'er tents of turbaned
hordes, to where the crescent shines and " Arab camels
kneel," and lo! westward the Star of Empire has flashed
its rays.

APOSTROPHE TO THE MISSIONARIES.

Then all hail, noblest pioneers of the Prince of Peace!
harbingers of civilization, whose mission it was to teach
mankind the sacredness of human nature; to save that
which was lost; to lift up the fallen; to succor the misera-
ble; to comfort and console those who "ache for the dark
house and the long sleep;" and to point out the path
which leads beyond the grave to a nobler existence, where
the weary will find rest and where sorrow is unknown.
Again, all hail to that gallant band of American pioneers
who, following closely upon the footsteps of the scattered
few who preceded them, came to rear the superstructure
of the grandest moral empire the world had yet seen.
When finished it will defy the attacks of time, and its daz-
zling light is destined to dispel the darkness of Asiatic
ignorance, and extend the blessings of civilization, free-
dom, and knowledge to the primeval nations of the earth.

CHAPTER VI L

CALIFORNIA UNDER MEXICO.

Pleasant Memories — Prosperous Rancheros — Generous Hospitality
— Californians in 1835 — General Style of Dress of the People
— Pure and Mixed Blood — Fine Voices — California Money-
Methods of Travel — Californian's Easter Sunday — Singular
Funeral — Cock Fighting— A Horse Race — Dancing — Descrip-
tion of a Festival, January 10, 1836 — Curious Custom — Love's
Offering — Twenty-four Years Later — Captain John Wilson —
Reminiscences — Return Voyage — California Customs — The
Carreta — A Manly Race — Schools — Fecundity of the People —
Their Tables — The Family at Home — Weddings — The Ladies'
Costumes — Caballero's Dress — Funeral Customs — Postal Sys-
tem — Hospitable Californians — The Ranchos — The Rodeos —
A Changed Condition — Ecclesiastical or Monkish Government.

I HE happy days of the ranchero period — from the
missions to the gold discovery — is the theme upon
which the Californian who lived in that time loves
to dwell. They were the elysian days of this pleasant
land, around which romance, aided by sweet memory,
has thrown an enchanting glamour that at the present
date rises to an absorbing interest. Those whose mem-
ories reach into that delightful era of the past see it in
their imagination as it was to them thirty, and forty, and
fifty years ago, when they were children thoughtless of
the morrow; when they were joyous youths without the
responsible cares of life, seeking the pleasures and ani-
mated by the buoyant spirit given them by the healthful
climate and the manly exercise incident to the rancho;
when they were in their stalwart prime with simple wants
easily supplied; an abundance for all according to the
customs of the country; positions in society established
without envy, jealousy, or contention; politeness, hospi-
tality and fraternity on every hand, and when all were
intent on enjoying the present with an abiding confidence
in the welfare of the future. If these were old people
scheming for wealth, planning with the officers of the
Government to extend their broad leagues and swell their
vast herds, or to get, at low rates of duty through the
custom house, their silks, and satins, and velvets, and
prunella, and laces, and pretty slippers, and gingling but-
tons, and snowy linens, and stylish sotnbreros, and
the many other fancy things they loved for dress; or plan-
ning again to overthrow the Government, and place them-
selves or friends in power; we know not of them now,
they have gone to their dust, or remember only the pleas-
ures, the comforts, the ease, and the loved ones of their
early life. Now is remembered the broad, open country,
the prolific herds of cattle which afforded food and rev-
enue with but little labor, the great bands of prancing
horses, the skillful and dashing horseman, the fancy and
graceful costume, the richly and gaily caparisoned steed,
the pleasant fandango, the musical Spanish tongue, the
dolce far niente of Spanish times, the days of youth and
long ago.

PROSPEROUS RANCHEROS.

From the bay of San Francisco to San Diego was the
California of that period. About and north of the great
bay the Americans were settling in threatening numbers,
but south the predominating power was Spanish, and all

CALIFORNIA UNDER MEXICO.

A^

ey or Sanra/A^'*

strangers, being of the male sex, had so assimilated with
the natives that they had become of them, marrying into
their families, speaking their language, professing their
religion, adopting their customs, and naturalizing as citi-
zens. This region may therefor be regarded as purely
Spanish. That portion now organized as San Luis
Obispo County, was most sparsely settled of all the coast,
there being but the families and a few dependents on the
great ranchos and at the missions, the Danas, Sparks,
Price, Villavicencia, and Branch in the southern part;
Avila, Wilson, Pico, Cantua, Estrada, Linares, Stenner,
Gaxiola, Villa, Gonzales, Feliz, McKinley, Pujol, Quin-
tana, Herrera, Bonilla, and Padre Gomez, near the mission
and on the coast; Estrada, Rios, and a few others east of
the Santa Lucia, and we have about all the principal resi-
dents of the ante-American time.

GENEROUS HOSPITALITY.

The roads from rancho to rancho were but trails, the
traveling being by horseback, the wheeled vehicles (caretas)
seldom venturing far from the rancho where made.
Hospitality was unbounded, and the wayfarer was always
welcomed as at home. Particularly was the welcome
kind to the American, who, says Mr. Price, the veteran
of Pismo, "were looked up to as gods; there was nothing
too good for them; but that was before the gold discov-
ery; since then the native Californians have been treated so
badly that they don't think so much of the Yankees as
they used to." There were no hotels, but every house
and mission was open to all to the utmost capacity it
could entertain, and, instead of expecting pay, whenever
circumstances would justify, money was delicately ten-
dered to the visitor by leaving it at his bedside to help
himself if he chose. With a saddle and bridle of his own
he could, and was expected to catch a fresh horse every
morning, turning it loose when exhausted or at the
journey's end. If such a stranger as to have no riding
equipments, they were supplied, and an attache of the
rancho sent as guide, and to bring back the animals.

There were none so poor as not to willingly tender
all the hospitality their home afforded, and in man-
ner and politeness becoming a courtier of royalty.
Politeness was instinctive to the people. The elder peo-
ple were polite to each other, and the children knew no
other customs. Their manners were as graceful as polite,
thus giving a charm to their society that proved the
unyielding attraction that bound many rovers to the
land, becoming willing life prisoners to the fair Donas.
The hunters and trappers who came by land to the Cali-
fornia coast, and the shipmasters and sailors who landed
upon it from the sea were thus received, converted from
the faith of their fathers, and made citizens of the country.
Safely may it be said that none ever regretted their
capture.

CALIFORNIANS IN 1835.

A description of the people of California was written
in 1835 t>y Richard H. Dana, a cousin of the late Capt.
W. G. Dana, of Nipomo, and published in his delightful
book entitled "Two Years Before the Mast." This
description will be interesting at this date, although the

scenes he describes occurred either at Monterey or San
Barbara, some of the people he mentions were citizens or -^A,
closely connected with citizens of San Luis Obispo: —

GENERAL STYLE OF DRESS OF THE PEOPLE.

The dress of the men was as I have before described
it. The women wore gowns of various texture — silks,
crape, calicoes, etc. — made after the European style, ex-
cept that the sleeves were short, leaving the arms bare, and
that they were loose about the waist, corsets not being in
use. They wore shoes of kid or satin, sashes or belts of
bright colors, and almost always a necklace and ear-rings.
Bonnets, they had none. I only saw one on the coast,
and that belonged to the wife of an American sea cap-
tain, who had settled in San Diego, and had imported the
chaotic mass of straw and ribbon, as a choice present to
his new wife. They wear their hair (which is almost in-
varibly black, or a very dark brown) long in their necks, .
sometimes loose, and sometimes in long braids, though
the married women often do it up on a high comb.
Their only protection against the sun and weather is a
large mantle which they put over their heads, drawing it
close round their faces, when they go out of doors, which
is generally only in pleasant weather. When in the house,
or sitting out in front of it, which they often do in fine
weather, they usually wear a small scarf or neckerchief
of a rich pattern. A band, also, about the top of the
head, with a cross, star, or other ornament in front is
common.

PURE AND MIXED BLOOD.

Their complexions are various, depending — as well
as their dress and manner — upon the amount of Spanish
blood they can lay claim to, which also settles their social
rank. Those who are of pure Spanish blood, having
never intermarried with the aborigines, have clear bru-
nette complexions, and sometimes even as fair as those
of English women. There are but few of these fami-
lies in California, being mostly those in official stations,
or who, on the expiration of their terms of office, have
settled here upon property they have acquired, and others
who have been banished for State offenses. These form
the upper class, intermarrying and keeping up an exclu-
sive system in every respect. They can be distinguished,
not only by their complexion, dress, and manners, but
also by their speech; for, calling themselves Castilians,
they are very ambitious of speaking the pure Castilian,
while all Spanish is spoken in a somewhat corrupted dia-
lect by the lower classes. From this upper class they go
down by regular shades, growing more and more dark
and muddy, until you come to the pure Indian, who runs
about with nothing upon him but a small piece of cloth,
kept up by a wide leather strap drawn around his waist.

Generally speaking, each person's caste is decided by
the quality of the blood, which shows itself, too plainly
to be concealed, at first sight. Yet the least drop of
Spanish blood, if it be only of quadroon or octoroon, is
sufficient to raise one from the position of a serf, and en-
title him to wear a suit of clothes, boots, hat, cloak, spurs,
long knife, all complete, though coarse and dirty as may
be, and to call himeslf Espaiiol, and to hold property, if
he can get any. The fondness for dress among women
is excessive, and is sometimes their ruin. A present of
a fine mantle, or necklace, or pair of ear-rings gains the
favor of the greater part. Nothing is more common than
to see a woman living in a house of only two rooms, with
the ground for a floor, dressed in spangled satin shoes,
silk gown, high comb, and gilt, if not gold earrings and
necklace. If their husbands do not dress them well,
they will soon receive presents from others. They used
to spend whole days on board our vessel, examining the
fine clothes and ornaments, and frequently making pur-

.%

52

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

chases at a rate which would have made a seamstress or
waiting maid in Boston open her eyes.

FINE VOICES.

Next to the love of dress, I was most struck witji the
fineness of the voices and beauty of the intonations of
both sexes. Every common ruffian-looking fellow, with
a slouched hat, blanket cloak, dirty underdress, and soiled
leather leggins, appeared to me to be speaking elegant
Spanish. It was a pleasure to listen simply to the sound
of the language before I could attach any meaning to it.
They have a good deal of the Creole drawl, but it is
varied by an occasional extreme rapidity of utterance in
which they seem to skip from consonant to consonant,
until, lighting upon a broad open vowel, they rest upon that
to restore the balance of sound. The women carry this
peculiarity of speaking to a much greater extreme than
the men, who have more evenness and stateliness of ut-
terance. A common bullock-driver on horseback, de-
livering a message, seemed to speak like an embassador at
a royal audience. In fact, they sometimes appeared to
me to be a people on whom a curse had fallen, and
stripped them of everything but their pride, their manners,
and their voices.

CALIFORNIA MONEY.

Another thing that surprised me was the quantity of

silver in circulation The truth is they have

no credit system, no banks, and no way of investing
money but in cattle. Besides silver, they have no circu-
lating medium but hides, which the sailors call "Cali-
fornia bank notes." Everything that they buy must be
paid for by one or the other of these means. The hides
they bring down dried and doubled, in clumsy ox-carts,
or upon mules' backs, and the money they carry tied up
in handkerchiefs, fifty or a hundred dollars and half-dol-
lars.

METHODS OF TRAVEL.

The men appeared to me to be always on horseback.
Horses are as abundant out here as dogs and chickens
were in Juan Fernandez. There are no stables to keep
them in, but they are allowed to run wild and graze
wherever they please, being branded, and having long
leather ropes, called lassoes, attached to their necks and
dragging along behind them, by which they can be easily
taken.

The men usually catch one in the morning, throw a
saddle and bridle upon him, and use him for the day, and
let him go at night, catching another the next day.
When they go on long journeys, they ride one horse
down, and catch another, throw the saddle and bridle
upon him, and after riding him down, take a third and
so on to the end of the journey. There are probably
no better riders in the world. They are put upon a
horse when only four or five years old, their legs not
long enough to come half-way over his sides, and may
almost be said to keep on him until they have grown to
him.

The stirrups are covered, or boxed up in front, to pre-
vent their catching when riding through the woods; and
the saddles are large and heavy, strapped very tight upon
the horse, and have large pommels, or loggerheads, in
front, around which the lasso is coiled when not in use.
They can hardly go from one house to another without
mounting a horse, there being generally several standing
tied to the door-posts of the little cottages. When they
wish to show their activity they make no use of their
stirrups in mounting, but, striking the horse, spring into
the saddle as he starts, and, sticking their long spurs into
him, go off on the full run. Their spurs are cruel things,
having four or five rowels, each an inch in length, dull
and rusty.

The flanks of the horses are often sore from them, and
I have seen men come in from chasing bullocks, with
their horses' hind legs and quarters covered with blood.
They frequently give exhibitions of their horsemanship
in races, bull-baitings, etc.

CALIFORNIANS' EASTER SUNDAY.

Liberty was allowed us on Easter Sunday and we were
permitted to go ashore and misspend the day. Suppos-
ing that the whole day would be too long a time to
spend ashore, as there was no place to which we could
take a ride, we remained quietly on board until after din-
ner. We were then pulled ashore in the stern of the
boat — for it is a point with liberty-men to be pulled off
and back as passengers by their ship-mates — and, with
orders to be taken on the beach at sundown, we took
our way for the town. There everything wore the ap-
pearance of a holiday. The people were dressed in their
best; the men riding about among the houses, and the
women sitting on carpets before the doors. Under the
piazza of a pulperia two men were seated, decked out
with knots of ribbons and bouquets, and playing the
violin and the Spanish guitar. These are the only instru-
ments, with the exception of the drums and trumpets at
Monterey, that I ever heard in California, and I suspect
they play upon no others, for at a great fandango, at which
I was afterward present, and where they mustered all the
music they could find, there were three violins and two
guitars, and no other instruments. As it was now too
near the middle of the day to see any dancing, and hear-
ing that a bull was expected down from the country to be
baited in the presidio square, in the course of an hour
or two, we took a stroll among the houses.

SINGULAR FUNERAL.

Inquiring for an American, who, we had been told,
had married in the place, and kept a shop, we were
directed to a long, low building, at the end of which
was a door, with a sign over it, in Spanish. Entering the
shop, we found no one in it, and the whole had an empty,
deserted air. In a few minutes the man made his appear-
ance and apologized for having nothing to entertain us
with, saying that he had had a fandango at his house
the night before, and the people had eaten and drank up
everything.

" O, yes !" said I, " Easter holidays."

"No!" said he, with a singular expression on his face ;
"I had a little daughter die the other day, and that's the
custom of the country." At this I felt somewhat awk-
wardly, not knowing what to say, and whether to offer
consolation or not, and was beginning to retire, when he
opened a side door, and told us to walk in. Here I
was no less astonished; for I found a large room, filled
with young girls, from three or four years of age up to
fifteen and sixteen, dressed all in white, with wreaths of
flowers on their heads, and bouquets in their hands. Fol-
lowing our conductor among these girls, who were playing
about in high spirits, we came to a table, at the end of
the room, covered with a white cloth, on which lay a cof-
fin, about three feet long, with the body of his child.
The coffin was covered with white cloth, and lined with
white satin, and was strewn with flowers.

Through an open door we saw in another room a few
elderly people, in common dress, while the benches and
tables, thrown up in a corner, and the stained walls, gave
evidence of the last night's " high go." Feeling, like Gar-
rick between tragedy and comedy, an uncertainty of
purpose, I asked the man when the funeral would take
place, and being told that it would move toward the mis-
sion in about an hour, took my leave. To pass away
the time we hired horses and rode to the beach, and
there saw three or four Italian sailors, mounted, and

CALIFORNIA UNDER MEXICO.

53

riding up and down the hard sand at a furious rate. We
joined them and found it fine sport. The beach gave us
a stretch of a mile or more, and the horses flew over the
smooth, hard sand, apparently invigorated and excited
by the salt sea-breeze and by the continual roar and dash-
ing of the breakers.

From the beach we returned to therown, and, finding
that the funeral procession had moved, rode on and over-
took it, about half-way up to the mission. Here was as
peculiar a sight as we had seen before in the house, the
one looking as much like a funeral procession as the
other did like a house of mourning.

The little coffin was borne by eight girls, who were
continually relieved by others running forward from the
procession and taking their places. Behind it came a
straggling company of girls, dressed, as before, in white
and flowers, and including, I should suppose by their
number, nearly all the girls between five and fifteen in
the place. They played along on the way, frequently
stopping and running altogether to talk to some one, or
to pick up a flower, and then running on again to over-
take the coffin.

There were a few elderly women in common colors,
and a herd of young men and boys, some on foot and
others mounted, followed them, or walked or rode by
their side, frequently interrupting them by jokes and
questions.

But the most singular thing of all was that two men
walked, one on each side of the coffin, carrying muskets
in their hands, which they continually loaded and fired
into the air. Whether this was to keep off" the evil spirits
or no I do not know. It was the only interpretation that
I could put upon it.

As we drew near the mission, we saw the great gate
thrown open, and the padre standing on the steps
with a crucifix in his hand. The mission is a large and
deserted-looking place, the out-buildings going to ruin,
and everything giving one the impression of decayed
grandeur. A large stone fountain threw out pure water
from four mouths into a basin before the church door,
and we were on the point of riding up to it to let our
horses drink, when it occurred to us that it might be con-
secrated and we forebore. Just at this moment the bells
set up their harsh, discordant clangor, and the procession
moved into the court. I wished to follow and see the
ceremony, but the horse of one of my companions had
become frightened and was tearing off toward the town,
and, having thrown his rider, and got one of his hoofs
caught in the tackling of the saddle, which had slipped,
was fast dragging and ripping it to pieces. Knowing
that my shipmate could not speak a word of Spanish, and
fearing that he might get into difficulty, I was obliged to
leave the ceremony and ride after him.

I soon overtook him trudging along, swearing at the
horse, and carrying the remains of the saddle, which he
had picked up on the road. Going to the owner of the
horse, we made a settlement with him and found him
surprisingly liberal. All parts of the saddle were brought
back, and being capable of repair, he was satisfied with six
reals. We thought it would have been a few dollars. We
pointed to the horse, which was now halfway up one of
the mountains, but he shook his head, saying, "No im-
porte," and giving us to understand that he had plenty
more.

COCK FIGHTING.

Having returned to the town, we saw a crowd collected
in the square before the principal pulperia, and, riding
up, found that all these people — men, women, and chil-
dren, had been drawn together by a couple of bantam
cocks. The cocks were in full tilt, springing into one an-
other, and the people were as eager, laughing and shout-
ing, as though the combatants had been men.

There had been a disappointment about the bull; he
had broken his bail and taken himself off, and it was too
late to get another, s'o the people were obliged to put up
with a cock fight. One of the bantams having been
knocked in the head and having an eye put out, gave in,
and two monstrous prize cocks were brought on. These
were the objects of the whole affair, the bantams having
been merely served up as a first course to collect the
people together. Two fellows came into the ring holding
the cocks in their arms and stroking them, and running
about on all fours, encouraging and setting them on.
Bets ran high, and like most other contests, it remained
for some time undecided. Both cocks showed great
pluck, and fought probably better and longer than their
masters would have done. Whether in the end it was the
white or red that beat I do not recollect, but whichever
it was he strutted off with the true veni-vidi-vid look,
leaving the other panting on his beam ends.

A HORSE RACE.

This matter having been settled, we heard some talk
about "caballos" and "carrera," and seeing the people
streaming off in one direction, we followed, and came
upon a level piece of ground just out of the town, which
was used as a race-course. Here the crowd soon became
thick again, the ground was marked off, the judges sta-
tioned, and the horses led up to one end. Two fine-
looking old gentlemen — Don Carlos and Don Domingo,
so-called — held the stakes, and all was now ready. We
waited some time, during which we could just see the
horses, twisting round and turning, until, at length, there
was a shout along the line.-, and on they came, heads
stretched out and eyes starting, working all over, both
man and beast. The steeds came by us like a couple of
chain shot, neck and neck, and now we could see nothing
of them but their backs and their hind hoofs flying in
the air. As fast as the horses passed, the crowd broke up
behind them and ran to the goal. When we got there we
found the horses returning on a slow walk, having run far
beyond the mark, and heard that the long bony one had
come in head and shoulders before the other. The riders
were light-built men, had handkerchiefs tied around their
heads, and were bare-armed and bare-legged. The horses
were noble-looking beasts, not so sleek and combed as our
Boston stable horses, but with fine limbs and spirited eyes.
After this had been settled and fully talked over, the
crowd scattered again, and flocked back to the town.

DANCING.

Returning to the large pulperia, we heard the violin and
guitar screaming and twanging away, under the piazza
where they had been all day.

As it was now sundown, there began to be some danc-
ing. The Italian sailors danced, and one of our crew
exhibited himself in a sort of West India shuffle, much
to the amusement of the bystanders, who cried out,
''BravoF' ''Otra Ves!" and " Vivianlos Marineros!" but the
dancing did not become general, as the women and the
gente de razon had not yet made their appearance.
We wished very muo*i to stay and see the style of danc-
ing, but, although we had our own way during the day, yet
we were after all but fore-mast jacks, and, having been
ordered to be on the beach by sunset, did not venture to
be more than an hour behind time, so we took our way
down.

DESCRIPTION OF A FESTIVAL, JANUARY lO, 1836.

Great preparations were now being made on shore for
the marriage of our agent,* who was to marry Dona Anita
de la Guerra de Noriega y Carrillo, youngest daughter of

'* Alfred Robinson, of Boston.

54

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

Don Antonio Noriega, the grandee of the place, and the
head of the first family in California.

Our steward was ashore three days making pastry and
cake, and some of the best of our stores were sent off
with him. On the day appointed for the wedding, we
took the Captain ashore in the gig, and had orders to come
for him at night, with leave to go up to the house and see
the fandango. Returning on board we found preparations
making for a salute. Our guns were loaded and run out,
men appointed to each, cartridges served out, matches
lighted, and all the flags ready to be run up. I took my
place at the starboard after gun, and we all waited for the
signal from on shore. At ten o'clock the bride went up
with her sister to the confessional, dressed in black.
Nearly an hour intervened, when the great doors of the
mission church opened, the bells rang out a loud discord-
ant peal, the private signal for us was run up by the Cap-
tain ashore, the bride, dressed in complete white, came
out of the church with the bridegroom, followed by a long
procession.

Just as she stepped from the church door, a small
white cloud issued from the bows of our ship, which was
full in sight, the loud report echoed among the hills and
over the bay, and instantly the ship was dressed in flags
and penants from stem to stern. Twenty-three guns fol-
lowed in regular succession, with an interval of fifteen
seconds between each, when the cloud blew off and our
ship lay dressed in her colors all day. At sundown
another salute of the same number of guns was fired, and
all the flags run down.

This we thought was pretty well — a gun every fifteen
seconds — for a merchant-man with only four guns and a
dozen or twenty men.

After supper the gig's crew were called and we rowed
ashore, dressed in full uniform, beached the boat, and
went up to the fandango. The bride's father's house was
the principal one in the place, with a large court in front,
upon which a tent was built, capable of containing sev-
eral hundred people. As we drew near we heard the
accustomed sound of violins and guitars, and saw a great
motion of the people within. Going in we found nearly
all the people of the town — men, women, and children,
collected and crowded together, leaving barely room for
the dancers; for on these occasions no invitations are
given, but every one is expected to come, though there is
always a private entertainment within the house for par-
ticular friends.

The old women sat down in rows, clapping their hands
to the music and applauding the young ones.

The music was lively, and among the tunes we recog-
nized several of our popular airs, which we, without doubt,
have taken from the Spanish.

In the dancing I was much disappointed. The women
stood upright with their hands down by their sides, their
eyes fixed upon the ground before them, and slided about
without any perceptible means of motion; for their feet
were invisible, the hem of their dresses forming a circle
about them, reaching to the ground. They looked as
grave as though they were going through some religious
ceremony, their faces as little excited as their limbs, and
on the whole, instead of the spirited, fascinating, Spanish
dances which I had expected, I found the Californian
fandango, on the part of the women at least, a lifeless
affair.

The men did better. They danced with grace and
spirit, moving in circles around their nearly stationary
partners and showing their figures to advantage.

A great deal was said about our friend Don Juan
Bandini, and when he did appear, which was toward the
close of the evening, he certainly gave us the most grace-
ful ..dancing that I had ever seen. He was dressed in
white pantaloons, neady made, a short jacket of dark silk

gaily figured, white stockings and thin morocco slippers
upon his very small feet. His slight and graceful figure
was well adapted to dancing, and he moved about with
the grace and daintiness of a young fawn.

He was loudly applauded, and danced frequently
toward the close of the evening. After the supper the
waltzing began, which was confined to a very few of the
gente de razon, and was considered a high accomplish-
ment, and a mark of aristocracy. Here, too, Don Juan
figured greatly, waltzing with the sister of the bride (Dona
Augustia, a handsome and a general favorite), in a variety
of beautiful figures, which lasted as much as half an hour,
no one else taking the floor. They were repeatedly and
loudly applauded, the old men and women jumping out
of their seats in admiration, and the young people waving
their hats and handkerchiefs.

CURIOUS CUSTOM.

The great amusement of the evening — owing to its
being the carnival — was the breaking of eggs filled with
cologne, or other essences, upon the heads of the com-
pany. The women bring a great number of these secretly
about them, and the amusement is to break one upon the
head of a gentleman when his back is turned. He is
bound in gallantry to find out the lady and return the
compliment, though it must not be done if the person
sees you. A tall, stately Don, with immense gray
whiskers, and a look of great importance, was standing
before me, when I felt a light hand upon my shoulder,
and, turning round, saw Dona Augustia, whom we all
knew, as she had been up to Monterey and down again
in the Alert, with her finger upon her lip, motioning me
gently aside. I stepped back a little, when she went up
behind the Don, and with one hand knocked off his huge
sombrero, and at the same instant with the other, broke
the egg upon his head, and springing behind me, was out
of sight in a moment. The Don turned slowly round,
the cologne running down his face and over his clothes,
and a loud laugh breaking out from every quarter. A
great many such tricks were played, and many a war of
sharp manoeuvering was carried on between couples of the
younger people, and at every successful exploit a general
laugh was raised.

love's offering.

Another of their games I was for some time at a loss
about. A pretty young girl was dancing, named after
what would appear to us an almost sacrilegious custom of
the country, Espritu Santa, when a young man went
behind her and placed his hat directly upon her head,
letting it fall down over her eyes, and sprang back among
the crowd. She danced for some time with the hat on,
when she threw it off, which called forth a general shout,
and the young man was obliged to go out upon the floor
and pick it up. I soon began to suspect the meaning of
the thing, and was afterwards told that it was a compli-
ment, and an offer to become the lady's gallant for the
rest of the evening, and to wait upon her home.

The Captain sent for us about ten o'clock, and we went
aboard in high spirits, having enjoyed the new scene
much, and were of great importance among the crew,
from having so much to tell, and from the prospect of
going every night until it was over ; for these fandangoes
generally last three days. The next day two of us were
sent up town, and took care to come back by way of
Senor Noriega's and take a look into the booth. The
musicians were again there, upon their platform, scraping
and twanging away, and a few people, apparently of the
lower classes, were dancing. The dancing is kept up, at
intervals, throughout the day, but the crowd, the spirit,
and the elite come in at night. The next night, which
was the last, we went ashore in the same manner, until

CALIFORNIA UNDER MEXICO.

55

we got almost tired of the monotonous twang of the
instruments, the drawling sounds which the women kept
up, as an accompaniment, and the slapping of the hands
in time with the music in place of castanets. We found
ourselves as great objects of attention as any persons or
anything at the place. Our sailors' dresses were much
admired, and we were invited from every quarter to give
them an American dance. Our agent, with a tight, black,
swallow-tailed coat, just imported from Boston, a high,
stiff cravat, looking as if he had been pinned and skewered,
with only his feet and hands left free, took the floor just
after Bandini, and we thought they had had enough of
Yankee grace. The last night they kept it up in grand
style, and were getting into a "high go," when the Captain
called us off" to go aboard, for, it being southeaster sea-
son, he was afraid to remain on shore long; and it was
well that he did not, for that night we slipped our cables,
as a crowner to our fun ashore, and stood off before a
southeaster, which lasted twelve hours, and returned to
our anchorage the next day.

TWENTY-FOUR YEARS LATER,

In 1859, Mr. Dana again visited the Pacific Coast, this
time as a passenger on the then floating palace, as it
was called, steamship Golden Gate. The great change
was noticed. California was American, gold mining
was the great excitement, and San Francisco instead of
Monterey was the great city. He relates seeing many
familiar objects, and meeting a number of those he had
become acquainted with on his earlier voyage. The
following extract from his journal relates to a trip down
the coast; —

Saturday, August 20, 1859. — The steamer Senator
makes regular trips up and down the coast, between
San Francisco and San Diego, calling at intermediate
ports. This is my opportunity to revisit the old scenes.
She sails to-day, and I am off", steaming among the great
clippers anchored in the harbor, and gliding rapidly
round the point, past Alcatraz Island, the light-house,
and through the fortified Golden Gate, and bending to
the southeast, all down in two or three hours, which, in
the Alert, under canvas, with head tides, variable winds,
and sweeping currents to deal with, took us full two days.

CAPTAIN JOHN WILSON.

Among the passengers I noticed an elderly gentleman,
thin, with sandy hair and a face that seemed familiar.
He took off his gloves and showed one shriveled hand.
It must be he! I went up to him and said, "Captain
AVilson,* I believe." Yes, that was his name. " I
knew you, sir, when you commanded the Ayacucho on
this coast in old hide-droghing times, in 1835-36." He
was quickened by this, and at once inquiries were made
on each side, and we were in full talk about the Pilgrim
and Alert, Ayacucho, and Loriotte, the California, and
Lagoda. I found he had been very much flattered by
the praise I had bestowed in my book on his seaman-
ship, especially in bringing the Pilgrim to her berth in
San Diego harbor, after she had drifted successively into
the Lagoda and Loriotte, and was coming into him. I
had made a pet of his brig, the Ayacucho, which pleased
him almost as much as my remembrance of his bride
and their wedding, which I saw at Santa Barbara in

* Capt. John Wilson was a native of Scotland, came from Peru in 1830, was a
shipmaster on the coast for a number of years, then merchant and ratichero,
owning the ranches Los Osos y Pecho y Islay, the Chorro. and other lands.
He married Dofia Ramona Pacheco, widow of Don Romualdo Pacheco, a
Colonel of the Mexican army on the staff of General Victoria, and killed by
Avila at the Cahuenga Pass near Los Angeles in 1831. She was the mother of
Governor Pacheco. Captain Wilson died in San Luis Obispo in i860, at the
age of sixty-two.

1836. Dona Ramona was now the mother of a large
family, and Wilson assured me that if I would visit him at
his rancho, near San Luis Obispo, I should find her still
a handsome woman and very glad to see me. How we
walked the deck together, hour after hour, talking over
the old times — the ships, the captains, the crews, the
traders on shore, the ladies, the missions, the south-
easters! Indeed, where could we stop? He had sold
the Ayacucho in Chili for a vessel of war, and had given
up the sea, and had been for years a ranchero. (I
learned from others that he had become one of the
most wealthy and respectable farmers in the State, and
that his rancho was well worth visiting.)

REMINISCENCES.

Old Senor Noriega, of Santa Barbara, he told me,
was dead, and Don Carlos and Don Santiago, but I
should find their children there now in middle life.
Dona Augustia,* he said, I had made famous by my
praises of her beauty and dancing, and I should have
from her a royal reception. She had been a widow and
remarried since, and had a daughter as handsome as
herself The descendants of Noriega had taken the
ancestral name of De la Guerra, as they were nobles of
old Spain by birth; and the boy Pablo, who used to
make passages in the Ale?-t, was now Don Pablo de la
Guerra, a Senator in the State Legislature for San Luis
Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties.

RETURN VOYAGE.

The steamer did not touch at the port of San Luis
Obispo in going down, and the passengers for that place
must make the voyage to San Diego and return. Mr.
Dana was on a tour of observation, visiting the localities
he had so vividly described and become so familiar with
near a quarter of a century before. At Santa Barbara
he landed in a boat as before, and found the town but
very little changed. He learns that there is no such
danger from southeasters as in former times.

Captain Wilson tells me that the climate has altered;
that the southeasters are no longer the bane of the coast
they once were, and that vessels anchor inside the kelp
at Santa Barbara and San Pedro all the year round. I
should have thought this owing to his spending his
winters on a rancho instead of the deck of the Ayacucho,
had not the same thing been told me by others.

The greater security of the anchorage probably arose
from the better knowledge of the locality, as any change
of climate is altogether improbable.

Mr. Dana found the most change at the pueblo of
Los Angeles, the trade of which justified the employ-
ment of a small tug or steam lighter, to land goods and
passengers at the port of San Pedro. San Diego had
undergone no other change than decay. The old hide
houses at the landing, four miles from the town, were in
ruins, and the mission, five miles inland from the town,
was unoccupied and going to decay. Returning north
the steamer stopped at San Luis Obispo to land Cap-
tain Wilson, whose earnest invitation to stop there and
visit him at his rancho he was obliged to decline. At
that date there were no wharves along the coast, the
landings being effected in small boats. There were no
railroads south of San Jose, and New San Diego was not

^ Doiia Maria de las Augustia de la Gueira married Don Manuel Jimeno,
Secretary of Governor Alvarado, and after his death married Dr. Ord of the
LJ. S. Army.

56

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

known. From .such sketches we obtain an occasional
view of our coast and State as it has appeared from time
to time in the past.

CALIFORNI.V CU.STOMS.

A concise and comprehensive review of the people
and their customs is found in the San Luis Obispo
Tri'fiufir, furnished by Hon. Charles H. Johnson, whose
long residence in the country, and habits of close obser-
vation render him the best authority e.xtant. He says: —

After the missions of California had been secularized,
Me.xican colonists with some foreigners who had be-
come naturalized as Mexican citizens, acquired from the
Government, through the Governors of California, grants
of large tracts of land, ranging generally in extent from
one to eleven leagues, although in some few instances
exceeding the latter figures. These grants were made
upon conditions of settlement, improvement, etc. They
were soon stocked with cattle, sheep, and horses, that
had been taken from the priests and Indians by the
administrators of the missions and distributed or sold by
them to these new proprietors. The whole of the settled
portion of California, from the secularization of the mis-
sions to a period long subsequent to the acquisition of
the country by the American Government, w-as devoted
almo.st exclusively to pastoral purposes, mainly the rear-
ing of vast herds of cattle. The small parcels of land
that were cultivated for gardens, or to raise a little wheat
or barley for domestic purposes, were broken up with hoes,
or wooden plows drawn by oxen, the grain cut with
sickles, threshed, or rather tramped out by bands of wild
mares; cleansed by throwing it high in the air upon a
windy day, and ground by women upon metatas — flat
stones. On some of the large ranches, mill-stones were
used that had been taken from the mission water mills.
A long pole being attached to the upper stone it was
revolved by pushing against the pole.

THE C.\RETA.

Transportation was effected either by traction, that is,
dragging with horses and oxen, or by means of ox-carts,
which were made of pieces of rought timber, fastened to-
gether with thongs of rawhide and wooden pegs, and the
wheels cut from the trunk of a tree. As late as 1850,
the first American Civil Governor of California, Governor
Burnett, with some members of the first Legislature,
who were en route from San Francisco to San Jose, then the
capital of the State, were conveyed in one of these carts
from Alviso to the door of the State House, which was
an old adobe building. Such was the industrial condi-
tion of California, from the secularization of the missions
to a period subsequent to 1848, and such was indeed the
condition of things in this county as late as 1856.

.\ MANLY RACE.

The native California rancheros — descendants of the
Mexican colonists— were a hearty, robust race, lithe, act
ive, and symmetrically formed. They were temperate
in their habits, and enjoyed vigorous health. They had
generous impulses and strong passions, although not of a
revengeful dispositio'n, yet they never entirely overlooked
an affront. Their sole occu|)ation being the rearing of
cattle, they were inclined to indolence, but when the" oc-
casion demanded it, showed a great power of endurance
-frequently riding one hundred miles in a day. Their
chief amusements were horse-racing, bull-fighting and
dancing.

SCHOOLS.

There being no schools in the country they were gen-
erally without a liberal education, although fully aware
of its importance, as those who could afford the ex-
pense, sent their sons abroad, to the Sandwich Islands
and to Peru, to be educated. Some were taught at home
by the educated of the family, if there were any such, or
by a tutor engaged, and slight instruction was given at
the missions. The fine penmanship and language shown
in the public documents preserved in the State and
county archives are an evidence of the good education
of many.

THE FECUNDITY OF THE PEOPLE

Was remarkable. It was rare to find a married couple
with less than six or seven children, while many had from
fifteen to twenty. Very few of them died in their youth,
and in reaching the age of fifty, were almost sure of
seeing their grandchildren, and in many cases, their
great-grandchildren. Men of the age of eighty would
ride long distances on horseback without exhibiting fa-
tigue. The women were religious, virtuous, active and
laborious, attending to all the household duties, the care
of the children, attention to their husbands, and dedica-
ting all their leisure moments to some occupation.
Their clothing was always clean and decent, and they
themselves, graceful and fine looking. The rose seemed
to be ever stamped upon their cheeks.

THEIR TABLES

Were well supplied with substantial dishes. Breakfast
was very light, however, and partaken of at an early hour.
It consisted simply of a cup of coffee or chocolate with
toast, tortillas, and a bit of cheese. Dinner was served
at noon. The table was then furnished with a great
variety of dishes, consisting of soup, beef broiled on
coals, oUa (the pot) boiled beef, generally the rib pieces,
with garbanzo — a large pea — carrots and cabbage; olla
podrida, a stew composed of chicken, beef, venison, quail,
tripe, with vegetables of various kinds, and seasoned with
garlic; stewed beef with chile Colorado (red pepper);
tomales, which were made of chicken, meat, olives and
chile Colorado rolled in a thin paste of corn meal, the
whole being covered with corn leaves tied at either end,
and baked in an oven; carne seco (dried beef) cut fine
and stewed with onions and manteca (beef 'at from the
ribs); baked chicken; frijoles (red beans) fried in manteca
with onions; potatoes; tortillas; olives; salza — a sauce
used as a relish for meats, made of tomatoes, chiles verde
(large green peppers) and raw onions cut up finely and
mixed with oil and vinegar; and vino del pais (native
wine). The meats and fowl were never carved at table,
but were brought on cut into pieces of convenient size.
The dessert consisted of custards, pies, and fruit when
in season. Tea with cakes, bread, and tortillas, was
served at 4 p. m. Milk was not used with tea, mainly
on account of its scarcity.

On the largest ranches one cow only was kept up, which,
to be milked successfully, was tied by the horns to a post
of the corral, and its hind legs fastened together with a
riata. As the cow was half wild, it furnished but little
milk, which was immediately boiled and used at break-
fast with coffee or chocolate, and if any was left it
went into the composition of a custard for dessert at din-
ner. The men added, however, to the tea a little leche
del tigre (tiger's milk) — that is aguadiente, a native
brandy. Supper was brought on at 7 p. m., and was a
very substantial meal, and in this respect resembled the
dinner. Tea was also served at this repast.

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CALIFORNIA UNDER MEXICO.

57

THE FAMILY AT HOME.

In the evening the family assembled in the parlor, or
reception room, which was very large but plainly fur-
nished. A sofa and chairs, with a few pictures of saints
on the walls, was all it contained. The women sang
plaintive Moorish airs, with guitar accompaniment. If
visitors were at the house, the violin was produced, and
dancing ensued, which continued, with intermissions en-
livened with singing, until ten or eleven o'clock, when the
family retired.

WEDDINGS.

The weddings of the daughters of rich rancheros were
celebrated with mediaeval splendor. A chapel was pre-
pared at one end of the corridor, facing the court, where
the priest performed the marriage ceremony in the morn-
ing. Friends of the family and acquaintances congre-
gated from a circuit of a hundred miles. Feasting,
dancing, singing, horse-racing, bull and bear-fighting, con-
tinued for five or six days consecutively. On the first
evening of the entertainment no one was permitted to
retire. Dancing and singing being kept up throughout
the entire night. But the following day, after dinner,
all indulged in the siesta, after which a horse-race, bull-
fight, or feats in horsemanship were exhibited, to be fol-
lowed in the evening by dancing and singing, and so on,
to the end of the feast. The ordinary dances were the
quadrille, waltz, and various other round dances, varied
occasionally by the Arabe — a dance peculiar to the coun-
try. In this dance, a lady takes the floor solus, and after
showing off her graces by dancing around the apartment,
approaches any gentleman she may select, performing
before him a variety of pirouettes, until he rises, bowing
and dancing quite around her, and then resuming
his seat, when she leaves him to approach another, and
thus makes the circuit.

THE LADIES COSTUMES.

The costumes of the women consisted of plain dresses,
black silk being preferred, except for party dresses, which
were of light colored French or Italian silks. When out
of the house they wore the rebosa, a broad silk scarf of
subdued colors, thrown over the head and arranged
around the neck and waist in very graceful folds. Or a
heavy Chinese crape shawl of brilliant colors thrown over
the shoulders with the head left uncovered, and the hair
neatly arranged and adorned with a large comb of tor-
toise shell framed in gold.

CABALLERO'S DRESS.

The men wore a large brimmed hat decorated with a
silver or gold band, European garments, and at times a
cloth or velvet serape, or poncho, with gold and silver em-
broidery around the edges. Their saddles, bridles, and
horse trappings were heavily mounted with silver. The
spurs were very large, having pendants which produced a
constant jingling sound when the horse was in motion.
But the vaqueros (herdsmen) wore a costume peculiar to
their class alone. The hat was large, broad-brimmed,
and glazed with a shining black varnish, the band of sil-
ver cord. The jacket was very short, made of black
cloth or velvet, ornamented with embroidery of the same
color as the garment; the buttons were gilded or silver.
A vest was seldom worn. The trousers were of the
same material and color as the jacket. They were made
to open on either side from the hip to the foot, but were
generally worn buttoned down the leg as far as the knee.
The buttons were plated or of silver. From the knee to the
foot they were unbuttoned, so as to display the whiteness
of the under garments. A crimson silk sash was worn
around the waist to support the trousers. When riding

the legs were enclosed from the knee to the foot with
buckskins or other leather, often stamped or richly em-
broidered, wrap]3ed around them, which were fastened just
below the knee with a silken cord. They were called
botines, and used to protect the trousers when riding.

FUNERAL CUSTOMS.

When an adult died, the body was dressed as in life,
with the best garments belonging to the deceased. And
so, likewise, with children, but their death was attended
with no mourning. The corpse was placed in an uncov-
ered coffin; its head encircled with a chaplet of white
roses, and carried to church by children of its own sex.
If a female, the pall-bearers were young girls, clad in
white garments, and with a blue silken sash thrown over
the shoulders and brought around the waist and there
tied in a bow. Their brows were wreathed with chaplets
of the white rose, and they each carried in one hand a
flower to place upon the bosom of the dead child after
the funeral services were ended, as last offerings of friend-
ship. When the youthful funeral procession arrived at
the church, the bells were not tolled, but rang out a joy-
ful peal, as if announcing the entrance of an unspotted
soul through the gates of Heaven.

POSTAL SYSTEM.

Mails were carried by couriers, usually soldiers on
horseback, and at times when ordered without any calcu-
lation of regularity. At each mission was an escolte — a
Corporal's guard — of a few soldiers, and when a mail was
to be sent, or one came to be forwarded, a soldier quickly
mounted a fleet horse and hurried to the next point.
In later days couriers rode from one presidio or pueblo to
the next, changing horses as they pleased at the ranches.
Official correspondence comprised the chief mail matter.

HOSPITABLE CALIFORNIANS.

The California rancheros were noted for hospitality.
They practiced this virtue in a very graceful manner. In
extending its rites, they made no distinction between
strangers, friends, or acquaintances. " Todo lo que tengo
es a la disposicion de t/sted, senor" (All that I possess is at
your disposal, sir), they were wont to say, in declining the
tender of money from travelers, who had rested at their
houses, and had been probably furnished, moreover, with
fresh horses, with which to continue their journeys with
greater ease. They were a proud race. And as the cul-
tivation of the soil, all farming operations, and the neces-
sary out-of-door work around the ranch houses, were per-
formed by Indian labor, they considered work of that
nature as degrading. The poorest amongst them could
not be hired to perform it. If one was asked to do any
work of that kind, although a high compensation might
be promised: "SeHor," he would say in reply, with a proud
look, and a slight curl on his lip, ''cahallero soy y no peor."
(Sir, a gendeman I am, and not afoot laborer). "But,"
he might add, " should you want my pobre servicios (poor
services), to herd your catde and horses, they are at your
disposition, and pay me in return whatever sum you may
deem to be just."

THE RANCHOS.

The ranchos were generally in extent from one league
to eleven. A sitio, or rancho of one league, would sup-
port, it was supposed, i,ooo head of large catde, and the
horses that might be required for the work on the ranch;
therefore, it was a custom that owners of that class would
not infringe upon the rights of others, holding larger
tracts by increasing the number of their cattle much
over I, GOO head, as the entire country was unfenced and
used in common. This custom, although generally rec-

58

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

ognized, was violated frequently, but seldom to any very
great extent.

THE RODEOS

Were given on the different ranches in the spring.
They were arranged so that they would follow one after
the other, in order that the cattle belonging to the
different brands in the country could be separated in a
systematic manner, and driven off by their owners.

The rodeo season was one continued round of e.xcite-
ment. The rancho at which a rodeo was to be given
was crowded with rancheros and their assistants that had
congregated there from every rancho in the surrounding
country. On the day set for it, the vaqueros started off
at early dawn, in every direction, to collect the cattle.
Soon after sunrise long files could be seen descending
the hills and mountains to the plain below. Some
bands would be running at full speed down the steep
declivities, with vaqueros closely following the flying
herds, shouting, and at times swinging high in the air
their long riatas, as if to urge them on still faster. Upon
reaching the plain their pace would slacken down to a
half trot as they were converging gradually from all
quarters to the rodeo ground, which was open. Arriv-
ing there, the scene became intensely exciting. The
unintermitting bellowing of thousands of cattle, rising in
pitch until it became one continued roar, like that of the
sea; the rival bulls pawing up the ground in their
intense rage, and throwing the dust in clouds over the
drove, then rushing furiously at each other to engage in
conflict; cows, running about madly, in search of miss-
ing calves; the vaqueros swaying in their saddles, and
screaming wildly as they swung their riatas in great cir-
cles above their heads, their horses flaked with the foam
of sweat, eyes flashing fire, nostrils distended, and fiercely
breathing, as their heated breath streamed out like puffs
of vapor. The whole caused an exhilaration of feeling
in the observer such as is seldom experienced.

After the tumult had in a measure subsided, the
parting out of the cattle began. Those belonging to the
other ranches were separated from the drove and driven
off by their owners; the others were taken to the corral
and the calves branded.

A chanctED condition.

The war between the United States and Mexico,
which resulted in the acquisition of California by the
former, and the discovery of gold almost simultaneously
with the declaration of peace, produced in a short period
a radical change in the social condition of the California
rancheros. Living before that period in the seclusion
that always accompanies a pastoral life, their habits were
simple. Poverty was a thing unknown, as they lived in
a patriarchal manner amongst themselves; giving with a
liberal hand to all who were in need, even without the
asking. There was but little money in the country, nor
was it, in fact, needed. There was no direct taxation,
and the goods imported in foreign vessels were bartered
off for hides, tallow, and dried beef Indeed, those who
brought goods to sell for nothing but money, found here
no market for them. But the change of Government,
and the discovery of gold, with the consequent addition
to the population of a large cosmopolitan element, revo-
lutionized, not alone their methods of business, but also
their simple, pastoral manner of living. The bartering
system was destroyed. Money was made the basis of
all .transactions, and foreign luxuries introduced in great
profusion into the country. The rancheros soon ac-
quired expensive habits, and being without any experi-
ence in the management of affairs of business under
the new state of things, they became involved inextrica-
bly in debt, which led to the loss of their great posses-

sions. Although their descendants are numerous in the
country, yet they are so scattered and so much mixed up in
all their social relations with the present progressive pop-
ulation that their distinctive race characteristics, with their
language, are rapidly disappearing. The genius of the

ECCLESIASTICAL OR MONKISH GOVERNMENT

Of the missions was, in a general sense, adverse to real
progress. Although imparting culture to the Indians, it
at the same time destroyed their individuality. The
Monks themselves were so formed that their individual
character was lost in that of their profession. And as
their spiritual supremacy and temporal power were so
intimately blended together in the management of the
missions, it was impossible to separate one from the
other. The Indians, although instructed by them in
many of the useful arts, were kept all their lives in a
state of tutelage, which checked all individual advance-
ment by destroying effectually the spirit of self-reliance,
which is by nature implanted within the breast of every
human being. Hence, we find the Indians, after the
secularization of the missions, incapable of maintaining
themselves in a civilized community, in an independent
manner, although they were offered lands, and even the
means to cultivate them, by the Mexican Government.
Neglecting this opportunity of attaining a competency,
they relapsed into barbarism or became serfs of the
rancheros.

At the close of the Mexican War the rancheros were
brought face to face with a progressive civilization to
which they were strangers, and which, being so- directly
at variance with the patriarchal ideas of management
they had adopted, they soon found themselves placed in
an anomalous position. The circumstances by which
they were surrounded forced them either to conform to
the new order of things, in which they had had no
previous experience, or to succumb with loss of property
and influence. The latter alternative was inevitable.
As a class they did not take an active part in the late
Mexican War. They endeavored to occupy a neutral
position, as they were not generally well disposed towards
the Mexican Government. Nevertheless they suffered
great wrongs during its continuance at the hands of the
volunteer forces of the United States. Their cattle and
horses were taken from them by military requisitions or
driven off in herds without notice and without any com-
pensation being paid to the owners. The regular forces
of the United States, however, invariably respected their
property.

CHAPTER VIII.

EARLY GOVERNMENT OF CALIFORNIA.

Government under Sp.iin — The Reglamento — Paternal and Arbitrary
Government — A Characteristic Order — Mexican Control — A
Republican Decree^Changes of Governors — Law of March
20, 1837 — Judicial Organization — The Superior Tribunal —
Courts of First Instance — Alcaldes and Justices of the Peace —
Alvarado Governor — Exorbitant Tariff for Revenue — Ameri-
cans aid Alvarado — The Provisional Government of 1837 —
Carrillo Appointed Governor — Campaign against Carrillo —
Customs in 1840 — Appearance of Alvarado — Visit to the
Alcalde.

> HE principal events in California's early history, at
least those pertaining to the people and settling of
San Luis Obispo, have been related in the preceding
chapters. There were presidios and pueblos established,
settlers from foreign lands came into the country. Govern-
ors were appointed and revolutions effected, and many

EARLY GOVERNMENT OF CALIFORNIA.

•50

events occurred of interest to localities, but, not belonging
to this county, can be but briefly mentioned.

California was a dependency of Spain until 1822, the
King being the head and source of all authority sent down
through various officers to the Viceroy of Mexico, to the
Commandante-General of the Department, from him to
the Governors, and then to the Captains of the presidios.
There was no constitution, charter, or legislature. Laws
and regulations came from the King, or the "Council of
the Indies," even to the smallest item regulating the peo-
ple's conduct. One little concession was made to the
people — after 1783 they were permitted to elect their
Alcaldes.

The system of government reposed no confidence in
the ability of the common classes to take care of them-
selves, or to maintain order in society. The higher
powers generally showed love and consideration for the
masses, but no respect for them. They were masters by
divine right, therefore assumed nothing, but felt their
position as a matter of course, born to them, and a duty,
inherent and. unavoidable, to govern. This feeling
permeated all classes, and from the lowest to the highest
each individual acknowledged a superior upon whom, in
a measure, he was dependent.

THE REGLAMENTO.

This led back to the precise regulations — reglamentos
emanating from the King. In the archives of California
is the reglaraento issued by the King of Spain, Charles
III., in 1781, "for the government of the presidios, the
promotion of the erection of new missions, and of the
population and extension of the establishment of Mon-
terey." In it are minute provisions for paying, clothing,
and feeding the officers and soldiers, and for supplying
their families and other persons dependent on the pre-
sidios. The number of pack-mules to be kept, and how
horses are to be pastured, and that four are always to
be kept' in the presidio, ready saddled, by day, and eight
by night.

At that date, says thereglamento, the country was filled
from San Diego to Monterey with an immense number
of gentiles, and only one thousand seven hundred and
forty-nine Christians, of both se.xes, in the eight missions
strung along through all that distance. The manner in
which pueblos are to be founded is given; each settler to
have his building lot and field for planting of two hun-
dred varas square, that being supposed to be enough to
sow two bushels of grain; and the whole to have com-
mons for wood, water, and pasturage; also a certain num-
ber of horses, mules, oxen, cows, sheep, chickens, plows,
hoes, axes, etc., are to be furnished to each; and the
amount of pay — for a setder had his salary for a litde
while as well as his outfit — his exemptions, and his obli-
gations, are all minutely detailed. Of the first, he was to
be free for five years from the payment of tithes;
of the latter, all the excess of his productions be-
yond his support he was required to sell at a fixed
price to the presidios, and he should also keep a
horse and saddle, carbine and lance, and hold himself in
readiness for the service of the King. The building lot

was a homestead that could not be alienated or mortgaged,
and descended to the son or daughter if she should be
married to a setder who had no lot. After the first
five years each settler was required, in recognition of the
absolute property of the King, to pay a rental of one-half
fanega of grain for his sowing lot.

PATERNAL AND ARBITRARY GOVERNMENT.

The Governors were the representatives of the King,
and were expected to see all his orders executed; but the
great distance from the central power, and the infrequency
and uncertainty of communication virtually gave them
despotic authority, under the regulations, and as such it
was exercised. Under such a system there was an entire
suppression of the feeling of self-reliance, independence,
and individual enterprise that make a progressive, wealthy,
and powerful people, and continued California and Mex-
ico in the back-ground of nations.

A CHARACTERISTIC ORDER.

As a curious instance of the paternal character of the
Government the following order of his Catholic Majesty
is given. Jacobo Ugarte y Loyola, was the Command-
ante-General of the internal provinces, and writes to
Pedro Fages, Governor of California: —

Arispe, April 22, 1787.

On the 20th of November last past, his Excellency, the
Marquis of Sonora (Viceroy of Mexico) was pleased to
communicate to me the following royal order: —

"The Archbishop, Viceroy of Sante Fe (in South
America) on the 2d of July last, gave me an account of
a remedy, happily discovered by his confessor, against the
ravages of the jigger [nigua) in the hot countries of Amer-
ica, which consists in anointing the parts affected by the
jiggers with cold olive oil, which causes them to die, and
the sacs containing them can be easily extracted — which
the King desires should be published as a bando (procla-
mation), in the district under your government, in order
that it may reach the notice of all; and you shall take care
that all those who are afflicted with said insect shall use
said remedy, which is as effectual as it is simple."

And I insert the same to you in order that you may
cause it to be published.

May God preserve your life many years.

Jacobo Ugarte y Loyola.

And so this valuable specific was made known by a
public crier and with a roll of drums, all the world over,
even here in California, where the troublesome insect is
fortunately unknown.

MEXICAN CONTROL.

The military and arbitrary system of government con-
tinued under Spanish domination and for two or three
years after Mexico's independence was recognized, and
until the Republic was established. Then a system of
government was organized with California as a Territory
with a Governor appointed by the President under the
title of " Political Chief ( Gcfi Politico), aided by a
council known as the Territorial Deputation. At the
same time it was proposed to establish town councils
{Ayuntamientos), but there appears to have been no town
— pueblo — with the requisite number of inhabitants at
that time. This was under a decree passed by the Span-

60

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

ish courts in 1812, and although then not put In force in
California, subsequently became the foundation of the
Government. It will be understood that a great revolu-
tion had occurred in Spain, and that from 1808 to 18 14,
Joseph Bonaparte was King, with limited authority.

A REPUBLICAN DECREE.

The decree provided, among other things: —

First — Every town which has no Common Council,
and the population of which does not amount to 1,000
souls, and which, on account of the peculiar condition of
its agriculture, industry, or population, requires a Common
Council, it will make the same known to the deputation
of the province, in order that by virtue of this informa-
tion they may apply to the Government for the requisite
permission.

Second — Towns that do not find themselves in this
situation should be united to the Ayuntamientos to which
they have hitherto belonged, as long as the improvement
of their political condition shall not require other meas-
ures, uniting those newly formed to those nearest them
in the province, or to those which have lost their juris-
diction for want of population. Section Third relates to
elections.

Fourth — As it cannot fail to be proper that there
should exist, between the government of the towns and
their inhabitants, such proportion as is compatible with
good order and its better administration, there shall be
one Alcalde, two Regidores, and one Procurador-Syndico
in all towns which do not have more than 200 inhabit-
ants; one Alcalde, four Regidores, and one Procurado in
those the population of which exceeds 200, but does not
exceed 500 inhabitants; one Alcalde, six Regidores, and
one Procurador in those which possess 500 but the
population of which does not amount to 1,000 inhabit-
ants; two Alcaldes, eight Regidores, and two Procurador-
Syndicos in towns having from i,ooo to 4,000 inhabit-
ants; and the number of Regidores will be augmented to
twelve in those towns which have more than 4,000
inhabitants.

Fifth — In the capitals of the provinces there must be
at least twelve Regidores, and should they possess more
than 10,000 inhabitants their number will be sixteen.

This decree, which was a great step toward a repre-
sentative government, remained a dead letter until the
arrival of General Echeandia, as Political Chief of the
Territory of California in 1826, and even he did not
promulgate it until 1 830. Nothing, however, was accom-
plished under it at that time. Governor Echeandia was
superseded in 1831 by General Victoria, who suppressed
the decree and all efforts toward the secularization of the
missions. Victoria, being opposed by a faction of the
people, retired from the country, leaving Pio Pico in
charge until the arrival of Governor Figueroa in 1832,
when the reforms were adopted.

CHANGES OF GOVERNORS.

Figueroa died in 1835 and was succeeded by Jos6Castro
(ad interim). During 1836 there were great political
disturbances, and Governors succeeded each other
rapidly, Nicolas Gutierrez, Mariano Chico, and Nicolas
•Gutierrez again, all in 1836, settling upon Juan Bautista
Alvarado in the same year, when tranquillity was restored,
and Alvarado remained Governor until 1842.

LAW OF MARCH 20, 1 837.

The Mexican Congress passed a law March 20, 1837,
for the organization of the Government of California;
making the following officers: Governor, Departmental
Legislature (Junta), Prefects and Sub-Prefects, Ayunta-
mientos (Town Councils), Alcaldes, and Justices of the
Peace. There were also provided a Secretary for the
Governor and a Deputy to Congress.

The Departmental Legislature was to be composed of
seven individuals to be elected by the people, also seven
substitutes to fill the vacancies should any occur. These
were to be removed every four years. This body had
power to pass laws relative to taxation, public education,
trade, and municipal administration. The Legislature
was authorized to have a Secretary at a salary not ex-
ceeding $1,200 per annum.

The Governor was required to appoint a Prefect in
each district, to be confirmed by the General Government
and to hold office for four years. It was the duty of the
Prefects to take care of the public order and tranquillity
in their district, with entire subjection to the Governor.
The Prefects were empowered with almost absolute
authority over the people, subject to an appeal to the
Governor. The Sub- Prefects were the appointees of the
Prefects, subject to approval by the Governor. The
Prefects had power to impose, by their own authority, a
fine of $100 or sentence a person to fifteen days' labor
on the public works, and the Sub-Prefect the power to
impose a fine of $50.00 or eight days' labor. They were
allowed $365 per- annum for stationery, and no other
salary, but were not prohibited from taking fees.

Alcaldes, Regidores, and Syndicos were to be elected
each year, and no one could refuse to serve without just
cause. The Alcaldes were given authority secondary
and similar to the Prefects. When no Prefect or Sub-
Prefect was present the Alcalde would preside and vote
at the meetings of the Ayuntamientos, and in his absence
a Regidore would take the place in the order of his
appointment.

Interior towns of 8,000 inhabitants, the capital, and
seaports of 4,000 inhabitants only were allowed Ayuntam-
ientos.

Justices of the Peace {Jiiez de Paz) were named by the
Prefects on the recommendation of the Sub-Prefects of
the locality. Any person receiving the appointment of
Justice of the Peace was compelled to serve, except for
legal cause approved by the Governor or Prefect.

JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION.

On the 23d of May, 1837, the Mexican Congress
passed an Act providing for the organization of courts in
California. The system consisted of a Superior Tribunal
(Supreme Court), Courts of First Instance, and Alcaldes'
or Justices of the Peace Courts.

THE SUPERIOR TRIBUNAL

Consisted of four Judges (Ministros) and one Attorney-
General {Fiscal), of which Judges the three senior ones
composed the first bench {sala) and the junior one the
second. The Judges and Attorney-General each received

■^/o>.,

^%

C. H. Phillips.

Throughout this history, particularly in the chapter
relating specially to the city of San Luis Obispo, the
name of C. H. Phillips frequently occurs. There are
men whose inventive genius, leading enterprise, and
great energy make history while they live and wherever
their lot may be cast. Mr. Phillips has thus made
history in his endeavors to build the San Luis Obispo
Railroad, in his organization of the San Luis Obispo
Bank, and in the company to supply the city with water.
His extensive operations in real estate have made his
name familiar to all the people of the county. With his
activity he has made business a success, and advanced
all the interests surrounding him. Many people are so
dependent on the circumstances of the times that they
wait until opportunities have passed before they decide,
but Mr. Phillips makes circumstances conform to his
desires, and is at once ready to reap all the advantages
that may arise. Tall in form, of strong physique, and
commanding appearance, he represents the type of
energy and force. Such is one of the principal business
men of San Luis Obispo.

Chauncey Hatch Phillips is the full baptismal name of
this gentleman. He was born in Wadsworth, Medina
County, Ohio, July 5, 1837. His father was Nelson
Phillips, and his mother Almira Hatch, the first being a
native of New York, born in 1807, and the latter of
Vermont, born in 1808. The father was of the old pre-
Revolutionary stock, of New York, his grandfather hav-
ing served in the war for independence, and was taken
prisoner by the Indians. Mr. Phillip's mother was a
descendant of one of the early settlers of New England,
coming from England in the colonial days. In their
early married life they were farmers in the State of New
York, but became pioneers of the West, locating first in
the wilds of Ohio, then at a later day making their home
in the lovely land of Wisconsin, by the shores of Fond du
Lac. Wherever young C. H. Phillips was in those early
days, there he went to school, and wherever he has been
through life, there he has been a student, thus fitly
claiming an education of the first-class for every rank of
social and business life. Removing to Fond du Lac at the
age of eight years, he there remained for eight years
more, when, at the age of si.xteen, he left his home to
make liis own way m the world. He went to Walworth
County, ill the same State. With his ambition, he
sought the higher plains of life, teaching school, read-
ing law, and various pursuits in the way of earning" a
livelihood.

In 1862 he returned to Fond du Lac, married, and early
in 1864 came by steamer to California, leaving his wife

and child at home. He remained in San Francisco
but ten days; then continued his journey to Napa.
There he engaged as teacher, opening his school April
4, 1864. His first term was for three months. At first
his success seemed doubtful, as he adopted a new sys-
tem, which took the people by surprise. But at the end
of his term, he had given such satisfaction that he was
re-engaged for a term of five months. After this he
entered the law office of Hon. Chancellor Hartson to
continue the study of the law. In a short time he received
the appointment of Deputy County Clerk, under J.
Maurice Carter, afterward of Marshall & Carter, of Salt
Lake, a noted law firm. After this he was appointed
Chief Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue of the
Fifth District, by the Collector, Hon. W. C. S. Smith.

This was in the spring of 1S65, and was the opening
of a business peculiarly adapted to Mr. Phillips, being
the handling and accounting for of large sums of money,
in transactions requiring the utmost exactness, and pur-
suing minute ramifications. He was in the Internal
Revenue service five years, till April i, 1870, and part
of the time was also clerk in the bank of James H.
Goodman & Co. At one time, while thus employed, he
organized a bank at Woodland, Yolo County, but it did
not open for business. Mr. Phillips was then appointed
Chief Deputy Collector of the Second District, at San
Jose, by Dr. L. H. Cary, the Collector. In the following
year the district was consolidated with the First, or San
Francisco District, and the office removed to San Fran-
cisco. There the office was entirely under the charge of
Mr. Phillips, and the receipts aggregated $5,000,000
annually, he having control of this vast sum without
bonds, none being then required. Formerly he had
given bonds in a large amount, with James H. Goodman,
C. Hartson, Judge Crouch, and H. H. Knapp as his
sureties. These were men with whom he had been asso-
ciated at Napa.

In the fall of 1871 he sought a new home in San
Luis Obispo, and proceeded to organize a bank for that
place, ^which until then had no such institution. In this
he was associated with H. M. Warden. The bank was
opened for business on the 13th of December, 187 1,
and continued successfully in business as a private insti-
tution until October 15, 1873, when it was merged into
a corporation, styled the Bank of San Luis Obispo, with
a capital stock of $200,000. The incorporators were C.
H. Phillips, H. M. Warden, E. W. Steele, George Steele,
P. W. Murphy, J. P. Andrews, Hugh Isom, D. W.
James, M. Gilbert, John Harford, Wm. L. Beebee,
James H. Goodmin, and I. G. Wickcrsham. H. M.
Warden was President and C. H. Phillips Cashier, and

BIOGRAPHY OF C. H. PHILLIPS.

the organizer without the knowledge of any but the cor-
porators. Mr. Phillips was Cashier four years, then
President one year, and was its manager at all times.

In the history of the bank are many interesting inci-
dents, but a few of which will illustrate the character
of the manager. In August, 1875, came the great
revulsion, and the failure of the Bank of California,
then the financial dictator of the Pacific Coast. All
ordin iry banks feel as if they must succumb, and sus-
pend payments in such cases, spreading the ruin. Mr.
Phillips did nothing of the kind. The news of the fail-
ure of the Bank of California was received by telegraph.
Any nervousness or exhibition of fear would have been
taken as evidence of weakness, and would have caused
a panic, a run, and failure. But Mr. Phillips at once
posted a notice that all demands would be paid, and met
his customers with perfect coolness and reassuring confi-
dence. This averted a panic, and saved the bank. A
few of the wealthy depositors stood by him manfully.
R. E. Jack had on deposit $18,000. This was told, and
he declared his confidence in the bank and that the
money should stay. Nathan Goldtree had $10,000,
which he at first proposed to withdraw, but the explana-
tions of Mr. Jack and the coolness of Mr. Phillips
reassured him, and he allowed it to remain.

Mr. Phillips' residence was, in 1878, in the northern
part of the city at some distance from his neighbors.

On the ist of April, 1878, at about 8 o'clock in the
evening he was called to the front door, where he found
a suspicious-looking character, who invited him to come
out. This Mr. Phillips dechned, and was stepping back
into the house, when the villain caught him and struck
at his breast with a large knife. A struggle ensued which
was witnessed by a young daughter of Phillips, there
being a bright light in the hall shining out of the door.
Mr. Phillips at last escaped and closed the doors, and
the robbers decamped. Several had been seen, but two
had been so closely observed by himself and daughter
that a description was given by which they were subse-
quently arrested and convicted. The robbers, as that
was proven to be their business, and robbing the bank
their intention, were two Mexicans, one Frenchman, and
one Swiss.

In October, 1878, he retired from the bank after being
five years its manager, during which it had paid its stock-
holders $100,000 in dividends. It had a credit of $50,-
000 in San Francisco.

After leaving the bank he engaged in the business of
real estate and insurance agency, which, with a few experi-
mental episodes, he has continued to the present,
making a grand success. The present style of the firm
is C. H. Phillips & Co., being associated with Mr. P. H.
Dallidet, Jr., a young gendeman, a native of San Luis
Obispo, and who for four or five years was a deputy in
the office of the County Clerk.

The transactions of Mr. Phillips, both before and after
his association with Mr. Dallidet, have been very large.
In 1875 he was the purchaser of the Morro y Cayucos
Rancho of 8,100 acres, but the title was not then satis-
factory, but at a subsequent date the titlg was perfected

and the land sold on terms very satisfactory to all. The
town of Cayucos was laid out in 1875 under Mr. Phillips'
supervision, and he gave broad and straight streets, one
of which, Ocean Avenue, is one mile in length and loo
feet in width.

In May, 1882, he made arrangements with Steele
Brothers to sell for them their lands on the Corral de
Piedra, Balsa de Chemissal, Arroyo Grande, and Pismo
Ranchos, and these lands were sold at good prices. In
September, 1882, he bought the Corbitt tract of 1,900
acres for $8,000, and sold it in ninety days for $16,000.
In 1883 he took the San Miguelito Rancho to sell, and
many other large transactions are recorded. His busi-
ness has been so successful that from June, 1882, to April,
1883, his profits aggregated $30,000.

Mr. Phillips, although so absorbed in business, takes
much interest in politics and public, educational, and social
affairs. In 1879 he received the nomination by the
Republicans for the position of Railroad Commissioner
for the Third District of California. He was opposed
by Gen. George Stoneman, nominated by the Working-
men's Party, by the New Constitution Party, and by the
Democrats. As an example of how outside, or class
parties, are governed by principle is shown the fact that
the Prohibition Party, professedly temperate, indorsed
the nomination of General Stoneman, who was openly
opposed to their principles, and rejected Mr. Phillips, a
strictly temperance man. With the strange combinations
against him Mr. Phillips was defeated. In 1879 he
commenced the publication of the Advocate, a newspaper
which he edited and conducted with ability for nearly
one year, when he sold it. He has occupied many posi-
tions of public trust and influence, being for four years a
member of the Town Council and part of the time Pres-
ident, during which many important improvements were
made in the city, building the bridges over San Luis
Creek, etc. He has also been school trustee and Presi-
dent of the Board of Education, in all instances being
the active power of the different bodies of which he was a
member.

Mr. PhiUips is a member of the Masonic Order, of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Chosen
Friends, and of the Knights of Pythias. In religion he
is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics
a Republican.

He has a very interesting family of wife and seven
children, one being married and residing with her
husband, Mr. Sperry, on the Arroyo Grande, and the
others occupying their splendid home in the suburbs
overlooking the city of San Luis Obispo. Mr. Phillips
was married at Fond du Lac, January, 18, 1862, to Jane
Woods, a native of Vermont. Their children are Mary
Woods Phillips, now Mrs. Sperry, born at Fond du Lac,
Wisconsin, January 10, 1863; Jane, born in Napa, Sep-
tember 17, 1867; Eliza, born in Napa, August 29, 1869;
C. H., Jr., born in San Francisco, August 28, 1871;
Josephine, born in San Luis Obispo, January 24, 1874;
Chester D., born in San Luis Obispo, September lo, 1876;
and Nelson Burnham, born in San Luis Obispo, Septem-
ber 15, 1881.

EARLY GOVERNMENT OF CALIFORNIA.

61

a salary of $4,000. The second bench took cognizance
of the first appeals, and the first bench of the second
appeals. When a prisoner asked to be heard, one of the
Judges having cognizance of the case was required to go
and hear what he had to say and report to the corre-
sponding bench.

Legal proceedings were simplified in California. There
were but few law books in the country. The principles of
the civil law were applied, however, in the adjudication of
causes that came before the juezes de priraera instancia —
District Judges. The jurisdictional limits of the Court
of First Instance of this district extended from the Santa
Ynez River to the Nacimiento.

COURTS OF FIRST INSTANCE

Were established by the Governor and Legislature on the
recommendation of the Superior Tribunal, in the chief
town of each district. Each court was required to have
a Clerk, Recorder, and an executive officer. The salary of
the Judges was fixed at $1,500 with stipulated fees. The
court had jurisdiction in all suits for money when the
sum exceeded $100, and in all criminal cases e.xcept for
trifling cause. Clergymen and military officers were priv-
ileged classes and subject to other laws.

alcaldes' and JUSTICES OF THE PEACE

Courts had cognizance of cases where the amount in
dispute was less than $100, and for trifling offenses.
They were required to conciliate those in dispute. The
plaintiff and defendant, or the accused and accuser,
were each to bring his arbitrator {hombre hueno), who
should be a citizen in the exercise of his rights and had
completed the twenty-fifth year of his age, and these, with
the Alcalde, or Justice of the Peace, constituted the court
of conciliation. When they had been made acquainted
with the case, they retired to hear the opinion of the ar-
bitrators, after which, or within eight days, the Alcalde,
or J ustice of the Peace, made his decision. By custom,
these arbit»ators usually consisted of three or five men.
It was equivalent to a trial by jury.

Spanish and Mexican laws contemplated the restric-
tion of the powers of the Alcaldes within reasonable limits.
But it was common with them, in the remote provinces
to act arbitrarily, and then justify their conduct, upon
the plea of necessity. "Your Excellency," inquired the
Alcalde of one of the Governors, "how shall I administer
the law in my pueblo?" "Administer it," answered the
Governor, "in accordance with the principles of natural
right and justice." The local bandos, or laws, were en-
acted by the Ayuntamiento and executed by the Alcalde.

Although the law authorized the establishment of
courts there never was a Superior Tribunal in California,
and no Judges of the First Instance before the order to
elect such by General Riley, Military Governor, in 1849.

ALVARADO GOVERNOR.

The rapid changes of Governors in 1836, and incidents
pertaining thereto, have been mentioned in previous
pages. Juan Bautiste Alvarado was the Governor's Sec-
retary in 1836, or Secretary of State, and as such, if
not really the principal officer of the Government, had

much to do with Governmental affairs. He was also a
native Californian, while the Governors Chico and Guti-
errez were natives of Mexico, and there existed here a
strong party opposed to the appointment of a Governor
from a distant part of the Republic, also in favor of a
native holding the office, and the foundation of a sovereign
State.

There were at the same time quite a number of Amer-
ican and other foreign settlers in the region about Mon-
terey and north of that point, who were believed to be
ready to assist the Native Californian party. This feeling
had been excited by the tyranny of Chico, and was
brought to an active demonstration by the order from
Gutierrez to arrest and imprison Alvarado for alleged in-
subordination. The cause is stated to have arisen from
a dispute in regard to the stationing of watchmen about
a ship which was landing dutiable cargo. Various rea-
sons are given for the dispute. The question was a
matter of etiquette, or rather, the prerogative of the
Governor, as chief of the department in collecting the
customs duties on imported merchandise. Alvarado
regarded it as interfering with his duties, and as an ex-
pression of suspicion of his honesty, and therefore
objected to the stationing of a guard. Some say the
dispute arose in regard to the division of the bribe-
money paid by the ship to pass its goods through the
Custom House — that Alvarado and his associates had
usually absorbed all, but that now the Governor, either
for himself or the Mexigan Government, wished to col-
lect the duties according to law.

EXORBITANT TARIFF FOR REVENUE.

The legal duties were almost equivalent to a prohibi-
tion of imports, and many subterfuges were resorted to in
order to obtain foreign merchandise, and at reasonable
rates.

One, as related by Mr. Dana, in his " Two Years Be-
fore the Mast," was to bring into Monterey a small vessel,
have its cargo inspected, and pay the duties and then
grant a permit to land the goods at Santa Barbara, San
Pedro, or other point on the coast. That after landing
a portion the vessel would sail out to one of the Santa
Barbara Islands, or other secluded spot and replenish her
stock from a larger ship that had brought the cargo from
the Sandwich Islands, China, or elsewhere, and, return-
ing to its port, continue discharging. In this manner, by
neglect of the officers to collect, and by bribery, were
the Californians enabled to get necessary foreign *goods
at reasonable rates. There appears, therefore, some just
grounds for irregularities. During this period Mexico
was in a constant ferme nt of revolution, and the ambi-
tious and rapacious politicians of that country used every
endeavor to extort money from the people, and the Cali-
fornians, the missions, and the "Pious Fund" were made
to suffer. These demoralizing influences spread official
corruption through every branch of Government, and
permeated all branches of business.

AMERICANS AID ALVARADO.

The arrest of Alvarado was not effected, as he fled to
the cabin of Isaac Graham, who resided near the mission

62

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

of San Juan Bautista, and there maintained an illicit dis-
tillery, there told his story, and an insurrection was agreed
upon. Fifty American and foreign riflemen joined the
insurrection, and were afterward joined by loo Califor-
nians under Jos6 Castro, and these marched upon Mon-
terey. The Governor, with more than twice the number
of soldiers (some authorities say 600) composing the in-
surrectionary party, fled from the nearly dismantled Cas-
tillo, and shut themselves up in the Government House
in the presidio. This was taken possession of by Gra-
ham and his party, and a parley ensued. Alvarado de-
manded the surrender of the Governor and the Govern-
ment, which was haughtily rejected. After thus parleying
for two days, the foreigners becoming impatient, Graham,
who was Captain, directed Coppinger, an Englishman,
who had been elected Lieutenant, to fire a four-pound
cannon shot at the Governor's quarters. This produced a
decided consternation, as the ball wentcrashingthrough the
tiled roof of the building, and brought matters to a crisis.
A Mr. Young, a foreigner who had not taken part in the
insurrection, rushed into the Governor's house and advised
a surrender, assuring the besieged, that, although they
might in battle slay many of the besiegers, they would, in
all probability, be mostly massacred. A surrender was
agreed upon, and the scTiooner Clarion, of New Bedford,
was purchased; the Mexican officers were shipped to
San Bias, and Alvarado became Governor.

THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF 1837.

California thus became an independent State of the
Republic, although not at once recognized as such by
Mexico. The feeling to make it a sovereign State was
universal throughout the country, also the demand for
the reduction of duties on imports. Shortly after the
surrender of Gutierrez, the Mexican officers in the coun-
try, the Californians, and the foreigners, assembled at
Monterey and passed the following manifesto as the
basis of a Provisional Government: —

I St. Upper California is declared to be independent of
Mexico during the non-re-establishment of the federal
system which was adopted in 1824.

2d. The said California shall be erected into a free
and governing State, establishing a congress which shall
dictate all the particular laws of the country, and elect
the other supreme powers necessary, declaring the
"Actual Most Excellent Deputation Constituent."

3d. The religion shall be Roman Catholic Apostolic,
without admitting the exercise of any other; but the
Government will not molest any persons for their par-
ticular religious opinions.

4th. A constitution shall regulate all the branches of
the administration " provisionally," in conformity as
much as possible with the expressed declaration.

5th. Until what is contained in the foregoing articles
be put in execution. Sen or Don Mariano Guadalupe
Vallejo shall be called to act as Commandante-General.

6th. The President of the " Most Excellent Deputa-
tion " shall pass the necessary communications to the
Territory.

CARRILLO APPOINTED GOVERNOR.

The Mexican Government did not acquiesce in these
summary proceedings, but, wishing to mollify the inde-
pendent Californians and at the same time maintain its

authority, appointed as Governor Don Carlos Antonio
Carrillo, a native of the country. The people of the
southern part of the State, who had not been called upon to
take part in the revolution and the formation of the new
Government, were probably jealous of the supremacy of
the north, and were inclined to support Carrillo as Gov-
ernor. This gentleman is remembered as one of the
most amiable and hospitable of the native Californians,
ambitious of the title of Governor, but lacking the energy
and force of character displayed by his nephew, Alvarado,
and his Lieutenant, Castro, of the farther north.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST CARRILLO.

Carrillo had sent a messenger to Monterey ordering
Alvarado to lay down his arms under penalty of bringing
down upon himself the wrath of the great Republic of
Mexico.

Alvarado, in answer, accompanied by Castro and the
grand army, which included a hundred of men, Gra-
ham's riflemen being of the party, set out at once to
overrun the southern country and capture the opposing
army. Carrillo, with his forces of supposed equal num-
bers, was at Santa Barbara. Alvarado and his army
appeared on one side of the town and Carrillo and his
men rode out on the other. Each party then exhibited
for the benefit of the other some fine feats of horseman-
ship, sometimes riding towards the town in fierce
charges and then returning to their rendezvous on the
hills. If any guns were fired, probably the one shooting
was more frightened than the opposing party was hurt.
Thus the battle raged for a few days, when it was
reported that Alvarado had received a recruit, his army
then outnumbering the other by one, and against such
odds it was useless longer to contend. Both parties
then entered the town and fraternized, and celebrated
the occasion by a grand fandango.

Such is the legendary account given of the campaign,
but in Farnham's book on California he states that "Don
Carlos Antonio Carrillo, finding that Alvarado's army
numbered 104, while his numbered but loi, he fled to
the mission of San Buenaventura, where, after a terrible
siege of four days, in which one of the besieged was
killed and one of the besiegers wounded, the Don
capitulated, and that the fraternizing was such that the
people of the town could not tell, and never did know,
who surrendered; that Alvarado proceeded to Los
Angeles and subjected the whole country to his sway."
CUSTOMS IN 1840.

A few items from Mr. Farnham's book are given as
indicative of the customs and business of those days: —

The first duty, on setting foot in California, is to report
one's self to the Governor, and obtain from him a writ-
ten permission to remain in the country. This I pro-
ceeded to do. Mr. Larkin was obliging enough to ac-
company me to the Governor's residence. We found
before it a number of men who were usually complimented
with the cognomen of "guard." They consisted of five
half-breed Indians, and what passed for a white Corporal,
lounging about the door in the manner of grog-shop
savans. The outer man is worth a description. They
wore raw buU's-hide sandals on their feet, leathern

BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN M. PRICE.

63

breeches, blankets about their shoulders, and anything
and everything upon their heads. Of arms, they had
nothing which deserve the name. One made pretensions
with a musket without a lock, and his four companions
were equally heroic, with kindred pieces, so deeply rusted
that the absence of locks would have been an unimpor-
tant item in estimating their value.

APPEARANCE OF ALVARADO.

Governor Alvarado is represented as a well-formed, full-
blooded California Spaniard, "five feet eleven inches
in height, with coal black curly hair, deep black eyes,
fiercely black eyebrows, high cheek-bones, an aquiline
nose, fine white teeth, brown complexion, clad in broad-
cloth, and whiskers."

VISIT TO THE ALCALDE.

The Alcalde was at home, or rather in his adobe den,
for there is neither a home nor the semblance of it in all
the Spanish world. He was taking his siesta, or mid-day
nap, on a bull's hide in the corner of the apartment. The
dog, which had barked us into his presence had awakened
him, so that when we entered the room, he was rolling
his burly form toward a chair. After being well seated,
and having, with some difficulty, brought his eyes to bear
upon us, he was pleased to remark that the weather was
fine, and that various other things existed in a defined
state; "that his dog w^as very fat; the bean crop gave
good promises; the Hawaiian Islands were ten miles
from Monterey; the Californians were very brave," etc.

The following permit to remain on shore as long as
his health required, took one hour and a quarter's time
to write": —

Mr. Thomas J. Farnham, passgero en la barca Ameri-
cana Don Quixote, habiendama manifesta do el pasporte
de su consul y queriendo quidar en tierra a (vertarblesse)
en su salud le doy el presente bolito de des aen en barco
en el puerta de Monterey! ! Antonio Ma. Orio.

A. i8 de Abril de 1840.

Alvarado, having powerful allies in the foreigners who
had placed him in power, maintained his position for
quite a lengthy period for California Governors. But
these foreigners began clamoring for him to fulfill his
promises to them, and in April, 1840, he caused their
arrest, the history of which is related in the following
chapter devoted to the biographical sketch of John M.
Price, who was so unfortunate as to be one of the pris-
oners. These were sent to Tepic, but soon returned
and were not again molested.

CHAPTER IX.

BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN M. PRICE.

John Michael Price — Sails for the Pacific — Arrives in California

Lands to Kill Sea Elephants — Runs from the Ship — Kind

Treatment at Colima — An Opportunity to go to California

Safe in Monterey — Making Him Their Prisoner — The Graham
Insurrection — Sketch of Graham — Arrested by Alvarado — The
Prisoners Sent to San Bias — Alvarado's Cruelty — The Prison-
ers at Santa Barbara — Alvarado's Short-lived Triumph — Alva-
rado's Incentive — Justice Accorded the Prisoners — Fremont
Appears — Gold Mining — Public Services — A Celebrated Case
— Marriage and Family.

'Z^r^QilF —

lOHN M. PRICE was one of those whom fate in
its waywardness snatched from misfortune and dis-
tress and cast, apparently helpless and deserted,
upon this peaceful shore, where wealth and honors and
happiness were to reward his future efforts. Born in
Bristol, England, September 29, 18 10, and growing up in
that seaport town, he found the most available vocation
for a boy without a fortune to be that of a sailor. When
but fifteen years of age he became a sailor boy, going on
a three-year voyage as a whaler in the Southern Ocean.

SAILS FOR THE PACIFIC.

Returning- from his first voyage, after a brief stay on
shore he shipped on the bark Kent, Captain Lawton, for
the South Sea, as the Pacific Ocean was then called,
again in search of whales. On this vessel was a hard
master, and the life of the sailor was not a happy one.
An adventurous youth who had made the acquaintance
of the world in the seaport town of Bristol, and at eighteen
was on his second voyage along the pleasant shores of
the Pacific, was not the one to submit tamely to the
brutalities so commonly reported of sea captains.
Although he was exacting of his men, working them
severely, and very rough, he was considerate of their
health, and in case of accident was energetic in their
protection.

ARRIVES IN CALIFORNIA.

The Ke7it, sailing along the Spanish coast of South
America and Mexico, entered the harbor of Monterey.
There three sailors deserted, whose names, Mr. Price
thinks, were Thomas Cole, Wm. Malthus, and Anderson.
A few kanakas were obtained, but the bark sailed away,
short-handed, for the coast of Lower California in search
of whales, and sea elephants, or whatever yielded oil.

LANDS TO KILL SEA ELEPHANTS.

While sailing close to land along the coast of Lower
California, large numbers of sea elephants were seen on
the shore; as Mr. Price says, " millions and millions of
them." Four boats with men w-ere sent on shore to kill
the elephants for their blubber, but the boats capsized in
the surf, losing most of the implements, and one man
drowning. With such implements as they could get the
slaughter began, and an immense number were killed and
the blubber heaped in great piles like hay-stacks. The
ship sailed off and on for a week or more, making
repeated efforts to aid and rescue those on shore. At

64

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

last a kanaka swam through the breakers with a line, and
a boat was pulled through.

An effort was made to get the blubber to the ship, but
the sharks were so numerous and so voracious that they
tore it from the lines, and the work was abandoned until
the vessel could go to some Mexican port and obtain a
supply of fresh water and wood. The bay of Manzanillo
was the port sought. It was then a wild, uninhabited
region. On the southern shore of the bay was a hut
where the Custom House officer stopped when at the port.
The city of Colima was at some unknown distance inland.

RUNS FROM THE SHIP.

Young Price had agreed with another apprentice who
had been subjected to ill-treatment to run from the ship
at the first opportunity. Here was the promised chance.
All had to go ashore for wood and water. A large river
enters the bay on the north side. To this the Captain
went with a boat, taking Price with him. They had to
fight alligators to get up the stream, and then, finding the
water bitter and the alligators so numerous, they left it
for another stream on the eastern side of the bay. This
was favorable for the project of desertion. As many men
and boys as could be spared were put on shore to cut
wood and carry it to the boats, and others took water to
the ship.

After working very hard for several days, and the wood
all on board. Price and his mate concluded their time
to run had arrived, and so slipped away unobserved and
hid themselves in the dense thickets of brush that covered
the neighboring hills. Night was approaching and the
Captain could not wait to hunt for the deserters, who lay
concealed until the ship sailed away. The two boys then
made their way toward the interior, and soon were over-
taken by the customs officer on his way to Colima. He
gave them directions, and they afterwards fell in with a
party of Indians who provided them with an abundance
of food and assisted them on their way.

KIND TREATMENT AT COLIMA.

In due time they arrived safely at Colima and were
taken in charge by the people, who expressed the utmost
solicitude for their health and comfort. Mr. Price says:
"They made babies of us. They couldn't do too much
for us. My hands were, like sailors', well covered in the
palms with tar, and from handling tarry ropes were as
hard as leather. This excited their pity, and they would
take hold of our hands and examine them, constantly
saying, '■ Pobre muchachos; pobre ma nos!' until I got tired
of being so pitied and petted. It was a thing I wasn't used
to. I never can forget how kind the people were to us,
wanting us to stay with them forever. I could talk a
little Spanish, and here learned to talk better. I had
been on the coast before, and in sailing up touched at
Valparaiso and other ports, and the Captain called on me
to interpret for him in doing his business, so I was a little
acquainted with the ways of the people."

AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO CALIFORNIA.

Mr. Price remained at Colima, enjoying the hospitality
of that kind people for nearly a year, when a German

gentleman came there on a visit. He had a vessel at
the port and was going to Monterey, in California. Thither
Price wished to go, and his newly-formed acquaintance
was glad to take him as a sailor and as an interpreter
familiar with the country.

While at Colima the cholera prevailed to an alarming
extent. The city had a population of about 3,000, and
the dead cart was going constantly. Those most subject
to the attacks of the disease were the young people from
fifteen to twenty-five years of age, and seldom survived
the attack more than twenty-four hours. Mr. Price
suffered from an attack of cholera, but after a severe
struggle, aided by good care and a strong constitution,
he recovered.

The vessel on which he sailed for Monterey arrived
safely at her point of destination in the year 1830, and
since that date California has been his home. About the
ancient capital and in the Salinas Valley, riding horses and
herding cattle, and doing such other work as the rancheros
of that period required, the ci-devant sailor remained for
six or seven years, and then came to San Luis Obispo
and engaged as vaquero for Capt. W. G. Dana on the
Nipomo, receiving $15.00 per month wages. There he
was peacefully engaged, excepting an occasional skirmish
with the raiding Indians from the Tulare Valley, until, in
1840, he was one day surprised by a party of soldiers
riding up to him and

MAKING HIM THEIR PRISONER.

For what cause he did not know. He had never taken
any part in politics, or in the question of who should bear
the high-sounding titles, or divide the revenue exacted
from the ships that came to Monterey. Little did he care
whether Gutierrez, Carrillo, Castro, Vallejo, or Alvarado
bore the titles or gathered the customs duties, so that he
was left alone with his horses and cattle in the oak-cov-
ered hills and grassy valleys of quiet Nipomo.

But he was soon made aware that the foreigners in the
north had risen in insurrection, and that he was one and
must go as prisoner. The great story of the valiant Gov-
ernor Alvarado was told him; how the treacherous for-
eigners had arisen and had been put down and captured
after a terrific struggle, and were now prisoners eii i-oiite
from Monterey to Mexico for trial and execution. The
vessel taking them would stop at Santa Barbara to take
others who would be arrested. Price was charged with
being a revolutionist, although he protested he knew
nothing of what had occurred. His protestations were
unavailing and he was taken along to Santa Barbara, no
Other foreigner in this region being disturbed.

As this so-called insurrection formed so important an
episode in the life of Mr. Price, and is also a noted chap-
ter in the early history of California, we will interi^olate
the story in this biographical sketch of the veteran
pioneer.

THE GRAHAM INSURRECTION.

The name of Graham has been mentioned in the pre-
ceding chapter, and the part he took in overthrowing the

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PISMO.

RANCH, RESIDENCE t HOTEL OF JOHN M. PRICE, SAN LUIS OBISPO CO. CAL.

i

I

BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN M. PRICE,

65

Government of Gutierrez and placing Alvarado in power.
For this service Alvarado had promised him and the
other foreigners that he would cause the repeal of the laws
prohibiting their holding land without naturalization, and
would make them grants of land. Graham had also
become offensive from his familiarity, and exacting the
fulfillment of his promises. For these offenses Alvarado
determined to get rid of all by a cmip de main, at the same
time accomplishing a cotip d'etat.

Whether anything like an insurrection was contem-
plated is extremely doubtful; that none was attempted is
quite certain, but as the affair was generally known as the
Graham insurrection, it may as well be described under
that name. The reader will recollect that when Alvarado
was threatened with arrest, he fled to the cabin of Isaac
Graham, and with him planned the affair which termi-
nated in making Alvarado the recognized Governor of
California.

SKETCH OF GRAHAM.

Graham was one of those characters that could have
been raised nowhere except on a frontier. He was a
native of Tennessee, and at a very early age left the civ-
ilized part of the United States and struck into the vast
wilderness which formed the western half of the Ameri-
can Continent. He was of immense physical strength,
with endurance and persistence that knew no failure.
Whether making his way across lofty mountains, trackless
deserts, or fighting a horde of Indians, he was always the
same self-reliant and persistent character, destitute of fear.
Thrown in early life into scenes where his own prowess
was his reliance for the protection of his life and property,
he had come to regard his own notions of right and
wrong as his guide, and the law as a mere cobweb to be
brushed aside as of little account; hence Alvarado had
little difficulty in inducing him to engage in a revolution.

When that revoliition was accomplished, and Alvarado
was Governor, Graham had as little reverence for the man
he had assisted to office, or his authority, as for any other.
It is said that, forgetting the high and mighty title with
which Alvarado decorated his name, Graham would slap
him familiarly on his back and pass some joke, as he
would to a fellow-trapper who slept under the same bear-
skin in the cleft in the rocks, in the Sierra Nevada. He
had accumulated considerable property in distilling grain
and raising cattle. He had a famous race-horse which
had won for him many thousands of dollars, much of
which was still due him from those who had matched
their horses with his. Alvarado had promised him land
for the services he had performed, which promise he had
neglected to fulfill, though repeatedly reminded of it.
Graham and his friends were getting persistent, imperti-
nent, and troublesome.

ARRESTED BY ALVARADO.

Alvarado conceived the plan of getting rid of the
"whole tribe" at one swoop. He charged them with hav-
ing formed a conspiracy to overturn the Government,
and ordered the arrest of nearly all the Americans in and
around Monterey, or within several hundred miles of the
place. The arrest had to be done quietly or the sturdy

old hunters would get alarmed and put themselves on the
defensive, and Alvarado well knew their fighting qualities.
They were, by twos and threes, privately informed that
Alvarado wanted to see them, and, when confronted with
him, were charged with conspiracy and chained up to be
shot. So quietly had this been carried on that i6o,
nearly the whole number, were inveigled into town before
the alarm was raised.

They did not try to entrap Graham in this way, how-
ever. He was too wary to be caught that way, and
would be likely to make a big fight when they attempted
to put chains on him, even if the Governor was present.
They undertook to kill him outright. Six of them went
to his bedside in the night, when he was asleep, and he
was awakened by the discharge of a pistol so near his
head that the flash burned his face, the ball passing
through the collar on his neck. As he arose to his feet,
six other pistols were discharged so near him that his
shirt took fire in several places. One shot only hit him,
that passing through his arm. After this firing, the party
fell back to reload, for old Graham was on his feet, and
no one cared to meet the old man, who was now thor-
oughly aroused. He had concluded that discretion was
the better part of valor when the assailants were six to
one, and commenced retreating, which so encouraged the
arresting party that they made a rush and succeeded in
overthrowing him. One of them undertook to stab him,
but the dirk passed into the ground between Graham's
arm and his body. Before the assassin could repeat the
blow, Graham was dragged away to where Jose Castro,
who was the leader of the party, was standing, whereupon
Castro struck him on the head with the flat of his sword
so severely as to bring him to the ground, at the same
time ordering him to be shot, which, however, was not
done. The whole party connected with Graham in farm-
ing and distilling were carried in chains to Monterey and
thrown into the adobe prison on the mud floor, which,
as it was during the rainy season, April, 1840, was in
reality a mud floor.

THE PRISONERS SENT TO SAN BL.A.S.

Here the whole number were detained several days
with insufficient food and water, while the authorities de-
bated the question of shooting all of them. At this
juncture a merchant vessel, the Don Quixote, came into
the harbor, and succeeded, by some pretensions of author-
ity, in inducing the authorities to send the prisoners to
San Bias for trial. Some of the names of the parties
arrested and the localities from whence taken were, Lewis
Pollock, John Vermillion, William McGlone, Daniel Sill,
George Frazer, Nathaniel Spear, Capt. James McKinley,
Jonathan Fuller, and Captain Beechay, of San Francisco;
William Blirkin, George Fergusson, Thomas Thomas,
William Langleys, Jonathan Mirayno,- William Weeks,
Jonathan Coppinger, William Hants, Charles Brown,
Thomas Tomlinson, Richard Westlake, James Peace,
Robert McAlister, Thomas Bowen, Elisha Perry, Nathan
Daily, Robert Livermore, William Gulenack, Jonathan
Marsh, Peter Storm, Job Dye, William Smith, Jonathan
Warner, and two Frenchmen, of San Jose; Wm. Thomp-

66

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

son, James Burnes, F. Eagle, Henry Knight, Jonathan
Lucas, Geo. Chapel, Henry Cooper, Jonathan Herven,
James Lowyado, Francisco La Grace, Michael Lodge,
Joseph Whitehouse, and Robert King, of Santa Clara;
Isaac Graham, Daniel Goff, VVm. Burton, Jonathan Smith,
and Henry Niel, of Natividad (Graham's neighborhood);
Wm. Chard, James O'Brien, Wm. Bronda, Wm. Malthas,
Thos. Cole, Thos. Lewis, Wm. Ware, Jas. Majous, of Sali-
nas; Leonard Carmichael, Edward Watson, Andrew Wat-
son, H. McVicker, H. Hathaway, Henry Bee, Wm. Trev-
avan, Jonathan Maynard, Wm. Henderson, Jas. Meadows,
Jonathan Higgins, Mark West, George Kenlock, Jeremiah

Jones, Jonathan Chamberlain, Daniel , Joseph Bowles,

James Kelley, James Fairwell, Walter Adams, Mr. Hor-
ton, James Atterville, Mr. Jones, Jonathan Christian,
Wm. Chay, Wm. Dickey, Charles Williams, and Alvan
Willson, from Monterey, and John Michael Price was
arrested as above stated, and added to the prisoners
aboard the ship Roger Willams, of Boston, which had
been chartered for the purpose of taking them from
Monterey to San Bias. Forty-five prisoners were taken
to that port, of about one hundred and sixty arrested.

ALVARADO'S CRUELTY.

While at Monterey the treatment of the prisoners was
most inhuman. Mr. Thomas J. Farnham, an American
traveler who happened to arrive in Monterey at the time,
and wrote a book on California, gives a most vivid ac-
count of the affair. The prison, a dungeon with a mud
floor and one small hole for air, was crowded to suffoca-
tion. No bedding or seats were provided, and not much
provision was made for food. Thomas O. Larkin, the
American Consul, was permitted to feed the prisoners oc-
casionally, otherwise they would have suffered for food.
Some could not stand up, and all were emaciated and
pale. No conspiracy could be proven against them, ex-
cept by the testimony of a worthless character, whose
name does not deserve to be remembered.

Nevertheless a number were condemned to be shot,
but this sentence was suspended through the energy of
Mr. Farnham and the action of the vessel, the Don
Quixote, on which he came, which, instead of anchoring,
would sail out and in, leading Alvarado to fear that an
American fleet was outside, and it was concluded to send
the prisoners to San Bias for trial.

The result of the whole matter was that forty-four were
retained for trial at San Bias, and the rest liberated. The
forty-four were placed on board a ship, and started south
with the intention of putting in at Santa Barbara, where
Price was added to the list, Jose Castro being in charge.

THE PRISONERS AT SANTA BARBARA.

The bark Don Quixote, the merchant vessel spoken of,
followed the course of the vessel containing the prisoners.
They had a most disagreeable trip, being treated much as
they were in the prisons of Monterey. Farnham gives
the following account of the prisoners coming from
Monterey to Santa Barbara: —

THE PRISONERS AT SANTA BARBARA.

On the first day of May, 1840, the American (Farn-
ham) made application to see the prisoners and was re-
fused. He had heard that they were in want of food, and
proposed to supply them, but was forbidden by Jose Cas-
tro, t' e officer in charge. The prison-ship had arrived
at Santa Barbara on the 25 th of April, and landed forty-
one of the prisoners. Four others were retained on
board to work. These forty-one men, during the whole
passage from Monterey, had been chained to long bars of.
iron, passing transversely across the hold of the ship.
They were not permitted to go on deck, nor even to
stand on their feet. A bucket was occasionally passed
about for particular purposes, but so seldom as to be of
little use. They were furnished with a mere morsel of
food, and that of the worst quality. Of water they
had scarcely enough to prevent death from thirst, and so
small and close was the place in which they were chained
that it was not uncommon for the more debilitated to
faint and lie some time in a lifeless state. When they
landed, many of them had become so weak that they
could not get out of the boat without aid. Their com-
panions in chains assisted them, though threatened with
instant death if they did so. After being set ashore they
were marched, in the midst of drawn swords and fixed
bayonets, dragging their chains around bleeding limbs,
one mile and three-fourths, to the mission of Santa Bar-
bara. Here they were put into a single room of the mis-
sion prison, without floor or means of ventilation. The
bottom of the cell was soft mud. In this damp dungeon,
without food or water, these poor fellows remained two
days and nights. They had not even straw on which to
sleep.

At the end of this time it came to the ears of the friar
in charge of the mission that one of them was dying of
hunger and thirst. He repaired to the prison and in-
quired of Pinto, the Corporal of the guard, if such were
the fact. The miniature monster answered that he did
not know. The friar replied: "Are you an officer and a
Catholic, and do not know the state of your prisoners ?
You, sir, are an officer of to-day, and should not be one
of to-morrow." The good man entered the cell, and
found one of the Englishmen speechless; administered
baptism and removed him to the house of a kind family,
where I found him on my arrival, still speechless, and in-
capable of motion. The friar extended his kindness to
the other prisoners. He ordered Castro to furnish them
food and water, but, evading the direction so far as was
possible, he gave them barely enough of each to tanta-
lize them, until the arrival of the American in the Don
Quixote. . . . From the first of May, therefore,
they had plenty of food and water.

On the fourth the American was permitted to see the
prisoners. They had been scrubbing themselves at the
great tank, and were allowed, at his suggestion-, to take
their dinner in the open air. They had been suffering
exceedingly since they left Monterey, for their counten-
ances had lost the little color which the dungeons of that
place had left them. Their hands looked skeleton-like;
their eyes were deeply sunken in their sockets. They
tottered as they walked. Poor men ! For no other fault
than their Anglo-Saxon blood, they fared like felons.
They had a long voyage and slavery in the mines of Mex-
ico before them, and were sad. They asked the Ameri-
can if he would lead them in an attack against the
guard. He pointed out the hopelessness of such an at-
tempt in their enfeebled condition, and comforted them
with the reiterated assurance that he would meet them
at San Bias.

The Englishman before spoken of, died with his last

BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN M. PRICE.

67

wants administered by some of the hospitable and kind
ladies of the town.

ALVARADO'S SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH.

For the time being Alvarado had triumphed, as the
prisoners had been sent onward to San Bias, in Mex-
ico. There was great rejoicing among his friends, and of
so much importance was it considered that a general
thanksgiving was ordered in May, 1840. Two months
later a French ship and the American ship-of-war St.
Louis entered the harbor of Monterey to inquire into the
circumstances. Alvarado left immediately to attend to
some Indian disturbances in the interior, and as Castro
was in Mexico with the prisoners, there was no military
man or person in authority to hold responsible for the
affair, and after a few days the ships sailed away, and Al-
varado returned to his post.

Mr. Price says the prisoners were well used after leav-
ing Santa Barbara. After arriving at San Bias they were
sent to Tepic and consigned to the quartel.

ALVARADO'S INCENTIVE.

The true incentive of Governor Alvarado's treacherous
conduct was now made apparent. His accusation against
the foreigners in California and their arrest and deportation
to Mexico for trial was to proclaim his devotion to the
authorities in power — a penitential offering. Alvarado,
a few years previously, had rebelled against the central
Government, deposed, or defied, Carrillo, who had been
appointed to the office of Governor, and assumed the
position himself. He now wished to make an exhibtion
of his zeal in his country's cause, to show his great valor
and the mighty power that he wielded in that distant
Mexican Territory, and how he had grasped in his hand
all the foreigners in his dominions who had assisted him
to gain office on that former occasion, and now offered
them as a sacrifice.

The country was then at war with Texas, which State
had seceded, and, winning some battles, had sent an expe-
dition to New Mexico which Governor Armijo had capt-
ured and sent in chains to the central capital. Alvarado
thought this a good occasion to conciliate the Govern-
ment of Mexico, to gain great applause, and emulate the
grand feat of the Governor of New Mexico. For this
he fabricated the charges against Graham and the for-
eigners, seeking in the most ungrateful and treacherous
manner the one who had been the most useful to him,
first attempting his death, then causing him every possi-
ble suffering and indignity, thus to the better exhibit his
deep repentance and devotion to the superior Govern-
ment. Under the pretense of a threatened uprising
which had no foundation whatever, and in the name of
patriotism, he committed the foulest of crimes, exhibit-
ing a treachery of the most contemptible character, and
a cruelty consistent with a low order of manhood in a
semi-civilized people.

JUSTICE ACCORDED THE PRISONERS.

At Tepic the prisoners appealed to the American Con-
sul to present their case and obtain release and re-
dress. But that official appeared to be of very little

force and availed them nothing, and they therefore asked
the aid of Mr. Barron, the British Consul. Through
that gentleman's influence the condition of the prisoners
was at once ameliorated, and steps were at once taken to
repair, as far as possible, the wrong done. They were re-
leased from the quartel, and an allowance of $3.50 a week
was given them to pay their current expenses. This was
much more than necessary, as living was very cheap at
Tepic, ten cents a day being sufficient to purchase all
the food required.

Negotiations were continued to settle the difficulties
to the satisfaction of the prisoners. These had con-
tinued for several months when $400 was offered each
as liquidated damages, and all to be set free at San
Bias. All but fifteen of the party accepted these terms.
These fifteen, among whom were Price and Graham, de-
clined, but demanded to be returned to their homes in
California, and to be compensated in the full amount of
their losses and sufferings.

Price had been peaceably engaged at what were re-
garded as high wages, and was the owner of 200 or 300
head of cattle and horses in California. At last satisfac-
tory terms were agreed upon, and a Mexican vessel
carried the released prisoners back to Monterey, where
they landed in high glee after an absence of six months.
Those who accepted the $400 and liberty at San Bias
scattered to various parts of the world, and but a part
of them returned to California.

Mr. Price returned to his old place on the Nipomo,
and soon thereafter engaged as major-domo of the Hu-
asna Ranch for Mr. Isaac J. Sparks, at $20.00 a month,
in which position he continued for several years.

FREMONT APPEARS.

In 1846, he was residing on the Arroyo Grande, at the
old ranch house, a short distance below the site of the
present village, and had in his service eight Indians,
The Mexican War was in progress, and it was understood
that California had been taken by the Americans, but all
was quiet on the Arroyo Grande, save the lowing of the
cattle, the neighing of the horses, the excitement of the
rodeo, and the occasional slaughter of a beef for the
consumption of the people. Suddenly, about the last
of the year, he was surprised by the appearance of an
armed body of Americans, who quickly surrounded his
house and demanded his surrender. Mr. Price, in his
bluff manner, asked what they wanted him to surrender;
they had everything already and were welcome to what
they wished.

This was the American battalion under Fremont, eii
route to Los Angeles to co-operate with Commodore
Stockton and General Kearny. The valley of the Ar-
royo Grande was then a dense monte of willows, and
into this the Indians had fled and concealed themselves.
Fremont ordered his men to arrest them. Price asked,
"Why do you want to arrest them, they are but a few un-
armed Indians who are working for me." Still Fremont
insisted on having them caught, and Price said, "Go ahead,
but you might as well try to arrest a lot of quail as to find
them in that monte." Fremont at last seeing the futility

68

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

of the search and the uselessness of the capture, desisted,
and went on his way. That was about all Mr. Price saw
of the war which transferred the country from the domain
of Mexico to that of the United States.

In the harbors of San Francisco, Monterey, and San
Diego, ships of war came and went. Sailors and soldiers
were seen on the streets and plazas, and garrisoned the
castillos and presidios of the larger towns, but the quiet
of San Luis Obispo was not disturbed, and the war
passed and the great revolution was consummated, while
the cattle grazed over the hills of Nipomo and the
vaqueros sought their herds through the monte of Arroyo
Grande.

GOLD MINING.

Peace reigned in California long before the treaty of
Guadaloupe Hidalgo was made, and before the news of
its ratification at Queretaro rumors of the discovery of
gold in the Sierra Nevada spread through the land. That
wonderful discovery excited everybody, and Mr. Price,
accompanied by his brother-in-law, Mr. F. Z. Branch,
went over to the Stanislaus and tried their luck in wash-
ing for gold. After a practical experience sufficient to
take off" the glamour of the gold-mining enthusiasm, and
with a fair degree of success in accumulating the brilliant
scales, they returned to their ranchos on the coast.

On their return journey they made the discovery of
the dead bodies of the Read family at San Miguel, and
raised the party which went in pursuit, the particulars of
which are related in the record of the crimes of San
Luis Obispo.

PUBLIC SERVICES.

Under both nationalities, Mexican and American, in
public and private, Mr. Price has been intrusted with
important offices. Alcalde and Juez de Paz under Mex-
ican rule, and Alcalde, Justice of the Peace, County
Judge, Supervisor, etc., after the change of flags. In the
archives of San Luis Obispo are many of the old doc-
uments in the Spanish language bearing the signature of
Juan Miguel Price, being ordinances, proclamations, and
decisions, of a very interesting character. The Alcaldes,
Prefects, and Sub-Prefects, then had power exceeding
that of the Legislature of the present time, and some or-
ders were made respecting the conduct of individuals
that would hardly be submitted to by the Americans of
to-day, as long as there is a high Appellate Court to "whip
in " to constitutional limits and throw its shield of tech-
nicalities "over criminals. The good, fatherly Alcaldes
made rules for the people as for children, and their
authority was obeyed.

Mr. Price had been continued in the office of Alcalde,
but by what authority after the Americans took posses-
sion of the Government it is unnecessary to inquire.
There appears to have been an election as indicated by a
letter from Colonel Mason, then Military Governor,
dated Monterey, January 25, 1848, to J. M. Bonilla,
also an Alcalde of San Luis Obispo. Colonel Mason
writes: " I send this appointment of J. M. Price as Al-
calde, but not on account of the election that was held,
for that was unauthorized.''

A CELEBRATED CASE.

Several letters arj on Hie in reference to a decision of
Judge Price in the case of taking possession of a pair of
millstones at the mission. The following are sufficient
to explain the matter; —

Headquarters ioth Military Department, |
Monterey, CaUfornia, May 16, 1848. [
Sir: Padre Gomez, the Catholic priest of San Luis
Obispo, through his friend Don Manuel Jemino, complains
that at the instance of Vicente Felis, you have taken from
him a pair of millstones that have been in his possession
for three years, and which he acquired by purchase.
Whilst I do not at all doubt the correctness of your
motive in taking those stones from the priest, yet, from
the circumstances of the case, and all the information I
can gain, I am of the opinion they should be returned to
him, which I desire you will do. And this will relieve
you from any responsibility in the transaction.
I am respectfully your obedient servant,

R. B. Mason,
Colonel I st Dragoons, Gover?ior of California.
John M. Price, Alcalde of San Luis Obispo.

To this order the following reply was sent, evidently
under the effort to be as formal and respectful as the
curious-looking Spanish paper used would permit.

San Luis Obispo, May 21, 1848. ■
Respected Sir: I have not, as your Excellency says in
yours of the i6th inst., at the instance of Vicente FeUs
taken from the priest. Padre Gomez, a pair of millstones,
which you desire that I should put in his possession
again. I am well aware that the priest bought the mill-
stones, but the Indian sold what was not his, consequently
I took those stones from the priest on account of its
being sufficiently proved in this juzgado by the under-
named individuals, namely Don Mariano Bonilla, which
is the person that sold the millstones to Ve Felis for
cattle to feed the Indians belonging to this mission in the
year 1842, also Don Jose Maria Villa, who was Alcalde
in the year 1843, likewise an Indian named Majin. If
your Excellency will not admit, or do not approve of my
proceedings in this case, or make null what has been
proved in this juzgado to be just, your Excellency will
much oblige by naming another individual to relieve me
from this most disagreeable situation that I now fill. An
answer from your Excellency by return mail will unques-
tionably decide a case that has been before every Alcalde
of this pueblo up to the present date.

I am respectfully your most obedient servant,

John M. Price.
To his Excellency R. B. Mason, Gov. of California.

Headquarters ioth Military Department, (^
Monterey, Cal, May 26, 1848. /
Sir : I am in the receipt of your communication of the
2 2d inst., which informs me that the case of the millstones
was regularly tried and decided by proof in your Juzgado.
That being the case, it certainly is not my intention to
disturb that decision.

My communication of the i6th was written under the
impression, as therein expressed, that you had taken them
from the priest at the instance of Vicente Felis; by which
I meant to convey the idea, that you had taken them
upon the representations of Felis, without due course of
trial; and it was under that view of the case I advised
them to be restored.

I am respectfully your obedient servant,

R. B. Mason,
Colonel 1st Dragoons, Governor of California.
Mr. John M. Price, Alcalde of San Luis Obispo.

INSURRECTIONARY PERIOD.

69

The return letter from Governor Mason acknowledges
the correctness of Mr. Price's action and motive's, and
continues him in the office of Alcalde. The position, in
the disturbed condition of the country, without law or
precedent, was one of great responsibility and the most
experienced jurists would have been much perplexed,
but Mr. Price, aiming at simple justice, gave satisfaction
as Alcalde. His subsequent political acts, as County
Judge, Supervisor, etc., will be further noticed in the polit-
ical history of the county.

,M.A.RRIAGE AND FAMILY.

Mr. Price was married in 1844 to Senorita Dona
Andrea Colona, a native of California, and thirteen chil-
dren have been born to them, five sons and eight daugh-
ters. The home is distinguished for its hospitality, the
visitor being always welcomed with the kindness and
polite attention that so distinguishes the native Califor-
nian. Mr. Price is devoted to his family as they are de-
voted to him, and he has taken great pains in giving each
of his children a first-class education. Throughout life
he has been active and public spirited, in early days fight-
ing the Indians in protection of the settlements and
stock, and in later years serving the public as one of its
most prominent and influential citizens. His life has
been one full of adventure and interest. Cast upon the
world to depend upon himself when a mere child, and
upon a strange country and among strange people when a
boy, he has made his way by the inherent qualities of his
nature and by his unaided energies to wealth and honor
in his old age. This venerable gentleman still resides
upon his grand estate of 7,000 acres of the Pismo Ran-
cho, within sound of the beating waves of the Pacific
Ocean, enjoying the rest and dignity of a wealthy farmer,
and held in the highest esteem by all.

CHAPTER X.

INSURRECTIONARY PERIOD.

Dissatisfaction with Alvarado — Infamous Decree of Santa Ana —
Micheltorena Appointed Governor — Commodore Jones takes
Monterey — Fatal Precautions Taken — Capt. John A. Sutter
— Charles M. Weber — Martin Murphy and Family — Arrest of
Weber — Campaign of 1S45 — Capt. James McKinley — Sur-
render of Micheltorena — Articles of Capitulation — Close of the
Campaign — Pio Pico Governor — The First Conspiracy — Ex-
traordinary Convention Called — Fremont's Coming — Spicey
Correspondence — Fremont Recalled — Capture of Sonoma —
Proclamation of Judge Ide — State of War — Pio Pico and
Thomas O. Larkin — Reminiscence of General Vallejo — The
Famous Bear Flag — Fremont's Battalion — Last Mexican Flag
in the North — Important Correction of Historj' — Spanish Gov-
ernors of California.

^SiJsi> —

;,LVARADO'S relatives, his uncle Carrillo in the
«&\L South, and another uncle, Vallejo, in the North,
were dissatisfied with his conduct and petitioned for
his removu.1. Don Carlos A. Carrillo suggested to his
friend. General Bustamente, then President of Mexico,
that he would accept the Governorship of the Territory,
but the appointment was not made. General Vallejo had
denounced his nephew as a "villain, robber, usurper,"
and asked his removal. Alvarado had as earnestly

worked to have a new Commandante-General appointed
in place of ^^allejo. Both were gratified at last, in some
respects at least, as both were removed.

INFAMOUS DECREE OF SANTA ANA.

"The mills of the gods grind slowly," and this spirit
seemed to have pervaded the central Government of Mex-
ico as it abided the decision of the Californians until the
opportunity offered — as the officials presumed — to crush
that rebellious people. Santa Ana felt himself strong
enough in power to assume the government of California,
encouraged by the personal quarrels of the leaders, and
on the 2 2d of February, 1842, issued the famous — or
rather infamous — order, directing that 300 convicts in the
prisons of Mexico should be organized as an army under
command of Gen. Manuel Micheltorena, to proceed to
California. Micheltorena was appointed Governor and
Commandante-General, and with his army of convicts
and 150 free persons to act as officials and personal
guard, arrived at San Diego in August of that year.

The decree of Santa Ana, ordering the men of Michel-
torena's army to be drawn from the prisons, although dis-
puted by many, is a well authenticated fact, and was pub-
lished at the time at Mexico, in £/ Observador Judicial
y de Legisladon, 1842, vol. I., page 372.

The decree contains a provision for rebating a part of
the sentence or full pardon of the convicts in return for
good services they might perform; also that their families
should be assisted to join them, and that land and imple-
ments of cultivation would be furnished them. Cali-
fornia was thus to be made a convict colony; but the
chief object was to furnish the new Governor with a body
of desperate men to enable him to overpower the aspir-
ing and independent Californians, and prevent the re-en-
acting of any Texan revolution that had proven such a
sore matter for Santa Ana.

MICHELTORENA APPOINTED GOVERNOR.

His chosen officer. General Micheltorena, was one in
whom he had the utmost confidence. He was an old
soldier, having fought with him in Texas, had learned
something of the fighting qualities of the Americans, and
was supposed to have imbibed some of the bitter hatred
to them entertained by his chief. He landed at San
Diego in August, where he was received with great re-
joicing, as to the pleasure-loving Californians a new Gov-
ernor with so large a force, meant many fandangoes, bull-
fights, and other festivities. After spending some time
in the enjoyment of the hospitalities of San Diego, he
leisurely proceeded northward, repeating the festivities
and receiving the homage of the people. Southern Cali-
fornia had always shown a stronger attachment, or a more
subservient loyalty, to the Mexican Government than the
North, and Micheltorena found all serene. But before
his arrival at the capital he received a message that caused
him to hastily retrace his steps to Los Angeles.

COMiMODORE JONES TAKES MONTEREY.

Commodore Thomas Ap Catesby Jones, of the United

States Navy, had sailed into the harbor of the capital

I with the frigate United States and the sloop-of-war Cyane,

70

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

and liaJ taken possession of the town in the name of the
UnitijJ States, hoisting the stars and stripes. Alvarado,
the acting Governor, rather favored this transfer than
otherwise, preferring to yield up his authority to the
United States, perhaps looking to future favors.

The news of the capture reached Micheltorena on the
24th of October, 1842. The next day he was at the mis-
sion of San Fernando and issued an order to all Cali-
fornians to "drive all their horses and cattle from near
the coast to the mountains, and starve out the enemy."

Jones occupied Monterey but a single day, when, becom-
ing assured that there was no war between the United
States and Mexico, he hauled down the stars and stripes,
apologized for his hasty conduct, fired a salute to the
Mexican flag as it once more floated over the Castillo,
and on the 21st of the month sailed for Mazatlan, from
which point he sent dispatches to his Government at
Washington explaining the matter.

The act was an astounding one under any circum-
stances. The two nations were supposed to be at peace.
There had always existed a fear that the wild trappers
from the Rockies would capture the country, but men-of-
war were supposed to be in the command of gentlemen.

The circumstances require an explanation. Both the
United States and England had been looking with a long-
ing eye to the harbor of San Francisco. Both had posses-
sions on the coast, and both were well informed as to the
value of the harbor and its surroundings, as well as to the
weakness of the Mexican Government, which could exert
but a nominal authority over the distant colony, which,
it was expected, would soon drop like a ripe apple into
the hands of some stronger power.

Texas had some years 'before achieved her independ-
ence, and had made application to be admitted into the
Union. After the death of Harrison the project of ad-
mission was favored by the administration, though not
actually consummated until the last year of Tyler's rule.

The politicians had expected on the admission of
Texas, that Mexico, who, through her minister, had said
that the admission of Texas would be considered a justifi-
able cause of war, would go on the war-path. Our fleet
had been ordered around here with instructions to take
possession of the country at the earliest excusable oppor-
tunity.

On the 17th of January, 1843, Jones returned to Cali-
fornia and anchored in the roadstead of San Pedro.
Micheltorena and his officers were at Los Angeles, and
there Commodore Jones and the officers of his command
paid the Governor a visit in all the style and display
possible for a party of officers of the United States Navy.
A grand reception was given them by the Californians,
and, of course, a ball in their honor. The American
officers supposed they would shine in their gold bullion,
bright buttons, silk sashes, polished swords, and waving
plumes; but their uniforms, so carefully prepared for the
occasion, were only like reflected light in comparison with
the rich brilliancy of the Mexicans. This had a de-
pressing effect upon the naval officers, but the polite
attention and elegant manners of the entertainers quite
overpowered them. Jones was there to repair, as far as

possible, any breai h of friendship made by his untimely
seizure of Monterey, and to pay any damages that might
have accrued. In the bill was an item of $3,000 for
damages to the Mexican troops because of their rapid
march to the interior on the receipt of the news of the
seizure.

FATAL PRECAUTIONS TAKEN.

The affair was thus settled, and Micheltorena assumed
the chair of State without further opposition. In his
endeavors to maintain a stable government he sought to
conciliate the various factions and make friends with the
Americans. He entered into a compact with Capt. John
A. Sutter,* promising grants of land in the Sacramento
A^alley to Americans, and was liberal in his gifts. But
the factions of Californians, instead of uniting for him,
united against him.

Upon taking possession of Monterey, Micheltorena
exhibited poor generalship by removing the guns and
ammunition of the harbor defenses to a safe place in the
interior, in order that no other wandering war-ship with
an indiscreet commander might repeat the act of Jones.
These stores he carefully removed to the old mission of
San Juan Bautista. They appeared to be of no use in
defending the Governor in Monterey, as Graham had
used one of the guns to frighten Gutierrez into a surren-
der, and Commodore Jones had sailed into the harbor
and taken the town and Governor Alvarado without
receiving a shot.

The extraordinary caution of General Micheltorena,
the hero of Texas, proved his ruin. The military stores
at San Juan offered a tempting opportunity to the Cali-
fornians whom the Mexican Governor had displaced from
office. There were good grounds for an insurrection.
The class of soldiery brought by the Governor gave suffi-
cient cause. Alvarado, Castro, and Vallejo were snubbed
by the party in power, and they united for an insurrec-
tion.

On the 14th of November, 1844, they began hostilities
by the capture of the military stores at San Juan. The
insurrectionary forces then retreated north, and Michel-
torena, with his convict soldiery, followed in pursuit.
General Castro and his army, with the captured stores,
fled to San Jose, expecting there to obtain the aid of the
foreigners in his rebellion. But the foreigners were not
ready to act, and, moreover, had been so well treated by
the Governor that they felt friendly to him. Castro then
continued his retreat up the east side of the bay of San
Francisco. Micheltorena approached San Jose. Among
the foreigners there was

CAPT. CHARLES M. WEBER, t

A German by birth, but who had come to California

* Capt. John A. Sutter, a Swiss by birth, and Captain in the Swiss Guard of
Charles X. of France, had arrived in California from the United States via
Oregon and the Sandwich Islands, in 1839, and had been given a large tract of
land on the Sacramento River, where he had built a fort which had become the
nucleus of an American settlement in a region where the Indians had repelled
Spanish occupation. Sutter was an officer of the Government under Michelto-
rena, and, being a large landholder, was supposed to be in favor of maintaining
an established Government, and that he would aid the Governor against the
party of Vallejo. Castro, and Alvarado.

\ Founder of the city of Stockton, where he died, 1881.

THE INSURRECTIONARY PERIOD.

71

from the United States in 1841, and had a store of valua-
ble merchandise. Weber met the pursuing army and
told the Governor that the insurrectionary forces had
gone northward, and, being friendly, he begged that he
also would pass north without entering the pueblo. The
troops were clamorous to enter the town, with the design
of plundering it. This was what Weber feared, and
hastened to notify the people. The tide of feeling
turned against Micheltorena, and the foreigners grasped
their arms determined the convict soldiery should not
enter the place. A number of Californians joined them.
With this company, barely a sixth of Micheltorena's
army, Weber went out to intercept the march. He sent
a courier to the Governor, saying he did not appear as an
enemy, but that he was aware of the character of his
soldiers, and his only object was to prevent their entering
the town. The Governor halted his forces. Castro,
learning that a small force of foreigners had checked the
pursuit of himself, cautiously returned and confronted the
Governor with his new allies. No attack was made, but
Micheltorena agreed to return to Monterey with his
army and to leave the country.

He returned to Monterey, but instead of disbanding
his army as he had agreed, entered into preparations
for renewing the contest and suppressing the rebellion.
He sent word to Sutler to come to his aid with an army
of Americans and Indians,_in conformity with his agree-
ment, and in return promising to confirm all the grants
of land Sutter, as authorized by him, had made or rec-
ommended. Captain Sutter proceeded to organize a
force, wishing to maintain his agreement and believing
the insurrection to be only of certain malcontents of the
Californians, and, moreover, not having a very cordial
feeling for Vallejo, Castro, and Alvarado, on account of
their disapproving of his purchase from the Russians of
their claim to the land at Fort Ross.

MARTIN MURPHY AND FAMILY.

In the meantime there had arrived at Sutter's Fort a
train of immigrants from the United States, in which was
a family since distinguished for its wealth, social worth,
and influence. This was Martin Murphy, Sr., his wife,
five sons, and two daughters. The sons were Martin,
with his wife and four children — one being Gen. P. W.
Murphy of this county — James, his wife and one child,
Bryant, Daniel, John, Ellen, and Mary. Quite a large
train accompanied them. This family was reported to
be at Sutter's Fort, and the daughters were reported as
possessing unusual attractions of loveliness and accom-
plishments. The senior Martin Murphy had been a
gentleman and official of importance in Canada, and his
coming into California with so large a company, adding
so important an element to the foreign-born population,
created quite a sensation in that limited circle of society.
There were other young ladies in the train, and several
married ladies. There can be no doubt that the news of
such an arrival created quite a flutter in the breasts of the
young bachelors of San Jose and Yerba Buena (San
Francisco).

ARREST OF WEBER.

Captain Weber was evidently affected and he has-
tened to Sutter's Fort to get a view of the fair ladies.
He had distinguished himself in repelling Micheltorena,
and believed the war was ended. On his arrival at the
fort he was surprised to learn that all there were making
preparations to go in aid of Micheltorena, and regarded
him as a spy of the insurrectionists. He was arrested
and a council of war was held to consider the case,
which reported as follows: —

We, the subscribers, chosen as a council of war, have
unanimously resolved the following:

I St. That Mr. Weber be put in irons, and detained in
the fort until such time as we may receive orders from
His Excellency, the Governor (Micheltorena), as regards
his disposal.

2d. That Mr. Pearson B. Reading be requested to
keep Mr. Weber in a convenient room, and afford him
such necessaries as circumstances may admit of and his
safe detention may require.

J. A. Sutter,
John Townsend,
Wm. Dicke,
Isaac Graham,
Edward McIntosh,
Jasper O'Farrell,
Samuel J. Hensley.
J. BiDWELL, Secretary.

All these people were very friendly toward Mr. Weber,
but, believing it to their interests to maintain Michel-
torena in power, and that Weber as an aid to Castro
would be a strong power against them, they dared" not
set him at liberty. Captain Weber appears not to have
suffered much by confinement. He had the pleasure
of making the acquaintance of the ladies he had gone so
far and risked so much to see, and eventually made one,
Miss Ellen Murphy, his wife.

campaign of 1845.

In January, 1845, Sutter was ready with his forces to
march to the aid of the Governor, and proceeded south.
The command consisted of about 150 Indians, armed
with muskets, under the leadership of Raphero, a
Mokelko Chief, who is represented as one of the most
formidable warriors of the North and a bitter enemy of
the Spanish people, and about sixty American riflemen
under Captain Gant. While en route Sutter was admon-
ished by J. Alexander Forbes, Dr. Marshe, and others, of
the great mistake he was making; that the American, or
foreign element, were almost unanimous in favor of the
expulsion of Micheltorena and his convict soldiery, and
urged his return. But Sutter replied he had now gone
too far to retire with honor, and that he must proceed.
In his command was Isaac Graham, who had been
arrested and sent to San Bias by Castro, and he had a
question of revenge to settle.

The army of Sutter was met by Micheltorena and his
troops on the plain of Salinas and was received with
great rejoicing, flags flying, drums beating, and salvos of
artillery. But there was a cloud of disappointment and
distrust hanging over the band of Americans in Sutter's

72

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

command. They had learned that their countrymen,
aside from those of the Sacramento Valley, had taken
the part of Castro, and consequendy they had no heart
in the cause, many leaving it before meeting their friends
on the opposite side.

The allied army of Micheltorena and Sutter marched
south, in which direction Castro with his Californians
had gone. On the morning of February 15, the rear
guard of Castro's army captured the advance forces of
Sutter, then consisting of the Captain and fourteen men,
the capture being a surprise in a narrow pass in the San
Fernando Mountains. Castro made a speech to these
prisoners, explaining that it was to their interest to drive
Micheltorena and his band of robbers out of the coun-
try, asked them to use their influence over the other
foreigners in Los Angeles to aid in expelling the Mex-
icans, furnished them with supplies, and gave them their
freedom. This politic move disarmed that branch of
his enemy, and proved to Sutter the folly of his move-
ment.

CAPTAIN JAMES m'KINLEY.

At Los Angeles Castro was reinforced by about sixty
foreigners under command of a brave and resolute
Scotchman, James McKinley, and with this aid retraced
his steps to give battle to Micheltorena. The two armies
met on the plains of San Fernando. Castro's forces
took up a favorable position, the Americans under Captain
McKinley seeking natural defenses, and the mounted
Californians on the flank of the Mexican forces. The
latter opened a heavy fire of artillery, but with such wild.
firing as to do no damage, while McKinley's riflemen
told heavily upon the artillerymen. Sutter's men took
no part in the battle, and McKinley's men did not
attempt to harm them.

At last McKinley determined on a conference with
the men of Sutter's party, and, leaving the protection of
his rifle pit, rushed out on the. plain with his rifle in one:
hand and waving his hat in the other, passed on a run,i
amid a shower of musket balls from the Mexicans, and'
reached the other party unhurt. He vigorously ex-
plained to his northern friends, several of whom were
old acquaintances, the true position of affairs, resulting
in their demand of the Governor that he surrender.

SURRENDER OF MICHELTORENA.

As a consequence a truce was sounded and a capitula-
tion agreed upon, of which the following is a true copy,
translated by the late J. Alexander Forbes, of Oak-
land: —

ARTICLES OF CAPITULATION. ,

Agreement made on the field of San Fernando, between
Don Manuel Micheltorena, General of Brigade and
Co7nmander-in-Chief of this Department, and Don
Jose Castro, Lieute7iant-Colo7iel of the forces opposed
to the troops of General Micheltorena.
Article i. Whereas, no decision of the Central Gov-
ernment of Mexico has been received in reply to the per-
mission solicited by General Micheltorena, through his
Briirade Major, Don Rapliael Telles, for the withdrawal
of the General and his troops from this department, for
the purpose of returning to the interior of the Republic.

Wherefore, and in consequence of the present united
armed opposition of the inhabitants of California to the
said troops, against which hostile movements the General,
with his small force and scarcity of resources, can no longer
contend, he agrees to march forthwith to San Pedro, accom-
panied by his soldiers, where Colonel Castro will provide a
vessel, duly victualed, for transporting the General and his
troops to Monterey.

Art. 2. The soldiers who may desire (voluntarily) to
remain in California, shall, on their arrival at San Pedro,
deliver up their arms to the officer of their escort, and
remain as citizens under the protection of the existing
authorities.

Art. 3. The soldiers who may choose to follow Gen-
eral Micheltorena shall embark with him at San Pedro,
carrying their arms with them; and on the arrival of the
transport at Monterey the Mexican soldiers that now
occupy that post shall embark thereon, also with their
arms; and in case of insufficiency of room for all of said
soldiers in one vessel, another shall be provided for them,
and the said vessel or vessels shall sail for any Mexican
port the General may choose to direct.

Art. 4. The oflicers who may choose to remain in
California shall be respected in their rank as officers of
the Mexican army; their lives and property shall be guar-
anteed, and their salaries shall be paid from the depart-
mental treasury.

Art. 5. The same privileges shall be enjoyed by all
the citizens who, in the present difficulties, have given aid
to General Micheltorena.

Art. 6. All arms, ammunition, and warlike imple-
ments actually existing in the armory at Monterey shall
be delivered to the commander, Castro, of the opposing
forces, in order that with them he may defend the entire
department, and the national independence, encharged
by General Micheltorena.

Art. 7. That henceforward the civil government of
this department shall be vested in the presiding member
of the Assembly, as ordered by that corporation, accord-
ing to law, for which object General Micheltorena will
deliver a circular order to the chief of the opposing forces
for immediate publication throughout the department.

Art. 8. In like manner General Micheltorena will
issue another order, that Don Jose Castro, Lieutenant-
Colonel of the army, be duly acknowledged as the Com-
manding-General of this Department.

The commissioners appointed on said field for submit-
ting these stipulations to the respective chiefs for their
approbation or rejection, were, on the part of General
Micheltorena, Don Felix Valdaz, battalion commander,
and Don Jose Castanares, Colonel of infantry; and on the
part of Colonel Castro, Don Jose Antonio Carrillo and
Lieut. Manuel Castro.

On the field of San Fernando, February, 22, 184^,

,o-^ ,,^ J Felix Valdaz,

^ ° ' [ Jose Maria Castanares.

(Approved) Micheltorena.

yo- j\ f Josii: Antonio Carrillo.

^^'Sned) -^ Manuel Castro.

(Approved) Castro.

additional article.

The division of General Micheltorena will march with
all the honors of war, their flags flying, drums and
trumpets sounding, two field-pieces, six-pounders, and
one four-pounder culverin, with matches lighted, and will
be saluted by the opposing forces under the Lieutenant-
Colonel I^on Jose Castro, with colors flying and drums
beating. And on the arrival of General Micheltorena
at San Pedro, the said three field-pieces, with all their

^:Z^-^^5^^^^^_^-

H. M. AA^ARDEN.

The portrait of one of San Luis Obispo's most fortu-
nate and popular citizens is here given, and an illustra-
tion on another page represents what is claimed as the
handsomest residence in San Luis Obispo County, with
its fine gardens, costly marble fountain, and all the rich
adornments of an elegant country home. This is the
home of Horatio Moore Warden, a native of Ohio, born
at Granville, Licking County, May 13, 1828. Mr. War-
den springs from old colonial stock of high rank, who,
when the difficulties came between the colonies and the
mother country, espoused the patriot cause, and upon
the declaration of independence became a Captain in
the American Army, continuing in the field through the
Revolutionary War. Mr. Warden's father was Gabriel
Warden, a native of Burlington, Vermont, and his moth-
er's maiden name was Mary Seely, a native of Massa-
chusetts. This worthy couple raised a family of twelve
children, three of whom were daughters and nine sons,
the subject of this sketch being next to the youngest.
Granville was noted for its excellent schools, and there
young Warden received his education and grew to man's
estate. When twenty years of age, in company with two
older brothers, he went from Ohio to Illinois, where they
engaged in dealing in cattle, supplying the Chicago mar-
ket. In that business they were engaged tSvo years, dur-
ing which time they resided in Marshall County in that
State. In 1850, in company with Lew M. Warden, his
brother, he crossed the plains to California, reaching
Hangtown (Placerville) July 6th, making an exceedingly
rapid journey for that period, including a stay of one
week at Salt Lake City. The mines were then in their
freshness, and virgin ground, enriched with the precious
dust, was accessible to all, and in the mines of Placerville
he immediately went to gathering gold. Subsequently, he
mined on the American River, meeting with success gen-
erally, and soon accumulating sufficient capital to enable

himself and brother to enter largely into business. In
185 1 they went to Sacramento and established a livery
stable, and put on a line of stages to Marysville, the first
of the kind to that city.

Pursuing that business successfully for one year, he
sold out in Sacramento and removed to Placer County,
where he established lines of stages from Auburn to
Yankee Jim's, Iowa Hill, and Illinoistown. From 1852
to 1856, during the busy times of mining in Placer
County, he maintained these stage lines, which were very
profitable to their owner. April 15, 1856, while in Placer
County, he married Miss Maria Mercedes Villigran.
This esteemed lady died April 13, 1 881, at their home in
San Luis Obispo County. In 1856 he sold his business
and removed to Napa County, where he purchased a farm
which he successfully cultivated for twelve years, until,
in 1868, he removed to San Luis Obispo County, where
he has since lived. After coming to this county he
engaged in sheep and wool growing, which he carried
on with the good success that usually attended his en-
terprises. The necessity of a bank of deposit and ex-
change, there being none in the county, was very ap-
parent, and in 1872, in company with C. H. Phillips, es-
tablished the bank of Warden & Phillips, of which Mr.
Warden was President, until he severed his connection
with it. This is now the Bank of San Luis Obispo, and
is an incorporated institution.

November 30, 1882, he married Miss Qireenie Parr,
daughter of Mrs. Loraine Page Parr, at the residence of
the mother, in Grass Valley, Nevada County. The mother
is a native of (iranville, the native place of Mr. Warden,
and an acquaintance of former years. Mrs. Warden is
a native of Iowa. The kind heart of Mr. Warden is
shown in the adoption and great care of two children,
to whom he has given his name and treats as his own.
Rosa Louisa Warden he has had in his family for several

BIOGRAPHY OF H. M. WARDEN.

years, and Joseph Wilkinson Warden he adopted in
September, 1882. Both are about thirteen years of age.
In furnishing a pleasant home for these Mr. Warden
is rewarded by the consciousness of doing good.

Mr. Warden and his family now reside on his splendid
and highly improved ranch of 3,100 acres, being a portion
of the Los Osos Grant, six miles from the city of San Luis
Obispo. Here he indulges his taste for thoroughbred
stock, having upon his place some very choice breeds of
horses and cattle. His Short-horn Durhams are the pride
of the country as well as of the owner, and his stock of
all kinds is of the highest class.

The career of this gentleman has been one of almost
uninterrupted success; coming as a young pioneer to
California, he has passed through all the grades of en-
terprise, miner, stage proprietor, farmer, banker, until
now he holds a princely estate of thousands of acres of
the best of land, and a home of refinement and ease.
The various steps through life have been taken with clear

and good judgment, his business managed with honor
and skill, all apparently being conducted without trouble,
and bringing the natural result of wealth. In social and
public life he has always borne a prominent part, being
■fond of good society, affable and pleasant to all, acting
well to the motto of "stiaveter in viodo, fortiter in re"
which has brought him the regard and respect of all. Of
the social and benevolent orders he is a member of the
Free Masons and of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. Politically he is a Republican, and has great
influence in his party, taking great interest in public mat-
ters. In 1880 and 1881 he was one of the Supervisors
of the county. He has also been a school trustee, and
through his energy and exertions the fine public school
building in San Luis Obispo has been erected. In all
his business he has been thorough and exact, believing
in the principle that all that is worth doing at all is worth
doing well.

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THE INSURRECTIONARY PERIOD.

73

caissons and ammunition, shall be delivered to the officer
encharged by Colonel Castro to receive them.

,„. ,, f MiCHELTORENA.

(S'g^^'i) . i Castro.

CLOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN.

Captain Sutter's forces did not surrender to Castro,
but as Lieut. David T. Bird, who was of the command,
said, "they simply drew out." They were not assured
of protection, as the articles of capitulation referred only
to "citizens." The party had been greatly reduced by
desertion, and returned in humiliation. Their route
homeward was via the Tejon Pass and the valley of the
San Joaquin, then a totally unoccupied region.

The articles of capitulation are in the usual style
between contesting parties of that people, and show the
innate politeness and consideration of the feelings of the
defeated. As in the case of the surrender of Carrillo to
Alvarado it was difficult to tell which party surrendered,
the fraternization was so cordial and the rejoicings so
hearty. The conqueror provides for salutes, and escorts
the conquered who marches as an army fully equipped
for battle, and the conquered in turn bestows rank and
honors upon his conqueror.

PIG PICO GOVERNOR.

By the conditions of the capitulation the presiding offi-
cer of the Departmental Assembly became Governor, Don
Pio Pico held that position and consequently became the
Governor. This gentleman was a native of California,
had been at the head of the Assembly for many years,
and was a member of one of the most prominent families
of the country. His administration is distinguished for
the increase of the American population, the consultations
for a change of government, and the final conquest and
annexation of the country by the United StateSj

THE FIRST CONSPIRACY.

The action of Captain Sutter in taking part with Mich-
eltorena, whom so many Americans opposed, called atten-
tion to the necessity of a better understanding between
the foreigners, for the sake of acting in concert for mutual
protection. To effect this Dr. John Marshe and Capt.
Charles M. Weber, at San Jose, prepared a document,
which others signed, calling a secret convention of the
foreigners. The following is the document: —

The undersigned, in common with all other foreigners
with whom they have been able to communicate person-
ally, being very desirous to promote the union, harmony,
and best interests of all the foreigners resident in Cali-
fornia, have thought that this desirable object can be best
attained by the meeting of some individuals from each of
the different districts of the northern part of the country.
We therefore hereby invite the persons of foreign birth,
whether naturalized or not, to send two or more of their
number to represent them in a meeting, to be held in the
Pueblo de S. Jose, on the 4th day of July next. It is
considered to be very desirable that Monterey, Santa
Cruz, Yerba Buena, Sonoma, and the districts of the
Sacramento should be fully represented. In the mean-
time, we think it will be obvious to every man of sense or
reflection, that the foreigners ought carefully to refrain
from taking any part, either in word or deed, in any move-

ment of a political nature that may take place in the

country — amongst native Mexicans.
Pueblo of St. Joseph, March 2J, 1845.

John Marshe, Peter Hegarty,

Charles M. Weber, George A. Ferguson,
Wm. Gulnack, James Rock,

Peter Davidson, Thomas Jones,

John Burton, H. M. Pierce,

George W. Bellonny, Willard Buzzill,
James W. Weekes, John Hames,

John Daubenbiss, Wm. Knight,

Thomas G. Bairn, George Fraezher,

Benj. Walburn, Thomas Cole,

Daniel Milner, Guillermo G. Chard,

Daniel Fisher.

The document was written by Dr. Marshe, and the
words (amongst native Mexicans) added by ^\'eber.
This was the first step taken for uniting the foreigners
and had for its ulterior object, besides preventing a repe-
tition of the blunder in opposing each other as in the
expulsion of Micheltorena, when they became sufficiently
strong, to wrest the northern part of the country from
Mexican rule, and make it an independent State, as Texas
had done. The meeting was never held, but its objects
were obtained by a conference and mutual understanding
one with another.

extraordinary convention called.

The native Californians were as dissatisfied with the
Mexican Government as were the foreigners in their
midst, and were determined on a change. While not
believing themselves strong enough to establish an in-
dependent Government, they debated as to which of the
powerful nations they should attach themselves. The
Departmental Assembly of California early in 1846 passed
an Act for calling an extraordinary convention to be
i\.f^&A.El Concejo General de los Pueblos Unidos de Califor-
nia — The general council of the united pueblos of Califor-
nia — which was to meet at Santa Barbara, June 15, 1846.
This was supposed to decide the future of California.
Three great powers were desirous of winning the rich
prize. These were represented by their Consuls, Thomas
O. Larkin, for the United States; J. Alexander Forbes, for
Great Britain, and M. Guys, for France; and these gen-
tlemen commenced their plotting and counter-plotting to
influence the members in the interest of their respective
Governments.

An informal preliminary meeting was held at the house
of Gen. Jose Castro, in Monterey, and the question was
discussed. Governor Pico was opposed to the Yankees,
saying they were too cunning and too powerful to have as
masters, that, as General Vallejo reports it, " the North
Americans were so enterprising a people that, if it were
proposed, they were quite capable of changiug the color
of the stars." Some preferred the Catholic monarchy
of France, as the French were of the Latin race and co-
religionists; some advocated the strong monarchy of
Great Britain, as with her powerful navy she could give
protection and maintain a reliable Government. General
Vallejo maintained the superior advantages in belonging
to the United States, making a long and powerful argu-
ment on the subject. There was no longer any depend-

10

74

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

ence to be placed in Mexico. He said, "We have
endured her official cormorants and her villainous sol-
diery until we can endure it no longer." He first advo-
cated independence, but if submitting to any power it
should be to the United States, where, instead of being
subjects, they would become fellow-citizens, with the right
to choose their own local and federal rulers. " If it is our
destiny to fall into the jatvs of the bull-dog or the grey-
hound, tJie latter is the first in the race, let him. take
California.^'

The remarks of Vallejo and the firm position of his
friends convinced the other factions that there would be
no prospect of their unity, and the convention was not
held. A few months later and Cahfornia was beyond
the influence of conventions.

Fremont's coming.

While things were in this eventful condition, the United
States Government dispatched John C. Fremont, then a
Captain of Topographical Engineers, on a third tour
across the plans, ostensibly to find a better route to the
mouth of the Columbia River, but with a private under-
standing, as is generally believed, that he should be suffi-
ciently near to assist in the event of the breaking out of
hostilities between the two nations.

He reached the frontier early in March, 1846, with a
force of only sixty-two men. The force was ample to cross
the plains, or to make a scientific exploration, but he was
a natural leader of men, daring and decisive, and, if nec-
essary, could organize the Yankee population into a bat-
talion that would soon settle all questions of the suprem-
acy of the Anglo-Saxon or Sjjanish races. He visited
the capital, and asked permission to recruit his men and
h'orses in the San Joaquin Valley, where there was plenty
of game and grass, but no ranches, before proceeding on
his way to Oregon, which was granted.

He did not, however, proceed immediately on his way,
but from San Jose, where he then was, took a southerly
course, and we next hear of him at Captain Fisher's rancho,
between San Jose and Monterey. There some horses in
his band were claimed as stolen. Fremont disputed the
claim, thinking it a fabricated case to make him trouble,
or to arrest his march to the sea-coast. Fremont's rea-
sons for his march in that direction was the necessity to
enter Monterey to obtain supplies he could not get at
San Jose.

SPICY CORRESPONDENCE.

As he refused to dehver up the alleged stolen horses, a
summons was sent him by the Alcalde of San Jose to
appear before him and answer to the complaint. Instead,
however, he sent the following; —

You will readily understand that my duties will not
permit me to appear before the magistrates in your town
on the complaint of every straggling vagabond who may
choose to visit my camp. You inform me that unless
satisfaction be immediately made, by the delivery of the
animals in question, the complaints will be forwarded to the
Governor. I will beg you at the same time to inclose to
His Excellency a copy of this note. I am, very respect-
fully, your obedient servant, J. C. Fremont, U. S. A.

To Sr. Don Dolores Pacheco, Alcalde of San Jose.

After this curt and rather insolent letter, he proceeded
in the direction of Monterey, but on the 5th ■ of March
was met by an officer bearing' a letter, and backed by
a company of eighty mounted lancers.

Monterey, March 5, 1846.

I have learned, with much dissatisfaction, that, in con-
tempt of the laws and authorities of the Mexican Repub-
lic, you have entered the towns of the district under my
charge with an armed force, which the Government of
your nation must have placed under your command for
the purpose of examining its own territory; that this Pre-
fecture orders you, immediately on the receipt of this
communication, to return with your party beyond the
limits of this department, with the understanding that if
you do not comply, this Prefecture will take the necessary
measures to compel you to respect this determination.
God and liberty. Manuel Castro.

Senor Capt. Don J. C. Fremont.

The course of Gen. Jose Castro, in first granting Fre-
mont permission to recruit his animals in the country, and
afterwards summarily ordering him to leave, has usually
been severely condemned by A merican writers; but his
movements, and his letter to Pacheco, were such as to
excite suspicion of him, and to absolve the Californians
from any duties of hospitality. A few years before
Commodore Jones had taken possession of Monterey;
the Americans in the country were believed to be ready,
or willing, to overthrow the Government; and here was
Fremont with sixty-two armed and reckless men march-
ing toward their capital. There were certainly sufficient
grounds for serious apprehension, and it may be readily
believed that, had the case been reversed, an American
people would quickly have arisen and severely punished
so insolent an intruder.

Fremont now apprehended an attack and fortified him-
self on the Pico de Gabilan (Hawks Peak), near the mis-
sion of San Juan Bautista. General Castro with an army
of about 200 men and a six-pounder field-piece, moved
out of Monterey to put in force the order given to Fre-
mont to leave the country. They did not, however,
approach within reach of the American rifles, but dis-
played their force in sight of the explorers' camp.

While thus beleagured, Fremont wTOte the following
letter to the American Consul.

March 10, 1846.

My Dear Sir : I this moment received your letters,
and, without waiting to read them, acknowledge the re-
ceipt, which the carrier requires immediately. I am
making myself as strong as possible, with the intention,
if we are unjustly attacked, to fight to extremity, and
will refuse quarter, trusting to our country to avenge our
deaths. No one has reached our camp, and from the
heights we are able to see the troops mustering at St John's
and preparing cannon. I thank you for your kindness
and good wishes, and would write more at length as to
my intentions did I not fear that my letters would be
intercepted. Very trul}' yours,

J. C. Fremont.

To Thos. O. Larkin, Esq., Consul for U. S., Monterey.

He wrote bravely, threatening to fight to desperation
if attacked, probably thinking the letter would fall into
the hands of the Californians, and they would thus be
deterred from making the attack. The same day he sud-

THE INSURRECTIONARY PERIOD.

75

denly left, leaving his camp-fires burning, and' proceeded
to the San Joaquin Valley and en route to Oregon.

FREMONT RECALLED.

When Fremont had reached the Oregon line, he learned
that an officer of the United States Army was on his
trail with important dispatches. He immediately retraced
his steps and met Lieutenant Gillespie, who had crossed
the continent from Vera Cruz to Mazatlan, and thence
to Monterey in a sloop-of-war, with unwritten, but im-
portant dispatches, the written letters only commending
him to Fremont's favor and confidence. A letter from
Thomas H. Benton and other members of the family
contained paragraphs which would have appeared inno-
cent enough if captured by the Custom House, or other
authorities, but which, explained by the verbal commu-
nications, were momentous. On his return to the Sacra-
mento Valley, Fremont found the settlers in a state of
excitement. The determination of the Californians to
drive out the gringos was becoming more apparent every
day, and, in the absence of better information, they
were led to believe that Fremont had actually fled before
Castro's cavalry. There was a report that Castro was
advancing with a force upon Sacramento Valley, and the
settlers immediately began to flock to Fremont, who had
his camp near the mouth of Feather River. The story
of the actual movement of troops to expel the settlers
was so far true that horses for mounting a legion to attack
the Americans were being taken from Sonoma and other
valleys to San Jose. It was deemed wise and justifiable
to interfere with this arrangement, and actual hostilities
were commenced by intercepting the horses, and sending
word to Castro by the vaqneros that, if he wanted the
horses, he must come and take them.

CAPTURE OF SONOMA.

A party of twelve men, under command of Capt.
Ezekiel Merritt, seized Sonoma, with nine brass cannon
and 250 stand of arms. They also made prisoners of
Vallejo and several other prominent persons, sending
them to Sutter's Fort at Sacramento. The town of
Sonoma was garrisoned by eighteen men under William
B. Ide, which force was, however, soon increased to forty.
Ide issued a proclamation setting forth a list of wrongs
which justified the taking of authority into their own
hands, recommended the people generally to continue
their usual avocations, assuring them of protection.
Castro also issued a proclamation requesting the people
to rise and annihilate the rapacious invader. Ide's proc-
lamation seemed to draw best, for in a few days he felt
strong enough to send out an attacking party to avenge
the death of two young men who were captured and
brutally murdered while on their way to Bodega. The
attacking party was commanded by Lieutenant Ford, and
numbered t'yenty-one men; the other by Captain de la
Torre, and numbered eighty-six, the latter company hav-
ing received a large accession without the knowledge of
the Americans, or the result might have been different,
but De la Torre's party was routed with the loss of eight
killed and two wounded.

PROCLAMATION OF JUDCE IDE.

The following is the jjroclamation issued by Judge
Ide:—

A Proclamation to all persons and citizens of the district
of Sonoma, requesting them to remain at peace, atid
foUoiv their 1 ightful occupations without fear of moles-
tation.

The Commander-in-Chief of the troops assembled at
the fortress of Sonoma, gives his inviolable pledge to all
persons in California not found under arms, that they
shall not be disturbed in their persons, their property, or
social relations, one with another, by men under his com-
mand.

He also solemnly declares his object to be: First, to
defend himself and companions in arms, who were in-
vited to this country by a promise of lands on which to
settle themselves and families, who were also promised
a Republican Government, who having arrived in Califor-
nia they Were denied the privilege of buying or renting
lands of their friends; who, instead of being allowed to
participate in or being protected by a Republican Gov-
ernment, were oppressed by a military despotism; who
were even threatened by proclamation, by the chief
officers of the aforesaid despotism, with extermination,
if they should not depart out of the country, leaving all
their property, arms, and beasts of burden; and thus de-
prived of their means of flight or defense, were to be
driven through deserts inhabited by hostile Indians to
certain destruction.

To overthrow a Government which has seized upon
the property of the missions for its individual aggran-
dizement, which has ruined and shamefully oppressed
the laboring people of California, By enormous exactions
on goods imported into the country, is the determined
purpose of the brave men who are associated under my
command.

I also solemnly declare my object in the second place
to be to invite all peaceable and good citizens of Cali-
fornia who are friendly to the maintenance of good
order and equal rights, and I do hereby invite them to
repair to my camp at Sonoma, without delay, to assist
us in establishing and perpetuating a Republican Gov-
ernment, which shall secure to all civil and religious
liberty; which shall encourage virtue and literature;
which shall leave unshackled by fetters, agriculture,
commerce, and manufactures.

I further declare that I rely upon the rectitude of our
intentions, the favor of Heaven, and the bravery of
those who are bound and associated with me, by the
principles of self-preservation, by the love of truth, and
the hatred of tyranny, for my hope of success.

I furthermore declare that I believe that a Govern-
ment, to be prosperous and happy, must originate with
the people who are friendly to its existence; that the
citizens are its guardians, the officers its servants, its
glory its reward. Williaji B. Ide.

Headquarters, Sonoma, June iS, 1846.

ST.ATE OF WAR.

An actual state of war existed, brought on by a slow,
regular succession of events in which so many were
engaged that no particular person can be credited with
its leadership. The haughty Castro, the turbulent Al-
varado, and the liberty-loving Vallejo, aided by the for-
eign element, had alienated the people from Mexico,
and in part freed her from that Government's domina-
tion. Graham and McKinley had shown the strength
of the foreigners. Fremont came and marched at will
through the country, planting the American flag and

!■

76

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

defying the authorities. Gillespie then appears with
secret instructions. Fremont reappears and takes pos-
session of a large band of horses collected for General
Castro. Merritt and Ide next appear on the scene,
capture Sonoma and its military stores, and Todd, with
a blacking-brush and juice of berries, had made on a
piece of sheeting a facetious representation of a bear
rampant, which became the " Bear Flag " of history and
the banner of the new nation. All were illegal and rev-
olutionary proceedings ; all showed the sentiments of a
manly, independent nature, and all were steps in the
direction of a Republican Government and a free people.
War had now commenced by the Americans in Califor-
nia against the Mexican Government. War had also
been commenced between the United States and Mex-
ico, and on the 8th and 9th of May the battles of Palo
Alto and Resaca de la Palma, in Texas, had been fought;
but this fact was not yet known in California when the
" Bear Flag " was raised.

PIO PICO AND THOMAS O. LARKIN.

In this revolution the native Californians were gen-
erally loyal to the Mexican Government, but their attach-
ment had been weakened by continued exactions and
many acts of aggression. They regarded Mexico as
their mother country, of which they were yet an integral
part, and the Americans as intruders. Don Pio Pico,
then Governor, was bitterly opposed to the Americans,
and had favored the project of seeking the protection
of the British flag, which had been so energetically
opposed by General Vallejo. Upon the capture of
Sonoma, Governor Pico addressed the following commu-
nication to Hon. Thomas O. Larkin, the United States
Consul: —

The undersigned, Constitutional Governor of the De-
partment of the Californias, has the deep mortification
to make known to Mr. Thomas O. Larkin, Consul of
the United States of North America, that he has been
greatly surprised in being notified by official communi-
cations of the General Commandancia of this Depart-
ment and the Prefecture of the Second District, that a
multitude of foreigners of the United States of America
have invaded that frontier, taken possession of the forti-
fied town of Sonoma, treacherously making prisoners of
the Military Commandante, Don Mariano G. Vallejo,
Lieut. Col. Victor Prudon, Capt. Salvador Vallejo, and
Mr. Jacob P. Leese, and likewise have stolen the
property of these individuals.

The undersigned can do no less than make known
to the Consul of the United States, that acts so extraor-
dinary and alarming have caused very great grief

Until the present the Departmental Governor is want-
ing the least possible information that would give him
to understand of a declaration of war between Mexico
and the United States, and without such information he
judges the course pursued at Sonoma the most atrocious
and infamous that can be imagined, so much so that the
like is not seen among barbarians.

They have attacked the rights of the people, breaking
the established social compacts; profaning the sacred
soil of another nation; indeed, scandalously usurping an
integral part of the Mexican Republic, and what is more
provoking still, as an ingnominious libel, is the folly of
the principal of this multitude of foreigners, William B.
Ide, the separation of the Mexican Union. This act

tends to excite the mind of the undersigned, and causes
him to suspect the Government of the United States are
concerned in this matter, which certainly should increase
his regrets.

Mr. Thomas O. Larkin will permit the undersigned to
say to him frankly that he has witnessed with extraordi-
nary coolness the invasion of the department, and that
he has failed to note the general movement of all the
inhabitants, in defense of their country and liberty; he
has not been known to make any arrangement that
make the invaders recede from their abominable de-
signs, and prevent the misfortunes which they can cause
by means of hostile provocation; misfortunes that the
Departmental Government will place to the responsibility
of the chief authors, before God and the entire world.
So base management as observed on this occasion
highly compromises the honor of the United States,
and if it shall have such a stain upon itself, there is no
doubt that it will be graven eternally in the remembrance
of all nations, and will cause it to be despised.

The undersigned believes that the Consul of the
United States will agree with him that the acts com-
mitted by the party of foreigners, Americans, have the
appearance of actual and downright robbery; also that
the Consul will agree with him that his indifference to
prevent such fatal results, seeing that they were subjects
of his own nation who were violating this part of the
Mexican Republic, compromises more and more both
nations.

The undersigned, in fulfillment of his duties, sees him-
self obliged to recommend to the Consul, Thomas O.
Larkin, that he make declarations of the occurrence
which has happened at Sonoma, to exact full satisfaction
from him, hoping that he will use all the means in his
power to escape in time such terrible consequences, and
finally to protest solemnly, in the name of the Depart-
mental and Supreme Government of the Nation, that it
is decidedly opposed to all aggressions, defending to
extremity its independence, liberty, inalienable rights;
repeating that the principal authors are responsible to the
representative of the United States near this Depart-
ment for those abuses and results of corrupt designs from
which they are not deterred.

The undersigned hopes, from the prudence and judg-
ment of the Consul of the United States at Monterey,
that, admitting the justice that assists him, the answer to
this letter (and imploring that it may come soon) may be
in accordance with {veneboles) desire.

God and Liberty! Pio Pico.

Santa Barbara, 2gtJi June, 1846.

Indignation, fear, and supplication appear singularly
mixed in the declaration and protest of Don Pio Pico,
who perfunctorily must do something, being Governor,
both to appease the Mexican Government and not to
offend, too seriously, the coming power. To this letter
Mr. Larkin made the following reply: —

CON.SULATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Monterey, Cal., July 5, 1846.
To His Excellency, Don Pio Pico, Gov. of California : —

Sir: The undersigned. Consul of the United States
of America for California, has the honor to acknowledge
the reception of His Excellency's letter of the 29th of
last month, which was received yesterday afternoon.

His Excellency may be well assured that the under-
signed is duly sensible of the great importance of the
subject brought before him, and is compelled to say that
he cannot alone enter into any mode for the expulsion of
the foreigners who have taken possession of Sonoma.
He is bound not only to protect his countrymen in Call-

THE INSURRECTIONARY PERIOD.

77

fornia from any unjust oppression, and settle in an
amicable manner any disputes in which they may be
concerned, but firmly to refuse them support when they
have been willfully guilty of any infractions of the laws of
this Department, giving aid to the authorities in such
cases, which aid has been refused by the Governor and
Prefect.

The undersigned must assure His Excellency that he
was wrongly informed when told he made no exertions to
aid the proper authorities, and His Excellency can learn
that the undersigned has used the only means in his
power as a Consul, and that the Consular service had not
been accepted.

His Excellency is pleased to say that the Americans
engaged in this affair are responsible to this Consulate.
The undersigned must observe that he knows not where
this responsibility exists, and will not underrate the good
Sinse of his being in the idea that he believes Consular
letters would have effect on the persons in question, or
that the authorities would have given him soldiers to
bring into Monterey an equal number of Americans,
when General Castro, with three times their force, did
not see proper to expel those who took Sonoma.

The reasons brought forward by His Excellency as
proofs that the Government of the United States is con-
cerned in the matter, not being sustained, will, being by
the undersigned proved to be erroneous, require no
farther assertion on his part to convince His Excellency
on the subject.

The undersigned has the honor to renew to His
Excellency, the Governor of California, assurance of his
deepest respect and consideration.

Thomas O. Larkin.

Mr. Larkin, at the date of his reply, had the assurance
of personal protection in the presence of a fleet of United
States ships of war, under command of Commodore
Sloat, which a few days before had entered the harbor of
Monterey. But Sloat had not then concluded to take
hostile measures, although he had heard of hostilities
between the two nations on the Rio Grande del Norte,
and was much incensed at the actions of Captain Fre-
mont and the Americans at Sonoma, who had openly
declared war and the independence of California.

REMINISCENCE OF GENERAL VALLEJO.

Gen. Mariano G. Vallejo, who has borne so prominent
a part in the history of California, who possessed broader
views and forecast the future so much better than his
countrymen in general, and who has been so true to the
Government destiny provided him, relates the following
reminiscence of that revolutionary period: —

A little before dawn on June 14, 1846, a party of
hunters and trappers with some foreign settlers, under
command of Captain Merritt, Dr. Semple, and William
B. Ide, surrounding my residence at Sonoma, and with-
out firing a shot, made prisoners of myself, then com-
mander of the northern frontier, of Lieut. Col. Victor
Prudon, Capt. Salvador Vallejo, and Jacob P. Leese. [
I should here state that down to October, 1845, I had |
maintained at my own expense a respectable garrison at
Sonoma, which often, in union with the settlers, did good
service in campaigns against the Indians; but at last,
tired of spending money which the Mexican Government
never refunded me, I disbanded the force, and most of
the soldiers who had constituted it left Sonoma.

Years before I had urgently represented to the Gov-
ernment of Mexico the necessity of stationing a sufficient
torce on the frontier, else Sonoma would be lost, which

would be equivalent to leaving the rest of the country an
easy prey to the invader. ^Vhat think you, my friends,
were the instructions sent me in reply to my repeated
demands for means to fortify the country? These instruc-
tions were, that I should at once force the immigrants
to re-cross the Sierra Nevada and depart from the terri-
tory of the Republic. To say nothing of the inhumanity
of these orders, their execution was physically impossible.
First, because I had no military force; and second,
because the immigrants came in autumn, when snow
covered the Sierra so quickly as to render return imprac-
ticable. I can assure you that the American immigrants
never had cause to complain.

The " Bear Flag " party carried us as prisoners to
Sacramento, and kept us in a calaboose for sixty days or
more, until the authority of the United States made itself
respected, and the honorable and humane Commodore
Stockton returned us to our hearths. I have alluded to
this episode of my life rather as an event connected with
history than from a desire to speak of myself, since at
times like the present individuality disappears before the
magnitude of the subject which claims our attention.
I will simply remark, that I retain no sentiment of hos-
tility either against those who attacked my honor and my
liberty, or against those who endangered my life, dis-
turbed the peace of my family, and took possession of
my property.

THE FAMOUS BEAR FLAG.

A decent regard for the opinions of mankind, consid-
ering that a state of war existed, prompted the rebels to
rear a flag under which to fight, fulminate, and negotiate,
and the famous Bear Flag, which was a rather inartistic
representation of a grizzly, done with a compound of
berry juice and shoe-blacking, laid on with a blacking-
brush, was the result. This flag, much faded, is now in
the possession of the Society of California Pioneers, at
San Francisco, and is occasionally brought out. It is
highly valued, and is preserved with great care.

In the diary of Judge Ide it is written, evidently at a
later date, "The said 'Bear Flag' was made of plain cotton
cloth and ornamented with the red flannel of a shirt from
the back of one of the men, and christened by the word,
'California Republic,' in red paint letters on both sides,
was raised upon the standard, where had floated on the
breeze the Mexican flag aforetime; it was the 14th of June,
1846. Our whole number was twenty-four, all told. The
mechanism of the flag was performed by William Todd,
of Illinois. The grizzly bear was chosen as an emblem
of strength and unyielding resistance." Mr. Ben. Duell,
now of Lake County, says he, Todd, and Currie made
the flag, and Mrs. W. B. Elliott furnished a piece of new
red flannel, and not a shirt 'or petticoat.

Fremont's battalion.

Fremont was now busy in organizing a battalion to main-
tain the dignity of the new State. Nearly the whole
American population joined or sent in assurances of sup-
port. Still, many things were wanted besides men.
Nearly all had arms, but horses, and, more than all, boats,
were scarce, and the timber from which to construct them
fifty miles awav. Word was brought that Castro was
crossing the. bay with 200 soldiers to fall upon Ide's gar-
rison. In thirty-six hours he, with ninety riflemen, had
ridden eighty miles to Sonoma, but Castro did not put in
an appearance. De la Torre's force was the only one on
the north side of the bay, and that made all haste to

78

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY,

cross. Some of the rear guard and nine pieces of can-
non fell into Fremont's possession, but the main body
made their escape across the bay by means of a boat
which had just arrived.

LAST MKXIC.4N FLACl IN THE NORTH.

This was the last time the Mexican flag was seen float-
ing on the north side of the bay. Fremont, accompanied
by Carson and Gillespie, and a few others, crossed the
bay to the presidio, took the commander of the port pris-
oner, spiked the ten guns, and returned to the north
shore. July 5, 1846, the form of declaring an independ-
ent State was gone through with. The grand army, or
Fremont's battalion, now numbered 160 mounted rifle-
men. The pursuit of Castro was now determined upon.
There was no means of crossing to the south side nearer
than the Sacramento, which involved several days' ride,
but nothing deterred by this, Fremont and his battalion
started. Castro was understood to be intrenched at San
Jos6. After Fremont had departed on this errand, news
came which necessitated another change of affairs.

IMPORTANT CORRECTION OF HISTORY.

In 1879, Hon. J. Alexander Forbes was shown the
statements made by Thomas O. Larkin, and often re-
peated in history, of the action of the convention of
June, 1846, and the efforts of himself and Macnamara,
the priest, in behalf of Great Britain, to effect the an-
nexation of California to that country, and made the fol-
lowing statement: —

My attention had been called to two extracts from his-
torical compilations by Messrs. Tuthill and Cronise, for
the purpose of testing the accuracy of certain statements
therein published, relative to negotiations, which they al-
lege I had, in 1846, with Governor Pico, General Vallejo,
and General Castro, for effecting a separation of California
from the Mexican Republic, and for placing the former
under the protection of Great Britain.

As I have taken no exception to those statements, my
silence regarding them may, perhaps, be ascribed to a
tacit recognition of the same as true. Never having
seen those compilations, I was entirely ignorant of the
inaccuracies therein pubhshed until I read the above-
mentioned articles. My notice thereof at this late day
may appear supererogatory, and, as far as concerns my-
self, I regard those statements with indifference, but
I feel it my duty to defend the aforesaid respectable Cali-
fornians from the illiberal, unauthorized imputations cast
upon them by those compilers in their erroneous asser-
tions, respecting which, even if those statements were true
in fact, I deny the right of Messrs. Tuthill and Cronise to
censure Governor Pico, General Vallejo, and General
Castro for their personal or official acts, in proceedings
which they were at perfect liberty to carry into full effect
for achieving the independence of California, by and with
the consent of a majority of the inhabitants thereof, and
without the least responsibility to any foreign power.
Furthermore, I declare the statements contained in the
aforesaid extracts are absolutely inaccurate, unfounded
in fact, and based upon hearsay evidence, originating in
incorrect official reports of Mr. Thomas O. Larkin to the
United States Government, under which, subsequent to
1844, he held the appointment of Consul at Monterey,
of whose official acts alone, and with due respect to his
memory, I speak in the correction.

Mr. Larkin's very limited knowledge of the Spanish
language, and his exclusiveness, prevented him from
exercising political or social influence with the rulers or
the people of California, and rendered difficult his acqui-
sition of reliable information of the political occurrences
that were passing in the spring of 1846, when he informed
his Government that he had discovered the existence of
an intrigue or scheme, in which Messrs. Pico, Vallejo,
Castro, were engaged with myself in negotiations for
passing the country to the possession of England, under
the direction of a Catholic priest named Macnamara, who
was to conduct a colony of Irishmen to California, as he
had petitioned the Mexican Government for large grants
of land around the bays of San Francisco and Monterey,
at Santa Barbara and along the San Joaquin, of which
lands the Government had readily granted, not all that
Macnamara had asked, but three thousand square leagues
in the San Joaquin Valley, and for the perfection of
the patent only the signature of Governor Pico was
needed. Here we have the absurd assertion that the
executive authority of a Departmental Governor suddenly
became superior to that of the Superior Government of
Mexico, in that the former had to approve the official act
of the latter, by signing the patent for the said grant
made to Macnamara, whom Mr. Cronise says was "an
agent of the British Government," and that his title deeds
for said land "fortunately fell into the hands of the Fed-
eral Government before they were signed by Governor
Pico," etc. And further, "to show how thoroughly in-
formed the Federal Government was of this design, we
quote the following instructions from Secretary Bancroft to
Commodore Sloat, under date of July 12, 1846, only two
months after Forbes' contract had been sigfied." I now
ask what contract, when and where signed?

In justice to Governor Pico, General Vaflejo, and Gen-
eral Castro, I say that neither of them had any negotia-
tion with me as above stated. I deny that the Rev. Mr.
Macnamara was an agent of the British Government.
That gentleman came from Ireland to Mexico for the
purpose of soliciting a grant of land for colonizing it with
Irish emigrants. He was informed by the Mexican
authorities that large grants of land suitable for his pur-
pose could only be obtained in California, where large
tracts still remained vacant.

Accordingly Mr. Macnamara went to Mazatlan to take
passage for Monterey, but not finding any vessel there
bound for this coast, he finally succeeded in obtaining
passage in an English corvette, whose Captain was a
countryman of Macnamara. He arrived at Monterey in
June, 1846, when I made his acquaintance, and being
informed by him of his desire to petition Governor Pico
for a large tract of land for colonization, I informed him
that the only lands suitable for his purpose were situated
in the San Joaquin Valley. He petitioned the Governor
and received a grant of 200 square leagues, subject to
the approval of the Supreme Government of Mexico,
and with the condition of placing 200 famiUes of immi-
grants upon the said lands within one year from the
date of the grant.

These are the facts respecting the occurrences that
caused so much apprehension in the mind of Mr. Consul
Larkin, that the United States K'ould be cheated out of the
principal prize that made ivar acceptable to her.

Mr. Cronise states that the deeds for the 3,000 square
leagues of land in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Val-
leys, made in favor of this Macnamara, very fortunately
fell into the hands of the Federal Government before they
were signed by Pico. Mr. Macnamara had no muniment
of title on which to base his tremendous claim for com-
pensation, consequently nobody was injured by his petition
for that grant of land, and there was no necessity for the
unfounded animadversion of the aforesaid alleged par-

THE CONQUEST.

79

ticipants in the pretended political intrigue. Mr. Cronise
forgot to explain to his readers how Mr. Macnamara's
deeds for 3,000 square leagues fell into the hands of the
Federal (Government before they were signed b)' Gov-
ernor Pico.

Those unsigned title deeds were the copies, or register,
of Macnamara's grant, which were doubtless found in
the Government archives after the change of flag, and
of course they were unsigned by Governor Pico. Mac-
namara had the original.

The only facts upon which Mr. Consul Larkin based
his final report to the United States Government of the
supposed intrigue for placing California under British
protection, originated in the following information im-
parted to him by myself: —

1st. That Governor Pico and two members of the De-
partmental Assembly, who were Don Juan Bandini and
Don Santiago Argiiello, had informed me, that as Cali-
fornia was in reality abandoned by the Government of
Mexico, the authorities of this department were seri-
ously discussing the necessity of severing their political
relations with that Republic for the purpose of soliciting
the protection of a foreign power, for which object the
Governor and said members requested me to inform Her
Majesty's Government thereof, to ascertain if its protec-
tion would be extended over California.

2d. That, in reply thereto, I informed Governor Pico
and said members, that I was absolutely without author-
ity to give them any official answer upon the subject,
but that I would duly inform Her Majesty's Government
of the matter.

On the 17th of July, 1846, Rear Admiral Sir George
Seymour, in command of Her Majesty's ship Colling-
wood, arrived at Monterey, and forthwith addressed
an official letter to Governor Pico, at Los Angeles,
informing him that in view of the existing war between
the United States and Mexico, Her Majesty's Govern-
ment would not interfere in the affairs of California.
That official note was sent by me to Governor Pico, by
a special messenger, under a safe-conduct granted by
Commodore Stockton. On the return of the messenger
to Monterey, I paid him one hundred dollars for his
service, and delivered the safe-conduct into the hands of
Captain Mervine, then in command of the United States
forces at that post.

In conclusion I deny positively that the British Gov-
ernment ever had any intention of establishing a protec-
torate over California. Respectfully yours,

J. Alex. Forbes.

GOVERNORS OF CALIF0RNI.4.

Upon the first colonization of California by the Fran-
ciscan Fathers under Junipero Serra, in 1769, Spain ruled
in Mexico, being represented by a Viceroy, and through
him appointed the Governors. The first Governor of
.A.lta California was Gasper de Portala, appointed Gov-
ernor of Lower California in 1767, and sent to Upper
California with the missionaries in 1769. He held office
until 177 I.

Felipe Barri, from 1771 to December, 1774.

Felipe de Neve, from December, 1774, to September,
1782.

Pedro Fages, from September, 1782, to September,
1790.

Jose Antonio Romen, from September, 1790, to April,
1792.

Jose Joaquin de Arrillaga, from April, 1792, to May,
1794-

Diego de Borica, from May, 1794, to 1800.

Jose Joaquin de Arrillaga, from 1800 to 18 14.

Jose Arguello, from 1814 to 1815.

Pablo Vicente de Sola, from 18 15 to November 1822.

The Mexican Revolution in 1822 severed the country
from Spain, and after that date the Governors of Califor-
nia held their office by Mexican appointment.

Pablo Vicente de Sola, continued in office until 1823.

Luis Arguello, from 1S23 to June, 1825.

Jose Maria Echeandia, from June, 1825, to January,
1831.

Manuel Victoria, from January, 1831, to January, 1832.

Pio Pico {ad interim) by virtue of being presiding
officer of the Departmental Legislature, from January,
1832, to January, 1833.

Jose Figueroa, from January, 1S33, to August, 1835.

Jose Castro {ad iiiterini) from August, 1835, 'o January,
1836.

Nicolas Gutierrez, from January, 1836, to May, 1836.

Mariano Chico, 1836.

Nicolas Gutierrez, 1836.

Juan B. Alvarado, from 1836 to December, 1842.

Manuel Micheltorena, from December, 1842, to Feb-
ruary, 1845.

Pio Pico, from 1845 to the conquest in 1846.

CHAPTER XL

THE CONQUEST.

The Forecast of War — Instructions to Commodore Sloat — The
First Battles — The Flag Raised at Monterey— Proclamation —
Discretion of General Castro — Capture of Militar)' Stores —
Sloat in a Quandary — ^Judicious Action of the Commodore
— Commodore .Sloat's Departure — Arrival of Commodore
Stockton — The News of War Declared — A Bright Prospect —
The Second Conquest — ^^[ohn Brown's Ride — The United
States Troops Expelled — Flores' Proclamation — Expedition to
the South — Repulse of Captain Mervine — The Campaign from
San Diego — Coming of General Kearny — Battle of San Pas-
qual — Orders to Kearny — Battles of San Gabriel and the
Mesa — Los Angeles Regained — fsetreat of the Californians —
Articles of Capitulation — Fremont's Battalion — Battle of
Natividad — A IJrave Indian Feat — the Battalion on the
March — A Shocking Execution — Voracious Soldiers — Capture
of San Luis Obispo — Pico Taken Prisoner — Rescued by Fair
Ladies — The Battalion in San Luis Obispo — A Picture of
Desolation — Gold against Sugar — Fremont's Strategy — Cross-
ing the Mountain — A Terrible Storm — The Californians in
the Campaign — Ira Van Gordon — Benjamin Franklin Mayfield
— George Stone — Elisha W. Howe.

^^^ ^>
) cy^Si^ —

HE war between the United States and Mexico, which
gave the opportunity of acquiring California, was
forecast by the presidential campaign of 1844, in
whTch the annexation of Texas was the principal ques-
tion at issue. The election of James K. Polk was an
expression in favor of the annexation, and this was con-
summated in the session of Congress following, in 1845,
claiming the country to the Rio Grande. This claim
was opposed by Mexico, and. both countries prepared
for war. A powerful fleet was sent to the Pacific, and
the naval squadron on the coast of China was ordered to
California.

In April, 1846, the American army of occupation in
Texas crossed the Nuesces River, which was regarded by
Mexico as the boundary of Texas, and marched to the

80

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

Rio Grande, where it was met on the 8th of May by the
Mexican army under General Arista, and the battle of ;
Palo Alto was fought. With this the war was opened.

INSTRUCTIONS TO COMMODORE SLOAT.

At that time Com. John D. Sloat was in the harbor of
Mazadan, awaiting to hear of the commencement of
hostilities, having instructions to seize California when
assured that a state of war existed. Also in the harbor
of San Bias was a British fleet under command of
,\dmiral Sir George Seymour, waiting for the same ]}ur-
pose and under instructions with the same object.

Both nations were desirous of possessing so valuable
a territory. In 1845 John Slidell had been sent as
American Minister to Mexico, with a proposition to
purchase California and to setde the question of Texan
boundary, but through the machinations of the British all
negotiations failed. The British claimed the right of
interference on the ground of Mexican indebtedness to
their people, but in all probability their object was to
force a war that they might, with their powerful navy, get
possession of California.

THE FIRST BATTLES.

Previous to the battle of Palo Alto, Lieutenant Porter
of the navy had incautiously attacked Tampico, on the
Gulf of Mexico, but without effect. This, however, was
an act of war, and Sloat has been censured because he
did not sail upon hearing the news, but he waited until
he heard that General Taylor had driven the Mexicans
across the Rio Grande, and even then he seemed in
doubt if war had actually commenced in such earnest as
to justify him in carrying out his instructions. However,
he sailed in the frigate Savannah, and arrived at Mon-
terey on the 2d of July. The sloops-of-war Cvaiie and
Levant had preceded him, having been sent there at the
request of the Consul, Mr. Larkin. Sloat saluted the
Mexican flag in proper form, but hesitated about taking
possession. The fate of California hung in the balance.
The country was already in a state of revolution. The
Bear Flag of the California Republic was waving in
triumph in the north, and Fremont was in command of
a battalion of volunteers under arms. The oiificers of
the fleet and the American citizens on shore were very
impatient, and four days passed without action. On the
evening of the sixth a boat arrived from the sloop-of-war
Portsmouth, in the bay of San Francisco, for instructions,
giving a report of the raising of the Bear Flag, the capt-
ure of Sonoma, and the proclamation of independence.

THE FLAG RAISED AT MONTEREY.

Preparations were then made for landing and taking
possession of the country on the following morning, and
the boat of the Portsmouth was ordered to return, with
orders to Commander Montgomery to take possession of
Verba Buena.

Accordingly, a force of 250 marines and sailors, under
command of Captain Mervine, of the Savannah, landed,
and on the 7th of July, 1846, at 10 o'clock a. m., the
American flag was raised over the presidio of Monterey,
amid the cheers of the men and salvos of artillery, and

California was declared to be a portion of the United
States.

At the same time Commodore Sloat issued the fol-
lowing: —

PROCLAMATION TO THE INHABITANTS OF CALIFORNIA.

The Central Government of Mexico having commenced
hostilities against the United States of America by invad-
ing its territory and attacking the troops of the United
States, stationed on the north side of the Rio Grande,
and with a force of 7,000 men, under command of Gen-
eral Arista, which army was totally destroyed, and all
their artillery, baggage, etc., captured on the 8th and 9th
of May last, by a force of 2,300 men, under command
of General Taylor; and the city of Matamoras taken and
occupied by the forces of the United States; and the two
nations being actually at war by this transaction, I shall
hoist the standard of the United .States at Monterey
immediately, and shall carry it throughout California.

I declare to the inhabitants of California that, although
I come in arms with a powerful force, I do not come
among them as an enemy to California; on the contrary
I come as their best friend, as henceforth California will
be a portion of the United States, and its peaceable
inhabitants will enjoy the same rights — principles they
now enjoy — together with the privilege of choosing their
own magistrates and other officers for the administration
of justice among themselves, and the same protection
will be extended to them as to any other State in the
Union. They will also enjoy a permanent Government,
under which life, property, and the constitutional right
and lawful security to worship the Creator in the way
most congenial to each others sense of duty, will be
secured, which, unfortunately, the Central Government
of Mexico cannot afford them, destroyed as her resources
are by internal factions and corrupt officers, who create
constant revolutions to promote their own interest and
oppress the people. Under the flag of the United States,
California will be free from all such troubles and expenses;
consequently the country will rapidly advance and
improve, both in agriculture and commerce, as, of course,
the revenue laws will be the same in California as in all
parts of the United States, affording them all manufact-
ures and produce of the United States free of any duty,
and on all foreign goods at one-quarter of the duty they
now pay. A great increase in the value of real estate
and the products of California may also be anticipated.

With the great interest and kind feeling I know the
Government and people of the United States possess
toward the citizens of California, the country cannot but
improve more rapidly than any other on the continent of
America.

Such of the inhabitants of California, whether native
or foreigners, as may not be disposed to accept the high
privileges of citizenship, and to live peaceably under the
Government of the United States, will be allowed time
to dispose of their property and to remove out of the
country, if 'they choose, without any restriction; or
remain in it, observing strict neutrality.

With full confidence in the honor and integrity of the
inhabitants of the country, I invite the Judges, Alcaldes,
and other civil officers to execute their functions as here-
tofore, that the public tranquillity may not be disturbed;
at least, until the Government of the Territory can be
more definitely arranged.

All persons holding titles to real estate or in quiet
possession of land under color of right, shall have those
titles guaranteed to them.

All churches and the property they contain, in pos-
session of the clergy of California, shall continue in the
same rights and possessions they now enjoy.

RANCH 8 RESIDENCE OF C.H. JESPERSEN, L.05 OSQS VALLEY,

BAN LUIS OBISPO CO.CAL.

-.^J«sx.; V p^-^^^^f^-, _.

0r-- ^»^ ^«"S> «»

r-^-...,i;a>tfc.:f-/:.»,i--..Cv^=p.

DAIRY RANCH & RESIDENCE OF A.TOMASINI,

CAYUCOS SAN LUI5 OBiSPO CO CAL •

THE CONQUEST.

81

All provisions and supplies of every kind furnished
by the inhabitants for the use of the United States ships
and soldiers will be paid for at fair rates, and no private
property will be taken for public use without just com-
pensation at the moment. John D. Sloat,
Commande7'-i!i-Chief of the United States Force in the

Pacific Ocean.

This proclamation was issued in the Spanish language
and distributed throughout the country.

DISCRETION OF GENERAL CASTRO.

General Castro, with the troops in his command that
he had gathered to crush Fremont, was at San Jose
when the news of the taking of Monterey and the procla-
mation of Sloat reached him. His men were drawn up
on parade on the principal square, all well mounted,
and he then opened the dispatches, exclaimed in a loud
voice " Monterey is taken !" and read the proclamation.
At the conclusion he said to his men, " What can I do
with a handful of men against the United States 1 I am
going to Me.xico ! All you who wish to follow me,
right about face ! All who wish to remain, can go to
their homes." Only a very small part of the force con-
cluded to Unk their fate with his, and Castro and his few
followers left town the same day southward, bound for
Mexico by land. He made haste to leave, as he feared
his route of retreat up the Salinas Valley would soon be
cut off.

Rev. Walter Colton, writing at the time, thought
" General Castro an officer of high pretensions, but defi-
cient in strength and steadiness of purpose, and that
capacity which can work out important results with
slender and inapposite means. His followers had gath-
ered to him with as little discipline, sobriety, and order,
as would characterize a bear-hunt. Their prime im-
' pulse lay in the excitement which the camp presented.
It was the same thing to them whether their weapon
was a rifle or a guitar — whether they were going to a
skirmish or a fandango. With six or eight hundred of
these waltzing warriors General Castro was now on his
march into the Southern Department, with the evident
purpose of taking up his position near the pueblo of Los
Angeles."

The plucky Colton thinks Castro would have shown
himself more worthy had he organized a partisan war-
fare, and thus " work out important results with slender
and inapposite means;" and, moreover, he greatly exag-
gerated the force of the California General.

As Castro had said in his speech to his troops,
" What can I do with a handful of men against the
United States?" expressed sound judgment, and it would
have been an unnecessary waste of life and the engen-
dering of bitter hatred in the future to have commenced
any predatory or guerrilla war. He certainly had no
prospect of success in the North, and if any existed it
was in the South whither he had gone.

The American flag was raised at Verba Buena by
Com. John B. Montgomery on the 8th of July; on the
loth the Bear Flag was lowered at Sonoma and replaced
by the stars and stripes, and on the 1 3th the national

standard was raised at San Jos€ by Capt. Thomas Fal-
lon, in command of some American volunteers.

CAPTURE OF MILITARY STORES.

Fremont was then camped near Sutter's Fort, and on
the 1 2th started for the mission of San Juan, going by
the San Joaquin Valley, taking the route by which he
had retreated in the previous March, approaching it by
surprise and capturing it without a struggle, on the 17 th
of July. San Juan was the depot of military stores for
the department of California, and had been so since
Micheltorena had taken the precaution to thus secure
them from some over-zealous naval officer of the United
States, like Commodore Jones. Cannon and powder,
and balls and arms of any kind were dangerous things
to have near a harbor, and they were therefore taken
thirty miles in the interior and hidden from sight.

Cannon whose carriages had decayed were allowed to
remain on the grass-covered ramparts of the castello,
silent evidences of sleepy repose and utter helplessness.
Castro, in his insurrection against Micheltorena, had
supplied himself from these stores, but they had been so
replenished, or remained, that Fremont exhumed nine can-
non, twenty kegs of powder, 200 old muskets, and 60,000
pounds of cannon shot. Soon after the capture of the
place by Fremont, Captain Fauntleroy, of the navy,
arrived with a command of mounted marines, sent on
the same errand by Commodore Sloat.

SLOAT IN A QUANDARY.

The next day Fremont and Gillespie were ordered on
board the Savannah, when the Commodore made in-
quires as to the authority under which they were acting.
Fremont, with his usual recklessness, replied, "Without
orders." This was incomprehensible to Sloat, and he was
more worried than ever. Gillespie had passed through
his squadron near six months before upon a secret errand
from Washington, and had imparted nothing to him, but
upon reaching Fremont the latter had turned back into
California and began hostilities against the Mexican
power. The presumption was that Gillespie had brought
orders from the Government which Fremont was carry-
ing out, and upon the instructions he had received, and
the positive course taken by Fremont, Sloat had thought
proper to take possession of the country. But a most
embarrassing uncertainty enshrouded all.

JUDICIOUS ACTION OF THE COMMODORE.

The custom of writers has been, almost without excep-
tion, to censure and ridicule Commodore Sloat for his hes-
itancy in taking Monterey, and for his subsequent course,
which has been called " timerous." But his instructions
were to take possession in case of a declaration of war,
and at his distance from the seat of operations, the
route over which the news must come, and its unreliabil-
ity, left him in doubt.

He had before him the example of Commodore Jones,
whose precipitate action in 1S42 had caused him great
humiliation, and he had been placed in command be-
cause of his known good judgment and sound discretion.
No greater responsibility was ever put ujjon a single per-

11

82

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

son's shoulders. California must be taken possession
of and held at all hazards, but not until war came. Had
he blundered? Had such a war come as nations would
recognize ? He knew that a British squadron was watch-
ing the course of events for the same purpose, and Ad-
miral Seymour had bluntly told him that if the American
flag had not been waving over Monterey when he arrived
that he would have taken possession in the name of Eng-
land. This should have eased Sloat's mind, but he had
committed the act while others only talked, and upon him
the responsibility rested. If he acted slowly, or in doubt
of his authority, he certainly acted right; very fortunately
right, even as if inspired with the clearest judgment and
the most dashing courage of the ablest statesman or most
successful soldier.

He sailed from Mazatlan under great press of canvas,
beating the great English line-of-battle-ship Collhigwood,
and deliberately, positively, and irrevocably took posses-
sion of California and issued a proclamation prompted
by the kindest feeling of humanity, justice and right, and
fortified by the confidence of invincible strength. All
his acts were in time and judiciously executed. Cool de-
liberation and positive proceedings marked his course
instead of the nervous ostentation and exciting dash
demanded by the more impatient and indiscreet. He
was not aware that a letter was following him from the
Secretary of the Navy with a severe censure for not hav-
ing acted with greater haste, the Secretary seemingly be-
ing misinformed as to his movements. The letter, how-
ever, did not reach Sloat until his grand success haJ
broken the sting of the reproach, in fact did not reach
him until he had left California. This unjust letter has
been the base upon which writers have founded their
criticisms of Sloat's conduct.

The condition of affairs is shown by the diary of
Colton, who was Chaplain on board the Congress, under
command of Commodore Stockton into whose hands
Commodore Sloat had on the 15th of July resigned his
authority.

COMMODORE SLOAT'S DEPARTURE.

Colton writes: "Wednesday, July 29, 1846. The
sloop-of-war Levant, under Commodore Page, sailed to-
day, with Commodore Sloat on board, for the United
States. We gave the Commodore a parting salute. He
has rendered the squadron under his command efficient,
and preserved harmony among the officers. The expedi-
ency of his measures in California will be canvassed else-
where. He acted on the light and intelligence within his
reach. If war has been declared the laurel awaits him.''

There was still doubt about the declaration of war, and
the "expediency" of taking possession of California
appears to have been too delicate a subject to dismiss in
the navy, even when it was commanded by so dashing an
officer as Stockton.

Colton partly apologizes for the course pursued when
he says "How the intelligence of our proceedings here
will strike our friends and the country at large, is mere
matters of conjecture. We are acting, however, not only
in view of the alleged collision between the American and
Mexican forces on the Rio Grande, but in reference to

the anarchy and confusion into which this country has
been thrown by a revolution which did not originate with

us."

At that time there was doubt about the war having
commenced, as Colton speaks of the "alleged collision."
But the die had been cast, and the country must be held.

ARRIVAL OF COMMODORE STOCKTON.

; Stockton had arrived on the 15 th, and Sloat had given
' him the command. He decided to push measures ener-
getical'y and take possession of the towns of the south-
ern coast. July 27th the Cyane, under Commander
' Dupont, sailed for San Diego with Fremont's battalion of
■ 160 volunteers on board. August ist the Congress and
Commodore Stockton sailed for San Pedro, intending to
land some 300 men and take Los Angeles.

THE NEWS OF WAR DECLARED.

August I ith the British brig-of-war Spy arrived from San
Bias with dispatches for Admiral Seymour, but the
Admiral had sailed for the Sandwich Islands, whither the
Spy followed. Her officers were silent in regard to news
from Mexico and the Atlantic, evidently having news of
importance which the Americans were very anxious to
hear. The next day came great relief in the arrival of
the U. S. sloop-of-war Warren, under Commander Hull,
thirty days from Mazatlan, with the eventful news that
war had been declared between Mexico and the United
States. The mysterious silence and great haste of the
officers of the Spy were then explained.

The news of the declaration created a profound sensa-
tion throughout the country as well as through the squad-
ron. To the Californians who had hoped to remain un-
der Mexico, it was a final answer. To the 'Americans
who had taken part in the revolution, it was an assurance
of protection. There was no longer any doubt as to
the future of California, and the laurels were won by
Sloat.

A BRIGHT PROSPECT.

Under the "Bear Flag" a few skirmishes had been
fought, but the fair country dropped like ripe fruit into
the possession of the United States, and for the moment
all appeared satisfied. The towns of Santa Barbara, Los
Angeles, and San Diego, were occupied and .garrisoned
by small forces; Castro with a few followers had fled to
Sonora; the officers and men of his command had sur-
rendered and been paroled, and the entire country ap-
peared at peace, quietly adopting the new order of things.
Stockton and Fremont returned to Monterey, and Stock-
ton began making preparations to move his fleet to the
Mexican Coast and march into Mexico, hoping, as he
wrote to Captain Mervine, to shake hands in Mexico
with General Taylor.

THE SECOND CONQUEST.

The bright prospects for California were soon blasted,
and the ambitious plans of Commodore Stockton were
frustrated. The idea of holding a conquered people by
men of two or three small garrisons, — there being ten
men at Santa Barbara and fifty at Los Angeles, — and
removing the army to engage in conflict with these peo-

THE CONQUEST.

83

pie's friends was puerile, to say the least. True, the leaders
had given their parole, but it was unnatural that any peo-
ple should obey such parole under such circumstances.
To attempt to hold a conquered people by a garrison
of ten men while the army to which they had surrendered
went on an expedition to slaughter their friends, was add-
ing insult to injury. This was an inexcusable blunder
on the part of Stockton. The naval and volunteer forces
returned to the north. Gillespie attempted reforms in
the conduct of the Spanish people of Los Angeles in-
compatible with their customs; this produced discon-
tent, and his weakness was so apparent that the Cahfor-
nians rebelled and were aroused to make an attempt to
recover their country.

The insurrection was headed at Los Angeles by General
Jose Maria Flores, who had surrendered to Stockton and
had been released on parole. But his chagrin at defeat
was very great, and the opportunity he considered was
given to retrieve his disgrace at the expense of his word
of honor.

JOHN brown's ride.

On the 23d of September he appeared before the fort
at Los Angeles with a large force and demanded of its
commander, Captain Gillespie, its surrender. This was
refused and the siege began. It was deemed of great
importance to inform Commodore Stockton of the insur-
rection and ask aid. To accomplish this seemed an im-
possibility, as nearly 500 miles of country, occupied by a
presumed hostile people, lay between Los Angeles and
Monterey, where the Commodore was supposed to be.

One of the garrison, with the ever-occurring immortal
name of John Brown — afterwards known by his Spanish
sobriquet of Juan Flaco — volunteered as a messenger
to make the perilous journey. He succeeded in work-
ing his way through the enemy's lines, but, as he was
passing their outer lines, was discovered and chase given.
The flight was swift and the pursuit vigorous. Brown
had a horse killed under him, but fled on foot and in
concealment, running nine leagues untfl he reached the
house of an American, where he was furnished with a
horse and continued his course. Of this ride Colton
says: —

Wednesday, September 30th. An express arrived last
night from the pueblo below, bringing the startling intelli-
gence that the populace had risen upon the small Ameri-
can force left there under command of Captain Gillespie —
that the insurgents had entire posse sion of the town —
'that the Americans were closely besieged in their quarters,
and it was doubtful if they would be able to hold out much
longer. The express stated that he left the town under a
volley of musketry, which he narrowly escaped, but which
took such deadly effect on his horse that he dropped
under him about two leagues out.

He had a permit from the American Alcalde to press
horses wherever found. He rode the whole distance —
460 miles- -in fifty-two hours, during which time he had
not slept. His intelligence was for Commodore Stockton,
and in the nature of the case was not committed to paper,
e.xcept a few words over the signature of the Alcalde,
rolled in a cigar, which was fastened in his hair. But
the Commodore had sailed for San Francisco, and it was
necessary he should go on 140 miles further. He was

quite exhausted ; I ordered him a bowl of strong coffee,
which revived him, and a hearty supper which he eagerly
devoured. He was allowed to sleep three hours; in the
meantime I procured fresh horses, and penned a permit
for him to press others when these should begin to flag.
Before the day glimmered he was up and away.

Such endurance and such a ride over the rough trails
of those days, and under such circumstances, appear
almost too much for belief, but the wTiting of Rev. Mr.
Colton was contemporaneous, and there are no grounds
to dispute its correctness. Mr. Colton was very parsi-
monious in giving the names of those he met in the com-
mon ranks of life and who made much of the history of
early California, and it is from other sources than his
volume we must learn the names of the unofficial classes
whose deeds are worth recording. John Brown — Juan
Flaco — died at Stockton in 1863.

THE UNITED STATES TROOPS EXPELLED.

Captain Gillespie made terms of surrender of Los
Angeles to the overwhelming forces of Flores, condi-
tioned upon abandoning the pueblo and marching with
his soldiers under arms to San Pedro and embarking for
Monterey.

Gillespie is reported by the CaUfornians to have played
the part of a tyrant conqueror with his insignificant force
at Los Angeles, and thus so enraged the people that they
rose against him. The first attack was made by Capt.
Cerval Varelas, a native of Los Angeles, and a gallant
man. That after this attack General Flores joined, issued
his proclamation and the insurrection became general;
and that it was through the indiscreet acts of Gillespie
that the revolt was incited. As soon as the news spread
the other garrisons were attacked.

The garrison at San Diego, commanded by Captain
Merritt, of the Bear Flag insurrection, escaped on board
a whaler that was in the harbor. Lieutenant Talbot,
who was left in charge of Santa Barbara, with ten men,
would not surrender though surrounded by 200 horsemen.
They made their way out by night and took to the moun-
tains, where they were hunted for some time by the CaU-
fornians, who burned over the country to rout them out
of their hiding-place. But a friendly canon in the pine
forest concealed them, until they were found by Cholo,
an Indian Chief, who conducted them to the San Joaquin
Valley, from which place they made their way to Mon-
terey, where they arrived half-starved, after having traveled
500 miles.

flores' proclam.-^tion.

Almost the whole native population were now in arms.
Flores issued a proclamation, in which over 300 persons
joined, as follows: —

Mexican Army, (

Section of Operations Angeles, Oct. i, 1846. j
Fellow-Citizens: It is a month and a half that, by
lamentable fatality, fruit of the cowardice and inability of
the first authorities of the department, we behold our-
selves subjugated and oppressed by an insignificant force
of adventurers of the United States of America, and plac-
ing us in a worse condition than that of slaves.

They are dictating to us despotic and arbitrary laws,

84

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

and loading us with contributions and onerary burdens,
which have for an object the ruin of our industry and
agriculture, and to force us to abandon our property, to
be possessed and divided among themselves.

And shall we be capable to allow ourselves to be sub-
jugated, and to accept by our silence the weighty chains
of slavery? Shall we permit to be lost the soil inherited
from our fathers, which cost them so much blood and so
many sacrifices? Shall we make our families the victims
of the most barbarous slavery? Shall we wait to see our
wives violated, our innocent children punished by Ameri-
can whips, our property sacked, our temples profaned,
and, lasdy, to drag through an existence full of insult and
shame? No! a thousand times no! Countrymen, death
first!

Who of you does not feel his heart beat with violence?
Who does not feel his blood boil, to contemplate our sit-
uation; and who will be the Mexican who will not feel
indignant and will not rise to take up arms to destroy our
oppressors? We believe there is not one so vile and
cowardly. With such a motive the majority of the in-
habitants of the districts, justly indignant against our
tyrants, raise the cry of war, with arms in their hands,
and with one accord swear to sustain the following arti-
cles : —

I St. We, the inhabitants of the department of Cali-
fornia, as members of the great Mexican nation, declare
that it is and has been our wish to belong to her alone,
free and independent.

2d. Consequently, the authorities intended and named
by the invading forces of the United States are held null
and void.

3d. All the North Americans being enemies of Mexico,
we swear not to lay down our arms till they are expelled
from the Mexican Territory.

4th. All Mexican citizens from the age of fifteen to
sixty, who do not take up arms to forward the present
plan, are declared traitors and under the pain of death.

5th. Every Mexican or foreigner who may directly or
indirectly aid the enemies of Mexico will be punished in
the same inanner.

6th. The property of the North Americans in the de-
partment, who may have directly or indirectly taken any
part with, or aided the enemies, shall be confiscated and
used for the expenses of the war; and their persons shall
be taken to the interior of the Republic.

7th. All those who oppose the present plan shall be
punished with arms.

8th. All the inhabitants of Santa Barbara, and the dis-
trict of the North, will be invited immediately to adhere
to the present plan. Jose Ma. Flores.

Camp in Angeles, September 24, 1846.

Some of the beauty and force of this paper may have
been lost in the translation, but the style would do honor
to any Fourth of July orator that ever lived.

EXPEDITION TO THE SOUTH.

The report of the insurrection in the south was re-
ceived by Commodore Stockton from the brave and
faithful John Brown on the 30th of September, and the
frigate Savannah sailed for San Pedro with 300 marines for
the rescue of the beleagured garrison. At San Pedro she
found the merchant ship Vatidalia with Gillespie and his
command on board.

REPULSE OF CAPTAIN MERVINE.

The marines under Captain Mervine, and the volun-
teers under Gillespie, landed on the 7 th of October, and
started on their march for Los Angeles. They were met

by a party of Californians under General Flores and Don
Jos6 Antonio Carrillo, all well mounted, and having a
four-pounder field-piece, which they handled effectively,
killing five Americans and wounding several more. The
Americans being on foot, and armed only with muskets,
could not get in range to make their fire effective, the
well-mounted Californians fleeing before the charges of
the Americans, and choosing their own positions for firing
their cannon. Captain Mervine had made the fatal mis-
take of attempting the march without artillery, and this
inexcusable blunder prevented the overthrow of the rebel-
lion in its incipiency, caused his unfortunate defeat, and
the subsequent severe campaign of Stockton via San
Diego to Los Angeles.

On' the 8th, Captain Mervine re-embarked and sailed for
Monterey. Flores had taken some prisoners, whom he
proposed to shoot, but Carrillo so firmly remonstrated
that he desisted. Soon thereafter it was learned that
Flores had planned to arrest all the Americans residing in
Los Angeles and vicinity, and send them as trophies, or
hostages, to Mexico. But this plot was frustrated by the
action of William Workman, an Englishman, and others
who had heard of it. A party of Californians, having
achieved their object in resenting the insolence of Gilles-
pie, were desirous of surrendering to Commodore Stock-
ton, thus closing the war and averting inevitable disaster.
Stockton was expected at San Pedro, and it was arranged
that Mr. B. D. Wilson should explain to him how matters
stood and the strength of the party that would co-operate
with him, while Carrillo and others would display a large
body of horses as a corroboration of the statement of Wil-
son. Stockton and his fleet came, and a boat landed, but
the unmounted horses appearing, the boat was signalled
to return, and the ships sailed away to San Diego. Thus
another opportunity was lost to overthrow a weak rebellion
and pacify the country without bloodshed. This fact was
related by the late Capt. B. D. Wilson.

THE CAMPAIGN FROM SAN DIEGO.

Commodore Stockton sailed from San Francisco, Oc-
tober 25 th, with the Congress and Cyane, and arrived in
San Diego early in November. He found that post had
been recaptured by Captain Merritt, who a short time be-
fore had been compelled to evacuate it, but while on the
whale-ship he had learned that the Mexican force had
been partly withdrawn in concentrating their forces at
Los Angeles, and he therefore landed again and took the
garrison by surprise. Stockton landed, established a for-
tified camp, and set his men making saddles, bridles,
harnesses, etc., preparatory to marching to Los Angeles,
then the capital and headquarters of the Californians.

COMING OF GENERAL KEARNY.

In September, when Fremont was in quiet possession
of San Diego and the peace of the country seemed as-
sured, he dispatched his famous scout and guide, Kit
Carson, and a small party, with the report of his work,
overland, via the Colorado Desert, the Gila, the Rio
Grande, and the Santa F6 Trail to the States, and to
Washington. When on the Rio Grande this party met

Francisco E. Qidntana.

THE CONQUEST.

85

an army under Gen. Stephen W. Kearny, eii route to Cali-
fornia. The news Carson bore was that California was con-
quered without the firing of a gun, and that all was peace
and quietness there. General Kearny therefore directed
his command to remain in New Mexico, and render such
aid as was required in holding the country, while he, with
about ICO dragoons and t^vo mountain howitzers, under
command of Captain Moore, as an escort. Captain John-
ston, his aid. Captain Turner, and Lieutenant Emory, and
with Carson as a guide, hastened on to California. The
route was much more difficult than he had anticipated,
and he arrived in California at the crossing of the Colo-
rado in November, with his men exhausted and his ani-
mals famished. He now learned of the insurrection and
the great need of his army that he had left in New Mex-
ico. Word was sent to Stockton of his coming, and he
dispatched Captain Gillespie and Lieut. Edward F. Beale,
with fifteen men, to render aid and escort them into San
Diego. This party met the forlorn dragoons at the edge
of the desert, and accompanied them westward.

BATTLE OF SAN PASQUAL.

At San Pasqual, a small rancheria, they were attacked
on the 6th of December, by a party of i6o Califor-
nians, under Gen. Don Andreas Pico, and a desperate
battle ensued. Captains Johnston and Moore and Lieu-
tenant Hammond, and sixteen others were killed. The
animals drawing one of the howitzers became unmanage-
able, stampeded, and it was lost. Kearny took position
on a rocky point, and held his ground, but being without
water or provisions, his situation w-as most desperate.
At night, Carson, Beale, and a Delaware Indian crept
through the enemy's lines unperceived, and made their
way to San Diego. Lieutenant Gray, with a detachment
of sailors, marines, and volunteers, went to the rescue,
when the Californians retired, and the unfortunate dra-
goons reached a place of safety and recuperation.

The battle of San Pasqual was one of the most gal-
lantly contested on record. The Californians were well
mounted, with carbines and pistols, but their chief arm
was the lance, with which they were very skillful. Their
charges were effective and fearless, and their valiant con-
duct on that field has reflected upon them an honor of
which all Californians have since been proud. The dra-
goons of General Kearny were in an exhausted condi-
tion when attacked, and only by the most desperate brav-
ery were they able to save themselves from slaughter.
Although weak in condition and numbers, a thought of
surrender could not be entertained. Heavy losses were
inflicted on the Californians, but the deaths of such offi-
cers as fell of the dragoons was mourned by the whole
army, and deemed irreparable.

ORDERS TO KEARNY.

General Kearny had been sent from the States to
" conquer California and to establish a civil Govern-
ment." He had left his army and was now under obli-
gations to Commodore Stockton for "his rescue, and the
Commodore was Commander-in-Chief of the country.
From the superior rank of the General, his orders, and

the circumstances, a very delicate question of authority
arose. Stockton had prepared an expedition to Los
Angeles, and Kearny accompanied it in command of
the troops, but as aid to Stockton as the Commander-in-
Chief.

BATTLE OF SAN GABRIEL AND THE MESA.

On the 8th of January, 1847, the American forces,
amounting to about 600 men, met the Californians,
about 500 mounted men, with four pieces of artillery,
entrenched on the north bank of the San Gabriel River.
The Americans forded the river in face of the enemy
and drove them from their position and encamped on the
field. The next day the battle of the " Mesa " was fought
and the Americans again victorious, marching into and
taking possession of Los Angeles on the morning of the
loth, while the adjacent hills were glistening with the
lances of the Californians.

LOS ANGELES REGAINED.

General Flores had previously sent messengers to
Commodore Stockton and General Kearny proposing
terms of surrender, but was answered that the surrender
must be unconditional, and that Flores and Andreas
Pico, having broken their parole, should suffer death. A
very bitter and revengeful leeling was at that time enter-
tained by the Americans. They had once received the
surrender of these men and released them on their
parole, which had been accepted as sacred. In this
fancied security they had trusted and been betrayed.
Great cost and labor had resulted, and inconceivably
more was felt the loss of many lives of dear companions
and valued friends. General Kearny had lost the favor-
ite Captains of his loved First Dragoons and suffered
the mortification of an attack that threatened his anni-
hilation, all the result of a perfidy which he would not
forgive.

RETREAT OF THE CALIFORNIANS.

The Californians retreated north and were met on
the nth by Fremont. Don Jose de Jesus Pico, who
had been taken prisoner by Fremont at San Luis Obispo,
and who still accompanied him, was sent forward to
communicate with his fellow-countrymen, and kinsman,
Don Andreas. A meeting was held at the mission of
San Fernando, and it was ascertained that a surrender
would be made. The next day the Americans advanced
into the pass of Cahuenga, twelve miles from Los
Angeles, and there the terms of capitulation were agreed
upon, Fremont granting singularly generous terms,
knowing the Californians had been defeated by Com-
modore Stockton, but not knowing how he had refused
to make terms with Flores. The following is a copy of
the treaty made: —

ARTICLES OF CAPITULATION

Made and entered into at the pass of Cahuenga, this
13th day of January, 1847, between Maj. Pearson B.
Reading, Lieut. Louis McLane, Jr., Commanding Artil-
lery, and Capt. \Vm. H. Russell, Ordinance Officer, Com-
missioners appointed by J. C. Fremont, Colonel United
States Army and Military Commander of California;

86

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

and Jose Antonio Carrillo, Comniandante Squadron,
and Augustin Olvera, Deputado, Commissioners ap-
pointed by Don Andreas Pico, Commander-in-Chief ot
the California forces under the Mexican flag.

Article i. The Commissioners on the part of the
Californians agree that their entire force shall, on pre-
sentation of themselves to Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont,
deliver up their artillery and public arms, and that they
shall return peaceably to their homes, conforming to the
laws and regulations of the United States, and not again
take up arms during the war between the United States
and Mexico, but will assist and aid in placing the coun-
try in a state of peace and tranquillity.

Art. 2. The Commissioners on the part of Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Fremont agree and bind themselves, on
the fulfillment of the first article by the Californians,
that they shall be guaranteed protection of life and
property, whether on parole or otherwise.

Art. 3. That until a treaty of peace be made and
signed between the United States of North America
and the Republic of Mexico, no Californian, or other
Mexican citizen, shall be bound to take the oath of
allegiance.

Art. 4. That any Californian, or citizen of Mexico,
desiring, is permitted by the capitulation to leave the
country without let or hindrance.

Art. 5. That, in virtue of the aforesaid articles, equal
rights and privileges are vouchsafed to every citizen of
California as are enjoyed by the citizens of the United
States of North America.

Art. 6. All officers, citizens, foreigners, or others, shall
receive the protection guaranteed by the second article.

Art. 7. This capitulation is intended to be no bar in
effecting such arrangements as may in future be in jus-
tice required by both parties.

additional article.

CiuDAD DE Los Angeles, Jan. 16, 1847.
That the paroles of all officers, citizens, and others,
of the United States, and of naturalized citizens of Mex-
ico, are by this foregoing capitulation cancelled, and
every condition of said paroles, from and after this date,
are of no further force and effect, and all prisoners of both
parties are hereby released.

P. B. Reading, Major California Battalion.
Louis McLane, Commanding Artillery.
Wm. H. Russell, Ordinance Officer.
Jose Antonio Carrillo, Commanda7ite of

Squadron.
Augustin Olvera, Deputado.
Approved. J. C. Fremont,

Lieiitejiant-Colonel United States Army, and Military
Commandant of California.

Andreas Pico,
Commandarit of Squadron and Chief of the National
Forces of California.

These terms were very bitter to Stockton and Kearny,
particularly the latter, and it is said that Stockton would
have rejected them had the name of Flores been ap-
pended. But that valorous warrior sought safety in
Mexico, whither he fled with a few followers. But
the wisdom of universal forgiveness was shown in the
peace that followed and the warm friendship the
native Californians ever after manifested toward Fre-
mont. More rigorous terms would have involved a
sense of humiliation that would have created and perpet-
uated a rancorous spirit in the people without any
advantage to the Americans. The Californians had not

been very warmly attached to Mexico, and now, by the
liberal terms of their surrender, they readily fraternized
with the conquerors and accepted the new order of Gov-
ernment.

Fremont's battalion.

When the Flores' insurrection rendered it manifest
that a strong effort must be made to reoccupy Los
Angeles, it was proposed that Fremont should be landed
at Santa Barbara with the battalion with which he had
held San Diego, near 200 strong, then mount it and
march southward, meeting Stockton, who proposed to
land at San Pedro. Fremont was not able to mount
his men, and Stockton, as has been told, sought the
roundabout way of San Diego. These proceedings are
now known to have been exceedingly unwise and un-
fortunate.

Fremont returned to the north with a portion of his
men, instructed to recruit such a force as he could, and
march down the coast to Los Angeles. From about
Sutter's Fort, San Francisco, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, San
Jose, and Monterey he organized nine companies, aggre-
gating a force of 428 men. Among these were his
mountaineers who had accompanied him across the
plains, a band of Walla Walla Indians, some California
Indians, and immigrants lately arrived, the latter consti-
tuting the greatest number and strength. No gaudy
uniform, waving plumes, or martial music — save a battered
bugle — enlivened the body, but it was sombre in its buck-
skin, woolen of all shades, slouched hats or skin caps,
only the Indians in their nakedness, paints, and orna-
ments giving a slight relief of the picturesque. All were
mounted, and a body of 600 horses and mules, besides
pack-mules and beeves, were driven along.

The officers of the battalion were as follows: —

Lieut. Col. John C. Fremont, Commanding; A. H.
Gillespie, Major; P. B. Reading, Paymaster; Henry King,
Commissary; Jacob R. Snyder, Quartermaster; Wm. H.
Russell, Ordinance Officer; T. Talbot, Lieutenant and
Adjutant; J. J. Myers, Sergeant-Major, and Lieutenant
after January, 1847.

Company A. — Richard Owens, Captain; Wm. N.
Loker, ist Lieutenant, appointed Captain February 10,
1847; B. M. Hudspeth, 2d Lieutenant, appointed Cap-
tain February, 1847; Wm. Findlay, 2d Lieutenant,
appointed Captain February, 1847.

Company B. — Henry Ford, Captain; Andrew Cope-
land, I St Lieutenant.

Company C. — Granville P. Swift, Captain; Wm. Bald-
redge, ist Lieutenant; Wm. Hartgrove, 2d Lieutenant.

Company D. — John Sears, Captain; Wm. Bradshaw,
ist Lieutenant.

Company E. — John Grigsby, Captain; Archibald
Jesse, ist Lieutenant.

Company F. — L. W. Hastings, Captain; Wombough,
ist Lieutenant; J. M. Hudspeth, 2d Lieutenant.

Company G. — Thompson, Captain; Davis, ist Lieu-
tenant; Rock, 2d Lieutenant.

Company H. — R. T. Jacobs, Captain; Edwin Bryant
(afterwards Alcalde of San Francisco, and author of
"What I Saw in California," and from which the particu-
lars of this campaign are chiefly obtained), ist Lieuten-
ant; George M. Lippincott, 2d Lieutenant.

Artillery Company. — Louis McLane, of the navy.
Captain (afterwards Major); John K. Wilson, ist Lieuten-
ant, appointed Captain in January, 1847; Wm. Black-

THE CONQUEST.

87

burn,* 2d Lieutenant (afterward Alcalde of Santa Cruz).

BATTLE OF N.'VTIVIDAD.

The battalion was organized during the month of
November and was ready to commence its southward
march on the 28th of November, 1846. On the 15th of
November a party of Californians captured Mr. Larkin,
former Consul, while eti route from Monterey to San
Juan, and attempted to force him to wTite a note to
different persons of the battalion at San Juan to call
upon him, the object being to thus capture the party in
detail. Larkin repelled the proposition with scorn,
although threatened with death. He was kept their
prisoner, forced to accompany them in their retreat to
Los Angeles, where he was at last restored to liberty by
the defeat of the Californians. While a prisoner, the
Californians, numbering 130, attacked and surrounded
at Natividad a party of seven or eight Americans, and
ordered Mr. Larkin to go and call them out, promising
them liberty and safety if they would give up their arms
and ammunition. This he refused to do, and while
consulting on the matter they were attacked by fifty
Americans and Walla Wallas, under Captain Burroughs,
who were escorting a band of 400 horses to Fremont's
camp at Monterey. The Californians fired upon the
Americans, killing Captain Burroughs, Captain Foster,
and Mr. Eames, all late-coming immigrants from St.
Louis, Missouri. Three others were wounded. The
Californians lost three killed and seven wounded, f

A BRAVE INDIAN FEAT.

The Californian, of November 21, 1846, published at
Monterey, by Walter Colton and Robert Semple, reported
the following: —

Burroughs and Foster were killed at the first onset.
The Americans fired and then charged with their empty
rifles, and ran them off. However, they still kept rally-
ing, and firing now and then a musket at the Americans,
until about eleven o'clock at night, when one of the
Walla Walla Indians offered his services to come into
Monterey and give Colonel Fremont notice of what was
passing. Soon after he started he was pursued by a
party of the enemy. The foremost in pursuit drove a
lance at the Indian, who, tr}-ing to parry it, received the
lance through his hand; he immediately, with the other
hand, seized his tomahawk and struck a blow at his
opponent, which split his head from the crown to the
mouth. By this time the others had come up, and with
the utmost dexterity and bravery, the Indian vanquished
two more, and the rest ran away. He rode on towards
this town as far as his horse was able to carry him, and
then left his horse and saddle and came in on foot. He
arrived here about eight o'clock on Tuesday morning,
December 17th.

THE BATTALION ON THE MARCH.

Fremont marched with his force from Monterey in
pursuit of the Californians, but they had fled to the
south. This party was composed of some inhabitants of
the pueblos and a few rancheros who had been forced by
the former to join them. Fremont arrived at San Juan
two days after the engagement at Natividad. He then

" Brother of D. D. and J. H. Blackburn, of Paso Robles.
tLetter of T. O. Larkin.

determined to march south as soon as some reinforce-
ments reached him from the north, which he was expect-
ing. On the 28th of November he left San Juan, and
arrived at the mission of San Miguel on the loth of
December. The stock of cattle which had been col-
lected from the ranches on the road being exhausted, the
battalion feasted on mutton, as sheep were more abun-
dant than cattle in that neighborhood. The horses were
becoming weak from exhaustion, as the grass was insuffi-
cient for their proper sustenance, and in order to relieve
them, the entire battalion, officers and men, marched on
foot, turning their horses loose with saddles and bridles
upon them, to be driven along by the horse guard.

A SHOCKING EXECUTION.

On the 15th of December an Indian was captured at
a rancho by the advance guard. On the day following
he was condemned to be shot as a spy. He was tied to
a tree, where he stood twenty minutes, until the Indians
from a neighboring rancheria could be driven up to
witness the execution. A file of soldiers was then ordered
to fire upon him. It would seem difficult to justify an
act of this nature under the circumstances of the case.
A spy is presumed to have intelligence sufficient, at least,
to understand the character of the obligation he assumes,
which could not be alleged in this instance, as the victim
was simply an ignorant California rancho Indian. It
was said, in justification of the act, that a letter was found
upon his person from his patron (master) directed to
some prominent Californian, presumably in regard to the
war.

VORACIOUS SOLDIERS.

On December 14th the battalion commenced its march
on foot, the rain pouring down in torrents. There was a
halt made at noon and cattle slaughtered and cooked for
dinner. Beef was now their only food. The sheep
had all been killed, and no more could be found. Four-
teen to fifteen beeves were slaughtered every afternoon
for the consumption of the battalion. It was stated that
the average consumption per man of fresh beef was ten
pounds per day.

CAPTURE OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

The march was resumed late in the afternoon of the
14th, and the foot of the Cuesta reached in the night; it
was raining heavily. A family in the caiiada, Don J.
Mariano Bonilla's, were taken prisoners by the advance
party, to prevent an alarm being given to the enemy that
was supposed to be in San Luis. The place was ap-
proached in great confusion on account of the darkness,
the men straying along in loose order. A small force, if
properly disposed and handled skillfully, could have re-
pulsed the battalion with severe loss. But there was no
military force at the town. A halt was made on the im-
mediate outskirts of the place, to collect together the
scattered files of men stretching along the road for half
a mile. The artillery under Lieutenant McLane and the
pack-animals with an escort, were yet in fne rear, struggling
slowly along through mud and water and darkness.

A solitary light was seen to flicker for a moment in the
direction of the town and then disappear. It seemed to

88

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

indicate the exact position of the place. The enemy, it was
supposed, had e.xtinguished their Hghts purposely, in order
to conceal their position from the Americans, and were
anxiously awaiting their approach, anticipating an easy
victory, under cover of the impenetrable darkness of the
night. The American force formed in column, the men
awaiting the signal to charge. The bugle sounded. And
300 horsemen galloped furiously down the main street,
the Walla AValla Indians shouting their fierce war-whoop.
The town was taken. The inhabitants, who were all in
their beds fast asleep, were greatly alarmed upon being
suddenly awakened by the terrible uproar. They made
no resistance, and the entire population were taken pris-
oners, except two who managed to escape and fled in
great terror, through the darkness of the night. No acts
of violence were reported, however. The soldiers were
quartered in some of the adobe buildings of the mission.
These not affording sufficient accommodations for the
troops, a large number were quartered in the church. A
guard was placed, however, day and night, to prevent the
altar and the decorations of the church from sacrilegious
hands.

PICO TAKEN PRISONER.

Don Jose de Jesus Pico, a prominent ranchero who
had held important positions of trust under the Mexican
Government, and who had also figured conspicuously in
several California revolutions, was brought in a prisoner.
He was found at the house of a friend in the neighbor-
hood. It was supposed by the American commander
that he had been using his great influence to incite a gen-
eral uprising against the American cause.

On the following day earthworks were thrown up on
the hill near the present lines of Morro and Mill Streets.
The artillery was placed so as to command the approaches
to the town, as a large force of the enemy was supposed
to be somewhere in the neighborhood. A court martial
was convened on the i6th, for the trial of Pico on a
charge of the forfeiture of his parole, which, it was alleged,
had been taken on a previous occasion. It appeared at
the trial that the letter which had been found on the per-
son of the Indian who had been executed on the 13th,
was written by Pico to one of his countrymen. The con-
tents of the letter were not made public. But it was
stated that they denounced in severe terms the manner in
which the war was then being conducted on the part of
the Americans, or to that effect. That it was not in ac-
cordance with the rules of civilized warfare to plunder the
property of neutrals or non-combatants, as the Americans
were doing, in driving off stock from the ranches, and
leaving the owners, by the deprivation of their horses,
without the means of taking care of the cattle that were
left to them, and thus reducing themselves and their fam-
ilies to want if not absolute distress That this was the
course pursued by Fremont is undeniable. That it was a
flagrant violation of the rules of civilized warfare is also true.
Hence it is apparent that, as the American commander
habitually disregarded in this manner the plainest princi-
ples of right and justice prescribed by the usages of civil-
ized nations in the conduct of their wars with each other,

he was himself estopped from exacting a strict compliance
with them, by those whom he was then injuring. The
result, however, of the court martial was that Pico was

CONDEMNED TO BE SHOT

On the following day. The sentence of the court was
unjust in every respect, for independent of the circum-
stances above related, Pico, when taken, was not in arms,
nor was he engaged in raising a force to oppose the
Americans.

RESCUED BY FAIR LADIES.

On the morning of the 1 7th a procession was seen pas-
sing slowly along the corridor of the mission buildings,
composed of matronly looking ladies leading by the hand
several little children. The leader was a lady of fine ap-
pearance, with uncovered head. The countenances of
the others were concealed by their rebosas, their heads
bowed, and many of them sobbing audibly. They pro-
ceeded to the quarters of Colonel Fremont, and falling
upon their knees before him, and amid tears and sobs,
entreated for the pardon of Pico. Fremont received
them kindly, and listened with patience to their earnest
solicitations. For a long time he remained obdurate;
but at last relented — a few minutes only before the time
fixed for the sentence of the court martial to be carried
into effect. Pico was pardoned. The leader of the pro-
cession of matrons was Dona Ramona Wilson, the mother
of Governor Romualdo Pacheco.

THE BATTALION IN SAN LUIS OBISPO.

Upon the arrival of the foraging parties with steers and
bands of fresh horses from the neighboring ranchos, the
mud batteries were abandoned, all the prisoners dis-
charged and the order to saddle up given. The battalion
presented a unique appearance. First came the men of
the exploring party, who had crossed the plains with
Fremont. They were clad in buckskin suits ornamented
with fringes of the same material. They wore moccasins,
and many had caps made of the skins of the panther and
catamount, beneath which their long hair fell streaming
over their shoulders. They were men of approved cour-
age and were capable of sustaining any fatigue or priva-
tion. Broad leathern girdles surrounded their waists,
from which were suspended a bowie and hunter's knife,
with a brace of pistols. These,' with the rifle and holster
pistols, were the arms carried by officers and privates.
Next followed the volunteers from American settlers,
with broad-brimmed, low-crowned hats, shirts of blue
flannel, and buckskin or cloth pantaloons, some wearing
moccasins and others brogans, and carrying the same
arms as the exploring party, and many of them wearing
their hair in a similar manner. Then came the Walla
Wallas, a band of Oregon Indians. They had a pecul-
iarly sallow look, as the rain had washed off their war-
paint. They were dressed in buckskin garments, and
their hair, matted and unkempt, had draggling feathers
stuck in it here and there. They carried rifles, and at
their girdles a large knife and tomahawk. Following
these was a small band of California Indians from the

^^ a'tj, -^a*-

SJik:- 'l<?iw^-* ^

DAIRY RANCH & RESIDENCE OF MARIANO ESTRADA,

NEAR CAMBRIA, SAN LUIS OBISPO CO.CAL.

DAIRY RANCH & RESIDENCE QF L. NELSON, 4 MILE 5 SOUTH OF CAMBRIA.

SAN LUIS OBISPO CO.CAL.

THE CONQUEST.

89

Cosumnes River under their Chief, Antonio. They were
a scurvy looking set of savages, half-clothed and exceed-
ingly dirty. They were armed with bows and arrows.
The artillery, consisting of two pieces, was under the
command of Lieutenant McLane of the navy. The
order to march was given at ten o'clock on the morning
of the 17th December, 1846. The bugle sounded the
note, and the battalion took up its line of march to the
south.

A PICTURE OF DESOLATION.

One of the participants in that famous campaign re-
lates the following vivid reminiscence of the march from
San Luis Obispo and the passage of the Santa Ynez
Mountains: —

For three days after that surprising night attack on San
Luis Mission, we remained in camp and " let it rain."
The favored companies of the battalion were quartered
in the mission buildings, and the others improvised such
shelter as they could, until they were fairly washed out of
tents and from behind adobe walls, and a|)parently in
danger of being floated from off the solid land out
to sea, and then the order was given to open the church
doors, and the drowning rats rushed in and spread their
dripping blankets on the stone floor. The deluge pre-
vailed three days, or until the i8th, when the battalion
was set in motion again, and we waded four leagues to
the sea-shore, probably with some faint thought in the
Colonel's mind that we should yet be compelled to com-
mit ourselves to rafts. While at the mission he performed
the second act of military prowess during the campaign,
or, perhaps I should say, the third, counting from, the
execution of the poor Digger Indian. Our onlv military
prisoner of rank taken during the war, Don Tortorio*
Jose de Jesus Pico, was tried by a court martial, and
sentenced to be shot. His offense was breaking his pa-
role, Pico having been concerned in the first insurrection
against the new authorities, and when resistance seemed
hopeless, given his parole of honor not to take up arms
against the United States again. He was a relative of Don
Andreas Pico, one of the leaders of the insurgents against
whom we were now marching, and it was said that his visit
to San Luis had some connection with Don Andreas Pico's
operations in the south. But Tortorio was born under a
luckier star than his poor Digger dispatch-bearer, for the
next morning his countrywomen living at the mission
sought an audience with Fremont, and pleaded with such
success that his life was spared, and he was permitted to
accompany the expedition.

GOLD AGAINST 'SUGAR.

It was at the mission of San Luis Obispo, also, that I
effected one of the important exchanges of my life, judg-
ing from the satisfaction it afforded me at the time, and the
willingness with which I submitted to the extortion. I
paid my last gold coin, a quarter-eagle, for an ounce of
Mexican panoche, a little black, dirty lump of native sugar.
But no nectar was ever half so sweet, nor was there ever
a sweetness so long drawn out; my memory has fed upon
it ever since.

Fremont's strategy.

After a week of wearisome watches and hungry biv"
ouacs, we reached the base of the Santa Barbara Mount"
ains, and encamped on the grounds of the Santa Ynez
Mission. It was said to be Fremont's intention to baffle
the enemy, who were supposed to still hold possession

*Tortorio, a nickname.

of Santa Barbara, by a flank movement, crossing the
mountains above the town while they watched for them by
the main road, and so, sweeping down along the sea-shore,
surprise them. This, to be sure, was about what we had
been doing ever since the battalion marched southward,
and if we had not surprised the enemy at any point we
had been ourselves astonished, and I ought to add, dis-
gusted more than once.

The theory of Fremont's campaign was so absurd that
it dropped below criticism at our camp-fires. Every man,
down to the Digger horse-thief Indians, knew that we
were beating the air in our roundabout marches ; that
while we were wearing out our animals and exhausting
the strength of our hardiest men, by seeking out the
roughest and most impracticable starvation routes south-
ward, in the vain hope of stealing a march on the foe,
his well-mounted spies knew all about our movements,
and where we encamped every night. However, the
surprise maggot in our leader's brain was about to hatch
out again, and we lighted our camp-fires at Santa Ynez, and
killed the last of our lean beeves. Sitting around the
side of ribs staked against the glowing embers, we mood-
ily watched the play of the flames shining through the
thin roast, and envied the greedy tongues of fire that
licked up the few drops of fat that fell from it. It was the
night before Christmas eve, and there came forth from
out of the fire garlanded oxen and prize beeves, larding
the lean earth as they came along, like those well-favored
kine, perhaps, which Pharaoh saw come out of the Nile
in his dream, only these latter were types of fat things
to come, while our bovine procession was made up
of well-preserved shadows of former Christmases. From
these dreams of the past we turned to our present reality
of skinny roasts, eaten without salt, of butterless bread
and breadless butter.

crossing the mountain.

The morning of Christmas eve broke cheerily for all
our troubles, and gave promise of a clear day. Enlivened
by the prospects of a Christmas dinner of frijoles, and
possibly a fat ox from the plains around Santa Barbara,
the camp awoke in good spirits at the first blast of
Miller's bugle. The order had been issued the night
before that we were to cross the mountains that day, and
it soon transpired that we were to attempt the passage by
a narrow path which had been used in former times when
the missions were in their glory, but had of late years
been abandoned. It was only a bridle path up steep
ascents, and though it presented no serious hardships to
foot soldiers, and was even traveled with tolerable ease
by our skeleton mules and horses, it was a road full of
difficulties to our company of improvised artillerymen.
The field-pieces were dragged up by ropes, and our
progress was so delayed by the frequent halts, where the
acclivities seemed insurmountable, that the day was well-
nigh gone before we reached the summit of the mountain.
A cold wind swept the heights, the sun went down in a
bank of ominous clouds, but there was no help for it.
We must pass the night on this rocky crest. The fierce
blasts almost blew away our little fires of light manzanita
brush, and our larder was as bare as the crags around us.
But we had our songs and stories for the night before
Christmas, and when the bugle sounded stretched our
aching bones and empty bellies under the lee of rocks,
wherever a thin layer of earth or a softer stratum of
granite than the rest offered a couch, spreading our tat-
tered and muddy blankets between us and the weather.

a tkrrible storm.

At midnight the heavens were overspread with clouds,
and the wind, which had freshened to a gale, bore to our
ears the hoarse, prolonged roar of ocean. Our sailor

13

90

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

men lay awake and listened, and predicted the roughest
and nastiest kind of weather. At morn the tempest
broke. One glimpse of the great, white, wild sea was
vouchsafed to those who were first up, and then the
clouds closed over it and we were enveloped in mist and
driving rain, and nearly caught up into the air by the
fury of the pitiless wind.

Out from the clefts of the rocks and from behind
sheltering crags crept the haggard soldiers at the com-
mand, " Fall in! Forward!" But there was no forward,
for the exulting gale fairly pinned us to the rocks when
we essayed to move. Our route lay down the mountain
by a path almost as difficult as the ascent had been the
day before. For a few moments the men stood irreso-
lute and cowering, and then the column began to melt
away and disappear in the driving scud like phantoms.
Order and discipline were at an end, and every individual
must fight a battle for self. Only two organizations
remained intact — the artillery company and the men
detailed for the horse guard. The latter strove in vain
to compel the horses and mules to face the blinding
storm. They wandered hither and thither along the
slippery steeps, conscious of their danger, shivering with
cold and terror, but unable to go forward. A few were
led down the path and a few more followed and were
forced to go down the descent. The plucky gunners
stuck to their field-])ieces as long as there was a chance
in their favor. Hut now new difficulties and dangers
beset us. The hurricane raging above our heads began
to form torrents and cascades along our track. The
narrow mule-path we were following became the bed of
a foaming mountain river, which loosened stones and
bowlders and unrooted young trees in its course. Men
and animals were swept before it. For human life there
was a foothold, by clinging to the face of projecting
rocks and crawling up the steep gully sides; but horses
and mules were actually crushed over precipices, and
either killed outright or crippled beyond cure. In their
half-famished state the strength of our soldiers soon
gave out. Shoeless and coatless, and hugging their arms
under their thin, ragged blankets, many of them sank
down, benumbed and exhausted, wherever they could
find .shelter.

As to the youth who writes these veracious pages, his
condition was not such as would have made glad the
heart of his mother or graced a Christmas party in a
parlor. I'.arly in the day he had parted with the rem-
nant of his hat, wishing it a Merry Christmas as it sped
away on the wings of the rejoicing winds in the direction
of Verba Huena. Attired in blue flannel shirt, sailor
trowsers, and moccasins, he was in proper trim to test
the Irish proverb of "a light heart and a thin pair of
breeches." The whole of the future of that long-haired
youth seemed to condense itself, on that day, into two
distinct propositions which it seemed his bounden duty
to fulfill at all hazards. The first was to get down out of
that mountain, and the second to keep fast hold of his
gun— very simple and obvious requirements, one would
say. Hut it certainly does make a difference, in looking
upon our simple duties, whether we view them from the
front of a grate, full of glowing embers, or from the
midst of a roaring tornado on the top of Santa Ynez
Mountain, with blinding sheets of rain enveloping your
freezing boily, pouring cataracts on your path, and'ruflian
gales disputing jjossession of your last garment. 1 have
never been able to recall exactly the process by which I
slid like an icicle down those merciless heights. I
remember once making a clear leap some twelve or fif-
teen feet, and again endeavoring to extricate my legs
from between rocks and mud, drawing my feet out of my
moccasins.

The foot-hills were reached at last, and on the first

strip of level ground the sorry fragments of the now
famous battalion huddled together and made their miser-
able camp. Hy indefatigable labor and perseverance a
few fires were lighted. Some of the veteran frontiersmen
had led their company pack-mules down the mountain,
starting very early in the morning. A few other animals
had been washed down the rocks and were grouped,
more dead than alive, in a place of partial shelter. The
rain still fell and the wind raved, nor did the storm abate
until morning.

All night long men straggled into camp. Those who
had found tolerable shelter, where they could light fires
to keep themselves from freezing, remained on the
mountain-side; a few had found caves and holes, into
which they crept and passed the night. The horse
guard battled all the morning with a threefold enemy —
the perils of the weather and road, the obstinacy of the
mules, and the perversity of horse instinct. They were
compelled, in order to save their own lives, to abandon
them at last, and numbers of the poor beasts perished on
the mountains. The gallant artillerists made a desperate
struggle to bring off their pieces with them, but in the
final sai/7'e qui pent they left them high and wet, stuck
fast in the perilous pathway.

The writer found himself at night at the foot of the
hill of difficulty, bareheaded, sore-footed, with one leg of
his trowsers slashed up to the thigh, cakinero fashion,
but grimly holding on to that gun. We lay down in the
sheets of water which overspread the earth everywhere,
and supperless and fireless shivered the long night away.
I have ever looked kindly on the wet-sheet treatment of
hydropathists since that Christmas when we were envel-
oped by day and swathed by night in drenching sheets.

Tom Benton, in describing the scene on the Santa Ynez
Moujitain, afterwards in the Unite ! States Senate, said,
" It was as if the ocean which lay at the foot of that
mountain had been lifted up and poured bodily over
them." And it certainly was a bold invasion of the
solid land by an element which is declared to haveits
appointed metes and bounds that it should never pass
the earth at any time. So came and passed Christmas,
1846, to the California volunteers under Fremont.

THE CALIFORNIANS IN THE CAMPAIGN.

After the battle at Natividad the Californians made
their way to the South, taking Larkin with them, but it
was believed by the Americans that they had dispersed.
A gentleman of San Luis Obispo, native of the country,
then quite young, relates the following as an example of
the strategy of his countrymen in that campaign: —

The California officer in command claimed to be one
of the most skillful in military strategy and desperate in
bravery of all living Generals. He had a large party of
Californians, able to crush at any time, as he boasted, the
poorly equipped and half-starved battalion of American
volunteers, but, with the Fabian policy which has given fame
and success to other great commanders, decided to spare
his men an open encounter, and seek some opportunity
of decided advantage, when, without loss, he could crush
the invaders at a blow. He harangued his troops in
grandiloquent style, and assured them that if the enemy
dared to attempt to cross the Salinas he would hurl the
last body into the stream. But as the Americans ap-
proached he saw that he could not get at them as well
as he had anticipated; but that on the Nacimiento he
would crush them utterly. As the dreaded foreigners
reached that stream the valiant Californian was reminded

THE CONQUEST.

91

of the pass in the Santa Lucia Mountains through which
the Americans must go, and that it would be a much bet-
ter place to deal the deadly blow, and all withdrew to that
strategic point. But in due time the invading horde
straggled along among the hills, when the brave General
thought it would be prudent to retire to San Luis Ob spo>
where greater numbers would join him, and then, the
miserable gritigos would be exhausted by their efforts
in crossing the mountains and would fall an easy prey.

The Americans crossed the mountains and approached
the mission, and it was concluded to allow them pos-
session that they might be lulled into apparent security,
and then the Californians would take them unawares
and slaughter them like so many sheep in a corral.
The good opportunity did not offer, and thq repelling
force retired to another strong defensive point, and upon
the approach of the foe, another stronghold he knew of
further south was better still.

At Santa Ynez Mission the American volunteers found
a large quantity of aguardiente, and many so indulged in
the fiery liquid as to become intoxicated, and the bat-
talion was completely demoralized for the time being.
This fact was represented to the California General with
the recommendation that then was the time to attack.
" What !" he said, " attack the Americans when they are
maddened by liquor ? No ! no ! You do not know them
as I do. When drinking they will fight like demons.
Oh ! no; we will go to the Gaviota Pass, and when they
come marching through, we will throw the rocks dcjwn
upon their heads and crush them all." The Gaviota
Pass was selected as the great and long desired oppor-
tunity, but Fremont effected a flank movement, and the
battalion tumbled over the mountain by the San Marcos
and entered Santa Barbara without opposition.

For his knowledge of the San Marcos Pass and the
fact of the Gaviota Pass being guarded as strongly as it
was, Fremont was indebted to Capt. Isaac J. Sparks and
Mr. Foxen, who strongly advised the course taken, and
it is the opinion of some that they thus saved the bat-
talion.

As previously stated, the battalion reached Los Angeles
too late to partake in the battles, but meeting the beaten
Californians made the famous treaty which pacified the
country.

IRA VAN GORDON,

A veteran ranchero of San Luis Obispo County, a pioneer
of California, and a soldier of the Mexican War, was born
in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, February 12, 1820. Amid
the hills of the "Keystone State" where the waters flow
eastward to the Susquehanna and the Atlantic, and west-
ward to the Ohio and the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Van Gor-
don passed his youthful years, attending the schools as do
all ambitious American boys, and from his parents learn-
ing the duties of a farmer. In 1837, when seventeen
years of age, he moved to the new State of Michigan,
where he lived two years and then followed the declining
sun to the prairies of Illinois. After a three years' resi-
dence in that State, he returned to Michigan, tarrying
there two years. During these years of pilgrimage he
pursued the occupation of a farmer. At that period he

had arrived at the age when his vigorous manhood should
manifest itself, and he cast about for his future field of
operations. Far away upon the Pacific Coast was the
American land of Oregon, to which many were emigrat-
ing, and south of it was the Mexican country called Cali-
fornia, of which dim stories had been told of its great
valleys, rivers, and harbors, its vast herds of cattle, its
genial climate, and the hope was whispered that it might
soon become an American possession. To the Pacific
Coast young Van Gordon decided to go, and, joining a
party of emigrants in the spring of 1846, started on
the great journey as a driver of a team of oxen. Many
of the emigrants of that year met with terrible disaster,
but the train in which Mr. Van Gordon came, after trav-
eling six months from the frontier of Missouri, arrived
safely in the valley of the Sacramento. The fall and win-
ter of 1846 was spent at the mission of Santa Clara. The
war with Mexico had commenced while the emigrants
were on the plains, and upon their arrival in California,
they were much surprised as well as gratified to find the
flag of their country flying over Sutter's Fort, and on
every flag-staff, and that California was part of the United
States.

Where they had expected to be foreigners in a strange
land, they found themselves in their own country, and
welcomed by their own countrymen. Peace prevailed
when they came into the country, but shortly thereafter
the Californians rose in arms and the war was renewed.
Fremont raised a battalion and marched to the south, and
volunteers were raised to defend the people and towns in
the north. Mr. Van Gordon joined the volunteers, and
aided in putting down the insurrection and securing
peace. The battle of the San Gabriel and of the Mesa,
near Los Angeles, followed by the surrender of the Mexi-
can forces to Fremont at the Cahuenga Pass closed the
war in California, and in the spring of 1S47 the volun-
teers were disbanded. Mr. Van Gordon then went to the
mission of San Jose and commenced farming, remaining
thus engaged during the year. The discovery of gold
was made in the winter of 1847-48, but before the excite-
ment became great he went to the redwoods, and there
made shakes, shingles, and lumber for San Francisco,
continuing this quiet business while the country was run-
ning mad after gold. Six months passed while so em-
ployed, when he took the gold fever and went to the
mines on the American River. After four months' suc-
cessful mining, he returned to the mission of San Jose
and there resumed farming, where each acre that year;
and in 1849, and for several years following, produced a
crop worth a thousand dollars. In 1851 Mr. Van Gor-
don went to Los Angeles County and commenced rais-
ing, buying, and shipping grapes to San Francisco, doing
a very large business in that line, continuing in it for two
years. From Los Angeles he went to San I^iego County,
purchasing mules for the Government, and afterwards
engaging in stock-raising, spending two and a half years
in that county. In 1856 he went to Tulare County, and
there establi-shed a ranch and raised and fatted cattle, re-
maining there for a ijeriod of eleven years. From 'I'ulare
County he removed to San Luis Obispo County in 1868,

92

HISTORY 01^ SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

where he has since lived, carrying on an extensive busi-
ness in stocic-raising, farming, and dairying. His ranch
contains about 3,000 acres, and he keeps 175 cows. His
residence is where he first located in 1868, about midway
between Cambria and San Simeon, and is shown by an
engraving reproduced in this book.

Mr. Van Gordon was married in 1841 to Miss Rebecca
Harlan, a native of Indiana, and two sons are now living
to cheer the old age of their parents.

liENJAMIN KKANKl.IN MAVFIELD

Is a veteran of the Me.xican War and one of the pioneers
of California. This gentleman was born in the State of
Tennessee, June 27, 1826, remaining in that State until
ten years of age, when his parents moved into the State
of Illinois. There he attended the schools of the coun-
try, passing the quiet life of a farmer until, at the age of
twenty, the sound of war called the brave young men of
the land to arms. In 1846 he joined the volunteers for
the war with Mexico, and under the command of Col.
Philip St. (ieorge Cooke, marched across the plains,
down the Rio Grande through New Mexico, and through
Sonora to California. In the spring of 1848 the regi-
ment was disbanded, and Mr. Mayfield was discharged
from service at Los Angeles. Then came the excit-
ing reports of the discovery of gold on the American
River, and he was among the first in the diggings at
Sutter's Mill. The events in that connection form one
of the most interesting portions of the history of the
State, and are detailed elsewhere in this volume. The
occupation of a miner he followed until 1852, when
he removed into the farming region of Sonoma County,
engaging in the cultivation of the soil until 1868. He
then came to San Luis Obispo County, locating on San
Simeon Creek, where he has since lived, engaged in farm-
ing and dairying, milking from twenty-five to thirty cows.
His residence and its surroundings are shown by an en-
graving on another page. Mr. Mayfield was married in
1857 to Mrs. Terrill, and seven children have been born
to them, all of whom are living.

This gentleman is noted for his public spirit and the
interest he takes in public affairs, particularly those relat-
ing to the welfare of his county and community. He
has filled the office of Supervisor, Road Master, and
School Trustee, and is alvyays identified in the manage-
ment of the business of the county, earning the respect
and confidence of all.

GEORGE STONE

Was a veteran of the war with Mexico and a pioneer of
California, born in the State of New York, in 1830, and
dying at Cayucos, San Luis Obispo County, April 7, 1882.
I )urmg his youthful years he was a resident of the State
of his birth, and at the breaking out of the war with Mex-
ico, he volunteered, young as he was, in the service of
his country, and marched to the battle-field. After serv-
ing through the war he came to California, and settled in
San Uuenaventura in 1849. He soon thereafter went to
the mines in Sonora, Tuolumne County, where he re-
mained one year, when he returned to San Buenaventura

and took charge of a store for Isaac Callahan. Shortly
thereafter Mr. Callahan died, and Mr. Stone removed to
Santa Barbara. There he arranged with Capt. Isaac J.
Sparks to take his rancho of Arroyo Grande with stock
on shares, and moved upon the place and took posses-
sion. He then returned to San Buenaventura and mar-
ried Mrs. Callahan, the widow of his former employer,
who survives her husband.

In 1858, Mr. Stone went to Mexico, where he remained
two years, returning to California in i860, much broken
in health. After his return to Santa Barbara he received
the appointment of Under-Sheriff from Sheriff Dennis,
and was subsequently invited by the leading men to stand
as candidate for Sheriff. This he declined, as he could
not neglecj the interests of Captain Sparks on the Arroyo
Grande Rancho, to which he returned. That property
being in San Luis Obispo County, he was, in 1863, nom-
inated by the Republicans of that county for the office
of Sheriff In this contest he was unsuccessful, as is
shown in the chapter devoted to political history in this
work. In 1864 culminated the succession of dry years
that brought ruin to all the cattle-growers of the southern
country. All the stock upon the Arroyo Grande died, and
Mr. Stone was left without employment. He then re-
ceived the appointment of Revenue Assessor for his dis-
trict, which office he filled to the satisfaction of the Gov-
ernment and people. For many years he was a resident
of the county, and during his long life in the State main-
tained the kind regards and high respect of all who knew
him. He died at Cayucos, April 7, 1882, leaving a wife
and six grown children. George W. M. Stone, the eldest
son of George Stone, upon his father's death, returned to
Cayucos from his temporary residence in Los Angeles, and
assumed the management of the Exchange Hotel, which
his father had conducted previous to his decease. In
this he is at present engaged, with the determination to
maintain it as a first-class hotel in every respect.

ELISHA W. HOWE,

Whose lovely residence near the town of Morro is shown
on another page, is one of that proud body of pioneers,
whose spirit of enterprise and love of adventure brought
them at an early day to the Pacific Coast, and on whom
devolved the responsibility and honor of organizing a new
Government, and creating a new society far removed
from the control and help of the General Government, or
of established orders of society. Mr. Howe was born in
Providence, Rhode Island, October 27, 1827. When three
years of age, his parents moved to the city of New York,
and four years later removed to La Salle County, Illinois,
then a wild and comparatively unknown region in the
extreme West. The broad prairies were then in their
primeval wildness, and the beautiful Illinois River knew
only the batteaux of the trapper and the occasional keel-
boat of the trader. The Black Hawk War had dosed
but a year or two before, rendering the country habitable
to the white race. La Salle, Ottawa, and Joliet were set-
tlements where the oldJrench missionaries of 150 years
before had reared the cross, or traded with the savages.
Such was the home the parents of Mr. Howe sought

A'f ■

GEORGE STONE (Deceased),
CAYUCOS. CAL

EARLY IMMIGRANTS.

93

in his early childhood, and it was a bold move to venture
at that day from the extreme East to the farthest frontier
of the West. While residing at La Salle, and before the
subject of this notice had reached the age' of thirteen,
both his parents died. He then, at the age of thirteen,
returned to his friends in Rhode Island. During his
childhood and youth he attended the schools of the lo-
calities where he had dwelt, and thus acquired a fair edu-
cation. Remaining in Rhode Island until eighteen years
of age, he then set out to make his way in the world,
choosing the life of a sailor on a voyage to the Pacific.
His sailor life was not as pleasant as the story-books had
made him believe, nor as his fancy had painted it, and after
a two-years' cruise he left his ship at the Sandwich Islands
and made his way to California, whence had come the
news of the discovery of gold. In 1848, he landed at
the port of San Francisco, then commonly known as
Verba Buena, and proceeded at once to the northern
mines. There he engaged in mining, and soon established
a trading-post, continuing in the business for two years.
Then gold was the great product of the country, and
profits on goods were enormous, enabling a careful trader
or lucky miner to quickly amass a fortune. In 1850, Mr.
Howe gave up his mining and trading operations in the
north, and moved to San Luis Obispo County, where he
has since lived as stock-grower and farmer, following the
advice of Horace Greeley, and "growing up with the
country."

Mr. Howe was married in 1853, to Seiiorita Gabriela
Estudillo, a native of California. They have six living
children, three of whom are sons and three daughters.

CHAPTER XII.

EARLY IMMIGRANTS.

Limited Knowledge of the Country — The Fur Trappers — Occupa-
tion of the Pacific Coast- Jedediah S. .Smith — The First Over-
land Tra\eler — Smith's Troubles in California — The Fate of
Smith — Other Explorers — The Hudson Ray Company — J.
Alexander Forbes — Dr. John Marshe — The First Overland
Immigrants — Names of the Company — Immigrants in the
South in 1841 — The Great Santa Fe Trail — Pioneer Over-
landers — Fremont in 1844 — Seeking the Buenaventura River —
Wandering in the Mountains — Consultation with the Indians
— The Struggle with the Snow — An Indian Warning — Reach-
ing the Summit — Ip the Sacramento Valley — A Favorable
Winter — Immigrants of 1844 — Captain Truckee — Notable
Families — The Donner Party — Other Immigrants — Mormon
Battalion — Stevenson's Regiment — Discovery of Gold — Capt.
Wm. G. Dana — His Birth and Ancestry — Youth and Early
Travels — Captain of the Brig IVaverly — His Ancestral Estate
— Affectionate Correspondence — Inherits Property — Gold in
the Cargo — A Cargo to Sitka — Opposition to Americans in
California — Perplexing Laws — Closes Business in Oahu — Let-
ter from his Agent — Captain Dana Builds a Schooner — Obtains
the Nipomo Grant — The Hospitalities of Nipomo — Engages in
Manufactures — Political Controversies — Offices Held — Busi-
ness Enterprises — Marriage and Family of Mrs. Dana — Remi-
niscence of Early History — The Family — Affliction and Death
— William Charles Dana — John Francis Dana.

*HE earliest establishments of civilization in Califor-
nia were made by the devout missionaries of the
order of St. Francis de Assisi, coming as soldiers
of the cross to effect the spiritual conquest of the
benighted souls of the heathen aborigines, and accom-

panying these were soldiers of the sword to effect the
physical conquest, protect the first, and hold possession
of the land. Their coming, their progress, and their
condition have been the themes of previous chapters.
They were of the Spanish race, gave the character to the
country, and fill the first era of California's history.
Intermingling with them came by degrees, singly and in
small parties, hunters and trappers, merchants and sailors,
from various parts of the world, marrying the women of
the country, adopting the religion, language, and customs
of the jjeople, and becoming scarcely distinguishable
among them. They were characterized by great courage,
enterprise, and thrift, commanding influence and acquir-
ing wealth, establishing a reputation of high honor, and
forming a basis of highly admired, proud first families,
whose names have been generally mentioned. At a
later date the trans-continental route was opened from
the United States, and others came who were universally
called " emigrants."

LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF THE COUNTRY.

The native Californians never penetrated into the
heart of the mountains that skirt the Sacramento Valley
on the east. Gazing from a distance upon their snow-
clad crests, they had named them Sierra Nevada, the
" snowy mountains," but beyond this they remained a
ter?-a incognita to them.

The bold and adventurous trappers of the American
Fur Company and the Hudson Bay Company passed
over them severaL times on their way to and from the
choice trapping grounds in the valley. The celebrated
trapper, Stephen C. Meek, claims to have been the first
white man who gazed upon the Truckee River, on which
stream he set his traps in 1833. The river did not
receive its name, however, until eleven years later, as will
appear further on.

The Yuba and Bear Rivers having been explored by
the Spaniards in 1822, in the valley, had been named at
that time, the one Rio de los Osos (Bear River), and the
other Rio de las Uvas (Grape River), but as to their source
and direction in the mountains nothing whatever was
known.

To them were unknown lakes Donner, Tahoe, and the
scores of lesser lakes that are the pride of the mountains.
A few miserable Digger Indians lived in huts and sub-
sisted on acorns, grass, rabbits, etc.. and were sovereign
lords of the beautiful Sierra.

THE FUR TRAPPERS.

The valleys of California were, during the early part of
this century, occupied and traversed by bands of trap-
pers in the employ of the many American and foreign
fur companies. The stories of the wanderings and
experiences are mosdy related in the form of sensational
novels, whose authenticity and accuracy must be taken
with a great degree of allowance. Few records regarding
these fur-hunters remain which are within the reach of
the historian, and the information given has been gleaned
in part from personal interviews with those who.se knowl-
edge of the subject was gained by actual experience, or

94

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

by a personal acquaintance with those who belonged to
the parties. In many cases their stories differ widely
in regard to facts and names.

As early as 1820 the Tulare, San Joaquin, and Sacra-
mento Valleys were occupied by trappers who had
wandered there while searching for the Columbia River.
Captain Sutter, in 1834, while in New Mexico, heard
from these C^alifornia trappers of the Sacramento Valley,
which afterward became so reputed as his home.

OCCUPATION OF THE PACIFIC COAST.

The disputes arising in regard to the occupation of the
northern part of the Pacific Coast trapping region, in
Oregon, led the American hunters to occupy the territory
in and about the Rocky Mountains. In 1815, Congress,
at the earnest request of the people of the West, passed an
Act driving out British traders from the American terri-
tory east of the Rocky Mountains. Immediately the
employes of the old North American Fur Company, still
under charge of John Jacob Astor, began to hunt and
trap in the region of the headwaters of the Mississippi
and Upper Missouri. Tn 1823 Mr. W. H. Ashley, of
St. Louis, an old merchant in the fur trade, at the head
of a party, explored the Sweetwater, the Platte, the
South Pass, and the headwaters of the Colorado, return-
ing in the summer.

In 1824 he extended his explorations to Great Salt
Lake, near which, on a smaller lake named Lake Ashley,
he built a fort and trading-post, which was occupied for
three years by his men.

JEDEDIAH S. SMITH.

In 1826 (or 1827) Mr. Ashley disposed of his business,
including the fort, to the Rocky Mountain Fur Company,
under the leadership of Jedediah S. Smith, David Jack-
son, and William Sublette.

During the spring of 1825 Smith, with a party of forty
trappers and Indians, started from the headwaters of
Green River, traveling westward, crossed the Sierra
Nevada Mountains, and in July entered the Tulare
Valley.

THE FIRST OVERLAND TRAVELER.

The country from the Tulare to the American Fork
of the Sacramento River was traversed in trapping for
beaver. They found at the fork another party of Ameri-
can trappers encamped, and located their rendezvous
near the present town of Folsom.

In October, Smith, leaving the remainder of the party
at the camp, returned to the company's headquarters on
(;reen River. In May, 1826, he again set out for the
new trapping region, taking a route further south than on
the first trip; but when on the Colorado all the party
except Smith, Galbraith, and Turner were killed by the
Mohave Indians.

smith's TROUIiLES IN CALIFORNIA.

These three escaped to San Gabriel Mission, and,
December 26, 1826, were arrested as spies or filibusters.
They were taken to the presidio at San Diego, where
they were detained until the following certificate from
Americans, then on the coast, was presented:

We, the undersigned, having been requested by Capt.
Jedediah S. Smith to state our opinion regarding his
entering the Province of California, do not hesitate to
say that we have no doubt but that he was compelled to
for want of 'provisions and water, having entered so far
into the barren country that lies between the longitudes of
forty-two and forty-three west that he found it impossible
to return by the route he came, as his horses had most
of them died for want of food and water; he was therefore
under the necessity of pushing forward to California, it
being the nearest place where he could procure supplies
to enable him to return.

We further statj as our opinion that the account given
by him is circumstantially correct, and that his sole
object was the hunting and trapping of beaver and other
furs. We have also examined the passports produced
by him from the Superintendent of Indian affairs for
the Government of the United States of America, and
do not hesitate to say that we believe them perfectly
correct.

We also state that in our opinion his motive for wish-
ing to pass by a different route to the Columbia River
on his return, is solely because he feels convinced that
he and his companions run great risk of perishing if they
return by the route they came.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hand
and seal, this 20th day of December, 1826.

William G. Dana, [l. s.]

Captain of schooner Waverly.
William H. Cunningham, [l. s.]

Captain of ship Courier.
William Henderson, [l. s.]

Captain of btig Olive Bra7ich.
Jas. Scott, [l. s.]

Thos. M. Robbins, [l. s.]

Mate of schooner Waverly.
Thomas Shaw, [l. s.]

Supercargo of ship Courier.

Smith was liberated and granted a passport by the
General commanding and made his way to the North,
as the following letter, addressed to Father Duran, will
show: —

Reverend FATHER^ I understand, through the medium
of one of your Christian Indians, that you are anxious to
know who we are, as some of the Indians have been at
the mission and informed you that there were certain
white people in the country. We are Americans, on
our journey to the River Columbia; we were in at the
Mission San Gabriel in January last. I went to San
Diego and saw the General, and got a passport from
him to pass on to that place. I have made several
efforts to cross the mountains, but the snows being so
deep I could not succeed in getting over. I returned
to this place (it being the only point to kill meat) to
wait a few weeks until the snow melts, so that I can go
on; the Indians here also being friendly, I consider it
the most safe point for me to remain, until such time
as I can cross the mountains with my horses, having
lost a great many in attempting to cross ten or fifteen
days since. I am a long ways from home, and am
anxious to get there as soon as the nature of the case
will admit. Our situation is quite unpleasant, being
destitute of clothing and most of the necessaries of life,
wild meat being our principal subsistence.

I am, reverend father, your strange but real friend and
Christian brother, J. S. Smith.

May j-p, i82y.

At that time Smith must have been near the Mission
San Jose, as it was there that Father Duran resided.

EARLY IMMIGRANTS.

95

The history of Smith's party says all but three were
killed on the Colorado River, but how he had recruited
another is not related. He passed through California in
the summer of 1827, and when on the Umpqua, in
Oregon, had another battle with the Indians, only Smith,
Laughlin, and Prior, escaping.

THE FATE OF SMITH.

Many stories are told of Smith and his travels, generally
apocryphal. He is said to have again traversed Cali-
fornia, meeting, in his second journey, with McLeod,
after whom McLeod (McCloud) River is named, in
northern California. One writer asserts that Smith dis-
covered gold near Mono Lake, and that he was there
killed by Indians. As this last statement is incorrect
the other is doubtful. Smith left St. Louis in 1831,
with a company for Santa Fe, New Mexico. In his
company were Isaac J. Sparks, J- J. ^\'arner, and Wil-
liam Day, all well-known Californians, whose statement
removes all doubt of the old trapper's fate. AVhile
en route to Santa Fe the party was almost famished for
water on the desert through which flows the Cimarrou,
and Smith was separated from his command in search of
the needed element. He had found a running stream
and was on the point of returning to his men, when he
was surprised by a band of Comanche Indians and
killed.

OTHER EXPLORERS.

Erving Young, who had trapped with parties on the
upper part of the Del Norte, the eastern part of the
Grand and the Colorado Rivers, pursuing the route
formerly traversed by Smith in the winter of 1829-30,
entered the San Joaquin Valley and hunted on Tulare
Lake and the a Ijacent streams. During the last part of
1832, or early in 1833, Young, having again entered
the San Joaquin Valley and trapped on the streams,
finally arrived at the Sacramento River, about ten miles
below the mouth of the American. He followed
up the Sacramento to the Feather River, and from
there crossed over to the coast. The coast line was
traveled till they reached the mouth of the Umpqua,
where they crossed the mountains to the interior. Enter-
ing the upper portion of the Sacramento A^alley, they
proceeded southerly till they reached the American
River. They then followed down the San Joaquin Val-
ley and passed out through the Tejon Pass in the winter
of 1833-34. Besides these parties and leaders mentioned
during this period there were several trappers or "lone
traders " who explored and hunted through the valleys.

The attention of the officers of the wealthy and pow-
erful Hudson Bay Company was first specially called to
the extent and importance of the fur trade in California
by Jedediah Smith in 1827 or 1828.* The first expedi-
tion sent out by them was that under command of
McLeod. A short time after the de})arture of this com-
pany a second one was sent out under the leadership of
Mr. Ogden, which followed up the Columbia and Lewis
Rivers, thence southerly over western Utah, Nevada,
and into the San Joaquin Valley. On their return they
trapped on the streams in the Sacramento Valley, and

went out at the northern limit in 1830. About the
middle of 1832 another band of trappers, under Michael
Laframboise, came into the Sacramento Valley from the
north, and until the next spring spent the time trapping
on the streams flowing through the great valley.

THE HUDSON BAY COMPANY

Continued sending out its employes into this region
until about the year 1845. Their trappers in California
belonged to the "Southern Trapping Party of the Hud-
son Bay Company," and were divided into smaller parties
composed of Canadians and Indians, with their wives.
The trapping was carried on during the winter in order
to secure a good class of furs.

The free trappers were paid ten shillings sterling for a
prime beaver skin, while the Indians received a moderate
compensation for their services. The outfits and por-
tions of their food were purchased from the company.
The Hudson Bay Company employed about ninety or
one hundred men in this State. The greater part of the
Indians were fugitives from the missions, and were hone.st
and peaceably inclined from the fact that it was mainly to .
their interest to be so. From 1832 the chief rendezvous
was at French Camp, about five miles south of Stock-
ton.

J. ALEXANDER FORBES.

About 1 841 the company bought of Jacob P. Leese
the building he had erected for a store in San Francisco,
and made that their business center for this territory.
The agents were J. Alex. Forbes and William G. Ray,
both of whom were intelligent, dignified, and courteous
gentlemen. Mr. Ray, who was very sensitive, and given
slightly to dissipation, when some complaint of a trivial
character was made in reference to his acts, committed
suicide in 1845. His death and the scarcity of beaver and
otter caused the company to wind up their agency and
business in the territory.

Mr. Forbes was, for a long series of years, the British
Consul at San Francisco, and by his genial manners,
superior culture, and finished educati on, made a good
record, which places him among the noted men of the
State.

This gentleman, for a number of years, was a resident
of Oakland, where he died of heart disease in 18S1, at
the advanced age of seventy-six. He was the first Eng-
lish writer upon California, publishing in 1839, in Lon-
don, a volume written in 1835 of careful compilations and
well considered reflections, which has been the basis of
subsequent histories. Mr. Forbes, in his old age, pos-
sessed a wonderful memory, a great fund of information,
and many valuable docum ents, with all of which he kindly
and materially assisted in preparing the early history of
California for this work.

DR. JOHN 1L\RSHE.

In 1835 Dr. John Marshe, a native of New England,
and a gentleman of learning, left the United States for
New Mexico, thence traversing the States of Chihuahua
and Sonora, crossed the Colorado River and came to
California. Two years later he obtained a grant of land

96

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

bordering on the San Joaquin River and Suisun Bay, and
there remained until his death, by assassination, in 1856.
He was the first of the American settlers in the great val-
ley of California. He wrote some letters to friends in the
East giving an enthusiastic description of the country as
far as it was known, and these, with the stories of trap-
pers, incited the first party of emigrants to make the
journey across the plains and mountains for the purpose
of settling in California.

FIRST OVERL.\ND IMMIGRANTS.

These first immigrants came to California in 1841. A
large number left the town of Independence, Missouri,
May 8, 1 84 1, and continued westward in company as far
as Fort Hall, on the headwaters ' of the Snake or Lewis
Fork of the Columbia. At that point they divided into
three parties, one going to Oregon, then -the only United
States possession on the Pacific Coast and the objective
point of American emigration, and of which point very
favorable accounts had been written. Another was a
company of Jesuit priests going on a mission to the In-
dians of Cceur d' Alene and Pen d' Oreille, Father P. J.
de Smet, S. J., being the leader of the band.

The third party was destined for California, an almost
unknown land, and reached by an unknown route. They
were bold and resolute men, young and in the vigor of
life, to whom the hardships of the desert were but pleas-
ant trials of manly strength and endurance; the Indian
savage, lurking like a tiger for his prey was but a chal-
lenge to his courage, and the successful accomplishment
of the dangerous journey a triumph in full compensation
for all. They were strong in their character and man-
hood, and those who remained in the country always bore
a powerful influence in all its affairs and its destiny, gen-
erally acquiring great wealth. Their route from Fort Hall
was to Mary's River (Humboldt), thence to the Carson and
to VN'alker River, crossing the Sierra at the head of the
Stanislaus; reaching the great valley of the San Joaquin
between the Stanislaus and the Tuolumne, crossing the
San Joaquin and making their way to the rancho of Dr.
Marshe, at the northern base of Mount Diablo, where
they arrived November 4, 1841. There the company
disbanded, each going his own way, a few going to the
newly-established Sutter's Fort on the Rio de los Ameri-
canos, now the. Sacramento.

This company came with saddle and pack-animals, and
therefore were not delayed in searching for wagon roads,
but made their passage without serious difficulty. Of the
number one was a woman, and one little child, Mrs.
Nancy A. Kelsey and daughter Ann, the first of the sex
from the United States to California.

NAMES OF THE COMPANY.

The following is the roll of the party, many of the
names of whom will be readily recognized as men of promi-
nence in the list of pioneers of the State: —

Capt. J. B. Bartelson, Jolm Bidwell, of Chico; Josiah
Bclden, of San Jos6; Charles M. Weber, of Stockton;
Joseph B. Childs; Charles Hopper, of Napa; Henry
Huber, of San Francisco; Michael C. Nye, founder of
Mar)\sville; Green McMahon, Nelson McMahon, Talbot

H. Green, Ambrose Walton, John McDonel, George
Henshaw, Robert Ryckman, Wm. Belty, Charles Flugge,
of Los Angeles; Gwin Patton, Benjamin Kelsey, Nancy
A. Kelsey his wife, and daughter Ann, the latter killed by
Indians in Texas; Andrew Kelsey killed by Indians at
Clear Lake, Lake County; James Littlejohn, Henry Bro-
lasky, James Dawson, Major Walton, drowned in the Sac-
ramento River; George Shortwell, accidentally shot on
the way out; John Schwartz, Grove C. Cook, a prominent
citizen of San Jos6 in early times, died in Santa Cruz in
1852; D. W. Chandler, Nicholas Dawson, Thomas Jones,
Robert H. Thomes, died in Tehama County, March 26,
1878; Elias Barnett, James Peter Springer, of San Jos6;
William Wiggins, Henry Potts, and James Rock.

IMMIGRANTS IN THE SOUTH IN 184I.

These, entering California by the northern or central
route, that section became the home of most of those who
remained in the country. In the same year a company
came into the southern portion of the State from the East
via New Mexico, under the leadership of John Rowland,
who died at his La Puente Rancho, near Los Angeles,
October 14, 1873, aged eighty-two years.

The following is a translation of a document in Span-
ish, in the archives of Los Angeles, with names corrected
by the late Albert G. Toomes, of Tehama.

List of the persons who accompanied the undersigned
on his arrival in the Territory of Upper California: —

William Workman and family; William Gordon and
family; James D. Meade, physician; Benjamin D.Wilson,
William Knight, Jacob Frankfort, tailor; William Camp-
bell, naturalist; Thomas Lindsay, mineralogist; Hiram
Taylor, musician; Wade Hampton, gunsmith; Isaac
Givens, engineer; John McClure, James Dakes, L. Lyman,
physician; Daniel Sinton, carpenter; Albert G. Tibiaux,
Frederick Batchelder, cooper; Francis Bedebry, carpen-
ter; Francis Gwinn, blacksmith; Michael White, Juan
Manuel Bara and family, Lorenzo Truxillo and family,
Ygnacio Salazar, and servants; John Reed, Albert G.
Toomes, carpenter; William Moon, carpenter.

Each one with his fire-arm, which is needed for defense
on the journey.

Those with families have come with the intention of
se tling in this department, and those who have trades
in pursuit of employment, and some of the others to see
and examine this department, with a view of settling
now or of returning after they go back to their country.

John Rowland.

Copy. — Office of the First Justice of the Peace, Los
Angeles, February 28, 1842.

Man'l Dominguez.

Benjamin D. Wilson is better known as Don Benito
D. ^Vilson. Thomas Lindsay settled on the present site
of Stockton in 1844, and was killed by Indians in 1845.

1»IE SPANISH TRAIL.

The route of travel between Santa Fe, the capital, of
New Mexico, and California was by the road known as
" The old Spanish Trail," which led through southern
Utah, and into California by the Cajon Pass, near San
Bernardino. This route is still marked by the Spanish
names many of the localities bear, as Las Vegas, Rio
Virgen, Santa Clara, and others. Over this was an

RANCH S RESIDENCE OF CHARLES FINK, ARROYO GRANDE,

SAN LUI5 DBISPO CO.CAL.

STOCK RANCH & RESIDENCE OF J, H, BLACKBURN, PASO ROBLES,

SAN LUIS OBISPO CO, CAL.

EARLY IMMIGRANTS.

97

annual grand caravan, the emigrants, traders, travelers,
and visitors accompanying each other in large numbers
for the purpose of protection against the Indians, who
murdered such as they could, and levied tribute when
they pretended to be at peace. This trail was located
on the maps of ante-gold-mining times, and is mentioned
by Fremont and other travelers. From Utah to San
Bernardino it was the great road traveled by the Mormons
between their settlements, and continues in use at the
present time.

PIONEER OVERLANDERS.

Mr. Albert G. Toomes, late a resident of Elder Creek,
Tehama County, made the following statement in 1868,
his old partner being Mr. Robert H. Thomes, of Thomes
Creek, in the same county; —

I sat down with my old partner, a few days ago, and
got to talking of old times in California, and all that sort
of thing. It occurred to us to make a list of our early
companions in the hard journey we made from Inde-
pendence a long twenty-five years ago, and our hairs are
getting gray, and we only remember those blessed old
bailes and meriandas of gay Monterey. I claim that we
were the first regular emigrants who ever started from the
States to California, and those who arrived in the country
before us dropped in by mere chance, as old trappers,
whalemen, and sailors from the Island and Boston ships.
Our party was divided into two companies, who left
Independence on the 6th of May, 1841, and got. into
California on the loth of November of the same year.
The first company was headed by Robert H. Thomes,
who crossed over by the way of Salt Lake; and the second
was headed by William AVorkman, who went by the way
of Santa Fe and the middle route to Los Angeles; and
both got into the country at nearly the same time. We
were all armed with rifles and mounted on horseback, and
had literally to smell our way every day of that long, hard
journey of 176 days; but we arrived all safe and hearty,
and nearly every one of the immigrants mentioned have
either died in the State or still reside here. But I never
want to cross those hard deserts and big mountains
again, except on the railroad, and you bet I shall run over
to old Pike on the 4th of July, 1870, car, or mayhap on
those of 1869, as I hate salt-water sailing. I have men-
tioned in subjoined lists those of many " foreigners,"
then so-called, who lived in California before my time,
but several have escaped me, as I have never seen a
proper list of names of the first immigrants. You know
when Thomes and self first got the ranches up here from
Micheltorena and Jimeno, the place was out of the world,
and league farms to be had for asking, but it is quite
different now. The Indians, once so numerous, are all
gone, and the rail cars will soon rush by our doors, and
land is worth $20 per acre. The house we built in
Monterey for Governor Jimeno, in 1845, was one of the
best jobs we ever did in our lives, for the old gentleman
not only paid us well, but got us our farms without any
of the trouble others had. We suffered great hardships
on our way out, and got into very tight pinches for food
and water, but we made up for it when we got among the
fat beef and venison of California. When I arrived on
the coast, in different parts of the country were the follow-
ing old Americans and foreign settlers: —

In Los Angeles, John Temple, Abel Stearns, Wm.
Carpenter, Richard Locklin, Mr. Vingnes, Wm. Wolfskill,
John J. Warner, Mr. Williams, Seward and Sam, two
American colored men, and really it was a good thing to
see a darkey once more, as in old Missouri.

At Monterey, Thomas O. Larkin, David Spence, John

B. R. Cooper, James Watson, Wm. E. Hartnell, George
Kinloch and wife, George Allen, James Stokes, Wm.
Watts, E. Romio, from Germany, William Foxon, Mr.
McVickers, M'illiam E. Garney, James Meadows, and
James McKinlay.

At Santa Cruz, Isaac Graham, H. Nail, Job F. Dye,
William Chard, Jacob Majors, Peter Lassen, John Sin-
clair, Mr. Dickey, and several others I have now forgotten.

At Yerba Buena, or San Francisco, Mr. Ray and wife,
of the Hudson Bay Company; Hinkcley & Spear, mer-
chants; Teal & Titcomb, merchants; Sherrebeck & Vioget,
of the hotel; \V"m. H. Davis, and Daniel Sill Davis, black-
smith; Andrews, carpenter; Robert Ridley, John Cop-
pinger, Eliab Gaimes, and Mr. Johnson.

At Santa Barbara, Daniel E. Hill, Lewis T. Burton,
Ziba F. Branch, Isaac J. Sparks, A. B. Thompson,
Thomas M. Robins, Nicholas A. Den, and Alfred Rob-
inson.

At San Diego, William Snooks.

At Sonoma and the bay, Jacob P. Leese, Victor
Prudhomme, and George C. Yount, of Napa.

W. D. M. Howard and Joseph P. Thompson, of San
Francisco, I believe, were after my arrival one or two
years. Besides these were W. A. Richardson, of Sau-
celito, John Gilroy and David Littlejohn, who had lived
in the country many years, and our well-known old
friend, John A. Sutter.

In the above list by Mr. Toomes, San Luis Obispo is for-
gotten. At that date there were resident here, besides the
names mentioned as belonging to other localities, Capt.
Wrn. G. Dana, John M. Price, John Wilson, Wm. Sten-
ner, Michael Doughig, and perhaps others of foreign
birth.

FREMONT IN 1 844.

During the months of January and February, 1844,
John C. Fremont, then Brevet-Captain of Topographical
Engineers, on his return from his first exploring expedi-
tion to Oregon, passed down the east side of the Sierra,
and crossed the snow-covered summit to New Helvetia
(Sacramento), suffering many privations and hardships.
His experiences are so clearly related in his report to the
Chief of Engineers that the portion relating to this stage
of his journey is here given to show the character of the
mountains, the nature of the inhabitants, and the scar-
city of knowledge of the Sierra.

SEEKING THE S.\N BUEN.4VENTURA RIVER.

Passing by the account of his journey southward from
The Dalles, we take up his narrative on the evening
of January 31, 1844, upon reaching the headwaters
of the Carson River. He had discovered and named
Pyramid Lake and Salmon Trout River — afterwards
called Truckee — and had crossed the Carson River
where Fort Churchill stands, and there, finding his ani-
mals unfit to go eastward across the Rocky Mountains,
decided to go to California. He therefore continued
south in search of the Buenaventura River, which, on
the maps of that day, led from the Rocky Mountains
to the bay of San Francisco. He went up Walker River
until he got entangled in the mountains.

WANDERING IN THE MOUNTAINS.

In the course of the afternoon, one of the men had his
foot frost-bitten, and about dark we had the satisfaction of

13

98

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

reaching the bottom of a stream timbered with large
trees, among which we found a sheltered camp, with an
abundance of such grass as the season afforded, for our
animals. We saw before us, in descending from the pass,
a great, continuous range, along which stretched the val-
ley of the river, the lower parts steep and dark with
pines, while above it was hidden in clouds of snow.

This, we felt satisfied, was the central ridge of the
Sierra Nevada, the great California mountain, which now
only intervened between us and the waters of the bay.
We had made a forced march of twenty-six miles, and
three mules had given out on the road. Up to this
point, with the exception of two stolen by Indians, we
had lost none of the horses which had been brought from
the Columbia River, and a number of these were still
strong, and in tolerably good order.

We had now sixty-seven animals in the band. (The
party consisted of twenty-five persons.)

CONSULT.'iTlON WITH THE INDIANS.

. We gathered together a few of the
more intelligent of the Indians, and held this evening
an interesting council. I explained to them my inten-
tions. I told them that we had come from a very far
country, having been traveling now nearly a year, and
that we were desirous simply to go across the mountain
into the country of the other whites.

There were two who appeared particularly intelligent,
one a somewhat old man. He told me that, before the
snows fell, it was six sleeps to the place where the whites
lived, but that now it was impossible to cross the mount-
ain on account of the deep snow; and showing us, as the
others had done, that it was over our heads, he urged us
strongly to follow the course of the river, which he said
would conduct us to a lake, in which there were many
large fish. There, he said, were many people, there was
no snow on the ground, and we might remain there until
the spring. From their descriptions we were enabled to
judge that we were encamped on the upper water of the
Salmon Trout River.* It is hardly necessary to say that
our communication was only by signs, as we understood
nothing of their language; but they spoke, notwithstand-
ing, rapidly and vehemently, explaining what they con-
sidered the folly of our intentions, and urging us to go
down to the lake, tah-ve, a word signifying much snow,
we very soon learned to know, from its frequent repeti-
tion. (Tah-ve means much snow, taJi-oe much water.)

I told him that the men and horses were strong, and
that we would break a road through the snow; and
spreading before him our bales of scarlet cloth and
trinkets, showed him what we would give for a guide.
It was necessary to obtain one, if possible, for I had
determined here to attempt the passage of the mountain.

Pulling a bunch of grass from the ground, after a short
discussion among themselves, the old man made us com-
prehend that if we could break through the snow, at the
end of three days we would come down upon grass,
which he showed us would be about six inches high, and
where the ground would be entirely free. So far, he said,
he had been hunting for elk, but beyond that (and he
closed his eyes) he had seen nothing; but there was one
among them who had been to the whites; and, going out
of the lodge, he returned with a young man of very
intelligent appearance. Here, said he, is a young man
who has seen the whites with his own eyes; and he first
swore by the sky and then by the ground that what he
said was true.

With a large present of goods we prevailed upon this
young man to be our guide, and he acquired among us

• Fremont was mistaken; he was then on the hcidwaters of the Carson, having
been on Walker River, where his howitzer was found in 1861.

the name Melo, a word signifying friend, which they used
very frequenriy. He was thinly clad and nearly bare-
footed, his moccasins being about worn out. We gave
him skins to make a new pair, to enable him to perform
his undertaking to us. The Indians remained in the
camp during the night, and we kept the guide and two
others to sleep in the lodge with us, Carson (Kit Carson)
lying across the door, having made them acquainted with
the use of our fire-arms.

The snow, which had intermitted in the evening, com-
menced falling again in the course of the night, and it
snowed steadily all day. In the morning I acquainted
the men with my decision, and explained to them that
necessity required us to make a great effort to clear the
mountains. I reminded them of the beautiful valley of
the Sacramento, with which they were familiar from the
descriptions of Carson, who had been there some fifteen
years ago, and who, in our late privations, had delighted
us in speaking of its rich pastures and abounding game,
and drew a vivid contrast between the summer climate,
less than a hundred miles distant, and the falling snow
around us.

I informed them (and long experience had given them
confidence in my observations and good instruments)
that almost directly west, and only about seventy miles
distant, was the great farming establishment of Captain
Sutter, a gentleman who had formerly lived in Missouri,
and, emigrating to this country, had become the possessor
of a principality.

I assured them that from the heights of the mouutain
before us we should doubtless see the valley of the
Sacramento River, and with one effort again place our-
selves in the midst of plenty.

The people received this decision with the cheerful
obedience which had always characterized them, and the
day was immediately devoted to the preparations neces-
sary to enable us to carry it into effect.

THE STRUGGLE WITH THE SNOW.

Leggins, moccasins, clothing — all were put into the
best state to resist the cold. Our guide was not neg-
lected. Extremity of suffering might make him desert;
we therefore did the best we could for him. Leggins,
moccasins, some articles of clothing, and a large green
blanket, in addition to the blue and scarlet cloth, were
lavished upon him, and to his evident contentment. He
arrayed himself in all his colors, and, clad in green, blue,
and scarlet, he made a gay-looking Indian; and, with his
various presents, was probably richer and better clothed
than any of his tribe had ever been before.

. . The river was forty to seventy feet wide, and
now entirely frozen over. It was wooded with large
Cottonwood, willow, and grain de bmuf. By observation,
the latitude of this encampment was 38°37'i8".

Febru.\ry 2D. — It had ceased snowing, and this
morning the lower air was clear and frosty, and, six or
seven thousand feet above, the peaks of the Sierra now
and then appeared among the rolling clouds which were
rapidly disappearing before the sun.

Our Indian shook his head as he pointed to the icy pin-
nacles shooting up high into the sky, and seeming almost
immediately above us. Crossing the river on the ice and
leaving it immediately, we commenced the ascent of the
mountain along the valley of a tributary stream. The
people were unusually silent, for every one knew that our
enterprise was hazardous and the issue doubtful. The
snow deepened rapidly, and it soon became necessary to
break a road. For this service a party of ten was formed,
mounted on the strongest horses, each man in succession
opening the road on foot or on horseback, until himself
and his horse became fatigued, when he stepped aside,

EARLY IMMIGRANTS.

99

and, the remaining number passing ahead, he took his
place in the rear.

Leaving this stream and pursuing a very direct course,
we passed over an intervening ridge to the river we had
left. On the way we passed two huts entirely covered
with snow, which might very easily have escaped observa-
tion. A family was living in each, and the only trail I
saw in the neighborhood was from the door to a nut-
pine near, which supplied them with food and fuel. We
found two similar huts on the creek where we next
arrived, and, traveling a little higher up, encamped on its
banks in about four feet of snow. To-day we had trav-
eled sixteen miles, and our elevation above the sea was
6,760 feet.

February 3D. — Turning our faces directly toward the
main chain, we ascended an open hollow along a small
tributary to the river, which, according to the Indians,
issues from a mountain to the south. The snow was so
deep in the hollow that we were obliged to travel along
the steep hill-sides and over spurs where wind and sun
had lessened the snow, and where the grass, which
appeared to be in good quality along the sides of the
mountain, was exposed.

We opened our road in the same way as yesterday,
but only made seven miles and encamped by some
springs at the foot of a high and steep hill, by which the
hollow ascended to another basin in the mountain. The
little stream below was entirely buried in snow.

. . . We occupied the remainder of the day in
beating down a road to the foot of the hill, a mile or
two distant; the snow being beaten down when moist in
the warm part of the day, and then hard frozen at night
made a foundation that would bear the weight of the
animals the next morning. During the day several
Indians joined us on snow-shoes. These were made of
a single hoop, about a foot in diameter, the interior space
being filled with an open network of bark.

February 4TH. — I went ahead early with two or three
men, each with a led-horse, to break the road. We were
obliged to abandon the hollow entirely and work along
the mountain-side, which was very steep and the snow
covered with an icy crust. . . . Towards a pass
which the guide indicated, we attempted in the afternoon
to force a road, but after a laborious plunging through
two or three hundred yards our best horse gave out,
entirely refusing to make any further effort, and, for a
time, we were brought to a stand. The guide informed
us that we were entering the deep snow, and here
began the difficulties of the mountain, and to him, and
almost to all, our enterprise seemed hopeless. I re-
turned a short distance back to the break in the
hollov;', where I met Mr. Fitz^taatrick. The camp had
been all the day in endeavoring to ascend the hill,
but only the best horses had succeeded, not having
sufficient strength to bring themselves up without the
packs; and all the line of road between this and the
springs was strewn with camp stores and equipage and
horses floundering in the snow. I therefore immediately
encamped on the ground with my own mess, which was
in advance, and directed Mr. Fitzpatrick to encamp at
the springs, and send all the animals, in charge of
Taban, with a strong guard, back to the place where
they had been pastured the night before.

AN INDIAN WARNING.

. . . Two Indians jomed our party here, and one
of them, an old man, immediately began to harangue
our party, saying that ourselves and animals would perish
in the snow; and that if we would go back, he would
show us another and a better way across the mountain.
He spoke in a very loud voice, and there was a singular
repetition of phrases and arrangement of words, which

rendered his speech striking and not unmusical. We
had now begun to understand some words, and, with the
aid of signs, easily comprehended the old man's simple
ideas: " Rock upon rock, rock upon rock; snow upon
snow, snow upon snow, said he; and even if you get over
the snow, you will not be able to get down from the
mountains."

REACHING THE SUMMIT.

On the morning of the sth the Indian guide deserted
them. They then struggled onward, and on the 20th of
February succeeded in reaching the summit at an eleva-
tion of 9,338 feet above the sea, the locality being in
the region of the headwaters of the South Fork of the
American, they having passed near the Twin Lakes.
The route taken is one of the most difficult in crossing
the Sierra Nevada, and only by the greatest hardihood
indomitable courage, and unyielding energy, could it
have been accomplished. From the summit of one of
the lofty peaks Kit Carson recognized the great valley
and Mount Diablo beyond, which he had seen fifteen
years before. The struggle to get out of the mountains
was equal to that in reaching the summit from the east,
and after fifteen days of perilous labor and suffering,
Fremont and a few others in advance arrived at Sutter's
Fort. In describing the happy termination of this jour-
ney, Fremont says: —

IN THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY.

March 6, 1844. — We continued on our road through
the same surpassingly beautiful country, entirely un-
equaled for the pasturage of stock by anything we had
ever seen. Our horses had now become so strong that
they were able to carry us, and we traveled rapidly — over
four miles an hour — four of us riding every alternate hour.
Every few hundred yards we came upon little bands of
deer, but we were too eager to reach the settlement,
which we momentarily expected to discover, to halt for
any other than a passing shot. In a few hours we
reached a large fork (North Fork of the American River),
the northern branch of the river, and equal in size to
that which we had descended. Together they formed a
beautiful stream, 60 to 100 yards wide, which at first,
ignorant of the nature of the country through which the
river ran, we took to be the Sacramento. We continued
down the right bank of the river, traveling for a while
over a wooded upland, where we had the delight to
discover the tracks of cattle.

. AVe made an acorn meal at noon and hurried
on. Shortly afterwards we gave a shout at the appear-
ance on a little bluff of a neatly-built adobe house, with
glass windows. We rode up, but to our disappointment
found only Indians.

There was no appearance of cultivation, and we could
see no cattle, and we supposed the place had been
abandoned. We now pressed on more eagerly than
ever; the river swept round in a large bend to the right;
the hills lowered down entirely; and gradually entering
a broad valley, we came unexpectedly into a large
Indian village, where the people looked clean and wore
cotton shirts and various other articles of dress. They
immediately crowded around us, and we had the inex-
pressible delight to find one who spoke a little indifferent
Spanish, but wlio at first confounded us by saying there
were no whites in the country; but just then a well-
dressed Indian came up and made his salutations in
very well spoken Spanish. In answer to our inquiries
he informed us that we were upon the Rio de los Ameri-
canos (the river of the Americans), and that it joined

100

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

the Sacramento River about ten miles below. Never did
a name sound more sweetly ! We felt ourselves among
our countrymen; for the name American in these dis-
tant parts is a])plied to citizens of the United States.

To our eager inquiries he answered: " I am a vaqitero
(cow-herd) in the service of Captain Sutter, and the
l)eople of this rancheria work for him." Our evident
satisfaction made him communicative, and he went on to
say that Captain Sutter was a very rich man and always
glad to see his country people.

We asked for his house. He answered that it was
just over the hill before us, and offered, if we would wait
a moment, to take his horse and conduct us to it. We
readily accepted the civil offer. In a short distance we
came in sight of the fort, and passing on the way the
house of asettler (a Mr. Sinclair), we forded the river;
and in a few miles were met a short distance from the
fort by Captain Sutter himself He gave us a most
frank and cordial reception, conducted us immediately
to his residence, and under his hospitable roof had a
night of rest, enjoyment, and refreshment, which none
but ourselves could appreciate.

A FAVORABLE WINTER.

The passage of Fremont over the Sierra Nevada at
that season could only have been made under favorable
circumstances. During the months of February and
March he reports an almost entire exemption from
storms. Early in March he ■ forded the North Fork of
the American River above the junction of the South
Fork, and he again fords the main stream near Sutter's
Fort. These are proof that the season of 1843-44 was a
very mild one, with a comparatively small amount of
snow in the mountains and rain in the valleys. The
following season was also a dry one, and not until 1846-47
did the rains fall in great abundance.

IMiMIGRANTS OF 1 844.

The next winter after Fremont made his perilous cross-
ing of the Sierra, another party, a band of hardy pioneers,
worked their laborious way through the drifting snow of
the mountains, and entered the beautiful valley, one of
them remaining in his snow-bound camp on the shores
of the lake since known -as Donner Lake, until returning
spring made rescue possible.

The party consisted of twenty-three men: John Flom-
boy. Captain Stevens, now a resident of Kern County,
California; G. Greenwood, and his two sons, John and
Britt; Joseph Foster, Dr. John Townsend, Allen Mont-
gomery, Moses Schellenberger, now living in San Jose,
California; James Miller, now of San Rafael, California;
Mr. Calvin, Wm. Martin, Patrick Martin, Dennis Mar-
tin, Martin Murphy, Sr., his wife, his five sons and two
daughters, Mr. Hitchcock and son, John Sullivan and
wife, and Miss Sullivan, his sister, and Michael Sullivan.

They left Council Bluffs, May 20, 1844, m route to
California, of the fertility of whose soil, and the mildness
of whose climate glowing accounts had been given.

The dangers of the plains and mountains were passed,
and the party reached the Humboldt River, where an
Indian, named Truckee, presented himself and offered to
guide them to California.

After questioning him closely, they employed him as
their guide, and, as they progressed, found that the state-

ments he had made about the route were fully verified.
He soon become a great favorite among them, and when
they reached the lower crossing of the Truckee River,
now Wadsworth, they gave his name to the beautiful
stream, so pleased were they by the pure water and
abundance of fish to which he had directed them.

From this point the party pushed on toward the
beautiful mountan lake, whose shores, but two years later,
witnessed a scene of suffering and death unequalled in
the annals of America's pioneers.

CAPTAIN TRUCKEE.

The after history of the Indian, Truckee, whose name
so many objects bear, is an interesting one. Passing
down the mountains, he arrived at Sutter's Fort with the
main party, and remained until the breaking out of the
war in 1846, when he joined Fremont's Battalion, and
was ever after known as Captain Truckee. He was quite
a favorite with Fremont, who presented him with a Bible,
with the donor's autograph on the fly leaf This, with a
copy of the St. Louis Republican, Captain Truckee jeal-
ously preserved until the time of his death. After the
American conquest, Truckee returned to his people, east
of the Sierra, and when the rich silver discoveries in
the Washoe region brought thousands of white men
there, he became their fast friend and a universal favorite
among the miners. The Indian camp where he lived was
in the Palmyra District, L3'on County, Nevada, about a
mile from Como, and near the spring where the town of
Palmyra was subsequently built. One day in i860. Cap-
tain Truckee went to the mining camp at Como, to ask
the men what remedy he should use for a large swelling
on his neck. The men thought he had been bitten by
a tarantula, and advised him to apply a slice of bacon.
Poor Captain Truckee died that night, his last request
being to be buried by the white men, and in the white
man's style. The miners dug a grave near Como, in the
croppings of the old Goliah ledge, and good Captain
Truckee was laid away to rest, the Bible and the paper
he had cherished so long lying by his side.

NOTABLE FAMILIES.

These immigrants of 1844 have acted an important
part in the history of California. Doctor Townsend
was afterwards Alcalde of San Francisco, and his name
was given to one of the streets of that city. John Sulli-
van was one of the founders of the Hibernia Bank, and
acquired great wealth, leaving a family of distinction.
Miss Sullivan became the wife of Sherreback, who owned
a large tract of land in the metropolis, which became
noted as the source of much litigation. Martin Murphy,
his sons, and grandsons are distinguished for their enter-
prise, ability, and wealth. Ellen Murphy, the daughter,
became the wife of Capt. C. M. Weber, the founder of
the city of Stockton. The Martins, Schellenberger, and
others are prominent families, all giving honor to the
title of "pioneers." This train brought thirteen wagons
over the Sierra Nevada, being the first ever brought across
the continent to California, a large party under Gov-
ernor Peter H. Burnett going to Oregon with wagons the
previous year.

Wm. G. Dana.

EARLY IMMIGRANTS.

^^"101

In the overland immigration of 1845, was Judge Wil-
liam Blackburn, an elder brother of the well-known Black-
burn Brothers, of San Luis Obispo County, also Jacob
R. Snyder, a member of the Constitutional Convention
of 1849, and prominent Federal and State official. Wm.
F. Swasey, Wm. O'Connor, George McDougal, Benjamin
Lippincott, John Daubenbiss, Peter Haggert)', James
Stokes, J. Washburn, Wm. R. Bassham, and others, add-
ing a good array of stalwart men to aid in laying the
foundation of American institutions in California.

THE DONNER PARTY.

The immigration of 1846 was more numerous than
any that preceded it, and was distinguished by the disas-
ter attending one train of nearly 100 members, that
reached the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada too late to
cross. This was known as the " Donner Party," whose
terrible sufferings have formed the theme of many writers.
The party arrived at what was then called Truckee Lake
on the 31st of October, but the early snows- of that year
blocked the road, and the immigrants, although possess-
ing but a scanty stock of provisions, decided upon en-
camping by the lake, where Schellenberger had passed
the winter of 1844-45, ^^d there await assistance, an
opportunity to cross the mountains, or death. ' Of the
eighty composing the company, thirty-six perished, and
forty-four either saved themselves or were rescued by
parties sent to their assistance. Of the company, thirty-
one were females (one an infant, that died), and of these,
twenty-three survived, some leading in the efforts to es-
cape, and exhibiting the most remarkable energy, courage,
and endurance. The story of this disaster created a
great excitement in California, and the most heroic and
self-sacrificing efforts were made for their relief Through-
out the East the accounts published spread a thrill of
horror, creating a dread of the overland journey to Cali-
fornia that took years to dispel.

OTHER IMMIGRANTS.

Besides the Donner party, there were other large com-
panies that "crossed the plains" in 1846, arriving safely
in the Sacramento Valley, and distrrbuting themselves
over California. Many of these took part in the conquest
of the country, joining Fremont's battalion, and march-
ing to the south, or companies for the defense of localities
in the north. Of the immigrants of 1846 were Charles
White, one of the early landholders of this county; Joseph
Aram, Captain of a company of volunteers in defense of
San Jose and Santa Clara; Joseph D. Hoppe, James F.
Reed and family, Virginia Reed, who became the wife of
John Murphy; Samuel Young and family, Alexander
Godey, who had been one of Fremont's famous scouts;
Isaac Branham and family, Zachariah Jones and family,
A. A. Hicox and family, A. Allen and family, Thomas
West and family, William and Thomas Campbell and
their families, Wm. H. Russell, George Gordon and fam-
ily, Andrew J. Grayson and wife, Kx- Governor W^m.
Boggs and family, and others, the immigration comprising
about 300 people. July 31, 1845, the ship Brooklyn ar-
rived at San Francisco with 136 Mormons under the
leadership of Samuel Brannan.

In the season of 1847 there was little or no emigration
across the plains. The war with Mexico was in active
progress, giving employment to the adventurous spirits
who otherwise would probably have sought adventure on
the great road to the Pacific.

THE MORMON BATTALION.

California, however, received another and very impor-
tant accession to her population. A battalion of Mor-
mons, desiring to emigrate to California, was organized
in Missouri, and placed under command of Lieut. Col.
Phillip St. George Cooke, marched through New Mexico
and Sonora, crossing the Colorado River at the mouth of
the Gila, and entered California in February, 1847. This
body numbered about 360. Some settled in California,
others joined their co-religionist in Utah.

Stevenson's regiment.

During the spring and summer of 1846 a regiment of
men was organized in New York, for the purpose of as-
sisting in the conquest of California, and settling therein
at the conclusion of the war. An effort was made to en-
list young men of good character, having some profession
or trade, preparing them to become good members of
society. The command of this was given to Col. Jona-
than D. Stevenson, Henry S. Burton, Lieut. Col.; James
A. Hardie, Major, and Joseph L. Folsom, quartermas-
ter. The regiment numbered about 600 men, and
was brought out in the ships Thomas H. Perkins, which
arrived March 6, 1847; the Loo Choo, Thomas Drew, dcaA
Brutus, with the remainder coming shortly after. Many
of these became worthy and prominent citizens, and them-
selves or families are found in all parts of the State. The
late Henry M. Osgood, of San Luis Obispo, was a mem-
ber of the Stevenson Regiment, and had resided in this
county from its first organization, occupying positions of
high trust.

DISCOVERY OF GOLD.

The gold discovery of 1848 caused a large immigration
from Oregon, Mexico, the Sandwich Islands, and South
America, and set in motion the vast flood that changed
the character of the country in 1849.

CAPT. wm. G. DANA.

To New England, among the commercial people of
the United States, belongs the honor of developing trade
and making explorations among the islands of the great
"South Sea" and along the "Northwest Coast," as the
Pacific Ocean and the western shore of North America
were called in the early part of this century. Boston,
Salem, New Bedford, and Nantucket were the localities
known to the people in this quarter of the globe; and
" Boston men " became, and remains to this day, the
designation of all Americans, as contradistinguished from
"King George's men," by which the English are known,
among the Indians of the far north. The whalers, the
missionaries, the hide-gatherers, and traders were from
New England, and those who wrote pleasant descriptions
of their travels came in Boston ships. Then the Boston
mariner could say: —

102

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

"Where'er the breeze can bear the billows' foam,
Survey our empire and behold our home."

From such a people and with such enterprise came the
late ^\■illiam Goodwin Dana, of Nipomo; whose signature
we find often repeated in the archives of San Luis Obispo
County, in the land and language of his adoption, as
Guillermo G. Dana, but to Americans was best known as
Capt. \Vm. G. Dana.

HIS RIRTH AND ANCESTRY.

This gentleman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, May
5, 1797, his father bearing the same given name, and his
mother, Elizabeth, being a daughter of Gen. Robert Davis
of Massachusetts. His lineage traces back to early co-
lonial times, Richard Dana, the progenitor of the family,
settling at Cambridge in 1640. From that patriarch
has descended a numerous family, and clustering about
that great center of learning many have attained distinc-
tion as jurists, poets, scientists, divines, doctors, and writers
of every class. Among them were Richard, grandson of
the first, a great lawyer; Francis, Chief Justice of Massa-
chusetts; Richard H., distinguished as one of the most
pleasant of American poets and essayists; Richard H.,
Jr., author of "Two Years before the Mast," and an
authority on maratime law; Samuel Luther, M. D.,
LL.D., a distinguished chemist; James Dwight, LL.D.,
who accompanied Wilkes' exploring expedition to the
Pacific in 1838-42, as geologist and mineralogist; James,
D. D., a prominent minister in New England; James
Freeman, M. D., mineralogist and author, and Danas in
every rank of life. The spirit of Richard of 1 640, could
look over a long and numerous line of descendants, and
probably find as many representatives of his name on the
roll of honor as any of the Puritan Pilgrims of that day.

YOUTH AND EARLY TRAVELS.

The youth of William G. was spent in Boston, where he
acquired a good education, but at the early age of eighteen, ■
just after the close of the last war with England, he was
sent in the service of his uncle, a Boston merchant, to
Canton, China, where he remained nearly two years.
From thence he went to Calcutta, India, remaining there
one year and returning to Boston. That was a long and
venturesome journey for one so young, and sufficient to
fill the enthusiastic youth with the unquenchable spirit of
unrest. He appears to have been an observing and
studious young man, learning the art and qualifications of
a sailor, as is shown by his obtaining a first-class certifi-
cate as a navigator.

CAPTAIN OF THE BRIG WAVERLY.

His Stay in Boston was short. He had learned the
business of the China trade, and, being full of enterprise,
determined to engage in it. Taking a vessel (probably
the schooner or brig IFaver/y, as we find him Captain of
that vessel a few years afterwards) he sailed to China to
engage in trade between that country, the Sandwich
Islands, California, and Boston. In 1820 he established
a large commercial business and erected an extensive
warehouse at Oahu (Honolulu), in the Sandwich Islands,

making that place his headquarters during a period of
five years. From Oahu he made several voyages to
Canton, to Russian America, California, and the South
American Coast.

HIS ANCESTRAL ESTATE.

During that period Captain Dana appears to have
become acquainted with the California Coast and
impressed with its advantages for business, as in 1825
he located at Santa Barbara and established a store,
placing it in charge of Capt. C. R. Smith, while he con-
tinued in command of the Waverly, continuing the circle
of voyages on the Pacific to Canton, Sitka, the islands,
California ports, and elsewhere. Something of his busi-
ness and his voyages we learn from old bills of lading,
powers of attorney, letters, etc., which have survived the
vicissitudes and ravages of time. Among these old
papers is one showing something of the ancestral estate
of his mother, and also the difficulties attending business
transactions in the days before regular mails, steam, and
the telegraph. This is a power of attorney to Joshua
Davis, of Boston, to sell and dispose of Captain Dana's
interest in a " piece of land, or flats, in the southerly
part of the city of Boston, Commonwealth of Massachu-
setts, and in the rear of land of Mary Davis, and about
100 feet westerly from Washington Street, extending
about 35 feet along the land of Mary Davis, and about
1,000 feet toward the mill-dam," etc. This was prepared
in Boston in 1825, sent to the Sandwich Islands, thence
to Santa Barbara, where Captain Dana drew up a copy
and carried it to Oahu, where he executed it before the
American Consul in March, 1827, probably reaching
Boston in about two years from the time it was sent out.
No large sum was expected from the property, which
would probably represent a good fortune at the present
time; but whatever it might have been, Captain Dana
very honorably expressed his doubts about his right to
receive anything from the property, as he thought it had
been omitted by " mistake from the will of the late Gen.
A. Davis, and reverted to the heirs of my grandfather —
Robert." He says: " If I am not one of the rightful
heirs, I feel no disposition to retain that which is the
property of another contrary to the rules of equity and
justice."

AFFECTIONATE CORRESPONDENCE.

In the first ten years immediately succeeding his
departure from Boston he maintained a correspondence
with his relatives, a number of well-expressed and very
affectionate letters appearing from his sister Adeline E.
and his cousin Sarah, whose heart he seems to have taken
with him, but at a later date the correspondence appears
to have ceased, as in January, 1849, his sister, then Mrs.
Darling, of New York, writes that she has seen his name
favorably mentioned in Fremont's reports and in Bryant's
"What I Saw in California," the latter describing him as
a native of Massachusetts and a "gentleman whose
unbounded liberality and hospitality is known throughout
California." Those w.ere times when everybody was
talking of " the land of gold," and Mrs. Darling receives
many compliments of the praise of her brother and

EARLY IMMIGRANTS.

103

I

inquiries of California; but she writes: "I am constrained,
dear William, despite my mortification, to say that I have
not received a letter from you for i8 years!" Oh, how-
many young wanderers there have been in California,
leaving hearts full of love at home waiting and watching
for letters and the return, wearily watching in vain!

INHERITS PROPERTY.

Several members of the Davis family appear in his
correspondence, in Boston, Hartford, the West Indies,
and Sandwich Islands, showing them prominent mer-
chants and men of wealth and enterprise. In 1822,
William H. Davis, then of Oahu, makes his will, dying
soon after, in which his nephew, William G. Dana, is
bequeathed the sum of $5,000. The same will gives to
the friends of the testator, Thomas Meek $5,000, John
C. Jones $5,000, Eliab Grimes $5,000, John Gowen
$2,000, and the remainder of his property to his son^
Robert G. Davis.

GOLD IN THE CARGO.

The following bill of lading is reproduced as a relic of
olden time, and showing the existence of gold as an
article of commerce in 1826: —

Shipped in good order, and well conditioned, by J. R.
Cooper, in and upon the brig called the JFaverfy, whereof
Wm. G. Dana is Master, for this present voyage: now
lying in the harbour of St. Barbara, and bound for
Oahu, as follows: Fourteen hundred and twenty-eight
guilders; two thousand Spanish dollars; four bars silver,
weight five hundred and twenty-six marks and five oz.,
more or less; three casks con'g one hundred and thirty-
eight otter skins, more or less; one cask con'g two hun-
dred and twelve black pup fur-seal skins, more or less;
and one lump gold, weight unknown, being marked as in
the margin (no mark); and are to be delivered in like
good order, and well-conditioned, at the aforesaid port
of Oahu (the danger of the seas only excepted), unto
said Wm. G. Dana, or to S. Reynolds, or their assigns,
they paying freight for said goods at one-half per cent.,
without primage and damage as accustomed. In witness
whereof^ the master of said brig hath affirmed to them
bills of lading of this tenor and date, one of which being
accomplished, the others to stand void.

Wm. G. Dana.

Santa Barbara, October 22, 1826.

Where the gold and silver came from is not stated,
but as neither the weight nor the value of the gold is
given, it was probably from the mines of California, the
placers of the Santa Clara, or Piru, in the region contrib-
utory to Santa Barbara, being known at that time.

In a document vouching for the good intentions and
character of Jedediah S. Smith, dated December 20,

1826, previously published, Wm. G. Dana is recorded
as Captain, and Thomas M. Robbins as Mate of schooner

Waverly, but elsewhere this vessel is cal led a brig.

A CARGO TO SITKA.

At a later date Captain Dana sends a cargo of wheat,
beef, salt, etc., to Sitka, by the smack William Little,
Capt. Henry Carter, with instructions to dispose of to the
best advantage, receiving in payment cash, furs, or such
goods as will pay a profit. Seal skins were usually taken

at " $1-6 each;" $1-6 probably meaning one dollar and
six reales, or $1.75. In selling the cargo it would be by
weight, the Russian pood being equal to thirty-six
English pounds. Captain Carter was also instructed to
use all possible efforts to procure a lot of hunters and
" fifteen or sixteen bydarkies " (skin boats), and to land
them on Santa Rosa Island. " Boards, planks, etc.," all
he could stow, were desirable cargo for him to bring back.

OPPOSITION TO AMERICANS IN CALIFORNIA.

From a letter from John B. R. Cooper, dated Monte-
rey, July 22, 1828, we see that even at that early date
there was great dissatisfaction with the existing Govern-
ment, and the hope was expressed that some disturbance
could be created whereby the United States might
intervene and take possession of the country. Cooper
was very indignant on account of the trouble given Dana
in relation to his marriage, it being necessary first to be-
come naturalized as a citizen, and be married in the
Catholic Church. Allusion is made to the " great man,"
whom Cooper calls the " American hater," and, referring
to his own wrongs, says, " There is not one jot of
honesty, truth, honor, or principle in the country, but a
set of the most shameless, swindling, deceitful rascals
that ever dwelt on earth. Oh! ' Home,' Dana, ' sweet,
sweet home, there is no place like home.' This coun-
try, I fear, will never do for you nor me. The only
hope I have is that they will kick up a dust with the
United States and we may have a different Government
here." The state of affairs probably ran smoother after-
wards, as both remained in the country, which did well
for them, as they lived happily and prospered. The
" sweet home " of the distant East was forgotten in the
new home in the far West. William G. becomes Guil-
lermo G. Dana, and John is changed to Juan B. R.
Cooper, dt la profesion maritima, and licensed to employ
ten boats in hunting sea otter between the latitude of
San Luis Obispo and Bodega. While the old, or rather
young merchants and hunters became attached to the
country — and to its fair daughters — naturalized under
its laws, rearing large families and acquiring great wealth,
they never lost their love for their native land and Gov-
ernment, as they gladly accepted the change of flag and
aided in the establishment of the new order.

PERPLEXING LAWS.

The " great man," as Dana wites, or the " American
hater " as Cooper calls him, appears to have been Gen.
Jose Maria de Echeandia, to whom Dana presents a
petition written on stamped paper, dated Santa Barbara,
March 22, 1828, addressed Senor Gefe Superior Politico,
praying for the authorization of his espousal with Dona
Maria Josefa Carrillo, daughter {hija legitima) of Don
Carlos Antonio Carrillo, resident of the presidio of Santa
Barbara.

To this the worthy Political Chief replies from San
Diego, under date of May i, 1828, that the application
could not be acted upon as yet, since the Mexican
authorities had not replied to Senor Dana's application
for citizenship, forwarded some time in January ultimo.

104

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

In this case, he said, proceedings would necessarily be
delayed for at least five months in accordance with the
law, in which time, if nothing hapjaened to the contrary^
the question would be definitely settled.

After waiting the allotted five months from March,
or at least till August 20, 1828, the marriage was cele-
brated. Mr. Dana did not, however, get his certificate
of naturalization until February 18, 1835. The certifi-
cate is signeil by Jose Figueroa, whose title was General
of Brigade of the Mexican Republic, Commandant Gen-
eral Inspector, and Political Chief of the Territory of
Alta California. It is attested by Agustin P. Zamorano,
Secretary.

CLOSES BUSINESS IN OAHU.

Having in 1825 established business at Santa Barbara,
he soon after becomes a permanent resident and closes
out his affairs in the Sandwich Islands. His' property
there he left in charge of Stephen Reynolds. In his
instructions to Reynolds making him his agent, while
being precise in details, he shows a very generous and
friendly spirit toward his debtors, among whom is the
King, saying he is in no hurry to present them unless
some accident happens to himself. One account is
against Boki, who appears to be one of the owners of
the brig TFotw/)', amounting to $2,274.34 for advances
on the brig more than his proportion. Captain Rutter
is in command of the Waverly at that time, but the date
is not given. It is at a time, however, when he is about
to leave the islands for a voyage in different parts of the
Pacific Ocean.

LETTER FROM HIS AGENT.

From a letter to Captain Dana, from Stephen Rey-
nolds, dated Oahu, Thursday, March 17, 1836, 5 p. m.,
we are given an insight into the manner in which news
was received in this country from the East, also of the
society and business on the Sandwich. Islands. From
this letter we quote: —

New York .had a tremendous fire i6th December;
$26,000,000 were destroyed, buildings, property, etc. It
was so cold the water froze in the engine hose. They
used kegs of gunpowder and blew up (or down) the
buildings to stop the flames.

We are almost overrun with the missionaries, seamen's
preachers, and train of native hypocrites. I hope I have
charity for all men; if I have not, the mission wretches
have the least of any class.

The bachelors here were given a ball on the 4th of
March evening. Fourteen foreign ladies, some thirty or
forty males present.

The poor simpleton, the seamen's preacher, took upon
himself to say to some of the ladies who partook of the
supper: " If you go to the party you cannot go to the table
next Sabbath!"

The times are bad here; little doing; money all gone
to Canton; what we arc to do is hard to tell. Send us a
good lot of hides. Stick to your farm, so when hunger
drives me hence I may find you with a spare loaf for a
poor old friend. I am truly glad your prospects are
good for becoming a wealthy farmer. Stick to it! Stick,
stick, stick, stick, stick to it. (jo slow, go sure; you
have nothing to fear.

The Don Quixote will be on the coast this summer.
If I can get a barrel of " sweet taters " I will send you
one. We do not get enough to eat now.

I wish you would come among us and look into all
your old affairs, not that I think you will be more fortu-
nate than we who live here in getting old debts from
Government. Remember the China saying, "Short
account, long friend."

CAPTAIN DANA BUILDS A SCHOONER. .

In 1828 Captain Dana built a schooner on the coast
of Santa Barbara, the locality still bearing the name,
Goleta, the Spanish word for schooner, from that fact.
This is claimed as the first sea-going vessel ever launched
in California, and exhibited a spirit of enterprise quite
astonishing to the natives of the country. This was a
valuable vessel, and the labor and expense of construc-
tion were large. She was named the Santa Ba7-bara and
placed under the command of Capt. Thomas M. Rob-
bins, the former mate of the Wavetly, who sailed her
for some years and afterwards sold her at Acapulco.
Captain Robbins subsequently married Encarnacion
Carrillo, sister of Mrs. Dana, became a resident of Santa
Barbara and one of its wealthy citizens, owner of Las
Positas Rancho, and the grantee of Santa Catalina Island

OBTAINS THE NIPOMO GRANT.

In 1835, having become a naturalized citizen of the
Mexican Republic, and thereby entitled to hold land, he
applied for and obtained the grant of the Nipomo Rancho,
comprising 37,887.91 acres. The grant to Dana was one
of the earliest made, and he had his choice in a very
extended area of country as lovely as the sun shines
upon, and he made a selection which, for the purpose of
grazing or tillage, exhibited a profound judgment. This
grand body of land is now includ ed in the southern part
of San Luis Obispo County, extending from near the
shore of the Pacific to the ba se of the Santa Lucia
Mountains. The name is derived from an expression of
the Indians of the locality, saying ne-po-mah, meaning it
was at the foot of the hill, or mountain. In their guttural
language the first two syllables were only slightly sounded,
the accent being on the last. From this the grant was
designated as the Nipomo.

After obtaining the grant Mr. Dana continued in
business in Santa Barbara, also carrying on the rancho,
until in the fall of 1839 he moved to the Nipomo and
became thereafter heavily engaged in stock-raising, farm-
ing, and manufacturing. He erected a large adobe house
of thirteen rooms, which continues to be the residence of
members of the family, some of whom, with their wives,
or husbands, and children have become too numerous
for the shelter of the parental roof and dwell in modern
structures on allotted farms on the great rancho, or in
the neighboring towns. The venerable casa de Dana
stands a conspicuous object on an elevation overlooking
a large area of the grant, a monument in the history of
the county second only to the old missions, and around
it cluster many pleasant and interesting reminiscences.
In the period of the ranchero days, when the great land-
holders were the lords of the country and the patrone of
all the people, this was the headquarters of the region
and the stopping-place of all travelers, where hospitality
was unbounded. In nearly all the books upon California

-<?^

J

EARLY IMMIGRANTS.

105

in the early days, in Government reports and orders,
frequent mention is made of Captain Dana, his pleasant
home, and his hospitality.

THE HOSPITALITIES OF NIPOMO.

The fancho of Nipomo was a pleasure resort, a recu-
perating place, for all Americans traveling through the
country, and the guests entertained and welcomed there
were numerous, including many names of important
personages in the history of California. Among them
have been noted Colonel Fremont, and Edwin Bryant,
who wrote so complimentary of the generous host. The
late Mayor Teschmacher and General (then Captain)
Halleck made it their home for long periods. In 1S48
the United States steamship Edith went ashore between
Point Arguello and Point Sal, and the officers and crew
were taken by Captain Dana to his home, where they
were kindly entertained for two or three weeks, until he
could perfect arrangements to transport them to Monterey,
which he did by providing horses and saddles and send-
ing men to guide them on the way and return with the
animaU. Several of the officers remained some months
at the rancho. At that time it was customary to provide
travelers with meals, lodging, and a relay of horses free
of charge, and, if unacquainted with the country, a guide
was sent to accompany them to the next place. All this
was without charge, and at times, it is said, if the traveler
was thought to be in need, money would be placed near
his bed that he might supply himself without the indel-
icacy of asking his condition or openly making the tender
of a gift. Such was the hospitality of the Californians,
of which the rancho of Captain Dana was a conspicuous
example, known and availed of by all travelers.

The only places on the road between San Luis Obispo
•and Santa Barbara were Nipomo, twenty-four miles from
San Luis, thence twenty-one miles to Los Alamos, thence
twenty miles to Santa Ynez Mission, thence to Refugio,
and thence to Santa Barbara. These distances were the
XQ^xAsx jornadas between the stopping-places named.

The house was located upon an elevation, in order
that a more extended view could be had of the surround-
ing country, to observe the approach of the marauding
Indians, and the better protection from them. Also
there was presented thereby a panoramic view of the
most picturesque and enchanting character, the broad and
fertile valley of Nipomo spreading in front many miles to
the north and south and east, with the precipitous range
of the Santa Lucia beyond. The Indians from the
Tulare Valley frequently made raids upon the great stock
ranchos of the coast, and often from the house they have
been seen gathering the horses and cattle in the valley
or upon the bordering hills. Then it was necessary to
arm and mount all the men of the place and speed to the
attack of the marauders. Some fierce conflicts have
occurred, and constant vigilance was required to protect
the stock.

ENGAGES IN MANUFACTURES.

Considerable manufacturing was also carried on.
Captain Dana had not been born and brought up in
thrifty New England to rest quiedy with the semi-civilized

S3'stems of the native Californians. Although but a lad of
eighteen when he left Boston for a life of the sea and
adventure, he retained some ideas of his early home. He
established at Nipomo a soap factory, looms for making-
cloth, turning lathe and furniture factory, blacksmith
shop, and other means for making agricultural imple-
mfents, and also made many other articles. With his
manufactures he supplied his own people, the neighbor-
ing ranchos, and the missions of La Purissima and Santa
Ynez. With his looms he made coarse cloths for cloth-
ing, serapes, and blankets, of the latter some being in
existence at a late date, after constant use since their
manufacture. While a ship-owner and in trade with the
coast and islands of the Pacific, and in settling up his
business, he dealt much in sandal and other valuable
woods. Of these he made elegant furniture, and some
beautiful bedsteads and wardrobes are still among the
most admired ornaments of the old home at Nipomo, and
other places, at the present day. At his blacksmith shop
he made such improv«nent in plows as quite astonished
the Californians, creating a revolution in agriculture in
that quarter of the country; but, singularly enough, it did
not spread to any great extent. The people were accus-
tomed to the arada, usually a section of a small tree,
having a limb of sufficient length for a pole reaching to
the yoke of the oxen drawing it, one end of the body
sharpened to scratch the ground and the other fixed for
the handle. Dana made such plows as he had seen in
his youth, which, though very crude, were a great im-
provement upon the pointed stick of ancient Biblical
times used by the Californians, and were in use until the
Americans brought in the new styles of modern times.

POLITICAL CONTROVERSIES.

In the political controversies of the country Captain
Dana took but little part. We presume he was in favor
with the party of the south, supporting his father-in-law,
Carrillo, for Governor when legally appointed by the
President of Mexico, as against the revolutionists,
Alv'arado and Castro, of the north. Governor Nicolas
Gutierrez, in October, 1836, writes him a letter address-
ing him Mi estimado ainigo (my esteemed friend), show-
ing the probability of his friendship for the party repre-
sented by Gutierrez. In 1840 the armed forces ot
Alvarado arrested John M. Price, then in the service of
Captain Dana, but did not disturb the principal. This
was probably as far as they thought prudent to go against
so powerful a man in resenting his adherence to the
opposite party. That he was favorable to the American
cause is shown by the warm friendship of Fremont and
other prominent officers. His health at the time, how-
ever, did not permit him to take a very active part in
military operations, he being a victim to acute rheuma-
tism for many years.

OFFICES HELD.

Captain Dana was tendered many political offices, and
held several. Under Mexican rule he was Prejecto of
the district, the highest office in the gift of the Gov-
ernor. At the first election for officers under the Con-
stitution of the State of California, in 1849, he received

14

100

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

the largest vote for tlie Senate, but, owing to informali-
ties in the election, tlie office was accorded to Don
I'ablo de la Guerra, of Santa • Barbara. He was after-
wards urged to accept the nomination for another term,
but declined to run. In 1851 he was elected Treasurer
of San Luis Oljispo County.

RUSINES.S ENTERPRISES.

'I'he discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada, in 1848,
and the impetus given thereby and the American occu-
pation to business, opened a field for greater enterprise
to Captain I )ana. San Luis Obispo County was created,
including Nipomo within its boundaries, and the mission
of San Luis Obispo was made the county seat. There
he established a large business for those days, erecting
the first frame building in the town or county. This
pioneer evidence of progress was erected in 1850, front-
ing the road leading past the mission to Monterey, now
called Monterey Street, and near the palm tree which
was even then a large tree, of age contemporary with the
mission. This building, or a portion of it, still occupies
its original jjosition. In 1851- he constructed the "Casa
Cirande," a large adobe structure, on the land now occu-
])ied by the bank of San Luis Obispo and other buildings.
This was a famous building for a period, serving for
hotel, saloons, stores. Court House, etc. The walls were
of adobe and the roof of iron. The timbers used in it
were hauled from the pine forests near Cambria, at great
labor and expense, oxen being the motive power, and no
roads worthy of the name. The building is reported to
have cost over $5o;ooo, and was the great hotel of the
south. At that time there was a great deal o"" travel
through San Luis Obispo, and the town, with its limited
means transacted a large and profitable business. But
it is not believed that Captain Dana ever realized a fort-
une from his "Casa Grande." The building was at one
time used as a Court House, and the collect on of the
rent involved the owner in a long and very annoying
controversy and law suit. Mr. Dana had been County
Treasurer, and in settling his accounts with the Court of
Sessions, retained the amount due for rent. The Court
refused to allow it, and after much correspondence finally
ordered suit to be commenced, which was finally decided
by the supreme court in favor of Dana.

MARRI.\r,E AND F.\M1LY OF MRS. DANA.

The marriage of Captain Dana has been mentioned.
This was solemnized at Santa Barbara, August 20,
1828. Senora Dana, Maria Josefa Carrillo, was the
eldest daughter of Don Carlos Antonio Carrillo and
Maria Josefa {nado Castro) Carrillo, sister of General
Castro. Her grandfather was Don Raymundo Carrillo,
one of the first commanders of the posts of San Diego
and Santa Barbara, and the founder of the family in
California. He married Tomasa Lugo, a daughter of
one of the oldest soldiers stationed at Santa Barbara.
Their children were Don Carlos Antonio, Anastacio,
Domingo, Jo.s6 Antonio,and a daughter, who married Tos6'
dc la (iuerra y Noriega. The sons of Don Carlos Antonio
Carrillo were Jose, who married Catarina Ortega; Pedro,

who married Josefa Bandini, and Jose Jesus, who mar-
ried Tomasa Gutierrez. There were five daughters,
Maria Josefa, who married Capt. William G. Dana;
Encarnacion, who married Capt. Thomas M. Robbins;
Francisca, who married Capt. A. B. Thompson, an
American shipmaster and merchant of Santa Barbara;
Manuela, who married John C. Jones, Consul of the
United States at the Sandwich Islands, and afterwards
married M. C. Kettle, a merchant and banker of Boston,
and Maria Antbnia, who married Don Luis Burton, or
Lewis T. Burton, an American merchant. All became
wealthy, establishing large families, and are prominent in
the history of California.

REMINISCENCE OF EARLY HISTORY.

As Dona Manuela recendy returned to visit the place
of her birth, we will introduce a personal notice from the
San Luis Obispo Tn'hme oi M.a.y 18, 1883.

Mr. M. C. Kettle and wife, who are stopping with the
Danas in this county, bring to mind a very interesting
scrap of the early history of this State. Mrs. Kettle is
one of five daughters of Don Carlos Antonio Carrillo,
formerly Governor of Alta California, and also a Depart-
mental Delegate to the Mexican Congress. His five
daughters married Americans, the respective husbands
being John C. Jone.s, United States Consul to Hono-
lulu; Capt. Alpheus B. Thompson, commander of a Bos-
ton merchantman; Thomas M. Robbins, also a merchant;
Don Luis Burton, merchant, and Wm. G. Dana, of the
Nipomo Rancho. The first two mentioned were married
on the same day at Santa Barbara, Mrs. Kettle being then
the bride of the first named in the list. On the day of
the marriage the father and uncle of the brides endow-
ered them with the island of Santa Rosa, a princely do-
main, containing 60,000 acres of land, now the property
of A. P. Moor^^ Mr. and Mrs. Jones removed to Boston
and lived in the vicinity for many years, residing at
Jamaica Plains and West Newton, in the enjoyment of a
princely income. Mr. Jones dying some years since, Mrs.
Jones married her present husband, M. C. Kettle, a
banker of great wealth. Since then she has resided
alternately in London, Paris, and Vienna, visiting most
of the capitals of Europe. She has moved in the best
society, and is an accomplished lady, speaking fluently
several languages. After an absence of thirty-eight years
she has returned to the scenes of her youth to find all her
sisters, excepting Mrs. Dana, dead. The meeting be-
tween the two sisters is said to have been very affecting.

It may interest our young lady readers to know that,
in the long ago, Santa Barbara had the reputation of hav-
ing the most lovely women in all California, and that the
Senoritas Carrillo were pre-eminent for their beauty.

THE FAMILY.

Captain and Mrs. Dana were the parents of twenty-one
children, of whom eight died in infancy, and one, Mrs.
S. A. Pollard (Maria Josefa Dana), died in 1878. Liv-
ing are Charles W., residing in the town of San Luis
Obispo; William C. of Los Berros; John F., Henry C,
Frank, Edward G., Fred A., Adelina E., David A., Eliseo
C, and Samuel A., all on the Nipomo estate. With sev-
eral marriages and children growing the family is sufifi-
ciendy large to constitute not only a very delightful home
circle, but a pleasant village, and in the valley near the
old mansion, the village plot of Nipomo has been sur-
veyed, and the town is growing. For the venerable and

EARLY IMMIGRANTS.

107

I

venerated mother an elegant home of modern architect-
ure has been constructed, which is a conspicuous object
as the traveler passes in the rapidly flying train. The
modern overtakes the lingering ones while yet they link
the past, present, and future in a living chain.

AFFLICTION AND DEATH.

During many of the later years of his life Captain Dana
was a great sufferer from rheumatism. The hardships
and exposure to which his energy, travels, and business
subjected him, told heavily in that insidious and painful
affliction, for which no satisfactory cause can be given nor
cure provided. After his trials at sea and his journeys
in China and India, when prepared to enjoy his ease and
dignity on his pleasant Nipomo, he was attacked with
the disease, relieving him, and returning at intervals, but
growing more painful from year to year. This so inca-
pacitated him from active physical exertion that he could
not take that part in the public affairs at the time of the
change of flag that his energies and wishes prompted.
Shortly thereafter he became entirely confined to his
house, paralyzed and helpless, and so continued until his
death, February 12, 1858. His remains lie buried in the
Catholic cemetery of San Lui's Obispo, where a handsome
monument marks his grave.

Vi'ILLIAM CHARLES DANA

Is the eldest son of Cp.pt. Wm. G. Dana and Maria
josefa Carrillo Dana, a sketch of whose biographies pre-
cedes this. William C. was born at Santa Barbara, Cali-
fornia, May 6, 1836, his father soon thereafter removing
to the Nipomo Rancho, where he has passed the greater
part of a pleasant life.

Mr. Dana was educated at Santa Ynez College and at
the Benicia Institute, Benicia. Being reared upon the
great rancho of his father, he grew up as a farmer and
stock-raiser, which has constituted his chief business
through life. But he has not always confined his energies
to the rancho. In 1857, then but twenty-one years of
age, he was elected to the office of County Clerk of San
Luis Obispo County, that being a great compliment to
one so young. Having some doubts of his qualifications,
and not being as familiar with the English as the Spanish
language, he appointed Mr. Peter A. Forrester his deputy,
while he went to the Benicia Institute to complete his
education. In 1869 he was elected County Treasurer,
holding the position through the term of two years. In
political life Mr. Dana has acted with the Democrats,
exerting a strong influence in the party. His public
offices, however, have not been solely of a political nature,
as he has served five years as a School Trustee, always
exerting himself in the social advancement of the people.

Mr. Dana was married. May 26, 1861, to Miss Modesto
Castro, only daughter of General Castro, and like her
husband a native of California. By this happy marriage
there have been born eleven children of whom five are
sons and six daughters. Their residence is on his farm
of Los Berros, a portion of the Nipomo grant, containing
i,5oo acres of valuable land, inherited from his father.
A view of this very pleasant home is given in this book.

The rancho takes its name from the little stream, Los-
Berros — meaning the water cresses — which runs throuih
the land. A few hundred yards in front of the liou-e
runs the Pacific Coast Railway, having a depot on ihc
rancho, thus giving ready access to market, and an easy
-line of travel.

JOHN FRANCIS DANA

Was born in Santa Barbara June 22, 1837, his parents
being William G. and Maria Josefa Carrillo Dana, whose
biographies have been previously given. In 1839 the
family moved upon the Nipomo Rancho, where John
Francis Dana grew to manhood and has since resided — ■
except when away at school, in his youth — occupying the
position of farmer and ranchero on a large scale.

Upon the death of his father he was appointed Trustee
of the estate, which trust he faithfully executed for twenty
years, until the ranch was divided among the famih'.
Mr. Dana was married December 25, i860, in Santa Bar-
bara, to Miss Frances Caroline Thompson, a native of
Santa Barbara, and they have seven living and lovely
children, of whom there are three daughters and four
sons.

The business qualifications of John F. Dana have been
shown in the successful management of the great estate
through the periods of great excitement, droughts, depres-
sions in business, and other changes which have wrecked
so many of the great landed proprietors of Californi.i.
While some of the great ranchos have been sold at rates
of less than a dollar to one dollar and a half per acre,
John Dana held to more than 30,000 acres of the best of
the Nipomo, which would in 1883, readily command a
half million dollars. Of this great property there was in
1883, about 14,000 acres planted in wheat. The Pacific
Coast Railway runs through the property, the brothers
donating for the purpose, a strip for the track ten miles in
length and sixty feet in width, asking, and receiving in
complimentary return,- only the freedom of the mother to
ride in the cars during her life. A depot was located on
the rancho and the village plot of Nipomo laid out, with
streets bearing the name of California pioneers contem-
porary with the father. Captain Dana.

In the division of the estate so well preserved by John
Dana, it would seem appropriate that he should have the
choice of farms, but whether he did or not we do not
know, but his place is one of the most pleasant possible,
near the banks of a small stream and surrounded by a
broad area of nearly level and exceedingly fertile land. A
view of his residence is herewith published.

108

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

C 11 A 1' r !•: R XII I.

MILITARY GOVERNMENT.

Commodore Sloat — Commodore Stockton Governor — Colonel Fre-
mont Appointed — Sluihrick Commander-in-Chief— Arrival of
(leneral Kearny— Circular — I'roclainalion to the I'eople of Cal-
ifornia — Fremont's Great Ride — Endurance of California
Horses — .\ Communal Government — Letter from General
Kearny— Richard li. Mason Governor— Treaty with Mexico
—Discovery of Gold — First Report Taken East— Great Ex-
citement in New York — Progress of the Excitement — A Vivid
Picture- Effects of the Discovery— An Official Statement-
Letter of Governor Mason — Mormon Diggings — The Governor
Visits Coloma— .Vt Weber's Creek— Instances of Good Luck
— A Husiness View— Easy Fortunes— Placers of San Fernando
— Quicksilver Mine of New Almaden — An Indian with Gold —
Persifer F. Sinith Governor— The First Steamships Arrive—
Gen. Bennett Riley Governor — Constitutional Convention —
Homogr.i])hic Chart of the Convention — The Constitution —
The Closing Act — Proclamation — Military Governors of Cal-
ifornia.

'ITH the raising of the flag at Motiterey, July 7,
1846, California passed to the Government of the
United States. Com. John D. Sloat, as Com-
mander-in-Chief of the naval forces, became the Gov-
ernor of the Territory, although he did not assume the
title.

COMMODORE STOCKTON GOVERNOR.

On the 17th of the same month he assigned his
authority to Com. Robert F. Stockton, who added the
title of Governor to his rank as Commander-in Chie'",
etc., in a few orders and proclainations to the people.

COLONEL FREMONT APPOINTED.

On the 15th of January, 1847, after the second occu-
pation of I.os Angeles and the surrender of the Califor-
nia forces, he appointed John C. Fremont Governor, and
Col. W. H. Russell Secretary, and retired to his ships.

SHUBRICK COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.

January 22, 1847, Com. W. Bradford Shubrick arrived
at Monterey in the razee Independence, and being superior
in rank to Stockton, assumed the authority of Commander-
in-Chief He did not, however, assume the title of Gov-
ernor, and has never been placed in history as such, but
he held the balance of power.

ARRIVAL OF GENERAL KEARNY.

In the meantime Gen. Stephen W. Rearny had entered
the country, with orders from the War Departrnent at
Washington, that, "should he conquer California, he
should proceed to organize a civil Governinent therein."
Stockton regarded the orders to organize a civil Govern-
nientasconditional upon his conquering the country, which
was accompli.shed without the material aid of Kearny,
h<; having left his army in New Mexico, and, more-
over, the orders wore froin the War Department, which he
regarded as only the equal of the Navy Deparment, while
Stockton, being first in the field, and in possession, felt
himself entitled to the authority. An unpleasant con-
flict of rank resulted. Kearny was the superior in rank,
but, for the time being, was powerless in the presence of
the combined forces of his rivals. He went to San

Diego, and from thence sailed to Monterey, where he ar-
rived February 9th, afterwards going to San Francisco,
and returning to Monterey on the 23d of the same month.

Soon thereafter, the members of Fremont's battalion
returned to the north, full of indignation against their
late coinmander, in part for their inability to get their
pay for their services, and for their hardships on their
march, and their being too late to participate in the capt-
ure of Los Angeles, all of which they attributed to his
inefficiency. Fremont was exceedingly popular among the
native Californians, in consequence of his generous terms
accorded them in the articles of capitulation at Cahuenga,
and, calling Los Angeles the capital, was the undisputed
Governor in that quarter.

Kearny appealed to Commodore Shubrick to recognize
him as Governor, but this the navy officer at first declined
•to do, but shortly after orders arrived from Washington,
addressed to Rearny as Governor, and the question was
settled. On the ist of March the following joint circular
was issued.

CIRCULAR.

To All Whom It May Concern, Be It Rnown:
That the President of the United States, desirous to give
and secure to the people of California a share of the good
government and happy civil organization enjoyed by the
people of the United States, and to protect them at the
same time from the attacks of foreign foes and from
internal commotions, has invested the undersigned with
separate and distinct powers, civil and military, a cor-
dial co-operation in the exercise of which, it is hoped
and believed, will have the happy result desired.

To the Commander-in-Chief of the naval forces the
President has assigned the regulations of the import
trade, the conditions on which vessels of all nations, our
own as well as foreign, may be admitted into the ports of
the Territory, and the establishment of all port regula-
tions.

To the commanding military officer, the President has
assigned the direction of the operations on land, and has
invested him with administrative functions of govern-
ment over the people and territory occupied by the forces
of the United States.

Done at Monterey, capital of California, this first day
of March, 1847. W. Bradford Shubrick,

Commatider-in-Chief of the Naval Forces.
S. W. Rearny,
Brigadier-Gen: ral U. S. A. and Goi'ernor of California.

On the same day Rearny issued the following procla-
mation as Governor of California: —

proclamation to the people of California.

The President of the United States having instructed
the undersigned to take charge of the civil Government
of California, he enters upon his duties with an ardent
desire to promote, as far as he is able, the interests of the
country and the welfare of its inhabitants.

The undersigned has instructions from the President
to respect and protect the religious institutions of Cali-
fornia, and to see that the religious rights of the people
are in the amplest manner preserved to them, the Con-
stitution of the United States allowing every man to
worship his Creator in such a manner as his own con-
science may dictate to him.

The undersigned is also instructed to protect the per-
sons and property of the quiet and peaceable inhabitants
of the country against all or any of their enemies, whether

MILITARY GOVERNMENT.

109

from abroad or at home; and when he now assures the
Californians that it will be his duty and pleasure to
comply with those instructions, he calls upon them all to
exert themselves in preserving order and tranquility, in
promoting harmony and concord, and in maintaining the
authority and efficiency of the law.

It is the wish and design of the United States to
provide for California, with- the least possible delay, a free
Government, similar to those in other Territories, and
the people will soon be called upon to exercise their
rights as freemen, in electing their own representatives to
make such laws as may be deemed best for their interest
and welfare. But, until this can be done, the laws now
in existence, and not in conflict with the Constitution of
the United States, will be continued until changed by
competent authority; and those persons who hold office
will continue in the same for the present, provided they
swear to support the Constitution and to faithfully per-
form their duty.

The undersigned hereby absolves all the inhabitants
of California from any further allegiance to the Republic
of Mexico, and will consider them as citizens of the
United States. Those who remain quiet and peaceable
will be respected in their rights and protected in them.
Should any take up arms against or oppose the Govern-
ment of this Territory, or instigate others to do so, they
will be considered as enemies and treated accordingly.

When Mexico 'forced war upon the United States,
time did not permit the latter to invite the Californians,
as friends, to join her standard, but compelled her to
take possession of the country to prevent any European
power from seizing upon it, and, in doing so, some
excesses and unauthorized acts were no doubt committed
by persons employed in the service of the United States,
by which a few of the inhabitants have met with loss of
property. Such losses will be duly investigated, and
those entitled to remuneration will receive it.

California has for many years suffered greatly from
domestic troubles. Civil wars have been the poison
fountains which have sent forth trouble and pestilence
over her beautiful land. Now those fountains are dried
up, the star-spangled banner floats over California, and
as long as the sun continues to shine upon her, so long
will it float there, over the natives of the land as well as
others who have found a home in her bosom; and under
it agriculture must improve, and the arts and sciences
flourish, as seed in a rich and fertile soil.

The Americans and Californians are now but one
people. Let us cherish one wish, one hope, and let that
be for the peace and quiet of our country. Let us, as a
band of brothers, unite and emulate each other in our
exertions to benefit and improve this beautiful land, and
which soon must be our happy and prosperous home.

Done at Monterey, capital of California, this first day
of March, a. d. 1847, and in the seventy-first year of
independence of the United States.

S. W. Kearny,
Brigadier-General U. S A. and Governor of California.

This circular and proclamation were conveyed by
courier to all parts of California, and it at once became
apparent to Fremont that the powers were against him,
notwithstanding the acts of Stockton had been approved
and he highly commended. Soon thereafter he made
his celebrated ride to Monterey and back, which, as one
of San Luis Obispo's prominent citizens accompanied
him, we will relate.

Fremont's great ride.

The following account of the celebrated ride of Colonel
Fremont from Los Angeles to Monterey and back, in

company with Don Jose de Jesus Pico, of San Luis

Obispo, is from Alcalde Colton's " Three Years in Cali-
fornia:" —

The ride of Colonel Fremont in March, 1847, from
the Ciudad de los Angeles to Monterey in Alta California,
a distance of 420 miles, and back, exhibits in a strong
light the iron nerve of the rider and the capacities of the
California horse. The party on this occasion consisted
of the Colonel, his friend Don Jesus Pico, and his
servant Jacob Dodson. Each had three horses, nine in
all, to take their turn under the saddle, and relieve each
other every twenty miles; while the six loose horses gal-
loped ahead, requiring constant vigilance and action to
keep them on the path. The relays were brought under
the saddle by the lasso, thrown by Don Jesus or Jacob,
who, though born and raised in Washington, in his long
expeditions with Colonel PVemont had become expert as
a Mexican with the lasso, sure as a mountaineer with the
rifle, equal to either on horse or foot, and always a lad of
courage and fidelity.

The party left Los Angeles on the morning of the 2 2d
of March, at daybreak, though the call which took the
Colonel to Monterey had reached him only the evening
before. Their path lay through the wild mountains of
San Fernando, where the steep ridge and precipitous
glen follow each other like the deep hollows and crested
waves of ocean, under the driving force of the storm. It
was a relief when a rough ravine opened its winding
gallery on the line of their path. They reached at
length the maritime defile of El Rinccn, or Punto
Gordo, where a mountain bluff shoulders its way to the
sea, leaving for fifteen miles only a narrow line of broken
coast, lashed at high tide, and in a gale, by the foaming
surf The sun was on the wave of the Pacific when they
issued from the Rincon, and twilight still lingered when
they reached the hospitable rancho of Don Thomas
Robbins,* 120 miles from Los Angeles. The only limb
in the company which seemed to complain of fatigue
was the right arm of Jacob, incessantly exercised, in
lashing the loose horses to the track and lassoing the
relays. None of the horses were shod — an iron contriv-
ance unknown here, except to a few Americans. The
gait through the day had been a hand-gallop, relieved at
short intervals by a light trot. Here the party rested for
the night, while the horses gathered their food from the
young grass which spread its tender verdure on the field.

Another morning had thrown its splendors on the
forest when the party waved their adieu to their hospita-
ble host, and were under way. Their path lay over the
spurs of the Santa Barbara Mountains, and close to that
steep ridge where the California battalion, under Colonel
Fremont, encountered on the 25th of December, 1846,
a blinding storm, which still throws its sleet and hail
through the dreams of those hardy men. Such was its
overpowering force that more than a iiundred of their
horses dropped down under their saddles. Their bleach-
ing bones, still glimmering in the gorges and hanging on
the cliffs, are the ghastly memorials of its terrific violence.
None but they who were of the number can tell what that
battalion suffered. The object of that campaign accom-
plished, and the conquest of California secured, the
Colonel, with his friend and servant, was now on his brief
return. Their path continued over the flukes and around
the bluffs of the coast mountains, relieved at intervals by
the less rugged slopes and more level lines of the cafiada.
The hand-gallop and light trot of their spirited animals
brought them, at set of sun, to the rancho of their friend.
Captain Dana, where they supped, and then proceeding
on to San Luis Obispo, reached the house of Don Jesus,

^Thomas M. Robbins, formerly Mate of the Wavcrhy, and brother-in-law
of Capt, Wm. G. Dana.

110

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

the Colonel's companion, at nine o'clock in the evening,
135 miles from where they broke camp in the mornmg!
The arrival of Colonel Fremont having got wmd, the
rancheros of San Luis were on an early stir, deter-
mined to detain him. All crowded to his quarters with
their sjratulations, and the tender of a splendid enter-
tainment, but his time was too pressing. Still escape
was imijossible till a sumptuous breakfast had been
served, and jiopular enthusiasm had expressed its warm
regard. This gratitude and esteem were the result of
that humane construction of military law which had
spared the forfeited lives of the leaders in the recent
insurrectionary war. It was 1 1 o'clock in the morning
before the Colonel and his attendants were in the saddle.
Their tired horses had been left and eight Iresh ories
taken in their places, while their party had been in-
creased by the addition of a California boy, in the
cai)acity of a va(|uero. Their path still lay through a
wild broken country, where primeval forests frowne I,
and the mountain torrent dashed the tide of its strength.
M eight in the evening they reached the gloomy base of
the steep range which guards the head-waters of the
Salinas, of Buenaventura, seventy miles from San Luis.
Here Don Jesus, who had been up the greater part of
the night previous with his family and friends, proposed
a few hours' rest. As the place was the favorite haunt
of marauding Indians, the party for safety during their
repose turned off the track, which ran nearer the coast
than tht; usual routre, and issuing through a Canada into
a thick wood, rolled down in their serapes, with their
saddles for their pillows, while their horses were put to
grass at a short distance, with the Spanish boy in the
saddle to keep watch. Sleep once commenced was
too sweet to be easily given up; midnight had passed
when the party were roused from their slumbers by an
estampedo among their horses, and the loud calls of the
watch-boy. The cause of the alarm proved not to be
Indians, but gray bears, which infest this wild pass.
When it was discovered that they had occasioned this
midnight stampede, the first impulse was to attack them;
but Don Jesus, who understood their habits and weak
points, discouraged the idea, stating that "f;e?ite could
scare bears," and with that gave a succession of loud
halloos, at which the bears commenced their retreat.
The horses by good fortune were recovered, a fire kin-
dled, and by break of day the party had finished their
breakfast and were again in the saddle. Their path,
issuing from the gloomy forests of the Soledad, skirted
the Coast Range, and crcssed the plain of the Salinas to
Monterey, where they arrived three hours to set of sun,
and ninety miles from their last camping-tree.

Fremont was at once ordered to return to Los Angeles,
send such of his battalion as remained with him to
Monterey by sea, and himself to follow by land. Kearny,
it appears, did not show Fremont the orders under which
he was acting, and the latter, therefore, regarded him in
the same light as before, a rival of Stockton and assum-
ing authority, and ungracefully submitted. Colton's
narrative further says: —

At four o'clock in the afternoon of the day succeeding
their arrival, the party were ready to set out on their return.
'I'he two horses rode by the Colonel from San Luis
Obispo were a present to him from Don Jesus, who
now desired him to make an experiment with the abil-
ities of one of them. They were brothers, one a year
younger than the other, both the same color— cinnamon —
and hence called el canelo, or los canelos. The elder
was taken for the trial, and led off gallantly as the
party struck the plain which stretches toward the Sali-

nas. A more graceful horse, or one more deftly
mounted, I have never seen. The eyes of the gathered
crowd followed them till they disappeared in the shadows
of the distant hills. Forty miles on the hand-gallop, and
they camped for the night. Another day and the elder
canelo was again under the saddle of Colonel Fremont,
and for ninety miles carried him without change and
without apparent fatigue. It was still thirty miles to
San Luis, where they were to pass the night, and Don
Jesus insisted that canelo could easily perform it, and so
said the horse in his spirited look and action. But the
Colonel would not put him to the trial; and shifting the
saddle to the younger brother, the elder was turned loose
to run the remaining thirty miles without a rider. He
immediately took the lead, and kept it the whole dis-
tance, entering San Luis on a sweeping gallop, and
neighing with exultation on his return to his native
pastures. His younger brother, with equal spirit, kept
the lead of the horses under the saddle, bearing on his
bit, and requiring the constant check of his rider. The
whole eight horses made their 120 miles each in this
day's ride, after having performed forty the evening be-
fore.

After a detention of half a day in San Luis Obispo by
a rain-storm, the party resumed the horses they had left
there, and which took them back to Los Angeles in the
same time they had brought them up. In this whole
journey from Los Angeles to Monterey and back — mak-
ing 840 miles — the party had actually but one relay of
fresh horses. The time on the road was about seventy-
six hours.

ENDURANCE OF CALIFORNIA HORSES.

This celebrated ride has formed the basis of many
speeches and tales eulogistic of the riders and the endur-
ing powers of the native California horses, commonly
derided as the mustang. The ancient blood of the Cal-
ifornia horse was of the noblest Barbary, but through
inattention to breeding had been permitted to degener-
ate until it had run down to an inferior stock. There
were, however, many horses like los canelos, but the
great numbers of poor and vicious animals which the
abundance put on the market at mere nominal rates,
prejudiced the incoming Americans against them, and
the breed was incontinently and unjustly condemned.
Without doubt, by careful breeding, the bre.d could and
should have been saved and the noble blood restored.

Fremont's difficulty with kearnv.

After his return Fremont submitted to the orders of
his superior officer, but his difficulties were by no means
ended. He had commenced the war in California, had
taken a more active part than any other person, and he
appeared to regard himself as the conqueror. His treaty
at Cahuenga, whereby those breaking their parole, partic-
ularly Don Andreas Pico, was an act unforgivable by
Kearny. Pico had bitterly humiliated Kearny at San
Pasqual, and Fremont's forgiving him had made the
General his unrelenting enemy, and Fremont's disrespect
towards Kearny, who was the beau ideal soldier of the
army, incensed all the graduated officers against him
with telling effect. He had been ordered to turn over
the howitzer captured by the Californians at San Pasqual,
and surrendered to him at Cahuenga, to Lieutenant-Col-

MILITARY GOVERNMENT.

Ill

onel Cooke of the Mormon battalion, and this he had
declined to do, claiming his men would revolt if he should
obey. For disobedience of these orders he was after-
wards put under arrest, tried by court martial at Fortress
Monroe, Virginia, and dismissed the service. The
President, however, after approving the decision, in regard
for his past services, restored Fremont to his rank and
ordered him to duty. This Fremont declined, and
retired from the service. The general verdict of the
people has been that Fremont was badly treated; that
the quarrel had been between Stockton and Kearny, and
that in obeying the one in power he was made to suffer.
That he was arrogant and assuming cannot be denied,
and as an officer of the army, disobeying his superior,
he was properly subjected to punishment. His strategy,
as exemplified in his celebrated march, as well as that of
Mervine and Stockton in the re-capture of Los Angeles,
has long been a subject of ridicule.

KEARNY A.S GOVERNOR.

The proclamation of General Kearny, says Mr. Bryant,
gave great satisfaction to the native as well as the emi-
grant population of the country. Several of the Alcaldes,
as well as private individuals, expressed orally and by
letter their approbation in the warmest terms. They
said that they were heartily willing to become Americans
upon these terms, and hoped that there would be the
least possible delay in admitting them to the rights of
American citizenship. There was a general expectation,
among natives as well as foreigners, that a representative
form of Territorial Government would be immediately
established by General Kearny.

LETTER OF GENERAL SCOTT.

The reason why this was not done is explained by a
letter from General Scott, Commander-in-Chief of the
Army, to General Kearny, dated November 3, 1846, of
which Col. R. B. Mason was the bearer, he having left
the United States November 7, and arrived, via Panama,
in San Francisco on the 13th of February, 1847. Li this
letter General Scott savs: —

As a guide to the civil Governer of Upper California,
in our hands, see the letter of June 3d (last), addressed
to you by the Secretary of War. You will not, however,
formally declare the province to be annexed. Per-
manent incorporation of the territory must depend on
the Government of the United States.

After occupying with our forces all necessary points in
Upper California, and establishing a temporary civil Gov-
ernment therein, as well as assuring yourself of the
internal tranquillity, and the absence of any danger of
re-conquest on the part of Mexico, you will charge Col-
onel Mason, United States First Dragoons, the bearer of
this open letter, or Land Officer next in rank to your own,
with your several duties, and return yourself, with a suf-
ficient escort of troops, to St. Louis, Missouri, but the
body of United States Dragoons that accompanied you
to California, will remain there until further orders.

A COMMUNAL GOVERNMENT.

The Government continued, rather as a communal
Government, under the Spanish lawsand customs where the
Spanish people predominated, but with the innovation of

juries and some American laws where the American element
prevailed. Great authority was reposed in the Alcaldes,
and in small communities their power was almost supreme,
elected by the people and making laws for the neigh-
borhood. They made decrees, adjudicated cases, and
executed processes. They were presumed to know how
affairs in their juzgado, or jurisdiction, should be admin-
istered, and were but little interfered with by the Govern-
ors, who, for the time, constituted the only other power.
In the larger towns, or pueblos, ayuntamientos, or town
councils, were established, but generally the Alcaldes and
Regidores were the oflicers. A few documents and official
correspondence may still be found, dim and ragged, in
the archives of San Luis Obispo County, a sample of
which is the following: —

LETTER FROM GENREAL KEARNY.

Monterey, California, April 30, 1847.

Sir: Your communication of the 15th of April has
been received. I desire that you continue to discharge
the duties of Alcalde, and it is hoped that a sufficient
number of good citizens will be found, who, in the ab-
sence of the military, will be ready to assist you in carry-
ing into effect your decrees.

I have not abolished the duty " established for the
sale of aguardiente" and your informant had no author-
ity for sayi(g,g that I have done so. I have made no decree
on the subject.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

S. W. Kearny,
Brigadier-General and Goi'er/ior of California.
Don J. Mariano Bonilla, Alcalde, etc., San Luis Obispo.

The attention of Kearny was chiefly directed to the
vicinity of the capital, at Monterey, and to the growing
town of San Francisco, whose grand harbor attracted the
attention of the Americans, and the obscure region of
San Luis Obispo was left to its Spanish people and
Spanish, or California, customs. There were Don J.
Mariano Bonilla, well versed in Mexican law, a lawyer by
profession: Don Juan Miguel Price, Alcalde, and having
the confidence of the people; Don Miguel Avila, an
educated man, and at times Alcalde; Don Jose de Jesus
Pico, friend of Fremont, and active in making peace
between the Americans and Californians; Don Juan Wil-
son, Don Guillermo G. Dana, Don Francisco Z. Branch,
and other wealthy and influential citizens of the old
regime to assist in carrying out the decrees and main-
taining order. Some were of native birth, some of
Scotch, English, and American, long residents in the
country, naturalized citizens of the Republic of Mexico,
and had adopted its religion, language, and titles. Com-
ing with the recent invaders were a few Americans of re-
spectability and energy of character, and with these a
good government was maintained in the sparsely settled
community of San Luis Obispo without the aid of the
military.

RICHARD B. MASON, GOVERNOR.

In obedience to instructions from General Scott, Colonel
Mason was appointed Governor on the 31st of May, 1847,
with Lieut. H. W. Halleck as Secretary, and early in June
General Kearny left California for the East via the over-

I

11:

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

land route by the Tnickee and the South Pass. During
the early part of Governor Mason's administration, the
affairs of San Luis Obispo continued in their even way,
the greater progress being in the northern part of the ter-
ritory. Some of his official correspondence with Alcalde
Prico has already been given. Among the documents in
the San Luis Obispo archives is the following circular,
issued in manuscript in Spanish and English : —
circular.

Headquarters ioth military department, |
Monterey, California, December, 21, 1847. )
\ou will use every effort in your power to carry into
full effect the proclamation of the 29th November ult.,
prohibiting the sale of spirituous liquors or wine to the

Indians.

R. B. Mason,

Colonel First Dragoons and Governor of California.

To the Alcaldes of California.

The manuscript of Colonel Mason is not at all clerkly,
and did one not know who was meant from other sources
it would be difficult to discover the name by the signa-
ture. Many pleasant anecdotes are related of the gallant
and stately old veteran, of his skill in horsemanship, with
the snbre, and with the fowling piece, notwithstanding he
had lost a hand in battle with Indians of Florida. He
returned East in 1849, and died the same year of cholera.

TREATY WITH MEXICO.

The war with Mexico had resulted in the complete
triumph of the American arms and the whole country was
conquered. Nicholas P. Trist was sent by the United
States to make a treaty of peace, which was concluded and
signed at the hacienda of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, February
2, 1848, ratified by the President March i5, 184S, ex-
changed at Queretaro, May 30, 1848, and proclaimed by
the President July 4, 1848. By its terms Upper Cali-
fornia and New Mexico were ceded to the United States,
the (Jila River being the southern line, California em-
bracing all the country west of the Rocky Mountains. In
compensation the United States paid Mexico $15,000,000,
assumed the indebtedness due American citizens $3,000,-
000, ratified the proclamations of the military Governors,
guaranteed the private ownership of lands as held at the
raising of the flag at Monterey, and admitted all the in-
habitants to citizenship.

While the negotiations were in progress, and two weeks
before they were concluded, a discovery was made in
California, the knowledge of which still slumbered in the
fastnesses of her mountains. So valualile was this to the
United States, so important to the world, that the mind
is awed into the belief that the .secret was held by Divine
Providence until such a time as the land should be se-
curely possessed by an enlightened and progressive peo-
ple, under the freest government of the earth, who would
develop the treasure to the greatest good of mankind.

discovery of gold.

During the administration of Governor Mason, on the
19th of January, 1848, the discovery of gold was made by
James W. Marshall in the race of Captain Sutter's saw-mill,

at Coloma. So remarkable have been the results of that
discovery that its date may be regarded as marking a new
era in California, in fact a new era in the commerce of the
world. The news of this discovery at first spread slowly,
like the pretty wavelets from a pebble dropping in a glassy
pond, but soon increasing with the avalanche of the golden
product, sending waves of overwhelming conviction around
the entire globe.

FIRST REPORT TAKEN EAST.

When the first reports were coming to San Francisco
and to Monterey, Lieut. E. F. Beale, who had been ex-
ecutive officer of Commodore Stockton on the frigate
Congress, and prominent in the conquest, was sent to
Washington with dispatches. Beale believed in the gold
discoveries, and carried letters mentioning it, but nothing
official. His route was via Mazatlan and across Mexico,
arriving in Washington in June. He made his report to
President Polk, who, when receiving the enthusiastic
young officer, was engaged in playing a game of chess
with the Secretary of the Navy, Hon. George Bancroft.
The story of the gold was received with a smile of in-
credulity, and the messenger was bantered by the august
officials with the remarks that the officers were probably
speculating in city lots, and wanted to induce an immi-
gration; or were unduly excited over an unimportant dis-
covery, and he was sent back with dispatches to Governor
Mason. In the meantime he had visited New York and
conferred with Wm. H. Aspinwall, the head of the new
steamship company to California, told him of the discov-
ery, and gave him advice to prepare his steamers, then
building, for carrying passengers, which advice was fortu-
nately followed. Aspinwall appeared to be the only one
who credited the report of Lieutenant Beale.

The story was told, however, in the newspapers, but so
little attention was paid to it that no excitement was then
created. Beale returned to California, arriving in August,
and then found the country wild over the results from
the mines.

GREAT EXCITEMENT IN NEW YORK.

Governor Mason had visited, in the meantime, the
place of discovery, and was prepared to announce the
facts in an indisputable official report. Beale had also
procured from a young volunteer of the Stevenson Regi-
ment, a lump of pure gold of the size of a large potato,
and was again ordered to the East with these dispatches
and bright and weighty proof of the story. The messen-
ger arrived on his second journey in September, made his
report and exhibited his lump of gold.

Governor Mason, Captain Folsom, and Lieutenant,
now General, Sherman had visited the mines, and sent
reports. These, with the gold, were proofs that could not
be ridiculed. The report was first published in the Balti-
more S//H of September 20, 1848. Lieutenant Beale took
his lump of gold to New York, and sought his old friend
Aspinwall. With him he went to Wall Street, and from
the steps of the Stock Exchange the gold was exhibited
to the populace. The crowd became a jam, the news
spread from mouth to mouth, and soon the street was im-

i

MILITARY GOVERNMENT.

113

passably blocked for a long distance, by the intensely ex-
cited people. This was the first excitement on the At-
lantic Coast regarding the gold discovery in California.
The excitement was contagious and was communicated
through letters and newspapers to all people susceptible
of enthusiasm throughout the country.

The precious lump of gold was afterwards taken to
Barnum's Museum, a steel band put around it, and sus-
pended by a chain, where it became the attraction for
thousands of visitors. Subsequently it was sold to the
mercantile firm of Cross, Hobson & Co., by whom it was
sent to Great Britain, and there again exhibited as tangi-
ble evidence of the wealth of California.

The great discovery was by this made known to all the
great centers of population and commerce of the world,
and all looked and wondered.*

PROGRESS OF THE EXCITEMENT.

Mr. Jonas Spect, still living, and a prominent citizen of
California, made record of some of the early reports of
the gold discovery which are of interest in the history of
the progress of the excitement in California.

He had left Yerba Buena — San Francisco — on the 6th
of April, with two companions, expecting to meet others
at Johnson's ranch, to make the journey overland to
Missouri. Little could have been known of the mines at
that time, or an emigration party would not have been
thought of The fact, however, was known that gold was
mined at Sutter's Mill, because the Star, of San Francisco,
on the 25th of March, had stated that gold dust had be-
come an article of traffic at New Helvetia — Sutter's Fort,
or, now, Sacramento. Early in April, Mr. E. C. Kemble,
the editor of that journal, made a visit to the mines, and
returning, declared them a "sham." -He had scarcely
printed his paper containing the condemnation, before
half a pound of the dust was offered for sale. More came,
and before the end of April so many had left San Fran-
cisco for Coloma that the population was perceptibly re-
duced. On the 30th of April, Mr. Spect says there was
no excitement, and that he paid very little attention to
the gold mines, still there evidently was excitement among
some classes before that, as, he relates, some rich strikes
had been made, and the Spaniards reported fabulously
rich diggings. This genrieman had kept a diary, from
which his account is written.

Such records, together with the reports, correspondence,
opinions, and advertisements in the papers, of which
there were two, the Star and the Californian, furnish in-
disputable facts of the spread of the news of the gold dis-
covery, and of the rise of the excitement in California.
In January the discovery was made and communicated
to Captain Sutter at New Helvetia. Marshall appears to be
the only man excited, or much interested about it.

In March it was first told in San Francisco; in April
gold dust becomes an article of traffic, and in the latter
part of this month and in May the rush begins and the
excitement is intense. In June, Lieut. E. F. Beale
reports the discovery in the East, but it is regarded as
nothing extraordinary and little attention is paid to it;

* From an interview with General Beale in 1881.

but in September he comes again with the confirmation
of his first report, and bearing the gold as a proof, and
from that date the news was known to the world.

A VIVID PICTURE.

On the 29th of May Rev. Mr. Colton, Alcalde of
Monterey, writes : —

Our town was starried out of its quiet dreams to-day
by the announcement that gold had been discovered on
the American Fork. The men wondered and talked, and
the women too; but neither believed. The sibyls were
less skeptical; they said the moon had, for several nights,
appeared not more than a cable's length from the earth;
that a white raven had been seen playing with an infant,
and that an owl had rung the church bells.

On the 5th of June another report of the discovery
came, and on the following day the Alcalde dispatched a
messenger to the scene of operations for more positive
information. On the 12th he again writes : —

A straggler came in to-day from the American Fork,
bringing a piece of yellow ore, weighing an ounce. The
young dashed the dirt from their eyes, and the old from
their spectacles. One brought a spy-glass, another an
iron ladle; some wanted to smelt it, others to hammer it,
and a few were satisfied with smelling it. All were full of
tests; and many, who could not be gratified in making
their experiments, declared it a humbug. One lady sent
me a huge gold ring, in the hope of reaching the truth
by comparison; while a gentleman placed the specimen
on the top of his gold-headed cane and held it up, chal-
lenging the sharpest eye to detect a difference. But
doubts still hovered in the minds of the great mass.
They could not conceive that such a treasure could have
lain so long undiscovered. The idea seemed to convict
them of stupidity.

On the 20th of June he says; —

My messenger sent to the mines has returned with
specimens of the gold; he dismounted in a sea of up-
turned faces. As he drew forth the yellow lumps from
his pockets, and passed them around among the eager
crowd, the doubts, which had lingered till now, fled. All
admitted tliey were gold, except one old man, who still
persisted they were some Yankee invention, got up to
reconcile the people to the change of flag. The excite-
ment produced was intense, and many were soon busy in
their hasty preparations for a departure to the mines.
The family who had kept house for me caught the mov-
ing infection. Husband and wife are both packing up;
the blacksmith dropped his hammer, the carpenter his
plane, the mason his trowel, the farmer his sickle, the
baker his loaf, and the tapster his bottle. All were off for
the mines, some on horses, some on carts, some on crutches,
and one went in a litter. An American woman, who had
recently established a boarding-house here, pulled up stakes
and was off before her lodgers had even time to pay their
bills. Debtors ran, of course. I have only a community of
women left, and a gang of prisoners, with here and there
a soldier, who will give his Capt-ain the slip at the first
chance. I don't blame the fellows a whit; seven dollars
a month, while others are making two or three hundred
a day! that is too much for human nature to stand.

Saturday, July 15th. The gold fever has reached every
servant in Monterey; none are to be trusted in their en-
gagement beyond a week, and, as for compulsion, it is like
attempting to drive fish into a net with the ocean before
them. General Mason, Lieutenant Lanman, and myself,
form a mess; we have a house and all the table furniture

15

114

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

and culinary apparatus requisite, but our servants have
run, one after another, till we are almost in despair; even
Sambo, who we thought would stick by from laziness, if
no other cause, ran last night, and this morning, for the
fortieth time, we had to take to the kitchen and cook our
own breakfast. A General of the United States Army,
the commander of a man-of-war, and the Alcalde of Mon-
terey, in a smoking kitchen, grinding coffee, toasting a
herring, and peeling onions ! These gold mines are going
to upset all the domestic arrangements of society, turn-
ing the head to the tail, and the tail to the head. Well, it is
an ill wind that blows nobody any good; the nabobs have
had their time, and now comes the "niggers." We shall
all live just as long and be quite as fit to die.

Shortly thereafter the worthy Alcalde sought consola-
tion in the gold mines, digging for himself the precious
metal.

EFFECTS OF THE DISCOVERY.

Father Colton, as he was reverently called in those days,
was quite a philosopher, and has left us a lively description
of the times, with wise reflections upon the result of the
gold discovery. The scenes he depicted were re-enacted
in every town throughout the land, and even before the
doubts were dispelled the great movement to the mines
and to California began. The great, open, free country;
the lofty and extended range of mountains, watered by
sparkling streams, indented by deep canons and gentle
ravines, sown with pure and glittering gold, and over-
spread with the most genial and healthful climate, gave
emancipation to labor. "The nabobs have had their time,
and now comes the 'niggers,' " meant more than Father
Colton dreamed. The ruts of old society were broken,
and men whose only hope in life had been to toil at the
bidding and for the profit of another were given the op-
portunity to work for themselves, and the startling spec-
tacle was seen of a General, a Lieutenant, and an Alcalde,
doing their own cooking. " The bottom rail had got on
top." All were placed on an equality of position, and
the laborer and the lord had an equal chance in the
struggle for wealth and the place in the social scale that
wealth assures. The result has proven that with equal
chances the laborer wins the prize, and the hard-earned
gold dust of the Sierra has been the foundation of many
families of high standing from the most unpretending
projenitors.

The rancheros of the southern part of the State joined
the throng of gold miners. Among them went Messrs.
Branch and Price, of the Arroyo Grande, and digged for
gold on the banks and bars of the Stanislaus, spending
there the summer in profitable mining; Judge Wm. L.
B.ebee, then a youth recendy from the sea, and others
there were, undoubtedly, who followed their example.

AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT.

The first official account of the gold discovery, as we
have said, was the leiter of Governor Mason, carried by
Beale, to Washington. There were letters also by Capt.
Joseph L. Folsom, Lieut. W. T. Sherman, as well as pri-
vate individuals, but as the principal, and an important
and interesting feature of California, we reproduce the
letter of Governor Mason: — •

THE GOLD REGION.

Letter addressed to the War Departme)it by Governor
Maso?i, of California.

Headquarters ioth Military Department,
Monterey, California, August 17, 1848,

Sir: I have the honor to inform you that, accom
panied by Lieut. W. T. Sherman, Third Artillery, A. A.
A. Gen., I started on the 12th of June last, to make a
tour through the northern part of California. My princi-
pal purpose, however, was to visit the newly discovered
gold "placer" in the valley of the Sacramento. I had
proceeded about forty miles, when I was overtaken by an
express bringing me intelligence of the arrival at Monterey
of the United States ship Southampton, with important
letters from Commodore Shubrickand Lieutenant-Colonel
Burton. I returned at once to Monterey, and dispatched
what business was most important, and on the 17th re-
sumed my journey. We reached San Francisco on the
20th, and found that all, or nearly all, its male inhabitants
had gone to the mines. The town, which a few months
ago was so busy and thriving, was then almost deserted.
On the evening of the 24th, the horses of the escort were
crossed to Saucelito in a launch, and on the following day
we resumed the journey, by way of Bodega and Sonoma,
to Sutter's Fort, where we arrived on the morning of the
2d of July. Along the whole route mills were lying idle,
fields of wheat were lying open to cattle and horses,
houses vacant, and farms going to waste. At Sutter's, there
was more life and business. Launches were discharging
their cargoes at the river, and carts were hauling goods to
the fort, where already were established several stores, a
hotel, etc. Captain Sutter had only two mechanics in his
employ, a wagon-maker and a blacksmith, whom he was
then paying ten dollars a day. Merchants paid him a
monthly rent of $100 per room, and whilst I was there, a
two-story house in the fort was rented as a hotel for $500
a month.

At the urgent solicitation of many gentlemen, I delayed
there to participate in the first public celebraion of our
national anniversary at that fort, but on the 5 th resumed
the journey, and proceeded twenty-five miles up the
American Fork, to a point on it now known as the lower
mines, or

MORMON diggings.

The hill-sides were thickly strewn with canvas tents
and bush arbors; a store was erected, and several board-
ing shanties in operation. The day was intensely hot,
yet about 200 men were at work in the full glare of the
sun, washing for gold — some with tin pans, some with
close-woven Indian baskets, but the greater part had a
rude machine known as the cradle. This is on rockers,
six or eight feet long, open at the foot, and at its head has
a coarse grate or sieve; the bottom is rounded, with small
cleats nailed across. Four men are required to work this
machine; one digs the ground in the bank close by the
stream, another carries it to the cradle and empties it on
the grate; a third gives a violent rocking motion to the
machine; whilst a fourth dashes on water from the
stream itself The sieve keeps the coarse stones from
entering the cradle, the current of water washes off the
earthy matter, and the gravel is gradually carried out at
the foot of the machine, leaving the gold mixed with a
heavy, fine black sand above the first cleat. The sand
and gold mixed together are then drawn off through
auger holes into a pan below, are dried in the sun, and
afterwards separated by blowing off the sand. A party of
four men thus employed at the lower mines average $100
a day. The Indians, and those who have nothing but
pans or willow baskets, gradually wash out the earth and
separate the gravel by hand, leaving nothing but the gold
mixed with sand, which is separated in the manner before

ll

MILITARY GOVERNMENT.

115

described. The gold in the lower mines is in fine bright
scales, of which I send several specimens.

THE GOVERNOR VISITS COLOMA.

As we ascended the south branch of the American
Fork the country became more broken and mountainous,
and at the saw-mill, twenty-five miles above the lower
washing, or fifty miles from Sutter's, the hill rises to about
i,ooo feet above the level of the Sacramento plain. Here
a species of pine occurs, which led to the discovery of
gold. Captain Sutter feeling the great want of lumber,
contracted, in September last, with a Mr. Marshall, to
build a saw-mill at that place. It was erected in the
course of the last winter and spring — a dam and race
constructed; but when the water was let on the wheel,
the tail-race was found to be too narrow to permit the
water to escape with sufficient rapidity. Mr. Marshall, to
save labor, let the water directly into the race with a strong
current, so as to wash it wider and deeper. He effected
his purpose, and a large bed of mud and gravel was car-
ried to the foot of the race. One day, Mr. Marshall, as
he was walking down the race to this deposit of mud, ob-
served some glittering particles at its upper edge; he gath-
ered a few, examined them, and became satisfied of their
value. He then went to the fort, told Captain Sutter of
his discovery, and then agreed to keep it secret until a
certain grist-mill of Sutter's was finished. It, however,
got out, and spread Uke magic. Remarkable success at-
tended the labors of the first explorers, and in a few weeks
hundreds of men were drawn thither.

At the time of my visit, but little more than three
months after its first discovery, it was estimated that up-
wards of four thousand people were employed. At the
mill there is a fine deposit or bank of gravel, which the
people respect as the property of Captain Sutter, although
he pretends to no right to it, and would be perfectly satis-
fied with the simple promise of a pre-emption, on account
of the mill which he has built there at considerable cost.
Mr. Marshall was living near the mill, and informed me
that many persons were employed above and below him;
that they used the same machines as in the lower wash-
ing, and that their success was about the same — ranging
from one to three ounces of gold per man daily. This
gold, too, is in scales a little coarser than those of the
lower mines.

From the mill Mr. Marshall guided me up the mount-
ain on the opposite or north bank of its south fork, where,
in the bed of small streams, or ravines now dry, a great
deal of coarse gold has been found. I there saw several
parties at work, all of whom were doing very well. A
great many specimens were shown me, some as heavy as
four or five ounces in weight, and I send three pieces,
labelled "No. 5," presented by a Mr. Spence. You will
perceive that some of the specimens accompanying this
hold mechanically pieces of quartz; that the surface is
rough, and evidently moulded in the crevice of a rock.

This gold cannot have been carried far by the water,
but must have remained near where it was first deposited
from the rock that once bound it. I inquired of many
people if they had encountered the metal in its matrix,
but in every instance they said they had not, but that
the gold was invariably mixed with washed gravel, or
lodged in the crevices of other rocks. All bore the tes-
timony that they had found gold in greater or less quan-
tities in the numerous small gullies or ravines that occur
in that mountainous region.

AT Weber's creek.

On the 7th of July I left the mill and crossed to a
small stream emptying into the Ameri'-an Fork, three or
four miles below the saw-mill. I struck this stream (now

known as Weber's Creek) at the washing of Sunol & Co.
They had about thirty Indians employed, whom they ])ay
in merchandise. They were getting gold of a similar
character to that found in the main fork, and doubilcss
in sufficient quantities to satisfy them. I send you a
small specimen, presented by this company, of this gold.
From this point we proceeded up the stream about eight
miles, where we found a great many people and Indians,
some engaged in the bed of the stream and others in the
small side valleys that put into it. These latter are
exceedingly rich, and two ounces were considered an
ordinary yield for a day's work.

INSTANCES OF GOOD LUCK.

A small gutter, not more than a hundred yards long
by four feet wide and two or three feet deep, was pointed
out to me as the one where two men, William Daly and
Perry McCoon, had a short time before obtained $17,000
worth of gold. Captain Weber informed me that he
knew that these two men had employed four white men
and about a hundred Indians, and that at the end of one
week's work they paid off their party and had left $10,000
worth of this gold. Another small ravine was shown me,
from which had been taken upward of $12,000 worth of
gold. Hundreds of similar ravines, to all appearances,
are as yet untouched. I could not have credited these
reports had I not seen, in the abundance of the preciou-;
metal, evidence of this truth. Mr. Neligh, an agent of
Commodore Stockton, had been at work about three
weeks in the neighborhood, and showed me, in bags and
bottles, over $2,000 worth of gold; and Mr. Lyman, a
gentleman of education and worthy of every credit, said
he had been engaged with four others, with a machine,
on the American Fork just below Sutter's Mill; that they
worked eight days, and that his share was at the rate of
fifty dollars a day; but hearing that others were doing
better at Weber's place, they had removed there and were
then on the point of resuming operations.

I might tell of hundreds of similar instances, but, to
illustrate how plentiful the gold was in the pockets of
common laborers, I will mention a simple occurrence
which took place in my presence when I was at Weber's
store. This store was nothing but an arbor of bushes,
under which he had exposed for sale goods and groceries
suited to his customers. A man came in and picked up
a box of Seidlitz Powders and asked its price. Captain
AVeber told him it was not for sale. The man offered an
ounce of gold, but Captain Weber told him it only cost
fifty cents, and he did not wish to sell it. The man then
offered an ounce and a half, when Captain Weber had to
take it. The price of all things is high, and yet Indians,
who before hardly knew what a breech-cloth was, can now
afford to buy the most gaudy dresses.

The country on either side of Weber Creek is much
broken up by hills, and is intersected in every direction
by small streams or ravines, which contain more or less
gold. Those that have been worked are barely scratched:
and, although thousands of ounces have been carried
away, I do not consider that a serious impression has
been made upon the whole. Every day was developing
new and richer deposits, and the only impression seemed
to be that the metal would be found in such abundance
as seriously to depreciate in value.

Before leaving Sutter's I satisfied myself that gold
existed in the bed of the Feather River, on the Yubi
and Bear, and in many of the small streams that lie be-
tween the latter and the American Fork; also that it had
been found in the Cosumnes to the south of the .-\mer-
ican Fork. In each of these streams the gold is found
in small scales, whereas in the intervening mountains it
occurs in coarser lumps.

Mr. Sinclair, whose ranch is three miles above Sutter's,

116

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

on the North Fork, not far from its junction with
the main stream, had been engaged about five weeks
when 1 saw him, and up to that time his Indians had
used simply closely- woven willow baskets. His net
proceeds (which 1 saw) were about $i6,ooo worth of
gold. He showed me the proceeds of his last week's
work — fourteen ])ounds avoirdupois of clean-washed
gold.

A BUSINESS VIEW.

The principal store at Sutter's Fort, that of Brannan
& Co., had received in payment for goods $36,000 worth
of this gold from the ist of May to the loth of July.
Other merchants had also made extensive sales. Large
quantities of goods were daily sent forward to the mines,
as the Indians, heretofore so poor and degraded, have
suddenly become consumers of the luxuries of life. 1
before mentioned that the greater part of the farmers and
rancheros had abandoned their fields to go to the mines.
This is not the case with Captain Sutter, who was care-
fully gathering his wheat, estimated at 40,000 bushels.
Flour is already worth at Sutter's $36.00 a barrel, and will
soon be worth $50.00. Unless large quantities of bread-
stuff reach the country, much suffering will occur; but
as each man is now able to pay a large price, it is believed
the merchants will bring from Chili and Oregon a plen-
tiful supply for the coming winter.

The most moderate estimate I could obtain from men
acquainted with the subject was, that upward of 4,000
men were working in the gold district, of whom more than
one-half were Indians, and that from $30,000 to $50,000
worth of gold, if not more, was daily obtained. The
entire gold district, with some very few exceptions of
grants made some years ago by .the Mexican authorities,
is on land belonging to the United States. It was a
matter of serious reflection with me how 1 could secure
to the Government certain rents or fees, for the privilege
of procuring this gold, but upon considering the large ex-
tent of country, the character of the people engaged, and
the small scattered force at my command, I resolved not
to interfere, but permit all to work freely, unless broils
and crime should call for interference. I was surprised
to learn that crime of every kind was very infrequent, and
that no theft or robberies had been committed in the
gold, district. All live in tents, in bush arbors, or in the
open air, and men have frequently about their persons
thousands of dollars' worth of gold, and it is a matter of
surprise that so peaceful and quiet a state of things
should continue to exist.

The discovery of these vast deposits of gold has
changed the character of Upper California. Its people, '
before engaged in cultivating their small patches of
ground, and guarding the herds of cattle and horses, have
all gone to the mines, or are on their way thither. La-
borers of every trade have left their work-benches, and
tradesmen their shops. Sailors desert their ships as fast
as they arrive on the coast, and several vessels have gone
to sea with hardly enough hands to spread a sail. Two
or three are now at anchor in San Francisco, with no
crew on board.

1 have no hesitation in saying that there is more gold
in the country drained by the Sacramento and San Joa-
quin Rivers than will pay the cost of the late war with
Mexico a hundred times over. No capital is required to
obtain this gold, as the laboring man wants nothing but
his pick, shovel, and tin pan, with which to dig and wash
the gravel, and many frequently pick gold out of the
crevices of rocks with their butcher- knives, in pieces from
one to six ounces.

EASY FORTUNES.

Mr. Dye, a gendeman residing in Monterey, and
worthy of every credit, has just returned from Feather

River. He tells me that the company to which he be-
longed worked seven weeks and two days, with an aver-
age of fifty Indians (washers), and their gross product
was 273 pounds of gold. His share (one-seventh), after
paying all expenses, is about thirty-seven pounds, which
he brought with him and exhibited in Monterey. 1 see
no laboring man from the mines who does not show his
two, three, or four pounds of gold. A soldier of the ar-
tillery company returned here a few days ago from the
mines, having been absent on a furlough twenty days.
He made, by trading and working, during that time,
$1,500. During these twenty days, he was traveling ten
or eleven days, leaving but a week, in which he made a
sum of money greater than he receives in pay, clothes,
and rations, during a whole enlistment of five years.
These statements appear incredible, but they are true.

Gold is also believed to exist in the eastern slope of
the Sierra Nevada, and, when at the mines, 1 was informed
by an intelligent Mormon that it had been found near
the Great Salt Lake by some of his fraternity. Nearly
all the Mormons are leaving California to go to Salt
Lake, and this they surely would not do unless they
were sure of finding gold there in the same abundance as
they now do on the Sacramento.

PLACERS OF SAN FERNANDO.

The gold " placer" near the mission of San Fernando
has long been known, but has been but little wrought for
want of water. This is in a spur that puts off from the
Sierra Nevada (See Fremont's Map), the same in which
the present mines occur. There is, therefore, every rea-
son to believe that, in the intervening spaces of 500
miles (entirely unexplored), there must be many hidden
and rich deposits. The " placer " gold is now substituted
as the currency of this country; in trade it passes freely
at $16.00 per ounce; as an article of commerce, its value
is not yet fixed. The only purchase 1 made was of the
specimen No. 7, which I got of Mr. Neligh, at $12.00 the
ounce. That is about the present cash value in the
country, although it has been sold for less. The great
demand for goods and provisions, made by this sudden
development of wealth, has increased the amount of
commerce at San Francisco very much, and it will con-
tinue to increase.

QUICKSILVER MINE OF NEW ALMADEN.

Before leaving the subject of mines, 1 will mention
that on my return from Sacramento 1 touched, at New
Almaden, the quicksilver mine of Mr. Alexander Forbes,
consul of Her Britannic Majesty at Tepic. This mine is
in a spur of mountains, 1,000 feet above the level of
the bay of San Francisco, and is distant, in a southern
direction, from the pueblo of San Jose, about twelve miles.
The ore (cinnabar) occurs in a large vein, dipping at a
strong angle to the horizon. Mexican miners are em-
ployed in working it, by driving shafts and galleries, about
six feet by seven, following the vein.

The fragments of rock and ore are removed on the
backs of Indians, in rawhide sacks. The ore is then
hauled in an ox-wagon from the mouth of the mine down
to a valley well supplied with wood and water, in which
the furnaces are situated. The furnaces are of the
simplest construction — exactly like a common bake-oven,
in the crown of which is inserted a whaler's trying kettle;
another inverted kettle forms the lid. From a hole in
the lid, a small brick channel leads to an apartment, or
chamber, in the bottom of which is inserted a small iron
kettle. This chamber has a chimney.

In the morning of each day the kettles are filled with
the mineral (broken in small pieces) mixed with lime; fire
is then applied and kept up all day. The mercury is vola-
tilized, passes into the chamber, is condensed on the

MILITARY GOVERNMENT.

117

sides and bottom of the chamber, and flows into the pot
prepared for it. No water is used to condense the
mercury.

During a visit I made last spring, four such ovens were
in operation, and yielded, in the two days I was there,
656 pounds of quicksilver, worth at Mazatlan $1.80 per
pound. Mr. AValkinshaw, the gentleman now in charge
of this mine, tells me that the vein is improving, and
that he can afford to keep his people employed even in
these extraordinary times. The mine is very valuable of
itself, and becomes the more so, as mercury is extensively
used in obtaining gold. It is not at present used in
California for that purpose, but will be at some future
time. When I w-as at this mine last spring, other parties
were engaged in searching for veins; but none have been
discovered that are worth following up, although the
earth in that whole range of hills is highly discolored,
indicating the presence of this ore.

I send several beautiful specimens, properly labelled.
The amount of quicksilver in Mr. Forbe's vats on the
15th of July was about 2,500 pounds.

I have the honor to be your most obedient servant,

R. B. Mason,
Colonel First Dragoons, Commanding.
Brig. Gen. R. Jones, Adjutant-General U. S. A., AVash-
ington, D. C.

AN INDIAN WITH GOLD.

The wonderment is often expressed that gold was not
discovered in the Sierra Nevada long before it was picked
up by Marshall in the mill-race. A Mexican had told
John Bidvvell, as early as 1845, that the ground on Bear
River looked as if it contained gold, but that he could
not test it without a batea, such as was used in Mexico,
and there was no implement in the country. Colton
relates that in 1847, a year before the discovery, an In-
dian from the Stanislaus came to Monterey with a speci-
men of gold which he had hammered into a clasp for his
bow. He described the spot where he obtained it,
which was subsequently recognized by the description,
and became known as "Carson's Diggings." He had
also seen specimens of very rich tin ore, which were
reported to have come from a mine of tin near San Luis
Obispo. The re-discovery of this mine is one of the pos-
sibilities of the future.

PERSIFER F. SMITH, GOVERNOR THE FIRST STEAMSHIPS

ARRIVE.

On the last day of February, 1849, the first of the line
of steamships, the Califo7-nia, arrived in San Francisco
from New York, having on board Gen. Persifer F.
Smith, who had come to take command of the Depart-
ment, relieving Colonel Mason. The California was the
first of the line of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company,
which had been organized by Act of Congress in 1847, to
ply between Panama and Oregon, touching at San Diego,
Monterey, and San Francisco, in California. The arrival
was hailed with great delight, appearing to the people as
a connecting link between them and their kindred on the
Atlantic Coast, and as an evidence that they were in
future under the care and protection of the National
Government. On the 3 ist of March following the steamer
Oregon arrived, being the second of the line; the third
and last of the pioneer fleet, the Panama, arriving on the
4th of June. These steamers were regarded as grand

specimens of.naval architecture, and California was very
proud of them. They brou;^ht large nurnbers of passen-
gers, and their lists show the names of many of the most
prominent men of the State.

GEN. BENNETT RILEY, GOVERNOR.

On the 13th of April, 1849, Brevet Brig. Gen. Ben-
nett Riley issued his proclamation as Commander of
the Department and Governor of California. The dis-
covery of gold the previous year had brought a large
influx of people, and a hundred thousand more were e.x-
pected during the summer. The necessity of a well
organized system of civil government was apparent, and
had been actively advocated for some months previously
by the people. The dependence upon the orders of the
Military Governor and the Alcaldes would no longer be
judicious. Governor Riley, therefore, acting upon his
own volition, on the 3d of June issued his proclamation,
"recommending the formation of a State or Territorial
Government." The first day of August was set for the
election of delegates to the proposed convention, and for
selecting persons to act as Judges and Alcaldes, under
the then existing laws, and such men as should be named
by the votes of the people he would appoint, as by the
Mexican law the Governor had that power.

The Territory was divided into districts for the elec-
tion; San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis
Obispo, Monterey, San Jose, Sonoma, San Francisco,
San Joaquin and Sacramento, and seventy-three delegates
were elected; but only forty-eight took their seats in the
Convention. Among the number were individuals of
high talents, whose wisdom, dispatch, and aptitude for
legislation were eminently displayed. So well did they
do their work that their names should be recorded wher-
ever the opportunity occurs.

The Convention met at Colton Hall, Monterey, Sep-
tember I, 1849, but that being Saturday, no organization
was effected, and an adjournment was made until Mon-
day, September 3d; then an organization was effected.
Robert Semple was elected President; Capt. William G.
Marcy, native of New York, was elected Secretary;
Caleb Lyon, of Lyonsdale, New York, Assistant Secre-
tary, and J. Ross Browne, native of Ireland, short-hand
reporter.

THE CONSTITUTION.

After an industrious and harmonious session of six
weeks, the Convention completed its labors, adjourning
sine die on the 13th of October. The boundaries were
fixed as they now stand; but an effort was made by some
to include all of Alta California, as it existed under Mex-
ican rule, which was all that country west of the Rocky
Mountains and lying between the Crila River on the south
and the 42d degree of latitude on the north, an area of
fully 500,000 square miles.

Of the natives of the United States in the Conven-
tion there were thirteen from the slave-holding States,
and twenty-two from the Northern, or free States. At
that date the sentiment seemed irrevocably fixed that
" this was a white man's government," and the question
of slavery was warmly discussed. William E. Shannon,

118

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

a native of Ireland, who had come from New York as a
Captain in Stevenson's regiment, was the champion of
the clause excluding slavery, which, upon a final vote was
adopted unanimously. There were, however, heavy re-
strictions placed upon the liberty and equal rights of the.
colored race.

One of the principal questions of discussion was the
subject of taxation. The two great interests at the time
were stock-raising and mining, giving rise to the appella-
tions of "cow counties" and "mining counties." The
stock-raisers were well represented, and, having justice on
their side, carried their point in inserting the clause that
"all property shall be taxed according to its value."
This proved a most important and comprehensive pro-
vision, preventing the exemption of any property not pro-
tected by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
San lose was made the capital. The instrument was
generally modeled after the most approved Constitutions
of the new States, and was regarded as one of the best
in existence. The judiciary system was afterwards found
cumbersome; and the great powers conferred upon the
Legislature resulted in much special and corrupt legisla-
tion. The Constitution was submitted to a vote of the
people on the 13th of November, 1849, receiving 12,064
votes in favor of, and 811 against its adoption.

The following is the

HOMOGRAPHIC CHART

OF THE CONVENTION:

Name.

<

41

33
28

Where
Born.

■ District.

^4

Profession.

Miguel de Pedrorena.

Henry Hill

Stephen C. Foster. . . .

Spain

Virginia

Maine

San Diego

Los Angeles

— years

Merchant

Jose Antonio Carrillo.

California

" "

Native

Ranchero

Hu^o Reid

^P

Scotland

(( It

18 years

Trader

Manuel Dominguez...

46

California

it ((

Native

Ranchero

Abel Sterns

■^Q

Mass.

" "

21 years

Ranchero

Pablo de la Guerra. . .

California

Santa Barbara

30 years

Ranchero

Jacinto Rodriguez ..

36

California

.( .»

Native

Ranchero

Henry Amos TefTt ....

26

New York

S. L. Obispo

4 months

Lawyer

Jos6 M. Covarrubias.

40

France

" "

23 years

Ranchero

Henry W. Halleck...

32

New York

Monterey

2^ years

Capt. U. S. A.

Thomas 0. Larkin . . .

47

Mass.

"

ig years

Consul, U. S.

Charles T Botts

40

33
76

Virginia
Maryland

Lawyer

"

Lewis T. Dent

Missouri

"

Trader

Joseph Aram

3C)

New York

San Jose

4 years

Farmer

Kimball H. Dimmick.

34

New York

" "

2^ years

Lawyer

Jacob D Hoppe ....

3S

Maryland

" "

5 years

Farmer

Antonio M. Pico.. . .

California

" "

40 years

Ranchero

New York

" "

Julian Hanks

Pedro Sansevain.. ..

37

Conn.
France

.<

Joel P. Walker

52

42

Virginia
Kentucky

Sonoma

3 years

Robert Semple

Dr. and Editor

Mariano G. Vallejo . .

42

California

"

42 years

Ranchero

Edward Gilbert

New York

San Francisco

A years

Editor

Myron Norton

27

Vermont

Lawyer

William M. Gwin....

44

Tennessee

" "

5 months

Lawyer

Joseph Hobson

William M. Stewart. .

39
4Q

Maryland
Maryland

"

3 years

Lawyer

Francis J. Lippitt....

37

R. Island

it it

2^ years

Captain Vols.

A. J. Ellis

33
30

a a

2.^ years
2,1 years

Rodman M. Price . .

New York

ti it

Purser, Navy

Thos. Lloyd Vermeule

3=^

N. Jersey

San Joaquin

3 years

Trader

O. M. Wozencraft

^4

Ohio

a a

4 months

Physician

B. F. Moore

2Q

Florida

i< (1

I year

Trader

J. M.H.Holhngsworth

2S

Maryland

u tc

3 years

Lt. ofVolunt'rs

J. M. Tones

2S

Kentucky

" "

4 months

Lawyer

Benj. S. Lippincott. . .

34

New York

" "

3.^ years

Trader

Jacob R. Snyder

34

Penn.

Sacramento

4 years

Surveyor

Winfield S. Sherwood .

32

New York

4 months

Lawyer

L. W. Hastings ... .

30

Ohio

6 years

Lawyer

John McDougal

William E. Shannon..

7 months
3 years

Trader
Lawyer

27

Ireland

John A. Sutter

47

Switzerl'd

10 years

Ranchero

Elisha 0. Crosby

34

New York

7 months

Lawyer

M. M. McCarver. . .

42

Kentucky

3 years

Farmer

THE CLOSING ACT.

Among the archives of San Luis Obispo County, and
probably to be found in those of the " districts," then so

designated, is the following proclamation on the dingy
blue letter paper in use at that time. There was no
printing office at Monterey, and all official documents
were in manuscript and distributed by Government mes-
senger to the various Alcaldes. The writing is in a plain,
clerkly hand, signed in the obscure scrawl of Governor
Riley, and countersigned in the heavy hand of H. W. Hal-
leck, afterwards the great lawyer and commanding General
of the United States Army.

PROCLAMATION.

To THE People of California: It having been
ascertained by the official canvass that the Constitution,
submitted to the people on the 13th day of November
last, was ratified by the almost unanimous vote of the
electors of the State;

Now therefore, I, Bennett Riley, Brevet Brigadier-Gen-
eral United States Army, and Governor of California,
do hereby proclaim and declare the said Constitution to
be ordained and established as the Constitution of the
State of California.

Given at Monterey, California, this ist day of Decem-
ber, 1849.

(Signed) B. Riley,

.5?'/. Brig. Gen' I U. S. Army,
By the Governor, Governor of Calif ortiia.

H. W. Halleck,

Bvt. Capt. and Sec'y of State.

military governors of CALIFORNIA.

Com. John D. Sloat, July 7, 1846 to July 17, 1846;
Com. Robert F. Stockton, July 17, 1846, to January 15,
1847; Col. John C. Fremont, January 15, 1847 to March
I, 1847; Gen. Stephen W. Kearny, March i, 1847 to
May 31, 1847; Col. Richard B. Mason, May 31, 1847
to March i, 1849; Gen. Persifer F. Smith, March i, 1849
to April 13, 1849; Gen. Bennett Riley, April 13, 1849 to
December 20, 1849. Commodore Shubrick, although
chief nava 1 officer, did not assume the title of Governor.

CHAPTER XIV.

IMMIGRATION IN 1849.

Preparation for Emigration — The Routes to California — The Pacific
Mail Steamship Company — The Expectant iVrgonaut — On the
Isthmus — A Lesson in Maritime Law — Sailing to San Fran-
cisco — Crossing the Plains — An Overland Journal — Arrivals
in 1849 — Population at the Close of 1849 — Domestic Habits
of the Pioneers — Tli£ Miner's Cabin — Housekeeping and
Cooking.

]ji^i^ —

HE exhibition of gold by Lieutenant Beale, the re-
ports to the State Department by Thomas O. Lar-
kin, and to the War Department by Col. R. B.
Mason, Military Governor, and Capt. J. L. Folsom,
which were officially made public, created a greater and
more general excitement throughout the civilized world
than ever before known.

Letters and gold-dust froin people in California soon
came, telling of the wonderful richness of the mines and
their extent, and advising friends to migrate to the new
gold regions without delay. Such news and such
appeals were irresistible. The newly-acquired Spanish
territory upon the distant Pacific CoasJ, of which Dana

IMMIGRATION IN 1849.

119

had so pleasantly written in his " Two Years Before the
Mast;" the great bay and rivers described in " Wilkes'
Exploring Expedition;" the graphic records of Fremont's
explorations, and the stories told by returned whalers,
had charmed the youth of the land with the enthusiasm
of romance, and now that this land was filled with gold,
where all could help themselves without great capital or
obedience to masters, showing a brighter opportunity for
independence and success than the older countries
offered, fired the imagination and aroused the spirit of
emigration in all.

PREPARATIONS FOR EMIGRATION.

Preparations for the flight began in all parts of the
country. The fall of 1848 was well advanced when the
facts of the discovery became generally known. The
winter season was approaching and forbade an immediate
movement, but gave opportunity for the excitement to
spread and for preparations to be made. The period was
opportune. The war with Mexico had just closed, and
the volunteers were returning covered with the glory of
their brilliant exploits, ready, themselves, and enciting
all the energetic and courageous young men of the
country for new adventure. Meager reports had been
heard of the pleasant climate, the great rivers, the broad
valleys, and the snowy mountains of distant California,
and there was the attractive field for the young adventur-
ers. Very little, however, was really known of the new
country, and this faint knowledge gave enchantment to
the distant land.

THE ROUTES TO CALIFORNIA.

Several routes offered the way to the Pacific Coast:
by sea around Cape Horn; by way of the Isthmus of
Panama; across Mexico to one of the Pacific ports of that
country, and by land the entire distance across the plains
through New Mexico and Sonora; or following the
route of Fremont through the South Pass of the Rocky
Mountains and directly to the gold region in the Sierra
Nevada. All the routes were taken by large numbers
of emigrants. To the people of the East the sea was
most convenient, and to those choosing that route it
was not necessary to wait for spring. Every class of
sailing craft available was at once put in readiness for
the voyage, and, receiving their cargoes of living freight,
were soon breasting the seas for the .desired haven.

THE PACIFIC MAIL STEAMSHIP COMPANY.

Congress, as early as March, 1847, l^^-d proposed a
mail route via the Isthmus of Panama from New York
to Astoria, with semi-monthly trips on the Atlantic side
and monthly on the Pacific, with San Francisco as one
of the way-ports, but not until April, 1848, did a respon-
sible party dare undertake the contract. Then the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company was formed, Messrs.
Rowland and Aspinwall being the principal capitalists,
and the construction of three steamers was begun for
the Pacific side, named the California^ Oregon, and
the Panama. Their construction was commenced be-
fore the news of. the gold discovery was known in the

East, and their plans were drawn simply for mail and
freight boats of the cheapest character. There was the
slimmest possible chance for profit even with the annual
subsidy of $200,000 offered by Congress.

Fortunately for the enterprise. Lieutenant Beale arrived
with the news of the finding- of gold, and with a sailor's
knowledge of shipping urged upon Aspinwall the neces-
sity of changing the plan of his steamers, as they would
be needed for carrying passengers. Aspinwall was about
the only one who had faith in Beale's report, and altered
his steamers in accordance with the advice given.
These steamers, each of about 1,000 tons burden, were
soon completed and sailed on their voyage via the
Straits of Magellan for San Francisco, the California
arriving February 28, the Oregon March 31, and the
Panama June 4, 1849.

The establishing of this line diverted large numbers
to the isthmus route, hoping to get passage on the
steamers, but so great was the rush that not half the
number could be accommodated. Vessels of all kinds
that could be obtained at Panama were turned into pas-
senger carriers, and with inadequate supplies and inade-
quate knowledge of the winds of the coast, much suffer-
ing and loss ensued. Thus the isthmus route, which
had seemed the easiest and quickest, proved, to many,
one of hardship, danger, and delay.

THE EXPECTANT ARCONAUT.

California, in 1848, was supposed by the ardent
adventurers who were preparing to seek her shores to be
unprovided with any of the needed implements for pros-
ecuting the work to be engaged in; to have no places at
which clothing, boots, blankets, etc., could be obtained;
and that the utmost to be expected there in the line of
provision was the beef they had learned was abundant.
Nobody, therefore, must think of going into this wilder-
ness without an expensive outfit, embracing every con-
ceivable article of utility and comfort. The seaport
cities and the frontier towns early in 1849 became the
rendezvous where thousands of people congregated to
fit out for the journey, and their assemblage at these
places gave growth to many hitherto unknown indus-
tries.

Ingenious mechanics invented all sorts of machines
for gold washing; the sail lofts were kept active in the
manufacture of tents, hammocks, and canvas bags;
provision dealers drove brisk trades in supplying the
throng with stocks intended to last for many months;
old hulks that had been rotting for years at their moor-
ings were recoppered, repainted, and provisioned, and
advertised as staunch, fast-sailing, and A i, and speedily
filled up with passengers; old mules, and broncho mules,
and horses of every grade, and cows and oxen, wagons
and carts were crowded in the markets of the outfitting
posts bordering the great plains.

Buoyantly, hopefully, and without misgiving, in the
early spring of 1849 did the multitude set forth from
every frontier post and every seaport of the country for
California, as the Argonauts for Colchis, with Jason, in
search of the golden fleece. Those who left the eastern

120

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

seaports in good vessels perhaps were the best off, and
as a rule landed at San Francisco in the best circum-
stances, having their outfit with them in the hold of the
ship. Those at that time who went to the Isthmus of
Panama unprovided with tickets upon some connecting
steamer on the Pacific side (of which only two had
reached that coast) were probably in a worse predica-
ment than all. The overland, travelers that year had no
lack of provision, having started with so much generally
as to be burdensome. Flour, bacon, and other articles
of food in many places along the different pverland
routes were piled up in cords, and hundreds of wagons
were abandoned from sheer inability of the animals to
draw them; while the road lay open and the way before
to the goal they were hastening. They could travel
onward, at least, and reach their place of destination
even though they should arrive at the mines destitute.
With those upon the isthmus, however, affairs were dif-
ferent. Those people were cooped up in . a foreign
country, where malaria to an alarming .Jegree existed.
They could neither get up the Pacific Coast without
extraordinary intervention, nor back to the ports whence
they had come, as the steamers landing passengers there
did not wish to break up their profitable business by
taking those back, if any there were, who would turn the
tide of travel into some other channel, and, therefore,
upon landing their load at Chagres, would immediately
steam over to Navy Bay out of reach of any who might
wish to return.

ON THE ISTHMUS.

The months of April, May, and June, 1849, was a
time when the Isthmus of Panama contained from 4,000
to 8,000 American immigrants who were involuntary resi-
dents. Cholera and other diseases incident to a tropical
climate attacked them, and as the majority were from
the Northern States, made fearful havoc. Meantime,
all reports from California were of the most extravagant
character, which fact kept the minds of those who had
ventured upon the journey in the main steadfastly fixed
in the determination to reach the land so promising.
This state of affairs kept the rates of passage from Pan-
ama to San Francisco high, and fabulous sums were
paid for steamer tickets. Masters of whale and other
ships who happened to be in any of the Pacific ports
hearing of this extraordinary condition unloaded cargo,
took on extra provisions when necessary and crowded
sail for Panama, and announced their readiness to carry
passengers to San Francisco. Little coasting vessels
from the South American ports, and, in fact, craft of all
descriptions, came into the port of Panama and were
either speedily chartered or sold.

Several journals kept by these early pioneers of Cali-
fornia lie before the writer, and as the most natural and
truthful record of those eventful times, an occasional
extract from them is given below. The first is that of a
member of the " (ianargwa Mining Company, of Newark,
Wayne County, New York, for San Francisco, via Chagres
and Panama," as stated upon a printed card used for mark-
ing their innumerable articles. This company numbered

twelve, two of whom arrived at the " Dry Diggings,"
soon after called Auburn, on the 2d day of August,
1849, and were bound by articles to each other as "strong
as holy writ." Beginning their organization in December,

1848, and not sailing from New York until the following
March, they had ample time to equip, not as the " law
directed " quite, but as the inclination dictated. Some
of the members had elaborate arms manufactured to
order, bright steel tomahawks, heavy, and with long,
tapering polls that by a blow could be made to sink up
to the eye in a block of wood; knives of enormous size,
formed in the most savage-looking " bowie " style from
the blades of ancient scythes, with guns of antique pat-
tern and Allen's "pepper-boxes" — for were there not
Indians and half-civiUzed Mexicans who must be intim-
idated in the new land to which they were going ? Red
shirts, blue shirts, corduroy pants, and stogy boots were
necessary, for were they not going to the mines to dig
for gold ? And after the gold was dug how could it
be used without first being coined ? So this company
ordered and had made at a machine shop a coining
press, with steel dies, with which to coin five and ten
dollar gold pieces. Besides these things they had other
nameless cumbersome traps of which no idea can be
conceived by one not " in the same boat " upon that
historic occasion, and of which it would be useless to
attempt any description. With these this company sailed
from New York on the steamer Crescent City, March 15,

1849, and the short extracts from the journal spoken of
will give an idea of the trials of the trip at that time: —

March 24, 1849. — Landed at Chagres about noon
and camped. Remained until the 26th, when about
dark took canoes manned by negroes, four in each, and
proceeded up the river (Chagres). Went six miles that
night, and bundled down upon the floor of a miserable
negro shanty.

March 27TH. — Started up the river early in the morn-
ing; stopped about three miles up and got breakfast.
Started again in the afternoon and traveled about three
miles further, where we pitched our tent among three or
four negro huts, got supper, and rolled in our blankets.

March 28TH. — Struck our tent this morning and
started up the river again; stopped for dinner after trav-
eling five or six miles; after which proceeded on our
journey and traveled until dark, when we camped in a
negro hut about fourteen miles from our camp of the
previous night. Passed two American graves to-day.

March 29TH. — Left the boat here and tramped four
miles through a thick forest to Gorgona, preferring this
mode of locomotion to accompanying the natives, who
go on with the goods and camp equipage. Arriving at
Gorgona find 200 or more American immigrants here
bound for the El Dorado. Pitched our tents just back of
the town, on a rise of ground which had been occupied
not long since by a corps of American engineers who were
surveying a route for a railroad.

Remained in camp at Gorgona until the nth of April,
when we packed our traps upon the backs of natives and
started for Panama, arriving there at noon on the 12th.
Did not camp out here, but hired a house to live in.
While at Panama the company purchased a brigantine of
32 tons, called the Edalina, and on the 30th of April all
of the company (except two members), together with
twenty-five others taken as passengers, sailed for San
Francisco.

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RESIDENCE OF J. M.DANGLADA, ARROYO GRANDE,

SAN LUIS OBISPO CO.CAL.

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RANCH ^-v^RESIDENCE OF AUSTIN ABBOTT, NEAR SAN LUIS OBISPO, CAL.

I

IMMIGRATION IN 1849.

121

A LESSON IN MARITIME LAW.

Now, as to the fate of the Edalina, which was a New
Granadan vessel purchased at a cost of $1,500, and fitted
up and provisioned at an additional expense of $4,000.
She took, besides Captain, crew, and owners, twenty-five
passengers at the rate of $200 a head. The owners and
Captain were not posted in maritime law; passengers and
all were Americans; why should she not hoist the Ameri-
can flag? She did, and cleared from Panama as an
American vessel, and all went smooth enough, except
that the little vessel was much overcrowded and had but
little promenading way on her only deck, which was
occupied by water casks, until, to replenish these with
a fresh supply of water, she sailed by a British s!oop-of-
war into the harbor of Realajo, boldly flaunting the stars
and stripes. For this act the Nicaraguan authorities,
aided by the British ship, seized and condemned her, and
she was lost to her owners, while those who came on her
were left to get into California as best they could. All,
however, succeeded in reaching San Francisco during
that year, each experiencing many vicissitudes. The
journal says of the two members who did not sail in the
Edalina: —

SAILING TO SAN FRANCISCO.

Remained at Panama until the 9th of May, 1849, when
we set sail for San Francisco in the American whale-
ship Sylph, Capt. Francis Gardner, of Fairhaven. Our
course for fourteen days was southerly, when on the 23d
we made the port of Tacamas, in South America, fifty-five
miles north of the equator, in the Republic of Ecuador.
On the 24th went ashore; found the town or village con-
tained about 150 or 200 inhabitants, who were descend-
ants, mostly, of the Indians. Found also an English resi-
dent who had married and raised quite a family; found
likewise an American who had left a whale-ship some
seven years previously, and remained here. The houses
are built of bamboo, with thatched roofs, and are set upon
posts nine or ten feet high. Soil sandy near the ocean,
but back in the interior, as far as we went, found it loamy
and very rich, being rankly overgrown with the indige-
nous vegetation peculiar to the country, sugar-cane, plan-
tain, banana, oranges, lemons, cocoanuts, pine-apples, etc.,
all of which grew spontaneously without cultivation. The
only article cultivated by the inhabitants appears t,o be
tobacco, of which they produce very fine crops. The
inhabitants of this portion of South America, like those
of the Isthmus of Darien, are very indolent, caring for but
little else than barely enough to supply the demands of
nature, and that can be had at all times by merely gather-
ing it. The proverbial unthrift and laziness of the peo-
ple is illustrated by this incident: Seeing all over the
country, immediately adjoining the town, that the coffee
bush grew profusely, and was in full fruitage, thought
that a cup of the beverage might be obtained; but upon
proceeding to the public places and inquiring for a drink,
none could be had. Under many of the houses were
mills for grinding sugar-cane, but there was not sugar
enough in the whole town to sweeten a cup of tea.

The ship Sylph finally left her anchorage at Tacamas,
and landed her passengers at San Francisco on the 26th
of July, 1849, among whom were many of the future
prominent citizens of California — one, John Conness, a
United States Senator.

CROSSING THE PLAINS.

The route via the great plains and deserts which then
stretched an unbroken wilderness from the Missouri to
the Pacific, offered itself as the most available to the peo
pie of the West, and the winter and early months of spring
were passed in preparations for the journey. The Miss-
issippi and its branches opened a channel of commerce
to the extreme verge of civilization on the western border
of Missouri, and the frontier towns of that State were the
rendezvous and starting points of the greater part of the
emigration. Iowa, Arkansas, and Texas also had their
gathering places and sent forth their trains. In the
months of April, May, and June — chiefly in May — the
vast army set out, in many columns, on its march to the
westward, numbering from fifty to eighty thousand people.
So generally was this great mass composed of men in the
prime of early manhood, that the emigration was consid-
ered as composed of men only, but there were many
women and children accompanying their husbands and
fathers to the new country.

Such a movement had never before been seen. An
army of freemen setting out on a journey of near
3,000 miles through a wilderness, without the protec-
tion of Government and without organization, severing
themselves from all civilization, and threading the regions
where roamed and skulked the most implacably savage
men known in the history of the human race. Many or-
ganized in companies of varying numbers from a few
friends to several hundred, and elected Captains, Lieuten-
ants, and wagon-masters. The authority of the officers,
however, was but little regarded. The usual conveyance
was by wagon, drawn by oxen, mules, or horses, but com-
paratively few going with pack-mules. The wagons were
drawn by from three to five yoke of oxen, or four to eight
mules, and three to eight men accompanied each wagon.
Nearly all bore arms. Revolvers were rare, the invention
being recent, but rifles were abundant. The wagons were
heavily laden with baggage, mining implements, tents,
blankets, cooking utensils, and provisions, the latter being
greatly composed of flour, bacon, beans, coffee, tea, and
■ sugar, the necessary condiments, and a few luxuries.
Generally they were overladen, and much was thrown
away during the journey.

The great mass of the emigrants knew nothing of the
country they were to traverse nor of the necessities or
methods of conducting or maintaining themselves and
trains on such an expedition. Delays, losses, and suffer-
ing consequently attended such inexperience, but, never-
theless, the passage was successfully made, and many of
those who crossed the plains in 1849 in after years re-
ferred to the journey with pleasure: rejoicing in its ad-
ventures, hardships, dangers, and triumphs.

The greater part of that emigration took the route via
the valley of the Platte River, the South Pass of the
Rocky Mountains, and the valley of the Humboldt, en-
tering California by the Pit River Route, or Lassen's Cut-
off, the valley of the Truckee and the Bear River ridge,
and a stream poured through the Carson Pass into the
central mining region. Many thousand took the old

16

122

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

Santa Fe Trail via the valley of the Arkansas to the Rio
Grande, thence by the road followed by Colonel Cooke
and the Mormon Battalion, through northern Sonora to
the Gila River, crossing the Colorado into California,
reaching the southern mining region of the Mariposa and
Tuolumne Rivers several months later than those who
followed the northern route.

AN OVERLAND JOURNAL.

Having given a sketch of travel by the Isthmus route
from a diary of the time — which was the recorded ex-
perience of one, but the actual experience of many — a
glance at the pages of another diary will show the dan-
gers, the toil, and the incidents encountered in the "Trav-
els of a Gold Digger en route to California," overland.

Wednesday, April i8, 1849. — Leave St. Joseph, Mis-
souri, at I o'clock, p. HL, with one wagon, eight mules,
and one pony, with about 3,200 pounds of baggage;
travel about five miles toward Fort Childs; camped,
cooked supper, and ate; about 9 o'clock retired, and slept
very comfortably, although it was very cold in the morn-
ing.

April 19TH. — Started about i o'clock, p. m., and
traveled over one and a half miles of rough and hilly
roads, and stuck fast three times. The third time we
unloaded part of our baggage, got our wagon out of the
mud, and encamped for the night

May 15TH. — This morning our mules' shoulders were
very sore from the hard drawing yesterday. We started
at half-past 8 o'clock, and found the road much better
and more level than yesterday; but there was no water
except in small ponds here and there. About 11 o'clock
several of us had a fine chase after a wolf, but did not
catch it. In returning, I found several sticks of wood,
and, as it is precious stuff, I shouldered it and toted it to
the wagon, for fear we could not get to where there was
any, and we would have to supper on a cold cheek.
But fortune favored us; after traveling twenty-one miles,
we came to a beautiful place between two ravines, in which
there were both wood and water.

May I 6th. — Started this morning at 8 o'clock. Three
of our mules' shoulders were so sore that we had to take
them out of the team, and put in the pony. The road
was very good, and the day cool, so we got along very
well, although the mules suffered considerably for want
of water, there being none for twenty-five miles. This
was a day of considerable fun; the mules we took out of
the team were not broken to ride, but as the whole
country around was a level prairie, we thought we
would ride them. Mounting one, I rode ahead of the
train, and, after going several miles, stopped to graze.
When the train came up, E. was limping along slowly.
His mule had thrown him, and he could not be induced
to mount again. Whereupon T., who had tired of walk-
ing, thought he would ride the mule I had ridden. So he
got upon him, but the mule started, and in about 200
yards the rider lay sprawling upon the ground. Then S.
took the mule E. had ridden, and got along with it very
well for a while, when he was thrown off. We came to
the Platte River about 3 o'clock, having traveled about
twenty-eight miles. There was a little disaffection in
the company, which resulted in three different encamp-
ments, some refusing to go to the ground picked out by
the Captain

May I 8th. — Traveled eighteen miles up the Platte.
About four miles from our camping-place was Pawnee-
town, an Indian village. Just before arriving there, we
met a Pawnee Indian, with whom we had some sport. S.

talked Dutch to him; we then got him to shoot at a dime
fixed at a stake, and he knocked down two in three shots
with his arrow. We then went up to the village. On the
way we saw the grave of a chief, which was all encircled
by dead horses' heads — sixty-nine in number. We found
no one at the village, the people all having gone down to
Council Bluffs. The town was regularly laid out, and
consisted of about 120 houses, built of mud, all round,
with a long entrance, which was like that into a coal-bank.
Four miles above the town we camped. At night it rained
very hard, with thunder and lightning. I stood guard
from 10 to 12, and it was so dark that I could not see a
mule till I was jam against it.

May 19TH. — Road very muddy in places; sandy por-
tion, however, is better. After traveling about six miles
came upon a wounded Pawnee Indian, who had been
shot with three bullets in the thigh. He told us he had
been shot by the Sioux. We gave him something to eat,
and traveled on twenty miles.

May 20TH. — To-day we lay by. In the morning sixty
Sioux Indians came down the river, and from what we
could understand they were in pursuit of the Pawnees,
the two tribes then being at war. They came to our
camp, were very friendly, and wanted something to eat,
when we gave them biscuit. They then crossed the
river and continued on their way. A short time after
they had left, an old Sioux Indian came up the river,
and showed us a fresh Indian scalp, which we supposed
was taken from the head of the wounded Pawnee Indian
we saw yesterday. Traded twelve biscuit for a buffalo
robe.

May 2 1 ST. — This morning we started at 6 o'clock and
traveled sixteen miles, the road being very miry in some
places and very sandy in others, which made our mules
very tired. Grazing better to-day than at any time since
starting out. A great many deer, elk, antelope, and
wolves were seen, but as it was all prairie land we could
not get close enough to shoot any. In the evening, B.
and S. fought, and there was great confusion in camp.
A great many of the company think that we will never
get the wagons through, and some were for abandoning
them and packing the mules, or of leaving part of the
wagons and doubling the teams on the others.

May 2 2D. — Traveled fifteen miles. To-day my feet
got very sore, and about 2 o'clock I pulled off my boots,
and traveled the remainder of the day barefooted, but the
change did not help me

May 24TH. — Passed Fort Kearny yesterday and camped
about one mile above it. To-day there is a general
ridding-up; we all concluded that we had too much of a
load, and go to work and take half of our wagon-bed off,
and unload every box and trunk, and throw away every
unnecessary thing, besides other things we should have
very much liked to keep. Captain A. said he would re-
sign, as the company were divided into at least a half
dozen squads and would unite upon nothing. At night
it rained very hard, and the wind blew fearfully. A bucket
standing outside of the tent had water in it to the depth
of ten inches. F. and I went down to the fort and
traded a pair of pants, a trunk, and two shirts for two
large buffalo robes, which were very comfortable at night.

May 25TH. — To-day we hitched up eight mules, and,
as usual, started by ourselves; passed about 100 ox- teams
and camped on the river, after having traveled ten miles.
There being no wood here we cooked our supper with
grass. This morning there had 2,200 teams passed the
fort. The Star Company this morning was all divided,
and every team started when it pleased

August 2oth. — To-day we traveled about ten miles
and encamped in a valley at the base of a mountain
about three-fourths of a mile east of Truckee (Donner)

IMMIGRATION IN 1849.

123

Lake; two miles brought us to the valley where Donner
encamped; one mile more brought us opposite to where
his cabins were, their situation being about one and a
half or two miles from the road, on the right-hand side.
There were a number of fragments left, but more human
bones than anything else. Six miles further and we came
to where the Graves' family wintered. One mile more
and we arrived to the cabins of Foster and Breen, where
we encamped. The road now leaves them to the right,
but the old road ran just by them, having them on the
left. Graves' and Foster's cabins are the only ones that
are now standing, and they present a gloomy appearance.
In Foster's there were old clothes, which had been worn
by females, and, also, long female hair, which appeared as
if it had fallen from the head, and any quantity of bones
in and around the cabin

August 23D. — To-day we traveled fifteen miles. The

road is indescribable; but it was the d dest roughest

and rockiest road I ever saw. About three miles from
our camp we had to take our mules from the wagon and
let it down with ropes, and it was off of one rock and on
to another all day, except a short distance after we started
and a few places in the bottom of the river. We also
ascended some very steep mountains. After traveling
about nine miles in the morning, we left the head-waters
of the Yuba River and crossed a mountain, which was not
as rough as I expected it might be, and the additional six
miles has brought us to our present encampment, a valley
on Bear River, where the grass is very good. In crossing
from the Yuba to Bear River there are a few oak bushes,
and on the divide are two small lakes. During the day
we passed another cabin where some of the suffering Don-
ner party got to.

August 24TH. — To-day we traveled seven miles. Five
miles from our last camp brought us to a large valley on
the main branch of Bear River. In descending to the
valley there is a very steep hill, where we let the wagon
down with ropes for about three-fourths of a mile; the
trees were worn very much where the rope ran around.
Two miles more'brought us to the lower end of the val-
ley where we encamped and mowed grass

August 26th. — To-day we traveled fourteen miles,
eleven of which brought us to another branch of Bear
River where there were some of the gold diggers operat-
ing, but not with much success. The road from our last
camp to the branch ran along a ridge and was very hilly,
as there were a great many gaps in it. The descent to
the branch was so steep and long that we had to cut
down trees and tie them to the wagons

Having thus seen some of the pioneers of the State
safely landed via the great plains, the reader can form
some idea from reading the above extracts of the trials
and difficulties encountered in reaching this land of
promise over that route. All that is now lacking to
illustrate the phases of the three principal ways of reach-
ing California in the year 1849, are extracts from a pas-
senger's journal upon one of the old vessels which came
around Cape Horn, and which would read something
after this style: "■ — 1849. — Left Boston, in the bark
Rising Sun, for California, as one of the members of the
Plymouth Rock Mining and Trading Company; crossed
the equator — th, landed at Rio Janerio — th, and re-
mained in port two weeks; left Rio — and doubled Cape
Horn — th, with cold, squally weather, during which the

vessel lost spars and sails; — th buried at sea;

latitude — degrees south, — longitude west, becalmed

ten days; — th, arrive at Valparaiso, and sail again on the
— th; — arrive at San Francisco — th."

And the story of the arrival of the argonauts is told.
Gray hairs begin now to creep in among the dark ones
of those who were youngest then, and bald polls are now
seen where then hung luxuriant locks; while thousands
of those brave hearts have ceased to pulsate. Soon
they will all be gone. Here upon the Pacific Coast
have they established an empire whose products have
revolutionized the commerce of the civilized world. In
a personal sense not all of them have realized those
bright anticipations which were the ideal of youthful
aspirations; but the fact that they aided in breaking down
the brush, and in marking out the trails which have since
been followed by great commercial highways of steel,
banding together the orient and the Occident, should
commend them to the respect of mankind, and the recol-
lection of their deeds should ever cause their memory to
remain green wherever civilization has erected its stand-
ard and enterprise is acknowledged.

ARRIVALS IN 1849.

The flood of immigration which had set toward the
bay of San Francisco soon after the announcement of
the wonderful discovery and development of the gold
placers, did not reach the land until the spring of 1849.
On the 28th of February of that year the steamship Cal-
ifornia arrived, the first of that hne so intimately con-
nected with the history of California. The arrival was
hailed with welcoming cheers, as establishing a new era
in California commerce. She was the first great steamer
entering the harbor of San Francisco, or ever upon the
coast, and seemed a connecting link between the people
of the Pacific and their distant kindred on the Atlantic
Coast. The steamer had left New York when little was
known of the gold discovery, and preparations had not
been made for so extraordinary a state of affairs as was
found to exist on arrival, and she was left destitute of a
crew in the harbor of San Francisco. March 31st, the
Oregon, the second steamer of the line, arrived, and from
that date regular trips were made. June 4th, the Panama
came and the line was established, each vessel bringing
from 1,000 to 1,500 passengers each trip.

A few thousand people had arrived previous to March,
1849, in whalers and small vessels from the Pacific is-
lands and the coast, and even at that date the harbor
presented a lively appearance from the unusual number
of vessels at anchor, a slight indication of the great fleet
that was soon to appear. Between March and Decem-
ber 1849, 549 vessels arrived at San Francisco bringing
35,000 passengers, and 3,000 sailors who deserted their
ships either permanently or temporarily, some by agree-
ment going with the officers to the mines, and afterwards
returning to their duties on the vessel. The unmanned
and deserted ships swung idly to their anchors in the
harbor, some ascended the rivers to Benicia, Stockton,
and Sacramento, and several square-rigged vessels marked
the sites of " cities " at " heads of navigation " at Ver-
non, Nicolaus, Eliza, near Marysville, and other ])oints
on further, and other rivers, landings, and estuaries about

124

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

the bay of San Francisco. Of the 40,000 or more
arrivals by sea during the year less than 1,000 were
females. The great majority were Americans direct from
the Atlantic States by way of Cape Horn or by Panama,
and nearly all rushing to the mines there met the tide
pouring over the Sierra Nevada from the toilsome over-
land journey from the Missouri River. The mines were
then the objective point, all seeking them to try their
luck. Many, homesick and unnerved by the adventure,
the toil, privations, and hardships, their separation from
friends, their loneliness and strange surroundings, suc-
cumbed to death almost without disease, or hastily re-
turned to their former homes; the sharp tradesman and
the speculator sought the large cities, and those who
loved the freedom of the country, the self-reliant man-
hood to labor in the free and rich estate of his own pos-
session, where he could " lay claim " to undisputed lands,
untrammelled by the conventionalities of jesthetic civili-
zation, surrounded by the grand scenery of deep canons,
watered by the clear, cold, and sparkling mountain
stream, and clad in forests of towering pines, or shaded
by the broad, spreading oak, remained to toil, to enjoy
their bright hopes, perhaps to realize their bright dreams,
and many yet remain in the country and the county where
first they dug for the shining gold, honored and self-
reliant in their age, as when, in youth, as argonauts they
sought the western shore.

POPULATION AT THE CLOSE OF 1849.

There were many estimates of the number of peo-
ple crossing- the plains in 1849, some placing the
number as high as 100,000, but later investigations
greatly reduced the estimate. Many returned to the
East by steamer before the close of the year, some with
small fortunes acquired in the mines or by speculation,
others disheartened and homesick, and death claimed
its portion.

At the commencement of the year the population was
stated as follows: Native Californians, 13,000; Ameri-
cans, 8,000; Foreigners, 5,000; total, 26,000. At the
close of the year it was: Native, 13,000; Americans,
76,000; Foreigners, 18,000, showing an increase of
68,000 Americans and 13,000 foreigners, a total of 81,000
increase, and a total population of 107,000. This large
increase, of which so large a majority was Americans,
redeemed California from a wilderness and made it a
State of the Union. This immigration spread itself over
the mines and built cities in the valleys; made a consti-
tution, guaranteeing freedom, with laws of justice and
equality, and impressed a character upon it which will
never be obliterated.

DOMESTIC HABITS OF THE PIONEERS.

For the satisfaction of curious women who wish to
know how their fathers and brothers managed houscr
keeping, and for men who never tried pioneer life, and
have no prospect or necessity of trying it, this is written.
Many exaggerated stories are in circulation concerning
the habits and characters of our early settlers. Bret
Harte, Joaquin Miller, and a score of other writers, have

taken some odd sample of humanity, added some im-
possible qualities, and sef him up to be laughed at, or
perhaps admired; when the fact is, the caricature is about
as near the original as the Indian maiden of romance is
to the filthy squaw of reality. The '49er is represented
as having pounds of dust loose in his pockets, which he
passed out by the handful for whisky or whatever struck
his fancy; as carrying an arsenal of knives and revolvers,
which he was wont to use on the slightest provocation —
"rough but generous, brave, and kind." While it is true
that an ideal '49er occasionally made an appearance in
those days — for it is almost impossible to draw a monster,
physical, moral, or intellectual, that has not some familiar
features — the fact is, that the mass of the people had no
resemblance to the ideals of Bret Harte or Joaquin Mil-
ler. They were sober, industrious, and energetic men,
who toiled as men with ambition and strength can toil.
The labor these men performed in damming and turning
rivers, or tunneling mountains, was not the spurt of en-
thusiasm born of whisky. Many of the men had famihes
at home whose letters were looked for with the most eager
interest. The younger men, who had not families, had ties
perhaps equally as strong. The exceptions, which have
given such a false character to the '49er, were unprincipled
adventurers from every State and nation, gamblers in bad
repute, even among their own kind, frontiersmen who
acknowledged no law, and fugitives from justice every-
where. This was the class that made a vigilance com-
mittee necessary in San Francisco in 1850 and 1856, and
in San Luis Obispo in 1858; which occasionally aroused
the wrath of the mass of the people by robbing or kill-
ing peaceable citizens. The description of this class is
not our object at present; they have already, in the hun-
dred books which have been written of them, had more
notice than they deserved. The substantial, honorable,
and industrious must now claim our attention. The
rush of people in 1849 ^^s for the mining region of the
Sierra Nevada, whither all classes went, the new-comers
and old settlers alike. The quiet of San Luis Obispo was
disturbed as well as all other sections, and all had their
experience in the mines. That generation is passing
away, and it is therefore more important that there be
preserved the true record of their customs, hopes, and
habits.

THE miner's cabin.

When the lucky prospector had found a paying claim,
the next thing was to set up his household. From two to
four was the usual number of the mess. The summers
were long and dry, and there was no discomfort in sleep-
ing out-of-doors. But even in summer a house, though
humble it might be, had many advantages over a tent for
comfort and security. A stray horse or ox would some-
times get into the flour sack or bread sack, upset the
sugar, or make a mess of the table ware. Wandering In-
dians would pilfer small things, or take away clothing
which might be left within reach; but in a cabin things
were tolerably secure from depredation. A site for a cabin
was selected where >vood and water were abundant.
These things, as well as the presence of gold, often deter-
mined the location of a future town. Bottle Spring,

IMMIGRATION IN 1849.

125

Double Springs, Mud Springs, Diamond Springs, Cold
Springs, and Soldiers' Springs at once suggest their origin
as places of encampment, as Angels Camp, Secret Ravine,
Sonoranian Camp, Don Pedro's Bar, and Dry Diggings did
places of gold. In the earlier days, log-cabins were soon
put up, for suitable logs were found everywhere. Though
these cabins are in the dust — passed into history — there
is no need of describing them, as the books are full of
the "settlers' log-cabin," and no boy of the present gen-
eration who has arrived at the age of ten would need in-
struction in building one.

In the western settlements a floor made of hewn tim-
bers (puncheons) was usual, but the ground served for a
floor, and was considered good enough for a man. The
sleeping places were as various as the minds of men.
Sometimes a kind of dais, or elevation of two or three
feet was made on one side of the cabin, where the men,
wrapped in their blankets, slept with their feet to the fire.
Generally bunks were made by putting a second log in
the cabin at a proper elevation and distance from the
sides, and nailing potato or gunny sacks across from
one to the other, making in the same way a second tier
of bunks, if necessary. Some fern leaves or coarse hay
on these sacks, with blankets, made a comfortable bed.
A good fire-place was necessary. Most of the mining
was in water, necessarily involving wet clothes. A rous-
ing fire, especially in winter, was necessary to "get dried
out." Some of these fire-places would be six feet across,
and built of granite or slate rocks, as each abounded.
There was not much hewing done to make them fit.
When the structure had been carried up four or five feet,
an oak log was laid across as a mantle-piece, and on this
the chimney, generally made of sticks or small poles plas-
tered with mud, was built. A couple of rocks served for
rests for the "backlog" and "forestick." A shelf or two
of shakes, or, sometimes an open box, in which pickles or
candles had come around the Horn, would serve for a
cupboard to keep a few tin plates and cups, and two or
three cans containing salt, pepper, and soda. A table of
moderate size, was also made of shakes, sometimes mova-
ble, but oftener nailed fast to the side of the house.
Those who crossed the plains would often take the tail-
gate of the wagon for this purpose. A frying-pan, coffee-
pot, Dutch oven, and water-bucket completed the list of
household utensils. As the miners became prosperous,
a soup-kettle for boiling potatoes, and also for heating
water to wash their clothes on a Sunday, was added.
Somewhere in a corner, was a roll of paper, with pen and
ink, with which to correspond with the folks at home.

HOUSEKEEPING AND COOKING.

Cooking was sometimes done turn-about for a week,
and sometimes seemed to fall to the lot of the best-natured
one of the crowd, the others bringing wood and water by
way of offset. Not much attempt was made at neatness,
and oftentimes one had to console himself with eating
only his own dirt, for there were camps where the dishes
were not washed for months. Sometimes a little hot
coffee turned on a plate would take off the last formed
dirt; but washing dishes — the everlasting bane of woman's

housekeeping — was, if possible, more repugnant to man,
and was frequendy omitted; it made the gold-pan greasy
(the miner's prospecting pan served for washing dishes as
well as gold, also, as a bread pan, and wash-tub on Sun-
day); there was no time to stop after breakfast, and they
worked so late that they could not delay supper for the
dishes to be washed, and so they were left from day to
day. The cooking was a simple matter, boiling potatoes,
making coffee, frying slap-jacks and meat, being the usual
routine. Bread? — yes, I am going to tell you about that.
All sorts of bread but good bread were made at first.
The miners knew that their wives and mothers put in
soda, so they put in soda. Some of them brought dried
yeast across the plains, and undertook to make raised
bread, but as a general thing, miner's bread was but sorry,
sad stuff. The most successful plan was to keep a can
of sour batter (flour and water mixed), with which to mix
the bread, neutralizing the excess of acid with soda.
Some of the miners became quite expert with this, judg-
ing to a nicety the exact amount of soda required. Dough
mixed in this way, and set in the sun, would soon raise,
and, if the soda was rightly proportioned, was palatable
and wholesome. The sour batter was splendid for "slap-
jacks!" The old story that a California miner could toss
his slap-jack up a chimney, run out-doors, and catch it
as it came down, right side up, is too old to be repeated;
but it is a fact that they would turn the slap-jacks with a
dexterous "flip flop" of the frying-pan, though when the
batter was stiff enough to stand this kind of usage, the
cake would answer for half-soling a boot. The better
way was to have two frying-pans, and turn the cakes by
gently upsetting the contents of one into the other. Thirty
years' experience and observation suggest no improvement
on this method.

Practice made many of the miners expert cooks. New
methods of cooking were sought out, and new dishes in-
vented. Think of using a dry-goods box for an oven,
and baking a pig or shoulder of mutton in it! No trick at
all. Drive down a stake or two, and on them make a
small scaffold, on which to place your roast; now build a
very small fire of hard wood, at such a distance away that
a moderate sized dry-goods box will cover it all, and your
arrangements are complete. The fire will need replen-
ishing once or twice, and in two or three hours, according
to the size of the roast, you may take it out, done in a
rich gold color, with a flavor unattainable by any other
method. Steaks were roasted before a fire, or smothered,
when sufficiently fried by the ordinary process, in a stift
batter, and the whole baked like a batch of biscuit, mak-
ing a kind of meat pie. Game sometimes entered into
the miner's bill of fare. Quails, rabbits, hares, coons,
squirrels, and hawks, were all converted into food, as well
as deer and bear.

efei\!J(

126

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

CHAPTER XV.

ORGANIZATION OF STATE GOVERNMENT.

Election of State Officers— Meeting of the Legislature — The Con-
test for Admission — Act of Admission Passed — Great Rejoicing
— Birthday of California — The Governmental Organization —
Dividing the State into Counties — Elections Ordered — Senate
and Assembly Districts — Judicial Districts.

HE Constitution had been adopted, as previously
stated, by an almost unanimous vote of tlie people,
and proclaimed the organic law of the land by Gen-
eral Riley, the last Military Governor. At the same
election State and Legislative officers were voted for, the
election being on the 13th of November, 1849. There
were no conventions held, but tickets were made up by
various processes and agreements, or individuals voted
for as it pleased persons and communities. The votes
cast for Governor were as follows: —

Peter H. Burnett, 6,716; John A. Sutter, 2,201; Win-
field Scott Sherwood, 3,188; James W. Geary, i,47S;
Wm. M. Stewart, 619; total vote for Governor, 14,199.
San Luis Obispo gave its entire vote, forty-five, for W. S.
Sherwood. John McDougal was elected Lieutenant-
Governor; Wm. Van Voorhies, Secretary of State; Rich-
ard Roman, Treasurer; J. S. Houston, Controller; E. J.
C. Kewen, Attorney-General; Charles J. Whiting, Sur-
veyor-General; S. C. Hastings, Chief Justice; J. A. Lyon
and Nathaniel Bennett, Associate Justices of the Supreme
Court. Edward Gilbert and George W. Wright were
elected Representatives in Congress. The Constitution
had divided the State into Assembly and Senatorial
Districts. San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara were
united in a Senatorial District to elect one Senator, and
San Luis Obispo was allowed to elect one member of
Assembly. Capt. Wm. G. Dana, of San Luis Obispo,
and Don Pablo de la Guerra, of Santa Barbara, were
voted for as Senators, and it has been claimed that Dana
received the most votes, but the office was awarded to
De la Guerra. Henry A. Tefft was elected to represent
San Luis Obispo in the Assembly.

MEETING OF THE LEGISLATURE.

The Constitution provided that, incase of its adoption,
the officers chosen should enter upon their duties on the
15th of December, without waiting for the action of
Congress. Therefore on that day the Legislature met at
San Jose, and on the 20th, Governor Riley issued an
order relinquishing the administration of civil affairs; and
thus California took upon herself the character of a State
without having passed through the preparatory condition
of a Territory. The Legislature consisted of sixteen
Senators and thirty-seven Assemblymen. An organiza-
tion was effected by the election of E. Kerby Cham-
berlain as President pro tern of the Senate, and John
Bigler, of Sacramento, Speaker of the Assembly. Wil-
liam M. Gwin and John C. Fremont were elected
United States Senators and were instructed, and the
Representatives, Gilbert and Wright, were requested to

proceed to Washing ton and urge the admission of Cali-
fornia as a State in the Union.

THE CONTEST FOR ADMISSION.

The State Governm ent was put in operation, notwith-
standing the want of sanction by Congress, and this was
declared by the opponents to admission as an act of
defiance, and revolutionary. The question of slavery
was the exciting one, and California, in her Constitution,
had excluded that institution from its limits. This caused
a very acrimonious debate in Congress, particularly in the
Senate, which, at that time, was equally divided in repre-
sentation from the free and slave States, the Union then
being composed of fifteen of each. The admission of
California as ^ free State would destroy the equilibrium,
and it was therefore op posed by the advocates of slavery
with all the energy they possessed. The annexation of
Texas, with the proviso that it might be divided into five
States, and the acquisition of California, were pro-slavery
movements to provide territory for the extension of
slavery, in order to maintain the balance as against the
extensive territory of the Northwest, which would most
probably become free States. By the admission of
Missouri in 1820 a compromise had been agreed to,
whereby in the territory north of the latitude of 36°3o'
slavery should be prohibited, and south it should be
admitted. This — Missouri compromise line — extended
to the Pacific, and California embraced both sides. The
leading Senators opposing the admission were John C.
Calhoun, of South Carolina, Henry S. Foot and Jeffer-
son Davis, of Mississippi; and the advocates were Henry
Clay, of Kentucky, William H. Seward, of New York,
Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri, Daniel Webster, of
Massachusetts, and Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois.
The two Senators from California had such influence as
to bear heavily in its favor. Gwin was a native of Ten-
nessee and had recently been a member of Congress
from Mississippi, both slave States, and Fremont was the
son-in-law of Benton, a So uthern man, and one of the
most powerful men in the Senate. But many Northern
Senators professed a desire to preserve the equilibrium
and to recognize slavery as a divine institution which the
people of the South had inherited and one beyond the
control of National legislation. The opposing Senators
contended for the right to introduce slavery into all of
California, irrespective of the "compromise line." There
were many eloquent passages in this debate. Calhoun
denounced the Californians as " adventurers," who had
no right or authority to make a Constitution. Davis
advocated the extension of the Missouri compromise line
to the Pacific. Clay responded, saying: "Coming, as I
do, from a slave State, it is my solemn, deliberate, and
well-matured determination that no power — no earthly
power — shall compel me to vote for the positive intro-
duction of slavery, either north or south of that line."
Webster said: " I would not take pains to re-affirm an
ordinance of nature nor to re-enact the will of God."
The discovery of gold, the great influx of people into the
mines, and the determination of all classes in California
to labor on an equality, were considered as having settled

ORGANIZATION OF STATE GOVERNMENT.

127

the question irrevocably. Seward expressed his advocacy
in the following beautiful language: "Let California come
in — California, that cd'^ .'S from the clime where the West
dies away in the rising East; California, that bounds at
once the empire and the continent; California, the
youthful Queen of the Pacific, in the robes of freedom,
gorgeously inlaid with gold, is doubly welcome. She
stands justified for all the irregularities in the method of
her coming."

ACT OF ADMISSION PASSED.

The contest continued through the long session of
Congress, but, after making combinations with other
measures as a compromise, the bill for the admission of
California finally passed, and was signed by President
Millard Fillmore on the 9th of September, 1850. The
Senators and Representatives were sworn and took their
seats of office, and California became one of the proud
States of the great Republic, the thirty-first in the Union.
With the discovery of gold in California and her great
wealth of that noble metal, her admission into the Union
, as a free State and the circumstances attending it, thus
breaking the slave-holding equality in the Senate, she
exercised an influence that led to all the subsequent rev-
olutions in commerce, society, and the Government.
The slavery power received its fatal blow from the land
it had annexed to be its home and bulwark, and the
events of the following decade were foreshadowed in the
debate that made that land a free State.

GREAT REJOICING.

The news of this most important event did not reach
California until the i8th of the following month. When
the mail steamer Oregorl entered the bay of San Fran-
cisco that day she fired repeated signal guns, which had
been preconcerted as the warning to the people of the
glorious news. " Immediately," says "The Annals of San
Francisco," "the whole of the inhabitants were afoot,
and grew half wild with excitement until they heard defi-
nitely that the tidings were as they had expected. Busi-
ness of almost every description was instantly suspended,
the courts adjourned in the midst of their work, and
men rushed from every house into the streets and
toward the wharves to hail the harbinger of the wel-
come news. When the steamer rounded Clark's Point
and came in front of the city, her masts literally covered
with flags and signals, a universal shout arose from ten
thousand voices on the wharves, in the streets, upon the
hills, house-tops, and the world of shipping in the bay.
Again and again were huzzas repeated, adding more
and more every moment to the intense excitement and
unprecedented enthusiasm. Every public place was
soon crowded with eager seekers after the particulars of
the news, and the first papers issued an hour after the
appearance of the Oregon were sold by the newsboys at
from one to five dollars each. The enthusiasm in-
creased as the day advanced. Flags of every nation
were run up on a thousand masts, and peaks, and staffs,
and a couple of large guns placed upon the plaza were
constanriy discharged. At night every public thorough-

fare was crowded with a rejoicing populace. Almost
every large building, all the public saloons and places of
amusement were brilliantly illuminated; music from a
hundred bands assisted the excitement; bonfires blazed
upon the hills, and rockets were incessantly thrown into
the air, until the dawn of the following day."

BIRTHDAY OF CALIFORNIA.

As the news spread throughout the State it was
received with universal rejoicing, and days were fixed
for celebrating the event. Thus the 9th of September
has become adopted as the birthday of California as a
State, although she was in fact a State from the date of
the organization of the Legislature at San Jose, or at
least from the 20th of December, 1849, when General
Riley relinquished control of civil affairs. California
never passed through the probationary period of a terri-
torial organization, passing at once from the military
rule to that of a State, her laws dating, recognized,
and governing long anterior to the formality of the
recognition by Congress. The only territorial existence
was under Mexico and the Military Governors, even if
that can be so called under our system of Government,
and the application of the term as extending to the 9th
of September, 1850, as is done by some persons and
societies, is decidedly erroneous.

THE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION.

The Legislature, after electing the Senators and dis-
patching them to the national capital on their embassy
of presenting the Constitution and asking admission into
the Union, proceeded to the business of organizing a
State Government regardless of the discussion so long
continued in Congress. The Constitution, although
regarded as one of the best of the United States, con-
tained some cumbrous provisions, which, at a later date,
were in part remedied by amendments, and radically
changed in convention in 1878-79. Sessions of the
Legislature were required to be held each year, com-
mencing on the first Monday in January.

The courts were divided into Supreme, District,
County, Probate, Court of Sessions, Justices' Courts,
Recorder or Police Courts, and such municipal courts
as the Legislature might determine. Three Justices
comprised the Supreme Court, the one having the
shortest term to be Chief Justice. The State was
divided into districts, for each of which a District Judge
was elected for terms of six years. The jurisdiction of
this court was very large, including civil, chancery, and
criminal causes, and original cognizance in all cases in
equity, and in civil cases where the amount exceeded
$200, causes involving the title to real property or the
validity of any tax, and issues of fact joined in the
Probate Court. Originally it had power to inquire into
all criminal offenses by means of a Grand Jury, and by
indictments found by that body. In 185 1 the Legisla-
ture took from the court its criminal jurisdiction and
conferred it upon the Court of Sessions, leaving it the
power to hear appeals from that court in criminal mat-
ters, and the power to try all indictments for murder.

128

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

manslaughter, arson, and other cases that could not be
tried in the Court of Sessions.

A County Judge was elected in each county for a
term of four years. He presided over the County Court,
Probate Court, and the Court of Sessions, with two
Justices of the Peace as Associate Judges. The Asso-
ciate Judges were chosen annually by the Justices of the
Peace of the county from the body of Justices. The
County Court heard appeals from court of Justices
of the Peace. The Court of Sessions had jurisdiction
of criminal cases, and was given power as the financial
agent of the county, which power was subsequently
declared extra-judicial by the Supreme Court, and
Boards of Supervisors were created for that purpose.
The County Judge presided over the Probate Court,
and had charge of all probate matters.

By an amendment to the Constitution in 1863, the
Supreme Court was made to consist of five Justices, and
the Court of Sessions was abolished, and, by the Consti-
tution adopted in 1879, the judicial system was entirely
remodeled, the Supreme Court being enlarged to a Chief
Justice and six Associate Justices, and the term made
twelve years. District and county courts were abolished,
and Superior Courts established, there being one for
each county, and one or more Judges for each, as busi-
ness demanded.

Under the Constitution of 1849 much was left to the
discretion of the Legislature in providing officers for
the counties, and many changes were made, from time to
time, as the representatives of each county demanded,
adjoining counties having different systems of county
governments.

DIVIDING THE STATE INTO COUNTIES.

The following extracts are from the Act subdividing
the State into counties, and establishing the seats of
justice therein, approved February 18, 1850: —

Section i. The following shall be the boundaries and
seats of justice of the several counties of the State of
California until otherwise determined by law.

Sec. 2 created San Diego County.

Sec. 3 created Los Angeles County.

Sec. 4. County of Santa Barbara. — Beginning on
the sea-coast, at the mouth of the creek called Santa
Maria, and running up the middle of said creek to its
source; thence due northeast to the summit of the Coast
Range, the farm of Santa Maria falling within Santa
Barbara County; thence following the summit of the
Coast Range to the northwest corner of Los Angeles
County; then along the northwest boundary of said county
to the ocean, and three English miles therein; and thence
in a northwesterly direction, parallel with the coast, to a
point due west of the mouth of Santa Maria Creek;
thence due east to the mouth of said creek, which was
the place of beginning, including the islands of Santa
Barbara, San Nicholas, San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa
Cruz, and all others in the same vicinity. The seat of
justice shall be at Santa Barbara.

Sec. 5. County of San Luis Obispo. — Beginning
three English miles west of the coast at a point due west
of the source of the Nacimiento River, and running due
east to the source of said river; thence down the middle
of said river to its confluence with Monterey River;
thence up or down, as the case may be, the middle of

Monterey River to the parallel of thirty-six degrees north
latitude; thence due east following said parallel to the
summit of the Coast Range; thence following the sum-
mit of said range in a southeasterly direction to the
northeast corner of Santa Barbara County; thence fol-
lowing the northern boundary of Santa Barbara County
to the ocean, and three English miles therein; and thence
in a northwesterly direction, parallel with the coast, to
the place of beginning. The seat of justice shall be at
San Luis Obispo.

The counties created by the Act were : San Diego,
Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monte-
rey, Branciforte, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Contra
Costa, Marin, Sonoma, Solano, Yolo, Napa, Mendocino,
Sacramento, El Dorado, Sutter, Yuba, Butte, Colusa
(attached to Butte), Shasta, Trinity (attached to Shasta),
Calaveras, San Joaquin, Tuolumne, and Mariposa.

By a subsequent Act, passed April 5, 1850, the county
of Santa Cruz was created out of the territory of Branci-
forte, and the section creating the latter was repealed.

The name of "Salinas" was not then adopted as the
name of the river now so called, but "Monterey" ap-
pears as the official name.

By a strict construction of the statute it would appear
that the Santa Barbara line should run east from the
source of the Santa Maria Creek, which would give a
large additional area to San Luis Obispo County. The
Cuyama and Sisquoc unite and form the Santa Maria,
but the first, coming from the northeast, has been taken
as the boundary, and this assumption has been acqui-
esced in by all parties, although United States maps
include all the Cuyama country in San Luis Obispo
County.

An Act to define the boundaries between the counties
of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo was passed May
13, 1854, reading as follows : —

Section i. The rancho of Guadalupe and Oso Flaco,
now lying partly in the county of Santa Barbara and
partly in that of San Luis Obispo, shall be considered as
being and lying wholly in the county of Santa Barbara;
and the rancho of Santa Maria, now lying in the county of
Santa Barbara, shall be considered as being and lying in
the county of San Luis Obispo.

Sec. 2. The boundary line between said counties shall
remain as it now exists, excepting as it is disturbed by
this Act.

The county boundary, as fixed by the Code adopted
March 12, 1872, was as follows: —

Beginning in Pacific Ocean, at northwestern corner of
Santa Barbara, as estabhshed in Section 3,946; thence
easterly on the northern line of Santa Barbara, up the
Santa Maria River, to intersection of southern line of
Township Ten North, San Bernardino base; thence east
on said line to point on summit of Coast Range, form-
ing the southeast corner, also northeast corner of Santa
Barbara; thence northwesterly on summit line, being
western line of Kern, to its intersection with Sixth
Standard South, Mount Diablo base, being the common
corner of Tulare, Kern, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo;
thence west on said standard line and extension thereof
to the Pacific Ocean;. thence southerly along the shore to
the place of beginning. County seat, San Luis Obispo.

The northern line of Santa Barbara was declared to

-</c.

'^Z.'

RANCH AND RESIDENCE OF J.D.FOWLEK,
WILIOW CREEK, SAN LUIS 0BI5P0 CO.CM,

RANCH & RESIDENCE OF B.F, MAYFIELO, SAN SIMEON CREEK,

SAM LUI9 OBISPO CO. CA.L.

POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY.

129

be from where the eastern line intersfected the southern
line of Township Ten North, San Bernardino base;
thence west, on said township line, to the Santa Maria
River, thence down said river and down the creek which
divides that part of Guadalupe Rancho known as La
Larga, from that known as Oso Flaco, to a point in the
Pacific Ocean opposite the mouth of said creek.

ELECTIONS ORDERED.

March 2, 1850, an Act was passed providing for the
first county election to be held on the first Monday of
April, 1850. The Prefects of districts were authorized
to designate election precincts and name the officers of
election. The Inspectors of Election were ordered to
meet at the county seat the next Monday after the elec-
tion, with their returns, and as a Board canvass the vote
and issue certificates to county officers and report the
vote to the County Clerk, who should forward it to the
Secretary of State.

March 23, 1850, an Act was passed providing for gen-
eral elections, designating the first Monday in October of
each year for the election of State and district officers,
and the second Monday of April, 1852, and every two
years thereafter for the election of county officers.
In each county there were to be elected one County
Judge, County Clerk, County Attorney, Treasurer, Sur-
veyor, Sheriff, Recorder, Assessor, and Coroner. A
"Supplementary Act" was passed, ordering the printing
in Spanish of 250 copies of the Act, to be sent to the
Prefects of the counties of Monterey, San Luis Obispo,
Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY DISTRICTS.

The Constitution provided that until the Legislature
should divide the State into counties, and senatorial and
assembly districts, the districts of Santa Barbara and San
Luis Obispo should jointly elect one Senator, and the dis-
trict of San Luis Obispo elect one Member of Assembly.
At that time Santa Barbara elected two Members of As-
sembly, as did also Los Angeles, Monterey, and Sonoma;
San Diego, one; San Jose, three; San Francisco, five;
Sacramento, nine, and San Joaquin nine, the two latter
including all the mining region and the great interior
valley. The legislative representation of San Luis Obispo
and Santa Barbara was continued by statute, which pro-
vided for sixteen Senators and thirty-seven Assemblymen.

JUDICIAL DISTRICTS.

On the 1 6th of March, 1850, the State was divided into
nine judicial districts, the second district being com-
posed of the counties of Santa Barbara and San Luis
Obispo, and court was ordered held in San Luis Obispo,
beginning on the first Mondays of the months of March,
July, and October of each year.

April II, 1850, an Act was passed creating the Court
of Sessions in each county, the court consisting of the
County Judge and two Justices of the Peace as Asso-
ciates. To this court, in addition to its judicial powers,
was given the administrative and financial power of the
county. These duties it exercised until 1852, when, in

several counties, San Luis Obispo being included, all
duties not judicial were given to Boards of Supervisors.

The Legislature adjourned April 22, 1850. The two
bodies were composed of able men, who performed good
service, but from the convivial habits of some, obtained
the title of "The Legislature of a Thousand Drinks," by
which it is commonly designated.

CHx\PTER XVI.

POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY.

San Luis Obispo a County — Addressed as a Pueblo — The First
Election — National Political Parties — California Democratic
— The Whig Policy — Politics in .San Luis Obispo — County
Government Organized — Records of the Court of Sessions —
Extraordinary Authority Assumed — The First .Sunday Law —
Election in 1S50— District Court — Judges of the Plains —
Board of Supervisors — Election in 1852 — Election in 1853 —
Aspirations of Broderick — Political Duels — The Slavery Ques-
tion in California — Election in 1854 — A Stormy State Con-
vention—Conventions and Nommations — Campaign of 1855
— Native American Party — Efforts to Elect a Senator — Cam-
paign of 1856 — The Republicans — Nominations Made — Friend-
ship for Fremont — Election of Senators — Triumph of Brod-
erick.

'c7v^K> —

N the organization of the State Government San
Luis Obispo had been made one of the original
counties, with boundaries varying but little from the
present, having an area of about 3,250 square miles.

The county was but sparsely populated — the census of
1850 reporting a total population of 336 — the occupied
localities being the large ranchos, with only the resi-
dences of the proprietor and family and a few employes,
and the missions of San Luis Obispo and San Miguel.
At the mission of San Luis Obispo was the only aggre-
gation of houses that could be called a village, and that
consisted of the mission buildings and three or four crude
adobe structures in its immediate vicinity. The mission
was the central part of the district, as it was designated
before the creation of the county, being the place where
elections were held, and the seat of justice for the whole
region.

ADDRESSED AS A PUEBLO.

San Luis Obispo is addressed as a pueblo in 1845, in
a deed dated November 20th of that year, wherein Joa-
quin Estrada, y"««2 Prinuro, certifies to the sale by Don
Vicente Felis to Don Santiago Maquinle (James McKin-
ley) of the rancho {un sitio de Ganado Mayor) of San
Sebastian, situated on the " Arroyo de los Callucos "
(Cayucos), etc., for the consideration of tin mil pesos
($1,000). The right to the title of pueblo, however,
was not sufficiently established to gain for the town the
right to the quantity of land usually granted to pueblos.
San Luis Obispo had its Prefecto in W. G. Dana, whose
residence was at Nipomo, and Alcaldes in Victor Linares,
Jos6 de Jesus Pico, John M. Price, Miguel Avila, Joa-
quin Estrada, Esteban Quintana, J. M. Bonilla, and oth-
ers, whose residences, with the exception of the two last-
named, were at some distance from the mission.

There appears to have been but an indifferent form of
organization of Government, and but little statutory law

17

130

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

previous to the adoption of the State Constitution, and,
in fact, for some years after. The Alcaldes were ap-
pointed by the Governor, and upon their good sense and
sound judgment the people depended for their code of
laws and the dispensation of justice.

THE FIRST ELECTION,

Of which the records are preserved, was under the order
of General Riley, calling for the election of delegates
to the Constitutional Convention, and was held August
I, 1849. At the same election, the people were re-
quested to vote for such officers as formerly held under
Mexican laws. In San Luis Obispo, at the mission, was
held the election for the district. The total vote was
twenty-nine. Henry A. Tefft and Jose M. Covarrubias
were elected delegates to the Convention, J. M. Price
and Esteban Quintana, Alcaldes, and Joaquin Estrada,
Regidor.

Upon the adoption of the Constitution and the election
for Governor, the vote of San Luis Obispo was forty-five,
given to W. S. Sherwood for Governor, and H. A. Tefft
for Member of Assembly. The total vote has been given
in a preceding chapter, with the organization of the State
Government.

NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTIES.

The condition of politics in this section of the State it
would be difficult to define. To the majority of the
people, being of Spanish extraction, the national parties
were enigmas, and the terms " Democrat " and " Whig,"
then the names of the two parties into which the people
were divided, had but little significance. The State at
large, governed by the great flood of immigration from
the States of the East, was largely Democratic, for which
abundant reasons could be given, but what policy should
govern the native, the conquered, population of the
southern coast was not so evident. In the first elections,
1849, political lines were not drawn, nor in 1850, but in
185 1 nominations were made by Democrats and Whigs
for the State offices, the Democratic party winning by a
majority of 539. The national Government, with its
machinery for the management of elections, was in the
hands of the Whigs, and with such aid the strength of
the party was shown. The recent immigrants had gen-
erally brought their politics with them, but many changed
upon arriving and learning the sentiment prevaihng in
California.

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC.

The war of conquest had been a Democratic measure,
intended for the extension of slavery, but as it had re-
sulted in the addition of a rich gold-mining region to the
Union, and which had become free to all to enter and
gather the precious metal, the object of the slavery pro-
pagandists was forgotten, and the Democrats were ap-
plauded.

THE WHIG POLICY.

Questions of national polity subsequendy arose which
still more strengthened the Democratic party of California.
The national election of 1848 had resulted in the success

of the Whig party, raising Gen. Zachary Taylor to the
Presidency, and Millard Fillmore to the Vice-Presidency,
and in March, 1849, the Whig administration went into
power. The principles of that party were greatly that of
a paternal Government, protection to home industry, de-
veloping the resources of the country by national aid,
and partaking of the profits of labor or of enterprise.
With these principles the gold mines of California were
regarded as the rightful property of the Government, from
which it was its duty to raise a large revenue. The me-
dieval principle prevailed, of the nation — or the king —
being the exclusive owner of the royal metals, as gold and
silver were designated, and that no hardship could be
supposed to attend the assertion of that ownership.
Many plans were urged to obtain the Government's dues
from the miners, who were regarded as trespassers, and
the subject formed important features in the messages of
Presidents Taylor and Fillmore. Superintendents were
suggested, to be sent from the East with corps of Sur-
veyors, all under large salaries to place them above temp-
tation of corruption, these to mark the claims into plots, to
grant leases, receive the gold, and superintend mining.*
The theory was that the nation had bought of or taken
from Mexico a gold mine, of which the people were the
stockholders, and the Cabinet at Washington the di-
rectors, and all were to be made wealthy by its develop-
ment.

Hon. John M. Clayton, Secretary of State, in April,
1849, dispatched Col. T. Butler King, a prominent Whig
politician, to California, as agent of the United States,
to inquire into the state of affairs and report to the Gov-
ernment. This investigation was intended as a basis of
action regarding California. In accordance with the
views of the Whig Party, the report of Colonel King was
based on the idea of national ownership and occupancy
of all lands producing the " royal " metals, and a part-
nership in mining.

The Democratic Party opposed this policy, and thus
added to its popularity in California. There was much
"splitting of hairs," a contention upon narrow lines, and
much demagoguery, more in accordance with the mod-
ern political tactics of " fillibustering " than a settled fine
of policy that prevented the adoption of the Whig pol-
icy until, at last, the miners of California had passed
beyond Governmental interference and a new, American
policy was adopted which dethroned gold and silver
from their " royal " seat. In addition, the Democratic
apothegm, "The people who are the least governed are
the best governed," was very acceptable to the manly and
self-reliant class who took possession of the country and
organized a State Government.

POLITICS IN SAN LUIS OBISPO.

Such are the apparent reasons why California, in the
first years of American occupation, was pre-eminently
Democratic. But the class of people most influenced
by these reasons had not, at that period, become numer-
ous in San Luis Obispo and neighboring counties. The

* Col. R. B. Mason's Report, June 1848.

1

POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY.

131

I

presumption is that there was a feeling of antagonism
between the pastoral people of the coast and the over-
whelming influence of the mining counties, and the poli-
tics of one would be opposed by the other; or the acci-
dent of some influential Whigs locating in the county
and directing the vote of those who were indifferent to
parties. The Spanish people were, moreover, accus-
tomed to a paternal government, to which the Whig pol-
icy greatly inclined, and quite naturally they voted with
that party. This is shown by the vote of 185 1, the first
in which party lines were drawn in the State. The Dem-
ocrats nominated John Bigler for Governor, and the
Whigs nominated Pearson B. Reading, the latter for a
number of years a resident of California, a large ranchero
and formerly a Mexican citizen. At that election the
vote of San Luis Obispo was 8 for Bigler, and 58 for
Reading, the Whig candidate. This was the lowest
vote of any county, that of San Diego being next, 164,
Santa Barbara 205, the total vote of the State being 46,-
009. Perhaps politics had nothing to do with this large
Whig majority, but his being one known to the people
may have brought the vote to Reading. At the succeed-
ing election, in 1852, the Whig candidate also received
the majority, it being for President of the United States.
Gen. Winfield Scott, the Whig candidate, received 112
of San Luis Obispo's vote, and Franklin Pierce, the
Democratic nominee, received 11 votes. In 1853, Wil-
liam Waldo was the Whig candidate for Governor, and
San Luis Obispo gave him 137 votes, and for John Bigler
9 votes, showing the county still to be strongly Whig.
But the detail of the elections and the political changes
will be shown further on.

The political history of the county so blends, and is so
governed by that of the State that one cannot be made
intelligible without much mention of the other, and in
doing this we may be charged with burdening our work
with too extended details. There has never been written
a political history of California, and, therefore, mention
of political events beyond the limits of San Luis Obispo
County, with which it was and is intimately connected,
will be instructive and not out of place.

COUNTY GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED.

The Legislature of 1850 provided for the organization
of counties in the very simplest manner. It was made
the duty of each Prefect, immediately after the passage
of the Act, or upon receiving notice of it, to designate a
suitable number of election precincts, and, at the same
time, to give notice to voters to assemble on the first
Monday of April, 1850, and vote for the following officers:
One Clerk of the Supreme Court, one District Attorney
for each Judicial District, one County Judge, one County
Clerk, one County Attorney, one County Surveyor, one
Sheriff, one Recorder, one Coroner, one Assessor, and
one County Treasurer. The people assembling at the
place designated, were to select one to act as Inspector
of Election, and he was to appoint two Judges and two
Clerks of Election, and administer to them the oath to
perform their duties truly. If the Prefect had not desig-
nated any election precinct, then, if thirty people were

present, they could organize one, and proceed with the
election. The officers would take their positions imme-
diately after the election, and the county government
was organized.

There was no appointing of commissioners, nor call-
ing of conventions; but the people acted of their own
will, and simply and directly accomplished their purpose.
The election was held April 14, 1850.

J. Mariano Bonilla was elected County Judge; Henry
J. Dally, Sheriff; Charles James Freeman, County
Clerk; Joaquin Estrada, County Recorder; John Wilson,
County Treasurer and Collector; Joseph Warren and
Jesus Luna were elected Justices of the Peace.

The Statute creating the courts authorized the Court
of Sessions to order elections to fill vacancies, and also
to temporarily fill the same. The Court of Sessions was
to consist of the County Judge and two Justices of the
Peace. These being in existence, the court was held,
the first session being in July, 1850, and appointed
Francis Z. Branch, Assessor; Wm. Hutton, County Sur-
veyor, and William Stenner, Harbor Master. Joaquin
Estrada resigned the office of County Recorder, and
Stephen Purdie was appointed by the court; and in Au-
gust, Purdie resigned, and S. A. Pollard was appointed
in his stead.

In October, Joseph Warren was allowed to leave on a
visit, and S. A. Pollard was appointed Justice of the Peace,
pro tern, but in November, Warren resigned, and Louis
Raggio was appointed in his place.

Gabriel Salazar was appointed _/;/d?s de Campo, or Judge
of the Plains, an ofiSce usual under Spanish rule, but new
to the American system. The Judge of the Plains had
supervision of the driving, killing, branding, ownership,
and other questions relating to cattle, and, in the great
stock ranges of the southern counties, was an important
officer. There were several in San Luis Obispo County.

In August, 1850, the Court of Sessions appointed
Tomas Herrera, Superintendent of Water.

RECORDS OF THE COURT OF SESSIONS.

The early records were kept in the Spanish language —
when kept at all — in small books resembling the writing-
books of children at school, and from them no full and
connected account can be gathered. The names, as well
as records, are in Spanish, and we find accounts in 1849,
of Enrique Dally por sueldo de Sheriff a razon de $20 men-
sates, or at the rate of $20.00 per month. In April follow-
ing, Enrique Dally becomes Henry J. Dally, Sheriff.
Jose Warren, Jnez de Paz, becomes Joseph Warren, Justice
of the Peace. The proceedings of the court and all
accounts were for some years conducted in Spanish, that
being the only language spoken by the great majority of
the people, and the officers and juries of the courts.
An interpreter was required if any one were present igno-
rant of the language, as one is at the present time when
native Californians are interested, who have not learned
the English language.

EXTRAORDINARY AUTHORITY ASSUMED.

The records of the Court of Sessions show the great

132

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

scope of authority assumed by that body, and customs
that seem strange to the very different class of people
who occupy the land at the present time..

The second meeting of the court was held August 12,
1850, which, in the language of the records, was "to
judicate on the cases brought before them, to wit: a
criminal case between the State vs. Marquez, and another
case of Terrano vs. Gallego, in which sentence was
passed on the former of three months' imprisonment and
fine of $100 and costs; in the second case, damages and
costs to the amount of $80.00.''

The convicted Pedro Marquez appears to have been
mprisoned on a ranch, probably as a vaquero, as at a
later day he is required to bring certificates from Juan
Price and Guillermo Dana of the days he had worked
on their ranchos, and also on the rancho of Don Luis
Burton. It is presumed he worked out his imprisonment
and fine.

William Hutton petitioned the court for license to
survey and make a plan of the town of San Luis Obispo,
and full authority was granted him to do so. He was
directed to lay out the main street twenty yards wide
and all other streets fifteen yards wide, and the town
was declared to extend to the limit of the lots.

Charles J. Freeman petitioned to inquire into the
legality of his appointment as Deputy Tax-CoUector by
John Wilson, Treasurer and ex-officio Collector, and he
was given authority to collect and give receipts for taxes.

At the meeting of August 20, 1850, the question came
before the court of providing for a Court House and jail.
The mission buildings were regarded as belonging to the
public, and one of the rooms opening on the corridor
was used as a court-room, another as a jail, and others
for various offices, the chapel and adjoining rooms being
in the possession of the priest as previously ordered by
Secretary Halleck. The principal part of the buildings,
however, were claimed as the property of Capt. John
Wilson, who with his partner, Scott, and others, had
become the purchaser, under the order of sale by Gov-
ernor Micheltorena. It was ordered that a contract be
made for needed repairs under the supervision of the
County Judge.

The court assumed extraordinary powers as legisla-
tors and directors of the conduct of the people. The
following extracts from the records is the simplest
method of presenting the course of procedure and con-
dition of affairs at that time: —

Resolved., That there be formed a code by which the
roads be put in repair, obliging all inhabitants to assist
in the repairs — the said law to be formed and put in
effect on the next session of this court.

Resolved, That the road made by passengers, formed
from the entrance of the Cuesta to the Nipomo road, be
stopped, and public notice of the same be given, and a
fine be called for of $10.00 for each offense.

Resolved, That a license for gambling be granted to
whatever tavern-keeper who may require it for one month,
to be paid beforehand, and that no license be granted
but to a resident tavern-keeper; that the license be
$15.00 a month for gambling and $5.00 a month for
his tavern be collected; he, the said tavern-keeper, shall
have rules placed in his house in Spanish and English,

that no excuse may be received for ignorance of the
aforesaid law, that the said license be recovered by
a Justice of Peace.

Resolved, That all licenses not provided for shall be
of $5.00 a month, to be paid beforehand; that all
licenses and monies received by the Justice of Peace
shall be paid to the County Auditor who will remit to the
Treasurer.

Resolved, That a Judge of the county for cattle be
appointed, and that Gabriel Salazar shall be Judge; that
he shall supervise all cattle killing by inhabitants of this
town; that he shall see that all rodeos be properly con-
ducted, and that all rodeos in this county be called by
the said Judge at the time appointed by the court; that
he shall have supervision of all irons and ear-marks. In
consideration of which he, the said Judge, shall receive
$15.00 per month, and the use of all animals unclaimed
for the purpose of the county.

Resolved, That a Superintendent of Water for the pur-
pose of irrigation be appointed, and that Tomas Herrera
be the Superintendent. His duties shall be that he
summon all who have right of water to keep in order
the dam and canals; that he shall advise all that they
have certain days for the use of the water, and shall have
power to recover a fine of $5-oo from each who shall
either take the water out of his turn or disobey the orders
of the Superintendent.

Resolved, That the right of water shall commence with
the one who has his ground farthest from the dam, and
shall proceed according to their rotation; that each 100
vai-as of land shall be entitled to two days' water, that is
to say, forty-eight hours to be taken in succession.

Resolved, That all cattle killed by this town shall be
in the ground fixed on by this court, and that the same
be published. Whoever shall disobey this order shall be
fined by the Jiiez de Campo; for the first offense shall
be $5.00, for the second, $20.00.

Resolved, That the streets be kept clean by the inhab-
itants of the town; that all shall have their fronts, that is
to say the foot-paths in front of their houses and occupa-
tions, swept by 8 o'clock on Saturday mornings or be
subject to a fine of $2.00. That on Saturdays the Jus-
tice of the Peace shall see that a cart and two men be
ready to clean the streets, and that they shall clean the
same and carry the dirt out of town.

Resolved, That the Constable receive $20.00 a month for
his salary, and that he shall fulfill the duties of Consta-
ble under the authority of the Justices, or Judges, or any
who have authority over him. Orders given that the
men necessary to watch the prisoner Francisco Garcia
be paid the sum of $2.00 each for each night.

Resolved, That all rancheros shall give two rodeos in
the year, the first to commence in April, and the second
in July, to begin with the rancho of Guadalupe, who shall
hold his rodeo the second Monday in April; of Nipomo
on the second Thursday of same month; Luis Burton, on
the third Monday; Branch, Thursday and Friday; Juan
Price, fourth Tuesday; Villa, fourth Monday; Avila, fourth
Thursday; Juan Wilson, first Monday of May; Victor
Linares, fourth Friday; Priest, fourth Saturday; Jesus
Pico, first Thursday; Julian Estrada, second Monday;
Rafael Villa, second Tuesday; Estrada, third Wednesday,
and the community of San Luis, fourth Monday.

Resolved, That no ranchero shall make a rodeo for
the purpose of marking with iron, or the ear, or otherwise,
without advising his neighbors, and also the Judge of
Animals of San Luis, at least two days beforehand.

Resolved, That all persons who have animals marked,
or who possess a brand, shall, before the last day of Sep-
tember, have the same registered in the office of the
County Clerk, also, that every ear-mark shall in same

POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY.

133

manner be registered, the brand burnt in a piece of hide,
and the ear-mark cut in the same, or a fine will be put of
five dollars.

Resolved, That no person shall have more than ten
head of neat cattle and five horses on the public lands;
and if more are found on the said lands, they will be
claimed for the property of the county; this law to take
effect two months from this date.

Resolved, That no traveler from the mines or other
part, who is a stranger and foreigner, or native, shall, after
this, advise a Justice of the Peace, on their arrival, that it
is their intention to remain in this place, with a statement
where they live.

Monday, September 21, 1850.

Resolved, That the laws be published which were
passed in the sessions past.

Resolved, That a portion of town lands be put in the
power of Judge of the county, for the express purpose of
forming a town of Indians, the said lands being only on
trust and not given, and that all Indians who have no
masters shall come and live on these lands.

Resolved, That the law of contract regarding Indians,
be published and that the contracts be made at once;
and for noncompliance any debt an Indian may owe
cannot be recovered from his master.

Resolved, That the people of this county be sum-
moned without delay to mend the roads of the county.

THE FIRST SUNDAY LAVi^.

Resolved, That the sale of liquors to Indians be re-
stricted to Sundays after church until sundown, and not
allow the liquor to be drunk on their premises, but to
take it to a public place designated by the Judge.

The last resolution was probably the first "Sunday law'
ever passed in this State, but will, however, hardly be
taken as a precedent upon which to base Sunday laws at
the present time. It was a considerate indulgence to the
poor Indian that he might get drunk on Sunday, provided
he would pay such respect to the church as to postpone
his revelry until after services. The Christianized savage
was thus taught to keep the record of the week, to know
when Sunday came, and to take an interest in the church
services, particularly the close. The Indians appear to
have been regarded as of such a distinct class as to re-
quire special laws to govern them, and placed under the
guardianship of the County Judge, who allotted them
places of residence, contracted for their labor, and directed
where they might get drunk.

The court had its own way of settling land titles, taking
all questions relating to the people under its supervision.
In January, 1851, it directed that "the widow of the late
Olivie Deleissigues, nacio Concepcion Borronda, be writ-
ten to that she may have her land, called the potrero,
measured and surveyed, as the spare ground is sought as
settlement, and cannot be occupied until the said farm be
measured to know its boundary."

All Justices of the Peace were required to give a bond
of $1,000, before entering upon the duties of their offices.
At that date Jesus Luna, Mariano G. Lascano, and Luis
Raggio were Justices. On the iSth of February, 1851,
an election was held, by order of the Court of Sessions,
in the town of San Luis Obispo, to fill vacancies in the
offices of Justice of the Peace, and Bernardo Lascano

and William L. Beebee, each receiving eighteen votes,
being a majority over all others, were declared elected.

Charles J. Freeman having resigned the office of County
Clerk, Samuel A. Pollard was appointed by the Court.
During the year 185 1, we find Jose de Jesus Pico, Henry M.
Osgood, Wm. A. Streeter, and Jesus Luna, Justices of the
Peace, and in October O. M. Brown was appointed Dis-
trict Attorney by the Court of Sessions to hold until the
next election.

ELECTION IN 1850.

A general election was held in September, 1850, for
choosing two members of Congress, a member of the As-
sembly, and county officers. Joseph W. McCorkle and
E. C. Marshall were elected to Congress; Charles J. Free-
man was elected to the Assembly; John M. Price, County
Judge; Wm. G. Dana, Treasurer; Henry J. Dally, Sheriff;
James D. Hutton, Clerk; William R. Hutton, County
Surveyor (resigned August 4, 1851), and S. A. Pollard,
Public Administrator. Judge Price resigned in August,
185 1, and September 8, Wm. J. Graves was appointed
County Judge.

DISTRICT COURT.

By the provision of the Constitution the Legislature, at
its first session, was required to elect in joint convention
Judges for each judicial district. The counties of San
Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara were made the Second
District, and Henry A. Tefft was elected. The first
term was for two years, from the first of January after tak-
ing the office, and subsequent terms of six years. Judge
Tefft held the office until his death, which occurred by
accidental drowning in the harbor of San Luis Obispo,
February 6, 1852, in attempting to land from the
steamer while returning from holding court in Santa Bar-
bara.

Joaquin Carrillo, of Santa Barbara, then County Judge
of that county, was appointed Judge of the Second Ju-
dicial District, to fill the vacancy caused by the death ot
Judge Tefft, and was subsequently elected to the same
position, which, by appointment and successive elections
he held for twelve years.

JUDGES OF THE PLAINS.

The first mention of any other township than San
Luis Obispo is in the records of the Court of Sessions
upon the occasion of the appointment of Judges of the
Plains, and prescribing their duties. The court met for
this purpose August 4, 185 i, and was composed of John
M. Price, County Judge, and William L. Beebee and
Jesus Luna, Associate Judges. The following order
was made: —

Ordered, that the following persons are hereby ap-
pointed Judges of the Plains within this county for the
townships respectively as follows: For the township of
San Luis Obispo, Joso Olevera, ist Judge; for the town-
ship of San Luis Obispo, Dolores Herrera, 2d Judge;
for the township of Nipomo, Francisco Branch; for the
township of Nipomo, Dreago Olevera; for the township
of 3d Precinct, Jose Vasquez, and Petronilo Rios.

The said Judges shall hold their offices for one year
from and after this date, and shall receive as compensa-
tion for their services the following fees: For services

134

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

in any fire on the plains, payable out of the county
treasury, $3.00 per day; attending any rodeo, payable
by the person calling for the same, $2.00 per day;
each judgment upon any question of ownership, payable
by the party against whom judgment is given, $1.00;
arresting and taking before a magistrate for examination
any person, payable as in criminal case, and travel per
mile in such case payable in like manner; the same
fees are allowed by law to Constables for same services.

The following regulations are adopted by the Court of
Sessions: For the government and the payment of the
Judges of the Plains of San Luis Obispo shall be al-
lowed $20.00 per month for services, payable out of the
county treasury. The Judges of the other townships
shall receive no compensation except such fees as are
allowed to the Judge of the township of San Luis Obispo.

Section i. Ordered that it shall be the duty of the
Judge of the Plains of San Luis Obispo to accompany
every drove of cattle passing through the township of
San Luis Obispo, as far as the rancho of M. Bonilla,
and ascertain if there be any cattle in such for which the
drover has no bill of sale for.

During that period large droves of cattle were driven
through San Luis Obispo to supply the cities and mining
regions of the north, and it became necessary to take
great precautions to prevent the drovers from sweeping
the country of stock. The remaining sections of the
orders relate to the butchering of cattle in the county,
and requiring the Judge of the Plains {/i/ez de Campo),
to examine all and ascertain if properly branded and
vented, to impose fines in any case of butchering cattle
not properly branded and vented, or having a bill of
sale of the same. The fine was fixed at $20.00 for each
offense. The Juez de Campo was also to attend to the
suppressing of fires on the plains, with authority to order
out the people of the township, and if necessary to call
upon the neighboring township for assistance.

ELECTION IN 185I.

At the election held in November, 185 1, Antonio
Maria de la Guerra, of Santa Barbara, was elected Sen-
ator for the district, and Mariano Pacheco was elected
to the Assembly from San Luis Obispo.

The Court of Sessions, at a special meeting held
December 8, 185 1, appointed George Stone, Judge of
the Plains, for Township No. i; Joseph M. Levy, to be
Public Administrator in place of S. A. Pollard, who had
neglected to qualify, and R. C. M. Hoyt, Sheriff, in
place of Henry J. Dally, resigned. Elliott Libby is
Justice of the Peace and Acting Coroner. February 27,
1852, Francis J. Maguire is appointed County Clerk
and ex officio Auditor in place of James D. Hutton, re-
signed, and R. C. M. Hoyt is made Juez de Campo for
the county. August 4, 1852, O. M. Brown was
appointed County Surveyor.

At the meeting of the court on the 6th of December,
1852, it was composed of William J. Graves, County
Judge; Bernardo Lascano and Ambrosio Gomez, Asso-
ciate Justices; Parker H. French was District Attorney,
and the court appointed Joseph M. Levy, Public Admin-
istrator, in place of John Wilson, who had failed to
qualify, and Don Jose de Jesus Pico, Assessor, in place
of Francisco Z. Branch. An election was ordered for

Justice of the Peace in the town of San Luis Obispo, to
be held on the 17th of December, and David B. Streeter
was elected.

From this date the Court of Sessions ceased to be
the financial and business agent of the county, such
powers having been transferred to a

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.

May 3, 1852, the Legislature enacted a law providing
for Boards of Supervisors in several counties of Califor-
nia, San Luis Obispo County being included. Justices
of the Peace, County Clerks, Sheriffs, and other county
officers were declared ineligible to the office of Super-
visor. For this county it was provided that the Board
should consist of five members, who should be qualified
electors of the county; that they should be elected at
the general election subsequent to the passage of the
Act, should be elected annually to serve one year, and
until their successors were elected and qualified. _ One
of the number was to be chosen by the Board as Chair-
man, and the Clerk of the county was to be Clerk of the
Board.

The powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Board
were to make such orders concerning the property of
the county as they deemed expedient; to audit the
accounts of all officers; examine, settle, and allow all
accounts chargeable against the county; have the man-
agement and control of all public roads, highways,
ferries, and bridges; to establish townships and election
districts; appoint judges and inspectors of elections;
purchase or receive any property necessary for the use
of the county; erect or lease a Court House, jail, and
such other public buildings and improvements as may
be necessary for the use of the county; take care of and
provide for the indigent sick, and insane; levy and
collect an annual tax, not to exceed one-half of one per
cent., on the valuation of all property, real and personal,
in the county for the payment of the debts of the
county; ascertain and determine, with a jury, or by
consent of parties without a jury, the just compensation
to be made to the owners of private property taken for
1-^ public use; sue and defend on behalf of the county, and
to perform all such acts as may be necessary to the dis-
charge of the duties imposed by law; also to act as a
Board of Canvassers, and declare the election returns;
and, within sixty days after entering upon their duties,
to ascertain the amount of the then existing debt of the
county, and the amount and condition of all property
belonging to the county.

The Board of Supervisors was made a Board of Appeal
for the equalization of taxes, and was forbidden to con-
tract any debt or liabilities, which, in the aggregate,
should exceed the annual revenue of the county for
county purposes. Each member of the Board of Super-
visors was entitled to receive for each day's necessary
attendance the sum of $5.00 per day, and twenty-five
cents per mile in going to the county seat from his resi-
dence, and no member could be interested in any con-
tract for the county.

The members of the Board were John Wilson, Fran-

POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY.

135

cisco Z. Branch, Joaquin Estrada, William G. Dana, and
Samuel A. Pollard, the latter being Chairman. At the
first meetmg, held o-i the 13th of December, 1852, it
was ordered that William L. Beebee be appointed Super-
visor in place of Wm. G. Dana, who held the office of
County Treasurer and was declared " not legible " for
any other ofifice. Parker H. French was appointed
District Attorney, with a salary fixed at $500 per annum.

ELECTION IN 1852.

The campaign of 1852 was for the election of Presi-
dent and Vice-President of the United States, being the
first in which the native people of California had partici-
pated. In the State were to be elected at large two
members of Congress, two Justices of the Supreme Court,
and one Clerk of the Supreme Court. For Second
Judicial District a Judge, and for the county one Member
of Assembly and county officers to fill vacancies.

The National Conventions had nominated Franklin
Pierce, of New Hampshire, for President, and Wm. R.
King, of South Carolina, for Vice-President, on the part
of the Democracy; and Winfield Scott, General of the
army, for President, and William A. Graham,' of North
Carolina, for Vice-President on the part of the AVhigs.

The Democratic State Convention had placed in nom-
ination James A. McDougall and Milton S. Latham for
Congress, Hugh C. Murray and Alexander Wells for
Justices of the Supreme Court, and P. K. Woodside for
Clerk of the Supreme Court.

The Whig Convention nominated G. B. Tingley and
Philip Edwards for Congress; E. B. Sloan and Simon
Buckner for Justices of the Supreme Court, and W. W.
Hawks for Clerk.

For District Judge, Joaquin Carrillo, of Santa Barbara,
was nominated.

No great difference was observable in the party plat-
forms. The Democrats professed fealty to the com-
promise measures of 1850, which had forever settled the
slavery question. The Whigs professed greater fealty,
claiming they had been the means of accomplishing that
noble and much-desired end. The Democrats favored
the uniting of the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts by the
most improved means of communication. The Whigs
declared that their party was the only one favorable to
internal improvements, by the General Government, and
that the Democratic party could not be trusted to build
the Pacific Railroad. These obscure and ridiculous
sentences are fair synopses of the two platforms.

General Scott, the Whig candidate for the Presidency,
was exceedingly popular as the Commander-in-Chief of
the army, and had won great honors in the recent war
with Mexico. He was distinguished for his commanding
appearance and soldierly bearing, of which he was very
proud. His companion on the ticket, Mr. Graham, was
from North Carolina, nicknamed the " Tar State," and
these two facts — Scott's military dress and vanity, and
Graham's native State — suggested to Daniel Webster,
when told of the nomination, the expression, " feathers
and tar — tar and feathers," and this became the slogan

of ridicule that took from Scott all the prestige of his
military rank and fame.

Franklin Pierce had also served in the Mexican War as
a General of Volunteers, but it was for his services as a
partisan, rather than as a soldier, that he was rewarded
with the nomination.

John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, and George W.
Julian, of Indiana, were the candidates of the Free-Soil
Party. This organization had for its basis the exclusion
of slavery from the Territories. It figured but slightly in
the election in California.

The campaign did not create any great enthusiasm in
California, there being few newspapers throughout the
interior, and the people were too busily engaged in the
exciting progress of business. The vote in the State
was for the Democratic candidates. Pierce and King
receiving 40,626 votes, and Scott and Graham receiving
35,807. In San Luis Obispo the vote was for the Whig
candidates, Scott receiving 112 votes, and Pierce 11
votes. Milton S. Lathan and James A. McDougal,
Democrats, were elected to Congress, over Geo. B. Tingley
and Philip Edwards, Whigs. Joaquin Carrillo was elected
District Judge; Mariano Pacheco, Member of Assembly;
O. M. Brown, County Judge; Albert Mann, Sheriff; and
other county officers, as previously mentioned, to fill
vacancies.

The great leaders of the Whig Party in the United
States were Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. Clay died
June 29, 1852, and Webster, October 24th of the same
year. From their death the strength of the party waned,
and, with the defeat of Scott, it left the field as a great
national power. For some years, however, it maintained
organizations in the various States.

ELECTION IN 1 853.

The campaign of 1853 involved the election of Gov-
ernor and other State officers, a Senator, Member of
Assembly, and county officers.

The State Conventions nominated candidates, the
Whig ticket containing the names of William Waldo, of
Solano, for Governor; Henry Eno, of Calaveras, for
Lieutenant-Governor; Tod Robinson, of Sacramento, for
Justice of Supreme Court; D. K. Newell, of El Dorado,
for Attorney-General; George E. Winters, of Yuba, for
Controller; Samuel Knight, of San Joaquin, for Treas-
urer; Sehm E. Woodworth, of Monterey, for Surveyor-
General, and Sherman Day, of Santa Clara, for Superin-
tendent of Public Instruction.

The Democratic ticket was composed of John Bigler,
of Sacramento, for Governor; Samuel Purdy, of San
Joaquin, for Lieutenant-Governor; Alexander Wells, of
San Francisco, for Justice of Supreme Court; John R.
McConnell, of Nevada, for Attorney-General; Samuel
Bell, of Mariposa, for Controller; S. A. McMeans, of El
Dorado, for Treasurer; Senaca H. Marlette, of Calaveras,
for Surveyor-General, and Paul K. Hubbs, of Tuolumne,
for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The Democratic nomination was usually deemed
equivalent to an election. Bigler had been nominated
through the aid of David C. Broderick, a politician of

136

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

San Francisco, lately President pro tern, of the State
Senate, and a persistent candidate for the Senate of the
United States. Waldo had assisted the overland immi-
gration in several instances of great distress, and for these
services had become popular with the mass of voters.
The election occurred September 3, 1853. The entire
Democratic State nominees were elected, the vote for
Governor being, Bigler, 38,940; Waldo, 37,484-

The vote in San Luis Obispo was: Waldo, 137; Bigler,
9. Pablo de la Guerra, of Santa Barbara, was elected
Senator from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.
Parker H. French was elected to the Assembly, Romu-
aldo Pacheco, County Judge; John Lappin, Sheriff; D.
F. Newsom, Clerk and Superintendent of Schools; Hub-
bard C. M. Ely, District Attorney; Jose de Jesus Pico,
Assessor, and Joaquin Estrada, Treasurer.

ASPIRATIONS OF BRODERICK.

The Legislature met at Benicia January 2, 1854, and
removed to Sacramento, February 25th following. The
Senate consisted of thirty-four members, and eighty in
the Assembly. The session was an exceedingly stormy
one. David C. Broderick again came forward as a can-
didate for the United States Senate, for which position
he had aspired since the organization of the State Gov-
ernment. By his aspirations and management the Dem-
ocratic Party was divided into what were commonly de-
nominated "Chivalry" and "Anti-Chivalry," or "Brod-
erick," wings. He had attempted to have himself elected
successor to John C. Fremont, whose term expired
March 3, 185 1, but not succeeding in this was sufficiently
skillful in his management as to prevent the election of
a Senator until late in 1853, when John B. Weller was
elected. There being no Congressional statute fixing the
time of election, Broderick assumed it could be done at
any time.

POLITICAL DUELS.

The ambition of Broderick and the arrogance of his
opponents created very bitter feelings among the poli-
ticians of the State, giving cause to several political duels
and eventually resulting in a rupture of the Democratic
Party. Col. Phillip W. Thomas, Chairman of the Dem-
ocratic Central Committee of Placer County, was chal-
lenged by J. P. Rutland, a clerk in the State Treasurer's
office, but decHned on the ground that the challenger was
not a gentleman, when Dr. Dixon, of San Francisco, the
bearer of the challenge, assumed the place of his princi-
pal. Thomas attempted to explain, and prove that Rut-
land was not truthful and not a gentleman, but the rules
of the "code" permitted no such explanation, and,
although Thomas and Dixon were friends, and the latter
a stranger to Rudand's character, the parties met, near
Sacramento, on the 9th of March, 1854, and Dixon was
killed.

March 21, 1854, Col. B. F. Washington, editor of the
Times and Transcript, an anti-Broderick paper, and C.
A. Washburn, editor of the Alta California, a friend of
Broderick, fought near San Francisco, and the latter was
severely wounded. A series of tragedies marked the

career of the Broderick party, ending in the death of the
principal in a duel with Judge D. S. Terry in 1859.

THE SLAVERY QUESTION IN CALIFORNIA.

The subject of slavery was a very delicate question in
politics in those days, and woe be to him who dared to
express an opinion averse or doubtful of the sacredness
of the institution. But a bold leader, for his own polit-
ical purposes and ambition, had thrown a gauge of bat-
tle into the arena and challenged the acknowledged
champions of slavery to combat. Thus it followed that
those who could break from party rule for a personal ob-
ject could come to express an opinion on principle.
From such steps the breach grew wider and irreconcila-
ble. On the 17th of April, 1854, there were laid on the
desks of the Members of the Legislature circulars, issued
by the "Society of Friends of Great Britain and Ireland,"
animadverting upon the subject of slavery in America,
and advocating its suppression. This touched the sorest
spot in the political body, and great indignation was ex-
pressed.

Mr. McBrayer, Member of the Assembly from Sacra-
mento, offered the following preamble and resolutions
respecting the circulars, which are here reproduced, as a
sign of the times and presaging the future : —

Whereas, An abolition document, purporting to come
from the Society of Friends in London, has been laid upon
the desk of each member of this body, and

Whereas, Such document, under cover of religious
teachings, advises treason, immorality, and a general dis-
obedience of the laws of the Union; therefore be it

Resolved, That the pages and porters of this House be
directed to gather up said documents, and, in imitation
of the Indian burial service, make a funeral pyre of the
same. And be it further

Resolved, That the Society of Friends in London be
requested, in the sole name of humanity, to attend to
the interest of the white slaves of England and Ireland,
and to be kind enough to allow the people of the United
States to look after and attend to the affairs and condi
tion of the "poor" African within their own borders.

The resolutions were adopted by the following vote : —

Yeas— Messrs. A. C. Bradford, C. E. Carr, Pedro C.

Carrillo, Chngan, T. R. Davidson, J. N. Dawley,

W. M. Gordon, H. Griffith, Hagans, E. O. F.

Hastings, Henry, A. J. Houghtailing, E. Hunter,

Richard Irwin, W. Lindsey, J. W. Mandeville, J. Musser,
B. F. Myers, J. M. McBrayer, C. W. McDaniel, F. S.
McKenney, Charles P. Noel, Jas. O'Neil, J. W. Park,
Martin Rowan, John Stemmons, W. W. Stow — 27.

Nays — Messrs. Francis Anderson, D. R. Ashley, S.
A. Ballou, J. H. Bostwick, Ed. Burton, John Conness,
P. B. Cornwall, B. L. Fairfield, H. B. Godard, J. H.
Hollister, N. Hubert, J. C. Jones, H. B. Kellogg, F. W.
Koll, W. S. Letcher, G. McDonald, E. B. Purdy, J. R.
Ring, T. A. Springer, W. J. Sweasey, Joseph Livy, S. G.
Whipple — 22.

Those voting against the resolutions were in the ensu-
ing campaign held up by the Democratic press and
speakers to public execration, and bitterly denounced as
"Abolitionists." The vote of Parker H. French, of
San Luis Obispo, is not recorded in the above.

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RANCH ii RESIDENCE OF CHAS LEE, i MILES WEST QF SAN LUIS OBISPO. CAL.

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B^N LUIS OBISPO CO. CAL.

POLITICAL HISTORY OF THP: COUNTY.

137

ELECTION IN 1854.

The discussions among the leaders of the Democratic
Party culminated in an open rupture in the campaign of
1854. Politics became a subject of exciting controversy
throughout the State, but in the absence of newspapers
and the infrequency of communication with San Luis
Obispo this section remained quite undisturbed. The
chief question that agitated the public was the election
of a United States Senator to succeed Dr. Wm. M.
Gwin, whose term would expire March 3, 1855. Brod-
erick was the competing candidate, and he persisted in
making his contest in the ranks of the Democratic Party,
and being Chairman of the State Central Committee and
"boss of the machine," pursued the policy of "divide
or conquer." The Democratic State Convention was
called to meet at Sacramento on the i8th of July. Two
hundred and sixty delegates would constitute the con-
vention, but by the game played by the rival aspirants
nearly every county sent two sets of representatives.

A STORMY STATE CONVENTION.

The State Convention of 1854 was an event long to be
remembered by the politicians of California. The con-
vention met on the day appointed in the Baptist Church.
Each wing had arranged to effect a surprise and immedi-
ate organization, and thus secure control, but the secret
arrangement of each had been treacherously made known
to the other. Broderick, as Chairman of the State Cen-
tral Committee, called the convention to order. Imme-
diately James O'Meara, Anti-Broderick, of San Francisco,
nominated ex-Gov. John McDougal for Chairman. Mr.
Vermule, of Santa Clara, Broderick, nominated Judge
Ed. McGowan. Broderick refused to recognize O'Meara
as a delegate, put the motion of Vermule, and without
asking for the noes, declared him elected. O'Meara put
his own motion and declared McDougal elected. Each
faction was prepared for war, and with revolvers drawn
escorted their respective Chairmen to the stage where each
occupied seats. Men of nerve and action had been se-
lected for this purpose. Prominent among the Broderick
faction were Samuel C. Astin, Sheriff of Placer; William
Walker, the filibuster; James P. Casey, afterwards hanged
by the Vigilance Committee; Billy Mulligan, the prize-
fighter; Mike Gray, Sheriff of Yuba; Henry Caulfield, of
Sacramento squatter notoriety; Jack McDougall, of El
Dorado; Wm. Roach, of Monterey, a fighting Sheriff,
and others. Of the Anti-Brodericks, were Major John
Bidwell and Judge W. S. Sherwood, of Butte; P. W.
Thomas, of Placer; J. P. Dameron, naval officer; Wm.
G. Ross, James O'Meara, and Blanton McAlpin, of San
Francisco; ex-Speaker C. S. Fairfax, of Yuba; General
Richardson, United States Marshal; David S. Terry and
Samuel H. Brooks, of San Joaquin; Maj. P. Solomon
and George S. Evans, of Tuolumne; Joseph C. McKib-
ben, of S'erra; Ben. Marshall, ex-Sheriff of Calaveras,
and many of the Federal officers of San Francisco, who
were the appointees of Senator Gwin. All were prepared
for the most desperate action, and a hundred pistols were
drawn and held in readiness for bloody and deadly hos-

tilities. The utmost disorder prevailed. The two Chair-
men sat side by side through the day, but no progress in
business could be made. Broderick moved an adjourn-
ment, which was declared carried, but no one left the
house. The trustees and the pastor of the church
begged the assemblage to disperse, and not further dis-
grace or endanger by a riot the sacred edifice; but their
prayers were received with derision by the howling mass.
In this condition the double convention continued
through the day until late in the evening, when the
trustees having refused to permit the gas to be lighted,
the two Chairmen, arm in arm, headed the procession
and marched out and separated.

CONVENTIONS AND N0MIN.4TI0NS.

The next day two conventions met and each made
nominations. Each styled itself Democratic, but the
common designations were, " Regular Democrats" and
"Broderick Democrats." The first nominated Gen.
James W. Denver, of Trinity, and Philip T. Herbert, of
Mariposa, for Congress, and Charles A. Leake, of Cala-
veras, for Clerk of the Supreme Court, and the Broderick
Democrats nominated Milton S. Latham, of Sacramento,
and James A. McDougall, of San Francisco, for Con-
gress, both then holding the office, and Preston K. Wood-
side, of Calaveras, for Clerk of the Supreme Court.
Latham subsequently declined, and James Churchman,
of Nevada, was nominated in his place.

The Whig State Convention met at Sacramento, July
25, 1854, and nominated Geo. W. Bowie, of Colusa, and
Calhoun Benham, of San Francisco, for Congress, and
Joseph R. Beard, of Nevada, for Clerk of the Supreme
Court.

Three parties were now in the field, two claiming the
title of Democrat, but bearing epithets and appella-
tives of " Chivalry" and " Anti-Chivalry," " regulars"
and "bogus," "Democrats" and "Broderick Democrats;"
the other party was the Whigs. Meetings were held
in every locality where audiences could be assembled,
and the ablest public speakers went through the State
in the interest of their respective parties. The Whigs
felt that with a divided Democracy they could win,
and therefore worked with unusual vigor. The reg-
ular Democratic press was very bitter upon the Broder-
ick Party, whom they termed bolters, and denounced as
abolitionists, then the most opprobrious epithet that
could be applied to a politician To be suspected of
the faintest desire to abolish slavery was a fatal blight to
any man's aspirations, not only in the States where slavery
existed, but throughout the United States with the ex-
ception of a few localities, which were regarded with the
abhorrence of Sodom and Gomorrah. While the regu-
lar Democrats were showering their heaviest anathemas
upon the bolters, they were very considerate and patron-
izing toward the Whigs, either wing preferring the latter's
success to that of the opposing faction. The chief mat-
ter of discussion was the Senatorial question and the
merits of the rival leaders, Gwin and Broderick.

Shortly after the campaign opened Latham withdrew
his name, expressing objections to dividing the Democ-

18

138

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

racy. The election occurred on the 6th of September,
resulting in the election of Denver and Herbert to Con-
gress, and Beard, the Whig candidate, for Clerk of the
Supreme Court; the successful candidates receiving from
35,754 for Beard, 37,677 for Denver and Herbert, 35,660
for the Whig candidates, and Mr. Churchman, the high-
est Broderick Democrat, receiving 10,039.

San Luis Obispo maintained its position as the banner
Whig county of the State, casting almost a unanimous
vote for the candidates of that party, although apparently
not influenced by party spirit, as its Member of Assem-
bly was a strong Democrat.

For Congress Bowie and Benham received 106 votes;
Denver 4, and Herbert 5 votes, the Broderick candidates
not any.

William J. Graves was elected to the Assembly from
San Luis Obispo. He was opposed to bringing on the
election of Senator at this session, but in convention
voted, sometimes for Dr. Wm. M. Gwin, and cast several
votes for M. S. Latham.

The Legislature was estimated by the San Francisco
Ifera/d to contain 33 regular and 10 "bogus " Demo-
crats, 35 Whigs, and 2 independent in the Assembly; 13
regular and 13 bogus Democrats, and 7 Whigs in the
Senate. There was great rejoicing among the Gwin
Democrats, that wing having the majority of the Demo-
crats, and Broderick still professing to act in that organi-
zation it was believed he would submit to the caucus
which would insure the re-election of Doctor Gwin to the
United States Senate.

The Legislature met at Sacramento January i, 1855.
In the Assembly W. W. Stow, Whig, was elected Speaker,
greatly to the astonishment of the Gwin Democrats. The
Legislature met in joint convention early in the session
to vote for Senator, and continued from day to day until
the last of February when the convention adjourned sine
die without an election, by a vote of sixty-three ayes to
forty-four nays. On the last of January the vote was:
Col. Philip Edwards, Whig, 37; Gwin, 36; Broderick, 31; N.
E. Whitesides, Democrat, 13; J. A. McDougall, i; Joseph
W. McCorkle, 7; Vincent E. Geiger, 2; Myron Norton, i.

The action of this convention may be said to have
marked an era in the political history of California. The
question of slavery, deeply smothered as it was, had a
powerful and controlling influence. Under the cloak of
Broderickism, anti-chivalry, free-soil, and other names
the anti-slavery e.xtension element fought the extreme
pro-slavery power, and from this element, in after years,
sprang the Republican Party. The great national ques-
tion at that time was the extension of slavery into the
Territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The Missouri
compromise had been abrogated at the demand of the
Southern States, thus admitting slavery into the Terri-
tories, and the opposition to this measure so strengthened
the opposition to Gwin, as to cause the defeat of the elec-
tion at this time. As a personal matter it appeared as a
triumph of Broderick, who, powerful as he was in the man-
agement of a few steadfast friends, was really exceedingly
unpopular throughout the State, and without the feeling
of antagonism to slavery extension, which he at that time

ignored, but which influenced many, he would not have
had the power to defeat the election.

The Legislature passed amendments to the Constitu-
tion to be submitted to the vote of the people at the next
election, which provided that the sessions of the Legisla-
ture should be biennial, beginning with the session of
1858; and sections to make the Constitution consistent
with that change.

San Luis Obispo was ably represented in the Legisla-
ture, and several Acts were passed for the county's bene-
fit. Among them an Act passed May 5, 1855, legaliz-
ing the records of all deeds, mortgages, or other docu-
ments of whatever description, which by law were required
to be recorded, and which were recorded in the Recorder's
office of San Luis Obispo County, in books other than
those specified in the "Act concerning County Recorders,"
passed March 22, 185 1.

CAMPAIGN OF 1 855.

In the meantime a new political party had entered the
field. This was first organized in Baltimore, Maryland,
as a secret society, professing its object, as publicly un-
derstood, to elevate only native born citizens to office.
From this it took the title of "Native American," but from
its secret meetings and the reticence of its members as to
its object and principles, they were soon dubbed " Know-
Nothings," and that became the common name of the
party. This organization made itself felt in the campaign
of 1854 in San Francisco, and in the municipal election
of the succeeding spring elected several of the city offi-
cers. Lodges of Native Americans were organized
throughout the State in the spring and summer of 1855,
and it entered the campaign with great energy, to contest
for the supremacy. The Whigs abandoned the field, the
majority, apparently, joining the new party. Many of the
leading Southern Democrats, violently opposed to the
Broderick rule, also joined, or secretly encouraged the
Know-Nothings, and these, with such Americans as were
attracted by the watchword of "Americans shall rule
America," gave strength to this unique political organiza-
tion.

The election of that year included State, Legislative,
and county officers. The two Democratic wings had
united, with the Broderick leaders in control.

The Democratic State Convention met at Sacramento
on the 27th of June, and organized harmoniously. The
principal candidates for Governor were Col. B. F. Wash-
ington, Milton S. Latham, James Walsh, and Gov. John
Bigler. Colonel \Vashington was the favorite of the
"chivalry," and before the assembling of the convention
it was understood he would be the nominee. Broderick
having control of the Central Committee effected a com-
promise by which Washington withdrew, and the under-
standing was general that Governor Bigler was also to
withdraw, but when names were presented for nomination
the Broderick power presented the name of John Bigler,
and he became the Democratic candidate for his third
term as Governor. ■ This so incensed the friends of
Washington that many withdrew from the convention,
and others of the party declined nominations at its hand.

POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY.

139

Among these were Chief Justice Hugh C. Murray and
David S. Terry, who were proposed for the Supreme
Court.

The nominations were completed as follows: For
Lieutenant-Governor, Samuel Purdy, of San Joaquin;
Justices of Supreme Court, Myron Norton, of Los An-
geles, full term; Charles H. Bryan of Yuba, unexpired
term; Controller, Thomas C. Flournoy, of Mariposa;
Treasurer, Benj. F. Keene, of El Dorado; Attorney-Gen-
eral, B. C. Whitney, of Monterey; Surveyor-General, Sen-
eca H. Marlette, of Calaveras; State Printer, George H.
Crosette, of Butte; State Prison Directors, Samuel C.
Astin of Placer, Wm. H. Bell, of San Francisco, and C.
F. Powell, of San Joaquin.

NATIVE AMERICAN PARTY.

The State Convention met at Sacramento, August 8,
1855, and James W. Coffroth, of Tuolumne, was elected
Chairman. The following nominations were made: For
Governor, J. Neely Johnson, of Sacramento; Lieutenant-
Governor, R. M. Anderson, of El Dorado; Justices of
Supreme Court, Hugh C. Murray, of Solano, full term;
David S. Terry, of San Joaquin, unexpired term; Con-
troller, George W. Whitman, of Tuolumne; Treasurer,
Henry Bates, of Shasta; Attorney-General, W. G. Wal-
lace, of Santa Clara; Surveyor-General, John A. Brewster,
of Sonoma; State Printer, James Allen, of Yuba; State
Prison Directors, Alex Bell, of Los Angeles; F. S. Mc-
Kenzie, of Trinity, and Ezekiel Wilson, of San Francisco.

The campaign was short, but active. On the Demo-
cratic side were such speakers as Wm. M. Gwin, Wm.
Van Voorhies, Governor Bigler, Myron Norton, and
others of note; and the Americans sent through the
country David S. Terry, James W. Coffroth, Edward C.
Marshall.

The election occurred on the 5th of September,
resulting in the State in a complete American triumph;
the vote being for Governor, Johnson, 51,157; Bigler,
46,220. The other majorities ranged from 3,000 to 800.

The vote of San Luis Obispo was, for Governor, John
Bigler, 118; J. Neely Johnson, 45; being the smallest
vote of any county in the State.

For State Senator, Pablo de la Guerra, of Santa Bar-
bara, 145; Pedro Dominguez, 5, and other candidates 3.
In Santa Barbara, De la Guerra received 321 votes,
Pedro Dominguez 15, and other candidates for Senator
45 votes.

Manuel Antonio Castro was elected to the Assembly,
from San Luis Obispo. The right to the seat was con-
tested before the Legislature by Walter Murray, on the
grounds that Castro had not received a majority of the
votes cast, and that he had not obtained a six months'
residence in the county. The Know-Nothings, or
American Party, being strongly in the ascendant in the
Assembly, and Castro acting with that party, was kept in
his seat by them. James T. Farley, present United
States Senator, was elected Speaker.

EFFORTS TO ELECT A SENATOR.

The Legislature met in January, 1856. One of the
most important questions before it was the election of

United States Senator to succeed Dr. Gwin, whose term
had expired on the third of the preceding March. The
Americans had a large majority in joint convention, but
were tied with the Democrats in the Senate, though one
Independent afterwards voted with them. The principal
candidates were Ex-Gov. Henry S. Foote, lately from
Mississippi, Henry A. Crabb, and Edward C. Marshall.
The resolution to go into joint convention was intro-
duced in the Assembly, and passed on the 12th of Jan-
uary, and transmitted to the Senate. After several post-
ponements in that body, on the 2 2d the resolution to go
into joint convention was indefinitely postponed, and
that all action on the election of Senator be postponed
until January i, 1857. This was adopted by a vote of
nineteen to fourteen. Messrs. Wilson FUnt, of San
Francisco, Ferguson, of Sacramento, and Fiske, of Sut-
ter, Americans, voting for it. The election of Governor
Foote was expected to have been the result of the con-
vention, and from this fact many who had advocated
the American Party in the campaign expressed pleasure
in the defeat of the election. The anti-slavery element
in the Senate was the balancing cause of the defeat.

The leading candidate. Governor Foote, was not in-
clined to abandon the contest, but remained at the cap-
itol devising plans and arguments to bring on the election.

February and March had nearly passed with but very
little rain, and the prayers of miners and farmers were
loud for water, in which they were much more interested
than in the election of United States Senator. Late in
March, Foote and Marshall were at their hotel in Sacra-
mento conversing on the condition of the country, when
the former observed that in consequence of our foreign
relations, portentous of war, and the distraction of our
people on many local questions, the welfare of the whole
country, and especially of this State, demanded that Cal-
ifornia should have another Senator in Congress. Mar-
shall raised himself listlessly from the sofa, upon which
he was reclining, and said abruptly, "Yes, that, or rain."

The waggery and appositeness of the answer soon be-
came the common joke, ridiculing the pretentions of the
Senatorial aspirant, and little more was heard of the
election after that.

CAMPAIGN OF 1856 THE REPUBLICANS.

Again a new political party made its appearance in
California. This was the Republican Party, already
strong in the Northern States of the East, but in the be-
ginning of 1856 only mentioned with bated breath on
the Pacific Coast. The Republicans had gained such
strength in Congress as to enable them to elect N. P.
Banks, of Massachusetts, Speaker by a plurality vote,
after a contest of two months. This had so incensed
the California Legislature, then in session, that it adopted
a resolution declaring it deplorable, " As represeating
sectional feelings diametrically opposed to the Constitu-
tion of the United States, and to the only measures and
doctrines which will insure the perpetuity of our Repub-
lican institutions, and the preservation of our glorious
Union."

This resolution was introduced in the Assembly by

140

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

Hon. J. T. Farley, then Speaker and leader of the Amer-
ican Party; and it was that party which, at the time,
seemed most to dread the new organization. The Dem-
ocrats, although denouncing the Republicans in- bitter
terms, hailed them as disorganizers of the American
Party, as from that element it might draw the disaffected
and independent vote. No thought was entertained that
the new party would gain sufficient strength in California
to be dangerous to the Democracy. The masses of the
people were so opposed to it that its first advocates were
frequently mobbed when attempting to address the pub-
lic. The organization was regarded with unspeakable
horror, as unwarrantably sectional and treasonable, and
its advocates as fanatics or lunatics. Such was the wel-
come the Republican Party received in California.

The election of 1856 involved a President and Vice-
President of the United States, two Members of
Congress, Clerk of Supreme Court, Superintendent of
Public Instruction, and a Legislature that would have
the election of two United States Senators.

NOMINATIONS MADE.

The Democrats called a State Convention to meet at
Sacramento, March 5, to elect delegates to the National
Convention at Cincinnati. The State Convention met
as called. Resolutions were adopted declaring that
James Buchanan was the choice of the California
Democracy for the nomination for President. Broderick,
Bigler, and other Northern Democrats were the cham-
pions of Buchanan, while Volney E. Howard, and other
extreme pro-slavery men, expressed doubts as to his
position upon the question of admitting slavery into all
the Territories.

The convention met at Cincinnati, June 2, and on
the 5th made nominations of James Buchanan, of Penn-
sylvania, for President, and John C. Breckenridge, of
Kentucky, for Vice-President.

The Grand Council of the American Party met at
Philadelphia, February 19, 1856, and nominated Millard
Fillmore, of New York, for President, and Andrew Jack-
son Donelson, of Tennessee, for Vice-President.

The first Republican State Convention in California
met at Sacramento, April 30th, and was attended by
representatives from thirteen counties. The Republican
National Convention met at Philadelphia June 3, 1856,
and nominated John C. Fremont, of California, for
President, and Wm. L. Dayton, of New Jersey, for Vice-
President. The residence of Fremont in California was
denied, and he was accredited to South Carolina, his
native State. The anti-Fillmore men of the American
Party met in convention in Philadelphia on the 20th of
June, and nominated John C. Fremont for the Presi-
dency, and Wm. F. Johnson, of Pennsylvania, for Vice-
President.

The Abolition Party nominated Garrett Smith, of New
York, for President, and S. McFarland, of Pennsylvania,
for Vice-President, and a third faction of the Ameri-
can Party nominated R. V. Stockton, of New Jersey, for
President, and Kenneth Rayner, of North Carolina, for
Vice-President.

The principal questions of difference between the
parties were, on the Republican side, opposition to the
extension of slavery into the Territories; dissatisfaction
with the repeal of the Missouri compromise, and de-
manding the repeal of the obnoxious fugitive slave law.

The State Convention nominated Charles L. Scott, of
Tuolumne, and Joseph C. McKibben, of Sierra, for
Congress; Charles S. Fairfax, of Yuba, for Clerk of
Supreme Court, and "Andrew J. Moulder, of San Fran-
cisco, for Superintendent of Public Instruction. San
Luis Obispo was represented in the convention by J. R.
Watson, with two votes.

The Republican State Convention met at Sacramento
on the 27th of August. The nominations were as fol-
lows: Ira P. Rankin, of San Francisco, and Tom Cox,
of Plumas, for Congress (Cox was withdrawn and Tur-
ner "placed in his stead); Cornelius Cole, of Santa Cruz,
for Clerk of Supreme Court, and J. M. Buffington, of
Sacramento, for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The convention of the American Party, held Septem-
ber 15th, nominated A. B. Dibble, of Nevada, and B.
C. Whitman, of Solano, for Congress; John Skinker, of
Sacramento, Clerk of Supreme Court, and Horace P.
Janes, of San Francisco, Superintendent of Public In-
struction.

The election occurred on Tuesday, November 4,
1856, resulting in a Democratic victory in the United
States and in California, but as u sual San Luis Obispo
gave its majority for the minority party. The total vote
of California was 110,221, of which the Democratic can-
didates received 53,365; American, 36,165; Republican,
20,691.

FRIENDSHIP FOR FREMONT.

The vote of San Luis Obispo on the Presidential
question was: Fremont, 107; Buchanan, 83; Millard
Fillmore, 15. This had previously been a Whig county.
In this campaign the friendship of the native Califor-
nians for Fremont was shown in the large vote he re-
ceived, being a manifestation of the deep gratitude they
owed him for his lenient treatment as a conqueror in
1846-47. Of the 296 electoral votes in the United
States, James Buchanan received 174; Fremont, 114, and
Fillmore 8 votes, the last being the electoral vote of the
State of Maryland.

W. J. Graves was elected to the Assembly from San
Luis Obispo, defeating E. Hughes, and Pablo de la
Guerra held over as Senator from the district.

The Legislature met January 6, 1857, and contained,
in the Senate, nineteen Democrats, eleven Americans,
and three Repubhcans; in the Assembly, fifty-nine
Democrats, nine Americans, and twelve Republicans.

Several acts were passed specially for San Luis Obispo,
among them being one to provide for a Board of Com-
missioners in each township, to regulate water courses;
one to levy a tax of half of one per cent, to pay the
county indebtedness, and one fixing the northern boun-
dary of the county, .making the Nacimiento the line.

ELECTION OF SENATORS.

The election of two United States Senators occupied

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

141

the first two weeks of the session, as before the election
of Senator Weller Cahfornia had been represented by
but one Senator, the term of Dr. Gwin having expired
on the 3d of March, 1855, and Colonel Weller's term
would expire on the 3d of March, 1857. Broderick's
handiwork had been seen in every Senatorial contest
since 1849, and now by adroit management that ambi-
tious and skillful politician had control of the election.
He and his friends had been the special advocates of
James Buchanan for the Presidential nomination, and
the official patronage expected from that source lent its
influence in his favor. The aspirants for Senatorial
honors were Broderick, Gwin, Weller, Tilford, Latham,
Field, McCorkle, and Washington.

TRIUMPH OF BRODERICK.

Broderick received the nomination in the Democratic
caucus for the long term, succeeding Weller. The
result of the election was David C. Broderick, United
States Senator for six years, from March 3, 1857, and
Dr. W. M. Gwin, for four years. Broderick had won, at
last, the ambition of his life, but the fruits of his triumph
were like " Dead Sea apples, that turned to ashes on his
lips." The story of his struggle for the Senatorship and
his life would constitute one of the most interesting
chapters of California's political history; combining in-
trigue and triumph; romance and tragedy; the firmness
of the most true friendship, and perfidy of politicians,
but only the brief statement of facts can enter here.

CHAPTER XVII.

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

Campaign of 1S57 — The Democracy United — Democratic Combi-
nations — Contempt for the Republicans — State Conventions —
TheElection — Henry M. Osgood — Campaignof 1858 — Douglas
Democrats — Republicans and Douglas Democrats — Election in
1858 — A Portentous Omen — The Legislature — Campaign of
1S59 — Election Precincts — Political Doctrines — Election tec-
tums 1859 — Broderick and Terry Duel — M. S. Latham
Elected Senator — Campaign of i860 — Threatening Aspect of
Parties — The Election — Lincoln President — J. A. McDougall
Senator — A Stormy Session — The Rebellion — Campaign of
1861 — Officers of Election — Success of the Republicans —
Campaign of 1862 — Three Parties in the Field- Abolition of
Slavery — John Conness Elected Senator — Constitutional
Amendments Adopted — Campaign of 1S63 — Democratic Song
— Long Hairs and Short Hairs — Election September, 1863 —
Judicial Election — Campaign of 1864 — Presidential Nomina-
tions — Election 1864 — Evidence of Patriotism.

UyiHE cainpaign of 1857 involved the election of State,
Legislative, and county officers, also to pay or
^ repudiate the State debt, and a vote upon calling a
Constitutional Convention. The political power seemed
indisputably in the hands of the Democratic Party, and
their nominations were generally regarded as equivalent
to an election. There were several reasons for this.
The Senatorial contest, which had been a prolific source
of discord, had been settled, apparently, for four years at
least, and the two wings appeared firmly united. In
addition to this, the adininistration of State affairs by the
American Party had given great dissatisfaction, and the
Republicans were still laboring under the common de-

nunciation of being disuhionists, abolitionists, sectional-
ists, negro-worshipers, and the like, and their power was
insignificant except in the large cities.

DEMOCRATIC COMBINATIONS.

The combinations made in settling the Senatorial
question in the previous winter had decided, in advance
of any convention, a good portion of the Democratic
nominees, at least as far as bargaining could.

CONTEMPT FOR THE REPUBLICANS.

The Republicans put forth their platform, which
appeared to the Democrats so obnoxious that they pub-
lished it as a campaign document, on the theory that

"Vice is a monster of such hideous mien
That to be hated needs but to be seen."

The result was, however, as demonstrated in after
years, the conclusion of the poet: —

"But seen too oft, familiar with its face,

We first endure, then pity, then embrace."

The Republican platform declared the national char-
acter of the party and expressed no opinions regarding
State policy, other than to invite immigration, wherein it
differed from the American Party. To prohibit slavery
in the Territories was in the power and duty of Congress,
in which it differed from the Democratic Party, which
denied that power. It was opposed to interference with
slavery in the States. One resolution said " that the
opinion rendered by Chief Justice Taney, and concurred
in by other Judges in the late Dred Scott case, is a pal-
pable violation of the principles of the Declaration of
Independence, a falsification of the history of our coun-
try, subversive of State rights, and a flagrant injustice to
a large portion of the people of the United States, and as
such merits the indignant reprobation of every freeman."
This disapprobation of so sacred a thing as a decision of
the United States Supreme Court was considered as but
little short of blasphemy. The platform expressed the
hope that the freemen of Oregon, then about organizing
a State Government, would succeed in establishing it on
a basis of free principles, excluding slavery from the
Pacific Coast forever.

STATE CONVENTIONS.

The Democratic State Convention was held at Sacra-
mento, July 14, 1857. The prominent candidates before
the convention for Governor were John B. Weller, of
Sacramento; Joseph W. McCorkle, of Butte, and John
Nugent, of San Francisco. The nominations were: For
Governor, John B. Weller; Lieutenant-Grovenor, Joseph
Walkup, of Placer; Justices of Supreme Court, full term,
Stephen J. Field, of Yuba, and Peter H. Burnett, of
Santa Clara, short -term; Attorney-General, Thomas H.
Williams, of El Dorado; Controller, James W. Mande-
ville, of Tuolumne; Treasurer, Thomas Findley, of
Nevada, full term, and James L. English, of Sacramento,
short terin; Surveyor-General, Horace A. Higley, of
Alameda; State Printer, James O'Meara, of San Fran-
cisco.

The American State Convention met at Sacramento,

142

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

July 28th, and nominated the following: For Governor,
Geo. W. Bowie, of Colusa; Lieutenant-Governor, J. A.
Raymond; Justice of Supreme Court, James H. Ralston,
of Sacramento; Controller, G. W. Whitman, of Amador;
Attorney-General, T. J. McFarland, of Nevada; Treasurer,
J. R. Crandall, of Placer; Surveyor-General, Lucien B.
Healy, of Santa Clara; State Printer, B. H. Monson.

The RepubHcan State Convention met at Sacramento,
July 8th, and made the following nominations: For Gov-
ernor, Edward Stanley, of Marin; Lieutenant-Governor,
D. W. Cheeseman, of El Dorado; Justice of Supreme
Court, Nathaniel Bennett, of San Francisco; Attorney-
General, Aaron A. Sargent, of Nevada; Controller, L. C.
Gunn, of Tuolumne; Treasurer, Leland Stanford, of
Sacramento; Surveyor-General, P. M. Randall, of Amador;
State Printer, F. B. Murdock, of Santa Clara.

The campaign was quiet, the usual round of speech-
making being followed, with the addition of a number of
Republican speakers, who received more respectful atten-
tion than in the preceding year.

THE ELECTION.

The result was the election of the Democratic State
ticket, the total vote being 93,643, of which Weller
received 53,122; Stanley, 21,040, and Bowie, 19,481.
The vote in San Luis Obispo was, for Weller, 225; Stan-
ley 55, and Bowie none. The proposition for holding a
Constitutional Convention was defeated through not
receiving a majority of all the votes cast, as required by
law, although of those voting on the subject 30,226 were
for a convention, and 17,680 against. The proposition
to pay the State indebtedness, which the Supreme Court
had declared contracted in violation of the Constitution,
was carried by a large majority.

Romualdo Pacheco, of San Luis Obispo, was elected
Senator from this Senatorial District, receiving 263 votes,
defeating Dr. Brinkerhoff, of Santa Barbara, who received
43 votes in San Luis Obispo, and Henry M. Osgood was
elected to the Assembly, receiving 244 votes; W. J.
Graves 15; others, 4.

Jose Maria Munoz elected County Judge, 168 votes,
to 102 for J. M. Bonilla.

For Sheriff — Francisco Castro, 169 votes; A. Murray,
100.

For Treasurer— W. J. Graves, 173 votes; J. J. Simm-
ler, 4.

For County Clerk — W. C. Dana, 169; A. Murray, 100.
Assessor— Charles Varian, 132; De la Guerra, 16;
Cantua, 116; Graves, i.

Recorder — D. F. Newsom.

Coroner — Slycken, 150; others, 7.

Public Administrator — Lascano.

For Constitutional Convention, 114; against, 18.

The Legislature met on the first Monday in January,
1858. The session passed with but little general inter-
est, terminating its labors April 26, 1858. In both houses
were 104 Democrats, 14 Republicans, and 7 Americans.

Soon after the election in 1857 Chief Justice H. C.

Murray died, and Peter H. Burnett, who had been elected
to fill the term expiring January i, 1858, was appointed to
the vacancy, and Stephen J. Field, who had been elected
to take office January ist, was appointed in the place
made vacant by the appointment of Burnett.

HENRY M. OSGOOD.

The Member of the Assembly from this county at that
time was Hon. Henry M. Osgood, whose name appears
frequently in this history. He had borne a prominent
part m the affairs of the county, settling here among the
first of the American residents, here marrying and rais-
ing a family, and here remaining until his death, Novem-
ber 29, 1882. Mr. Osgood was born in New York, Sep-
tember 21, 1828. When a yotith of eighteen he joined
the regiment of New York Volunteers, known as the
Stevenson Regiment, for service and settlement in Cali-
fornia, and arrived here in the spring of 1847. After
the close of the war he was detailed, or employed in the
service as express rider, or mail carrier, through this
region, and in 1850 became a prominent settler in San
Luis Obispo. He first located on the Arroyo Grande and
began life as a farmer, subsequently removing to the
town of San Luis Obispo. Here he was elected Justice
of the Peace, acting as Associate Judge, and held various
other offices, also following the business of jeweler,
which he continued until his failing health caused him to
cease his labors. Mr. Osgood was a popular man, a
useful and highly respected member of society, and one
of that firm and honorable class of pioneers who aided
in establishing and maintaining a substantial government
in California. He was a member of the orders of Chosen
Friends and of Good Templars, both of which assisted
at his funeral. In respect to his memory the following
proceedings were published : —

In Memoriam. — San Luis Obispo Lodge, No. 444,
I. O. G. T., at its regular meeting, held December 8,
1882, adopted the following resolutions, in memory of
Henry M. Osgood, deceased.

Whereas, The hand of Divine Providence has re-
moved our esteemed brother, Henry M. Osgood, from
our midst, and

Whereas, In view of the loss we have sustained by
the decease of our friend and brother, and the much
heavier loss sustained by those nearest and dearest to
him, therefore be it

Resolved, That in the death of Henry M. Osgood this
Lodge laments the death of a brother, who, though a
staunch adherent to temperance principles, never forgot
to show charity to those who had fallen by the curse of
drink; a worthy member of this Order, whose utmost
endeavors were exerted for its welfare and prosperity; a
friend who was esteemed by all; a citizen whose con-
sistent, upright life served as a standard of emulation
to his fellows.

Resolved, That the heartfelt sympathy of this Lodge
be extended to his family in their affliction; that while
we deeply grieve at the dispensation with which it has
pleased Divine Providence to afflict them, we commend
them to the consolation of Him who orders all things
for the best, and whose chastisements are meant in
mercy.

Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the
records of the Lodge, and a copy thereof be transmitted

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

143

to the family of our deceased brother, and to each of
the newspapers of San Luis Obispo, for publication.

C. H. Woods,
H. P. Flood,

D. M. Meredith,

Committee.

CAMPAIGN OF 1858.

The progress of the political changes which led from
the absolute supremacy of the Democratic Party to its
disruption and revolution is noticed with each recurring
campaign. In a retrospective view the period including
the administration of James Buchanan is one of the
most interesting and instructive of the political history
of the United States, as it witnessed the culmination of
the slave power; the imperial arrogance of its leaders,
and the growth of the Republican Party against whose
success the South rose in rebellion.

DOUGLAS democrats.

With the opening of the campaign of 1858 the iirst
mention is made of "Douglas Democrats." Stephen A.
Douglas, Senator from Illinois, had introduced the bills
for the organization of the Territories of Kansas and
Nebraska in 1854, which left the question of slavery to
be decided by the people when organizing as States.
For this he became a very popular leader of the Democ-
racy. In 1858, under the pressure of Buchanan and the
pro-slavery Democrats, a bill was passed admitting Kan-
sas with a Constitution maintaining slavery, known as the
"Lecompton" Constitution, which had been rejected by
a large majority of the people of Kansas, who had sub-
mitted an anti-slavery Constitution, made in convention
at Topeka. Douglas, Broderick, and Chandler, Demo-
cratic Senators, voted against the measure, and were
called bolters, and their adherents became known as
"Douglas Democrats," or "Anti-Lecomptonites."

The principal questions under discussion during the
campaign were the admission of Kansas with the Con-
stitution establishing slavery, and the disagreements
between Senators Broderick and Douglas with the Ex-
ecutive at Washington. The proclamation of the Gov-
ernor called for the election of a Judge of the Supreme
Court, and a State Controller, as the only officers to be
voted for by the people of the State in general (the
election of Members of Congress having been postponed
one year), Legislative officers and county officers.

McKibben, Member of Congress, and strongly Anti-
Broderick the previous year, now opposed the Demo-
cratic Administration, and acted with the Douglas, or
Anti-Lecompton Party.

The Republican State Convention met at Sacramento
August 5, 1858, and nominated John Currey, of Solano,
for Justice of the Supreme Court, and Dr. L. C. Gunn,
of Tuolumne, for Controller.

The Democratic State Convention met at Sacramento
August 4th, and nominated Joseph P. Baldwin, of San
Francisco, for Justice of the Supreme Court, and A. R.
Maloney for Controller.

The Douglas Democrats met the same day and nom-
inated John Currey for Justice of Supreme Court; I.

M. Dawley, of Nevada, for Controller, and H. U. Jen-
nings of Butte, for Clerk of Supreme Court. Although
no election of Congressmen was called for, the Repub-
licans nominated J. C. McKibben and Felix P. Tracey,
and the Douglas Democrats nominated McKibben and
Wm. L. Dudley.

REPUBLICANS .AND DOUGLAS DEMOCRATS.

The intent and purpose of the Douglas Democrats and
the Republicans being so nearly the same — that was, to
" end the misrule of the Buchanan Democracy" — that
a combination was made, the Republicans nominating
two of the Anti-Lecompton Democrats for State officers.

Among the resolutions in the Democratic platform was
one declaring: —

That in the opinion of this convention the formation
of and adherence to the so-called Topeka Constitution by
the Abolition Party of Kansas, was an act of rebellion
which ought to have been put down by force. And be
it further

Eesolved, That it is the will of those who adhere to
the Government, and not to the will of those who array
themselves in rebellion against the Government, that
should be looked to and carried out, both in the forma-
tion of State Constitutions and the admission of States
into the Union.

This Democratic doctrine of 1858 became very obnox-
ious to many of that party when adopted by the Repub-
licans in the War of the Rebellion.

ELECTION IN 1858.

The election was held September i, 1858, resulting in
the success of the regular Democratic State and county
ticket. The State returns were, for Baldwin, Democrat,
44,599; Currey, Douglas Democrat, and Republican,
36,198; Melony, 44,285; Dawley, 27,759; Gunn, Repub-
can, 7,481.

The vote in San Luis Obispo was: —

For Justice of Supreme Court, J. P. Baldwin, 256;
John Currey, 4; for Members of Congress, J. C. McKib-
ben, 97; F. P. Tracey, 97, Republicans. The Demo-
crats made no nominations for Congress, as the election
had been postponed until 1859. The vote of San Luis
Obispo shows an indifference to partisanship — Joaquin
Carrillo was elected District Judge without opposition,
and Romualdo Pacheco held over as Senator.

Walter Murray was elected to the Assembly, where he
was classed as a Democrat; the Assembly being composed
of 54 Democrats, 16 Anti-Lecompton, or Douglas, Dem-
ocrats, and 10 Republicans.

The Senate contained 24 Democrats, 6 Anti-Lecomp-
tonites, 4 Republicans, and i Independent.

The Republican Party had increased so as to secure a
partial, but strong and intelligent representation, the
strength and vote being chiefly in the large cities and
most populous mining counties.

A PORTENTOUS OMEN.

As the campaign closed there appeared in the north-
western sky a large and brilliant comet, afterwards known
as Donati's Comet, with a tail fifteen degrees in length,

144

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

and curved toward the north like a flaming Turkish
cimetar. This grand spectacle was visible every evening
for six weeks, appearing like an army in the heavens pass-
ing in review from the north to the south, eventually dis-'
appearing in the southwest, having many features likened
to military equipages; sharp, straight lines like spears and
rapiers rising and disappearing, and the whole appearing
like a sabre held in the air, or an aigrette plume flowing
from the chapeau of a soldier, or off" upon the ocean as
the flame from a passing steamer. By many it was re-
garded as the comet which some historians declare influ-
enced Charles V., in the sixteenth century, to abdicate the
thrones of Spain and Germany, and which had foretold
the birth of Christ, and in its period of a little over 300
years had prognosticated great political and religious
events. Did it come at this time to forewarn the world
of the great revolution to occur in the United States in a
few years thereafter, one of the greatest political revolu-
tions of history, and was its flaming sword and military
appearance as it passed a symbol of the future march
of the Union armies from the north to the south?

THE LEGISLATURE.

The Legislature met January 3, 1859. On the 4th
the Assembly organized by the election of W. C. Strat-
ton, of Placer, as Speaker.

The most exciting question of the session was a reso
lution introduced by Senator William Holden, of Tuol-
umne and Stanislaus, requesting D. C. Broderick to re-
sign his office as United States Senator for having diso-
beyed the instructions of the previous Legislature to
support the Administration in regard to the admission of
Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution, and for hav-
ing spoken disrespectfully of the President of the United
States in the Senate on the 22d of March, 1858. This
resolution was long and ably debated, and passed by a
strictly partisan vote. A law was passed exempting from
execution the homestead of an unmarried person, to the
value of $2,500; also, an Act, again submitting to a
vote of the people the question of calling a Constitu-
tional Convention. The Legislature adjourned April 19,
1859.

CAMPAIGN OF 1859.

The campaign of 1859 was one of the interesting
series attending the disruption of the Whig and the
solidification of the Republican Party. The Kansas
"embroglio," "Bleeding Kansas," the "Kansas Out-
rages," "Lecompton" and " Anti-Lecompton," "Squat-
ter Sovereignty" and " Border Ruffians," were the
common terms often heard in political speeches, indi-
vidual wrangles, and newspaper articles. Questions of
State and county interest were overlooked or forgotten in
the all-absorbing subject agitating the nation. There
was, however, the struggle for local offices, and, in the gen-
eral breaking up of parties making it difficult to forecast
the result, each organization entertained hopes of success.
A full set of State officers was to be elected, also two
Members of Congress, one Senator from the district of
Sun Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, Member of Assem-
bly, county and township officers.

The Republican State Convention met at Sacramento,
June 7, 1859, and organized by the election of Hon.
Charles A. Tuttle, of Placer, Chairman.

The nominations were as follows: For Governor, Le-
land Stanford, of Sacramento; Lieutenant-Governor,
James F. Kennedy, of Santa Clara; Members of Con-
gress, P. H. Sibley, of Placer, and Col. E. D. Baker, of
San Francisco; Justice of Supreme Court, Oscar L. Shaf-
ter, of San Francisco; Clerk of Supreme Court, S. D.
Parker, of Tehama; Treasurer; P. P. Caine, of Yuba;
Controller, J. R. Clarke, of El Dorado; Attorney-General,
H. S. Love, of San Francisco; Surveyor-General, A. G.
Randall, of Amador; Superintendent of Public Instruc-
tion, S. W. Brown, of Sonoma; State Printer, F. B-
Murdock, of Santa Clara.

The Anti-Lecompton State Convention met at Sacra-
mento, June 1 6th, and made the following nominations:
For Governor, John Currey, of Solana; Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor, John Conness, of El Dorado; Congress, Joseph C.
McKibben, of Sierra, and Col. E. D. Baker, of San
Francisco; Justice of Supreme Court, Royal T. Sprague,
of Shasta; Clerk of Supreme Court, Joseph Powell, of
Sacramento; Attorney-General, Edmund Randolph, of
San Francisco; Treasurer, Josiah Johnson, of Sacra-
mento; Controller, George Pierce, of Sonoma; State
Printer, John O'Meara, of Yuba.

The Democratic State Convention met at Sacramento,
June 2 2d, and made the following nominations: For Gov-
ernor, Milton S. Latham, of Sacramento; Lieutenant-
Governor, J. G. Downey, of Los Angeles; Congress,
John C. Burch, of Trinity, andC. L. Scott, of Tuolumne;
Justice of Supreme Court, W. W. Cope, of Amador;
Attorney-General, Thomas H. Williams, of El Dorado,
Clerk of Supreme Court, Charles S. Fairfax, of Sacra-
mento; Treasurer, Thomas Findley, of Nevada; Con-
troller, Samuel H. Brooks, of San Joaquin; Surveyor-
General, Horace A. Higley, of Alameda; Superintendent
of Public Instruction, A. J. Moulder, of San Francisco;
State Printer, C. T. Botts, of Sacramento.

ELECTION PRECINCTS.

At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, held August
3, 1859, the county was divided into election precincts as
follows: —

San Miguel: To compose all that portion of the
county north of an east and west line passing through the
Hot Springs, between San Miguel and Paso de los Robles,
and extending from the Coast Range to the eastern bound-
ary of the county.

Paso Robles : From said east and west line south as
far as the creek intersecting the Atascadero Rancho, and
extending due east on that line from the eastern bound-
ary of the Costa Precinct, passing through the point of
intersection of said creek and the main road to San Luis
and running thence to the Huer-huero Creek.

Estrella: All that country lying east of the Huer-
huero Creek and south of San Miguel Precinct to the east-
ern boundary of the county.

'San Luis: All that portion of the county south of
Paso Robles Precinct, and west of the Huer-huero Creek
as far as the line of the Arroyo Grande Precinct.

Ordered, That the Clerk issue certificates of appoint-

t

i3i3«

Wt

^ V

, r rf-T'

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

145

ment to the following-named Inspectors and Judges of
election immediately on receipt of the Governor's proc-
lamation: —

EsTRELLA Precinct: Alfred Smith, Inspector; James
Wayland and Wm. James, Judges. Election to be held
at Smith's house.

San IVTiGUEL Precinct: B. Palmer, Inspector; M. G.
Noble and Wm. McCrutcheon, Judges. Election to be
held at the San Miguel House.

Paso Robles Precinct: G. Cruthers, Inspector, B. J.
Jones and J. Pruett, Judges. Election to be held at the
Paso Robles House.

Costa Precinct: C. Mathers, Inspector. Election to
be held at the Santa Rosa House.

San Luis Obispo Precinct: F. Hillard, Inspector, B.
Lascano and J. Bunce, Judges. Election to be held at
the County Court House.

Arroyo Grande Precinct: F. Z. Branch Inspector, C.
Dana and L. Martin, Judges. Election to be held at F. Z.
Branch's ranch.

political doctrines.

The campaign was conducted with unusual spirit
throughout the State, the political excitement extending
even into San Luis Obispo County, where the people be-
gan to pay greater interest in public affairs. The Repub-
licans made an active canvass of the State, having such
able speakers as Col. E. D. Baker, Felix P. Tracey, and
Horace Greeley, who made a brief visit to California during
the campaign. The party, however, did not have a very
strong following in this county. The doctrine of "Squat-
ter Sovereignty" which had been advocated by Douglas
and his party, was now repudiated by the Republicans,
Greeley declaring it was but another feature of the slave
trade — that neither the squatters nor Congress should ad-
mit slavery into the Territories. This extreme doctrine
was thought by the Democrats so obnoxious that it would
destroy the Republican Party in California; but instead of
destroying it seemed to increase under the positive dec-
laration. Colonel Baker took issue with Greeley upon
this question, saying squatter sovereignty — the right of the
settler to decide whether or not slavery should be admitted
in the Territories — was the basis of the Republican Party.
The Democrats maintained that no power could exclude
slavery prior to admission as a State.

election returns 1859.

The election was held September 7th, resulting in a
Democratic success. The vote in the State was: For
Governor, Milton S. Latham, Democrat, 63,255; John
Currey, Anti-Lecompton, 31,298; Leland Stanford, Re-
publican, 10,110.

In San Luis Obispo, for Governor — Latham, 284; Cur-
rey, 30; Stanford, 30.

For Senator, Second District — W. J. Graves of San
Luis Obispo, Democrat, 280; Pablo de la Guerra, Anti-
Lecompton, of Santa Barbara, 52; De la Guerra being
elected by the vote of Santa Barbara.

Assembly — B. McElhaney, 216; P. A. Forrester, 128.

Sheriff — Francisco Castro, 223; William Snelling, 123.

County Clerk — Thomas H- Bouton, 231; Alexander
Murray, 119.

County Treasurer — Walter Murray, 183; Wm. C. Dana,
142.

District Attorney — Walter Murray, 165; James White,
158.

Assessor — B. P. Brown, 204; V. Gaxiola, ni; Charles
Varian, 2.

Public Administrator — Bias Castro, 174; Henry M.
Osgood, 160.

Superintendent of Public Schools — F. Wickenden, 203;
David P. Mallagh, 138.

County Surveyor — W. H. Sparks, 182; B. M. Henry,
146.

Coroner — ^J. A. de la Guerra, 169; T. R. Throop, 168;
J. P. Leuelling, i.

broderick and terry duel.

The returns of the election were but just counted and
made known to the people, when David S. Terry re-
signed his position as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
and challenged Senator David C. Broderick to a duel.
The assumed provocation was the remark made by Brod-
erick, in the June preceding, that he "once said Terry
was the only honest Judge on the Supreme Bench, but I
now take that back." Undoubtedly, the true cause was
the bitter enmity between Broderick and the leaders of
the Southern Democrats, of which Terry was the repre-
sentative. The duel occurred on the 13th of September,
resulting in the wounding of Broderick, who died on the
1 6th of the same month. The death of Broderick created
a vacancy in the Senate, and gave the opportunity to
the Democratic Legislature to elect an undoubted Demo-
crat in his place. H. P. Haun, of Yuba, was appointed
United States Senator by the Governor to fill the position
until a successor should be elected.

M. S. LATHAM ELECTED SENATOR.

The Legislature met January 2, i860, and on the 9th
met in joint convention and elected Governor Latham
United States Senator for the unexpired term of D. C.
Broderick. On the 14th following, Latham resigned his
position as Governor, and was succeeded in office by
Lieut. Gov. John G. Downey.

CAMPAIGN OF i860.

AVith i860 came the culmination of the political
changes set in motion by the compromise measures of
1850; excited by the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law;
aroused by the Dred Scott Decision; accelerated by the
extension of slavery into the Territories; and gathered
into an overwhelming tempest by the attempt to force a
pro-slavery Constitution upon the State of Kansas. Each
of the great measures was thought, or claimed, as au-
thorized by the national Constitution, to setde the
slavery question forever; but each enactment gave addi-
tional cause for agitation and strength to the opposing
forces.

THREATENING ASPECT OF PARTIES.

As parties arose in the East their influence soon ex-
tended to the most distant borders, and national politics
controlled the votes of every county. Different states-

19

146

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

men suggested different methods of adjusting the threat-
ening difficulties, and each had his adherents. A Presi-
dent was to be elected, and four parties entered the con-
test. Two of these, the Democratic and Republican,
were parties of action, presenting positive principles, and
two, the Douglas Democrats and " Union," with vacil-
lating, undefined, conservative principles. One violent in
its aggression, the other determined in its resistance; and
each claiming to be the resisting one, and charging the
other as aggressive.

National Conventions for the nomination of Presiden-
tial candidates were to be held at Charleston, by the
Democrats, and at Chicago, by the Republicans.

The Chicago Convention nominated Abraham Lincoln,
of Illinois, for President, and Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine,
for Vice-President.

The Charleston Convention failed to agree upon can-
didates, and the delegates of several States withdrew,
agreeing to meet at Washington on the nth of June,
and the convention adjourned to meet at Baltimore on
the i8th of the same month. At the Baltimore Con-
vention a division again took place, resulting in two
conventions, at one of which John C. Breckenridge, of
Kentucky, was nominated for President, and Joseph
Lane, of Oregon, for Vice-President; and at the other
Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, was nominated for Pres-
ident and Herschel V. Johnson, of Georgia, for Vice-Pres-
ident. John C. Bell, of Tennessee, and Edward Ever-
ett, of Massachusetts, were named by the Union Party
as candidates for President and Vice-President.

The Republican State Convention met at Sacramento
June 20th, and nominated Charles A. Tuttle, of Placer,
Charles A. Washburn, of San Francisco, Wm. H. Weeks,
of Sacramento, and Antonio Maria Pico, of Los Angeles,
for Presidential electors.

The election comprised, besides the Presidential elect-
ors. Legislative, county, and township officers. Conven-
tions were held, and all parties placed candidates in the
field. The campaign was long and vigorously con-
ducted. The result was portentous of great events.
Deep feeling rather than enthusiasm prevailed. The
ablest speakers of every party traversed the country. Of
the Breckenridge Democratic orators were Judah P.
Benjamin, of Louisiana; Senators Milton S. Latham and
William M. Gwin, and others. For the Douglas Democ-
racy were James A. McDougall, Joseph P. Hoge, and
others; and for the Republicans, Thomas Fitch, Col. E.
D. Barker, then Senator from Oregon, and others, as well
as the various candid^ites.

Among the questions to be voted upon at the election
was one calling a Constitutional Convention, and an-
other for payment of the State debt. The first had been
voted upon at previous elections, the requirement to
carry it being a majority of all the votes cast. The
people had paid but little attention to it and the ques-
tion had not received the requisite vote. The State
debt, amounting to $3,000,000, had been declared by the
Supreme Court to have been contracted in violation of
the Constitution, which prohibited an indebtedness ex-
ceeding $300,000, unless approved by a vote of the peo-

ple. A certain amount of the debt had been voted upon
in 1858, but there was an amount of $250,000 that had
not been submitted, and this was left for the approval or
repudiation of the people at the election in November,
i860.

THE ELFXTION LINCOLN PRESIDENT.

The election was held November 7, i860. The elect-
oral vote of the United States was: Lincoln, 180; Breck-
enridge, 72; Douglas, 12;- Bell, 39.

In California, the highest for elector, Lincoln, 38,734;
Douglas, 38,023; Breckenridge, 33,975; Bell, 9,136.

In San Luis Obispo, Lincoln, 148; Breckenridge, 155;
Douglas, 120; Bell, o.

For Assembly — Charles H. Johnson, 156; Wm. L.
Beebee, 152; P. A. Forrester, 87.

Coroner — N. Revello, 164; E.A.Albert, 135; Charles
Freeman, 13; others, 6.

Public Administrator — C. T. Romie, 155; J. de la
Guerra, 143; J. Bunce, 29; others, 5.

Superintendent Public Schools — P. Dunn, 196; J. M.
Havens, 182; others, 6.

Supervisor, San Luis Obispo District — J. Bunce, 89;
W. C. Dana, 82; F. Wickenden, 35.

Supervisor, Salinas District — O. P. McFadden, 53;
F. A. Tracy, 25.

Supervisor, San Simeon District — Julian Estrada, 51;
E. A. Clark, 44.

Justices of the Peace,San Luis Obispo — J. M. Havens,
loi; F. Buelna, 87; L. H. Button, 51; J. J. Simmler, 37;
Salinas, I. F. Barnham, 30; F. Kilfoyle, 29; Wm. Mc-
Cutcheon, 18; San Simeon, J. A. Chase, 60; Carolan
Mathers, 36; Luis Raggio, 5; E. W. Howe, 2; Arroyo
Grande, Henry M. Osgood, 11; Haskins, 7.

The call for a Constitutional Convention was defeated,
and the'proposition to pay the remaining State debt was
adopted.

The surprise was general that the electoral vote of
California had gone for Lincoln, the Republican candi-
date, and to Democrats, the news was received with con-
sternation. But four or five years previously the speakers
of this party had been mobbed when attempting to speak
in public, and were constantly denounced as Abolishion-
ists. Black Republicans, and many other epithets then
considered insulting and damaging. He who had enun-
ciated its principles in advance of public opinion was
Wm. H. Seward, United States Senator from New York;
a man much respected throughout the South for his abil-
ity, honesty, and urbanity of manner; and he had been
the expected candidate of the party for the Presidency,
and great disappointment had been felt when it was
given to another. Lincoln was not a popular candidate,
and the vote given him was dictated by jjrinciple and
not by the attractions of the man. Douglas had been
long and favorably known; claimed the revered name
of Democrat, but maintained a bold and firm opposition
to the extreme pro-slavery measures of the party, and
thus attracted to his support Tnany who professed the
principles of the Republican Party. His Democracy
and his personal popularity also attached to him many
who were classed as pro-slavery men.

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

147

J. A. MCDOUGALL, SENATOR.

The Legislature met at Sacramento, January 7, 1861.
Pablo de la Guerra, Douglas Uemocrat, of Santa Bar-
bara and San Luis Obispo, was elected President of the
Senate, and after near two weeks' balloting, R. Burnell,
Douglas Democrat, of Amador, was elected Speaker.
The question of the election of United States Senator to
succeed Dr. W. M. Gwin was the political feature of the
session. The Douglas Democrats, having the plurality,
were expected to name the successful aspirant, and as a
consequence presented the greater number. Of those
mentioned were Judge Joseph G. Baldwin, J. ^V. Den-
ver, John Conness, Edmund Randolph, and James A.
McDougall. John Nugent was the Breckenbridge can-
didate, and Timothy Guy Phelps was presented by the
Republicans. This matter remained undecided until
• the 20th of March, when James A. McDougall received
56 votes of the in cast, and was declared elected.

A STORMY SESSION THE REBELLION.

The session was quite a stormy one, the " state of the
Union " constituting the great theme of discussion.
Shortly after the Presidential election in i860, the State
of South Carolina passed an ordinance of secession, and
was soon followed by other States of the South. The
question debated was the right of a State to secede from
the Union, and the right of the General Government to
coerce a State to remain.

CAMPAIGN OF 1 86 1.

President Lincoln was duly inaugurated on the 4th of
March, 1861, and on the 19th of April the War of Re-
bellion commenced by the firing upon Fort Sumter in
Charleston Harbor. The President called an extra
session of Congress to convene at Washington, July 4,
but, owing to the time of election of Congressmen, Cali-
fornia would be unrepresented until after the general
election in September. Under the census of i860 it
was believed California would be accorded three Rep-
resentatives, but no apportionment was made. By ap-
portionment of the Legislature the counties of San Luis
Obispo and Santa Barbara were united into one Assembly
District, entitled to one Assemblyman, the Senatorial
District remaining as before.

The campaign of 1861 was for the election of a
Governor and other State officers, two Members of Con-
gress, and a Legislature. Although the State was author,
ized to elect but two Members of Congress, and but two
were nominated in convention, the belief existed that
the population justified the election of three, and three
were elected.

The Democratic State Convention met at Sacramento
June nth, but owing to the non-attendance of members,
adjourned to meet again on the 23d of July. Cor-
respondence passed between the two central committees
of the Breckenridge and Douglas Democrats upon the
subject of consolidating the elements of the party, but
were ineffectual. At the adjourned convention the fol-
lowing nominations were made: For Governor, John R.
McConnell, of Nevada; Lieutenant-Governor, • Jasper

O'Farrell, of Marin; Congres.s, H. P. Barbour, of Tuol-
umne, and D. O. Shattuck, of San Francisco; Justice of
Supreme Court, William C. Wallace, of Napa; Con-
troller, S. H. Brooks, of San Joaquin; Treasurer, Thomas
Findley, of Nevada; Attorney-General, Tod Robinson,
of Sacramento; Clerk of Supreme Court, C. S. Fairfax,
of Marin; Surveyor-General, H. A. Higley; of Alameda;
State Printer, M. D. Carr, of Yuba. Frank Ganahl, of
Siskiyou, was added as a candidate for Congress by the
State Central Committee.

The Republican State Convention nominated: For
Governor, Leland Stanford, of Sacramento; Lieutenant-
Governor, J. F. Chellis, of Trinity; Congress, T. G.
Phelps, of San Mateo, and A. A. Sargent, of Nevada;
Justice of Supreme Court, Edward Norton, of San Fran-
cisco; Attorney-General, F. M. Pixley, of San Francisco;
Clerk of Supreme Court, F. F. Fargo, of Alameda;
Controller, G. B. Warren, of San Joaquin; Treasurer,
D. R. Ashley, of Monterey; Surveyor-General, J. F.
Houghton, of Solano; State Printer, Benjamin P. Avery,
of Yuba. Frederick F. Low, of Yuba, was subsequently
added as a third candidate for Congress. The conven-
tion was large, highly respectable, and enthusiastic.

The Douglas Democratic State Convention met at
Sacramento, July 4, and made the following nominations:
For Governor, John Conness, of El Dorado; Lieutenant-
Governor, Richard Irwin of Plumas; Congress, Henry
Edgerton, of Sacramento, and Joseph C. McKibben, of
Sierra; Justice of Supreme Court, B. C. Whitman, of
Solano; Clerk of Supreme Court, George S. Evans, of
Tuolumne; Attorney-General, George W. Bowie, of
Sacramento; Treasurer, Joel T. Landrum, of Shasta;
Controller, James E. Nuttman, of San Francisco; Sur-
veyor-General, J. J. Gardner, of San Francisco; State
Printer, John R. Ridge, of Nevada.

Douglas died on the 6th of June, leaving his name as
the title of a party, and political principles which, in the
radical changes soon to follow, were to be swept away as
the mist before the storm.

Three parties were in the field, but only the Demo-
cratic and Republican showed any well-defined princi-
ple or object; the Douglas appearing as composed of
men not knowing which side to take, or that v.-ith the
elements so disturbed they would await the opportunity
to rise to the surface and obtain an office. The ^^'ar o'
the Rebellion had begun and several battles were fought
during the campaign. The excitement was intense,
and partisan feelings were bitter. The Republicans
were evidendy the strongest, and, as Unionists, were
supported by the Douglas Democrats, and these made
common cause against the Democrats, wlio were de-
nounced as rebels, secessionists, copperheads, and other
obnoxious terms.

OFFICERS OF ELECTION.

At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, August 6,
1 86 1, the following precincts and inspectors of election
were appointed: —

Arroyo Grande, F. Z. Branch, Inspector; Estreila, Mr.
Pelham Sr., Inspector; Morro, E. W. Howe, Inspector;

I

148

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

Paso de Robles, Morgan Martin, Inspector; San Luis
Obispo, Heuston King, Inspector; San Miguel, Wm.
McCutcheon, Inspector; San Simeon, E. A. Clark, In-
spector.

SUCCESS OF THE REPUBLICANS.

The election was held September 4, 1861, giving the
majority in the State to the Republicans, and partial suc-
cess to the party in the county. For Governor 119,730
votes were cast, of which Leland Stanford received 56,-
036; John R. McConnell, 32,750, and John Conness,
30,944. A. A. Sargent, T. G. Phelps, and F. F. Low
were elected to Congress.

The vote of San Luis Obispo was as follows: —

Governor — Stanford, 176; McConnell, 200; Conness,
102.

Senator, Third Legislative District — Romualdo Pa-
checo, of San Luis Obispo, 449; elected Senator.

Assembly— C. W. Dana, 255; G. W. Gable, 178; V.
Mondran, i; Mr. Dana represented the two counties of
San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, comprising the Third
District.

County Judge — Joseph M. Havens, 238; J. M. Bonilla,
225.

Sheriff — Francisco Castro, 279; Joseph Riley, 182;
Luis Raggio, 2.

County Clerk — Thomas H. Bouton, 226; C. T. Romie,
203.

District Attorney — Peter A. Forrester, 306; James
White, 128.

Treasurer — Walter Murray, 250; Wm. L. Beebee, 184.

Assessor — N. Gaxiola, 184; James Dickson, 171; Hor-
ace Saunders, 79; J. J. Simmler, 21.

Surveyor — W. C. Parker, 222; John Todd, 180.

Coroner — C. J. Freeman, 294; L. B. Martin, 152.

Superintendent of Schools — Alexander Murray, 201;
E. A. Clark, 178; P. Dunn, 63.

PubUc Administrator — George Hall, 178; R. E. Bland,
125; F. Conig, lo.

Supervisors, San Luis Obispo — E. Romie, 107; J. C.
Cipna, 103; Juan Cappe, 9; W. C. Dana, 20. Paso de
Robles, O. P. McFadden, 66; La Costa, Julian Estrada,
45; B. M. Palmer, 39; Luis Raggio, 3.

Justices of the Peace and Constables were elected as
follows: For San Luis Obispo, Feliz Buelna and N. AV.
Jamison, Justices; and T. J. Landrith and A. Biddlecomb,
Constables; La Costa, B. M. Palmer and J. A. Gaxiola,
Justices; and E. Morehouse and L. Hernandez, Consta-
bles; Paso de Robles, B. Clements and B. P. Brown, Jus-
tices, and E. B. Morriss and P. Roquette, Constables.

The Legislature met at Sacramento, January 4, 1862,
and organized by electing Republican officers, James
McM. Shafter being President pro tern, of the Senate, and
George Barstow, Speaker of the Assembly. January 14th
Sacramento was inundated by the severest flood known
since the occupation of the country by the Americans,
and the Legislature made a temporary capital at San
Francisco, ndjouming sine die, April 14, 1862.

CAMPAIGN OF 1862.
At the election to be held on the first Wednesday of

September, 1862, the people were required to vote for a
Superintendent of Public Instruction, and upon four
amendments to the State Constitution throughout the
State, and in San Luis Obispo County for a Member of
the Assembly from the Third District. The amendments
to the Constitution provided for biennial sessions of the
Legislature, making the session begin the first Monday
of December in 1863, and every two years thereafter,
limited the session to 120 days, and separated the elec-
tion of the judiciary and school officers from purely
political officers.

THREE PARTIES IN THE FIELD.

Efforts were made to form combinations of parties, to
dissolve the Douglas, or, as it was commonly called, the
Union Democratic party, that seemingly being the only
movable, or dissoluble organization. The effort prevailed
in some counties. The Republicans and the Douglas
Democrats represented the Union element, and the De-
mocracy, the peace-at-any-price, and rebel element. The
war was progressing with great fierceness and energy, and
party and sectional feeling was intense and bitter. The
Union element was much the strongest and at times it ex-
pressed itself in the violent treatment of its opponents as the
Republicans had been treated four or five years before. So
bitter was the feeling against those called secessionists,
that many were deterred from expressing their opinion in
public. The candidates for Superintendent of Public In-
struction were John Swett, Republican; Col. J. D. Steven-
son, Union Democrat, and Rev. O. P. Fitzgerald, Demo-
crat.

The election occurred September 4, 1862, resulting in
the election of John Swett as Superintendent of Public
Instruction, and carrying the amendments to the Consti-
tution. J. Ramon Hill, of Santa Barbara, was elected to
represent the district in the Assembly, and Robert
Thompson, and J. Mariano Bonilla were elected Super-
visors.

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.

The Legislature met January 5, 1863. The partisan
representation was classed as follows: Senate, 31 Repub-
licans, 5 Union Democrats, and 4 Democrats. Assembly,
63 Republicans, 10 Union Democrats, and 4 Democrats.
A. M. Crane was elected President pro tern, of the Sen-
ate, and T. N. Machin, Speaker of the Assembly, both
Republicans. Nearly the first business introduced was a
resolution approving the emancipation proclamation of
President Lincoln, by which slavery was abolished in the
United States January i, 1863. This brought forth
some bitter speeches from its opponents, but was car-
ried by a large vote, the Assembly voting 65 ayes to 1 1
noes.

JOHN CONNESS ELECTED SENATOR.

The question of the election of a United States Sena-
tor occupied a great part of the business of the session
until the loth of February, when the choice fell upon John
Conness, of El Dorado. The leading candidates had
been T. G. Phelps, A. A. Sargent, and James McM.
Shafter.

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

149

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS ADOPTED.

The Legislature, by resolution, declared that the Con-
stitutional amendments proposed by the two preceding
Legislatures had been adopted, and were part of the or-
ganic law.

CAMPAIGN OF 1 863.

In the campaign of 1863 the political parties had be-
come more defined, and the great questions of national
importance had so developed as to have two sides plainly
visible, leaving no possible question for a third party upon
which it could claim a principle. The great war was at
its height, and was fought with an energy and force of
men and means, of blood and treasure, of skill and cour-
age, of enthusiasm and determination, of patriotism and
suffering, never before recorded in history. The abolition
of slavery was declared, and with the existence of the
Union, depended on the issue of the war. The political
question of the campaign was the support of the admin-
istration in the war on one side, and disapproval and
enmity on the other.

There were to be elected three Members of Congress,
a Governor, and State officers, I^egislative and county offi-
cers at the political election to be held September 2d, and
a Superintendent of Public Instruction, District and
County Judge at the judicial election to be held October
21, 1863.

DEMOCRATIC SONG.

The following verses are taken from a popular Dem-
ocratic campaign song, of 1863, entitled "A New Dixie,"
and are an example of the argument and feeling of the
period : —

The people 'lected old Abe Lincoln,
Wonder what they were a thinkin' ?
Abraham was an old deceiver,
Rail-wood splitter — Union cleaver.
Look away — away —
Old Abe won't save the Union!
On Union ground
He is not found —
He will not save the Union.

Years of warfare! bloodshed! horror!
Years of broken hearts and sorrow;
Widows, orphans, bankrupt nation;
And yet our eyes see no salvation!
Look away — away —
They will not save the Union,
On Union ground
They are not found,
Who favor war for Union!

Down with Wade, and Chase, and all such !
Weak or wicked we will call such —
Give us men as rulers o'er us
Like Vallandigham and Voorhies!
Look away — away —
Such men will give us Union;
On Union ground
They're always found,
And loyal to the Union.

"long hairs" AND "short hairs" UNITED.

The election of Conness to the United States Senate
by the Republican Legislature had united the Union

Democrats adhering to him, known as "Short Hairs,"
to the Republican Party, which had been designated
as "Long Hairs." The State Convention met at Sacra-
mento June isth. The "Short Hairs" were in the ma-
jority, and secured all the nominations, with the excep-
tion of Controller and Clerk of the Supreme Court.
The term "Long Hair" was given the early Republicans
in derision of the many leaders who affected that fash-
ion of wearing their hair; and the reverse to the rougher
element who had formerly been the adherents of Brod-
erick, coming into the party via the Douglas branch,
and who were supposed to crop their locks in fighting
style. The prominent candidates for Governor were A.

A. Sargent aid F. F. Low. The former received 93
votes and the latter 176.

The remaining nominees were: For Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor, T. N. Machin, of Calaveras; Secretary of State,

B. B. Redding, of Sacramento; Controller, George Oul-
ton of Siskiyou; Treasurer, Romualdo Pacheco, of San
Luis Obispo; Attorney-General, J. G. McCulIough, of
Mariposa; State Printer, O. M. Clayes, of San Joaquin;
Clerk of Supreme Court, W. D. Harriman, of Placer;
Members of Congress, Cornelius Cole, Wm. Higby, and
Thomas B. Shannon.

The Union Democrats held no State Convention, the
members affiliating with the other parties as their princi-
ples or interests dictated.

The Democratic Party was strengthened by many
members of the Douglas Party joining it, and made
nominations: For Governor, John G. Downey, of Los
Angeles; Lieutenant-Governor, E. W. McKinstry, of San
Francisco; Members of Congress, John B. Weller, John
Bigler, and N. E. Whiteside, and a full State ticket.

ELECTION SEPTEMBER, 1 863.

The county was divided into the following precincts :
San Luis Obispo, Santa Margarita, Beach, Arroyo Grande,
Santa Rosa, Estrella, Hot Springs. At this election San
Luis Obispo Precinct cast 193 votes; Santa Margarita,
52; Beach, 47; Arroyo Grande, 30; Santa Rosa, 87; Es-
trella, 22; Hot Springs, 48.

The vote in San Luis Obispo County was as follows: —

Governor — F. F. Low, 260; J. G. Downey, 219.

Members of Congress — T. B. Shannon, 252; W. Hig-
by, 272; C. Cole, 270.

Senator—Russell Heath, 181; J. Y. Cot, 181; Dr. Ord,
90 (all of Santa Barbara), Heath being elected.

Assembly — J. Ramon Hill, 238; Angel G. Escandon,
188 (both of Santa Barbara), Escandon being elected.

Sheriff — J. M. Munoz, 248; R. R. Harris, 210.

County Clerk — C. W. Dana, 234; T. H. Bouton, 221.

District Attorney — James White, 216; P. A. Forrester,
213.

County Treasurer — W. Murray, 229; S. A. Pollard,

County Assessor —

Hook, 247; J. P. Leuelling,

County Surveyor — F. E. Darke, 226; W. C. Parker, 186.
Public Administrator — George Stone, 220; D. F. New-
som, 198; Coroner, T. Bains, 250; C. J. Freeman, 197.

150

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

Superintendent of Schools— A. Murray, 233; P. H.
Dunn, 133; P. Ames, 74.

Constables — J. Weiner, 172; J. J. Scheiffarley, 141; A.
Biddlecomb, 136; Wm. McKenon, 30.

Justice of Peace — D. F. Newsom, 122; S. Sumner, 36.

'J'he total vote of the S tate was 109,292, of which F.
F. Low received 64,447, '^id J. G. Downey, 44,845.
The three Republican Members of Congress and all the
State nominees were elected.

JUDICIAL ELECTION.

The judicial election, intended by the amendment to
the Constitution to be non-partisan, but which was as
much governed by ])arty spirit as ever, occurred October
21, 1863. O. L. Shafter, Lorenzo Sawyer, John Currey,
A. L. Rhodes, and S. W. Sanderson, were elected Justices
of the Supreme Court; John Swett, Superintendent of
Public Instruction, and Pablo de la Guerra was elected
Judge of the First Judicial District, comprising the
counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, LosAngeles,
San Bernardino, and San Diego. William L. Beebee was
elected County Judge.

CAMPAIGN OF 1 864.

With the campaign of 1864 again occurred the Presi-
dential election. The war had been prosecuted during
the past year with great vigor on both sides, and the
decisive victories of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, and the
opening of the Mississippi, had been won by the Federal
forces, but the rebel government was still maintained at
Richmond, and several formidable rebel armies continued
in the field. The political position was the same as in
the preceding campaign; that was the support of the war,
or opposition to it. The abolition of slavery had given
the Democrats the opportunity to make strong accusa-
tions against the Republican Administration, slavery being
regarded as the most sacred institution of the Govern-
ment, as it had been declared the corner-stone of the
Southern Confederacy, and negro equality was the fright-
ful picture presented to the people.

PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS.

National Conventions to nominate a President and
Vice-President had been called — the Republican to meet
at Baltimore, June 7th, and the Democratic to meet at
Chicago, July 4th, which was postponed to August 29th.
A Convention styling itself " Radical Democrats," claim-
ing to be Republicans opposed tQ. the tender policy of
Lincoln, was held at Cleveland the last of May, and
nominated J. C. Fremont for President, and John Coch-
rane for Vice-President.

The Baltimore Convention nominated Abraham Lin-
coln, of Illinois, for President, and Andrew Johnson, of
Tennessee, for Vice-President; and the Chicago Conven-
tion nominated George B. McClellan, of Pennsylvania,
for President, and George H. Pendleton, of Ohio, for
Vice-President. The Democrats declared " unqualified
condemnation of the Emancipation Proclamation of the
President as tending to protract indefinitely the civil
war, excite servile insurrection, and close the door for-

ever to a restoration of the union of these States." The
war for the Union was declared a failure, and a cessation
of hostilities, with a view to a convention of all the
States to make peace on a basis of the Federal union of
the States.

ELECTION 1864.

The proclamation of the Governor called for the
election, November 8, 1864, to choose five Electors and
three Members of Congress. By Act of the Legislature
of 1864 the State had been divided into three Congres-
sional Districts, San Luis Obispo being in the First,
which comprised seventeen counties: Fresno, Inyo, Los
Angeles, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San
Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo,
San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stan-
islaus, and Tulare.

The election was held November 8, 1864, resulting in
a Republican victory. The electoral vote in the United
States was: Lincoln and Johnson, 212; McClellan and
Pendleton, 21. The vote in California was: Lincoln,
62,899; McClellan, 43,865. The vote of San Luis
Obispo was: Lincoln, 259; McClellan, 149.

Member of Congress — Donald C. McRuer, Republi-
can, for the First District, 253; J. B. Crockett, Demo-
crat, 149.

William Higby was elected in the Second and John
Bidwell in the Third District.

R. R. Harris was elected Supervisor.

EVIDENCE OF PATRIOTISM.

The attachment of the people of San Luis Obispo to
the Union in its period of terrible struggle for existence
was manifested by the large vote for the support of the
administration and the war. Particularly was this spirit
manifested by the native Californians, not only in San
Luis Obispo, but in all the southern coast counties, who
volunteered in the army, and a cavalry battalion of native
troops was organized, under command of Major Jos6
Pico, and performed gallant service in the field. This
battalion was enlisted with the expectation that it would
be called to serve in the East, where great battles were
fought, but instead it was divided up and the companies
detailed for equally arduous, but less glorious, service on
the frontiers. The Californians were distinguished for
their superior horsemanship, and as a cavalry battalion
would undoubtedly have won honor had the opportunity
been given them to appear in the active scenes of the
great war.

sX

ats>J^

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

151

CHAPTER XVIII.

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

Campaign of 1S65 — Death of Lincoln — Election in 1865— Judicial
Election — The Legislature — Registry Law — Campaign of 1S67
— Political Changes — Meeting of Conventions — Election Sep-
tember, 1S67 — Election in October — The Legislature — Casserly
Senator — Presidential Campaign of 1S6S — Republican Vic-
tory — Contested Election — Campaign of 1869 — Negro Suffrage
The Election — Pacheco's Election Contested — The Legislature
— Judicial Election 1869 — Campaign of 1871 — The Election
— Judicial Election 1871 — Pacheco Resigns as vSenator — The
Legislature — Sargent Senator — Campaign of 1872 — Grant and
Greeley — The Election — Campaign of 1873 — County Conven-
tions — Election 1873 — Judicial Election — The Legislature —
.Senators Elected — Murray Appointed District Judge — Pablo de
la Guerra — Laws Passed — Campaign of 1875 — Complicated
Parties — The Election — Death of Judge Murray — Judicial
Election 1875 — Election of Supervisors — Campaign of 1876 --
The Election.

„REAT political changes occurred between the
close of the campaign of 1864 and the opening
of the compaign of 1865. The last great battles
of the Rebellion had been fought, the rebel armies surren-
dered, and as peace and good-will were promised by Pres-
ident Lincoln, he was assassinated on the 14th of April,
1865, dying the following day. The great triumph which
had sent joy throughout the land was turned to sincerest
mourning. The funeral obsequies of the murdered Pres-
ident were observed in all the prominent towns throughout
the State, on the 19th of April, following the sad event.
Business was suspended, public and many private build-
ings were draped in black, whole communities assembled in
procession, serinons, poems, and orations were delivered,
and the form of funeral observed with feeling and sol-
emnity. This dark tragedy closed the terrible war.
The Union was maintained and slavery forever forbidden
in the territory of the United States.

The political campaign of 1865 opened with timid and
cautious action. The great events preceding it attracted
the chief attention, and no question of importance
seemed to deinand the attention of politicians. The
collapse of the Rebellion had been sudden and complete.
All .stood awaiting developments. The question of re-
constructing the Union and rehabilitating the seceding
States had scarcely been considered, and had not taken
form. The Democrats were overwhelmed with the rebel
defeat, and the success of the Republicans was conceded.
Of that party there had existed for some time two ele-
ments, or wings, denominated " Long Hairs " and ''Short
Hairs." A United States Senator was to be elected by
the next Legislature and the question of which wing
should win the prize constituted the chief cause of effort.
Conness had been elected by the Short Hairs, and the
Federal offices were filled with his adherents.

ELECTION IN 1865.

Members of the Legislature, county and township
officers were to be chosen at the election to be held Sep-
tember 6, 1865. The amendment to the Constitution of
the United States, abolishing slavery and approving the
acts of the war, would ■ be voted upon by the Legislature,

and the question of extending the right of suffrage to
colored citizens of African descent would also come be-
fore it. Few people expressed opposition to the first
proposition, but many did to the last, and upon it and
the reconstruction policy proposed by President An-
drew Johnson the parties made issue.

For Senator — P. W. Murphy, 219; \\'alter Murray,
175; both of San Luis Obispo.

For Assembly — R. J. Hill, 232; Chas. E. Huse, 169;
both of Santa Barbara.

For Sheriff — Jose A. de la Guerra, 174; Jose M. Mu-
noz, 114; George Stone, in.

For County Clerk— Chas. W. Dana, 276; D. F. New-
som, 125.

For District Attorney — James White, 289.

For County Surveyor — Geo. Deffner, 228; Wm. C.
Parker, 162.

For Coroner — W. Leffingwell, 168; Ramon Branch,
118; Juhan Garcia, 88.

For Assessor — John Bains, 257; W. C. Dana, 139.

For Public Administrator — P. H. Dallidet, 200; Julian
Estrada, 172.

For Superintendent of Schools — P. A. Forrester, 144;
J. J. Simmler, 104; R. B. Olmsted, 94; P. Dunn, 66.

For Supervisors — J. M. Bonilla, 158; John M. Price;
89.

For Constable — J. J. Scheififarley, 124; John Weiner,
98; A. D. Biddlecoinb, 95; Jose Cantua, 81: J. P. Leu-
elling, 38; N. W. Guillespie, 29; S. B. Inman, 12; H.
G. Pinchon, — .

P. W. Murphy, Democrat, was elected to the Senate,
and J. Ramon Hill to the Assembly from the Third
Legislative District.

JUDICIAL ELECTION.

The judicial election was ordered to be held October
18, 1865, for the purpose of choosing a Justice of the
Supreme Court to succeed S. W. Sanderson, whose term
was about to expire. To make nominations for this of-
fice, to appoint State Central Committees, and to reor-
ganize parties. State Conventions were held by the Repub-
licans and Democrats. The Republican Convention
met at Sacramento, August i8th, both wings being rep-
resented, with the Long Hairs in the majority. Silas W.
Sanderson, of El Dorado, and J. H. McKune, of Sacra-
mento, were presented for nomination, the honor falling
upon the former.

The Democrats called a convention to meet at Sacra-
mento, September 19th, to nominate a candidate for Su-
preme Judge, select a State Central Committee, and issue
a platform of principles. The convention met as ordered
and nominated Henry Hare Hartley for Supreme Judge.
The platform pledged support to the national administra-
tion in all Constitutional measures, and expressed its un-
alterable determination to oppose negro suffrage and the
political equality of the negro, "on the ground of justice
to the white man as well as humanity to the negroes them-
selves."

The election was held October i8th, with the following
vote in the State; Sanderson (R), 31,662; Hartley (D),

25.474-

152

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

THE LEGISLATURE.

The Legislature met December 4, 1865, and organized
by the election of S. P. Wright, of Del Norte, President,
pro tern, of the Senate, and John Yule, of Placer, Speaker
of the Assembly. The Senate was composed of 31 Re-
publicans and 9 Democrats, and the Assembly of 53 Re-
publicans, 20 Democrats, and 7 Independents. The great
question of United States Senator was settled without
difficulty by the election of Cornelius Cole, to succeed
James A. McDougall after the 3d of March, 1867. This
was a Long Hair triumph.

REGISTRY LAW.

The principal Act of this session was the passage of
the " Registry Law" requiring a registration of voters.
This was prepared and introduced by Horace Hawes,
Senator from San Francisco. It was bitterly opposed by
the Democrats as a partisan measure. But little of im-
portance was accomplished and the session terminated

April 2, 1866. I
in
CAMPAIGN OF l8'97 POLITICAL CHANGES.

Under the amendments to the Constitution, the State
was relieved of an election campaign in the year 1866.
Little was accomplished politically, bat steps were taken
for the reorganization of the Democratic Party. The
" reconstruction " measures of Congress, the amend-
ments to the Federal Constitution, and the disagreements
between Congress and the President, were causes for
many changes from the Republican to the Democratic
Party, and among the prominent persons so changing
was H. H. Haight, of San Francisco.

Preparations for the campaign of 1867 commenced
early by the organization of clubs and committees, the
discussion of political questions going on continually.
There were to be elected a Governor, and all State officers,
a Representative in Congress from each district, a Legis-
ature which would elect a United States Senator to succeed
John Conness, county and district officers at the political
election, and a Supreme Judge and Superintendent of
Public Instruction at the judicial election.

MEETING OF CONVENTIONS.

The State Conventions of the two parties met at Sac-
ramento, June 1 2th and 19th, respectively. The Repub-
lican State Convention was controlled by the " Short
Hair " wing, which nominated George C. Gorham, of
San Francisco, for Governor, and John P. Jones, of Trin-
ity, for Lieutenant-Governor. The nomination of Gor-
ham was so distasteful to the other wing of the Republi-
can Party that an opposition ticket was made with Caleb
T. Fay, of San Francisco, as the candidate for Governor
and J. P. Jones for Lieutenant-Governor.

The Democratic Convention nominated Henry H.
Haight, of Alameda, for Governor, and William Holden,
of Mendocino, for Lieutenant-Governor. Thus three
tickets were in the field. In the First District D. C.
McRuer, of San Francisco, was renominated by the
Republicans for Congress, and the Democrats nominated
S. B. Axtell, of San Francisco, The canvass was con-

ducted with a great deal of energy, the Central Pacific
Railroad Company lending its aid to Gorham.

ELECTION SEPTEMBER, 1867.

The election was held September 4, 1867, resulting in
a great Democratic victory in the State, but a Republican
victory in San Luis Obispo.

The returns for this county were as follows: —

For Governor — George C. Gorham, 242; Henry H.
Haight, 177; Caleb T. Fay, 8.

Lieutenant-Governor — John P. Jones, 251; William
Holden, 175.

Assembly — Wm. T. McElhany, 238; R. R. Harris,
189.

Sheriff^. A. de la Guerra, 184; J. M. Munoz, 163;
H. W. Little, 64; M. B. Martin, 16.

County Treasurer — S. P. Mallagh, 164; S. A. Pol-
lard, 147; George F. Sauer, 112. ■

County Clerk — Chas. W. Dana, 295; P. A. Forrester,
135-

District Attorney — Walter Murray, 216; Charles Lind-
ley, 199.

Superintendent of Schools — James H. Gouch 198;
W. W. Hays, 184; O. R. Smith, 33.

County Surveyor — A. L. Cervantes, 201.

Public Administrator — P. H. Dallidet, 198.

Coroner — Edw. Albert, 227.

Supervisors — First District, John Harford 143, J. M.
Price, 48; Second District, Chas. W. Shaug, 76, J. M.
Whittaker, 66; Third District, Joseph Riley, 39, James
Denman, 6.

County Assessor — Zenobio Pico, 166; C. Mathers,
157; John Bains, 99.

Constables — San Luis Obispo, J. J. Scheiffarley, 95;
John Weiner, 54; F. Kohn, 52; San Simeon Township,
Wm. Marrs, 50; G. Buelna, 30.

The vote in the State for Governor was Haight, 49,905;
Gorham, 40,359; Fay, 2,088. In the First District, D.
C. McRuer was re-elected to Congress, Wm. Higby in
the Second, andjas. A. Johnson (D) in the Third. The
Democratic victory in the State was attributed to the in-
judicious nomination by the Republicans for Governor,
and the weak character of the platform.

JUDICIAL ELECTION.

The judicial election was held October 16, 1867, re-
sulting as in the September election. The following
was the vote in San Luis Obispo County: —

For Judges Supreme Court — Royal T. Sprague (D),
209; John Currey (R), 208.

Superintendent Public Instruction — John Swett (R),
210; O. P. Fitzgerald (D), 207.

For County Judge — Wm. L. Beebee (R), 210; Charles
Lindley (D), 207.

Justices of the Peace — San Luis Obispo Township.
J. J. Simmler, 120; H. B. Palmer, 113; H. AV. Little, 98,
J. M. Bonilla, 96. San Simeon Township, R. Brown,
98; Rufus Rigdon, 80; S. B. Inman, 45.

THE LEGISLATURE CASSERLY SENATOR.

The Legislature met on the first Monday of Septem-

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POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

ber, and was composed of 19 Democratic and 21 Re-
publican Senators; and 51 Democrats and 29 Republi-
cans in the Assembly. This body elected Eugene
Casserly, Democrat, of San Francisco, United States
Senator to succeed John Conness, whose term would
expire March 3, 1869.

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1 868.

In the campaign of i86S a President, Vice-President,
and Representatives in Congress were elected. A National
Convention was held in Chicago in May, at which Gen. U.
S. Grant was nominated for President, and Schuyler Colfax
for Vice-President. In July the Democrats met in conven-
tion at New York, and nominated Horatio Seymour and
Francis P. Blair. In the First District of California, S.

B. 7\jctell, of San Francisco, was nominated for Congress
by the Democrats, his Republican competitor being
Frank M. Pixley. The canvass that followed was of a
very active and bitter character. The Democrats, inspired
by a fair hope of winning, put forth every exertion, with
the result of success only in some local elections. The
Pioneer newspaper, the only periodical then in existence
in San Luis Obispo, took very decided Democratic ground,
and was able to arouse quite strong feeling by its repre-
sentations.

REPUBLICAN VICTORY.

The election was held on the 4th of November, and
resulted in an almost complete Republican victory. The
electoral vote in the United States was: Grant, 214; Sey-
mour, 80, and 23 vacant. The vote in California was for
Grant electors, 54,592; for Seymour electors, 54,078.

In San Luis Obispo County the vote was declared as
follows: —

Presidential electors — Republicans, 372; Democrats,
345; Republican Majority, 27.

Congress — S. B. Axtell, Democrat, 344; F. M. Pixley,
Republican, 372. Republican majority, 28. The former
was the successful candidate, receiving 23,632 votes, while
Pixley's vote was 20,081. The seventeen counties com-
posing the district were Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles,
Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Bernardino, San Diego,
San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Bar-
bara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, and Tulare.
A. A. Sargent was elected to Congress from the Second
District, and James A. Johnson from the Third.

Supervisors — San Luis Obispo District, John M. Price,
Republican, 219; S. M. Bonilla, Democrat, 116. San
Simeon District, Angus M. Hardie, Republican, 150; J.

C. McFerson, Democrat, 139. Salinas District; D. W.
James, Democrat (no opposition), 78.

Total vote of the county, 717.

CONTESTED ELECTION.

To increase the interest felt in local political matters,
the well-known case of the contested election for County
Judgeship was being inquired into. The contestants,
Charles Lindley and William L. Beebee, with their friends
and supporters, made opposing claims of fraud, and the
contest developed a high degree of acrimony. The ques-
tion remained unsetded for many months, during which

Judge Beebee performed the duties of the office, and
eventually the case was judicially settled in his favor.

CAMPAIGN OF 1869 — NEGRO SUFFRAGE.

The great battles for principles were fought in the
campaign preceding the election of General Grant to the
Presidency, and parties had in the year 1868 taken their
stand upon them. The question of negro suffrage was
the only modern one that divided the parties, and this
was contained in the fifteenth amendment to the Con-
stitution of the United States. The election of 1869
was for a Legislature to adopt or reject this amendment,
and a struggle impended upon this important question.

THE ELECTION.

Conventions were held as usual, and nominations were
made by the two parties. The political election for
Legislative, county, and district officers was held on
September i, 1869, and resulted as follows: —

Senate — R. Pacheco (R), 393; Patrick W. Murphy (D),
461; both of San Luis Obispo.

Assembly — J. E. Stevens (R), 389; A. G. Escandon
(D), 471; both of Santa Barbara.

Sheriff— J. M. Muiioz (R), 362; J. A. de la Guerra
(D), 486.

County Clerk— Charles W. Dana (R), 464; H. W.
Little (D), 399.

District Attorney — Carolan Mathers (R), 363; N. D.
Witt (D), 447-

Assessor — Orson K. Smith (R), 393; James Buffum
(D), 467.

Treasurer — John Bains (R), 372; William C. Dana
(D), 488.

Surveyor — A. L. Cervantes (R), 318; R. R. Harris (D),

539-

Superintendent of Schools — Levi Rackliffe (R), 393;

P. A. Forrester (D), 467.

Public Administrator — Jose Cantua (R), 387; Andro-
nico Soto (D), 453.

Coroner— J. C. McCoUum (R), 390; Frederick Ott (D),

465-

Supervisors — San Luis Obispo District, John M.Price
(R), 216; G. F. Sauer (D), 23. San Simeon District,
Angus M. Hardie(R), 106; F. F. Letcher (D), 241; Sali-
nas District, D. W. James (D), 96.

Total vote of the county, 858. Santa Barbara County,
belonging to the same Senatorial District as San Luis,
gave the Republican candidate, Romualdo Pacheco,
623 votes, making his total vote eight in excess of his
Democratic rival, Mr. Murphy. At the same time, A. G.
Escandon (D) was elected joint Assemblyman by the
handsome majority of 226.

PACHECO'S ELECTION CONTESTED.

The vote between Messrs. Pacheco and Murphy being
so close, the latter was encouraged to contest the elec-
tion, charging frauds, inaccuracies, and undue influence
at the polls in Santa Barbara County, and it was not until
the following March that the question was definitely set-
ded by vote of the State Senate, which gave the seat to
Mr. Pacheco. He was confirmed by a vote of 20 to 19

20

154

HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.

— almost a strict party vote. The contest lasted through
nearly the whole of the session and was brought to ballot
several times, but without a decision being reached.

THE LEGISLATURE.

This Legislature was largely Democratic, the Senate
being twenty-seven Democratic members and but thir-
teen Republicans. The Assembly numbered sixty-six
Democrats, eleven Republicans, and three Independents.

Among the Acts of the Legislature was one " To pro-
tect litigants," by which District Judges were authorized
to designate the newspapers in which legal advertisements
should be published in their respective districts. This
was intended to help the Democratic papers,, as all the
District Judges were Democratic in politics. The
Standard, a weekly paper established in San Luis in
1869, by J. B. Fitch, became the official paper for the
county. This unjust, injudicious, and partisan law was
repealed within a few years, during which time its evil
tendency became fully manifest.

A bill was passed by the Legislature enabling certain
counties to grant subsidies to railroads, with the sole
object of assisting the Southern Pacific Railroad, but the
bill was vetoed by Governor Haight, for which he was
roundly censured by the railroad organs and as heartily
lauded by the anti-monopolists. Public opinion had not
as yet been moulded to the form and consistency it has
since developed. The railroad people were in some
sense the proteges of the inhabitants of this State, who
considered themselves as being favored by the railroad's
advent, and who chivalrously and loyally upheld it until
its selfish exaction and monopolizing spirit had estranged
every one of its friends and antagonized a whole State.
Governor Haight deserves the credit of having been the
first to consistently oppose their schemes, which he did
regardless of temporary loss of popularity.

JUDICIAL ELECTION 1869.

The judicial election was held October 20, 1869.
Judge Walter Murray, Union candidate for Judge of the
First Judicial District, received 410 votes in San Luis
Obispo and 483 in Santa Barbara. Pablo de la Guerra,
his Democratic opponent, received 364 votes in San
Luis Obispo and 578 in Santa Barbara, making him a
majority of 49. Judge de la Guerra had acted with
the Republican Party from the commencement of the
rebellion, but declined to vote for Gorham for Governor.
Murray had been a Democrat previous to the firing on
Fort Sumter in 1861, from which date until his death he
was a Republican.

CAMPAIGN OF 187 1.

The campaign of 187 1 involved the election of a Gov-
ernor, and other State officers; two Justices of the Su-
preme Court — one to succeed Judge Sanderson, who had
resigned, the other to succeed Rhodes whose time was
about to expire — a member of Congress for each dis-
trict, and Legislative and County officers. The guber-
natorial candidates were H. H. Haight and Newton
Booth- The passage of the Act "To Proteot Litigants "

had rendered the Democratic administration odious to
the Republican and Independent press of the State; and
the veto of the Railway Subsidy Bill had brought the
full weight of the railroad companies' influence against the
Governor. The Democratic State Convention met and
adopted a platform strongly opposed to subsidies. Mr.
Booth was known as an antl subsidist, but Mr. Pacheco,
Republican nominee for Lieutenant-Governor, was then
regarded as a friend of the railways. The declaration
was made immediately after the nominations that should
Booth be elected he would be removed either by elec-
tion to the United States Senate, or the appointment to
some important foreign mission, whereby the friends of
the railroad would remain in control of the State Gov-
ernment.

The Democratic State nominations were: For Gov-
ernor, H. H. Haight; Lieutenant-Governor, E. J. Lewis;
Secretary of State, W. B. C. Brown; Controller, Dr. R.
O. Dewitt; Treasurer, A. L. Coronel; Attorney-General,
Jo Hamilton; Surveyor-General, John W. Bost.

The Republican nominations were: For Governor,
Newton Booth; Lieutenant-Governor, R. Pacheco; Sec-
retary of State, Drury Melone; Controller, J. J. Green;
Treasurer, F. Baehr; Attorney-General, J. L. Love; Sur-
veyor-General, R^obert Gardner.

THE ELECTION.

The election was held September 6, 1871, and resulted
in the success of the Republican Candidates who
achieved majorities ranging from 4,300 to S,6oo; the
highest vote in the State being 120,001.

In the county of San Luis Obispo the vote for Haight
was 586, while Booth received 23 less, the result in the
State being 57,520 for Haight, and 62,581 for Booth.

The personal popularity of Mr. Pacheco ensured him
a majority of 161 in this county.

S. O. Houghton and Lawrance Archer, candidates for
Congress, received each 576 votes; the former receiving
in the district 25,971, and the latter 24,374. A. A. Sar-
gent was re-elected to Congress in the Second District,
and John M. Coghlan, Republican, was elected in the
Third.

Joel H. Cooper, Democratic nominee for the Assem-
bly, attained in the district a majority of 42 as against
Milton Wason, both of Santa Barbara.

County Clerk— Chas. W. Dana (R), 640; J. V. Avila
(D.), 501.

District Attorney — Walter Murray (R); 551; A. A.
Oglesby (D), 606.

Sheriff-^David C. Norcross (R), 467; Henry Francis
(D), 461; Jose Antonio de la Guerra (Independent),
225.

Treasurer — Angus M. Hardie (R), 518; Julian Gar-
cia, 610.

Assessor — J. J. Scheififarley (R), 565; John Gaylord

(D), S^i-

School Superintendent — Levi Rackliffe (R), 566;
Peter A. Forrester (D-), 577-

County Surveyor — Ezra Carpenter (R), 541; R. R.
Harris (D), 609.

POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.

155

Public Administrator — Ernest Krebs (R), 572; David
T. Newsom (D), 577.

Coroner — James E. McCoUum (R), 554; Frederick
Ott (D), ^89.

Messrs. John M. Price (R), Drury W. James (D),
and T. C. McFerson (D), were elected Supervisors by
majorities of 143, 133, and 9, respectively.

Tlie total vote of the county numbered 1,159.

JUDICIAL ELECTION, 1871.

The judicial election was held October i8, 187 1, re-
sulting in a sweeping Republican majority throughout
the State, the highest majority being 14,638 for Henry
M. Bolander, Republican candidate for Superintendent
of Public Instruction, over Rev. O. P. Fitzgerald, the
Democratic nominee.

The vote of San Luis Obispo was for A. L. Rhodes
and Addison C. Niles, candidates for Justices of Supreme
Court, 481; Selden S. Wright and Jackson Temple,
Democrats, 471.

For County Judge — McDowell R. Venable, Democrat,
487; William L. Beebee, Republican, 457.

Justices of the Peace, San Luis Obispo — J. J. Simmler,
Republican, 238; Ygnacio Esquier, Democrat, 198;
George L. Barnes, Republican, 150; G. B. Fitch, Demo-
crat, 132.

Morro — H. Y. Stanley, Republican, 73; James Cass,
Republican, 66; Isaac Flood, Democrat, 54.

Arroyo Grande — Jessa 14; F. Ketchum 47; others, 11.

San Simeon — O. S. Palmer, 128; R. Rigdon, 113; G.
Joynes, 29: G. Davis, 20.

San Miguel — Charles Knowlton, 109; J. L. Freeman,
92; A. L. Cervantes, 51; Woodworth, 41.

PACHECO RESIGNS AS SENATOR.

About the middle of October, 187 1, Romualdo
Pacheco, joint Senator for San Luis Obispo and Santa
Barbara, and Lieutenant-Governor elect, resigned the
former position, thereby causing a vacancy. The Gov-
ernor, in compliance with the law, called a special election
to take place in the two counties on Saturday, Novem-
ber 25 th, following.

The Republicans met at Foxen's, in Santa Barbara
County, and nominated Dr. S. B. Brinkerhoff, a well-
known citizen of Santa Barbara, and his name was hoisted
in the Trilnme, which paper subsequently gave that nom-
inee its entire support, making in that regard an entire
change of front, for in a previous issue the gentleman
had been reviled in strong terms. Mr. J. J. Ayres, the
well-known journalist, then a Republican, but since
appointed by the Democrats to the office of State
Printer, had assumed charge of the paper, and doubtless
thought it well to bow to the inexorable demands of
party fealty. The article derogatory of the candi-
date was from the pen of Judge Murray. Its effect was
to defeat Brinkerhoff, his Democratic rival, Judge
James Van Ness, of San Luis Obispo, securing the seat
by a total vote in San Luis Obispo of 555, the Republi-
can votes numbering but 350. The Doctor achieved a
majority of 31 in Santa Barbara, but t