New-York tribune., 1872-07-30
PRE-AMERICAN CALIFORNIA.
A TOUR THROUGH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Los ANGELES, April O.-From ADaheilh
, nm, ,o.sont davis drive brought us past San Juan
Canistrano-vhich tho readers OF DahaS Two ieais
BEFORE the Mastw remember az tue place whee nc was
LET down the cliff some hundreds OF ieet 10 KNOCK uo"h
few rawhides at the risk OF his own SAh-Io ING santa
Marearta Rancho OF the great cattle ranchos OF
California. where had been promised Rodeo The
business of raising cattle was as you Know ior many
long years almost the only pursuit OF Cafornans' In
nonas time IL was the great business OF the province
and tboucb now secondary affair, 1t is STILL In some
narts Of the state. the calling OF large number OF
o,e Cattle are not herded as sheep are; they roam
at will over large districts, and those of dozen or
tventy owners feed together on the pastures OF all
Each man marks his own by peculiar brand, burned
into the left hip and these marks irOns they are
technically called recorded like the title deeds Of
os,otes and II il felony to oberate brand. When
horse IL sold il is ossbranded-that is to say. the
seler puts his brand also the shoulder as sign that
his right is extnguished Wherever man sees an ani'
nal with his mark he has right to take 1t.
RoDEos IN THE OLD TINE.
Every spring in the cattle country Rodeos are held
o9eo comes from rodere the Spanish word to gather or
surround Rodeo is in fact, collection of cattle or
horses made to enable the different owners to pick out
their own count them and If they wish, drive them OH
10 their own pastures 1t is held in the Spring, because
then the calves still follow the cows, and the great OBJ
feet of the gathering to brand the calves Rodeos are
held In the San Joaquin Valley at stated places and pr
ordained times and succeeds the other going from
south northward until at last oil the cattle nave oeen
seem and all the calves branded In San Diego County
where the Santa Margara Rancho ies they Deeh III '
same way far SOUTH the Mexican border ana "o
norbward Sometimes 10000 head Of cattle are gathered
on plain and the work of parting OUT as II Is caeu'
and branding lasts for several days. AeareiullJ uc
fined set of laws regulates this work, and law oeers
called Judges of the Pains attend to settle disputes
as TO ownership, and regulate the procedure. Ihese
officers appoint the times and places OF rodeos, and at
tend nj each In the old times have been told R0deo
was formal and stately affair 1t was held in turns
upop the estates of the owners and each In his turn
entertained the assembled company. When tell you
that such gathering commonly included from IL TO 20
propretors each attended by from to Is Vacqueros
and with six or eight horses for each person. you VIII
see that there was little army to keep But the Ola
Cafornians we're not only hosptabe, they receive ys-
fors with less inconvenience to themselves than any
people have ever known l stayed this Winter for
some davs with my wife. at an old Spanish rancho,
where the housekeeping" was so quietly arranged
that IL seemed as though the house was empty yet
learned on inquirng that from 40 to 5 PERSONS e1cu
sye Of servants, ate in the house every day Wme we
were there Partly this is accounted for by the very
simple habits of these people. They eat very modor
atey and OF few dishes, beef and beans being their
chief diet and they sleep anywhere. Moreover, they
quiet and decorous in their manners and they rise
early. -
In the old times when the cattle had been gathered
and all was ready the major domo-an person
on all these estatescame the proprietor with hat In
hand and formally announced that all was ready fIhen
tho dressed in holiday attire got 10 horse, and
rode ont 10 the plain and at the word the work began
Then were seen some really magnificent feas OF morse
mapshp each vacquerO We'd with the other In TINS ds-
play and as the day grew fresh horses were saddcd
and no bull wild that he did not Ind his master
The state and ceremony have gone OUT but the skiful
riding still remains az well as the feats with the lasso,
which are really like iuggery or witchcraft have a
hundred times watched the fling of the RATA, and yet
have never in single instance been able to detect the
precise moment Of the capture But am certain that
part OF the trick is in the vacqueros intimate knowledge
of the animals motions for have seen RATA care
lessiv thrown down at bulls heels andas the next in
stant he fast, he must have stepped into
the moose, and he who flung 1t must have known
by experience what would De the animals next mo-
ton. At the Santa Margarita we attended rodeo,
where the horsemen displayed In honor of their
finest skill and IL was marvellous 10 see not only the
certainty with which the lassO RATA fung and the
admirable training OF the horses which cooperate with
their riders and like flash when mad bull flies at
his pursuer but the jokes OF the field one OF which IS 10
single out bull or cow chase it out OF the herd, dash
after IL at full speed, ana lean out OF
rider catches the tail Of the flying beast This lie winds
quickly about his hand and at the same time tucks 1t
under his leg holding 1t between the leg and the saddle
At the same instant the horse, feeling the tail on his
flank and perfect in his own part, increases his speed
and both running In nearly parallel lines close together
if the horses speed greater than the bulls, the latter
is flung heels head. this practical joke played
dozen times it Is OF the favorte diversions OF the
ROdeO
A SPANISH -CALIFoRSIAS ESTATE.
The Rodeo grounds permanent; and 1t was to me
an odd fact that when the vacqueros went out to gather
In the cattle from the hills and valleys for miles
every side they had only to begin driving, when all
within sight turned at to the big tree In the center
of the valley, where they were accustomed to be col
lected. Half dozen men sufced TO keep band OF
25OO cattle in a compact Tor many hours there
were nearly hundred hOrsemen on the plain, and as
the coolest heads rode into the of cattle and singled
out one by its mark they turned its head out OF the
mass drove 1t adroy outside and there two or three
other stood ready drive it TO the knot to
which IL belonged This continued all day long. The
Santa Margarta estate Of 10000 acres IL belongs
to Don Juan Forster Englishman by birth, but a
resident of California from his early youth, and married
10 sister OF Don Pho PcO the last Spanish Governor
Of California At his house more OF the old Spanish
California life obtains than at any other have visited
Spanish only Is spoken in the family, ana the old
customs kept up not from any desire 10 be dlnereh
from Others but because they are family habits There
is something very ovable and pleasant in these old
customs. In the first place the people are kindly and
amiabe, and though their pursuits might tend TO loud
and rough aud do 80 where our people manage
cattle here all went on quietly and decorousy though
it was Sunday The animals handled firmly, but
with great and humanity. The work Of the house
proceeds with absolute noiselessnes, and this though
from 80 TO so persons fed at thcshouse every day
Spanish Californian houses are always scrupulousy
clean; and though their life 10 us strange and
does not comport with ideas Of comfort it has the
merit OF fitting the climate aud the pursuits OF the
people. There remains in it, too something which Is too
often lacking in Eastern houses degree OF trust
and confidence and affection between master and
with the lnast LnAnNnE