St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1872-05-31

falling away. until tntlt renamed only
the -ti-tum-ti of the musician.
whose instrument was composed of Il
corn stock about 30 inches long, stretch
ing single string made of a lambs en-
trails. ''rhcy are poor creatures said
Senor NJ. with Il ShrIg of his shoulders:
poor creatures, but quiet not good
for much. but useful" "But where do
they Sleep | asked. He pointed to IL
door. which opened into lightly in
closed shed. which | had imagined to
he the chickcnhouSc. la the further
end. truly. the chickens. were at roost.
hut the large part WAS tionred with
poles. on which barley straw MAS spread
and here the Indians slept, if they
slept. al which. later. had occasion to
entertain some doubts. Outside of the
Yard. near the house. was the wood
heap: near it lay Il hccf-S head. skinned
and CORY; every where except imme-
! diatclN about the house Was what we
would call careless disorder and litter.
/ When SIrppcl WaS served, two benches
we've drawn up to the table. and we
/ three men sat down and helped ouI
I selves to the stew of meat and onions,
/ to excellent bread but no butter. to
Il dish of black and red beans. to some
I fried potatoes. and to coffee and tea as
We preferred. Presently came in two
| boys of l3 and IL. and to them was
/ added. in Il few minutes more, their
/ mother. stout and healthy looking. as is
/ the habit of the Californian Spanish
women. She took one end of table
and drew il chair to her side for lad
of eight Years. her Youngest. who ate
oui of her plate. drank coffee out of her
cup. and was INDUCED with sundry
hugs and kisses during the meal. Later
dropped i'll Il Young woman: poor re
latinn. prohably and little girl who
held the same situation. After the
manner of poor relations. they spoke in
whispers. sat uueasilN OH their chairs,
and finished their meal somewhat more
quickly than the rest of us.
Twenty Years ago the country men of
! this man owned the whole of Calitor-
mia; the land. the cattle. and horses and
sheep were theirs. To-day. the maiori-
ty of them are poor: iii fact. very few
retain even II paIt of their old posses
SiOu>. They were not business men:
they liked to live free of care: and they
found ii easy To borrow money. or to
obtain anything else on credit. They
know nothing of interest: even Sc
nor NJ. to-day. probably huri,> his
coin. or hides II away i'll solmr secure
place. As for the most of his fellow
/ landowners. i'll the old time. they
Squandelcd their money they borrow
ed at :. and , per cent Il month
they were ready to have their notes
renewed when they fell due. and hor-
rnwed more on top of them: and II Is
said of them that it was perfectly safe
to lend them money. for they would
pay. if to pay ruined them. OF course
il did ruin them. One great landh"ld-
cr in Los Angeles county. when his set
tllng day came. WAS confronted. among
Il multitude of other accounts, with Il
bakers hill for 900. He paid all -
/ but his children are poor people to-day.
/ The style of living. poor and mean as
/ it looks To us. which have above de
scribcd. is that usual among the Old
! Spanish OF Californian population.
/ Their food is chiefly beef. ''carne Seco.
or dried beef. beans. tortilla>. which
are wheaton ur corn cakes. III shape like
Scotch Sconc>. and coffee. Senor NJ.
/ being IL careful man. had Il COW l mean
il milch COW. His house had Il wooden
/ floor: hut in Santa Barbara the last
/ Mexican lieutenant governor lived i'll
an adobe house with mud floor. and
/ he wa> Il man of wealth and intelligence.
/ EarthCrn floors were almost universal
J in the old times. and are So Yet. indeed.
I Curious tales are told of the imprOVi-
dcncc of the old CalitornianS i'll their
last days. When the Americans from
. the East rushed into the country on the
/ discovery of gold. cattle suddenly he
c;lmr valuable for their meat before
/ then only their hides were sold: and
have my self in I-l7. in Mnntcry. seen
Il fat steer sold for -. To the ships
butcher. who later sold the hide for II.
thus receiving the whole carcass for
only - The Yankee demand for beef
made the cattle owners suddenly rich.
and they made haste I" spend what
they 81 easily got. saddles trimmed
with solid silver. spurs ot gold. brides
with silver chains. We're among the fam
cl.~ of the men: and Il lady III Santa
Barbara amused me 10y describing the
old adobe houses. with carthcIu Iloor>
covered with costly rugs tnUrp">t bed
>t"ad> with the co~tilicSt lace curtains.
and these iooprd mp with Lace again:
aud The >uuol> and >cuuritaS dragging
trains Oi massive silk and satin over
the mud floors. II must have been an
odd mixture of sJualOr and >plrndor.
/ An adobe house. no matter what Il the
wealth nr condition of the Californian
who lives in il. l. simply Il long range of
rooms. II is one story high, has Il pi-
a2II roof in front. an c:ltlcrn floor. us
uallV no ceiling. Il tile roof. and each
room. or all but one iii houses where
] rhar, .,rp ,,rnU N and unmarried ,l.uub b-