Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-12-21
Dec. 10, 1877.
A California Wedding TWenty-hVe
Years Ago.

Dec. 10, 1877.
A California wedding Twenty-hVs
Years Ago.
During thetHneI 1 vas in San ] Jost
| saw in perfection the good riding
of the country. From my hammock,
swung under the open gallery of the
house where we were fortunate
enough to have a room, | heard and
saw the festivities of California
wedding. These lasted three days.
1t was a wedding among the yaquer-
os, and attended, therefore, by good
riders. The BRIDES house was not
much of a building, but extensive
temporary shelter had been put up
for dancing-rooms, covered over
with green boughs-a rdntGCtd. But
the point of rivalry among the guests
was more in riding than i'll dancing,
though after riding all day they
would dance all night; and all day
and all night that one air was re-
peated by violins, guitars, and
voices, until the drone of it got into
the air, and made as much part of it
as does the whir of locustsin the au-
tum months. The first day the pro-
cession starred for church where the
marriage was to take place-to go
down and along the Alameda, a
beautiful double avenue of willows,
three miles III length, planted by the
early fathers. The first day was to
go to church for the marriage eere-
monies; the second, to take out the
bride for a general paseGr through
the town; and the third, a series of
contests and rivalries in feats of
horsemanship. There were about
five hundred horses; the riders were
more. In many cases they had with
them aweman mounted-on the, horse; !;
the woman sat on the mans saddle,
while behind her, with his arm
around her waist, and. holding the
reins, sat the man-just the reverse
of our country habit. They advanced
in regular order, eight abreast, the
musicians, also on horseback, play
ing their violins and guitars as calm9
ly as though they had floor under
them. The bride sat alone on her
horse, under an arch of flowers and
ribbons, which was carried by a
groomsnan on either side, the ends
Of the arch resting on their saddles,
and on either side of them her bride
maids; the Bridegroom, on an excep-
tionally fine hurse, surrounded by
his friends; and then the rest of the
company, most of the men riding
singly, but many riding as have de-
scribed, with girl on the saddle--a.
bright glittering mass of ribbons,
flowers, bright beads, gold-lace; the
women in satin dresses and Shippers,
the men in the dress of,the time in
California, which is exactly that we
see in Spanish pictures-short velvet
jackets covered with braid and gold
embroidery, the velvet trousers open
over full white drawers; while
string Of bells down the seam jing
led even more tnan do the bangles
of ladies in church.
The starting point was almost fac
ing my place of observation. They
would form in great order and
quiet, the horses knowing the ords'
of the proceedings evidently as well
as their masters, aud the signal for
starting was the exploding Of fire
crackers by the hundred boxes nm
der the feet of the horses. What
with the sparks aud noise, it looked
as if the whole thing had gone up
like the endiof pautomime.
1t was point Of honor to show
which horse behaved best under
these circumstances. The horses
were trained in the way that has al
ways been favorite with Spanish peo
pie, TO make any number Of dancing
movements in imitation of PROGRESS,
while in reality they do not go for
ward at all. | think they are trained
to this by having weights tied to
their legs.