The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1878-02-21
A California Wedding Twenty-Five
Years Ago.

we we re fortunate enough TO nave room,
| heard and saw the festivities of Cali
fornia wedding. These lasted three days.
1t was wedding among vaqueros and
attended, therefore, by good riders. The
bride s house was not much of a building,
but extensive temporary shelter had been
put up for dancing rooms, covered over
with green boughs-a ramada But the
point OF rivalry among the guests was
more in riding than in dancing, though
after riding all day they would dance all
night; and all day and all night that
one air was repeated by violins, guitars,
and voices, until the drone of it got into
the all, and made as much part of it as
does the whir of locusts in the autumn
months. The first day the procession
started for the church where the marriage
was to take pace-to GO down aud along
the Alameda, II beautiful double avenue
of willows, three miles in length, planted
by the early fathers. The first day was
to go to the church for tue marriage cere-
monies; the second, to take out the bride
for n general pasear through the town;
aud the third, series of contests and ri
varies in feats of Workmanship. There
were about five hundred horses; the rid
ers were more. In many cases they had
with them woman mounted on the
horse; the woman sat on the mans sad
die, 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 Te9u-
lar order, eight abreast, the musicians,
also, on horseback, playing their vlolins
and guitars as calmly rs 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
groomsman on their saddles and on
either side of them her bridesmaids; the
bridegroom, on all exceptionally fine
horse, surrounded by his friends; and
then the rest of the company, most of the
men riding singly, but many riding rs l
have described, with girl on the saddle
"A bright glittering mass of ribbons,
flowers, bright beads, gold-lace; tho
women in satin dresses and slippers, the
men in the dress of the time of California,
which is exactly that we see in Spanish
pictures - short velvet jackets covered
with braid and gold embroidery, the vel
vet trousers open over full white draw
ers, while string Of bells down the seam
jingled even more than do the bangles of
ladies in church.
The starting point was almost facing
my place of observation. They would
form in great order and quiet, the horses
knowing the order of proceedings evil
IDENTIFY as we'll as their masters, and the
signal for starting was the exploding of
fire-crackers by the hundred boxes under
the feet of the horses. What with the
sparks and noise, it looked as if the
whole thing had gone up like the end of
a pantomime.
1t was point of honor to show which
horse behaved best under these circum-
stances. The horses were trained in the
way that has always been favorite with
Spanish people, TO make any number Of
dancing movements in imitation of pro-
gress, while in reality they do not go Tor
ward at ALL think they are trained to
this by having weights tied to their legs.
Each one was perfect horseman.
Each man did not simply ride his horse,
but was in the habit of nving with it and
upon it, and was consequently in perfect
rapport. Each one of these put in force
every art known TO him to exhibit the
spirit and the beauties of his horse. Az
they passed down one street of the town
the correct thing was for people from the
side to advance and throw fire crackers
in mass under the horses feet; the firing
of pistols was of course in order; no end
OF little shrill screams, laughter, voices
in every varying intonation, couplets
sung to the air which was being played,
and taken up with shouts of laughter;
the chorus by every one who took the To-
cal illusions. With all this the IN musicians
played with as much steadincss and ami
nation AS though seated ON platform
instead of the saddle.
The third day feel myself incompe-
tent to describe. They had their field
sports for that day ON the large open
green just by my perch in the hammock.
And here the evolutions in II small space
the rush with which they would go, as
if shot from bow, across the plain; the
bringing up all standing, without any
Stacking OF the speed, leaving them mo-
tionless as an Eoglish Horse guard on
duty; the continuous whrls in a small
circle, winding nearer and nearer in to-
ward the central point, until it seemed
as though man and horse must fall from
sheer dizziness; the mounting of
vicious, screaming young horse, which
would spring like n cat into the air, with
all its legs stiifened out and its back
bowed, making one jump this way, an-
other that, until 1t would seem as though
everything would dislocaie its rider
were part of the exhibition which per-
fectiy fascinated me.-Jsssie Benton Ere