Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-08
CALIFORNIA'S FIRST WHITE
WOMAN.
The Tragic and Pitiful History of Dona
Euialia de Calls.

Frorn tie saw Francisco CaH.
Dona Eulalia de Calls, wife OF GOV.
Pedro FACES, was, Ike him, native OF
Catalonia, in Spain. She was De Cal
lis-handso2e, naughty, and proud OF the
blue blood for which her arched lnsteps
and tiny hands youched, and OF the power
Of her aristocratic relative, who got
FACES his GOyernOrship. While her hus-
band quaueled ia his rough way Win
/ priest and Indian at the mission OF -an
/ Carlos, the DOna lived continually at So
nora, in Mexico, with her boy, Pedriio. to
amuse her, and her mother, Dona Rosa
+ de Calls, to pet her. But when the
I Governor was finally installed IN
the executive mansion or adobe
/ at Monterey, with a period Of com
/ paratiye rest and peace before him,
/ he yearned for a sight Of her handsome
! face and the prattle Of his boy, and wrote,
! begging her to come to him. At first she
demurred. she was afraid she would
/ find California a savage place, infested by
/ rattlesnakes and Indians, with per
/ petual FOG hiding the sun, and none but
/ her husband for company. But Gems.
! Neve and ROmen painted in such glowing
I terms the intoxicating bliss Of life IN
/ Monterey, the nigh society, the heavenly
/ climate, the glowing vegetation, ana tney
! drew so touching a picture OF RACES
/ lonely life. that she melted and set forth.
1 At LOreto the Governor met him. Camp
| life had not refined the rough soldier OF
/ fortune. His manners were coarse, his
| ierkin was leathern; he wore
I ragged bristling beard, and MS
| cheeks were scanned and swarthy.
sun he greeted his wife
and son with boisterous Joy, and the jour-
ney TO Monterey wasmerry as marriage
bell. The Governor was monstrously
pleased with the sensation created by Eu-
ialia's good looks and gracious manners.
The Sonora GobernadOra was charmed
with everything. She was an impulsiye
creature, given to sudden raptures and
as sudden disgusts; she was now in rap
ture, and the Governor was OVerloyed at
her delight over the novelties she saw.
her warm heart melted at the nakedness
and poverty Of the Indians. Poor things.
they must have clothes; and. in default
Of more suitable coverings, she gave
them ofthe Governors wardrobe and her
own, till FACES noted the bucks sporting
in his trousers and put a stop to her lib
erslity. Still he was happy in thinking
OF his wife's good heart.
In the August following her arrival, the
Sonora GObernadora gave birth to
daughter. The new baby involved new
cares. Dona Eulalia missed the kind
help OF her mother, and the luxuries OF
her Mexican home. She grew hOmesick..
She began to chat at the domineering will
and rude WAYS of her husband. She lOath-
ed the everlasting fOgs, the blue bay, the
gnarledoaks-in short, the Sonora GOber
MADEIRA fell q victim to ennui. At last she
told her husband she must return to civil
ization, taking for granted, that, rough
though he was, he would. as usual,
comply with her wishes. But FACES,
possibly heated with wine, pOoh-hoohed
all such nonsense. At this the lady grew
angry and insisted on leaving. The hus-
band furiOusly retorted that she should
not go, and in a twinkllng the turtle
doves of year back, were abusing each
other in good, energetic Spanish, with ali
the servants listening at the door. But
when the blood OF the De Calls was
aroused it was thing TO be feared. Tue
| enraged Eulalia drove her husband from
! her apartments, locked the door in his
| face and sulked.
After sulking for three months, with no
word or sign of remOrse or penitence from
Pedro, whom she secretly watched" as he
cheerfully performed his duties. she grew
anxious, and finally jealous. She must
have been supplanted. How else could
he be so cheerful, while she was morbid
and miserablei Some time before FACES
had brought from the Colorado a hand
some Indian girl. This girl Eulalia felt
was her rival. Msddened by jealousy and
wounded pride, she lost her self-respect,
and lay in wait for him. One morn
ing as he was calling the girl his wife
burst on him from place Of concealment.
and shOwered anathemas and curses on
his head. The blood OF the De Calls was
up in earnest. The naughty wife forgot
her gentle blood and aristOcratic repose
Of manner, and vituperated like the
Yerlest fsh-wife, publishing her rage and
sorrow to the world OF Monterey. The
household gathered round, regarding the
combatants with ill-disguised amusement.
FACES stamped and swOre, the lady
shrieked for justice and divorce. and Pc
dritO's treble pipe rose shrilly above the
hubbub.
After this scene FACES appealed to the
priests to reason with his wife and per-
suade her to end the scandal. In one OF
his letters be declares they took sides
with him. but the holy fathers feared to
offend lady whose lively temper they
knew from experience, and who had
already told them the devil might fy
away with her before she would return to
her husband. They, therefore. laid the
case Aefore the Bishop. At this stage,
business called the Governor TO the South.
He demanded that the lady should take
refuge in mOnastic seclusion, there to
! commune with the saints and her
o=n stubborn heart. DCna Eulalia in
formed the priests who waited on her,
with a warning glitter Of her dark eyes,
that she preferred staying where she was,
showed them out, locked the door and
Rugged Pedrito. Presently came a ire
mend0us laundering at the door. and a
deep, sonOrous voice she knew too well
demanded admittance. Unhinching as
ever, she defed him. There was silence
for a moment: then two kicks OF the
gubernatorial foot burst the door spllnt-
ers and disclosed FACES with dilated nos
trils and lowering brow. He ordered her
to 90. She refused. The Governor,
gnawing his moustache, with significant
gesture, limited that he had cords and
chains for refractory persons; and so,
with many tears, the proud Catalonian
took up her abode in San Carlos, and
FACES and Pedrito journeyed southwark.
At San Carlos, Eulalia lay for awhile
crushed. Then her fury returned and she
acted like a demOniac. Never before had
the sanity calm OF San Carlos been dis.
turbed by such scenes as now took place
within the monastery walls. The holy
fathers declared they were cursed with a
woman possessed as punishment for
their sins. They sought TO reason the
devil out OF her.
"They argued high, they argued low
They also argued round about her"
but they argued In vain. The Dona was
incorrigible. One day, in church, she