The herald., 1896-04-19

again the bull would be killed by the bear.
II either one was inclined to give up hs
was Qoaded until desperate. Bears were
often captured by q single horsemar, who
lassooed and dragged the bear around. 9
tree, where the we'll trained horse would
hold him while the man dismounted and
killed him with his hunting knife. During
the games barbecues were held. Great OK.
en- were roasted whole over the fire anil
many Spanish dishes were provided, such
as tamales, which were made of chicken or
beef, olives, meal, peppers and wrapped in
corn husks, steamed until very hot, fri.
joles, chile con carne. tortillas (corn meal
Cock fighting and like amusements were
much indulged in. One of the sports was
''chcken pulling" The feathers on the
neck of the chicken were removed and its
neck creased. 1t was then buried alive, all
but its head and neck The object OF the
the saddle and grasp the chicken by the
neck and pull 1t from the ground, very
difficult feat, requiring great skill. Thess
various fights and games were not patron
lied by the Spainards of the higher class:
The national holidays were frequent and
besides there were numerous church hestas
and festivals, celebrated with great cere-
mony. Not only were Christmas, Easter,
Lady Day Holy Week, ,Michaelmas. Corpus
Christi, St. Johns Day and many other
special days celebrated, but every Sunday
had it's sports and amusements. Every
wedding was the occasion of feasting, dane
ing and a general good time. Each family
had it's reunions, every individual his
Saints Day. The whole OF Christmas
night was consumed in various ceremonies
at the missions. The Feast Of Corpus
Christi was time of parades,. professions
and display and peculiar religious observ-
ance. Holy week always ended IN tne . an.
represented by a wooden figure.whieh with
much ceremony and many speeches was
placed on o gibbet and shot by the mill
tary.
At the marriage of ranchero's daughter
great feast was usually given, to which
country were invited. These fehsts would
be of several days durarion. with dancing
in the evening and various sports during
the day. The people would come ~ Tor
miles around, the young ladies riding IN
front Ut the young men on their DeautIul
saddles and the elder people in gaily deco
rated carretas. For no other occasion were
the horses more richly caparisoned and
they were the best attainable. On the way
from the BRIDES home to the church the
brido's nearest relative carried her before
him, she sitting in the saddle with her white
satin shoe in loop of gold braid. while he
sat behind her. The groom and his irienas
the bride and groom knelt before the altar
a silken sash fringed with gold was wound
about their necks, binding them together.
On the return from the church the bride
was carried on the horse of the grooms-
man. In the middle classes very pretty
custom prevailed. short time before
wedding the young man would ask his be-
trothed for the measure of her foot, upon
obtaining which he would make her pair
of satin shoes with his own hands, the
groomsman presenting them to the bride
on the wedding day.
The owners of some of the great ranches
were princes on their own estates, hevlng
charge Of various oyerseers. The head
overseer had charge of all the business of
the ranch under the direction of the owner.
There was chief steward and all overseer
who had charge of all the vaqueros, anoth-
er who had control of the horses that were
broken; one in charge of the thousands OF
| wild mares and who attended to the brand
ing of colts, others to the branding of cat
tie. There were hair rope and halter maxi
ers; others who made cinches or broad
hair eirths; makers of rawbide riatas; !;
| curers of hides; triers.out of tallow: hew..
ers Of wood and the carreta men. All OF
| these amounted to hundreds of people. all
dependent upon the owner of the estate.
The great rodeas gathering of cattle) or
| round-ups, as they are commonly called
were very interesting. Ranchmen came
from all parts of the country to separate
and take away their stock from the rest.
All the work had to be done in two days a!
the most, as during this time the cattle
HAY HAY Bscf5a niSddstsedd d dted and ar staattnpede. tat HRS
vaqusros were such fine horsemen that
| they separated the cattle with great rapid.
| ity and skill. On the San Joaquin ranch a
herd of 30 900 cattle were separated and
disposed of in two days. F. r. MINER.