Raymond, who entertained much good feeling towards us, felt very sore to find on inquiry that we had been inhospitably treated during his absence; but unable to persuade me to remain longer as his guest, he requested that we would wait and witness his annual “cattle-branding,� then about to take place, and he would then procure us mules to pursue our journey.
No life is so thoroughly lazy as that of a Californian family, who, totally uneducated, can neither read or write; and whilst there are no domestic duties on which to employ the women, the men leave to their vaccaros the little superintendence the cattle on a ranche require. Nor, as far as the women are concerned, does the care of their children seem by any means to engross their leisure; for the rising off-shoots are allowed, like the young cattle, to grow unassisted and unembellished to maturity, though undoubtedly the naked little urchins benefit physically by the freedom their young limbs enjoy. Raymond had but one child, of about four years of age, and this little fellow, with no covering but a scanty shirt, strutted about the yard all day, practising with a miniature lasso at the cocks and hens.
The Californian idea of religion is rather sketchy and undefined. It is well known that the Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries were never prone to waste much time in expounding the tenets of their faith; the great principle was, in all instances, to convert, and to increase the “army of the Faithful.â€� I remember that in the islands of Batan in the China Sea, the process was excessively simple. So soon as a nigger was caught—and in a small island he had not much chance of escape from a Jesuit—a tin cross was hung round his neck, and he was turned off again, like one of Raymond’s branded steers, one being as wise as the other as to whom the new allegiance was owing. The Californians have, however, learnt enough to know that every one not of their faith, is a heretic, and the Carrillo family asked us point-blank if we belonged to that unhappy class, and received gravely our modest reply, that we believed we had that misfortune. The Spaniards and their priests, are not only inveterate card-players, but practised cheats. One of these sleight-of-hand Padres, I was told, displayed great fervour in attempting to convert a heretic who lived near him, and who happened to be an English master of a merchant vessel, who had settled in the country; as the story goes, the old Salt defended himself from the theological attacks of Father Bartoleméo on the score that he never could understand the principal articles of his new creed. “How so?â€� exclaims the Padre, “with faith, and the help of the Virgin, all obstacles will melt like snow before the sun.â€� “Then,â€� observed the captain, as he produced a pack of Spanish monté cards, “how do you turn up the Jack when the seven and Jack are laid out and an open bet is made on the seven?â€� “Toe-nails of St. Ignatius! what has this to do with the tenets of the true faith?â€� roars the father. “This,â€� says the other, in reply, “is the first tenet of your faith, teach me this and I embrace the rest.â€� It is easy to imagine the wrath and indignation of the holy father when he thus heard his religion insulted, and, sympathising with him in his warmth, we are the less prepared to hear that he not only controlled his feelings, but sat down and inducted the master into the art of turning up the Jack, too happy at so small a sacrifice to gain ANOTHER convert to his faith.
Where so much ignorance exists, a proportionate amount of superstition will of course be found, and in horse-racing, which is their passion, the Californians are regulated by a code of rules affecting the colours of horses and the hours at which they must start to ensure victory. Sailors used to dislike a Friday, but there is no day of the week that is not unlucky for something in California.
At Santa Cruz (in the south) some time ago, the “Virgin� was intreated for rain, and the hat being sent round, a sufficient amount was collected to back the request in the substantial manner that the priests point out as being acceptable. An old heretical American settler, who had a farm on the high land above the valley, declined either to contribute or to pray; but, from his elevated position, his crops soon throve under genial showers, whilst the valley below as yet received no relief; this unequal distribution of favour on the part of the saint astonished the occupants of the valley: and we will presume that fresh appeals brought down retribution on the heretic, for, in a very short time, his crops were set on fire, and he saved his house from destruction with some difficulty.
The dress of the vaccaro consists of a broad-brimmed hat, always secured under the chin, a loose shirt and jacket, and buckskin breeches; round the leg is wound a square piece of leather, this is secured at the knee, and is a protection against falls or the attacks of cattle; in one of these leggings he carries his knife; his spurs, serapa, and lasso, complete his costume; under his saddle he has a blanket, and thus lightly equipped is independent of everything. The lasso is generally constructed of twisted hide, and is made with great care. In the hands of a good vaccaro the noose is thrown carelessly, but with unerring precision; it is a formidable weapon of attack, and in the guerilla warfare, which preceded the occupation of the country, it was not only used successfully, but horrible cruelties were practised by the Spaniards on those whom by chance they cut off in this manner.
The Californians are perfect riders—graceful, active, and courageous; they ride with a straight leg when in the saddle, and this latter, when properly made, gives great support to the body and legs; how otherwise could they endure, for hours together, the shock of bringing up all standing wild cattle running at full speed?
When I first seated myself in a Californian saddle belonging to Raymond, and found the lower part of my body deeply imbedded in the soft skins which covered it, I was led into an error which I dare say has been shared by many others; I thought at the time that riders accustomed to so much assistance were less dependent on the muscles of the body; and I have no doubt in those valuable papers, since lost, I recorded a hasty opinion that their crack riders would make a poor show on an English saddle over a steeple-chase country; but this is only another proof of the danger of trusting to first impressions. The Californian will ride a bare-backed horse at speed and bring him on his haunches with a seat undisturbed: but what more particularly arrests the critical eye of an Englishman is their beautiful handling of the horse’s mouth; with a bit, the slightest pressure on which arrests the horse, they ride, in all the excitement of the cattle chase, with a lightness of hand that is truly admirable. In the hunting counties, where by chance some black-coated stranger takes and keeps a forward position throughout the day, it is a matter of duty after dinner for all legitimate red-coats to depreciate the arrogant unknown; but when no fault can be found either with his seat or his style of riding, there is always some one who clinches the matter by remarking sagely—“The fellow rides well enough, but he has got no ‘hands!’â€� Now the Californians have both seats and “hands,â€� and may defy the criticism even of the ill-natured.
Once a year it was customary to drive up all the cattle on a ranche to brand the young steers. On these occasions the vaccaros are in their glory, crack riders volunteer their assistance, and ranche owners congregate from far and wide to point out and take away such of their own beasts as have strayed and become mixed with those on the ranche. For a week previously, the vaccaros scour the mountains and plains, and collect the wild herds, and these are at once enclosed in the “corrals.�
The proprietor of the ranche keeps open house, whilst the vaccaros adorn themselves in all the finery they can muster, which is not much, and they are specially mounted for the occasion. Fires are lighted near the corral, and in these the branding-irons are kept heated. The work is commenced leisurely, a few vaccaros enter the corral, the gate of which is formed of a bar of wood, easily withdrawn, to allow egress to the cattle. The first lasso is thrown over the horns of a steer, and as the bar is withdrawn he rushes out with the vaccaro at his side; on the instant a second lasso catches the hind leg and he falls on his side, as if shot. The two lassos are then kept tight by the horses to which they are attached, who are admirably trained to throw their whole weight on the rope; the brand is then applied. A shake of the lasso disengages it, and the steer after a wild look at the assembled company, rushes smarting with pain to the mountains, where he is soon joined by his fellows in a similar unfortunate predicament.