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Chapter XIII
Chapter XIII
Trading - A British Sailor
The next day, the cargo having been entered in due form, we began
trading. The trade-room was fitted up in the steerage, and furnished out
with the lighter goods, and with specimens of the rest of the cargo; and M___,
a young man who came out from Boston with us, before the mast, was taken out
of the forecastle, and made supercargo`s clerk. He was well qualified for the
business, having been clerk in a counting-house in Boston. He had been
troubled for some time with the rheumatism, which unfitted him for the wet and
exposed duty of a sailor on the coast. For a week or ten days all was life on
board. The people came off to look and to buy - men, women, and children; and
we were continually going in the boats, carrying goods and passengers, - for
they have no boats of their own. Everything must dress itself and come aboard
and see the new vessel, if it were only to buy a paper of pins. The agent and
his clerk managed the sales, while we were busy in the hold or in the boats.
Our cargo was an assorted one; that is, it consisted of everything under the
sun. We had spirits of all kinds, (sold by the cask,) teas, coffee, sugars,
spices, raisins, molasses, hardware, crokery-ware, tinware, cutlery,
clothing of all kinds, boots and shoes from Lynn, calicoes and cottons from
Lowell, crepes, silks; also shawls, scarfs, necklaces, jewelry, and combs for
the ladies; furniture; and in fact, everything that can be imagined, from
Chinese fire-works to English cart-wheels - of which we had a dozen pairs
with their iron rims on.
The Californians are an idle, thriftless people, and can make nothing for
themselves. The country abounds in grapes, yet they buy bad wines made in
Boston and brought round by us, at an immense price, and retail it among
themselves at a real (12 1/2 cents) by the small wine-glass. Their hides,
too, which they value at two dollars in money, they give for something which
costs seventy-five cents in Boston; and buy shoes (like as not, made of
their own hides, and which have been carried twice around Cape Horn) at three
or four dollars, and "chicken-skin" boots at fifteen dollars apiece. Things
sell, on an average, at an advance of nearly three hundred per cent upon the
Boston prices. This is partly owing to the heavy duties which the government,
in their wisdom, with the intent, no doubt, of keeping the silver in the
country, has laid upon imports. These duties, and the enormous expenses of so
long a voyage, keep all merchants, but those of heavy capital, from engaging
in the trade. Nearly two-thirds of all the articles imported into the
country from round Cape Horn, for the last six years, have been by the single
house of Bryant, Sturgis & Co., to whom our vessel belonged, and who have a
permanent agent on the coast.
This kind of business was new to us, and we liked it very well for a few
days, though we were hard at work every minute from daylight to dark; and
sometimes even later.
By being thus continually engaged in transporting passengers with their
goods, to and fro, we gained considerable knowledge of the character, dress,
and language of the people. The dress of the men was as I have before
described it. The women wore gowns of various texture - silks, crape,
calicoes, etc., - made after the European style, except that the sleeves were
short, leaving the arm bare, and that they were loose about the waist, having
no corsets. They wore shoes of kid, or satin; sashes or belts of bright
colors; and almost always a necklace and ear-rings. Bonnets they had none. I
only saw one on the coast, and that belonged to the wife of an American
sea-captain who had settled in San Diego, and had imported the chaotic mass of
straw and ribbon, as a choice present to his new wife. They wear their hair
(which is almost invariably black, or a very dark brown) long in their necks,
sometimes loose, and sometimes in long braids; though the married women often
do it up on a high comb. Their only protection against the sun and weather is
a large mantle which they put over their heads, drawing it close round their
faces, when they go out of doors, which is generally only in pleasant weather.
When in the house, or sitting out in front of it, which they often do in fine
weather, they usually wear a small scarf or neckerchief of a rich pattern. A
band, also, about the top of the head, with a cross, star, or other ornament
in front, is common. Their complexions are various, depending - as well as
their dress and manner - upon their rank; or, in other words, upon the amount
of Spanish blood they can lay claim to. Those who are of pure Spanish blood,
having never intermarried with the aborigines, have clear brunette
complexions, and sometimes, even as fair as those of English women. There are
but few of these families in California; being mostly those in official
stations, or who, on the expiration of their offices, have settled here upon
property which they have acquired; and others who have been banished for state
offences. These form the aristocracy; intermarrying, and keeping up an
exclusive system in every respect. They can be told by their complexions,
dress, manner, and also by their speech; for, calling themselves Castilians,
they are very ambitious of speaking the pure Castilian language, which is
spoken in a somewhat corrupted dialect by the lower classes. From this upper
class, they go down by regular shades, growing more and more dark and muddy,
until you come to the pure Indian, who runs about with nothing upon him but a
small piece of cloth, kept up by a wide leather strap drawn round his waist.
Generally speaking, each person`s caste is decided by the quality of the
blood, which shows itself, too plainly to be concealed, at first sight. Yet
the least drop of Spanish blood, if it be only of quadroon or octoroon, is
sufficient to raise them from the rank of slaves, and entitle them to a suit
of clothes - boots, hat, cloak, spurs, long knife, and all complete, though
coarse and dirty as may be, - and to call themselves Espanolos, and to hold
property, if they can get any.
The fondness for dress among the women is excessive, and is often the
ruin of many of them. A present of a fine mantle, or of a necklace or pair of
ear-rings, gains the favor of the greater part of them. Nothing is more
common than to see a woman living in a house of only two rooms, and the ground
for a floor, dressed in spangled satin shoes, silk gown, high comb, and gilt,
if not gold, ear-rings and necklace. If their husbands do not dress them
well enough, they will soon receive presents from others. They used to spend
whole days on board our vessels, examining the fine clothes and ornaments, and
frequently made purchases at a rate which would have made a seamstress or
waiting-maid in Boston open her eyes.
Next to the love of dress, I was most struck with the fineness of the
voices and beauty of the intonations of both sexes. Every common
ruffian-looking fellow, with a slouched hat, blanket cloak, dirty under-dress,
and soiled leather leggins, appeared to me to be speaking elegant Spanish. It
was a pleasure, simply to listen to the sound of the language, before I could
attach any meaning to it. They have a good deal of the Creole drawl, but it is
varied with an occasional extreme rapidity of utterance, in which they seem to
skip from consonant to consonant, until, lighting upon a broad, open vowel,
they rest upon that to restore the balance of sound. The women carry this
peculiarity of speaking to a much greater extreme than the men, who have more
evenness and stateliness of utterance. A common bullock-driver, on
horseback, delivering a message, seemed to speak like an ambassador at an
audience. In fact, they sometimes appeared to me to be a people on whom a
curse had fallen, and stripped them of everything but their pride, their
manners, and their voices.
Another thing that surprised me was the quantity of silver that was in
circulation. I certainly never saw so much silver at one time in my life, as
during the week that we were at Monterey. The truth is, they have no credit
system, no banks, and no way of investing money but in cattle. They have no
circulating medium but silver and hides - which the sailors call "California
bank notes." Everything that they buy they must pay for in one or the other of
these things. The hides they bring down dried and doubled, in clumsy ox-carts,
or upon mules` backs, and the money they carry tied up in a handkerchief; -
fifty, eighty, or an hundred dollars and half dollars.
I had never studied Spanish while at college, and could not speak a word,
when at Juan Fernandez; but during the latter part of the passage out, I
borrowed a grammar and dictionary from the cabin, and by a continual use of
these, and a careful attention to very word that I heard spoken, I soon got a
vocabulary together, and began talking for myself. As I soon knew more Spanish
than any of the crew, (who indeed knew none at all,) and had been at college
and knew Latin, I got the name of a great linguist, and was always sent for by
the captain and officers to get provisions, or to carry letters and messages
to different parts of the town. I was often sent to get something which I
could not tell the name of to save my life; but I liked the business, and
accordingly never pleaded ignorance. Sometimes I managed to jump below and
take a look at my dictionary before going ashore; or else I overhauled some
English resident on my way, and got the word from him; and then, by signs, and
the help of my Latin and French, contrived to get along. This was a good
exercise for me, and no doubt taught me more than I should have learned by
months of study and reading; it also gave me opportunities of seeing the
customs, characters, and domestic arrangements of the people; beside being a
great relief from the monotony of a day spent on board ship.
Monterey, as far as my observation goes, is decidedly the pleasantest and
most civilized-looking place in California. In the centre of it is an open
square, surrounded by four lines of one-story plastered buildings, with half
a dozen cannon in the centre; some mounted, and others not. This is the
"Presidio," or fort. Every town has a presidio in its centre; or rather, every
presidio has a town built around it; for the forts were first built by the
Mexican government, and then the people built near them for protection. The
presidio here was entirely open and unfortified. There were several officers
with long titles, and about eighty soldiers, but they were poorly paid, fed,
clothed, and disciplined. The governor-general, or, as he is commonly
called, the "general," lives here; which makes it the seat of government. He
is appointed by the central government at Mexico, and is the chief civil and
military officer. In addition to him, each town has a commandant, who is the
chief military officer, and has charge of the fort, and of all transactions
with foreigners and foreign vessels; and two or three alcaldes and
corregidores, elected by the inhabitants, who are the civil officers. Courts
and jurisprudence they have no knowledge of. Small municipal matters are
regulated by the alcaldes and corregidores; and everything relating to the
general government, to the military, and to foreigners, by the commandants,
acting under the governor-general. Capital cases are decided by him, upon
personal inspection, if he is near; or upon minutes sent by the proper
officers, if the offender is at a distant place. No Protestant has any civil
rights, nor can he hold any property, or, indeed, remain more than a few weeks
on shore, unless he belong to some vessel. Consequently, the Americans and
English who intend to remain here become Catholics, to a man; the current
phrase among them being, - "A man must leave his conscience at Cape Horn."
But to return to Monterey. The houses here, as everywhere else in
California, are of one story, built of clay made into large bricks, about a
foot and a half square and three or four inches thick, and hardened in the
sun. These are cemented together by mortar of the same material, and the whole
are of a common dirt-color. The floors are generally of earth, the windows
grated and without glass; and the doors, which are seldom shut, open directly
into the common room; there being no entries. Some of the more wealthy
inhabitants have glass to their windows and board floors; and in Monterey
nearly all the houses are plastered on the outside. The better houses, too,
have red tiles upon the roofs. The common ones have two or three rooms which
open into each other, and are furnished with a bed or two, a few chairs and
tables, a looking-glass, a crucifix of some material or other, and small daubs
of paintings enclosed in glass, and representing miracle or martyrdom. They
have no chimneys or fire-places in the houses, the climate being such as to
make a fire unnecessary; and all their cooking is done in a small cook-house,
separated from the house. The Indians, as I have said before, do all the hard
work, two or three being attached to each house; and the poorest persons are
able to keep one, at least, for they have only to feed and give them a small
piece of coarse cloth and a belt, for the males; and a coarse gown, without
shoes or stockings, for the females.
In Monterey there are a number of English and Americans (English or
"Ingles" all are called who speak the English language) who have married
Californians, become united to the Catholic church, and acquired considerable
property. Having more industry, frugality, and enterprise than the natives,
they soon get nearly all the trade into their hands. They usually keep shops,
in which they retail the goods purchased in larger quantities from our
vessels, and also send a good deal into the interior, taking hides in pay,
which they again barter with our vessels. In every town on the coast there are
foreigners engaged in this kind of trade, while I recollect but two shops kept
by natives. The people are generally suspicious of foreigners, and they would
not be allowed to remain, were it not that they become good Catholics, and by
marrying natives, and bringing up their children as Catholics and Mexicans,
and not teaching them the English language, they quiet suspicion, and even
become popular and leading men. The chief alcaldes in Monterey and Santa
Barbara were both Yankees by birth.
The men in Monterey appeared to me to be always on horseback. Horses are
as abundant here as dogs and chickens were in Juan Fernandez. There are no
stables to keep them in, but they are allowed to run wild and graze wherever
they please, being branded, and having long leather ropes, called "lassos,"
attached to their necks and dragging along behind them, by which they can be
easily taken. The men usually catch one in the morning, throw a saddle and
bridle upon him, and use him for the day, and let him go at night, catching
another the next day. When they go on long journeys, they ride one horse down,
and catch another, throw the saddle and bridle upon him, and after riding him
down, take a third, and so on to the end of the journey. There are probably no
better riders in the world. They get upon a horse when only four or five years
old, their little legs not long enough to come half way over his sides; and
may almost be said to keep on him until they have grown to him. The stirrups
are covered or boxed up in front, to prevent their catching when riding
through the woods; and the saddles are large and heavy, strapped very tight
upon the horse, and have large pommels, or loggerheads, in front, round which
the "lasso" is coiled when not in use. They can hardly go from one house to
another without getting on a horse, there being generally several standing
tied to the door-posts of the little cottages. When they wish to show their
activity, they make no use of their stirrups in mounting, but striking the
horse, spring into the saddle as he starts, and sticking their long spurs into
him, go off on the full run. Their spurs are cruel things, having four or five
rowels, each an inch in length, dull and rusty. The flanks of the horses are
often sore from them, and I have seen men come in from chasing bullocks with
their horses` hind legs and quarters covered with blood. They frequently give
exhibitions of their horsemanship, in races, bull-baitings, etc.; but as we
were not ashore during any holyday, we saw nothing of it. Monterey is also a
great place for cock-fighting, gambling of all sorts, fandangos, and every
kind of amusement and knavery. Trappers and hunters, who occasionally arrive
here from over the Rocky mountains, with their valuable skins and furs, are
often entertained with every sort of amusement and dissipation, until they
have wasted their time and their money, and go back, stripped of everything.
Nothing but the character of the people prevents Monterey from becoming a
great town. The soil is as rich as man could wish; climate as good as any in
the world; water abundant, and situation extremely beautiful. The harbor, too,
is a good one, being subject only to one bad wind, the north; and though the
holding-ground is not the best, yet I heard of but one vessel`s being driven
ashore here. That was a Mexican brig, which went ashore a few months before
our arrival, and was a total wreck, all the crew but one being drowned. Yet
this was from the carelessness or ignorance of the captain, who paid out all
his small cable before he let go his other anchor. The ship Lagoda, of Boston,
was there at the time, and rode out the gale in safety, without dragging at
all, or finding it necessary to strike her top-gallant masts.
The only vessel in port with us was the little Loriotte. I frequently
went on board her, and became very well acquainted with her Sandwich Island
crew. One of them could speak a little English, and from him I learned a good
deal about them. They were well formed and active, with black eyes,
intelligent countenances, dark-olive, or, I should rather say, copper
complexions and coarse black hair, but not woolly like the negroes. They
appeared to be talking continually. In the forecastle there was a complete
Babel. Their language is extremely guttural, and not pleasant at first, but
improves as you hear it more, and is said to have great capacity. They use a
good deal of gesticulation, and are exceedingly animated, saying with their
might what their tongues find to say. They are complete water-dogs,
therefore very good in boating. It is for this reason that there are so many
of them on the coast of California; they being very good hands in the surf.
They are also quick and active in the rigging, and good hands in warm weather;
but those who have been with them round Cape Horn, and in high latitudes, say
that they are useless in cold weather. In their dress they are precisely like
our sailors. In addition to these Islanders, the vessel had two English
sailors, who acted as boatswains over the Islanders, and took care of the
rigging. One of them I shall always remember as the best specimen of the
thoroughbred English sailor that I ever saw. He had been to sea from a boy,
having served a regular apprenticeship of seven years, as all English sailors
are obliged to do, and was then about four or five and twenty. He was tall;
but you only perceived it when he was standing by the side of others, for the
great breadth of his shoulders and chest made him appear but little above the
middle height. His chest was as deep as it was wide; his arm like that of
Hercules; and his hand "the fist of a tar - every hair a rope-yarn." With
all this he had one of the pleasantest smiles I ever saw. His cheeks were of a
handsome brown; his teeth brilliantly white; and his hair, of a raven black,
waved in loose curls all over his head, and fine, open forehead; and his eyes
he might have sold to a duchess at the price of diamonds, for their
brilliancy. As for their color, they were like the Irishman`s pig, which would
not stay to be counted, every change of position and light seemed to give them
a new hue; but their prevailing color was black, or nearly so. Take him with
well-varnished black tarpaulin stuck upon the back of his head; his long
locks coming down almost into his eyes; his white duck trowsers and shirt;
blue jacket; and black kerchief, tied loosely round his neck; and he was a
fine specimen of manly beauty. On his broad chest he had stamped with India
ink "Parting moments;" - a ship ready to sail; a boat on the beach; and a girl
and her sailor lover taking their farewell. Underneath were printed the
initials of his own name, and two other letters, standing for some name which
he knew better than I did. This was very well done, having been executed by a
man who made it his business to print with India ink, for sailors, at Havre.
On one of his broad arms, he had the crucifixion, and on the other the sign of
the "foul anchor."
He was very fond of reading, and we lent him most of the books which we
had in the forecastle, which he read and returned to us the next time we fell
in with him. He had a good deal of information, and his captain said he was a
perfect seaman, and worth his weight in gold on board a vessel, in fair
weather and in foul. His strength must have been great, and he had the sight
of a vulture. It is strange that one should be so minute in the description of
an unknown, outcast sailor, whom one may never see again, and whom no one may
care to hear about; but so it is. Some people we see under no remarkable
circumstances, but whom, for some reason or other, we never forget. He called
himself Bill Jackson; and I know no one of all my accidental acquaintances to
whom I would more gladly give a shake of the hand than to him. Whoever falls
in with him will find a handsome, hearty fellow, and a good shipmate.
Sunday came again while we were at Monterey, but as before, it brought us
no holyday. The people on shore dressed themselves and came off in greater
numbers than ever, and we were employed all day in boating and breaking out
cargo, so that we had hardly time to eat. Our cidevant second mate, who was
determined to get liberty if it was to be had, dressed himself in a long coat
and black hat, and polished his shoes, and went aft and asked to go ashore. He
could not have done a more imprudent thing; for he knew that no liberty would
be given; and besides, sailors, however sure they may be of having liberty
granted them always go aft in their working clothes, to appear as though they
had no reason to expect anything, and then wash, dress, and shave, after they
get their liberty. But this poor fellow was always getting into hot water, and
if there was a wrong way of doing a thing, was sure to hit upon it. We looked
to see him go aft, knowing pretty well what his reception would be. The
captain was walking the quarter-deck, smoking his morning cigar, and F___
went as far as the break of the deck, and there waited for him to notice him.
The captain took two or three turns, and then walking directly up to him,
surveyed him from head to foot, and lifting up his forefinger, said a word or
two, in a tone too low for us to hear, but which had a magical effect upon
poor F___. He walked forward, sprang into the forecastle, and in a moment more
made his appearance in his common clothes, and went quietly to work again.
What the captain said to him, we never could get him to tell, but it certainly
changed him outwardly and inwardly in a most surprising manner.
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