IN LIGHTER MOOD
If one can imagine the booths and penny theaters on a race-course left
for a year or two till they are tattered and torn, and blackened with
the weather, he will have some idea of the appearance of San Andres. It
was certainly the most out-at-elbows and disorderly looking camp I had
yet seen in the country.
The only wooden house was the San Andres Hotel, and here I took up my
quarters. It was kept by a Missourian doctor, and being the only
establishment of the kind in the place, was quite full. We sat down
forty or fifty at the table-d’hôte.
The Mexicans formed by far the most numerous part of the population. The
streets--for there were two streets at right angles to each other--and
the gambling-rooms were crowded with them, loafing about in their
blankets doing nothing. There were three gambling-rooms in the village,
all within a few steps of each other, and in each of them was a Mexican
band playing guitars, harps and flutes. Of course, one heard them all
three at once, and as each played a different tune, the effect, as may
be supposed, was very pleasing.
The sleeping apartments in the hotel itself were all full, and I had to
take a cot in a tent on the other side of the street, which was a sort
of colony of the parent establishment. It was situated between two
gambling-houses, one of which was kept by a Frenchman, who, whenever his
musicians stopped to take breath or brandy, began a series of doleful
airs on an old barrel-organ. Till how late in the morning they kept it
up I cannot say, but whenever I happened to awake in the middle of the
night, my ears were still greeted by these sweet sounds.
There was one canvas structure, differing but little in appearance from
the rest, excepting that a small wooden cross surmounted the roof over
the door. This was a Roman Catholic church. The only fitting up of any
kind in the interior was the altar, which occupied the farther end from
the door, and was decorated with as much display as circumstances
admitted, being draped with the commonest kind of colored cotton cloths,
and covered with candlesticks, some brass, some of wood, but most of
them regular California candlesticks--old claret and champagne bottles,
arranged with due regard to the numbers and grouping of those bearing
the different ornamental labels of St. Julien, Medoc, and other favorite
brands.
I went in on Sunday morning while service was going on, and found a
number of Mexican women occupying the space nearest the altar, the rest
of the church being filled with Mexicans, who all maintained an
appearance of respectful devotion. Two or three Americans, who were
present out of curiosity, naturally kept in the background near the
door, excepting two great hulking fellows who came swaggering in, and
jostled their way through the crowd of Mexicans, making it evident, from
their demeanor, that their only object was to show their supreme
contempt for the congregation, and for the whole proceedings. Presently,
however, the entire congregation went down on their knees, leaving these
two awkward louts standing in the middle of the church as
sheepish-looking a pair of asses as one could wish to see. They were
hemmed in by the crowd of kneeling Mexicans--there was no retreat for
them, and it was extremely gratifying to see how quickly their bullying
impudence was taken out of them, and that it brought upon them a
punishment which they evidently felt so acutely. The officiating priest,
who was a Frenchman, afterwards gave a short sermon in Spanish, which
was listened to attentively, and the people then dispersed to spend the
remainder of the day in the gambling-rooms.
The same afternoon a drove of wild California cattle passed through the
camp, and as several head were being drafted out, I had an opportunity
of witnessing a specimen of the extraordinary skill of the Mexican in
throwing the lasso. Galloping in among the herd, and swinging the
_riata_ round his head, he singles out the animal he wishes to secure,
and, seldom missing his aim, he throws his lasso so as to encircle its
horns. As soon as he sees that he has accomplished this, he immediately
wheels round his horse, who equally well understands his part of the
business, and stands prepared to receive the shock when the bull shall
have reached the length of the rope. In his endeavors to escape, the
bull then gallops round in a circle, of which the center is the horse,
moving slowly round, and leaning over with one of his fore-feet planted
well out, so as to enable him to hold his own in the struggle. An
animal, if he is not very wild, may be taken along in this way, but
generally another man rides up behind him, and throws his lasso so as to
catch him by the hind-leg. This requires great dexterity and precision,
as the lasso has to be thrown in such a way that the bull shall put his
foot into the noose before it reaches the ground. Having an animal
secured by the horns and a hind-foot, they have him completely under
command; one man drags him along by the horns, while the other steers
him by the hind-leg. If he gets at all obstreperous, however, they throw
him, and drag him along the ground.
The lasso is about twenty yards long, made of strips of rawhide plaited,
and the end is made fast to the high horn which sticks up in front of
the Mexican saddle; the strain is all upon the saddle, and the girth,
which is consequently immensely strong, and lashed up very tight. The
Mexican saddles are well adapted for this sort of work, and the Mexicans
are unquestionably splendid horsemen, though they ride too long for
English ideas, the knee being hardly bent at all.
Two of the Vigilance Committee rode over from Moquelumne Hill next
morning, to get the Padre to return with them to confess a Mexican whom
they were going to hang that afternoon, for having cut into a tent and
stolen several hundred dollars. I unfortunately did not know anything
about it till it was so late that had I gone there I should not have
been in time to see the execution: not that I cared for the mere
spectacle of a poor wretch hanging by the neck, but I was extremely
desirous of witnessing the ceremonies of an execution by Judge Lynch;
and though I was two or three years cruising about in the mines, I
never had the luck to be present on such an occasion. I particularly
regretted having missed this one, as, from the accounts I afterwards
heard of it, it must have been well worth seeing.
The Mexican was at first suspected of the robbery, from his own folly in
going the very next morning to several stores, and spending an unusual
amount of money on clothes, revolvers, and so on. When once suspected,
he was seized without ceremony, and on his person was found a quantity
of gold specimens and coin, along with the purse itself, all of which
were identified by the man who had been robbed. With such evidence, of
course, he was very soon convicted, and was sentenced to be hung. On
being told of the decision of the jury, and that he was to be hung the
next day, he received the information as a piece of news which no way
concerned him, merely shrugging his shoulders and saying, “_’stá
bueno_,” in the tone of utter indifference in which the Mexicans
generally use the expression, requesting at the same time that the
priest might be sent for.
When he was led out to be hanged, he walked along with as much
nonchalance as any of the crowd, and when told at the place of execution
that he might say whatever he had to say, he gracefully took off his
hat, and blowing a farewell whiff of smoke through his nostrils, he
threw away the cigarita he had been smoking, and, addressing the crowd,
he asked forgiveness for the numerous acts of villainy to which he had
already confessed, and politely took leave of the world with “_Adios,
caballeros._” He was then run up to a butcher’s derrick by the
Vigilance Committee, all the members having hold of the rope, and thus
sharing the responsibility of the act.
A very few days after I left San Andres, a man was lynched for a robbery
committed very much in the same manner. But if stringent measures were
wanted in one part of the country more than another, it was in such
flimsy canvas towns as these two places, where there was such a
population of worthless Mexican _canaille_, who were too lazy to work
for an honest livelihood.
I went on in a few days to Angel’s Camp, a village some miles farther
south, composed of well-built wooden houses, and altogether a more
respectable and civilized-looking place than San Andres. The inhabitants
were nearly all Americans, which no doubt accounted for the
circumstance.
While walking round the diggings in the afternoon, I came upon a Chinese
camp in a gulch near the village. About a hundred Chinamen had here
pitched their tents on a rocky eminence by the side of their diggings.
When I passed they were at dinner or supper, and had all the curious
little pots and pans and other “fixins” which I had seen in every
Chinese camp, and were eating the same dubious-looking articles which
excite in the mind of an outside barbarian a certain degree of curiosity
to know what they are composed of, but not the slightest desire to
gratify it by the sense of taste. I was very hospitably asked to partake
of the good things, which I declined; but as I would not eat, they
insisted on my drinking, and poured me out a pannikin full of brandy,
which they seemed rather surprised I did not empty. They also gave me
some of their cigaritas, the tobacco of which is aromatic, and very
pleasant to smoke, though wrapped up in too much paper.
The Chinese invariably treated in the same hospitable manner any one who
visited their camps, and seemed rather pleased than otherwise at the
interest and curiosity excited by their domestic arrangements.
In the evening, a ball took place at the hotel I was staying at, where,
though none of the fair sex were present, dancing was kept up with great
spirit for several hours. For music the company were indebted to two
amateurs, one of whom played the fiddle and the other the flute. It is
customary in the mines for the fiddler to take the responsibility of
keeping the dancers all right. He goes through the dance orally, and at
the proper intervals his voice is heard above the music and the
conversation, shouting loudly his directions to the dancers, “Lady’s
chain,” “Set to your partner,” with other dancing-school words of
command; and after all the legitimate figures of the dance had been
performed, out of consideration for the thirsty appetites of the
dancers, and for the good of the house, he always announced, in a louder
voice than usual, the supplementary finale of “Promenade to the bar, and
treat your partners.” This injunction, as may be supposed, was most
rigorously obeyed, and the “ladies,” after their fatigues, tossed off
their cocktails and lighted their pipes just as in more polished circles
they eat ice-creams and sip lemonade.
It was a strange sight to see a party of long-bearded men, in heavy
boots and flannel shirts, going through all the steps and figures of the
dance with so much spirit, and often with a great deal of grace, hearty
enjoyment depicted on their dried-up sunburned faces, and revolvers and
bowie-knives glancing in their belts; while a crowd of the same
rough-looking customers stood around, cheering them on to greater
efforts, and occasionally dancing a step or two quietly on their own
account. Dancing parties such as these were very common, especially in
small camps where there was no such general resort as the
gambling-saloons of the larger towns. Wherever a fiddler could be found
to play, a dance was got up. Waltzes and polkas were not so much in
fashion as the lancers which appeared to be very generally known, and,
besides, gave plenty of exercise to the light fantastic toes of the
dancers; for here men danced, as they did everything else, with all
their might; and to go through the lancers in such company was a very
severe gymnastic exercise. The absence of ladies was a difficulty which
was very easily overcome, by a simple arrangement whereby it was
understood that every gentleman who had a patch on a certain part of his
inexpressibles should be considered a lady for the time being. These
patches were rather fashionable, and were usually large squares of
canvas, showing brightly on a dark ground, so that the “ladies” of the
party were as conspicuous as if they had been surrounded by the usual
quantity of white muslin.
A _pas seul_ sometimes varied the entertainment. I was present on one
occasion at a dance at Foster’s Bar, when, after several sets of the
lancers had been danced, a young Scotch boy, who was probably a runaway
apprentice from a Scotch ship--for the sailor-boy air was easily seen
through the thick coating of flour which he had acquired in his present
occupation in the employment of a French baker--was requested to dance
the Highland fling for the amusement of the company. The music was good,
and he certainly did justice to it; dancing most vigorously for about a
quarter of an hour, shouting and yelling as he was cheered by the crowd,
and going into it with all the fury of a wild savage in a war-dance. The
spectators were uproarious in their applause. I daresay many of them
never saw such an exhibition before. The youngster was looked upon as a
perfect prodigy, and if he had drunk with all the men who then sought
the honor of “treating” him, he would never have lived to tread another
measure.