The brother of the fellow who wrote this story 200 years ago is the founder of our town of Nipomo. I enjoy reading of his travels in California in the 1830s. Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Monterey are all small towns with a few score of houses. Horses were so plentiful that common horses were kept with a long tether so anyone who needed one could grab it and ride then leave it off to roam until someone else needed it. He recounts adventures with Hawaiian people (Sandwich Isles), the Californios (Mexican/Spanish settlers). He was impressed with the beauty of the Californian women and the lively culture. Although he thought that Californians were very lazy and indulgent, more concerned with partying and lazing about in the hot afternoons. He noticed that the most prosperous people wee often newcomers with high aspirations and work ethic, but after one generation of intermarriage with the Californians you had a person who had settled into the Californian lifestyle of parties, roaming and singing and living off the fat of the land with little concern for more cultured materials (which were dear to import).
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 09:09:53 +0000