VI The San Luís Obispo Group
San Luís Obispo (St. Louis the Bishop). Travelers on the Coast Line, whose attention is attracted to the smiling vale where the pretty town of San Luís Obispo nestles in the hollow of the hills, about eight miles from the ocean and ninety to the northwest of Santa Bárbara, will doubtless be pleased to learn something of its history. So peaceful is the aspect of the valley at this time that it comes rather as a surprise to read, in the diaries of the Portolá expedition of 1769, stories of fierce fights with bears, which then haunted this place in such numbers that the explorers gave it the name of La Cañada de los Osos (the glen of the bears). From Father Crespi we get some account of the numbers and ferocity of these animals: “In this glen we saw troops of bears, which have the ground ploughed up and full of scratches which they make in search of the roots that form their food. Upon these roots, of which there are many of a good savor and taste, the Gentiles (unbaptized Indians), also live. The soldiers, who went out to hunt, succeeded in killing one bear with gun-shots, and experienced the ferocity of these animals. Upon feeling themselves wounded they attack the hunter at full speed, and he can only escape by using the greatest dexterity. They do not yield except when the shot succeeds in reaching the head or heart. The one that the soldiers killed received nine balls before falling, and did not fall until one struck him in the head.”
Captain Fages, of the same expedition, gives a similar account “....a spacious glen with a rivulet of very good water.... In said glen they saw whole herds of bears, which have ploughed up all the ground, where they dug to seek their livelihood from the roots that it produces. They are ferocious brutes, and of very difficult hunting, throwing themselves with incredible speed and anger upon the hunter, who only escapes by means of a swift horse. They do not yield to the shot unless it be in the head or heart.”
Miguel Costansó, of the same party, says: “In the afternoon, as they had seen many tracks of bears, six soldiers went out hunting on horseback, and succeeded in shooting one bear. It was an enormous animal; it measured fourteen palms from the sole of the feet to the top of its head; its feet were more than a foot long; and it must have weighed over 375 pounds. We ate the flesh and found it savory and good.”—(Translation edited by Frederick J. Teggart.)
At a later date, when the mission at Monterey was in serious danger of a famine, Captain Fages called to mind the experiences in the Cañada de los Osos, and headed a hunting expedition to that region for the purpose of securing a supply of bear meat. The party succeeded in killing a considerable number of the animals, and were thus able to relieve the scarcity at Monterey. The name of Los Osos (the bears), is still applied to a valley in the vicinity of San Luís Obispo.
Finding this spot highly suitable for a settlement, in the matters of climate, arable land and water, points always carefully considered by the padres, the mission of San Luís Obispo de Tolosa (St. Louis the Bishop of Toulouse), was established by Padre Serra, September 1, 1772, in La Cañada de los Osos. In the usual course of events, the name of the mission was extended to the town and finally to the county.
The story of the patron saint of this mission runs as follows: “St. Louis of Toulouse was the nephew of St. Louis King of France, and son of the King of Naples and Sicily. Like his kingly uncle-saint, he was piously reared by his mother. When he was but fourteen, his father, being made prisoner by the King of Aragón, gave Louis and his brother as hostages. He became wearied of everything but religion, and in 1294, when he was made free, he gave all his royal rights to his brother Robert, and became a monk of the Order of St. Francis. He was then twenty-two years old. Soon he was made Bishop of Toulouse; and he set out, bare-footed and clothed as a friar, to take his new office. He went into Provence on a charitable mission, and died at the castle of Brignolles, where he was born. He was first buried at Marseilles, then removed to Valencia, where he was enshrined. His pictures represent him as young, beardless, and of gentle face. He has the fleur-de-lys embroidered on his cope, or on some part of his dress. The crown which he gave away lies at his feet, while he wears the mitre of a bishop.”—(Stories of the Saints.)
San Miguel
San Miguel (St. Michael), situated about forty-seven miles northeast of San Luís Obispo, is the site of Mission San Miguel, founded July 25, 1797, by Padres Lasuén and Sitjar. It is said that “the lands of this mission extended from the Tulares on the east to the sea on the west, and from the north boundary of the San Luís Obispo district to the south line of San Antonio. It had its work-shops and little factories where the good padres taught the Indians the useful arts. Its property was confiscated in 1836, and sold at auction in 1846.”
St. Michael, in whose honor this mission was named, “is regarded as the first and mightiest of all created spirits. He it was whom God commissioned to expel Satan and the rebellious angels from Heaven. His office now is believed to be two-fold, including that of patron saint of the Church on earth, and Lord of the souls of the dead; presenting the good to God and sending the evil and wicked away to torment.” In pictures St. Michael is always represented as young and beautiful, sometimes as the Lord of souls in pictures of death, sometimes in armor as the conqueror of Satan.
Paso de Robles
Paso de Robles (pass of the oaks), known far and wide for its hot sulphur springs, where the sick of many lands find surcease from their pain, is situated twenty-nine miles north of San Luís Obispo. It was named for the reason indicated by Father Crespi, who says: “....in a valley in the hollow of the Santa Lucía Mountains, called Los Robles, for the great abundance of these trees with which it is populated.”
It should be explained that the roble is not the evergreen, or live-oak, which is called encino. At Leland Stanford Jr. University the names of these two species of oaks have been rather poetically used for the students’ dormitories,—Encina Hall for the men, and Roble Hall for the women.
Supplementary List
Arroyo Grande (big creek), a village in San Luís Obispo County, fifteen miles southeast of San Luís Obispo.
Atascadero (boggy ground, quagmire).
Avenal (a field sown with oats).
Buchón (big craw), is the name of the point on the coast directly opposite the town of San Luís Obispo, and has a significance not altogether agreeable. The Spanish soldiers called the place Buchón from an Indian in the neighborhood who was the unfortunate possessor of an enormous goitre, which was so large that it hung down upon his breast.
Cañada del Osito (glen of the little bear), so-called because some Indians from the mountains offered the Spaniards a present of a bear cub.
Cayucos is the name of a village in San Luís Obispo County, eighteen miles northwest of San Luís Obispo. The word cayuco is probably Indian in origin, and is used in different senses in different parts of America. In Venezuela it means a small fishing boat, built to hold only one person, while in Cuba it means “head.” As this place is on the shore, it was probably named in reference to Indian fishing skiffs.
Cholame (the name of an Indian tribe).
Cuesta (hill, mount, ridge, also family name).
Esteros (estuaries, creeks into which the tide flows at flood time).
Estero Point (estuary point).
Estrella (star).
López (a surname).
Morro (headland, bluff). Morro is the name of a hamlet in San Luís Obispo County, on the shore, twelve miles northwest of San Luís Obispo.
Nacimiento (birth). This word is generally used by the Spaniards in the sense of the birth of Christ.
Los Osos (the bears).
Piedras Blancas (white stones, or rocks), the name of a point on the coast.
Pismo, an Indian word said to mean “place of fish”, but this definition is not based upon scientific authority.
Pozo (well, or pool), is the name of a village in San Luís Obispo County.
San Simeón (St. Simeon), is the name of a village in San Luís Obispo County, on the shore twenty miles south of Jolón. It has a good harbor. St. Simeon, the patron saint of this place, was one of the apostles, and is called “the Prophet” because he was the translator of the book of Isaiah in which is made the prophecy “Behold a virgin shall conceive.”
St. Simeon Stylites, who set the fashion of the pillar-hermits, spent almost half of the fifth century on the summit of a column sixty feet in height, drawing up his meager food and water in a pail which he lowered for the purpose. This peculiar and apparently senseless mode of life has been partially justified by the reflection that the notoriety he thus gained brought curious crowds of pagans about his pillar, to whom he was enabled to preach the Christian doctrine. It is said that he converted many thousands of the nomadic Saracen tribes to Christianity.
Santa Lucía (St. Lucy), is the name of a section of the coast range of mountains in the central part of the state. St. Lucy is the protectress against all diseases of the eye, and is the patroness of the laboring poor.
Santa Margarita (St. Margaret), is the name of a town in San Luís Obispo County, on the Southern Pacific Railroad. St. Margaret is the patroness who presides over births.