The Ortega Family's Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio

NOTICIAS

Quarterly Magazine Of The Santa Barbara Historical Society Vol. XXXVl, No. 3

Aucumn 1990

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The Ortega Family’s Rancho Nuestra Sen ora del Refugio

Epncho ran alone the Pacific coastfrom Canada dd Cojo eastwardto Canada del Psfitffo Map by David F.Myrick

Followingis the first installment ofa two^art history ofthe Ortegafamily TICIAS,BrieHvolholltdk^ the and their F^gio rancho.In this issue ofN01 story up through the end ofMexican rule in California. Part Two will detail lifefor the Ortegafamily under the Americans and thefamily's eventual loss of their ranch. This is an edited version ofthe original p^er.A copy ofthe origi nal with endnotes and bibliography is onfile in the Qkdhill Library. Brands shown on back cover are two ofmany Ort^a brands and earmarks. Brand on left is that ofJose Francisco Ortega and on right that ofAntonio Maria Onega. Ourfront cover photo by Wiluam B.Dewey shows aportion ofthe fiancho Refugio areafrom the air, looking east, taken in igS^.

Michael Redmon,Editor Judy Sutcliffe, Designer

© 1990 The Santa Barbara Historical Society 136 E.De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101 Single copies $4.00

n DToper^M (^oc rjAS givcjv rv^e A Brief History of the Ortega Family’s ■lancho Nuestra Sehora del Refugio

Eric P. Hvolb0l Eric P. Hvolbell completed this study in igyS as a student in the Stanford University Department of History. An eighthgeneration Santa Barbaran, his interest in the Ortegas ’ Psf^gio rancho developed as he grew up on a ranch at Canada del Venadito (a portion ofJ^anaio Canada del Corral immediately east ofl^ejugio) which his family first settled in 1866. He is a partner at the Santa Barbara law firm of Price, Postel & Parma and served on the Society’s Board of Trustees from ig8^ to iggo.

0

UR Santa Ynez Mountains com pose the westernmost extent of the longitudinal Transverse Ranges; rising abruptly at Point Con ception, they seem to bend the coast line at a sharp right angle and for 70 miles the beaches continue along this peculiar alignment. Short coastal can yons draining their southern slopes empty into saline esteros at frequent in tervals where the seasonal streams end.

strong and the streams lose their wa ters, prompting both men and animals to turn to irregular springs for the scarce water they provide from the sandstone aquifers which make up the first ridges 01 the rugged, sandy fins of the Santa Ynez.

This narrow coastal shelf, squeezed between the rocky Santa Ynez and the calm Pacific breakers, is where the Rancho Nuestra Sehora del Refugio is situated. Stretching from the ridgeline dividing Canada del Refugio from Canada del Venadito (La Vigia), the Refugio rancho includes the low coast al hills below the mountain peaks westward to Canada del Cojo, imme diately east of Point Conception. It embraces over a dozen of the coastal canyons, including such major water ways as Refugio, Tajiguas, Gaviota an a Santa Anita.

The coastal plain was first explored

by Europeans under Don Caspar de Portola in 1769. Between 1542. when

Only one to six miles separate the beach from the mountain crests along the coastal plain and this space is taken up by gentle hills, dotted with perenni al green live oaks. In the winter and spring, the hills are covered with green grasses; streams run full and for several weeks even the chaparral, which covers the rocky mountains, is in bloom.

During the summer months, the grasses turn brown, the green live oaks scattered against the pastel brown hills presenting a pleasant contrast. The smell of the sages in the chaparral is 45

46 Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo first sailed along the coast, and the 1760s, Alta California had been ignored by the Spanish government. However, by 1765 Jose de Galvez was appointed visitador-general of New Spain and he became intent on expanding Spanish influence into Alta California. For per sonal reasons, the ambitious Gavez devised a plan to settle the Alta Cali fornia wilderness with soldiers, priests and private citizens.

Early in 1769, the first expedition into Aka California was organized.

Captain Portola was in charge of three ships and two land parties which set out for San Diego and Monterey Bay from Baja California. The story of the mishaps of the expedition and of the founding of San Diego and Monterey has been told in many other places. On their way north to Monterey from San Diego, Portola and his men traversed a route that would closely parallel the major traffic artery between the two towns for many decades.

With Portola were a group of mes tizo soldados de cuera (leatherjacket soldiers of mixed blood), Captain Riv era and Lt. Pedro Pages, both future governors of California, Fr. Juan Crespi, diarist, and Sergeant Jose Francisco

NOTICIAS de Ortega. Ortega served as the expe dition scout and on November 2,1769, he reportedly discovered San Francisco Bay, an elusive geographic anomaly that had escaped the notice of most previous exploratory vessels along the coast.

It was in August of 1769 that Por tola and his party first arrived along the Santa Barbara Channel coast. The channel area possessed one of the larg est native populations encountered by the explorers. Crespi described the coastal expanse to the west of Santa Barbara in a characteristically utilitari an manner; The country along the road is ex tremely delightful, abounding in pas ture and covered with live oaks, wil lows and other trees, giving signs ofits being veryfertile land, capable ofRe ducing whatever one might wish to

plant...

Continuing on, Crespi noted that most of the streams contained running water, unusual for August. Near Cojo, Crespi described the landscape as "rather gloomy” and very bare.

Crespi returned by the coastal route six months later, in January of 1770.

NUESTRA SEI^ORA DEL REFUGIO The region, presenting a markedly dif ferent appearance in that other of the two seasons, pleased the explorers, who noted that "the days seem more like spring than winter "It was this expedition, up and down California in 1769 and 1770, which first introduced Jose Francisco de Ortega to the land he would settle two decades later.

Veterans' Lands Immediately after their first explor atory excursions, the Spanish initiated lan for the settletheir three-prong ment of the Alta ifornia wilderness.

This effort consisted of three types of institutions: religious, military and civil. Under Fr. Junipero Serra and oth ers, missions were established. Techni cally, the missions held their vast lands only in trust for their Indian neo phytes, as the official goal was for the natives to become self-sustaining, eventually to receive the lands as their own. The missions were, in fact, pue blos, presided over by the stern padres.

In 1786, a mission was established near the Santa Barbara presidio. In addition to the missions, the Spaniards esta blished presidios (forts) and pueblos (civilian settlements). Four presidios were established, including one at San ta Barbara in 1782. Around the garrisons pueblos later developed. They were designed to protect the frontier from foreign aggression and Indian uprising.

The rancho system, privatelyowned large land grants, did not fully develop until the Mexican era. There were fewer than 20 such land "conces-

Jose Francisco de Ortega was on his second tour ofduty when he served as scoutfor the Portold expedition. Alexander Harmer cnuisions the arrival ofthe party at San Francisco Bay. From the collection ofClifton F.Smith.

47 sions” in California under Spain. In 1784, Governor Pedro Pages allowed several retired soldiers to establish pri vate ranchos near Los Angeles. Shortly after allowing these concessions, Gov ernor Pages requested official permis sion to continue granting such ran chos. Approval was gained in 1786 on the condition that the tracts not en croach on mission lands, pueblo lands or Indian rancherias (villages). Rancho Nuestra Sehora del Refugio was the only land concession—or "occupation permit”—that was licensed under Spanish rule in what is today Santa Barbara County.

After independence in 1822, the Mexican government continued occa sional issuance of the vague cattle grazing concessions until 1828. In 1828, land laws were clarified and actual land grants of full title were legalized.

Mission lands dominated much of the best grazing areas up until 1835.

The much romanticized "golden era of the ranchos” did not commence un til these mission lands were secularized in 1833 under widespread military and civilian pressure. After secularization the conservative policy of land concession was abandoned and a liberal grant program initiated. An estimatecT700 private land grants were issued be tween Governor Jose Figueroa’s abrupt secularization order of August 17, 1833.

American occupation in 1846.

The official procedure for obtain ing a rancho was only nominally follicant filed a forlowed. First, the appli mal petition with the governor. The petitioner was required to be a Mexi can citizen and his petition to contain a description of the land requested as well as a sketch map (diseho). There were no official mapmaxers in Califor nia, and the disehos varied according to the mapmaker’s effort and natural ability. The diseno generally included

NOTICIAS

48 the natural boundaries of the rancho, local landmarks and neighboring ran cho owners or mission lands. The gov ernor then directed a local official to examine the property and ensure the land was uninhabited. If the local offi cial replied affirmatively, a formal grant was given. Some grants were re fused when neighboring missions ob jected that their grazing lands would be adversely affected by the issuance of a private grant. This was the case on several occasions in regard to Ran cho Nuestra Senora del Refugio.

When the governor approved the grant, an official survey was made and formal possession was granted by the local magistrate. These land rants were made without payment and were gifts on the part of the Mexican gov ernment in return for prior service ren dered to the Provincial government.

As a condition of the grant, the recipi ent was required to build a house on the land, stock it with cattle or sheep, and cultivate vines and orchards.

Jose Francisco de Ortega The first owner of Rancho Nuestra Senora del Refugio was one of the foremost citizens of the first genera tion of Californios. Ortega was instru mental in the founding of the presidios at San Diego and Santa Barbara and the missions of San Buenaventura and San Juan Capistrano.

Ortega was born in the town of Celaya in what is now Guanajuato, Mex ico, in 1734. managed a warehouse before enlisting in the military at Lore to in 1755. In 1759, he married Maria Antonia Victoria Carrillo, a member of the same Carrillo family that be came prominent in later years in Alta California. When Portola arrived in Baja California as governor in 1767, Ortega reenlisted in the Royal Service as a sergeant. In 1769 Ortega served as

chief scout for the land expedition to Alta California under Portola. In this capacity, Ortega directed the party’s route and found suitable campsites and waterholes.

After returning to San Diego after the trip, Ortega served for a short time as comandante of the presidio there. In 1773 Fr. Junipero Serra encouraged the Viceroy to appoint Ortega as Tull comandante of Alta California, replacing Governor Pages. Serra wrote, "I be lieve they [the soldiers] will love him without ceasing to fear him; they will fear him sufficiently without ceasing to love him." Ortega did not receive the appointment, but did receive a lieutenant's commission.

In 1775, while comandante at San Diego, the mission Indians revolted and killed a padre while Ortega was busy founding the mission at San Juan Capistrano. Captain Rivera, military commander for Alta California at Monterey, blamed Ortega for the re volt and thereafter distrusted Ortega.

In 1782 Ortega founded the presidio at Santa Barbara where he pfanned the fortifications, buildings and irrigation system.

In 1783 Nicolas Soler. inspector of the presidios, appraised Ortega as co mandante at Santa Barbara with "if this officer's disposition did not color his great aptitude and application, I would consider him more useful to the Royal Service." In 1786 Ortega re quested retirement, citing his 30 years of service, his growing Gmily and his own obesity. Instead, he was sent to Monterey, serving as comandante from 1787 to 1791. In 1791 he returned to Loreto as comandante until final re tirement in 1795. During his years at Loreto he accumulated a considerable debt, which his sons later repaid from proceeds made at Refugio.

Jose Francisco only enjoyed three years of retirement, living out his days

NUESTRA SEI^ORA DEL REFUGIO

49

i

Junipero Sara blessed the site ofthe Santa Barbarapresidio on Apn'/ 21,1782. Among those in attendance were Qov. Felipe de Neve and Lt. Jose Francisco de Ortega,first comandante ofthe presidio. WatercoLor by Resell A. Rwij.

near Santa Barbara. On the third day of February, 1798, on a slight rise at the eastern edge of the Refugio estero, the hefty Ortega fell off his norse and died. He was on his way from the Refugio rancho to the presidio at Santa Barbara. He was buried the next day in the Santa Barbara Mission cemetery.

As his progeny were numerous, it would be his sons who would develop the Refugio rancho.

Settlement, 1794 The positive date of the Ortegas’ first occupation at Refugio is uncer tain. Proposed dates range from 1774 to 1800. The earliest date—i774~is a clear mistake. The presidio at Santa Barbara was not yet founded and Or tega was in San Diego at the time. The 1798 and 1800 dates are too late. Orte ga is known to have died early in 1798

near his rancho, and Comandante Goycoechea wrote to Governor Borica in October of 1798 of the Ortegas’ rancho, Refugio Pass and the loss of corn at Refugio due to frost.

California historian H. H. Bancroft tentatively suggested 1796. Docu ments from the Ortega family, how ever, set the original settlement at Re fugio at November, 1794. In 1804 Jose Maria Ortega, son of Jose Francisco, wrote to the governor requesting title to Refugio. In his letter, Jose Maria claimed to have discovered Refugio while searching for timber to repair the Santa Barbara presidio during the tenure of Governor Romeu [circa 1791). Jose Maria reminded the govern or that the Ortegas received permis sion to establish the Refugio rancho from Governor Borica, and in Novem ber of 1794 i^hcy built houses and planted a vineyard and orchard there.

NOTICIAS

50 Bancroft reports that permission to establish the Refugio rancho was granted in order to alfow Ortega's sons to repay the debt he had accumulated at Loreto. This debt was repaid, ac cording to Bancroft, by grain raised at Refugio.

Although Bancroft states that Jose Maria Ortega repaid his father's debt, Jose Maria’s brothers credited them selves for repayment in a letter written in 1813. Jose Francisco Maria, brother to Jose Maria, wrote to Governor Arrillaga requesting title to Refugio in 1813. Jose Francisco Maria wrote that he had left the military in order to re pay his father’s debt, and that the debt was repaid by Jose Francisco Maria and his two brothers, Vicente and Ig nacio. Jose Francisco Maria reported that his "brother, Don Jose Maria, did not pay anything...''

The local magistrate, Jose Arguello, reported to the governor on July 13, 1813, that the sergeant[Don Jose Fran cisco Maria] "has paid at Loreto the debt of his late father in mules, mares, and barrados..."Jose Maria, however, maintained that he had helped repay the debt under the unfavorable condi tions at Refugio... “plain land... very narrow and chiefly wooded... [bear ing] many wild beasts such as lions, bears, ana wolves... ” In any case, the initial land concession was given in or der to allow repayment of Jose Fran cisco’s debt and that debt was paid in full.

Prosperity and Controversy, 1794-1818 The Ortega hacienda was con structed a little over a mile up from the mouth of Refugio Canyon. The knoll on which the adobes stood is still known to some canyon natives as the best place in the canyon to live. To the south, the Pacific Ocean half fills

the valley formed by two bare ridges of Refugio Bay. To the north, the skyline of the Santa Ynez Mountains and Refugio Pass present an impressive backdrop. From their knoll, the Orteas commanded the entire canyon. It is far enough up the canyon from the shore to escape most or the tenacious early summer fog, yet close enough to benefit from the cool ocean breezes, which bring afternoon relief during the hot season. The buildings, living quarters, corrals and patios occupied the crown of the knoll. Althousn it has been claimed that the original ha cienda was built near the Refugio estero, and only later established up the canyon on the knoll, no evidence for this, other than hearsay, has been found.

The early years for the Ortegas were probably difficult as they set up a new rancho. Reflecting on his early life at Refugio, Jose Maria Ortega mentioned his austere beginnings at Refugio in his will, written at Santa Ines in 1821; “It was only with my own sweat and labor chat I started out with 30 head of cattle and horses and 25 brood mares. After my discharge [1797}, I hustled for everything else I have on my ranch.”

Despite these reputedly difficult beginnings, the agricultural operations were some of the most successful in the province. Early in 1801. Governor Arrillaga requested the purchase of wheat from California rancheros for export to San Bias. When the ranchos from the southern district responded on July 20, 1801, the Ortegas offered more wheat chan any other ranchero.

In addition to wheat, the Refugio vineyard was well maintained as the Ortegas were making their own wine by this time.

It has been maintained that the es tablishment of an additional home and gardens at Tajiguas, immediately to

51

NUESTRA SElSJORA DEL REFUGIO the west of Refugio, occurred in 1800.

Presumably, some members of the growing and diverse Ortega family needed a place of their own. In later years, Tajiguas was the home of Anto nio Maria Ortega, son of Jose Maria, suggesting that perhaps Jose Maria maoe his home there. The first lemon grove in California is said to have been planted at Tajiguas at an early date.

The hypothesis that the two Orte ga brothers, Jose Maria and Jose Vi cente, operated the Refugio rancho on two difierent accounts is substantiated in a report dated December 31, 1805,

by Jose Raymundo Carrillo of the San ta Barbara presidio. Carrillo sent a list of all the property owners in the dis trict to Governor Arrillaga. Forty-nine property owners were named, includ ing the two Ortegas at Refugio. Rela tive to other property owners in the district, the Ortegas were very

wealthy. They had far more bulls and yearlings than any other rancho in the district. Only one rancho boasted of possessing more tame horses than the Refugio, two of more burros and two of more cows, The Refugio rancho was one of the three most prosperous in the Santa Barbara district, which stretched from approximately San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles.

In addition to the livestock, the ran cho contained 3,000 vinestocks and 400 fruit-bearing trees. The Ortega gardens were fed water from an arroyo later known as Spring Canyon, a tributary to Refugio Creek. A dam was constructed in the canyon and an open aqueduct fed water to a grist mill and to the house and gardens. This gravity line was still in existence down to the present century. Twentieth century ranchers were amazed at the engineering accuracy of the lengthy

A major sLumbling block,io the. Ortegas gainingformal title to the Refugio lands was the opposition ofthe Santa Barbara Mission padres, who controlled vast tracts ofland. Not until 1829 did thefathers accede to the Ortegas’claims. Alexander Harmer etching shows the mission as it may have appeared in 1798.

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52 aqueduct, which followed the contours or the slopes for a great distance in or der to fully exploit gravity for transport of water.

In 1910 some of the adobe buildings were still recognizable. When George Rutherford moved onto the ranch in 1915, many of the walls were still standing on the knoll. Rutherford bull dozed the remnants of these walls in 1930. They were constructed of 18” x 20" X 4" bricks, and when broken, the straw was still as bright as it was when freshly inserted into the wet adobe

bricks.

The mission padres in Santa Barbara were well aware of the many successes at the Ortegas' Refugio rancho. The padres’ interpretation of Governor Borica’s permission to the Ortegas for the use oI the Refugio lands was that if in the future the mission needed more lands, the Ortegas would have to leave. Under Spain, the land conces sions did not give actual title to the land, and as the Ortega rancho grew, the proprietors sought to gain full legal title.

On February 28, 1804, Jose Maria Ortega petitioned Governor Arrillaga for legal title to Refugio, citing his ag ricultural accomplishments and grow ing family. Governor Arrillaga re ceived Ortega’s petition on May 3, 1804, at Loreto and requested that the petition be forwarded to the mission padres at Santa Barbara to allow them to comment as to what was fair “on behalf of the natives of the country.

Fathers Tapis and Cortes wrote a lengthy reply to the Governor on June 1,1804. The padres objected that Orte ga was claiming more land than that to which he was entitled. In addition, they reiterated the claim that Gover nor Borica expressly told the Ortegas that they would have to give up their rancho when the mission neophytes might need lands for themselves. At

NOTICIAS that time the mission had 1,896 neo phytes who had to be fed from what was produced on the lands between the mission and Refugio.

The padres noted an acute lack of dependable streams in their territory.

In 1803, 2,280 head of cattle, 713 mares, horses and mules and 11,221 sheep grazed on mission lands, bounded on the east by the Presidio, the south by the ocean, the north by the mountains and the west by the Ortegas. The pa dres felt that the gardens and livestock would have to be expanded to supply clothing and food for their neophytes, so they would not have to return to the mountains and "search for food like brutes.”

In addition, the Santa Barbara mis sion housed dozens of natives from the village of Casil, at the mouth of Refu gio Canyon, and over 100 from Sisuchi at La Quemada. The padres insisted on these natives’ natural right to their na tive lands and strenuously objected to the granting of the lands to the Ortegas.

Arrillaga is not known to have made a decision in regard to the request, and matters were left much as they had been. Contention between the padres and the Ortegas, however, continued for many years.

In 1813 the Ortegas again petitioned Governor Arrillaga for formal title to Refugio. In his petition, Jose Francisco Maria complained that his brother’s sons, Martin, Vicente and Antonio Maria, had already established herds of their own. Jose Francisco Maria felt that Jose Maria's 1,000 head of cattle hindered the development of his own herd. Jose Francisco Maria concluded his letter with a request for "a piece of paper, that I may live in security on this place so that no one shall be able to disturb my property.” His petition was denied by the governor.

Only four years later, in 1817, Jose

NUESTRA SEr^ORA DEL REFUGIO

Jose Vicente (1773-1807)

53

Guadalupe

Guadalupe

m. Joseph Chapman Manuela m. Guillermo Carrillo lose Vicente Estefano Jose Francisco Maria(177S 1832) m.

Magdalena Cota (18001862)

Ignado Jose Frandsco (17341798) m.

Maria Antonia Carrillo ose Marla (1741(17604824) 1803) m. Marla Frandsca Lopez

Refugio m. Luis Carrillo Dolores m. Raimundo Carrillo Frandsca Ygnado

Marla Catarina m.Jose Carrillo

Jose Marla lose Dolores Luis Antonio Marla Jose Joaquin Antonio Marla m.(2) Maria Adelaida Pico lose Vicente

lose Manuel m. Marla Josela Lugo Marla Gonzaga

Jose Martin

Rafaela m. Daniel Hill

Genealogy of the Ortegas in the story of the Refugio rancho.

Dozens have been omittca in order to darify only those mentioned herdn.

Pedro

I Vicente

Marla Ortega again requested, now froin Goverrior Sola, formal title. Jose Marla noted his military service and his conversion of over 50 natives to Christianity, and ended his petition with, ...1 pray vour Honor to give me possession of the place (^lled El Capitan... and from there as far as El Cojo... I

Manuela m. Miguel Cota Paclfico

I Fernando

hope that my children may continue possession of the property God has given me '' ^ Governor Sola sent the petition to ^^e Santa Barbara padres for comment.

RjpoU fepPed ^o the petition, noting that Ortega had requested the same deed from previous

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NOTICIAS

governors, but had been denied for good reason. Ripoll supported the gov ernment for granting the rancho to Ortega, but criticized Ortega for keeping all of his family on the ranch, and noted that by this time [1818} many of the Ortega sons expected to stay on at Refugio and establish ran chos of their own. The padre again chastized the Ortegas for claiming lands east of their dwelling at Refugio Can yon and reminded the Governor that the Ortegas were requesting more land than the mission itself op erated.

Again, Ortega’s peti tion was denied. The Or tegas and the padres did not always live in harmo ny as the Ortegas main tained in their formal peti tions. They claimed al the land from Dos Pueblos west to El Cojo. The padres objected, as the lands at Dos Pueblos and El Capitan were particularly rich. The mission’s lands were hemmed in on all other sides and the padres felt it necessary to retain control of the land which stretched at least as far west as the Ortega hacienda in Refugio Canyon. Eventually a com promise was reached and the Ortegas gained control of the property from their houses westward, and the official mission lands extended to the ridgeline separating Canadas del Venadito and

Refugio.

Clandestine Traders and a Privateer Raid One of the many problems beset ting Spanish California was that of subsistence. For the first four years of their existence, the missions were wholly dependent on Mexico for sup plies. It took a few years until most

could feed themselves. There was, in addition, a need for manufactured goods, especially clothing. Spanish law forbade any trade with foreign ships, but the need for goods only the for eign traders could provide persuaded many Californians of the need for clandestine trade. One loophole in Spanish law was that foreign ships ●f

Neither the restrictions of Spanish laws nor the hazards ofthe voyage around Cape Horn pre vented Yankee merchants from trading with the Californios. Oil by Frank Wildes Thompson. were allowed to anchor at Spanish ports if necessity forced the ship to do so in search of food, water, medicine or repairs. Whenever a foreign vessel was caught at anchor in New Spain, this was a standard explanation.

Because of the covert nature of their dealings, the calling of most ships went unrecorded. There were few trading vessels along the California coast before 1796. The traders were principally New England merchants who had discovered that there was a lucrative market in China for the fur of the sea otter and fur seal. These ani mals lived in abundance all along the Pacific coast. In the early years of the otter trade, the Americans did little business with the Spanish Californians, deterred by Spanish laws and lured by

NUESTRA SEr^ORA DEL REFUGIO the abundance of furs north of San Francisco Bay. As the northern otters became scarce and as the Americans learned of the ineffectiveness of Cali fornia defenses, the traders became bolder and were soon dealing with the Californios for furs.

The American traders found they could secure otter furs either by ex changing contraband goods for them or by killing them off tne coast. A par ticularly lucrative hunting ground was that surrounding the Channel Islands off the Santa Barbara coast, and these became a favorite with the traders. Al though this was technically illegal un der Spanish law, the Barbarenos had no way of enforcing the anti-hunting law. Legitimate calls were made by ships at Santa Barbara as early as 1799.

One of the major trading spots along the California coast during these years was the Ortega hacienda at Re fugio Bay. In time, the Ortega ranch was thought to be one of the richest smuggling bases in Alta California.

One of the early Americans to visit at Refugio was George Washington Eayrs, of the Mercury, a Bostonowned ship. In 1812, the ship dropped anchor at Refugio. At the time of the visit, a mission padre allegedly greeted Eayrs with a letter asking him to "dine with me at the casa del rancho. Come with this vaquero and we will talk of what is interesting in the news from Europe and the whole world. We will also trade..." The letter is signed “Thy friend, Fr. Luis." On December 21,1812, Eayrs received a great surprise when, on the crest of a large tsunami, his ship rode far up the Canada del Re fugio and back to sea. Walker A. Tompkins quotes Eayrs’ logbook from that day; The Mercury was anchored in six fathoms offthe beach at Eefugio Bay when suddenly she was lifted by a vast

57 wave and borne inland up the canyon toward the Nuestra Senora del E^efugio, owned by Don Vicente Ortega with whom I had been bartering for otter pelts and Mexican brandy. Our ship was then swept backto deep wa~ ter by the receding water of that mighty wave, none the worsefor our voyage up a stream which an hour before would not have been too deepfor a man to wade across.

In June of 1813, while anchored at Refugio, the Mercury was seized and condemned, pursuant to Spanish law, by the coast guard. Eayrs was taken prisoner and his case was not settled until 1819. Significant in Eayrs’ case is the California officials’ open recogni tion of the necessity of the illicit smuggling operation of the padres and rancheros. On October 8, 1813, plead ing for release, Eayrs wrote to the Viceroy "the highest and lowest offi cers on this coast... have entreated me to bring them things for cultivation, and other articles that they were in distress for. I have supplied the clergy with the articles of religion...! have covered many a naked [person]...” On November 12, 1819, Arguello wrote the Viceroy; The padres are concerned in illicit tradefrom grave and general necessity ofclothing and other materials which they have experienced in the past...

A rule ofcanonical law says: hace licito la necesidad lo que no es licito por la ley. [Necessity makes lawful that which by the law is illicit.]

Other ships met the same fate as the Mercury while at Refugio. Early in 1816, the captains of the Albatross and Lydia were arrested on smuggling charges by Santa Barbara presidio offi cials. In 1815, Governor Sola caused a watch to be placed on the Ortegas, as

58

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The defenseless Orte ga properties suffered at the hands ofthe privateer H^jx>lyte Bouchard. Tnispamti^by Theodore Van Cina now hangs in the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. Courte^ ofDocent Councilof the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. he suspected them of complicity with American traders, specifically with Eli ot de Castro, arrested at Cojo, and the brig Ilmen. William Heath Davis, on board the Eagle, stopped at Refugio in 1817 and traded silks, shawls and shoes with the Ortegas for otter skins, with no apparent penalty, what exactly were the commodities which the padres and rancheros, especially the Ortegas, operating the chief smuggling port on the coast, were so interested in acquiring? Many items have been mentioned, including hardware, crockery, fishhooks, unpowder, cotton cloths and blankets, shoes, shawls, silk, fine kerchiefs, white thread, blue and white twisted silk, floss, decorated water-jars, gilded crystal stands, porcelain plates, plat ters, Britain linens, peppers, and nut megs. Early in the 20th century, trac tors uncovered many broken pieces of plates and crockery, and a gold coin dated 1811, perhaps lost by an Ortega who had once gained it from a Yankee trader in exchange for a fur.

The famous wealth of the Ortega rancho would soon, however, come to their disadvantage. Throughout the Spanish provinces in South America, discontent with colonial rule was growing. In June 1808 the southern col onies revolted. One of the most active insurgent centers was located at Bue nos Aires, where between the years 1816 and 1819, the rebels hired ships to

seize ports, disturb Spanish shipping and foment rebellion throughout New Spain.

On October 6, 1818, Santa Barbarenos were startled with the news brought by the American ship Clarion from the Sandwich Islands. The Cali fornios were warned that two insur gent ships were preparing to attack the California coast. Governor Sola was notified and he ordered mission valua bles, livestock, together with women and children, evacuated inland. On November 20 two ships, commanded

by Captain Hippolyte Bouchard, were sighted near Monterey. The insurgents burned the presidio at Monterey and departed on the 27th for the south.

Captain Jose de la Guerra in Santa Barbara ordered the evacuation of most of the citizenry to the Santa Ynez Valley. His daughter, Angustias, described the evacuation many years later. “Some of the families took off for San Buenaventura, but the majori ty went to Santa Ines, some by the way of Refugio and the Ortega ranch, and others by San Marcos Pass...”

The Ortegas evacuated their Refugio ranch. On December 2, the two ships anchored at Refugio Bay and prepared to plunder what they had heard was a very rich smuggling port. The priva teers, upon reaching the hacienda, found it deserted and proceeded to kill some cattle and burn as many build ings as possible.

NUESTRA SEr^ORA DEL REFUGIO In the meantime, a military force had arrived from the Santa Barbara presidio.

While Bouchard’s men were burning the buildings, some of Carrillo's men got close enough to capture three of the insurgents when they walked away from the hacienda in search of a cart.

Bouchard sailed eastward to Santa Barbara without missing his three men. On December 6 a prisoner exchange was negotiated, and Santa Barbara escaped the wrath of the looters.

Legend has long held that Joseph Chapman was one of the three men captured at Refugio. This is apparentThe R^efugio diseho shows little detail. The mountains(La Sierra)are to the north. "Lomeria”probably means small hills or ridges.

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59 ly not the case, as the three prisoners were returned to their ship only sever al days after their capture. Chapman’s granddaughter, Graciosa Elizalde, stated that Chapman jumped ship at Refugio and made his way to Santa Ines. Chapman became a useful citizen and constructed the Santa Ines Mis sion grist mill. In 1822, at Santa Ines, he married Guadalupe Ortega, the daughter of Jose Vicente Ortega of Rancho Refugio. This is notable be cause it was one of the first marriages between a Yankee man and a native California girl of a prominent family.

This method of "infiltration” became very common in California later in the century. Most of these marriages, however, were of later generations of California women.

The Bouchard incident was notable for several reasons in the history of the Ortegas. It brought the first Yanblood into the family. Tradition says that the halcyon days of smug gling at the Refugio rancho ended with its burning by Bouchard, and that the rancho never regained its wealth after "it lost much of its early splendor.”

Jose de Jesus Vallejo, reflecting on the incident 56 years after its occur rence, reported what Bouchard had found at Refugio. His account is not supported anywhere else, but it is use ful in that it gives a good impression of the type of goods the Ortegas trad ed. Vallejo reports that Bouchard "discovered big boxes of fine cloth and lots of gold and silver.” Vallejo goes on to note that foreign traders ar rived annually at the rancheros' homes and against tneir [the rancheros] will, left on our tables one or two black suits...without even giving prices.

They said goodbye ana informed us they woularetum in six months and we could pay them in tallow [we

NOTICIAS

60 askcd for]gunpowder, arms, clothes, mirrors,furniture, wines, coral pins, paper, Panama hats, shoes, colored wool, paintings, silks, priests’ robes, in saints^ pictures, images ofthe Virgi and Cnristchild, thread, and wniite shirts Vallejo went on to say that the traders with whom the Californios dealt were persons of proven honor and that most of the trading stopped by the inauguration day of Governor Mariano Chico in 1836.

Ortega, a granddaughter of Jose Maria, when she was 17. As Joseph Chapman had several years earlier, Hill joined the Catholic faith as a prerequi site to his marriage.

In addition to increasing their ties with Americans, the Ortega family became larger and more diverse. On a Saturday in June of 1821, Jose Maria Ortega rode to the mission at Santa Ines. Fr. Uria cared for the ailing Orte ga for several days and on June 18 Or tega wrote out his will. Jose Maria had made the initial discovery of Refugio 30 years earlier and the rancho's suc-

Refugio Under Mexico Although Bouchard's raid destroyed much of the Ortegas' property, foreign vessels continued to trade at Refugio during the Mexican era. The Mexican revolution had begun in 1810, and the news of final independence from Spain did not reach Santa Barbara until 1822.

In the interim, few Californios con cerned themselves with, much less un derstood, the strife in Mexico, al though supply ships arrived less regularly.

As tne end of the Spanish era ap proached, many of the fur-bearing ocean mammals became increasingly scarce. American and British vessels became interested in trading in cow hides and tallow. In 1821 the revolu tionary Mexican regime legalized for eign trade at San Diego and Monterey.

In 1822, William Hartnell, aboard the John Begg, secured a contract with the missions to take all the hides the padres could furnish for one dollar each, and the era of legal trade began.

The Mexican era brought increas ing contact with the Americans. Yan kee ships stopped frequently at Refu gio. In 1823, the Bpver, out of Boston, stopped at Refugio Bay and a young seaman, Daniel Hill, jumped ship.

Three years later, Hill married Rafae a

Transplanted New Englander H Daniel Hill mar-

●.●y:

^ ried into the Ortega 3k family in i8z6, the H unionprodndng B children. He was 'anted the. La joleta rancho in

18^6.

cessful development was largely due to his efforts. In his will, Jose Maria left his orchards and a house at the Santa Barbara presidio to his wife, Maria Francisca Lopez y Mora. He had already given his sons, Antonio Maria and Jose Dolores (then aged 32 and 31, respectively, some cattle to as sist in the building of their own herds and ranchos.

Antonio Maria inherited his father's half-interest in the Refugio rancho three years later when Jose Maria died in 1824. Jose Dolores later received the land grant, Canada del Corral, imme diately to the east of Refugio. Anoth er of Jose Maria's sons, Jose Joaquin Geronimo Ortega, settled in the San Diego area where he became an otter hunter and administrator of the mis-

NUESTRA SESIORA DEL REFUGIO sions at San Diego and San Luis Rey during the 1830s and 1840s. In 1843 he was grantee of Rancho Valle de Pamo and in 1844 of Rancho Santa Ysabela, both in the San Diego area.

The Refugio rancho had been origi nally operated by three sons of Jose Francisco; Jose Maria, Jose Francisco Maria and Jose Vicente. Jose Vicente had died, however, about 1807. In his will, he noted several hundred head of stock, which he owned jointly with his brother, Jose Francisco Maria. After Jose Vicente's death, the development of the Refugio rancho was under the direction 01 the two brothers, Jose Maria and Jose Francisco Maria. Al though occupying Refugio for 35 years, Jose Maria and Jose Francisco Maria did not successfully petition for formal title to Refugio until 1829.

The petition, addressed to the comandante at Santa Barbara, was dated December 14,1829. In the petition, An tonio Maria Ortega and Jose Francisco Maria Ortega, son and brother of the deceased Jose Maria, asked that the pe tition Jose Maria had made to Govern or Sola several years earlier for title be granted. They assured the comandante of their successful livestock endeavors at Refugio and of the maintenance of homes at the rancho. They asked that their large families, whose sole support came from the rancho, be considered.

Antonio Maria reminded the coman dante that he was required to take care of his aged mother,Jose Maria’s widow, as well as many brothers.

Along with the petition, the Orte gas submitted three statements from mission padres acknowledging the le gitimacy of their claim. Fr. Moreno at Santa Barbara recognized the eastern boundary of the rancho to be the ridgeline dividing Refugio and Vena dito Canyons, known as “la Vigia” (the lookout). Despite their feuds with the padres in previous decades over the

61 extent of the Refugio lands, by 1828 the Ortegas accepted the padres’ con tention that the mission lands extend ed as far west as Venadito Canyon and even accepted Moreno's condition that mission sheep be allowed to graze on Refugio lands during the dry months of June, July and August.

Fr. Victoria wrote from La Purisima Concepcion in June of 1829 acknowledging the western extent of the Orte ga property to be at Cojo. Victoria noted the Ortega claim was legitimate as they habitually kept their unbroken mares at Cojo. Fr. Ordaz wrote from Santa Ines that the northern boundary of the rancho did indeed extend along the top of the mountain range behind the rancho.

On April 2, 1830, Ortega wrote to the comandante from Refugio, and in accordance with the laws for coloniza tion of 1824, forwarded a map (diseho) to be included in his formal petition. It shows very little detail and is one of the least informative of the many disen os in existence.

Although the formal petition for title to Refugio was filed in 1829, ap parently no official action was taken until 1834 after Jose Figueroa had be come governor and ordered the secu larization of the missions. On April 17, 1834, Antonio Maria Ortega wrote to Figueroa calling attention to the fact that the Ortega petition of 1829 had been ignored. Since that earlier peti tion by Antonio Maria and his uncle Jose Francisco Maria, the elder Ortega had died. Antonio noted his uncle’s death in 1832 and asserted the right of his aunt, Magdalena Cota, Jose Fran cisco Maria’s widow, as claimant for her husband’s property. Antonio Maria Ortega’s 1827 description of the rancho gives an invaluable picture of the Refugio property .(See Appendix, page 64, for text of description.)

Figueroa, writing from Monterey

62 in May, sent the Ortega petition to the comandante at Santa Barbara for comment. In June of 1834. Juan Ibarra at Santa Barbara carried out the gov ernor's wishes and examined three wit nesses, Jose Maria Garcia. Pablo de la Osa and Juan Pablo Ayala in regards to their acquaintance with the Refugio rancho and the Ortegas. The witnesses assured Ibarra that the petitioners were natives of California and of good char acter. In addition, the petitioners had lived at Refugio for 41 years and culti vated corn, wheat, beans, orchards and vineyards at the rancho. They report ed that Refugio was always well stocked and boasted of good corrals and houses for the large Ortega fami lies. Ibarra sent a transcript of this pro ceeding to Figueroa, along with his own postscript giving his opinion that the petition should be granted.

On July 3, 1834, Figueroa directed that the petition be granted and the expediente was referred to the Com mittee on Colonization and Vacant Lands on July 8. On July 10, Carlos Antonio Carrillo recommended ap proval of the Ortega petition on behalf of the Committee. On August 1,1834, Jose Figueroa, "Brigadier General, Co mandante General Inspector and Su perior Political Chief of the Territory of Alta California" ordered the issu ance of title to the Rancho Nuestra Senora del Refugio to Dona Magdale na Cota de Ortega and Don Antonio Maria Ortega. Figueroa reminded the petitioners that tne public rights-ofway for all roads were to be preserved ana advised them that the local judge would determine and mark out the specific boundary lines of the rancho, to be marked out with monuments of fruit or native trees.

Judicial possession of Refugio was not requested by the Ortegas until many years later, in 1846. On April 17, 1846, Antonio Maria and Magdalena

NOTICIAS Cota petitioned the Justice in Santa Barbara for judicial title. On April 25, 1846, neighboring landowners gathered with justice Juan P. Ayala to measure the boundaries of the rancho. Included in the delegation were Jose Dolores Ortega, owner of the neighboring Rancho Canada del Corral. Agustin Janssens, Miguel Cordero, Raymundo Carrillo, and San Julian majordomo Gregorio Lopez. Representatives for the Refugio owners Antonio Maria and Magdelena Cota were Jose Ma nuel Ortega, son of Antonio Maria and Jose Vicente Estefano Ortega, son of fv^gdalena Cota.

At eight o'clock in the morning near the hill known as la Vigia, Jose :e Maria Valenzuela and a neo named Joaquin were sworn to official ly mark the boundaries of the Refugio grant with a leather cord of fifty varas.[vara - approximately 33") Later in the day, Jose Manuel and Jose Vicente Estefano took formal possession of the Refugio rancho for their parents. This ceremony was concluded when the Ortegas "pulled up herbage and broke branches of trees and made other dem onstrations of possession, which they took of said lands," the traditional and necessary ritual for possession.

The Ortega family had gained for mal legal possession of their Rancho Nuestra Senora del Refugio over 50 years after first settling there. Taking possession were two of the dozens of descendants of the founder of the Or tega family in California, Jose Francis co. The title came only weeks before President Polk of the United States de clared war on Mexico in an effort to extract Mexican territory for America.

In September, American military forc es landed at Santa Barbara and the Or tegas eventually became American cit izens themselves.

The heyday in the life of the Cali fornia rancheros (1833-1846), however.

NUESTRA SEI^ORA DEL REFUGIO came before American occupation. It has been the subject of many descrip tions, most of which are unreliable in that they present only a colorful story of the “carefree” life of the rancheros.

Little is said, or known, of the great majority of society living in the pue blos, around the presidios and missions, and as employees on the ranchos.

The rancho was, for the most part, self-sustaining, although luxury goods were procured at Refugio from the trading vessels which stopped there.

These vessels, however, apparently be came increasingly infrequent by the 1840s, but some accounts survive.

Captain William Dane Phelps, mas ter of the ship Alert, traded along the Among those trad ing with the Orte gas was Agustin Janssens,oumerof the Kflncho Lomas de la Purificacion.

Janssens later moved to Santa Barbara,living in the Orella adobe f} on State Street, south of Figueroa.

California coast for hides and tallow in 1840-42 and made at least six stops at Refugio, where he picked up hides, sold goods to priests from Missions La Purisima and Santa Ines and bought potatoes, onions and beans. On Sep tember 25, 1841, one of Phelps' shipboys, Lowell H. Dana, drowned in the breakers at Refugio. In 1843, William Thornes was aboard another hide trading ship and later described the adobe houses, fruit trees, grapevines and "two of the handsomest young la dies of California” at Refugio.

The Ortega family was very large and upwards of 50 people lived at Re fugio, Corral, Tajiguas, Hondo and in other canyons to the west. Natives were employed, serving as vaqueros

63 and domestic servants. A veritable vil lage covered the knoll of the Refugio hacienda.

The hide and tallow trade was one of the major industries for the Califor nios. Roundup time ran from April to July and the rodeos were considered a social gathering in the area. A code of rules governed the rodeo and they were carried out by a local judge, known as the juez del campo. The cattle were rounded up from Cojo to la Vigia, killed for fresn meat, and the by-products of hide and tallow were produced. Historian Walter A. Tompcins reports that the Ortegas devel oped a technique of bringing the cattle in from the chaparral-covered hillsides.

The bloody hide of a freshly slain bull was draped over a post. Range bulls, smelling the hide, would start to bawl, and the rest of the cattle would soon emerge from the chaparral, beckoned by the bulls’ incessant noise. This sys tem was reportedly still used at Refu gio as late as 1905.

The wealth 01 the Ortegas was un paralleled in the region. In 1834 Agustin Janssens rented 40 horses at Refugio, as it was the only rancho in the area to have such a large number available for lease.

The Ortegas also were involved in civic activities in Santa Barbara. Anto nio Marla greeted George Nidever as alcalde in Santa Barbara in 1846. Anto nio Maria had held public office in the district ever since 1827. His brother, Jose Dolores, owned a house near the De la Guerra adobe in downtown San ta Barbara and was granted Rancho Canada del Corral in 1841.

Wealthy in land, livestock, gardens and wine, leaders of public life in the pueblo of Santa Barbara and enjoying the pleasure brought by the hide and tallow trade with British and Yankee traders, the Ortegas embodied the leg endary pastoral ranchero class.

64

NOTICIAS

APPENDIX: Description of Rancho Nuestra Senora del Refugio

by Antonio Maria Ortega, 1827.

Report in relation to the Rancho of Refugio.

The Rancho of Nuestra Senora del Refu gio, known as the Ortega Ranch, is situated on the coast on a narrow tongue of land, be tween the Missions Santa Barbara. Santa Ines and la Purisima, being bounded on the side of Santa Barbara by the hill of Vigia, on the side of Santa Ines, by the summit of the range of mountains of this name as far as the Cojo, which bounds with the Purisima; its length from the Vigia to the Cojo is scant six leagues, and its width one league. This tract of land is covered by a great number of hills, which form many canadas, among these are the principal one, through which passes the high road, named San Ysidro de Tajiguas, La Quemada, Arroyo Hondo. San Onofre, la Gabiota (sic), Santa Anita and that of Cojo, the largest of which may be half a league in extent, and its greatest width five hundred varas [vara - 33 in.], in the first of these are situat ed the rancho buildings, together with some small gardens and orchards, and in this there is a running brook of excellent water for irrigat ing the fields and grapevines situated in the Canada, and the vineyards there situated. In Tajiguas there are also sowing grounds, which with the vineyards which are there situated, are irrigated by the brook which constantly flows through the same. In the Arroyo Hondo the Mission of Santa Ines has an orchard, which the Father Minister thinks of destroy ing, as soon as the new vineyard of said Mis sion is in a bearing condition. The Canadas of Quemada, San Onofre. la Gabiota (sic), Santa Anita and that of the Cojo are the places in which the stock are kept during the winter seasons, because in those canadas there is no permanent water near the coast, the other canadas which are formed by the hills contain some water holes, which however do not

amount to much. The place is almost entirely wooded, and it is often difficult to find the stock amongst the thick brush wood with which the place is covered, particularly when strange cattle are put upon the place. And upon the place are found a multitude of bears, wolves and coyotes which cause much de struction amongst the stock. The place has been occupied thirty-six years by the Orte gas, the same having been established by Don Jose Francisco Ortega, on the death of whom it was inherited by Don Jose Maria and Don Francisco Ortega, and on the death of Jose Maria, his property, by will, remained in the possession of his son, the subscriber hereto, the stock in existence at the date of the will consisted of loo head of cattle, two bands of mares and ten mules, the brand and mark of which stock is the same as shown upon the margin of this document. There also pertains to said inheritance two orchards situated in the principal Canada, and another in that of Tajiguas in which there arc vineyards, olive and other fruit trees. Don Francisco Ortega will re port on his as the owner of one half of the same. The subscriber has upon said place his own stock, consisting of 262 head of cattle, a band of forty unbroken mares and 24 tame ones, 12 tame mules and 10 unbroken ones, a garden and orchard, olive and other fruit trees, the brand and mark used by him are the same that are shown upon the margin. This place is possessed without any written title from the government, notwithstanding several petitions have been made for a grant of the same. In the time of Governor Borica a verbal permis sion was given for the building of houses, cul tivation and making other uses of said land, in order that thereafter they might have the rights that peaceable possession would give them, which possession has been maintained for so many years, without any question or disputes with the neighboring father ministers, with whom they have agreed as to limits and boundaries, as above set forth.

Santa Barbara, December 31,1837[1827] Anto. Ma. Ortega

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CONTENTS; Pg. 45; A brief history of the Ortega family's Rancho Nuestra Sehora del Refugio; Part I