2
THE SUNDAY /CALL,
SKETCHES DASHED OFF IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE
JAiJVIERT. MARTINEZ of
** San Francisco received hon
• ? orable mention in the salon
at the International Exposition in
Paris last year. The picture which
zuon for him this distinction is a
portrait of Miss Marion Hold an. a
San Francisco girl \ who m how
studying art in Paris, but who zvas
oncea student at the Hopkins Insti-
Abel Petit, the best aft critic in
Paris, said of tliis picture. "It. is
•not for. the profane. People .who
look at this must - go in reverent
spirit as one goes -to communion.
Only in- that state of mind' ought
you to sec pictures like this or .hear
good music. This picture ought to
hang in the Louvre." . •
;; Some of Mr. Martinez* work is
¦shczvn 011 this page: The. cut above,
illi i\t rating the Mexican romance of
"The' Bull's ' Head," zvas- made es
pecially by him for the Sunday
Call. . %" .' T V:/ • '. ' :*¦
.77*'* hasty sketches below zvcre
done by Mr. Martinez ivlicn 'a stii-
dent in Paris, and* well illustrate
his ipoiver of portraiture. ' r "
• OTfjj arc wliat/artisfs call hasty
sketches; sort of .pencil snapshots,
t .as it zOere. In cases of this kind
the artist's object is merely to catch
the pese just as he sees it when he
deems the attitude most artistic. He
takes ho lime to draw his lines.care
fully, but' aims {simply to give the
u'hole effect and especially the pose
of figure. From these rough sketches
he- makes the finished picture when
at his leisure iii'the. studio.
\Thcsc sketches, in particular,
have been praised by artists, and
shozv for themselves hozv clever
the -pencil must be that brings life' to
the paper in the brief stace of a
glance of the eye. rJ -rf- v* • -r :
were to care for the cattle that grazed;
the fertile h'A'.s and X-alleys of the mis^
efon rancho: to gov/rn the : Indians, and
en the feast of some great saint to. take,
a detachment of soldiers and explore the
Sierra for wild Indian • braves, and force
thorn to become proselytes.
It was the feast oX All Saints in the la-.t
yeur of the eighteenth century. The
majordomo, with an nrmfd force of twen
ty men. Journeyed to Marln County- ta"
capture Indians ar.d bring them in to holy
church and baptism. Mhes was said at
t the m'sslon for the expedition and the ¦
little company departed with the padre's ¦
bU&sIcg. But not before the gallant lea-1
er had ca'd good-by to his wife, the love
ly Vsubella. ¦
She plucked a pink Castilian role from
the trellis :n the ratio and gave It to Jcse
as d !t:ck token.
"It !s fur, very 'far." she said, "an J
tl:e rivers that you must cr^ss ere row
black arti deep, the fcrost* full cf pirl's."
"Do not wten. my Ysat. i e'la." nnsTvcraii
Jest "Good Saint Francis, under wlmsij
banner we.'go, will protect us from all
harm."
"I know It," she whispered, "but' do not
be gone long."
"No, no," he replied, "with the new
mcon I shall return to thee. Good-by,
ai:cel of my heart."
'r "Good-by. my beloveds. May all the
saints urotect thse."
..¦Ysabella watched the troopers rlda
away, with Jose in the lead, until his red
saddle blanket melted into the landscape,
and then she took up. the simple routine
cf her life and began the. weary vlgli
until his return. ,,.'""-.•_•
She prayed to hie patron saint every,
mcrning at the mi.'sicn and sRid her
bcad3 for him at night. But the moon
changed from cjf?c;nt f n oval and Jose
did not leturn and no tidi lgs came f rom •
him. There was no regular system of
communication a hundred years ago in
California. News • traveled by accident
merely. So r.<> preat anxiety was, felt for
the corps of soldiers and' its leader off on'
u crusade until three moons had wax:d
and waned and they came not.
Then the padre at Mission Dolores got
anxious and said mass for the -missing. \
The comandaJite at the Presidio stormo-.l
at-the lota of twenty men and a goou of
ficer and swore in big round Spanish oaths
that for every warrior slain he wou.d
have il.*» hearts of three natives.
Eut ' Tr abella , grieved more than • .¦¦ tns
monk or the soldier. Her frrief was past
: all power of telling. . Silently from day
light till dark .she -watched, for his. coming
and at night listened tchenr hi 1 horse's
hocfbeals. Her hands lay idle in her lap,
save when she told her'beada for her hus
band. ¦ -¦'.:¦/ . -.
. As'weeks pagsed into months hope died
and she. too. accepted; the belief that Jose
and M3 men hail, all b'ecn killed by the'in
dians. '"." * r
' - Life at the mi.^Ficn' "v-'c'nt" on' very much
as v before: it' was then the ."leng caim"
Is California and life vas r rrand mon^t-"'
ony. To-day was ea. l:ke to-rnorrpw as,
.cue drop of water is iike anotiier.
v A new majordomo' took 'Captain Ger-.
cia"8 place and directed the 1 rcdec. The
Indian ?ervlnsr women ground corn , into
iseal in the stone h*indr* ' and marie ;the
meal into cakes, v.-hlch were baked on hot
reck. Chilles were dried for the -wmter
end. beef rna<*.e into Jerky. • ' ._ '
The senoras spent their time embroider
ing nr.d thinking of their husbands. -Thcso
'women's r ' live*? depended upon, love hs
completely, as plant:;, do upon .... sunshine.
Time did not ir.ake.lcts the' srief of Ysa
bella; "' •¦ '¦'- 'v ; ¦ i :.:v:r
, Suddenly. into th's duiot l'f<? burst like
a meteor Don Lus Garcia cf Santa Ear
bara,' 1 Jose's prb'fllga'te brcthcr" ' • — ¦ : ,'.
He Tias »as .richly eajiar.'scred as;.- was
Bassanio .when.' he . went, tq a Belmontv to
woo fair Pcrtia". The lace on the broad
scmbrera was '^old. j'.nd hia
mest. elaborately, trlmrred: . •¦•.-,- ¦
. Ja'wnt'ly he: rat his fine hcrse ; las ho
rode' up to the. bread veranda ,cf*y£a
bella's home. 'Travelers were ,>few/" and
the little ca% - alcaoe had .been'"? noticed
wji.le ;>et It >as mereiy a speak. 'Yistt-
UUa and ll'x rest cf ' tha "¦ household haU
gdCnetcu ''io meet lt. ; ;Don Luls'swung out
of his. saddle, and apprcaehed to where
she flood ready to greet him.
"Good, niarning, Rjy sister/' he said
by way of an introduction. .'VI am Jcse'g
elder blether. Luts, and ;l have, come to
learn -,.v. hat 1 can of, his death and cbm
lcrt tiis widow. 1 "- ' ' '"' >? *'~* ¦'•'.¦ "'
1 Yeate.'la gave -him her hand and -said:
"ycu are welcome; .enter." v
Don Lu's was* persistent lit' his expres
sion 1 of sorrow", and* offeYed to""do -any
thing in. his -power to heal her bruken
hear;. ' Cut alter a few short, days of
hypocritical, scrraw he made known thei
real' object of his '--visit by proposing mar-'
riiige to -Ysafcclla. ..She : was both sur
prised and rained by this declaration, and
refused to listen "ton's 'pleadings. '.
Then - followed .a tempestuous scene.
Den Luis called i:pon " the saints in
heaven and the demons 01 hell to help
him win the consent of Ysabella.
"You shall be my wife." ha threatened,
"or by the mother who bore, me an
other sun shall not look upon the«."
"I am content," she replied. "I would
rather never boo this gloomy world
•gain than 'see ycu a part of It."
She . had made her choice- Don Luis
put her in the dungeon underneath tha
house. With nothing to console her save
her faith here she passed a yeur of tor
ture. She could hear the mission church
bell ring, and saw in the blackness the
picture of the -little procession tilt: in and
. out of the church.
• She could nlso hear the bugle calls at
the garrison and see the well-known pic
ture of the change of guards illuminate
the' blackness.
All the while Don Luis continued to,
live In his brother's house. Terrible tales
cf the crimes he committed are still ex
tant. In r fact, at. all the missions and
ranthos in Alta und Baja California the
r.f.me of Luis Garcia was feared and
despised. . .
One day a troupe of wandering mlnstrel3
stopped at the Miss!on Dolores. Don Luis
"hirer! them to make merry the night,
ilcssensrers were sent to invite all the
gentlemen of the neighborhood. They
came readily, for Don Luis had made a
reputation among them as a liberaf and
reckless entertainer.
In the nilrtst of the revelry, when the
mirth was hign. Don Luis silenced the
mueic and announced to his guests that
he had a more dramatic entertainment
for them. He «nt word to a priest at the
nlssicn to come— and to come prepared to
unltu him to Y«ahel. Another messenger
was sent belov/ to bring up the unhappy
woman.-
The priest v entered tan spacious room
firet. and immediately afterward came
Ysabel. her beauty faded and her form
.vfak from, grief and suffering. A com
plete silence' fell upon the noisy company
when she entered. Not a man present but
felt that he was ; about to witness the
txecution-of «i .woman's soul.
' Luis - was i the first j to . speak. ".Priest."
be said.; "hast thou thy books to unite
•Ysabella and me? Speak quickly, cr by
«the Apostle Paul you shall never utter
I Lutln again.". ? r
• For' answer the ' priest produced .the
books and: looked the pleading he dared
; 'not. speak. .-.*;" ;
j Don Luis thundered 5 . Impatiently,
"Marry us, then!"
'¦¦ Still the priest hesitated.
"If thou refuseat." roared Luis, "by St.
John, to-morrow's eun shall see your head
adorning the spire of this house!".
Then Luis turned to Ysabel.a and said:
When Don Luis saw»nls . brother before
him he tried to escape. But he was cap
tured. The next ' morning; he was be
hc&ued and his body buried in unconse
craled ground, while his head was placed
upon the house. Hl3 countenance. som»
say, looked like a ferocious bull's head
and little horns srew from its sides. As
tint passed along the Gar
cia house the/Cabeia deliTbro, and tha
name clung . to ; it ; ; even Afttr It ba<J
crumbled to the earth from; which It wiu
usde." ¦ . - ¦¦¦;-/%">{ :„&* ft
Then lifting her hands ..ami clasping her
hands on her breast > sh<£. ; H.^ppeaied to
heaven for the help ;whlc^i 'men denied:
"O. Ealnted Mother. ¦•"Vfrgisr "Stfary." »h*
sobbed, "thou art thf "coifeteYter of the
afflicted. Thou to wlionv,I . have prayed
these many months, wilt thou forsake m»
now?" ' . :•;
With xn oathtDon Lulilnprang towart
her, but before»he could reach her std«
the twenty cloaked minstrels threw off*
their long mantles, and before the aston^
ished assemblage stood Captain Jose Gar
cin and his fiffhtlns men..
It was a long story that_ Captain Jos*
tckl afterward— how 1 he Vric^his flshtln?
men had been held, captlvesv.by the In
ril-ins. how they prayed fqr a miracle, and '
ht>w the devil. surroundad'.JTjy Ore. sud
denly appeared on Mount Diablo and slid
down the aide of lt.--^Th« Indians who
•were guarding the. prisoners were terrified
and fled, leaving th» ..captives to escape.
As a flame from a smoldering Are leaps
up when one stirs the ashes and ember*,
so did the heart of Ysahrlla leap up at
the speech of Don Luisi The blood In her
veins turned to fire :' and kindled her
cheeks. ' She stood erect and defiant.
Turning to the minstrels and company
she cried: "Many loyal, subjects of our
good King, perhaps husbrtnds. canst thou
stand by and see this fchuraan wretch
force me to a marriage 'frowned upon by
God? Better death a thoiisatod times than
to w$d this morstroua- being. I beg of
you pierce . mr hefirt with a dagger era
he can lay Ms cruel hands upon mine:"
?¦?£?¦£ *¦,"-¦- ¦<./
"Fairest of creatures, famishing in a
dungeon vile with cockroaches, why dost
thou refuse the • love ef »» noble man?
Si.'.nd forth and ci«.«p rny^hand while the
priest prououRcech the holy' words."
THERE still lies buried beneath
this cobble-stoned, wooden city the
traces at the romance?, the psetry.
the loves and tragedies of that ear
lier, gentler, simpler, Latin 'race
which dwelt in peace and happiness here
in San'-FTaricireo before the deluge of
strenuous, English-speaking gold-seekers
burst like a torrent over the land.
Who does not know the" heart-breaking
romance of Ramona of Santa Barbara,
the picturesque legends of the pirates of
Lower California? But you metropolitans,
leaving the ferry building and walking up
Market street with your eye on the clock,
think San Francisco has known no
past— that Its history dates from "the
time when the water came up to Mont
gomery street'" V
Here In this little hamlet, which was
then called Yerba Buena, x far from the
troubled, . tireless Hast, red blood flowed
In men's veins like fire— women's eyes
flashed, hearts sang and the tune of life
went on eayly as a Spanish jotcr.
There were not always saloons and tene
ment flats in the S'issicn. The Ca3tro-
Etreet car was not to come for decades.
The Valencia-street station "was yet un
born.
In those days, when California was a
province cf Spain. Captain Jose Maria
Garcia, majordomo of Mission 'Dolores.'
married Ysabella. daughter of Sergeant
Ortega of the Presidio. H« built for his
bride the large adobe house which after
ward became known as "La Cabeza de
Toro," or bull's head.
This relic of the past was still standing
when, in 1S90, Just 100 years after its erec
tion, the widening of . Sixteenth street,
from Dolores to Church, made it neces
sary to raze it to the ground. But Its his
tory remains.
-On rainy nights tvhe-n the descendants of
the first families of the Mission gather
around the fireside this is the story they
tell of tne origin of the appellation Ca
beza del Toro, a story as sad and pathetic
as any tale of medieval times:
Captal} Garcia's duties as majordomo
A ROMANCE
OF
MISSION
DOLORES