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Memoirs of Theodor Cordua - Pioneer of New Mecklenburg in the Sacramento Valley (December 1933) (25 pages)
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Page: of 25
The Pioneer of New Mecklenburg 8
In the spring of 1843, I was in the happy position to erect structures of clay, frame, and straw, and to build several
enclosures for the cattle and horses on my ranch. I could lay out gardens and fields and provide them with fences
and ditches.'
Not until this time did I receive the horses and cattle I had bought from Sutter. I also provided my ranch with hogs
and chickens now. The term “wild stock” may give the impression that wild horses and cattle were running about in
great numbers in the Sacramento Valley, of which I might get as many as I desired. In the San Joaquin Valley there
were, indeed, wild horses, but no wild animals could be found in my district. Whoever wanted to own cattle had to
buy them, or, as it was done frequently, steal them. While we had no wild stock in the Sacramento Valley, we let our
animals run freely in the open. This could be done all year around because there is no winter here. In order to be able
to gather the cattle at the desired time, we trained them by driving them to the rodeo, which was usually one or two
miles from the living quarters. At first we made this drive daily, then weekly, and finally monthly. After some time
the cattle ran at full speed to the rodeo as soon as a few men on horseback rode about calling, “Rodeo, Rodeo.” In
this manner the cattle could be driven into large solid enclosures to brand them or for other purposes. At the rodeo
we gave them salt to lick and thus kept them together for several hours. When the cattle had arrived at the rodeo,
they acted like domesticated animals. They rested and stood around and one could ride through the herd without any
trouble.
My grazing land spread over an open plain from twenty to thirty miles and when ten vaqueros at daybreak
shouted “Rodeo,” all the animals galloped with raised tails toward the intended place. All was done galloping and
usually by ten o’clock everything was assembled. If one wanted to catch a single animal ten or twenty miles away
from the ranch or if one wanted to bring it home or to another place, one would attach a lasso to a cabrego. In this
way one could catch the wildest steer or the most spirited stallion and lead it wherever one needed it.'* If one desired
to separate fifty or more heads from the herd, one placed the cabre¢o a short distance away from the animals and
brought the cattle which one desired to separate to this place. As soon as the desired number was there, one let the
animals go and they were led by the cabreco to an enclosure near the house. The cattle were large and strong.
The horses were divided into manadas. A manada consisted of twenty-five mares and one stallion. In guarding them
one gradually accustomed them to stay at certain places where water and food were not lacking. The stallion
watched over the mares very carefully. If a strange horse approached he would run toward it and try to chase it away
by kicking and biting. The manadas had to be driven every month to an enclosure by the house to keep them from
becoming too wild. If one wanted to train a colt, of three years, one tied it with the jaquima (a halter made of
horsehair) and left it without food and water for two or three days. The horse then was mounted by a man who was
tied on. After many jumps the poor animal began to run and was spurred on until it sweat and trembled and could
hardly stand on its feet any longer. The best of the colts were, of course, rendered worthless in this manner. The
horses were of an excellent stock. Since the animals ran about day and night, one tried to prevent stealing and
exchanging by branding them. This was done by burning a sign (mine was TC) on the hind thigh of each horse or cattle.
Besides this, the cattle were marked on the ears. These signs had to be registered at the office of the alcalde in order to make a
future claim legal. If an animal was sold, the seller receipted the value received by putting his mark on the front leg and the
buyer burned his mark on the hind leg, below that of the seller. Thus one saw at times horses with many brandings,
with which the animals surely did not gain in beauty.
My stock in 1843 amounted to: Cattle—820 cows with 100 calves, among them 20 tame milk cows, 100 bulls
(one estimated one bull for fifteen cows), 80 oxen; an increase of 800 head. Horses—200, 50 of them tame; an
increase of 150 head. Hogs—originally 5, increased to 54. Chickens—originally 5 hens and . rooster, increased to
120.
12
[Cordua’s note]: Almost the whole year around I employed eleven white people of all nationalities and twelve Indians, all of whom lived and boarded under my roof. For ordinary
agricultural laborers I could always get as many Indians as I needed from the surrounding villages. I paid white people twenty to fifty dollars a month, the Indians received a dollar
with board and goods for two weeks.
[Cordua’s note]: Cabrigos are oxen which are trained for this purpose.