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| Fernando Librado at sheep shearing, Rancho San Julian, 1910 |
Fernando Librado
(As Recollected by John Begg)
"In '98 we
met him there
down at 'Cruces
when we went
to the school
after my father
became foreman
for the bank
when it took over
Rancho San Julian.
His cave
was a little distance
from the school--
oh, maybe
a hundred yards.
So at noontime
we'd go there
and see his old cave.
You see them buildings
there now?
Well, it was just
against the hill...
where his cave was.
Somebody told me
it caved in...
I don't know
how it could--
It was all rock.
That was just
where
he kept his blankets,
where he slept.
Oh, there were
a few things--
there were books
he had,
books he used
to read there,
the old fellow.
Yes, he
was educated:
you see the priests
got him
as a little baby.
When he was
a little baby,
you see, the Indians
here in
Purisima
and Santa Inez
had a fight.
His father
and mother
was killed,
and the priests
found the little baby,
and they took
and raised him
and educated him.
Why he could read
Spanish,
French and English.
He was pretty bright--
he was
a pretty
bright Indian.
He didn't
have much
in his cave.
He was generally
away,
working somewhere.
When he wasn't
doing something,
why he would come
and stay at his cave--
until somebody
gave him a job.
He used
to shear sheep
and cook
for roundups,
and he used
to travel
all up through
the hills here
to get herbs
for medicine.
Well, there was
one herb--
he says there
was only
one place
in the county
you could
find it:
over on top of this...
What do you call it?
Tranquillon.
Down on
the Sudden side,
there's a big spring
in there, and
he said
that was
the only place
you could
find them herbs--
around that spring.
And there was
another herb
he said
he used to get
over on
the Sisquoc River--
that was
the only
place you
could find
that herb.
He would use
them
for medicine,
you know.
If somebody
was sick
or something,
he would doctor
them up....
Yeah,
he done
pretty good.
Loustalots lived
there at 'Cruces,
you know,
and he
delivered all
their babies,
I guess,
kind of
a doctor, like...
Well, sometimes
we'd find
him
on the road,
and we'd
put him on,
behind the saddle
and give
him a ride.
Yes, he spoke
Spanish
and English,
a pretty well
educated
old feller.
He was quite
a Republican.
Yeah, he used
to say,
"Vote for
Nat Stewart!"
he used
to say--
Nat was
the sheriff.
He used
to have a ranch
down in
La Salle Canyon.
So the old feller,
Fernando,
used to come over
from 'Cruces
to San Julian,
and then to
Nat Stewart's place
the next day.
Then he'd go
over
to Tranquillon, there,
to get that herb.
It took him
about three days.
he'd walk,
or somebody'd
give him
a ride a horseback.
He just wore
old clothes.
Used to
have bib overalls,
like in this picture here,
shearing sheep...
that's what
he wore.
You know
Cisarena Pensa?
She married
Loustalot.
Well, she had
a picture
of him
that Ed Beard here
painted of him,
my God,
a real nice one...
He was kind
of an artist,
and he
painted
a picture
of old Fernando--
By golly,
it was real nice...
She has it yet,
I don't know...
He bought stuff
at 'Cruces.
Loustalots had
kind of a little
store there,
and they
kinda looked
after him,
you know--
He'd help them,
you know,
with their garden.
They always
kept
the old feller--
They was
all good
to the old boy."
