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73-609: Before the arrival of Europeans, the land was occupied by the Esselen people, who resided along the upper Carmel and Arroyo Seco Rivers , and along the Big Sur coast from near present-day Hurricane Point to the vicinity of Vicente Creek in the south. The native people were heavily affected by the establishment of three Spanish Missions near them from 1770 to 1791. The native population was decimated by disease, including measles , smallpox , and syphilis , which wiped out 90 percent of

146-604: A Monterey County supervisor and managed Rancho Bolsa del Potrero y Moro Cojo between present-day Castroville and Tembladero Slough. He later moved to San Francisco while continuing to own the ranch. J.B.H. Cooper and his wife Martha had four children: Alice, John, Abelarde, and Alfred. J.B.H. built a new home on Rancho El Sur for his family but died on June 21, 1899, soon after its completion, and before he could live there. Martha Brawley Cooper received 2,591 acres (1,049 ha) of her husband's 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) estate. By 1904, she had added 900 acres (360 ha) to her share of

219-430: A business man from Carmel-by-the-Sea, purchased the northern 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) from John B. H. Cooper's widow, Martha Cooper Hughes (née Brawley) Vasquez, for about $ 500,000. On November 28, 1931, he announced that he had arranged to lease the remaining 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) from her. The ranch was partitioned into fifteen lots by 1892. The Native American trail along the coast had been improved over time by

292-650: A claim for Rancho El Sur with the Public Land Commission in 1852 and he received the legal land patent after years of litigation in 1866. Cooper never actually lived at the ranch, but various family members and ranch workers continuously occupied it from 1840 onward. In the 1850s Cooper landed smuggled goods at the mouth of Big Sur River to avoid the heavy customs charges levied by the Americans at Monterey. On March 12, 1871, John B.R. Cooper's 40 year old son John B.H. married 18 year old Martha Brawley,

365-515: A cousin of Abraham Lincoln , at the San Carlos Cathedral . After John B.R. Cooper's death in 1872, the ranch was divided into four parts: son John B.H. Cooper received the northern-most section. John B.R. Cooper's widow Maria Encarnación Vallejo received section two of the land. Their two surviving daughters, Anna Maria de Guadalupe Cooper and Francisca Guadalupe Amelia Cooper, received sections three and four. John B.H. Cooper became

438-575: A deserted Indian village about a mile from what later became the site of the Carmel Mission. The Esselen language is a language isolate . It is hypothetically part of the Hokan family . The language was spoken in the northern Santa Lucia Range . Prior to contact with European culture, there were between 500 and 1000 speakers. French explorer Jean La Pérouse , who visited Monterey in 1786, recorded 22 words in 1786. He wrote in his journal during

511-484: A group around Mission San Carlos , in and around the village of Achasta. Achasta was a Rumsen Ohlone village, and totally unrelated to the Esselen. Achasta was possibly founded only after the establishment of Mission San Carlos. It was the closest village to Mission San Carlos, and was 10+ miles from Esselen territory. "Eslenes" was nowhere near Mission San Carlos. On January 3, 1603, explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno found

584-532: A house and pens." Mexican Governor José Figueroa granted Rancho El Sur comprising two square leagues of land (8,949.06-acre (36.22 km)) on the Big Sur coast to Juan Bautista Alvarado (1809 -1882) in 1834. Cooper was apparently involved in managing the ranch as early as 1834, when he negotiated an agreement with Job Dye to permit him to raise mules on the property. In 1840, Alvarado traded ownership of Rancho El Sur to Captain John B. R. Cooper in exchange for

657-927: A large rock in the river, originally above the river, between campsites 3 and 4. Several Esselen mortars are located in boulders near Clover Basin Camp in Miller Canyon. Once ground, they cooked the acorns into a mush or baked as bread. Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno reported, Their food consists of seeds which they have in great abundance and variety, and of the flesh of game such as deer, which are larger than cows, and bear, and of neat cattle and bisons and many other animals. They hunted rabbits and deer likely with bow and arrow, although no stone arrow points have been found. Arrows were made of cane and pointed with hardwood foreshafts. They traded acorns, fish, salt, baskets, hides and pelts, shells and beads with other tribes. There are virtually no contemporary records of

730-459: A number of Esselen during 1776, most of them children, and a few more in the following years. The priests allowed the children after baptism to continue to live with their parents in their village until they reached the "age of reason," which was about nine years old. In 1783, the soldiers fought the Excelen and killed a few of them. The battle may have resulted from the soldiers' attempts to collect

803-529: A region south of the Big Sur River in California . Prior to Spanish colonization, they lived seasonally on the coast and inland, surviving off the plentiful seafood during the summer and acorns and wildlife during the rest of the year. During the mission period of California history, Esselen children were baptized by the priests when they left their villages and relocated as family units to live in

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876-612: A relatively stable resident population. Jean La Pérouse reported that, "The country of the Ecclemachs [Esselen] extends above 20 leagues to the [south-]eastward of Monterey." Within each district the people occupied several villages depending on the season and availability of food, water, and shelter. Carbon dating tests of artifacts found near Slates Hot Springs , presently owned by the Esalen Institute , indicate human presence as early as 3500 BC. With easy access to

949-468: A second site at the mouth of the Carmel River (archaeological site CA-MNT-63) found more projectile points, a variety of cores and modified flakes, bone awls, a bone tube, a bone gaming piece, and mortars and pestles. Many sites show aesthetic illustrations of numerous pictographs in black, white, and red. Prior to European contact, the people wore little clothing. The men were naked year-round and

1022-849: A section of the Big Sur coast between Posts and Big Creek further south. The Esselen resided along the upper Carmel and Arroyo Seco River , and along the Big Sur coast from near present-day Hurricane Point to the vicinity of Vicente Creek in the south. The Esselen's territory extended inland through the Santa Lucia Mountains as far as the Salinas Valley. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, they were hunter-gatherers who resided in small groups with no centralized political authority. Modern researchers believe there were five distinct Esselen districts: Excelen, Eslenahan, Imunahan, Ekheahan, and Aspasniahan. Each are believed to have had

1095-425: A single dwelling. They built a fire pit in the middle and left a vent or chimney in the center of the roof. In mountainous regions where redwood trees grew, they may have built conical houses from redwood bark attached to a frame of wood. One of the main village buildings, the sweat lodge , was built low into the ground, its walls made of earth and roof of earth and brush. They built boats of tule to navigate on

1168-533: Is done in Castile ; they possess also, in great quantity, flax like that of Castile, hemp and cotton, from which they make fishing-lines and nets for rabbits and hares. They have vessels of pine wood very well made, in which they go to sea with fourteen paddle men on a side, with great dexterity, even in stormy weather." Father Junipero Serra first established the original mission in Monterey on June 3, 1770, near

1241-400: Is estimated to range from 790 to 856. It may be that the older Esselen were baptized last because they were left alone and unable to support themselves after their children and grandchildren had already been coerced into living at the mission. There is some evidence that a few Esselen hid in the rugged, higher reaches of the mountains where the Spanish soldiers could not find them. In 1795,

1314-605: Is located in Apple Tree Camp on the southwest slope of Devil's Peak, north of the Camp Pico Blanco . More than 9 feet (2.7 m) across, the boulder contains a dozen or more deep mortar bowls worn into it over several generations. Other mortar rocks have also been found within the Pico Blanco Boy Scout camp at campsites 3 and 7, and slightly upstream from campsite 12, while a fourth is found on

1387-438: Is rather surprising. It is still almost in a state of nature, but roamed over by thousands of cattle. The ranch buildings consist of old sheds and tumble-down adobes peopled with geese, chickens, hogs, calves, and Mexicans of all ages and conditions. Cooper's daughter, Amelia, married Spanish engineer Eusebio Joseph Molera in 1875. Their son Andrew Molera and his sister Frances inherited the 4,800 acres (1,900 ha) ranch. Andrew

1460-516: The Salinan people who inhabited present-day southern Monterey County, southern San Benito County, and northern San Luis Obispo county. It is believed there were three Esselen geo-political districts: Imunahan, comprising the central Arroyo Seco watershed; Excelen, including the upper Carmel River ; and Ekheahan, including the upper watersheds of the Arroyo Seco and Big Sur Rivers along with

1533-553: The Big Sur River drainage dated prior to 6,500 years ago (archeological site CA-MNT-88). The name Esselen is uncertain. One theory is that it refers to the name of a major native village, possibly Exse'ein , or the place called Eslenes (said to be near the current site of the Mission San Carlos ). The village name may be derived from a tribal location known as Ex'selen, "the rock," which is in turn derived from

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1606-606: The Cooper and Molera families left a legacy marked by their names on notable places throughout the region, including the Cooper-Molera Adobe in Monterey. Francisca and Eusebius Molera had a son and daughter, Andrew and Frances. Andrew built up a successful dairy operation. His Monterey Jack cheese was especially well-liked. A report in the Monterey Daily Express on June 9, 1911, reported that there

1679-741: The Esselen people's lives. Researchers believe that they lived in a manner very much like the Ohlone people to the north and the Costonoan people near present-day Monterey. Miguel Constanso , who traveled with Portola's expeditions 175 years later, wrote about the homes of the Indians who lived on the Santa Barbara Channel. He described how they lived in dome-shaped dwellings covered with bundled mats of tules . The homes were up to 55 feet (17 m) across and three or four families lived in

1752-409: The Esselen were technically free individuals, but they could be compelled by force to labor without pay. With the help of the soldiers who guarded the mission, the Esselen and Ohlone Indians who lived near the mission were forcibly relocated, conscripted, and trained as plowmen, shepherds, cattle herders, blacksmiths, and carpenters on the mission. Disease, starvation, over work, and torture decimated

1825-726: The Excelen were baptized. Another three Esselen were baptized at the Mission Soledad in the early 1790s, but by 1798 the majority of the Indians had been baptized. A new priest, Father Amoró, arrived in September 1804 and injected fresh energy into baptism efforts. From 1804 to 1808, 25 individuals from Excelen were baptized during these final four years. They comprised nearly 10% of the total Excelen population who were baptized. They had held out for 33 years after proselytizing began in their area. The last five baptized were all older, from 45 to 80 years. The total number of Esselen baptized

1898-618: The Indians") on November 20, 1542. These were replaced around the beginning of the 17th century with Repartimiento , which entitled a Spanish settler or official to the labor of a number of indigenous workers on their farms or mines. The Spanish state based its right over the land and persons of the Indies on the Papal charge to evangelize the indigenous population. This motivated the Jesuits to build missions across California. Under Spanish law,

1971-641: The Molera Ranch near the Big Sur River and to Pfeiffer Resort in Sycamore Canyon. Three years later it was extended to about 2 miles (3.2 km) to Post Summit . In 1897, Harold W. Fairbanks and Maynard Dixon traversed the coast over a two-week period. They wrote: A Spanish grant is located about the mouth of the Sur river. The greed of the Spaniards leading them to this almost inaccessible spot

2044-482: The Spanish crown dictated that all religious instruction should be conducted in Spanish and that the native languages should be suppressed. This edict overturned the New Laws of 1542 which directed the missionaries to teach the natives in their own tongue. But the priests were still required to adhere to the third provincial council of Lima in 1583, which stated that the priests must give sermons and receive confession in

2117-658: The acorns into flour. Other mortar rocks have also been found within the Boy Scout camp at campsites 3 and 7, and slightly upstream from campsite 12, while a fourth is found on a large rock in the river, originally above the river, between campsites 3 and 4. Archeological evidence of settlements has been found throughout Esselen territory. Artifacts found at a site in the Tassajara area (archaeological site CA-MNT-44) included bone awls, antler flakers, projectile points including desert side-notched points, and scrapers. Excavation at

2190-449: The bays propelled by double-bladed paddles. The Esselen left hand prints on rock faces in a few locations. About 250 have been found in a single rock shelter located a few miles from Tassajara (designated by archeologists as CA-MNT-44). Smaller numbers of handprints have been found in a few caves or rock shelters in the same area and in the next valley to the west. Rainfall varies from 16 to 60 inches (410 to 1,520 mm) throughout

2263-550: The beachfront property in trust until the state of California could finance the purchase of the land. She died in 1968. She added provisions to the sale requiring that the land remain relatively undeveloped. When the California state park administration began to propose considerable development for the park, the Nature Conservancy threatened to revoke the sale arrangement, and the state backed down. The state bought

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2336-485: The causes of the population decline: The first (factor) was the food supply ... The second factor was disease ... A third factor, which strongly intensified the effect of the other two, was the social and physical disruption visited upon the Indian. He was driven from his home by the thousands, starved, beaten, raped, and murdered with impunity. He was not only given no assistance in the struggle against foreign diseases, but

2409-482: The children and force them to live at the mission. Baptisms picked up again after this date, perhaps because the Excelen saw they could not defeat the soldiers and decided they wanted to be with their children. Upon baptism the Esselen were considered to be part of a monastic order and subject to the rules of that order. This placed them, by Spanish law, under the direct authority of the padres. The families lived in small rooms in generally unsanitary conditions. Over half

2482-405: The children born at a California mission died before age 4 and only about two of every ten lived to be teenagers. The girls were separated from their families at age 8 and required to sleep in a segregated, locked dormitory called the monjero (nunnery). Once they rose, they worked inside until they finished their chores around lunch time, they were allowed some time to visit their family's homes in

2555-451: The entrance of Ohlone people . Based on linguistic evidence, Richard Levy places the displacement at around AD 500. Breschini and Haversat place the entry of Ohlone speakers into the Monterey area prior to 200 B.C. based on multiple lines of evidence. Carbon dating of excavated sites places the Esselen in the Big Sur since circa 2630 BCE . Recently, however, researchers have obtained a radiocarbon date from coastal Esselen territory in

2628-469: The expedition: The country of the Ecclemachs [Esselen] extends above 20 leagues to the [south]eastward of Monterey. Their language is totally different from all those of their neighbors, and has even more resemblance to the languages of Europe than to those of the Americas. This grammatical phenomenon, the most curious in this respect ever observed on the continent, will, perhaps, be interesting to those of

2701-709: The first California Native American tribe to become culturally extinct, much to the frustration of current generations of Esselen people. By about 1822, much of the California Indian population in proximity to the missions had been forced into the Spanish mission system. Due to the proximity of the Esselen people to three of the Spanish missions, Mission San Carlos in Carmel , Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad in Soledad , and Mission San Antonio de Padua in Jolon ,

2774-522: The first Esselen, Pach-hepas , who was the 40-year-old chief of the Excelen. His baptism took place at Xasáuan, 10 leagues (about 26 miles (42 km)) southeast of the mission, in an area now named Cachagua, a close approximation of the Esselen name. King Charles V of Spain issued the New Laws (in Spanish, Leyes Nuevas , or "New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of

2847-503: The first European to land on the Central Coast of California, wrote about his visit to Monterey Bay from December 16, 1602, to January 3, 1603. The Indians are of good stature and fair complexion the women being somewhat less in size than the men and of pleasing countenance. The clothing of the people of the coast lands consist of the skins of the sea-wolves [ sea otters ] abounding there, which they tan and dress better than

2920-599: The homesteaders and ranchers. They improved it until wagons could travel the road from Monterey to Big Sur in less than a day in 1900. It remained impassable in wet weather. The road (now known as the Old Coast Road ) was improved by local residents and routed through Rancho El Sur, inland about 1.25 miles (2.01 km) to the meeting of the North and South Forks of the Little Sur River , and then south through

2993-767: The learned, who seek, in the analogy of languages, the history and genealogy of transplanted nations. In 1792, Spanish ship captain Dionisio Alcalá Galiano recorded 107 words and phrases. In 1832, Father Felipe Arroyo de la Cuesta recorded another 58 words and 14 phrases at Mission Soledad. The speakers were from the Arroyo Seco area 15 miles (24 km) to the east. The neighboring Rumsen people were fluent in Esselen and they provided de la Cuesta with some language. A total of about 300 words along with some short phrases have been identified. Examples include mamamanej (fire); koxlkoxl (fish); and ni-tsch-ekė (my husband). Isabel Meadows , who also spoke Rumsen,

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3066-497: The mission and wander the forests and fields on their own as they had done before. They became in effect vassals of the mission. They were given a new Christian name at their baptism as well. If an Indian left the mission and attempted to return to his or her village, Spanish law required the soldiers to track them down and bring them back to the Mission. When they were brought back, they were beaten and confined. The priests baptized

3139-551: The mission life and emerged from the forest to work in nearby ranches in the early and late 1800s. Descendants of the Esselen are currently scattered, but many still live in the Monterey Peninsula area and nearby regions. Archaeological and linguistic evidence indicates that the original people's territory once extended much farther north, into the San Francisco Bay Area , until they were displaced by

3212-485: The mission village. Married women whose husbands were absent and widows were also required to sleep there. The boys and unmarried men also had their own dormitory, though it was less confining. French explorer Jean La Pérouse visited Monterey with two ships on September 14, 1786. Two days after he arrived, he visited Mission San Carlos Borromeo. In honor of his reception, the Indian neophytes were given an extra ration of food and lined up to see him. La Pérouse's described

3285-435: The missions where they learned reading, writing, and various trades. The Esselen were required to labor at the three nearby missions, Mission San Carlos , Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad , and Mission San Antonio de Padua . Like many Native American populations, their members were decimated by starvation, forced labor, over work, torture, and diseases that they had no natural resistance to. Historically, they were one of

3358-718: The more accessible and readily farmed 22,000-acre (89.03 km) Rancho Bolsa del Potrero y Moro Cojo north of present-day Castroville in the Salinas Valley . When Mexico ceded California to the United States following the Mexican-American War , the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. But California passed the Land Act of 1851 , which required grantees to provide legal proof of their title. Cooper filed

3431-421: The more excessive incidents of sexual abuse, but it did not stop. Fages regarded the natives with disrespect. In 1787, he described the area's Indians as the laziest, most brutish and least rational of all the natives discovered between San Diego and San Francisco. He reckoned those qualities — along with the foggy and windy climate, shortage of potable water, high death rate, and language barriers — accounted for

3504-615: The native people's own tongue. The Esselen were and are one of the least numerous indigenous people in California. The Spanish mission system led to severe decimation of the initially small Esselen population. Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California, including the Esselen, vary substantially. Alfred L. Kroeber suggested that the 1770 population for the Esselen of 500. Sherburne F. Cook raised this estimate to 750. Based on baptism records and population density, Breschini calculated that they numbered 1,185-1,285. The Esselen are too often regarded as

3577-561: The native population, and by conscript labor, poor food, and forced assimilation. Most of the Esselen people's villages within the current Los Padres National Forest were left largely uninhabited. Alvarado filed a claim for Rancho El Sur on May 14, 1834 in which he stated that he had first petitioned for a provisional grant on August 12, 1830, and repeated his petition on February 26, 1831. He stated that he maintained "at this time ... more than three hundred head of large cattle and nearly an[sic] hundred horses, all my own property, and have built

3650-526: The native village of Tamo. It was also adjacent to the Presidio and headquarters of Pedro Fages, who served as military governor of Alta California between 1770 and 1774. Fages worked his men very harshly and complaints mounted until Serra intervened. He told Fages that, as a Christian, he had to observe the sabbath and let his men rest on Sundays. But the soldiers raped the Indian woman and took them as concubines . At Serra's urging, Fages punished some of

3723-419: The natives as lifeless, robbed of spirit, traumatized, and depressed. Among other things, he described severe punishments inflicted on the Indians by the friars. He thought they considered the Indians "too much a child, too much a slave, too little a man." Until western contact, the native people lived in small villages of between 30 and 100 people. In 1786, there were 740 native men, women and children living in

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3796-420: The ocean, fresh water and hot springs, the Esselen people used the site regularly, and certain areas were reserved as burial grounds. A large boulder with a dozen or more deep mortar bowls worn into it, known as a bedrock mortar , is located in Apple Tree Camp on the southwest slope of Devil's Peak, north of the Camp Pico Blanco . The holes were hollowed out over many generations by Indians who used it to grind

3869-506: The painfully slow progress of mission Carmel. Fages regarded the Spanish installations in California as military institutions first and religious outposts second. Fages and Serra were engaged in a heated power struggle and Serra decided to move the mission. In May 1771, the viceroy approved Serra's petition to relocate the mission to its current location near the Carmel River and present-day town of Carmel-by-the-Sea and named it Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo . Serra's goal in part

3942-503: The phrase Xue elo xonia eune , "I come from the rock." "The Rock" may refer to the 361 feet (110 m) tall promontory, visible for miles both up and down the coast, on which the Point Sur Lighthouse is situated. The Spanish extended the term to mean the entire linguistic group. Variant spellings exist in old records, including Aschatliens, Ecclemach, Eslen, Eslenes, Excelen, and Escelen . "Aschatliens" may refer to

4015-411: The presence of a cook and maid living with them. During the time the Cooper family owned the land, they managed it as a cattle ranch and dairy, employing Hispanic and Indian vaqueros. They supported a school and community center. Big Sur pioneer Sam Trotter wrote about attending the "big dance Saturday night at the Cooper hall near the mouth of Big Sur [River] on the Cooper grant." In 1928, Henry C. Hunt,

4088-427: The ranch. This article incorporates public domain content from United States and California government sources. 36°18′00″N 121°50′24″W  /  36.300°N 121.840°W  / 36.300; -121.840 Esselen The Esselen are a Native American people belonging to a linguistic group in the hypothetical Hokan language family, who are Indigenous to the Santa Lucia Mountains of

4161-612: The ranch. After her son Alfred died in an automobile accident on September 2, 1913, his two siblings assigned their interest in the estate including his share of the Rancho to their mother, Martha. John B. H. Cooper's sister Francisca Amelia married Eusebius J. Molera, an engineer and architect born in Spain, on March 28, 1876, in Vallejo, California. She retained her share of the rancho she inherited from her parents. The marriage between

4234-412: The range, with the most falling on the higher mountains in the north; almost all precipitation falls in the winter. During the summer, fog and low clouds are frequent along the coast up to an elevation of several thousand feet. Surface runoff from rainfall events is rapid, and many streams dry up entirely in the summer, except for some perennial streams in the wetter areas in the north. Viscaino, likely

4307-614: The reach of the Spanish soldiers, who rode on horseback, by hiding in the rugged interior of the Santa Lucia Mountains . In the 1840s, some Esselen are believed to have migrated to the ranchos and rural areas outside the growing towns. Archaeologists located the grave of a girl estimated to be about six years old buried in Isabel Meadows Cave in the Church Creek area. They calculated the date of her burial to be about 1825. Two experts received reports of Indians living in

4380-574: The relative abundance of food resources, the Esselen people never developed agriculture and remained hunter-gatherers. They followed local food sources seasonally, living near the coast in winter, where they harvested rich stocks of mussels , limpets , abalone and other sea life. Evidence of baskets have been found and were probably the principal item used to furnish households. Basket design included large conical baskets for carrying burdens, hemispherical-shaped cooking bowls, flat trays, and small boat-shaped baskets which may have been seed-beaters. In

4453-522: The remainder of the land east of Highway 1 from her estate soon after. Lots one through thirteen now comprise the El Sur Ranch . The 7,100 acres (2,873 ha) El Sur Ranch straddles Highway 1 for 6 miles (9.7 km) from the mouth of the Little Sur River to Andrew Molera State Park . It has been owned by the Hill family since 1958, who run a commercial cow-calf operation with about 450 head on

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4526-453: The smallest Native American populations in California. Various experts estimate there were from 500 to 1,285 individuals living in the steep, rocky region at the time of the arrival of the Spanish. Due to their proximity to three Spanish missions, they were likely one of the first whose culture was virtually eliminated as a result of European contact and domination. The people were believed to have been exterminated but some tribal members avoided

4599-552: The summer and fall they moved inland to harvest one of their staple foods, acorns, which were very abundant throughout Big Sur. They gathered acorns from the black oak , canyon live oak and tanbark oak , primarily on upper slopes above the narrow canyons. They first soaked the acorns in running water to leach the bitter tannin from them. They then ground the acorns using a mortar. Over many years they hollowed out bedrock mortars in granite rock outcroppings that they used to grind plant seeds and acorns into flour. A large bedrock mortar

4672-524: The tribe was heavily impacted by their presence. The native population was decimated by disease, including measles , smallpox , and syphilis , which wiped out 90 percent of the native population, and by conscript labor, poor food, and forced assimilation. Most of the Esselen people's villages within the current Los Padres National Forest were left largely uninhabited. Professor Sherburne Cook , an expert in Native American populations, described

4745-460: The tribe. The Esselen had ongoing conflicts with the neighboring Rumsen tribe over crops and hunting grounds. The Rumsen initially assisted the Franciscans and when they fell on hard times, taught the missionaries what they could harvest from the wild for food. When a tribal member entered Mission San Carlos to be baptized, the priests tried to communicate to them that they could not leave

4818-481: The village next to the Mission. The priests were ignorant of the cultural differences between the tribes and forced the Rumsen and Esselen Indians to live together. The two tribes were very hostile to one another and their proximity brought ongoing strife. Galaup described them as ill-fed and depressed by the strict mission routines. He said they were treated like slaves on a plantation. From 1783 to 1785, about 40% of

4891-402: The waist. The women wear a short apron of red and white cords twisted and worked as closely as possible, which extends to the knee. Others use the green and dry tule interwoven, and complete their outfit with a deerskin half tanned or entirely untanned, to make wretched underskirts which scarcely serve to indicate the distinction of sex, or to cover their nakedness with sufficient modesty. Due to

4964-442: The women and girls may have worn a small apron. In cold weather they may have covered themselves with mud or rabbit or deerskin capes. No evidence of sandals or foot wear has been found. Explorer and later Governor of Alta California Pedro Fages described their dress in an account written before 1775: Nearly all of them go naked, except a few who cover themselves with a small cloak of rabbit or hare skin, which does not fall below

5037-477: Was "good demand for the Spanish cheese all over the state." "It is not believed that the cheese is made in any other section of the state. Cheese was manufactured on the ranch from about 1918 to 1931. Andrew and Frances maintained a residence for most of their lives on Sacramento Street in San Francisco. The census record records their occupation as "farmer" and, indicative or their relative wealth, recorded

5110-499: Was prevented from adopting even the most elementary measures to secure his food, clothing, and shelter. The utter devastation caused by the white man was literally incredible, and not until the population figures are examined does the extent of the havoc become evident. Some anthropologists and linguists assumed that the Esselen people's culture had been virtually extinguished by as early as the 1840s. However, existing tribe members cite evidence that some Esselen were able to move beyond

5183-432: Was the last fluent Esselen speaker. She died in 1939. The Central California coast in this region is marked by high, steep cliffs and rocky shores, interrupted by small coastal creeks with occasional, small beaches. The mountains are very rugged with narrow canyons. The terrain makes the area relatively inaccessible, long-term habitation a challenge, and limited the size of the native population. The tribe were neighbors to

5256-532: Was to put some distance between the mission's neophytes and from Fages and his troops. The new mission was on land better suited to farming and within a short distance of the Rumsen Ohlone villages of Tucutnut and Achasta. The latter village may have been founded after Mission San Carlos was relocated to Carmel. The mission was about 10 miles (16 km) from the nearest Esselen territory, Excelen. On May 9, 1775, Junípero Serra baptized what appears to be

5329-424: Was very obese and died of a sudden heart attack in 1931. Frances inherited his portion of the land. In 1965, almost 100 years after her family gained title, she sold 2,200-acre (890 ha) of the original land grant west of Highway 1 to The Nature Conservancy with the intent it become a state park. She stipulated that the park should be named Andrew Molera State Park in honor of her brother. The conservancy held

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