As workers in leather they have never been surpassed.

Many saddles, bridles, etc., were needed for Mission use, and as the ranches grew in numbers, they created a large market.

It must be remembered that horseback riding was the chief method of travel in California for over a hundred years.

Their carved leather work is still the wonder of the world.

In the striking character of their designs, in the remarkable adaptation of the design, in its general shape and contour, to the peculiar form of the object to be decorated,--a stirrup, a saddle, a belt, etc.,--and in the digital and manual dexterity demanded by its execution, nothing is left to be desired.