START UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY MICROFILMED 1989 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICE BERKELEY, CA 94720 MAY BE COVERED BY COPYRIGHT LAW TITLE 17 U.S. CODE REPRODUCTIONS AVAILABLE THROUGH UC BERKELEY GENERAL LIBRARY INTERLIBRARY LOAN OFFICE AUTHOR Hildrup. Jesse Stephen issions of (lifornia wime The Hissin Of cal PLACE Chicago pate 1907 VOLUME F870 . CALL Sm Mm NeG 59279 FORMAT: BX LEVEL: ISBN: GLADISH: 461143F LANG: end CNTRY: 114 LCON: 07013929 MOD: 890623/0CL ME: Hildrup, Jesse Stephen, 1829- TI: The missions of California and the old Southwest, by with 35 illustrations from photographs Chicago, A. C. McClurg, 1907 ix pe, 1 1., 13-100 p. 28 plates. 21 x 28 Jesse 9S. Call.: F870. MéH6 BANC VIC: X73 BROWSE forward to next entry. Key E to edit BIBLIOGRAPHIC data or H to edit HOLDINGS; then PRE Enter Mat type to key a new record: For order detail key line #, press Fl: Hil; SS Fl: 0 LOC) FILMED AND PROCESSED BY LIBRARY PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY CA 94720 JOB NO. ste | pap hs 125 fee fe REDUCTION RATIO Lp LE LLL LLL T t il T 1 t 3! 1 1 T T 1 T 4 LE T 6) HES ! 3 I | | TRIC 1] | 6) 7 8 1 12 TTT TT TTT TTT TTT TTT | | | | | [RA PEERED | HH | ic 1 A a hn A nda mn | TTT TT TTT TTT TT TT TTT TTT TTT TTT TT nv 104 | 112 89 1|3 DOCUMENT SOURCE BANCROFT LIBRARY a ort Ariane SOR SHER COT ER TR friatets ERR BO BEER ey oy SORIA I ; os C00 03a ehete RRR aegis 4 wr SIRARS 4 ! { IRR $5005 Bes B y . 2 # RSS TR Ing ERs &% 5 RX EREEINE AX SE de ERS RAR Retake of Preced BARRIS a rr ~ - To — ~ - NT r—— - re — TOI res rea) Tea MNS A RY 4 NCR ~ Na” WN “ RA THE Missions oF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST Front Patio, SAN Juan Capistrano Mission Photo, by Hallett Taylor Co. y Coronadsy THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST BY JESSE S. HILDRUP With 35 Illustrations from Photographs FOURTH EDITION CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 191 4 COPYRIGHT A. C. McCruraG & Co. 1907 Published March 16, 1907 THE photographs used for illustrating this volum $ e have been procured largely through I is of The Hallett-Taylor Co., Coronado, California, who have given permission for the inclusion of a number of their own views, as bave also Messrs. Putnam & Valentine, Los Angeles, and the Detroit Photographic Co. ? W. F. Hall Printing Company Chicago 4259 Bancroft Library CHAPTER I I. 1. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. CONTENTS CALIFORNIA AND 1TS EARLY INHABITANTS First ATTEMPTS TO CHRISTIANIZE THE NATIVES Tur FPRANCISCANS . . .0 i. vv a THE ADVENT OF JUNIPERO SERRA Tue First MISSIONARY EXPEDITION . THE INDIANS OF THE MISSIONS THE PADRES As AGRICULTURISTS THE WEALTH OF THE MISSIONS San Dieco San Carros BORREMEO SAN ANTONIO DE Papua SAN GABRIEL, ARCANGEL San Luis Osispo pe Torosa SaN Francisco pe Asis San Juan CAPISTRANO SANTA CLARA . SAN BUENAVENTURA . . . | [v] CHAPTER XVIIL XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIIL XXIX. XXX. XXXI. XXXII. XXXIIL. XXXIV. Santa BarBARA La Purisima CONCEPCION Santa Cruz . ILA SoLEDAD San Jost. Lo. San Juan, Bautista Say MiGuer . .. . .L, San Fernanpo, Rey DE Espana San Luis, Rey pe Francia San José pe GUADALUPE SANTA INz . . . SaN RAFAEL, ARCANGEL CHABBLS = i, iii, lt oi na ie, THe Missions oF Lower CALIFORNIA THE Missions oF TEXAs. THe Missions oF New Mexico THE MissioNs OF ARIZONA ILLUSTRATIONS Front Patio, SAN Juaw CapisTRANO Mission Tue FaTHeEr SUPERIOR AT SANTA BARBARA Mission Tue Sacrep GARDEN, SANTA BarBarA Mission . INTERIOR, SAN GaprIEL Mission . . . . . . Tower, SAN Carros Mission, CARMEL VALLEY . San Carros Mission, CARMEL VALLEY . . A CorRrIDOR, SAN Juan CaprisTRANO Mission SAN Deco Mission... . + . San Carros Mission, MONTEREY San Antonio DE Papua Mission San GaBrieL Mission . . CAMPANILE, SAN GABRIEL MISSION . San Luis Opispo Mission. . . . Musica. WHEEL, MATRACHA, AND Music Books, SAN Juan CAPISTRANO MusstoN:, Ch ies DoLorEs, oR SAN FRANCISCO DE Ass, MissION . Two Views oF SAN Juan CapisTRaNO Mission PAGE Frontispiece 16 18 24 24 28 32 34 38 40 42 ~ 46 48 48 50 SANTA CLARA Mission . . . San BuenNavenNTURA MISSION . Santa BarBara Mission . . I.a Purisima Concepcion Mission Ruins oF La SoLeEpap MISSION . San Juan Bautista Mission . San Miguel Mission . San Fernanpo Mission San Luis Rey Mission Santa INgz Mission . Los ANGELES CHAPEL, FROM THE PLAZ Tue BeLFry, Para CHAPEL . SAN Xavier Mission, TucsoN, ARIZONA . Concepcion La Purisima pe AcuNa Mission, TExas San José pe Acuavo Mission, Texas . . . . Exterior VIEW AND ALTAR, SAN Xavier Mission, Tucson, ARIZONA. vive le liane via to INTRODUCTORY N musing over the history of the old Missions, the mind is led to inquire as to the benefits that have been conferred upon mankind by the labors, triumphs, and defeat of the padres during their brief sojourn in the Southwest. Though their work was confined to a few heathen tribes, its pure and unselfish purpose and beneficent results cannot be questioned, for these are attested in the annals of those days. The fact that great and lasting benefits were thus bestowed upon the Indian is conclusively established by reference to his primitive life, and to his subsequent condition under the care and tutelage of the Missions. The degree and importance of such benefits are evident in that they affected favorably his earthly, and provided for his immortal, welfare. Moreover, that which promotes the progress of one portion of mankind works ultimately for the benefit of the entire race. The wonderful amelioration of the moral and social lives of wild men living in a Western wilderness, which was effected by the padres during a short period of sixty-odd years in California, is known throughout the world, and millions of the family of man have both rejoiced and mourned over the bright career of the Fathers and its fateful ending. Regret for the sad fate of the Missions is almost universal. The philanthropic American grieves over the defeat of pious efforts and a grand purpose, that surviving, would have elevated the Indian races and preserved them from extinction. All who read and reflect, if they have an instinctive sense of right and of love for humanity, must deplore the passing of the Missions; for their spiritual power and influence not only reclaimed the savage, but still lived after their suppression, to prepare the way for the civilization which came later under American sovereignty. What more could be said for those heroes who sacrificed themselves that the pariahs of an unexplored region might be saved? May honor and glory ever rest upon the names of the old padres of the Missions of California and the Old Southwest! J. 8 H CHicaco, January 1, 190}. [ix] THE MissioNs oF CALIFORNIA AND " THE OLD SOUTHWEST THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER 1 CALIFORNIA AND ITS EARLY INHABITANTS ALIFORNIA, the land of golden sunshine and skies of ineffable blue, starlit at night by a glittering & host; of most genial climate, tempered alike to the old and the young, the delicate and the vigorous, —a climate equalled nowhere on earth but along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea; the garden of the olive, the myrtle, the orange, and the vine; the primitive home of the most stupendous trees,— trees that lift their heads among the clouds, and reach maturity only when thousands of years have passed since their sprouting from the soil; the home of the stately redwood and the pine, the oak, the sycamore, the pepper, the manzanita, and almost every species of arboreal growth in all the realms of nature;—California was in 1767 selected by the Catholic Church as a most promising vineyard for the gathering of souls to its bosom from among the wild heathen that inhabited the lands in the southern half of Alta California. This chosen land, so wonderfully endowed by Nature, made possible the spiritual and civilizing purposes of the Church by the very configuration of its surface, the fertility of its soil, its temperate and subtropical climates, and its abundant waters, which were stored in natural reservoirs and available for lowland cultivation [13] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER 1 CALIFORNIA AND ITS EARLY INHABITANTS ALIFORNIA, the land of golden sunshine and skies of ineffable blue, starlit at night by a glittering host; of most genial climate, tempered alike to the old and the young, the delicate and the vigorous, —a climate equalled nowhere on earth but along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea; the garden of the olive, the myrtle, the orange, and the vine; the primitive home of the most stupendous trees, —trees that lift their heads among the clouds, and reach maturity only when thousands of years have passed since their sprouting from the soil; the home of the stately redwood and the pine, the oak, the sycamore, the pepper, the manzanita, and almost every species of arboreal growth in all the realms of nature;—California was in 1767 selected by the Catholic Church as a most promising vineyard for the gathering of souls to its bosom from among the wild heathen that inhabited the lands in the southern half of Alta California. This chosen land, so wonderfully endowed by Nature, made possible the spiritual and civilizing purposes of the Church by the very configuration of its surface, the fertility of its soil, its temperate and subtropical climates, and its abundant waters, which were stored in natural reservoirs and available for lowland cultivation [13] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST by the process of irrigation, and by rivers, creeks, and streams running to the sea and to inland lakes from every point of the compass. In California there are very many kinds of local climate, and all within the limits of the temperate zone. A contour map most strikingly illustrates the causes of the variation in temperature in different localities. Heat, moisture, and soil give vitality to every germ within the bosom of the earth; and the direction of the sun’s rays determines the degree of heat. The general trend of the principal mountain ranges is from northwest to southeast, enclosing several great valleys. The lesser ranges and their spurs, with foot-hills, cafions, and arroyos, penetrate the country everywhere, twisting and turning in endless confusion. These ranges enclose innumerable pocket-like depressions of various dimensions, and valleys, where the rays of the sun enter at different angles; and thus the heat is increased or diminished to a degree that is equivalent to a change in the general climate. This natural adaptation of the surface for modifying the solar heat is accountable for the exuberance and the great variety of the products of the earth, which gave joy to the hearts of the old padres as they wrought out in these primeval wilds a paradise for the Indians and themselves. The conquest of Mexico in the dawn of the sixteenth century by Hernando Cortés opened to the Spanish Empire, the Church, and the people a vast vision of boundless possessions along the coast of the Pacific from the Arctic Circle to the Straits of Magellan. All were eager to gather the fabulous wealth of the American continents, and to reap a great harvest of the souls of heathen tribes abiding there. The Missions were a The Californias were adjacent to Mexico. They were in climate, soil, and The Indians of the valleys and plains bordering the usually bounded by creeks that ran from the logical consequence of the conquest. mineral riches the gems of the coast lands most accessible. ocean were separated into small tribes, with limited territory, and easily converted to the Catholic faith. The food mountains to the sea. They were gentle and peaceable, [14] CALIFORNIA AND ITS EARLY INHABITANTS was a scarcity of native products f Q il. le rrea rian roduc tion f fr S cet es an ‘reals WV g . ¢ a d : Pe : . > ¢ ¢ ] 11rma 0 was a cere cr atur > tast S of th ] £ ¢ a was 1C d I < . i ¢ > : a . 0 C | 1 mey h I y C I hey were of good S tat ure and tar C mple 1 . ¢ ( on [ he omen were 14 1 *asant ( untenance an X Ww dis OSi1t on. I'h ~ h f N SMe ( Hlea y I 0 d Sp £ coast Indians was m tl [Ma le from the skin )t | € Sca- € Clot ng o these ° Ostly C olf ude tanned : ( th y . I heir ha 1ts and no als wer ¢ < ¢ ¢ § : : J al € c t 1 0 I 1 e b t i th n those f many tribes ot mounta 1 1( ns V J I'¢ remote tre m 1 I lia Sy Ii n mo © . Vy w e 0 ole | « € coast 1slan is N n € al ih « ou a . A . © « ¢ « alc « o>Cd, « il . 0 0 d it Sa ta A ira 1€a the sca f 1bou fit V ¢ 1 d y 1d t CE acres was ) i ages DY the CO le t 1 : S bo S teet mn 1 t tue € Al 11 res in extent; 1t vas fc rmeo mn the Course of 1 I I alld ¢ the ar quets h V ¢ Be Cc O € coast ib S 1 I, 4 £ de ) sri Indi 1S he b 1 Ww ich the held at g 1th rings f th . t1 CS n council \ I ortugues #m SC d ura 1 na 1g CC the coast mn 1840 tarried here for severa mo 1ths, and f1 ally died and was | uried on SIE i of . ¢ R sa F le name this localit the Cit ¢ | th great nu Te canoes the I ] 1N( yant 1 I osa. 1 d y Vy of I leets, by reason c ec 4 t £ h: I a h a h y > atives hav ed t tl Q Y1V | . y rele > o i © d D0 af c, th native «© . ¢ © . g rowec 0 1€ Spot to V¢ 1 1 rm welcon C 1€ Seeme C Dd 0 y ¢ de SO CSS y a5 C P I : to be natur | sal rs ma S by the nec ssities ot fe 1S th ! mncipa [15] means of subsistence came from the THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST waters. The next navigator in these regions, Vizcaino, who appeared in 1602, explored the coast of California and Mexico for more than eight hundred leagues. He investigated the history of the coast and inland tribes, and in his reports to the Spanish Government, furnishes the most reliable information in regard to the country and its inhabitants. It was upon his statements and his experience that the home authorities, civil and ecclesiastical, based their plans for the possession of the lands and the regeneration of the natives. For these purposes they provided for the founding of a series of presidios guarded by soldiers, and of Missions from San Diego to Monterey — the former to hold and protect, and the latter to do the work of developing and civilizing, the country and the aborigines. The old padres found by experience that Vizcaino had painted too vividly, but without doubt for a good purpose; yet the Missions atoned in results for all the errors of judgment. If the mountain and more inland tribes had been of the pacific nature of the coast tribes, the work of the Missions would have been much less perilous and more effective. One of the few murders, that of Padre Jayme, committed by the mountain tribes, and the burning of the Mission building at San Diego on the third of October, 1775, indicate to some extent the difference in character and habits between the cruel and warlike tribes of the interior and mountain regions, and those of the coast and the pastoral tribes of the valleys and plains. It is doubtless the fact that the Mission labors were largely confined to these latter tribes, in consequence of their more docile nature and habits, which made them readily respond to religious influence, and far less dangerous than the bloodthirsty natives of the interior. Locality, food, climate, and other forms of environment in the course of time make a radical difference in the characteristics, manners, habits, and disposition of mankind, so that traces of connection with the generic stock may be entirely lost, except in the language, which preserves the roots of the mother tongue. Hence the variety in the life records, as found in the actual history of these native races. It is impossible to know much about [16] THe FATHER SuperiOR AT Santa Barara Mission by Hallett- Taylor Co.y Coronado CALIFORNIA AND ITS EARLY INHABITANTS them, comparatively nothing of their past. We know of them only what we are taught by those who discovered them about four centuries ago, and by contact with them in more recent times. When we found them, we called them all heathen, though they manifested various grades of morals and intelligence, from the low degree of the Digger Indian to the greater development exemplified by the most enlightened tribes. The origin and settlement of the aborigines of the Pacific coast wilds are veiled in the mists of forgotten ages, which are impenetrable to the eye of historic research. The subject may interest the speculative mind, with its instinctive longing to learn the unknown in the past and the future; but such knowledge is not necessary to this sketch of a unique civilization, and it must remain concealed until the lifting of the curtain which shall reveal the work and the plans of the Creator. [17] ~ THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER 11 FIRST ATTEMPTS TO CHRISTIANIZE THE NATIVES N 1767 King Charles III. of Spain organized an expedition to sail to Mexico, to proceed thence to the Californias and take possession of them, to build Missions for the conversion of the Indians there, and to protect and defend the country from the Russians. Before this time hordes of these semibarbarians had come down from Siberia and Alaska, and occupied Northern California down to the Bay of San Francisco: had established forts, churches, and settlements along the coast and inland; opened the fur trade with the natives; begun cultivation of the lands, and engaged in those industries incident to development and permanent occupancy. Here appears not only a vital collision between two European powers to gratify their lust of con- quest, but the first germ of antagonism between the Catholic and the Greek Church in the wilds of North America. About one hundred and ninety years earlier than this time, and long before the Russian occupancy, Sir Francis Drake anchored near the bay and planted the English flag upon the coast, claiming the country for the crown of England. The chaplain of the expedition read the services of the Anglican Church, and invoked the blessing of Providence on the claim then made for the lands discovered; but it does not appear that England ever perfected her claim by permanent possession, or ever attempted to renew the same until 1847, at the Bay of Monterey, when she most signally failed. It is a most significant fact that these are the only instances, except an attempt made by the Jesuits in 1688, where the light of Christianity, in even a single ray, ever penetrated the moral darkness of innumerable [18] (2 \ J J @ id df | THe Sacrep Garpen, Santa Barsara Mission FIRST ATTEMPTS TO CHRISTIANIZE THE NATIVES tribes of savages, who roamed, lived, and died in and among the forests, mountains, and valleys, along the rivers, creeks, and sea coast, from the Bering Strait to the Gulf of California. The Order of the Jesuits, with their usual zeal, energy, and daring, in 1683 explored Lower California from Cape St. Lucas to the mouth of the Colorado River, and commenced missionary work among the natives; they likewise in 1540 penetrated the hot and forbidding wilds of Arizona and New Mexico, among the ruthiess Apaches and kindred savage tribes, seeking to win heathen to the Church, and a harvest of gold in the fabled regions of the seven cities of Cebola, along the Gila River. Fathers Kukus and John Maria Salvo Tierra travelled more than one thousand miles on foot in the heart of the deserts, mountains, and scorching plains, until, worn out with hardships, they died prematurely, leaving behind them no monuments of their enthusiasm, or of the saving grace of the Church. THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER III THE FRANCISCANS N Lower California the Jesuits labored for eighty years with much greater immediate results than in other 1 regions of the Southwest; but in Alta California they had at least sowed the seeds of a harvest which is being reaped by the Church to-day, through the growth and beneficence of the noted Pious Fund cre- ated by them. This fund was the child of their economy, and for it they had toiled until their expulsion from their field of labors, in 1767. The Franciscans assumed the task of the Jesuits; under the direction of Padre Junipero Serra, the president and spiritual father of the proposed Missions, they entered the abandoned regions in 1767, where in less than two generations they wrought out a redemption for the souls of wild men, and a unique civilization so marvellous in its benevolence and elevating tendencies, its Christianizing and ameli- orating influences, and its progressive life, that all enlightened lovers of humanity have wondered at, while revering, Serra’s fame and works. Junipero Serra was born at Petra, on the Isle of Majorca, November 29, 1713. He became a novice on September 14, 1730, and entered a convent at Palma, the capital city of Majorca. He became a broad and finished scholar, was made professor of philosophy, and later received the degree of D. D. He was splendid in oratory: Literary men listened to him with infatuation at the brilliancy of his style and the power of his speech. An enemy once said that his sermons should be printed in letters of gold.” He was possessed in early life of an intense desire to go among the Indians. He loved to preach among the poor and lowly; his highest aspiration was to labor and live out his days amid the wild countries [20] THE FRANCISCANS and peoples of the earth, and do them all the good in his power. He might have shone and grown great in the high places of Europe, but he turned from these alluring prospects with no sigh of regret. His hope, now ripening into a definite purpose, was that he should move in these grooves of labor and usefulness. It involved sacrifice, piety, and the dedication of all his powers to the salvation of those human beings who by some inscrutable plan seemed to have been ignored in the progress of mankind. It was not a freakish impulse born of pious enthusiasm, but the logical offspring of his education and the traditions of the monastic order to which he belonged. Besides this, he believed most intensely in the theology of his time, and the burning thought with him was to save the Indian, who was denied the atonement of divine grace by no fault of his own, from the yawning circles of Dante’s Hell. St. Francis of Assisi, in the early part of the thirteenth century, founded the Society of Franciscans. He was a pious enthusiast of great learning and an unquenchable love for the lower classes of humanity.” The cultured and the great could care for themselves, but the poor peasantry were in a pitiable condition everywhere in Europe; and he became impressed with the idea that the Church had a most solemn duty, through some special agency, to exert her potent influence to uplift into a better secular and spiritual life these down-trodden members of her fold. He cast about him for some choice spirits in the priesthood, who like himself could be inspired with a sense of the importance of this duty, and would devote their lives zealously to its fulfilment. He did not search in vain, and under the authority of the Church he organized a society. Its declared object was to shun wealth, ease, and luxury, as well as worldly rank and power, the members to give all the energies of their being to the work they had undertaken. They would be clothed in humble garb, gladly enduring hardships and the reproaches of men, that they might the more effectually labor among the lowly, the degraded, the down-trodden, the ignorant, and the superstitious in all lands. They pledged the Order to perpetual [21] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST poverty, that they might not be diverted from their holy mission by earthly pleasures. ~~ Upon the cross they avowed a determination to labor for the cause of the divine Master alone, without self-aggrandizement or hope of earthly reward, and to bring to all the degraded and unfortunate the joys of His redemption. They became learned, knowing that knowledge is power, that they might call it into requisition for the better execution of their task. They studied those practical sciences and arts which might help them to meet every emergency that might arise within the scope of their mission. They were temperate in all things, that they might be able to rely on their mental and physical powers in times of trial and danger. They subjected themselves to severe tests, and trained all their faculties for success. re esl ssa : t ’ 1 THE ADVENT OF JUNIPERO SERRA CHAPTER 1V THE ADVENT OF YUNIPERO SERRA UNIPERO SERRA came into possession of the most exalted qualifications for his marvellous work in Alta California by the inheritance of a loving soul and wonderful intellectual powers; he acquired remarkable erudition; his lofty ideals were nurtured in the discipline, precepts, and traditions of his monastic order; he attained an eloquence which alike convinced the minds and enraptured the hearts of men, were they civilized or heathen; and his gentle kindness made permanent his conquests. He had no peer among the disciples of his order since the day of its birth. With such a character, such training, and with a zeal for the conversion of the Indian more intense than the mystical fires upon the altars of the gods, it is less astonishing to enlightened faith that he fashioned a marvellous civilization in the dark realms of our Western coast. Yearning for the souls of the heathen, he was fated to find his call at last as a redeemer of the pagans of California. On August 28, 1749, he sailed from Cadiz with a select band from the convent in Palma, who were in sympathy with his life purpose; on the seventh of December he arrived at Vera Cruz, and on New Year's Day, 1750, he entered the Apostolic College of San Fernando, in the City of Mexico, which subsequently became the headquarters of the new Missions. His earnest soul could brook no delay, and the authorities appointed him and Father Palou to work among the Indians of Cerro Gordo, one hundred miles from Queretaro, a province many leagues in extent, a mountainous and wild region without a vestige of civilization. From here in the dawn of triumph among the natives he was withdrawn to labor among the faithless and [23] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST murderous Apaches far to the north, a race with many branches, which outstripped in fiendish traits of character all other tribes of this continent. Other missionaries preceding him had been subjected to the greatest hardships and maltreatment and finally had been murdered by these savages; but with full knowledge of such perils he immediately began preparation to enter upon his dangerous mission. Yet the kindly Providence that guarded his destiny interposed; his orders were recalled, and he retired temporarily to his convent. From this centre his labors were ceaseless, extending their influence everywhere for the good of the cause, with the most astonishing results, and proclaiming him a leader of men in this crusade in the unknown wilds. In 1767 he was commissioned to take the command of the mission work in California. At fifty-four years of age he began there the great chapter of the record of his life. He had found his life work; and with what supreme energy of mind and body he toiled, suffered, and triumphed is one of the marvels of human history. In exalted thought, Christian kindness, devotion to his God, and in energetic action he was without a rival in the mission field. In seventeen years of arduous labor and severe trials he wore out the gifts nature had so lavishly bestowed upon him, and he died at the Mission of San Carlos, on the twenty-eighth day of August, 1784, at the age of seventy years, nine months, and four days. Father Palou, his friend of a lifetime, said at his death: “Here is one of whom posterity will say, ‘He was the greatest man that ever trod the sands of Alta California.” ’ By sincere respect for the nature and rights of the Indian, he conquered; but he led him through love. Force was foreign to his mind. His courage was heroic as that of a martyr. He had led a noble life: untiring labor, devotion to duty, and care for the lowly and the degraded were his ceaseless duties. He educated, controlled, guided, loved, and helped all; he gave them occupation and a spiritual and practical [24] rm Sh aR in Sak ~ i = J iT UTTERTRERR A) 114441) pi " - i ig Photos. by Hallett-Taylor Co., Coronade INTERIOR, SAN GABRIEL Mission. — Tower, San Carros Mission, Carmel VALLEY i es THE ADVENT OF JUNIPERO SERRA purpose in life; while ministering to the sick, feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked, he taught them to be self-supporting. His was the first civilization that ever dawned upon the benighted natives of heathen California, and improved the conditions of their lives by showing them how to obtain the various and generous products of their rich soil by cultivation. It is a singular and noteworthy fact that Nature had ill provided for the sustenance of the natives in these coast regions, by the fruits and vegetables of the soil, the animals of the forests, or the birds of the air. She was bountiful only in the foods found in her waters. In a wonderful manner the trite adage, “History repeats itself,” is exemplified in the missionary work in California. Every act, emotion, thought, and experience of mankind is engraved here in the lives and labors of the padres. Their fitness for the great task before them was sufficient for every emergency. Their marvellous efficiency as instructors was shown in their teaching by precept and example to the ignorant natives more than fifty different arts, professions, and occupations known to European civilization, and with considerable skill in the adoption of models for their practical use. THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER V THE FIRST MISSIONARY EXPEDITION was the practical head of the first missionary OSE DE GALVEZ, the Visitador-General of New Spain, forethought, and practical ability. tion of the Franciscans, and was a man of extraordinary energy, with Junipero Serra as President of the Missions, both in than the limits of this sketch permit, expedi He fashioned and controlled the enterprise, Lower and Upper California. Galvez deserves a more extended notice for without his promotion and supervision the founding of these Missions might have been, to this day, a Great force of character, wisdom, and executive ability in and enthusiasm. The first plan evolved in the light pious dream of the Church. carrying into effect the schemes of the Missions were as necessary as pious zeal of the crude knowledge of Vizcaino was to locate a Mission at San Diego, one at Monterey, and another between them at Buenaventura, on the southern coast, about equally distant from each. Galvez’ foresight provided for everything essential to the success of the enterprise — provisions, transportation, explorations, garrisons, education, ornaments, pictures, holy vessels for the churches; materials, architects, and artisans for incidentals needful to a scheme of colonization and the redemption of To provide for the future, he directed the taking of two construction; and all the aboriginal savages of that wild, rugged, unexplored country. the old Jesuit Mission in Lower California, and a full supply of seeds of hundred head of cattle from in Spain, and could be reproduced in the new region. Thus vegetables, grains, flowers, and fruits that grew he not only benefited the Missions, but bequeathed rich gifts to later He selected and packed the furnishings for the churches, and left nothing generations in California. The Missions and farms were his nurslings. undone to secure Success. [26] SEE EERE THE FIRST MISSIONARY EXPEDITION Pron 1769 to 1822 California, like Mexico, was under the rule of Spain. On achieving her ind d Mexico made California a part of her own territory. During that half-century the a h Joa Bigs and a era. They were not interfered with by the Spanish, or in any way pa oe oo. encouraged, as the pride of the Church; and the boast of the ¢ : encroachments of the Russians on the north. It is true that the ee As _ A ay of the Bay of San Francisco after the old padres had well begun their work. aii a 1a this latter period the principal pueblos, or towns, founded were San Diego, Los Angel S Capistrano, San Luis Rey, San Gabriel, San Buenaventura, San Luis Obispo, So Ten ay Sune Barbara, and Monterey. These towns, though small, were important as centres of trade on i _ mission work. They were simply clusters of adobe houses around the greater Missions. b | a oo radiated a most powerful influence, that dominated all things from the Mexican line to th ao te is perhaps the most conclusive proof of their claim to be the original colony of California ii dn » January 9, 1769, the ship “San Carlos” sailed for San Diego; on February 15 the “San A >” sailed from Cape St. Lucas; and on June 16 the “San José” sailed. Some of the adres w en “San Cation The “San José” was probably lost at sea, for no tidings were ever to her on i port. The other ships safely anchored in the Bay of San Diego. The land expedition was separated : So Srisions, One, commanded by Captain Rivera of the Company of Cuesa, left Santa Ana Ty or in September, 1768, and after some delay at Vellicata, in that province, resumed its Sones ga San Diego in about two months, finding the “San Carlos” and the “San Antonio” awaitin ie en anchorage in the bay. Serra left with the second division, which tarried on the route es Er : Mission of San Fernando at Vellicata; after which, with Don Portola, the Roval Governor of Cn ny } ’ expedition started for San Diego. It arrived in about forty-five days, on July 1, 1769 J J ) od [27] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER VI THE INDIANS OF THE MISSIONS HE Mission Indians, that constituted the flocks belonging to the various Missions, are and ever will be a problem to the antiquarians. Of their history before the time of the colonization we have no definite knowledge; but this much seems unquestionable: a great difference in character, disposition, and habits existed between the natives of the valleys and plains of the coast and those of the deserts and moun- tains of the interior. The former were by nature peaceable, gentle, and amenable to progressive influences; the latter were untamable, warlike, cruel, and unresponsive to any civilizing or moral forces. Locality, climate, food, and the struggle for existence may reasonably account for these opposite traits of character and habits of life in the coast and interior Indians. If this be true, then the lines of the Missions were so laid as best to romote the conversion of souls, and to effect a great ractical improvement in their lives. P ’ s and easy reach the vast The general trend and localizing of the Missions, from north to south, brought within their vicinitie majority of the valley and plain tribes of the coast, and excluded by distance and the rugged barriers erected Be these reflections true or false, the early history of the native races of the by nature the inland tribes. The coast Indians had advanced in some Pacific coast is an enigma that never will be satisfactorily solved. things beyond the Stone Age; they were adepts in the construction of wooden vessels for domestic use, idols of gold and silver, and weapons, offensive and defensive, and for hunting. The tanning of skins of sea wolves for garments was more perfect than in Castile. For fishing their canoes and implements were very ingenious. Doubtless the Indians varied in character and life in California as they did everywhere along the coast and [28] Photo. by Hallett-Taylor Co., Coronado San Carros Mission, CARMEL VaLLEY T— THE INDIANS OF THE MISSIONS contiguous territory, subject to like natural laws and conditions. The pastoral Indians of California closely resembled in their peaceful habits and tastes the Pueblos of the lan ds east of them, but the latter were more advanced in their ability to command the wealth of the soil by their rude arts of c ultivation. The mountain Indians east of San Diego were warlike and cruel, and never came within the influence of the padres; in fact, they destroyed the first Mission built there, and were controlled only by the soldiers. Out of such crude material to form communities of Christians enjoying civilized life with all its comforts, luxuries, and refinements, would seem an impossible undertaking; but holy and In ten years from the founding of the first Mission at San Diego in 1769, converted Indians under their instruction and control, indomitable purpose prevailed. the padres had thirty-five hundred and solving the problems of a new and progressive life. In the year 1800 their flock of converts had increased to fifteen thousand, of eighteen Missions, conducted in all their affairs by about forty padres. labors appears more prominently in results; they had savages into skilful silversmiths, all under the ameliorating influences The significance of their immense by most assiduous training converted tribes of millers, saddlers, bakers, vintagers, shoemakers, tailors, hatters, guitar-makers, masons, wincmakers, fishermen, wood-cutters, stone-cutters, weavers, sacristans, musicians, hunters, farmers, herders, tilemakers, physicians, mariners, and workers in more than thirty other occupations, arts, and industries When taught, the Indian became the principal factor in all the labors, and progress of Mission life. This introduction of the arts the white race, and the birth of the Golden State. known to the Spaniards. improvements, of civilized life prepared the way for the coming of THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER VII THE PADRES AS AGRICULTURISTS F all the heritage enjoyed by the present generation in California, descending from the old padres, the greatest corporeal blessings are the fruits, wines, foods, flowers, seeds, plants, and trees — natural products of the soil and climate of Old Spain, the Garden of the Ancients. Without these the far- famed land would be shorn of her beauty and her food products, and as ill fitted for sustaining a numerous population as when occupied by tribes of primitive red men. The old padres made it possible for the white man to make her the Garden of the Moderns. All this advancement was accomplished in about thirty years after the establishment of the first Mission in San Diego in 1769. Another equal period of mission work and great results by this band of holy men followed. The harvest of souls received into the Church was commensurate with the progress made in material, corporeal, and social life. Then blight and ruin fell upon them; life under the régime of the Franciscans ceased forever. To that period of progress and enlightenment California may turn with amazement, love, and gratitude, as the foundation of her greatness and glory of to-day. These achievements, strenuously made and suddenly lost, all in about sixty years’ time, were the first lessons in the reclaiming of savage races in California. Looking backward to prehistoric times, we see the forefathers of the Mission Indians, rude, uncouth, river-drift men, wandering through the valleys, along the rivers and streams, in search of the food that Nature had stored for them in her waters more generously than upon the land, and more readily within reach of their feeble powers. [30] RS a THE PADRES AS AGRICULTURISTS Pastoral and agricultural industri inci i ustries wer 151 i g e the principal means upon which the Missions depended for their support and maintenance, and for the acquisition of wealth. The vineyards were planted for the pleasures of the table, as the pious padres did not d i en s 3 1 ; , ? p y themselves creature comforts; hunting and fishing were to them sources of very considerable revenue; in short, all the products of nature and art were made to subserve their sustenance . . . . . : their comfort, and their pleasure. The spiritual life first; the temporal life next. And neither was neglected In all the greater Mission i i | s, th i i g si , the holy temple was the most prominent building. Over the main entrance was reared the tower with its bells; then came the residences, the quarters and guardhouse for the soldiers, houses for the Indian converts; after which the warehouses, granaries, prisons, and cemeteries. The Indian houses were set apart by themselves within a walled inclosure, called a ramcheria. The orchards and gardens, both flower and vegetable, were properly located. The industrial establishments were also in a place by themselves. The entire Mission and grounds w i 1 er ” o ~ - IQ » Q 1 111 at: g e laid out with streets and alleys after the forms of civilized life; everywhere regularity and system were strictly observed. The full measure o 5 : : imiti i Ins 1 ; $ f the progress made among the primitive fields, valleys, and mountains in the material things of life during a period covering only two generations of time, may be estimated in the amount of property acquired by the padres. In 1830 they had more than one million head of cattle pasturing on Mission lands, one hundred thousand horses, and almost innumerable other domestic animals. Their vearly crop of wheat averaged one hundred and fifty thousand bushels; and barley, oats, and other crops were in like proportion. Corn was not a climatic favorite, but was cultivated to some extent. The general and unfailing products— agricultural and manufactured—were wheat, barley, oats, beans, tallow, soap, leather, hides, wool, oil s , oil, cotton, hemp, linen, wine, brandy, tobacco, salt, and soda. The fruits raised were as great in variety, as rich y, as in quality, and profuse in quantity then as now, subject to the restriction of acreage only. [32] ~ THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER VIII THE WEALTH OF THE MISSIONS N the latter days of their prosperity, when all the Missions had been founded and their surroundings d thousand head of cattle were killed yearly, netting a profit usually of ten dollars completed, two hundre each. The hides and tallow were the chief articles of commerce with cities on the Atlantic coast, Boston leading in the early thirties of the last century. The flesh of the cattle found consumers among the Mission The padres permitted none to want for food in the regions around them. All the Missions from San Diego to San Francisco were Indians and the needy elsewhere. Their hospitality, like their faith, was boundless. enriched by the planting and cultivation of extensive orchards, gardens, and vineyards around them; while they were beautiful with flowers of every variety, hue, and fragrance, some of native origin, and some brought as seeds or plants, from other lands within the limits of the temperate and tropical belts. In truth, California was then to a limited extent, and within the lines of Mission endeavor, the garden of the earth. Blossoms and perfumes were hanging on and emitted from every vine, plant, shrub, and tree capable of bloom and odor; for the old padres loved beauty of nature and art, as they loved purity and beauty of soul, and all other good things. The annual revenues of the Missions from sales and trade, tithes and rents, would aggregate in their latter and fully prosperous days nearly three million dollars; and it is stated upon authority that the padres sent to the Church in Spain and Mexico during the time of their existence more than twenty million dollars from their A still greater amount was taken from them in property and treasures by the surplus accumulations of wealth. [3 1 Photograph by S. L. Willar d A Corrinor, SAN Juan Capistrano Mission THE WEALTH OF THE MISSIONS Mexican Government under the orders of confiscation, which were finally passed by the Mexican Congress on the seventeenth of August, 1833. The religion and morals of the Missions were swept away at this time, with their material progress and the monuments thereof. Under the curse of greed, the better life of the Indian neophyte, with his hopes in the future, passed into oblivion with the wreck of his Mission home. The padres could protect him no longer. He fled a fugitive to the mountains, where his short-lived civilization disappeared forever. Avarice, bred in the hearts of the Mexican authorities and people in the era of reckless lawlessness that succeeded the revolt of that country from Spain, extinguished old-time reverence for the Church and its precepts, and produced a breed of rascally officials. Soldiers of fortune who had served in the recent wars were now without regular occupation; and these, with other adventurous men, united in a general invasion of Alta California, to seize and possess the rich properties which the Franciscans had created through toil, privation, and danger, but now were powerless to defend when the merciless hand of spoliation was laid upon them. The old padres fled like the Indians, and left behind them all the fruits of their glorious labors and triumphs to the fate that overwhelmed them. The vandal destroyed that which he could not create. A most benign and unique civilization disappeared for a time under the superstition and ignorance of the Mexican and his rule; but to him even it imparted an influence which chastened and elevated him into a new and better life. THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER IX SAN DIEGO HEN land and ship expeditions arrived at San Diego a real experience in the great colonizing schemes was encountered. The men were in bad condition from poor food and water, thirty or more had died. The Indians had turned from friendliness to hostility and thieving. But zeal and energy were irresistible. of soldiers and sailors, mass was celebrated by Serra, and the bell was rung from the branch of a tree. All sung On July 16 the cross was erected; in a temporary shelter of branches and reeds, in the presence «Veni Creator”; the standard of royalty was planted and given to the winds, the water of the San Diego River was blessed, firearms were discharged for the want of music, and the “smoke of powder running by the locality performed, and the land was claimed for God was incense”; and so the ceremony of founding a mission was and the King of Spain, while the poor Indian, dazed at the wonderful doings, stood helpless, while his hunting grounds and his personal liberty were taken from him without his consent, and without compensation. This was followed by the founding of a Mission. The location is in the San Diego caiion, which runs from the south extension of the Santa Ana Range to the sea, a distance of sixty miles due east and west; the Mission is about ten miles from its mouth. The cafion is enclosed the entire length by lines of high and precipitous bluffs; the bed is nearly a flat surface of one-half to three miles in width, watered by the river. From the neighboring mountains came the wild Indians who murdered Father Jayme. There is a grand and awe-inspiring view from the spot where the cross of the Redeemer was first raised, with its face to the ocean and its rear to the mountains in California. It is two miles north of the old town, and four miles from the new town on the [34] SS: _ Ay Ny Te SAN Dieco Mission Photo. by Hallett- Taylor Co., Coronade SAN DIEGO bay. These old fathers knew almost by inspiration how to select the best Mission sites, elevated on high tablelands, surrounded by large areas of fruitful soil, abundance of pasture, valleys well watered by nature’s irrigation canals, and with the Mission zanjas to complete the system. Wherever practicable, the Missions were in view of the ocean, but always beyond the reach of the hostile guns of passing rovers sailing under a free flag. For the coast line was not well protected by the international police in those days. About the middle of August the Indians made an attack on Serra and his assistants. They killed one José Maria, but were quickly repelled by the soldiers of the Mission. Subsequently they brought in their wounded to be cared for, and were won to amity and conversion by the kindness of Serra. In October, 1775, the wild Indians from the mountains east of the Mission, to the number of one thousand or more, attacked the settlement; they burned the buildings, robbed the church, and murdered Padre Jayme and two others. Again the kindness and forbearance of Serra prevailed against the spirit of vengeance inflaming the hearts of the viceroy and soldiers. He received orders to rebuild the Mission, and it was protected by a stronger garrison: Captain Rivera ordered twelve more soldiers to protect the workmen. The Mission Indians proved not to be of much account in fighting the wild Indians. Evidently the influence of Serra had weakened them for aggressive purposes. The new buildings were dedicated November 12, 1777, but improvements were going on for a series of years, and the establishment became, next to San Luis Rey, the leading Mission. Its old palms, germinated one hundred and thirty-six years ago, still stand in full vigor, waving their long, graceful branches and leaves aloft in the gentle winds from mountain and sea. They stand as silent sentinels, who have beheld very many deeds of good and evil, misery and happiness; but they unburden their memories to none. The principal building is about one hundred feet in length, from north to south. It stands upon a broad [35] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST mesa, fifty miles from the mountains, and ten miles from the ocean; its main entrance faces the south line of bluffs. Its walls of adobe are four feet thick at the foundation, and its windows and d which is a blending of the various styles of many tribes of Northern oorways are lined with burnt tiles. The architecture is Moorish, Africa, modified by Spanish art. The main entrance was at the southern extremity. All the Missions of California were constructed after the Moorish style in general, but differing often in sheltering the inmates from the noonday sun, and for resort in the cool Fine and well-cultivated gardens and shaded ground plans. The long, arched porch, evenings, was everywhere an important feature of the Mission. walks were indispensable, as were also the orchards with their luxuriant fruits. The quarters of the Indians were in some convenient place contiguous to the Mission, a walled-in space of sufficient area to give comfortable homes to all the neophytes that belonged to each Mission; and they were kept scrupulously clean. In 1800 the presidio of San Diego had a population of about two hundred, including officers, soldiers, and their families. These persons possessed property in horses, cattle, and domestic animals and fowls necessary to a life of comfort and plenty, and likewise had ample time for e soldier compared with the days in which the ordinary duties And the humble Indian also had his days all the rude sports and plays characteristic of their times. Indeed, those were halcyon days for th of his profession called him to other parts of the Spanish empire. intermixed in liberal profusion with his days of labor under the gentle rule of of delight in play and sports, the padres. It has been a benevolent practice of the Church for centuries in every land where the cross prevailed to give its deserving devotees many days of festival in each year, which are instructive object lessons for their good, and promote the cause of the Church. Who would question its wisd and owned about twenty-eight thousand om when not indulged to excess? In 1828 the Mission itself had in its care fifteen hundred Indians, [ 36] SAN DIEGO head of horses, cattle, : 5 ile it rai i . e, and sheep, while it raised annually more than six thousand bushels of wheat, barley, and oats. ; All this was soon lost to the padres and converts, and to thousands of others who drew the very bread of life from the Missions, by the malevolent policy of the Mexican Government. All that now remains of this great and beneficent Mission, after a lapse of seventy years from the time when its wealth and its glory departed, is a small school fo 1 i i r th i p risa e education of Indian children, conducted by a loyal representative of the old padres, living in poverty, but faithful to duty and reverent toward the past. All else around the ill-fated locality is desolation and ruin. [37] Senm—— THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER X SAN CARLOS BORREMEO N June 3, 1770, the second Mission according to Serra’s plan, San Carlos Borremeo, was founded at Monterey. Serra himself was present and celebrated mass, at the conclusion of which Governor Portola proclaimed possession of the Bay of Monterey in the names of God and the King of Spain. The celebration of mass, the burning of incense, the ringing of bells (in this case hung from the branches of a tree), the chanting of “Veni Creator,” and the blessing of the adjacent waters and land, with the formal proclamation of proprietorship in the names of God and the King, constituted the usual ceremony incident to the founding of a Mission. The chime of bells was ever an important feature with the padres in the founding and life of a Mission. These bells were brought from Spain, and were of the best Castile metal and workmanship. Their tones called the Indians to assemble at the Mission, and marked the hours for labor. By the melodies which they chimed the padres and their Indian followers chanted hymns of praise and songs of thanksgiving. Serra often said that he would have their ringing sound heard from the mountains to the sea, as it was God’s invitation to the souls of heathen men and women to flee to Him and escape the wrath to come. These bells were of silver and bronze and other metallic mixtures, to give variety to their tones. San Carlos was the home Mission of Serra. For seventeen years he labored among the Missions, founding, advising, and encouraging; and when he at last returned, worn out with advancing years and care, [38] I | I m i i San Carros Mission, MONTEREY SAN CARLOS BORREMEO he came but to die. His end came peacefully on the twenty-eighth of August, 1784, and he was buried with becoming honors, at San Carlos, by the side of his life-long friend, Padre Crespi. His was a fine nature and noble soul, and he had devoted his life unselfishly and exhausted his energies for the well-being of his fellow-man. When the decree of secularization was issued in 1845, San Carlos was already considered an abandoned Mission. The priest in charge resided at Monterey, and though a sale of the property was ordered, there remained but little of value to dispose of in this manner. From that time until 1882 San Carlos remained an untenanted ruin; but in that year the work of restoration was begun, and two years later the Mission was rededicated. Both of the church buildings —the one in Monterey and the one on the site of the old Mission in the Carmelo Valley — represent the finest type of Mission architecture. THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER XI SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA AN ANTONIO DE PADUA was the third Mission in the order of founding, and was located in the beautiful valley of Santa Margarita, now called Los Robles, in the heart of the Santa Lucia range, on the fourteenth of July, 1771. This range runs from the San Fernando Mountains, twenty miles north of Los Angeles, northwest, to the Bay of Monterey. It is a wild and rugged region, far away from the ocean, and east of San Luis Obispo. The face of nature in all California can nowhere entertain the mind and please the eye of the tourist with a greater variety of scenery, from the most beautiful to the grand and sublime, than in the vicinity of this old Mission. The padres well knew how to worship the God of Nature in his works. “Los Robles” means the oak trees. There are many valleys and tablelands in ly oaks from fifty to one hundred feet apart, giving vistas for miles in every direction. Such was the valley of the California covered with state They are called glade lands, and would gladden the hearts of ancient Druids. Mission of St. Anthony, with a mountain river winding through it, not affected by the summer drought and famous for its hot medicinal springs. This Mission was on the regular line ( though inland) from San Diego to Monterey, a deflection from the ocean route. Serra with his party left San Carlos and travelled south until he discovered the favored location, and then the ceremonies soon settled the question. In all the cases of founding Missions, the padres were necessarily dependent on Spain for supplies, except in the use of heavy building material, which was in the country around them. mainly San Diego and Monterey, but in later years San Pedro was opened [4°) These supplies were brought to the padres at the few coast ports, San Antonio DE Papua Mission Lo Angeles SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA to ships. The trained workmen were sent from Spain until the Indians had been made skilled mechanics, and it is a remarkable fact that they were very quick in imitation, and soon learned anything that was taught them. Many of them excelled in the finest art work, and in the course of time there was no limit to their usefulness. The soldier was necessary as a protection, but when the padres had gained influence and their converts became numerous, the occupation of the military was rendered useless. The “San Antonio” and the “San Carlos” were the chief reliance for supplies for the Missions in the incipiency of the scheme of civilization. The Mission never became rich and great, but was fairly prosperous until the decree of secularization. Its inland location was a hindrance to its development. It is now in a reasonable state of preservation, being visited monthly by a priest from old San Miguel, and occasionally by priests from other Missions. If it never was a great Mission, it has compensation in the minds of the imaginative by a tinge of romance hanging about its history such as none of the old Missions can surpass. “ THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER XII SAN GABRIEL, ARCANGEL HIS Mission was founded September 8, 1771. It is perhaps the most noted of all the Missions at this time, in that it comes often under the eye of both citizen and tourist. in the centre of population and travel in Southern Located at the western entrance of a great and most lovely valley, and it commands the attention of every one who would look upon desirable scenes and store the mind California, The valley is surpassingly beautiful, the lavishness of nature vying with with happy pictures for the future. the deftness of art in creating a pleasing picture. go away with hearts enraptured with the romance and spiritual fictions of All who visit the temporal home of San Gabriel, the Archangel, muse with wonder upon its past, and its history. At the College of San Fernando, in the City of Mexico, it was determined to dedicate a leading Mission to the Archangel, and for that purpose two prominent priests were instructed especially to visit Serra and indicate the purpose, besides assisting him in the task. The Mission was to be worthy of its exalted object. The priests arrived, and after an extensive search for the best location, they came at last to the San as founded, after a change of plan and site, at the present locality. Gabriel River. A Mission w ya generation before the elaborate and commodious building now standing This was about the year 1775, near] was finished. But the Mission work went on, and some five thousand Indians were taken into the Church The first convert was made about November, 1771. in this period. Zalvidea, from San Fernando Mission, a man of great zeal and energy and In 1806, Father José Maria lled at the head of the Mission, and under his directing care it entered upon a fine [42] kindly purpose, was insta NN HN VA wv \ San G : Te . . GaBriEL MissioN, — CampaNILE, SAN Gari. Mission J! Photos. by Hallett-Taylor Co , Coronado SAN GABRIEL, ARCANGEL career of prosperity; its accumulations of wealth made it a Mission of the first class in power and influence. This choice spirit is represented by the padre so popular in “Ramona.” All these Missions had a prominent feature in their architectural design, that of a great square tower at the main entrance of the large building, with a dome roof; and in this tower were hung the bells, from three to six, according to the character of the Mission in respect to wealth and influence. The great building was in every case rectangular, with porches and corridors arranged for convenience. The Moorish plans and style always dominated the construction. This Mission is in very good condition, and cared for by the proper custodians, being used for regular services of the Church. Its surroundings are well kept, and it is really a picture to remember for a lifetime. The old mill about two miles north, in the hills, is a quaint structure as solid as the hills around it, but not in use for the original purpose. The pond and dam are as nearly intact as such relics of the past may be. The Mission is about four miles from Pasadena and nine from Los Angeles. It can be reached by electric roads and the railway from each of these cities, through orange groves, orchards, and vineyards, unrivalled in loveliness even in California. In its immediate vicinity eastward is the famous ranch of “Lucky Baldwin,” Santa Anita, containing sixty thousand acres, in a scenic region as fair as the Garden of Fden. In 1898 there lived at the Mission an old priest of Spanish descent, but born at the Mission in 1807. He was educated there, entered the Church, and took orders. He was a man of medium height, slender, dark-complexioned, with fine forehead and countenance, courteous manner, and characteristic speech, which indicated his ancestry. He was learned and intellectual, with a mind stored with the events and legends of Mission days. Often, while seated at the table under the old Mission grape-vine, in a garden near the Mission building, then a pleasure resort, with a drop of the juice of the vine to warm the currents of life, he would relate story after story of the old times; and at the conclusion of each, with pathos in tone and solemnity in look, he would turn his [43] dE WEST THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTH g g S gs ) M > > P ) a > e longed for his eternal rest. He had always is li h i i i he burdens of his life, and : EE ill report. He occupied the apartments of the old padres, living and floating hast w There was no bigotry in his nature. His i 1 ition. the decaved Mission to a faint semblance of its former cond d he prayed, hoped, and believed that all would in some way be finally ” : : . . ‘0 Pico. the last Mexican Governor of California. They had planted one hundred and thirty-four years ago, which now love for humanity was boundless, 3 J saved. He had been a boyhood companion of 1 often played together under the old grape-vine, SAN LUIS OBISPO DE TOLOSA CHAPTER XIII SAN LUIS OBISPO DE TOLOSA I September, 1772, the great Mission of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was founded on the coast, about one hundred and twenty miles south of the Gulf of Monterey. This port subsequently became important to commerce and trade. Padre Serra and Padre Cavaller, with a small party of soldiers such as invariably accompanied similar expeditions, started from Monterey in the latter part of August the first of September. , and located the Mission on The ceremonies were performed and the building was begun without delay. The Indians, trained by the Jesuits, and under the direction of Cavaller, were given the task of construction. barracks for the five soldiers and corporal, A chapel, and the house for the padres, were completed in a few months, and . € natives were att > lace. The : renty S Wz covers & framework sixty feet square. the natives were attracted to the place F'hen followed the real work, and a nucleus of twenty converts was formed within a year. The soldier seldom interfered to ward off danger. He was, like the padre, a friend of the Indian, and such was his peaceful nature that trouble seldom occurred to call him into food products of the soil and the forest were furnished by action. The native the Indians in abundance, with no compensation asked except religious instruction and kind treatment at the Missions. An Arcadian atmosphere seemed to pervade all these spiritual outposts of the Church in California. The successful hunting of the terrible grizzly bear by the Spanish sharpshooters during the previous famine year at Monterey and the country about San Luis Obispo, and the feeding of the Indians, doubtless paved the way to kindly feeling between them and the Mission people. Harmony was promoted by the manner of ruling the Indians. The padres chose some natural leader among them in whom confidence could be reposed, and consig [45] ned to him control of a specified number, THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST holding him responsible for their good behavior. All offences against the laws and regulations of the Mission were reported by the leader, or alcaide, as he was designated, to the padres, who adjusted the penalty therefor. Much depended upon the moral force of the alcaide in this personal government, but results were in the main satisfactory. In classifying the Mission Indians, it must be remembered that there was found in the hidden places and caves of the mountains an Indian race known as the “Digger Indians,” whose condition was far below that of of tribes that peopled California and came within the range of Mission influences. The Digger the generality and flesh that could be obtained with bows and was an absolute savage, living upon seeds, herbs, and roots, arrows; when in extremity he would eat any living or dead thing, even reptiles and insects. He was inferior in the scale of being to even the He had the most debasing habits, was without morality or religion. chuckchee of Siberia, or the tree dwarf of Central Africa. The Diggers must not be reckoned among the Mission Indians; they never were or could be such; they were never sought for by the padres, but were adjudged as beyond the redemptive influences of civilization. The infancy of this Mission was disastrous, although it was favorably planted in a naturally rich country, amid plenty of open and arable land, well watered, and ever enjoyed genial ocean breezes and temperate climate. Three different times were the buildings destroyed by fire, and as often rebuilt with indefatigable energy. In the consequent periods of adversity supplies were furnished generously from the common storehouses at San Diego and Monterey. These misfortunes aroused the inventive faculties of one of the old padres, whose name is now lamentably forgotten. He discovered, after many trials and failures, a method of making roof tiles, which were substituted for the former combustible coverings made from tules and willows. This insured safety for the future. Then commenced a long period of progress, prosperity, the gathering of wealth, and the winning of hundreds of heathen souls for the vineyard of Mother Church. [ 46] San Luis Osgispro MissioN Los Angeles SAN LUIS OBISPO DE TOLOSA Padre Luis Martinez was the popular hero of that day among the worldly class. He had keen, practical sense, genial humor, and was given to generous hospitality that made him many friends. But alas, his rascally prudence in providing for his expected “rainy day” brought him into ill-favor with the more spiritual and elect. He was sent away from the Mission and from the Indians, whom he really loved and for whom he had labored. He closed his kindly but somewhat misguided life in Madrid, in some disrepute. But it goes far in his favor that around the neighborhood of the old Mission, at this distant day, local tradition still whispers words of praise in behalf of the much-loved old padre. The Mission overlooks La Cafiada de los Osos, the Valley of the Bears,— the grizzlies. It was a very beautiful and fertile expanse, the mountains bordering closely on the east, and the seacoast several miles away to the west. Those who would like to know more of the happy scenes which sometimes enlivened the old Mission life would do well to read in Helen Hunt Jackson’s “Ramona” the description of a procession of domestic animals and fowls, organized by Father Martinez. The great Mission now lies in ruins, its good work nearly forgotten, and like the fame of “Our Lord the Bishop” to perpetuate which in a pious spirit it was erected, it is silently passing into utter oblivion. THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER XIV SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS AN FRANCISCO DE ASIS was founded by Padre Palou on the ninth of October, 1776, on the Bay of San Francisco. The name was bestowed in honor of the founder of the Franciscan Order. For the r the little band which formed the nucleus of the Mission experienced hard treatment at the hands 1777 there were presented before him seventeen converts for Lake Dolores of that first yea of the Indians, still on the arrival of Serra in first church built was not precisely on the Mission’s present site, and the baptism. The of San Francisco has grown up about its shores. In 1782 the corner-stone of day has disappeared as the city a new church edifice was laid. The Mission was twice visited by the in which he found the Mission Indians and the The Indians and the Spanish authorities were continually there was a great falling away in the number of neophytes attached in 1845, there remained discoverer Vancouver, and he has left a full account of the condition industries in which they had been instructed by the padres. at war with one another, and in the years preceding the secularization of San Francisco, in 1835, to the Mission. At the passing of San Francisco into the hands of the Americans, but a remnant of the old Mission Dolores. [48] Photos. by Hallett-Tay! Musica. WHEegL, MATRrAC ISIC ts, S : iL, MarTracHA, AND Music Books, San Juan Capistrano Mission. — DoLorEs, or a \ ihe San Francisco pe Asis, Mission SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO CHAPTER XV SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO AN JUAN CAPISTRANO was founded November 1, 1776, by Serra, assisted by Amirrio. A commission of priests was sent from Monterey the year before to find a place for another Mission north of San Diego, in pursuance of a modified plan of establishing a line of Missions between the two points, of such distance apart as to make the journeys convenient and easy.” The original plan was to found but one Mission. This was subsequently considered inadequate for the general purposes of colonization and the work of the Church, and several Missions had already been founded under the plans as modified. This commission was instructed to name the Mission San Juan Capistrano, and they selected the location upon a circle of hills overlooking a beautiful valley running to the ocean, sixty-five miles south of Los Angeles. The outbreak of the Indians at San Diego occurred at this time, the report of which deferred further action until about a year later. Then the work of construction was commenced, and was carried on mostly by the Indians under the direction of the padres. But two buildings were begun; however, they were extensive, and the long line of corridors with triple archwork, though in ruins, is still the wonder of the engineer and the architect. The walls are massive and constructed of stone and mortar, but the earthquake of December 8, 1812, did much damage. The tower and one of the great domes fell in upon the Indian congregation at prayer, crushing about forty under the weight of masonry. The same earthquake also wrecked other Missions. All this constructive work was the result of training heathen brains and hands to carry out the designs of the educated padres. The main building, the church, is in the form of a Roman cross, and its construction [49] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST and decoration place San Juan Capistrano in the forefront as the finest example of Mission-building now standing. The carvings and cut-stone work indicate that only masters of their craft were employed in the building here. The quadrangle was surrounded by lines of arches which present features not to be found in the arches of any other Mission. The honor of conferring the name was given to Don Portola, the first Governor, who discovered the locality on his trip of observation from San Diego to Monterey in 1770. He was struck with the beauty of the region, the fertility of the soil, its contiguity with the sea, and a natural port for the anchorage of ships. The place is one of the most remarkable of this productive State. San Juan Capistrano, even after the earthquake shock and a century of decay, surpasses many of the Missions. In progress, wealth, and spiritual harvest it kept pace in the days of its prosperity with other leading Missions. A chapel still remains, restored from the ruins, and services are held there by an itinerant priest. It is one of the favorite resorts of tourists. Photograph by S. L. Willard Views oF San Juan Capistrano Mission by Hallett-Taylor Co., Coronado SANTA CLARA CHAPTER XVI SANTA CLARA ANTA CLARA was founded in the following year, 1777. Padre Tomas de la Pefia officiated at the ceremonies, seven years before the death of Junipero Serra. This Mission is in Santa Clara County, three miles from San José, the county seat. The two places are connected by an old boulevard made by the padres, and lined on each side by a triple row of trees, planted in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, equidistant from each other, on opposite sides of the roadway. They are now of great height, shading the entire route. An old legend says that they were intended as a hedge to protect the traveller from the wild cattle. The boulevard is one hundred feet wide, and in the days of the padres the surface was kept clean and smooth as a promenade. It was called “Alameda,” — the pleasant way. The location of this Mission affords another example of the excellent judgment and taste of the old padres in the selection of sites for their Mission homes. There is no more enchanting valley on earth than this one in Santa Clara County. On the sixth of January, Padre Tomas and Lieutenant Moraga, with ten soldiers, selected the site; another padre, José Murguia, with a party soon came from San Carlos with provisions and supplies for the little colony, but Padre Tomas de la Pena with becoming ceremony founded the Mission; and the buildings were completed in due course. Here again the trained heathen’s hand and brain were utilized in the construction of this, as they were in that of all the Missions, except the first few that were built, before the necessary educational process and experience had prepared the Indian for the work. Conversion and baptism went on apace, and the padres were made happy by the salvation of many native souls. [51] ir THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST The Mission thrived from the beginning until the Spring of 1779, when excessive rains and floods caused by the melting of the heavy snows in the mountains destroyed their buildings and improvements, causing great loss. In consequence, other buildings, including a very beautiful church on more elevated ground, were constructed, and President Serra, with Padre Pefia and his old friend and biographer, Padre Palou, led in the ceremonies of The architect, Father Murguia, died after the completion of the structure, and now lies buried An earthquake wrecked these buildings in 1818, but the Mission was restored by erections on All now lie in moss-grown ruins, which stir mournful memories and dedication. under its walls. a more generous scale in 1825 and 1826. regretful thoughts in the minds of those who visit them in these latter days. Santa Clara Mission had an exciting experience with its Indian converts not realized to any extent by the other Missions. Yoscolo, who was educated at the Mission,—a strong character, was named the alcaide, or chief of the Indians controlled by the Mission, but rebelled against the authority of the padres; with a thousand Indians, armed with bows and arrows, he attacked the Mission and robbed it of such stores and supplies as the rebels cared for and could take with them. Meeting with no serious opposition, they invaded the convent where the Indian girls lived, and ignoring the padres’ system, which allowed the girls to select for themselves if they were inclined to matrimony, they adopted the method of the Romans who seized the Sabine women, and captured more than three hundred of them, many of whom may have been willing victims. Then, herding three thousand head of cattle and five hundred horses, they fled to the mountains near Mariposa, afterwards General John C. Frémont’s noted ranch claim. About the same time Stanislaus, another Indian leader, deserted from the Mission of San José, gathered some three thousand Indians at Mariposa, and united his forces with those of Yoscolo, who was chief of the native armies. General Vallijo of the Mexican army, and resident commander, with about three hundred soldiers, started after the rebels, but Tt a. Ei ——— [ 52] . Photo. by Putnam Valentine, Los Angeles Santa CLarA Mission From AN Orb Print SANTA CLARA was outwitted by them, and they escaped into the hidden recesses of the mountains, and were lost to the Mexicans. Later, Yoscolo, who seems to have been something of a strategist and fighter, and doubtless encouraged by his good fortune, made another raid on the Santa Clara Mission, and was again successful in looting and carrying away large quantities of stores and valuable goods. He retreated to the Santa Cruz Mountains, near Los Gatos, at the mouth of a great caiion leading through these mountains. The locality of Los Gatos (“the home of the cats”) appears to have been the rendezvous and breeding-place of innumerable wild cats, dangerous even to the hunter. Still later Yoscolo, exalted by his good fortune, and destitute of gratitude toward the Mission fathers for their former kindness, made another raid. This last adventure awoke the sleeping and peaceful energies of the Mission and the native Californians, so that Juan Prado Mesa, the commander of the Mission, organized a force and followed the rebels to the mountains. A battle ensued; with the true tactics of a good soldier, Yoscolo formed a square, ordered his Indians to fight lying down, and behind rocks and trees. A fierce conflict resulted, but bows and arrows could not compete with the flintlock arms of the time. A day’s battle, in which the Indians evinced great courage and tenacity of purpose, until their rude weapons were exhausted, ended in surrender to the Mission forces. Yoscolo was wounded and taken, and according to the usages of those times, he and the leading members of his army were at once beheaded; the others were taken to the Mission to undergo anew the process of conversion after due punishment for their sins. Yoscolo’s head was set on the top of a pole planted near the front door of Santa Clara church, to terrorize other Indians inclined to evil-doing and rebellion against Mission authority. in 1839, in execution of the decree of secularization, issued some years prior to this time, Don José Ramon £33] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST Estrada, the legally constituted commissioner, gave away, or sold to his fifends and followers, He rich Gi and other property of the Mission. The padres voluntarily abandoned their homes i most lfances when they saw their work destroyed and their opportunity gone. The Indians, vainly protesting, Were Seven ey to Seite poverty, suffering, and ultimate extinction. Decay and speedy wi erie to the Mission. I i” in brief, was the end of all the heroic, sublime, and unselfish labors of the Pranchesn fathers to file an civilize the savage tribes of California. The bitter experience of the Santa Clara Mission with he rebels was without doubt due to the fact that the greater portion of the converts were mountain-bred Indians, whose nature and habits were more savage, cruel, and warlike than those of tribes living in other localities, more favorable by nature to their support. | ; The de Santa Clara has, within sight of the old Mission ruins, a Catholic College, with Shreve grounds and magnificent buildings, and a faculty famed for its piety and learning. Within ys iin ae are many acres adorned with statuary, and planted with trees shading pleasant walks ; foshaos refres id iy air and pleasing the eye; flowers everywhere lending their fragrance to the breath of ites vines laden 4 t : nectar of the gods; rare plants and beautiful shrubbery; while here and there, standing in stately hel Fan native vigor, widely spreading its branches, is the antique oak, whose length of days extends to centuries, hi picture of beauty, power, and progress vepresents the Mother Church of our times; the on ii Sear y represent the same Church more than a hundred years ago; this, the loss of a rude but precious civilization ; ‘ Pl hs : ‘ worn. that, the achievements of a living race with a splendid civilization alike precious and, we trust, far more enduring > The Church has made her record in each. SAN BUENAVENTURA CHAPTER XVII SAN BUENAVENTURA N 1779 Serra—after many political changes in the officials and plans for California, in which Governor Portola was displaced by Don Teodore de Croix as Governor-General, with residence in Sonora—and his good friend, Viceroy Bucarelidead, received orders to found three Missions on the Channel of Santa Barbara. Captain Rivera recruited eighty men for that purpose, and to help Serra in locating and building the Missions. San Buenaventura was so situated as to form a link in the original chain of Missions which Serra ardently desired along the two hundred leagues of coast from Mexico northward, so as to meet the necessities of all the Indians living there, who he learned were more readily reclaimed than inland tribes and mountain Indians. Governor Portola, on his return from Monterey, reported to Serra very favorably of the Channel Indians, as being peaceable, some of them advanced in stonework and quite skilful in woodwork, living in decent houses, and expert with canoes. They had informed him, by tracings in the sand, of Vizcaino’s visit nearly one hundred and seventy-five years before. Serra was greatly interested, but he did not finally get permission to build until Governor Neve informed him in February, 1783, that he would help in founding the Missions of San Buenaventura and Santa Barbara. He proceeded to the former place, and on the twenty-ninth of March, 1783, with imposing ceremony and a great attendance of soldiers and Indians, and Padre Cambon from the Philippine Islands, he dedicated San Buenaventura Mission to God and St. Joseph. In 1802 this Mission had greater and finer herds, fields of grain, gardens, and orchards than any other, Fathers Dumertz and Vicente de Santa Maria were in control, and for many years they made the enterprise a [35] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST success, and the Mission rapidly increased in wealth and importance. They were on the seacoast in the midst of a country most prolific in all the products of the soil. They controlled the great Santa Clara Valley; they likewise controlled other rich valleys between the Santa Inez Mountains and the ocean, and from Newhall to Monticello. San Buenaventura Mission has suffered from fire and earthquake, the former during the life of Padre Senan, when the buildings were all but completely destroyed; and the latter during the general disturbance in 1812, when so many of the Missions experienced serious damage. For a time the padres dared not trust their lives beneath the shattered walls, and in the end the church and tower were razed and built anew. These walls were so massive that they resisted the cannon shots with hardly a scar, in the battle between Carrillo and Alvarado in the Spring of 1838. The beautiful altar in the chapel was the envy of all the Missions. The buildings are now in a good state of preservation. The church is finely decorated and painted outside and in, but the decorations have so modernized it that the medieval character of the structure is lost except in the doorways, confessional, baptistery, and bell vaults in the tower. Services are held here regularly as of old. The place is a glorious relic, recalled from the past to bless with its memories the present and the future. BuenavENTURA Mission SANTA BARBARA CHAPTER XVIII SANTA BARBARA N April, 1782, Governor Neve, with sixty soldiers, arrived at Santa Barbara, thirty miles west by north of the new Ventura, so named, and built a presidio for the military protection of the Mission near the beach, which here curves to form a small bay. The site selected was not far from the old Indian mound, on a high mesa, upwards of a mile from the coast, commanding a view of the Santa Inez Mountains on the north, and the ocean in other directions for more than a hundred miles on a clear day. An electric railway now extends from the coast to the Mission. Monticello, to the east, is as sunny and romantic an incline of foothills as the eye rests upon in a thousand leagues of coast land. April 29, 1782, the . / . - . - Governor and soldiers and a great mass of wondering Indians looked on, while Padre Serra celebrated the usual mass and preached a sermon; and then the Governor took possession of the country in the names of God and the King, the poor natives not realizing that they had so lost the hunting and fishing grounds possessed by them for ages. Serra expected the immediate building of the Mission, but the Governor determined that the presidio should first be built, to insure protection against the possibility that the aboriginal owners, when their wonderment had ceased, would raise the question of title. Serra, sad and grieved at the Governor's decision, submitted, called for a priest from San Juan Capistrano, and departed for Monterey. Once again he visited the site of the Mission, and even then no steps had been taken toward building. He shed many tears and in great earnestness prayed the Lord to “send forthwith laborers to His vineyard.” Again he departed [57] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST on foot,—his usual mode of travelling throughout his missionary’s life. He was never able to see the seed planted by him in Santa Barbara bear blossom and fruitage, for he died on the twenty-eighth of August, 1784, yielding up to God a glorious life, which was nevertheless full of bitterness and disappointment. Father Palou, the biographer and dearest friend of Serra, was most fittingly appointed President of the Missions, but not until December 15, 1786, after Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen succeeded Palou, was the Mission of Santa Barbara in reality founded. In the ensuing year the buildings were erected,— a chapel, a kitchen, a servants’ room, a granary, a house for the padres, and a house for unmarried women. All walls were three feet thick, of adobe, with heavy pole rafters and thatched roofs. Then many Indians | were converted and joined the Mission. In 1788 the buildings were tiled, others erected, and three hundred | and ten Indians were entered upon the register of the Mission. For several years the process of erection continued, until 1794, when a large church, in which were several small chapels of elaborate construction and decorative design, completed the Mission buildings. Eight years later a massive stone reservoir of sufficient capacity for storing water for the gardens and orchards was built, receiving its supply of water from I an aqueduct leading from the reservoir to the confluence of the Kast and West Mission creeks, having their : sources high upon the Santa Inez Mountains, about two and a half miles distant, and supposed to form what the Spaniards at the time called the Pedragosa Creek. Some time later a dam was constructed across the creek a mile away, to hold water for operating a mill erected on a hill east of the Mission, and conducted there through the aqueduct. The reservoir used for irrigating the gardens and orchards was in front of the Mission buildings across the roadway, running past them to the mountains and east to Monticello and west to the old Mission of San Miguel, two leagues away, and to various points along the coast westward. The dam and conduits Edam] ; i — as much of them as is not in ruins—are now used to furnish water for the city. The work served well the bs tn, LIE Photo. by Hallett-Taylor Co., Coronado [58] : Santa BarBara Mission SANTA BARBARA original purpose, and suggested to the future generations the most advantageous lines upon which to draw their waters from the clouds and snows of the mountains. The quarters occupied by the Indians were in the rear and west of the main buildings, surrounded by adobe and stone walls, enclosing several acres, with comfortable houses suited to their use. All these are now repre- sented by lines of decayed rubbish and ruin, the last vestiges of the homes of the poor natives. The principal structures are still in good and habitable condition. Regular religious services are held there, and an excellent school is maintained for common and advanced instruction, open to all classes without distinction of creed. The Mission is no longer a ruin, but restored to a semblance of its ancient usefulness, when hundreds of God’s prim- itive children clustered around it begging for shelter, food, and blessing. Its former prosperity was great, and tempted the avarice of both Spain and Mexico, until the claims became so extortionate and burdensome that the padres were often driven to the brink of despair, and the Indians brought to poverty. Spain plundered; but Mexico ruined. The wolves of the Government ravaged and devoured until the lambs of the Church became extinct. In 1853, by an order from Rome, the Mission was changed into a hospice, to become later an apostolic college for novitiates; but having no ecclesiastical fund for support, the college made no progress. In 1885 it was annexed to the Order of the United States, officially centralized in the city of St. Louis, and is a beneficiary of the Province of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The city of Santa Barbara is the favorite residence of the old Mexican aristocracy in Southern California. The fertile plains and valleys and pastures around it, its even, balmy climate, and its location by the sea made it the attractive centre and practically the capital of the State during Mexican occupation succeeding the Mission days, though nominally the seat of the Government was at Monterey. ys, g ) ) [59] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER XIX LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION A PURISIMA CONCEPCION Mission was designed by Serra as one of the Channel series, but 1. was not founded until December 8, 1787, three years after his death; and it was built not upon the coast but upon the Santa Inez River, north and beyond the mountains. The river is about one hundred miles long, rising in the mountains to the eastward,—a sort of nucleus, or hub of mountains at Newhall, into which run the Tehatchipe Range from the Sierra Nevada, the San Gabriel Range from the eastward, the San Fernando Range from the south, the Cuyhengo Range from the southeast, the Santa Inez Range from the west, and the Santa Lucia Range from the northwest, near Monterey. This mountain centre is the wildest and most rugged portion of the State outside of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It seems to be the breeding-place of all the lesser ranges. The Santa Inez Valley, through which runs the river, is like an immensely wide and most hideously savage caion until it approaches Las Berros, on the river, the site of the Mission, a much wider part of the valley and a more open country. Many cafions and smaller valleys enter the Santa Inez along its route from the eastern end to its mouth, where the valley and river reach the ocean. Along the western half of the Santa Inez Valley a wide stretch of open country unfolds to view, embracing many thousands of acres, consisting of valley, flat, rolling, and hill lands, exceedingly fertile, adapted to cultivation and pasturage, and extending to San Luis Obispo and beyond. Such, approximately, is the southwestern part of California available to the Missions for resources and Indian converts; but it is impossible to define clearly and accurately the trend of the ranges and localities of [60] * ed i oo . ] n bs boo: ¢ | oa oP La Purisima Concepcion Mission Photo. by Putnam & Valentine, Los LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION the intervening lands without the aid of the contour map. In this region near the Santa Inez, are the Lompoc Colony and lands, one of the finest and most productive portions of the State. The first buildings erected were both crude and small, but in 1802 more extensive ones of adobe, tile-roofed, were completed and dedicated. The earthquake of 1812 rent and tore the Mission and Indian houses to pieces, and to this were added the destructive forces of a great flood from the river, which completed the ruin. Padre Mariano Payeras was the supervising priest and a man of great energy; with the abiding faith of his Order in the results of indomitable labor, he entered on the work of reconstruction. He soon had provided warehouses for grain, which was in the process of harvesting when the disaster occurred, enclosures for several thousand head of cattle and sheep and horses, and dwellings for his Indians, numbering fifteen hundred or more. He also finished a stone structure, which was dedicated five years later, in 1817, and used as a chapel, as a padres’ house, and for other Mission purposes. It was in style, dimensions, and decoration the most modest of the Mission chapels in California. La Purisima prospered in amassing wealth and in making converts, and its location made it indispensable to the line of Missions, as they were projected and afterwards established. Doubtless its mis- fortunes from natural causes had much to do in subordinating its fortunes to those of the other Missions, while in time it became, like the others, a victim to the act of confiscation. In 1844 Governor Pio Pico was ordered by the home Government to restore the lands to the Indians, whose number was at that time reduced to about one hundred. But, without faith or hope in the future, the Indians declined the benefit of this belated act of conscience, and the lands were sold and rented. The United States Commissioners in 1856 restored the Mission buildings to the Church. They are now partially reconstructed and used for Mission purposes. The old Mission is reached from the south by the San Marco and the Goleta Passes through the Santa Inez Mountains, the one being ten and the other forty miles west of Santa Barbara. [61] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER XX SANTA CRUZ ANTA CRUZ, on the Bay of Monterey, was inspired and planned by President Lasuen in his home in the San Francisco Mission. It was founded in the Autumn of 1791, with the accustomed ceremony of chanting by neophytes from another Mission, and the raising of a cross on the spot over which Chief Sugert and a large following of his tribe attended, themselves representing The church a mass, the altar was designed to rest. the very people from which the good padres planned to recruit the company of their converts. was dedicated in May, 1794, in the presence of these same Indians, who on this occasion came as devotees. The Mission reached its zenith of influence five years after its founding, although it continued to acquire property in cattle and herds. Settlers encroached upon the lands of the Mission, and the padres retaliated upon the authorities who had permitted such a condition, until, eventually, in the Bouchard rising in 1818, the Mission was robbed of every removable effect. A padre was murdered here in 1812 by neophytes who pleaded having been most cruelly punished, but their claims were never established. In 1835 Ignacio del Valle was commissioned to dispose of the property under the act of confiscation. The personal property inventoried fifty thousand dollars, of which it was agreed that ten thousand dollars should be given to the Indians. It is said that this amount was actually divided among them; but it is usually added, ironically, that the only apparent evidence of the division was to be found in their wretched condition. The tower fell in 1840, eleven years later the walls were wrecked, and since then the Mission has dropped into utter obscurity, and none so poor to do it reverence. [62] LA SOLEDAD CHAPTER XXI LA SOLEDAD A SOLEDAD, Our Lady of Solitude, was founded on the ninth of October N. 1791, midway between th Missions 3 1 > ) S50 s of San Antonio de Padua and Santa Clara. The site was located in a region of arid plains ) which depended largely upon irrigation to make them fruitful. Padre Lasuen. who chose the si and later instituted the Mission, had abundant confidence in the possibilities of the sgn to prod on pasturage and crops when the padres and their Indian neophytes should have introduced : - Ne to supplement the insufficient rainfall. ny On the day when the Mission was founded a company of perhaps twelve earnest men gathered about cross and altar, set upon the bare and deserted plain,—the sole human creatures in the vast barren waste whi : stretched away in all directions league upon league. Their faith must indeed have been large, that they on this Greer spot as the point at which to create a centre of usefulness and about which to he the " tch . and impoverished savages, who knew no joy, no hope, no comfort,—as civilized man knows such jadi At ane the work of erecting adobe buildings was begun, and the padres proved indefatigable in their efforts to increase the holdings upon which the temporal welfare of the Mission depended. They found the pasturage for cattle and sheep fairly good, and well-nigh limitless in extent. Either the soil was not © d : they were unable to introduce sufficient water for irrigating, for their crops seem not to have or he those of other Missions. Surely there is no question concerning the faithful, persistent work of the adres their Indi / x iss] dian converts, who gathered about the Mission and threw in their destinies with jt Of these the [63] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST number steadily grew larger, in spite of an epidemic which made great ravages among them. As years went on the flocks and herds increased, until La Soledad reached a place among the prosperous Missions, proving the padres most excellent men of business. From its zenith of wealth and influence, about the year 1820, the Mission fell into decline, owing to the political chicanery which succeeded the just and gentle rule of the padres. When the decree of secularization took effect, in 1835, little or no property remained, and l.a Soledad Mission passed into the hands of the Soberanes family. Padre Sarria, who had made his home at La Soledad during the years of its decline,—and his own as well, for he had quitted the high place he formerly held and had grown aged and feeble, fell dead before the altar while upon his knees in prayer. Truly, the Mission house of Our Lady of Solitude had become desolate’ The ruins of La Soledad Mission lie about four miles from the town of that name. The roof of the church has fallen in, and but a solitary arch remains of the once fine colonnade. Little remains but heaps of débris to tell its story to the visitor; but ruins have ever been eloquent to speak to the imagination of the active life which once stirred within walls now enclosing naught but empty solitude. Ruins oF LA SoLEpap Mission SAN JOSE CHAPTER XXII S/ 1 N y 0) S E AN JOSE Mission was dedicated to St. Joseph, the spouse of the Holy Virgin, June 11, 1797, by direct order from the Apostolic College at San Fernando. Padre Lasuen founded it, and appointed Padres Isadore Barcenilla and Augustine Morino as priests in control of the Mission. It was the sister to Santa Clara, and situated three miles away, on the foothills of the Coast Range, where the beautiful city of San José is now located, and fifty miles south of San Francisco. The region is noted for its immense stretch of fertile and well-watered lands, upon which the flocks and herds could graze and wander in native pastures without limit, summer and winter. These were the resources from which the Missions prospered and amassed their wealth. Here Nature, again, with but little care, yielded bountifully her products to minister to the comfort and luxury of man. This Mission at an early day led many others in riches and in the influence these bestowed upon it. Hunting in the mountains and trapping on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers were sources of considerable wealth. The great mountains around the open country tempered the climate and promoted health and vigor, while they stirred the soul with their awe-inspiring scenery. Stanislaus, the renegade leader, like Yoscolo of the Santa Clara Mission, was educated here. But he too, like his ingrate associate, turned on the hands that nurtured him, and in 1825, with a band of about one hundred Indians, raided the ranches and drove away hundreds of cattle and horses. The animals were some days afterwards recovered as a result of a battle between the robbers and a small force of twenty men led by Guillermo Castro, who subsequently became a Mexican General, and commanded the Mexican army against General John C. Frémont [65] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST in his famous bear campaign for the conquest of that part of California. It was a species of guerilla warfare in which Castro excelled by reason of his ability to hide in the mountain recesses beyond the reach of Frémont, who at last turned away to pursue his campaign more effectively in Southern California. San José Mission was originally a small wooden erection, roofed with mats made by the Indians, of strands of woven grasses stitched together; but about the year 1800 a new building was constructed. These ruins, although the Mission was simple and modest, and in no sense comparable with some others in size, cost, number, or magnificence of structure, have received more attention and been described in more glowing colors by writers and visitors than many another more extensive Mission. General Vallejo, the Comisionado, took possession of the Mission property in 1834, and found ten thousand head of cattle, four thousand horses, and twelve thousand sheep; there were also about two thousand converted Indians,—a most remarkable showing for a small Mission in thirty-seven years of existence. JAN y bs = Bavrista Mission >) ww Purpom fe lonsi Photo. by Putnam & Valentine, Los Angeles SAN JUAN, BAUTISTA CHAPTER XXIII SAN JUAN, BAUTISTA AN JUAN, Bautista, was founded in June, 1797. Its church, now in ruins, was built in 1800. Its site S is at San Benito, in a beautiful locality in that county, and on the road from Castroville to Gilroy. President Lasuen and Padre Martianena performed the usual ceremony of dedication. The original buildings were of wood, with pole roofs; but in the beginning of the next century erections of adobe, stone, and mortar, with massive walls and tile roofs, were substituted. The charming feature of this Mission was its numerous bells, with their sweetness and variety of tone, from treble of light weight to bass of several thousand pounds. Some old master, skilled in the art of music and the manufacture of bells, had so contrived the relation and intermingling of tones that they resulted in composing a chime of incomparable sweetness. The bells were cast in Peru,—nine of them in the series. Subsequently some of the bells were recast, but the secret of the relation of metals, temper, and tones was lost, and the charm was broken. The fame of these bells was greater than that of the Mission. The bells have disappeared, and the ruins only remain. THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER XXIV SAN MIGUEL EARLY forty leagues north of Santa Barbara the Mission of San Miguel was founded on the twenty-fifth of July, 1797, in honor of the “Prince of the Heavenly Militia.” The ceremonies were performed by President Lasuen and Padre Sitjar, and baptism was administered to fifteen children at the time. The Indians did not respond generally to the invitations of the padres; so Padre Martin went to the Chief Guchapa and begged him to send his Indians to the Mission, but met prompt refusal. Thereupon Commander de la Guerra sent a file of his soldiers and took the old chief prisoner. Then he came to terms, and promised to send his people, leaving his son as a hostage. But this method of forced conversion did not succeed well: the Mission made but little progress in its spiritual labors, and in truth not much in the acquisition of wealth. The country available was good, and extensive for sheep-pasturing, ana a proper attention to this industry would have proven a sure road to riches. Yet the padres gave too much labor to raising grapes and making wine, and their section and climate were not well adapted to this fruit and this industry. In consequence, they were unable to pay their annual tribute to Mexico. They owned, in time, large flocks of sheep, but never pushed the industries of wool-raising and weaving, which would have produced their fortunes. San Miguel played a humble part in Mission life but its reputation was spotless. San MicuerL Mission SAN FERNANDO, REY DE ESPAGNA CHAPTER XXV SAN FERNANDO, REY DE ESPAGNA AN FERNANDO was founded September 8, 1797. President Lasuen was in harmony with the plans S of Serra to establish a series of Missions from the Mexican border to Monterey, and he dedicated this Mission to the King of Spain. The ruins of the adobe building now seen date back to 1806, when the erection thereof was completed. They stand in a valley as fertile and sunny as any in the State, a valley that is very great in extent and susceptible to cultivation throughout. Enclosed mainly by the San Fernando and Cuyhengo Ranges, it opens eastward through La Cafiada Pass to Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, and southward through Glendale Valley to Los Angeles. As a grain and fruit region it compares favorably with the other great valleys in the State. Thus it may be seen that the old Mission had exhaustless natural resources in soil, climate, and expansive lands to draw on in the development of its object, and for raising supplies for the padres and the native converts. The buildings, like many others, were badly shaken or destroyed by the earthquake of 1812. The Mission was restored; and, as in some others of the first class, a magnificent corridor was attached like a wing to the principal building, which enclosed the chapel. The corridor was arched, and under its shade the padres were protected from the sun; here, too, they spent the cool evening hours in repose. The courtyard was refreshed by running water and a fine stone fountain. Shade trees of every description, indigenous to the soil and climate, and such as could be transplanted, or raised from imported seed, everywhere surrounded and interspersed the Mission grounds. Flowers indescribable in variety and perfume allured the vision and gave exquisite pleasure to the senses. Fruits of every kind were plentiful as the native [69] THE MISSIONS. OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST grasses. Indeed, this was one of the great Missions in all that nature and art could contribute to its growth and maturity. Founded in honor of a king who had been canonized by the pope, it could not be permitted to degenerate into inferiority and obscurity. It flourished and gathered property in flocks, herds, grain, wine, money, and other effects, until, in 1825, it was estimated to rank almost without a rival in wealth among its sister Missions. Its treasury held from one hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand dollars in cash and assets. The site of the Mission commands a view of nearly the entire valley, and to the ocean, and the islands from forty to eighty miles away. In 1846 the Mission was sold by Governor Pio Pico to Don Eulogio Celis for about twenty thousand dollars, and the sale was confirmed ultimately by the United States Commissioners, closing out the Mission forever. Its lands are now owned by many different people, and the entire valley is modernized by all the improvements of a higher civilization. Its location is about fifteen miles north of Los Angeles, and near the mountains. There is an old tradition that the padres found gold in these mountains; their mines are sometimes pointed out, but no one cares to work them. Yet it is no doubt true that the Mexicans discovered gold here in considerable quantities before it was revealed in Sutter's Creek in 1848. However authentic the traditions may be, the pursuit of gold in these localities has long since been abandoned. San Fernanpo Mission Photo. by Putnam & Valentine, Los Angeles SAN LUIS, REY DE FRANCIA CHAPTER XXVI SAN LUIS, REY DE FRANCIA AN LUIS, Rey de Francia, was founded June 13, 1798. This was the greatest, richest, and grandest of the old Missions, located in a most picturesque section, upon a beautiful site, not far from the ocean, at Oceanside,—now a little gem of a modern city. In the day of its glory and wealth it was the pride of all the Missions. Father Peyri during his long service of more than thirty years made it his home. The Mission possessed more than two hundred thousand acres, and as much more became subject to its control as its energies expanded. It owned and pastured upon its lands an annual average of twenty thousand head of cattle, and nearly as many sheep, with three thousand Indians to perform the various kinds of work needful to a self-supporting colony. All Missions once well started were expected to produce from their lands and industries all the comforts and as many of the luxuries as such primitive conditions of life made possible. In these respects all were successful. No Mission lived upon the charity of another, though their hospitality was proverbial. The annual crops of wheat, oats, barley and corn, potatoes, beans, and other products of the soil, were very many thousand bushels. In the year 1834, the Mission had thirty-five hundred Indians tc support, and, as an old record shows, more than twenty-five thousand head of cattle, ten thousand horses, and ninety thousand sheep. It raised and harvested from its arable lands annually, in the zenith of its prosperity, more than sixty thousand bushels of grain, and two hundred and fifty barrels of wine from its vineyards. The grand and imposing structure was the church, one hundred and sixty feet long, fifty feet wide, and sixty feet in height, with walls four to five feet thick. The great tower in front had three stories, the upper [71] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST two each containing four bells in a square room formed by the walls of the tower, where archways were cut in all sides; and a bell, hung back of these openings and vibrating in the air, could be heard for many miles. These bells performed all kinds of service in Mission work and worship, and were indispensable to the padres. The ornaments of the church in gold and silver were many and beautiful. In the chancel and behind the altar stood the cross, and upon it the image of Christ, of life size, modelled in wood, exquisitely painted and fashioned, to make the resemblance to life nearly perfect. The altar was approached by steps made to resemble red granite. An old pulpit of wood, curiously made, said to have been used in a church in Constantinople during the Middle Ages, and occupied at different times by several of the most learned and pious of the priesthood that have since been canonized by the popes, hung upon the wall to the right of the altar, facing the Indians. It was entered by a stairway from the space at the end of the altar. It was revered as a most precious relic, and richly trimmed in gold. The walls and ceiling of the structure were adorned with many and various images, mottoes, and precepts illustrating the creed, ceremonies, and history of the Church. On one side of the structure cxtended a corridor of two hundred and fifty arches. This alone certainly indicates the vast space covered by the buildings. In the rear of the church was a great square containing several acres, enclosed by a row of buildings on cach side. The front and rear lines were constructed in the form of corridors with superb arches. The ground enclosed was used as one of the gardens of the Mission, and entered from the corridors, a favorite resort of the padres. The air therein was moistened by the waters of an immense stone fountain in the centre,—water brought through a conduit from the mountains. San Luis Rey was known as “the kingly Mission.” Its boundless possessions of land, great number of converts, vast riches in almost every kind of personal property, great influence in the councils of the Church, and perhaps its wonderful success in the management of its resources, spiritually and otherwise, gave it a [72] SAN Luis Rey Mission Al R sana | 20., Coronado | | y ARR Photo. by Halletr- Taylor ( SAN LUIS, REY DE FRANCIA celebrity surpassing that of all other Missions. When the order of secularization was about to be carried into effect, and notice was sent to Padre Peyri, he determined at once to leave his home of thirty years, with all its loved and bitter memories. Dreading the parting with his Indians, who had become to him as dear as children, he started away in the night for San Diego, forty-five miles distant, unknown to them, and hoped thus to escape the agony of separation. The secret of his flight was soon known, and several hundred of them rushed to their horses and hastened in pursuit. They reached the Bay of San Diego in time to see Father Peyri on board the ship, then weighing anchor for Spain. From the deck he blessed them, and bade them farewell in tears and lamentations. Some of them swam to the ship, and were taken on board; they went to Rome, never to return again. None but Serra in all this noble band endeared himself to the poor Indian like Peyri. The process of restoration of the Mission began in 1892. Father O’Keefe, the popular priest who long presided over the reviving fortunes of Santa Barbara Mission, and was so kindly known to tourists, became the manager at San Luis Rey in the period of reconstruction. The work advanced so rapidly that on the twelfth of May, 1894, the Mission was again dedicated, and title thereto delivered to the Franciscan Order. It is stated that some old Indian women were there who had been present at the dedication ceremonies nearly one hundred years before. The old Moorish dome over the chancel in the church has been restored, and such other buildings added as would serve the new purpose of the Mission, all resembling as nearly as possible the original designs in the arrangement of grounds and erections. The brown mountains, the lovely valley, and the pure snow waters of the river flowing around the elevation upon which the white-domed and tile-roofed homes of the old padres in far-off days rested, will remain in their beauty and grandeur until the end of time, but will not outlive the pious memories and pathetic fate of San Luis, which was destroyed while nourishing a civilization that promised so much to pagan races. [73] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER XXVII SAN YOSE DE GUADALUPE AN JOSE DE GUADALUPE Mission was founded June 11, 1797. It was situated about twenty miles S northeast of what is now the city of San José, in the foothills. The first building was of wood, with a thatched roof; the adobe church was not completed and dedicated until 1809. The number of converts promised success from the first, and steadily increased until, in 1824, the population settled about the Mission amounted to nearly two thousand souls. In 1805 a padre and a small escort of soldiers and Indians were attacked, one soldier being killed. This was the first overt act of hostility on the part of the Indians, and swift retaliation was meted out to the offenders. Although situated in a territory continually embroiled in petty warfare between the Indians and settlers, San José enjoyed great prosperity. Little remains of the old structures, but many fine old olive-trees of the padres’ planting still yield a considerable income to local institutions belonging to the Church. Santa INEZ MissioN Photo. by Putnam & Valentine, Los Angeles SANTA INEZ CHAPTER XXVIII SANTA INEZ r \HE Santa Inez Mission was not comprehended in the original plan of the padres, but nearly thirty years after the founding of the first three Missions, a colony of several families that had years before located on lands in the valley of the Santa Inez, about forty miles northwest of Santa Barbara, and beyond the mountains, appealed to the President of the Missions for the founding of one in their vicinity. They argued that they, being baptized families, were entitled to the rites of divine worship without undergoing the hardship and inconvenience of frequent trips to Santa Barbara, or La Purisima, each of which was many miles away from them. The petition was granted, and on September 17, 1804, the new Mission of Santa Inez was founded in that valley, and dedicated to St. Agnes. One hundred and fifty persons were entered on the records, and a church was immediately started. The new colony flourished, but the earthquake of 1812 so shattered the walls of their buildings that they had to be rebuilt. The Mission prospered in flocks and herds for about fifteen years, when it appeared by one record that it had accumulated twenty-five thousand cattle, fifteen thousand sheep, and twenty-five hundred horses, and a great deal of other personal property, the flocks and herds and lands at all times constituting the basis of its wealth. The Indians in 1824 became discontented and troublesome, and many of them left the Mission. The buildings were burned and otherwise destroyed to a great extent and never fully restored. Many Indians left and never returned. The work of conversion languished, but the riches of the Mission grew in magnitude until the day of secularization. [75] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST CHAPTER XXIX SAN RAFAEL, ARCANGEL AN RAFAEL, founded December 17, 1817, by Father Luis Taboada, was intended to be but a I i LL, ’ J t rar abDI( 1 =p aC 1 the north side of ay 1 5 3 1€ ugh ced inds e npo a a 1d1 > 5 the I a y in an uo elt ed fi mn t 1 y 1 ng > O1 S1 ) ook sh Cl ror rougy O an w > ¢ ¢ nver ts at y € < . erpd — . S we « o / S: 1 Ra el to I c . “ - " Kost reire ) ts | ] . . ° . « all » . ¢ 1SCO M ssion 3 my br S It was desi rned t be 1 art 1 asisiencia of yan “francis 1SS Or Although no written evidence remains that it ever was raised to the ission Dolores, across the bay. B OS a parish of the first class. status of a Mission, it was so occupied for seventeen years, and then became : 'ré 5 ree > in 1846. The build General John C. Frémont spent a week here 1n 4 GA Only a part of the pear orchard planted by the padres remains ings were never pretentious, and have ill withstood neglect and the passage of years. v ’ / I o ow C y e 10me of msé o oO t 0 R: S I nany ersons ia ness across bay. who are engaged In business across the bay CHAPELS CHAPTER XXX CHAPELS UTLYING among the Missions, stations among the far-distant ones, or on the frontiers, were chapels, or asistencias, such as were not organized as Missions. The principal ones were as follows: San Antonio de Pala was an offshoot of San Luis Rey, built in 1816 by Father Peyri as a chapel for the Indians who lived in the mountains twenty miles away. Bells were hung in the tower to call them to worship. It had none of the buildings necessary to a Mission, nor ever made pretensions to the name. It remains there still, kept in habitable condition for service by a few families of natives living in a neighboring village. Old paintings are hanging on the walls, and there is an image of Antonio Pala, the soldier-priest, its patron saint; also a statue in olivewood, made in Spain, of St. Louis, the French king of pious fame and memory in earlier centuries. There are still left old copper, brass, iron, and wood mementos of the past, some of which do not indicate their use, but are precious to the Indian worshippers. The building is long, narrow, and dark within, but serves for the purpose of divine worship. Now, after the lapse of a hundred years, the few descendants of the old Mission converts gather there on Sundays and fire days to do reverence and to rehearse the joys and glories that are gore. San Francisco Solano, dedicated to the patron saint of the Indies, April 4, 1824, was from its birth under the shadow of those events which doomed all the Missions. Its life was blameless, and not without beneficent results. Its ruins are scarcely traceable, and only dim memory holds record of its former existence. San Miguel Chapel, some six miles from Santa Barbara, was built in 1803. San Miguelito Chapel, built [77] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST in 1809, was one of several asistencias appertaining to San Luis Obispo. Santa Isabel, forty miles from San Diego, was built in 1822. At the Indian village of Mesa Grande is a chapel dedicated to Santo Domingo. Los Angeles Chapel was never a Mission, but a chapel designed for the veteran soldiers of the King as a place of worship. The first movement in their behalf was made in 1811, and in August, 1814, the corner-stone was laid and blessed. Years passed, nothing occurring but agitation from time to time. At last a chapel was built, and dedicated on the eighth of December, 1822. Los Angeles was then a small village of less than one thousand inhabitants. San Bernardino, or Politana, Chapel was established by the padres from San Gabriel Mission as a stopping- place and supply station for travellers overland across the desert. In 1810 the buildings and cultivated lands were destroyed and laid waste by fanatical Indians, incited to revolt by the medicine men of a mountain tribe Ten years later a new site, eight miles from the old, was chosen, and new buildings were erected. For eleven years this establishment prospered, when the fate which had befallen its predecessor swept it alike to ruin. It was rebuilt directly and in such a manner and with walls of such strength that it became the proud boast of its constructors that it would never again need to fear an attack, ever so fierce, from its Indian foes. But a force of unheard-of strength for that day and country came against it in 1834, and destroyed the buildings and put their defenders to flight. No further attempt has ever been made to rebuild or rehabilitate the old Chapel, and even the ruins are fast disappearing. One more of these old Chapels was built, in the Santa Margarita Valley, in San Luis Obispo County. The Sierra Santa Lucia encircles the valley, which presents a rural landscape lovely beyond comparison. This chapel probably consisted of several buildings, erected solely for the Indians who lived far from the Mission of that region. [78] L.os ANGELES Pr} - Rh Photo. by Putnam & Valentine, Los Angeles CHAPEL, FROM THE PLaza THE MISSIONS OF LOWER CALIFORNIA CHAPTER XXXI THE MISSIONS OF LOWER CALIFORNIA OWER California was the field of the greatest and most patient efforts of the Jesuit missionaries for nearly a century. Their work was very systematic, and more successful than that of other Missions in the Southwest, except in some portions of central Mexico, where greater enlightenment prevailed among the natives. The country is a waste of mountains, sand plains, cajiions, gulches, valleys, and broken surfaces, with but few, small, and scanty streams, and rivers oftentimes waterless. One hundred degrees is a common temperature in summer, and much of the time it is higher. The tribes that peopled this hideous wilderness were as degraded as the reptile-eaters among the wilds of the Amazon. Their religion was a crude necromancy, and they had no rational ideas of a Supreme Being. In 1683 an expedition consisting of one hundred settlers of the poorer classes, led by three Jesuit priests, sailed for the peninsula. They found fresh water—a rarity—and a safe harbor. The natives, who looked like starved wolves, soon became hostile, and collisions occurred in which several were killed. The colonists deserted the fort and made another settlement sixty miles up the gulf. The natives here gathered daily for instruction, and some five hundred desired to be Christians. But the exploring parties which went into the outer districts found desolation everywhere, and the colony was abandoned. Thus the heroic and loyal Jesuits met their first defeat on the desert peninsula. About 1688, Spain succeeded in effecting the colonization of the peninsula. Mission work was carried on [79] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST for nearly a hundred years, under the control of the Jesuits, or until their removal by Charles 111, in 1767. Mission work continued five years under the Franciscans, but its energies were steadily ebbing away. Thereafter, of the Dominicans in a brief and troublous period, it ceased to exist. under the authority Father Kuehn was the master spirit that Under the Jesuits the Missions were a triumph against nature. accomplished the result. He was daring to the utmost of his convictions. In zeal, ability, and practical energy he was perhaps without a peer among the missionaries. He wandered alone, or with a few docile Indians, in the wilds of northern Mexico, and mapped out regions never before trodden by the foot of the white man, and that with an accuracy not questioned in modern geography. He only knew that souls there were perishing for the bread of life. To save them was his inspiring motive. many Missions were planted, and they prospered beyond measure; then a s The Apaches were raiding everywhere; During three generations pirit of unrest came, and culminated in a general war against civilization. destroyed, and the reclaiming influences of a century were obliterated. Thereafter Father many Missions were Salvatierra, who was experienced by previous mission work, promptly assumed the responsibility of carrying on the work of the Missions in the peninsula. Father Kuehn, who had been removed to the opposite side of the gulf, labored unceasingly, became the supreme leader among white men and Indians, translated languages of several tribes, founded villages and churches, and within a few years had converted more than fifty thousand savages and reduced them to orderly life. Fven the fierce Apaches esteemed him as their good and trusted friend. All this time Salvatierra was fruitlessly working to obtain authority and help for his Mission movement. The Superiors were against it; the Government detested it. At last the General of the Order directed the Provincial in Mexico to allow Salvatierra to found the Missions, and after a long and tedious struggle, the [80] Tue BerLrry. Para CHAPEL | pete. by Putnam & Valentine. Los Agpeles Photo. by Putnam & Valentine, Los Angeles THE MISSIONS OF LOWER CALIFORNIA Father raised donations from pious individuals, and converted them into a fund for the support of the Missions. This was called the Pious Fund of California, a fund that has been subject to many vicissitudes during two hundred years. It had increased in 1842 to about $1,700,000, when it was confiscated for the Mexican Government. Later, when the terms of peace between Mexico and the United States were being adjusted, the former held that the United States had become liable for the fund, and should account for it to the Catholic Church of California. A few years ago the question of liability was submitted to the Hague Tribunal, which decided that payment must be made by the Government of Mexico, and such payment to the Church was accordingly made. Salvatierra had builded better than he knew with the Pious Fund. The Viceroy and council were prevailed upon to issue the license, and at last the heathen of the peninsula were to know the white man’s God. In 1697 Salvatierra, with another priest, Father Piccolo, selected a Mission site on a small bay at Carmen, near an island of that name. There was a spring of fresh water here, and quite a growth of vegetation indigenous to the locality. Salvatierra gave his settlement the name of Loretto, in honor of Our Lady of Loretto, whose special blessing he had invoked to aid him in his mission work. By irrigation from the spring he could have a little garden and a fruit orchard. His colony consisted of himself, Piccolo, six men, and three Mission Indians, each of a different race or tribe. Salvatierra supervised everything and joined in all labors but bearing arms for defence. A big tent was used as a chapel, where Salvatierra said mass. The natives made no demonstrations of friendship or hostility. Salvatierra tried to talk with the Indians, explaining his own language and acquiring theirs. They often made sport of him, which he bore with patience. When the conversation was closed, he would feed them with boiled corn. This was ever the substantial food of the Missions and always in use, like v [| 81] Ne Hi THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST our wheat bread, but was grown on lands across the gulf. The natives, after the meal was over, would steal whatever they could reach, and escape with it. Several hundred few days afterwards with more men and a supply of provisions. Some pious citizen gave the Mission a small schooner for natives who attacked the settlement were driven off; and a vessel arrived a This increased the colony to twenty-five men. permanent use. The most serious obstacle to prosperous Mission labor was the nature and poverty of this wild country. Practically, the support of these Missions came from the Mexican provinces east of the gulf. At all times the and when the Pious Fund was not sufficient to of years; it was so carefully managed by the Jesuit supplies were scanty, meet emergencies, dependence was solely upon donations. Yet the Fund accumulated in the course commission that, with occasional gifts, it supplied Palou, the Franciscan, to the extent of fifteen thousand dollars But the Missions were crippled for means of support and extension. yearly. monotonous. The Indians came there to be taught. The daily experience at loretto was somewhat Piccolo took care of the children for instruction within the walls, for he seemed most adapted to this work, being gentle and affectionate toward the little ones; while Salvatierra discoursed outside with the adult natives about the doctrine of Christ and the customs of civilized life. Mass was recited on certain days, and every one could take part in an orderly way. After the exercises were over, boiled corn was given to the natives, and the hungry creatures probably relished this more than they did the services; but in time they appeared interested and desired to be accepted as converts. When early summer came cactus berries were ripe; this was the most exuberant Religious progress was slow. No inducement could withhold the natives from the harvest. and delicious crop in those vast fields of desolation. They were heedless of the salvation of their souls, and even of boiled corn, until they had feasted to repletion [82] THE MISSIONS OF LOWER CALIFORNIA upon the food o i Nhe 1s P : f their gods. When this happy season was ended, they would turn their attention tc the missionaries and listen to instruction, and the mission work again advanced Loretto had bec : iri 1 p os ome the spiritual luminary, and i i S and the only or ¢ > nlde RG : rr ,,dn Ys, : y 1e in that benighted wilderness, but it could not : g peninsula. istant territory was therefore explored with a view to the founding of other Missions ater was disc 1 | : NV: scovered about forty miles from L i Ir t 3 S oretto suffic ate several acres i ili hi er : uffictent to irrigate several acres, and it was utilized at a 353 1 Tr - g 5 3 - » 1 \ .) atierra had a house built for the priests home, and a chapel. He likewise opened a road from the locality to Lore { 1 1 a .oretto. Father Piccolo took possess ) ossession and began w ¢ : ives 7 ‘ I a i” : I g ork among the natives. In 1700, Father Ugarte, a en a prominent factor in Jesuit life in the City of 1 101 Je: e City of Mexico, joined the Lore 1881 1 3 { .oretto Missi and to energy was attributed largely the ati F Di ‘ Ma \ argely the creation of the Pious Fund. He was, like every member of his Order wh \ ¢ who was intende r 2 rvice, 7 18 oi i 1 d for important service, a finished scholar. Of gigantic build and incredible strength and daring he was a terror / natives; V 1 p . 5 é to unruly natives; vet kind of heart and of gentle manners. It 1s said that, unable to find the Mission vessel afte i : $ S¢ after wandering on the coast fc 3 1 { as OI Severs: ’S > proc i g everal hundred miles on foot, he procured a castaway boat, repaired 1t, an ade "IP ACTrOsS » 3 1 : I > d made the trip across the gulf to Loretto Bay, amid adverse currents, diverse winds, and perilous waters. : Loretto was c > village 1 ith s but a humble village at the time, with a storehouse and barracks, cottages for the workmen and an adobe house > pries Ce g ) { : use for the priest. A few cattle and sheep from Sonora fed upon natural herbage near the springs and coast; | Je / 1 ill: 3 1t1 : ; but the land would yield to tillage. Such was the condition of these Missions at the close of the third year of their istence N Joarte arri 1551 I be \ existence. When Ugarte arrived at the new Mission with soldiers and men, the natives ed to the hills. They re afrai / p 1 11 [hey were afraid, for they deserved punishment, and kept away until Ugarte quieted their fears and fe: Bs 1 ile d feasted them with boiled corn. He soon learned their language by the assistance of the children, who he ~ v hb] were ever ready to help hi The > beg: instruc i 1 i i 1 ady p him. Then he began to instruct them in his doctrines in a plain manner, and how to [83] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST form good habits, finishing each discourse with the toothsome boiled corn. Indeed, this was about the only food he had for his own use. He dug ditches for irrigation with his own hands, and taught the natives how to use the tools. This was fun to them for a time; and thus several acres were watered and cultivated. He bore their caprices with patience, treating them as wayward children. The founding of San José de Comondu, about sixty miles from Loretto, took place at this time. Water was available here; and Father Mayorga, who was in control, cleared 1 He established other settlements in the region, and visited them twice a week, and, made a farm with a vineyard, and built schools and a hospital. with great benefit to the natives. After nearly thirty years of faithful work he died and was buried here among his Christian converts. About this time the old Mission hero, Father Kuehn, passed away. He is said to have converted more than fifty thousand Indians, travelled over twenty-five thousand miles in the wilderness of the Southwest, ally on foot, often alone, at all times shelterless but for the heavens above him. gener ducated natives for the work of teaching, because there were not enough priests for The schools at Loretto ¢ the duty. The tribes of the North were most inclined to Christian instruction; not visit these tribes, and while on his sick-bed he those of the extreme South were disposed to be hostile. Through illness, Salvatierra could was called to Mexico by the Viceroy for consultation and full information of California. The brave old man, at seventy-two years of age, rose from his bed and started for the capital of Mexico, more than a thousand miles away. He made the journey on horseback and ina litter until he arrived roy with full instructions in regard to his Missions, and then his spirit departed at Guadalajara, but could go no farther. He sent Father Bravo to the Vice devotion to His cause in California for twenty years. This was in 1718. [ 84] to God, who had inspired him with THE MISSIONS OF LOWER CALIFORNIA Father rar a as 1 i i Ug te was left as Superior. He built a brig at Mulege, which lasted many years and was th v v € best S Thi i i est and safest on the gulf. This made it practicable to found a Mission at La Paz, one hundred mil i ; ¢ ; , undred miles sout of Loretto. Father B y was placed 1 H : ravo was placed in charge. e converted over one thousand there in a few years, until he was called to Loretto to relieve [Father Piccolo Another Missi is ti i } ssion was founded at this tin acl : g 1e on the Pacific coast 2g 1 vivian i” : : st, west of Mulege one hundred miles, sims epcion. Father Tamaral presided over its fortunes. He opened a road between tk Missions, and i le ssions, and the natives responded fror adjoini i ; a I n every adjoining rancheria and from long distances into the north o their influence i “hristiani 1 ence. In truth, Christianity seemed be in the atmosphere everywhere, and the Missi : : 3 issions yrospered greatly fo any vear ike U T i prosj g y for many vears. Like Ugarte, Tamaral laid out farms and made the old desert fruitful At Huasiuipt lve Jeleu s i 1 asiuipi Lverard Heleu settled and, with his men, built a church and house. This became th Mission of San Guad: T ; Fe nsi fo ie ] suadalupe. The Governor (former Ensign Lorenzo) left five soldiers for protection beca of the wildness : e ‘ness of the c¢ i pr ind remoteness of the country where it was located. During the eight years Father Hel dan nest | g ye: eleu labored he converted many hundred natives. At that time F: - Gui 1851 1e Father Guilen founded a Mission settlement between Malabat and l.a Paz and named it Dolores. The 1: i eo Indians were hostile, but Governor Lorenzo subdued them by burning their canoes. Man years afterwards : ‘+ everv hative y : : ; \ ds almost every native had been converted, and defended Father Guilen and the Mission loyall in the war against the Pericus. To Father Napoli was directe Fe issi 5 R m poli was directed to found the Mission Santa Rosa at the Bay of Palms among the Peri They were belli 1 i a 3 gerent, and against the new faith. They re h i 1 ; ey wel se or : Baten oe e likewise polygamists, though polygamy was not 214 1e pe ‘he Father h: ile fi { | : peninsula. The Father had entered a sterile field for souls, and in several years converted less than a hundred Pericus. [85] sn Tre THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST de Villa and the Mexican Luyando, who joined the New Missions were now formed by the Marquis a bo i I I : s headquarters of Jesus and devoted his life to the Mission his family had endowed. Ugarte removed his headqu Society : hess : Mission of San Ignacio, near Kada Kaaman. This became two hundred miles to the north and founded the « o DAT took the 1SS . V y ) 2 ola ; ithe the Missions, which they told the Indians would destroy the faith of their fathers and had already made e S, y ¢ o 1 nds of 2 the ga c. J > t z d b d g vav ne I h suits mn r te thes su rst tions fr th 2 vv ate Le < ¢ ¢ , . < ¢ ds was t yung h re an the 01 was Cu { A ed bt ad ly wheat tru t flocks 1N¢( her 1 There everal stations connected with the blessed the Mission and gave food to the converts in plenty. I'here were several stations con T 1ans i houses for their families and learned to issi al 5 them. The Indians built adobe < Mission, and fair roads led out to clothe themselves. te, W ied at Loretto in his seventy- One more great soul departed to his reward. In 1730, Ugarte, worn out, died at Loretto $ \ a . ¢ Je d ¢ ) FE LVL 1SS S f I Lower fi t vea cro u ’ u h y S t € y | Jga y yunde o ( e M SS10 ) rs 7 Tr I he h *1r01C tri mvirate K enn 1lvatierra ANC ( rarte fc 21'S »f th > n ( A Gy . © Dé ¢ . ¢ v armes t . . . . . . ~ . . . ¢ P « « f | ara « S gle 1 u pose oO frien S very much like mn temperam nt din I 11tS O ch Cte wind united m the 1 J ) ) f d y a e y mn le ¢ g > redeeming California. Some months after Ugarte’s death, Father Eechevarr, in charg i : i . Pericus st warlike anc 1 3 sé del Cabo; . was among the Pericus, the mos Lucas, which he called San José del Cabo: this was among ; During many years he accumulated facts e of the Missions as Visitor, began a Mission at Cape St. degraded of all the tribes. Father Tamaral conducted the Mission. 1 5 > his . peninsula was long afterwards written. upon which the most complete history of the pen g [86] THE MISSIONS OF LOWER CALIFORNIA About this time Father Guilen was appointed Superior of the Missions in succession to Ugarte. The Pericus gathered in hundreds and destroyed the Santa Rosa Mission, the Santiago, the La Paz, and the Del Cabo, and the whole south coast region was involved in turmoil and peril from petty wars that ensued. But as evidence that Indian nature was not entirely depraved, the first assurance of better days came from the heathen themselves. Converts and those friendly to mission work arrived at Loretto in great numbers, informing the priests that they were still loyal, and loved the cause of Christ. Only a trifling punishment was awarded the hostiles. At the time of Ugarte’s death there were fifteen Missions on the peninsula, some prosperous and the others in fair condition, with several thousand natives directly or indirectly under their influence. To push the system north and into Alta California was the aim of the Jesuit priesthood, but the war and the expulsion of the Jesuits hopelessly defeated it. It was the happy fortune of the Franciscan Order to enter the Golden State and make the memory of their lives and labors immortal. The indomitable Jesuits toiled on until 1767, when the order of the King expelled them. It came suddenly, like the lightning’s stroke. For nearly a century the Jesuit had toiled and suffered without hope of earthly reward, to establish Missions for the benefit of the savages in Lower California. Fifteen of these had been founded before the native war. Four of them were destroyed at that time, but afterwards restored. Salvatierra had founded six, and Ugarte seven, in twenty years. Two more were added to the list after the death of these padres, by Eechevarri, the Visitor. St. Ignacio was at this time the most northerly Mission; but a priest was sent north from San Ignacio to found the Mission of Santa Gertrude. Father Retz was in charge there, and in a few years it became very [87] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST prosperous; in fact it excelled in converts —had about twelve hundred —and produced from the soil more wealth than any other Mission. Water was abundant and the land fertile. Five years after this Fathers Cousaq and Retz, who were the energetic explorers of that day in the cactus districts, discovered a hot sulphur spring at Adac, and chose it as the site of a Mission; but Cousaq died immediately afterwards. He had been nearly thirty years on the peninsula. Three years later the Mission was founded at Adac and endowed in 1762 by the munificence of the Countess of Granada, and was dedicated in respect to the pious memory of St. Francis Borgia. It was about one hundred miles north of Santa Gertrude, in the Cocopah desert. Father Link was conductor of this Mission. He found a large flowing spring some distance away and cultivated a number of acres, raising all food products and fruits incident to sub-tropical climate and soil. It grew into an important Mission, with some two thousand Christian converts, clothed and fed from~its resources. The last Mission north — the Santa Maria — was founded in 1767, on the thirty-first parallel of latitude, twenty-five miles west of the gulf. Father Arnes was the resident priest here, but his services soon closed, for the order of expulsion was issued that year. Captain Portola, afterwards Governor of Alta California, went there with the Franciscans, with a company of soldiers from Spain, and carried out the decree. The Franciscans were ordered by the King to take control of these Missions. Junipero Serra, as Superior, with sixteen priests from the College of San Ferdinand, in the City of Mexico, arrived at Loretto in the Spring of 1768. Father Palou, the boyhood friend of Serra, was assistant. The priests were at once sent to their Missions, travelling on foot,— the custom of these men. Immediately trouble began. The soldiers insisted on the right to control the property, but would permit the priests to possess the churches and homes built for them, and to manage spiritual matters. This was [55] SAN Xavier Mission , Tucson, ARIZONA Copyright, 1902, Detroit Pho tog raphic Co THE MISSIONS OF LOWER CALIFORNIA against the orders of the King, wno gave the priests absolute control of the Missions. Serra was left practically without rights, except to instruct the natives and conduct religious services. Irrigation and cultivation ceased, the provisions were wasted, the flocks recklessly slaughtered; the Indians, being ill-treated and poorly fed, fled to the mountains. The Missions were on the way to swift dissolution. At this perilous hour Don José Galvez, the ruling official above the Viceroy, arrived. He investigated affairs, turned the soldiers out of power, and ordered the Missions under the control of Serra. But matters did not prosper. Galvez, with the best of motives, interfered with the Missions. He suppressed the San Luis and Dolores Missions. He likewise changed the Mission of Santiago to a parish under a secular priest, thus deranging the entire Mission system by introducing two forms of government, in their nature antagonistic. He sought to average the populations at the Missions by removing hundreds from their old homes to new ones and distant Missions, to begin life over again. The consequences were that many were made destitute, and epidemics dotted the land with new-made graves. He applied the Pious Fund to other purposes than the support of Mission life. Had he listened to the advice of Serra and Palou, who had been trained in the Cerro Gordo Missions in the dark mountains of Mexico, the intelligent convictions thus formed would have led to beneficial results. But in Alta California he redeemed all the mistakes he had made in the peninsula, and became the organizing and practical power that made possible the great success of the Franciscans there. An expedition was ordered and prepared by Galvez to enter the Bay of San Diego in the Spring of 1769, to take possession of Alta California. Junipero Serra was appointed President of the Missions to be founded there, and Padre Palou was left as President in the peninsula. Father Palou found serious difficulty in conducting the Missions that had been so disorganized. An epidemic occurred in the South, and a hundred died at Dolores and San Luis Gonzago Missions; a hundred [89] : £ THWEST THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOU b The following year the crops were devoured by locusts, and the next year by ed to the mountains. ag a ge ny of the flocks and herds were, by the order of Galvez, driven to Alta California rought. a I ’ g J g Oo ) ’ ) He J d / ) £) S . . . . . . . disappeared fi om the peninsula. In 1860 the buildings had fallen nto ruins, and the cultivated lands had become barren wastes. THE MISSIONS OF TEXAS CHAPTER XXXII THE MISSIONS OF TEXAS 1 \HE Franciscans had almost exclusively the field of Texas Missions. The three principal Orders of the Church that founded and operated the Missions of New Spain were the Franciscans, the Jesuits, and the Dominicans. The first had their chief fields in Texas, Alta California, Sonora, and Chihuahua; the second, in Lower California, Old and New Mexico, and Arizona; the third in Old Mexico and Lower California. Large tracts were conveyed to the Missions, and such privileges as were needful for their purposes. The following are the Missions of Texas. Adaes, in honor of Our Lady del Pilar, is supposed to have been founded in 1718, on the Sabine River, by Governor Alarcon, of the Province of Coahuila and Texas, near the French fort at Natchitoches. A presidio was built for the soldiers and garrisoned strongly to watch the French. In 1716 Captain Domingo Ramon was sent to Texas with a small squad of soldiers and friars to establish Missions, and it is sometimes asserted that he founded this Mission, on the Honda Creek, fifteen miles from the fort. It was always an inferior Mission, and never prospered much. In 1768 it had a church and some thirty houses. The presidio was probably more important than the Mission at that time, as there was another fortress on the Trinity. Spain and France both claimed the province. In 1790 the Mission was about deserted, but Bishop Maria and Governor Cardero were there in 1805, and the prelate is said to have baptized two hundred neophytes in the old chapel. The site can now be found by none but zealots. [91] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST Our Lady de Los Dolores, on the Acs Bayou, was not far from San Augustine, and appeared in priestly records as a living Mission about 1715. It is not now known who founded it, and it never brought forth much fruit— not enough to make history. It was abandoned in 1772. The Alamo is the most noted Mission of all in Texas, not for its sanctity, but because it was besieged and taken by Mexico from those that revolted against her government in 1836. As a Mission it was not a success. From the hour of its location on the Rio Grande almost to its final location at San Antonio, it was a restless and movable shrine. Founded in 1700, under the name of San Francisco Solano, it was removed in 1703 to Ildephonso; again in the year 1710 it was returned to the Rio Grande. Still again it was transferred to San Antonio, and dedicated in the name of San Antonio de Valero, the duke who was Viceroy of Mexico. Yet more restless, it was moved to the Military Plaza in the city in 1732; and lastly, in 1744, it took its final departure over the river to another site in the city, where it has since been quietly anchored. It assumed the name of Alamo, and was used as a church for the populace. It was a misnomer to call it a Mission, unless it belongs to a class of itinerant Missions. Concepcion La Purisima de Acuifia is located on the left bank of the river, about two miles below the city. It was projected by the Viceroy in 1722, after whom 't was named, but no steps were taken to build it until 1731, when Captain Perez and Father Bergaro laid the corner-stone. It never developed into a prosperous Mission, and was closed to work when Zebulon Pike visited it in 1807, while exploring the West and Arkansas River regions. i LI aE a ih ; . a eR Ea — San Francisco de La Espada — meaning the Mission of the Sword — was first located on the Medina River in 1731, but was removed in 1750 to San Antonio, to escape the raids of the Apaches. Like many other 4 — ———s Hee - hci on J Missions in Texas, this was but a dwarf in the Mission fields, and is not interesting except for its pious ER dd @ purpose, and because it is one of the links in the chain. Life among the Apaches for twenty years raises the [92] i F hotog rap kby SL. Willard . - EP( N I A Pr RISIMA DE Acuna Mission, 1 EXAS THE MISSIONS OF TEXAS presumption that the priests had courage; but it was a fruitless field, where none were converted but by Father Kuehn, and that but transiently. Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Victory County, known sometimes as Mission Valley, was projected, it is said, by Don Domingo Ramon; but this is mere tradition. His plan was supposed to be to open up ditches for the irrigation of the valley and to protect it by a presidio, and in time he would develop a prosperous Mission. Little is known about it, except that there are extensive ruins in the valley. La Bahia Mission — Del Espiritu Santo —at Goliad, was begun in 1718. It is supposed to have been projected by Domingo Teran, who founded many Missions. The presidio always had a Mission connected with it. either within its grounds or outside as a separate establishment; so the priests were ever present. The old Mission of Aranama, on the east side of the river, was nearly opposite La Bahia. Both these Missions had their day and did their work of beneficence among the Indians, but it is impossible to give details of either their history or traditions. The Goliad Chapel still shelters the pious. La Trinidad. Tradition says that this Mission was founded by Governor Teran, in 1691, when he explored Texas with a party of priests for that purpose. He and Don Domingo Ramon, who where favorites with the Indians, at this time devoted a few busy years projecting and founding presidios and Missions in various places. The site was on the Trinity River, near the town of Alabama, but this site was deserted in a short time for another at Nacogdoches. The Indians made trouble; the river became troublesome by overflows; and the malarial climate completed the causes of removal. Our Lady of Loretto. This Mission, projected by Don Ramon in 1621, on: Matagorda Bay, was soon given up. etn Our Lady of Nacogdoches. This Mission was founded by Don Ramon in 1716, and prospered until [95] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST French and Spanish made it necessary to remove the Indians to San 1772, when contentions between the Id the French in check at Nacogdoches. The stone fort of Antonio. The Mission was then garrisoned to ho 1778 still remains. Our Lady of Orgnizacco. convert a tribe of that name; but in 1772 730 this Mission was started near Goliad, but soon abandoned. 1730, amplified into a cathedral in 1868, but did not This Mission was founded in 1716, on the San Jacinto River, to instruct and the Indian converts were removed to San Antonio. Rosario. In San Fernando was a chapel in San Antonio in develop into a Mission. San José de Aguayo was founded in honor of Governor Aguayo of Texas, in two years earlier, but not completed until fifty-one years afterwards. They were located on the river, about four 1720. The buildings were begun When finished they were magnificent, and surpassed every Mission east of the Rio Grande. miles below San Antonio. The Mission was noted for its beautiful statues and decorative paintings. It was built in the Moorish style of architecture, and its great, glittering dome was The Indians called it the Day-Star of their Manitou, and many of them work of a Moorish artist from Seville, whose ancestor, visible on a clear, sunny day for more than a hundred miles. worshipped it. The carving and painting were the centuries before, ornamented and chiselled the statues for the halls of the Alhambra; so runs the legend. The The statues of the Queen of the Angels, and many others, have been grand dome has long since fallen. outer walls have hands. The beautiful sculptured figures and decorations upon the mutilated by barbaric nd art strove to make it the wonder of those days, and still the love suffered the same fate. Wealth, beauty, a of the wonderful draws to it scores of visitors every year to gaze and meditate upon its grand ruins, beauty of It now stands upon the elevated tableland overlooking the river, a solitary [94] location, and fateful history. Acuavo Mission, TExaAs i, 1h ATR A A + THE MISSIONS OF TEXAS monument of the sad fortunes of the old padres. This in its time was the kingly Mission of Texas, like San Luis, Rey de Francia, of Alta California, but it has not, like that, been restored. San Juan Capistrano is six miles below San Antonio, on the east side of the river. It was founded in 1732. It was never a leading and important Mission, but simply a colony, founded as an experiment. It was one of the unfortunates that were abandoned from poverty or other causes; yet its buildings as studied and viewed from the ruins would indicate wealth at the time of construction. San Saba was founded in 1734, in Menard County. This was among the Comanches, a powerful and war-like tribe. During twenty years the padres made many converts. When the silver mine, the Las Almagres, was discovered in 1752, the Indians became victims of the rapacious miners and adventurers. The Comanches turned in defence of their rights, and with no sense of discrimination, killed the missionaries and burned the Mission. Many obscure Missions in the Southwest, for real or fancied wrongs against the Indians, not committed by the padres or their followers, were destroyed. In the regions ranged by the Apaches are still found ruins believed to be on the sites of old Missions. Among the priesthood Father Kuehn was the exception who won the friendship of these savages. On the upper Nueces, Brazos, Texas, and Colorado Rivers are found these ruins without a living name. In Texas all operative Missions were secularized by Governor Don Pedro de Navo in 1794; then their property and control were transferred to the clergy of the parishes. San Antonio de Bexar, the first important settlement by the Spaniards in Texas, was the central point around which clustered the great Missions of this province. Some of them are now restored sufficiently for the use of the secular clergy. The Order of Franciscans did a noble work here, but not comparable with their success in Alta California. The continual raids of the Comanches and the hostility of France were serious obstructions to Mission progress. [95] : THE MISSIONS OF NEW MEXICO : "HE OLD SOUTHWEST : 'Q 3 * CALIFORNIA AND TH : . ‘ : THE MISSIONS OF San Felipe, on the river, on a height (apparently on east bank); 300 inhabitants with the little pueblo of Santa Ana; of Zures (Queres) nation; Convent founded by Quinones, who, with P. Geron Pedraza, is buried CHAPTER XXXIII here. THE MISSIONS OF NEW MEXICO Santo Domingo, above San Felipe; 150 inhabitants. One of the best convents, where the archives are f five thousand, of which kept, and where in 1661 was celebrated an auto da Je by order of the Inquisition. P. Juan de Escalona is 1 twenty-five ¢ > i 1 showed a population o y s 1ss1 New Mexico in 1680 s HE Missions of g ’ buried here. Padres in 1680 — Talaban (one custodio), Lorenzana, and Mondesdeoca. Santa Fé Villa, 81 miles from Domingo; residence of the Governor and soldiers, with four padres. h J . ontrol at the time, is derived Tesuque (San Lorenzo), 21 miles from Santa F °, in a forest; 200 Tiguas (Tehuas); P. Juan Bautista Pio. : : fests in c d reports of the pr made mainly of the ST

: ric . . i, : . . : Alamillo (Santa Ana), 31 miles above Socorro; 300 Piros. All the padres named in the above fifteen Missions were killed in the revolt of the Indians in 1680, as a A « . yy; n . . . . . ye . . . ils Avross r; Piros. : or Missions _ ; ea as: : Sevilleta, 51 miles from Alamillo across river; I they were in cighteen other Missions at the same time. The revolt was attributed to demoniac influences hy i . ; built , : lneas ile tract. Convent tre: ith the Rio del Norte, encloses a fert . raonle lie. Tok a re Sn A oe Hi : Isleta (San Antonio), where a small stream, wi upon a people given to idolatry. It is said that a girl, several years before miraculously raised from the sleta (San ’ ) 3 We - © - h: € the rod d. by Pp uan e S 0S ’ ,O00 Ti dead, foretold the uprising and massacre. The tribes were deeply devoted to their primitive faith, and resorted wn Pa Ibe ao Estevan de Perea, the to old rites and forms of worship in secret on every opportunity. The priests destroyed their idols and Sandi iin fusng, 0 Ein Paitin Tee . : " punished them severely whenever detected in their devotions. The State taxed heavily ; the soldier had no er. ied: also the skull of P. Rodrigues, the first martyr, 1s venerated. Pe founder, is buried; also the sku [ 96 ] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST no mercy. Had the Missions been in absolute control of the situation the t the curse of Spanish misrule was upon d State. The Pueblo, or Zuni Indians, occupied the and had a civilization above regard for native rights, and rebellion might not have happened, bu atives for the tyranny of Church an They had been a peaceful agricultural people for ages, and written language. it with fire and sword. The priests all, and the padres were held responsible by the n central region of revolt. al to the Mayas, except in architecture s before the rebellion and subdued creed and worship; they suppressed it for a e Indian was conquered again, but the Aztecs and equ The soldier entered the Zuni country one hundred and forty year came immediately in his rear, and vigorously attacked the Zuni and when the flames of war burst out, th The parish church was substituted, anc ess enlightened than the Zuni. but did not eradicate it; the Missions was stayed forever. ch and teaching its creed to a population ] century, the progress of | remains to-day administering the rites of the Chur Photograph by S. L. Willard ii Copyright, 1902, Detroit ND hh N, UCSON, ARIZON: I ————— THE MISSIONS OF ARIZONA CHAPTER XXXIV THE MISSIONS OF ARIZONA HE first Mission settlement in Arizona was made in 1732. Father Felipe Segesser founded San Xavier del Bac, and Juan Bautista founded San Miguel de Guevavi. These were regular Missions ; the Indian rancherias in that region were only wisitas. In 1750 a presidio was located at Guevavi. The settlements formed by Father Kuehn forty years before had disappeared. Pimeria Alta was the name of Arizona at this time. During this year a revolt among the Pimas resulted in the murder of two priests of the Missions and nearly one hundred Spaniards. The Missions were deserted, but again occupied three vears later. This blow from the natives destroyed the prospects and usefuiness of all Missions in Pimerta. The Moquis in the Northeast were a bone of contention between the Jesuits and Franciscans, and this, with the hostility of these cliff dwellers, defeated mission labors with them until the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1768. Pimeria was a portion of eastern Sonora, and assumed the name of Arizona in 1846. The annals of events in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and early part of the eighteenth century of these changing provinces and their boundary lines are so meagre and confused that Mission history is very indistinct and unreliable. The Franciscans had sole possession of this field after 1768. There were no Missions in Arizona until many years after Father Kuehn’s death in 1711; in fact, there were no Spanish Missions save in Santa Cruz Valley. Bac and Guevavi were the only Missions there, yet there were several visitas de rancherias in this locality, protected by the garrison at Tubac. The Indian settlements founded or visited by Kuehn have been called Missions by the Spanish historians. The Missions and visitas de [99] THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST ranchevias were transferred to the Franciscans, but their property had been confiscated from the Jesuits by the Government. The friars who took control of the India pensions. They held their little Mission communities togethe :ring to the dying, and instructing the children, whom they won by presents. Indian by persuasion and promises to enter and listen to divine The good padres found him heathen and left him heathen. in Arizona. Many efforts n settlements had no means of their own, but lived upon r by labors of love, teaching, caring for the sick, minist Into their rude chapels, built of brush, stone, or adobe, they induced the service; but they had little influence on his life. As late as 1829 there were no records to show of the existence of Missions had been made in the Gila River regions since 1640 to establish Missions; but the vastness of this wilderness, made the task of the missionary practically hopeless. The and its entire control by fierce and savage tribes, and these were at all times subject to visitas de rancherias were resorted to as substitutes for regular Missions, every danger and hardship incident to savage life. in Mission life in Arizona from 1768 to 1846, a period of seventy-eight years, is The progress made as the two regular shown by the fact that twenty-two visita stations were permanently established, as well The American invasion of those regions gave the movement greater vigor, omen within a large district, of which Missions already referred to. until in 1901 the census revealed a membership of forty thousand Catholic w Tucson was the centre. THE END OF TITLE END OF REEL. PLEASE REWIND.