sheep, teamsters, and butchers. At San Gabriel alone a hundred cattle
were slaughtered every Saturday as food for the Indians themselves. The
hides of all slain animals were carefully preserved, and either tanned
for home use or shipped East. Dana in _Two Years Before the Mast_ gives
interesting pictures of hide-shipping at San Juan Capistrano. A good
tanner is a skilled laborer, and these Indians were not only expert
makers of dressed leather, but they tanned skins and peltries with the
hair or fur on. Indeed I know of many wonderful birds' skins, dressed
with the feathers on, that are still in perfect preservation. As workers
in leather they have never been surpassed. Many saddles, bridles, etc.,
were needed for Mission use, and as the ranches grew in numbers, they
created a large market. It must be remembered that horseback riding was
the chief method of travel in California for over a hundred years. Their
carved leather work is still the wonder of the world. In the striking
character of their designs, in the remarkable adaptation of the design,
in its general shape and contour, to the peculiar form of the object to
be decorated,--a stirrup, a saddle, a belt, etc.,--and in the digital
and manual dexterity demanded by its execution, nothing is left to be
desired. Equally skilful were they in taking the horn of an ox or
mountain sheep, heating it, and then shaping it into a drinking-cup, a
spoon, or a ladle, and carving upon it designs that equal those found
upon the pottery of the ancient world.

Shoemaking was extensively carried on, for sale on the ranches and to
the trading-vessels. Tallow was tried out by the ton and run into
underground brick vaults, some of which would hold in one mass several
complete ship-loads. This was quarried out and then hauled to San Pedro,
or the nearest port, for shipment. Sometimes it was run into great bags
made of hides, that would hold from five hundred to a thousand pounds
each, and then shipped.

Many of the Indians became expert carpenters, and a few even might be
classed as fair cabinet-makers. There were wheelwrights and cart-makers
who made the "carretas" that are now the joy of the relic-hunter. These
were clumsy ox-carts, with wheels made of blocks, sawed or chopped off
from the end of a large round log; a big hole was then bored, chiseled,
or burned through its center, enabling it to turn on a rude wooden axle.
Soap or tallow was sometimes used as a lubricant. This was the only
wheeled conveyance in California as late as 1840. Other Indians did the
woodwork in buildings, made fences, etc. Some were carvers, and there
are not a few specimens of their work that will bear comparison with the
work of far more pretentious artisans.

Many of them became' blacksmiths and learned to work well in iron. In
the Coronel Collection in the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce are many
specimens of the ironwork of the San Fernando neophytes. The work of
this Mission was long and favorably known as that of superior artisans.
The collection includes plough-points, anvils, bells, hoes, chains,
locks and keys, spurs, hinges, scissors, cattle-brands, and other
articles of use in the Mission communities. There are also fine
specimens of hammered copper, showing their ability in this branch of
the craftsman's art. As there was no coal at this time in California,
these metal-workers all became charcoal-burners.

Bricks of adobe and also burned bricks and tiles were made at every
Mission, I believe, and in later years tiles were made for sale for the
houses of the more pretentious inhabitants of the pueblos. As lime and
cement were needed, the Indians were taught how to burn the lime of the
country, and the cement work then done remains to this day as solid as
when it was first put down.

Many of them became expert bricklayers and stone-masons and cutters, as
such work as that found at San Luis Rey, San Juan Capistrano, San
Carlos, Santa Inés, and other Missions most eloquently testifies.

It is claimed that much of the distemper painting upon the church walls
was done by the Indians, though surely it would be far easier to believe
that the Fathers did it than they. For with their training in natural
design, as shown in their exquisite baskets, and the work they
accomplished in leather carving, I do not hesitate to say that mural
decorations would have been far more artistic in design, more harmonious
in color, and more skilfully executed if the Indians had been left to
their own native ability.

A few became silversmiths, though none ever accomplished much in this
line. They made better sandal-makers, shoemakers, and hatters. As
horse-trainers they were speedily most efficient, the cunning of their
minds finding a natural outlet in gaining supremacy over the lower
animal. They braided their own riatas from rawhide, and soon surpassed
their teachers in the use of them. They were fearless hunters with them,
often "roping" the mountain lion and even going so far as to capture the
dangerous grizzly bears with no other "weapon," and bring them down
from the mountains for their bear and bull fights. As vaqueros, or
cowboys, they were a distinct class. As daring riders as the world has
ever seen, they instinctively knew the arts of herding cattle and sheep,
and soon had that whole field of work in their keeping. "H.H.," in
_Ramona_, has told what skilled sheep-shearers they were, and there are
Indian bands to-day in Southern California whose services are eagerly
sought at good wages because of their thoroughness, skill and rapidity.

Now, with this list of achievements, who shall say they were not
educated? Something more than lack of education must be looked for as
the reason for the degradation and disappearance of the Indian, and in
the next chapter I think I can supply that missing reason.

At the end of sixty years, more than thirty thousand Indian converts
lodged in the Mission buildings, under the direct and immediate guidance
of the Fathers, and performed their allotted daily labors with
cheerfulness and thoroughness. There were some exceptions necessarily,
but in the main the domination of the missionaries was complete.

It has often been asked: "What became of all the proceeds of the work of
the Mission Indians? Did the padres claim it personally? Was it sent to
the mother house in Mexico?" etc. These questions naturally enter the
minds of those who have read the criticisms of such writers as Wilson,
Guinn, and Scanland. In regard to the missionaries, they were under a
vow of poverty. As to the mother house, it is asserted on honor that up
to 1838 not even as much as a _curio_ had been sent there. After that,
as is well known, there was nothing to send. The fact is, the proceeds
all went into the Indian Community Fund for the benefit of the Indians,
or the improvement of their Mission church, gardens, or workshops. The
most careful investigations by experts have led to but one opinion, and
that is that in the early days there was little or no foundation for the
charge that the padres were accumulating money. During the revolution it
is well known that the Missions practically supported the military for a
number of years, even though the padres, their wards, and their churches
all suffered in consequence.



CHAPTER VIII

THE SECULARIZATION OF THE MISSIONS

It was not the policy or intention of the Government of Spain to found
Missions in the New World solely for the benefit of the natives.
Philanthropic motives doubtless influenced the rulers to a certain
degree; but to civilize barbarous peoples and convert them to the
Catholic faith meant not only the rescue of savages from future
perdition, but the enlargement of the borders of the Church, the
preparation for future colonization, and, consequently, the extension of
Spanish power and territory.

At the very inception of the Missions this was the complex end in view;
but the padres who were commissioned to initiate these enterprises were,
almost without exception, consecrated to one work only,--the
salvation of souls.

In the course of time this inevitably led to differences of opinion
between the missionaries and the secular authorities in regard to the
wisest methods of procedure. In spite of the arguments of the padres,
these conflicts resulted in the secularization of some of the Missions
prior to the founding of those in California; but the condition of the
Indians on the Pacific Coast led the padres to believe that
secularization was a result possible only in a remote future. They fully
understood that the Missions were not intended to become permanent
institutions, yet faced the problem of converting a savage race into
christianized self-supporting civilians loyal to the Spanish Crown,--a
problem which presented perplexities and difficulties neither understood
nor appreciated at the time by the government authorities in Spain or
Mexico, nor by the mass of critics of the padres in our own day.

Whatever may have been the mental capacity, ability, and moral status of
the Indians from one point of view, it is certain that the padres
regarded them as ignorant, vile, incapable, and totally lost without the
restraining and educating influences of the Church. As year after year
opened up the complexities of the situation, the padres became more and
more convinced that it would require an indefinite period of time to
develop these untamed children into law-abiding citizens, according to
the standard of the white aggressors upon their territory.

On the other hand, aside from envy, jealousy, and greed, there were
reasons why some of the men in authority honestly believed a change in
the Mission system of administration would be advantageous to the
natives, the Church, and the State.

There is a good as well as an evil side to the great subject of
"secularization." In England the word used is "disestablishment." In the
United States, to-day, for our own government, the general sentiment of
most of its inhabitants is in favor of what is meant by
"secularization," though of course in many particulars the cases are
quite different. In other words, it means the freedom of the Church from
the control or help of the State. In such an important matter there is
bound to be great diversity of opinion. Naturally, the church that is
"disestablished" will be a most bitter opponent of the plan, as was the
Church in Ireland, in Scotland, and in Wales. In England the
"dissenters"--as all the members of the nonconformist churches are
entitled--are practically unanimous for the disestablishment of the
State or Episcopal Church, while the Episcopalians believe that such an
act would "provoke the wrath of God upon the country wicked enough to
perpetrate it." The same conflict--in a slightly different field--is
that being waged in the United States to-day against giving aid to any
church in its work of educating either white children or Indians in its
own sectarian institutions. All the leading churches of the country
have, I believe, at some time or other in their history, been willing to
receive, and actually have received, government aid in the caring for
and education of Indians. To-day it is a generally accepted policy that
no such help shall be given. But the question at issue is: Was the
secularization of the Missions by Mexico a wise, just, and humane
measure at the time of its adoption? Let the following history tell.

From the founding of the San Diego Mission in 1769, until about sixty
years later, the padres were practically in undisturbed possession,
administering affairs in accordance with the instructions issued by the
viceroys and the mother house of Mexico.

In 1787 Inspector Sola claimed that the Indians were then ready for
secularization; and if there be any honor connected with the plan
eventually followed, it practically belongs to him. For, though none of
his recommendations were accepted, he suggested the overthrow of the old
methods for others which were somewhat of the same character as those
carried out many years later.

In 1793 Viceroy Gigedo referred to the secularization of certain
Missions which had taken place in Mexico, and expressed his
dissatisfaction with the results. Three years later, Governor Borica,
writing on the same subject, expressed his opinion with force and
emphasis, as to the length of time it would take to prepare the
California Indians for citizenship. He said: "Those of New California,
at the rate they are advancing, will not reach the goal in ten
centuries; the reason God knows, and men know something about it."

In 1813 came the first direct attack upon the Mission system from the
Cortes in Spain. Prior to this time a bishop had been appointed to have
charge over church affairs in California, but there were too few parish
churches, and he had too few clergy to send to such a far-away field to
think of disturbing the present system for the Indians. But on September
13, 1813, the Cortes passed a decree that all the Missions in America
that had been founded ten years should at once be given up to the bishop
"without excuse or pretext whatever, in accordance with the laws." The
Mission Fathers in charge might be appointed as temporary curates, but,
of course, under the control of the bishop instead of the Mission
president as hitherto. This decree, for some reason, was not officially
published or known in California for seven or eight years; but when, on
January 20, 1821, Viceroy Venadito did publish the royal confirmation of
the decree, the guardian of the college in Mexico ordered the president
of the California Missions to comply at once with its requirements. He
was to surrender all property, but to exact a full inventoried receipt,
and he was to notify the bishop that the missionaries were ready to
surrender their charges to their successors. In accordance with this
order, President Payeras notified Governor Sola of his readiness to give
up the Missions, and rejoiced in the opportunity it afforded his
co-workers to engage in new spiritual conquests among the heathen. But
this was a false alarm. The bishop responded that the decree had not
been enforced elsewhere, and as for him the California padres might
remain at their posts. Governor Sola said he had received no official
news of so important a change, but that when he did he "would act with
the circumspection and prudence which so delicate a subject demands."

With Iturbide's imperial regency came a new trouble to California,
largely provoked by thoughts of the great wealth of the Missions. The
imperial decree creating the regency was not announced until the end of
1821, and practically all California acquiesced in it. But in the
meantime Agustin Fernandez de San Vicente had been sent as a special
commissioner to "learn the feelings of the Californians, to foment a
spirit of independence, to obtain an oath of allegiance, to raise the
new national flag," and in general to superintend the change of
government. He arrived in Monterey September 26, but found nothing to
alarm him, as nobody seemed to care much which way things went. Then
followed the "election" of a new governor, and the wire-pullers
announced that Luis Argüello was the "choice of the convention."

In 1825 the Mexican republic may be said to have become fairly well
established. Iturbide was out of the way, and the politicians were
beginning to rule. A new "political chief" was now sent to California in
the person of José Maria Echeandía, who arrived in San Diego late in
October, 1825. While he and his superiors in Mexico were desirous of
bringing about secularization, the difficulties in the way seemed
insurmountable. The Missions were practically the backbone of the
country; without them all would crumble to pieces, and the most
fanatical opponent of the system could not fail to see that without the
padres it would immediately fall. As Clinch well puts it: "The converts
raised seven eighths of the farm produce;--the Missions had gathered two
hundred thousand bushels in a single harvest. All manufacturing in the
province--weaving, tanning, leather-work, flour-mills, soap-making--was
carried on exclusively by the pupils of the Franciscans. It was more
than doubtful whether they could be got to work under any other
management, and a sudden cessation of labor might ruin the whole
territory."

Something must be done, so, after consultation with some of the more
advanced of the padres, the governor issued a proclamation July 25,
1826, announcing to the Indians that those who desired to leave the
Missions might do so, provided they had been Christians from childhood,
or for fifteen years, were married, or at least not minors, and had some
means of gaining a livelihood. The Indians must apply to the commandant
at the presidio, who, after obtaining from the padre a report, was to
issue a written permit entitling the neophyte and his family to go where
they chose, their names being erased from the Mission register. The
result of this might readily be foreseen. Few could take advantage of
it, and those that did soon came in contact with vultures of the
"superior race," who proceeded to devour them and their substance.

Between July 29 and August 3, 1830, Echeandía had the California
_diputacion_ discuss his fuller plans, which they finally approved.
These provided for the gradual transformation of the Missions into
pueblos, beginning with those nearest the presidios and pueblos, of
which one or two were to be secularized within a year, and the rest as
rapidly as experience proved practicable. Each neophyte was to have a
share in the Mission lands and other property. The padres might remain
as curates, or establish a new line of Missions among the hitherto
unreached Indians as they should choose. Though this plan was passed, it
was not intended that it should be carried out until approved by the
general government of Mexico.

All this seems singular to us now, reading three quarters of a century
later, for, March 8, 1830, Manuel Victoria was appointed political chief
in Echeandía's stead; but as he did not reach San Diego until November
or December, and in the meantime a new element had been introduced into
the secularization question in the person of José María Padrés,
Echeandía resolved upon a bold stroke. He delayed meeting Victoria,
lured him up to Santa Barbara, and kept him there under various
pretexts until he had had time to prepare and issue a decree. This was
dated January 6, 1831. It was a political trick, "wholly illegal,
uncalled for, and unwise." He decreed immediate secularization of all
the Missions, and the turning into towns of Carmel and San Gabriel. The
ayuntamiento of Monterey, in accordance with the decree, chose a
commissioner for each of the seven Missions of the district. These were
Juan B. Alvarado for San Luis Obispo, José Castro for San Miguel,
Antonio Castro for San Antonio, Tiburcio Castro for Soledad, Juan
Higuera for San Juan Bautista, Sebastian Rodriguez for Santa Cruz, and
Manuel Crespo for San Carlos. Castro and Alvarado were sent to San
Miguel and San Luis Obispo respectively, where they read the decree and
made speeches to the Indians; at San Miguel, Alvarado made a
spread-eagle speech from a cart and used all his eloquence to persuade
the Indians to adopt the plan of freemen. "Henceforth their trials were
to be over. No tyrannical priest could compel them to work. They were to
be citizens in a free and glorious republic, with none to molest or make
them afraid." Then he called for those who wished to enjoy these
blessings of freedom to come to the right, while those who were content
to remain under the hideous bondage of the Missions could go to the
left. Imagine his surprise and the chill his oratory received when all
but a small handful quickly went to the left, and those who at first
went to the right speedily joined the majority. At San Luis and San
Antonio the Indians also preferred "slavery."

By this time Victoria began to see that he was being played with, so he
hurried to Monterey and demanded the immediate surrender of the office
to which he was entitled. One of his first acts was to nullify
Echeandía's decree, and to write to Mexico and explain fully that it was
undoubtedly owing to the influence of Padrés, whom he well knew. But
before the end of the year Echeandía and his friends rose in rebellion,
deposed, and exiled Victoria. Owing to the struggles then going on in
Mexico, which culminated in Santa Anna's dictatorship, the revolt of
Echeandía was overlooked and Figueroa appointed governor in his stead.

For a time Figueroa held back the tide of secularization, while Carlos
Carrillo, the Californian delegate to the Mexican Congress, was doing
all he could to keep the Missions and the Pious Fund intact. Figueroa
then issued a series of provisional regulations on gradual emancipation,
hoping to be relieved from further responsibility by the Mexican
government.

This only came in the passage of an Act, August 17, 1833, decreeing full
secularization. The Act also provided for the colonization of both the
Californias, the expenses of this latter move to be borne by the
proceeds gained from the distribution of the Mission property. A shrewd
politician named Hijars was to be made governor of Upper California for
the purpose of carrying this law into effect.

But now Figueroa seemed to regret his first action. Perhaps it was
jealousy that Hijars should have been appointed to his stead. He
bitterly opposed Hijars, refused to give up the governorship, and after
considerable "pulling and hauling," issued secularization orders of his
own, greatly at variance with those promulgated by the Mexican Cortes,
and proceeded to set them in operation.

Ten Missions were fully secularized in 1834, and six others in the
following year. And now came the general scramble for Mission property.
Each succeeding governor, freed from too close supervision by the
general government in Mexico, which was passing through trials and
tribulations of its own, helped himself to as much as he could get.
Alvarado, from 1836 to 1842, plundered on every hand, and Pio Pico was
not much better. When he became governor, there were few funds with
which to carry on the affairs of the country, and he prevailed upon the
assembly to pass a decree authorizing the renting or the sale of the
Mission property, reserving only the church, a curate's house, and a
building for a court-house. From the proceeds the expenses of conducting
the services of the church were to be provided, but there was no
disposition made as to what should be done to secure the funds for that
purpose. Under this decree the final acts of spoliation were
consummated.

The padres took the matter in accordance with their individual
temperaments. Some were hopefully cheerful, and did the best they could
for their Indian charges; others were sulky and sullen, and retired to
the chambers allotted to them, coming forth only when necessary duty
called; still others were belligerent, and fought everything and
everybody, and, it must be confessed, generally with just cause.

As for the Indians, the effect was exactly as all thoughtful men had
foreseen. Those who received property seldom made good use of it, and
soon lost it. Cattle were neglected, tools unused, for there were none
to compel their care or use. Consequently it was easy to convert them
into money, which was soon gambled or drunk away. Rapidly they sank from
worse to worse, until now only a few scattered settlements remain of the
once vast number, thirty thousand or more, that were reasonably happy
and prosperous under the rule of the padres.



CHAPTER IX

SAN DIEGO DE ALCALÁ

The story of the founding of San Diego by Serra has already been given.
It was the beginning of the realization of his fondest hopes. The early
troubles with the Indians delayed conversions, but in 1773 Serra
reported that some headway had been made. He gives the original name of
the place as _Cosoy, in_ 32° 43', built on a hill two gunshots from the
shore, and facing the entrance to the port at Point Guijarros. The
missionaries left in charge were Padres Fernando Parron and
Francisco Gomez.

About the middle of July ill health compelled Parron to retire to Lower
California and Gomez to Mexico, and Padres Luis Jayme and Francisco
Dumetz took their places.

San Diego was in danger of being abandoned for lack of provisions, for
in 1772 Padre Crespí, who was at San Carlos, writes that on the
thirtieth of March of that year "the mail reached us with the lamentable
news that this Mission of San Diego was to be abandoned for lack of
victuals." Serra then sent him with "twenty-two mules, and with them
fifteen half-loads of flour" for their succor. Padres Dumetz and Cambon
had gone out to hunt for food to the Lower California Missions. The same
scarcity was noticed at San Gabriel, and the padres, "for a considerable
time, already, had been using the supplies which were on hand to found
the Mission of San Buenaventura; and though they have _drawn their belts
tight_ there remains to them provisions only for two months and a half."

Fortunately help came; so the work continued.

The region of San Diego was well peopled. At the time of the founding
there were eleven rancherías within a radius of ten leagues. They must
have been of a different type from most of the Indians of the coast,
for, from the first, as the old Spanish chronicler reports, they were
insolent, arrogant, and thievish. They lived on grass seeds, fish,
and rabbits.

In 1774, the separation of the Mission from the presidio was decided
upon, in order to remove the neophytes from the evil influences of the
soldiers. The site chosen was six miles up the valley (named _Nipaguay_
by the Indians), and so well did all work together that by the end of
the year a dwelling, a storehouse, a smithy built of adobes, and a
wooden church eighteen by fifty-seven feet, and roofed with tiles, were
completed. Already the work of the padres had accomplished much.
Seventy-six neophytes rejoiced their religious hearts, and the herds had
increased to 40 cattle, 64 sheep, 55 goats, 19 hogs, 2 jacks, 2 burros,
17 mares, 3 foals, 9 horses, 22 mules,--233 animals in all.

The presidio remained at Cosoy (now old San Diego), and four thousand
adobes that had been made for the Mission buildings were turned over to
the military. A rude stockade was erected, with two bronze cannon, one
mounted towards the harbor, the other towards the Indian ranchería.

The experiments in grain raising at first were not successful. The seed
was sown in the river bottom and the crop was destroyed by the
unexpected rising of the river. The following year it was sown so far
from water that it died from drought. In the fall of 1775 all seemed to
be bright with hope. New buildings had been erected, a well dug, and
more land made ready for sowing. The Indians were showing greater
willingness to submit themselves to the priests, when a conflict
occurred that revealed to the padres what they might have to contend
with in their future efforts towards the Christianizing of the natives.
The day before the feast of St. Francis (October 4, 1775), Padres Jayme
and Fuster were made happy by being required to baptize sixty new
converts. Yet a few days later they were saddened by the fact that two
of these newly baptized fled from the Mission and escaped to the
mountains, there to stir up enmity and revolt. For nearly a month they
moved about, fanning the fires of hatred against the "long gowns," until
on the night of November 4 (1775) nearly eight hundred naked savages,
after dusk, stealthily advanced and surrounded the Mission, where the
inmates slept unguarded, so certain were they of their security. Part of
the force went on to the presidio, where, in the absence of the
commander, the laxity of discipline was such that no sentinel was
on guard.

An hour after midnight the whole of the Mission was surrounded. The
quarters of the Christianized Indians were invaded, and they were
threatened with instantaneous death if they gave the alarm. The church
was broken into, and all the vestments and sacred vessels stolen. Then
the buildings were fired. Not until then did the inmates know of their
danger. Imagine their horror, to wake up and find the building on fire
and themselves surrounded by what, in their dazed condition, seemed
countless hordes of savages, all howling, yelling, brandishing
war-clubs, firing their arrows,--the scene made doubly fearful by the
red glare of the flames.

In the guard-house were four soldiers,--the whole of the Mission
garrison; in the house the two priests, Jayme and Fuster, two little
boys, and three men (a blacksmith and two carpenters). Father Fuster,
the two boys, and the blacksmith sought to reach the guard-house, but
the latter was slain on the way. The Indians broke into the room where
the carpenters were, and one of them was so cruelly wounded that he died
the next day.

Father Jayme, with the shining light of martyrdom in his eyes, and the
fierce joy of fearlessness in his heart, not only refused to seek
shelter, but deliberately walked towards the howling band, lifting his
hands in blessing with his usual salutation: "Love God, my children!"
Scarcely were the words uttered when the wild band fell upon him,
shrieking and crying, tearing off his habit, thrusting him rudely along,
hurting him with stones, sticks, and battle-axe, until at the edge of
the creek his now naked body was bruised until life was extinct, and
then the corpse filled with arrows.

Three soldiers and the carpenter, with Father Fuster and two boys
loading the guns for them, fought off the invaders from a near-by
kitchen, and at dawn the attacking force gathered up their dead and
wounded and retired to the mountains.

No sooner were they gone than the neophytes came rushing up to see if
any were left alive. Their delight at finding Father Fuster was
immediately changed into sadness as others brought in the awfully
mutilated and desecrated body of Father Jayme. Not until then did Father
Fuster know that his companion was dead, and deep was the mourning of
his inmost soul as he performed the last offices for his dear companion.

Strange to say, so careless was the garrison that not until a messenger
reached it from Father Fuster did they know of the attack. They had
placed no guards, posted no sentinels, and, indifferent in their
foolish scorn of the prowess and courage of the Indians, had slept
calmly, though they themselves might easily have been surprised, and the
whole garrison murdered while asleep.

In the meantime letters were sent for aid to Rivera at Monterey, and
Anza, the latter known to be approaching from the Colorado River region;
and in suspense until they arrived, the little garrison and the
remaining priests passed the rest of the year. The two commanders met at
San Gabriel, and together marched to San Diego, where they arrived
January 11, 1776. It was not long before they quarreled. Anza was for
quick, decisive action; Rivera was for delay; so, when news arrived from
San Gabriel that the food supply was running short, Anza left in order
to carry out his original orders, which involved the founding of San
Francisco. Not long after his departure Carlos, the neophyte who had
been concerned in the insurrection, returned to San Diego, and,
doubtless acting under the suggestion of the padres, took refuge in the
temporary church at the presidio.

An unseemly squabble now ensued between Rivera and Padre Lasuen, the
former violating the sanctuary of the church to arrest the Indian.
Lasuen, on the next feast day, refused to say mass until Rivera and his
violating officers had retired.

All this interfered with resumption of work on the church; so Serra
himself went to San Diego, and, finding the ship "San Antonio" in the
harbor, made an arrangement with Captain Choquet to supply sailors to
do the building under his own direction. Rivera was then written to for
a guard, and he sent six soldiers. On August 22, 1777, the three padres,
Choquet with his mate and boatswain and twenty sailors, a company of
neophytes, and the six soldiers went to the old site and began work in
earnest, digging the foundations, making adobes, and collecting stones.
The plan was to build a wall for defense, and then erect the church and
other buildings inside. For fifteen days all went well. Then an Indian
went to Rivera with a story that hostile Indians were preparing arrows
for a new attack, and this so scared the gallant officer that he
withdrew his six men. Choquet had to leave with his men, as he dared not
take the responsibility of being away with so many men without the
consent of Rivera; and, to the padre's great sorrow, the work had
to cease.

In March of 1778 Captain Carrillo was sent to chastise hostile Indians
at Pamó who had sent insolent messages to Captain Ortega. Carrillo
surprised the foe, killed two, burned others who took refuge in a hut,
while the others surrendered and were publicly flogged. The four chiefs,
Aachel, Aalcuirin, Aaran, and Taguagui, were captured, taken to San
Diego, and there shot, though the officer had no legal right to condemn
even an Indian to death without the approval of the governor. Ortega's
sentence reads: "Deeming it useful to the service of God, the King, and
the public weal, I sentence them to a violent death by two musket-shots
on the 11th at 9 A.M., the troops to be present at the execution under
arms also all the Christian rancherías subject to the San Diego Mission,
that they may be warned to act righteously."

Ortega then instructed Padres Lasuen and Figuer to prepare the
condemned. "You will co-operate for the good of their souls in the
understanding that if they do not accept the salutary waters of baptism
they die on Saturday morning; and if they do--they die all the same!"
This was the first public execution in California.

In 1780 the new church, built of adobe, strengthened and roofed with
pine timbers, ninety feet long and seventeen feet wide and high, was
completed.

In 1782 fire destroyed the old presidio church.

In 1783 Lasuen made an interesting report on the condition of San Diego.
At the Mission there were church, granary, storehouse, hospital, men's
house, shed for wood and oven, two houses for the padres, larder,
guest-room, and kitchen. These, with the soldiers' barracks, filled
three sides of a square of about one hundred and sixty feet, and on the
fourth side was an adobe wall, nearly ten feet high. There were seven
hundred and forty neophytes at that time under missionary care, though
Lasuen spoke most disparagingly of the location as a Mission site.

In 1824 San Diego registered its largest population, being then
eighteen hundred and twenty-nine.

When Spanish rule ended, and the Mexican empire and republic sent its
first governor, Echeandía, he decided to make San Diego his home; so for
the period of his governorship, though he doubtless lived at or near the
presidio, the Mission saw more or less of him. As is shown in the
chapter on Secularization, he was engaged in a thankless task when he
sought to change the Mission system, and there was no love lost between
the governor's house and the Mission.

In 1833 Governor Figueroa visited San Diego Mission in person, in order
to exhort the neophytes to seize the advantages of citizenship which the
new secularization regulations were to give to them; but, though they
heard him patiently, and there and at San Luis Rey one hundred and sixty
families were found to be duly qualified for "freedom," only ten could
be found to accept it.

On March 29, 1843, Governor Micheltorena issued a decree which restored
San Diego Mission temporalities to the management of the padre. He
explained in his prelude that the decree was owing to the fact that the
Mission establishments had been reduced to the mere space occupied by
the buildings and orchards, that the padres had no support but that of
charity, etc. Mofras gives the number of Indians in 1842 as five
hundred, but an official report of 1844 gives only one hundred. The
Mission retained the ranches of Santa Isabel and El Cajon until
1844-1845, and then, doubtless, they were sold or rented in accordance
with the plans of Pio Pico.

To-day nothing but the _fachada_ of the church remains, and that has
recently been braced or it would have fallen. There are a few portions
of walls also, and a large part of the adobe wall around the garden
remains. The present owner of the orchard, in digging up some of the old
olive trees, has found a number of interesting relics, stirrups, a
gun-barrel, hollow iron cannon-balls, metates, etc. These are all
preserved and shown as "curios," together with beams from the church,
and the old olive-mill.

By the side of the ruined church a newer and modern brick building now
stands. It destroys the picturesqueness of the old site, but it is
engaged in a good work. Father Ubach, the indefatigable parish priest of
San Diego, who died a few years ago, and who was possessed of the spirit
of the old padres, erected this building for the training of the Indian
children of the region. On one occasion I asked the children if they
knew any of the "songs of the old," the songs their Indian grandparents
used to sing; and to my delight, they sang two of the old chorals taught
their ancestors in the early Mission days by the padres.

[Illustration: FACHADA OF THE RUINED MISSION OF SAN DIEGO]

[Illustration: OLD MISSION OF SAN DIEGO AND SISTERS SCHOOL FOR INDIAN
CHILDREN]

[Illustration: MAIN ENTRANCE ARCH AT MISSION SAN DIEGO.]

[Illustration: THE TOWER AT MISSION SAN CARLOS BORROMEO]



CHAPTER X

SAN CARLOS BORROMEO

A brief account of the founding of San Carlos at Monterey, June 3, 1770,
was given in an earlier chapter. What joy the discovery of the harbor
and founding of the Mission caused in Mexico and Spain can be understood
when it is remembered that for two centuries this thing had been
desired. In the Mexican city the bells of the Cathedral rang forth merry
peals as on special festival days, and a solemn mass of thanksgiving was
held, at which all the city officials and dignitaries were present. A
full account of the event was printed and distributed there and in
Spain, so that, for a time at least, California occupied a large share
of public attention.

The result of the news of the founding of San Carlos was that all were
enthused for further extension of the Missions. The indefatigable Galvez
at once determined that five new Missions should be founded, and the
Guardian of the Franciscan College was asked for, and agreed to send,
ten more missionaries for the new establishments, as well as twenty for
the old and new Missions on the peninsula.

At the end of the year 1773 Serra made his report to Mexico, and then
it was found that there were more converts at San Carlos than at any
other Mission. Three Spanish soldiers had married native women.

A little later, as the mud roofs were not successful in keeping out the
winter rains, a new church was built, partly of rough and partly of
worked lumber, and roofed with tules. The lumber used was the pine and
cypress for which the region is still noted.

There was little agriculture, only five fanegas of wheat being harvested
in 1772. Each Mission received eighteen head of horned cattle at its
founding, and San Carlos reported a healthy increase.

In 1772 Serra left for Mexico, to lay matters from the missionary
standpoint before the new viceroy, Bucareli. He arrived in the city of
Mexico in February, 1773. With resistless energy and eloquence he
pleaded for the preservation of the shipyard of San Blas, the removal of
Fages, the correction of certain abuses that had arisen as the result of
Fages's actions, and for further funds, soldiers, etc., to prosecute the
work of founding more Missions. In all the main points his mission was
successful. Captain Rivera y Moncada, with whose march from the
peninsula we are already familiar, was appointed governor; and at the
same time that he received his instructions, August 17, 1773, Captain
Juan Bautista de Anza was authorized to attempt the overland journey
from Sonora to Monterey.

As we have already seen, this trip was successful and led to the second,
in which the colonists and soldiers for the new Mission of San Francisco
were brought.

In 1776 Serra's heart was joyed with the thought that he was to wear a
martyr's crown, for there was a rumor of an Indian uprising at San
Carlos; but the presence of troops sent over from Monterey seemed to end
the trouble.

In 1779 a maritime event of importance occurred. The padres at San
Carlos and the soldiers at Monterey saw a galleon come into the bay,
which proved to be the "San José," from Manila. It should have remained
awhile, but contrary winds arose, and it sailed away for San Lucas. But
the king later issued orders that all Manila galleons must call at
Monterey, under a penalty of four thousand dollars, unless prevented by
stress of weather.

In 1784 Serra died and was buried at San Carlos.

For a short time after Serra's death, the duties of padre presidente
fell upon Palou; but in February, 1785, the college of San Fernando