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Now began a campaign of strategic waiting. To complicate (or simplify)
the situation, in the _bailes_ and _festas_ given to the distinguished
Russian, Rezánof danced and chatted with Concha Argüello, the daughter
of the stern old commandant of the post.
Did they fall in love with each other, or did they not? Some writers say
one thing and some another. Anyhow, the girl thought she had received
the honest love of a noble man and responded with ardor and devotion. So
sure was she of his affection that she finally prevailed upon her father
(so we are told) to sell to Rezánof the provisions for which he had
come. The vessel, accordingly, was well and satisfactorily laden and
Rezánof sailed away. Being a Russian subject, he was not allowed to
marry the daughter of a foreigner without the consent of his sovereign,
and he was to hurry to Moscow and gain permission to return and wed the
lady of his choice.
He never returned. Hence the accusation that he acted in bad faith to
her and her father. This charge seems to be unfounded, for it is known
that he left his vessel and started overland to reach Moscow earlier
than he could have done by ship, that he was taken seriously ill on the
trip and died.
But Concha did not know of this. No one informed her of the death of her
lover, and her weary waiting for his return is what has given the touch
of keenest pathos to the romantic story. Bret Harte, in his inimitable
style, has put into exquisite verse, the story of the waiting of this
true-hearted Spanish maiden[4]:
[4] From Poems by Bret Harte. By permission of the publishers, The
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Mass.
"He with grave provincial magnates long had held serene debate
On the Treaty of Alliance and the high affairs of state;
He from grave provincial magnates oft had turned to talk apart
With the Comandante's daughter on the questions of the heart,
Until points of gravest import yielded slowly one by one,
And by Love was consummated what Diplomacy begun;
Till beside the deep embrasures, where the brazen cannon are,
He received the twofold contract for approval of the Czar;
Till beside the brazen cannon the betrothèd bade adieu,
And from sallyport and gateway north the Russian eagles flew.
Long beside the deep embrasures, where the brazen cannon are,
Did they wait the promised bridegroom and the answer of the Czar.
Day by day ...
Week by week ...
So each year the seasons shifted,--wet and warm and drear and dry;
Half a year of clouds and flowers, half a year of dust and sky.
Still it brought no ship nor message,--brought no tidings, ill or
meet,
For the statesmanlike Commander, for the daughter fair and sweet.
Yet she heard the varying message, voiceless to all ears beside:
'He will come,' the flowers whispered; 'Come no more,' the dry hills
sighed.
Then the grim Commander, pacing where the brazen cannon are,
Comforted the maid with proverbs, wisdom gathered from afar;
* * * * *
So with proverbs and caresses, half in faith and half in doubt,
Every day some hope was kindled, flickered, faded, and went out.
* * * * *
Forty years on wall and bastion swept the hollow idle breeze
Since the Russian eagle fluttered from the California seas;
Forty years on wall and bastion wrought its slow but sure decay,
And St. George's cross was lifted in the port of Monterey;
And the Citadel was lighted, and the hall was gaily drest,
All to honor Sir George Simpson, famous traveler and guest.
* * * * *
The formal speeches ended, and amidst the laugh and wine,
Some one spoke of Concha's lover,--heedless of the warning sign.
Quickly then cried Sir George Simpson: 'Speak no ill
of him, I pray!
He is dead. He died, poor fellow, forty years ago this
day.--
'Died while speeding home to Russia, falling from a
fractious horse.
Left a sweetheart, too, they tell me. Married, I
suppose, of course!
'Lives she yet?' A deathlike silence fell on banquet,
guests, and hall,
And a trembling figure rising fixed the awestruck gaze
of all.
Two black eyes in darkened orbits gleamed beneath the
nun's white hood;
Black serge hid the wasted figure, bowed and stricken
where it stood.
'Lives she yet?' Sir George repeated. All were hushed
as Concha drew
Closer yet her nun's attire. 'Senyor, pardon, she died,
too!'"
In 1810 Moraga, the ensign at the presidio, was sent with seventeen men
to punish the gentiles of the region of the Carquines Strait, who for
several years had been harassing the neophytes at San Francisco, and
sixteen of whom they had killed. Moraga had a hard fight against a
hundred and twenty of them, and captured eighteen, whom he soon
released, "as they were all sure to die of their wounds." The survivors
retreated to their huts and made a desperate resistance, and were so
determined not to be captured that, when one hut was set on fire, its
inmates preferred to perish in the flames rather than to surrender. A
full report of this affair was sent to the King of Spain and as a result
he promoted Moraga and other officers, and increased the pay of some of
the soldiers. He also tendered the thanks of the nation to all the
participants.
Runaway neophytes gave considerable trouble for several years, and in
1819 a force was sent from San Francisco to punish these recalcitrants
and their allies. A sharp fight took place near the site of the present
Stockton, in which 27 Indians were killed, 20 wounded, and 16 captured,
with 49 horses.
The Mission report for 1821-1830 shows a decrease in neophyte population
from 1252 to 219, though this was largely caused by the sending of
neophytes to the newly founded Missions of San Rafael and San
Francisco Solano.
San Francisco was secularized in 1834-1835, with Joaquin Estudillo as
comisionado. The valuation in 1835 was real estate and fixtures,
$25,800; church property, $17,800; available assets in excess of debts
(chiefly live-stock), $16,400, or a total of $60,000. If any property
was ever divided among the Indians, there is no record to show it.
On June 5, 1845, Pio Pico's proclamation was made, requiring the
Indians of Dolores Mission to reunite and occupy it or it would be
declared abandoned and disposed of for the general good of the
department. A fraudulent title to the Mission was given, and antedated
February 10, 1845; but it was afterwards declared void, and the building
was duly returned to the custody of the archbishop, under whose
direction it still remains.
After Commodore Sloat had taken possession of Monterey for the United
States, in 1846, it was merely the work of a day or so to get despatches
to Captain Montgomery, of the ship "Portsmouth," who was in San
Francisco bay and who immediately raised the stars and stripes, and thus
the city of the Golden Gate entered into American possession. While the
city was materially concerned in the events immediately following the
occupation, the Mission was already too nearly dead to participate. In
1846 the bishop succeeded in finding a curate for a short period, but
nothing in the records can be found as to the final disposition of the
property belonging to the ex-Mission. In the political caldron it had
totally disappeared.
In the early days the Mission Indians were buried in the graveyard, then
the soldiers and settlers, Spanish and Mexican, and the priests, and,
later, the _Americanos_. But all is neglected and uncared for, except by
Nature, and, after all, perhaps it is better so. The kindly spirited
Earth Mother has given forth vines and myrtle and ivy and other plants
in profusion, that have hidden the old graveled walks and the broken
flags. Rose bushes grow untrimmed, untrained and frankly beautiful;
while pepper and cypress wave gracefully and poetically suggestive over
graves of high and low, historic and unknown. For here are names carved
on stone denoting that beneath lie buried those who helped make
California history. Just at the side entrance of the church is a stone
with this inscription to the first governor of California: "Aqui yacen
los restos del Capitan Don Luis Antonio Argüello, Primer Gobernador del
Alta California, Bajo el Gobierno Mejicano. Nació en San Francisco el 21
de Junio, 1774, y murió en el mismo lugar el 27 de Marzo, 1830."
Farther along is a brown stone monument, erected by the members of the
famous fire company, to Casey, who was hung by the Vigilantes--Casey,
who shot James King of William. The monument, adorned with firemen's
helmets and bugles in stone, stands under the shadow of drooping pepper
sprays, and is inscribed: "Sacred to the memory of James P. Casey, who
Departed this life May 23, 1856, Aged 27 years. May God forgive my
Persecutors. Requiescat en pace."
Poor, sad Dolores! How utterly lost it now looks!
During the earthquake and fire of 1906, the new church by its side was
destroyed. But the old Indian-built structure was preserved and still
stands as a grand memorial of the past.
CHAPTER XVI
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
On the tragic events at San Diego that led to the delay in the founding
of San Juan Capistrano I have already fully dwelt. The Mission was
founded by Serra, November 1, 1776, and the adobe church recently
restored by the Landmarks Club is said to be the original church built
at that time.
Troubles began here early, as at San Gabriel, owing to the immorality of
the guards with the Indian women, and in one disturbance three Indians
were killed and several wounded. In 1781 the padre feared another
uprising, owing to incitements of the Colorado River Indians, who came
here across the desert and sought to arouse the local Indians to revolt.
[Illustration: FACHADA OF MISSION SAN FRANCISCO.]
[Illustration: RUINS OF MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO.]
[Illustration: ARCHED CLOISTERS AT SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO.]
[Illustration: ARCHED CORRIDORS AT SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO.]
In 1787 Governor Fages reported that San Juan was in a thoroughly
prosperous condition; lands were fertile, ministers faithful and
zealous, and natives well disposed. In 1800 the number of neophytes was
1046, horses and cattle 8500, while it had the vast number of 17,000
sheep. Crops were 6300 bushels, and in 1797 the presidios of Santa
Barbara and San Diego owed San Juan Mission over $6000 for supplies
furnished. In 1794 two large adobe granaries with tile roofs, and forty
houses for neophytes were built. In February, 1797, work was begun on
the church, the remains of which are now to be seen. It is in the form
of a Roman cross, ninety feet wide and a hundred and eighty feet long,
and was planned by Fray Gorgonio. It was probably the finest of all the
California Mission structures. Built of quarried stone, with arched roof
of the same material and a lofty tower adorning its _fachada_, it
justifies the remark that "it could not be duplicated to-day under
$100,000."
The consecration of the beautiful new church took place, September 7,
1806. President Tapis was aided by padres from many Missions, and the
scene was made gorgeous and brilliant by the presence of Governor
Arrillaga and his staff, with many soldiers from San Diego and
Santa Barbara.
The following day another mass was said and sermon preached, and on the
9th the bones of Padre Vicente Fuster were transferred to their final
resting-place within the altar of the new church. A solemn requiem mass
was chanted, thus adding to the solemnity of the occasion.
The church itself originally had seven domes. Only two now remain. In
the earthquake of 1812, when the tower fell, one of the domes was
crushed, but the others remained fairly solid and intact until the
sixties of the last century, when, with a zeal that outran all
discretion, and that the fool-killer should have been permitted to
restrain, they were blown up with gunpowder by mistaken friends who
expected to rebuild the church with the same material, but never did so.
This earthquake of 1812 was felt almost the whole length of the Mission
chain, and it did much damage. It occurred on Sunday morning December 8.
At San Juan a number of neophytes were at morning mass; the day had
opened with intense sultriness and heaviness; the air was hot and seemed
charged with electricity. Suddenly a shock was felt. All were alarmed,
but, devoted to his high office, the padre began again the solemn words,
when, suddenly, the second shock came and sent the great tower crashing
down upon one of the domes or vaults, and in a moment the whole mass of
masonry came down upon the congregation. Thirty-nine were buried in the
next two days, and four were taken out of the ruins later. The
officiating priest escaped, as by a miracle, through the sacristy.
It was in 1814 that Padre Boscana, who had been serving at San Luis Rey,
came to reside at San Juan Capistrano, where he wrote the interesting
account of the Indians that is so often quoted. In 1812, its population
gained its greatest figure, 1361.
In November, 1833, Figueroa secularized the Mission by organizing a
"provisional pueblo" of the Indians, and claiming that the padres
voluntarily gave up the temporalities. There is no record of any
inventory, and what became of the church property is not known. Lands
were apportioned to the Indians by Captain Portilla. The following year,
most probably, all this provisional work of Figueroa's was undone, and
the Mission was secularized in the ordinary way, but in 1838 the Indians
begged for the pueblo organization again, and freedom from overseers,
whether lay or clerical. In 1840 Padre Zalvidea was instructed to
emancipate them from Mission rule as speedily as possible. Janssens was
appointed majordomo, and he reported that he zealously worked for the
benefit of the Mission, repairing broken fences and ditches, bringing
back runaway neophytes, clothing them and caring for the stock. But
orders soon began to come in for the delivery of cattle and horses,
applications rapidly came in for grants of the Mission ranches, and
about the middle of June, 1841, the lands were divided among the
ex-neophytes, about 100 in number, and some forty whites. At the end of
July regulations were published for the foundation of the pueblo, and
Don Juan Bandini soon thereafter went to supervise the work. He remained
until March, 1842, in charge of the community property, and then left
about half a dozen white families and twenty or more ex-neophytes duly
organized as a pueblo.
In 1843 San Juan was one of the Missions the temporalities of which were
to be restored to the Padres, provided they paid one-eighth of all
produce into the public treasury. In 1844 it was reported that San Juan
had no minister, and all its neophytes were scattered. In 1845 Pico's
decree was published, stating that it was to be considered a pueblo; the
church, curate's house and court-house should be reserved, and the rest
of the property sold at auction for the payment of debts and the support
of public worship. In December of that year the ex-Mission buildings and
gardens were sold to Forster and McKinley for $710, the former of whom
retained possession for many years. In 1846 the pueblo was reported as
possessing a population of 113 souls.
Twenty years ago there used to be one of the best of the Mission
libraries at San Juan. The books were all in old-style leather,
sheepskin and parchment bindings, some of them tied with leathern
thongs, and a few having heavy homemade metal clasps. They were all in
Latin or Spanish, and were well known books of divinity. The first page
of the record of marriages was written and signed by Junipero Serra.
[Illustration: CAMPANILE AND RUINS OF MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO.]
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO CHAPEL.]
[Illustration: INNER COURT AND RUINED ARCHES, MISSION SAN JUAN
CAPISTRANO.]
[Illustration: BELLS OF MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO.]
There are still several interesting relics; among others, two
instruments, doubtless Indian-made, used during the Easter services. One
is a board studded with handle-like irons, which, when moved rapidly
from side to side, makes a hideous noise. Another is a three-cornered
box, on which are similar irons, and in this a loose stone is rattled In
the service called "las tinieblas,"--the utter darkness,--expressive of
the darkness after the crucifixion, when the church is absolutely
without light, the appalling effect of these noises, heightened by the
clanking of chains, is indescribable. In proof of the tireless industry
of the priests and Indians of their charge, there are to be found at San
Juan many ruins of the aqueducts, or flumes, some of brick, others of
wood, supported across ravines, which conveyed the water needed to
irrigate the eighty acres of orchard, vineyard, and garden that used to
be surrounded by an adobe wall. Reservoirs, cisterns, and zanjas of
brick, stone, and cement are seen here and there, and several remnants
of the masonry aqueducts are still found in the village.
CHAPTER XVII
SANTA CLARA DE ASIS
Rivera delayed the founding of San Francisco and Santa Clara for reasons
of his own; and when, in September, 1776, he received a letter from
Viceroy Bucareli, in which were references clearly showing that it was
supposed by the writer that they were already established, he set to
work without further delay, and went with Padre Peña, as already
related. The Mission was duly founded January 12, 1777. A square of
seventy yards was set off and buildings at once begun. Cattle and other
Mission property were sent down from San Francisco and San Carlos, and
the guard returned. But it was not long before the Indians developed an
unholy love for contraband beef, and Moraga and his soldiers were sent
for to capture and punish the thieves. Three of them were killed, but
even then depredations occasionally continued. At the end of the year
there had been sixty-seven baptisms, including eight adults, and
twenty-five deaths.
The present is the third site occupied by Santa Clara. The Mission was
originally established some three miles away, near Alviso, at the
headwaters of the San Francisco Bay, near the river Guadalupe, on a
site called by the Indians So-co-is-u-ka (laurel wood). It was probably
located there on account of its being the chief rendezvous of the
Indians, fishing being good, the river having an abundance of salmon
trout. The Mission remained there only a short time, as the waters rose
twice in 1779, and washed it out. Then the padres removed, in 1780-1782,
and built about 150 yards southwest of the present broad-gauge (Southern
Pacific) depot, where quite recently traces were found of the old adobe
walls. They remained at this spot, deeming the location good, until an
earthquake in 1812 gave them considerable trouble. A second earthquake
in 1818 so injured their buildings that they felt compelled to move to
the present site, which has been occupied ever since. The Mission Church
and other buildings were begun in 1818, and finally dedicated in 1822.
The site was called by the Indians _Gerguensun_--the Valley of the Oaks.
On the 29th of November, 1777, the pueblo of San José was founded. The
padres protested at the time that it was too near the Mission of Santa
Clara, and for the next decade there was constant irritation, owing to
the encroachments of the white settlers upon the lands of the Indians.
Complaints were made and formally acted upon, and in July, 1801, the
boundaries were surveyed, as asked for by the padres, and landmarks
clearly marked and agreed upon so as to prevent future disputes.
In 1800 Santa Clara was the banner Mission for population, having 1247.
Live-stock had increased to about 5000 head of each (cattle and horses),
and crops were good.
In 1802, August 12, a grand high altar, which had been obtained in
Mexico, was consecrated with elaborate ceremonies.
Padre Viader, the priest in charge, was a very muscular and athletic
man; and one night, in 1814, a young gentile giant, named Marcelo, and
two companions attacked him. In the rough and tumble fight which ensued
the padre came out ahead; and after giving the culprits a severe homily
on the sin of attacking a priest, they were pardoned, Marcelo becoming
one of his best and most faithful friends thereafter. Robinson says
Viader was "a good old man, whose heart and soul were in proportion to
his immense figure."
In 1820 the neophyte population was 1357, stock 5024, horses 722, sheep
12,060. The maximum of population was reached in 1827, of 1464 souls.
After that it began rapidly to decline. The crops, too, were smaller
after 1820, without any apparent reason.
In 1837 secularization was effected by Ramon Estrada. In 1839-1840
reports show that two-thirds of the cattle and sheep had disappeared.
The downfall of the Mission was very rapid. The neophyte population in
1832 was 1125, in 1834 about 800, and at the end of the decade about
290, with 150 more scattered in the district.
[Illustration: ONE OF THE DOORS, SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO.]
[Illustration: IN THE AMBULATORY AT SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO.]
[Illustration: MISSION SANTA CLARA IN 1849.]
[Illustration: CHURCH OF SANTA CLARA. On the site of old Mission of
Santa Clara.]
The total of baptisms from 1777 to 1874 is 8640, of deaths 6950.
The old register of marriages records 3222 weddings from January 12,
1778, to August 15, 1863.
In 1833 Padre Viader closed his missionary service of nearly forty years
in California by leaving the country, and Padre Francisco García Diego,
the prefect of the Zacatecan friars, became his successor. Diego
afterwards became the first bishop of California.
In July, 1839, a party called Yozcolos, doubtless after their leader,
attacked the neophytes guarding the Santa Clara wheat-fields, killing
one of them. The attackers were pursued, and their leader slain, and the
placing of his head on a pole seemed to act as a deterrent of further
acts for awhile.
In December of the same year Prado Mesa made an expedition against
gentile thieves in the region of the Stanislaus River. He was surprised
by the foe, three of his men killed, and he and six others wounded,
besides losing a number of his weapons. This Indian success caused great
alarm, and a regular patrol was organized to operate between San José
and San Juan Missions for the protection of the ranches. This uprising
of the Indians was almost inevitable. Deprived of their maintenance at
the Missions, they were practically thrown on their own resources, and
in many cases this left them a prey to the evil leadership of desperate
men of their own class.
Santa Clara was one of the Missions immediately affected by the decree
of Micheltorena, of March 29, 1843, requiring that the padres reassume
the management of the temporalities. They set to work to gather up what
fragments they could find, but the flocks and herds were "lent" where
they could not be recovered, and one flock of 4000 sheep--the padre says
6000--were taken by M.J. Vallejo, "legally, in aid of the government."
Pio Pico's decree of June 5, 1845, affected Santa Clara. Andrés Pico
made a valuation of the property at $16,173. There were then 130
ex-neophytes, the live-stock had dwindled down to 430 cattle, 215
horses, and 809 sheep. The padre found it necessary to write a sharp
letter to the alcalde of San José on the grog-shops of that pueblo,
which encouraged drinking among his Indians to such extent that they
were completely demoralized.
March 19, 1851, the parish priest, who was a cultivated and learned
Jesuit, and who had prepared the way, succeeded in having the Santa
Clara College established in the old Mission buildings. On the 28th of
April, 1855, it was chartered with all the rights and privileges of a
university. In due time the college grew to large proportions, and it
was found imperative either to remove the old Mission structure
completely, or renovate it out of all recognition. This latter was done,
so that but little of the old church remains.
In restoring it in 1861-1862 the nave was allowed to remain, but in
1885 it was found necessary to remove it. Its walls were five feet
thick. The adobe bricks were thrown out upon the plaza behind the cross.
The present occupation of Santa Clara as a university as well as a
church necessitated the adaptation of the old cloisters to meet the
modern conditions. Therefore the casual visitor would scarcely notice
that the reception-room into which he is ushered is a part of the old
cloisters. The walls are about three feet thick, and are of adobe. In
the garden the beams of the cloister roofs are to be seen.
The old Mission vineyard, where the grapes used to thrive, is now
converted into a garden. A number of the old olive trees still remain.
Of the three original bells of the Mission, two still call the faithful
to worship. One was broken and had to be recast in San Francisco.
On the altar, there are angels with flambeaux in their hands, of wooden
carving. These are deemed the work of the Indians. There are also
several old statues of the saints, including San Joaquin, Santa Ana, San
Juan Capistrano, and Santa Colette. In the sodality chapel, also, there
are statues of San Francisco and San Antonio. The altar rail of the
restored Santa Clara church was made from the beams of the old Mission.
These were of redwood, secured from the Santa Cruz mountains, and, I
believe, are the earliest specimens of redwood used for lumber in
California The rich natural coloring and the beauty of the grain and
texture have improved with the years The old octagonal pulpit, though
not now used is restored and honored, standing upon a modern pedestal.
Santa Clara was noted for the longevity of some of its Indians. One of
them, Gabriel, who died in 1891 or 1892 at the hospital in Salinas,
claimed he was a grandfather when Serra came in 1767. He must have been
over 150 years old when he died. Another, Inigo, was known to be 101
years of age at his death.
In a room in the college building is gathered together an interesting
collection of articles belonging to the old Mission. Here are the chairs
of the sanctuary, processional candlesticks, pictures, and the best
bound book in the State--an old choral. It rests on a stand at the end
of the room. The lids are of wood, covered with thick leather and bound
in very heavy bronze, with bosses half an inch high. Each corner also
has bronze protuberances, half an inch long, that stand out on the
bottom, or edge of the cover, so that they raise the whole book. The
volume is of heaviest vellum and is entirely hand-written in red and
black; and though a century or more has passed since it was written it
is clear and perfect, has 139 pages. The brothers of the college have
placed this inscription over it: "Ancient choral, whose wooden cover,
leather bound and covered in bronze, came, probably, originally from
Spain, and has age of some 500 years."
In a case which extends across the room are ancient vestments, the key
of the old Mission, statuary brackets from the ancient altar, the altar
bell, crown of thorns from the Mission crucifix, altar card-frames, and
the rosary and crucifix that once belonged to Padre Magin Catalá.
Padre Catalá, the good man of Santa Clara, is deemed by the leaders of
the Catholic Church in California to be worthy the honors and elevation
of sainthood, and proceedings are now in operation before the highest
Court of the Church in Rome to see whether he is entitled to these
posthumous honors. The Franciscan historian for California, Father
Zephyrin Englehardt, has written a book entitled _The Holy Man of Santa
Clara_, in which not only the life of Padre Catalá is given, but the
whole of the procedure necessary to convince the Church tribunal of his
worth and sainthood. The matter is not yet (1913) settled.
On the walls are some of the ancient paintings, one especially
noteworthy. It is of Christ multiplying the loaves and fishes (John vi.
II). While it is not a great work of art, the benignity and sweetness of
the Christ face redeem it from crudeness. With upraised right hand he is
blessing the loaves which rest in his left hand, while the boy with the
fishes kneels reverently at his feet.
The University of Santa Clara is now rapidly erecting its new buildings,
in a modified form of Mission architecture, to meet its enlarging needs
The buildings, when completed, will present to the world a great
institution of learning--the oldest west of the Rocky Mountains--well
equipped in every department for the important labor in the education of
the Catholic youth of California and the west that it has undertaken.
CHAPTER XVIII
SAN BUENAVENTURA
For thirteen years the heart of the venerable Serra was made sick by the
postponements in the founding of this Mission. The Viceroy de Croix had
ordered Governor Rivera "to recruit seventy-five soldiers for the
establishment of a presidio and three Missions in the channel of Santa
Barbara: one towards the north of the channel, which was to be dedicated
to the Immaculate Conception; one towards the south, dedicated to San
Buenaventura, and a third in the centre, dedicated to Santa Barbara."
It was with intense delight that Serra received a call from Governor
Neve, who, in February, 1782, informed him that he was prepared to
proceed at once to the founding of the Missions of San Buenaventura and
Santa Barbara. Although busy training his neophytes, he determined to go
in person and perform the necessary ceremonies. Looking about for a
padre to accompany him, and all his own coadjutors being engaged, he
bethought him of Father Pedro Benito Cambon, a returned invalid
missionary from the Philippine Islands, who was recuperating at San
Diego. He accordingly wrote Padre Cambon, requesting him, if possible,
to meet him at San Gabriel. On his way to San Gabriel, Serra passed
through the Indian villages of the channel region, and could not refrain
from joyfully communicating the news to the Indians that, very speedily,
he would return to them, and establish Missions in their midst.
In the evening of March 18, Serra reached Los Angeles, and next evening,
after walking to San Gabriel, weighed down with his many cares, and
weary with his long walk, he still preached an excellent sermon, it
being the feast of the patriarch St. Joseph. Father Cambon had arrived,
and after due consultation with him and the governor, the date for the
setting out of the expedition was fixed for Tuesday, March 26. The week
was spent in confirmation services and other religious work, and, on the
date named, after solemn mass, the party set forth. It was the most
imposing procession ever witnessed in California up to that time, and
called forth many gratified remarks from Serra. There were seventy
soldiers, with their captain, commander for the new presidio, ensign,
sergeant, and corporals. In full gubernatorial dignity followed Governor
Neve, with ten soldiers of the Monterey company, their wives and
families, servants and neophytes.
[Illustration: SIDE ENTRANCE AT SAN BUENAVENTURA.]
[Illustration: FACHADA OF MISSION SAN BUENAVENTURA.]
[Illustration: STATUE OF SAN BUENAVENTURA. Now at Dominican Convent,
Mission San José.]
[Illustration: RAWHIDE FASTENING OF MISSION BELL, AND WORM-EATEN BEAM.]
At midnight they halted, and a special messenger overtook them with news
which led the governor to return at once to San Gabriel with his ten
soldiers. He ordered the procession to proceed, however, found the San
Buenaventura Mission, and there await his arrival. Serra accordingly
went forward, and on the twenty-ninth arrived at "Assumpta." Here, the
next day, on the feast of Easter, they pitched their tents, "erected a
large cross, and prepared an altar under a shade of evergreens," where
the venerable Serra, now soon to close his life-work, blessed the cross
and the place, solemnized mass, preached a sermon to the soldiers on the
Resurrection of Christ, and formally dedicated the Mission to God, and
placed it under the patronage of St. Joseph.
In the earlier part of the last century the Mission began to grow
rapidly. Padres Francisco Dumetz and Vicente de Santa Maria, who had
been placed in charge of the Mission from the first, were gladdened by
many accessions, and the Mission flocks and herds also increased
rapidly. Indeed, we are told that "in 1802 San Buenaventura possessed
finer herds of cattle and richer fields of grain than any of her
contemporaries, and her gardens and orchards were visions of wealth
and beauty."
On his second visit to the California coast, Vancouver, when anchored
off Santa Barbara, traded with Padre Santa Maria of San Buenaventura for
a flock of sheep and as many vegetables as twenty mules could carry.
It is to Vancouver, on this voyage, that we owe the names of a number of
points on the California coast, as, for instance, Points Sal, Argüello
Felipe, Vicente, Dumetz, Fermin, and Lasuen.
In 1795 there was a fight between the neophyte and gentile Indians, the
former killing two chiefs and taking captive several of the latter. The
leaders on both sides were punished, the neophyte Domingo even being
sentenced to work in chains.
In 1806 the venerable Santa María, one of the Mission founders, died.
His remains were ultimately placed in the new church.
In 1800 the largest population in its history was reached, with 1297
souls. Cattle and horses prospered, and the crops were reported as among
the best in California.
The earthquake of 1812-1813 did considerable damage at San Buenaventura.
Afraid lest the sea would swallow them up, the people fled to San
Joaquin y Santa Ana for three months, where a temporary _jacal_ church
was erected. The tower and a part of the _fachada_ had to be torn down
and rebuilt, and this was done by 1818, with a new chapel dedicated to
San Miguel in addition.
That San Buenaventura was prosperous is shown by the fact that in June,
1820, the government owed it $27,385 for supplies, $6200 in stipends,
and $1585 for a cargo of hemp,--a total of $35,170, which, says
Bancroft, "there was not the slightest chance of it ever receiving."
In 1823 the president and vice-prefect Señan, who had served as padre
at this Mission for twenty-five years, died August 24, and was buried by
the side of Santa María. After his death San Buenaventura began rapidly
to decline.
In 1822 a neophyte killed his wife for adultery. It is interesting to
note that in presenting his case the fiscal said that as the culprit had
been a Christian only seven years, and was yet ignorant in matters of
domestic discipline, he asked for the penalty of five years in the chain
gang and then banishment.
The baptisms for the whole period of the Mission's history, viz., for
1782-1834, are 3876. There is still preserved at the Mission the first
register, which was closed in 1809. At that time 2648 baptisms had been
administered. The padre presidente, Serra, wrote the heading for the
Index, and the contents themselves were written in a beautiful hand by
Padre Señan. There are four signatures which occur throughout in the
following order: Pedro Benito Cambon, Francisco Dumetz, Vicente de Sta
María, and José Señan.
The largest population was 1330 in 1816. The largest number of cattle
was 23,400 in the same year. In 1814, 4652 horses; in 1816,
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